Great money saving ideas for the HDB

HDB is worried that it will lose $100m a year if it does not raise the parking fees. After writing a piece on it, another blogger, a jjgg, commented HDB should do away with charging parking fees to save money, or at least don’t have to lose $100m yearly. Actually this comment makes a lot of sense.

Let me work out the numbers, the operating cost of running and managing the carparks came to $700m a year. The electronic parking system costs $300m to install not counting maintenance, repair, servicing etc etc, and the total cost of managing the carparks will balloon to a loss of $100m, ie all revenues less all cost = loss of $100m.

Now, according blogger jjgg, if HDB would to do away with running the carparks, no need to manage and charge parking fees, it will save $100m a year, instead of losing the same amount. It would also save $700m on operating cost. And no need to worry about escalating costs. This would work out to a neat saving of $ the carparks and save at least $950m a year. A small sum of the money saved can then be used to beautify the carparks and cleaning. Like that, HDB management must be very happy.  Win win man! The residents who have to park their cars in the carparks would also be very happy, parking for free.

And most important, the next GE sure win, 90% majority votes.

What do you think? Isn’t the present carpark system creating problems and cost to HDB, working and doing for nothing?  Why go through so much trouble to lose money and to make the residents unhappy? Why start something that loses money when doing nothing can save so much money and make everyone happy?

700m + $100m plus also not having to own and maintain the $300m electronic parking system. While the electronic parking is still new, it can be dismantled and sell off at a discount, would still easily bring in $150m at half price.

See, so simple. Just do away with managing

The Evil Empire , USA , has hijacked Philippines' Sovereign power and is now acting as Philippines' helmsman in Philippines relations with China.

The Evil Empire USA has hijacked Philippinnes sovereign power  and is acting as the helmsman in Philippines' relations with China. It is determined to dominate the South China Sea and the East China Sea to contain China's peaceful development. USA has lost the peaceful economic competition against China and is now resorting to military might to intimidate China . But China will not be intimidated Below is an article from China Daily about USA's evil design in the South China Sea.

As the award of the pending arbitration on the South China Sea dispute is about to be announced, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday said he was open to talks if the result is favorable to the Philippines. Besides, he ruled out the possibility of armed conflict, saying his country is "not prepared to go to war. War is a dirty word." Duterte's statement is a rebuttal of many Western countries' call for the Philippines to take a tough stand.

The arbitration has become one of the most attention-grabbing topical issues around the world. The result will not only add up to the debate about maritime rights in the South China Sea, but also become a bargaining chip for geopolitical major-power games.

Former Chinese state councilor Dai Bingguo, at a workshop between Chinese and US experts on Tuesday, said the award will "amount to nothing more than a piece of paper" and China won't hold back even if the US sends all of its 10 aircraft carriers to the South China Sea. Dai's words show that China won't reconcile over its principle of non-participation in and non-acceptation of the arbitration.

The illegitimacy of the arbitration won't be whitewashed even with the endorsement from the US and its allies. China is ready to confront whatever challenges lie ahead.

If the US amasses military forces in the South China Sea to pressure China, Chinese society will support the Chinese government to deliver tit-for-tat countermeasures. China doesn't want the region to be the No.1 hot spot in the world, but it won't cower if it is forced to fight back. Nothing, even more destructive strategic weapons than aircraft carriers, will scare China away.

Even though the arbitration was filed by the Philippines, it will soon be knocked out in the post-arbitration landscape. Its petty position in the major-power game will simply make it an expendable player.

Washington's elaborate maneuvers in the South China Sea aim to squeeze China's space and make trouble for its rise. Washington has used Manila and Hanoi and some of their long-standing problems with China to serve this purpose. However, as more outside pressures step up, they will have less autonomy in dealing with Beijing.

Former Philippine president Benigo Aquino III outsmarted himself by scheming on the international arbitration with the help of the US. The action has actually cost the Philippines the initiative in talks with China. Washington, instead of being a help, has kidnapped the Philippines. The US has taken the Philippines' position as a helmsman in dealing with its relationship with China, and Duterte seems unable to change that as of now.

Posted by Southernglory1           From  China  Daily

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The Kodak Moment – A management case study

The Kodak Moment was once the triumph of Kodak Eastman Color, one of the top successful corporations of the US and the world. It was successively used and identified with Kodak and every photographer knew what a Kodak Moment meant. Today the Kodak Moment is history. It is instead used as a case study in business schools to tell the story of how a very successful company failed to acknowledge all the signs of its impending fall, ignoring the challenges and kept marching arrogantly forward, alone, when the forces of the competition are going against to put an end to what it is doing.

Kodak Eastman Color had seen all the signs of its downfall but chose to ignore them, denied their existence, tried to sweep them under the carpet, and pretended that all was well. Well, all was not well. When things were wrong, they were wrong.

Are there Kodak Moment in our midst, when all the signs are bad, pointing in one direction, the end? And the people responsible, like the top management of Kodak, chose to ignore, to look the other way, to do more silly things thinking that the problem would go away? The problems did not go away, Kodak went away, together with its top management. Kodak Eastman Color is now history when it once controlled 90% of the photography film industry.

We have a glaring Kodak Moment in the stock market. Everything is going wrong. All the bad signs are there. All the wrong things being done to wreck the stock market like the CDOs in the subprime crisis. And those responsible are ignoring them like Kodak, not wanting to know, turning to look another way, and tried very hard to do more silly things, hoping everything would turn out well or for as long as they could hold before the roof fell on them.

The fall of Lehman Bros during the subprime crisis was also another great example of a Kodak Moment. They just did not want to know what were going wrong. By not acknowledging them, by not talking about them, there was no problem at all. But Murphy’s Law would come back to kick them real hard, that what can go wrong, or already went wrong, would fall apart below their feet.

