3 bubbles to destroy China

William Pesek wrote another article in the Today paper, one of those that prayed that China will collapse tomorrow. Nothing worth reading as the doomsayer's mindsets are predictable. I would like to write an article about the 6 bubbles that will destroy America. 1. The huge trade deficit that they cannot afford to repay. The greenback will soon become green banana money. 2. The huge expenditure on war and the defence budget. 3. The high consumption of Americans. They drink more petrol and eat beef that is 5 times bigger than the Asians. Mother earth just cannot afford to keep feeding them without going bust. 4. The high wage expectation. They think they are the chosen people that can always command a higher pay than other aliens. This privilege is only reserved for citizens of Paradise Island. All their industries will move out in a matter of time. They are simply uncompetitive. 5. They have made themselves the enemy of the Arab/Muslim world. 6. They think they can continue to fight wars everywhere with impunity. I could have added more. But these 6 bubbles, each alone, could cripple the American economy.

Nobel laureate out of sync in Paradise Island

Professor Muhammed Yunus was invited to Paradise Island to share his idea of a poor man's bank with Singaporeans. There were also talks of setting up an equivalent bank to help poor Singaporeans. I almost got choked when hearing this. This is probably the biggest contradiction to start with. In the first place there are no poor in Paradise Island. Or at least the poor are given more monetary aid than what the poor man's bank is giving out as loans, a miserable $50. Our govt is giving $300 a month to the poor as handouts! That must be a princely sum to go by. It is thus a non starter as a concept. The talks of Singaporean banks starting a poor man's bank is also another non starter. We used to have a poor man's bank. But since it started to charge a fee for the poor men to keep their miserable few dollars in our world class banks, I don't think any of our banks will bite at the possibility of giving out petty loans of $50 in the first place. It does not justify the high administrative cost. And how could we expect our banks to give loans without collaterals? Unthinkable. The talk by the Nobel laureate is as good as an academic exercise in futility to honour a great man.

Myth 158

The New Chosen People Singapore is so blessed, and so are Singaporeans. Singaporeans are the New Chosen People of God. We are blessed with all the supertalents that the world can have. Our people, including the workers, should all be paid salaries more than any other people in the world. This is to enable them to pay for all the world class goods and services at world class prices. Our properties will soon be the most expensive in the world, like our cars. Our office rentals deserve to be the most expensive as we are the paradise on earth. And our shopping paradise will price all their goods at a price where the rich and famous can afford, including Singaporeans. It is our right to price ourselves, including our salaries of workers, to be among the highest in the world. Because we are so good, we need not fear competition. For we are the chosen people. People of the world must come to this paradise to support our high standard of living. And we will continue to prosper and pay our way for all the good things in life. It is our never ending story to prosperity.

IDR and tinted glass

When the two govts are trying so hard to get things going in the IDR, two agencies from opposite side are doing or not doing things to facilitate the movement of vehicles through the causeway. Both sides have different specifications for tinted car windscreens which technically makes travelling by cars a pain to the travellers. What is acceptable and not acceptable is going to irritate all the drivers. Can't the two agencies sit down and talk over kopi and decide on a common specs for the benefits of travellers/drivers? Or should such a minor issue become another sore point to the two agencies and to travellers?

5 man SAF team returned from Afghanistan

It was reported in the media that a 5 man SAF dental team has returned from a humanitarian mission in Afghanistan. And another engineering team is still there till Oct 31. It only reminds me of the 23 Korean hostages incident. What if? Hope we don't have to plead and bargain for their lives.

Umno Youth threatening bloggers

Hishamuddin had spoken again, threatening bloggers with sedition. "Umno Youth warns that freedom has its limits and we will not tolerate those who touch on issues of national stability, harmony, cultural values and the personality of national leaders," he said. Actually who are the greatest culprits in raising sensitive issues and threatening violence in the country? Luckily he did not draw his kris this time round.

Sin of Waste

Singapore will pay for its sin of waste one day. We are getting more like the Americans, wasting precious resources without a care as to how resources could be used more efficiently. We discard our cars after 10 years, some even less. Now we are tearing down buildings that are in good conditions, millions to build and millions added on by their owners. Tearing down some low rise houses for highrise is a necessity. But tearing down highrise to add on a few more floors and to charge the buyers more, all for more profits, well, it is a different ballgame. It is greed and waste with total disregard to the destruction of mother earth. More bricks and mortars, iron and steel, aluminium and plastics and mother earth will be used in the process. The immediate impact is to drive property prices up. And more people will end up having to pay more. The people who benefitted from en bloc sales will use the new cash to pay more by downgrading. This will in turn push up prices in the sector that they downgraded to. When property prices keep going up and income does not keep pace, many will end up chasing a fleeting dream. And when the bubble bursts, often it does, many will end up with valueless properties either people do not want or cannot afford to buy. The American subprime loan crisis is a good reminder of what could happened or had happened here before. When property prices were driven to ridiculous levels and the developers and all their cheer leaders and pom pom girls keep cheering that it is a good thing, prices will go higher. Now a HDB flat cost more than half a million, back to the pre crash prices of $600k and $700k. These are ridiculous prices, excessive for their real values. It will come tumbling down again. There will be no buyers to pay for them except the few who made easy gains from en bloc sales. The normal buyers, people who earned their money the proper ways, the hard ways, cannot afford to waste on such extravagant prices. Keep cheering and be irresponsible. The crash will come again. We will have our own subprime loan in over lending to the property market one more time. Non performing loan crisis. Our economy and income level cannot sustain an ever rising property prices.

