How to grow our reserves?

It is a state secret how much of our reserves are CPF money, or the people’s money. Anyone has the figure? I think the CPF component is not small and could be a very substantial portion of our national reserves. And I find this very funny, and very painful. Why is it that the people’s money, your money, my money becomes the country’s reserve? Never mind, it is part of the economist’s formula, to include the people’s money as the country’s money for the govt to crow about while the real owners of the money can only cry about it.

With this in mind, the easiest way to grow the reserves is to make sure that there is more money in the CPF. How to do that? I think we all know the answers. I can make our reserves even bigger and tell you that it is safe, without telling you how much is there as long as the CPF account holders are happy with the monthly statements.

So, how rich are you? Or how rich is the country’s reserves? Your money or someone else money?

I am very frighten of people who claims to be able to grow the reserves.

The President, gambler and fund manager

The campaign for the next Elected President has commenced and what came to my mind is the relationship between the president, the gambler and the fund manager. They all have one similar interest, money. Money is a big issue not just about how much should the president be paid given the surprising revelation of his job by the Law Minister. The only part that justifies some big money is the president’s role as a custodian to the country’s reserves.

The rest of the functions of the president are more ceremonial and quite exciting, like in the company of heads of states, the kings and queens and dining with celebrities. I think many rich and successful people are dying to be in such a position and would even pay for it. As for the money part, what does the president do and how much is he deserving is now questionable.

Let me start with the gambler. Simply put, the gambler takes chances by placing his bets. When he loses, he blames it on bad luck. When he wins, he can brag about his gambling skills. In a way the fund managers also places his bets which he calls its investing. And he employs very talented and highly qualified people to justify what he is doing. All done carefully, objectively, with charts and figures. No guess work. When he makes money, he too will brag about how clever and talented he is. When he loses, there are always the forces beyond his control or he is investing in the long term. He will have the long term to cover his bad bets.

There are some startling differences between a gambler and a fund manager. The gambler’s cost is only himself. And he gambles with his own money. The fund manager pays all the top talents a fortune to place his bets. And when he loses, even in hundreds of billions, it is always other people’s money, not his money. He always wins with his huge pay packet and huge cuts in winnings. He is much better than the gambler in many ways.

And when a fund manager loses big, he can go to the president for more money. Here is the relationship. The Elected President is there to say yes or no to the fund manager gambling with the country’s reserves. But how can the EP say no when the fund manager says he is investing in the long term and will win back all his money in a matter of time? His short term loss is due to circumstances beyond his control.

What if the Elected President says no? He can be removed as the fund manager can claim that he is opposing his instruction. According to the Law Minister, an Elected President that challenges the govt can be removed. So how? Does the Elected President have any machinery or forces behind him to take on the govt? The govt is in control of everything, the media, the uniformed services, the civil services, the Unions, the clans and all govt related agencies and institutions. How could an Elected President say no to a ruling govt when he can be simply removed?

Here comes the question of his $10m pay. Should the president be paid $4m -$10m to say no when he can’t really say no? And this is the reality if one listens to the campaign speeches of the presidential hopefuls. They want to do all kinds of things that are nice to have but really quite irrelevant, and do not justify the money or the position. Who cares what they want to do? What is important is his ability to make sure that the reserves is not squander away. But can the EP do it?

An embarrassing moment repeating?

The likeable George Yeo could not imagine that he could be bundled out of a general election. Frankly, I too was surprised by his defeat and the losing of 5 super talents in one go. On reflection, none of them should take it personally as the defeat was not their fault. There was a change of wind. The defeat was a defeat of the PAP. Too much, too long, the PAP has overstayed its welcome and the people were looking for a change.

There was resentment too. The policies of the past decade have alienated the people to a point that the anger must be released. And George Yeo and his team were the unfortunate scapegoat. Nothing personal.

The present election for the EP could see another embarrassing moment being repeated. The possibilility of Tony Tan losing the election is very high despite all the endorsements from all corners appearing in the media. Endorsements by office bearers and committees are different from the feelings of the rank and file. The elite will think differently and may want to sit in the same table and sing the same song. The masses, the ordinary people, may have a mind of their own and want to do their own thing.

Don’t be surprised if Tony Tan did not make it to the Istana. What if he loses his deposit? That will be terribly embarrassing. But again, it has nothing to do with him. The vote against him is likely to be a vote against the ruling party. For the moment Tony is the front runner with endorsements from every where. He is having a good start.

Strange for me to look at the Presidential Election in this manner as it is not meant to be partisan or political while my whole reasoning is about politics, nothing but politics.

