SG- Quitters

Legal actions again to silence the weak and poor. Is there something to hide from the public?

2012-02-26T21:38:00.000-08:00

There are more dogs than humans in Singapore?

2012-02-22T18:33:00.000-08:00

Nepotism - Was justice served?

2012-02-20T18:52:00.000-08:00

PM Lee took legal action against Temasek Review Emeritus - Was justice served?

Poor people are better off in Singapore than anywhere else in the world, including USA - PM Lee

2012-02-16T21:46:00.000-08:00

Pay peanuts you get monkeys. Now we pay gold ingots we get horny monkeys.

2012-02-01T21:14:00.000-08:00

ex-MM Lee says that you pay peanuts you get monkeys. Now we pay gold ingots and we get horny monkeys.

2012-01-28T22:07:00.000-08:00

Do we need only obscenely paid top scholars to chart the future of the country?

Elite Scholars who have not suffer hardships to lead the country.

2012-01-26T02:54:00.000-08:00

Can the scholars paid $millions in salaries chart the future of the country?

Ms Stomp, Stomp needs our vote!

2012-01-21T22:45:00.000-08:00

Can we trust these obscenely paid politicians to chart our future?

Singapore ministerial salaries - 2012

2012-01-18T16:08:00.000-08:00

Ministerial Salaries Review

The current debate on ministerial salaries exposes the myth of PAP's sacrifice when none of the cabinet ministers or MPs offers to return the excess money taken over the past years. Strategically, PAP loses an excellent opportunity to gain the trust of the people and capture the advantage in the next election by failing to return the excess money. This is a political blunder that could possibly cost the PAP the next election. PAP loses the moral high ground when their leaders talk about values, integrity and working for the good of the people.

The goal of paying obscene salaries to attract talents is lost when the scholar politicians act and speak like amateurs lacking dignity or clarity. How many times do they have to retract their statements and explain at great length that they were "misunderstood or quoted out of context"? Are these scholars the "betterest" that PAP could attract to chart the future of the country? If they cannot say what they mean, then they do not mean what they say.

Singaporeans are no longer naive or dumb to blindly accept lame excuses. Besides, the public can review video clips of speeches posted on youtube repeatedly and judge for themselves if these talented politicians are misquoted. Thanks to the new media and modern technology we no longer can be fooled by biased reports from a single government controlled main media.

Using benchmarks and complicated formula to compute ministerial salaries is ridiculous and a conflict of interest. It only encourages ministers to focus on methods of enhancing their salaries rather than working towards the good of the country. For example, the previous formula was based on GDP growth and the government imported more than 1 million FTs to jack up the GDP. This policy resulted in a huge strain on the infrastructures with higher housing cost, traffic congestion, transportation breakdowns, higher cost of living and related social problems.

There should be no complicated formulas, just plain old fashion method of setting salaries compatible with leaders of other developed countries. Allow people with passion to come forward to serve, not mercenaries. Life should be made simple, not more complicated, that
leaves more time for ministers to do their proper jobs.

The entry level of S$1.1 million salary for minister is more than twice the salary of President Obama of USA. In fact the top 30 highest paid politicians in the world are all from Singapore. In comparison, more than 90% of the working population is earning less than 4% of a minister's salary and most of them do not make a $1 million in their entire working life. The wage gap is so obscenely wild that it defies decency and common sense.

It is reasonable that politicians should be better paid than ordinary working citizens. However,if a politician getting $1.1 Million and yet be concerned shows that person is incapable of managing his/her own finance and a poor mentor for society.

In Canada, there are politicians who literally live on welfare money for at least three months to verify if the welfare money is adequate and also to experience the plight of the ordinary citizens. Is there a Singapore politician who is willing to walk the walk and and take on - " The welfare challenge"? How can we expect a politician who does not wonder out of his/her elite comfort zone to truly understand the plight of a citizen making less than 4% of his/her salary?

This policy of paying obscene salaries for talents is a time bomb that eventually will bring about the demise of the government. How many $1M+ jobs can the government provide for every scholar working for the government and how many new positions can the government create to cater for these scholars when they leave their ministerial posts. Eventually the $1M+ salary would be the standard for all scholars in all government positions, not only as ministers. This top heavy social structure will crumple and create social disorder, dissent and unrest. It is a toxic can of worms that should not be opened in the first place.

"In a country well governed, poverty is something to be ashamed of. In a country badly governed, wealth is something to be ashamed of." - Confucius.

The greed of Wall Street caused the global financial crisis that crippled the economies of many developed countries. The justifications given by Wall Street for their obscene salaries are similar to those reasons given by PAP, i.e. to attract the best people and retain talents. Let us hope that the PAP would not bring the country down a similar disastrous path.

PAP should spend more time inculcating values, integrity and character as part of education. The heavy emphasis on academic excellence with tempting offers of $1M+ salaries will develop a society striving on unrealistic dreams. Quality of life is more important than a materialistic propelled lifestyle.

I live in Vancouver, a city with a higher cost of living than Singapore and yet I can live comfortably on less than $50,000 a year. I am not a scholar, just a school dropout. Presently retired, I live a decent and respectable lifestyle on less than $24,000 a year. This shows that you do not need to have $1MILLION+ a year to be happy.

View from the house I built for less than the price of a 4 room HDB, less than one hour away from Vancouver.

Wing Lee Cheong

https://picasaweb.google.com/100837195477194796313/SecheltSunshineCoastHome2010

Should ex-President Nathan donate his excess salaries back to society?

2012-01-12T18:56:00.000-08:00

2012-01-07T23:01:00.000-08:00


Minister of State Grace Fu's take on the 30% salary cut - further cut will be harder for anyone considering public office.

Obscene salaries do not mean intelligent politicians

2012-01-06T05:38:00.000-08:00

CEO SAW DID NOT SEE THIS COMING!!!

2011-12-22T03:50:00.000-08:00

SMRT CEO Saw's personal transport in case of breakdowns!

SMRT - Superwoman

2011-12-19T19:12:00.000-08:00

SMRT - Best transport system in the world - True or not?

2011-12-16T21:36:00.000-08:00

2011-12-13T18:28:00.000-08:00

Journey to retirement - chapter 4 - Life as an entrepreneur.

When I left American Marine to embark on my very first business venture, the business that my partners and I planned was the most unusual business that anyone could have thought of doing. It was manufacturing parts for one of the largest casket company in USA. Our new company was to supply wooden parts to this company in USA for assembly.

From a business point of view, it was a fantastic business as the profit margin was high and the manufacturing was relatively simple compared to building luxurious yachts. However in a Chinese society this kind of business was taboo and considered bad luck, especially in Singapore where the majority of Chinese are highly superstitious.

The company was owned and managed by the three of us - an American called Anton who was in charge of marketing, an Englishman called Tony who was in charge of finance and myself in charge of design and manufacturing. We rented a small manufacturing facility in Upper Bukit Timah Road. We hired ten employees and the business was pretty successful for the first two years.

Unfortunately, the two major shareholders, Anton and Tony, did not get along. They were constantly at odds with one another that resulted in heated arguments and at times almost to fist fights. During the 1970s, overseas telephone calls were very expensive, about S$1.50 to $3.00 per minute which unlike now are practically free. At times, these two persons could argue and shout across the globe at each other over the phone for an hour. A substantial part of the profit was wasted on unnecessary telephone calls.

Eventually they had enough of each other and decided to terminate the business. Since the two of them had the controlling interest of the company, there was little I could do to prevent them from closing the company. I did not have the financial resources to take over nor the marketing expertise to run the company. Trying to get a local investor was impossible as potential investors would shy away and no one would want to talk to me.

Some of the caskets and furniture that we manufactured in Singapore for assembly in USA.

The two major shareholders left me to wind down the company as they could not stand the sight of each other. The winding down of a casket manufacturing company was an experience. I was mocked, scolded, phones slammed when I tried to give or donate the caskets away in Singapore. In the end I had to cut them into small pieces and throw them away. Only a few pieces were taken by a friend who used them as coffee tables.

The failure of my first business venture taught me a great deal about human relationship and reality. I learned that having a profitable business does not necessarily meant a successful business. A profitable business can only be successful if the people involved in the business are at peace with each other. The ability to interact and get along are much more important than just making a profit. In a way, the same goes for families or countries.

While I was busy winding up the casket manufacturing business, I was planning my next move. My bad experience with the PAP psychopath left me with little respect or trust for the Singapore government. All the propaganda about how the government will narrow the gap between the rich and poor were pure nonsense. If you are not well connected or related to the Lee family, you are expendable. Singapore was fast becoming a two class system - the rich elite and the poor working class. Singapore has no place for the middle class and if there is any, it is fast diminishing.

I knew with my lack of tertiary education and zero elite social connections, Singapore was not a place for me to excel. I decided to try my luck in America where there is a level playing field. Armed with limited fund but full of enthusiasm, I packed my bag and told my wife that I shall be away for 6 months to start a business in Hawaii, USA. Most people thought I was out of my mind.

During the 1970s, there were no long haul 747s, only 707s which took forever to get to your destinations. Besides the tickets were expensive. There was at least one stopover in Hong Kong or Guam for refueling before arriving in Honolulu. During the stopovers in Hong Kong, I would not stay at hotels but would spent the night walking the streets and resting at the airport in order to save the little capital I had. That was life without much capital.

When I arrived in Honolulu, Hawaii in 1979 I was met at the airport by Mort Gazley, a friend whom I knew when I was in the casket manufacturing business. We decided to start a business selling souvenir items, i.e. beach mats, tote bags, etc. to stores along Waikiki Beach.

To our surprise, the souvenir business went off to a remarkable start. We had more than 300 accounts within the 1st year. We worked 12 hours a day - 5 hours making cold calls to retail outlets along Waikiki Beach and the rest doing presentations, artwork and orders to factories. Most of the orders were for beach mats that I customized for individual customers.

During the 1970s and 80s, PCs and laptops were unheard of. Chips were not invented yet and computers were operated by jaguar cards. A computer with less than 1G memory would occupy a space of 10,000 sq feet. Only giant international companies could afford to have computers.

All the presentations, artwork and designs had to be done by hand. Fortunately I was able to draw fast and that impressed my customers. I was able to make the presentations on the spot during the meetings.

We had a great time doing all kinds of crazy exhibitions and promotions in Hawaii.

The initial manufacturing were done in Singapore by a small factory but soon demand outpaced production capacity, I had to scout for another manufacturer in Johore Bahru but even that factory reached its full capacity within months.

I was forced to look elsewhere for manufacturing capacity to meet the demands from Hawaii. My Mandarin was poor but nevertheless made a trip to Taiwan to look for additional suppliers out of desperation. It was a bold move as I did not have a friend or any contact in Taiwan.

When I arrived in Taiwan, the first place to I went was the trade department in Taipei. At the trade office they provided me with a list of potential suppliers.

Back in the 1970s and 1980s, few Taiwanese could speak English, especially factory bosses. With my poor command of Mandarin, it was difficult to communicate. In addition, most of the factory employees spoke mainly Taiwanese, not Mandarin. Nevertheless, with a combination of sign language and poor mandarin, I managed to get my messages across. After a few months my Mandarin had improved enough to effectively communicate with the Taiwanese at ease.

The Taiwanese were impressed that I was willing to work late to rush out the new designs using the jaguar cards. I was traveling almost weekly from Hawaii to Taiwan and back in order to keep up with the orders.

The Hawaiian Mats business was successful beyond our dreams. Within two years we had more than 500 retail outlets selling our products. We managed to obtain the licence for the Winter Olympics, orders for the Ted Kennedy campaign, the Democratic Presidential hopeful in 1980, the Army and Air Force shops, and big corporations logos, etc. We had 5 factories working full time to cater to our orders.

Unfortunately, success had gone to our heads and my partner was fooling around at night clubs along Waikiki splurging on beautiful girls. On one of my trips to Taiwan to supervise some orders, my partner and his girl friend emptied the company’s bank account and disappeared during my absence. In addition, he took money from other companies and some of his friends as well.

It was a criminal offence but the FBI could not locate him or his girl friend. For me, it was a devastating blow. It was such a pity because we had a promising business. The profit was more than enough for the two of us. Yet my partner preferred to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs and be on the run from law for the rest of his life. Maybe he had plans to hide and retired in Mexico or some Latin American countries with his Latino girl friend.

In the meantime I had to manage the business all by myself. Fortunately, the business was not bankrupt because we had some accounts receivable and we had no accounts payable. But it was extremely stressful and depressing. On a trip to Taiwan, the depression magnified to an extreme that I wanted to jump out of the plane. My head was not thinking right and filled with anxieties. All I wanted was to get out of the plane. There was no explanation for the urge to jump out of the plane. Fortunately I still had the presence of mind to take deep breaths and begin to meditate.

I was traumatized by that event and realized that committing suicide was just a matter of a split second. My head was split between jumping or holding back. It was a scary experience.

After that incident, I decided that I have to take a break and a long rest to recoup before I do something stupid like committing suicide or hurting somebody. I slow down the business by taking less orders and channel most orders directly to the factories on commissions basis.

I had ulcers and was taking Valium to calm me down. Whenever I felt my head exploding, I would jogged for miles and miles until I had control of myself, constantly reminding myself that I had lost wealth but I cannot afford to lose my health as well. It took me about six months to recover well enough to begin all over again.