Educating on the Inevitable

The old must die. That is a certainty that no one can escape. When the body ages, all the systems must fail, and all the regenerative and defensive systems must break down. That is life. We need to educate the people on the inevitable. We must educate the people that the road to the beyond is not something to fear or to delay at all cost. The people, especially the less educated and enlightened masses, must be assured that there is nothing in dying. It is a natural path to take. It is good to live as long as one is healthy and able, and with the finances to keep life going in a comfortable way. But if health does not permit, or finances are drying up, and when age and sicknesses catch up, there is a time to let go. When the people have been taught to expect the inevitable, there is lesser fear of death by old age. There will also be lesser worry about saving not enough for old age and the expensive hospital bills. There is no need for expensive hospital bills. Why should a lonely, homeless, penniless person, with all the body systems breaking down, insist on staying alive and paying a ransom to the medical profession and institutions to remain in that pathetic and useless condition? Would it be better, if he still have some savings in his CPF or Medisave, to use it to make his life more comfortable, enjoy his few remaining years with the food that he misses or the wine he wants to taste and live life to the fullest instead of stinging to keep all the money to be given away for the medical care givers to splurge on themselves? We must educate the people to save for their own comfort and enjoyment and not to feed the medical bills. Up to a point, there is no need to throw more money away to pay medical bills when the effort is futile.

Japan, the military demon awakening

Despite all its claims of being a peaceful nation, the Japanese have been quietly and steadily reviving their militarism and are eager to tell the world that the old Japan, military supremacy, is back on its feet. The Japanese military build up is anything but small. Its armed forces are probably bigger than the Chinese in financial terms or at least not too far off. It could even take on the two Koreans combined if necessary, and China, with the Americans behind them. That is how powerful the so called Japanese Self Defence Force is. And like Taiwan, they are slowly changing all the names from a Self Defence Force that cannot be deployed to conduct wars outside Japan, to a normal, and a military machine to wage wars against other nations. Its constitutions too have been amended. And the regular visits to the Yasukuni Shrine and the drumming up of military sentiments and past glories, including rewriting history books, revealed the real intention of the Japanese. Iraq was a stepping stone to test the water. And with the Americans controlling the agenda, the world kept quiet and allowed Japanese troops to be deployed outside Japan. Now that the taboo is over, the next and more aggressive posturing will be Afghanistan. The Americans are goading the Japanese to go along as a warring partner after Europe have given up on them. Now it is left only for one war mongering nation to join hands with another war mongering nation to prove how capable they are in the conduct of war. Afghanistan is the new battle ground for imperialist forces to quell the resistance. Afghanistan will be the new burial site for young Americans and Japanese soldiers. Japan will see their first war casualties after the Second World War in Afghanistan. Two eager beavers who see military supremacy as the absolute goals for their nation, and for the egos of their political leaders. When the rest of Europe and Asia were devoting their resources and energy in the peaceful pursuit of trade and industry, America and Japan are making plans for more wars. Rice and the Japanese Sushi are in serious discussion on how many Japanese troops should be deployed in Afghanistan. Did the world see another Hitler and Hirohito in the making?

Myth 157 - The American Financial Myth

What goes round will come around. The Asian financial crisis that battered Asian economies and made them look like little boys in the world of high finance, and making the West looked like school masters having a thing or two to teach the unsophisticated Asian govt, was a humiliating experience to say the least. And IMF came around, with the Americans in charge, dragged the little Asian boys by the collar and cane on the other hand, and reprimanding, these are the things that Asian govt must do. No buts. Asian govts were told to open up their books, revealed all the bad debts, more transparency, more regulations and controls, no more subsidies, closed down badly managed financial institutions, basically, to get their straw houses in order with strict financial control, thrift and prudent govt expenditure. The Asian economies were badly managed, or Asians just could not manage them and needed the expertise of the West to clean up their acts. It is time Asian govts pop over to Washington and see what Asians can do to help the Americans. They have badly mismanaged their financial institutions and are literally broke. Not only the sub prime loans but also huge trade deficits and wild and unrestrained spending. How about Mahathir going there, representing Asian financial institutions, carrying a bag of goodies and a cane and telling Bush to pull up his socks? Imagining Mahathir telling Bush to rein in all the bad debts, closed the loss making institutions down, tighten belts, no more deficit spending, no more money for wars, and more regulatory controls and transparency? And if all these still fails to bring back the American economy to health, Mahathir can teach them to stop the greenbacks from trading and fluctuating freely. Fix the exchange rate for the greenbacks, institute currency control and stop speculations. That would be the American nightmare. What happens to all the world class financial gurus? How could America's financial institutions be so badly mismanaged and allowed to go on for so long? Did they know what the hell was going on or do they know the fundamentals of economics? Cheap loans, high credit risks, deficit budget, are all the ingredients to a major economic crisis. The next thing that will come around are the diseases on livestocks and natural disasters that the Asians are experiencing. You cannot run. It will come around.

Preventing a meltdown

Across the world, all the central banks are pumping money into the economy and stock markets to avert a meltdown, except for those who have delinked themselves from the American capitalist system, eg the muslim states and Myanmar. What an irony. They are saved from a world system that is built on greed, exploitation and mismanagement by the Americans. And the Americans are pouring good money to chase after bad money, US$38 billion in the last few days to buy up bad sub prime mortages. When the fundamentals are wrong, it will go badly wrong. Spending and living on credit without thinking of repaying, or extending credit to unworthy customers, like our Ah Long, are awaiting a disaster of unimaginable proportion. The Ah Longs will find all ways to recover their loans. The Americans think that there is no need to recover these loans and will keep refinancing them over time, just like their trade deficits. Can it last? While the Americans were deceiving themselves into the sub prime mortgage industry, the bad thing is that they are exporting these poor credit risks to the rest of the world. Many unsuspecting countries and funds were lured into investing in such mortgages. And Murphy's Law was waiting to prove itself right anytime. Dow was down about 200 pts last night but managed to crawl back to lose only 31 pts. What a close call.

