We are the best

The best students in our schools are placed on the through train Integrated Programme(IP). And the very best took the new subject Knowledge and Inquiry(KI) in place of their GP. This KI is of a higher level and more difficult. So is the IP programme which is designed to prepare students for tough university education. How can those overseas universities refused to accept our best students that have IP and KI? Those universities who don't are going to lose out as they will not have our best with them. Tell them good riddance. We will find places for our best and brightest students in other universities that are willing to accept them. And I also heard that some universities insist that our best students must also have 'O' level results. Why? Can they accept that our students without 'O' level results are actually our cream? Maybe our MOE can issue a testimonial to these students to vouch that they are great academic material. Would these overseas institutions still ignore their top grades and insist on their 'O' level? We are first world country, not third world where the grades can be manufactured. We have good quality control system and very strict professional standards. In the meantime, for those students who may not gain a place in these foreign universities, don't worry, we will find a way. Just pray that everything will be alright.

Notable quotes by LKY

"To be the prime minister, you don't have to know every instrument, but you got to recognise, ah, he's a good violinist, he'll be the first violinist, he'll be the double bass. He will play the viola, he will have the trumpet, he will do the drums. Then you coordinate them and then you have great music. And if you already have a great orchestra, you can put a dummy there and you still got great music." Lee Kuan Yew

Aga aga can liao

Literally translated, it means guess work also can do. Gone were the days when we pride ourselves to do things correctly, accurately, professionally and anything that is hapzardly done is frown upon. We are the best and we will not accept slipshod work. What has mean testing becoming to? Get some simple data so that it is easy to handle, not accurate never mind, aga aga also can. Too detail, too tedious, too complicate, too problematical. Wah lan eh. Like that also can.

Caregivers getting notice in Parliament

The issue of caregivers getting some recognisation was discussed in Parliament. Boon Heng would need more time to study the implications before deciding on how to deal with them. Caregivers now only refer to those looking after the sick and aged. What about the young? There are many obvious cases of working couples with young children that need someone to look after. At the same time all the housewives are encouraged to rejoin the industry. The logical choice is to hire a maid. A better and more reliable choice is to get the grandmas, grandpas, sisters or brothers to look after the children. It is more pro family values to depend on relatives than to hire a maid. No doubt this role of mending the young is part and parcel of family life, the alternatives are there for the caregivers of the young to seek a more rewarding jobs than to stay at home. In this materialistic world, the more we need to look at those who choose to stay at home to look after the young and their love ones. This is not an issue for the minister looking after the aged. He has his hands full. Maybe another minister can take a look at it.

Mas Selamat Kastari can survive for a long time

Survival experts claimed that Mas Selamat could survive a long time in our forest reserves on fruits and small animals. That's not very comforting. It is almost one week. Think he might find the wild fruits and wildlife taste pretty jerlat by now. A pot of hot lemak curry and fried chicken might be heavenly to him. It might be a good idea to place a nice food spread on the fringe of the forest. Anyone know what is his favourite food? Easier than searching for him in the thick forests. : ) I got this funny feeling that while the commotion is all in the nature reserves and parks, he could be watching television somewhere in the comfort of civilisation.

Never mind rising rentals...

Singapore voted best city to live in for expats inspite of complains by locals of rising costs and housing. Looks like the increasing cost is not a problem to the foreign talents. Time to raise rentals higher as the foreigners don't mind. I think the foreign students also won't mind. After all Singapore is still cheaper than other western countries and these students are probably quite rich. And for those who aren't, they are probably recipients of scholarships. High prices good. High rentals must also be good. They are paying for quality.

Returning some petrol tax dollars to consumers

If I am not mistaken the petrol tax is based on a fixed percentage of the petrol price. The price has gone up from around $1.80 or less to above $2.00 on average recently. This means that petrol tax collected will proportionally increase by about 10%. Would be nice if the tax can be adjusted downwards just a little to keep petrol price from running away. Transportation cost for all goods and services will go up accordingly if petrol price is allowed to go up unchecked. The repercussion is very pervasive. I already hear people saying 'Fat Hope' that petrol tax will be reduced. Don't ever dream of it. High petrol price is due to external factors beyond our control.

Hong Lim Speakers Corner

There were new calls to revive and promote the Speakers Corner. It is obvious that the corner is dying like the bubble tea shops. It was a flash in the pan excitement. So some people are trying to make this corner a lively place for talking cock again. I believe that the Speakers Corner should be left as it is, as the Symbol of Free Speech that is uniquely Singapore. A speaker's stand should be erected in the park, like the one Stamford Raffles is standing on. And on the stand should be inscribed the history of free speech in Singapore. It can start something like this. Long long ago, freedom of speech was very important in Singapore. And the govt contributed this park for the citizens to express themselves freely. This speaker's stand was also erected to allow the speakers to stand above the crowd to speak. Long queue of speakers took turns to speak to a park packed with spirited Singaporeans. Over the years the people got richer and more contented with their lives and found speaking in the Speakers Corner a waste of time. Slowly they abandoned the park. They have more important things to do, like making more money, than wasting time here. Today, the Speakers Corner is a monument and symbol of the history of freedom of speech given to the people. At the bottom it may include a postscript saying Singaporeans choose to stay at home as transportation cost is too high to get to the Speakers Corner. And on the reverse side of the speaker's stand the whole procedure on application for a permit to speak in the Speakers Corner can also be inscribed. This will make it easy for anyone to know how to go about applying for a permit. The place can then be promoted as a tourist attraction.

