Make all kind of prejudices disappear

In today's Today, Ooi Kee Beng wrote a piece entitled "Can Najib (the Malaysian PM) drop 'Malays' from UMNO. The Malaysian PM is trying to get his government to drop the need to specify one's race in official documents.

Singapore has actually gone through the similar exercise of reviewing the need for job applicants to fill up information about sex, marital status, religion, race, weight and height in the application forms or even advertisers specifying the criteria of their potential hires.

For advertising matters, there are editors to ensure compliance but how about employers? Are they still using forms from the third world?

What is your experience on the above? Just wondering whether the above is actually being practiced in the real world. Share your view at AnythingWithEdgar.

Two killed on rail track!

another type of accident

Two Republic Polytechnic students (a boy, age 19 and a girl, age 20) were knocked down and killed by a train bound for Johor Bahru at about 5am on 8 Aug 2009.

It is very rare and difficult for a fatal accident to occur with a railway train in Singapore.

On that fateful morning, two young persons died on the railway track.

There are so many whys:-
a) Was the train moving too fast?
b) Did the young people even tried to move?
c) Were they sleeping on the track?
d) Were they too drunk to move?
e) Why were they still out at such unholy hours?
f) Were they drinking nearby?
g) Did anyone notice the couple?

Chai Chee and Bedok Town Secondary Schools

It was announced recently that the two secondary schools will merge at the start of academic year 2011.

Subsequently it was reported that an online "war of words" broke out.. of course with students (past and present) from the respective schools coming forth with their pros and cons...

If that online war is true,then the management of both schools should be commended for having done their job of building their respective identity well among their students over the "short" years of existence.

If there were no passion, there will be just plain acceptance of the merger. It is so sad that that sense of belonging to an alma mater would disappear with the merger.

Perhaps the Authority should place a wee bit more importance before deciding to wipe a school out of existence or merge two schools in a new entity. Perhaps the Authority has no choice but to merge... Why no choice?

Consequence of not enough babies!!!

Are there many Jennie Chuas in Singapore?

Who is Jennie Chua? I had a brief encounter with her a few years ago. She came across as a very friendly and no-air person. Her biodata and achievements to date as follows.

Chairman, Singapore International Chamber of Commerce
Chief corporate officer, CapitaLand
Chairman, Raffles Hotel
# 1945 Born in Singapore
# 1971 BA, Cornell University, School of Hotel Management

Partial list of other positions:-
# Chairman, Community Chest
# Deputy chairman, Workforce Development Agency
# Board member, Sentosa Development Corporation
# Chairman, Singapore Film Commission
# Chairman, International Advisory Council for Tourism, Singapore Tourism Board
# Member, Pro-Enterprise Panel
# Holds 21 company directorships

Why am I showing you all of the above? To show you that she is a very successful and capable lady. But...

I have attached a quote from an interview published in this Saturday's BT Raffles Conversation.

When the interviewer asked how she manages her time, Jennie said,
'And I do have time. I'm divorced, so don't have a husband and don't need to spend time mollycoddling him; I have a companion, but he mollycoddles me! I don't play golf, which can take up two afternoons a week. My children are grown, and as for grandchildren, well, you play with them, and when you're tired you say, now please go home.'

'On the whole, I have to say I've had a wonderful life.'

My interpretation of that quote is that she sees having a husband as a chore, having a companion as good, children as no longer an issue and grandchildren as fun as long as she is not tired.

Perhaps the quote has been taken out of context by me. Not doing justice to her.

But the issue here is not on Jennie per se. I just wish to ask whether this is the price of having a successful career to a man or a woman. There is always a price!

Another Singtel mindgame?

Its $30 voucher to buy a phone OR $8 rebate per month for 24 months' contract.

If you choose to buy a new phone in the middle of the 24 months, rebate stops.
But if you terminate / downgrade / temporary suspend your contract, you will have to pay:-
$8 x no. of months with rebate plus $50 adminstrative fee.

What is Singtel trying to achieve?
Try to buy your loyalty (AGAIN, as in 2nd attempt) for 24 months with this kind of crap deal in my humble opinion. My loyalty is worth more. Perhaps Singtel should more loyalty to your customers with a sincere deal.

What do you think?