Myth 156 - Saving not enough

Singaporeans, at least 80% of them, are having a nightmare that they have insufficient savings for old age and retirement. Why is there so much hype and obsession about savings? Insufficient savings have been an issue as old as prostitution. The people of the world have insufficient savings to retire like kings and queens. But many will still live and survive even with little or no savings. The present assumption is that everyone must retire with a huge nest egg, scrimping from their daily needs, so that when they retired, they will be richer and have more money to spend than when they were healthy, young and working. And there is also this assumption that the cost of inflation will outrun all their savings and they will never have enough. Another part of the equation is to take away all family support and the asset esp the HDB flat that will also become quite a bundle with inflation. And of course when all these oldies are old and feeble, they need to spend more to live like healthy young things with a growing appetite to spend and party. And now people are encouraged to work for as long as they are alive. Actually as long as one is able to find a job that one can work till one drops dead, there is no need for savings. The longer one works, the shorter one has to live on one's savings. So the lesser savings is needed. If only more jobs can be created for the oldies. Who needs all the pretty young salesgirls or salesboys when these jobs can be done by granddads and grandmas, and at lower cost? Singaporeans are over saving, and for what? Oh to feed the ever increasing hospital bills and other cost of living.

Price Survey

With so many incidents of price hikes and profiteering, the Dept of Statistics should conduct a survey on the prices of food sold in all hawker centres and food courts, plus shops. The survey form shall list out all the items on sale, what is the latest price, when was it changed and what were the last three prices. Make this a compulsory survey like the household surveys and not completing them honestly will be heavily fined. Once the hawkers and stall holders have submitted their guilt in black and white, then go after them one by one, at your own time.

Singaporean Dictionary v1.1

With a few new additions The Singaporean Dictionary of famous phrases, in jest. (To be added on as more gems are discovered) Affordability: It means affordable according to the income of the person saying it. Brutal Truth: Utter only by the super rich and super talents. Equality: Some have more rights than others. Or as in Animal Farm. Foreign talents aka Fallen Trash: Not very bright foreigners but can replace Singaporeans on cheaper pay. Foreign workers: To compete with local workers to keep wages low. GST: Tax to benefit the poor and lower income citizens High Pay: Free of corruption Honest Mistake: Free from accountability. A learning process for taking risks. IR: Another term for Casinos Let's move on: Enough. We have decided and no one should say anything more about it. Case closed. Local talents: Only in demand overseas Majority: If 1 million did not vote and 3 voted, 2 is a majority. Means Testing: An opportunity to strip a citizen down to bare all his poverty. Mee Siam Mai Hum: Uniquely Singapore National security: My security, or the security of whoever saying it. NKF: Every Singaporean knows what it means. Pah Si Buay Chow: Stay on as long as the pay is good. Peanuts: As it is, good for monkeys only. Political talents: The best of all the country's talents. Privatisation: This is a process to make public service organisations more efficient. Once they are privatised, the have to operate to make profits. Inevitably all become more efficient. Quitters: Applicable to Singaporeans who can't make it here. Redbeanforum = online rantings in futility? ;P Retirement age: Not applicable in politics Shareholders' interest: This is used to justify profit at all cost. The shareholders' interest is supreme to the interest of the general public or the country. Straight As: Above average students. Anything below is average or below average. Straits Times: Tongue in cheek views of professional journalists for nation building. Subsidies: Govt subsidises, the people pay. Super talents: Measures by income . Tooth: Tooth that Singaporeans believe in. A variation of truth. Transparent: For me to know, for you to find out. Unemployed: Refers to lazy and choosy individuals. World class: This has many definitions depending on the context. World class govt: Highest paid govt. This is unchallenged. Will appear in Guinness Book of Records soon. World class public transport: Sardine packed public transport. World class universities: Based on the criteria of assessments and number of foreign students and lecturers tweaked to fit to the expected model.

How good are fund managers?

Dow hit by 380 pts fall The SubPrime Loan crisis is not going to go away. American and European Banks are pumping in a few hundred billion US$ to try to stave off the problem. Some American and probably European funds are hit bad. Investors who have put faith in the professional expertise of these fund managers are heading for a rude shock. Could this be the American equivalent of the Asian financial crisis? Let's hope that these great talents and fund managers are able to clean up the mess they have created. It is unbelieveable that they could create such a big bubble for themselves and they are teaching the world how to manage their economies.

Bus concessionary pass is a privilege

Tammy Tan of SBS Transit replied in a letter to the media that concessionary pass is a privilege. So no pass just pay adult fare. Is the running of public transport a privilege or a right of bus companies? Why do we need humans instead of running everything by unthinking computers or robots? This is the kind of Singaporeans that we are creating. The unthinking kind that just work by following the book. A very good example of such Singaporeans are the security guards. Because of the terrorist threat, all the guards are told to check for pass. No pass no entry even if he knows who you are, that you greet him or he greets you every morning. Another stranger who picks up a pass and wears it on his chest will be allowed into a building with no question ask. He got a pass. But then, we cannot expect Singaporeans at all levels to have the thinking ability. Thinking too much is dangerous.