Would we see the knuckle duster again?

My article on Lee Hsien Loong’s National Day concessions is pretty generous and I thought for a start it is quite promising. There are other perspectives that are calling for more changes while some are asking for compensation for the wrongs and damages done by past policies. These are very serious in monetary terms for those badly hurt by the education policies and housing fiasco that were trumpeted as great jobs done. They were nearly awarded the public stars. We know that they are now history, good riddance.

Hsien Loong has taken a more conciliatory approach to deal with the problems, used to be called achievements, created by policies of the past few years. Trying to accept them and see them as problems and looking for solutions to them must be quite pressurizing. It could be different, a triumphant glory, if they were painted as great policies and nothing needs to be done. As things are, there is an admission that not all are right or good stuff. Some were blatantly disgusting.

What if Hsien Loong took the kpkbs negatively, or someone suggested to him that he needs to be tough, never retreat under pressure, never allowed the people to make demands on him, and offers him the knuckle duster? If that happens, I can easily foresee the following developments.

There will be a clamp down on new media. There will be people being sued. There could be midnight callers. And Hsien Loong could appear on national TV to speak to the people in a different tone. He may even shed some tears for the tough measures that he had to take against the detractors, all for the good of the country. The country will be pitched to be in a state of crisis, and tension would spread across the island. Some may end up as bankrupts, some may escape from paradise.

And all the ministers who were stripped from their posts will be resurrected and elevated to high pedestals, as heroes who made tough decisions. Only strong and good leaders are capable of making tough decisions even when the policies hurt the people badly. But there is always the long term good to preach. In the long run, like from a distance, the earth looks so beautiful, and everything will turn out well.

And everything goes on as usual, with all the past policies in force. Property owners will be smiling when property prices shoot to the sky. CPF holders will be smiling when they read their monthly statements. Foreign talents will be smiling everywhere and telling their country men that Singapore is a paradise. And more foreigners will be queuing up to come to paradise. Some will be pointing to the jams everywhere as signs of progress and vibrancy.

There will be high economic growth and prosperity, at all cost. And everything else is just an aspiration, except money in the pocket.

Telling the President hopeful's fortune

My bookie came to see me for guidance on the Presidential Race. He has faith in my clairvoyance ability and also my skills in fixing numbers. Of course I obliged when there is a big angpow waiting for me.

So I took out a wash basin, filled it with holy water, threw in a few twigs of pomegranate leaves. Then I lighted three joss sticks and got into a prayer for my spiritual guide.

The result of my spiritual trip was most enlightening. 50:50, a touch and go Presidential Race. How does this works out? In the last GE, PAP garnered 60% of popular votes. This time around, they are likely to get only 50% for the following reasons. It is not about electing a govt. That has been confirmed and no risk in electing whoever as the President. It would still be a political contest between the PAP and the non PAPs.

The second point is the lost of faith in the govt and its policies. People are getting very cynical and are questioning how these policies are benefiting them. Many have great doubts. Many too have great doubts in the abilities of the super talents giving the fiascos in the surge in population, high property prices and the lapses/bad policies to build more flats, to provide the infrastructure for the big influx of foreigners. And there are the big losses in our sovereign funds, the failure in our education system to produce top talents leading to such a pathetic state that Singaporeans have to depend on foreigners to come here to help them. Not enough hospitals or not enough lower class wards. There are many more things that have inundated the Singaporean minds.

The third point is the need for a strong President to check on a rogue govt led by a rogue PM. Singaporeans may be daft, or some people may think so. But no Singaporean is going to believe that an independent director handpicked and paid by the management can be an effective watchdog to monitor the wrong doings of the management. This principle is applicable to the Elected Presidency. But some daft Singaporeans will not think, and will still be deceived. Serious and rational thinking Singaporeans, and there are many out there, will want to vote for a truly independent individual that can check on the govt.

The votes will be split evenly for various reasons, between the two pairs of candidates, Tony Tan and Tan Cheng Bock versus Tan Jee Say and Tan Kin Lian. The former have strong links with the govt and the latter are seen as more independent or not related. Now let’s look at the numbers. With 50% each, Tony and Cheng Bock are likely to split their votes between 20:30 and 24:26, likely in favour of the former. In the Jee Say/Kin Lian camp, it could be the same split and would make the contest that more interesting.