Is Singapore playing Santa Claus again?

Temasek was reported to have set up panel of advisers for the Americas and Europe with the biggest names that money can buy. In the ST on 17 June, it reported, ‘The Temasek Americas Advisory Panel(TAAP), …has seven members, including PepsiCo chairman and chief executive  Indra Nooyi, Honeywell Internation chairman and CEO David Cote, and former US treasury secretary Timothy Geithner,…former DuPont chairman and CEO Ellen Kullman, online education platform  Coursera CEO Richard Levin, Mr Ronald Sugar, former chairman and CEO of defence giant Northrop Grumman, and former chairman and CEO of agribusiness Bunge, Mr Alberto Weisser.

The report also said Temasek had set up an European Advisory Panel in January but did not name the panelists, presumably also high powered who’s who in Europe.  Temasek has big investments in these continents and needed good advices that money can buy. And these eminent people would not serve for free and would definitely be paid handsomely. I am presuming of course. They may be doing charity for Temasek by asking for peanuts and being in the Panels would be a great honour itself that is more rewarding in non monetary terms. It is more likely and realistic that such high powered people would not spare their precious time for free. The big question is how much?

How many of such Panels have been set up world wide and hopefully the returns are worth it. A better panel to pay for would be membership to the illuminati if money can buy membership to this cloak and dagger mysterious organization.

Has Singapore become a better and economically more sound in the management of its economy and hundreds of billions of dollars of investments? Or Singapore is still throwing money at anything that moves? How many of the failed bankers and financial professionals made redundant after the subprime and world financial crisis have landed here and given lucrative jobs, with Singapore being the Santa Claus in another form? The number of academics flooding the academic and non academic institutions in Singapore and the money paid to them is no small change. What is the return or benefit to Singapore for spending so much of the public’s money on such academics? Are they worth the money spent? Or they are just like hobbies to be collected to boost one’s ego, that we have so many trophies to wave around?

Would be good if this is discussed in Parliament, to conduct an audit and to assess if it is money well spent? Does Singapore have a bottomless pit of gold that we can just keep sharing with the rest of the world just to feel good?

Singapore is getting to become a very exciting fine city

Parking fees going up in December or HDB will lose $100m yearly despite a report that the two agencies, URA and HDB ‘earning a total of $667 million from their carparks in their latest financials for 2014/15. This piece of information is in the mypaper on 5 Jul.

Now why the fear mongering that HDB is going to lose $100m yearly? Maybe the $667m were mostly made by URA and not HDB. Maybe HDB’s share of the $667 was negligible or miserable and easily wiped out by the increasing cost of managing and maintaining carparks.  Actually HDB’s share was $595m and URA’s was $62m, total added up $657m, $10m missing from the $667m.

The report also said HDB’s operating cost was $700m. Can it then be concluded that the total revenue for carpark operation was $700m + $595m or $1,295m? And HDB claimed that it would lose $100m if the fees or revenue did not go up. What does this mean? Operating cost will increase so much to wipe out the revenue of $1,295m and ended with a loss of $100m? So the total operating cost will be $1,395m, tiok boh? I not accountant or finance expert, can only make simple deduction.

HDB operates 2,000 carparks and recently installed electronic pricing equipment and system that cost $150,000 each to save on manpower cost and to be more efficient in collecting more money. This works out to $300 m in initial capital expenditure. Then the savings from carpark attendance walking the car parks would be transferred to hiring more technicians and software engineers to maintain the $300m system. Not sure the savings from terminating all the carpark attendants would be enough to pay for the technicians and engineers. Very likely not that is why HDB is talking about losing $100m a year with the new equipment and system.

And who should pay for this capital expenditure and new hires, the carpark users? Did the carpark users have a say whether to invest in this costly equipment that would raise the cost of carpark management? No, the HDB decides what is good for them (or for the HDB?) and how much they should pay for the equipment. Great thinking and great philosophy!

And this is not enough. There is a forum writer, a Francis Cheng Choon Fei, who wrote to the Today paper that increasing carpark fees without increasing parking fines is not an efficient way to manage car population. I am not going to ask if he is a car owner with a deep pocket or someone that could not afford to own a car, so increasing fines does not affect his pocket, but I think many Singaporeans would agree with him. Singaporeans just love to pay fines and the bigger the fines the finer would be their lives.

I hope the govt would accept this ground up suggestion and raise all kinds of parking fines and car related fines to make this a finer city. We not only have to pay for the most expensive cars, but car related fines. Our parking fees are still not high enough compare to the price of car ownership. Let’s go for it, increase all the carpark fees and fines.

My eye balls are rolling because this kind of suggestions is music to the ears of the people that believe in nothing wrong with collecting more money.

PS. Happy Hari Raya Aidilfitri to our Muslim citizens. Or is it Happy Hari Raya Puasa? I saw that in Channel News Asia.

Productivity of the Ang Mo Kio TB cluster

Results from the screening of 225 people living in the same block of the 6 TB patients in Ang Mo Kio have produced 2 possible active TB cases and 45 with latent TB. These work out to be a 1 percent positive and 22 percent latent hits. The latent cases are reported to be not infectious and would not spread the disease until they turn positive. The Ministry also reported that normally 90 per cent of latent TB, ie 45, would not develop TB in their life time. So only 4 would likely contact TB eventually. All are now being treated for positive and latent TB.

The causes on how they contacted the TB have not been determined but likely, and must be due to some contact with the TB patients. All have been reported to have no direct contact with the 6. Then how could they possibly get into close contact or proximity with the 6? One likely possibility must be the lifts, in instances when one of the 6 was using the lift and the unaware went in after them.

