Good acts and good intentions

When too much goodness turns bad. That is how mankind will eventually destroy itself. That is how Singapore too will follow the same road. Today we praise the great achievements of medicine and technology to extend life. We live with great hope and exciting anticipation of life at 100. Thanks to our high standard and quality of life and health system. All these means one thing. We are defying nature, the law of nature in self renewal. Nature must wear. Nothing is forever and must not be kept forever. By extending life, apparently a good thing, we are creating more stress to our system. All these lives must be supported. They consumed energy, space and resources. Can our system take it? The world is dying, as they say. Climate change due to a growing population that only consume and destroy the earth's resources. How many people can the earth sustain before it finds it unbearable anymore? The world will not be able to cope with an incessant increase in population. Man has lengthen the self renewal process of life. And the world is fighting back. Natural disasters are sweeping across the earth to destroy what it cannot afford to sustain. We as a small country, will face the same fate as the earth when we over populate our island and burst at the seams. That is how we will end up if we keep on gourging ourselves. The success and big strides forward will quicken our own demise.

How to make quick and easy money

I mean how to make quick and easy money from Singaporeans. It is a piece of cake. Just sign up with a foreign party, form a company, create a beautiful catalogue of prime housing in a foreign shore, the best is Bintan and Batam. Then sell them to Singaporeans. In the process of selling, build a few units as show houses to lure more Singaporeans in and put in more deposits. Then when enough is collected, just fold up and disappear, with the money of course.

Taxi drivers touting!

What a shameless thing to do. Taxi drivers are touting and cheating foreigners by charging them high fares and not using the meters. Wow, Singaporeans turning into another kind of robbing. Why is it that taxi drivers are not allowed to rob their passengers? They are just doing it to earn a living to feed their families in the face of ever rising cost of living. What is wrong with taxi drivers trying to earn a bit more? When other people are earning by the millions, why can't taxi drivers aspire to earn half a million? Oh, maybe they don't have a piece of paper with a first class honours chopped on it. So they are undeserving to earn a million dollar. Oops, I mean a measly half a peanut. Are people envious of these low down poorly educated people who can earn a million or trying to earn half a million? Actually the taxi drivers are not robbing. They are entrepreneurs offering their services to a select group of customers. They are willing to provide a higher level of personalised service to these customers, like the high net worth clients of banks, premier banking, no need to queue and service with a specially created smile. Hey, it is willing buyer willing seller. If the foreigners did not want to take their cabs at their asking price, so be it. They did not put a knife at their throat to force them to take their cabs. It is not compulsory huh. No coercion. And they are talking of a pathetic $20 ride. In New York, London or Tokyo, they can easily charge $100 plus tips! Now compare this with the $30k compulsory savings in the Medisave, the $99,600 compulsory savings in the Minimum Sum, the akan datang compulsory annuities which is going to be another few thousands? Come on, give the poor taxi drivers a break. Let them make a few dollars more to have a bottle of stout or a pack of cigarettes after a day of backbreaking work. Free the market and let them charge their own prices. Service with a difference must come with a price. It raises the standard and quality of service. They may earn enough to have the luxury to go for personal grooming courses to serve their customers better. Dress better and smell better. This is just another way of looking at the issue. Or shall we accept the guiding principle that low down people must not be allowed to earn more money than the super talents? Only super talents can charge and demand whatever they want and low down workers must accept whatever that is being decided for them?

Is CPF turning into a robber?

What is the basic reason for the existence of the CPF? Is it there to hoard people's money on whatever excuses that it can cook up? Or is it there to ensure that the members would have some money to tie them over during their old age, that they don't become destitutes and having to bleed the govt of public fund? I may not be a supertalent. And it does not need anyone to be a supertalent to know that the CPF main objective is to make sure that the retirees have a sum of money to live through their lives. As long as anyone can make his own provisions with cash, savings or properties or any assets that exceeds the value of what CPF declared as the Minimum Sum needed, such people have more than adequately provided for themselves. Actually many don't need so much money to live through their golden years. A Goh Mui Sim wrote to the ST forum saying that at 53, she had already bought a $100k annuity to provide her a $500 payout from $62 till her death. And she has pledged this to the CPF When she turned 55, CPF took $99,600 from her Ordinary Account to put into her Retirement Account. She argued that she had a $100k annuity that is more than the $99,600. But CPF said her annuity is short of the $790 by $290 and she could apply for a partial exception. Why can't the CPF take only the amount that is short? Why take the whole $99,600? The CPF could not understand that this lady has planned her own retirement well ahead of the govt's thinking, even more than the Minimum Sum requirement. She has covered a period past the Minimum Sum to her death, with her annuity. All these are not enough. All CPF is concerned is the $99,600 that it wants to grab hold on. And of course, another $30k in the Medisave and more in annuity insurance. Ok, this last one the CPF definitely cannot find anymore excuse to touch this lady. This Goh Mui Sim, like many, is a responsible and thinking Singaporean. She has planned her retirement well ahead. But this is not acceptable because her plan is not what the CPF planned for her and all Singaporeans. What utter rubbish! Why must every Singaporean need $99,600k and $30k in Medisave? Why must they still need an annuity plan when they have made their own plans? What is the CPF for? What is the CPF for? Has the CPF turned itself into a robber, putting a knife on the member's throat to demand more money to be held by CPF, totally disregarding the interests of the people? And its interest is to grab the people's money, as much as possible, and hold it as long as possible? No matter what reasons or explanations, this is the impression that the people is getting.

Singapore Malaysia reunion

This topic has been raised again and understandably you will get a wide range of views on it. Most of the hostile views were either directed at the personality level or the fundamental issue of Bumiputra right. The personality issue will go away with time. Not sure about the latter. But one cannot rule out the possibility of it going away when Malaysia gets more properous and more confident of itself. There are issues that we cannot accept or settle today. We cannot predict what the future generations will do. It may not be the same kind of merger as envisaged in the past or today. But for the two countries to work closer, cooperate more, work out more areas where national barriers can be sidestepped or broken down, freeing the people from the baggages of the past, are the natural things to come for mutual benefits. It cannot go on like this forever. Some time later, two visionary leaders from both sides may emerge and say lets hold hands and work together for our own good without dismantling too many fundamental rights of each people and country. The future is uncertain and is rosy.