Medishield Life – A laudable effort but…

I would like to applaud the govt and the committee tasked with the job to come out with a reasonable, practical and affordable national medical insurance scheme. I still have many misgivings but this is a good start to protect the people from the robbers holding them at ransom, demanding money or their lives. There are just too many frightening and frivolous stories of ‘sick’ people being cheated and fleeced by medical professionals for their ‘medical’ conditions. The Medishield Life Insurance scheme would give the people some peace of mind and comfort in an otherwise uncontrollable medical industry with runaway fees that it will end up like choosing between staying alive and be bankrupt or die.
 
The available details on the premiums payable and the coverage look reasonable and fair without being extravagant on either side but still need some fine tuning. Below are a few points that I hope the govt would address or be accused of using the Medishield as an excuse for money grabbing and raiding the CPF.
 
1. There must be a cut off age for payment of premium. The govt cannot expect people to keep on paying premiums if they live to 100 years or 200 years. A reasonable cut off age like 80 should be applied and those above this age should still be covered without having to continue paying the premiums. Not everyone is a minister or chairman of GLCs and can collect millions to 80 or 90 years old. Many would have retired or lost their jobs by 55 or 60. How are they going to pay the premiums when they have no income and every cent in their savings is needed to tie over their daily living expenses?
 
2. There would not be many living after 80 and not many would need expensive medical treatments. The state must take over the responsibility of looking after the very senior citizens. The state can afford to. Senior citizens are not going to go for expensive heart by pass or organ transplant. Or certain exclusion clauses can be added to exclude such treatments but still provide the basic medical needs for free.
 
3. Excess premiums collected should be ploughed back to the scheme to lower the premiums payable.
 
4. It is necessary to have laws to ensure those who can pay to pay. But the govt must know that a medical insurance is unlike a vehicle insurance. The latter is needed as the driver can hurt and kill. The only person that can be hurt by not paying medical premium is the payer himself. Why criminalise the non payment of premiums across the board? Many of the jobless seniors would become criminals as many would not be able to pay without an income. This part needs to be carefully reviewed to avoid turning the seniors into criminals. Heard of compassion and honouring the grandpas and grandmas?
 
5. There is also a need to control medical fees charged by govt hospitals or the Medishield will become like a dog chasing its tail. The medical profession must not have a free hand to write their own pay cheques, particularly in govt hospitals. If there is no cap on this, a rogue govt can manipulate rising fees to raise premiums as and when they want.
 
6. As a compulsory universal insurance scheme, the premiums must be much lower than a normal premium or the existing medishield premium. It must be with the whole population paying for it. And it must be able to modify the coverage for those 80 and above and not needing them to pay for their entire life. This is simply unacceptable. It is crippling to the finances of the oldies and is as good as robbing the grandpas and grandmas. How can anyone conceive of such an action without feeling mean and evil? Where is your conscience?
 
I would just raise these few points and let the MPs that are supposed to be looking after the interest of the people to do the necessary. They cannot be seen as against the people. This is not a party issue and they must speak freely, speak their minds for the people, for once. The voters must watch every MP/Minister closely to see if they are for the people or against the people and giving lip service to serving the people. Watch those who vote for making the oldies pay and pay until they die.

TTSH Singapore Hospital Status Update – 10 Days After

Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH)
– 10 Days After Human Contagion Dismissed
By MIKOspace

No new cases has been reported. It has been just over 10 days since Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) dismissed a Radiologist Nursing staff, one Ello Ed Mundsel Bello [Facebook ID: Edz Ello], after he had admitted to a pattern of derogatory anti-Singapore remarks made last year (2014).

Nonetheless, Patient “Zero” remains at large since there has also been no report that he has been removed from Singapore’s shores and never to return.

The more serious and recent signs of his possibly criminal, inflammatory threats to “kick out Singaporeans” and “prayed for Singaporean deaths” were not factored into its decision to release the human contagion into the general population. Its Statement particularly mentioned that this dismissal decision was NOT related to the more serious threats to National Security posted by the Staff on the 3 Jan 2014.

The need for this Caveat by TTSH is baffling since the death threats is not a laughing matter and could signify an escalation of the Staff mindset from desire to possible action.