The other higher possibility areas must be the trains or the offices they were working in. But these are unlikely the case for those screened positive in this exercise. But this does not rule out the 2 positive cases spreading in the trains or in their offices, or the 6 that may have travelled in trains and their work areas.

So far never heard of screenings in the work areas of the affected TB patients. It is almost impossible to screen commuters who happened to take the same trains.  Would the Ministry attempt to screen those working in the same offices, using the same toilet cubicles or pantry?

This is not the end of the Ang Mo Kio cluster and the people that may be affected or infected through other means of contact could be out there. We are so lucky that there is no widespread of TB in the island when the jam packed trains are so conducive contraptions for the spread of communicable diseases like TB and what else.

IS attacks now more targeted

According to Rita Katz, the director of the SITE intelligence group, there is a big change in the tactics of IS coming out from the latest attack in Bangladesh. IS used to adopt a kill all tactic, a kind of indiscriminate killing that can be expected from mindless people, regardless of who the victims were, just kill and create havoc, terror and fear. The order to its operators in Europe was to go out and kill ‘anyone and everyone’.  The order given to the terrorists in Bangladesh was ‘to kill a white foreigner at random.’

Reports coming out from the Bangladesh attack said the terrorists separated the locals from the foreigners before hacking them to death, sparing the locals. The IS and Al Qaeda were at loggerheads on the tactics to kill at random or only kill the non Muslims. Al Qaeda has been attacking the IS tactics especially in the triple suicide bombing in Istanbul. To quote the NYT report reproduced in the Today paper on 4 Jul, this was what the Al Qaeda twittered. ‘The Turkish people are Muslims & their blood is sacred. A true Mujahid would give his life for them, not massacre them….’

The earlier tactic of wanton attack had let to Muslims and Muslim countries being the target. And it would be tough to explain to their fighters and supporters should their families and homes be hit. They were making enemies of everyone, indiscriminately and wildly. This change in IS tactics would have very serious implications on who they would attack and what kind of establishments or targets would be hit.

The Bangladesh attack was an attack on foreigners and foreign establishments. The NYT report said, ‘The bakery is in what expatriates affectionately call the “Tri State” area of Dhaka…that are popular with foreigners. It was founded to provide expatriates with the comfort foods they missed, including American bagels and cream cheese.’

With this new development, would IS attacks be more predictable, attacking foreigners or establishments of foreigners or their enemies instead of hitting at anything anywhere? How would this relate to the safety or high risk areas or establishments here in our little island?  Would Muslim countries like Malaysia and Indonesia be safer, be spared from IS and Al Qaeda attacks or if it so happened, would be against the so called, ‘nationals from Crusader nations in Bangladesh’?

Singapore is not really a Muslim state but has a substantial Muslim population and a bigger presence of ‘nationals from Crusader nations’.  How would this play out and how would our anti terrorist organizations respond to this tactical change? Would the Puchong bombing in Malaysia be a sign of things to come in the Asean countries? Our intelligence and security agencies would now be under pressure to monitor closely the numerous establishments, particularly the ‘sinful’ types in the Clark Quay, Boat Quay and Mohammed Sultan areas. What about MacDonald and Kentucky, the comfort food providers?

Kausaikan and his personal thoughts about Asean - Russia relations

Subject: Kausaikan and his personal thoughts about Asean - Russia relations

In "TODAY" paper, Thursday,30th June, Kausaikan wrote an article on "Fulfilling the potential of Asean - Russia relations." The article is an exercise in frivolity. Separately each Asean country or Asean as a whole will never be able to influence the big powers action and behaviour How then, does Kausaikan think he can influence Russia's policy in East Asia and South China Sea in the way he thinks Russia should do? Personally I see nothing commendable and positive in his writing. He has given me and perhaps the public at large the impression that he relishes in creating more choas and turmoil  in East Asia and the South China Sea.

He said he was once an ambassador to Russia. All the more he should not denigrate himself with outrageous speech and frivolous writing. He should be more circumspect as he is part of the govt. What he says and what he writes should best avoid offending the big powers as the repercussions may adversely affect  his country and Asean.

He regrets that Asean-Russia relations do not develop far enough into a strategic partnership.He slights at Russia for wanting to hold an Asean-Russia summit in Sochi with no purpose but just because other powers have been holding summit meetings with Asean.

He wants to know how Russia relation will fit into his Asean plan and vision. As his article drags on it reveals his agenda of trying to drive a wedge between the good and friendly  relations of Russia and China. He looks at the good relation between Russia and China with jaundiced eyes. It reveals his prejudicw  ill feelings toward China. He  claims that Western rebuffs of Russia has caused Russia to be driven thoughtlessly into the arms of China, " locking Russia into a subordinate relationship with China and an essentially passive regional role."

He is very clever in veiling his dislike for China with nuances and insinuations. I quote what he writes on Russia's stance regarding the South China Sea issue. "Some signs of this are already discernible.China recently appropriated Russia's position on the South China Sea. Russia's stance on this issue is in fact more nuanced than China made it out to be , but Moscow had to bite its tongue and did not clarify its position. But fortunately the situation is not yet irreversible." Here he reveals himself that he still harbours his insidious thought that it is not too late for Russia to turn against China in the South China Sea issue. Why would he want to take such a stand? Is this his personal view or the position of Asean.

Did he really want Russia to play a strategic role in South China Sea issue so that Asean can manipulate Russia vis a vis China and USA?  I quote him, " Russia as an active and autonomous participant in regional diplomacy will widen our scope for manoeuvre, particularly , as I think will occur sooner or later , the US and China reach a new modus vivendi over South-East Asia." He thinks of nothing but using Russia to disrupt the modus vivendi between USA and China.  Kausikan should show his bravery in the front line if war breaks out in the South China Sea and not talk bravado in the cool comfort of his airconditioned room.