Election in Indonesia

the security I experience in a hotel in Jakarta BEFORE the recent bomb blast

far away from the lobby

No news is good news as one commentator said of the peaceful election in Indonesia.

I was in Jakarta last week. My client (supposed to be well informed) was not aware of the election date when I briefly enquired about the election. In my two hours' ride to and fro the airport, there was hardly any messy signs that the country is currently in election mode.

The election process in Singapore (just shown on TV5 news) for Indonesia surprised me. Any Indonesian citizens who walk in with a valid passport will be entitled to exercise their constitution right. Bravo to that!!

I hope Malaysia will that step in the next election.

Ponzi scheme here in Singapore?

ion continues to take shape

On Madoff's billions dollars Ponzi Scheme, the Judge asked Madoff before he sentenced him to maximum 150 years in prison, "Where did you learn the scheme from?"

Madoff clamly responded, "The Social Security Scheme."

Couple of months ago, I said US government could actually be doing a Ponzi-scheme too with its government bonds and Treasury bills. Upon maturity of $1 billion worth 5-year bills, the government would borrow $1.05 billion to repay the principal and interest of the maturing bills.

In Singapore, CPF collects contributions from current generation of working adults and paying out to the retiring group. Take for example - Every month, CPF collects $10 from thousands of employers and pays out $2 to people reaching 55 years or to estates of people who have passed away.

Madoff had been comfortable with a $8 positive margin to finance his lifestyle and massive marketing machinery for so many years. He only started to feel the heat when more and more people withdraw their monies.

The only difference is that our money with CPF are being invested in productive assets and thus generating income to pay interest. What if we reach the stage that we are unable to generate decent returns, the possibility of huge investment losses and a definite scenario of increasing no. of baby boomers withdrawing their lifelong savings?

Could we degenerate into another Ponzi scheme? Never says never. But we certainly must not let that happen.

Climb Mt. Everest for what?

Excuse me, why 6 beautiful ladies spent so many years of their lives and so much of don't know whose money, preparing and finally successfully scaling the Mt. Everest?

Can someone explain to me from their point of view?

Economic Strategies Committee

The Ministry of Finance yesterday unveiled the members of the Economic Strategies Committee (ESC) and spelt out its mission to develop strategies to keep the economy growing - and spread the gains to Singaporeans.

I thought I heard from the various senior government representatives recently that there is no need for the Economic Review Committee (ERC) to be reconstituted as Singapore is structurally sound this time round. The problem of collapse of external demand is beyond Singapore's ability to singularly remedy.

No need for ERC but we need ESC.

Harlem Globetrotters in Singapore - passe?

What came out well?
We were early.. way too early and thus no rush at all.
We were moved to better seats as the stadium was half full or half empty.

What came out badly?
The tickets said 6.30pm but SISTIC's website said 7.30pm. We sat there for more than an hour. Why?
Perhaps to get us there early without dinner. Is that a ploy for us to spend more money on the expensive food and drinks in the stadium. Or is to get people there on time?

The performance of the Globetrotters - slow, dull, unslick, not much basketball, too much clowning around, poor sound, probably the third or fourth Globetrotters reserve team came to Singapore.

Verdict - Don't waste time. Go do something else.

AWARE beware? Or be aware of AWARE?

Finally, it is official!!! MOE has suspended AWARE's sex education programme being run in our schools. Noted its programmes have both plus and minus points.

I was forwarded a copy of the materials used from a reliable source. After reading of it, I was thoroughly flabbergasted that such "things" are allowed officially in schools. I just hope not too much damages have been done to a generation of children.

1st Issue
I am not here to question what AWARE stands for. But the members of AWARE should be concerned as to whether the original intention of AWARE has mutated by adding a word here and there to their original manifesto by subsequent management committees.

2nd Issue
One of the first bit of info I was looking for in the initial many days of many full pages of newspapers dedicated to the "quibblings" at AWARE - How many members' interest were affected? Now we know... 300 members... until the fracas started...

Question for the Old Guards - Why were the membership only at 300? Has the membership been increasing or decreasing over the years? This is a good indicator as to whether AWARE has been doing delivering values to its members.

In business, no point telling our bosses that we have been working hard throughout the year. Bosses always ask, what are the measurable outcomes against targets?