Making informed choices

“The Ministry will continue to manage medical inflation without compromising the quality of patient care,” said the MOH spokeswoman. “We will use market forces, where appropriate, to manage medical costs — for example, through publishing bill sizes and quality indicators. She added: “This will allow Singaporeans to make informed choices on where to seek treatment and provide transparent benchmarks on the comparative efficiency of healthcare providers.” Singaporeans will now be better informed. So they can choose between SGH, KKH, NUH, CGH or AGH. And if they still find these hospitals unaffordable, they can try Gleneagles, Mt Elizabeth, Thomson, Raffles, East Coast, Mt Alvernia etc. Now that Singaporeans have so many choices, they should not complain about high hospital charges.

S Dhanabalan awarded Order of Temasek

This man has been in the thicks of Singapore's development and transformation from a third world to first world status. He has held many key positions that would make anyone envious of the opportunities he had. And he had done well in these offices. He is well respected and according to Jackson Tai, a man for the masses and more important, inculcating a corporate culture based on integrity and fairness. Now how many big organisations can boast about these values of integrity and fairness and be proud of them? How many are seriously violating every inch of good conduct, fair and ethical practices and masquerading under a big innocent smile?

Celebrating National Day

As Singapore celebrates its 42nd National Day, Hsien Loong made a speech about the glorious achievements we have made for four good years of growth under his watch as the new PM. Among the many things to cheer about, he listed the following: 1. Our athletes are winning medals 2. Our Chefs are winning culinary contests ( should include all the Guinness Book of Records Singaporeans have achieved) 3. Our entrepreneurs are launching new businesses 4. Our students are excelling at all kinds of international events 5. We are gearing up for new and exciting projects, like the Formula One Grand Prix and integrated resorts 6. A clean and corruption free society 7. Disciplined and well educated workers 8. A cohesive, multi racial community 9. A capable and vigilant SAF and Home Team Then he went on to discuss about the problem of widening income gap and how the govt has put in measures to help those who are struggling to make a living. And there were many programmes like Comcare and Workfare to help needy Singaporeans. Actually a widening income gap may not be the real problem if the people at the lower end have enough to eat and are able to pay for their expenses. What is frightening the people and causing hardship and pain to the people is the constantly rising costs and money not enough. The galloping away of costs of essential services and basic necessities is the greatest failure of the govt. It is not a case of these costs cannot be arrested but more a case of a belief that profits are good for all these providers of goods and services. And the govt only needs to give some handouts when there is a need to. Thus the people at the lower end will forever be chasing for money to pay for the increasing costs. And whatever income or savings they have will never be enough. If the costs of living can be curbed and contained, there is no fear of a widening income gap. There is no fear of earning a little lesser as things are not going to cost more everyday. And there is lesser fear that savings, the CPF, the Medisave, will never be enough. There is no need for handouts. Give to the people by not giving. Rein in the runaway costs.

En bloc wealth, real or illusion?

Lucy Huang wrote to the ST complaining that after benefitting from an en bloc sale, she is having trouble finding a replacement unit of equivalent locations as the prices have gone way way up. If she is to benefit from the sale, then she either has to buy an unit at the fringe of the island or downgrade. She is now calling for the govt to intervene to bring down the prices of flats nearer to the city areas. Now, can I say 'Did I tell you?' I think all those who benefitted from en bloc sales should just buy another property, cheaper ones, either smaller or away from the city and enjoy the cash windfall. They can't have the cake and eat it at the same time.

Back where it belongs?

The statue of the construction worker, a foreign talent, is back where it is, taking pride in the company of Stamford Raffles. If these paid workers, who came because we pay them well relative to what they can get at home, and are regarded as doing us a favour, sacrificing for us, then what about our forefathers who worked for less? In those times, their pay and working conditions were even worst than now. Why are we not recognising their contributions but feel so compel to recognise the contribution of these recent foreign talents? Any Singaporeans feel outraged?

Power of the web

Muslim intellectuals easily converted to become radicals and recruited to be terrorists. And the radical muslim groups have been exploiting the web to expound their cause and spread their message of violence. And they are very successful. Now there is nothing more effective than fighting fire with fire. Singapore is going to use the power of the web to fight these deviant websites. We are going to put up slick websites to attract muslim youths to the more positive and correct views of Islam and pull them away from the draw of radical sites. I think they can take the cue from the creative ways of Stomp to attract readership with their young oriented articles and posts and all kinds of attractions. Now we are seeing a new kind of wars being waged in cyberspace, competing for the control of the minds and attention of the youth.

Malaysia is secular - said Karpal Singh

Karpal Singh quoted Tunku Abdul Rahman and Tun Hussein Onn that Malaysia is a secular state. He also quoted the Supreme Court ruling in Feb 29, 1988, 'We have to set aside our personal feelings because the law in this country is what it is today, a secular law...' Is it that people have short memory? Or perhaps the ruling of the Supreme Court in 1988 was written in English and some cannot read English today? Malaysia is a secular or Islamic state. It cannot be anything in between, a halfbaked state, not knowing what it is. This will be a good opportunity for the Malaysian govt to state it clearly what it is so that all Malaysians do not live in a state of make beliefs, believing what they want to believe but totally different from realities.

Since when has Pakistan become the 52nd state?

George Bush and many US officials categorically said that if need be, the US will send their military into Pakistan to wipe out the Al Qaeda. And they is no need to inform or seek the permission of the Pakistan govt. Hmmm, when has Pakistan become a state of the US and the Americans can do anything they want in that country? Unwittingly, the US is doing a great disservice to their strongest one man ally in Pakistan, Musharraf, by undermining his standing in the eyes of Pakistanis. What kind of leader is Musharraf that the Americans can ignore him completely to operate military forces in Pakistan? Or is the US intentionally doing so to discredit him and has someone more congenial in mind to replace him? Or is Pakistan already in the complete control of the US? One thing for sure, the resistance of the Pakistanis and their anti American feelings will only grow with this kind of American rhetorics. How not to sow anti American sentiments when they do not have the slightest respect for the sovereignty of a nation?