In fact, the pattern of derogatory anti-Singapore and anti-Singaporean remarks on his Facebook was discovered only AFTER expose of the inflammatory death threats.

TTSH had earlier wrongly placed the Staff on administrative duties, pending police investigations of the recent Threat instead of the standard HRM practice of suspending the Staff pending the police investigations as well as an Internal Inquiry.

The purported Police investigations appeared protracted. It is unusual for the highly professional and efficient Singapore Police Force to have investigated the Staff, and his presumed accomplices and co-conspirators, over more than 10 long days without reporting significant progress, and/or made arrests. Granted, the Staff had initially pleaded that his Facebook account was hacked into. The veracity of this defense should have been validated or dismissed within a couple of days.

At best, it was all a storm in a teacup and the Staff should have been reinstated at TTSH. And we can add his “joke” to other colourful ones from visiting foreign talents and try to appreciate and add their dark humour to our otherwise lack of or dry sense of humour to enrich our mundane existence.

At worst, our law enforcement and homeland security forces have stumbled upon an unbelievably nation-wide conspiratorial net of associated human contagion plotting ill-will and death to Singaporeans and Singapore’s demise on cyberspace and communicating via social media. There is also no unusual or sudden mobilisation of our NSmen to their assigned national defense positions. This is quite a relief. It could mean that the associated human contagion is quietly and efficiently being “sanitised”, or they were never here in the first place. If the latter, please see the previous paragraph.

And should Patient Zero be found to be the one and only contagion with a mental defect or illness against Singaporeans and all things Singapore, swift efforts should be deployed to remove him like a virus from the environment that “caused” or “fed” his affliction – Singapore. Patient Zero should therefore be disinfected and thoroughly scrubbed of Singaporean micro-materials. He should thereafter be deported and barred from entering Singapore for his own mental health recovery.

It is not enough for TTSH to merely dismiss the human contagion and release him as a potential walking threat and time-bomb among the Singapore population. As Singapore’s premier Communicable Disease Centre, it has the duty and responsibility to remove and eliminate the human contagion beyond its harmfulness, no matter how remote, to Singaporeans and everyone living in Singapore.

Are we a democracy?

Dinesh Dayani wrote an article in TRE about a comment made by Leung Chun Ying, Chief Executive of HongKong, ‘Democracy would see poorer people dominate Hong Kong vote.’
 
In his concluding paragraphs he wrote these:
 
‘Did the last 10 years benefit all Singaporeans even though we collectively built or accepted the MBS & IR, saw our asset prices balloon and built a whole other financial district during the time? I’m not so sure.
 
What I am sure of however is that we are a democracy. It is in our power if we do not like the direction of where our country is headed.’
 
Dinesh is sure that we are a democracy and we are in control of our own future unlike HongKong and the reason for the students’ street demonstration. In a way we are, but sometimes we wonder if we are a demoncracy. ‘It is in our power if we do not the direction of where our country is headed.’ Really?
 
Do we like the influx of foreigners that made Singaporeans a minority and can we do anything about it? And it is going to be worse with the 6.9m PWP. Can we do anything about it?
 
Can we do anything about the huge number of PMEs being replaced by foreigners? Yes, no, are we a democracy?
 
Can we do anything about our savings in the CPF? Do we have the power to do anything about it? Can we stop and rescind the CECA now that we know what it is?
There are many things that the people did not like, did not like the direction that they are heading. So? Can we do anything within our power to change them as a democracy? Or has our democracy been hijacked? Or we are not really a democracy and has no say in the direction our country is heading?
 
Can politicians democratically elected to serve the people, to listen to the people and represent their interest, turnaround and proudly declared they chose to be deaf frog, refused to listen to the people and did what they thought best? Can the politicians ignore the people that elected them to power and expect to be elected? Yes, in Singapore always reelected. What kind of democracy is that?
 
Is our democracy a farce and everyone pretending that we are a democracy?

We are Singaporeans

Sometimes I wonder if we are Singaporeans or only some people are Singaporeans and the rest are not or even worse, are enemies of some Singaporeans. Alternative parties and their members are also Singaporeans. They are not enemies of the country. They are there to provide an alternative govt. The real enemies of Singaporeans and Singapore are those that sold out the interests of the people to foreigners. Make that very clear.
 
