NDP theme – Honour every Singaporean

This year’s NDP theme is to honour every Singaporean. It has been a long time that being Singaporean is an important thing. After a couple of decades of honouring foreigners and foreign talents, finally someone starts to notice that there are Singaporeans that deserved some recognition.
 
A reader wrote to Today’s forum to honour our past and forgotten heroes. There were so many historical figures that fought and die for this country. This reader, Edwin Teong Ying Keat, recalled a Tan Chong Tee of Force 136, a military unit set up by the British and its soldiers were mainly locals, fighting against the Japanese that many SE Asian countries today want them to return to be our policeman. To remind the people of Force 136 is proper and important at this juncture given that most young people have forgotten about these heroes and the cruelties inflicted on our forefathers by the barbaric Japanese soldiers in WW2.
 
For those who are still harbouring on the idea of honouring the foreigners, now that everyone of them is claiming credit for building this island into an economic powerhouse, we have not forgotten them. Maybe next year our NDP theme shall be honouring every foreigner and foreign talent, the new migrants. And many Sinkies can also feel like them, shouting, ‘We are immigrants too!’, ‘We are also foreign talents before.’ And all Singaporeans can hug the new migrants and foreign talents like one people.
 
With such a theme, it would make the statement that Singapore belongs to everyone here, new or old, more meaningful. After all the Sinkies never believe they own this place. It is ok to share with the whole world, and welcome everyone, especially the talented, as Singaporeans. Singapore will be the country for everyone, everyone is welcome. Sinkies don’t own this place. Sinkies are foreigners too, albeit earlier migrants, nothing special.
 
How about that huh? A NDP theme to honour every migrant, new and old, with Sinkies calling themselves migrants and very happy to share or give away their country to foreigners? When a people do not even know that they are the masters of their land and willingly share or give it to foreigners, they deserve to lose it. The honour foreigners theme would level the playing field between new migrants and old migrants ie Sinkies. And Sinkies love that I think. Sinkies love a level playing field to compete with foreigners in their home country, or in a place they do not believe belongs to them. They too are migrants, forever migrants and very proud of it. And before every Sinkie forget they are migrants, let’s celebrate being migrants. Just hope they don’t end up as new migrants in other countries, after being chased out from this island they once owned and called home.
 
Be happy sharing your home country with the whole world. This island belongs to everyone here. Let’s hope this year’s theme of honouring every Singaporean is not the last time Singaporeans are honoured here.

Kopi Level - Yellow

More excuses not to return CPF money at 55

A blogger by the name of Gemini wrote an article on this issue and posted in the TRE. He/she quoted an ST article as THE good reason, and I repost a bit of it here,
 
Sunday Times, March 12, 2006  - Mistress island
 
Welcome to Pulau Amat Belanda, second home to many Singapore men who visit their ‘weekend wives’ there
 
There is an island near Batam that receives, almost exclusively, male Singaporean visitors.
When the men get off the boat, they pay 25,000 rupiah (about $5) to register with the security men. Their passports are checked, and details such as their names, IC numbers and Singapore addresses noted.
Then they head to the homes of their ‘weekend wives’, rooms rented in stilted wooden houses. This is Pulau Amat Belanda, 30 minutes by boat from Sekupang port in Batam, an island that is a red-light district all on its own.
 
Almost every male visitor to the Indonesian island has an ‘exclusive’ relationship with a woman there, to whom they give a cash allowance of between two million and five million rupiah ($350 to $900) every month to keep them from straying….

The reason to hold back the people’s life savings is because they kept mistresses, not because they lost their money and begging the govt for financial assistance. Let’s be very clear about the justification of Gemini’s rationale. It is the men’s amorous activities that justified holding back their money in the CPF. From the article, these men are rich and can afford it. Their scandalous lifestyle is not acceptable to many on legal, moral or social grounds, but is that a good reason to hold back their life savings in the CPF? Is this not a judgment call on moral grounds to keep the men from straying? Can this be the reason to be a blanket cover to hold all the men’s money in the CPF just because of a few sexy men? And can this be a blanket cover for the holding back of the CPF money of women as well?
 
