Celebrating Singaporeans: Ho Ching

The East is getting redder. That's what Mao said in his heydays. Yes the world is changing and changing so rapidly. Of the 3 women that were voted the most powerful or influential in the world by Forbes, two were from Asia. Wu Yi, a deputy premier of China is ranked number 2. And Ho Ching, a private business excutive, CEO of Temasek, is number 3. Wu Yi is from the world's most populous nation, and moving fast to become an economic power. And Ho Ching, from a little red dot, one of the tiniest nation. She even out ranked Condolezza Rice and woman Presidents and Prime Ministers. Her achievements even outshine LKY and Hsien Loong in being ranked in the top three by Forbes. LKY and Hsien Loong have never been in the top ten. She is not only a giant in a little red dot but in the international community. Wow!

Korean hostages - Not end of story

Now that the hostages have all returned to S Korea, it is time to settle scores and talk cock. One corner are the bravados, the never negotiate with the enemy heroes. They are now screaming at the S Korean govt for giving in and undermining their position. This will encourage more hostages to be taken. How they wish the S Koreans were killed as martyrs. Then they can called for more attacks against the kidnappers. The S Korean govt is a big let down. Whimps. Another corner are the evangelists. They should be screaming 'Praise the Lord' for answering their prayers and returning the hostages safely. God has answered. And time to plan for more missions to save the Afghans. Their belief in the Almighty must have been strengthened. Some interviewed have expressed that the S Koreans were there to do a good deed and would likely be encouraged to do more good deeds. And the S Korean govt is going to settle the scores for the foolishness of those involved in the mission. All will have to pay, at least financially, for the ruckus. It was humiliating for the govt to have to negotiate with the Talibans and to be blame for any failure to bring the hostages home safely. Will the story be repeated again, by some other countries?

The Singaporean Dream

In his first National Day Rally speech after the general election Hsien Loong painted a big dream for Singaporeans, a first world lifestyle with the two IRs. In his second rally he painted a renewed Singapore with Punggol 21 as an example of how things will be. These will be the dreams of the new generations. The older generations used to dream of reaching 55 and getting their CPF to go Batam. Now they have two more dreams. One to start collecting their minimum sum at 62(may 67 next time) and a second dream to collect their annuity forever when they hit 85. The 55 dream used to be the biggest dream of all. A time to reap their life time reward that they have saved all their working years. Now this will only be a fleeting dreams to many as not all will have much money to withdraw when the day comes. And for those who are below 57, the 62 dream will progressively be pushed further to the future. It will become the 63 dream, 64 dream and 67 dream. Who knows, it can become the 70 dream one day. Likewise, the 85 dream is still a dream and may become a 90 dream. It is good to have so many dreams. Carry on dreaming, Singaporeans.

Geylang is an example of the future to come

Geylang is now full of buzz. It has a new life of its own, exciting, hot, cosmopolitan, a corner that comes to life at night. More exciting than Clark Quay. Along the two sides of the main roads you have restaurants buzzling with customers. Go to the side roads you have hawkers and customers of a different kind. The customers are Singaporeans and foreigners. More foreigners than locals. The service providers, operators, including the restaurant owners, are mainly foreigners. The only thing local is the landlords. A large number of the business units have been rented out to foreign operators. And the landlords are very happy with the arrangement. They are reaping good returns for their properties without having to sweat. Is this what Singapore will become eventually on an island wide scale where Singaporeans are paid as landlords, the property owners, and the foreigners run the business, pay the rentals and make the profits? It is quite a life for the gentry and property owning class, no longer have to work but to enjoy the good life. If this be the case, it must surely be the first sign of decadence when the productive juice is no longer being pumped. Soon the properties will also be bought by the foreigners.

Annuity Scheme: A case of...

The Annuity scheme is a case of too little too late. The people who really need the annuity scheme are those lonely, jobless, no CPF and homeless in their 60s, 70s and 80s now. Introducing the scheme will not benefit even those in their 60s as many are unemployed. Having the schemes for those in their 50s and below may lead to the question of how many will need them. There is a big group of Singaporeans, those at least having a 4 rm flat, or even 3 rm flat, that will have family support, CPF, life insurance, savings, and probably work till they die. How relevant is the annuity scheme to these people? The annuity scheme is a scheme that punishes the responsible and those who have planned and saved for their retirements. The annuity scheme is one that punishes the majority because of a few irresponsible or unfortunate minorities. The annuity scheme is a redundant and irrelevant scheme to those who have properties, savings and dependents. The annuity scheme is a compulsory scheme that is neither here nor there, good for some but unnessary for others. The annuity scheme is a wasteful scheme to those that die young. Given a population of 3 million, how many percent will live pass 85, how many will live pass 90? And how many of these will need the annuity scheme to live on? If the annuity scheme gets through, it will be a bad precedent for any smart alec to dream of any feel good schemes to be made compulsory. I can easily think of a dozen that may even be more useful and meaningful than the annuity schemes to be made compulsory.