SMRT wanting to raise fare?

What is the purpose of this fare raising exercise? To increase profits, to buy equipment, to buy trains, to increase salaries or bonuses?

There could be some justifications to increase salaries as part of the annual increments and to off set some inflationary cost. This cost could easily be absorbed by the profits from its operations. As for bonuses, the workers could still deserve the usual but for top management, how many think they should deserve more than the normal? Working extra to solve all the problems they created cannot be justifications for more bonuses for working so hard. Management cannot be rewarded for self inflicted injury.

How much is needed and to be raised from the fare increases for capital expenditure? $100m enough? Or is it $200m?

Didn’t the govt already give a cash injection of $1.1b for capex? This is equivalent to 5 or 10 times the expected funds to be raised, assuming its target is between $100m to $200m. Even if the fare hike is to raise $1.1b, this is already given. Or is the SMRT thinking of raising more after the $1.1b windfall?

This is a private company with the public as shareholders. The shareholders are as good as being given a cash top up of $1.1b and they shouldn’t be complaining. In fact the public non shareholders should be asking why the SMRT/shareholders should be rewarded with the public’s money for failing to provide a satisfactory service in recent years. The shareholders have been amply rewarded and SMRT can’t be thinking of raising more funds to account to them and reward them with more dividends.

A $1.1b windfall still not enough? Even if it has to go into the red this year, it should accept it for their less than satisfactory service compares to past years. Oh, the $1.1b not counted. This is equivalent to how many years of profts? This sum has saved SMRT from diverting a big sum of money for its capital expenditure. The rest of the expenditure are chicken feat, aren’t they

TRE finding a formula for self destruct?

I am unable to gain access to TRE this morning. From what I have gathered, you need to pay to get in. I hope I am wrong. If this is the formula that TRE has chosen to finance its operation, I think it will meet a premature death soon.
 
The game plan in cyberspace is quite different. Many great sites are all free access to viewers. They have to find other sources of revenue, mainly advertisers or selling some products. The monetary contribution is always voluntary. TRE may want to set up a team to canvas for advertisements or seek the experts on how to generate some income.
 
Even in a blog like mine that is quite well received, I would not dare to ask for contributions. Even lifting the fingers to exercise, to buy me kopi (OPM some more) is often difficult and too much an inconvenience, or simply too easy to forget.
 
TRE should leave the monetary contributions to those who are willing. There will be some who will contribute quite generously but many would not for some other reasons. There are many students or non working adults and retirees reading the articles and may not be able to contribute. Turning them off would reduce a big chunk of the readership and that is very bad.
 
TRE, are you reading this? I hope I am wrong and you are not doing so. Richard, what saying you? Or you have a mole telling you this is the best way to raise fund? Remember WTSAWTD? The mole will not tell you that TRE will be obsolete, will be history. You are not the only site in cyberspace doing the same thing.

WTSAWTD

This is a slight variation from WYSIWYG. WTSAWTD means What They Said And What They Don’t. A couple of years back, we were told that big funds would be invited to trade in the stock market, to provide liquidity so that the market will be active and investors can buy or sell easier. Trading activities would increase and good business for everyone. Bid sizes were also reduced for the same purpose. Expensive stocks would be split to make it easier for the small traders to buy one or two units at lower capital outlay, ie more business also. Computer tradings would be introduced and facilitated to improve liquidity and volumes. Everything was done for the good of the market and small investors. Then lunch breaks were even removed and the carrot, more trading hours mean more business, at least another ten per cent increase in business. Derivatives are good, sophisticated instruments for the sophisticated fools. With all these changes, the stock market would fly to the moon.
 
All this has come to past. The volumes get thinner and thinner. The small traders were wiped out, sent to the cleaners. Who made the money was obvious. The stock market is a zero sum game. One makes another must lose.
 
Many good things were said and many not good things were not said. No one talks about how dangerous the big funds and their computers were to the small traders. No one says anything about redesigning the trading system to facilitate the computer traders to clean up the small traders. No one says anything about the unfair advantages of the computer traders and the trading system against the small traders. No one says that no lunch break was to allow the computers to keep trading without having to square and reopen their positions. No one says smaller bid size allows the computers to trade at lower cost and can move faster or can manipulate the stocks more efficiently against the small traders. No one says the losers were the small and big traders not using computers. No one says anything about who are the absolute winners in the market. No one says the number of genuine traders in the market has drastically been reduced and that if the computers stop trading, the market will come to a stand still or turn into a grave yard.
 
