The richest man/woman in history

It is not Bill Gates or Warren Buffett. It is not the Sultan of Brunei or any of the oil sheilks in the Middle East either. It is not some kings or monarchs of an empire. It is not King Soloman either. I know what you are thinking. No, dead wrong.
 
Adam and Eve, they owned the whole mother earth and everything on it. They owned the mountains and oceans, and all the living things and resources in them. They need not fear of running out of fish or food. No fear of running out of minerals, commodities or energy sources. They lived a life of plentiful.
 
We are considered the richest people in the world. Every one in two Sinkie is a millionaire. We have everything money can buy. We think we are rich. Everyone think we are rich. Are we? Why are we told to cut down on the use of water, don’t bath for too long? Don’t waste petrol or drive cars, take public transport, cycle will be better. We are told not to waste food as food and resources are depleting. We may run out of fish in the ocean and food crops not enough. Why?
 
They are all kinds of organizations and kind souls telling everyone to save mother earth as we all over consuming and exploiting the resources, fossil fuel will run out, we burnt a big hole in the sky. We need to stop polluting the environment, we need to grow green. Why? Are we rich, very rich? Oops, sorry, the message not to waste or over consume is meant for the losers. You think the rich cares? You really think they are saving mother earth and are conscious of their destructive habits?
 
We have plenty when we were 200,000, 2m, 3m. No one told us not to waste food and resources. No one told us to cut down on usage of water or what we eat. No one was worried that the ocean was running out of fish and the land out of food crop.
 
Now we are rich, damn rich, and we are 5.4m going to 6.9m and not going to stop there. When we hit 6.9m, what have we got to forego, how many cups of water will be the ration, how many bowl of rice day, meat on alternate days, no cars except for the very rich. Everyone cycles around, and everyone a multi millionaire.
 
So? Are we richer than Adam and Eve? They don’t have motor vehicles, no TV, no smart phones, no aircon, no modern convenience. But they have the whole world to themselves.
 
I don’t think anyone wants to be Adam and Eve and owns the whole world. And I doubt anyone wants to be a multi millionaire when he has to ration what he eats and drinks and how many cups of water to bath in a day. Where is the right balance, 3m, 5m, 6.9m or 10m or more? Do you want to be rich but have less and with less ration to live on? Do you need Earth Days, Light’s off day? Do you need greenpeace, green movments, ….?
 
We have 7b people sharing everything on earth when only Adam and Eve used to share them. And for the 7b, actually only a few are sharing the earth while the rest are only having as much as the land below his feet of the air around him.
How rich are you? How many people you want to share your little piece of rock?
 
PS. This article is to gives an idea on how far we have come as a civilization and how we have diluted the share of our resources from 2 person, hypothetically or theologically, to nearly 7 billion people worldwide, and distributed disproportionally. And in our little island, how we are sharing everything with 5.4m when we were less than 3m. And of course the sharing is very unequal and that makes it more painful for those who are getting less than enough to get by.

Kopi Level - Green

Your CPF savings absolutely safe even after you die

Many of you have dutifully made a nomination for your CPF savings upon your death and feeling very comfortable and secure about it, believing that your nominated beneficiary will enjoy a windfall as a result. This is what the CPF Board says when it happens,
 
‘If a valid nomination had been made, the beneficiaries will receive the deceased’s CPF monies and assets, which include the following:
 
a) CPF savings in the Ordinary, Special, Medisave and Retirement Accounts, if any.
b) Discounted SingTel (ST) shares, if any.’
 
So, feeling very good and assured that your money will go to the person you willed to receive them. Yes, your beneficiary will receive the money left in your CPF. But he/she will not be able to on a shopping spree and say what a nice chap you are. Only the CPF will be smiling. He/she can only smile at the CPF statement saying your money has been moved into his/her account from your account. There is a debit and a credit. No cash transfer!
 
Get the picture? They don’t get a cash cheque. They will get a paper transfer, and depending on their age, their MSS, they might not be able to touch the money, don’t ever think of spending it. Your CPF savings will remain in the CPF, from one account to another account, and remain there, absolutely safe, untouchable. This is what is going to your last few dollars in your CPF savings after you saved for a life time. No one is going to spend it.
 
Is this good news or bad news? Should the money of a deceased be cashed out, a cheque sent to the beneficiary to enjoy the last few dollars the loving spouse or parents willed to them? Why should it remain in the CPF, albeit in the beneficiary’s account?
 
How can you let this happen? How can you accept the govt doing this to your life savings even after you pass away?
 
What does this mean? What is happening? Your CPF not your money? CPF, please clarify and confirm on this and please inform the people when this change was made, and by who?

PS. I hope I am wrong on this.TRE or any aggregator, please do not post this in your site until more details are available. It is confirmed that the Medisave portion is not returned according to Alex Tan.

Kopi Level - Green

MH370 – When the show is over

More than one and a half months of frantic and fruitless search for MH370 in the Antarctics have proven nothing. Not a trace on MH370 or a piece of debris. The families of the victims are starting to question the purpose of this search, was is a joke, or was it a planned or misguided search into a wrong area, a red herring from the start?
 
Have all the victims and the govts been misled into a foolish exploration of the Antarctic Ocean when they should be looking somewhere else for MH370? The conspiracy theory is gaining more credibility, that this elaborate scam or espionage was conducted to serve someone’s agenda, and in the course of its execution and the need to hide its trails, everyone is made a fool of?
 
If all the information given from day one was to disinform, to misinform, to fool everyone to look into the Antarctic, a cruel act of deceit and treachery, should the people involved in the disinformation and misinformation be prosecuted for such a wicked crime devoid of compassionate and human kindness when there are hundreds grieving and waiting for the loved ones to return?
 