This is really frightening. Imagine if the govt are made up of men and women who think like Gemini. The next thing they will do is to freeze the accounts of rich men and women in the banks. Come to think of it this is quite possible given that there are so many priests and priestesses among the few good men and women in power. And if such a reason is seen as good, right, logical, acceptable, I have many more good reasons to keep the men and women from withdrawing their monies in the CPF at 55. My list will be so long that it will fill a library and will take 56 man years to write them down. So I will spare you people the agony and time reading them.

Kopi Level - Yellow

My dad always there for me, says PM

If you want to know what is the meaning of ‘ho mia’ in Hokien, the title of this post says it all. How many people could say it at the age of 62? Hsien Loong is really so blessed. At this ripe age when he could be a grandfather, he still got a father above him and children below him.

Some would wish they could say the same thing at 50. Some would like to say the same thing at 40 or even 30. No, some will be very happy if they can say it at 20. KNN, some don’t even have the chance to say that at 10.

Count your blessing Hsien Loong. You have a damn good life to have a father that is always there for you at 62 and to be walking side by side with him as the PM of a country.  Maybe I shall not say count your blessings but share them with others. Many are not so fortunate and have to be their own father from very young, with no father to be there for them.

He is what people like to say, ‘ho mia kia’ or ‘chin ho mia’ When one is exceptionally blessed, it is good to share this blessing with others.

Kopi Level - Yellow

Retirement fund or fund for a rainy day

A blogger b said that the CPF fund is for retirement and not meant for a rainy day. This is a very simple way of saying what the CPF money is all about. It is for retirement. It is not to be kept forever like the nation’s reserves, waiting for that rainy day that may not come. Oops, our CPF is also classified as the nation’s reserve, so how? If it is the nation’s reserves then it is right to keep it forever for that rainy day right?

Can I say wrong? Everyone who contributes to the CPF never think of their savings becoming the nation’s reserves to be kept for a day when the country needs it, not you need it, it could be both. The people putting money into the CPF are very clear that it is for their retirement. A retirement fund is simple to be returned to them when they retired. When did they retire? It used to be 55. Then change to 60, then to 62, then to 65. What happens if retirement age is raised to 80? Possible, can? 100?

At this moment, retirement age is 65, I think. So rightfully the money must be returned to the people to use for their retirement. Tiok boh? Is the Medisave Account, with a huge minimum sum, a retirement fund? How did this animal come about? Why shouldn’t this be returned to the people when they retired? Or is this another fund to wait for a rainy day? If wait for rainy day, then cannot take out until the rainy day comes. If it comes, be grateful of this rainy day fund. But it may never come.

How many people put their savings in the CPF for a rainy day? Who changed the CPF from a retirement fund into a rainy day fund?

There is no point putting money into a retirement fund when you cannot take it out when you retire. It defeats the meaning of a retirement fund. Can anyone see the difference that I am making, or what b said? Is it so confusing? Who is still unable to make out the difference between a retirement fund and a fund for rainy day? A fund that you cannot take out when you retired is not a retirement fund.

Kopi Level - Yellow

AVA said food from Fukushima ok for consumption

During the recent visit by Japanese PM Abe to Singapore, he had talks with Hsien Loong and Hsien Loong announced that Singapore will lift the ban on food from Fukushima. Abe was so happy and thankful to Singapore.

There have been many reports in Japan and internationally about the effects of radiation on the people, animals and plants of Fukushima. Animals and plants are showing signs of mutations. Children are seeing a spread of symptoms of cancerous growth.

How safe will food products from Fukushima is still getting people the creeps. Is it a wise decision to lift the ban on food from Fukushima? I personally would not each anything coming from Japan.

Below is a series of my photopaintings of Japanese Koi. I called this Fukushima series in recognition of the Fukushima nuclear plant meltdown. The mutated shapes of the koi have nothing to do with Fukushima or radiation. It is just a result of a method of photography that I have developed called the Art of RAR, or Art of Reflection and Refraction.