He wants Russia to concentrate its strategic military in the East against China rather than in Europe against the West. I quote, " But the Western security system in East Asia is no longer directed against Russia, unless Moscow makes it so by its position on  the maritime disputes in the East and South China seas. Moscow should not let anger with the West drives its policy in East Asia." and again,  " The West in particular USA , must encourage Moscow to make this differentiation in its interest by itself differentiating its approach to Russia in Europe from its approach to Russia in  East Asia.The current blanket systems of sanctions against Russia only promotes Moscow's dependence on China by depriving it of alternatives." These comments are openly very unfriendly to China. Again  is this his personal view or that of Asean?

He wants Russia to play a security role in East Asia as casually uttered by US Defence Secretary Aston Carter.He says it is in Moscow's interest for Russia to make "a new articulation of Russia's position on the South China Sea and clear support for United  Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea when the Arbitral Tribunal reaches a decision on the legal issues that the Philippines brought before it."

He further asks, "Will these conditions be met? Only one is within Asean's control. The most important decisions are clearly going to be made in Moscow."

He thinks he is influential enough to guide Russia to make decisions which are anathema to China. He gives the public readers of his article the impression that his antagonism towards China is so deep that he is blinded by the fact that The Tribunal has no legal right at all and it is nothing but a farce. Anyone reading his article will know where he is coming from. He is openly against China and for the USA. If this is said in his personal capacity, fair enough. If this is the stand of Asean fair enough. If not, Asean should comment or distance itself from Kausikan's views?

Kausaikan is intentionally ignoring the basic facts both historical and legal that  the South China Sea islands and reefs have been China's sovereign territories since centuries before him. The big question, what is Kausikan's motive or agenda?
  
Southernglory1

Monday,4th July,2016

My experience with a Dental Clinic

The govt has started to scrutinize the claims made by clinics under the CHAS scheme.  Two dental clinics had been suspended and more are under investigations. I had an experience with a dental clinic sometime last year and it gave me mixed feelings.

It was nice to seek dental treatment under the CHAS/Pioneer Generation Scheme and came out without having to pay a single cent. Wow, wasn’t that nice?

It was something else when the dental surgeon hardly did anything to your teeth. I asked for a broken filling to be redone but was told it was still ok. It has been chipped and breaking down in several parts and would only get worse. But that was it. The dental surgeon did think it necessary to do anything. I was not pleased.

The other strange feeling was that I did not received any receipt or statement as to the treatment done and how much it cost, how much was the subsidy and how much the dental clinic would be claiming on my treatment.

This is unacceptable as a dental patient would not know, and need not care how was the billing done and whether that was the treatment done. This big hole must be plugged, with the patient receiving a statement on the treatment he received and the cost of the treatment as a check on the clinic involved.

Hope this violation of a govt subsidy scheme is not abused too widely and public money not wasted unnecessarily. Let’s wait for more audit reports and scrutinizes to know the whole truth.

American’s use of warships to control the South China Sea not disturbing

A typical western set piece by AGENCIES with the title “China’s use of fishing vessels in Indonesian waters to assert claims ‘disturbing’” was reported in the Today paper on 23 Jun 16.  The first para, ‘China is using its fishing fleets with armed escorts to bolster maritime claims in disputed territory, a senior United States’ State Department official warned yesterday, calling China’s behavior “disturbing’ and, “I think it’s a disturbing trend to see Chinese fishing vessels accompanied by coast guard vessels, used in a way that appears to be an attempt to exert a claim that may not be legitimate,” said another US official to journalists in SE Asia.

What is not disturbing is the Americans moving more of their military hardware into Asia and SE Asia, sailing their warships and flying their warplanes and conducting military exercises in the South China Sea.  Let me rephrase what the US official said and see if it is disturbing? ‘I think it’s a disturbing trend to see American aircraft carriers in the South China Sea accompanied by more naval vessels, used in a way that appears to be an attempt to exert a claim that may not be legitimate.’ The silly Asean country leaders are blinded by their greed to try to seize a few low hanging fruits in the Chinese garden and did not know that the Americans are surrounding the Chinese garden, including their own gardens, and are taking over all of them.

The Americans also claimed that the Chinese fishing boats were accompanied and escorted by Chinese coast guard vessels. If that be the case, how could the Indonesian frigate be firing at the Chinese ships without the Chinese coast guards firing back?  Or the coast guards were not there in the first place?

The western media have been repeatedly pushing out articles to poison the minds of the readers to hate China. There is also an article by a Nick Frisch from the local Yale Law School asking whether it is worth looking back at Tiananmen after 27 years. This is another way to revive memories of the Tiananmen Incident. I would also like to ask whether it is worth it to looking back at the 200 years of African slavery in America and the genocide of 70m to 100m native Americans, depending on which American historian’s figure?  Or those incidents happened too long ago and better not to be remembered. Why were there no Slavery Day to remember the enslavement of Africans in the USA? Why were there no Genocide of Red Indians Day to remember the millions killed, murdered and slaughtered by the Europeans? Too few Red Indians left to remember? Or no one dare to remember them to offend the White Americans?

I have not read the article yet. Maybe I should and write an article about the white man’s conscience.

