TR EMERITUS

I have the similar thought of The Straits Times’ Editorial “A vote for secularism in Singapore” (Sep 18). Firstly, let us get to the bottom of definitions of Secularism. Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on naturalistic considerations, uninvolved with religion. Also, secularism is most commonly defined as the separation of religion from civil affairs and the state and may be broadened to a similar position seeking to remove or to minimize the role of religion in any public sphere. Secularism can also be defined as treating every religion equally and providing equal facility. In other words, as long as the government of any country allows politics to be linked to religion, or favors any particular religion, it will cause disharmony and conflict among the ethnic groups within the country. Eventually, it can/will easily lead to chaos and even civil war. This is an indisputable fact. As we all know, India is a classic example of frequent religious conflicts. Anyway, India's economic development, social harmony and cohesion have been weakened to some extent by its domestic religious conflicts over the years. Due to the occurrence of various religious conflicts and hatred in some countries, the entire world has suffered from peace, regression and the people live in fear. Singapore has since 1819 gradually evolved from a small and backward fishing village into a prosperous British trading port, and subsequently into a developed industrial, commercial and financial cosmopolitan city. Since then, it has attracted many immigrants from China, India and Eurasia till its independence in 1965. Going without elaboration, Singapore is obviously the multiracial, multicultural and multi-religious country since nineteen century. In due course, the Government must safeguard our national fabric of racial diversity, harmony and unity at all costs. In any circumstances, Singapore has to stick to the line of secularism to ensure the well acceptance of its policies and the importance of social harmony is achieved. In any case, Singapore must learn valuable lessons from the religious conflicts over the world, and cherish the importance of racial and religious harmony, as well as continuing to uphold its principles of secularism.   Teo Kueh Liang      Read More →

It’s easy money for the scammer, but a painful experience for the victim. An elderly man, Mr Loh, 74 years old, lost his retirement savings of $70k, because he had let his guard down for that second. If it is too good to be true, it just is. Period. We know it. Mr Loh was specifically warned by his children about it. He said he suspected it to be a scam too. So this exchange to buy a Peking duck from a supplier named “Xiao Xiao Ya Zi” told place on Whatapps. The advertisement came on FB. “”I asked him, “Is this a scam?”” Mr Loh recalled. “(The scammer) said that no one would be cheated of $5 and that this was a small thing. He told me that I had a lot of wisdom and experience (incidentally, Mr Loh was himself an importer).” Unfortunately, Mr Loh agreed with the anonymous vendor. His rationale? “I agreed to proceed since this was a matter of only $5.” But that $5 was the bait that hid the hook, and that hook was to do two things after the call (which was merely a voice message). First, the voice message asked Mr Loh to download a third-party app called Grab&Go. And second, the voice message requested Mr Loh to use PayNow to make a deposit (of $5) before the order for Peking duck (at a steal of $23.80) could be made. That $5 was the insidious Trojan horse to get Mr Loh to uncover his bank account via PayNow, and that downloaded app hijacked his phone and pass control to the scammers. With the bank account exposed, the scammer pretended to be Mr Loh and requested the bank (in this case, DBS) for an increase in the transaction limit from $3k to $59k. As if that was not enough, the scammer also asked for a further $11k in credit advance from Mr Loh’s DBS credit card. At this stage of the scam, the screen went blank for more than 30 minutes. This was where Mr Loh and family panicked, and called the scammer, who perpetuated the lie with this assurance: “the phone resetting was normal”. This bought the cheat some time to complete the transaction. Altogether, in 6 hours, the transfer, which started off as a friendly chat, wiped out $70,000 of Mr Loh’s savings. Mr Loh lamented: “I couldn’t believe the news. I thought: Why am I so stupid? I was so angry at myself for being cheated of my life savings. My family was frustrated and I ended up quarrelling with my wife.” Mr Loh has three children, and they were heartbroken. As his children, “they have educated their parents about such scam.” Lesson? I know how this feels. Someone close to me had been scammed too. I sympathise with Mr Loh and his family. The scammers have no conscience. They are online wolves diving into a pen packed with innocent sheep, regardless of age. They know someone would bite, even those who have been duly warned about it. Education doesn’t guarantee prevention. And that drives them to scam. It costs them little for a chance of a windfall at the victim’s expense. To them, it’s a score to be celebrated. To the victim, it’s their life savings they have liquidated. To them, it’s a few hours of breeze work to fleece. To the victim, it’s money earned over years or decades of hard work. If only these scammers got a taste of their own medicine, when their loved ones become victims themselves, and experience the despair. But that’s wishful thinking, because at times, karma is a broken boomerang that hits off target. Bad people do get away, many do. It’s a fact, or a stats. Mr Loh questioned why DBS didn’t inform him immediately when his transactional limit skyrocketed (from $3k to $59k, and when the scammer applied for a $11k advance on his credit card). “I know that some banks require a 12-hour cooling-off period when there is an increase (in funds transaction limits). But my credit limit was changed immediately without my permission and knowledge.” Well, the papers gave little detail of DBS’ response. When contacted, DBS just said that “it has dedicated resources to act swiftly to help customers who are scammed.” It reports that “(the victims) can call the anti-fraud hotline on 1800-339-6963.” Well, that may just be a case of shutting the stable door when the horses have all bolted. Education, or forewarning, needs to be encultured, or ingrained. It needs to be assimilated to become a habit, where we are always taking the precautionary stand, regardless of the enticement or logic. Scammers strike anytime, anywhere, and on anyone. When in doubt, stop and consult. Don’t ever think you know the ways of the scammers, because they use charm and logic too to disarm you…recall this assurance - “He told me that I had a lot of wisdom and experience. I agreed to proceed since this was a matter of only $5.” While the banks have to urgently up their game, since they have effective control, we have to up ours too. Increase awareness. Talk to loved ones about it more often. Tell them not to take anything for granted. If it is a stranger danger situation, or even if some apps deepfake your loved ones’ voice or face, double or triple confirm it by calling that loved one, on the spot. Nothing is what it seems; make that warning an ingrained habit. It is said that in a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act. Likewise, in a time of universal scams, taking precaution at all times is a necessary act. Don’t ever let your guard down, especially when it seems completely logical to do so. The only way to disarm you is to win your trust. Don’t let them win. Take care. Be vigilant. If all else fails, don’t answer, don’t click, don’t return call, don’t trust. Just walk away. That Peking duck, that mooncake, and that durian tour ticket is just not worth it. Remember, it may be your life savings, hard earned. But it’s their one-minute operation, easy and breezy cash.   Michael Han * The author was a Director at Han & Lu  Law Chambers and blogs on Facebook.      Read More →

