CNA forumer Johnlaw still missing after 3 weeks

CNA forumer Johnlaw who leaked about CDC bonuses still missing after 3 weeks

The netizen going by the moniker “Johnlaw” who posted about 2 staff of Northwest CDC receiving 8 months of bonuses in 2008 on CNA forum had been missing since his sensational allegations stirred a furore in cyberspace in the beginning of March.

(Johnlaw had also emailed us confidential information about the CDC bonuses. We have been trying to contact him unsuccessfully for the past few days).

Johnlaw was a well-known regular forumer of Channel News Asia for the past few years. He hasn’t been seen posting on the forum for the last 3 weeks. His sudden disappearance had led to speculations that he might been invited to a “limp kopi” or coffee session with either the police or the ISD (Singapore’s secret police).

A post was started on CNA forum by a concerned forumer (read it here) enquiring about his whereabouts.

Wrote “Little Red Dot”:

“John, pls tell us you are OK. Are you in Guantánamo we are worried…Pls make some sound leh”

Mewannabe thinks his disappearance has something to do with the link:

“I think he leaked out the news too early la.. So ask him for kopi to see where his source from. This news will definitely spread out sooner or later.. but he too anxious to share with all bros and sis here.”

Still, there were no replies from Johnlaw.

So was Johnlaw really invited to a “limp kopi” session by the police for his audacious whistle-blowing?

The internet is full of conspiracy theories of how the secret police is monitoring and tracking the postings made by cyber-dissidents who occasionally get “invited” by them for a coffee session should they cross the OB markers.

Some netizens believe that their posts made on government-owned forums like STOMP and Hardwarezone are under continued surveillance by the authorities though there is no concrete evidence suggesting otherwise.

Coincidentally, a blogger using the moniker “PothePanda” posted a statement on his blog at Xanga on 13 March 2009 claiming that he was arrested and interrogated by the police over a post he made on STOMP Talkback forum. (read his official statement here)

His post drew flak from some fellow bloggers who posted comments on his blog lambasting him for making up the story:

Wrote icesurfer:

” How do I know you’re saying the truth? You had alot of suppositions in your statement. And if you’re in CID for interrogation, it is highly unlikely you will be facing a ISD officer cos ISD officers won’t expose themselves to you unless they know they have absolute evidence that you’re the criminal, isn’t it? If not, why do they wanna risk uncovering themselves in front of a ‘would-be’ criminal, then there are terrorists out there on the lookout for ISD officers? If you’re still blogging all of this, it means there’s no evidence against you and hence, you wont have met any ISD officers at all.You put alot of words into others’ mouth, but there’s nothing to testify you’re telling the truth.”

Another anonymous netizen is supportive of his revelation:

“I believed what you said. I know of someone who got is also suspected of theft and brought to the police station. They used the same method to make him confess when he was innocent. To those who don’t believe him, you have been brainwashed too much by sg government. Wait till you all get caught by the police and interrogated then u will believe.”

Is “PothePanda” telling the truth? Or is he simply making baseless allegations to serve some nefarious purpose?

We caught up with “PothePanda” over the weekend to conduct an exclusive 45 minute interview with him. Watch it on wayangparty.com tomorrow and judge his words for yourself.

http://forums.delphiforums.com/sunkopitiam/messages?msg=24943.1

Clintongate in Singapore's politics

Clintongate in Singapore’s politics

SINGAPORE - Keen observers of our local political scene will not fail to observe the polemicity in our mainstream media’s portrayal of key PAP and opposition candidates. Indeed there was a huge gulf of difference in how PAP candidate Mr Lui Tuck Yew and SDA opposition candiate, Steve Chia, were portrayed.

Mr Lui cuts a clean image. A pious man committed to his church and family, he is an academic high-achiever having won an SAF overseas scholarship to study at Cambridge, and later rising to Chief of Navy. He also does volunteer work at a pet-assisted therapy home at Bishan. In short, he is everything an ACS boy is expected to be - a scholar, an officer and a gentleman.

Steve’s portrayal was unfortunately at the other end of the spectrum. It was unfortunate that his wife reported her discovery of the topless photos of their maid in his computer, and the police was to get involved. Our media swooped down on Steve like hawks on their prey. Seemed like a Clintongate in the making, no? Obviously, it turned out that Steve didn’t commit any offense, but ironically the police “let him off with a warning”. So where was the police during the height of the Tammy Tan scandal when her handphone containing explicit videos of her intercourse with her boyfriend was released to the public? Did Tammy even get a warning?