What other factors could be thrown into the computation to make the difference? The controversy over Patrick Tan is still hanging over Tony’s head and if there is a whistle blower, this could completely demolish his chances, and the biggest beneficiary will be Cheng Bock. In the case of the rest, anything can happen. Who knows when a monkey will escape from the zoo to accuse one of them of stealing his peanuts? Or some jokers may stand out to complain of losing paper clips.

For the moment it is 50:50 and depending on the combination, both sides will have a candidate that may tip the scale. Will the people vote for a pro PAP President or an independent President? Sorry, wrong choice of words. All the candidates are independent of political parties and are standing on their own. They have no links with any political parties. This is a completely non political election, get it?

The people are quite lucky to have four highly qualified and respectable men, with good reputation and integrity, to choose from. Now who is going to win? Let me toss my dice….

Voting for a LPPL Elected President?

Following the public exchange of views on the role of the President, Law and Foreign Affairs Minister K Shanmugam has upped the ante by making a not-so-veiled threat – claiming that the President can be removed from office if he attempts to go against the government.

The above is quoted from an article by Tanya Wei in the TRE. After reading this and Shanmugam’s example of a British King that lost his throne for challenging the elected govt, I got this very uneasy feeling. I am wondering whether I should laugh or throw out at the thought of electing a President that would be removed from office if he goes against the govt.

What is the key issue concerning the Elected President today? The high salary and the ceremonial role of the EP are just side issues. What is upper most in the people’s mind is the power to go against the govt to protect the reserves. The people want an EP that would go against the govt when the time calls for it.

Now we are told, or warned, or implied, or kind of threatened, that if the EP is to go against the govt, like saying no to spending the reserves, he will be removed.

Put it simply, why have an EP in the first place? Some are calling this election a sham. It is looking more like a LPPL President just for show and will be removed when he is needed at the critical moment. It reminds me of the fate of Ong Teng Cheong.

What’s happening?

PAP beating a retreat

3 May at Fullerton Square, Lee Hsien Loong apologised to the people on behalf of the govt. It was an ominous gesture for the PAP. The GE saw the defeat of a key minister and the lost of a GRC. George Yeo had seen it coming. He related an incident to Hsien Loong of a voter telling him he was going to vote opposition a couple of days earlier.

The aftermath of the GE saw the stripping of 3 ministers from their posts and the stepping down of LKY and Goh Chok Tong. Since then, the PAP must have taken George Yeo’s advice seriously to reflect on themselves and their policies. And it has been on the defence, retreating all the way from their arrogant and I know best ways.

Many policies were revamped and the kpkbs of the people were taken heed. Yes, the PAP is taking very seriously the noises made by the people. The callous and bullying housing policies were dumped with a new minister in Boon Wan taking charge. He is not dictating to the people to live by his terms like his predecessor, but going all out to build more flats to meet the needs of the people, to restrain the rising property prices, telling the applicants not to screw themselves up by blindly applying for a flat with anyone in a hurry.

Measures were taken to slow the pace of immigrations even after LKY had said that another 900,000 foreign workers were needed. The MOM has come out with new regulations to limit a free flow of foreigners like TGIF. In a way Hsien Loong was arresting the fears of young Singaporeans losing out in the job market to hungrier FTs.

The cries for more university places were also heard and more places will be squeezed out for Singaporeans, with the intake of foreign students frozen at the current level. Yes, he is saying Singaporean First and doing it.

The new media is not giving up with their attacks and demands for a more Singaporean centric govt and policies. The new media was tolerated and permitted to carry on as usual, with bigger space to air their views.

The issuing of 4 COEs to presidential hopefuls is unthinkable and unprecedented. With all the discretion in the hands of the govt, it could easily tighten the screw and push through its endorsed candidate in a walkover by rejecting the other candidates. It was a huge concession, a huge step backwards, to appease the anger of the people.

Shanmugam, the elite and top notched lawyer minister was lambasted and had to beat a retreat from his interpretations of what a EP can or cannot do. Any minister or MP trying to make clever talks were not spared and were hammered relentlessly, including presidential hopeful Tony Tan, once a PM potential. The other once arrogant ministers were no where to been seen, probably trying to live by the new mantra that they are the servants and not the lords of the people.

The retreat by the PAP under Hsien Loong’s leadership is not in disarray. It is a measured retreat, taking a stand here and there not to concede too much ground. All the concessions were in response to the feedbacks from the people, primarily from the new media. The govt may not admit it officially, but there is a big battle going on with the govt taking stock of its positions and responding with changes in its policies.

