CPF improvements on the cards as Parliament reopens

The above is the title of an article by reporter Neo Chai Chin in the Today paper on 17 May and this is his first paragraph, ‘SINGAPORE — The savings and annuity schemes under the Central Provident Fund (CPF) system will be improved to ensure Singaporeans, who are living longer, have enough for their financial needs in their golden years, President Tony Tan said yesterday as he reopened the 12th Parliament after its mid-term break.’

There is so much hope and optimism in Neo Chai Chin’s article. But always remember, when the Govt voluntarily offers to help, you better beg them to leave you alone and say thank you. The Govt has been so proactive in trying to help Sinkies in managing their CPF savings and we know what is the end result. After every help, the Sinkies find the pot of gold, their CPF savings, placed further and further away from their reach.

So, Tony is talking about the CPF savings, about annuity scheme, about CPF Life scheme, in fact about all the schemes in the CPF set up. So far, how is it? Is it better for the CPF members? From my understanding, all the schemes and the things intended to help the CPF members, is all about using the money of the CPF members to help themselves and ended with the money stuck deeper and deeper in the quicksand.

What would come out from the CPF after Tony’s comments is anyone’s guess. I am not a single bit hopeful but more of fear that the pot of gold will be kicked further down the road, all for the good of the CPF members.

Anyone disagree with me?

Kopi Level - Yellow

Tony Tan’s presidential address in Parliament

Tony Tan said many things in Parliament in his opening address and there will be many follow up comments on what he said. He wanted the govt to do many things. What he has laid out are the bones, a broad framework and the govt would need to flesh them out with the details. That is the frightening part and I already have seen one, flashed in the media like Santa Claus in coming to town six month early. All I can see is nothing good. I will write about it subsequently in another post.

What Tony said in brief is that the Govt has screwed up big time and need to reflect on the failed policies and to rework on them. And he has laid them out, the areas that the Govt must redeem itself, to address the ills it has created in recent years. Ouch, no one sees it this way, and all were thinking that everything was fine and Tony was just reading a brief written for him and means nothing.

Another thing Tony made it very clear is that it is all about Singaporeans. In his speech, he has never mentioned a single word, the most offensive word in today’s context, about ‘locals’. Tony has made it doubly and triply clear, that it is about Singaporeans and those jokers that have been sputtering the word ‘locals’ better take heed. I hope Tony really meant what he said and the Govt takes note of this and erase the word ‘locals’ from their vocabulary and reports.

What else did Tony said? Oh, he touched on the political debate that is going on, where else but in TRE and cyberspace. He acknowledges that it was good and healthy for a constructive debate to improve the lives of Singaporeans. Destructive and crude attacks are not the right thing to do as they would distract the readers from the real issues. When people start to attack other people personally and viciously instead of addressing an issue, the debate ends there. The other party will just ignore what is being said and walk away. For a constructive debate to carry one to a fruitful ending, both sides must feel comfortable to engage. Confrontation politics is bad and must be discouraged.

Now this last sentence is a tricky one. Some opposition politicians have stood up to defend themselves. And some ruling party politicians have spoken smugly and derisively about opposition politics as if Tony was telling the opposition politicians off. Wait a minute. Is Tony addressing this confrontational politicking at the opposition? Who are the real culprits that have been indulging in confrontational politics? Who have been hitting below the belt, using all means and power to attack viciously at their opponents? Don’t look at me. Read Tony’s comments and ask yourself, are you the guilty one? Don’t always presume that it is always the other party that is at fault. Historical evidences and facts pointed to one direction, when politics were confrontational, vicious and destructive, you know who came up on top and who were the victims. Like that also cannot see, or still so thick, thinking that only other people must be at fault, and self is always an angel.

Tiok boh? Or did I read Tony wrongly?

Kopi Level - Yellow

Trust the Hongkies to do the right thing

Pardon me for calling them Hongkies, but it is done with no bad intention just like I called myself Sinkie. The Hong Kong govt is not going to let the top management of companies or organizations to get away with mismanagement and irresponsible conduct. They are going to make the senior management of Hong Kong’s MTR to suffer pay cuts for serious service disruptions. This is real business.