No one is going to say that the market is dying. And they are still saying the market is doing very well, in the pink of health. And to make it looks pinker, bring in the makeup artist for the dead, HFT will be introduced to increase volume and liquidity again. Now, what are they saying about HFT and are they not saying about HFT this time?

Health of citizens is health of nation

We need more babies. Our TFR is falling and this is bad. Why is it bad and why do we need more babies? It is to replace the ageing population and to keep the GDP growing, period. Can we not let the population fall naturally and let the GDP shrink proportionally? Cannot, must have more babies to provide the workforce to keep the economy healthy. Babies are important to the economy. Then why should bringing up babies be the responsibility of their parents, to pay for their growing up, medical and social expenses, including education? If the govt or country needs the babies, why shouldn’t the govt pay a portion of their upbringing, including healthcare?
 
There is a 20 to 25 years of cost to grow a baby into a productive worker to feed the economy. No babies, no workers, no economy. The babies are important and so are their growing and productive years. The only time they are less productive, not useless to the economy, is when they are in their retirement years. But not working does not mean not contributing to the economy. They consume goods and services and have to pay for them. They are still contributing to the economy.
 
If the people are so important to the govt and the economy why shouldn’t the govt take care of their health and well being? Without a healthy population, there is no healthy economy. Actually, like it or not, ultimately the people pay for their health and well being. There is no other way, but only a matter of nuances. Either the people pay directly or the govt pays from the taxes collected. The taxes are public money, not someone’s money, not OPM but TPM, The People’s Money.
 
To put things simply, the govt needs the people to be healthy to contribute to the economy, to produce goods and services, to consume goods and services, to pay taxes and to pay the thing called the govt. Why should the people pay for their good health to feed the economy and to pay the govt to be the govt? It is the govt and the system that needs the people, not the other way round.
 
The prevalent thinking now is to make the people pay for their healthcare directly. Can other ways be found? The govt will claim that it has no money to pay except to increase taxes. That unfortunately is true. So how? Ask the people who are being paid millions for the solution lah. So simple also dunno. Pay them millions for what? Heheh, they will tell you the best solution is for you to pay. Problem solved.
 
Gambling income for healthcare
 
We don’t have the two casinos before. Can the taxes from the casinos be applied to provide healthcare for the people? Why should this new and additional income be spread to other uses? Why not devote this source of income to care for the people’s medical well being? Why cannot? And if not enough, why can’t we take some from the Tote Board? The health of the people is key to the health of the economy and to generate revenue to pay the people called the govt.
 
Self Insured to take away insurance cost
 
The other point is to self insure at the national level. No need to pay to a huge organization and staff to manage an insurance scheme. No need to worry about paying for the middle men and profits for the shareholders and fat bonuses to the top management. This should do away with the unnecessary insurance cost.
 
National Healthcare must be basic and limited
 
A national health scheme must be limited in nature, nothing extravagant. Such a scheme must be limited to C class equivalent of services and care. Anyone who wants better services must pay for it. And it should all be about healthcare and not cosmetic care or frivolous medical treatments. The medical professionals can list out what to be excluded from the scheme. The medicine and equipment can also be generic if available. Anything better should be over and above and be paid by the patients that demanded for them.
 
Lower cost to those who need healthcare/Pay for use
 
The operating cost of a national healthcare scheme should avoid the costly frills of extravagance. The people can then be at ease of being assured of a basic healthcare plan and they need only to pay a small fee, at outpatient poly clinics or when hospitalized. There is No need to pay upfront whether they need or do not need through insurance premiums or minimum sums in the Medisave. Free the people’s savings for more immediate needs. A national healthcare scheme should not be entirely free to avoid waste, but not so prohibitive and costly. With the bulk of the cost coming from the casinos, the amount to be paid by the patients on needs basis can be greatly reduced.
 
Option to pay for more
 
The people would also have the choice of paying for higher level of services and the frills that come with the higher fees. What should come under the national health scheme and what should not can be worked out by the professionals.
 
Recompute healthcare costing/No ransom from the sick
 
Another area to review is the computation of cost. As a national health system, items like land cost need not be included or at least not marked to market. Without a profit motive, the cost should be more of consumption, recurring operating cost and cost of replacement. No market forces or mechanism nonsense.

These are just some general thoughts for input into a national healthcare scheme. The health of the people is the concern and interest of the state and not just the individuals. The details can be worked out by the people who are paid to do the job. At the moment the minds seem fixated to a particular model already. Can the authorities explore the unbeaten path, to take a plunge into uncharted waters? No insurance premiums to be paid up front, (paid by gambling revenues) free the people from their worries of huge medical bills without ripping their pockets by all kinds of funny schemes that boils down to the same thing…make the people pay?
 