It seems like our police is being magnanimous, no? To be let off with a warning appears to give an impression that an offense was committed, but the policing authority chooses to be generous in giving a second chance. Even Jack Neo chose to rub that in in his movie “One more chance”, which I found distasteful. Guang, a compulsive gambler successfully obtained a job at a firm which employs ex-convicts. His colleagues described the offenses they were convicted for, and one of them was a be-spectacled man nicknamed “Lecher” who was convicted for taking nude photos of his maid after his wife reported him to the police.

Jack’s movie was intended to achieve a noble aim which is to send a clear message to Singaporeans the importance of giving ex-convicts a second chance, and thus the tagline - help them (ex-convicts) unlock the second prison, the raison d’etre of the Yellow Ribbon campaign. Well, Jack, you just contradicted yourself. You convicted Steve for an “offense”, when in actual fact, it is a non-offense.

Back to the portrayal of PAP candidates, Mr Lui wasn’t the only Mr Picture Perfect. Similar new candidates had that kind of exposure too. Thus, it seems that an advertisement to join the PAP as a candidate for elections would read “Only whiter than white need apply”.

However, the most crucial question is if the electorate really place top priority on a candidate’s conduct over anything else. Maybe, a rhetorical question to ask is, if given a choice between candidate A whose profile reads strong in public policies but has a penchant for flings at Singapore’s red light districts and candidate B, a deeply religious family man who is weak in public policies, who will you choose?

My personal choice will be candidate A. Why? Simply pragmatism above anything else. And I am not the only voter with such a belief. We have to recognize that we are not perfect, and the fact that everyone inclusive of politicans are prone to certain faults serves to illustrate the frailty of our human self. Steve is no different from the rest of us.

And Steve has made his fair share of contributions during his time as a Non-constituency MP, an accolade awarded to the best performing opposition. For instance, Mr Chiam and him were pro-active in pushing for improvements within our education system. He has also touched on pertinent issues regarding transport and national service for instance.

Was Steve’s popularity even affected by that minor hiccup? Perhaps, not it seems. He actually improved on his showing at Chua Chu Kang SMC, garnering 39.63% of the votes during the elections of 2006 as compared to his previous showing in 2001 when he garnered 34.66%. Thus, it seems that Steve has done a Bill Clinton, except that no sex was involved. In both cases, the so-called scandals had little effect on their popularity. Like Steve’s improved showing during the electoral contest, Clinton left the presidential office with an approval rating of 66%, the best showing by an American president since World War II.

It is important for voters to realize that an electoral contest is different from a contest to elect a religious head who must display an exemplary conduct. Voters should select candidates who can best articulate their concerns in parliament, don’t you agree?

http://forums.delphiforums.com/sunkopitiam/messages?msg=24925.1

Its the economic performance that counts!

During the minister pay debate, the main argument to justify the extraordinary pay packets of the PAP leaders was performance. However, when performance is no good, it is time for an explanation. Be it Mas Selamat's escape, having the worst performing economy in Asia or losing billions in bad investments, the explanation can be made that blame lies else where and not with the extraordinary leaders who are in charge of Singapore. Singapore will put in the worst economic performance in Asia and the explanation is that Singapore is an export dependent economy and when our trading partners slow down we are hit badly. If you swallow this explanation wholesale - it is basically saying that there is nothing we can do about it we are forever at the mercy of external demand. But why are we doing so badly? The rest of Asia is also dependent on external demand and Hong Kong is about the same size as us. Don't forget the govt plays a big role in our economy - they pick the industries Singapore chooses to go into casinos, biotech, etc, they strategically plan our economy and the level of domestic demand....they make all the moves on the economic chessboard and this is where they got us.
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"MM Lee took issue with criticisms of Singapore's economic model, such as that from a recent Wall Street Journal editorial which said the Republic needed to refocus on the domestic consumption of goods that are now produced for export. 'Four million people to sustain industries supplying top-end goods to the world? That's rubbish.' Singapore has no choice but to export, he stressed. " - Straits Times [Link]
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I don't think anyone in the right mind is asking Singapore to stop exporting or become solely dependent on domestic demand - that would be rubbish indeed. However, more can be done to strengthen our domestic demand so that our economic performance does not fluctuate so wildly on external demand - it is only one piece of the puzzle of restructuring this economy for more sustainable growth. The PAP govt had focussed primarily on GDP growth rather than sustainability of the growth - during the 'boom time' aka Golden Period, they would drive the export engine at the expense of almost everything else to chalk up high GDP growth figures - now we are seeing the downside of this strategy. You shouldn't buy the argument that 'there is no choice' because other economies with similar population sizes such as Israel, Finland and Hong Kong have a higher domestic economy component in their GDP.
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This recession is not painful just because of its length and depth. It is especially painful for Singaporeans because they are entering this recession with many problems the PAP govt did not solve when times were good. We are entering this recession with the highest household debt in Asia and the worst income inequality among developed Asian countries. At the onset of this recession 8% of the people have already defaulted on their HDB loans and many couldn't afford even afford electricity even before the recession. The govt ran an economy that swung wildly - this being the 3rd recession in 10 years but did not put in place safety nets that would serve as stabilisers for our society.
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The PAP claims that it can bring about positive changes on its own and that there is no need for a 2-party system. The 1st step towards change is to admit that things can be done better. They are not even able to take the 1st step....