Hsien Loong is leading the govt with a completely new style from his predecessors. Could he do otherwise if he is going to regain the confidence and trust of the people, and to extend PAP’s rule into the future? Another big concession is waiting to be served, the slashing of ministerial salary, including that of the ceremonial President. How much and how far will Hsien Loong be able to engage the people while on the defensive is still unfolding. The day is young.

mysingaporenews a heavyweight blog

Many bloggers have complained that the speed of this blog is getting too slow. Often it gets stuck or frozen and causing a lot of frustration to users. My apologies. The service provider of this blog is Bloggers and if it is a system fault only Blogger can answer for it.

My feeling is that this blog is becoming a heavyweight, getting too heavy, and unable to move quickly. Now, is this a good sign or a bad sign. Some say good, only heavyweight blog will encounter such problems. Lightweight blogs will be speeding along quite happily with lower traffic, like a free flowing expressway.

I think Firefox is still crusing quite well. Some have suggested Explorer Chrome. I hope it is not due to the generosity of some parties who happily shared introduced some bugs or cookies into the blog. I have removed some pages and links to make it lighter.

For the time being, let's pretend that it is a heavyweight blog and getting too much unwelcome attention: )

Shanmugam is right

In a way, Shanmugam is right in telling the Singaporeans to vote for the President as spelt out by the Constitution and not the President they wished to have. What else can the Singaporeans do? For this presidential election, Singaporeans have no choice. It is written in the Constitution and Singaporeans going to the polls cannot act other wise.

Singaporeans who want to vote for the Office of the President with powers and duties they wished the President would have would have to wait till the next GE. Only in a GE will Singaporeans have a choice to decide what kind of EP they want. And if they are serious of wanting their kind of President, they will need to vote in a different political party to Parliament and with a 2/3 majority. Only then can they change the terms of reference of the EP, even all the criteria of eligibility for the presidential candidates. They can even disband the Presidential Election Council.

Yes, they can do that only if a new party comes into power with a 2/3 majority in 2016. For the time being, everything is fixed. Cannot change except to elect one of the Tans. There is nothing else that Singaporeans can do now.

Questionable numbers

Two sets of numbers in Hsien Loong’s speech don’t really make sense. The first is the number of university places from 9,000 to 12,000 in a decade, from 2001 to 2011. By now every Singaporean should be familiar with the increase in population from 3m to the present 5m plus, or almost a doubling of the population in the last decade or so. The problem is so glaring that our super talents even failed to see and failed to provide for it. Go figure it out.

With such a huge increase in population and the provision of 18% of university places for foreign students, the total increase in places is only 3000 when the population gone up by nearly 3m. Maybe the number is too big and too fast that it is very difficult to grasp even for the most talented.

The other numbers, income ceiling for BTO flats from $8k to $10k and $10K to $12k for Exec condominiums. Superficially looks like a big relaxation. It was reported in the Today paper yesterday that a young couple whose combined income was $11k were feeling lucky. So happy, now qualifies to buy EC. Really?

In the past, when one registered to buy a HDB flat, they used your income from the date of registration. I was told that today, they used the income when one is offered the flat. (Correct me if I am wrong). Get the idea? This is one of the sick causes of why many young people got kicked out of the system when they could not get a flat within a few years.

Would the $11k couple still be qualified in 3 or 4 years time when the flat is built? For such mid level professionals, a couple of thousands of increment over a 3/4 year period is common. And there are two of them. It is quite possible that one year after registering they could see themselves disqualified with income exceeding the $12k.

Such situation will affect many in the $8k to $10k group who are eligible for BTO as well. It will affect the singles as well. So, is the increase/solution really effective, or will it help the singles and young couples or all the flat applicants?

A time to stop contributing to Medisave

As long as one is employed, one continues to contribute to CPFMedisave for as long as one is alive. For self employed, they will have to continue contributing to Medisave even at 100 years or more under the present rules. What is the logic of contributing endlessly when CPF savings can be withdrawn progressively after 55?

The other point is the bottomless limit of Medisave Minimum Sum to be retained, increasing annually. There is a point in life when living is a matter of diminishing returns. There is a point in life when there is no point to perpetuate life when the cost of keeping one alive is unsustainable and for no benefits. When one has lived to a ripe old age, when the legs and hands no longer move, or could barely move, when the body no longer feels, when keeping the body alive is so expensive, living or being alive is suffering, what is the point of having a lot of money in the Medisave when in such a state?

For the rich, when money is not an issue, it is ok. To many, when money is a big issue, it is not ok. Should the govt pass legislation to hold back the people’s savings after 75, 80 or more, so that the money can be used for expensive medical bills while the owner of the money could no longer enjoy even simple food, see nor hear?

