A third reply from EMA

EMA is replying to the rising criticism of the electricity hike today. But again it fails to address the issue of forward buying and spot buying as well as the composition of natural gas in the tariff formula. Oh, in the letter it said that all Singapore's electricity is generated by imported fuel! Does this include natural gas or oil alone? The people deserve to know what is in the formula. The EMA must also put into system a process whereby they can opt to buy spot when future is too high. If their buying process is so rigid to only buy using one method and ignoring the alternative of buying low, then it is not doing justice to the people. Another point is that the hedging or buying forward system sometimes lead to losses and sometimes to gains. When EMA gains, they keep quiet and happily enjoyed the bigger profits and big bonuses. When they hedged wrongly, the loss is immediately passed to consumers. This is unfair. In businesses, there are ups and downs and EMA must take in the profit and losses in its stride instead of one way, always win and no losses.

Hold off Mean Testing

Timothy Chin appealed to Khaw Boon Wan to hold off mean testing in his letter to Today. His justification is that time is bad and recession is here. He suggested that hospital should compete for high end clients but also provide for no frills wards for those who do not want the frills. Then he compared the charges for B1($165.85) and B2($51). In his opinion, the difference is too great. He then suggested an intermediate grade like B1a. His overall reasonings are reasonable until this point. By pointing out that charges for these two wards are too wide will prompt only one kind of reaction. Ok, B2 should be raised so that the difference is smaller. And this exactly the kind of thinking Singaporeans will have, a variance from his own B1a. My point is that the ward charges remain and mean testing stops. Let the people decide what they want. Let the people be thrifty and save if they can and want to. Do not imposed on people to spend. The latter kind of thinking is the most ridiculous and can only happen here. Making people spend according to how much money they have. This is one of the reason why Singaporeans have very little savings in their CPF for retirement, simply because HDB flats were priced on how much they can afford to pay. Higher income must buy bigger flats.

Where is CASE?

David Goh wrote a letter to the ST forum questioning why CASE did not say anything when oil prices has been tumbling down while petrol pump prices are still high. For that matter, what is the position of CASE on the 21% electricity tariff hike? For CASE to keep quiet suggests a couple of things. CASE is quite comfortable or agreeable with the pump prices and the electricity hike. Or CASE may be busy, either with more important issues or is still studying the two cases. And if both cases are justified, then there is no need for CASE to be involved. Singaporeans should be rest assured that their well beings are in good hands. No need to worry lah.

Is my memory failing?

If I can still remember, sometime, not too long ago, there was an official announcement that there will be no increases in govt services or charges. But today we are facing higher electricity tariffs, higher phone bills, higher transportation cost, while we were told to brace up for a recession. Maybe I did not read them or understand them correctly. All these are private organisations, so it is still correct to say that govt services and charges have not gone up. Would hospital or medical bills be considered private as well? How private are our private organisations? Can a govt organisation or govt linked organisation be private by simply restructuring it and call it private when the major shareholder is still the govt? These are difficult and tricky things for the simple minded Singaporeans to decipher. It is easier to just accept any thing as private when it has a private label. That all is well.

Disneyland or beggars paradise

Orchard Road is the closest we can get to being another Disneyland. The cool and rich shop there and are seen there. The heartlanders will find it quite an expensive place to be. The parking and CBD charges will be enough to burn a hole in their pockets, unless they go there by public transport. You need to pay to be in Singapore's Disneyland. But this Disneyland is in a state of transformation. Other than the foreign workers and maids gathering there to size each other up for a weekend tryst, or for some serious business transactions, there is another big group of people seen regularly at Orchard Road. The beggar sects of all the neighbouring countries have turned Orchard Road into their business district and playground. From buskers to beggars, to monks and conmen, they lined the famous sidewalks of Orchard Road, mingling around and inhaling the expensive perfumery, and the beautiful shops and their gorgeous wares. The Twains have met, in Orchard Road. Both extremes found Orchard Road a paradise in their own ways. The rich and famous, the poor and ragged, are all in Orchard Road. A Disneyland and also a beggars paradise.

CPF - Ignorance is bliss

This Ah Pek told his kakis that the happiest moment of his life was to read his CPF statement every month. He said he felt so rich, so comfortable knowing that he had so much money in the CPF. My money would not run away. It would be there, guaranteed by the govt. And the money is growing with very high interest rate some more. Hopefully the CPF is still there when he needs the money. My CPF money did not run away, except that it retreated away from me when I reached 55. Now it has ran 7 years away. And after that, I still cannot touch all of them. I can only take a few hundreds every month until it runs out or I run out or comes 80. No, not true. Some can only be taken out after I die, at least $30k in the Medisave. I am not sure whether to be happy for the Ah Pek. Obviously he is another ignoramus who did not know anything about inflation. When the interest paid to his CPF saving is less than inflation, his money is withering away, becoming lesser by the day. And when real inflation hits him, for the cost of basic necessities are shooting way more than the official inflation rate, he might as well forget about saving when it all comes to nothing. His $3 today that becomes $20 in 20 years time may just buy him another bowl of wan tan mee. No matter what kind of spin is being churned out, it is all craps. The best option is to take your CPF money and put it into your own pocket. Use them when there is still some value. Who knows, one might just kick the bucket tomorrow and not smelling the CPF savings completely.

New format

Hi everyone, I have just changed the template and trying to work around the system. For the moment I have lost the list of contributors and I will try to get it back asap. Will see how much or what else I can add to the new format. Cheers PS. Please click on 'follow this blog' to insert your name in the box. This should do the trick.