http://forums.delphiforums.com/sunkopitiam/messages?msg=24773.1

Teenage Mutual Fornication!

Teenage Mutual Fornication!

Teenage sex is becoming an issue in Singapore. With its moral baggage and sensational newsworthiness, it proves for a good distraction from other atrocities and injustices committed by the government. And that probable proves my point, because I'm not going to talk about the state, but about teenage sex. I can now imagine Nelson from the cartoon, The Simpsons, pointing his finger at a random person and mockingly exclaim, "HAH HA!"

The dominant rhetoric is Westernisation and the influence of the morally liberal/loose media. Blame it on the media. Unfortunately, I believe this is true to an extent. Media images do sometimes give us new ideas. However, teenage sex is not new.

(mind you, I refer to teenage sex as in sex between teens, not adults and teens, although inter-generational sex is an interesting topic on its own)

Yes, our George Lim Heng Chye's (love that guy) and other moral policemen/women will claim that our values, and in some instances, our Asian values are eroding. For those of us who know a little bit of Asian history, we Asians were probably the most sexually liberal "savages" around. Kama Sutra, pillow books, old Samurai teaching young boy Samurai the "ways" of the Samurai, young boys fellating older men in Papua New Guinea, ethnic Malays and Chinese children getting married, and so on. (heck, spitting can also qualify as an Asian value, so too is squatting to excrete.)

The reason why these observations fly off the radar of the "Asian values" rhetoric is not because this sexy bit of our history is censored out, but rather the term "Asian values" is constructed. It captures the ascension of the East Asian and recently South East Asian economies. It also serves to counter the "liberal Western democracies" by making exceptions to our generally authoritative governments which claim to have their own "Asian democracy". Perhaps what is authoritarian, totalitarian, or fascist to the "morally corrupt Western whities" is considered an "Asian brand of democracy".

And somehow along the way, when Victorian values of morality crept into our Asian lives through our colonial masters and became accepted as the norm and thought to be natural, we stretched the vulvae of "Asian values" and stuffed it with sexual morality. So nicely intertwined, seems credible and legitimate. What was previously socially constructed has been naturalised, left unquestioned and unchallenged.

So it is a bit ironic when we discuss teenage sex and talk about Asian values for example. We are using conservative Western ideas of morality to challenge Western ideas of sex. We "Asians" are merely vessels and subjects of "Western" discourses.

Teenage sex is a weird thing too. Attention was previously focused on kids from lower socio-economic homes, lower education, lesser-to-non English-speaking, and preferably ethnic minority. Of course, these serve to legitimise the Confucian brand of education and our general education system, with morality tales like "if you don't study hard, you'll be a screw-up".

So police (and moral police) stakeouts will be at HDB flat staircase landings, and various nook and crannies of the heartlands and malls frequently by the lower-to-middle income populace. Just like in Little India, when you have more surveillance and police around, you will have a proportionately larger number of "crime" and arrests.

What we know little of is of kids of privileged homes made possible by hardworking working parents, making good old teenage love in the comforts of their rooms. How can the moral police budge in and "arrest" them?

