Thursday, January 29, 2009

Quotes from Our Dear Millionaires

Received this list from a friends.

The words they said speak for themselve..... Gosh!


" For a person who runs a million-dollar charitable organisation, $600,000 is peanuts as it has a few hundred millions in reserves." - Mrs Goh Chok Tong

"If you don't include your women graduates in your breeding pool and leave them on the shelf, you would end up a more stupid society...So what happens? There will be less bright people to support dumb people in the next generation. That's a problem." - MM Lee in 1983

"Save on one hairdo and use the money for breast screening." Lim Hng Kiang

"Only 5% are unemployed. We still have 95% who are employed." - Yeo Cheow Tong

"Retrenchment is good for singapore. If there is no retrenchments, then I worry." - SM Goh

"We must encourage those who earn less than $200 per month and cannot afford to nurture and educate many children never to have more than two... We will regret the time lost if we do not now take the first tentative steps towards correcting a trend which can leave our society with a large number of the physically, intellecually and culturally anaemic." - MM Lee in 1967

"Contrary to public perception, the White Horse classification is not to ensure that sons of influential men gets preferential treatment. Instead it is to ensure that they do not get preferential treatment."- Cedric Foo

"I give you an example: you put out a fun podcast, you talk about 'bak chor mee'; I will say "mee siam mai hum", then we compete." PM Lee Hsien Loong

"I don't think that there should be a cap on the number of directorship that a person can hold." - PAP MP John Chen who holds 8 directorships
.
"It's not for the money because some of the companies pay me as little as $10,000 a year." - PAP MP Wang Kai Yuen who holds 11 directorships.

"We started off with (the name) and after looking at everything, the name that really tugged at the heartstrings was in front of us. The name itself is not new, but what has been used informally so far has endeared itself to all parties." - Mah Bow Tan on the $400,000 exercise to rename Marina Bay as Marina Bay.

"Having enjoyed football as a national sport for decades, we in Singapore have set ourselves the target of reaching the final rounds of World Cup in 2010." - Ho Peng Kee

"I would want to form an alternative policies group in Parliament, comprising 20 PAP MPs. These 20 PAP MPs will be free to vote in accordance with what they think of a particular policy. In other words, the whip for them will be lifted. This is not playing politics, this is something which I think is worthwhile doing." - SM Goh

"If you want to on a bar top, some of us will fall off the bar Top. Some people will die as a result of liberalising bar top dancing¡­ a young girl with a short skirt dancing on it may attract some insults from some other men, the boyfriend will start fighting and some people will die." - Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports

"People support CPF cuts because there are no protest outside parliament." - PM Lee

"Singaporean workers have become more expensive than those in the USA and Australia." - Tony Tan

"No, it was not a U-turn, and neither was it a reversal of government policy. But you can call it a rethink." - Yeo Cheow Tong

"¡­I regret making the decision because, in the end, the baby continued to be in intensive care, and KKH now runs up a total bill of more than $300,000¡­" - Lim Hng Kiang, regretting the decision to save a baby's life because KKH ran up a $300,000 bill

"Without the elected president and if there is a freak result, within two or three years, the army would have to come in and stop it." - MM Lee Kuan Yew

"Please do not assume that you can change governments. Young people don't understand this" - Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, post-2006 General Elections

"How much do you want? Do you want three meals in a hawker centre, food court or restaurant?" - Dr Vivian Balakrishnan
"People could buy frozen food instead of more expensive fresh food" "They could opt for house brand goods, which cost less than others. " - PM Lee

"Based on figures provided by ComfortDelGro, Singapore's biggest taxi operator, cabbies are pocketing about $11 more a day, earning about $318." - Mr. Raymond Lim

"GST hike is to help the poor." - PM Lee

"'I mean, we are different. This was a lapse, what to do, it's happened." - PM Lee

'You know, the cure for all this talk is really a good dose of incompetent government. You get that alternative and you'll never put Singapore together again: Humpty Dumpty cannot be put together again...and your asset values will be in peril, your security will be at risk and our women will become maids in other people's countries, foreign workers.'
- MM Lee - Justifying pay hikes for Singapore ministers, The Straits Times, 5 April 2007

'This should never have happened. I am sorry that it has.' - Wong Kan Seng

Lim Swee Say:
Every month, when I receive my CPF statement, I feel so rich and the best part is, I know the CPF money won't run away. CPF will still be around for a long, long time to come. Not only is it earning good interest, my capital is protected.

Leaving the best for last...
"Right now we have Low Thia Khiang, Chiam See Tong, Steve Chia. We can deal with them. Suppose you had 10, 15, 20 opposition members in Parliament. Instead of spending my time thinking what is the right policy for Singapore, I'm going to spend all my time thinking what's the right way to fix them, to buy my supporters votes, how can I solve this week's problem and forget about next year's challenges?"PM Lee Hsien Loong, 3 May 2006.

