High COE will lead to higher cost of living

The equation is straight and simple. When a car or van is costing double, the operating cost will go up accordingly. Any business that needs the use of cars and vans, including taxis, not sure about school buses, will simply have to raise their cost. The hawkers and foodcourt operators that need to move their goods and raw material, or the suppliers, will have to incur the additional cost, and these will conveniently be passed down to the consumers, the lowest feeder in the hierarchy of existence.

Don’t think high COE just affects those who want to own cars. It affects everyone, every business, directly or indirectly. Of course those who need a car will be hit most and some will be hit earlier when their COE expire. Some are hoping that it will not happen too fast, but the clock is ticking and the old car they are holding to will be history as days gone by. And the real crunch will hit them hard. Many would have to readjust, a new lifestyle, and the buses and MRTs will have higher loads, and more crams again.

Low corruption rate doesn’t mean no corruption

Just like Wong Kan Seng said about low crime rate doesn’t mean no crime, low corruption rate does not mean there is no corruption. According to the stats, of all the cases investigated by CPIB, only 7.5% involved civil servants. And of the 135 cases charged last year, only 6 were from the public service. The numbers look quite healthy for a city that is famed for being corruption free. The few high profile cases recently do not tarnish the good reputation of the public service.

The problem of corruption is prevalent in many other countries and how to deal with them is first to recognize the problem. Countries that don’t recognize that there is a problem will have no corruption problem to deal with in the first place. Some are true and some are fiction, or corruption being disguised in various forms.

China is getting very serious in this business, recognizing that it is a serious problem and has to be dealt with urgently and with the full might of the state machinery. Vice Premier Wang Qishan has been tasked to clean up corruption, the most senior minister in the new leadership appointed for the task. Many cases were revealed publicly. The most startling change is to allow the media/blogs to publish cases of corruption that have not been proven. Luo Changping, the deputy MD of a news magazine Caijing, famed for publishing corruption in high places, received a call by the police that they will protect him. His publication of such cases used to be censored immediately and be visited by the security officers. Now his publication could remain untouched for months.

Wang Qishan also urged other officials to read the French Revolution written by Alexis de Tocqueville. The 19th Century French Revolution led many aristocrats to the guillotine, not much different from the Communist Revolution in China in 1949. Wang Qishan’s message was clear, ‘The biggest failing of the old regime was the corruption of the rulers.’ Said Dr Gao Yi, a history professor at Peking University.

The corruption problem in China is huge and pervasive and would take more than one man and a few years to eradicate. They know they have a serious problem that could lead to regime change.

After Palmer comes AIM

The Aljunied Hougang Town Council was given a red card of sort in the town council’s audit. This put Aljunied Hougang as the only one, I think, with a red card, which was bad when all the PAP Town Councils were mostly all greens except for a few yellow cards.

This event has led to the Worker’s Party making its defence as to why it was given a red card which made them looked bad. The problem was in the Town Council Management System for collection of town council fees from the residents which was terminated and WP could not get one up running in time. It was not due to any missing numbers or money.

The protest by WP led to some defending on why the system was terminated and the surfacing of a $2 company called AIM. The three directors of the company, the only staff with no employees, were Chandra Das, Lau Ping Sum and Chew Heng Ching, all former PAP MPs. The facts so far, the PAP Town Council developed the system, sold to AIM on a public tender. AIM bought it for $140k and leases back the system to the town councils for a monthly fee of $785 pm each. AIM then subcontracts National Computer Services to manage and service the system on its behalf. Apparently AIM could practically recover the full sum of $140k paid in a year and subsequent years will be more like profits.

The revelation of the company AIM and the details of the sale and the lease back of the Town Council Management System have led to many questions now being asked that are not looking good on the part of the Town Councils. Teo Ho Pin, Coordinating Chairman of PAP TCs would now have to fill in the blanks for all the questions being asked. How would this look from the point of efficiency, transparency, correctness and proper would depend on Teo Ho Pin’s answers. And the answers would likely to be in public and may even be raised in Parliament. This is going to overshadow the exciting details of the Palmer Affair for sure.

COE, a time bomb in the making

When COE of small cars costs $81k and big cars $100k, it is it. The anger has not become an outburst yet as many car owners are still hanging on to the last few months of their old cars. When their COE expires, when the need is genuine and serious, the cries will not be merely a whimper. Many less well off families are heavily dependent on private transport to get around. Public transportation would not do to these people when it is not just a matter of inconvenience but real difficulties getting to them. The very old, the very sick, the handicaps, the children that need to be ferry around to inaccessible schools will be the first victims to this ingenious and talented scheme to control car population.

The rich will go about their lives as if nothing has happened and many would quietly be saying, cannot afford private transport, take public transport lah. Why so difficult?

When more and more people ended up in such difficult situation, the noise is not going to be loud and unpleasant. It is could lead to an outcry, a revolt against the establishment that smugly sat in high heavens and making judgement on the loser mortals. How long could the losers bear with the difficulties of moving around or not able to move around anymore unless with great pain and trouble or paying a small fortune?

The time has come for a change, for a system that cares for the ordinary and the average Sinkies, a system that does not snub at the losers and telling them to buck up, to work harder, to earn more if they want to live better. The losers cannot write their own paychecks. The fact is that many of the losers are working very hard trying to make ends meet, to make their lives better. Now, with the huge population, with limited land and space left to provide for easier mode of transportation, and when owning private transportation is going to cost an arm or a leg, something gonna give. And some are still saying we need more people to come in to fill the space and take up the slag in property prices, to support property prices or the price will collapse.

The pain of this vicious cycle of high economic growth, high population growth, and high usage of land and space is starting to hurt.

SMRT was so perfect

SMRT was so perfect, so efficient and so profitable. And they rewarded themselves with huge bonuses and big pay packages. Then overnight the nightmare begun, starting from the clips falling off and stoppages every other day.

Now a new man is at the helm. 8 key managers were recruited to tackle the problems in the organisation. What problems? It was the perfect company a few months ago with its CEO earning praises for a very profitable and well run public transport company. How could there be problems and needing an infusion of top managers? And are they recruited to boost up the top management team that were doing so well or doing so badly? Or were they recruited to replace some of the top managers that were doing so well and still must be replaced?

No organisation has seen its fortune and image went legs up within such a short interval of time, from being so good to being so bad. What happened if the clips did not keep falling off? Would SMRT be still the darling of a well run and managed organisation, and its top management still receiving the laurels of success and efficiency and huge bonuses?

Are there other organisations that are looking so good, like a polished juicy red apple from the outside, but a rotten core that is waiting to be exposed? Is this the beginning of more disclosures, that all that is not well will not last long and cannot be hidden from the public for too long?

By election Laws, the spirit and intent of the law

Since the last interpretation of the spirit of the law in the Hougang by election, the govt’s position is that a general election is to elect a govt. When such a govt is in place and when a MP’s seat is left vacant for some reasons, it really does not matter as the govt is already elected. So having a by election or no by election is not of much importance as long as someone else is looking after the constituency on behalf of the MP. A stand in, a MP on loan from another constituency, or in the same GRC, or a CCC Chairman or any appointee could really fill the seat legally in accordance with the provisions of the Election Laws. This is what I have heard to be the official position and I stand corrected. The govt can always correct me if I am wrong and educate us on the correct interpretation, the law, the spirit of the law, the intent of the law, or the convenience of the law to be interpreted to whoever’s advantage.

If the above premises are true, and if the judgement by Judge Pillay is the absolute truth, that the PM has full discretion to decide to hold or not to hold a by election, then the constituents of any single member constituency may not be served by an elected MP after a GE. Anyone or any appointee would do.

I choose to disagree as a citizen and as a constituent. And I would also like to interpret the spirit of the law, the intent of the law to my advantage. As a constituent, I demand as my right to be represented by an MP that I have elected or have a say to his being my MP. No substitute is good enough. No part timers or part time MPs from other constituency to part time in my constituency. I demand a full fledge MP elected by my fellow constituents to represent me in Parliament and to take care of my problems. There is a direct quid pro quo in the case of a properly elected MP who promised to serve the people and the people duly elected him. Anything else is no good. It is a short change.

What do you think?

Merry Christmas to everyone

Let me say merry Christmas to everyone first while I ponder on what I shall write this morning.

Cheers.

