myth 28

'Singaporeans are asset rich' Some are, and some are very rich. But for those living in 99 year leasehold, just don't be happy too early. The first batch of HDB flats should be about 40 years old by now. This means that in another 60 years they will become worthless. How's that for being asset rich? And actually the dwindling asset value will come sooner, maybe in 10 or 20 years time when the value of the asset is going one way, down, down and down and then out. And no matter how much upgrading and money put in, once the lease is nearing the end of its shelf life, it is like a man running out of time. All his properties and assets would mean nothing. Time out, game over.

education hub -caveat emptor not enough!

The case for CASE in the education scene is getting more rigorous and important. CASE took on the role of playing a mediator as well as guardian in an industry that is showing promise but with a lot of shady players. There were problems and problems to be tackled. CASE went into it by setting up some systems which theoretically are very sound in protecting the interests of the students. The only little misgiving is that it expects all the good guys to come forward and forget about the bad guys. And the bad guys continue to operate freely in a different world. It is anarchy in a way. And the complaints to CASE keep growing, a few hundred cases every year. And by adopting a hands off approach, CASE is now waving the flag of caveat emptor to all the foreign students and parents. Free market, buyers beware. Now is this the right way to go, a laissez faire market and those who got conned or cheated just too bad? Let the market evolves and let market forces take care of itself. There will be winners and losers. I rather that there be some enforcement and regulations. We cannot have a system where people can be cheated if they are not careful. And how careful can these foreigners be when they are strangers in town? For a reputable education hub to exist, there are certain expectations. And one of the expectation of Singapore and the Singapore brand is trust and honesty, a system that is fair and transparent and no cheating. If we cannot live up to this expectation, then our education hub status is destined for the gutters. Caveat emptor is not enough.

its here, taxi fares going up

Ahhh finally it is here, taxi fares are going up. With the prices of oil shooting skyhigh, how can taxi fares remain unaffected. It is only natural and something of a must happen. Next on the line will be bus fares and mrt fares. Another two natural comrades. And don't forget school buses. Oh yes, electricity bills. Sure must go up. This means that all business cost must go up as their electricity bills must surely go up. And what do all these means, everything is gonna go up. Perhaps, maybe, or hopefully, some wise genius can bring down the price of oil. And I thought I remember some people said they can do that. Definitely not Chiam or Low Thia Khiang. What is interesting is to know that tariff rates are pegged at a higher future price. This means the rate used to price today's power rate is higher than today's oil price. How clever. How not to make profit.? This is the beauty of being privatised. Just care about how much to make and ensure that the system or methodology favours the bottom line and not the pocket of the consumers. Three cheers to privatisation. I only hope that no smart alec is going to say, since oil prices are going to go higher in the future, lets prepare the people for higher oil prices and price the power bill to some future price of oil say at $100. Then the people will know how to save or conserve the usage of electricity at home.

poster boys

In the Straits Times today the two prettiest faces on its pages are those of Michael McCrea and Ram Puneet Tiwary. Both are poster boys material. I must say they both look so charming and disarming that no one would believe such pretty faces could belong to two vicious murderers. Both have something in common, killing two people each. And both spent time in Australian prisons. And both will be saved from the death penalty, protected by Australia's humane laws that are very caring for criminals.

myth 27

'We need to privatise to be efficient.' Do we really believe in this myth? If we do, shouldn't we privatise all the govt services? Why do we let these inefficient govt services to continue to exist and be paid so much for their inefficiency? Any civil servant or anyone from the govt would admit to this myth, that they can only be efficient when privatised? I feel that this myth is the most insulting to all the civil servants.