Journey to Retirement - Chapter 5 ....

Encounter with a Legend and celebrity... another big break, followed by a bigger break!

STOP - FULL HOUSE

2011-12-02T17:05:00.001-08:00

Journey to Retirement - Working my way out of poverty.

2011-11-11T10:55:00.001-08:00

CHAPTER THREE - Journey to Retirement - working my way out of poverty

After my getaway trip to Malaya to escape from the shame of being expelled from school, I returned to Singapore feeling lost and abandoned. At age 14, with no relatives or friends who cared or could offer help, I had not many options. I was too young to be legally employed. My alternative was to work as an illegal underpaid worker at construction sites or a helper at hawker stalls/ restaurants. None of these jobs offer any kind of future for me.

Fortunately a friend recommended me to take up a 5 year apprenticeship at Keppel Shipyard. The apprenticeship required that I worked for three days and study for three days each week. My salary was about $25 to $50 a month (present day $250 to $500) depending on the amount of overtime. It was a tradition inherited from the British where tradesmen were trained through five years apprenticeship.

It was my only hope to redeem myself and to prove that I was employable. Besides I need to stay away from nasty looks from my neighbors and relatives. I was treated like a leper.

The shipyard offered me a new environment and hope. The people were less bias and did not know much about my past as a student failure and a bastard child. I had a great time working in the shipyard, learning all kinds of trades - carpentry, electrical work, welding, etc. and actually having some money in my pocket. The sound of the coins in my pocket was music to me.

Although I was in the paint shop department, I mixed around and helped out whenever I had the spare time. I found it much easier to pass time working than to idle around doing nothing. Most youths today prefer to act blur than to do more than the minimum required. This is a unique Singapore culture called, “kiasu”. It is a very wrong attitude in life. We should never shy from work.

One day, an English supervisor named Mr. Moody walked by and saw me helping the carpenters building a cabinet. He stopped and said, “That’s bloody good work, lad.” When he found out that I was actually from the paint shop, Mr. Moody immediately transferred me to the carpentry department as he thought that I would have a better career as a shipbuilder than as a painter. In those post colonial days, the British supervisors' orders were unchallenged. I got my transfer the same day.

It was a new and exciting beginning for me. I got to study, learn to build and repair ships. Text books were provided and with my small salary, I was able to buy more books and drawing materials. I discovered fun in studying and a new found thirst for knowledge.

Some colleagues advised me to attend night classes to get my Cambridge “O” level as it was a requirement for any respectable jobs. At age 14 years, I knew I was far behind in education
and went all out to study. I studied shipbuilding on alternate days at Vocational Institute funded by the Shipyard and attended night classes to study for the Cambridge “O” level certificate five nights a week and in addition I studied a correspondence course for the City and Guilds Certificate in Shipbuilding. Within three years I managed to pass all the examinations for Vocational Institute certificate in shipbuilding, the Cambridge “O” level and the City and Guilds in shipbuilding. I was so happy that I managed to catch up with my age group. However, none of my neighbors believed that I passed the “O” level. Fortunately the results were published in Straits Times. They suspected that I must have cheated.

By today’s standards, all those certificates are equivalent to toilet papers. The “O” level in the 1960s was equivalent to a BA or BSc today. Now, in the 2000s, you find graduates holding MBAs or PhD driving taxis. There is something wrong with the modern social system. I prefer the “kampong style” days where kids spent their time happily playing and enjoying their childhood instead of studying 24/7 only to be over-qualified for their careers. What a waste of time and money.

Keppel shipyard - I did my apprenticeship from 1964 to 1968 for $25 a month.


Apprentice learning and helping senior carpenter in shipbuilding.


Bird-eye view of Keppel Shipyard - the apprenticeship program was stopped in 1970. The time between 1950s and 1960s were historic landmarks for Singapore. Self governance was granted to Singapore. Malaya merged with Singapore to form Malaysia. Two years later, in 1965, Singapore was booted out of Malaysia and became an independent republic.

The racial riots between Malays and Chinese in 1965 created chaos in Singapore. All shipyard workers were kept inside the shipyard for our safety. Gurkas mercenaries were sent in to maintain law and order. It was a sad experience to witness mob mentality where people destroy properties and killed for no reason other than the difference in color of skins and religious beliefs.

Although the apprentice’s salary was low, I had fun learning the skills of shipbuilding. It was hard work carrying all the tools and equipment, climbing through the hulls and cabins of big ships doing repairs. America was fighting the communists in Vietnam in the 1960s and we had a fair amount of damaged American war ships coming for repairs. I had first hand knowledge of seeing the kind of damages that could be done to supposedly thick plated war ships. Trust me, you would not want to be in a war zone because there was no place to hide.

With my newly acquired qualifications, I resigned from the shipyard and got myself a job as a Design Assistant with the Industrial Design unit of the Economic Development Board. Singapore was undergoing a huge industrialization program during 1960s to replace the jobs that were lost by the withdrawal of the British and the huge Naval Base. United Nations sent scores of industrial experts to help in the industrialization of Singapore.

The team that I was working with at the Light Industries Unit of Economic Development Board.
Four out of eight persons in this photo are quitters and have emigrated to other countries

( I was the 1st person standing on the left of photo)

I was very fortunate to be part of a team working for the United Nations experts. They taught me new skills like industrial design, prototype making and production engineering. These skills helped me tremendously in my future careers.

Testimony in German by German United Nations Expert. Standard statements saying what a great guy I was.

In 1972, I was shortlisted for an interview for the position of an industrial designer with American Marine, a yacht building company based in Jurong Industrial Park, Singapore.

For such an important job interview I decided to put on my best appearance. I never had a pair of leather shoes before because I was too poor to buy anything other than canvas shoes or slippers. I went and bought myself a pair of shining black leather shoes.

When my name was called, I walked across the room to the two interviewers. Unfortunately, the pair of leather shoes I bought was a locally made cheap pair of shoes. That was all I could afford. As I was walking, I felt something wrong on my right foot. I turned and saw the heel of the right shoe had came off in the middle of the room. It was so embarrassing, especially for an important interview. I took a deep breath and backtracked a couple of steps aiming for the heel and stepped hard on it. Fortunately, it fit right in and I was back to my normal walk instead of limping. I was traumatized but managed to put on a brave front.

The two interviewers were the company’s president and one of the directors - both English.
They were satisfied with my presentations but yet rather hesitant due to the lack of my formal tertiary education. At that stage, I cannot let the job slip through my hands due to the lack of an university degree. I made a proposal that took them totally by surprise. I told them that I would work for free on a three months probation. If they were not satisfy with my performance anytime during the trial period, they could fire me without any cost to them.

They laughed and said it was up to them to set the rules, not the other way around. However, they agreed to my proposal and I worked 15 hours a day to prove myself. Fortunately, they confirmed my position within one month and we had a very good working relationship and friendship since. In fact, more than 35 years after I left the company we are still friends. One of them is the God father to my eldest son.

These were the type of yachts built in Singapore and exported around the world.

We took these yachts to Mersing, Malaysia for test runs every weekend. I was mistaken as a millionaire with so many luxurous yachts. Life was fun until the arrival of the NTUC psychopath.

I had a wonderful time working at American Marine building yachts. Within two years I was promoted to Head of Dept in charge of production engineering and industrial design overseeing a workforce of 1,800 workers. My salary was very good, especially when compared to what I was getting as an apprentice. Together with my fiancee, we managed to purchased a 5 room HDB apartment and a brand new car. After more than twenty years living in a small rented room and sleeping on the floor with a straw mat in the slum of Chinatown and a year in a rented flat in Outram Park, I bought my very own home. It was tough journey from a poor 14 years old apprentice to head of production overseeing 1,800 employees at age 27. A small redemption that brought sparks in my mother’s eyes. One step away from poverty.

My fiancee and friend on one of the yacht during a test run in Mersing, Malaysia.

Encounter with a psychopath.

Life is full of surprising twists and turns. Just when I thought everything seem to be on the right track, disaster strikes. One night whilst I was working late at my office in the shipyard, I became an unwilling and unfortunate witness to a staged riot by NTUC unionists to frame a popular labor activist by the name of Tan Wah Piow. I was at the wrong place and at the wrong time. The person in charge of that conspiracy was the NTUC assistant secretary-general by the name of Lawrence Quek. Mr. Quek was a politically powerful and ruthless lunatic who would stop at nothing to get what he wanted. It was an experience to deal with a merciless mercenary who would kill without provocation. To him, there was no negotiation, it was his terms or nothing.

On that late evening, Lawrence Quek with a group of thugs came to destroy the union office that happened to be next to my office. I later learned that the plan was to put the blame on Tan Wah Piow as the culprit and have him arrested and possibly jailed for destroying private properties. The mission was to fabricate and implicate Tan Wah Piow.

When they discovered that I was a witness, Lawrence Quek decided that I, too, must be destroyed as co-lateral damage to keep my mouth shut. First, Lawrence Quek approached the management to have me fired. When the management stood fast and refused, harassment started. The car that I bought with my hard earned money was damaged, union workers were deliberately trying to scare me by dropping wood planks, tools, etc. on me. Union representatives hinted that I would be arrested under ISA and never be heard of by anyone. By then, Tan Wah Piow had escaped to London under political asylum granted by the British government. Tan Wah Piow did not know me and we have never met but I was truly happy that he managed to escape otherwise he would be jailed like Dr. Lim Hock Siew who spent more than 30 years behind bars without trial.

My dream of an ideal family life was turned to nightmares by this psychopath. I knew that with a politically powerful psychopath like Lawrence Quek who was bended on destroying me, it was a matter of time before he succeed. It was a one-sided fight - with his political backing, only he can throw the punches and I was like a punching bag. Lawrence Quek was nothing but a coward wasting tax payers money pursuing a childish game that had no positive contribution to the betterment of society.

Did I murder his wife or family? No!
Was I a threat to his career? No!
Was I a national security threat? No!

I did not even know Tan Wah Piow and have never collaborated with him at all. I was a member of the simple working class with great admiration for the leaders of Singapore. Yet this psychopath, Lawrence Quek treated me like a terrorist and wanted me eliminated for nothing. What a waste of time and money for a high ranking official of NTUC who should be doing something constructive for the country.

In 1977, two of the company’s directors decided to resign from the company to set up their own business. They offered me a position as director in the new company with 25% sweat equity - no financial contribution from me. I took the deal just to get away from that psychopath. It was stressful to live in a society where a politically powerful lunatic like Lawrence Quek was allowed to abuse his position to satisfy his sadistic behavior without remorse or regrets. Lawrence Quek had converted an admirer of Singapore to a non-believer. However in hindsight, Lawrence Quek did me a great favor by forcing me to emigrate.

When my family and I eventually left Singapore for good, we thought that we would finally have some peace but ESM Goh Chok Tong started to brand us as “quitters and losers”. Other politically correct opportunists joined in the chorus and labelled us as being ungrateful, unpatriotic, to be jailed and banned from returning to Singapore, etc. etc.

In the frenzy, not one leader was intelligent enough to find the true reasons why we are quitters. The daughter of ESM Goh Chok Tong is herself a “quitter” as well as children of some leaders. What does that tells us?

Next chapter 4 : Self-exile to Taiwan, China, USA and Canada.

Life as an entrepreneur

Dumb & Dumber - words of wisdom from $million ministers?

2011-11-04T04:54:00.000-07:00

2011-10-26T01:06:00.000-07:00

Journey to Retirement - Chapter 2..... How a school dropout emigrate to Canada.

Following the posting of my article, “Retirement in Canada vs Singapore “ on Oct 5th, 2011, I received numerous comments - mostly positive views asking for advice on emigration to Canada accompanied by a fair share of negative comments calling us "quitters" to stay away since we are no longer Singaporeans.

One reader posted a rather comical statement that he too was a school dropout so he should qualify to emigrate to Canada.

Being a school dropout or an illegitimate child is not a prerequisite for entry into Canada or any other country for that matter. These were mentioned in my article because they were facts pertaining to my background.

My mother gave birth to me out of wedlock when she was only seventeen years old. She was an uneducated and naive young girl who immigrated from Guangzhou, China before the 2nd World War and met my biological father during the occupancy of Singapore by the Japanese Imperial Army.

The man who fathered me was a much older man than my mother. He abandoned us before I was born soon after the surrender of the Japanese Army. My mother, a helpless young pregnant girl, went looking for him at his home town of Port Klang in Malaya only to discover that he already had other wives - 3 or 4 according to what she was told. It was whilst my mother was in Klang, Malaya that I was born in the toilet. The details of how my mother and I survived was unclear and better left unsaid given the lack of hospital and poor health conditions during post war era.

To avoid domestic trouble amongst his many wives, my father cleverly arranged to ship my mother and I back to Guangzhou, China to be taken care of by his 1st wife with promises of a better future for us.

My mother was too young and innocent to deal with a sly old man. We fell into his trap and left for Guangzhou. We lived in a village near the city of Guangzhou for about two years. In the beginning life was tolerable as my father did send some money to his 1st wife to cover household expenses. However when the fund stopped, it was understandable that my "big mother" changed to an uncompromising wicked old witch. One day when my mother asked for food, she snapped, snatched me from my mother and threw me into a well. Fortunately, the commotion caught the attention of other villagers who came and rescued me. My mother then decided to run back to her home village where her relatives helped bring my mother and me back to Singapore.

