Entrepreneurship is not just for the young

Jonathan Chee wrote an article published in the Today Online calling on the govt to think of giving the seniors a helping hand as well in funding for entrepreneurship. The govt’s  scheme is mainly targeted at the younger set for good reasons. The young have so many more years to go, why help the ‘ah pehs’ and the ‘ah mahs’ who should be looking after their grandchildren or sailing into the sunset in their golden years, or pushing carts for exercise?

Here is a bit of Johnathan’s article published on 14 Apr.

‘Entrepreneurship is for all, regardless of age (“S’pore to create space for ‘winners’ to emerge: Heng Swee Keat”; April 8, online).

“Colonel” Sanders founded Kentucky Fried Chicken in his 60s, and Mr Ray Kroc established McDonald’s when he was 52. If Singapore focuses only on the youth, then we would lose the opportunity to have senior entrepreneurs like them….

The Government can give a hand to these experienced Singaporeans by allowing them to borrow from their CPF for their ventures, or lend them working capital based on their CPF balance….’

Though Jonathan’s call is valid as many oldies would like a chance to have another go at the challenge of going into a project or venture of their own, be their own boss for once, not the driving taxi type of boss, there is a catch. Once the CPF is mentioned…this is a very sensitive subject. Don’t ever dream of touching it. There is nothing much left after Medishield Life and Medisave Life and the Minimum Sums.

If the seniors were to allow to use their CPF savings and failed again, there is no turning back.  But another point, where got money left with everything locked up, all top priority items, spent already or designated and set aside, cannot touch. The CPF owners like Jonathan will have the last right to decide what they can do with their savings. The govt has the first right to decide what they want to do with the people’s CPF life savings and how much it wants to ‘tangkap’ for the good of the people.

Like they said, Jonathan would have to ‘tan ku ku’, if he knows what the govt’s plan on his CPF. That is real entrepreneurship. Making millions pay for something with no right to say no and no effort, no special skills or technology, no rent to pay.  And don’t ever think of touching the CPF minimum sum. Not your money anymore.

News coverage on Bukit Batok by election

So far, the coverage for both Chee Soon Juan and Murali has been quite balance. If one wants to nitpick, then one may complain that the photos of Murali are usually a bit bigger or Murali would be placed on top or in a more strategic position in the paper. Other than such fine details, this is the best that can be in terms of news coverage to date.

In the Today paper on 18 Apr, let me make a couple of observations. Chee Soon Juan is likely to lose out on the goodies that he could offer. All Chee could do was to promise that he would do this or that. Murali just rolled out the goodies cart packed with groceries for the people. This time he is even more innovative by giving equivalents of vouchers for the residents to choose what they want. This guy is so rich and generous. Chee cannot compete on this for sure.  Wait for Murali to push out his abalone porridge or XO roti prata cart and Chee would be left standing, high and dry.

Chee Soon Juan has an edge in having his wife accompanying him in every walkabout. He must have sensed that the people in Bukit Batok would want some kind of assurance that he is a happily married man and his wife is always around him to make sure all is fine. Under the present circumstances, this must be an advantage Chee is using to put the Bukit Batok voters at ease.

It would be nice if Chee could even the odds, find the money to throw some goodies, more groceries to the people. Where to find the money? So the richer man will still have an advantage in this, to show he cares, We Care, by giving. Chee must have a good chat with Murali to get some tips on where to find the money to give to the needy residents and say We Care also.

Sugar Tax – More happy solutions to Singapore’s problem

MP Chia Shi Lu is asking the govt to consider imposing sugar tax on food with high sugar content to fight against diabetes, heart disease, stroke and certain type of cancers. Sugar is a main cause to the rise in obesity. Imposed a sugar tax is a very good solution. All food and beverage with a sugar content shall be subject to a sugar tax to cut down on sugar consumption.

And do not stop at just sugar, fat is also dangerous. A fat tax should also be considered. But Chia Shi Lu also expresses concern that ‘such taxes may raise prices and disproportionately affect lower income Singaporeans who spend more on cheaper processed foods.  See, poor people cannot afford organic food or better quality food that are low on sugar, fat and low cholesterol and whatever to be healthy food. So how? Can give them more subsidies or not?

Some say eat rice also can get cancer because all those cancer patients also eat rice. So can consider a rice tax as well? And this is a timely reason to raise more taxes on wine and alcohol, all got sugar content, ice cream, cakes, sweets etc etc.

To protect the health of the people, more taxes must be imposed to reduce their intake of food.