Looking for signs of progress?

After so many signs of decline, including the latest spectacle that made us infamous the world over, I am hoping for some signs of progress. Catching Mas Selamat is not one. He must be caught. I am looking at all the great works done by Boon Wan and Eng Hen on providing something for the Singaporeans when the grow old or get seriously ill. The effort is tremendous. The execution poor and the result unpromising. It would be a very different picture if what they have proposed and recommended are explained and offered to the people. Lay everything on the table and tell them, we have done our homework, these are the options available, and everyone feel free to make their own choice. The people are not stupid or stubborn or mad. They will analyse all the options and alternatives and many will make wise decisions for themselves. And they will say thank you to the two gentlemen for telling them the problems in advance and offering them alternative solutions. Their hard work and effort will be much appreciated. And both gentlemen will be seen as good ministers who are toiling for the people. Would they still insist that the people must be compelled to do what they think best and, instead of praise, receive brickbats in return? Why the stubborness to dictate to the people and not to talk to the people and treat the people as reasonable thinking people? Offering the people options and choices is the way forward, the signs of progress of a nation and its people. We have to depart from the ways of old. Those were days when the people were mostly illiterates. We need to believe in the new people of today, that they are capable of making logical choices that are good for themselves.

Questioning the local msm

www.littlespeck.com posted an article by Cherian George questioning a lapse in the reporting of local msm on the Great Escape from Paradise. To Cherian's horror, he discovered that there were no reports or questions asked on how Mas Selamat Kastari escape. In Cherian's opinion, this is something basic that all readers would want to know. He was disappointed of course. But he must understand. Professional journalists and reporters have to be professional and accurate in their reportings. They must gather the data, scrutinise them carefully before putting them on print. This takes time. The bloggers and cyberspace warriors can just point and shoot. So everyone is shooting in all directions. Some hit, some miss. The msm cannot anyhow shoot and miss. Very malu ok. So got to be patient and wait. Maybe when the report from the independent inquiry board comes out, we will have 6 pages of articles on how the escape took place in the msm. In the mean time create your own news and fantasies and enjoy. The internet is one up definitely. The internet is here to stay.

Universities pursuing students

We want you! This is the message going out to all students. The universities are rolling out a full marketing and promotion plan to attract students to their faculties with clever PR and promotion material. I wonder how much it costs to do all these? And the question is, 'Is it necessary?' Are the universities recruiting employees to run a factory or business? Why the aggressive promotion to enlist students? Income? Revenue? Are the universities commercial institutions, running a business? One can expect the private schools to do such things as every student means money to them. For state universities, whose roles are to teach and produce trained graduates, why behaving like MacDonald or Bugger King? The employers need to recruit the best and compete for the best. And there are only 3 of them to choose from. Universities need to do that as well? Why can't the universities just do their job in education and let their products speak for them? They are their own monuments of excellence, together with their alumi. The students should be running to them because they are good. It is another thing to run after students to tell them that they are good. When you have to do that, you have lost. Education shall not fall prey to marketing gimmicks. Education is serious stuff. Education as a business is another animal altogether. They exist to make money. Education and quality of education are incidental. They may even compromise to bring in revenue. Does RI or Hwa Chong need to go chasing for good students? Or are they thinking of doing so?

3 flawed concepts as policies

3 obviously flawed concepts are now national policies. The Longetivity Annuities/CPF Life and Mean Testing both go against the grain of thrift and private properties. They were conceived with your money in mind and to compel the people to spend them against their will. They also go against the principle of letting the people be more self reliance and be responsible for their own lives. Longetivity Annuities, now repacked as CPF Life, are based on the assumptions that people will live to 85 and more and have no money or means to look after themselves. The result is an insurance scheme that only helps those who may not need to be helped and left out those that need to be help. Mean Testing if not properly executed is better not done at all. Everyone, every individual, has his own peculiar problems. It cuts through religious, social and cultural values. You can't tell someone that his $10k income is good enough and his 10 wives and 20 children are his problem. Doing a proper mean testing requires a lot of time and resources. To oversimplify it is a waste of time and effort as all the errors and exceptions will creep in. Is the effort worth it to do a half baked job to catch a few prudent individuals who may have some money but not millions that cannot be spent away? The assumptions that people earning $4k, $5k or $6k, can afford to pay more is grossly flawed. How many people with this kind of income are able to pay a $50k hospital bill? More subsidies are provided in the budget. So? The subsidies to be collected back by the hospitals as income and even profit and the medical fees keep going up. Lack of doctors and overworked doctors! Whose fault? What kind of planning has caused us to reach such a pathetic state? We also have shortage of lawyers. Why? What is the third flawed concept? Medisave. It is a scheme that guarantees one thing. Many people will die without touching the money. Some may use a little and a small group will deplete it. Then people will laugh, 'What is $30K? What's the big deal?' Yes, it is not even near a peanut. But to many, this is a money that is their life fortune. Money that they can use to live a bit more decently and even pampered themselves a little. Alas, they are not going to touch it in their life time. Is it cruel to deprive these hard life buggers from their little nest eggs in the name of 'It is for their own good?' We will not micro manage the people's life. Is this the tooth?