Should an enquiry be conducted on how the information was disseminated that were untrue or sheer fabrications with flimsy level of credibility but pushed through as the truth, as real evidence to mislead everyone on a wild goose chase? Anyone has any doubts about the information provided and wanting to know the source and the whys while the passengers and the aircraft are still no where to be seen?

Sampan sinking? NO?

The answer is no, or not yet. Our Sampan is still looking good and still good to load in more and more passengers. It is like Noah loading the animals for a journey instructed by God. Fill them up! The captain is very confident that this Sampan would not sink even if it is loaded with 6.9m, and more when the need comes. Maybe by then another hull will be added to turn it into a catamaran, safe, stable and sound.
 
The South Koreans did not have an unsinkable catamaran. And they did not have a good captain too. And the tragedy is still unfolding with a target of at least 300 innocent school children on the death list. Obviously the captain was confident that his ferry would not sink. It was is good condition and plying daily through the Korean sea to Jeju from the mainland. It was a routine trip. All system go. Even if a trainee or assistant was at the helm, nothing drastic could go wrong. And the passengers of teachers and students have great faith in the captain, his crew and the ferry to provide a safe journey to their paradise island.
 
There was a bang. The ferry either hit something or something exploded. Nevermind, the captain was in charge. He told everyone to remain calm and stay where they were. Do not panic, do not rush as it would be dangerous doing so. The captain could not see anything serious like the sinking of the ferry on his radar. He probably thought it was a minor problem. There was time.
 
There was plenty of time to evacuate the passengers. The ferry was sinking slowly. Yes, the captain had all the time in the world to mount an evacuation, to get the passengers to put on their life vests like the drill before the journey. The captain had all the time to lower the lifeboats. There were 46 of them.
 
No one could see the danger ahead. The teachers and students remained calm and stayed where they were told. Some were in the lower levels and in their cabins. And the ferry continued to sink. No one panic. No one could think of the worst, not even the captain. And the ferry continued to sink, and even with half the ferry on its side, it was all calm. The passengers remained in their cabins, having full faith in the good judgement of the captain. And the ferry continued to sink. And the captain still did not call for a full evacuation. And the ferry continued to sink, with nearly all its obedient sheeples inside their cabins, all waiting for instruction from the captain to evacuate. 

They did not know, I think, that the ferry was sinking. The captain did not tell them so. Some were still in the dining hall having their breakfast. And the ferry sank.
 
Where was the danger? Where was the early warning or signs of a big mishap on the way? No? Everything is under control, trust the captain and his crew. The ship was not going to sink and bring its passengers under.
 
The rest is a very sad story. The moral of the story? How much shall you trust your captain? How much can you trust that the Sampan will not sink? How much must you trust yourself, your own judgement, that when things are bad, it is bad. Get out when you can to save yourself. Let the captain sink with the ferry. But the captain was too smart for that. He left the sinking ferry in time to save his own skin.

PS. The final reply by the crew of Sewol when told by the maritime traffic control. 'Make passengers wear life jackets and get ready in case you need to abandon ship' is 
'It's difficult for the passengers to move now.' Think 2030!

Medical fees, getting what you pay for?

‘…according to a study by the University College London (UCL), which was commissioned by the British General Medical Council (GMC) – the equivalent of the Singapore Medical Council (SMC) in Singapore.
 
It found that half of all foreign doctors in UK do not have the necessary skills to work there. However, they were allowed to practise there because the competency exam is too easy.’ TRE Editorial.
 
The above shows the quality of the UK medical profession and it also says that they are willing to compromise on the quality of the foreign doctors to make up the numbers. Half are substandard! By this act it puts the British public at risk when they seek medical treatment from these substandard doctors. And it is callous and irresponsible for the British Medical Council to admit such doctors to practice on their patients. They just did not know how substandard is substandard and how many patients are put to unnecessary risks or actually mistreated by these doctors.
 
In the case of the Singapore Medical Council, can we believe that it will do the due diligence, and unlike its British counterpart, only admits those that are on par with our own doctors? It has to be or else we would be exposing our own people to the same level of risk and mistreatment by substandard doctors like in UK. Anyone who is privy to the high academic and professional standard demanded of our locally produced doctors will know that we are having our best of the best as doctors. On this count alone it is fair to say that the foreign doctors are unlikely to meet the same standard as our very own, or at least many would not be. If they are of that kind of quality, they would be in UK or US. Is this a fair conclusion?
 
If the foreign doctors admitted here are as good as our own, then we can sleep in peace. I just got this hunch that it is not the case. And those who were rejected by UK would be here trying their luck. This is a layman’s perception and need not be right. Our Medical Council will definitely enforce the highest standard and criteria to admit any foreign doctor to practice here. It would be grossly unfair to our citizens when so many of our straight A students were rejected from medical schools only for the Medical Council to bring in substandard doctors from outside. We can’t be so stupid right?
 
And it is not only a matter of stupidity. No responsible Medical Council would allow substandard doctors to treat our people. On this count I believe we are in good hands. The second problem of a substandard doctor is the money we pay them. We are paying damn good money, first world medical fees. How can we pay so much for substandard doctors that are not worth a cent? In medical practices, a substandard doctor is a bad doctor and can kill instead of heal. Yes, not worth a cent. Think of the nightmare a healthy patient walked out from a substandard doctor with more problems, wrongly diagnosed, wrong medicine prescription etc etc and ended in more serious condition?
One thing the govt or the Medical Council must guarantee to the public is that any doctor certified fit to practice must be good, and in our case as good as our own doctors. If the gap is too wide, then the patients should not be made to pay the same medical fees. You pay for what you get and not anything they shaft it to you.
 
Are sinkies getting what they pay for? Should there be a fee difference for being treated by different quality doctors? Are Sinkies being shortchanged?

Kopi Level - Green