Looking at Parliament

Yesterday's In Parliament was showing quite a full house, maybe 50 MPs were present. Not bad attendance when they are only paid an allowance. Over the last few sessions what impresses me most is the slate of our Malay MPs. I think there are a few doctors and several doctorates. Impressive. But what is more impressive is the way they present themselves, very professional, articulate and cool. The Malays need not look any further to find the role model for modern and sophisticated and well educated Malays. Just look at the who's who in Parliament. No need to wear head gears of robes to look like Arabs. The Singaporean Malays have progressed in leaps and bounds and they look very very different from our neighbouring Malays. They are world's apart. They don't remind you of village chiefs and the days of Hang Tuah and Hang Jebat anymore. So too are our Indian and Chinese descendants of indentured labours and coolies. They all, including the Malays, look more like the English aristocrats and gentries, and a bit of American Hollywood. Suave and very international. But once in a while, when irritated, a little of the crudeness of their forefathers still resurfaced. Maybe in another generation all the traits of humble origins would no longer be there. CNA should have longer takes of In Parliament and beamed it across Asia. Maybe the Arabs, the Indians and the Chinese will all look towards their Singaporean counterparts as the role model of the future, successful and smart looking. And so will the rest of Asia. The Singaporeans will set the trend for others to follow instead of following and imitating others. The Singaporean Style!

Who the f@#% does he think he is?

CPF Life will be compulsory for those with $60k in their retirement accounts at the age of 65. They missed them when they got the bulk of their money out at 55. Now the net closes in and they are going for those who slipped out to be caught again at 65. Who does he think he is? It is the people's money. Don't touch, you have no right to confiscate the people's money at your whims and fancy. You are no god, boy. 'Such was the level of interest in CPF Life that it was opened up last Sept to Singaporeeans and permanent residents aged 55 and older. Since then, some 37,000 people have signed up, committing a total of $1.7 billion.' Why such a great and popular scheme only had 37,000 members? If it is so great, people will all be rushing into it. And why the need for compulsion? Is the govt so short of fund that it has to resort to locking up the people's money in all kinds of scheme? Boon Wan is waiting to transfer more money into Medisave. The people who are not happy with a govt that thinks it can do anything with their money must vote for the return of their money in the next GE. They must assert their rights to their own money and tell whichever joker to lay his hands off their money. I will definitely vote for the right to my money.

A system of crooks

Jonathan Weil wrote an article for Bloomberg in New York and is reposted in mypaper today. His main gist is that the robber bankers are blaming short selling for the ruins in the financial system and banks under their charge. Actually he said it is more than just short selling. He added, 'Neither short sellers nor rumours spread by speculators were to blame for any of these companies' collapses. Bogus balance sheets and incompetent regulators were, along with the panic that ensued once investors decided that they couldn't deny the reality any longer.' I want to add that it is the whole financial and trading systems developed by the geniuses trained by the best American Unis that is at fault. The Americans are awared now that derivatives is a deadly instrument and must be curbed. The SEC Chairman is asking for more measures to control derivative tradings and undisclosed deals. Her feelings are echoed in the big cities of Europe. Derivative tradings, short sellings, programme tradings, big fund and big muscles, are all part of a flawed system that is out there to cheat the small investors. And with regulators closing an eye, deregulations, or becoming participants to the scam, indulging in dark trades and providing a system that facilitates the big funds to rob the small investors, what can one expect? The financial crisis is only the tip of an iceberg and an early warning. The collapse of the world financial system is imminent if nothing is done to stop the robbers from what they are doing. Just ask, who is running all these banking and financial institutions into ruins, turning them into a big casino and con game? The Americans are pulling the rug from the feet of the robbers. But the silly Asian bourses are still dancing to the tune as if nothing has happened and nothing will happen. The derivatives and default swap deals and dark deals may be banned from the US and maybe Europe soon. But they will be welcomed blindly by their Asian counterparts. And the crooks will be welcomed with open arms to do what they were doing best in Asia, once they are banned from the US and Europe. Actually their tentacles are already in Asia and robber the investors of every penny they got left.

Indian graduate school as good as American's best

Singaporeans not good enough: Temasek offered 110k – 130k USD per annum to fresh Indian IIM-B graduates All 270 students from the 2010 batch of the post-graduate programme (PGP) of the Indian Institute of Management-Bangalore (IIM-B) have been placed in just five days since the opening of the process. IIM-B also claims to have completed the final placements ahead of all other IIMs.As many as 120 reputable firms from and outside the country – from both the traditional and emerging sectors like healthcare and energy – visited the institute during the placement period.Fifteen new companies took part in the placements this year, recording a 41 per cent increase from last year.Prominent among the new entrants were: AT Kearney, Alvarez & Marsal, Bain & Co, Booz & Co, Diamond Consulting, Nomura and Temasek Holdings.Nomura is reported to have made the highest offer of Rs80 lakh per annum for the role of vice president finance in an international location. Temasek Holdings offered Rs50-60 lakh per annum. The students have accepted as many as 15 international offers from companies including Nomura, Temasek, P&G, Enzen, Arvin Meritor and UAE Exchange. About 45 women in the batch accepted offers in sectors, like investment banking, consulting and PE. In the lateral placements held for students with two years of work experience, 30 companies made recruitments. A total of 66 offers were received by the students in lateral placement as compared to 50 offers last year. The above article was copied from Transitioning.org. I am pleasantly surprised to see an Asian graduate school commanding such high respect from around the world. Good for India. Singaporean post grad students should enrol in the school instead of American Univ or our local Univ. Then they can be courted and be paid better salaries than our local post grads. I just hope it is not another case of unthinking blind followers following the crowd like queueing for MacDonald toys.

Meet Yotaro, the hottest baby in town

Yotaro has blue eyes, cute cheeks, cuddly, can smile, cry, throw tantrums, everything a baby can do. It is going to be the latest craze and will be selling like hot cakes. The Japanese has developed this Robobaby to train parents in parenting and how to take care of babies. The best part about this toy is that it can be switched off when the owners got tired of it. This is the greatest advantage over a real baby. And it will never grow up and does not have the problems, sickness and troubles that real babies will bring. I think this product will be a must have, just like internet baby craze where two young parents neglected their own baby to feed and look after an internet baby. Move aside, real babies. You are not needed nor wanted any more. What is this world turning into? Real babies nobody wants. Instead they will buy cute Robobabies, toys, dogs and pets as subsitutes to be showered with love and tender loving care.