Actually, I personally believe that teenage sex is not wrong. Sexually transmitted infections and unwanted pregnancies are the problem, not teenage sex.

The problem of teenage sex is the same with HIV education and gay sex. You cannot teach safe teenage sex when teenage sex is illegal.

Teenage sex is socially not acceptable because of its socio-economic implications. If you have unwanted pregnancy from teenage sex, the couple concerned are unable to make the financial commitment, and there is a financial domino effect in the (extended) families affected.

Moreover, we live in a country where the most privileged from of pregnancy is adult wedded pregnancy. Wonderful perks and incentives. But you get little or none if yours is premarital and/or teenage. Such an institutionalisation makes teenage sex and pregnancy all the more stigmatised.

In the industrial period, where there is a segmentisation/division of labour (in the case of the factory), children are stripped of their previously "adult" privileges, that is smoking, drinking and having sex, because they are not required to work. Children and teens become dependents. It did not help that Victorian morality also dominated and created the discourse that healthy children are asexual and void of erotic feelings. The loss of "adult" freedom is balanced with legal and constitutional infrastructure that sought to "protect" this "vulnerable" group.

Teenage sex disrupts the middle dream of pursue good education, getting a good job, in the Singaporean case, getting the 5 or 6 C's, earning that million, then finally getting a spouse of similar stature/achievement and squeezing out 2, 3, or more kids if you can afford it/them.

I can't use the word "moral" here, because we might define in accordance with how someone like George Lim Heng Chye would. But I would like to ask, what is ethically wrong about teenage sex? What is ethically wrong about a teenage sex that observes an adult standard of responsibility and safety, or love for that matter?

In 2004, newly appointed Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong s/o Lee Kuan Yew @ founding father of modern Singapore (such a long name, huh?) identified our Singaporean youth to be the future. It is your normal political rhetoric that holds an almost universal truth. Youth IS the future any way. Ironically, it is the youth who are almost as, if not more sexually active than us adults.

The government wants Singaporeans adults to bang for babies, but most of us are not heeding. At the same time, we take out our frustration and give attention to teens who fuck for fun. I love the alliteration. That's the plight of our population today - adults just want to fuck for fun, and some teens deliver the babies. Ironic, as I said, because the youth are truly the future.

Still, I do not understand why all the attention is on teenage sex and the attempt to "solve"/"cure" it. Teenage sex is not the disease. Society is the disease (what's new from me, right?).

The idea and presence of teenage sex challenges a lot of authority, ideology and assumptions that we support and hold, and upon which many systems, structures and institutions stand. Their relevance are all questioned and challenged. Teenage sex shows us and also exposes the institution of marriage for example, that OMG WTF 0_0 :o!!!! there can be sex without marriage between two adults? What travesty? What blasphemy?

Again, what is wrong with teenage sex? What is wrong with a teenager who is sexually active, but is not (or not related to) pregnant or infected with an STI?

Why are we so obsessed with disciplining sex any way? We have famine, homelessness, wars, political turmoil, genocide, gang violence, death penalties, economic downturn, exploitative sex, slavery and we want to take care of teenage sex too?

Much of the rhetoric is concerned with how teenage sex is bad based on its sanctions, punishment, and outcomes. What about addressing the inherent wrong-ness of teenage sex? What about addressing how teenage sex is ethically wrong?

I think that we Singaporeans are not dealing with teenage sex properly. I liken it to a thirsty Singaporean who travels to Johor Bahru for a glass of orange juice. Yes! It doesn't make sense, you can just drink the damn water from any tap in Singapore!

Teenage sex is so stigmatised, considerably taboo and morally/religiously contentious. There are so many authorities, societal (and its history), legal, religious and economic, that emphasise its wrong-ness. We dare not question why it is wrong in the first place. It is wrong because of its consequences, and that's all we know about it.

http://forums.delphiforums.com/sunkopitiam/messages?msg=24759.1

Dr Lee Wei Ling's bemused ranting about living kidney donors

Dr Lee Wei Ling's bemused ranting about living kidney donors

Dr Lee Wei Ling is back in the news with a letter to the Forum page essentially attacking doctors who are uncomfortable with the organ trade. She accused wary doctors of being afraid of being labelled professional pariahs in the international community. "....groan"

Not a very fair attack I must say. Somewhat childish, I might add. I mean, to resort to name calling just to make your point. Tsk Tsk, she should know better.