AND last but not least, here's what MM Lee said in April 2007:-
........you have to pay the market rate or the man will up stakes and join Morgan Stanley, Lehman Brothers or Goldman Sachs and you would have an incompetent man and you would lost money by the BILLIONS.....!!!!!!

Monday, January 19, 2009

Korean Drama

Currently I am watching Korean Drama “New Heart” on DVD.

This show is currently being aired on Channel U at 7.30pm on Saturday and Sunday.

Guess the TV station want to pushed this as far away from their crap show’s golden timing on weekdays.

Trust me, this show win “Little Noya” hands down.

What I like about this show is that not only it has realistic operation scenes but it also highlight the politics within the hospital.

"Drama Synopsis

Lee Eun-Seong, a doctor from a third-class hospital, coincidentally joins the Heart Surgery Department of the Kwanghee University Medical Center as a resident, after being fascinated by the skills of Dr. Choi Gang-Guk. Nam Hye-Seok, an intelligent medical college graduate with great potential is declined from the Heart Surgery Department due to the fact that she is a female. Eventually, Eun-Seong and Hye-Seok are both admitted into the Kwanghee University Heart Surgery Department after a series of demonstrations, beginning their busy lives in daily battles with patients carrying various ailments. The drama goes through 20 episodes as the characters wrestle to save the lives of their patients and struggle with their own love drama as well."


The director of the hospital only cares about fame and money and is rejecting patient with chronic disease as he thinks they will help his ambition.

One doctor is choosing patient and is only taking care of patients he can treat so his overall survival rate is high. He will reject patient with 20% chance of survival as he want his portfolio to look good. There is once he even rejects an elderly patient’s family request of stopping treatment and let him die naturally as he is already too old and they don’t want to chalked up expensive medical bills.

I don’t know about Singapore’s Medical Practice but as is being run more like a business now, I suspect maybe something like this is going on in our hospital.

I also think our dear TCS will never show this kind of stories if they ever filmed a hospital drama, if you look carefully at TCS drama stories, you will find that it is too perfect and “clean” to be true.

Friday, January 16, 2009

Our Home Team

Jan 16, 2009

Likely Mas Selamat has fled

ALMOST a year after he escaped from custody, where is terror fugitive Mas Selamat Kastari?


Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng narrowed it to either of two scenarios: one, he is in Singapore and hidden by sympathisers unknown to the authorities, or, two, he has fled the country.

Asked which was the more likely, Mr Wong told The Straits Times: 'It's very hard to say. Both scenarios are plausible. Maybe the second one is more plausible.'

He added: 'I can't say whether he's in Indonesia, the Philippines or whatever. The moment you leave Singapore, you can find a place to go.'

Meanwhile, the hunt continues, with officers deployed on the ground, including at checkpoints and around Singapore's borders, he said.

Officers from the Singapore Civil Defence Force and Central Narcotics Bureau have been seconded to the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) to help out.

The Internal Security Department also continued with its intelligence-gathering, surveillance and sharing of information with regional counterparts.

Speaking about the ministry's precautions against possible attacks by Mas Selamat, the minister said: 'We are always watching this.

'It's not just us alone, we have to work very closely with all our foreign counterparts. If there's any activity, if he plans something, hopefully the ones outside will pick it up and then share it with us.'

Detained Jemaah Islamiah terrorist Mas Selamat escaped from the Whitley Road Detention Centre on Feb 27 last year.

That day, the ICA set in motion 'Operation Tidal Gate', closing off all exit points and in effect locking down Singapore, Mr Wong said.

'But you cannot lock down Singapore without freezing economic activity...We know that despite the best efforts at the checkpoints, Singapore being so porous, things and people can slip through.'

Referring to the public outcry that ensued in the wake of Mas Selamat's escape, with many slamming the ministry for being slow to release information, the Home Affairs Minister noted that his ministry had learnt a valuable lesson: the need to be more open with information.

'We accept that. We accept that shortcoming,' said Mr Wong.

But determining how much information to give out was not an easy decision, as accuracy had to be ensured first.

Going ahead, he promised that his ministry would make efforts to be more open in sharing information - but without compromising investigations.

He said that there was a need for Singaporeans to appreciate the complexity of the Home Team's work.

It would also help the Home Team manage public expectations, he added.

Citing last year's incident in which Singaporeans criticised the ICA for allowing through a person carrying the wrong passport, he noted that there seemed to be 'unrealistic and unreasonable expectations dominating the public discussion, that there cannot be any lapses whatsoever'.

He asked for distinctions to be made between 'clear negligence' on the one hand, and errors that arose 'as a result of a confluence of events, some of which were outside the officers' control'.

Yeah it does not take a rocket scientist to know that Mas Selatmat may have left the country.