The burden of high salaries

All the hype about paying high salaries to supertalents is now taking a knock. There have been many strong views and attacks on Kan Seng since the disappearing of the Jedi or JI. And if one looks at the reasonings behind it, it is all linked to the high ministerial salaries. They are demanding for greater accountability and responsibility commensurate with the high salaries. Would these people be less harsh on Kan Seng if he is not getting this kind of salary? When high salaries are equated with high talent and ability, the expectation becomes very high as well. You said you are damn good and deserve that high salary, then you better peform and prove that you are worth the money. And when you fumbled, the people is going to come after you. Indeed the high salary, high talent, high expectation formula is becoming a double edged sword. I think the people will be much more kinder and forgiving if the salary is not tagged to high talent and ability. Are these people justified in their expectation and can demand for the axe to fall if it is not met?

It's an exercise...Want to know more?

Let me speculate on this theory with more clues that I have gathered from the msm. Don't take it seriously. This is an exercise too, for those who want to see it this way. And those who want to see it from another perspective can also try to collect their own evidence to support their case. 1. We are famous for being professional and meticulous to the point that nothing can go wrong. And for a highly dangerous prisoner, fat hope that he can fly out from the detention centre. 2. There is a physical breach! Ridiculous suggestion. It is as good as saying our men are sleeping on the job. Unikely. 3. They took 4 hours to release the news. Another sign that there is no need to hurry. 4. The information were in drips and draps and not very accurate. Execise material. 5. Kan Seng was seen on TV smiling. A big giveaway. 6. Search was only on one part of the island around Whitley area. Why only one part and the MacRitchie part not touched on the first day? A bit of artificiality here. 7. Sniffer dogs are now in use, after several days. Why not the first day? 8. Interpol was informed also after a couple of days. Probably no need to tell them but on second thought. 9. After so many days, still searching from one park to another, assuming that he can only hide in parks. Why not HDB or housing estate as the first day? Going into housing estates will be troublesome as it will get the people all excited and difficult to coordinate. In the parks and reserves, like exercise grounds. 10. More information are given after a few days, like computer games. As one advances into the game, more information will be provided to lead the players along. 11. No need to put up monetary rewards for a Most Wanted Man. 12. No condemnation from the US or our neighbours. Now this part is very interesting. I am exhausting my possible clues. 13. Hsien Loong hasn't spoken on this I think. No need to make him comment on an exercise I think these should be enough to build a case that it is an exercise.

The most realistic exercise

Let me just speculate a little on this great escape. At the end of the day it could be the most realistic exercise any country could have conducted. Given the fact that he is a little lame, tagged, and in a small and high tech island where cctv and satellite technology are being harnassed to the fullest, even a mosquito can be tracked and monitored. He will be caught of course. The rewards, the whole system being tested to the fullest. The people becoming fully aware of the threat of terrorism and would not take it for granted. Civil Defence and people's participation and involvement also tested. It is a very worthwhile exercise with everything being controlled and closely monitored while Mas Selamat Kastari thought he was on the run. And they may even be rewarded with all the attempts and contacts that Mas tried in the wilderness. Who would have the last laugh? Don't take things at face value in the city of possibilities. And they don't have to admit it publicly that it was afterall a well coordinated exercise.

He's still here!

This is the most positive and assuring statement coming out from the police. They even confirmed that he was not limping as was previously reported. The limp is only noticeable when he runs. And he could jump start cars easily. Hope he could find a car in the jungle. Hi elle, there have been many conspiracy theories around this escape. It is something that no one believe will happen here. In our neighbouring countries such escapes are expected and occurred quite frequently. Not in the red dot. Now that they are so sure that he is here, you can bet on it that he will be captured. Unless this 'he's still here' is just another guess.

Calling Kan Seng to resign

I have read many postings in cyberspace and msm calling for Kan Sing to take the rap and to resign. That may be tough as we have limited talents and we cannot afford to lose a good minister like him. I am sure that he will gain from the experience and make sure that such things will not happen again. Things could be worst without him. Every talent, especially supertalents, must be treasured. We have been kind to those talents in NKF saga, so we can be kind to those in this case. The people must be gracious and support those who are working very hard to keep this paradise safe and sound. Oops, many are not going to agree with me. That's normal. : )

Favourite wallpaper in mobile phones

Linkin Park, Beckham, F5, Sun Yanzi? Or is it Rain or Jacky Cheung? Who's face would be loaded in the mobile phones of thousands or millions of subscribers? Who is the most recognisable face in paradise and even the world today? Step aside George Bush or Barack Obama. No fight. Today we have a new celebrity, an instant fame. Infamous to be exact. For the PR and commercial organisations, an instanty recognisable face will sell anything. Even aunties and uncles will recognise this face, more famous than the male lead in Winter Sonata. I think he needs a manager right now, or many people are looking for him to be his manager. If Edison Chen is welcomed in Hollywood, Mas Selamat Kastari would be in Hollywood with a bigger appearance fee, and Bollywood, Hongkong Movie Town, and an instant hit in the Middle East. If he is smart enough he should walk out from his hideout somewhere in Caldecott Hill, probably disguising and lookinng like one of the newsreaders, say thank you for all the publicity, denounced whatever he was thought to be, and live the life of a celebrity, rich and famous.

$2000 Reward for lost poodle

The owner was distraught after losing her pet poodle. The poodle was so important to her that she is losing sleep and not eating well. She has combed every corner of her neighbourhood but still no sign of her dear poodle. Finally she decided to cough up $2000 as a reward to anyone who finds the poodle. She knew that there is no free lunch. Why would people run around looking for her poodle for free? I am planning to visit nature today. I have Sungei Buloh, Pierce Reservoir, MacRitchie and Bukit Timah nature reserves in mind. Maybe Labrador Park as well. And I will be on the look out for the poodle. I may chance upon seeing it and pocket $2000. That would save to pay for my petrol and time. Money sure is a great motivator especially for something so valuable and important. And I am planning to go to Ubin and Sentosa next week for a try. Maybe the zoo and birdpark as well. Now why would I want to go to the zoo and the birdpark to search for a poodle, and the islands as well? The monetary reward of course.