Remisiers are low income earners

No more Peter Lim of remisier kings. The pathetic take home pay of remisiers that was reported in the news last week, this has been kept under the carpet for some time, is a revelation of a dying profession that once was the envy of many professionals. Gone were the days when remisiers could spend lavishly on their clients and living a high life. The $800 pm is even less than the lowly or uneducated aunties and uncles cleaning tables in the footcourts. The SMRT foreign drivers are earning much more. And the PMET drivers are laughing their hearts out, that they are rich compare to the remisiers. Those earning this sum are now qualified for assistance and monetary handouts from the govt. The Remisier Society or the brokerages should take the initiative to apply for govt assistance for this new poor in the country. Maybe the SGX should start to dip into the contingency fund to help the remisiers tie over this rough patch that does not seem to want to go away.

Many remisiers are professionals by training and experience, some with CFA, finance and post graduate qualifications. Many would have long quitted the industry if not for their age that rules them out from employment. They have become the new breed of ‘chiat pa tan si’ PMETs. They have no where to go and no one to turn to and waiting for the curtain to fall. I would have left too if I could find an alternative job. And to make things look sillier, remisiers have no official lunch break and are expected to work from 9 to 5, just to earn $800 with the market running non stop.

Does anyone know why the industry has hit such a low? Or does anyone really want to know?

CPF Simply said by ‘First Step’

This blogger posted a very simple but very effective explanation of the state of affair in the CPF scheme and how CPF account holders could kiss their savings good bye. And I quote,

‘First Step:

December 22, 2012 at 5:41 pm (Quote)

First Step – Increase Medisave. Second Step – Increase Medical Fees. Third Step-Increase Medisave Again. Fourth Step - Increase Medical cost again. Fifth Step – the cycle repeats itself, forget about seeing your CPF money again. Can just dream about it. Vote PAP out this Ponggol BE.’

This simplified statement says it all. And it can be duplicated for cost of living. The higher the cost of living the more needs to be kept in the minimum sum account. When cost of living increases, raised minimum sum. Keep raising the cost of living, the minimum sum will keep going higher in sync. It is like throwing money into a bottomless pit, never to be filled, and never to be seen.

Can Sinkies ever save enough for their retirement needs, for their medical fees and retirement? It is no longer how much the Sinkies are saving but how much they would have to pay for the high medical fees that they are expected to pay, like a guillotine knife over their heads. And the rapid and unstoppable high cost of living, starting with properties and car prices, will ensure that the minimum sum will be up and up and up.

Unfortunately daft Sinkies could not see the bigger picture and still clamouring to put more money into the CPF, a black hole.

Sinkie IQ highest in the world

This is no joke. I have my doubt that our IQ is the highest in the world, but I think it is quite high up there. This is what Chok Tong said, “This is a shame really, considering we are ranked 1st in IQ, high in maths and science tests globally, competitiveness and other ‘hard’ areas.”

And IQ is not the only factor that we are good in. Science, Maths and other ‘hard areas’. This confirms what Veritas has always been saying here, that our IQ is many times higher than the FTs who are here to help us and be our bosses. Many average FTs, with questionable qualifications from questionable institutions, are now considered better than the locals with better IQs and genuine qualifications from world class universities.

How could this silly state of affair become a norm here, particularly in job opportunities for the locals that found themselves losing out to low quality and maybe even faked FTs, and ended up as taxi drivers or low paying jobs or worst, jobless?

Something is very sick in this Sin City where the brightest are sidelined, booted out, to be replaced by snake oil peddlers whose ability is absolutely doubtful and questionable but thought otherwise by the authorities and employers. This plague will not be noticeable yet but will take its toll down the road.

A local story in the 60s/70s, 走江湖

Let me deviate from the norms of my Sunday postings and write something about life in a different time not too long ago. I am not sure how many parts I could write but this is the first introduction of Morgan's rite of passage into 'Jiang Hu".

The story of Morgan 白面浪子

He was very strongly built. His arms were twice the size of his contemporaries. This physical blessing came from a time when babies were fed with Milkmaid or Blue Cross condensed milk. The poorer brands were Lady General or something else. Morgan was luckier. Born a few years after the war, poverty was the norm everywhere. People were jobless or on call as odd job labourers, waiting in the kopitiam or ‘koolie keng’, a place where the coolies called home where all each had was a bed. The rest were common areas. Landing a full time job was a great contentment. Morgan had the good fortune of being breast fed. Mother was an illiterate immigrant from China, with bound feet and not the type suitable for labour intensive work. Breastfeeding a baby was not as easy as it looked. The mother must have at least decent meals to nourish the baby with enough healthy milk.

When Morgan arrived, the family fortune improved in a strange way. Mother was a ‘chap jee ki’ runner, collecting the bets for the syndicate. After a while she saw the trend. Most bets were losers. She took the risk by not submitting all the bets and pocketed the balance. With more spare cash, she started to plough some into bets of her own. And lady luck was kind. Enough food, lesser worries, Morgan was the ultimate beneficiary of the good fortune. He grew up a happy and boisterous child, fair and unusually sturdy. He was the apple of his mother. And the breastfeeding continued till he was 5 or 6 years old.

Morgan was in a way allowed to do as he pleased. From young he could tell Mother that he was not interested in schooling. And that was it. It was accepted and no pressure was put on him to walk the extra mile to do better in his studies. There was no tuition and no need for tuition. The hope was pinned on his elder brother to do well in school. The father passed away in a traffic accident when Morgan was only 8. His last few words, the brother could do well in school, and as for Morgan nothing was mentioned. It was kind of fatalistic, or the ability to assess the potential of the children and accept their fate. No need high education to know that. A child’s potential was well written before his teens.

The brother’s report card was all blue. That was a great credit and a great pride when the whole neighbourhood’s children were mostly a colourful mix of red and blue. Morgan was one of the statistics. As he advanced from Primary 1 to Primary 6 in Radin Mas, the number of blue marks got lesser while the reds got more. In his last few years in primary school, it was nearly all red. That was his life, his destiny. Mother did not go hysterical and rushed him for tuition classes. A young nonya girl a few doors away was giving tuition. She only completed Secondary Two and was good enough for the job where the rest were unschooled. Maybe money was also a problem by then when the coolie Father was gone. The selling of little satchets of opium as a side income was also sold.

The good part about the educational system then was that one could either get promoted to the next level or be advanced, ie failed but still moved up to the next grade. Morgan was posted to a new neighbourhood school in Queestown, Newtown Secondary School, probably without passing his PSLE. The only thing that he excelled in school was ECA, the official and the unofficial kind. ECA did not carry any weight in a child’s school performance and was incidental, something that was just part and parcel of school. His athletic built and prowess made him a champion in field events where might was an asset. For that, the school was kinder to him and did not really put him under a short lease. He was mischievous but did not get overboard. The disciplinary master, a black belt judoka, the father of a future national swimmer, was watching and assessing Morgan’s every move. Many boys that crossed Morgan’s path were chased and beaten outside the school. Often they were chased all over the school’s neighbourhood and up into the flats across the road. Morgan did not do the chasing. Neither did his sidekicks in the same school. He would call on his support from nearby schools to do the hunt. That kept him from trouble with the school.

He was not entirely an angel though. In the science lab and a lesson in biology, the science teacher was doing a dissecting on the table. The eager students were gathered closely to watch the demo. Many were good students and still wanting to study and do well, unlike Morgan. There was no purpose in him being in school. He was bidding his time and waiting for destiny to unfold, to take him on a path he had to travel. It was he and his life and his life to deal with.

‘Kock’, a loud noise was heard. In full concentration and the quiet of the lab, the knock was a sudden interruption. Everyone lifted their heads wondering what happened. The male teacher also stopped what he was doing. He lifted his hand and started to rub the back of his head. No one said a word. The teacher did not ask either. Then it was back to business. The lesson continued. Teaching in new integrated schools had their little risks and challenges.

My solo exhibition came to a close

My exhibition on the Secrets of Mother Nature came to a close after two months at the NUSS Guild House. A few of my paintings have found new homes. A few more could follow but unfortunately the deals did not go through.

The feedbacks from visitors were encouraging. Being a new artist, new technique, The Art of RAR, and a new kind of photopaintings, I am very pleased that people who have seen them appreciate and like them. For those who have acquired my paintings, they should be pleased to know that these are not the usual paintings that one can buy from everywhere.

Every painting is a mystery and a little miracle. There are painted by Mother Nature and appeared in a magic pond, and only visible to a camera. And the photopaintings that finally took form were conceptualised by the mysterious forces of Nature, a work of Nature. It is like Nature speaking or communicating to the mortals with its works. There could be some meanings in each of them that only the gifted could connect.

I am now planning to work on another exhibition with a few new series that are quite different from those that I have exhibited. My first exhibition was more of an introduction to the range of paintings that Mother Nature could share, a glimpse of the power and creativity of Mother Nature. My next exhibition will be more focus, maybe on a couple of series and with more depth.