Notice this Wong Kan Seng’s statements is totally crap.

“Wong Kan Seng narrowed it to either of two scenarios: one, he is in Singapore and hidden by sympathisers unknown to the authorities, or, two, he has fled the country.”


Wah lau.. how brainless is this statement! He forgot scenario three: He died.

“It's very hard to say. Both scenarios are plausible. Maybe the second one is more plausible.”

My goodness sake. All things are plausible and certainly some thing are more plausible then some and sometime both things are equally plausible. Geez…. And this guy is taking home $1.57M per year.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Following the book

ST FORUM, Jan 15, 2009
Police responses no slower than before

I REFER to the letter, 'Are responses slower now?' by Mr Yong Sing Wee (Dec 27).


Police patrol officers arrived at the scene 30 minutes after receiving Mr Yong's call as all nearby officers were engaged in other ongoing incidents.

The officers conducted a thorough search of the area and made inquiries in the vicinity, but there was no sign of any person in distress. The search was called off after 11/2 hours.

We assure Mr Yong that the closure of neighbourhood police posts (NPPs) has not affected police response times. NPP officers are now redeployed on active patrols instead. (Like guarding the minister car for up to 4 hours)

While we take all calls seriously and strive to respond to urgent cases within 15 minutes and non-urgent cases within 30 minutes, there will be unavoidable instances where we are unable to meet our target response times due to abnormally high incident loads.

This reflects the uncertainties and realities in the nature of policing.

DSP Paul Tay
Assistant Director, Media Relations Singapore Police Force


This is quite funny.

From the headline the first thought that come to my mind is that the police is admitting their responses are slow and they are happy with it as long as is it within their service level and they are not trying to improve on it.

I think 15min response time for urgent cases is way too slow. The robber or rapist could be half way to JB by then. Remember certain politician in Singapore said it only take 20min for you to get from one point to another in Singapore. Hehehe…..

Also note how it takes 19days for the police to response to this ST Forum letter. Needless to say how long they take to response to other normally letters send to them.

I have written to the Police for a couple of time and needless to say they never did reply.

Note from SPC website:

"Service Pledge: To respond to letters from the public within 5 working days

Our aim is to reply to your correspondence, including letters, facsimiles and emails, within 5 working days upon receipt of the correspondence. We expect to meet that standard 90% of the time. At the very least we will let you know if we need more time to give you a full reply. "

It has arrived!

Arrived last night. Yipee!


Friday, January 09, 2009

My Bag is coming!

Counting Down to next Friday!


Wednesday, January 07, 2009

New Year New Pays

Due to the poor economic outlook, the government announce in Nov 2008 that the TOP will take a pay cut in 2009.

Sound good isn't it?

Well they are still taking home the bacon my friends.


The President - New pay (Per Annum) in 2009 - $3.19m!


The Prime Minister - New pay (Per Annum) in 2009 - $3.04m! (Guess now he don’t have to donate his increment in 2008 to charity anymore, poor people get less money)


Ministers and senior permanent secretaries at MR4 grade - New pay (Per Annum) in 2009 $1.57m


Administrative officers at SR9 superscale grade - New pay (Per Annum) in 2009 $353K


Members of Parliament (who may also run businesses and hold other full-time jobs) - New allowance (Per Annum) in 2009 $190K

x

Tuesday, January 06, 2009

Stupid Service

Location-based SMS ads for all cellphone users
The SMSes can be sent to specific shoppers when they are near the shops.

-Tue, Jan 06, 2009 my paper

ADVERTISERS can now cheer the prospect of reaching over four million mobile-phone subscribers - more than 80 per cent of the population in Singapore.


SingTel and StarHub have joined M1 in a partnership with Singapore Press Holdings' (SPH) location-based advertising SMS service.

This allows advertisers "to reach all three telcos' subscribers in a timely manner", said Mr Raymond Teoh, assistant vice-president of SPH Marketing Division's Interactive Business Unit.

The SMSes can be sent to specific shoppers - based on their age, gender and economic background - when they are near the shops.

The service, first launched in November 2007, is available to all customers of the three telcos, and is free of charge.



Talk about stupidity.

The article above is trying to portray that everyone is keen to have this service.

Gosh who like we care it is FREE. Big Deal!

I don’t even want to receive these SMS at all. I do hope they have an op out option.

Which idiot will pay the advertiser to watch his advert? Brainless!


Monday, January 05, 2009

Gaza 2009

Israel begins its ground offensive into Gaza on 3rd Jan.

What a bad way to start the New Year.

More civilians are going suffering from the decades old conflicts.

If you look into the eyes of the Israelite soldiers, I don’t see hatred but rather fear.

War is senseless. But Human never learns even after thousand of years.

Let hope more peace will bestowed upon the Human race in 2009.