leong sze hian - settle question of hdb subsidy

Settle question of HDB subsidy once and for all A few days back Viktor Ye Kok Kheong wrote in the ST forum 'Did HDB land pricing use Raffles Place as rule?' The HDB replied that it was difficult to reveal all the details of land and construction costs of specific projects etc... and that was why HDB is incurring losses. This is probably the only monopoly business where land prices from land acquisition from owners at a price determined by the govt, but definitely not at the Raffles Place price charged to HDB, and losing money. Leong Sze Hian is not letting the matter rest and pursuing with another letter today asking for some figures for the sake of transparency and high standard of corporate governance. What will happen is that it is a matter of days when HDB would have to disclose its numbers. It is either now or later. And not for long when Singapore is singing the glory of its high standard of corporate governance and transparency.

celebrating singaporeans - Prof Donald Tan

Professor Donald Tan Eye patients from around the world with difficult blindness conditions were referred to Donald Tan for his revolutionary Lamellar transplant technique. This is a very new technique and about 200 successful transplants were carried out in 2005 and 2006. And the referrals came all the way from the US and Canada. And the beneficiaries, other than the happy and grateful patients, is the Singapore National Eye Centre (SNEC) which has become a referral centre for cornea transplants. Some were desperate cases when all earlier treatments were unsuccessful in other eye centres. A Kitti Anansongvit were treated in Bangkok and the US before being referred to Donald Tan when his condition got worst. Phil Chapman, a Canadian boy of 13 'had the dreaded Stevens-Johnson syndrome, a potentially fatal allergy that hits children and young adults. He spent 40 days under intensive care at the Children's Hospital in Vancouver.' Inspite of 4 operations and specialists treatments in Canada and the US his desperate parents turned to Donald Tan and an operation was conducted at the SNEC. Chapman regained his sight. Donald Tan is also pioneering with another technique using a blind patient's tooth to insert into his eye to give him some vision. Since 2004, 19 cases, 2 Singaporeans and 17 foreigners have regained their sight. Singapore is blessed with such talented men. 'Prof Tan has been asked by other eye specialists to form an Asian Corneal Society to be based in Singapore, to promote clinical standards, research and education in cornea transplants and eye-banking.'

celebrating singaporeans - Sim Wong Hoo

Sim Wong Hoo The non graduate entrepreneur who conquered the world with music and sound through his Sound Blaster Card is the new breed of successful and generous Singaporeans that we should be proud of, and bless him. He made his money through his ingenuity and perseverance. I still remembered his Cubic personal computer that was not much of a success until the Sound Card came. And he made his money not being an employee and demanding his company pay him exorbitant salary or ridiculous bonuses. He made his money from the worth of his company, Creative Technology, and the value of its shares. And he is giving them away. I have not kept track of his philanthropy but the amount donated is probably close to $100 million or more. The latest foundation which he set up to honour his mother, the Sim-Tan Siok Kee Foundation received $33 million for educations, arts, the poor and aged.

the money mind

Singaporean Students will now be ranked according to their monetary value each month, to reflect their potential value to Singapore’s community at large. This will begin at a negative value, since a Singaporean at the Primary One level has taken in resources to be educated while potentially achieving little. However, once the Singaporean has been streamed and categorised, the monetary value can increase exponentially. EM1 students, primed to go to top secondary schools, junior colleges, and exotic educational programs, are usually valued between SGD4000 - SGD8000 a month, depending on academic performance. “The impact this scheme will have is tremendous,” claims Mr. Fan. The above is posted in ypapforum. I am not sure of its authenticity yet. my blog is worth more than US$4000! how money crazy can we be?

There will be no Singapore in the future

Below is an extract of an article by Seah Chiang Nee posted in littlespeck.com. It spells out why Singapore will be no more in the future by exactly what we are doing today. It is like we know we will be damned if we take this route but this route we will take. Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew has projected Singapore as a vibrant city of up to seven million people by 2030, with probably a huge global element. By then, Singapore-born citizens will be a minority in their own country, helped by declining birth rates and Singaporeans working or settling abroad. They may be outnumbered two to one by foreigners settling here, not all of them permanently committed to this place. Singapore will likely remain a migrant society, but more so than before, seemingly destined to be a population in transition. Like at various stages of its past, there will – in future - be waves of foreigners settling down and then leaving for a better life. Its own true blue citizens, too, will increasingly become an international creature. MM Lee spoke of his concern of having too many Singaporeans living abroad with their families (estimated 150,000 to 200,000). “If more Singaporeans work abroad and their children forget their roots, there will be no Singapore node to send them out ... They dissolve and disappear and there is no Singapore,” he said. He worries about a new generation of Singaporean international workers who are open to different identities losing their roots to the home country.