Singapore’s Disastrous Total Fertility Rate Of 1.04 Is A Demonstration Of A Lazy And Incompetent Government! Last year I was shocked to learn that our TFR had reached a historic low of 1.05! You need a TFR of 2.1 for the population to even replace itself. This week, I learned that a new nadir has been reached and that the TFR has plunged to another record low of 1.04! Well done Indranee Rajah! It shows that you and your predecessor Josephine Teo and colleagues in the PAP have absolutely no clue as to how to increase the TFR. They only know how to hike transport, water, electricity, GST and a myriad of other charges. These elitist Ministers who earn the highest political salaries in the world,way in excess of other world leaders,can think of no better solution than to increase the baby bonus, which has proven to be a dismal failure! My fellow Singaporeans, their only other solution is the lazy way of importing foreigners to make up and increase the numbers, another sure receipe for disaster down the road. At this rate, the local Singaporeans will be extinct one day. You want to increase the TFR? Then a radically new approach is needed. It is obvious Singaporean parents sneer at the baby bonus the PAP are offering because it does not even make a dent in the cost of a child’s upbringing. Tan Kin Lian has provided some useful suggestions to increase the TFR, through giving a woman a monthly payout according to the number of children she has. That is a proposal worth considering. I have an even more daring proposal which is to ensure that we give free education to every child born to Singaporean parents from childcare to University and universal healthcare for all! Instead of funding foreign students with grants and scholarships extravagantly, I am going to start funding Singaporean born students extravagantly! And I will return essential public services such as transport, electricity and water to the State and tear them away from those greedy private enterprises which are making humongous profits every year at the expense of the Singaporean citizen! Further, I will remove GST from essentials such as food, medicine, school books. You have to be an idiot or otherwise have been brainwashed to think that the government cannot afford the above. If we truly value our human asset, then Government has the responsibility to ensure that parents can afford to raise children. If we take the above steps, you will see our TFR shoot up and we will not need to be overwhelmed by foreigners!   Lim Tian      Read More →