BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN THE YOUNG AND THE OLD

Have you heard of the Intergenerational Learning Programme (ILP)?

These are courses organised by the Council for Third Age's (C3A) where students from primary and secondary schools, polytechnics and the Institute of Technical Education teach senior citizens various subjects like information technology, social media and photography.

It's been so successful that more such courses will be planned over the next few years. They are part of Government's plans to get people to age well in an ageing population and rising life expectancy. 

The courses help the older generation stay in touch with the young while removing whatever misconceptions that the young may have of the old. 

The courses may also evolved into the seniors becoming teachers teaching the young dialects or custom or whatever. The goal is bonding between young and old. 

The government has a $3 billion plan to help Singaporeans age confidently and lead active lives. More details will be released next year.

Second Most Competititive Country For The Fifth Consecutive Year

Singapore beats everyone but Switzerland for the fifth consecutive year. 

Its competitiveness is broad-based – it scores in the top 10 in nine out of the 12 pillars. Its particular strengths are the efficiency of its goods, labour and financial markets and the quality of its higher education and training system. It also scores strongly for its infrastructure, macroeconomic stability and the transparency and efficiency of institutions. Areas for improvement include a relatively low rate of participation of women in the workforce.

The Global Competitiveness Report 2015-2016 assesses the competitiveness of 140 world economies. Using a mixture of quantitative and survey data, it ranks countries overall by combining 113 indicators grouped under 12 pillars of competitiveness: institutions; infrastructure; macroeconomic environment; health and primary education; higher education and training; goods market efficiency; labour market efficiency; financial market development; technological readiness; market size; business sophistication; and innovation.

BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN THE YOUNG AND THE OLD

 

Have you heard of the Intergenerational Learning Programme (ILP)?

These are courses organised by the Council for Third Age's (C3A) where students from primary and secondary schools, polytechnics and the Institute of Technical Education teach senior citizens various subjects like information technology, social media and photography.

It's been so successful that more such courses will be planned over the next few years. They are part of Government's plans to get people to age well in an ageing population and rising life expectancy.

The courses help the older generation stay in touch with the young while removing whatever misconceptions that the young may have of the old.

The courses may also evolved into the seniors becoming teachers teaching the young dialects or custom or whatever. The goal is bonding between young and old.

The government has a $3 billion plan to help Singaporeans age confidently and lead active lives. More details will be released next year.

Tax Collected Is Less Than Revenue Needed For Budget Expenditure

 

As you can see from the table, the amount of taxes collected is less than what is needed for each year's budget.

The shortfall is made up for by net investment returns from our reserves.

So there is no hoarding of reserves. The NIR (net investment returns) Framework allows the government to treat up to 50% of net investment returns from reserves as revenue for government spending. The other 50% is used to hedge the reserves against inflation.

No Friendly Neighbour

 

New York - Indonesia's Vice-President Jusuf Kalla has reiterated that Indonesia need not apologise to neighbouring countries over haze from forest fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan.

Indonesia only needs to ensure forest fires that cause haze do not recur, he was quoted as saying on Indonesian news site kompas.com.

"Look at how long they have enjoyed fresh air from our green environment and forests when there were no fires. Could be months. Are they grateful? But when forest fires occur, a month at the most, haze pollutes their regions. So why should there be an apology?" he said during a dialogue session with Indonesians in New York at the Indonesian Consulate-General on Thursday.

http://bit.ly/1Vdsw0i

What Happens To The Money Collected In Fines From Public Transport Operators?

 

What happens to the money that is collected from transport operators through fines for train service disruptions?

They are put into a fund called PUBLIC TRANSPORT FUND which is used to help subsidise fares for needy families.

A PRAGMATIC SINGAPOREAN VOICE AT THE BALLOT BOX

 

 

[It is important to know that true democracy means that people get the freedom to choose their leaders based on the election candidates' competency and values.]

[On the other hand, it is not democratic to demand a strong opposition voice in Parliament, especially if the people did not vote for it.

We should also not be worried that there has been a retreat in democratic values when the majority of people voted strongly for a single party.

The election result did not reflect a devaluing of democratic values in our nation; instead, it reflected that opposition parties in Singapore have not been able to convince people of their competency and values as compared with the ruling party.

