Not a bad idea for rise in HDB resale prices

'HDB flat prices should be a reflection of Singaporean's wealth and it is "not a bad idea" for prices to increase steadily, especially for those holding onto negative assets bought in the previous market peak in the mid 1990s.' Grace Fu What about those first time buyers who have yet to buy a flat and chasing the escalating prices?

Hello, anyone in?

Is there anyone responsible for anything anymore? Is there anyone able enough to do anything right or everyone has done his best and this is what we are getting? What, what, sorry wrong number. If anyone is asking me what am I talking, I also don't know. These words just keep ringing in my ears.

What a beautiful sound

On the front page of 'my paper' are these sweet words that are music to my ears - S'poreans to get monthly CPF Life payouts. Then on page 2, CPF Life are for life. And sweeter still, the first paragraph, 'Singaporeans will receive monthly payouts form the CPF Life annuity scheme for the rest of their lives although the law does not provide for it, assured Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong. The sweetness ends there. As I read on, the money is not coming from the govt, it is coming from your own savings. Fat hope, where got govt so good one. And I think it is compulsory after 2013. The point is that it is your own money.

In celebration of longevity

I am 95 and still going strong. I decide to go a cruise around the world and tell my personal assistant to get 5 tickets. One for me of course. The second ticket is for my personal assistant as I need him to be with me all the time, telling me how my stocks are performing and how is my $50m doing. And I also need him to tell me how beautiful is the sunset. The third ticket is for my personal nurse. She needs to check that all my systems are functioning and to feed me with a battery of pills, drugs and supplements. How else can I keep on being alive at 95. Another ticket for a maid to push me around and to massage my near to lifeless body, to make it supple and to prevent blood clot, muscle atrophy, or to simply let me feel the goodness of being touched. And the 5th ticket is for another maid whose job is to feed me, queue for the food at the buffet spread and do my errants. While I will be enjoying my world cruise, my thought will go out to my good friend in his rental flat. His life is very well taken care of by the CPFLife that he had invested. Everytime I visited him, I am very contented just watching his calm and serene face, all at peace, staring at the ceiling. He is attached to some machine and being fed by social workers. He once told me he had two wishes. One is to be disconnected from the machine. His next big wish is to crawl around the estate, with the help of the beautiful handrails that have been erected for his needs. They were extremely useful. But he has not been able to touch them for more than 10 years. Life is great. Long life is greater. PS. Now you know when I need to have $100m for my retirement!

Racial Harmony Day

Vivian is talking about racial harmony and the need to be mindful, conscious and sensitive to this delicate balance in our multi racial society. We have been talking a bit about such issues and the perception and bitterness of the minority that they are discriminated and disadvantaged. I wish such issues can be resolved once and for all and everyone can live happily thereafter. The reality is that discrimination will be there in all countries and societies, racial discrimination, religious discrimination, social and economic discrimination, even in our case, local born or foreign born, new or old citizens. Human beans are born with a little sainthood in everyone and a little devil as well. How much sainthood and devil in a person varies, genetic, biological, social, wealth, education etc, will all affect a person's mindset. At times it is circumstances, environmental. But this does not mean that we shall live with discrimination. What we can hope for is that discrimination is not permitted by law and practice. The individual part is more difficult to deal with as any incident can be changed from a disagreement between two losers into a racial thing. Let me quote an incident when two guys were having kopi in East Coast Park Hawker Centre. They sat in a table next to a couple. The man told off one of the guys for wearing shorts as it violated his wife who was there. The two guys could have stood up and told the man off which could end up in a fight. If they were of the same race, it would be just a quarrel and a fight. If different races were involved, it could be flamed as a racial dispute. If we keep on wearing the colour lenses and look at things in our chosen colour, we will continue to live in a world of colours. We can also remove our colour lenses and try to make the best out of the system. America has the most laws to protect its people from human rights and racial discrimination. It is also the country that flouted these laws the most, and racial discrimination is not only history but existing daily and in very bad forms and dosages. We have done very well in our minority majority relationship and a live and let live ethos. Everyone, minority or majority, will be treated as fairly and equally under our laws. There will be the odds and difficult situations and occurrences. But generally, we are doing ok and will keep improving as we move forward. What we must be wary of is for small groups of agitators that will want to flame every incident and turn it into a big issue. We can handle issues or problems as human beans or as colour beans. It is all in our mindset.