Notable quote by Goh Keng Swee

"A system may arise in which the dominant minority... arrogate to itself not only the openings to the seats of power, but also the avenues by which individuals can fit themselves out for such positions of power. The dominant minority is thus able to point out those outside of the charmed circle just do not have the necessary qualifications to be admitted to the elite group." Dr Goh Keng Swee I copied the above quotes from Loh Chee Kong's article posted in Corporate Observer. In the same article there are several quotes that are worth readin, to freshen up from the staleness of the new mantras that violate the wisdom of the old. Reading his speech and the quotes gives one the impression that he had seen it coming and was warning us of how things could turn out in the future. His reticence after retirement could say a lot.

CPF threatening to sue and fine

I read Gilbert Goh’s post about CPF demanding him to pay for the shortfall in his Medisave account for a sum of $16,600 as his contribution for being self employed. All self employed, regardless of age, must contribute to the Medisave for as long as they are alive and working. Isn’t this a cock policy when people are starting to collect their CPF savings at 55 and some delayed till 62? Why should people who continue to work after 55 be expected to contribute to the Medisave when they are in a better position than those who have retired and not working? These self employed are economically active and earning an income to support themselves and no need to draw down or depending on their savings to support themselves. According to the Medisave Act, there is no exception. So if one is working at 100 years old, the old hag must still contribute to his Medisave. How outrageous. But no one is complaining. Like the story goes, when they came for the Jews, I kept quiet coz I am no Jew. When they came for the Christians, I kept quiet, coz I ain’t no Christian. When they came for the Commie, I kept quiet coz I ain’t no Commie. Then when they came for me, there was no one left to speak up for me.

In Goh Keng Swee's time

Those were hard times. People lived in tiny cubicles, many people inside a room, one room for a family and often more than a family, with share common kitchens and toilets. Goh Keng Swee went out to move these people to HDB flats, where a family or maybe an extended family could live in a flat of 3 rm or 4rm. The strange thing then was that no one ever mumbled or complained that the flats were expensive or not affordable. That was a non issue. The flats were simply affordable. No argument, no need to put one's foot down to insist anyway. Today, the flats are affordable, still. Because the govt said so. But the people don't think so. And the argument is pissing off a lot of buyers who could not afford the flats. But they have to accept the govt's argument that the flats are indeed affordable. That settles the argument though deep inside the people's heart they knew that the flats are very expensive and very unaffordable to some. And it is still an outstanding issue that is going round and round. This is the real difference between the govt of Goh Keng Swee's time and the govt of today. They did what was necessary and what was right, and the people believed and were grateful to the govt. And no need to argument until the face turns green, with statistics, when deep down the people knew what is and what is not affordable. Housing was a success story. Can't really say of the present as the consequences of high prices will only tell some way down the road. Buying a flat then was a happy thing, a roof over the head. Today, buying a flat comes with a big debt and big worries. PS. I am talking about buying a HDB flat. Buying private or landed property is a happy thing. The buyer will simply plonked down his millions in cash. No need to worry about big mortgages to pay.

Defying conventional wisdom

The financial crisis started in the US led to the revelation that several of the financial institutions in the US,including AIA and investment banks, were too big to fail. When their turns came to fall, trillions of dollars were pumped in to save them. Then the wise men in the US got wiser and pronounced that the mantra of being big and strong is dangerous and these giants need to be dismantled. It is another case of putting too many eggs into a few baskets. Obama and his boys are working hard towards a new direction, the breaking up of big financial giants and regulating their activities, including manufacturing of toxic notes and products. Today there is big news that Prudential is mounting a historical take over of its Asian rival AIA to the tune of US$35.5b. It is billions, not millions, and would probably create another giant that is too big to fail. And the good news or encouraging news is that eager beavers are queueing up to have a stake in the proposed takeover. Such juicy news is always greeted with excitement than with suspicion and caution. Below is a quote from TimesOnline, ‘A number of large Asian investors are believed to be waiting in the wings to bankroll Prudential if its existing shareholders get cold feet on the deal.' Thiam is believed to have been offered personal assurances from the Singapore government that the state investment funds GIC and Temasek are willing to provide billions of pounds. I am deeply concerned that the funds lining up for a piece of the cake are Asian funds and not Western funds. Why are the Western funds shying away from such a lucrative investment? Is it that they did not have the dole, or did they know things that the Asian funds did not? When the too big to fail American institutions were in deep shit, they had the US Govt and the American public to foot the bill. In the event that an international institution like PruAIA is in deep shit, who is going to do the bail out? Asian Govts? A deal that is too good to be true must always look at with guarded skepticism. It is only a good gamble when one has a lot of money to place on the table, and can afford to lose.

From Ah Beng to Jason and then Jayson

Jay Chou is so famous that his concerts are fully sold out and the black market price goes as high as $1,500. His fans are going gaga over him and his song writing skills. He isn't that good looking, they admitted. Neither does he write or sing in English. His is an mandopop icon and have millions of followers snapping up his albums and posters. Jay Chou is a beneficiary of our MTL programme. This is also applicable to the Malay and Indian pop idols. Without the MTL, the fans would not be able to know what he writes or sings. The fans would probably be chasing after Linkin Park or Michael Jackson. But with their understanding and appreciation of another language, they could follow him and want to be like him. Without MTL, the Asian pop culture would at most be within a smaller circle in China, Hongkong and Taiwan. Our Channel 8 would eventually lose its viewership. It is a vicious cycle. It feeds and grows on one another. The fans of pop culture willingly and happily wanted to learn the language and sing the songs. Many English educated professionals are enjoying their learning process to read Chinese characters when they croon Mandarin, Hokien and Canto pops in the Karaoke joints. When learning is fun, when there is a desire and motivation to learn, there is no compulsion to make them want to learn MTL.They willingly want to learn. The MOE may want to include pop culture as part of the learning process for MTL, make MTL cool and fun and enjoyable, at least at the primary and secondary school level. This would give the young a good foundation to start with. Trying to learn MTL using traditional method and ancient poems or literature may not be that attractive to the modern young. A different approach to learning MTL may change the mindset.