Photo of myself upon arrival from Guangzhou, China.

Photo of my mother, my elder brother and myself in 1949

I was two and a half years old when I arrived in Singapore from China. We lived in a small rented room of 8 feet by 10 feet at Tanjong Pagar Road with my grandmother and my elder brother. My grandmother was looking after my elder brother during the time my mother and I were in China. (now the house at Tanjong Pagar Road was demolished to make way for a road).

Photo showing my home at Tanjong Pagar Road that I lived from 1949 to 1969 when I returned from China.

There were five families with a total of 21 people in five rooms of various sizes rented out individually in the second floor of the house. The back of the house was used as a mass kitchen for the five families, there was a make-shift bathroom where the "door" was a piece of corrugated zinc sheet and a toilet with a pull-out bucket system.

There were only two water taps for the entire 5 households of 21 people - for bathing, for cooking and for washing. Toilet rolls were not invented then or not available in post-war Singapore. We had to use recycled newspapers that we cut into A4 sizes to be used for toilet paper and for starting fire in wood burning stoves. Cooking was done with firewood as there were no gas or electrical stoves.

Tanjong Pagar was a poor part of Chinatown in Singapore. The area was infested with gangs (08 and 24) and populated mainly by poor uneducated manual labourers, blue-collar workers (carpenters, plumbers, electricians, etc.,) maids and prostitutes. Gang wars and pick-pockets were common sights in that area.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0bMarz4g50
- video showing Singapore Chinatown in the 1950s where I grew up.

Life was tough but interesting as I learned to survive independently with hardly any money. Both my grandmother and mother had to work practically the whole day - 12 to 15 hours - to make ends meet to pay for food and rent. I hardly see them. They were gone soon after I woke up and returned just before I turned in with whatever food they managed to savage during the day. They worked as cooks, cleaners, general workers, hair-dresser, etc. Arrangement had been made for my elder brother to be taken care of. I was left out because my poor mother earned only enough to pay for one child to be looked after. My brother did not fair much better as he only got food and a bit of money for schooling.

Fortunately, I was born a happy-go-lucky person and did not harbored any anger against my mother or the society. There were no self-pity or lack of self-esteem. Of course, there were times I felt a little depressed and angry when some less discreet neighbors, school mates and even relatives mocked at me and called my mother by derogatory names. I have never fought with anyone over these matters. Instead I would volunteer to get their drinks and then spiked the drinks with urine or spit before handing them the drinks.

Contrary to what most people thought, there were no hardship as I enjoyed my unrestricted freedom that today's children do not get to experience. I enjoyed my childhood days to the fullest - I got to play, learn to cook and interact with people. There were no pressure to study (too poor to buy text books), no home work, no expectations. I could do whatever I like because most of my relatives and neighbors labelled me as a good for nothing “wild kid” with bad luck. Once I overheard a relative said that I was a human debris that should have died in China. There were times I would disappeared for days living with friends or relatives and I was not missed. Several times, I hitch-hiked to Kuala Lumpur and Penang during school holidays to see the world outside of Chinatown, Singapore. I did not need to lie or explain my where about because nobody cared.

To me, being born an illegitimate child was fated and being poor was normal as all the people I knew then were poor. Although I hardly had any money, I was never hungry. The society during the 1950s to 1960s was much different compared with today’s .

1950s - Wet market along the streets of Chinatown were individually owned. Anyone can be his/her own boss.
Today, citizens are educated and trained to work for others. Entrepreneurship and creativity is lost.

1950s - cooked food stall on tricycle were common .
Today, citizens depend on being employed and have no idea on how to survive on their own.

During the 1950s and on to the 1960s, there were lots of independently operated hawkers and street vendors selling all kind of cooked food, Chinese, Malay, Indian and others. Since the hawkers and street vendors were self employed they were more flexible and not governed by strict company rules and management. That was in contrast with staff working at today’s modern food courts. They were not permitted to interact much with outsiders and must work according to job descriptions.

Most of the hawkers in the 1950s were more humane and kind to me as I was always very willing to help out for free during peak hours. I would help served their customers, clean the tables, wash the plates, etc. In return, most of the hawkers would give me food and whatever they could spare. I could get free unsold bread from the bakery, free bowls of rice with vegetables, free noodle soup from the hawkers. I was better off than most other kids because I always get to choose what I like to eat. I did not eat leftovers from customers but got freshly made food and at times I did my own cooking after learning from the chefs. I observed, asked and during less busy time I get to try cooking. This is why I was able to cook at a very young age.

Small business in Japan, Taiwan, and Hong Kong account for more than 50% of the GDP. These countries encourage entrepreneurship and small cottage industries account for up to 70% of the work force. In these countries, citizens do not need to go through extensive red tapes to obtain licence to operate small business.If you have skills in trades like carpentry, machine operators, electricians, you could start your own business. In the case of food industries, if you think you can cook well, you can start a small business stall with little capital. The test is in the cooking.

In modern Singapore, most food are supplied by central kitchens with state-of-the-art commercial cooking equipment and distribute to food courts throughout the island. The hawkers’ personal touch is lost except for a limited number of celebrity chefs stalls or restaurants.

Singapore's economy has changed to favor multinational companies and big local corporations. Small individual business are less attractive choice for the today’s youth. Renewal of licenses when expired were denied and the business be taken over by big corporations. Today, it is difficult to find small business entrepreneurs as there are few and scoff by the younger generations. Food courts and hawkers’ centers are owned and operated by big chains. There are no independent taxi drivers like in the 1950s as taxis are owned and controlled by big corporations.

The main aspiration of today’s youth is to study hard and hope to qualify for a scholarship and be set for life. Next alternative is be employed by big corporations or the government in top or middle management positions. Those who fail to make the academic grade will be left to fill the less desirable working class jobs or socially demeaning jobs. Singapore has become a society not favorable for entrepreneurship or creative work. Self actualization or individualism is taboo in Singapore. MM Lee has repeatedly said that individualism, freedom of speech and western democracy are not for Singapore. The gap between the rich and poor is getting wider and wider.

By age seven, my mother tried to register me in a primary school but was initially rejected because I was born in Malaya and not a Singapore citizen. My mother had to pay "coffee money" or a commission to a corrupted official to get me registered in Trafalgar Primary School . At that age I had not read a single book or learn to read or write. All I ever did was to draw on discarded carton boxes and blank spaces on waste papers with short pencils thrown away by others. In today’s society most children are well prepared and parents spend tons of money on baby gym and kindergartens at ages as young as two years old. It is almost impossible to find a child who does not know ABC or has not read books.

The alphabet and English language were foreign to me. Going to school and studying was a new experience to me. By today's standard, I would be a laughing stock - at age 7 and not able to speak English, Mandarin or know ABC. I would have been put in classes for the mentally challenged. I got along by sharing and looking at my classmate's books. Somehow I was always fortunate enough to just make the grade to the next level. Since I did not have any textbooks I did not need to prepare for examinations like others. While most classmates studied hard for every examination, I continue to play and roam the streets. Neighbors and relatives believed that I must have cheated during the examinations. On one occasion, my art work was rejected because the teacher suspected that I got someone else to do the work for me.

My aspiration to be a scholar came to an abrupt end in 1963 when I was expelled from school. The reason was a combination of poor academic results and unacceptable school behaviors (I fought with a school teacher). It was undeniable that I did fight with a teacher and threw him to the ground but the truth was never told to the principal.

A class bully was intimidating other classmates when the class teacher was out. I intervened and threw the bully onto a desk. A teacher by the name of Mr. Chu happened to walk by the class as the bully landed on a desk and broke it. Without investigating, I was immediately singled out as the aggressor and the bully became the victim.

Mr. Chu was a 200 lb potbelly person, more than twice my size. He caught hold of me by the collar and gave me a slap across the face, then another.He shouted at me, "So you are a good fighter? Breaking school furniture? Want to fight with me?" Getting into a fight with a teacher was a nightmare but Mr. Chu was relentless and kept pushing and slapping me until I was forced into a corner. When I was cornered and with nowhere to go, I snapped and caught hold of Mr. Chu's hands and threw him to the floor.

What Mr. Chu did not realized was that I was trained in martial arts by martial arts masters near my house in Chinatown. In the evenings I volunteered my time as an assistant for the martial arts masters during training. I carried their sticks and weapons, bring them towels, tea, etc. In return I got free lessons as their assistant and "punching bag".

After Mr. Chu's heavy 200 lb body landed on the floor with a big bang, the entire class was silent. I knew at that time I was dead meat. It would have been funny if I was not the one who threw him. Boy, he was stunned, embarrassed and furious. He struggled up and marched me to the Principal's office and told him that I was a bully terrorizing my classmates, broke school furniture and attacked the teacher. In the 1950s, students had no rights and not allowed to speak. The principal gave me a few strokes of the cane and a big lecture. By year’s end, together with a group of naughty students, I was asked to leave the school and given a school leaving certificate.

I still keep the certificate because it was unique. It was a certificate that few students could get or hope to get. What was interesting about the certificate was that the reason for leaving was stated as, "superannuated". With my limited vocabulary I had no idea what the word meant but "super" sounded impressive and I thought it cannot be bad. Hey, I achieved something "super" when everyone had written me off. Later, I learned the word was not complimentary at all.

News of my expulsion from school caused a sensation in my part of Chinatown. My neighbors and relatives all claimed credit in predicting my academic demise. Almost all said, “ I told you so.” They further predicted that I would end up in jail as a drug dealer or a homeless scum bag earning minimum wage. A slim number of people who harbored some hope for me also began to realize I had fat chance of getting any academic qualification. I felt terrible that I had BETRAYED the very few who believe in me. My grandmother and mother were too depressed and disappointed to talk to me.

I stayed away from Chinatown for a few months, roaming aimlessly in the northern part of Malaya, hundreds of miles from Singapore wondering what to do at age 14.

Primary three class photo at Trafalgar Primary School. I was standing 2nd row from top, 4th student from the right or 8th from the left of photo.

I managed to win some medals in swimming without any formal training or coaching.


I was the 5th person from the left or 6th person from the right of photo. That was the year I was expelled from school.

Singapore from 3rd world to1st world status.
After 50 years same standards for the poor and homeless.

1950s - Singapore 3rd world country - seniors have to work - unable to retire.

2010s - Singapore 1st world country - seniors still have to work - unable to retire..

1950s - HOMELESS

2010s - HOMELESS

1950s - Taxi drivers need only driving license.

2010s - Taxi drivers may be holders of MBA or PhD.

2010s - Youths get maids to carry their stuff.

1950s - We carried our own stuff. That was really me. No help.

Next chapter - How I worked my way out of poverty

2011-10-16T15:40:00.000-07:00

"OCCUPY RALLIES" HAPPENING IN MAJOR CITIES AROUND THE WORLD, EXCEPT SINGAPORE!

Coming Movie on Singapore, "1965"

2011-10-11T17:31:00.000-07:00

Retirement in Canada vs Singapore - A personal experience.

2011-10-05T20:00:00.000-07:00

Prior to my retirement, I was rather apprehensive as most stories I have heard about retirement were depressing, i.e. inadequate retirement fund, raising health care cost, being subjected to the mercy of uncaring nursing homes, lack of companionship, diminishing respect from others, difficulties adjusting to lower standard of living, etc., etc.

As if these were not enough anxieties, in 2002, then PM Goh Chok Tong labelled us who have immigrated as quitters and losers. We were looked upon as traitors and most Singaporeans hope that we would rot as second-class citizens in foreign lands and not to be welcomed back. It was not the kind of lifestyle anybody would look forward to with enthusiasm.

At 64 years, I was one of the oldest member of the ceremonial dragon boat team for the Winter Olympics Games.

It has been eight years since I have retired. Fortunately, to my pleasant surprise, I discovered that retirement is not as bad as I was lead to believe if a person is prepared to live within his means and be adaptable to prevailing situations. In fact, it is fun and enjoyable. I wished that I had retired earlier and enjoyed more of this carefree quality life style instead of pursuing a meaningless life style of a relentless search for money and status at all cost. In retrospect it was indeed a waste of valuable time. Most of us are blinded by greed to understand what is enough is enough. It is an irony to keep pursuing more money than we need instead of enjoying what we already have.

In a materialistic society, the maxim is to amass millions upon millions of dollars in order to command respect and to achieve quality lifestyle. However from my experience I realized how misguided we are to believe such a self destructive theory. We have only one life and we must learn to live it right - not only for ourselves but more importantly for our children.

My wife and I are living a meaningful and eco-friendly lifestyle on a frugal budget. We built our own environmental friendly retirement home with a budget of less than the price of a 4-room HDB apartment. In our mid sixties, we are proud that we live independently and do all our house chores without hired help (no part-time or full time maid) . It is nothing to be ashamed of. We drive, do our laundry, cook our meals, attend to our vegetables, fish and catch crabs, maintain and clean our modest house, do volunteer work at the hospital, regular potluck fellowship with friends/ relatives at our homes, practice tai-chi, dragon boat paddling, drawing and writing, go on vacations, etc. What else can we wish for?

Mr. Thye Wong, a Colombo Plan Scholar and a personal friend of mine, also immigrated to Canada to enjoy a peaceful and meaningful life.