The Great Escape from Paradise

Jack Neo better find this fella fast before Steven Spielberg finds him and spiel the beans. Mas Kastari's story is going to be worth millions in Hollywood. He can retire in riches for life. No need to go back to lead the life as a terrorist or fugitive. This story sure beats that of Tok the child murderer or Tan Wah Piow's escape.

All govt fees and charges frozen

Did I read somewhere that all govt fees and charges are frozen at least till the end of the year? What is this that development charges for properties are being raised, as high as 38.9% for hospitals and hotels? Would these not add on to the self inflicted inflation and high cost of living? Would the increases not pass to the consumers eventually? And were these increases caused by external factors beyond our control? Private sector has been told not to increase cost unnecessarily. Now what kind of wayang is this?

One man, one slip and a lot of red faces

No words can describe the Mas Selamat Kastari's escape. No amount of criticism or public outcry nor superlatives will be adequate for such a fiasco. No need to say anything more. There are now many theories about how it could have happened in cyberspace, in msm, in emails and sms and cocktail circuits. Wayang, planned for him to go for some conspiracy reasons, security lapse, a highly coordinated and clever escape plan with internal help, Hollywood style, or he was already dead, etc etc. Everyone's imagination is going into fantasy gear. In my view, walking out of that place is a near impossibility. And according to reports in msm, the guards are all gurkhas, professional soldiers with an impeccable reputation of incorruptibility. Unlikely to be sympathisers or part of any JI movements. So, even if it is an inside job, how could they go pass the gurkhas? For whatever reasons or theories, the damage to our professional and efficient image will take a collosal hit even if he is caught eventually. This is too big a credibility cost to stomach for our reputation and the pride of the men in uniform or our supertalents in govt. Thinking that it is a wayang is too high a price to pay. I was trying to imagine how could a person walk out of the camp and out of the surrounding little jungle without notice. It will take hours to leave the place on foot even if it is possible to walk out of the gate. I rule this out completely. A detailed and well thought out plan by some masterminds and executed by a team of professionals is just as ludicrous. Neither would it be possible for him to dig a tunnel or find a drainage tunnel to slip out from below. The most possible reason is that he has mastered some spiritual power that allowed him to walk out, unseen and unknown to anyone. Hmmm, the logical and objective options were out, and this must be the reason. While everyone is second guessing, thousands of men and women are combing the ground working non stop to track this one man down, all because of a security lapse. The resources and cost put into this exercise is simply unimaginable. And he could still be sleeping inside the detention camp.

The ultimate weapon

After two days, no one has come out with a sound idea of nabbing Kastari quick and fast. It is time to use the ultimate weapon...Money. Offer a $1m reward for his capture, Dead or Alive, as the bounty hunters like to call it. I think many people will be motivated to do the chasing for the money.

Upgrading the quality of education

According to an article in MyPaper today, a parent sent an email to them talking about Sec One students in Maris Stella High are now expected to purchase a $2k MacBook for their personal use. The school has this motto, 'One student, one computer, one great way to learn.' The laptop actually cost between $2277 for a basic model and $2,672 for an upgraded model. The students will definitely be more computer literate and can access to all the websites in cyberspace. It is a bit heavy for a Sec One student to lug along though, and a bit of money to lay hand to one.

Possibility of satellite technology

While so much effort and resources have been invested in satellite technology to track cars on the road, car speed and cars going through ERP gantry points or causing jams, now there is a better use of such leading edge technology. Instead of wasting such resources to become more efficient in collecting tolls, I would suggest that we use it to tag prisoners. Then we can keep track of their every movement. We would definitely know if they are in the toilet if they said they are going to the toilet. And if they escape, if will be a piece of cake to track them down. Satellite technology must have some better use than tracking cars on the road.

Mood was tense but generally inconsequential

The mood in parliament was tense. You could see that on the grim faces and uncomfortable composure of the MPs. Other than that, the issues raised were either irrelevant or of non consequences. I heard about loan sharks and how to make borrowing from them illegal. I heard about trying to meddle with Myanmar's internal affairs, that Myanmar violates human rights, put their opposition leaders in prison, corruption in high places and that sort of things. Actually talking about Myanmar is the safest and most correct thing to do. It was a non event. No more scoring own goals.

Open your hearts to foreigners

This statement alone is flawed and misleading. It is a misconception that Singaporeans are hostile to foreigners. Nay, all foreigners are welcomed here. There may be a few personal and individual incidents of unhappiness or irritations, but on the whole we do not exhibit xenophobic behaviour to our guests. Most fit in very well. Some even go around beating up Singaporeans and insulting them for being stupid. And the Singaporeans take in with a big smile. Some even offer the other cheek. Last year alone we have 63,600 PRs and 17,300 new citizens, nearly 81,000. Our birth rate probably produces 35,000 to 40,000 newborns. With such a huge influx into a small pool of 3 million citizens annually, and to get away with it is a near miracle. But how long can it last? How long can relations and peaceful co existence be maintained? How long can the economy continue to grow to absorb all the people? Shall we stop at 5.5m or 6.5m or 10m? Whatever number, the number game must come to a stop. I still find it very dangerous to think that our lifestyle and environment will not be affected if we keep on stuffing more people here. We will soon be like goldfishes gulping for air on the surface of an aquariam. We should stop this foolish thought that we can go on and on with the help of creativity and technology. Just the roads and transportation will kill us. We are entering a stage when people will not leave their little flats as it is very costly. Driving a car to town, petrol, parking and ERPs will easily add up to $30 or $50. For those taking trains and MRT, a return trip is $3 to $5. Hey, these are money that not everyone can spare. And all the little frills of green lungs and space for a little escape from the rat race will be gone. We may have no place to train our NS men or camps for them to stay. Yes we can keep building higher and higher. We can build more and more roads and MRTs. For what? For who? For what kind of life and what quality of life? At what cost?