What is real or unreal in accounting?

Or what is truth and fiction in accounting? SIA has booked a gain of $322m for selling its shares in Virgin Air for $439m. It bought the shares at a cost of $1.6b. I am a bit dull and think that this should be a loss of $1.161b! I am just being simple minded or ignorant of accounting practices and how profit and loss are computed.

Yes, the buying at $1.6b and selling at $439m led to a gain of $322m. I was reading Goh Eng Yeow’s article last Saturday and he explained how the apparent loss of $1.16b could turn into a profit of $322m. He said that over the years, the goodwill of Virgin Atlantic had been written down. There was also an amount of $117m written off to reserves. I do not know what this meant, really.

I must say that this is brilliant accounting practices and must be legal and correct. SIA is making money out of this deal by buying high and selling low. No wonder lay people are confused and there are companies like Muddy Waters trying to clean up the mud to make the water clean again.

CPF Medisave Required Amount to be raised to $38,500

‘SINGAPORE: From January next year, the Medisave Required Amount (MRA) in the Central Provident Fund (CPF) will be raised to S$38,500 from the current S$32,000.

The MRA refers to the amount that must be set aside in the Medisave Account, after the CPF Minimum Sum requirement has been met.

The CPF Board said those who have met the CPF Minimum Sum and have an MRA shortfall at the point of withdrawal have to make a top-up to the Medisave Account....’

This is the latest. Does anyone want to ask the CPF Board who gives them the authority to raise the minimum sum? Who does the Board think they are?

SGX – The truth is out

It is reported, finally, in the ST that all is not well in the stock market. For a particular month, many remisiers were earning less than $1000 in commission. This is nothing better than the cleaners in the foodcourt. And in a normal month, many are raking less than $2000. What are the implications?

It is not simply a dying profession for the remisiers. The broking houses need the commission to pay its staff or they too will have to close shop. The green eye monster has done its job well to kill this industry that once was a roaring business and supporting many other businesses in one way or another. The drastic changes in turning a stock market into a casino drove the final nail into the coffin.

The volume of trading appears to be high but simply fictitious in a way, generated by computers for brokerages or trading houses, house trades that bear no commission. The real participation of traders, retail and institutions too is dwindling and drying up.

The state of health of the market is best seen by good stocks being delisted as their real values are higher than the stock values in the market. It thus does not make sense for good companies to waste their time and paying fees to be listed. And with so many penny stocks, 1c or less than 1c stocks in the main board, it simply says something is embarrassingly wrong.

Surely the people responsible for ensuring a healthy and viable stock market know what is going wrong and how to put it right. They are not paid in the millions for nothing. Once the stock market is crippled, with remisiers and supporting staff quitting the industry, with brokerages shrinking and folding up, the damage is very difficult to repair. There will be a loss of confidence and a fleeing of funds. The offices in the financial district could go empty and rentals will slide as well.

The job loss in the industry is insignificant to the demise of a stock market and the finance industry. Make no mistake about it. The numbers don’t lie. The market and the associated businesses are going kaput while millions are being paid and there is still no light at the end of the tunnel.

The final assault on PAP

PAP has been a very successful political party for nearly 50 years. Through this period, it was the dominant and unchallenged ruling party and well supported by the majority of people of all races and political affiliations. It has chalked up an impressive track record from successful policies that brought wealth and material comfort to the average citizens and all. And this track record has been the PAP’s first layer of defence. It always, without fail, waved this track record to the voters in every election. This is what we have done and achieved, and challenged the people whether their lives are getting better than before. Its two other armours are super talent MPs and Ministers and impeccable and selfless men and women in leadership roles.

This first ring of defence is starting to crumble. The people are having doubts of their well beings. The elite have no problem identifying with the great material success as everyone of them is a symbol of success.. Even then, some elite are also starting to question things that are not as right as before. Those further down the pecking order, needless to say, are clearer as to whether their lives are getting better or going to get worst.

The second level of defence the PAP has built around it is the quality of its leadership. They are able and talented men and women of great abilities. They are the best of the best, the crème ala crème of the country. This is now ringing hollow. Many policies have failed. Many ministries and ministers are found wanting in their areas of responsibility. And the new recruits at the lower level are viewed with so much scepticism and cynicism that it is not a laughing matter. It was like scraping the bottom of the barrel. The aura of greatness, of infallible men and women with great talents and ideas somehow is drawing a blank. Many are being ridiculed publicly in the social media, in public conversation and private gossip mills.

The third and final ring of defence, the integrity of the leadership, is now exposed to attacks. These include honesty, incorruptibility, moral righteousness, compassion, sincerity, selflessness and other goodness that are expected of benevolent rulers. Now the criticism and challenge are targeted at very personal level, very close to the heart and the persona of each and every leader in the party. This is not just about the ability to deliver anymore, though many are seen as not delivering. The people have gone past the stage of material well being. It is about the softwares, the ideas, the feelings, the hearts and the intangible goodness of being national leaders, to inspire and to lead, for the people and for the country.

When the characters of the leaders are being challenged, and if they cannot hold, there is nothing left to keep the party afloat anymore. Many good and charismatic rulers could survive and rule for years in spite of bad policies and bad administrations. No leaders can survive if they cannot win the support and trust of the people. The last chip to play by unpopular leaders that have lost the support of the people is to usurp power by ruling with an iron fist, authoritarianism, dictatorship, military junta etc etc.

Is the ruling party facing this final stage of assault on their rights and legitimacy to rule the country and people? If this is so, then it would not be long before the final curtain falls.

Contract for service, short term contract and employee

There are still many discussions with regards to the SMRT drivers and whether the pay for a job should be the same or different. Let me just share a little on the HR practices with regard to this.

In the case of a contract for service, the workers are employed simply to do a specific job with a specific pay. Period. There is no employer employee relationship, no benefits or difference in pay between one worker and another.

In the case of a short term contract, there is an employer employee relationship, but the pay can be different and the terms and conditions of employment can be different. The main argument in this SMRT driver issue is whether the pay should be the same or different.

Allow me to clarify this. Thereotically, the basic pay for jobs of the same specification is the same. So there should be no quarrel over the job worth. Two persons doing the same job would be paid the same basic pay for that job. In practice this is hardly the case.

The computation of an employee’s pay, assuming new sign ons, will still have to take into consideration many other factors. Qualifications and experience would affect the pay offered if they are relevant. New sign ons could be offered different starting pay because of these factors.

The other factor that is in play in this case is the nationality. Workers come from different countries with different cost of living and could be comfortable with different pay offered. $100 can be a lot in some countries and not enough in others. A simple example is the pay of a similar worker producing Apple Iphones in Indonesia, China or Thailand. Their pay will be different for the same job because of the country they are in. If they are to be paid the same as those in the USA, then there is no advantage to farm out such jobs to lower cost countries. Same job different pay because of different cost of living of a country is only practical.

An added factor to this is that the foreign workers are not working in their own countries and bearing the respective cost of living. They are now in Sin City and have to bear the higher cost of living here. Thus, this point must also be input into the pay to ensure that they are adequately compensated or else it will be meaningless for them to be here. This amount could be the same to all foreign workers here as it is related to the cost of living here.

Employers also have to account for the cost involved in hiring them. And the workers must also take into consideration the amount they have paid to the recruiting agents to be here.

In summary, employers recruit foreign workers for competitive cost advantage. But there are occasions when there is a shortfall of skilled local workers and employers would be willing to pay more to bring in foreign contract workers even at higher pay then locals to complete a job. The final computation of pay for a worker is thus not a simple factor of same job same pay irrespective of nationalities and other factors. The critical issue is that the pay must be fair to the workers and to the employer after taking into consideration all factors, and both parties perceived that it is fair. This is the tricky part of salary administration. It is not QED.

The deadly derivative game

Justice Pillay had made a major ruling against Deutsche Bank of the lost of $59m for recommending derivative trading to a client few days back. In 3 months, the client, Dr Chang Tse Wen, lost $59m! This must be a kind of a record for the speed and the sum to be lost by an individual client.

The client was recommended to put money in discounted share purchase programme commonly known as accumulator. Whatever names they called it, derivatives, in whatever combinations or clever arrangements, are nothing more than betting slips. They are not investments but high risk betting or gambling.

How could such gambling slips be approved and be sold so widely across the world is troubling. The amount of derivatives bought and sold is mind blogging and could be the very instrument that could collapse the world financial system. But many high net worth clients would have to go first, losing their millions and their pants.