We managed this quality lifestyle on a monthly budget of between C$1,500 to C$2,000 excluding housing mortgage or car loans that are fully paid. For Canadians who are 65 years or older with little or no income, the Canadian government provides monthly Old Age Pension of about C$530 plus Guarantee Income Supplement of about C$750 per person. A retired couple would get a combined monthly income of C$2,560. In addition, they are given free medical, subsidized transportation ($36 for a one year unlimited ride pass) and free ferry rides. With the government Old Age Pension and Guaranteed Income Supplement most retirees have enough to retire comfortably and with the peace of mind that they would not be bankrupted by serious illnesses, chronic diseases or accidents. Not all Canadians depend on the government pensions as most Canadians have their private retirement insurance, other incomes and companies retirement benefits that provide better alternatives .

Breakdown of my monthly expenses:
1. $400 for grocery (much less if we grow our own vegetable and catch our own fish)
2. $100 for TV and internet cable,
3. $100 to $200 for petrol and maintenance (almost zero if we take public transportation)
4. $70 to $100 for two mobile phones.
5. $102 for medical insurance.
6. $50 for utilities, i.e. gas and electricity (water is free)
7. $200 to $300 for entertainment (occasional movies, restaurant meals, etc)
8. $300 for property tax.
9. $500 to $1,000 budget set aside for miscellaneous and vacations
(there are lots of special last minute budget tours for retirees, i.e. $400 for 7 days Alaska
cruise, $650 for 7 days Hawaiian or Caribbean tours inclusive of airfare and hotels, etc.)

Total estimated budget for my wife and myself is between $1,500 to $2,500 a month. A retired couple can survive decently with $1,000 or less a month. Life, especially during retirement, should be enjoyed with dignity and fulfillment and not constantly hovering at the poverty line.

Can this kind of budget quality retirement lifestyle be duplicated in Singapore since it is ranked as one of the best place to live on Planet Earth?

Singaporeans could but they would not.

For the rich elite class that constitute about 20% of the population, they have the financial resources to do whatever they want. However, in a materialistic society like Singapore that focus highly on prestige and public image, it will be politically and socially incorrect to be seen growing vegetables in your garden, cooking your meals, doing household chores or washing your own car, etc. Any such actions will be breaking news in the community. Public image will sink to new lows for those who do it. Instead of getting the required daily exercise doing household chores, the rich prefer to have maids to do the job and then get their exercise in expensive health clubs or with personal trainers. Apparently public image and prestige are more important than practicality and common sense.

For the rich, living in a house not in keeping with their perceived wealth, going on budget vacations or tours or driving inexpensively priced cars is not an option for the sake of preserving their public image. Many Singaporeans are living beyond their means just to keep up with the status conscious society.

Singaporeans are pushed to the edge like zombies in this increasingly mad society. The poor will try to act like middle class, the middle class will try to act like the elite, the elite will try to act like the super elite - the politically powerful inner circle. Many are stressed out working 12 hours or more a day in order to keep pace with their perceived public images. Some hardly having time for their spouses, children, extended families, relatives or friends.

With the government leaders unilaterally drawing obscenely high salaries and bonuses, the society is geared towards an insane materialistic competition. There is no end in sight for these stressful social behavior .

How do you explain wealthy seniors, especially politicians, who should be enjoying their retirement but instead are appointed board directors to as much as ten or more companies or special advisers just to preserve their public image with the perception of importance?

Singaporeans are remarkably brand conscious and it is a necessity for them to be seen with designers' bags or branded goods that cost more than the salaries of ordinary citizens so as not to be viewed negatively. Apparently social status is measured by dollars, not sense.

How do the middle class and the less privilege citizens retire with peace of mind given the kind of materialistic mentality engrained in the society?

The government must have the answers since the country consistently achieves a wide spread of world rankings, i.e. best healthcare, best education system, best law and order, best welfare, best housing, least corrupted country, per capita income of $62,000 ranked 5th in the world vs Canada that ranked 22nd in the world with per capita income of $39,400, etc. These world rankings cover all the necessary conditions to provide every citizen with a decent retirement.

Mr. Kishore Mahbubani , dean of Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policies, claimed that "there are no homeless, destitute or starving people in Singapore. Poverty has been eradicated."

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said, “Nobody will be left behind.”

MM Lee Kuan Yew said, “You go down New York, Broadway. You will see the beggars, people of the streets…Where are the beggars in Singapore? Show me.”

Dr Vivian Balakrishnan’s speech in parliament, March 2007:
“That allows me to say with a clear conscience to both the PAP and the Opposition MPs that nobody in Singapore needs to starve, nobody needs to be deprived of healthcare, and nobody needs to be deprived of a roof over his or her head. If someone indeed is so destitute and is starving, we have other means and other safety nets for them. ”

Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong has claimed that Singapore has achieved Swiss standard of living years ahead of schedule.

With so much assurances, the citizens of Singapore showed confidence in the sitting government by voting in the same party for another term. These leaders are the highest paid politicians in the world and should have solutions to the retirement issue. Personally, I am a simple retiree who is very grateful and satisfied with my kampong style retirement even though Canada is far behind Singapore in world rankings.

ESM Goh may mocked at farmers about their lack of understanding about quality lifestyle. With the turmoil in the global financial crisis, it may be those people who live on nature and land be the only human beings left to enjoy quality lifestyle.

I am not embarrassed to work with my hands nor am I ashamed that I was expelled from school and raised by a single parent in the slums of Chinatown in Singapore. Canada has provided me with a level playing field. It would be impossible for me to have a decent retirement if I am not a 'quitter'.

The view from my window looking at the peaceful and serene bay leading to the Pacific Ocean.
I built this house for less than the price of a 4 room HDB. You don't need the obscene salaries of $millions
to be happy and enjoy a meaningful retirement lifestyle.

https://picasaweb.google.com/100837195477194796313/RetirementInCanada

The End.

Ministers' salaries Review - Are they serious or just another wayang?

2011-09-26T20:13:00.001-07:00

Brain Activities of the Obscenely rich vs common citizens.

2011-09-21T20:45:00.001-07:00

Singapore Political Line Dancing - Wong Kan Seng's new appointments.

2011-09-13T16:38:00.000-07:00

Plight of Singapore Males (Local born citizens)

2011-09-09T22:35:00.000-07:00

35% of vote made President - only in Singapore. No run-off despite winning by a narrow margin of less than 0.4% of votes.

2011-09-01T18:57:00.000-07:00

Emigrating to Canada - My personal experience.

2011-08-31T15:58:00.000-07:00

Many Singaporeans have written to me seeking advice on how to emigrate to Canada. Please understand that I am not an emigration consultant and I do not pretend to be one. However I can share my personal experience with those who are interested in emigrating to Canada. I have no experience about emigration to New Zealand, Australia or any other countries.

Emigration is an important decision that should not be taken lightly especially out of spite. It does not only affect that individual but his/her family and generations that follow. Failure would be costly and painful. It is not a bed of roses if you are not adaptable to changes and prepared to work hard to make it a success. Nothing comes easy but the reward is priceless.

The actual application for emigration to Canada is not difficult. You can go online or to the Canadian High Commission and fill up the relevant forms and answer all the questions honestly and fulfill all other requirements, i.e. notarized documents, good conduct certificate from police,etc.

You do not have to engage the services of an emigration consultant if you can read and write English. The success of your application is based primarily on points system and the availability of the jobs and criteria you are seeking.

The current quota for new immigrants to Canada is 250,000 people worldwide annually. You will have to compete with all other applications from people of all nations for a place in this quota.

According to Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, 3 to 4 % of the top 30% of the population of Singapore emigrate to other developed countries every year. We are looking at between 40,000 to 60,000 Singaporeans* vying to get out of the country each year. The competition is fierce. Twenty years ago, it is possible for an application to be approved within three months. Now we are looking at three to five years of processing and waiting time.

Another important note is that Singaporeans have a higher ratio of failures compared with other immigrants from China, Taiwan, Hong Kong or Malaysia. I estimate that it is about 10% for Singaporeans vs less than 5% for others . This is largely due to our comparatively lack of fighting spirit, ignorance and arrogance cultivated from decades of government propaganda. We were brought up believing that Singapore is world No. One in almost everything - education, healthcare, welfare, housing, law and order, cleanliness, no homeless or poor people, etc.

We have developed a self centred and selfish culture known as “kaisi and kaisu”. Most of us believe that we are the best and should easily brush aside those competitors from China, Taiwan and Malaysia. If we do not get the jobs we wanted, most would cry foul or racial discrimination. Please understand that just because you held a top management job in Singapore, you cannot expect a similar position in Canada upon arrival. You need to have Canadian experience and that means you start from the bottom of the ladder.

Singaporeans are less likely to take risk and not as street smart as they thought. Most Singaporeans do not think out of box and will act only upon instructions or when all the safety measures are in place. Sadly, with such a mentality, most opportunities are snatched away by Taiwanese, Hongkees, Mainland Chinese or Malaysians.

An example is a Taiwanese friend of mine who was asked during an interview for local courier service if he has a fleet of delivery vans. Without hesitation and a straight face he said he had 10 vans when he has only one. When an inspection date was arranged to view the vans, he gathered 9 of his Taiwanese friends and together they bought a van each making a total of 10 vans. With that they got the contract for the business and jobs for each of them.

Given the very same opportunity, it is unlikely Singapore immigrants could get that business. Singaporeans with their kaisi and kaisu attitudes are less likely to share the business or have the entrepreneur ability to gather enough Singaporeans to participate. If they do managed to gather enough participants they would spend weeks drawing up business plans to cover all contingencies and put in place all safety measures. The most irritating statement by Singaporeans when a job or business proposal was offered to them was to ask, “Got guarantee or not?”

Most immigrants from other countries have a “do or die” mentality whereas Singaporeans have a “do and try” mentality. These “failure not an option” immigrants are more willing to venture into entrepreneurship or willing to accept any jobs, white or blue collars, without hesitation. Singapore immigrants tend to be much more choosy and expect to be employed in middle or top management positions with the naive assumption that their credentials back home would guarantee them any position they wish. I have known Singapore immigrants waiting more than a year for their dream jobs. Their excuse is that they cannot downgrade otherwise they would “lose face” back in Singapore. Some even reject job offers that they considered below their qualifications and dignity.

Singaporeans have to learn that most Canadians pick careers that interest them – money and status are secondary. Success is not measured by how many millions you amassed or whether you are a CEO or how many directorships you hold. In Singapore, most people work 12 hours or more a day with hardly any time for family. In Canada, family bonding, happiness, freedom, a safe home to live, enough food on the table, and be with good friends are more important. Let children play when young and develop naturally is top priority. This is in direct opposition to Singaporeans’ life style of forcing children to study 24/7 with little or no time to play for the sake of academic excellence.

From my observation, Singaporean immigrants who succeed in Canada are those who have the same mentality as those from other Asian countries. You must have the” to do or die and not to complain why” attitude. Ironically, those in the late forties or early fifties with tertiary education and have middle or top management experience are most likely to fail. These are Singaporeans that have great difficulties adjusting to the new culture and environment. Exceptions are those who come with lots of money and assets.

Following are several stories of the failures and successful immigrants:

Success stories:

1. Mr. Lui, who was the head of IBM research department in Taiwan, started off as a junior technician in IT department of a local bank in Vancouver. It was a humbling experience as he was downgraded and paid minimum wage as a junior technician. Two years later, when the computer system at the bank went down and nobody knew how to repair the system, Mr. Lui stepped in to the rescue. That incident was made known to the CEO that a low ranking employee was responsible in saving the computer system, Mr. Lui was promoted to section chief.

2. Mr X (Singaporean whom I have not ask his permission to disclose his name) was a Colombo Plan scholar renounced his Singapore citizenship. He paid off his bond and left for Canada. Upon his arrival, he realized that his university degree and Colombo Plan Scholarship was not recognized. Instead of complaining he took on a job as an electrician with Alberta Hydro. Fast forward 20+ years, he has no regrets. He has a happy family, a modest house, three cars, one Recreational Vehicle (like an home on wheels), several boats, retiring with great health.

3. Mr. Bernard Chan - Singaporean graduated from Cambridge University (same university as LKY) was rejected based on his qualifications. He took a crash course in plumbing and was accepted as a plumber when he re-applied. He is happily working at home doing foreign exchange for the past 15 years. His testimony is in my FB notes.

4. Mr X2 - A decorated ASP and national sports celebrity immigrated to Canada and took on a trade of house renovation. He did not feel embarrassed wearing an overall with dirty paint spots and holding a tool box. He lead a successful career and happy life style without the stress of a 24 hours stand-by job as a senior police officer.

5. Mr. X3 - A Singapore teacher immigrated to Canada and got a job as a postman delivering parcels and letters. Fast forward twenty years, he has a happy family, seven children, modest house (freehold and not 99 years like HDB) and a good retirement plan. In Singapore, he may not have the luxury of going fishing, vacations every year, maintaining a big family without working 12 hours a day and all stressed out.

The list would go on and on. The point is that their success were due to their abilities to adapt and willing to change their mindset from being materialistic focus to quality life style focus.