What happy mistake?

Whoever thought that the $6.4b surplus was a mistake was being too presumptious. How could it be when all the detailed planning and calculations were churned in the computers and simulators for so many rounds? And the ending of the budget debate was as predictable as the sun will rise from the east. OK everyone had been given a chance to kpkb, and all the criticisms were flawed. Period. I was also presumptious to think that some measures that I thought had gone overboard would be reined back. Alas, I was as wrong as everyone who were calling it a happy mistake. It was an outcome that was likely to be well conceived and expected.

More Parliament gems

Judy Mitchell must be told the brutal truth. If cannot afford to stay in 5 rm, downgrade lah. Go for 4 rm, 3rm or even rental flats. Live within your means and affordability. Simple. Now who is going to tell her that? Who is good at telling brutal truth? I am only good at talking about compassion, kindness, help the needy etc etc. But these are only rhetorics in cyberspace. Just talk cock only. Can't do anything for them. What, I don't have that kind of money, and that's the truth. And Lily Neo is fighting for the lower income group again. She is appealing for more help for them. She said we can't keep telling these untalented people to keep running faster. We need to train them and help them to upgrade. That's true. If they can, they would not need help anymore. But what do they expect, to become managers, CEOs or Ministers? Just kidding.

MPs scoring own goals

Unbelieveable, but the MPs are doing just that, questioning policies and happy mistakes in Parliament. At the rate it is going, we don't really need an opposition. They are definitely doing a better job than the opposition, or is there an opposition? Inderjit Singh looks more like the leader of the opposition bench. If they continue to do such a fine job, next GE everyone may be voting just for PAP. Now when will the Whip crack? When will someone stand up and say don't score your own goals? Actually it will be interesting for all the govt MPs to say aye and shut up and see what the opposition will say. It is likely that Parliament will be over in two hours. And everyone can go back to work and make more money. Don't have to waste time saying the obvious. But the obvious have to be spoken for two reasons. If they are raised and forgotten, like the housewives, then people will say, see, I don't hear any objections any more. The people are all happy and support the policies. After a few days everything will be forgotten. I also forgot who spoke for the housewives vehemently in the last Parliament session. Now everyone will not want to know about the housewives anymore. Correction, Amy Khor did mentioned about them again. Anyone else? Issues must be repeatedly raised and spoken to keep them alive or else face the fate of becoming non issues and passe. The second reason is that though they are obvious to many, to the decision makers, they may not be that obvious. Or they would not agree to the policies and decisions and schemes. That's how happy mistakes are made and why MPs got so many goals to score. And then there is the group that will say everything is affordable. I am going to stick up a column to quote the comments whenever someone said something is affordable from now on. That will be good for posterity. Then we can start counting the affordables and aggregate them up.

When bonuses are tied to profits

Where would these lead to? Essential services, transport companies, hospitals, schools and universities, etc, when the bonuses of their top executives, including staff, are tied to profits made, what would be the organisations' objectives and policies? Would the fees or prices of their goods and services ever come down? Coming down means lesser or no bonuses. So what? Profit for profit sake without looking at other intangibles or objectives can be very destructive. Just like managing a country for economic and monetary rewards and ignoring other values or the people's general well being, can lead to one certainty.

A $6.4b happy mistake

Some said it was pleasantly embarrassing, while some said it was an astonishing surplus. Some even praised it as commendable, far sightedness and prudence. Really? Ask those who have been squeezed out of their few dollars which could buy them another meal. To those who have contributed tens of thousands to this $6.4b happy mistake, they would simply brush it aside as a non event. For those who are adversely affected by it, would they take it as a joke and laugh it off? Inderjit Singh was pointed in saying that all the affordable increases have contributed to a projected $.07b budget deficit to a $6.4b surplus. But some offered that it was all because of the adjustment of the value of housing. It seems that it is very difficult to understand how a little affordable increases here and there when added up can become a little mountain. Is it that difficult to understand or too tedious to understand? Or is it that such little irritating problems do not deserve to be looked at as they are very time consuming? Better to spend time assessing the benefits of buying a 80ft yacht or a 100ft yacht. Now that is a pleasant problem to spend time on. For those who still fails to see how a few affordable increases can bring hardship to the people and lead to a happy mistake, they should be punished to watch 100 hours of Moses Lim and Jack Neo's comic sketches on throwing a few bits of litter now and then. The moral of these comic sketches is that a little bit here and there will soon add up to become a big big mountain of rubbish. Whether it is a happy mistake or a pleasant embarrassment, the high cost of living is not going away, the GST increase is not coming down, all the affordable increases will remain and the poor will continue to be squeezed. Must be very pleasant experience, like sitting in an Osim chair.