The resistance to the organ trade isn't about providing reimbursements. It is about designing and implementing a system whereby there can be appropriate and just compensations without allowing the system to degenerate into a crass free for all, cash for organ trade where the rich sick can exploit the poor and defenseless. Because that would be a system where wealth justifies any manner of abuse.

Think again, Dr Lee.

http://forums.delphiforums.com/sunkopitiam/messages?msg=24799.2

Jane Austen: Contemporary as you please

Sunday Times exaggerates when it says: “Jane Austen is not just a novelist but a cultural ideal. Her books teach us what it means to be civilised.” The elaborate courtesies and leisurely lives of her characters today have all the charm of a period drama.
But Jane Austen (16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) is surprisingly modern in other ways. In her language, for instance. Take, for example, the famous opening words of Pride and Prejudice:

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.

It’s modern English.

Pride and Prejudice is contemporary too in the manner it opens. The characters start speaking as soon as the story begins, as they might in a play. That’s not how most novels began in those days: the author would usually describe the people and places first. That’s how Jane Austen herself began her novels, Emma, Mansfield Park and Northanger Abbey, by describing the circumstances of her heroines. But in Pride and Prejudice, she lets the characters speak for themselves, weaving in the background as they talk.

Jane Austen is contemporary in her preoccupations too. Parents still try to provide for their children, money and status are as important today as they were in her time, and there will always be lovers.

Her characters are closer to us than Shakespeare’s. Her heroines don’t crossdress like Shakespeare’s romantic heroines. Her heroes don’t physically confront their enemies like Macbeth or Hamlet. Money is used to hush up scandals. Her characters want to keep up appearances and be respectable.

VS Naipaul said Jane Austen would have never become world-famous had there been no British empire. The same may be said of other British writers, too. And her appeal has outlasted the empire: her novels continue to be made into movies and television dramas – proof of her enduring popularity.

I love Pride and Prejudice but haven’t seen it on film or television. So here is Sense and Sensibility, which I did see, with Emma Thompson and Hugh Grant in the leading roles. Look at her bursting into tears when she learns he is not married after all and wants her for his wife. That’s another nice thing about Jane Austen – she doesn’t disappoint her lovers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZD2CqNL4bF4



The scene here is based on the penultimate chapter of the novel, which can be read here. And here is the opening of Pride and Prejudice, which, since it’s a favourite of mine, also follows here:

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.
However little known the feelings or views of such a man may be on his first entering a neighbourhood, this truth is so well fixed in the minds of the surrounding families, that he is considered as the rightful property of some one or other of their daughters.
``My dear Mr. Bennet,'' said his lady to him one day, ``have you heard that Netherfield Park is let at last?''
Mr. Bennet replied that he had not.
``But it is,'' returned she; ``for Mrs. Long has just been here, and she told me all about it.''
Mr. Bennet made no answer.
``Do not you want to know who has taken it?'' cried his wife impatiently.
``You want to tell me, and I have no objection to hearing it.''
This was invitation enough.
``Why, my dear, you must know, Mrs. Long says that Netherfield is taken by a young man of large fortune from the north of England; that he came down on Monday in a chaise and four to see the place, and was so much delighted with it that he agreed with Mr. Morris immediately; that he is to take possession before Michaelmas, and some of his servants are to be in the house by the end of next week.''
``What is his name?''
``Bingley.''
``Is he married or single?''
``Oh! single, my dear, to be sure! A single man of large fortune; four or five thousand a year. What a fine thing for our girls!''
``How so? how can it affect them?''
``My dear Mr. Bennet,'' replied his wife, ``how can you be so tiresome! You must know that I am thinking of his marrying one of them.''
``Is that his design in settling here?''
``Design! nonsense, how can you talk so! But it is very likely that he may fall in love with one of them, and therefore you must visit him as soon as he comes.''

http://forums.delphiforums.com/sunkopitiam/messages?msg=24867.1

MM Lee: My daughter is one of them.

MM Lee on Singapore's population
By Leong Wee Keat and Lin Yanqin, TODAY | Posted: 21 March 2009 0949 hrs

	Photos 1 of 1
	Related News • MM Lee describes Singapore's future at NUSS lecture

SINGAPORE: Even after the millions spent on Baby Bonuses and other parenthood incentives, policy-makers are confounded by a problem that goes to the very heart of survival: Singaporeans are still not reproducing themselves.