Give people the choice
 
Give the people the CHOICE to pay, not the choice on how much and when to pay or compulsory to pay with eyes fixed on the money in the Medisave of citizens? A basic national healthcare system supported by gambling revenue and without having to tax on everyone who may not need to use it must be the way going forward. The people cannot be held captive by insurance and insurance and insurance and nothing else. The people cannot be forced to pay and pay and pay, compulsory some more with no option to opt out.
 
What is the point of paying out of this world salary if they cannot come out with out of this world solution? Is it too much for the people to expect or even demand out of this world solution? Some of the features mentioned above are not even out of this world, just plain commonsense and better utilization/allocation of funds with no wasteful payments into a nation wide insurance scheme when every daft Sinkie is made to pay like Santa Claus. Paying insurance is like making everyone pay for a few who are in need. We need a scheme where the sick need not be bankrupt by hefty hospital bills and the healthy need not have to pay. Are we so bankrupt of ideas? Shall we send a few teams overseas to learn from those that are not so talented than our top talents?
 
See, no need to make everyone pay insurance premiums, no need to lock people’s savings in the Medisave Minimum Sum scheme, no need to waste manpower to have a big organization to collect and manage the money. Unless of the course the whole objective is to take more money from the people, another devious taxation under a ‘for your own good’ scheme, then no need to waste time on feedbacks or CONversation with the people. Just make Medishield Life COMPULSORY. PERIOD.

DBS doing National Service

‘Thousands of HDB homeowners are turning to DBS Bank for a mortgage product that guarantees savings.
 
Those who took up a POSB HDB loan when it was launched in April could be looking at savings of as much as $1,600 by next month, calculations from DBS showed.…
 
The first POSB HDB loan pilot launch – where homebuyers enjoyed a floating-rate loan with interest capped below the HDB concessionary rate for 10 years – was fully sold.
The bank is now into its second offering, which charges the same rate but for eight years, said Ms Lui.
 
The current POSB HDB loan charges for the first eight years the three-month Sibor (Singapore interbank offered rate) plus 1.38 per cent, capped at the CPF Ordinary Account rate. The current CPF Ordinary Account rate is 2.50 per cent.
Thereafter, the loan charges three-month Sibor plus 1.48 per cent. The September three-month Sibor is 0.374 per cent.
 
The HDB concessionary loan now charges 2.60 per cent, which consists of 0.10 per cent plus the CPF Ordinary Account rate of 2.50 per cent. Based on the three-month Sibor of 0.38 per cent, borrowers who switch from the HDB concessionary loan will pay a lower interest rate of 1.75 per cent.
 
For a homebuyer refinancing from the HDB in April, based on a loan of $400,000 and 25-year tenor, the potential savings over six months amount to $1,684.
And should interest rates rise over the next eight years, DBS guarantees that it will be capped at the CPF Ordinary Account rate of 2.50 per cent or 0.10 per cent below the HDB concessionary rate….’
 
The above is posted by Thoughts of a Cynical Investor in his blog. What is obnoxious is that bank housing loan rates have been below the rates charged by HDB for years and why is HDB is charging 2.6%? Making money from daft citizens is so easy as long as they don’t complain.

WP’s frightening silence

The Workers Party has skipped many controversial social and political issues with a stony silence. Many critics have accused the WP for opting out, for losing its balls, and choosing the easy way out by keeping silence. This non committal strategy is frowned upon by those who expect the biggest opposition party to take the ruling party on important issues, at the very least. And many have expressed disappointment with the WP, some even claiming that it has been bought over by the ruling party.
 
Within a matter of days, two outspoken MPs from the ruling party have lashed out at the WP for their reticence on the hijab issue. They accused the WP for sitting on the fence by not taking sides and leaving the PAP to make a stand that is not well received by the Muslim community. It will cost the PAP dearly in votes from the community. This has made the PAP fuming mad as it cannot win on this issue.
 
WP’s silence is the best strategy for the moment. Let the PAP confront the Muslim community alone and take the blow. WP only stands to gain by being neutral. The strategy works if it can extract strong reactions from the PAP. And judging from the frustrating comments by Indranee and Hri Kumar, the WP is not only scoring without lifting a finger, it puts the PAP in a very defensive and uncomfortable position and feeling the full weight bearing on them. The attack also proves that WP has not been bought over or has sold out on its political mission.
 
The strategist in Low Thia Khiang is showing itself again. The PAP has been rattled and could not do anything about it except to provoke the WP to stand up and be shot at. You can bet the WP would stay even lower and let PAP face the wrath of the Malay community all alone.
 