Huang Lizhen's hospital bill

The MOH has put up an advertisement on the hospital bill of Huang Lizhen in the paper. It started with the first paragraph as follows: 'For the past seven years, Ms Huang Lizhen has been in and out of hospital, chalking up medical bills that have since wiped out her widowed mother's Medisave savings.' Medisave wiped out! Later her case was referred to 'medical social workers, who helped her apply for Medifund assistance.' The Medifund covered 100% of her bill after subsidy. And they were grateful even though the mother's Medisave was already empty. For 79 days in a C ward in Tan Tock Seng Hospital for Systemic lupus erythematosus, the bill came to $52,000! Govt subsidy was 80% or $42,000. After subsidy, balance $10k was fully paid by Medifund. They paid nothing. Or they will be in deep shit since her Medisave was already wiped out. How many people can afford a $52k bill? And this is C ward rate. It could be higher if in better wards. It is more than $500 a day. That's what it costs for world class medical treatment. Please don't get admitted to C ward if you can afford it. Huang Lizhen and mother are so lucky. For those who are not as desperate as them, please make sure you have money, and plenty of money, to pay your hospital bills.

Time to bring back the discards

With life expectancy going to 100 and with good medical care, it is proven beyond reasonable doubt that healthy Singaporeans can work till past 80, and still doing very well. The old practice of retiring people at 55 and the discards because of that policy should be looked at and those still in good health and able, should be brought back to the main stream of economic life. We are wasting a lot of talents and experience that these senior professionals have accummulated throughout their lives. Sad to see them ended up as taxi drivers and foodcourt cleaners or wasting their time in clubs drinking and merry making aimlessly. They have another 10 to 20 years of productive life to live.

A wonderful educational experience

As we get more influence and have more money to spare, we become more creative and innovative with what money can offer. Schools are increasinly organising overseas trips for their students as a badge of honour, as a wonderful educational experience for the children. We are seeing trips not only to neighbouring countries, but to the US, Europe, China and Japan. At the university level we have exchange programmes with other universities all over the world. Such experience will definitely make our students smarter and brighter. They will definitely be better than third world students who can't even afford a trip to town. Money sure can buy quality education. The more expensive the education fee, the better will be the education.

$100,000 mouth!

Singapore has developed a new mini tooth implant that could save the patients a lot of money. It was reported that the sum could come to $70k for a full mouth job. That could possibly put the cost of a full job to well over $100k using the old technology. Imagine putting $100k inside a mouth. The $6m bionic man is now a reality with so many parts to change and upgrade.

A case for selective comparison

Many Singaporeans have taken issue with the length of NS that our young men have to serve and lost 2 years of their precious youth. Some are suggesting that the 2 years are still too long and can be shortened. I am not going to agree or disagree with that kind of thought. Ok, let's adopt our favourite past time and practice and do some selective comparisons. I think Taiwan and South Korea both have nationals service and the duration is about one and a half to two years. Israel probably the same or more. How about about nearest neighbour, Malaysia? They can do their national service in 3 months or 6 months. And only a few are selected to do NS. Maybe we can have something in between. Something in between is also a good thing.

Myth 173 - No talents in paradise

In the 70s, when HDB started to build 5rm point block flats, there used to be this remark that the talents in a block of 5rm flat, 96 units, are enough to run a country like Malaysia or Singapore. For in each block there will be enough engineers, doctors, lawyers, professionals, senior executives, civil servants, with enough experience and talents to run a country. And several of our senior ministers too came from 5 rm flats too. Till then, only 3% of each cohort went to university. But we have talents, great talents that brought us here today. We now have 30% or more of each cohort of students going on to tertiary education. Some gone further to do post graduate degrees with MBAs and doctorates a common certificate to flash around. And every year, we proudly declared the thousands of straight A's students graduating from O and A levels. There used to be one or two such students per year per cohort in the past. And today we are living in a myth that we have no talents. How so? The Hokiens will exclaim, 'Oo Yia Boh?' Literary it means got shadow or not? Got shadow means human. No shadow means inhuman. Actually it means true or not. But I digress. Why is there no talents when talents are everywhere? Or are we looking at the wrong place or at the wrong things. Today's talent means you must be able to prove that you are a million dollar earner. Many Ah Longs will qualify, including pimps. But many of these are only interested in chasing money. They have perfected their skills in their chosen fields and set their minds to make millions. That is their reason in life, not serving the people and earning peanuts. We do not need exceptional talents to run a country. We need the heart to be in the right place. For we have all the best talents, the super talents in the civil service and the stats boards to provide the brains and do the real works. We need a heart man to lead, to tell these talents what is good for the people and not what is good for their own pockets. In a way, we need people with a little bit of idealism, selflessness and a little bit silly, to think of others and not of self. These kinds of silliness are now laughed at as naive idealism. What is being promoted and championed are hardcore materialism and what is in it for me. We have ended up like the animal farm when the wrong pegs were fitted into the wrong holes. Wrong kinds of talents to do the wrong kinds of work. And the objectives, goals and policies manifest the thinking and values behind them. We will have solid and high growth rate but for who and for what? In the meantime the people were made to believe in the myth that there is no talent, maybe one, or two, or at the most five. The rest are not talented or good enough. When one block of 5 rm flat was deemed enough, now we have one third of the population that are far well read and schooled, and we can't find the talents. Oo Yia Boh?

When the music stops?