3rd issue - "Membership increased from 300 to 3000" in a matter of weeks.
Apparently AWARE's constitution allows ladies to sign up minutes before a General Meeting and yet be allowed to vote on issues a few minutes after.

The Old Guards were voted out by the New Guards using this rule. The New Guards were subsequently voted out when many phantom supporters suddenly turned up at Suntec City by the thousands to sign up as members.

Suggestion - For the stability of leadership and operation of its various programmes, perhaps the Clause should be amended to require new members 3 months' "warming period".

One good thing that comes out of all these AWARE episodes - Singapore's society continues to mature as we openly discuss issues responsibly (said a friend of mine).

Open letter to SMRT (or the actual landlord), DBS

at unholy hours ...

Dear management of SMRT and DBS Bank,

Reference to the ATMs located in the basement of City Hall MRT walkway towards SCB and UOB exits.

On numerous occassions that the ATMs above were heavily assessed by users, forming long queues which cut across the common walkway. These queues caused congestion in an already crowded environment, particularly during peak period.

Questions

• Is this appropriate from various safety aspects?
• Should the DBS Bank's ATM users impede on the benefits of other users of the public facilities there?

Please review.

Stop throwing rubbish at my place

Do you have the right to do this to me?

Gelylang Serai Market - What NEA has been saying

it has changed so much since last...

Background info - About 150 people were treated for diarrhoea and stomach pains with 2 elderly dead and an abortion after consuming Indian rojak contaminated seafood materials from a hawker in Geylang Serai temporary market.

What has National Environmental Agency (NEA) been saying so far? Here are the various quotes and my associated comments:-

1. NEA said that it was not directly responsible for hygience at temporary markets, but only at permanent ones owned by Ministry of Environment and Water Resources. "... is job of its management committee" (ST April 9, 2009)

Question - If the management committee of the temporary market is not doing their job in ensuring cleanliness, whose responsibility is it to ensure that these committees effect their responsibility?

2. The alleged stall has been re-rated from "B" to "C" since last December 2008.
But till the day of the incident ie. about 3-4 months after re-rating, the stall is observed to be displating the old notice of "B". (ST April 9, 2009)

Question - Whose responsibility is it to ensure that the stall owners change the displayed sign when applicable?

Guide on fairness but what about the law?

Mr Tan Kin Lian asked the above in his letter to the Forum published in ST on April 7, 2009.

Essentially, I think he said the following:-
a) He is asking for the outcome of MAS/AG's investigation on the petition signed by 983 people affected by the Minibond/Hi-Note saga.
b) You do not act by issuing more guidelines for the industry.
c) Has the law been violated or even activated to address the problem?

My views.
The financial industry is an important component of Singapore's economy. So important that the various of organs of government have to tread carefully in handling the matter. It is not just a matter of addressing the problems of a few thousands individuals and a few prestigious financial institutions.

The guidelines are useful to prevent (hopefully) the recurrence in the interim.

But the state of our financial sector is also so important to other countries that Singapore made it to the "Grey List" of nations with practices that other countries are concerned about. (I think this is an appropriate way to put it.)

The question is whether a crime has been committed. Let me attempt to give you a parallel analogy.

Let's say that a man sold you a stone that was supposed to heal a thousand ailment but it did not. What would you do? You would report to the police and the man would be prosecuted after due investigation.

Similarly (in my humble opinion), if a financial adviser sold you a product that is said to be "capital guaranteed" and "better than fixed deposit" but actually not so. Then what would you do?

So the question again - Has a crime been committed? We await the outcome.

En bloc then, En blocked now

In the Sunday Times last weekend, it ran a story of Horizon Tower 2.5-year-saga coming to another temporary end with the Court of Appeal ruling in favour of stopping the $500mio en -bloc sale to a group of buyers led by HPL's Mr Ong Beng Seng.

Who are the parties involved and what have they won and lost?

The 4 sets of homeowners who objected to the sale
- get to keep their home
- but collectively may have to pay $1 million in legal fees

The 173 sets of homeowners who were for the sale
- total legal costs at about $2-3 millions but "luckily" to be shared by 173 homeowners
- more painful for those who have jumped the gun by going into the property market then and bought a replacement property in anticipation of the sale going through - now these people got to service the loan of an expensively purchased property.