Can bus captains think?

We have upgraded our transport system to world class quality, and going to get better with more improvement in services. Have we also been thinking about the upgraded title of bus captain and making them behave and act a bit like a captain? Though there is nothing much to expect from such captains, at least they should be able to think a little and be empowered a little to make simple decisions instead of behaving like unthinking labourers. Or they are trying to provoke the commuters to thrash them? A school girl in uniformed was made to pay adult fare insisted by the bus captain just because she forgot to bring her student pass. Even if there is an error of judgement, assuming the girl put on school uniform to cheat the bus company, how much would the bus company lose? Given the way things are, no right minded youth would want to put on a school uniform if they don't have to. And what flimsy excuse did the bus CAPTAIN gave to make the school girl pay more than she needed to? Maybe it is time to re designated bus drivers and call them something more appropriate, like bus drivers.

A different sacrifice

What is this foreign worker statue being honoured by the side of Raffles? From the look of it, it looks like a recent foreign worker with the hard hat. If this is the case, we are over exaggerating the contribution of these foreign workers to our economy. And do we owe them a debt? Who were the real workers who sacrificed their blood, sweat and tears to build this little island? The famous red hat samsui women immediately came to mind. And there were many of the living testaments still haunting the streets of Chinatown and some heartlands. Those were the real pioneers that we have taken for granted and forgotten. The Singaporean labourers and construction workers as well. Just because we are hyping about the greatness of foreign workers and foreign talents, let's not get carried away and forget our forefathers who sweated and bled for what we have today. It may be an ominous sign that the statue was knocked down as an appeasement to our forgotten and belittled forefathers, the people who really sacrificed for this island and got very little in return. They missed the good times and the millions that should be rightfully theirs. Spare a moment of your thoughts to those pioneering men and women.

You want to eat in restaurant?

The beggar asked for another dollar as $2 could not buy him a bowl of noodles. Prices of everything have gone up. The giver was annoyed. What, $2 not enough? You want to eat in the restaurant like me? Beggars cannot be chosers. They should know their station in life. Got things to eat is good enough. If they want to eat at restaurants, they must be real smart and earn smart money. Then they can snap back at beggars who ask for $1 more. Who ask them to be beggars and not smart alecs?

Old formula of success

When the economy is doing well. When there is full employment. When income is going up and up, the old formula that nothing is for free, that all govt services and essential services must operate on a profit basis seem so logical and so effective. But can the same formula continue unabated, without ill effects? The economy is still doing well, jobs are aplenty, so they said. But are the income going up and up? Yes, if one is in the top 20% of the workforce. But for many, the income increase is too little, and to many, hardly any increase, to keep up with all the increases and inflation. In fact many at the bottom are experiencing a shrinking income. The lemon has been squeezed to the point of becoming a pulp. The income of the lower end, even the self employed, have been hit by either lower revenue or higher cost. Even the taxi drivers are being squeezed by the higher cost of rental and petrol. This is a last choice occupation when all else fails. Workers, even professionals, who cannot find employment will find driving taxis and other self employed occupation as a way out. Occupations that they have to work to pay themselves. But as these people keep downgrading, lowering their expectations, they are still being constantly squeezed and their income shrinking while expenses only go up and up. The quality of life of the people at the lower end has been stagnant for many years. There were growth years and improvements in the 70s and 80s. Since the 90s, one can hardly see any betterment. All are struggling to live day to day, trying to make ends meet. And all the public services only think of nothing but hike in their fees and charges. Squeeze them dry, every drop counts.

The Malaysian Pandora Box

Abdullah Badawi came out to say that Malaysia is neither secular or theocratic. What does that mean? Najib and Mahathir said it is Islamic. PAS wants it to be Islamic. The MCA and MIC and the eastern Malaysian states claimed that the founding fathers of Malaysia wanted it to be secular. Would Malaysia be formed if it was to be an Islamic state? The answer is obvious. And the British colonial govt will not allow it. During its conception, it was plain clear to everyone that it was meant to be a secular state with every Malaysian being treated equally except for some special rights to the natives, not just to the Malays. Over the years the Bumis have shifted the goal posts gradually on the threats of another May 13 should the minorities dare to open their mouths. So what we have in Malaysia today is a state running on two principles, Islamic principles and Malay dominance. It is good that the issue is out in the open. Malaysia shall categorically state its position. If it is an Islamic state, a Malay state, or whatever, let it be clear for all and no need to beat around the bush, and everyone guessing. Once the official position is stated and adopted in the Constitution, then so be it. Those who accept it stays. Those who cannot agree with it leave. Only then will Malaysia be allowed to progress in its own chosen path without threats of racial or religious bloodbath. The Malaysians must know what kind of constitution and state principles they are supposed to live by.

NKF story - Knowing shame

The scripture says, 'fearing God is the sign of wisdom.' In life, knowing shame is a sign of honesty. Richard Yong is the first member of the old NKF Board that has apologised, according to his new lawyer, and he is also asking the gullible public, who were betrayed and hurt in the course of events, to forgive him. For a person who has done wrong and asking for forgiveness is a way of acknowledging his wrongs and feeling guilty about it. At least Richard Yong has come about to know that what he had done were wrong and shameful. It is now left to the victims to forgive him. For those who have done no wrong, there is no need to apologise nor any need to ask for forgiveness. It is the fault of the gullible public to be snooked. So do not blame the clever from cheating the public. This reminds me of what the Japanese told the Sick Man of Asia that it was China's fault for being weak. For weakness invites one to be raped. It was China's fault that Japan invaded and tried to colonise it. There is no need to apologise for the invasion.