The western practice is for top management to share big bonuses when a company makes good profit but nothing happens to the pay of top management if the company flops. At the worst, they will not get their big bonuses but still some bonuses.  It is either 6 months or 24 months! The top management cannot lose or be held responsible for mismanagement. And if they are caught for major failures like the big banks, the banks will pay the fine on behalf of the top management. And the top management can continue to indulge in illegal or criminal activities with impunity. Making losses or mismanagement is a non issue or minor issue that would not hurt their pockets or their appointments.

That is how good life is in the private sector for the top management, privatise profits and socialize losses. Their compensation package is one way, how much they will get no matter how the company performed or how they mismanaged the companies. Familiar? Now the Hongkies are showing how the formula should be redesigned to make top management pay for mismanagement and failures. A word of caution. This cannot be applied in Sin City or all the top talents will run away to other bigger and better companies paying them bigger pay packages.

Compare the two approaches, which is more equitable is obvious. The crooks in top management have had it so good. They keep taking, no responsibility except how much to take, can even violate the law, and mismanagement is nothing to worry about.

This kind of approach to make top management accountable with cuts in their pay is unlikely to be put to practice here. How can?

Kopi Level - Yellow

The American TPP must be a damn good piece of trade pact

The Americans initiated this TPP but many Americans, including the lawmakers, did not really know what it is, and are opposing it. It is so unbelieveable that the Americans started something like this pact and the Americans don’t believe in it and are against it.
 
It is even more ridiculous that a country like Singapore would send its Foreign Ministers to America to convince the Americans how good this TPP is to the Americans. This is what Shanmugam said at the American Jewish Committee Global Forum, ‘If the US does not have the TPP, it will be a big loss to the US…’
 
Without knowing anything about the TPP, and I think many Sinkies too did not have a clue of how this TPP will affect them, we must still believe that Shanmugam must have gone through the details, like the ministers who signed the CECA, and know that it must be very good to Singapore. We shall believe that Shanmugam is an intelligent man, like all super talents here, and we shall all go along with him. His confidence in trying to convince the Americans is enough to prove to me that this TPP is a good thing. I don’t even have to know what it is.
 
And I believe the American leaders too will be converted by Shanmugam. He is rising to the plate as the successor to the Oracle, the One whom the Americans would sought advice from for his wisdom and to tap his deep thinking. The TPP, like the CECA, is so good that there is no need to even tell the people what it is all about. Just have faith in the govt to do the right thing.
 
With the TPP Singapore’s economy is going to soar. So will the economy of the Americans. Are Singapore and the Americans the only two winners in this pact? The TPP is like being tailor made by the Americans for the good of Singapore. And we are now the flag bearer of this pact, the pipe piper.

Kopi Level - Yellow

Chinese police to patrol Paris streets

This is a rather interesting and unfamiliar piece of news. The French govt is going to bring in Chinese policemen to help their police to patrol the streets of Paris, to protect Chinese tourists from being robbed or beaten up. Chinese tourists are now the second largest group of visitors in France but the biggest spenders and the tourist dollars are important in a French economy that is in deficit. And to attract more Chinese tourists, to give them more confidence and feel safer, after several cases of robbery and adductions targeting at Chinese tourists, the French govt is doing the right thing, a token of Chinese police presence in Paris. This is any time better than hiring Chinese or foreigners into the French Police Force.
 
Our SPF is considering hiring more foreigners to join the force. Maybe this is an option they can consider. We have so many foreigners here, from PRC, India, Thailand, Philippines, Myanmar, Indonesia and Malaysia and Vietnam! How about inviting their police to walk the streets with our police to show them how welcoming we are for their presence, to make them feel safe in our streets, to make them feel like this is home, like their country? Imagine, having foreign policemen in our soils? Not much difference from hiring them and letting them wear our police uniform right, and carrying weapons to rule over the Sinkies.
 
Now what am I suggesting? Ok, ok, I know it is a silly idea. Just thinking out loud only lah. But I am sure some people will think this is hell of a great idea. Well, having more than 2m foreigners here is not an issue, they may think what’s wrong with foreigners walking our streets as policemen and checking and arresting Sinkies, should be quite normal and acceptable tiok boh?
 
I am not sure whether this kind of thinking should be classified as Uniquely Singapore or Silly Sinkie mentality, a mentality of no nation and no country?

Good idea? No? But the France is doing it already so cannot be wrong what? Got western country doing it so we can do also right?

Kopi Level - Green