There must be a point in time when money is no longer useful, when being kept alive is meaningless. Money is useful when one can still enjoy them, having a good meal, a drink, or moving around, still able to feel the senses.

The legislation must be changed to stop CPF from taking the people’s money after a certain age. A self employed person at 60 is in a much better financial position than one that is unemployed and drawing down on his CPF savings. When one is eligible to withdraw the CPF savings, that should be the age for those who are still economically active to be spared the burden of contributing to Medisave. Their incomes are more valuable when they are young, (not counting wasteful inflation) than when they are no longer physically able.
Savings for Medisave after the CPF withdrawal age must be voluntary. After 55/62, CPF or Medisave contribution must no longer be compulsory but voluntary. Otherwise it is like extorting the old folks, to withhold their money to fatten the nation’s reserves, and which they are unlikely to use them. It is another way of robbing them to pay the hospitals, against their wish when they are mentally unable to decide for themselves.

After certain age, the people must have the right to decide if they want to waste their money to pay the expensive hospital bills. Maybe some are hoping that once the oldies hit dementia, unsound mind, let other people decide on how to spend their huge savings in the Medisave.

It is time the govt review the CPF/Medisave Contributions for the old folks. Stop bullying them and taking their money against their wills.

Financial crisis hitting stock markets

MAS is getting more clouts to deal with errant pushers of toxic products. This sounds like a good thing. What MAS needs to do is to be more proactive and look at the whole financial system as well, especially how stock markets are run around the world, and how dangerous products and systems are allowed to get into the stock market system to run riots and exploited the weaknesses of the system to prey on the small investors.

The exploding financial crisis in the US and Europe is affecting not only toxic products but also the stock market mechanism and processes. The plunge in Dow and Europe market had caused panic and the immediate response by the European govts is to curtail short selling. The damage that short selling could cause, and how this mechanism can be easily abused need no further explanation.

Short selling and many other new devices and systems have been introduced into the stock markets world wide, including high speed trading, derivatives, dark pools, programme tradings, etc that violate the principles of stock trading. The very basis for funds to employ these new gadgetry and systems works against how a stock market should behave. In the long run they will devour everything and lead to a loss of confidence in stock trading and even the destruction of this industry.

They also violated the sacred principles of level playing field and transparency. If stock markets allowed such principles to be transgressed with impunity and explaining them to be part and parcel of modern stock trading, there is a very high possibility that the stock markets would go the way of toxic notes and bonds. They could inflict more severe damages and consequences than just toxic products. The industry could collapse and many people, other than losing their investments, could also lose their jobs.

Eventually the blame will fall back to authority/regulators for allowing all the infringements of good market practices, principles and rules and regulations to be breached and not doing anything to prevent them. When it became another crisis like the minibonds, it will be disastrous and the authority cannot run away from this responsibility by claiming investors went in with eyes wide open. The authority has the responsibility to provide a fair system and level playing field. That is the basic principle and also the rationale for the existence of a regulatory body. The people trust that the stock market are there to provide a level playing field and MAS is there to see to it. Caveat emptor is not acceptable when a system is allowed to operate with unfair advantages to the big funds.

If ever the stock market collapses, someone will have to answer for it. The key questions will be whether there is a level playing field and whether the new trading platform provided the funds with an unfair advantage over the small investors.

Post election Rally

It was a National Day Rally, but the tone of the Rally could be more a result of post election effect. Several key policy positions that were stubbornly held previously were dismissed to history. And the citizens must thank the result of the last GE for such changes to take place. Prior to the GE, several policies were still zealously guarded as the key foundations for growth and development of this ‘work in progress’ nation that is unlikely to become a nation for a long time to come. Many things that were built in the past were allowed to go to waste to accommodate a larger influx of foreign talents to dilute the core values, social behavior and the privileged positions of citizens.

This post election Rally is seeing some changes. Income ceilings to purchase the unaffordable affordable public flats have finally been raised to the displeasure of some. Without the GE, the ceilings will still be unshakable, necessary and the right things to keep.

The influx of foreigners is said to be slowing down. Let’s wait to see some statistics as the official policy is that they are still indispensable to our economic growth. The numbers will tell whether there has been a slow down and how significant is the slow down. Hopefully it is not just cosmetics.

Tertiary education for Singaporeans is seeing some changes in increasing future intakes. But foreign student intake will remain though the percentage is smaller with a bigger base. They should follow the British system, foreign students pay the full fees to subsidise the locals who pay substantially lower than what the former pay. With such a policy, we can afford to build another one or two universities and increase the percentage of foreign students even to 50% and no locals will be complaining.