And on Friday, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew reflected on this challenge at the National University of Singapore Society's (NUSS) dialogue on "Singapore and Singaporeans: A Quarter Century From Now".

In Singapore, he said, it is becoming a "lifestyle choice" for women past the age of 30 to stay single as they are well-travelled and have no one to worry about.

"My daughter is one of them. What can I do? When she was in her early 30s, my wife used to tell her, what you want is a 'MRS'. She did not think it was funny.

"Now she is 50-plus, her mother is bedridden, I'm on a pacemaker, I got this rambling house. Everything is looked after now. What happens if we are both not there?...

"She says, 'I'll look after myself'. But we know she has not been looking after herself all these years. When she went to Boston for training, her cooking was to just to put her salmon into the microwave."

Mr Lee added: "But that's life. It's a choice that she has made, and a choice that 30 per cent of our women are making. Who am I to complain? Society lives with the consequences it is making."

The problem that this trend creates: "Without new citizens and permanent residents, we are going to be the last of the Mohicans. We are going to disappear".

But immigrants bring their own challenges to a society.

Some Singaporean parents have complained about migrants entering schools and competing with local children. He urged parents: "Would you want them to compete against you or with you as part of the team? If you don't have them with you as part of your team, they will be on the Chinese and Indian team."

Some of these migrant students, he acknowledged, use Singapore as a stepping stone to other countries. So "why are we so stupid" in allowing this?

"Because more than half (of these students) do not make the grade to go to America, and the second tier is not bad for us."

Singapore needs to draw from a big talent pool beyond its own shores, "so that we can continue to punch above our weight. No other way".

"Would you want the pie to grow? You want a small pie with your children taking the last portion, or a big pie where you get a bigger portion, even though the talented person may get a bigger slice? That's life. If you are afraid of talent, you will not succeed."

One catch he foresees: Even as the second generation of today's immigrants become more Singaporean, one dubious habit they might also adopt, is to have only one child.

"So we got to make this breakthrough, otherwise we are going to have a constant problem.

"We got to get people to realise that if we don't have 2.1 (babies) to replace ourselves, we are always dependent."

Earlier in the evening, Mr Lee officially opened the new NUS Alumni Complex, which comprises the redeveloped NUSS Kent Ridge Guild House and Shaw Foundation Alumni House.

http://forums.delphiforums.com/sunkopitiam/messages?msg=24725.1

Retiring backwards?

Sunday, 22 March 2009

Leong Sze Hian

I refer to the article “I can’t take the flat with me when I die” (Today, Mar 2).

In the example cited by Today, a 62 year old male with a 3-room HDB flat, will get $5,000 cash and $5,000 to his CPF, followed by a lifelong monthly income of $530.

In a normal reverse mortgage, the home-owner draws income and is charged interest. On death, the market value of the property is offset against the amounts withdrawn plus interest owing to the financial institution.

Assuming an interest rate charge of five per cent, the sum owing after 30 years is $465,274.

If the value of the flat appreciates at 5 per cent, the market value after 30 years is $1.02 million. So, does it mean that in a sense, the flat-owner may lose $554,726 ($1.02 million minus $465,274)?

Wouldn’t the flat-owner be better off renting out one room for about $450, and retain the equity on the flat?

With inflation, it is also likely that the one-room rental may increase in the future.

Of course, one can take the lease buyback scheme as well as rent out a room, to receive a total monthly income of about $1,000 for a start.

The lease buyback scheme may be a better arrangement than a reverse mortgage, as it takes away the uncertainty of how much a flat may be worth in the future and interest rate fluctuations in a reverse mortgage.

For example, if the return on the 3-room flat valued at $236,000 is three or four per cent per annum, the value after 30 years is only $572,834 and $765,442 respectively.

Historically, I understand that HDB flats have always increased in value as there has always been upgrading to new flats under the Selective En-bloc Resettlement Scheme (SERS), for older HDB flats that reach around 40 years old.

The HDB is in effect, taking the risk that no financial institution will take, of paying $114,000 up-front, which at say five per cent interest, means that it will cost $492,701, to buy the balance 40-year lease of the 3-room flat after 30 years.

There is also no risk for the flat-owner, of having the amounts withdrawn plus interest exceeding the value of the flat.