The dangerous precedents to be set by The Hague

The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague has announced that a
decision will be made on the South China Sea island dispute filed by the
Philippines unilaterally without the consent of the counter party, China.
Those parties on the side of The Philippines are eagerly rubbing their
hands for a judgment in favour the latter, dreaming that it would favour
their attempts to make claims in the South China Sea against China. The
provocateur or mastermind behind this theatre of course will be smiling in
glee at the puppets fighting among themselves without a clue of what are
in store for them. Have no doubt that the puppets could only see as far
as their nose, and would end up being slapped by the same insidious act they
supported blindly or for short term interests.
The Asean states wanted and are praying very hard that their wishes would
be granted. Let me remind them that before their wishes come true, they
better reflect on the implications of the farcical decision or the
political statement that The Hague is going to make. The case violates many good
principles of law and order governing international relations. In this case
there is an international institution, a court that chose to preside over
a territorial dispute that it has no jurisdiction to hear. And they are
arrogant enough to want to make a judgment despite objections by the
affected party and without hearing its side of the story, ie in
abstentia. This is not about a criminal case or a dispute between citizens
of a country where the court has the legal right to sit and hear the case
and the citizens have no grounds to object. This is an international court
and the parties are sovereign nations that owe no obligation to the court
and could choose to tell the court to lump it. The decision or judgment
thus has no legal standing and is not binding to the party that chose not
to oblige.
How would a decision by The Hague be important to the Asean countries and
other countries of the world? Many countries, including those within Asean,
have territorial disputes with their neighbours. Take the case of the Philippines and Malaysia as an example. If Malaysia were to take the
position that China must abide by the 'judgment' made by the Permanent
Court of Arbitration, would Malaysia also do so should the Philippines,
with the support of the same mastermind, filed a case to claim Sabah
despite Malaysia's objection and refusal to participate should the Hague
ruled that Sabah belonged to the Philippines? This can also apply to
Singapore Malaysia relations when the latter is still harbouring the idea
that Singapore belonged to Malaysia. Likewise, Malaysia could unilaterally,
with the support of the same mastermind, if it behaves well and to the
liking of the mastermind, filed a case to take over the four Muslim southern
states of Thailand. Would Singapore or Thailand abide by the rulings of the
Hague in its decisions when they refused to participate in the hearing and
refused to make their defence?
The Koreans also have island dispute with Japan. China and Russia also have
similar disputes with Japan and so are many other countries. Would any of
these countries fall victims of a similar scam when they offended the
mastermind and have the international court making judgment against their
territories and would they accept the farcical decision?
The Hague decision is going make a very dangerous precedent that would
affect many countries around the world. A big power could connive and bribe
or coerce an international court to judge against any country with or
without their objection or without their participation. Is this what Asean
countries and the world at large think is a good thing, a good way of solving inter state territorial disputes?

When your PC or laptop is hacked?

I had this dreadful experience when this loud angmoh woman’s voice blasted out from my speakers. It went something like this. ‘Please call this number if you want to get your data in your computer back…something like that.’ And a window popped out from the screen with a phone number starting with 800-xxxxx, could not remember the rest of the digits. I quickly switched of my laptop.
 
This happened last Sat, 25 Jun 16 when I was reading TRE site. Shit! Then the screen went blank. I knew that I was hit. I turned on my anti virus for a full scan and no virus or malware was found! But when I logged on again, I could not access the internet. The indicator went swirling when I clicked on the Chrome icon but nothing happened. Tried several times to confirm what I did not want to know. My photo files were still ok. But my Word’s files were unreadable. A window popped up when I tried to read a file with a Window Word initial and the following sentences. Your Word program needs a converter to read file correctly. This feature is not installed in your system. Please click to install program or something like that. And there were two buttons, Yes and No to click. I refused to click suspecting the worst. My files are held at ransom.
 
The only thing to do is to seek help. I also bought another PC for immediate use. My friends in mysingaporenews blog were very pessimistic. Big trouble, gone case. Spoke to a computer sales guy. He too said serious and costly.
 
I asked another guy who told me to reset laptop to factory setting would help. I nearly tried but hesitate as I would lose all the apps loaded. Thought of doing a full saving, lock, stock and barrel, but still hesitant.
 
Then I tried another way. Eureka, it works. I can now gain access to the net. And I also found a way to read my Word files. Alright, not to alarm the hackers or leak out the secret, I am not going to divulge what I did in this blog. But anyone who wants to know can email me for my solution if they have been hacked. It did not cost me a cent. But I don’t guarantee that it would work in your case but very likely it will.
 
Redbean – Normal service has been resumed.

The ‘civilised’ bananas versus uncouth Chinese

There is this snobbery here, in this little island, that the bananas are more civilized than the mainland Chinese. And the bananas are born that way. Also, the mainland Chinese would always be uncivilized, unchanging and be like that and inferior to the bananas.

Many bananas are born in the last few decades and did not know that their forefathers were mainland Chinese, came from China. They probably believed their forefathers were Europeans, came from Europe, very civilized. They did not know that when the Europeans came out of Europe, they were mostly pirates, buccaneers, robbers and savages, out to loot and colonise and kill the natives of whichever land they landed, and calling the natives savages. This is akin to the human race calling sharks, whales and man eater animals as wild animals deserved to be killed. Instead they were the wild beasts, the savages that were killing these animals in the millions as food on the table, some for fun, they called it game fishing or hunting.

Even as recent as in the 1950s and 60s, the parents and grandparents of these bananas were just as dirty, rude and uncouth as what they accused the mainland Chinese of today. They spit and shit everywhere and have very ill manners. They could not remember. Their parents and fore parents were either too shameful to tell them or dead and gone. To cut the story short, if they could become more ‘civilised’, cleaner, more hygienic, less rude and crude, why can’t the mainland Chinese? No, the mainland Chinese are different. Their parents are Chinese. The parents of the bananas are not Chinese. Not Chinese, then what?  Ang moh or chap cheng?

What ever the bananas can become, the Chinese too can become and be better. They are better in many fields than the Chinese in this piece of rock. They are world Number One or Number Two in many things, not just being the best airline or best port. Is Singapore still Number One in these things?

Taiwan playing with fire?

Taiwan fired a live missile towards China and fortunately it hit a Taiwanese fishing boat killing its captain and wounding two fishermen. Taiwan claimed that it was a mistake.

