What if there is no Medisave?

We have a first class hospital system that can meet the best in the world. This is something we can be proud of. The point in question is what if there is no Medisave? Why is Medisave such an important element in our health care system that such a question needs to be asked. For without Medisave, many will not have the money to pay. Without the patients paying and supporting the system, can the system continue to operate as it is? Can the system charge the kind of fees if the patients cannot afford the fees? Who shall be thankful for the wonderful healthcare system that we are having? My fear is that if cost is not managed, or if people think that Medisave is the ATM with unlimited supply of cash, or the cash can be increased by passing of legislation, the healthcare system will continue to be world best with world best fees and with the Medisave depleting rapidly.

The relevance and irrelevance of the Thai crisis

Let's start with the irrelevance first. The monarch is increasingly becoming irrelevant as he lies in the hospital bed. And with each breath fading, Ahbisit and his elitist party too are edging towards irrelevance as well. The Army which has pledged loyalty to the king may find it unnecessary to do so as minutes tick by. The signs of support from the Army for the elite will soon be no more as the Army knows that change is inevitable. What is so relevant about the happenings in Thailand? An elite or elitist party cannot survive without the ordinary people supporting it. The real support for a govt in a democracy must be from the people. This is also applicable in a fake democracy. Once the people is politicised, there is no turning back. And the elite, by nature a minority, cannot cling on to power for long. The king, the one that is holding everyone together, the one that can pull the strings, will one day be too feeble to do so, and may not be around to do it. And when that day comes, the pretenders will have a hard time staying in power. The true leaders, those with the support of the people, will be shoved into the seat of power. The elite may resort to all kinds of things to stay in power, including the Army. But the soldiers are not idiots. They will have a mind of their own. And when they perceive that the people is not in favour of the elite, they will change sides. Unless of course the Army is made up of cartoons or unthinking inanimate soldiers. Ahbisit is seeing the real stuff for the first time. His days in power is numbered without the Army that he thought would always be there. A new order is in the making the moment the king is out of the picture.

Housing, keeping the issue alive

Sue Ann Chia keeps the flame of unhappiness in housing alive by another article in the ST today. She calls on the govt to rethink and find sustainable answers to this problem. But should the govt when it does not see any problem? To the govt, or to Mah Bow Tan, the problem is with the choosy and hard to please flat applicants. Accepted that we have a good public housing system to start with, but are they flawless? One of the flaws that the system has morphed into is the application procedure. Apply when there is a new launch. If the applicant is unsuccessful, reapply and start anew. This procedure seriously affect the young professionals as their salaries could quickly got out of the $8k ceiling imposed by HDB within a few years from graduation. They are then forced to buy from the red hot resale market or private housing. Without much cash savings, they are hard put to foot the deposit. The new system in a way deprived these young professionals from buying their first flat from HDB if they did not quickly grab one that comes along. And this ignores those they were slow in courting a spouse and could not even apply in the first place. So it is their fault, or so they are high income earners and must buy more expensive housing. But many are prudent young people who are contented with just a 4 rm HDB flat. They are not demanding, just want to buy their first home without killing themselves with a big mortgage. So what's wrong with that? Their fault or HDB's fault? The most badly affected is this group of young professionals and rightly they should kick the arse of HDB and its procedures. In the old system, the application stayed with the HDB while waiting for the flat, using the income on registration. Maybe HDB may want to reconsider the first bite of the HDB cherry to all NS men regardless of their income. They have done their national service.

Would the next GE be different?

Last week we have heard some of the familiar responses to the opposition walkabouts. We are ready, we will keep in the touch with the people, we will not be complacent. Last Sunday Eng Heng spoke and welcomed the effort put in by the opposition to engage the voters early. Is there any difference in his comments? My first impression is that he appeared to be earnest in what he said about the opposition. No signs of wanting to fix them up. And no one upmanship comments. Is this the first indication of change, that our political culture is maturing and the abrasive style of the third worl is passe? I hope so, but would need to see what the other ministers and MPs have to say as we close in on the GE. Then of course we still need to see the real stuff during the campaigning and election proper. It would be nice to see the two camps engage in a contest of ideas to win over the people, and less of those nonsensical vitriol of the past. The people deserve a higher level of democracy, a political culture that they can be proud of. If after all these years we are still sticking to the styles of the past, then we are not progressing. The electorate has matured and will not tolerate monkeys and gangsters any more. Respect the electorate by showing them your best and not by knocking down the opponents by unfair and unethical means. The politicians owe it to the people to raise the level of political contest and to make themselves respectable and highly regarded by the people.

Myth 219, The myth of free market forces

Shall I call it the legend of free market forces now that myth has been elevated to the status of honouring our heroes? Our national heroes and their myths! I think I shall still stay with myth as what most people understand. Is our environment and life govern by the so called free market forces? I think 'astroturfing' has been working overtime all these years to get the people to believe that what happens to our lives is all governed by market forces and we can do nothing about it. From the number of babies born, school fees, housing, cars, population growth, medical fees, ministerial salaries, and yes, even our economy, boom or bust, are dictated by market forces or external forces. Lao Tzu must be smiling in his heavenly abode. I told you so 2,500 years ago. No need to do sweat, everything will just go on by itself. History has actually manifested itself in these ways, it is always boom and bust, according to the mandate of heaven. No amount of super talents will change the course of destiny. In a way, Hongkong is more subject to free market forces than us. In Hongkong, everything goes, with little govt intervention. The Hongkong govt knows that it is not that brilliant to be able to decide the fate of its people from cradle to grave. And they leave it as such. To each his own, the govt just provide the infrastructure and the system, and the people make the best of it. So we have the multimillion dollar villas in the mountains and the 300 sq ft dog kennels for the losers. And the best part is no one is complaining. Those living in the 300 sq ft homes accepted that. And the developers gave it to them, knowing that that is all these people can afford and are fit to live. No moral persuasion, no arguments of good or bad. No one claiming to be on moral high grounds. No rebellion or revolution as it is the order of things in a free wheeling enterprise. Do we have that kind of free market forces to determine our lives? No. If there is, our people will be living in 300 sq ft kennels as well. We plan carefully, every step and every inch. Our free market forces at work is as good as a myth to be served on the platter when needed. But in many ways we are better than Hongkong. Our people still got something like 600 sq ft to 900 sq ft of space to live in and at very affordable price. But there is danger that this may not be if we allowed astroturfing to get a free hand. If we keep talking about the 300 sq ft homes in Hongkong as an acceptable way of life, soon this will quietly sink into some silly heads. Then statisticians and smart people will use this as a justification and say it is ok. And when that song is played, we gonna get it. As things are fairly acceptable, let the myth of free market forces remain as a myth. Let not it becomes a legend.