Failures -

1. Mr DYL - a Singaporean, was a CEO of an international company. He immigrated to Canada after he was laid off and he sold his house for S$3 million. He could not get his dream job of being a CEO in Vancouver and idled around. A typical show-off Singaporean, he built himself a huge expensive house in the most reputable district in Vancouver. Next he bought himself a top of the line BMW 7series and a Lexus although he was the only one driving. Within two years he spent more than $2 million of the $3 million he brought with him. His wife constantly complaint about having no maids even though they have part-time house cleaners. His children were in expensive private schools to keep up with his image. They constantly travel back to Singapore on business class. Without an income, his money drained off rapidly as he has no knowledge about financial planning. He actually thought $3 million could last him forever. When he realized that his money was depleting so fast, he panicked and became paranoid. He started to accuse everyone around him of cheating on him. Soon, all his friends kept away from him. Eventually without friends he sold his house, cars at a loss and moved back to Singapore, blaming Canadians for cheating his money.
To be honest, Mr.DYL could have live happily with the$3 million he has without having to work IF he had conducted a more modest life style.

2. Mr M - a Singaporean and early retired military officer. He is typical of those who refused to downgrade and accept a junior position. He was offered many jobs such as manager of a security firm, a manager in the fast-food restaurant, etc. He worked a few months in each of these jobs and left saying that it is demeaning for an officer to work in such low class jobs. Interesting enough, the Singapore friend who recommended him the job was himself working at the same kind of job for more than 10 years. He has no complains. He has a modest home, car and above all a happy family with quality life style.
It is more than 4 years now and this military officer is still waiting for his dream job.

The list could go on and on but I do not want to depress you with stories of failures. The bottom line is that to be successful you must throw away the self-destructive mentality of arrogance and show off when few cares what house you live in or what cars you drive. You must live within your means.

I drive a small economic Honda Civic and in our mid-sixties, we do all our house chores - cleaning, cooking, laundry, repairs, fishing, tending to vegetables and general work with no maids or outside help. In addition I do volunteer work at hospital helping out by serving coffee, tea, cookies to patients and talking to them or taking them to boat paddling. I also give free tai-chi lessons.

Do not be jealous of others that have successfully settled in Canada. Please remember we were here for more than twenty years. The first few years were not easy unless you have lots and lots of money. It is like having children, the first few years are tough. They cry all day, need attention around the clock but in the end it is all worth it. Just be patient and before you know it, you have already cross the line.

I hope this article will help you to decide if you are willing to take the plunge.

Good luck and God Bless.

Wing Lee Cheong

Note: I will update this article when I have permission to write about the experiences of other immigrants. Many of the stories are touching and motivational.

Reason why I emigrate:

Our government has kept us in a perpetual state of fear -- kept us in a continuous stampede of patriotic fervor -- with the cry of grave national emergency. Always there has been some terrible evil at home or some monstrous foreign power that was going to gobble us up if we did not blindly rally behind it by furnishing the exorbitant funds demanded. Yet, in retrospect, these disasters seem never to have happened, seem never to have been quite real.

A Soldier Speaks: Public Papers and Speeches of General of the Army Douglas MacArthur

This is a cartoon I was hoping never to draw. This clearly shows that the people are getting dumb and dumber.

2011-08-27T17:06:00.000-07:00

Can we trust a person who has so many skeletons and unanswered questions in his closet?

2011-08-22T19:18:00.000-07:00

Singapore presidential election - Battle of the 4 Tans.

2011-08-17T02:01:00.000-07:00

The endorsement of Dr. Tony Tan by the Federation of Tan Clan Associations without the courtesy of giving the other Tan candidates an interview.

2011-08-11T20:39:00.000-07:00

ex- MM Lee Kuan Yew's take on Foreign Talents in Singapore - remember he was equally adament on the campaign, "TWO IS ENOUGH" that ended in disaster.

2011-08-08T16:12:00.000-07:00

Forth Presidential hopeful. Missing anyone?

2011-08-03T19:08:00.000-07:00

Presidential hopeful - Mr. Tan Kin Lian

2011-07-20T19:39:00.000-07:00

PIRATE OF THE PACIFIC - BC FERRIES' CEO ANNUAL SALARY OF S$1.5 MILLION .

2011-07-18T17:09:00.000-07:00

2011-07-15T00:00:00.000-07:00

"Independent" Presidential Candidate, Mr. Tony Tan.

2011-07-03T22:23:00.000-07:00

2011-05-03T16:25:00.000-07:00

Pirate of Temasek

2011-04-25T10:40:00.000-07:00

MIW arriving in Heaven with ill-gotten wealth.

2011-04-10T18:43:00.001-07:00

OPEN LETTER TO SM GOH CHOK TONG ON HIS COMMENTS ON FARMERS.

2011-04-06T21:45:00.000-07:00

Dear SM Goh,

Todayonline, 5th April, 2011 reported that you ridiculed farmers in less developed countries that they have no understanding about quality of life. It is embarrassing that a senior statesman like yourself has such a narrow vision of quality of life. What kind of message do you intend to give to the younger generation? It also insults people like us who depend on land and nature for survival.

Your definition of quality of life seem to be amassing money to a degree that exceeds sanity and morality. Please pause and think that 99.9% of the population on earth does not have the privilege like yourself to collect a salary of $3.8 million, plus your pension, plus bonus payment, plus director’s fees, etc. Does it imply that most of us lack any meaningful quality of life?

I live a simple and comfortable retired life with my wife for less than S$1,200 a month* or what you made in less than an hour. We built our own modest 1,500 sq feet house in Sechelt, Canada for less than the price of a 4 room HDB flat. It has a view that rivals the best in Singapore. I do fishing, crab trapping, picking wild berries, attending to my fruit trees and some vegetables. We do all our house chores like marketing, cooking, washing and keeping the house clean and tidy without any maid or outside help. You may call it “low quality of life” but we enjoy ourselves tremendously and found true happiness in what we do. There is no shame in using our hands. In fact we are proud that, in our mid sixties, we are able to live independently and survive happily largely on nature. It may be something rich people like yourself think otherwise.

To verify and lend creditability to my story, I challenge you to send reporters and spend a week living in my house and write a report of their stay. One of the reporters can be from Straits Times and the other must be from a neutral news media.

I am willing to put S $10,000 in trust with a reputable law firm to reimburse the two reporters for their cost of travel if they find what I said not to be true. However, you should also put up S$10,000 to reimburse those people you have insulted who live on nature. I will donate this amount to a charity organization.

The S$10,000 is a huge amount for a retiree like me. On the other hand, S$10,000 is definitely peanuts for you. You make that in less time than going to the bathroom. Sir, please put money where your mouth is and prove me wrong.

Looking forward to your early reply.

Yours Respectfully,

Cheong Wing Lee
Sechelt, B.C
Canada.

* Cost of living breakdown per month:: Groceries $400, travel and petrol $100, sinking fund $100, utilities (gas, electricity, water) $40, TV cable $75, fishing and crab license $5, general expenses $300 to 400. (No mortgage or car payments)
https://picasaweb.google.com/retiredwing/SecheltSunshineCoastHome2010#

FT are important to Singapore - MM Lee

2011-04-03T18:09:00.000-07:00

Pirate of Temasek - DPM Wong Kan Seng questioned the motives of the Opposition.

2011-03-30T17:35:00.001-07:00

Pirate of Temasek - SM Goh comparing Singaporeans with Japanese.

2011-03-20T22:43:00.001-07:00

Comparison of MM Lee Kuan Yew's salary with President Obama and PM David Cameron of UK

2011-03-19T15:00:00.000-07:00

MRT overcrowding and CEO's stupid remarks.

2011-03-19T08:44:00.000-07:00

President Nathan's obscene salary that borders insanity. As role model, what kind of message is he sending to its citizens?

2011-03-16T17:01:00.000-07:00

Dr.Mahathir vs MM Lee on who has the better book.

2011-03-14T19:05:00.000-07:00

Our Beloved Vision ExtraOrdinaire famous, " I STAND CORRECTED."

2011-03-12T17:16:00.000-08:00

Pre-Election Goodies and Bonus

2011-03-11T17:48:00.000-08:00

The highest paid multi-million dollars salaried ministers get even higher with an obscene bonus of 30%.

2011-03-10T22:55:00.000-08:00

Singapore - from 3rd world to 1st world to lost world.

2011-03-10T05:20:00.001-08:00

By Cheong Wing Lee, Guest Columnist

It has been 50 years since Singapore has been governed by the PAP under the leadership of Lee Kuan Yew.

Is Singapore better off now than it was 50 years ago?

The answer from most baby boomers is that it is worse. Despite all the gains in materialism and wealth in the country, the majority of the aging population is feeling no better than five decades ago. Many are stressed out by the anxieties due to the absence of a dignified retirement plan, the affordability of healthcare and the uncertain future for their children.

Fifty years ago, Singapore was a British Colony under British rule. The majority of the population neither liked nor disliked the British. They had no opinion and took it as part of life.

During the colonial days, most of the population then were born to accept that the white people were superior. The population then were mostly poor working class, lost without direction and living from day to day.

Fast forward fifty years to present day Singapore and we find the majority of the aging population also neither like nor dislike the PAP and can’t do anything about it. Most of them were born to accept that the “Men in White” are superior.

The PAP has over the years designed policies and safe guards to ensure that the party remains in power indefinitely. The indiscriminate use of the ISD, rezoning of constituencies, formation of GRCs, the monopoly of the mass media and liberal use of defamation lawsuits against opponents practically destroyed all oppositions.

The aging population are generally poor, lost without direction and like the population fifty years ago, living from day to day, praying that their savings will be adequate for a decent retirement.

To PAP’s credit, during the past fifty years,the old guards of the PAP and MM Lee managed to bring Singapore from an improvised third world country to the first world status.

I remembered I was then living in a small rented room in a Chinatown shop-house with only one kitchen, one make shift bathroom and one pull out bucket toilet. The shop-house was shared with 4 other families with a total of 22 occupants.

Within fifteen years I was able to buy a 5 room HDB apartment and own a car. For that I was grateful to the PAP, especially the old guards.

Back then in the seventies, Singapore was bustling with economic activities brought about by Dr. Goh Keng Swee, then Deputy Prime Minister, who led the Singapore industrial revolution.

For the next few decades, Singapore was hailed by the world as an economic miracle . A country without natural resources and yet able to propel itself from 3rd world status to 1st world status with one of the highest per capita in Asia.

The country achieved so many “Number Ones”, i.e. No 1 airport, No.1 container port, No.1 airline, etc, etc. that I lost count. We were proud to be citizens of Singapore.

We were proud of the PAP and we were proud of MM Lee. Many of us were willing to fight and die for the country and him. MM Lee would have left a great legacy for generations to remember.

Ironically the past two decades had eroded that admiration. The addiction of absolute power has made MM Lee developed a deep craze to perpetuate his control of Singapore. It was no longer our country.

In the 1960s when PAP was consolidating its political power base, then PM Lee Kuan Yew pledged to close the gap between the rich and the poor. Instead, after so many decades, MM Lee has created the greatest income gap in the history of Singapore. There are no more middle class, only the elite super rich and the poor.

Singapore has become his country, his personal property. Our pledge for justice and equality for all is only but an aspiration according to him. To MM Lee, only he and the PAP can effectively govern Singapore. All ministers are getting $millions in salaries and bonuses. The top 30 highest paid politicians in the world are all Singapore ministers. The present PM Lee Hsien Loong is getting more than 4 times the salary of President Obama or any other leaders of the world.

All others outside of PAP with opposing views are treated as Public Enemies. Under the disguise of self renewal and recruiting new blood, the entire group of old guards were retired except for himself. He brought in young bureaucrats, technocrats, and scholars who will obey and above all fear him without questions.

This dream team and MM Lee initiated a series of social engineering. MM Lee’s dream is to create a perfect society based on meritocracy. There will be no room for complacency. He wants Singaporeans to be the best of the best.

In the process of social engineering, Singapore becomes a nanny state where the government dictates to its citizens what, how and when to do in every minute aspect of their lives. The ideal dreams of the ordinary citizens turned to nightmares. The citizens are hard pressed to perform to the government’s requirements.

The education system was revamped time and again to filter and segregate the slow learners from the ordinary and the brightest students at a young age.

The brightest students are given the best education, priorities and scholarships with promise of top government jobs and top salaries upon completion of their studies.

These super students are primed to be future leaders of the country. The slow learners and the ordinary students are thrown to the lower rungs of the food chain.

The numerous new education policies cause panic amongst parents who do not want their children to be labeled as slow learners or mentally challenged.

There is a huge surge for private tuition whereby children are forced to endure hours of extra studies to keep up or be one step ahead of the others in their pursuit of academic excellence. The joy and happiness of growing up as children was robbed.

There was no time for children to be simply children. The segregation system is based on an unscientific assumption that if students do not perform well in examinations, they will not do well in all aspects of their lives.

Maids are hired in order for parents and children to devote more time to studies. The repercussion of the overuse of maids resulted in a generation of children not knowing how to do simple chores like boiling water, washing dishes, cleaning, hanging a picture frame, changing a car tire, etc. Few children learn or do anything outside of textbooks. The children are simply not street smart.

Perhaps the biggest mistake was the “STOP AT TWO” or “Two is Enough” campaign where citizens were encouraged to stop at only having two children by curtailing all medical benefits and educational privileges of the third child.

The successful campaign resulted in a sharp drop in birth rate and a mass exodus of emigrants who have more than two children. Even more severe repercussions surfaced two decades later resulting in the present huge influx of more than one million “Foreign Talents”, mainly from China and India.