What is Taiwan trying to do? Is it trying to send a message to China or wanting to commit a copycat attack on China like what the ugly Americans did against the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade? Another American 'mistake'in the same nature would be war. Are the Taiwanese so foolish and reckless to attempt such a silly hostile act?

Firing a live missile is never a mistake! Firing a cruise missile to hit the Chinese Embassy was never a mistake. Both were hostile acts. There are many levels of command and control protocol to fire a live missile. Make no mistake about this so called 'mistake'. Taiwan would have to answer and pay for this silly hostile act. There are more to it, as to how the missile was redirected to hit a fishing boat instead of hitting Xiamen.  Would the Taiwanese be so cruel to test fire the missile using its own fishing boat and citizens for target practice? What caused the missiles not to land at Xiamen is a big question. If it did, Taiwan would be in smokes today. A war between Taiwan and China has just be avoided.

Maybe it is time that China too starts to fire missiles by mistakes at American warships or at Taiwan. When professional military forces can make such layman mistakes, China should plead ignorance, that their system was faulty, PLA soldiers badly trained and are proned to firing missiles by mistakes. Just beware as China's soldiers are not very good and when they are around, missiles can just go off especially in the South China Sea.

The Hague theatrical Judgment on the South China Sea

From the onset, the conclusion of this international farce was already a given. Professor Tommy Koh, Singapore’s Ambassador at Large and a Law professor, had written that the UNCLOS has no jurisdiction over territorial disputes in his article Peace At Sea in the ST on 3 Jun. And I quote,

‘The convention has one other unique feature. Under Unclos, dispute settlement is compulsory and not optional and it is an integral part of the convention….

Under Article 298 of the convention, disputes over sea boundaries and military activities are exempted from compulsory dispute settlement. Apart from these two exceptions, all other disputes concerning the interpretation and application of the convention are subject to compulsory dispute settlement.’

The Permanent Court of Arbitration in Hague thus has no right and reason to hear the dispute over the South China Sea islands put up by the Philippines. The Hague’s stubborn insistence to hear this case is enough to tell what is it’s motive and agenda.

An international court of jurisdiction is expected to be impartial, to uphold the law under its constitution if it wants to be respectable and seen as respectable as an international court of justice. The moment it decided to hear a case not within its jurisdiction is the moment it is failing as an international court and loses its credibility to the nations of the world. The judicial committee has done wrong to the reputation and credibility of this Court. It undermines the reason for its existence when it crumbled to political pressure to hear a case it was not supposed to hear.

The Permanent Court went ahead despite objections by China and with China stating clearly that it would not respect its arbitration and decision. Why would this Court continue with the farce knowing that China did not give its consent to hear the case? It is political. Yes, the Court is making a political statement, not a decision based on law which it has no jurisdiction. It ignores the main party of the dispute’s objection and compromises its own credibility and the integrity of the judges.

Now the Court is expected to deliver its ‘judgment’, or political opinion in this case, and the Americans and its allies are waiting eagerly to use it to demand that China respects this political opinion that has no legal authority and not legally binding under any courts of law. And the irony, the Americans are not even a signatory of UNCLOS, in other words saying that they don’t respect the rules and regulations of UNCLOS, but demanding China to accept an illegal political opinion from the ICJ?

Without the consent of China, a party to a territorial dispute, the decision of the Court is meaningless, illegal and irrelevant. It has no authority, no legal status and it is not binding. It is only right for China to ignore it as another political statement or even tear it to pieces like what the American did in the past to tell the Court that it had no jurisdiction over them. To China and the world, the whole drama is as good as a hoax, a theatre engineered and promoted by its perpetrators.

Nonetheless, the Americans, the Philippines and their allies will want to use the Hague as a political statement to put political pressure on China as if China is violating the judgment of an international court when it was not so. China is legally entitled to ignore the Hague decision as it has not given its consent to the arbitration.

The pro western media would have a field day trying take down China as a rogue and recalcitrant nation, not playing by the rule of law. The western leaders are expected to make their political speeches to compel China to accept a farcical judgment that they too did not believe is legal. Some Asean states may want to believe that the Philippines had won a legal battle in the international court when it has not.

There will be a lot of outcry by the Americans and its allies to discredit China by this Hague Conspiracy. It is a sham! It is so shameful for an international court of jurisdiction to compromise is neutrality, integrity and legality to be part of the American and Filipino conspiracy. The bottom line, the Permanent Court of Arbitration has lost all credibility as a neutral and respectable international court to hear disputes between countries. And the American camp can beat the war drum but nothing will change the status of the islands in the South China Sea.

The theatre has come to an end, with an applause and encore from the conspirators but nothing more. It is rubbish, not binding and an act of desperation to make something illegal to be legal.

Independent countries of the international community must stand up to this farce. They must stop it from becoming a precedent to decide the fate of their future that may be imposed on them by the abuse of power and trust of the international court beyond its jurisdiction.

More clever suggestions to control car population

The COE and high taxes on car and petrol was one of the butcher knives used to control car population here and are very effective. But more can be done to fine tune car control policies to make it even better and towards a car less society. Here are some suggestions.

1.     Bigger car pay more road tax

2.     More cars per household pay more road tax on second car

3.     Big car used more petrol, set a quota, above which pay higher petrol tax.

These measures will make car owners to switch to smaller cars. Then impose higher taxes on smaller cars as they are less efficient than bigger cars on a per cc basis as big cars have better technology to save fuel.

The result, people will use less of their cars. Some will park their cars in the car parks more than driving. Some will take trains or buses. Let me deal with those parking their cars in the car parks, especially HDB car parks. These people are causing jams in car parks for leaving their cars in the car parks all the time. Impose higher parking fees for people who park too long in the car parks. Car parks that are too full means car park fees are too cheap. This one I must agree. But cannot simply increase parking fees. Just make those who park too long to pay more. No more season parking. Charge by per hour.  Car owners parking 24 hours a day would have to pay $24. Then they will not park their cars in the car park and causing congestions in the car parks. So simple!

