new discovery - cpf rulings are rigid!

wow. finally the mps discovered that cpf rulings are too rigid.. and these include prohibition from withdrawing money to pay for a member's last hospitalisation bill.. didn't know that such rulings can exist. we got to thank eng hen for introducing some flexibility to reduce the difficulties faced by cpf members especially those who are terminally ill.. for this group they can withdraw their cpf earlier.. now ain't them lucky.. now there is an excuse for early withdrawal.. when one is limp. for the restrictive cpf regulations to continue for so long without it being addressed in parliament would be a good case for more genuine opposition candidates.. just wondering why the ruling party mps did not raise them or just discover them. maybe with eng hen's willingness to introduce more flexibilities, all the tough rules and regulations in cpf will be a thing of the past.. all it needs is a good minister to change them, or the alternative is for genuine opposition mps to raise them in parliament..

higher toll at the causeway

it is about time malaysia put a stop to singaporeans going over to pump cheap petrol and buying cheap local products, and enjoying cheaper hospitality and services.. for every trip that a singaporean drives in, he will save at least $20.. and if he goes to the maximum, he could save even $50.. and all at the expense of malaysia. now this is not good.. how can singaporeans go over and take advantage of a cheaper ringgit and lower cost in malaysia? malaysia is right to level the difference. malaysia is now pondering on levelling a $20 ringgit for every car that goes into malaysia, including the thais.. that is the wisest thing they have come up with after all these years.. in fact $20 ringgit is too low.. a reasonable and more equitable sum shall be $50 ringgit per car.. and when the new causeway bridge is up, then it should be $100 ringgit per car.. anyway for those singaporeans who have to go over, they have no choice but to go.. so malaysia must be brave enough to charge what is fair to them.. and singaporeans can afford to pay. and they must increase to $50 ringgit now.. then by the time the bridge is ready, they can add another $50 ringgits.. to increase all to $100 ringgit in one go is too much.. learn from singapore, increase a bit every year.. $50 now, next year $60, then $70, and when the bridge is operational, $100. that's the way to go.. why make your goods and services cheaper than singapore for singaporeans to take advantage of? if malaysia did not charge singaporeans more, than it is an unfair situation and malaysia is on the losing end.

asean unhappy with india and china

asean is unhappy with india and china for not interfering or putting pressure on myanmar to take the democratic road and allow more freedom and rights to her people. having failed in all attempts, the next logical thing for asean is to do a regime change.. and since asean is so adamant in interfering with myanmar's domestic affair, it should go all the way.. but asean cannot use the wmd formula to invade myanmar.. the formula has been found unworkable and myanmar definitely has no wmd.. unless of course cultivating and selling opium can be considered wmd. maybe asean should seek the advice from george bush or rice.. they would have better and more ingenious solution to the myanmar problem.. but asean must not forget that interfering in other nation's domestic affairs run counter to asean's principle of non interference and could set a precedence for other big powers to interfer in asean state and even do a regime change.

ge round 22: nkf saga

khaw boon wan is confident that he can defend the nkf saga if the opposition raises it as an issue during the general election.. he said singaporeans are not stupid and know who are the good guys and bad guys and who 'allowed' the all the facts to be exposed, and who saved nkf. when the rally is in full swing, i am sure he will be made to tell the full story of how it started, who brought in durai, who nurtured and supported him, who allowed him to go to the extend unchecked, who praised him and glorified him, and who think he did no wrong. in normal circumstances, after the laying out of facts and all the right things and good things were said, the people can expect to be told to close the case and move on. but in an election, it is not so simple as that.. the people might not be stupid.. the people might be well read.. but the people are people.. and they can choose what they want to believe and who to believe.. they can even choose to believe the sensational.. do i mean that they can believe falsehood? they could.. and they could believe in anything.. a fiery and articulate speaker can change everything. and then they go to vote.. if the people choose to believe white is black or is grey, and they can, the nkf saga can lead to controversial results.. it is easy to turn a bad case into one's favour when one can say, 'it's over, let's move on.' and the critics have no means of reply and could not do anything. in an election rally, the opposition can have their voices and objections heard.. that is a major difference.. so it is not that easy to paint a beautiful picture when both sides can add in their strokes and colours.

ge round 21: one party rule is good

raymond lim told his grassroot leaders that simply having opposition in the govt has no absolute merit in itself.. this is a fair statement.. having an opposition in parliament is not the cure for any govt.. the opposition has to be of substance.. then again, to dismiss the need for an opposition in any govt, democracy or totalitarian state or a dictatorship, is a simple recipe for horror, for the abuse of power.. not that we are having these problems now.. but it will make it so easy to go down the abyss.. for any political system to endure the ravages of time, it has to have in built systems of checks and balances.. the checks and balances must be institutionalised.. and that is what the american system is all about.. the flaws and dangers of absolute power were the preoccupation of the founding fathers of america and they have enshrined in their constitutions that no one, or no one organisation, is to have absolute power. this is wisdom of the ages.. to ignore this and tell people that a one party system is good, is being very shortsighted and dangerous. singapore needs to have oppositions in the parliament.. the judiciary, legislature and the executive arms, and the civil servants must be able to work independently when it needs to.. these must be institutionalised and be a sacred feature of our nation.. if we are to accept that just because at the moment we have a fairly decent govt and leadership, then this model of a one party govt is good forever.. and that is a good reason to strive towards a one party govt... if we ever do that or reach that stage, we will ruin our own future.. the future generation will suffer from our folly. much as there is no absolute merit in having opposition mps, there is no absolute merit in having a one party rule..