News for Thought

(photo courtesy of http://www.singaporemind.blogspot.com)

Shocked at the title, one would scroll down to read the fine print. This speech is exactly a great example of how our government and MM thinks for their innocuous people, all at the mercy of money. Retirement in this humble land is a fallacy, who could bear to imagine the unthinkable acts of daily visits to the parks, of pursuing a hobby, of enjoying the final years of one’s life? If we do not retire, the CPF monies in our existing accounts might not have to be utilized. Once we stop working, so does our mind, hence it would lead to senility and even Alzheimer’s Disease, shortening our lives. Which is why we should never stop working, we ought to work to our deathbeds.

Our MM is a fine example of this. Do you foresee any chance of him retiring soon? Nope. He is a fine example of someone who does not give up, not till his last breath (but then, he gets 3 million annually for his efforts… therefore, note the difference).

Therefore, if, even our MM is working so diligently and forgoing pleasures such as touring the world for pleasure, such as minding the grandchildren, such as daily mahjong sessions, what makes us normal Singaporeans think that we should retire? Working is the way of life here! After all, if we do not work when we are old, who is going to help out at McDonald’s counters? Who is going to sweep the streets of Singapore? Who is going to help collect cardboard and used cans for sale? Surely then, the employment rate would be affected too. Which is why the brilliant MM thought of this “Retirement Means Death” phrase, to wake us up and instill fear in us! See how insightful he is.

Courtesy of “http://www.snoc.org.sg/news20070817.php”

Singapore decides to hole (deliberate use of word) the 2010 Youth Olympics in Singapore. Yes, all in the name of wanting to increase tourism rate and in-flow of monetary resources from foreign countries. Ultimately, though, it is still a joke because:-

1. the sheer size of our stadium might shock or amuse the other foreign young athletes to the extent they might lose the games because of this newfound amusement and/or shock

2. supporters and spectators from all over the world would have the chance to read our “propaganda shyt” papers and further amuse themselves. Lets cross our fingers that during this period, the MM would not say things (as the above article) that makes a fool out of us.

3. All the foreigners landing in SG would probably be amused further, and find Singapore an eye opener. They have probably never been to another place where the streets are filled with the “Fine” signs, or seen such long queues for things like Hello Kitty, bubble tea and doughnuts. Any encounter with Singaporeans would certainly be an interesting experience too, for Singlish is the novel fusion for the much-used, much-respected English. However, by then, the number of foreign immigrants might increase significantly to the extent that bumping into a typical Singaporean might be a rarity.

4. Due to the land size and lack of hotel accommodations, many of these said spectators and supporters might not be able to book rooms for their stay. This could mean good business for J.B. hotels if the said supporters and spectators are desperate enough to want to watch the games in 2010. After all, its only across the Causeway.

I am a hubber

“I am a hubber”!

No, I am not referring to hubbing as in, Starhubbing with Maxonline, Starhub’s Cable and mobile. I am expressing joy at being “hubbed” into an even larger arena. It makes me feel like an octopus with so many limbs and links, can the excitement be survived?

Singapore aims to be an education hub. Good try, which explains why and how the ex-pats are flocking here like crows so as to pursue their education. Which accounts for why NUS and NTU deigns to degrade themselves by accepting foreign students placements regardless of results. What doesn’t gel for me, though, is why then, are Singaporeans not being able to enjoy the privileges of this “hub” and instead have to resort to foreign universities, long-distance learning or private institutions just to get their tertiary education? Perhaps our academic prowess is already in tip-top condition, and even without a Degree, there are jobs readily awaiting us to take on them, is that the case? No. How can then New South Wales University’s fiasco be interpreted as well, could that be a good indication of Singapore’s level of preparedness to take such a giant step as an Education Hub?

Singapore also strives to be a Medical and Biochemical Hub. With the advancement in medical and scientific technology, it is not hard to see why Singapore would want to be a part of that. After all, hospitals are constantly understaffed, and medical fields are not easy to penetrate. Singapore is so desperate to retain the doctors that it has decided to lift the price ceiling for consultation fees and prescription prices, without regards of how many poor souls here who cannot afford to seek treatment. So Singapore decides to be a Medical and Biochemical Hub as well. This is a country that drugs are not available easily, and even household brand names cannot be sold over your average pharmacy’s counters without doctor’s prescription. Pray tell, if a patient needs the prescription tablet, why not just purchase from their doctor’s? It makes it more comprehensive that way! Just how ready is Singapore to be a medical hub really leaves question marks to the readers.