OCBC Bank - Returning to the roots

It was not many years ago when children were encouraged to save in schools. Banks were also actively promoting savings among children by offering all kinds of schemes and attractive toys to the young savers. Then as banks grew big and strong, they find the few dollars and cents too tedious, unworthy, and costly to manage. So they start to impose a fee for savers who did not have the minimum sum in their bank accounts, something like $1000 or $1500. Small savers suddenly find that it is the bank that is doing them a service and they have to pay to keep their miserable sums in the banks for safe keeping. I think subsequently all the children savers who have less than the minimum sum stop putting their money in the big and strong friendly banks. The banks are now so rich that they find the small savers a pest. I cannot imagine where these small savers are putting their monies but very likely in piggy banks or some tin cans. Where else when no bank is going to keep their few dollars for free? Now OCBC is launching a scheme with all kinds of attractive gifts for the children to save. I believe these children will not have to pay a fee should their savings be too small. Nothing stated on this. Looking at the long run, this is a genius move, a strategic move to sign up all the future depositors to become OCBC account holders. Yes, get them when they are young and once they have got use to OCBC and have an account with OCBC, they will remain there. Unless OCBC mess it up with their services or starts the nonsense of imposing a banking charge again for small savers. Just one generation, OCBC will sign up all the new adults as their account holders. What a smart move. 'Greed has no shame'

Dow down 280 pts on Friday

Looks like Dow is bend on spoiling our National Day celebration. Just when everything is turning around, it came crashing down again. And why should the worry of subprime housing loan in the US concern us? This is their domestic management of housing loans and even if it does affect us or the world market, it should be of a bearable nature when funds withdraw some investments out of other markets to cover their losses back home. And some banks here may also be exposed to these loans but should not cause any panic. Even losses of a few hundred millions are not a life of death situation. Our economy is booming and the construction industry is full of works for the two IRs. These are totally detached from the US housing loan woes. So are many industries around the world. But if funds join the fun and short the market down, all the markets will go down regardless of fundamentals. It is about time that Asian bourses detach itself from the domination of Dow and take a life of its own. The Chinese market has taken on a character of its own and without too much foreign fund manipulations it is able to perform on its own merits. We will have to hope that sensibilities are not too badly affected and Asian bourses remain firm on Monday. But it will need some encouragement from analysts and fund managers to make some affirmations that the fall in Dow need not be so deadly and some sectors of he economy are totally undisturbed by the housing loans trouble.

Malaysia heading towards a crisis

Malaysia is heading towards a crisis of unimaginable proportion, worst than May 13. This time it is not because they having too small an economic pie. It is the other way round, they want the whole cake and eat it. And to make matter worst, they are being led by two of the hottest firebrand and ambitious politicians, both trying to outdo each other to prove that they are worthy of the Premiership. Hishamuddin was hot, but he cannot hold a candle to Khairy who is bent to upstage him in all aspects. Khairy is going to prove himself to be a fiercer fighter for the Malay course. He is prepared to burn down anything in his path. On the other hand the MCA and MIC, after their shameless appeasement of UMNO in 1955 by giving in without a fight, is again hiding meekly in their closets without breathing a word of protest at all the changes that are being made to the detriments of the minority races. This time, with better organisation and more power in their hands, the bloodbath is going to be clinical and complete. The kris will be drawn and wash with blood if the firebrands are not stop in their path for personal glory.

Greed has no Shame

As we march down the road towards greed, as we celebrated the virtues and benefits of greed, it is time that we discard all the hypocrisies about goodness, generosity and a caring society. We should boldly embrace the positive aspects of greed and how it drives every man and woman to his best in chasing after more money. It is time to stop all the hypocritical acts of unproductive idealism. Singaporeans must be taught to cherish the culture of greed. That is how we can progress at an ever faster pace, financially and economically. We will have the best of everything money can buy. Anything that were claimed as virtues and money cannot buy were false virtues, mirages, the opium of the poor. There are ample proof and evidence that greed is the driving force in our growth. And everyone who is plainly displaying this by clinging onto whatever they have, title, position, influence and money, to get to more money for themselves, without shame. Singaporeans must be brave to tell the world that this is our culture and our formula for success.

38% return per annum since 2002

Who can match such a sterling performance by Temasek? Wealth added is $23 bil and net value of portfolio from $129 bil to $164 bil or $35 bil added. Thus the 38% return should be somewhere between $23b and $35b. Is it reasonable to say that for the last 5 years, 2002-7, the average return from investment is about $25b times 5 or $125b? Now this number may look too big. How about a ballpark figure of $100b? And this would mean that in 2002, the net portfolio was only $64b. Reasonable? Just guessing. Not going to crack my head on this.

Non Muslim Minister speaking up

Bernard Dompok, a Minister in the Prime Minister's Dept has spoken up against the Islamic State remark. Obviously Bumi Ministers have totally disregard the existence of many non muslims in East Malaysia and have taken their existence for granted. If Malaysia is an Islamic State, then East Malaysia too will come under Islamic principles. The natives and many East Malaysians are not muslims. Bernard Dompok said many people he knew would be very unhappy and they would 'have to contend with the issue for now.' Did he meant to contend the issue or to be contented with the issue for now? If they are to take on the issue now and fight it then there is hope that Malaysia will not become an Islamic State. If they are to be contented with the situation now, then it is as good as Malaysian becoming an Islamic State quitely and surely.

