TR EMERITUS

Dear readers, As part of our continued efforts to foster more interaction between our readers and to promote a diversity of views from both ends of the political spectrum, we will be starting a series of discussions on current affairs under our "Daily Musings" section. Please feel free to contribute your views, thoughts and feelings. Do not worry if your command of the English language is not "up to standard". This is a blog for the man in the streets, not for snobs like some other blog which loves to wax lyrical about the "language skills" of its writers to the extent of giving itself an "annual award" ! We are a community of ordinary Singaporeans, not a community of elites ! Nobody should be deprived a chance to express themselves just because they cannot write well. Regardless of whether you are a white or blue collar worker, a graduate or non-graduate, write in impeccable or broken English, a PAP or opposition supporter, we welcome you with open arms. There will be no editing, moderation or censorship. We trust you to exercise your freedom of speech responsibly. Unlike some blog which seem to derive pleasure in deleting comments posted by their readers arbitrarily without any good reason, we hardly censor comments posted by our readers. However, all comments still need to be vetted by us first to prevent any sabotage by internet trolls and troublemakers. We will try to the best of our abilities to publish your comment within 2 hours of posting and we would like to seek your understanding in this. Please email us should you find your comment not posted or deleted which will most likely be caused by technical or administrative lapses. THE EDITORIAL TEAM  Read More →

By Eugene Yeo Wherever you go these days, be it the kopitiams, markets, internet cafes, restaurants or pubs, the topic of the day will invariably turn to the castastrophic losses suffered by our SWFs, Temasek and GIC, which at last count, is over SGD $100 billion dollars. Tongues have been wagging on how the government manage to lose a bulk of our reserves and still remain eerily silent on the matter. Massive protests would have erupted in other countries as illustrated by Iceland. The calm and quietude on the surface seem too surreal to be true. The issue was not debated in Parliament. The country's leaders have not issued any public statements to allay public concerns. Neither has the press published any reports on it. Speaking at a dinner celebrating Standard Chartered Bank's 150th anniversary in Singapore, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has called on foreign banks to take a long-term view in their investment in Singapore. There was no mention on the "long term" investments of Temasek and GIC which are now in limbo. The state media has been busy painting a rosy picture of how the various state agencies are doing their utmost to help Singaporeans tide through the storm, the latest being the Public Transport Council's "kind gesture" to reduce the transport fare by 2 cents. Is the PAP really ignorant of the endless rumblings on the ground which is whipping up a frenzy in both the internet chatrooms and the HDB heartlands ? Has it really lost touch with the people ? Perhaps Prime Minister Lee doesn't feel the need to explain his wife's investment decision to lesser mortals like us which is after all deemed as a private matter between both of them to be settled in the confines of their bedroom. Or according to his warped logic, Singaporeans have accepted the SWFs' losses heartily because there were no protests outside Parliament House. Even during the Mas Selamat fiasco last year, opposition MP Low Thia Kiang manage to put up a half-baked wayang in Parliament when he appeared to be stunned by PM Lee's direct question to him if he felt that Wong Kan Seng should resign. Low is nowhere to be seen too at this critical juncture where leadership from the opposition is solely needed and missed. (I forgot Low doesn't regard himself as an "opposition" MP, he yearns to be a constructive "watchdog" of the PAP). Will the matter simply go away if the authorities continue to put up the facade that nothing has happened ? In the absence of official news release, half-truths, rumors and lies are spreading like wildfire in the populace which will eventually erode public trust and confidence in the government. The PAP should be astute enough to realize the long-term repercussions for keeping mum on their latest blunder now. Like in the past, the Chua sisters will always intervene just in time to save their skin. So when will Dr Chua, our psycho-psychiatrist who has the uncanny ability of diagnosing personality disorders in opposition figures from afar without even examining them spin another fairy tale for us again ? Do not be deceived by her reticence so far for it is probably a delaying tactic to wait for the public fury to subside first before she start concocting her potent "red pill" to mislead the crowd again. I reckon she will use some if not all of the following: 1. Quote figures from other SWFs such as the Kuwait and Abu Dhabi which have lost more money than us to put "things into perspective" so as to exonerate Temasek and GIC from their dismal, if not disastrous performance. 2. Solicit the views of some authoritative figures in the banking industry to defend the SWFs' investment decisions on the usual pretext that they were sound at that time and nobody was able to predict the extent of the financial turmoil then. 3. Release selective figures from Temasek and GIC to defend its track records of generating annual returns and that they had merely lost what they had earned through "prudent management" over the last few years. 4. Interview some grassroots leaders for them to express their evergreen confidence and trust in the government to create the false impression that the people are genuinely behind them. 5. When all else fails, resort to the usual "ku3 lou4 ji4" by tugging at Singaporeans' heart chords with the gentle reminder yet again that Singapore will not be where it is today without our godfather Lee Kuan Yew. (YUCKS !!!) Rest assured we will be seeing a repeat of the Mas Selamat wayang kulit in which PM Lee "disappeared" for almost two weeks before slamming Low Thia Kiang in Parliament only after his father had spoken out on the matter. A few days later, Chua Lee Hoong wrote a "let's move on" article to tie up the loose ends. Will Low Thia Kiang serve as the "punching bag" again to make PM Lee look good ? Will another wayang COI filled by the henchment of PAP be called eventually to appease Singaporeans? Unless Singaporeans start to make themselves heard in the public arena such as a protest at Hong Lim Park drawing the attention of the international media, the PAP will never take us seriously and all our online grouses will remain forever, in the words of one Rear-Admiral, "unhelpful comments".  Read More →

Prologue: Senior Minister of State for Finance Lim Hwee Hua revealed in Parliament recently that Temasek Holdings lost 31% or $58 billion dollars of its portfolio. However, the matter was not discussed or debated further in Parliament. What do young Singaporeans feel about this ? Do they demand more accountability and transparency from the government ? Excerpts of interview: "They should reveal how much they lost, it is obvious they lost a lot of money, a lot of people are concerned, but it appears that newspapers are not reporting about it." "I think they should let the people know what is the performance like and gives more detailed figures because many figures they give are kind of effy. "A loss is a loss....you can't just say it is a long-term thing, it doesn't make sense....They should be more forthcoming, it is our money after all." "This is quite a big amount of money. I would rather spend this kind of money on our fellow Singaporeans especially during this time of economic crisis." "For Mr Lee Kuan Yew, I think he is going to be about 100 years old ! He actually make Singapore possible.....it is best that we need a new leader to run the country." Results: Number interviewed: 37 Age group: 16 - 20: 8   21 - 25: 7   26 - 30: 12   > 30: 10 Should a Commission of Inquiry (COI) be convened to probe the losses of Temasek and GIC ? Yes: 35   No comments: 2   No: 0 Should an external accounting firm be called in to audit the accounts of Temasek and GIC ? Yes: 36   No comments: 1   No: 0 Do you feel the government has been transparent enough about this matter ? Yes: 0   No comments: 1   No: 36 Do you believe MM Lee's prediction that we will recoup the losses in 30 years time ? Yes: 3   No comments: 7   No: 21  Read More →