Who says a political party must always kpkb to be effective? WP’s silence is not only effective, but also very unnerving.

There was a time – Jean Yeo

This is a six part series produced by Jean and Pedro and shown on Channel 5 at 9 pm every Monday. Tonight was the first half of the 1964 racial riot in Singapore. The next half will be shown on ncxt Monday. I am not sure how many of you have seen this episode and the other episodes of early Singapore.

I was in Secondary Two then. Still a bit young to really understand what was going on but could not miss the fear and tension of those days. My memory was still vivid on that night, in a coolie keng in Borneo Road. This was a row of double storey prewar houses with 9 units attached together and an open verandah on the upper floor. One unit was occupied by a lone Malay family, two by Indians, one of which was an Indian coolie keng. The rest were Chinese families. Though only nine units, there were many Chinese families as each family occupied just one room with the exception of three units. There were several rows of shophouses along the adjacent Nelson Road. The nearest cluster of Malay residents was in a govt quarters at Miri Road about 50 metres away. It was a mixture of Malays, Indians and a few Chinese families.

I was sitting there with more than ten Chinese coolies, all male singles from China in their 40s and 50s. Remembered them looking at me, an excited little boy in their midst. They did not say anything to me. They were very calm and did not seem to want to do anything or were bothered by the news of the racial riots in Geylang. No weapons were prepared, but as coolies there were many wooden poles under the long beds if needed. There were no talks of going after the nearest Malay kampong in Radin Mas a km away.

Outside there were movements of people. The gangsters had a job cut out for them. They became the much needed guardians of the neighbourhood. Over the few days of curfew, nothing really happened in the neighbourhood. Not a single incident. The Malay family were not disturbed at all. But one could imagine their fear living in a Chinese neighbourhood.

I think this was the normal state of affairs in many areas when the non Malays were the majority. The clashes were in Malay majority areas in Kampong Glam, Geylang and Eunos areas. This could explain that the riots were likely to be incited by foreigners.

The only event that came pretty close was the death of a woman that I happened to know. I used to call on them to collect night soil removal fees, the bucket system that we provided as a side income to some of the households in kampong Radin Mas. It was weeks later that news of her killing reached us. That dreadful night her family members heard her scream just a little distance from their attap hut. It was not the right thing to be brave to rush out. They collected her body the next morning on a path leading to their home. By then we had stopped providing the service and I no longer run all over the kampong to collect the monthly fees.

The tragic event of 1964 was called a racial riot in Singapore. The non Malays clashed with the rioters and fought for their lives. And there were the presence of impartial law enforcers to keep everything in control. Though we were in Malaysia, the patrols were conducted by teams of mixed racial origins officers to ensure that every incident was evenly handled. Within the local communities there were really no bad blood or deep rooted baggages to allow the riots to be blown out of proportion.

The riots in neighbouring Malaysia and Indonesia were misnomers. They were killing the Chinese in those days, with the partial law on the side of the killers. Many Chinese were brutally killed in both countries that the Chinese media termed the events as ‘pai hua’ or killing of Chinese. They were not racial riots but highly racist mobs out to kill the Chinese.

This dark part of our history came and gone and hopefully would not be repeated again. The HDB policy of allocating flats to different ethnic groups to prevent any concentration of a particular race had its origin from this tragic past. We must not take the small discomfort and inconvenience of such policies lightly and think it is ok to remove them without taking heed to our history. What happened in 1964 was nothing compares to the events in Malaysia and Indonesia that were best not spoken. The wounds have healed but the ugly scars are still there.

It is worth watching the second part of the 1964 riots next Monday and to hear the personal encounters of the people who are still living with us. We must learn from our past, our history and our mistakes and not to let it ever be repeated. We must not be complacent to what can go wrong once again. Never take racial harmony for granted.

Daft Sinkies will lose their country

The Malays in Malaysia will never lose their country. They are fully conscious and politically aware that they are the owners of their land. The daft Chinese almost lost China when the country was ruled by a minority tribe, the Manchus, who cared more of their tribe’s interest than the interest of the bigger country China, chose to protect their own interest. As long as they could preserve their dynasty, even just the forbidden city, the rest of China can go to the foreigners. When the Chinese people did not believe in themselves, lost confidence and faith, did not believe that they own the country, they just give up. Foreigners were everywhere in China, with more rights than the citizens.
China was lucky that a new elite emerged to gather the lost Chinese together, to politicize them again, to renew their faith and patriotic love in their country, to take back their country. The rest is history.
 