Lin Xue Ling interviewed Ngiam Tong Dow

Thank god, it was not Xue Ling Lin interviewed Tong Dow Ngiam. At least CNA got it right. Otherwise it would be Ms Xue interviewed Mr Tong. Lately all the Ah Beng Lims and Ah Lian Tans seems to have disappeared for a while, or taking cover. Or there will be a new surname, Mr Ah, to take note of. The gist of the interview where Ngiam Tong Dow was so fortunate to serve under two great pioneering leaders, Goh Keng Swee and Hon Sui Sen, was his comment on compassion. He said that in any system, there would be the 5% that would have problems and not making it and needed help. And the govt must have a little compassion to help these people. Yes, these are the lazy, useless people to some. To the kinder ones, these are the people that are less endowed, less gifted, handicapped or under privileged that have too many chains around them to run forward. Though it is the brutal truth that the able should be amply rewarded and be given the biggest share, such thoughts are very ungenerous. Coming from private individuals is ok. But from people in public offices is bad. Anyone in public service and thinks about how many more millions he should be getting and constantly trying ways to make sure that he will not be short changed should not be in public service. The public sector cannot have room for money minded individuals who have little compassion for the less able. Being in public service, they are expected to look at the whole picture and their policies, thinking and decisions must be inclusive of everyone in the country. They should not be thinking only of themselves and their great and clever friends. Compassion in our society today is showbiz. It is only for display over the big screen, to be seen but does not mean anything.

What is the US doing to help the S Koreans?

Are the US helping or doing the contrary, telling the Afghan govt to stand firm, stay the course and not give in to the Taleban demands? Are South Korean lives unimportant to the Americans? Aren't the South Koreans part of the Coalition of the Willing and deserve to some help from the Americans? If there is another death due to lack of American initiative to free the hostages, this will be like the Americans burning their bridge with the South Korean govt. And they will be kicked out of South Korea. There could be a mass outcry and uprising to kick the Americans out. The Americans better do something fast or be seen as abandoning their closest ally in the war.

The profit motive

When everything is about profit, nobility, idealism, selflessness, charity etc are no longer meaningful concepts. As we move towards a new century of selfish interest and wealth accumulation for the sake of wealth accumulation, we much stop teaching our children about charity, about noble deeds and acts of love, compassion or charity to fellow beans. We should not be hypocritical. These are only useful occasionally to give the public a false impression that one is generous, just a PR exercise. The professions of teaching, of healing the sick, when transform into money making machines, will lose their intrinsic meaning and nobility. Teachers will only teach more and put in more effort if the parents are willing to pay more. Medical professionals will only heal the sick and dying if they are willing to pay, and pay at a ransom. There is no qualms when making money is the only reason to do an act. And no one needs to apologise for it. It is the culture and mentality of the 21st Century. Sorry, can you afford to pay?

Prime Car Rental and Taxi Services

What is this Ginny comes lately trying to do? To spoil the market and make other companies look ridiculous? They are going to charge lower fare, by lower ing flag down rate. And any cost savings will be passed to drivers with lower rentals and flag down rates when they go into compressed natural gas which is cheaper and more efficient. But I don't mind. I will only flag for their taxis in the future. That's the way to go Prime.

Numbers to justify higher fares

SBS Transit quoted $67.4 mil needed for cost increases and rolling out of 100 new buses. SMRT quoted $9.6 mil increases in electricity and fuel and another $11 mil in GST and CPF contributions. The reported quarterly profits of the two companies were $16.4 mil and $32.4 mil respectively. These can be translated to an annual profit of $65.6 mil and $129.6 mil or thereabout. In the case of the SBS, the cost for the 100 buses can be spread over a few years and the profit would still put them in very good shape. In the case of SMRT, wow, $129.6 mil still not enough. Maybe they are right, without this privatisation for profit, they will remain inefficient and the services will be bad. Now with the emphasis on profit everything is good and bright, high profit, high efficiency and on the way towards a world class transport service organisation. If Singaporeans want good quality world class services, they must be prepared to pay more for it. And what is 1 to 3c? Surely these are nothing. And the increases are for their own good. It would be better if the increases are more, then the quality of the services will be better. They may get pipe in music, cold face towel, and pretty hostesses to say 'good morning sir', 'have a good day sir', in the future. And there will be no rushing or pushing or squeezing. Everyone will have a comfortable place to sit and read the papers, or maybe have a cup of tea also. Now that will be nice to pay for a little more.

Orchard Road ERP rates up

Effective 6 Aug, 10 gantries around the Orchard Road area will go up by 50c. So affordable. And for motorcycles, even less, only 25c. And buses and goods vehicles will only go up by 75c and $1. And good news, all other gantries will have no hikes. Singaporeans are so lucky that the rates are going up by so affordable amount during such good times. Now I will totally avoid Orchard Rd and spend more time polishing my car in the car park. Cars are meant to be parked in the car park. See my new hobby, car polishing car admiring.

Another Korean shot and more to come

So, the politicians are still riding on their high horses to let the balance 21 to be shot? Pity the mothers of these idiots. Mothers should not bear children that are as stupid as these Koreans. And anyone who thinks he is full of compassion and wants to lead any bunch of stupid people to a war torn country must first be shot.