There was no mention of past students that were disadvantaged by the old policies and had no choice but to go abroad, and with their parents selling their homes to pay for their expensive foreign university education. Neither were anything mentioned about those young people who were forced out of public housing by the old policies and left in the lurch. Whatever was done was over. For university education, there is nothing that can be done for those who already spent their time and money overseas. For housing, many are still left hanging in the air, income exceeded because of not building enough and low income ceilings. Would the govt make amends to accommodate those victims of past policies?

Special education and healthcare also see some changes with more budget or subsidies allocated to these areas. With the growing cost of healthcare, subsidies and help may go some way but only temporary if the runaway cost is not contain, like property prices. Contain and reduce the high cost and no help will be needed.

Maybe another 10% swing in popular votes in the next GE could see more substantial changes to benefit the people. The people must be looking forward to more GEs.

Rise of an Asean military power

Filipinos have taken centre stage the last few days in our social media. It was something like they were shocked by Singapore’s NSmen lacking in morals, loyalty and patriotism. Given the rising stature of the Philippines as a military power in SE Asia, I think the comments made good sense and a good reminder of how far Singapore has been lacking behind the Philippines.

On record, the Philippines have the reputation of being the only Asean country that could take on China. They have arrested Chinese seamen, removed Chinese territorial markers in the Spratly Islands belonging to China. And they have warned China that they would fire at Chinese naval ships in the area.

Now where on earth can you find such a garang country, other than the US, to talk to China in such a threatening manner? Yes, only a rising military power like the Philippines could act in this way, fearless, with a strong sense of morals and patriotism. This is something that Singaporeans got to learn from the Filipinos.

The latest is that the Philippines Navy is buying a patrol craft to defend its islands against China while China is playing with its new toy, an aircraft carrier.

If you don’t agree with me on the facts that I used to support my case, you must give it to the Filipinos for their confidence and guts to tell the Chinese off. Great nations and great people start by thinking they are great and believe in it.

One of Singapore’s best policy today is to add the good genes of foreign talents into our degenerating and depleting gene pool. Since independence, the quality of our talents is going down hill to the extent that many CEO positions in our native organisations must be helmed by foreigners. Maybe this is one of the reasons why we are welcoming more Filipino FTs to our shores to share their good genes. And our little children will also be taught the great values of the Filipinos by the maids.

At the end of the day our gene pool will be enhanced and perhaps we could also make claims to the Spratly Islands. There is oil out there and would be good for our economy. If the Chinese objects, we can also threaten to arrest their seamen as a show of force. I think we have a few more patrol craft than the Philippines, and if they could stand up to China, we should be able to do better, if only our NSmen have more morals, loyalty and patriotism.

Presidential candidate Tan Kin Lian

Tan Kin Lian speaking at Speakers Corner yesterday on his election platform.


The news so far on Tan Kin Lian is on his departure from NTUC Income. Kin Lian has his version for leaving and NTUC has come out with their version that told a different story. So far the exchange has been quite civil and no one of senior positions has been going around take buses or taxis or checking on personal claims to cast doubts on him.

What is important at this point in time, like all other president hopefuls, is that the PEC has found them to be men of integrity, good reputation and character and is fit to be the president of the country. The disagreement on the how and why that he resigned is not an issue of misconduct or mismanagement. At top management level, many a time the reasons for a separation can be quite dubious, controversial or a matter of chemistry. Many were there because of political appointment as many other candidates are equally qualified for top management positions but only a few were chosen. Often it is always the person who left was seen as the loser but never a victim. And the people who called the shot carried on as if they had done no wrong, like god. Of course the truth could be otherwise.

Kin Lian's strength is drawn primarily from his fight for the victims of the minibond saga. He volunteered to champion the cause of the losers. And he made a difference. Without his leadership at a time when a leader was badly needed, the victims would not have gotten a better deal. He challenged the authority when no one dared. This is a very pertinent point in a society that is engulfed with fear of authority. And it took a man of great courage and sacrifice to stand out at a time like that crisis.

As an elected President, most of the functions are ceremonial. The EP will be called upon to act exactly in a time of great crisis. It is only in those time that a president is tested and he needs to draw on all his courage, wisdom, integrity and duty to the people, the average citizens, to stand up to a govt that could be turning into a rogue. Any presidential hopeful must give the people an indication that when pushed to a corner, he would stand up and fight back.