Just when the local citizens thought that they have met the worst by working as janitors, food courts cleaners and other low paying jobs, they are now challenged by foreign talents from China and India who are prepared to work for less.

This challenge now spread to include regular higher paying jobs like engineers, surveyors, healthcare workers, etc which are traditionally held by local born Singaporeans.

Companies are openly advertising and recruiting the new foreign talents in preference to the locals. The reason being that companies need to stay competitive and be more profitable.

New immigrants or foreign talents are not burdened by national service and reservist duty which put additional cost to the companies. Furthermore, new immigrants are willing and able to work for less pay and longer hours since most of them come to Singapore by themselves and have no family obligations like the locals.

The entire working environment is working against the local born Singaporeans. All of a sudden they have become strangers in their own land.

The country they have sworn to protect has betrayed them. In desperate times like this, when help and reassuring words from the government should be forth coming, instead the local Singaporeans receive advice telling them to lower their expectations. This only add insult to injury.

What the dream team and high salaried ministers fail to understand is that the people cannot go lower than low. Just try to survive on a salary of $2,000 a month or less with a family, then maybe they may understand the plight of the average Singaporeans.

For those frustrated Singaporeans who wants to emigrate to other countries to escape their hopeless predicament, they are walking into another brick wall.

Unknown to most of them, new emigrants to countries like Australia and Canada are also foreign talents who have recently obtained their Singapore citizenship. It must be heart breaking for locals to find out that even the last escape route from their desperate predicament is being challenged by foreign talents who use Singapore as a stepping stone.

There are potential problems looming on the horizon with this huge influx of foreign talents, permanent residents and newly minted Singaporeans. The total number is between 1.6 million to 2 million people under these categories.

These people have no allegiance to the country. Their allegiance is to money. If they do not get employment, they will not get the money to send back to their countries to help their families.

The local born Singaporeans are largely of the “kaisu and kaisi” non-violent type who only complain but continue to vote in the same government election after election. However, the new immigrants are more vocal and hostile. These people will not be easily intimidated and bullied by the authority. The threat of jail to them is like going to a holiday camp with free food and shelter. They have endured much harsher penalties and hardships in their own countries. They are battle hardened and not afraid of dying.

If these foreign talents do go on riots, it will be a security nightmare. Logistically, the police does not have enough manpower to cope with such numbers. Singapore has less than 20,000 regular policemen. Each policeman has to deal with 100 violent protesters. No matter how efficient the policemen are, it is an impossible task even if the reservist NS are called in to help.

On the assumption that these people are contained, there are simply not enough jails to lock them in. Changi Prison will have to be increased at least one hundred times in size. The government has only one solution and that is to keep them constantly employed to maintain peace. Who would then be the unemployed? Ironically it would be the local heartland Singaporeans - strangers in your own country?

So when it comes to the question of whether Singapore is better now than it was 50 years ago, should we be surprised at the answer?

About the Author:

Cheong Wing Lee is an ex-Singaporean who is now living in Vancouver, Canada.

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Singapore 's Oppositions infighting

2011-03-08T19:52:00.000-08:00

Singapore's undemocratic system of electing a President

2011-03-04T13:33:00.000-08:00

Singapore - Quitters and Losers

2011-03-01T17:11:00.000-08:00

Retirement - Singapore vs Canada

2011-02-18T00:07:00.000-08:00

TOC gazetted and Minister's BS

2011-02-16T07:52:00.000-08:00

Racial remarks from Hard Truths

2011-01-31T13:21:00.000-08:00

Income Tax - Singapore vs Canada

2011-01-29T10:25:00.000-08:00

In his 1996 National Day speech, Prime Minister Goh said, “People often want the government to assume the full burden of the cost of medical care and provide treatment free to Singaporeans. Because of the painful lessons learned in other countries we have not done this. All the countries which have done this—Britain, France, Germany, Canada, and Communist China—have failed. Their systems break down as people overuse so-called ‘free’ health care, which they actually pay for indirectly through higher taxes. Their health services deteriorate. Waste and inefficiency become endemic. Now these countries are forced to cut back on services, introduce cost controls, and reform the system.

Singapore leaders have repeatedly spin the notion that Singaporeans pay one of the lowest tax in the world. It is a myth for in reality Singaporeans pay much higher taxes than other developed countries like Canada.

Consider a person making $6,000 a month in Singapore and a person making a similar amount in Canada. Let us say the person in Singapore pays zero tax and the person in Canada pays his maximum without any deduction of 29.7% tax. Assuming both have a working life of 40 years and a life span of 85 years.

The person in Singapore pays nothing since we assumed his tax to be zero.
The person in Canada would have to pay based on annual salary of $72,000 at 29.7% = $21,384. Based on a working period of 40 years the Canadian would have to pay a total of $855,360. It should be less if deductions are taken into consideration but we give the advantage to Singapore to minimize arguments. The Canadian tax does seem high to Singaporeans. However when all the cleverly hidden taxes are taken in consideration, Singaporeans are paying more in taxes but not getting the social benefits enjoy by Canadians::

List of Singapore hidden taxes that Canadians do not pay::

1. COE - $60,000 every ten years assuming that a Singaporean changes his car every 10 years.
40 years needs to buy 4 COE = $240 ,000.
2. Cost of car like Honda Civic - $75,000 in Singapore vs $25,000 in Canada.
4 cars in forty years at the difference of $50,000 = $200,000
3. Road tax - $1,300 per year for 40 years = $52,000
4. Higher petrol price - $100 extra a month for 40 years = $48,000.
5. ERP - $100 extra a month for 40 years = $48,000.
6. Maid levy - $300 per month for 20 years (assuming a family only has the maid for 20 years
instead of 40 years or more) = $72,000.
7. General medical bills for 85 years at $1,000 a year = $85,000. (less than $100 a month)
8. Cost of housing, the difference between a similar house in Singapore vs Canada is $300,000 to as high as $1 million and more. We shall take the lower end of the difference = $300,000.
9. The water/gas/electricity bills are only one-third of Singapore’s making a savings of at least $102,000 based on a saving of $100 per month x 85 years.
The total savings for a Canadian is at least $1,147,000 or more depending on how many cars, maids and children he has.
This amount is more than adequate to offset the Canadian tax of $855,360 at 29.7%.

In addition the following is a list of social benefits that Singaporeans do not enjoy::

1. “Milk money” of $250 each child receive a month from the government from the day the child was born until age of 18 years - $250 x12 x 18 years = $54,000 for one kid. Two kids = $108,000.
2. Old age pension plus assisted income for retirees without any income, a retiree gets $1,250 or more a month until death. Assuming the retiree lives for 20 years = $300,000.
A couple could get a combined retirement income of $2,500 a month even though they may not have been working. The total receivable for 20 years would be $600,000.
3. Retirees travel for free on all public transportation with limited black out time on weekends, i.e. trains, buses, ferries. Some of the ferry rides cost more than $100 per trip. Assuming a retiree saves $150 a month for transportation - 20 years of retirement = $150 x 12 x 20 = $36,000.
4. Retirees can study in universities for a token fee of less than $100 per year.
5. Unemployment insurance which a citizen can claim when he/she is out of a job. It is common for a person to be out of job for 6 months in his 40 years of working life - $36,000.
6. Free treatment of severe illness like cancel, liver or kidney failures - $200,000 or more.

Depending on the choice of lifestyles and individual health conditions, the Canadian tax system has an advantage of between $500,000 to over $1 million when compared with the Singapore tax system even though Singapore official tax rate is very low.

To illustrate the difference, let me provide the following analogy:
Two shops selling char kuay teow :
The Sinkee shop selling a plate for $2.00
The Candee shop selling a plate for $10.00

At a glance, shop Sinkee is a bargain at only $2.00 a plate. However when you order a plate, you get only a plate of char kuay teow and nothing else. If you want “hum” it is an extra $2. If you want chilly, it is another $1. If you want chop sticks, it is another $1, etc. Soon your plate of $2 char kuay teow with all the extras will cost you $15 or more.

On the other hand, at Shop Candee, the $10 a plate has all the extras included in the price and taste much better. The service and environment is also much better than the cocky service of Shop Sinkee.

In Canada, the service providers will try their best to guide and give you as much as possible. In Singapore, it is the opposite, the service providers will try their best to give you as little as possible. It is typical "kaisu" Singapore culture.

The moral of the story is that we should not be fooled by statistics and world rankings. Singapore is ranked third place by IMF in their 2010 report with a per capita of $57,238 vs Canada at eleventh place with a per capita of $39,033. Do Singaporeans really feel richer than Canadians when most Singaporeans have constant anxiety over inadequate savings for retirement, medical bills, being homeless, etc.

Most Canadians enjoy their retirement with a peace of mind whereas most Singaporeans dread retirement with doubts whether their CPF is sufficient to see them through retirement or they live long enough to touch their CPF money given the way the government is pushing back the retirement age.

Wing Lee Cheong
Vancouver, BC.

http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_countries_result.jsp?country1=Canada&country2=Singapore&displayCurrency=SGD
http://www.therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=3764&updaterx=2009-05-27+01%253A34%253A22&gclid=CIaq4-OXzqYCFQUSbAodtBm-Gw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T463nFtg3tg
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1113455/

Singapore government's style of transparency!

2011-01-29T09:27:00.000-08:00

Life in Singapore - Utopia or Dystopia

2011-01-29T09:25:00.000-08:00

Life in Singapore - Utopia or Dystopia.

Singapore possessed an endless string of world rankings and claims, i.e.

1. “The happiest place in Asia.”
2. One of the best welfare system in the world.
3. One of the best health care system in the world.
4. One of the best education system in the world.
5. One of the lowest income tax in the world.
6. The most efficient and honest government in the world.

The list goes on and on and on. The country is obsessed with world rankings and claims.
Most observers and visitors to Singapore are stunned but impressed by such a vast display of world rankings and claims.

Is Singapore such an Utopia as claimed? The answer is probably YES from about 10% of the population comprising of the multi-million dollars highest paid ministers in the world, the highest paid public civil servants in the world, the high salaried expatriates, the successful businessmen, the rich and famous, tourists and short term visitors.

These are the elite who can afford to pay $5 million to $30 million for a house and has no hesitation disclosing to the media that they spent $20,000 for a few days of French cooking lessons in Paris or spent $40,000 a year sending their two and three years old children to “baby gym” and “baby motivational” classes or post on Internet that the “poor should get out of her elite uncaring face.”

For this privileged caste, Singapore is indeed fantasy-land. It is a fun city with world class casinos, streets of bars, pubs and karaoke clubs, great restaurants of all cultures, theaters, 5 stars hotels, plenty of young and inexpensive social escorts and prostitutes from China, Philippines and neighboring countries. Prof Tommy Koh, former ambassador to UN, was reported that he entertained western ambassadors and consulate staff for “fun-filled” evenings. He preferred the Filipino girls in Orchard Towers over those in Duxton as those girls were “cheap and low quality”. The homes of these elites are well maintained by the services of cheap maids and they live like royalties.

For the remaining population, few would consider Singapore a fun city, let alone “the happiest place in Asia”. There is a small percentage within this remaining population who are in the “comfort zone” and contend with status quo where they could enjoy occasional touches of happy moments. These are people in the senior management positions, senior civil servants, senior military and police officers, relatively successful businessmen who are able to buy cars, private condominiums, the cheaper end of private houses or in worst case, the executive or 5-room HDB apartments. They have maids and take overseas vacations and enjoy some luxuries of elite lifestyle.

For majority of population, life is tough having to work 12 hours a day for both husbands and wives to pay off the mortgages for their 99 years lease HDB homes and 10 years lease cars, pay for children tuition and make ends meet. If Singapore is a fun city, most of them are simply too busy to feel happy or enjoy the luxuries of life. Singapore’s workforce has the reputation of having the longest working hours a day in the world.

How did Singapore with all the world ranking and claims deteriorate to such a pathetic state where the majority of common citizens are depressed, oppressed, stressed and agitated resulting in increased divorces, violence and suicides?

The Hard Truths are the fear of losing their current jobs and difficulties in finding new jobs, the raising cost of living, the anxiety of inadequate CPF for retirement, the lack of affordable health care, the fear of being homeless and the lack of welfare for seniors. In this meritocratic society, the handicaps, weak and the old are expendable and left to the care of their families. The State has in place laws for parents to sue their own children for financial support. The government does not want to waste its resources on the expendable. Singapore has an inexorable policy of survival of the fittest. Those citizens classified as underachievers or a burden will be sidelined and be left to rot.

Singapore leaders have a despicable habit of mocking other countries’ welfare systems to champion their own. In his 1996 National Day speech, then Prime Minister Goh said “People often want the government to assume the full burden of the cost of medical care and provide treatment free to Singaporeans. Because of the painful lessons learned in other countries we have not done this. All the countries which have done this—Britain, France, Germany, Canada, and Communist China—have failed. “

Contrary to SM Goh’s bold prediction 15 years ago, Canada’s welfare and health care systems are still firmly in place with high approval rating by the government and public. On the other hand, despite its world ranking, Singapore’s own welfare and health care systems have deteriorated to an extend that it is considered a mockery by its citizens. The joke amongst the citizens is that you can afford to die but cannot afford to get sick or old. All government hospitals have been converted to profit based private enterprises. There are no longer free medical care. Citizens have to pay for all medical services and medications with limited subsidies.