Investors who do not know how the derivative games are played are best to stay clear from such instruments.

Criminals in high places and high finance

HSBC was slammed with more than a billion in fines for money laundering. UBS too was fined as much for rigging Libor. And several other big banks too were caught for equally serious criminal acts. The American and European authorities are currently investigating several banks for similar financial crimes.

What is nauseating is that no individual was found guilty of any crimes. The criminals were the inanimate banks and institutions. And the fines paid were from the shareholders. The shareholders are paying the fines of these criminals in high places. Where is justice? People in high places can commit crimes and be freed from punishment? How then would they stop doing what they were doing when they know that they are untouchables?

The US is now looking into bringing a few of these criminals to court and make them pay for the crimes personally. Until this is done, until these criminals in high places are put behind bars, the banking and finance industry will be dominated and in the control of such criminals and getting paid obscenely, unchecked by anyone.

The banking and finance industry has been in the hands of rogues and robbers for too long. When would the long arms of the law reach them and put an end to their crimes?

What do fake degrees mean?

Many stories have come out from Australia where unqualified doctors were practicing and some even operated on their patients. Imagine taking drugs prescribed by quacks or operated by quacks! Could it happen here, in our renowned world class hospitals? Are there any quacks treating our sick and prescribing medicines which they know nothing about?

Then in the field of engineering, we are building many high rise flats. Any faked engineers or architects employed to build them? What can be the consequences should a high rise building collapse? Or our highways, bridges etc. Could they go down with the people and vehicles on them, onto people and properties below?

Fake degrees are not just about money, about deceit, cheating. It is about lives at stake. A fake professor lecturing in a university may not cause much harm except twisting the minds of the students. But fake professionals in many fields can be very deadly. No pray pray.

Low Thia Khiang the new Zhuge Liang 诸葛亮

The Palmer Affair has slowly subsided with no politicians being ended up on the wrong side of the stick. Nobody got sued. When it blew up, there was a lot of temptation for the opposition parties to strike while the iron is hot and went on a lashing exercise to extract the same damage from the PAP as it demanded of WP during the Yaw Shin Leong Affair. The temptation was great and it took great of restraint for any opposition politician not to push the dagger a bit deeper and give it a little twist.

What happened was like a non event. The party that was expected to be up in arms, the WP, took a very low profile. There was a kind of discipline imposed. Other Low Thia Khiang, the rest was as mum as the PAP side. And Low’s comment, which could be eagerly awaited and could drag him into a heated tit for tat open war on who was dirtier, was greeted with great relief, perhaps a little disappointment for those who have sharpened their knives for full combat.

Instead of more dirt being dug out for display, instead of more heated accusations and defending, nothing of that sort happened. There was a little praise coming from Low which gave no one any chance to rebut or to tear him and his party down. The WP did not go down as another unforgiving and vicious party. It was like a gentleman party, like Low Thia Khiang. Hey, everyone is nodding that that was a coup de grace, putting himself and his party above the mud. Great strategic thinking at work.

And the rest of the opposition parties took the cue and all refrained from stirring up more shit to embarrass and to draw flakes to themselves. Our political temperature and climate seem to have improved, with great humility, graciousness and generosity. Hope this will be reciprocated in the by election and the next GE, as the new norm of decency. It bodes well for all. Low Thia Khiang and his party deserve a praise. I think it must be hard on him for now bowing to pressure from his members to do the fifteen when others did the first. 人作初一我作十五。

The little flutter is growing

Ever since the illegal strike or industrial action of the Chinese drivers in SMRT, more of such incidents are starting to appear. The little crack on the wall is getting bigger.

The latest illegal strike by the Indian and some Chinese workers in a construction site in Yishun is quite similar in nature to the SMRT strike. It was a sit in and work stoppages. In this case the workers were owed salaries by the sub contractor, Sime Chong Construction. The main sub contractor is now working with Sime Chong to pay the workers. MOM is also informed and in the picture.

The question is, would these workers be jailed, charged and repatriated like the SMRT drivers?

Natcon vs natcon

The Govt has taken the initiative to start a national conversation with the people. This exercise is to engage, listen and talk with the people to find out their aspiration, what the people want for the future, the type of country and society that they can help to create for themselves and their children. It is a massive exercise involving a lot of resources and fundings.

The mission of this Natcon is defined by the Govt and the discussion would be confined to this objective. The participants are likely to be talking about an ideal, and anyone going off topic will be hauled back. The mission and agenda are all set. The participants in a way are also set, invited by the organizers. There is a feel good feeling as it is all about a dream, about the moon and the stars.

It is kind of like an academic exercise like students in institutions of learning, a tutorial that would end up with a paper at the end of the conversation. Maybe there will be prizes for the best participant or the best papers to be presented.

There is another natcon (I am using small letters) going on among the people. It is spontaneous, uncoordinated, unstructured. Anyone can participate and it is happening everywhere, anywhere. It is free, no resources are committed to such a conversation. One major difference is that the participants are people who have something to say and wanting to say. The topics are unlimited and undefined and mainly about the realities, about their life experiences and their grievances. They are talking about the now, the immediate problems they are facing. There will be emotions and pains and anger as the issues are not something airy and fairy, not something that may or may not happen in the future.

Between the two natcons, a guided Natcon and a spontaneous natcon, the Govt is likely to listen to the Natcon it initiated. It must be as it costs a lot of money to organize such an exercise. And the findings cannot be put to waste. Would the Govt listen to the other natcon that it has nothing to do with, a natcon coming from the hearts of the people, or urgent issues that the people wanted the Govt to act on?

What would likely happen is that the findings of the Natcon will be compiled and may even be discussed in Parliament as the people’s aspiration for the future. The people have spoken. And it could even be the basis for the PAP’s position in the next GE, telling the voters that it has discussed with the people and they will deliver what the people want.

As for the spontaneous natcon that is unstructured and messy, it is likely to be regarded as voices from the disgruntled, from the losers, voices from the lunatic fringe, and likely to be ignored. To the people, their natcon is real and needs immediate attention. To the Govt, it is the guided Natcon that matters.

Is there a meeting of the minds between the Govt and the people? Yes, the Govt has spoken to some of the selected people invited. And no, the Govt is not talking or listening to the other people who wanted the Govt to listen to their problems. Which natcon is important and relevant is subjective and depending on who one is.

How serious is the problem of fake degrees?

There are more than half a million PRs in the island plus many that have taken up citizenship. Assuming half of the PRs are FTs, ie professionals that are the equivalent of our PMETs, it means that there are easily 250k of them working here.

There have been complaints or rumours that are many FTs are here on fake degrees, unqualified or half qualified. There is no official statistics so far on the size of this problem and no one really knows how serious is this problem. What are the implications to the country if 10% of the FT qualifications are fakes? This does not take into account that many came from educational institutions where the quality/standard of education is sub par or even suspect.

The most obvious and painful problem is for such FTs to be employed at the expense of Sinkies, taking away Sinkies’ jobs. And many fakes could be the superiors of the Sinkies. And they are going to be paid more, to determine the fate of Sinkies and the performance of the organizations. Depending on the industries they are in, any mistake can be very serious and costly or deadly, eg in construction of buildings, housing and infrastructure, in medicine, in engineering, in food technology and science.

While this problem is festering and only passed around as rumours, not many seem to have surfaced and the cheats taken to task. Maybe it is all simply rumours and there is not much truth in it as the statistics said so. Maybe the numbers of offenders are not disclosed thus no one is panicking. Not seen, not heard, thus no problems.

How can such problems be tackled both at the organization and industry level and at the national level? Are there organizations that can check and verify the qualifications of FTs to minimize the problem, to give justice to Sinkies and the professions that hired them and the end products or services they rendered?

Temasek could end up as the biggest shareholder of Olam

Temasek owns 16.3% of Olam while Kewalram owns 20%. How is Temasek represented in the Olam Board and how much influence does it have with such a big share of the company relative to Kewalram? And Temasek could easily be the biggest shareholder of Olam after the bond issue. Kewalram, the mother company of Olam has said that it would take up its full entitlement of the bond/warrant issues. Temasek would take up its entitlement too, but also mop up everything that is not taken up by the market.

Kewalram would have to put up US$150m for the stake while Temasek’s stake is $120m. The whole issue is reportedly worth $1.25b. Theoretically it is possible for the balance, other than Kewalram’s stake, to fall onto Temasek’s lap or $1b worth of bond and warrants. That would be as good as Temasek owning anything more than Kewalram’s 20% stake. Shouldn’t this be a great opportunity for a cheap takeover of Olam and later sell it for a big profit? If it chooses to keep the company as a going concern, it can than appoint some Sinkies to manage the company as a private company. No need to privatise to be efficient and profitable.