The EP's job is toughest in the toughest time. Having tea and cosying up to the PM to make a good impression and hopefully gain some respect from the PM and then his listen hear is of the least concern of the people. It is when he is called upon to act strongly, that is the moment that he is being paid for, to defend the interest of the people, to prevent the reserves from being squandered by a rogue govt. Trying to be nice to influence a rogue govt is a foolish suggestion.

In this election, particular to Kin Lian, would some irreprehensible bums be everywhere smelling for shit? All the candidates have remarked that they would want to run their campaign with dignity. Would someone hit below the belt or pull a file from the dustbin to dust around? Employment records are confidential documents. Personal encounters and discussions in board meetings are confidential and privileged information. Would they be aired to score points just because they are juicy or could be used to smear a character? No one would forgive a padre for divulging a confession of a sinner.

The people are watching again to see which party would take the first shot to diminish this contest for the highest office of the country into another slug fest in the longkangs, where all respectability, dignity and honour were thrown to the wind. Would there be people holding high positions, willing to lower themselves and their own honour, to do shameful things to mess around with the candidates?

China’s new toy

China just rolled out its aircraft carrier for a sea trial. Its spokesman told the press that the ship is for training and research. The US has 11 aircraft carriers fully operational for decades. And it is in a state of confusion at the sight of the single non operational Chinese aircraft carrier. It does not know what the Chinese aircraft carrier is for and is asking the Chinese to explain. It also said any explanation would be good enough, just tell them.

The Chinese spokesman’s official press statement that the carrier is for training and research seems to miss the Americans. Maybe when he spoke in Chinese the Americans thought it was a coded message and trying to decode them and this will take time to read.

What I think is that the Chinese are seeing the Americans having fun with their 11 aircraft carriers and thought it would be fun too to have a few. And they could then fly their spy planes along the American coasts like what the Americans are doing along the Chinese coasts. Then both countries would have fun playing ball. Won’t the Americans love that, to play ball with the Chinese along American coasts?

Now why did the Chinese want to build aircraft carriers? I am getting as dumb as the Americans. I just cannot figure out why. Maybe I should ask the Chinese also and any answer will do.

President Tan will move in at the Istana

By next month Singaporean will see a new President Tan at the Istana. All four Tans, Tony Tan, Tan Cheng Bock, Tan Kin Lian, Tan Jee Say, are in the running after being issued the COE. They are found to be men of integrity, good character and reputation and have the prerequisites to carry out the duties of the President as provided in the constitution.

The granting of COEs to four candidates is another milestone in our political history. This is not so much as having four Tans running for the office but a sign of more opening up of the political structure. The fear of the PEC applying the criteria stringently to limit the number of candidates to those that the ruling party favours proved unfounded. It speaks well of both the govt and the PEC. No one can now point a finger at any of them for playing foul and the voters will have a good spread of candidates to choose from.

It is now up to the candidates to promote themselves to the people to make an informed choice of who they want. Each has his own merits and drawbacks and when come to casting the vote, it could be a tough choice for many and may the best man wins.

Having set the pace for more openness and more eligible candidates to contest the office of the EP, I hope this will be the last time that the restrictive criteria of the Act are allowed to stand and that it be amended to widen the pool of eligible candidates. Integrity, dignified, respectability are essential characteristics of a presidential candidate. However, the stringent criteria of being a top civil servant or CEO of a $100m organisation must go as they are too restrictive and elitist. In a way, the disqualification of the majority of the citizens to run for the presidency is unconstitutional as it is robs the right of every citizen to stand as a candidate for the highest office of the country.

The role of the EP and the criteria attached are incompatible and need a thorough review. There is an expectation that the presidential candidates have to be dignified, stately looking and with good stature. This could easily be overcome by a PR agency or some help from Mediacorp makeup artist.

The second part, man of good character, integrity and reputation is a harder act to follow. What it wants to deny are thieves, wife beaters, liars, cheats and people who are above politics, that is, no politicking, scheming and fixing other politicians. Would these automatically bar all politicians from becoming president? The most ideal candidate should be a secular priest that is acceptable to all. Unfortunately there is no such animal around.

The third part about a top notch permanent secretary or CEO of a large corporation is asking too much. If a C grader like George Bush Jr is qualified to be the executive President of the USA, why is there a need for such a highly qualified candidate who is more ceremonial plus a small custodial role? Think Nelson Mandela, would someone of his background be qualified?

A EP does not exist nor act alone. He is always advised by the Cabinet and a presidential advisory team. What is needed is a man with a reasonable education and good common sense and an ability to understand what is presented to him to put his rubber stamp on it.