Singapore may rank better in the world by WHO but in reality Canada has a much better system. For example:

Case No. 1 - I am a kidney transplant patient who has gone through 5 years of dialysis before the transplant. The medical cost for the 5 years of dialysis, the transplant operation, the ICU and general hospitalization, the post transplant medication for the rest of my life are FREE. I did not pay a cent other than paying for the national health insurance that amounts to about $50 a month per person.

A patient in Singapore would have to cough between $200,000 to $300,000 from his/her medisave or beg for help from relatives and friends to pay the medical bills. One serious illness would effectively wiped out a giant portion of a person’s pension fund.

When I was unable to drive to hospital for dialysis, special handicap bus was arranged to pick me up at my residence and send me to and from hospital. All I have to pay was C$2.50 per trip.

I was paralyzed from neck down when I discharged from ICU. The Canadian health system has rehab program to enable me to participate in international dragon boat races. All my dialysis and medical treatments during overseas competitions were reimbursed. In 2008, I managed to win a Gold Medal in the San Francisco International Dragon Boat Race against normal healthy competitors under the Recreational Category.

In a callous society like Singapore, most end stage kidney failure patients would be left on their own or rely on the help of relatives and friends for rehabilitation. Those patients who managed to walk independently would consider themselves fortunate. None would dare hope for the government to provide training or pay for participation in international competitions.

Case No. 2 - An ex-Singaporean has tunnel or straight eye vision but the doctor did nothing in treating her when she was working in Singapore. When she immigrated to Canada, her family doctor discovered her eye defect and sent her to an eye specialist. She was diagnosed as “legally blind” and classified as a handicap person. Health care workers were dispatched to her work place to check if the environment is friendly and prevent her from hurting herself. As a handicap, she cannot be fired because of her medical condition. All these services and medical treatments were free under the Canadian Health care.

A ludicrous incident happened when this lady returned to Singapore for a visit. An ignorant immigration officer confiscated her blind person walking cane as he regarded it as a dangerous weapon. She tried to explain to him that she was legally blind but the immigration officer told her that as long as she can see, she is NOT blind. He thought she was faking to take advantage. Not much of a testimony for a 1st world country.

Case No. 3 - Mr. Bernard Chan, an ex-Singaporean and YPAP promising member, has a special needs daughter that cost him thousands of dollars a month to be looked after when they were living in Singapore. When they immigrated to Canada, his daughter was immediately placed with 7 other special needs kids and taken care of by a full-time teacher, an assistant and watch over by a nurse and a specialist. All these services for FREE. He need not pay a cent. It is all covered by Canadian health care system.
Fast forward. On reaching 18 years, his daughter was given a monthly inflation-indexed allowance of Sin $1,500 (C$1+S$1.3), free medical and drugs, free dentistry and glasses (Sin $ 400 every 2 yrs). She can enroll for all kinds of studies and even dance, swim or social dance ... all paid for FREE. Monthly bus is half price at Sin$45 per month ...unlimited bus and train travel. The social services even got her a part-time job doing packing to build up her self-esteem and she cannot be fired because of her medical condition.

Case No 4. Senior citizens living alone have regular visits by social workers to ensure that their meals are cooked, clothing and homes kept clean. They are given regular medical checkups. Again all these services are free under Canadian health care.

Examples can go on and on. It is puzzling how Singapore was ranked 6th best health care in the world by WHO versus Canada at 30th ranking when it fail to provide these basic compassionate services.

DPM Wong Kan Seng, on Jan 17, 2011, said, “We will not leave behind those who need more help. The surpluses we have set aside in good times can be tapped on to look after the needs of the old and poor. We will continue to enjoy quality education, healthcare, transport and other social infrastructure.”

Do Singaporeans still believe all these political rhetoric and empty promises? Do they really feel better off than Canadians? Canada may not have the best health care or welfare systems in the world but as Canadians we are proud of our health and welfare systems. Its policies are compassionate and fair to all citizens. We are motivated to die for Canada without hesitation.

On the other hand, Singapore health care and welfare systems are designed for selected elite. For example, when Mrs Lee was ill in London, a 747 jumbo plane was converted into an air ambulance within 24 hours to fly her back to Singapore. MM Lee boosted that it was a world record that could only be achieved by Singapore. Do the leaders spare a minute to care for the sick, weak, elderly and homeless to score another world record? In MM Lee's latest book, "Hard Truths to keep Singapore going", MM Lee challenged citizens to die for each other. For a statesman who prided himself as vision extraordinaire, MM Lee should easily forecast that it would be difficult to motivate citizens to die for the country that is run like a circus by ministers drawing obscene high salaries with no accountability, no apology, no responsibility, no transparency and no shame.

In 1991, Prime Minister Goh promised Singaporeans that Singapore will achieve "Swiss standard of living" within a decade. Now, twenty years later Singapore's standard of living is more like Russia than Switzerland.

"In a country well governed, poverty is something to be ashamed of. In a country badly governed, wealth is something to be ashamed of."
— Confucius

Wing Lee Cheong
North Vancouver, BC,Canada
retiredwing@gmail.com

2011-01-18T17:53:00.000-08:00

2011-01-18T17:44:00.000-08:00

Spur in the hide

2009-12-29T22:54:00.000-08:00

Education systems between Singapore and Canada

2009-11-29T17:46:00.000-08:00

Why I prefer Canada’s education system – world-ranking or not

Sunday, 29 November 2009, 1:39 pm | 125 views

Wing Lee Cheong / Canada

“Singapore’s ranked 1st in quality education system in the world” – Global Competitiveness Report 2007–2008

“Singapore ranked one of the world’s best-performing school systems” – McKinsey Report, published September 2007

“Singapore students ranked among the top in Mathematics and Science” – Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2007

“Singapore ranked 4th among 45 education systems” – Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) 2006

Those are very impressive achievements that one can be proud of. Dr.Ng Eng Hen, the Education Minister of Singapore, cited a 2007 survey by the Fraser Institute that shows 94 per cent of Ontario students were dissatisfied with the Canadian public school system. Dr.Kishore, dean of public policies of NUS proudly claimed that educational leaders around the world are flocking to Singapore to copy Singapore’s successful educational model. He said that some North American schools are even using similar textbooks in their schools.

Canada may not have a perfect education system but I seriously doubt the reliability of the survey cited by Dr Ng. One has to question the criteria and sample size used for the survey.

Most Canadians are proud of their education system and will not trade it for the aggressive streaming system of Singapore where one’s future and career is based solely on academic results. Studies have shown that passing standardized examinations with good grades do not necessarily mean that one has a better knowledge of the subject than another with lesser or failed grades. In most cases, it simply shows that the person is better in the art of taking examinations. There are controversies amongst Canadian educationists if standardized examinations can accurately assess students’ subject knowledge and the application of that knowledge. Not knowing how to apply the knowledge is no knowledge at all.

In the pursuit of academic excellence, Singaporean parents force their children to study long hours to make the grade. In the fierce process, Singapore children are denied the joys of childhood. This explains why Singapore children are more stressed and tensed than the carefree and happy attitude of Canadian children. Children of Singapore friends who visit me in Canada tend to be more reserved and do not interact well. More interestingly, almost all of them would bring their school work during these visits. The parents made sure that their kids did certain hours of studies everyday despite the fact that they were on holidays. It is a strange trend amongst Singapore parents who want to be one-up on others. It is a reflection of the typical Singapore “kaisu” culture.

Life is a marathon, not a sprint

Canada is one of the few countries that do not have a central or federal education ministry. All the thirteen provinces and territories have their independent education ministries to coordinate the national system through the Council of Education. This system is has worked well for the country. Canada’s literacy rate is 99 per cent and placed at 19th in world standing, while Singapore’s is 94.4 per cent and placed at 74th, according to UNESCO in its 2007 annual report.

Canadians believe that life is a marathon and not a 100-meters sprint. Children are encouraged at a young age to develop at their own natural pace. There is no streaming. Mentally-challenged children are put in the same class as the normal and gifted children. Exceptions are made for severe mental cases. Under this environment, Canadian kids learn to develop compassion towards the less fortunate and realize that the world comprises different kinds of people. Hence they grow to be less arrogant and less prejudicial.

It is mandatory for students to do part-time jobs or perform volunteer duties at seniors’ home and other charity organizations in order to graduate from high schools. The students get marks for doing charity or part-time jobs. It is not uncommon to see volunteers in the hospital reception areas, families picking litter on the streets, distributing food/clothing to the needy, volunteers in senior homes, even the mentally and physically challenged are taken care of by volunteers. While in Spore the handicapped are considered an embarrassment and kept in the homes by their families, here in Canada volunteers bring them out shopping and they are encouraged to participate in recreational activities.

Canadians constitute less than 1 per cent of the world’s population but provides 10 per cent of the world’s peacekeeping forces in its selfless and unceremonious way. Volunteerism has become second nature to Canadians.

Singapore – just study and get good grades

This is in contrast with Singapore where an increasing number of parents would have maids attend to every need of the children. The maids carry the school bags, bring the drinks and food. All the children need to do is to study and get good grades. It has come to a point where many kids cannot do without maids. I have friends whose kids would scream to their maids to do simple chores like getting a drink. Few of these kids know how to make a cup of tea let alone a simple meal for themselves.

Even our much respected figure of MM Lee, despite all the fine education and good grades he had, did not know that one needs to peel off the egg shell before a hard-boiled egg can be eaten. (As related recently by his daughter in a Straits Times article.)

It is a common practice for Canadian university students to take a year or two off to travel the world and return to complete their studies later. My daughter took a full year off to backpack in Australia two years ago. With another classmate, they bought a used car and drove all over Australia. Most of my friends in Singapore thought I was crazy to let a young girl postpone her studies and travel aimlessly for a year.

Perhaps to most Singaporeans, it was a complete waste of time and money. My two other boys similarly backpacked in Africa, South America, Asia and Europe during their summer holidays. They learned more from their travels than from text books. Most importantly, they enjoy their lives. It is difficult to reconcile how forcing our children to go on a relentless paper chase can be the right thing to do.

Canada may not compare well with the Singapore education system in world rankings. Canadian students may not compete well in mathematics and science tests against Singapore students. Despite these, however, Canada has produced eighteen Nobel Prize winners, 44 Olympics medalists, with 9 Gold Medalists in the last three games, plus hundreds of world-renowned entrepreneurs, artists, musicians, writers, actors, singers, etc. By population ratio, Singapore should produce at least three Nobel Prize winners and scores of artists and writers, etc. Even Hong Kong and Taiwan each managed to have one Nobel Prize winner, many Olympic medalists and entrepreneurs.

Trade-off and compromise

The Canadian and the Singapore education systems are built on different premises. Singapore trains its students to be 100 meters sprinters for fast results to show the world whilst the Canadian system train its students to be marathon runners for the long haul in life. Canadian public education is free for all its citizens and permanent residents - from kindergartners to high schools. Tuition fees for most universities cost an average of C$6,000 per year.

The unscientific assumption by Singapore’s leaders that if you are not good at passing examinations with good grades, you are unlikely to make good for the rest of your lives, is laughable. History has shown us that there are scores of high achievers without degrees, i.e Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Michael Dell, Richard Branson, Walt Disney, Henry Ford, Frank Lloyd Wright, etc.

History teaches us that we cannot get something for nothing. If we push our children hard to be super human beings, we may push most of them over the edge. There is always a trade-off and compromise.

These children would grow up to be blinded by materialism and money, potentially resulting in a lack of compassion, failed marriages, poor social interaction skills, aggressive behaviors, and so on. No one has managed to social engineer a super society. There are already signs Singaporeans are stressed out before retirement. If the people are pushed at an early age, they will wear out at an early age. Few people can last being stressed for their entire working lives.

Singapore may have a better education system (according to certain rankings and studies) and the citizens may be contented and proud of it. However, I still prefer the traditional Canadian education system where we are taught to be human beings rather than human machines. We may not be high in world rankings but we are happy. That is what life is all about. All the millions of dollars a year would not necessarily bring you genuine joy and happiness.

We were born with nothing and we will leave with nothing.

—–
Cartoon by the author.
—–

2009-11-25T21:26:00.000-08:00

2009-10-19T01:29:00.000-07:00

2009-10-09T17:27:00.000-07:00

Why ex-Singaporean has the right to speak about Singapore

2009-10-09T07:14:00.000-07:00

October 8, 2009 by admin
Filed under Forum

Leave a comment

I would like to response to comments regarding my article. (read here)

1. I have no right to talk about Singapore as I have emigrated-

I am now a Canadian citizen and my allegiance is to Canada but that does not prohibit me from speaking or writing about Singapore or any other country.

That is freedom of speech as stated in our constitutions – Singapore and Canada. MM Lee and many Singaporeans have expressed their opinions about other countries, i.e that the British healthcare is inferior to Singapore’s and how superior the Singapore system is compared to other countries, etc. etc. If they can speak on other countries, why can’t I? Do they have more rights than I? Let’s be fair and debate on a level playing field.

Let us be civil and not treat anyone with opposing views as public enemies. Canada has about half a dozen former prime ministers and they treat each other with respect even though they have different opinions. None was ever put in jail nor threatened with it. That is 1st World democracy.