The Sandy Hook School tragedy

The children died, shot many times by a young man with an assault rifle. The teachers also died, some bravely trying to save the children. The parents cried. The siblings and friends cried. The Americans in Newtown, Connecticut will never forget this dreadful day in their whole lives. Many dreams and happy relationships were savagely shattered in the most wicked way one can ever think of.

Could this tragedy be avoided? Could all the macho men who fought stubbornly to keep the rights to own firearms sleep well after Dec 14, 2012? The old wild, wild west of American history was a time of violence when law and order was difficult to maintain. Not that it is easier today, but when continuing with gun ownership the toll or tragedy could be that much more serious and widespread, is it time to rethink? Would Clint Eastwood still be the man that would shoot first and talk later still be role model of American manhood?

This is the sick ethos of the American society, that owning guns is a very respectable thing, the right to self defence, to face an aggressor squarely on the face and to an honourable face off. And shooting or going to war is an acceptable way to settle disputes.

In the wrong hands, the guns are very deadly and would show no mercy. Ask the Arabs in the Middle East, this sick American trigger happy behaviour had inflicted pains many times more than in Sandy Hook School, in bigger scale and with hundreds of thousands of unfortunate victims, young and old. And the children died, the innocents died, the olds died, and their families wept. Their cries of pain were never told in the American or western media. No one know or would understand, or would want to know or understand the pains the Americans are inflicting on the people of other countries, all because the Americans carry guns, big guns, very powerful guns, that the victims have no reply.

Would gun ownership be banned after this incident, or after many more similar ugly incidents that are going to happen, and many more children and teachers would have to die, and many parents and loved ones weeping their hearts out? Would the act of war, the belligerent policies of the Americans, be put to a stop for a world that is less violent, an American society that is safer for the children and the helpless at the mercy of crazy gunmen and crazy American politicians and soldiers?

Last week there was a lone man firing at kids. Tomorrow a crazy American Admiral could seize control of his fleet and fire at any country at his whims and fancy, drugged or insane, it is a hell that can break lose.

Laura Ong – The people are angry

In all my postings, one of my key principles is to avoid tarnishing anyone personally, and the least for indiscretion in their private lives. I avoided writing too much about the high profile X rated cases in the courts. I also schemed through briefly about the indiscretions of the two MPs except making some factual reports that were already in the media.

Many people have taken high moral grounds to dismiss these people in all manners and descriptions. Some had done it to score points, some with an agenda. Even the public had a great time humiliating, sneering and laughing at the people involved, as if they were all saints and angels. They were not merely giggling at the victims but enjoying every bit of it. You can see them and hear them everywhere.

I reluctantly dragged myself into this sordid affair as some called it, or more politely, improper conduct for one reason. The people are angry at the diatribes thrown at Laura Ong. It seems that it is all her fault, that she is the troublemaker, the bad one, and the other party is wholesome goodness and honourable.

How could people be so wrong and unjust to one party of an indiscretion between two consenting adults? How could one be dragged across the public square wearing a conical hat and another praised as good and respectable, full of integrity and full of sympathy and forgiveness?

I am not going to say too much about this. The commentaries in the media are more sordid than the affair itself, and the people berating them are worst. I am very proud of the bloggers in this blog who have not indulged in the same manner as the ruthless and unspeakable. Let the one who have not sinned be the first to cast the stone.

China’s stock markets are safe

While many countries have adopted the American model of financial system and stock market operations, China is still very conservative and guarded. It is very careful in how its stock markets and financial systems are operating and opening up gradually without exposing them to the high risks of American model markets.

Among the key features are no derivative tradings, no hedge funds, no computer or high frequency tradings. It even restricts the amount foreign funds are allowed to invest in Chinese stock markets. And it carefully chooses the type of foreign funds to invest in its markets, and preference is given to sovereign wealth funds and pension funds but NOT to hedge funds. Some may think that this will restrict its growth and the liquidity in its markets. But China is not the least worry and not in a hurry. It is not blindly greedy for foreign funds and willingly opening its legs widely to be screwed, or allowed the foreign funds a free hand to run circus and exploit/rob the innocent investors of their hard earned money. It must know that the foreign funds, particularly the hedge funds and computer/HFT operators are not there to do charity but to make money, plenty of money, to take advantage of the system, with no qualms or worries about ethics and moral goodness or the well being of the investors and the stock market.

The funds that are permitted to invest in Chinese markets are Qatar Investment Authority, Temasek Holdings, GIC, Norway’s Norges Bank and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. Even then, the amount they could invest in China is restricted to about US$1b each. Qatar has a limit of US$5b. China is looking for long term investors and not speculators and gamblers and would not allow big funds to create havoc by controlling the market with their large war chests.

Some may be sneering that the Chinese markets are unsophisticated and will not grow at the speed of western modelled markets, but what is likely to happen is that the Chinese markets would still be around when the western modelled markets failed as a result of its casino nature, fraudulent systems and products. China must be very prudent and not to be conned by the big funds and their criminal practices like computer trading, HFT and derivatives to destroy its markets.

The days of western modelled markets are numbered and will fail disastrously.

Sluts and Slutwalk Singapore

When I called Singaporeans Sinkies, some got offended. I used this term for several reasons, sometimes negative, sometimes for convenience. It is a short two syllable word instead of the long and winding Singaporean. And often Sinkies should be called Sinkies just like some called them daft. Sinkies did not complain for being called daft but for being called Sinkies because Sinkies sound like sinking. Whatever, a rose is a rose by all names, and a piece of shit is shit no matter what you call it.

I came across this word Slutwalk in a new movement by a group of woman championing their rights to wear whatever they want, how sexily they want, and to party and drink like the men in the most fun loving places deep into the night. They are protesting that such dressing and behaviour are often branded as sluts by the male chauvinists, an invitation to be raped. So they are going to defy the chauvinists by doing what they want and showing their middle fingers to them.

Such brandishing of women’s rights is nothing different from women happily sharing dirty jokes with the men. Some did it happily even with strangers or people they knew only for a few days. To these women, it is all about being open, liberal and worldly, if not, being westernised or sophisticated. They think this is about having arrived and even mature and clever, to be able to engage the men in their saucy stories. Many men appreciate such openness in the women and always enjoy their great company.

Some ladies are more discreet and would only share with people in their close circles of friends. Letting go with strangers or people they hardly know is a no no. They are smart enough to know that the presumably merry men sharing the dirty jokes with them and flattering them could form very different opinions of them and may make unkind comments behind their backs.

I digress. The Slutwalk protagonists are very comfortable with the branding. I am not sure if they are comfortable and call themselves sluts. They must have welcomed all the spectators and guests to their events with words like welcome to the Slutwalk or Slut dinner or Slut party or something like that. But they are not sluts, definitely. It is just a choice of names they called themselves to gain attention.

So, should Sinkies be offended by the word Sinkie? If Sinkies can be just as proud as the woman for calling themselves Slutwalk or ‘Sluts’, then it should not be an issue. Be proud that you are a Sinkie and a Sinkie needs not be daft or sinking. Political parties may also adopt such eye catching and loud unforgettable names, like Prostitute Party or Pimp Party, as long as they are not prostitutes or pimps. It is very creative and going with the flow.

It is all in a name. Nothing much to it really.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms

The Western world is quite familiar with the Art of War as a book on military warfare. Thanks to the trainers who popularised this manual of warfare by applying the tactics and strategies in modern management practices. An equivalent and more powerful book, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, is less well known outside the Middle Kingdom but is stacked with many military strategies and tactics of psychological warfare.

In one of the stories, the famous strategist, Zhu Ge Liang, was pitted against the warlord Cao Cao. The game plan was about luring Cao Cao into a trap, allowing him to be victorious and became complacent. The finale was for Cao Cao to paint himself into a corner and defeating himself in a game of crafty deceit.

Zhu Ge Liang knew that Cao Cao had a weakness for women. Without disclosing this knowledge, he used it to plot Cao Cao’s embarrassing defeat by setting up one of his general, General Yao, with another woman in an improper affair. Of course this was leaked to Cao Cao who happily exposed the details of the relationship to the public.  Zhu Ge Liang’s Cukong Liu was greatly embarrassed and summarily dismissed General Yao who then left the state.

Tasting success, Cao Cao seized on the opportunity to embarrass Liu by ridiculing him, demanding that Liu tell the whole truth and be transparent, not to hide any material fact. Cao Cao’s ministers added fuel and fire, telling Liu’s people that Liu had let them down, and failed to carefully select his officers. They ran circus around Liu, accusing him of being inept in choosing his generals, lack of integrity and that Cao Cao’s camp was better in serving the people’s interest.