Singapore is at a juncture when the lost sheep is led by blind shepherds that only believe in selling the wool to make more money. They would sell the sheep and the pen if the money is good. No one cares about the country and the people. It is laissez faire, and money can buy anything. The rich are intoxicated with the money they have made, and everyone is trying to make more money, selling land and properties and whatever they have, for more money.
 
Sinkies no longer think about country. Sinkies no longer believe that they own this country. Sinkies were told to share this country with any Tom, Dick and Harry. It is like lelong, come all and take all, come and feast. Whoever can and willing, can take and have everything. There is no ownership, no country, just a hotel.
 
While the rich Sinkies are merrymaking and laughing to the banks, the average Sinkies are lost, without a leader to lead. They simply give up, not fighting anymore. Don’t know how to fight or what to fight for. If Sinkies do not think they own this piece of land and allow others to take it away from them by default, they deserve to lose their country.
 
While they remain apathetic and disinterested, others are not. There are many waiting and scheming to take this island from the daft and pathetic Sinkies. And the good part, the daft Sinkies don’t even know that it is happening. The world is so innocent and beautiful to the daft Sinkies. They could not see the sinister hand of the real world at work. Their island home is slowly slipping away from their limp fingers. Their country is being taken away right before their eyes, wide shut.
 
Sinkies better wake up before it is too late. This is their only home, their country. Lose it and you will become boat people. The rich will fly away to be rich in other countries. Those left behind will not go on to live a life like what they have today, if they lose their country. And they will lose it, under a rogue govt of bad leaders that think of nothing but their self interest.

Do not adopt a tiada apa attitude and let this country become a hotel.

The insanity of the rich Singaporeans

Yes, Sinkies are rich, high income and high spending. Many are worth half a million or more just be housing alone. But one thing the Sinkies did not bargain for or fail to realise, the money in their pockets, savings and bank accounts flies away faster than the money of their peers in the neighbouring countries. Our money cannot be kept for too long and keep flowing out and many would have serious problems on retirements, selling houses and flats to get by.

Our neighbours may not have big incomes, but the money they have somehow stay with them much longer. And when they look forward to retirement, they have no fear of losing their homes, the homes they bought and lived for their whole lives, just to have some money to get by.

Be careful with your money. They are here today, gone today. One can have hundreds of thousands wiped out without knowing what is happening. This is going to be the shocking reality that rich Sinkies would have to come to terms with. The bulk of the ‘rich’ sinkies, notably the average living in public housing, will realise that the equation will come to nought when they reach the end of their life journey. In a way it is a zero sum game, every cent planned to be used for just this life time. Nothing left in their CPF or savings, not even their HDB flat when it is game over.

The ability to plan to such details to perfection is really an amazing art of ‘gum gum ho’. The precision is an engineering feat unmatched anywhere in the world.

The New Heroes – A New Chapter

The most unlikely new hero in this queer little city state is an anonymous masked man infamously called The Messiah. He hacked into the websites of public institutions, including the PMO and the Istana. And some people clapped and called him the Robin Hood of the oppressed. He has been unmasked as James Raj, a drug addict on the run, and the hacker that threatened the govt. This revelation still did not arouse a barrage of attacks and criticisms for what he had done which everyone would admit was not a proper thing to do.

The myth and mystery of the mask have been removed. In the eyes of the law, he is a criminal waiting trial and may serve terms behind bars. He is on the wrong side of the law. Then out of the blue came this ‘Support James Raj, victim of the Singapore Govt’. This is an article appearing in TRS and authored by Andy Xian Wong. Wow! This is another challenge to the govt, no longer anonymous. This is a very brave act indeed, literally condoning a wrongful act.

Nevermind, my discourse is about the making of New Heroes in this uncertain time. A hacker attacking and threatening the govt is received by quite a number of people as a hero. And he is not the only one. Many that were tarred and feathered are now seen as heroes in the eyes of some quarters of the population.

M Ravi, the famous and one and only human rights lawyer in this city is also worshipped as another new hero. He has taken up many high profile and politically tainted cases for the underdogs, motivated not by money but by a sense of justice and fair play. He has been victorious so far. Despite the saga when he was almost bundled into the Institute of Mental Health and not seeing daylight. Some learned people had claimed that he was mad or suffering from mental illness that made him unfit to be a lawyer, he is now standing taller than before. He is definitely not mad and every inch a lawyer, and a righteous one.

The victims of the Marxist Conspiracy and Operation Cold Store have written their stories and are seen with a different light. Dr Poh Soo Kai is quietly acknowledged as another hero in the hearts of many Singaporeans, and so were his comrades.