Now car owners will not park their cars in the car parks as it is becoming too expensive. They will also not drive on the roads as it will also become more expensive. So best thing to do is to sell off the cars and take buses and trains.

But with so many people taking trains and buses sure the trains and buses will be jam pack, then how? So simple, increase train and bus fares lah. Then no more jam pack trains and buses surely.

See, ordinary Singaporeans also can come up with clever ideas. Hope they will publish these ideas in the main media as ground up suggestions and praise Redbean for it. Then can implement it like the people are all for it. No need foreign talents with Ph Ds and what not papers to make clever suggestions to collect more money.

Please don’t send Redbean to IMH.

Sometimes it is very difficult to tell the difference between intelligent suggestions and bullshit. It tells you how clever is the person who can see the difference and those that cannot. Stupidity cannot be cured.

Oh, HDB car park fees will be raised in December.

Malaysia becoming more like Singapore, the next incorruptible country

Singapore has the reputation of being the least corrupt country in Asia. Thanks to an incorruptible govt and an incorruptible culture. After visiting Singapore so many times and so many exchanges and retreats with Singapore govt officials, something good must have rubbed on to the Malaysians. They are becoming incorruptible, especially the ruling govt.

So far no govt official has been arrested for corruption, not from the ruling party definitely. The only people that are corrupt are likely from the opposition parties and their members. The Chief Minister of Penang, Lim Guan Eng, has just been arrested for corruption.

This is how serious Malaysia is about stamping out the scourge of corruption in the country. And they have set a very good example with the ruling party members all being incorruptible. And they will not be kind to the opposition parties or anyone that is corrupt.

Malaysia is becoming another shining example of a country that is free of corruption and very firm against anyone that is corrupt, regardless of race or position. Now Asean countries have two shining examples to emulate, Singapore and Malaysia, the two most incorruptible countries in Asean and Asia.

Najib is setting a fine example of honesty and incorruptibility.

South China Sea turning into another Indonesian wayang kulit

The South China Sea islands have been claimed by China for centuries and have never been an issue with the new countries in Asean for three main reasons. Historically, they were claimed by China and there were no Asean countries to talk about or to contest them. The new countries only came into existence after the end of WW2. They were non countries before that. And thirdly, the Americans came into the picture to agitate and support the new countries to claim the islands longed claimed by China.

What is the issue? It is not China claiming any part of the territory or sea belong to the new countries. It is the new countries wanting to claim islands belonging to China. But the western media gave it a wicked twist, that it was China claiming islands belonging to the new countries.

And the Philippines, with the support of the Americans and engineering a silly international court to hear a case that they have no jurisdiction to hear, put up a claim to this court without the consent of China as the other party for arbitration. It is a cooked deal from the start when an arbitration needs to have the consent of both parties but being heard in a farcical court with only one party presenting its case and the other party not present.  What a sham!

Many countries have border issues created during the era of imperialism and colonialism but are peacefully talking and negotiating the difference. Here we have the western media hyping up such border disputes and with the Americans agitating and provoking one or two spurious claimants to push the barrier to the verge of a military conflict and blaming China for it. There was no issue but made an issue by the American and western media.

Now another article by Reuter in the Today paper on 29 Jun framed the posturing by the Indonesian into another wayang kulit. It suggested that Indonesia was facing claims by China, threats by China, confrontation in the sea, clashes etc etc, all very serious stuff and Indonesia is bolstering up its defence and increasing its defence budget to protect its territorial waters.

What is the truth? Indonesia under attack by China?

Indonesian navy in clashes with Chinese navy? Indonesian confronting Chinese navy, in face off? China claiming Indonesian territories, claiming Natuna Islands? Far from it.

The whole farce was kicked up with Indonesian Navy chasing Chinese fishing boats, arresting Chinese fishermen and firing at Chinese fishing boats in disputed territories.  It was Indonesian Navy threatening and harassing Chinese fishing boats. Chinese Coast Guard Vessels did not confront or challenge the Indonesian Navy. If they did, they would have sunk the tiny Indonesian frigates. The Chinese Coast Guard vessels are much bigger and much well equipped to take on the Indonesian frigates.

Now who is threatening who?  Everything was hyped by the Indonesians with their Navy doing all the confronting and chasing against fishing boats! Yes, unarmed Chinese fishing boats that ran when confronted by the armed Indonesian frigates.  Whose is being feared and who is the bully and gangster?  Indonesian Navy being threatened by Chinese fishing boats or behaving like gangsters and pirates harassing Chinese fishing boats?

What is the truth? And the Indonesian wayang kulit went further to state that the Indonesian President had to make a visit to the Natuna Islands to make sure they are still there. They need to reinforce the islands with more military hardware!

Is China claiming the Natunas? If China would to do so, imagine what the Americans and the western media would say and how Asean would react? When Vietnam was threatening to run all over Asean, they were shivering in their pants and it was China that came in to stop Vietnam from running all over Asean. Today they are taunting China as if China is hapless against these little street urchins, and crying wolf.

What is the truth? Who is the aggressor, who is the bully, who is the gangster? The new Asean countries have been grabbing Chinese islands and accusing China of being the aggressor with the connivance of the Americans and western media.

Can you beat that?

Post-Brexit UK – A New Dawn for ASEAN

The political and economic fundamentals of the United Kingdom (UK) remain very strong even as madness and mayhem descend upon global financial markets after the Brexit voted 52%-48% in favour of the UK leaving the European Union (EU) in 2 years time.