After a year, when things quiet down, when there was apparent peace under heaven, with Cao Cao smarting over his moral victory, Liu exposed Cao Cao’s affair to the world. What Cao Cao did was an exact replica of what Yao had done, the same affair with the wives of another officer in the same camp. Cao Cao was forced to face the same barrage of accusations and flaming and was helpless. Every word spoken by Cao Cao and his ministers were carefully recorded and read back to Cao Cao and his men. It was a taste of his own medicine. There were no buts, no running away from a similar and grave mistake. Cao Cao and his ministers who acted high and mighty, as the righteous ones, beyond reproach, had to swallow every word they said, heads bent low, some went into hiding. Cao Cao was defeated in his own game of moral superiority.

The Three Kingdom was a timeless classic, and the tactics and strategies have been thoroughly read and discussed and mastered by many modern military commanders and politicians. Some were able to use them so effectively in defeating their enemies through deceptions, schemes, plots and strategies that often caught the enemies totally unguarded and with their pants down. Zhu Ge Liang was a living legend of his time.

Art of RAR - A new series

Another series of rar art created by Mother Nature. Size up to 24in x 36in in oil or pigments.

SMRT driver bashing – The other untold story

Untold may not be the right word as the story was told many times over several months, but no one wants to hear them. This untold and embarrassing story is starting to reappear to shed light on the plight of the SMRT drivers. One was jailed, 29 repatriated and 5 charged in court. The story in the media so far was all about the trouble makers, the SMRT drivers. And they were duly punished with many Sinkies throwing more vitriol at them.

Desmond Kuek has conducted an internal investigation on how the strike came about and commented that it could be avoided if the management was more “sensitive, attentive and responsive” to the problems the workers had brought up. Disciplinary action would be taken against those who allowed the drivers’ grievance to escalate to become a work stoppage. The drivers would not have been charged, jailed, repatriated and lost their jobs. The strike would not have occurred to embarrass the govt and the trade union. Relations with the Chinese Govt would not have been affected.

Since his last comment that there were many problems in the organisation, a witch hunt could be next and many skeletons are likely to be dragged out of the cupboard. But most important of all, the truth shall prevail and the drivers would be seen in a different light, that they could be victims of mismanagement and neglect.

Shine the light and brighten up the dark patches and return justice to those that had been wronged. SMRT would no longer need to say we are sorry, it should not have happen, we will make sure it will not happen again. ‘We are sorry for the inconvenience caused’.

Punggol East - A scramble for the spoils?

I wrote about the congregation of the vultures awaiting the ageing lion to fall. Every vulture is hungry and wanting to have its share of the meal. Would there be a mad scramble for the carcass or would each take its turn for a bite of the morsel? If they do it in an orderly manner, each will have their fill and more could come their way. If they go on a mad rush, the dying lion could walk away to live another day.

Lina Chiam of SPP, Hazel Poa of NSP have spoken. They would not be engaged in the foray in Punggol East. They would wait their turn as it was a battle field of WP and SDA in the last election. This sets up a gentleman's agreement on the pecking order in the opposition camp for the rest to follow. Would the others abide by this protocol, or would they defy the existing order and behave like when fools rush in?

Some parties are taking an ambivalent position at the moment with reservation that they could jump into the fray. Some quarters are openly encouraging all the opposition parties, or some parties to move in, 3 corners or many corners fight is irrelevant. Their intent could be simply a genuine interest in wanting their perceived favoured party to have a go at this seat. For some, the intent is nothing to hide, to agitate the opposition parties to strangle themselves and deprive themselves from a good fight.

The memory of the last Presidential Election is still vivid in the minds of the electorate. Some are cursing at the missed opportunities for their chosen candidate. Some are cursing at the spoilers. Would there be spoilers in the making, for whatever queer or make belief justifications, that they must be in the ring to split the votes of the opposition?

In a straight fight like Hougang, the chances of victory against the ruling party has been proven to be very high. So, would Punggol East be another Hougang or another multi corner fight that makes the opposition parties look like a bunch of unthinking and selfish hyenas, and ended with nothing and losing their credibility, and be the cursed of the electorate?

Should there be a multi party contest, the electorate could still be the deciding factor. They could despatch the spoilers into shame and losing their deposits as well. The electorate are no longer easily conned and a spoiler will be seen as a spoiler and will not be getting much sympathy votes. They would be rudely dismissed and their intent exposed.

Punggol East is staged like the last fort, the last resistance. Should Punggol East fall this time, the writings will be on the wall. There will be no stopping of the tide and a tsunami may follow suit to clear up everything in the way.

Hougang was  a watershed. Punggol East could be the Waterloo. Would there be spoilers to throw shit in to muddy the water?

China and Japan gearing up to defend disputed islands

On the anniversary of the Nanking Massacre, China flew a civilian aircraft over the Diaoyu Islands snatched away by Japan after it was defeated in a war in 1894. This flight over Diaoyu is symbolic and a message to Japan that China is not going to let Japan to continue to think that it could seize Diaoyu Islands from China for good.

Japan reacted in the most aggressive manner by scrambling 8 F15s in a show of force to defend its claim on the islands. There was no engagement with the Chinese surveillance twin prob aircraft. China responded by making a statement that the aircraft was in Chinese airspace and had all the rights to be there. Japanese leaders were up in arms, revealing their cleverly concealed military past, each one raring to go to war. The nationalistic and militant voices in Japan are near hysteric.

China will only react in the same pitch and as robustly as the Japanese. China must have been preparing for this day to come, having tested Japanese intent that they would not return the islands without a fight. The stage is set for a military confrontation for the recapture of Diaoyu Islands. The national pride and interest of China, for losing a war and losing its territories will mean that China will go all the way to reclaim the islands. The next time China would also scramble their fighters to face the Japanese fighters.

Japan is equally adamant to keep the war loot. They think they are able to defeat the new China again and with the backing of the Americans. This is World War 3 and no laughing matter. The launching of the North Korean satellite is an affirmation that the North Koreans will present the Japanese and the Americans with a new factor to consider in case hostility breaks out. The dark horse is South Korea. Would it join the Japan/America alliance to take on China and North Korea, with the Russians in the background, or would it do a surprise by taking side with their northern brothers to avenge the years of colonization and humiliation and brutality under Japanese rule?

Whatever the position of the two Koreans, a war between China and Japan is inevitable unless the Japanese are willing to return Diaoyu Island to China. This is basic Chinese position, the reclamation of territories lost during the years of weaknesses and humiliation. They would take on the Japanese come what may.

PAP under siege

The opposition parties are hovering over Punggol East like vultures sensing the presence of a carcass for a good meal. It is not the case of a prize possession that belongs to the ruling party anymore. Thanks for the generosity of Michael Palmer, it is like a well timed Christmas present. But the ruling party is not going to give it away so easily. They know that the opposition parties are ready to snatch it away and it has to hold on to it tightly.

This is the state of the political game today. Gone were the days when the ruling party will strut around taking every loose seat available with great confidence. It was chionh all the way. The game has changed and it is a case of trying desperately to hang on to whatever it got. And the opposition parties are closing in for the kill every time a little gazelle breakaway from the herd. It is quite helpless. It will be taken away to fill the hunger of the hunters.

The ruling party is under siege and weakening in all fronts. There is no one in the party that could command the awe inspiring presence and leadership to win a single seat or even a GRC today. The last GE has exposed the weaknesses of the ruling party and the infallibility of every minister. Every one of them looks lame. And the last few batches of MPs were found to be wanting in many ways and many would not be able to hold on their own in a contest, without the GRC. Many were outright failures in the eyes of the people and many voters have regretted their decisions in the last GE. It is that bad.

The strength of the ruling part was in their pro people policies. These have done well for many years but strains are showing. Good policies are turning bad and unsustainable, like a big rock pushed up the mountain, the weight bearing gets heavier by the day and waiting to roll down, crushing everyone and everything below. Come to think of it, every policy is about to come tumbling down. Cannot think of any that is good or barely good today.

In the absence of good men and women, in the absence of good and pro people policies that are sustainable, what else is there for the ruling party to offer the people to keep them in power? This by election is only to confirm the hard truth that it is game over.