We are in the golden years. Full employment, high salaries. People have a lot of money to spend. Property owners can afford to sell at high prices or charge high rentals. Everyone take the opportunity to jack up their prices of goods and services. But after a few grumblings, life goes on. Taxi fares go up, ERP rates go up, GST goes up. No sweat. KPKB for a while. People will get use to the high cost. Conservancy rates go up, PUB rates go up. Never mind, got rebates. And for those who are struggling, there are the annual handouts from the govt. The budget goodies. Now, what will happen when we price ourselves out of the market system? Or if the world economy goes on a tailspin? No jobs, no fat salaries, no budget surpluses to handout, and all the rebates and subsidies expire? Can we see prices coming down? Can property prices come down, rental comes down, food and essential services come down, transport fares come down? Some can but many can't. Can the goodies, handouts, rebates, subsidies go on and on and the people keep stretching their hands out and expecting to get them? The high cost of living is likely to stay even when times are bad. Anyone heard of transport fares coming down? Conservancy fees or PUB bills coming down? Or foodcourt prices coming down? Many are committed to a higher lifestyle, higher property prices and rentals. When jobs are gone, or salaries cut, just like in the late 90s, the noose will tighten. This time even faster and tighter. It was a lesson that we never learn. There was euphoria before the bust.

Notable quotes by Leong Sze Hian

'Are there any countries in the world which have national pension schemes that exclude the bottom 25 per cent of the population?' Leong Sze Hian My answer is yes, in paradise. Leong Sze Hian was responding to the CPF Life annuities scheme that excluded those who have less than $40,000 in their Minimum Sum. And this is exactly the group that needs help. So what will happen to them when they are old and have no money and not in the scheme? Search me, I do not want to know. Not my pasar.

A positive and welcome move by Singapore

Singapore's initiative to bring economic growth into North Korea and lead the communist state into the world community is the most positive and effective way to engage North Korea. An economically strong Korea fully engaged in the world system, economics, trade and industry, and all things, will bring prosperity to its people and harmony in east Asia. North Korea could be like China and Vietnam, communist in political system but capitalist in economic development and trading with the world as another responsible nation. Such a concept is totally in contrast with the wicked and destructive scheme of the US, branding it with all kinds of hostile terms, axis of evil, arms exporter, threatening world peace, supporting terrorism, violation of human rights etc etc. Such outdated methodology was only workable in the past when the Asians were weak and ignorant or under the total domination of the western powers. Today, the picture has changed. There is no SEATO or CENTO and no colonial states. The last two semi colonies of the US, Japan and South Korea, are also trying to break free from the American control. The Asian countries must find their own reasons and meaning of existence in the new world and not be told by the Americans who is good and who is bad. The Singapore initiative is commendable but risked being derailed by the Americans. The Americans will not support it and will get its semi colonies to tow the line. Fortunately Howard has been kicked out and hopefully Kevin Rudd will not dance to the American tune. Maybe Asean can come in to give it more weight. Engaging and welcoming North Korea into trade and industry is better than telling the North Koreans to sign some scrips of paper on intangible and meaningless stuff like Treaty of Cooperation and Amity.

President Wee Kim Wee

I read a post in Sammyboy forum praising Wee Kim Wee as the humble and down to earth president that Singaporean loved. And another forumer saying that no one could get his name wrong as you could read it forward and backward and still got it right. With all due respect to President Wee, let's hope no reporter or msm is going to print his name in the western format with his family name behind his name. Fry the bugger if it is in the local press.

Charity begins at home

'Amid calls by some US lawmakers for wealthy universities to lower tuition costs, officials at Stanford University have said they will no longer charge tuition to students from families earning less than US$100K (S$140K) a year. For students whose families earn less than US$60K a year, Stanford will not charge for either tuition or room and board.... Stanford is now among a small string of top tier schools, including Harvard, Yale and Pomona College, that have taken steps in recent months to help middle class families and, in some cases, households with incomes ovr US$150K.... "We will continue to evaluate international applications on a case by case basis."....' Reuters, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Straits Times. How would these compare to our policies on education? Oops cannot compare apple with oranges.

Wrong place to look for role models

Edison Chen said he was not a good role model. His girlfriends in the videos admitted that they were naive. Why would children all look up to these bad role models and naive girls as role models? There are many good role models in many other professions. The last place to look for role models, you know where. The most naive group of people coming out from this episode are those people who look at them as role models.

ERP, pay according to usage

Thomas Koshy has some great suggestions in his article on ERP rates in Today. The principle he relies on is that the more one crosses the gantry, the more one pays. And for those who cross more, the rate will also be higher. At the other end, I like this best, is infrequent users will be given a kind of waiver for the first time they cross a gantry. The fees not collected is compensated from the high users. As for those in the transport business and need to transport goods and people, try to use buses and MRT to save on paying more ERP charges. And for those unfortunate poor buggers whose travel patterns require them to cross ERP frequently, or have an ERP outside their homes, maybe they can introduce something like a frequent travellers or mileage rewards like what the airlines are doing. Very interesting suggestions, the same principle as using water. The lesser water people used the better. The lesser people use the roads, the better. Why do we need to build roads and rails?

High property prices

How to help Singaporeans when property prices are destined to go higher? I dreamt of a good scheme to ensure that all Singaporeans will have money to buy their dream flats. I mean HDB flat. The private sector high end flat is a different kind of dream. So how does this work out? My premise is that all the young men and women at the age of 25 must have at least $100k in their CPF accounts. This money can come from a CPF insurance scheme paid by their parents on the day of their birth. For a start, the day a baby is registered, $30k of one of the parent's CPF accounts should be deducted and set aside for a Housing Endowment Fund. This fund will simply grow and by the time the child is 25, it should be around $100k or more. If the parents have two or more children, the equivalent amount should be set a side for the respective children. With such a scheme, no young people will have problem paying for a HDB flat in the future. Not bad idea huh.