I was raised in Singapore and have friends and relatives there. I am concerned about Singapore because a friend of mine committed suicide because he could not pay for medical treatment after his Medicare ran out.

A group of us regularly send money to his wife as she could not get any financial assistance from the government. Why do we care about Singapore? It is because we care about our friends and relatives in Singapore and we are not ashamed of it. Yes, we care and we cannot turn our faces from it regardless whether we are called quitters or losers.

2. Myths about us being treated as foreigners and second class citizens in other countries -

In Canada, all citizens have the same rights and privileges regardless of race. There are more than 20,000 ex-Singaporeans in Canada who will stand by what I said. To illustrate my point, the previous Governor-General of Canada – a position equivalent to President Nathan of Singapore, was a Chinese lady who came to Canada as a refugee from China.

The Police Commissioner of Vancouver Police Force is a Chinese from Hong Kong, the Solicitor General is an Indian and the list can go on and on. A Singapore friend who has a special need child was paid more than C$1,000 a month to help the kid’s living expenses. He did not get any help when he was in Singapore. Is that second class treatment? I suggest those Singaporeans check their facts before they make fools of themselves.

3. In Canada, the immigration program is well calibrated and managed. Canada has a population of 33 million people and a land mass of 9,093,507 sq km which is about 15,000 times the size of Singapore. Even with such a huge land mass, it takes in only 250,000 immigrants a year from all over the world.

Singapore, on the other hand, took in more than one million PRs in the last few years mainly from China and India. Singapore’s infrastructure could not support such an huge and sudden influx of people. There will be a breakdown of social order.

In Canada new immigrants are given free lessons in English or French to assimilate into the Canadian society. Immigrants from Africa are even taught how to use modern facilities like toilet bowls, hot and cold showers, ovens, etc. I have nothing against Chinese or Indian PRs into Singapore but it must be well planned like the Canadian system.

I am not writing to ridicule or hope for the demise of Singapore. Contrary, if you read with an open mind, I pray that it will improve and continue to be in the 1st World status in every meaning of the world. However, it cannot be done when opposition members are being intimidated, jailed or fine just because someone wanted absolute and perpetual control of the government.
Cheong Wing Lee

2009-10-02T17:48:00.000-07:00

Singapore from 3rd World to 1st World to Lost World.

2009-09-29T14:29:00.000-07:00

Singapore - from 3rd world to 1st world to LOST world.

It has been 50 years since Singapore has been governed by the PAP under the leadership of Lee Kuan Yew.

Is Singapore better off now than it was 50 years ago?

The answer from most baby boomers is that it is worse. Despite all the gains in materialism and wealth in the country, the majority of the aging population is feeling no better than five decades ago. Many are stressed out by the anxieties of the absence of a dignified retirement plan, the affordability of healthcare and the uncertain future for their children.

Fifty years ago, Singapore was a British Colony under British rule. The majority of the population neither liked nor disliked the British. They had no opinion and took it as part of life. During the colonial days, most of the population then were born to accept that the white people were superior. The population then were mostly poor working class, lost without direction and living from day to day.

Fast forward fifty years to present day Singapore and we find the majority of the aging population also neither like nor dislike the PAP and can't do anything about it. Most of them were born to accept that the "Men in White" are superior. The PAP has over the years designed policies and safe guards to ensure that the party remains in power indefinitely. The indiscriminate use of the ISD, rezoning of constituencies, formation of GRCs, monopoly of the mass media and liberal use of defamation lawsuits against opponents practically destroyed all oppositions. The aging population are generally poor, lost without direction and like the population fifty years ago, living from day to day, praying that their savings will be adequate for a decent retirement.

To PAP's credit, during the past fifty years,the old guards of the PAP and MM Lee manage to bring Singapore from an impoverished third world country to the first world status. I remembered I was then living in a small rented room in a Chinatown shop-house with only one kitchen, one make shift bathroom and one pull out bucket toilet. The shop-house was shared with 4 other families with a total of 22 occupants. Within fifteen years I was able to buy a 5 room HDB apartment and own a car. For that I was grateful to the PAP, especially the old guards.

Back then in the seventies, Singapore was bustling with economic activities brought about by Dr. Goh Keng Swee, then Deputy Prime Minister, who led the Singapore industrial revolution. For the next few decades, Singapore was hailed by the world as an economic miracle . A country without natural resources and yet able to propel itself from 3rd world status to 1st world status with one of the highest per capita in Asia. The country achieved so many "Number Ones", i.e. No 1 airport, No.1 container port, No.1 airline, etc, etc. that I lost count. We were proud as citizens of Singapore. We were proud of the PAP and we were proud of MM Lee. Many of us would have died for the country and him. MM Lee would have left a great legacy for generations to remember.

Ironically the past two decades had eroded that admiration. The addiction of absolute power has made MM Lee developed a deep craze to perpetuate his control of Singapore. It was no longer our country. Singapore has become his country, his personal property. Our pledge for justice and equality for all is only but an aspiration according to him. To MM Lee, only he and the PAP can effectively govern Singapore. All others outside of PAP with opposing views are treated as Public Enemies. Under the disguise of self renewal and recruiting new blood, the entire group of old guards were retired except for himself. He brought in young bureaucrats, technocrats, and scholars who will obey and above all fear him without questions.

This dream team and MM Lee initiated a series of social engineering. MM Lee's dream is to create a perfect society based on meritocracy. There will be no room for complacency. He wants Singaporeans to be the best of the best. In the process of social engineering, Singapore becomes a nanny state where the government dictates to its citizens what, how and when to do in every minute aspect of their lives. The ideal dreams of the ordinary citizens turned to nightmares. The citizens are hard pressed to perform to the government's requirements.

The education system was revamped time and again to filter and segregate the slow learners from the ordinary and the brightest students at a young age. The brightest students are given the best education, priorities and scholarships with promise of top government jobs and top salaries upon completion of their studies. These super students are primed to be future leaders of the country. The slow learners and the ordinary students are thrown to the lower rungs of the food chain.

The numerous new education policies cause panic amongst parents who do not want their children to be labeled as slow learners or mentally challenged. There is a huge surge for private tuition whereby children are forced to endure hours of extra studies to keep up or be one step ahead of the others in their pursuit of academic excellence. The joy and happiness of growing up as children was robbed. There was no time for children to be simply children. The segregation system is based on an unscientific assumption that if students do not perform well in examinations, they will not do well in all aspects of their lives.

Maids are hired by almost every household in order for parents and children to devote more time to studies. The repercussion of the overuse of maids results in a generation of children not knowing how to do simple chores like boiling water, washing dishes, cleaning, hanging a picture frame, change a tyre, etc. Few children learn or do anything outside of textbooks. The children are simply not street smart.

Perhaps the biggest mistake was the "STOP AT TWO" or "Two is Enough" campaign where citizens were encouraged to stop at only having two children by curtailing all medical benefits and educational privileges of the third child. The successful campaign resulted in a sharp drop in birth rate and a mass exodus of emigrants who have more than two children. Even more severe repercussions surfaced two decades later resulting in the present huge influx of more than one million "Foreign Talents", mainly from China and India.

Just when the local citizens thought that they have met the worst by working as janitors, food courts cleaners and other low paying jobs, they are now challenged by foreign talents from China and India who are prepared to work for less. This challenge now spread to include regular higher paying jobs like engineers, surveyors, healthcare workers, etc. which are traditionally held by local born Singaporeans. Companies are openly advertising and recruiting the new foreign talents in preference to the locals. The reason being that companies need to stay competitive and be more profitable. New immigrants or foreign talents are not burdened by national service and reservist duty which put additional cost to the companies. Furthermore, new immigrants are willing and able to work for less pay and longer hours since most of them come to Singapore by themselves and have no family obligations like the locals.

The entire working environment is working against the local born Singaporeans. All of a sudden they have become strangers in their own land. The country they have sworn to protect has betrayed them. In desperate times like this, when help and reassuring words from the government should be forth coming, instead the local Singaporeans receive advice telling them to lower their expectations. This only add insult to injury. What the dream team and high salaried ministers fail to understand is that the people cannot go lower than low. Just try to survive on a salary of $2,000 a month or less with a family, then maybe they may understand the plight of the average Singaporeans.

For those frustrated Singaporeans who wants to emigrate to other countries to escape their present hopeless predicament, they are walking into another brick wall.

Unknown to most of them, new emigrants to countries like Australia and Canada are also foreign talents who have recently obtained their Singapore citizenship. It must be heart breaking for locals to find out that even the last escape route from their desperate predicament is being challenged by foreign talents who use Singapore as a stepping stone.

There are potential problems looming on the horizon with this huge influx of foreign talents, permanent residents and newly minted Singaporeans. The total number is between 1.6 million to 2 million people under these categories. These people have no allegiance to the country. Their allegiance is to money. If they do not get employment, they will not get the money to send back to their countries to help their families. The local born Singaporeans are largely of the "kaisu and kaisi" non-violent type who only complain but continue to vote in the same government election after election. However, the new immigrants are more vocal and hostile. These people will not be easily intimidated and bullied by the authority. The threat of jail to them is like going to a holiday camp with free food and shelter. They have endured much harsher penalties and hardships in their own countries. They are battle hardened and not afraid of dying.

If these people do go on protest riots, it will be a security nightmare. Logistically, the police does not have enough manpower to cope with such numbers. Singapore has less than 10,000 regular policemen. Each policeman has to deal with 200 violent protesters. No matter how efficient the policemen are, it is an impossible task even if the reservist NS are called in to help. On the assumption that these people are contained, there are simply not enough jails to lock them in. Changi Prison will have to be increased at least one hundred times in size. The government has only one solution and that is to keep them constantly employed to maintain peace.

So when it comes to the question of whether Singapore is better now than it was 50 years ago, should we be surprised at the answer?

Cheong Wing Lee
Email: retiredwing@gmail.com
North Vancouver, BC
Canada.

2009-09-29T14:25:00.000-07:00

(2) Swiss standard of living

2009-09-29T14:05:00.000-07:00

(5) MM Lee - I will destroy all Oppositions

2009-09-29T13:58:00.000-07:00

(5) MM Lee - I do nothing but to forecast and get paid $4 million a year.

2009-09-29T13:52:00.000-07:00

2009-09-29T13:43:00.000-07:00

Replies to Eric Brooks

2009-09-21T11:33:00.000-07:00

The following is a letter by Mr Cheong Wing Lee, a Canadian, in response to
Mr Eric Brooks's letter in the Straits Times titled, "Be grateful, Singapore".

Dear Editor,

As a fellow Canadian I am embarrassed by Mr Eric Brooks' remarks to
Singaporeans. Mr. Brooks is a visitor with a superficial knowledge of
Singapore history. He should refrain from making such ridiculous sweeping
statements.

I was born shortly after the Second World War and raised in Singapore before
immigrating to Canada. I have worked and lived in more countries than Mr
Brooks. There is no doubt that most Singaporeans deeply appreciate the
outstanding work done by the Singapore leaders in bringing the country from
third world status to the present world class status. However, gratitude
evolves with time and social changes. Singaporeans are now better educated.
They travel, see, learn, compare and adapt. Singaporeans are not stupid or
naive.

Singaporeans now have a higher level of thinking and are more demanding.
This demonstrates progress. Higher aspirations, greater expectations come
with evolving progressive social changes. A society that remains complacent
and stagnant deteriorates and eventually collapses. No country can excel
with a mindless society of puppets. The Singapore government should be
grateful that its citizens are matured and not treat anyone with opposing
views as public enemy. Most of them are as passionate as the government in
making Singapore a better society.

Singaporeans are smart enough to see through spins and propaganda and
evaluate the truths for themselves. It is difficult for most Singaporeans to
remain silent whilst government leaders lecture them to be thrifty, not to
be materialistic and not to demand for higher pay. On the other hand, the
leaders reward themselves with pay packages that exceed the leaders' of the
eight richest countries in the world combined.

The Singapore ministers' argument that their pay package is only a small
fraction of the country's GDP is weak and debatable. The Canadian prime
minister draws less than 10 per cent that of the Singapore prime minister's
but he governs a country 15,000 times the size of Singapore, with a
population that is eight times larger and with a GDP that is ten times more.
Vancouver in Canada is constantly voted the best place to live in the world.
This example put the Singapore government's argument out of context.

The government gives S$360 a month as financial support for the poor and
needy. If such an amount is computed by the government as enough to survive,
why then do they need to pay themselves by millions?

I cordially invite any member of parliament and/or news media reporter to
come and stay with me for a period of time and I will show them that it
takes only a small tiny fraction of their salaries to live happily and
healthily in a beautiful environment with a good standard of living.

Is it a surprise that Singaporeans are discontented? It is just human
nature. Confucius was quoted as telling the emperor on good government:

"How can the emperor be happy when the people have nothing? How can the
emperor not be happy when the people have everything?"

Does Mr. Brooks know that 79% of Singapore students after studying overseas
do not return to Singapore? Are they not grateful too?

So Mr. Brooks, before you further make a fool of yourself in Singapore, be
grateful to Canada and not complain because of a temporary disruption in
garbage collection in Toronto. Be thankful of the good healthcare system and
the generous old age pension. If you truly like Singapore you should be a
citizen. There are lots of Singaporeans who are willing to trade your
citizenship if it is possible.

Yours truly,

Wing Lee Cheong