Maybe I am too pessimistic. Maybe the people are still strongly behind the ruling party. The joyous and buoyant celebration and the confidence shown in the last party conference told a different story. The party is on a roll. Everyone was looking so well and wealthy. The party will go on and on. The truth will be seen in the decision to hold or not to hold a by election. A party that is confident of winning will have no apprehension of taking the bull by the horns and will call a by election without hesitation. Any wishy washy excuses will be a sign of weakness, a party under siege, having little confidence in holding on to the seat in Punggol East. The siege mentality is all there for everyone to see.

A little decency from the workers

A fallen angel getting a little support from the workers. That was about the only silver lining in the latest episode of personal indiscretion. Instead of laughing their heads off, instead of grabbing the opportunity to twist the dagger deeper to extract more pain, to hear the scream, to make it hurt, it was just a polite admonishment. There was no need to go further than this to shower praises for being honourable and for being a good and clever boy. That would smell too much of hypocrisy.

The elite have something to learn from the workers, if nothing to learn about good manners, at least some decency of not kicking someone when he is down. It is a nasty but pleasant surprise that the once mighty elite, with halos on each and everyone’s head, once were standing on the high pedestal of moral righteousness and scream, on your knees, scoundrels, infidels and all. Bow your heads in shame for your disgraceful acts and conducts.

Where are the angels? Aren’t they going to put on their halos to pronounce in their haughty arrogance, that man must not sin, that angels are pristine and would not be tarnished by temptations.

The workers are more down to earth, knowing that all man will sin in times of weaknesses and should not be too harsh in their judgement against those that have fell victims to temptations. Workers are in many ways behaving like angels. Would angels then be more like workers and seek a new balance, a new ethos of kindness, sincerity and politeness, in acts and in words?

It is a painful lesson to learn from. Do not jump the gun.

North Korea successfully launched a satellite

The Americans and its proxies are calling it something akin to WMD. No country can launch a satellite without the approval of the international mafia. Countries like North Korea and Iran should remain as third world countries and not allowed to progress, not allowed to have their own satellites. They should forever be kept poor and be at the mercy of the mafia, to receive aids from the mafia and its proxies. They are condemning the North Koreans, threatened to shoot the rocket down, and now threatening sanctions as if the North Koreans have committed a grave sin or crime against humanity.

Now North Korea has put a satellite in the space. What is this accusation that it is a missile to attack other countries or to develop missiles when the mafia boss has countless of them? The next time when Kim Jung Un farts, the Americans would be accusing him of chemical warfare. What else is new? Crying wolf once too often becomes meaningless.

But no, many Asean countries will now be shivering in their pants, fearing the North Koreans are going to send its nuclear armed missiles to attack them. I am not sure if they really believe in such crazy ideas. I am not sure if North Koreans are mad or it is the people in Asean that are mad. One thing I am sure, the North Koreans will have no reasons to do such a silly thing for no reasons.

Well done North Koreans. You have outdone the South Koreans. The South Koreans, despite their claims of technological superiority and wealth, with Samsung and all the world brand electronics, are still unable to launch a satellite after many failed attempts. It is time the two Koreans reunite and share their technology and wealth and bring the two people together as one great people and powerful country.

Corruption or greed can be in many forms

Sin City’s biggest success in public administration is the weeding out of corruption of the monetary kind. The solution is quite simple really. Knowing the psychology of how human beans behave, when greed cannot be eradicated, the next best solution is to feed the greed. Make sure the greed is satisfied, then there will be no corruption.

Today we are facing another kind of greed that was alien to the Govt. Sex has never been an issue with LKY as a shining example of propriety. With such perfect role model, sexual misconduct of PAP MPs and Ministers is a rarity. The revelation yesterday is an indication that this kind of greed is starting to rear its ugly head. And it is better to nip it in the bud which the Govt is fame for.

Now, how best can greed be curbed? Even LKY said that he did not expect his Ministers and MPs to be celibate. Turning them into priests and priestesses is not going to work. Asking them to wear chastity belt may be a bit too much to ask for. And you do not want them to run around in Geylang with the foreign workers.

How could this greed be satisfied the way the greed for money was satisfied? Let them have as much sex as they want or commission a foreign agency to study on this problem? Maybe they can recommend what is enough to keep them from wanting more. I can expect another revolutionary and innovative way to curb this greed. The Govt can be very good in solving this kind of problems.

Punggol East SMC, 还我公道

The similarities in the Michael Palmer affair and that of Yaw Shin Leong were unparallel, almost identical. The Yaw Affair put the WP in a very bad light and caught Low Thia Khiang with hands tied behind his back. There was nothing that he could do except to swallow humble pie, took the slaps, left and turn the other right, meekly. What else could he do otherwise?

It was a great triumph for the PAP. They stood on high moral grounds and principles. They slammed the WP thoroughly with everything they got. Every point that could be scored was taken. The defeat was almost complete, nearly, if not for the result of the by election. That was a rude awakening to the PAP, that despite standing on high moral grounds and from a recent moral victory, they still lost the seat to the WP.

Though the WP managed to secure Hougang, they were treading on dangerous ground. They need to take a very low profile, be very careful and meticulous, not to make any mistake till the next GE. They must hold the ground tightly. Another scandal will be the end of all the good works they have done.

The PAP was waiting outside the fence, looking for holes and waiting for a clear opportunity to score a decisive goal. They needed time for the shaky ground to turn sour for the WP.

No one in the WP or the PAP could ever dream of this Palmer Affair that is going to present the WP with a penalty kick. In the last assault on the WP during the Yaw Affair, the WP must have conscientiously recorded every word the PAP and its ministers had said. Low Thia Khiang may have even etched these words on his back, never to be forgotten. Now he is being presented a chance, on a golden platter, to serve the same words to the PAP with glee. I can see him smiling.

Every PAP ministers who had spoken would now be put to test to stand by what they preached, on high moral grounds, to say the same in the Palmer Affair. Twisting and changing their stance would compromise their integrity and subject them to public scrutiny as men and women of principles and high morals. Not chastising Palmer/PAP in the same way they did to Yaw/WP is unacceptable and will call into question their honesty and sincerity as men and leaders of a just and fair society. Would they deny what they had spoken, steered away and hide in the corner to wait for the dust to settle? Unfortunately this dust will not settle until they say the same things once again, to Palmer and to clear their party of such improper conduct, to be seen as fair and consistent on acts of misconduct and behaviour. Everyone of them will have to account for the same mistake of Palmer.

It is a tough call, to swallow one’s own words. There is no where to hide. Every word they said is on record. Would it be apologies not enough?

Punggol East SMC up for grabs

Would there be a by election in Punggol East with Michael Palmers’ resignation? I think so, and many also think so. What do you think?

The opposition parties would be having a pow wow now on who should have the right to contest this seat. I couldn’t remember who fought against him the last time. If I am not mistaken it was a 3 corner fight with Lee Li Lian from WP and Desmond Lim the third candidate from SDA. These two parties should have priority or the first right of refusal to fight the seat one more time. This seems to be the guiding principle among the opposition parties and may help to defuse a power struggle and bad blood from spilling.

Punggol East is near to Low Thia Khiang’s stronghold of Hougang and Aljunied. Is it going to be another PAP versu WP fight and SDA again? Or would it be a two party fight?

Michael Palmer resigned due to grave mistake.

It is in the news. The Speaker of Parliament, Michael Palmer, has resigned due to ‘grave mistake’ of improper conduct. It was quoted that he had a relationship with a staff in the People’s Association.

Strangling the CPF golden goose

The CPF was the best thing that could happen to Sinkie workers. The high contribution rate was a bit painful for the start, but on hindsight it is actually planning for the ugly future that Sinkies would have to face. Sinkies must by now realize that their income is an income to last 3 or 4 life times.

They need the income to keep them alive during their productive years. Count this as one life time. They need an equal amount or more with inflation added, to keep them alive for another life time when they are unproductive or retired. They also need an income of an equivalent amount to bring up children. Now there are two big expense items equivalent to their life time expenses, housing and private transport if they want that comfort. And if they are unlucky, they need a much bigger sum, more than they need in a life time to pay for the days they need to be hospitalized.

A Sinkie needs to earn 5 or 6 times an income during his working years. Sinkie must divide whatever income he is getting today by 5 or 6 times. He can only afford to spend 1/5 or 1/6 of his income if he is to survive the journey. For a Sinkie earning $3000 per month, he can only spend a max of $600 if he is to survive to his retirement age. Actually the CPF was very well positioned to do the job until….

What the Sinkies did not prepare for, beyond their control, is that some wise guys got an enlightenment. They saw the huge sums of money in the Sinkies’ CPF and started to plan to use this for all kinds of things. Make public housing affordable according to how much the Sinkies can afford to pay from their CPF. They forgot that the Sinkies needed the money for a life time for many other needs. Now the CPF is practically empty or just enough for housing alone.