Global financial markets protested as they are unable to grasp the inevitability of the emergence of an unfamiliar new world order having a independent, politically and economically strong UK unhinged from the EU. That the UK has never been truly and fully an integrated part of the EU seem to be lost on the major market players as they allow their fears and ignorance to fuel massive sell-down of stocks regardless of their materiality and relevance to UK and/or EU economies. 

The UK economy is 4% of the world’s GDP; and at nearly US$3 Trillion is the 9^th largest in the world and the 2^nd largest in the EU.  With a reducing national budget deficit, the UK has been the fastest growing among the developed nations, being the 9^th largest exporter and the 5^th largest importer with the world, including the EU. 

In terms of foreign direct investments (FDI), the UK has the 3^rd largest stock (behind USA and China) of inward FDI worth US$1.7 Trillion as well as the 2^nd largest stock of outward FDI, of which a significant 28% (about US$35Billion) flows into the EU.   

The grandiose EU dream has become nightmarish over the years. The peace and prosperity envisioned at its creation are mired in despair, unemployment, debts and fiscal disarray.   EU’s share of the world GDP has fallen in the past 40 years from 37% in 1973 to less than 23% today, and still declining.  EU unemployment remains high when compared with UK’s 7.5%, with countries like Spain at 23% and Greece above 25%.  The relentless economic EU economic and political crisis has no solution because it is grounded in the very conceptual nature of a “United European” notion that forces a group of 28 nations with very disparate economies and fiscal discipline, resulting thereby in endemic economic paralysis and stunted development.

Post-Brexit UK is finally freed of EU ideological, economic and political shackles to pursue her own destiny and dreams. Brexit opens up tremendous opportunities for the UK to expand its own trade with current trading partners like ASEAN, Commonwealth, Africa and the USA.  And to create alliances with other trading blocs eg the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) around the Pacific Rim, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and the emergent ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) without having to obtain EU approval.

ASEAN is an economic community of 10 South-East Asian nations with a combined GDP of US$2.4 Trillion and 630 million people.  For ASEAN, the UK is a main export and FDI destination in Europe.  ASEAN also receive significant FDI from the UK. The UK-ASEAN relationship can be expected to deepen and expand in volume and financially post-Brexit. 

As a start, a UK-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (UKAFTA) would make logical sense and easiest to model after the proposed EU-ASEAN FTA currently under negotiation.  Alternatively, individual ASEAN nations could fashion their own respective FTA with the UK, using the 2015 EU-Singapore FTA (EUSFTA) as a template model.  Individual UK-ASEAN Member FTAs would not jeopardize the eventual conclusion of a EU-ASEAN FTA.  There are multi-billion dollar infrastructural projects in ASEAN awaiting FDI and investments from the UK, EU and the rest of the world.

Post-Brexit UK is a strong competitor of the EU and other developed nations in the global FDI and trade space.  ASEAN sits at the heart of two high-profile mega-FTAs: the TPP and the RCEP between ASEAN and its six FTA partners, including China, Japan and India. These two giant trade initiatives will inevitably draw ever more economic activities and FDI to the region and away from the transatlantic trading area, to the detriment of the EU.

The continuing turmoil in the financial markets post-Brexit ignore the solid inherent strengths of the UK economiy and her financial institutions.  Her political stability is not weakened by the Brexit vote, but is instead strengthened by the boldness and courage of her political leaders from all political persuasions to trust in the judgment of the UK people.  The doomsayers and gloomy outlooks for post-Brexit UK have no objective basis and are grounded in their fears of the unknown dynamics of a EU with the UK. 

The UK is also the peer leader of the Commonwealth, a huge loosely-organised bloc of 53 countries with a combined GDP of over US$9 Trillion.

And when the economic radarscope of the UK scans more wider globally, the Commonwealth and ASEAN will become her new prosperity platforms as the UK re-kindles old legacy relations in the dawn of a new global order now unfolding and unpacking before us in an uncharacteristic and certain manner.     

Michael Heng aka Mikros

Related:

Whither the Gloom and Doom for UK?

Post-BREXIT UK – Dawn of a New Global Order

How stupid has Singapore become?

Just read this, two opening paragraph from a post by a blogger called, ‘silence is NOT golden’  in TRE title ‘Call me xenophobic, I don’t care’.

‘I am sick and tired of foreigners coming to Singapore and giving Singapore Government advice to raise prices of essential goods and services without any consideration the economic and social impact their advice would have on the average Singaporeans who are not earning as much as they are.

One case in point: Asit Biswas (visiting professor of the LKY School of Public Policy from India). According to him, “if he had his way, he would increase water prices here by 30 per cent immediately.” (Straitstimes, March 21, 2016). In his view, “water prices should have been increased a long time ago” because “Singaporeans now use water profligately for all household chores, as well as for bathing and hygienic purposes”. Does he expect us to use water from the river for our household chores, as well as for bathing and hygienic purposes like they do in India? Biswas said “he and his wife are “seriously considering” becoming Singapore permanent residents”. Really? Just Singapore PR? Not Singapore citizens?’

How stupid can Singapore be, after building a third world country to become a first world city, the envy of the world, it starts to disbelieve in Singaporeans and everyday go around the world, no, go to third world countries, to hire people that could not do anything good to their sham and slum infested countries, to come here and teach us how to run our country to make it better? If these people are that good, their countries would not be such a shambolic state and a shame to talk about

No need to say anything more. The stupid will always go and ask the stupid for help. Look at the Americans, they used to come here for advice when they know they could get good advice. Now they would not bother. The Chinese used to come here to learn from us. Now they too don’t bother. We taught them how to build little housing estates and industrial parks. Now they are building the world, building the longest bridge, the longest road, the biggest train network across continents, building ships, aircraft, satellites, rockets, and becoming one of the top industrial countries and economies in the world.