Singapore is an Arts Hub. Arts is greatly appreciated in Singapore and as we are a multi-racial country, Singaporeans should learn to enjoy artworks of different cultures and race. Youths are encouraged to pursue arts even though in Singapore there would never be Mozarts or Picassos, even though arts does not pay in Singapore, and regardless of the stressful workload the society’s children are juggling with these days. Esplanade was built for that purpose, to show the world that we are artistically-inclined when half of Singaporeans probably never even heard of “Impressionism” or refer to arts without conjuring in their minds images of pornography.

We are also a Sports Hub…. the ironic news is that most of the competitors who represent Singapore in Olympics or SEA Games etc are foreigners.  Research has also shown that Singaporean students study too hard to have time to engage in sports, and Singaporean working class spend too much time on chairs or couch.

Last I heard, we are going to evolve into a “job-hub” too.

Only a country as powerful and resourceful as Singapore can afford to be so many things at one time! I wonder if this lack of focus is the result of conflicts between different ministers, or are we merely trying to incorporate all the profits-generating means , or perhaps just sounding the markets out, being on scientific trials like a guinea pig, to see which works best?

I am a hubber!

CPF woes

Sitting by the windows with my latest CPF (Central-Provident Fund) statement in my hands, I stare at the amount, and wonder if I would ever get to spend this money. Why do I wonder so?

Let me share a little on this.

CPF is Singapore’s version of “pension”, in which 20% of your monthly salaries are compulsorily deducted into your CPF accounts, to allow you to be able to support yourself by the time you reach, say, 55? Lately, though, under the belief that our humane lifespan has been increasing, the age that we could utilize these CPF funds has been rising steadily as well. The last I heard, it was a solid 70.

Think about it. You work so hard and save 20% of your wages, so that by the time you are 50 and get retrenched, you can happily look for jobs such as cleaning, waitressing at McDonald’s , or going around collecting cardboard, drinks cans etc for sale, just to supplement your monthly income and hopefully save more until you reach 70 years old. If you don’t kick the bucket first, you would be able to enjoy the $200 – $400 given to you a month, barely sustaining your three meals a day and awaiting the day you can go in peace. Farewell, dreams of travelling the vast world. Farewell, daily doses of golf and chess (mahjong, in this case). Farewell, lifelong dreams of pursuing one’s interests.

That’s our CPF aka “pension” scheme for you – at least feel proud that you are the one providing yourself the after-retirement income.

It is also one of those super-versatile and liquid schemes that change almost annually. For instance, the new ruling beginning April ‘08, where the first $60K of our monies will be locked up and unavailable for us to do our own investments. I guess it is just not nice for Singaporeans to get smarter and know how to earn higher interest than what the CPF Board can offer us. How dare we try to contribute more monies to our own pension fund by such underhand means? We have to work for it!

Makes one wonder, doesn’t it… why is it that the monies in our Special Accounts cannot be used for housing, education etc? Is it because our caring government are afraid that we wouldn’t have any funds left when we are old and useless, and then they have to support their country’s old folks?

Why the CPF Board can guarantee us interest rates of 3.5% (OA) and 5% (SA) is because they use our monies for investments (mainly with bad foresight, we enjoy buying into crumbling foreign banks and other foreign companies in dire financial woes) .  When – note that I do not use “if” the investments fluctuate negatively and our monies kiss us goodbye, our government would gleefully cover up their incompetency and mistakes by adjusting the CPF rules, so that we do not discover that our monies are no longer sitting and waiting for us in the CPF accounts.  Sly moves, but why should we pay for other people’s stupidity, incompetency and mistakes?

Well, what say you on this?

Hey, but am I a PR or your people??!

I am born and raised (sadly) in a country that I feel, is slowly crumbling under its weak foundation. When I was younger, I recall, I still took my pledge and national anthem seriously, believing in the “unity”, “democracy” and “freedom” used much too liberally. Little did I know that they were just attractive words in print; reality has another set of tales to tell.

Have you ever heard of a country that takes care of its immigrants and foreign labour better than its own people? Have you heard of a country that offers scholarship to its main university – for the foreign students who do not even score fantastic results, yet for its own people, we all have to struggle to get a place in said university. On top of that, scholarships are rare, for us.

Have you ever heard of a country that creates jobs for foreigners rather than its own people? In the pursuit of foreign talents, it seems that local talents constantly get neglected and un-groomed. I often read about other countries putting their people before all others, be it jobs-wise, education-wise etc. Looks like at least for Singapore, we are unique in that sense – we do exactly the reverse. Maybe that’s why we are so charitable… we enjoy letting our country’s funds flow out into other countries – when those foreigners remit money back to their hometown, when their contract ends and they happily return home with a fat paycheck.

Pray tell, wherein does loyalty lie, when your first class citizens feel second class in their native lands?