Critics of govt policies, people who disagree with govt policies, bloggers, netizens, they are also Singaporeans. There are the soul and conscience of the people. They wanted the wrongs to be righted, they wanted the country to steer away from the cliff, from making irreparable damages to country and people. They are loyal citizens that are brave and willing to speak out. If there is no one to speak out for Singaporeans, it would be a sad day as they could be sold by rogue govts one day. The critics are not enemies of the country. Who made them enemies of the people, or what made them enemies of the people? Why are they treated like enemies of the people for speaking out against policies that they passionately feel are not good for the people and country? It is not a crime to disagree with govt policies. The govt is not always right.
 
I must admit that some people will regard the critics and alternative parties as enemies and would want to get rid of them by all means. When you make someone an enemy, they will make you their enemy as well. Why would people want to make enemies of other people when they could be friends or if not, worthy opponents in the political arena, without being enemies. It is a right protected by our democratic Constitutions to form political parties, to express freely without going into libels or defamation.
 
The days of revolution, when the contest for political power was by the barrel of the gun are over. If we have not progressed from that dark period of history and still live with a mindset of yesteryears, then we are asking to be buried by the old ways. Live by the sword, die by the sword.
 
Many countries, even 3rd world countries, have developed a mature political system when the transfer of political power becomes part and parcel of their system, when politics is a contest of ideas and not gangland warfare waged by gangsters. They have moved on and become more civil in relations among rival politicians. They know that they have to be civilised to each other in a democracy. They know that their turn will come when they will lose power and would like to be treated decently by the new power of the day.
 
In democracy, political power cannot be forever, cannot be entrenched for life. Every politician will have to face defeat sooner or later, or have to step down from office. They cannot hide and be protected by the power of their office forever and think they can behave arrogantly or act like gangsters. They cannot afford to make enemies unnecessarily. Their good fortune must come to an end one day and they must face the consequences. If they make enemies, they will have to contend with their enemies in power. If they make friends, they can expect their friends to treat them kindly.
 
That is the politics of a mature society. Have we reached this new level of civility? Or are politicians of rival camps still regard each other as enemies and walking around with knives and daggers waiting for blood letting?
 
We are Singaporeans, and better to stay that way as family than enemies, all inclusive.

HongKong Stock Exchange heading for doom?

All that glitters is not gold. HongKong has resisted the glamour and glitz of the so called new vibrancy of western model stock exchanges in the likes of New York SE. It is facing great pressures from the western media, international investors and global banks to adapt the highly manipulative and dangerous trading systems of the west. They are putting pressure on HongKong to be like one of them, to allow them to manipulate and raid the innocent investors. And HongKong is caving in to meet the ‘international standard’ of the west.
 
China must step in to stop the wavering. What is glitter is not gold. The so called ‘international standard’ is a fraud. They have turned the western stock exchanges into casinos and waiting to go bust just like the collapse of derivative markets.
 
China has offered the Shanghai model as a safer trading platform to the flawed western model. HongKong must not be talked into accepting the western model, with HFT, algo and supercomputers and toxic derivatives. At the moment their resistance is weakening as if not becoming one of them is wrong, that the HongKong system is not up to ‘international standard’.
 
The question is whether HongKong Exchange is doing well? If it is, do not be lulled or conned or pressurized into doing something stupid. A very good example is Tiger Woods. He was doing extremely well and winning competitions after competitions and setting new records. Then some smart guy told him to change his swing. And he has never seen daylight after that. His game collapsed and he is no longer the fear and respected Tiger.
 
When things are working fine, do not fix it. The ‘international standard’ is a trap to destroy the HongKong Exchange just like it has broken and brought down the Singapore Exchange. Everything that looks good is but superficial, a façade and a mirage, a deception.
 
HongKong should follow Shanghai and do what it knew best and not be fooled to embrace the highly flawed western exchange model. Do not buckle under foreign pressure. Don’t believe in getting rich schemes. When someone is getting rich quickly, someone or many people are losing and getting poor quickly.