SMRT's god damn right to raise fees

SMRT's god damn right to raise fees Despite the huge profits year after year, SMRT is going to ask for a fee hike, another affordable 1 to 3c. It is as if it is SMRT's god damn right to raise fee and make profit by just raising fees, without competition of course. There are many reasons why SMRT must not be allowed to think this way and get away with it. First, it is an essential service. Two, the infrastructure was laid using public money. Three, it is a monopoly. Four, It is pushing the cost of living higher for the lower income people. Five, the people just been hit by a 2% GST and the escalatiing of prices of basic necessities. Six, transportation is the like the blood flow of a person. It the flow is clogged up by higher cost, less people will be moving around and less social and economic activities will be the outcome. Lets see if there is any MP who will stand up to oppose this mentality of ever increasing fees. Let's see if there is any organisation, or labour movement to fight against this monopolistic business for the well being of the workers. Let's see if there is a public outcry. Let's see if someone will take the initiative to start another petition to register the public's disgust over the impending increase. Only a monopolistic business, and especially an essential service, can keep raising its fees to increase its profits.

Tough leaders and tough decisions

While the leaders of Afghanistan and South Korea are acting tough, and they are expected to live up to that image as strong leaders, that they will not yield under pressure, the fate of the 22 hostages hangs in a limbo. Heard that one more was shot last night. So 21 left. And at the rate it is going, the leaders can act tough for another 21 days before the ordeal is over. Great men think alike and behave alike. They will be remembered as strong and tough leaders. Stupid people need to be shot to learn a lesson in life. And they can be remembered, either as martyrs or fools.

Citizen journalism

It is reported that NowPublic, a citizen website in Vancouver, now has 120,000 contributing 'reporters' in more than 140 countries. Though the figure is definitely exaggerated, but even a 10% active contributors will mean a figure of 12,000. Thats very good. Redbeanforum and Mysingaporenews have quite a lot of readers and some contributors. It will be nice if everyone do a little reporting and contribution and we can grow a bit bigger. Everyone is a citizen journalist. It is not just reporting, but expressing a different view point on things and events. The age of citizen journalism is here. Technology has make it so convenient and efficient for anyone who has something to say to say it, without having to be vetted or edited to suit someone else agenda. Citizens must exploit this new tool to the fullest for personal development, satisfaction or to better the life of the people or the cities or countries they are living in. Gagging of public voices is a thing of the past.

Better quality public transport

So we are going to see better quality public transport and a transformation of the quality of life of the commuters. Travelling in public buses is now going sci fi with life information of bus arrival time. That's not all. Information will also tell whether the bus is wheelchair able. And since we are having such a sophisticated system, as a commuter, I would like to see more information provided. How about displaying how many empty seats available, the aircon temperature in the bus, the type of bus and the type of seats, cushion or plastic? Some may not be able to sit on hard plastic because of medical or physical conditions. We can add on more quality services later on. And with so many things to read on the screen, bus stops must be upgraded so that commuters can spend more time to enjoy the facility in comfort, eg air condition and pipe in music, to read books. Another thing that they must upgrade is the quality of the drivers. Oops, sorry, captains. Lets have something like airline captain standards, with nice manners and at least clean and nicely pressed uniforms, and with a captain's peak cap to go with the new image. And must send them for personal grooming courses so that they appear more like a captain. We will look quite futuristic as a city. Clean, green, sophisticated, hi tech, sci fi, and well groomed. Talking about making use of satellite technology to the fullest. It was reported that the first proposal cost $100 mil and the second was $40 mil. Both were scrapped because of cost and now this one is cheaper. But no figures given.

Retirement village in oil palm plantation

I was discussing with some investors on the viability of setting up retirement villages in Johore, inside oil palm plantations. The return would surely be much better than what oil palm can give, and faster. With low land and labour cost, it is an attractive proposition. The only hitch is security. How to keep the place safe and really safe that safety and security would never even be an issue, that safety and security can be taken as a given? For retirement villages, the residents may be rich, but old and feeble. They are very vulnerable and safety and security will be the number one concern. This is a comparative advantage that has yet to be exploited for financial gains.

Malaysia's comparative advantage

Najib is saying it again to reassure foreign, esp Singaporean investors, that the IDR is a long term investment and there will be no flip flops of policies again. I think the Malaysian govt knows very well the problems and issues and is trying to alleviate the fears of investors. But talk is one thing. It is actions and concrete rules and regulations that the investors are waiting. And Najib also understand the huge comparative advantage which Johore has vis a vis Singapore in terms of land and labour cost. The Malaysian govt should exploit this fully as the ridiculous land and property prices and rentals in Singapore would make Malaysia extremely attractive. Why are the Malaysians waiting? This is the time to compete aggressively with Singapore and wrestle as many investments as they can to Johore. And it is so easy if they can ruin in the parochial and kampong mentality of the local politicians and keep them at bay. A rich and prosperous Johore is good for everyone. And Johore stands to gain to become the most developed and industrialised and modern state of Malaysia. Only if they have the political will to grab the bull by the horns.

The beast of Cyberspace 5 govt agencies are going online to tap the power of the internet. They want to participate in feedbacks and two way communications with their customers. They must have seen the goodness and the evolving role of cyberspace and do not want to be missed out. The importance of cyberspace and internet as a communication tool are growing by the days. But the fear is always there. How to manage and control feedbacks and information, how to censor the undesirable, how to not hear the bad news? Political observer, Viswa Sadasivan said, '... a good starting ground could be sectors that are less "risky" and where the citizenry-government rules of engagement are 'less rigid", such as sports, the environment and tourism.' This fear of the cyber beast is frightening. Any wrong move will see them being devour to pieces by the beast. Got to tread gently. So frightening.