And there is Chee Soon Juan and his SDP. Charged in court several times, faced bankruptcy, branded, dishonest for claiming a few dollars more on taxi fares and using university postage instead of paying for himself, he is being revived, and gaining more popularity and support from the people. His party is growing and he is becoming more credible and a political force to be reckoned with in the next GE.

And of course there was the famous JBJ. His name will be forever etched in the history books of this city as the most tenacious politician that would not fall. He took all the body blows and stood up again and again. He fought a political career and lost everything, but gained everything in respect from the people. He is an icon of sort.

A new chapter is being written with New Heroes in the making. Salted fish resurrected. Many salted fish will be resurrected as the new heros of this queer city. They need not be scholars or eminent doctors or lawyers with a string of degrees. They are the ordinary citizens, the ordinary Singaporeans who care for this country and its citizens, the Singaporeans. They are standing up to take on an onerous and arduous task of reclaiming and reconstructing the country and the lives of its citizens, to write a new chapter of its history.

Fantasies Series

One of my latest creation under the Fantasies Series.

Do you know why Malaysia refused to introduce National Service?

I think we all know the answer. No country will train and arm people who are suspects or potential enemies of the state. The Japanese had an immaculate and ambitious long term plan to conquer the world by sending their people as migrants overseas, to China and Southeast Asia and as far as the USA. They took several decades before they called on these Japanese in their new countries to rise to serve their Empire against their host nations.

I dunno whether we are too smart to the verge to becoming stupid, or too gullible and trusting to foreigners that we welcomed so many with our legs wide open and waiting for something to shaft into the hole. Foreigners are given citizenships so easily and so happy to make them serve in our armed forces. We lost two of our brightest boys in Sydney in the hands of a new citizen.

The latest, we want foreigners, PRs, to serve in our volunteer army, to be trained to handle weapons and taught the art of war, believing that they would not turn against us. They could be many sleepers now in the armed forces, all appearing so loyal and obedient, perfect new citizens. Some may even be in positions of high commands.

We are truly unique in our psychic, so naïve and gullible of foreigners, the unknown elements, like the daft citizens welcoming strangers into their homes to look after their young and old. So many families have met with tragic ends. Is the risk worth taking, so foolishly? We do not believe is guarding against strangers. We want to integrate them to be one of us. I think training and taming the tigers would be a safer bet.

Rich communists

This is a recent photo of some Chinese villagers in the Northeastern part of China. (Picture credit to China Daily). They were teachers and students standing in front of a school. China is hit by falling admission of students in the village schools as the young migrated to the big cities. What is nice to note is the clothing they are wearing, the warm clothings and shoes. The school building is also quite new. This is 2013.

In the 50s and 60s, and even 70s, looking at their photos was like looking into poverty. I still have some black and white photos of my relatives in the 70s, in their best for photo taking. The children were barefooted and the adults, at best, were wearing slippers or sandals. The shirts and dresses were worse than the cheap sales in our pasar malam. 

Those were the days that we even had to send food and western medicine to them.  They have come a very long way, from abject poverty, without pride or dignity, to become the second largest economy in the world and challenging the Americans with the number of billionaires and millionaires. This is the new China, a very rich communist country. 

What can $4.3b buy?

 Last few days we were all marvelling at the new $4.3b wonders in Marina South. There were some comparisons as to what $4.3b could buy other than a 5km stretch of roads albeit underground and under the sea. This kind of thing is something daft Sinkies have heard of for the first time. It was touted as a great engineering feat, maybe can rival the pyramids. The tourists will soon be landing on this city to ogle at this 8^th Wonders of the World.

$4.3b can buy something like 43,000 of the latest buses for public transport, or 10,000 units of 5 rm HDB flats. This morning I was enlightened by a better idea on what $4.3b can buy. India has taken delivery of its latest aircraft carrier, an old Russian refit, at a cost of $2.9b. This ship can carry 30 fighter aircraft on board and a crew of 2,000. With a bit more we can have the whole complements of aircraft as well. And if we buy a few junk banks or junk stocks less, we could easily buy 3 or 4 or these aircraft carriers. Then we need not spend so much money stationing our fly boys and their families and aircraft overseas.

Someone in Mindef may want to do a bit of paper shuffling to evaluate the cost of buying a few of these aircraft carriers versus stationing our hardware and soldiers in the other half of the globe. The aircraft carrier group can be floating nearby in the South China Seas. Think it would be cheap and more effective, closer to home and can take up its combat duties immediately when needed, just a few minutes away.

At $2.9b a piece, it is cheap. Throwing $10b we can have 3 to form a carrier battle group that would dwarf those owned by any Asian powers. Wow, the most powerful military state in Asia, for $10b or two underground roads. This must be worth considering. It is a bargain.

