good news, cpf refund!

Good news for 950,000 HPS members who are paying to protect their HDB flats. The CPF Board will return $480 million of surplus to them and the premiums will be reduced by 10 to 35%. I am wondering how long it takes to accumulate such a huge surplus. And I am also wondering when they found out that the premium is excessive high. And I am wondering whether all the provisions in minimum sum and Medisave are excessively high as well. Maybe 30 years down the road they will have several billions of surpluses to return to the aged CPF members. Unfortunately they might not be around to hear the good news.

mature workers, be patient...

'But as far as jobs are concerned, Singaporeans - especially mature workers - have to be patient as the cyclical economic restructuring runs its course.' Reported by Loh Chee Kong in Auckland covering Hsien Loong's speech. This reminds me of a story of a man whose penis was rotting. After seeing hundreds of doctors he finally found one who told him not to worry. He was at once comforted. But he was also worried as the doctor did not prescribe any medicine for his penis. So he asked anxiously how it was going to be. The doctor said, 'Be patient, it would whither, dry up and fall off by itself.'

the right to choose and disagree

While overseas in Oz and New Zealand, Hsien Loong has been comparing and answering questions relating to our political system and what the ruling party should and should not do. And discrimination in lift upgrading according to the party the voters voted to Parliament is the way to go. And so is one party govt. Hsien Loong believes that the one party govt must continue and it is good for Singapore, having seen how divisive and disruptive multiparty system is in the two countries he visited. Would Singaporeans agree with him and choose to go for a multi party system in the next election? Many critics may disagree with Hsien Loong and the PAP. That is their views and their rights to disagree. It is also the PAP's and Hsien Loong's right to choose what he thinks is best for Singapore. It is also his right to disagree with his critics and the opposition. This is something that the people must live with. This is a contest of ideas and political beliefs. The opposition and the critics of the govt have all their rights to champion an alternative system. And the ruling party, being voted to govern, has the prerogative to rule as it deems fit. And the people shall decide which is best for them during the election.

let's create more tragedies

She is only 26, has three children, 7, 6 and 1 and divorced. At one stage she left for work daily and left the baby to the care of a 6 year old child, locked up in her flat with plain rice or noodles. How could people be so thoughtless and irresponsible, to bring lives to this world without caring how these lives are going to survive? How could these children ever think of growing up as normal children, go to school, get an education and live life without all the deprivation? How could people be so unfair and wicked to these children? Bullshit if they called it love. There was another man and a woman, both second marriage, both part time employees. And they had between them 4 children each. Do they care or know what life will be to these kids when they, the parents, could not even afford to look after themselves? And such tragedies are being perpetuated, if not, even encouraged by society. Are we being kind or evil to let these things to happen over and over again? When people are irresponsible to their children or to the lives they brought into this world, recklessly, what shall the society do to them? Or shall we pat them on their back and said well done, keep producing a few more tragedies?

myth 19

'Singaporean teachers are well trained to teach' I can't believe that I have to call this a myth. But when the Minister said so, then a myth it is. Tharman was shocked to discover that Singaporean teachers were not taught to teach English and were assigned to teach English. Now how could such a blunder happened in our world class education system? Now we even have an institution called National Institute of Education where all teachers are properlee trained and awarded a degree or diploma in education. Then why are our children shortchanged by having unqualified teachers to teach them English? I believe this must be so traumatic for the Minister that it prompted him to call for the recruitment of native speaking teachers to teach our students whose standard of English has deteriorated because our poor English Language teachers were not trained to teach the subject. Isn't that a mouthful?