The CPF was the golden goose that lays the golden eggs. Now the eggs are gone or going. The goose is being made to lay more eggs but cannot keep up with losing the eggs. And when the goose is old and dry, when no more eggs can be laid, and no more eggs are left for winter, it is like a futile exercise. The golden goose is expected to lay a life time of eggs for the golden years. But the eggs have all been harvested, gone long before anyone knows what is happening.

Struck by lightning

Last evening on my way back, the sky was ominously dark. Lightning and thunder bolts were striking everywhere. It was like the gods in heaven were angry. Those under the shelter in the MRT stations should count themselves lucky not to have been in the open as the gods are blind and lightning can strike anywhere.

This morning I flipped through the papers thinking that the lightning could cause some damage to structures or even hitting people in the open. The golfers are particularly dangerous in such foul weather. Luckily there is no news of anyone being struck by lightning.

All peaceful under the heaven again. 天下太平.

The Sinkies have arrived!

For 46 years of nation building and wealth creation, Sin City has reached the peak of its destiny as the richest people in the world. Many are well educated and rich beyond anyone’s imagination. The workers are rich, the cleaners are rich, even the beggars are rich. In the high places, the top honchos have this craze to want to employ the angmohs to work for them, to call them boss and to order them around. They walked around with the angmohs hanging all over them like an accessory statement of having made it.

In the shopping centres and other working environments, foreigners were employed in great numbers to work at lesser pay. In the home front, maids from other Asean countries and even those from China and India could be found working for the aunties and uncles in the HDB. The lower middle class uncles and aunties are living in half a million dollar public apartments and served by maids. Some of these flat dwellers even have more than one maid. The affluence is widespread and flattering.

The table is about to turn with masters becoming servants. The employers of foreigners are getting a taste of their own medicine when the foreigners are starting to usurp their roles to boss around with the locals. A Pinoy, Carlos R. Pestano III alias Kaye Pestano, who claims to be a Process Engineer with “Seagate Technology International” has posted in his blog claiming that the locals are just rotten and working under him, that he is bossing all over them. And he proudly pronounced that they are here to stay, and the locals can lump it. The veiled contempt is now in the open.

This is shocking to many Sinkies. How could a Pinoy be so arrogant and said he is here to stay without the permission of the Sinkies? And horrors, Sinkies are working under him! There is outrage in the internet with many Sinkies crying for his blood. Some even complained to Seagate and Seagate has obliged by saying that the matter is being attended to immediately. Seagate has now made an apology to Sinkies and promised disciplinary action.

This cannot hide the fact that many Sinkies are now working under foreigners, under foreign talents, even if they acquired a brand new IC. What is stunning to the Sinkies is the fact that a Pinoy could spite them and talk about them with scorn, right here in Singapore. In his postings he bragged about Sinkies working for him not in the Philippines but in Sin City, the home of Sinkies.

What else can Sinkies do? Some may want to suggest to the Sinkies to reflect on themselves like when they were called doggies. Sinkies must by now realise that the fake and meek expression and demeanor of the foreigners here harbour a strong dissent and dislike for them. No matter how they tried to appease the foreigners and inviting them to free lunch and parties, the foreigners will never like the Sinkies. They are here only for the jobs and the money. Period. There are exceptions.

When the Pinoy find it up to it to look down on Sinkies in Sin City, I must say, the Sinkies have arrived, at the lowest rung of the people of Southeast Asia, below the Pinoys. This is the real spur that is needed on their hide. Ouch, it is painful huh.

Should Sinkies pay for the impending bus fare hike?

The almost instantaneous reaction by most Sinkies is no, they should not be paying for the pay hikes of the bus drivers. The robotic type will auto reply, if got improve in service quality ok lor. With so many pay hikes in the past, if every pay hike led to a little improvement in service quality, the services would have been perfect by now. Though the pay hike will in a way challenge the principles of cheap, better and fast workers, it seems that right from the top, from the ministers to the masses, there is a consensus and good justification for this pay hike. At least the ministers are saying so or suggesting so.

And the money must come from somewhere, or from someone. Who dunno? From the directors and top management? How could anyone be so audacious to think of this? It would affect their lifestyle and they may be less motivated to work for the bus companies and the service quality will be badly affected. There is still the spectre of corruption lurking in the shadow when they are not paid well. Do you really want this? From the shareholders? How can? The shareholders’ interests must be taken care of as they are shareholders of the company. They took risk of losing their money even in a monopoly business, big big risky. Don’t always expect the Govt to pump in $1b to the rescue.

If not the shareholders or directors or top management, then who? Cheng hu? The Cheng hu already promised to give $1.1b so how to ask for more? Cheng hu where got so much money? Reserves cannot touch.

I think the best source of fund for the pay hike of drivers must still come from the commuters. Some will willingly accept the increase if the bus operators can promise to improve the service quality. As for those who are not willing to foot the bill, one suggestion is to give them a $50 top up to sweeten and soften their resistance. After using up the $50, they will not feel the difference in the new fares, or even forgotten about the higher fares. They would get use to the new fares.

And for the stubborn ones, just tell them that the hike will not cost more than a plate of char kway teow a month. It will only amount to a few cents. They will not feel anything at all. A plate of kway teow a month would not cause them to tighten the belt. The commuters must get use to paying for quality service, for quality management and directors, and the interests of the shareholders. Nothing comes free. There is no free lunch. If they don’t pay, then they must be prepared for lower standard of public transportation.

When Sinkies were illiterate and ignorant

Up till the early 80s, the literacy rate of Sinkies was still not that high. Sinkies were also not so well travelled and they could be easily conned by all kinds of silly logic. They were thus treated as such and told of what was good or bad for them. That was forgiveable then.

One great theory was that privatisation would make govt owned or public services more efficient. And the reverse was equally true. Any private company that is nationalized or turned into a public company will immediately become a flop, inefficient and badly run. Sorry civil servants, I didn’t propound this theory. I was also told that it is so.

There is no need to bother about the quality of the people running it. No matter who, no matter how clever, how dedicated, how motivated, once a person is tasked to run a public enterprise, it would not work. On the contrary, no matter how stupid and silly the person is, let him run a private company, a privatized company, lo, behold, the company will become efficient and profitable.

This management theory should be taught in Harvard or at least in the local universities as the greatest management theory from Sin City.

Some are calling for the nationalization of the SMRT. How dangerous this is. The SMRT will definitely be badly managed and run at a loss. In fact if the civil service and the govt are privatized, things will definitely improved by leaps and bounds. We will have the best civil service and govt as well. Now that they are not privatized, please bear with their level of services for the time being and wait for the day when they are privatized.

How many daft Sinkies will disagree with this management theory? How many Sinkies today think that this is simply bull shit? How many would think that the effectiveness of an organization, any organization, is all about leadership and the quality of leadership and their motivation? How many out there are still thinking that they can con the daft Sinkies today with such lies? What do you think?

They said a lie, when spoken often enough, would become truth. This privatization theory is now a golden rule in Sin City. Dull and stupid people will become efficient and effective when working in a privatized company and vice versa.

Mandarin names of MRT stations

SMRT has just ended its trial to announce Mandarin names of MRT stations. The reason for this trial is due to request by the senior citizens who don’t understand English station names. I think this is laudable on the part of SMRT to be responding to the needs of the commuters. I can understand how difficult it is for the oldies who were mostly illiterate to understand names like Somerset, City Hall, just as examples. Suo Mei Sai, Zheng Fu Da Sha must be more familiar to them, I think. I must confess I have never heard of Suo Mei Sai and find Zheng Fu Da Sha familiar. Bugis, what is its Mandarin name? Would it Peh Sua Por or Bai Sha Po? Should Little India be called Tekka or Zhu Jiao?

What the SMRT could do better is to understand what the oldies are familiar with, what kind of names they used, never mind if the English educated do not have a clue what Suo Mei Sai means. Perhaps it would be more comfortable if they use dialect instead. Chinatown could be Niu Cher Sway or Goo Chia Chwee, or should it be Zhong Guo Zheng?

It’s a pity that this trial has come to an end. I was kind of getting a Mandarin lesson in the train, learning new names that I have never heard of, some in my entire life. If successful, I am sure the possibility of using Pinoy and Hindi names could be considered, if they requested for them. That would make our foreign talents feel more welcome as well. This is like killing several birds with one stone. And many Sinkies could benefit from learning a few Pinoy and Hindi words for sure.

I can understand Hong San instead of Ang Swa or Si Kar Teng. What is Dover called? Or what was Commonwealth?