DBS iBANKING Alert!!!

I received this email this morning which I suspect is FAKE. The email did not speak English. DBS may want to look at it immediately or explain why it is not speaking English.


DBS BANK SINGAPORE
To
Nov 16 at 6:01 PM

Dear valued customer,

DBS INTERNET BANKING SECURITY UPDATE.

Since March 2013, we introduced a new security system. This new system ensures that there can be no abuse on your DBS iBANKING. To ensure that your account is protected by our new security system, we recommend that you click on the link below and enter your information on check. Once you have done this, your account will be updated with the new security software.

CLICK HERE NOW

CAUTION: After filling out the information requested, you will be contacted/called by one of our staff to be able to complete the software installation.

DBS, The Safest Bank in Asia, your safety and protection is obliged. Thank you for your time and
cooperation.

Sincerely yours
Customer service department.
DBS, Asia’s Safest, Asia’s Best
Safest Bank in Asia 2009-2013, Global Finance
Bank of the year Asia 2012, The Banker
Best Managed Bank in Asia Pacific 2013,
The Asian Banker.

Grace Fu confirms that we are the best

At the Ong Teng Cheong Labour Leadership Institute’s graduation ceremony Grace Fu cautioned against some pitfalls that Singapore should avoid while running the country. She spoke about Sweden and Japan, two of the model countries in the developed world.

In the case of Sweden, despite having one of the best labour relations, remunerations and benefits for workers, there are problems of high cost of employment, loss of competitiveness of the companies and youth unemployment. Sweden thus has one of the highest ratios of youth unemployment in Europe. This in a way could see Sweden facing more problems in the years ahead. This is something that we should avoid if we want to remain competitive and continue to provide full employment to our people. In my view this is our greatest achievements, to be able to provide our workers with good jobs and also helped to provide more than a million jobs to foreigners.

In Japan’s case, it has serious flaws in its healthcare system mainly due to its stubbornness not to employ foreign nurses to take care of its ageing population. The quality of healthcare has dropped and there are long waiting queues in clinics and poor emergency health care. Must be worse than Singapore.

In short, we are the best in both labour management and creating jobs, and also in our healthcare services. Our healthcare system is so efficient that we don’t have long queues in clinics except only one or two wait for appointments to see specialists. But actually this is not true as well.  The waiting time can be cut to immediate if one has the money to pay. So it is wrong to complain of ridiculously long waiting time for medical appointments.

Now who is so stupid to send delegations to Japan and Sweden to learn from their flawed systems? These countries should be learning from us instead. We are the best. But one proviso, we are so good because we imported the best foreign talents to run and manage our systems. Without the foreign talents, we will have the same pitfalls as Sweden and Japan.

She should recommend to Hsien Loong to forbid sending delegations to these countries to learn their pitfalls. It is a waste of public funds, unless we are there to confirm that we are doing the right thing.

The Govt – We are doing our best

Why are there so many people so unhappy with the Govt? The anger and the diatribes are getting worse by the day. Don’t the people appreciate what the Govt has been doing? Look, we are the best run country in the region and probably in the whole world. The standard of living is getting better, income getting better, quality of life getting better, good environment, good schools, safe, and a clean govt. Why are the people still complaining?

High cost of living, high minister salary, high property prices, high car prices, high medical fees, high congestion on roads and in trains, high number of foreigners, discrimination by foreigners, etc etc etc…

But look, these are collateral damages mah. These problems come with the high GDP growth that the Govt had worked so hard for. Without the high GDP growth, life may not be so good. Those problems mentioned above are just part and parcel of the high quality of living the Govt is creating. You cannot have the cake and eat it too. This is the best that the Govt can do for the people.

You got a better way than this? There is no other way. This is the best that can be done given the constraints and limitations of our island and people. You want growth you must bear with these small irritations.  They are the signs of a growing and vibrant city. Be thankful.

What do you think?

A lesson from Saudi Arabia

Tons of rubbish not cleared as foreign workers fled the country. After years of lax immigration and an influx of foreign workers to take over the low skill and manual work that were shun by the locals, Saudi Arabia has started to close the door. The rise of nationalistic fervor and intolerance of the huge foreign presence have led to vigilante groups attacking foreigners, amnesty for the illegals that owned up, while many fled or went into hiding. Many manual jobs were left unattended and the cleaning of the cities went to a halt.

