TR EMERITUS

The Auditor-General’s Office (AGO) released the Auditor-General’s Report for the Financial Year 2013/14 last week (17 Jul). This year’s report which was submitted by Auditor-General Willie Tan Yoke Meng to President Tony Tan on 1 Jul and presented to Parliament on (15 Jul), highlighted lapses in the administration of grants, schemes and programmes, as well as instances of weak management of resources which resulted in wastage. Among the ministries and statutory boards cited were the Ministry of Defence, Central Provident Fund Board, National Library Board, Media Development Agency, National Parks Board and National Environment Agency. In the case of Central Provident Fund Board (CPFB), not only AGO reported of lapses in the CPFB’s procurement process ('AGO found purchasing lapses inside CPF Board'), it also discovered lapses in CPFB's monitoring and following up of erroneous claims submitted by our medical institutions. Our medical institutions would submit Medisave claims on behalf of patients to CPFB for expenses incurred for medical treatments, hospitalization and surgeries. The claims would then be processed by CPFB and paid from the patients' Medisave account, subject to the applicable withdrawal limits. Medical auditors which are engaged to audit such claims, would issue audit reports on erroneous claims to our medical institutions for them to rectify the errors. CPFB would then monitor and follow up with the medical institutions to ensure that the errors are rectified. AGO observed that: 1. For 13 of the 60 audit reports checked (22%), all or some of the erroneous claims in each of these reports were not recorded in the tracking file used by CPFB for its follow-up actions with the medical institutions. In total, 35 of 99 erroneous claims (35%) amounting to $48,100 over-claims and $350 under-claims were not recorded. 2. Of the 410 long outstanding erroneous claims which AGO checked, no reminders were sent for 79 over-claims (19%) which had been outstanding for 2 years or longer. Reminders for another 97 over-claims were sent late, more than 1 month after the stipulated deadline given to medical institutions to rectify the errors. 3. When medical institutions failed to rectify erroneous claims despite CPFB's reminders, CPFB did not take action to recover the over-claims from medical institutions. As of 9 Dec 2013, there were 220 over-claims (totalling $204,000) that remained outstanding, despite last reminders sent a year or more ago. "It is important for CPFB to properly monitor and take prompt follow-up actions on erroneous claims. Otherwise, it defeats the purpose of carrying out medical audits of the claims and the erroneous Medisave claims might also not be recovered," AGO said. In the case of over-claims by our medical institutions, it is the CPF members who suffer losses in their Medisave accounts. CPFB informed AGO that it was "working to recover the over-claims by medical institutions". It further said that it will ensure compliance with the procedure when following up with medical institutions. In addition, CPFB said it is looking into measure to "help medical institutions submit correct claims".  Read More →

After waiting so long, I finally reached the once 'golden' age of 55 this week. I say 'golden' because before this present govt, age 55 was the age one was considered a senior citizen, retire gracefully after a long career of fruitful employment, collect their hard earned CPF savings n for the lucky ones like civil servants, collect their pensions or gratuity lump sum payments to set them aside for the rest of their days to enjoy their retirement yrs. The purple card Sadly, for older sinkies like myself, everything is now the opposite under this oppressive unfeeling n mercenary PAP govt under LHL! At age 55 now, I am not wanted by any employer(who prefers younger or foreign only) for any kind of job, let alone being able to even think about retirement,! For the past 8 years since my retrenchment, no work was available for someone like me, an overseas grad, an ex-PMET with 20 years work experience, just merely considered useless or unemployable by today's stds so only good to work as a security guard, or $5 per hr odd jobs or become taxidriver. Even our mega rich IRs would not employ me, yes, not even good enough to be their toilet cleaner! So what else can I do except drive a taxi? So this has been my mainstay for daily survival, ferrying FTs everywhere whilst working without CPF or benefits slowly drains my Ord a/c until near zero! Suffice to say, I had NOTHING, one big ZERO to collect at age 55 from my CPF retirement account. Felt so sad, so truly nothing to look forward to at the end of my working life, then I thought I might at least enjoy one last tiny 'concession' at age 55, which is to get to finally enjoy the concessionary public transport and the purple colored bus card which says 'senior citizen concession card'. Taking this as a small consolation in my truly regrettable sad life as a born and bred Sinkie, I went with high hopes, passport photo all ready, to collect my senior citizen card at the transit link office at the MRT station. To my astonishment and chagrin, I was told by the PRC (could be perhaps Viet or Myamar) receptionist at the MRT station who spoke to me in truly atrocious English......"solely, only 60 years can apply"!! I was totally bewildered and say what, not 55? Then this ft said...." don't believe, see , here got the form, u read yourself". I was livid, but really don't believe, took the forms and true enough, it says "only 60 years old and above can apply". OMG, at that moment my already super miserable life hit a new low.... even this I am now being deprived of! Thanks to LHL, Lee Tuck Lui and company and all the PAP brigade running this 'first world' country, this 'old man' is now even worst off and even more miserable when he was before reaching 55! Cursing away, I threw the bloody forms in the rubbish be this is precisely what this government as treated me as...... Rubbish! I know many of you out there, who are better informed, will comment and say, "Ahya, you are still living in the past, now gamun law says retirement age is already 67, where got 55 Anymore? " ....Living in the Past? ? I WISH I WAS. taxiuncle *  Submitted by TRE reader.  Read More →

(28 July)      Malaysians, especially Johoreans who commute to work in Singapore daily, could very well end up the biggest loser as the toll rates at the Bangunan Sultan Iskandar Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) Complex increase several fold starting this Friday. Online business owner, Derrek Ho, 26, said the hike would not cause much pain to Singaporeans but Malaysians would be the ones who end up hurting the most. “Maybe there should be a discount for Malaysians as the increase is just too sudden,” he said. Housewife Lee Liin Pei, 49, who sends her two children to study in Singapore, is certain that school bus and van companies would increase their charges in tandem. “A lot of Malaysians send their children to Singapore to study and there will be parties who would take advantage to hike up the price of their services,” she said.   Read more:  http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2014/07/28/Johoreans-biggest-losers-in-toll-hike/    Read More →