The buyers - HPL and its partners led by Mr Ong Beng Seng
- may have to work out the cost sharing of legal fees of trying to conclude the sale

The lawyers for the buyers, majority sellers and minority homeowners
- We are still awaiting the Court to determine costs but the costs estimated to date could be in the range of $5-6 millions.

The Small Title Board, the various Courts ie. the System - they have been asked to participate in history making.

But one important party not specifically mentioned in the newspaper review is the Government and its officers who have designed and approved the en bloc scheme for use by the market at that point in time. We have to ask the question as to whether en bloc scheme introduced at that point in time, has any contributory effect to the saga.

There should be review of the process and procedures to test on the robustness of any scheme to be implemented. We are dealing with people's home (some with a lot of emotional attachment), to others, one's biggest and most significance asset and to the rest, assets worth millions of dollars.

I got a feeling that the saga is not at its complete end for the moment.

P/S - I have benefited from the en bloc scheme applied to Bedok Reservoir's HUDC but with much fanfare too. I will spare you my views on that exercise for now.

HDB's Lease Buy Back scheme - A cynical view

to be ready soon?

While having lunch in a coffee shop in an old neighbourhood about 2 weeks' ago, I heard this man telling his friend about the Lease Buy Back scheme.

What is Lease Buy Back (LBS) Scheme?
For a 3-room flat with a remaining lease of 65 years, the lessee can sell the tail end of the lease back to HDB ie. 35 years for:-
a) you still get to stay in your current flat for the next 30 years;
b) $5,000 lump sum payable upfront to you
c) the rest of the payout goes towards an annuity which will pay out a fixed sum of money every month.

Depending on the age and expected mortality rate of lessee, the payout could range up to $800 per month.

I thought this is great as it allows asset-rich-cash-poor people to encash part of their assets.

Guess what the man said about the monthly payout. "In 10 years' time, we may not even get a single cent of the money as the monthly payout will first go towards paying the utilities' bill !!!"

Amazing alternative view :) I must admit I didn't see that coming at that moment.

Good night.

Another cynical story for u

As I was thinking about the Anonymous reader's comment that my made-up hypothesis of Jerry Ee's decision to turn himself was being cynical.

I wish to try to up the ante with this view that I heard from a friend.

On Sunday's Straits Times, the story also mentioned about another old man, who had stayed in a village in Thailand for many years, too decided to turn himself in.

Why? I wonder after all these years.

He is said to be sickly. Thus a logical hypothesis would be for him to come home to Singapore and let the world best health care system take care of him at taxpayers' expense.

Jerry Ee surrenders? How come?

Can you imagine what could happen to someone walking around in Thailand with $8-9 millions worth of watches in his suitcases? The Thai underground network could be abuzz with news of someone trying to sell very expensive and unique watches.

He couldn't sell them off fast enough nor at the right price. He is not sure whether he could leave Thailand.

So probably the best idea would be for him to turn himself in at the Singapore embassy with those watches that are more difficult to sell. Then go to prison for a couple of years. In due time, he could re-unite with those watches that he has kept (estimated cost $3.3mio) or the cash from watches sold (maybe a $1m after discount given).

Jerry, is this your plan?

Background
Jerry Ee, a former Cortina Holdings employee, went missing with $8m worth of luxury watches in December last year. Recently he turned himself at the Singapore embassy in Bangkok.

SCB and OCBC are now on 2

SCB have betted heavily and successfully on the two legs on 50,000 individuals (I think) recently and over the years to run in marathons organised by them.

The light blue Adidas tops seen on many Shenton Wayites during their daily jogs are now worn with pride as a testimony that that the individual wearing that top has earned it through his/her participation in a marathon.

The light blue top now signifies a fitness level sufficient for a marathan (albeit half marathon for some). It is like getting a proficiency badge for a scout or girl guide.

The above demonstrated the use of a sporting event by a corporate entity to promote brand awareness and other objectives very successfully.

In recent time, another bank in the form of OCBC has followed with launch of their sponsorship to promote cycling on 2 wheels, of course. Thousands too turned up.

2-leg vs 2-wheel? Well at this moment, 2-leg is way ahead of the game.