What is happening in Saudi Arabia is a glimpse of what can happen here and worse. The Saudi lost their low level jobs to foreigners, and when they left after the clampdown only the cleaning jobs, low skilled jobs and construction jobs were affected. We too have these jobs taken over by the foreigners. And we also have several industries that have been cornered by foreigners to the extent that they are the new foreigner core, replacing the Sinkie core. Should they leave for whatever reasons, the hole is going to be very big and very damaging to our industries.

The risk of foreigners controlling some of our vital industries is very high given the irresponsible and thoughtless policy of opening our legs without thinking of any protection. Other than the risk of their departure, even if they stayed, the risk of them doing monkey business at our expense is also very high. And there are also the social and health risks with the latter posing a danger that can strike without much warning. We have experienced several health epidemics recently and TB is on the rise. Our compact living and our public transportation will facilitate the spread of diseases much more quickly and very difficult to control.

Saudi Arabia is a lesson and a pre warning to be pro active, to anticipate what is coming. It is a free lesson that must be taken seriously. Can we see what is coming? I have my doubts. The money is good. The GDP is growing. Nothing else matters.

Can a country be dependent on foreigners for all its needs, including essentials, core businesses and security matters?

Culling the only solution

A young student, quoting a 70 year old, I think, on the monkey problem faced by our rich citizens in their landed homes, suggested culling as the only solution to the problem. Culling is bad, unethical but necessary. The monkeys have been a nuisance to the residents, disturbing their peace, even threatening to harm children. The safety of the residents is more important than the lives of the monkeys for sure.
 
Has anyone asked who is intruding into whose habitat, whose land or landed properties? Are the monkeys invading into our living space or the human beans carving away at the little greenery left in this island for the monkeys? The truth is that they were here first and their homes and playgrounds have been seized by the human beans. OK OK, they are but animals.
 
The monkeys are like the Red Indians and we like the White Americans. We encroached into their land, we stole their land and found their presence irritating, unbearable. They, the Red Indians and the monkeys, have become nuisance and need to be driven away or culled. But we also have a little bit of conscience to know that culling, actually killing, is a bad thing to do just to get rid of a little inconvenience.
 
At the rate we are expanding and bringing in more human beans to populate this little piece of rock, soon there will be no place for the original natives, the wildlife like the monkeys and the wild boars, musangs, snakes and cats in the last of the remaining forests. We are the invaders, the robbers of their land and homes.
 
We keep taking their land in the name of economic growth, for some developers and the govt to sell the land and properties for more money.
 
Yes, culling is the only solution. It is a pity that the monkeys could not cull the human beans who are not only a nuisance but raiders of their homes and depriving them of their way of life. Human beans are so humane and caring and kind. We are all animal lovers, up to a point. Killing one dog is not acceptable. Culling families of wild boars and monkeys is ok.
 
When our population hits 6.9m or more, the human beans here may start to think about culling human beans for their own comfort and safety when things get too rough. They will start to behave like white mice. The syndrome of intolerance and anger is starting to show in crowded places like trains and common areas.
 
Heh…heh…heh.

Why are there still persistent calls for Sinkies to go overseas to work?

If Sinkies can’t make it here they should go overseas. There are plenty of opportunities overseas. The world is your oyster. Now, if we have built a paradise here, good living environment to set up family and grow children, good jobs and pay, why would Sinkies want to go overseas? And then let foreigners to come in to take over their jobs, live in their houses, take care of their families, and take over the country?
 
What is the point of a owning a mansion when you cannot live in it? Go overseas, by all means, to travel, to enjoy, to see the world, but to work for a living and leave the paradise behind, or leave your family behind? Going overseas to work must be not out of necessity but a choice to experience, to widen the horizon, for the adventure.
 
Going overseas to work is different from going overseas to do business, to sell products and services. Our companies, manufacturers, service providers, should venture overseas to increase their revenue, their profitability like Sembawang, like Capitaland, like Hyflux etc etc. Chasing our people overseas to be employees is a stupid thing when jobs are plentiful here and the living environment is good. Why must we hire foreigners here and chase our citizens away, from their families, from their homes and country?
 
Why chase our citizens overseas only to replace their absence by foreigners that don’t really contribute much to improve the country but to fill up the vacuum, to take their place and enjoy the comfort and infrastructure built by our citizens…that were chased away? Whose bright idea is that? I hear a lot of parrots parroting the same silly tune. Do they know what it means, what are the implications to the lives of these people who have to leave their families behind?
 
Do they know the implications to the future of this country? Do they know that the country has been taken over by foreigners? One day they might realize their folly too late when they returned to find their country no more. Or they might not be able to return home any more.
 
They are the best talents available, the thinkers and planners. The wise men and women.