It will be good to move away from the past stringent criteria that are not seen as objective and fair. Review the criteria and the eligibility and not rob the rights of every citizen from aspiring to the highest office of the country.

Kopitiam Movement

The Americans have their Tea Party Movement to fight for issues that are important to them. Without trying to reinvent the wheel, we may want to call the fight by netizens as a Kopitiam Movement in general, for the good of Singaporeans. There are so many issues that netizens have raised but are scattered all over cyberspace and often lost in time. I would like to sum up a few key issues that a Kopitiam Movement can stand for and to stay the course.

1. To reclaim the rights of the people to decide the size of the population and new citizens.
2. To reclaim the rights of the people to their money in the CPF and Medisave.
3. To reclaim the rights to have a say in how essential services like transport, medical services and education are run for the benefits of citizens.
4. To reclaim the rights to limit the building and sales of properties to foreigners.
5. To reclaim the rights of every citizen to stand for the office of the President.

More missions can be added on to this Movement in the course of time. I will post a window on this blog as a reminder of this Movement and what it is fighting for.

A Kopitiam Movement does not need an official leader like the Wear Black Movement. The Movement is identified by what it stands for and anyone can push for the cause or add new agenda to the cause. It is a Movement without forms but with certain identifiable objectives.

A fearful lesson from London

The rioting continues in England and spreading. The police seem to be at a lost or treating the rioters too leniently that the country is turning into a state of anarchy. The underprivileged are taking things in their own hands, to take whatever they want, and at the same time to burn and destroy. They are the underclass in a first world and rich country.

We have our underclass, not so much as the poorer citizens who are really not in such a dire state. What we have in our midst are the half a million foreign workers, maybe more, that are hungry and unpredictable. What if they run amok, and thinking that they could loot and take from our well stocked stores of goodies?

I believe we have contingency plans to deal with such a situation. But it will be very messy. A rampage through Orchard Road is unthinkable. 500,000 hungry workers on the loose are uncontrollable. And many are living with our people, in rental homes. A couple of them running wild can be very destructive too.

Do we believe that the lawlessness will not happen here? Or do we believe that we can handle such a situation? Bringing in the super rich has a different set of problems. Bringing in the poor workers can become a disaster. Can we afford to push our luck and hope that nothing of such a magnitude happens here?

Please don't make our foreign workers angry.

Not everything can be compromised

We have spent 46 years to stew a broth, today some of the newcomers are complaining that the broth smells, and they don’t like the smell. We have spend several generations, a lot of blood, sweat and tears, and the newcomers said they are not happy and wanted us to change, to accommodate and adapt to their new ways, or even adopt their new habits. And some silly Singaporeans are telling our native Singaporeans to be tolerant and to appease the newcomers. (No wonder they even dared to beat up Singaporeans in broad daylight in Clementi).

I am referring to the cooking of curry in HDB estate and a foreigner complained, and the local mediator told our native Singaporean to give way to make the new citizen happy. The mediator must have been briefed on how to deal with such matters. There must be an official position and the mediator must be following that official position. For racial harmony, it is always good to compromise, even on things that we have done for the last 46 years, never mind, make the newcomers feel welcome and make their lives more pleasant. Can that be?

Is this the official position? I wanted to pui. For so many years, we have been emphasizing on racial and religious harmony, and we have accepted certain social norms and practices that we are comfortable to live by. This incident is threatening the very fundamental principles that we have built on. This must be put to and end.

New citizens must not be allowed to challenge and demand that we change to appease them. If they think they can get away with their demands, soon we they will be telling us that they want their own language, custom, newspaper, play area, and TV channels as well. They may want their languages to be taught in our schools or be spoken in Parliament.

The people of Singapore must take a stand to protect what we have built and not allowed any newcomers to suka suka change them. We welcome them since our govt wanted them so much, but they must accept what we hold sacred. We cannot let them change the status quo, the social norms, and undermine the mutual tolerance among the various people. The newcomers must adapt to our way of life, not the other way round. Is there anyone telling Singaporeans to adapt to the newcomers way of life? Now what is the govt going to do about it?

PS. There is a simple Simon approach to solving social problems. Compromise, no need to bother about right or wrong, as long as the two parties don’t give problem it is settled. I have experienced this attitude in the mediation of minor disputes. I had a bad experience with a crazy neighbor who came to my floor to threaten my family. I was told to stay indoor when he appeared. I was telling myself, I will do anything I can, even to break his legs if I have to. My freedom and safety of my family were compromised by a mad man and I was told to hide behind closed doors.