Money to bail out sick banks.

Below is an extract from an email that came to me. It shows how much money we have to invest in sick banks which I agree is a great opportunity given to us and a risk worth taking. But I also share the author's sentiment about why we were so desperate to need to raise GST by another 2% to help the poor when we actually have so much money to bail out sick banks. (I have omitted copying the cynical and naughty parts of the arguments as I am not sure of the source of this article.) In the past year alone, the Singapore government ¡V through its investment arms of Temasek and GIC - invested a whopping $34, 560, 000, 000.00 in various investments worldwide. That's $34.56 billion. GIC: UBS - $14 billion British Land - $388 million Citigroup - $9.8 billion US Hedge Fund - $429 million Temasek: British Bank Barclays - $4.3 billion Merrill Lynch - $5 billion Standard Chartered - $643 million And if you think the government is stretching itself too thin, no worries. GIC deputy chairman and executive director Tony Tan says the GIC has capacity to bail out another bank. (AFP) Now, government investments are not a bad thing, to be sure. Of course there are questions of transparency and accountability which some people have brought up. Be that as it may, what is even more troubling is another issue. This is the constant lament of the government about not having enough money or financial resources to deal with Singapore 's ageing population, helping the poor, providing subsidized healthcare and so on. Thus, the government has introduced the GST hike to 7% ("to help the poor"), and is introducing the Compulsory Longevity Insurance (for our ageing population), and Means Testing (for healthcare). All of these are paid for by Singaporeans, in some way or another. In raising the GST to 7%, Channel NewsAsia reported PM Lee as saying: "Mr Lee explained that the hike was necessary to finance the enhanced social safety nets, needed to help the lower income group.." (CNA) The extra 2% will give the government a further $1.5 billion to finance "the enhanced social safety nets, needed to help the lower income group". Now, if the GIC and Temasek Holdings have $34 billion to bail out ailing foreign banks, why does the government not have the money ( a mere $1.5b) to help poorer Singaporeans, which it says it needs? Why does the government not have enough money to spend more on the aged and healthcare? Contrast the obscene spending by the GIC and Temasek with the pathetic excuse given by MCYS minister Vivian Balakrishnan about giving those on public assistance a further $23 increase, which some MPs have asked for: "The government is reviewing the S$290 monthly public assistance (PA) allowance for needy Singaporeans to see if it should be increased. It is also conducting a separate review on the qualifying income limit for assistance, which currently stands at S$1,500 a month. The review is expected to be completed later this year." (CNA) (TOC) Why does the government need to have months of "review" to ascertain whether giving another $23 to those most in need is justified? If this is not the height of hilarity, then I don't know what is. It would be funny if it weren't so sad ¡V that our government would not blink an eye in spending billions bailing out foreign banks in risky undertakings while being so hardfisted about giving a mere $23 to its most vulnerable and needy citizens. Something is just not right. How did the government suddenly make $34.5 billion appear out of thin air when they were just lamenting, not too long ago, that they didn't even have $1.5 billion to help the poor? Now, the next time I hear the government says it does not have enough money and need to raise this and raise that to fund certain "programmes" to "help the poor", I will tell them: "Please stop....."

Bee tang ah! Huat ah!

Gabriel Chen wrote in the ST about this guy whose net worth is about $6m and after some computation found that he has an angpow of $200k! Wow, what about those with $20m or $200m net worth? Huat ah, huat ah : ) Thanks to the Good Year Ang Pow Budget. And Singaporeans still complaining not enough?

Oil price hitting US$100 a barrel

Looks like the future of oil prices is only up and will be above US$100, maybe US$200 or more. We need to prepare our people for high oil prices and get use to paying for them at high prices. More importantly we must educate our people to cut down and save on wasting power and electricity, like going green. The situation of oil prices is like water. Oil is precious like water. We must do what we did for water. We have taken many measures to save water and educate the people from wasting water. I find all those measures very effective and should be adopted in the same way. To prevent people from wasting electricity unnecessarily, to teach them to switch off lights when not needed, we need to double the price of electricity. And we can include an electricity surcharge tax of 30% just like we tax for over usage of water. These measures will guarantee to be effective as it hurts the people where it hurts most, the pocket. People will then be more careful in the use of electricity and will not anyhow waste them. The other go green measures can come in. Don't get me wrong, raising electricity rates is only one of many measures to save on fuel cost. Now I am getting green conscious. I am going to save the world. I might even be awarded with a Save Mother Earth Medal like Al Gore.

Frightening but good for the people

A new bill is being tabled to protect 'patients who are detained or forced to be admitted to psychiatric institutions' in Parliament. To even think of people being detained or forced to be admitted into psychiatric institutions in paradise is really frightening. There is no such thing in paradise, cannot be. Such things only happened in communist regimes of the past or in some dictatorships. But of course it is good to have such a law just in case such things did happened and there is some protection for the people being wrong. Under the current procedure, according to Tan Hui Leng, 'a person can be admitted or detained for treatment if he is suffering from a mental disorder that warrants such an action, and if it is in the interests of the person or to protect others.' Hmmm, what do you think? Can bloggers be deemed to be suffering from some disorder and needs to be detained in the interests of the blogger or to protect others? My imagination is getting wild. But in the future, if paradise is taken over by a dictator, a bad dictator, this is a frightening possibility. So this new bill is good for the people and the victims. It is a proactive bill.