Rogue President and freak election

We had a freak election in 2015. Yes , it was a freak election. Of course what is a freak election is a matter of opinion. Today some people are very busy worrying about this thing called rogue president. Again, what is a rogue president is also a matter of opinion. Why waste so much expensive manpower, time and resources on a peeved thing called a ‘rogue’ president? The Workers Party rightly refused to participate in this farce. Yes, to me it is a farce. Some may disagree and think or regard it as a very serious affair, a life and death thing involving an island state called Singapore. When one sees a bull, it is a bull.

Let’s get back to the first principle, what is this farce all about? It all started because someone said in case there is a freak election, in case the people voted in a new govt and the new govt is made up of crooks whose only interest is to run down the country and spend all the money in the reserves, and run the country to the ground. Are these valid and real reasons? Reasonable, sensible?

When these fears were first mooted, no one raise the any question. Or no one dared to raise any question. Fear was omnipresence then. Now that fear is dead, shall the people take some time to question what all these fears were about?

In the first place, what is a freak election, according to who is an election a freak election? Oh, is it because the people voted a new group of people, a new party to form the govt. Is that freakish? Or is that just a normal process of a democracy when the people so decided to choose another party to form the govt because they have given up hope on the incumbent govt as has been?

There are 2 million people out there, all very well educated. Are the voters stupid, mad or being drugged, or being bribed and so foolish to vote in unison, a new party to form the govt made up of rogues and cheats? And why should the political leaders in the newly elected govt be rogues, thugs, robbers, cheats, out to destroy the country and rob its reserves? Is this a reasonable assumption or a foolish assumption?

Is it right to say that only good, honest, clever and responsible politicians are found in the ruling party and the rest are all bad people? Children, I am speaking to you. Do you understand what I am saying? Have you grown up and know what is right and wrong, what is good for you and what is bad for you, what is reasonable and what is freakish?

Are these assumptions sound and real? Or are they just wild imaginations to frighten the voters, to create irrational fear? All democratic countries went through the electoral processes to elect new govts. This is what a democratic process is all about, a change of govt is the norm.

Is there a need for an Elected President to check on a popularly elected govt? How effective is such an Elected President to check on a ‘rogue’ govt? A one man machine against a parliament of political leaders?

And after creating an Elected President to check on a ‘rogue’ elected govt, now another new fear is raised. What happened if the Elected President to check on a ‘rogue’ govt becomes a ‘rogue’ President? So now we need to devise another funny scheme to double check to make sure the Elected President will not become a ‘rogue’ president?

Do we then need to triple check on whatever rules and regulations and criteria so that these would not become ‘rogue’ system of checks and checks?

What the fish? What is going on? A popularly elected govt to be checked by a single man called Elected President, and now to check on this Elected President that is supposed to check on the elected govt?

Does it make sense? Does it make any sense at all? So far, the only thing that makes sense is what the WP has suggested, there is no need for this Elected President. No need to waste public money and resources, in the hundreds of millions for something that needs to be checked and checked and checked.

What do you think?

The moral of the story…. I need a safe. But the safe is not safe enough. So I buy a bigger safe to put the safe inside. But I don’t trust the bigger safe. So I buy a biggerer safe to put the bigger safe with the smaller safe inside into this biggerer safe. If I don’t feel good about this biggerer safe, I may want to build a fortress around it.  And so the story goes.

Tuition - Top tutors earning HK$2m a month!

Just heard this over the news that a top tutor in Hongkong could earn up to HK$2m a month. Now that is a cool S$400k! These tutors must be really good and doing a very good service to the students needing their services.  It must be money worth spent or the tutors would fold up in days or weeks, if they could not deliver.

I am sure tutors in Singapore are also doing pretty well tutoring our students, for all levels. Tuition is also not only an industry but a must as part of our education system. Many weak students could do with the help of a good tutor to get that elusive A that is a must to move on.

Though the tutors here are not earning the kind of money like their Hongkong counterparts, many are doing it full time and the rewards are quite good or exceedingly good to some good tutors. For those students that could afford the fees, well and good, nothing to complain about. There must be many that would like the assistance of a tutor to give them that little lift they needed so badly if only they could afford it.

I am thinking of launching a mail service to review and comment essays for O and A level students, for a little fee of course, for Singaporeans and foreign students. I could even do it for free for Singaporeans if needed. Students interested can email me their essays and I will do the necessary. I am putting this up on a trial basis.

I have edited a few essays before and found that generally the students here are able to write a decent piece, but with a little help and pointers here and there, it would make the difference between an A or a B grade.

Those interested can start sending their essays to me with immediate effect. I am not doing this to make millions. Just to give a little assistance where needed, to those that can do with a little help. My email, redbeansg@yahoo.com.

Redbean.