In this connection, recent media reports highlighted the first case of a private property reverse mortgagor losing his property after only about 10 years.

Another alternative may be to downgrade to a studio HDB flat costing say $70,000, to obtain $166,000 to fund one’s retirement. (Existing HDB flat $236,000 – new HDB studio flat $70,000)

Assuming a rate of return of say 4 or 5 per cent, the $166,000 sale proceeds can give a perpetual monthly income of $553 or $692 without consuming any of the $166,000 capital.

http://forums.delphiforums.com/sunkopitiam/messages?msg=24862.1

Are childcare centres exploiting govt schemes?

Are childcare centres exploiting govt schemes?

Sunday, 22 March 2009

Andrew Loh

Fees for childcare services have been in the news lately. And it is no wonder why. Operators have either increased their charges or are thinking of doing so. These centres include not only privately-run ones but also those run by the PAP Community Foundation (PCF).

The Today newspaper reported in July 2008 that “some 1,500 students attending the seven PAP Community Foundation (PCF) kindergartens in Woodlands will see their fees shoot up by 30 to 100 per cent from July.” Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, defended the increase. He said, “If you want better services, you want more convenient services, there will be inevitably some increase in cost, which the operators will also have to cope with.” (Straits Times)

The Today report also said:

Woodlands kindergartens in Blk 601 and Blk 875 will hike monthly fees from $50.90 to $110 per child because they will be air-conditioned. Air-conditioned kindergartens in blocks 899B, 652 and 824 will increase fees from $86.60 to $110, while non-air-conditioned ones in blocks 624B and 853 will hike theirs from $50.90 to $95.

Nurseries run by PCF Woodlands will also see a $20 to $30 monthly fee increase from July.

This year, many parents have been informed that their childcare centres are upping their fees again. This prompted Dr Balakrishnan to urge operators to keep fees “affordable”. “Given this benefit and the economic downturn, childcare centres should play their part in ensuring the affordability of childcare services for our families and children,” he said in Parliament on February 2009.

The first question one would ask is: Why did the minister defend the PCF’s raising fees while urging private operators to “refrain from increasing their fees”? (Straits Times)

Perhaps the reason is that the Jobs Credit Scheme (JCS) has since been introduced. The JCS gives cash grants to employers to help lower the cost of hiring local workers. They get up to $300 a month for each worker. This, however, does not seem to stop employers from raising their charges. One school is reported to be increasing its fees by $70 in April.

With Singaporeans trying to cope with the economic downturn, it would seem that subsidies by the government may be the excuse businesses use to raise fees. After all, with all these generous subsidies, parents should be able to afford the charges. Indeed, this was what Dr Balakrishnan seemed to have said in September last year, that the significant increases in subsidies should be enough to offset any fee hike.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had announced, in his National Day Rally speech in August 2008, a doubling of monthly subsidies for working mothers from $150 to $300 a child. Infant-care subsidies went up from $400 to $600. This was part of the Enhanced Marriage and Parenthood Package (EMPP).

The EMPP “seeks to foster an overall pro-family environment in Singapore through a broader range of measures that offers greater support in both financial and non-financial areas,” according to the Ministry of Manpower website.

On 20 March 2009, the New Paper reported:

Last September, The Sunday Times reported that a month after higher childcare subsidies were announced, 17 of the 20 childcare centres it contacted indicated their intention to raise fees by $30 to $120 a month.

According to an MCYS spokesman contacted by the New Paper, since childcare centres are private businesses, they can increase fees at their own discretion. They need only inform MCYS and the parents of a fee revision at least two months before the implementation.

One wonders what the purpose of informing MCYS is, if the ministry is not able to do more than keep track of the increases in fees.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s announcement of the Enhanced Marriage and Parenthood Package last year was aimed at getting Singaporeans to get married and have children. It was welcome by many parents who saw it as the government shouldering part of the financial burden of raising children.

However, the seemingly indiscriminate raising of fees by childcare centres may be discouraging would-be parents from having children. It also may be a sign that businesses are exploiting the government’s well-intentioned subsidy schemes aimed at helping businesses stay afloat during these bad times.

It is hard for one to understand how with the EMPP and the JCS in place, childcare centres would still need to increase their charges, some by very significant amounts.

Obviously, something is wrong somewhere.

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