It only reflected that Singaporeans are pragmatic, and that most do not vote for diversity and plurality in Parliament for its own sake to support an "ideal democracy", but a democracy that can safeguard our nation's future.

The election just reflected that in our democratic environment, we voted for a strong ruling party that has worked very hard for us for the past 50 years.

The opposition parties need to prove their competence and show that their values work for our young, small, vulnerable nation, if they want to swing the votes in their favour.

Thus, it would be very right to say that our democratic system has given us a monolithic government, governed by an entrenched elite aristocracy.

ST 22 September 2015

A Heartfelt Thank You

Dear friends and fellow Singaporeans,

This has been an intense week and deep from our hearts, we thank you for your support for this page, for liking our posts and for sharing our posts and helping to get the truth out thus enabling us to play our part in a small way. We couldn't have done much without your support. 

It's a new day and and a new beginning and a glorious future to look forward to. Let's us always encourage one another, look out for one another and be a source of strength to each other regardless of which party you have voted for. 

Majulah Singapura! 

And good morning.

Our Real Opposition?

Our real opposition?

Not those who come around every 4 or 5 years and make grand speeches and false promises. 

Not the men in blue who hide behind a web of lies and deception and rile you up because they need your votes. Face it. You are nothing more than the votes they need to power them into parliament. 

That is why they make you angry - angry with the government - because it's the only way to get your votes. They do not engage you on an intellectual level to show you why they deserve your vote. Why not? Are you not intelligent enough to be thus engaged? 

Now you understand why after all the ferocity and passion raising issue after issue at rallies, when all is over, they are so quiet in parliament? Because those issues are not their concern! They are just tools to gain your votes. Did you think they really care? Do you even need them to tell you the issues that affect you? 

They did not promise to work for you. In fact, they specifically tell you they cannot do much unless you send as many of them as possible into parliament. IT'S YOUR FAULT if they can't do much in parliament, NOT THEIR FAULT- because you did not give them enough votes. Oh the deception. 

The men in blue is the deception. The real opposition is the global world - our neighbours and our competitors. There are many who would like to see us falter. 

Our survival hinges upon our diplomatic relations with the rest of the world, our ability to make ourselves relevant to the world because the world will not make itself relevant to us, our ability to remain extraordinary so that investors have good reason to skip all the other countries and come to us, and our capacity to stay united as one people to take on the world. 

The opposition will never focus your attention on the global world because it takes people of substance to talk about challenges and responses to global developments. 

But we must be alive to our external environment, to the happenings in our neighbouring countries, the volatile global world with conflicting interests and the threat of terrorism.
A country is like a bird that needs two wings to fly, a domestic wing and an external wing and the two are interdependent. 

Domestically we face significant challenges: a rapidly ageing population, a shrinking local workforce and a declining population. These have very significant implications on the social fabric of our society, on our economy and our security. 

Perhaps you object to the obsession with the economy. But for tiny Singapore without any natural resources, the Singapore ECONOMY IS YOUR LIFELINE, your ONE AND ONLY LIFELINE, and you have every reason to make sure your lifeline is secure. 

Sincere politicians who truly care for you would have turned your attention to these challenges because they affect you and your children. 

We need strong, competent leaders of integrity to lead us, not rabble rousers. 

For a bright and enduring future, there must be honesty and integrity. These are foundational. These are non-negotiable. 

Vote wisely.

You are YOUR OWN VOICE ON SOCIAL MEDIA. You don't need an opposition in parliament to speak for you.

Hi folks, we do not live in a little bubble world of our own. 

We have neighbours, big neighbours who have felt at various times that our economic progress has been at their expense. 

The world is watching us to see if we will stand united or falter, just like they watched us 50 years ago. 

The Jakarta Globe reported that the Indonesian Government is set to take back control of the air space above the Riau Islands from Singapore. 

President Joko Widodo has instructed his Transport Minister Ignasius Jonan to make preparation for equipment and personnel over the next three or four years so that they can take over the management of that airspace.

Yet there are opposition parties, like SDP asking for a big cut in defence spending, and for NS training to be shortened. In a conflict, sending inadequately trained men into battle is as good as sending them to the jaws of death and that is extremely irresponsible. 

We need ministers who can be global leaders skilled in adroit diplomacy who will speak for us on the global stage. 

We don't need an alternative voice in parliament because social media has given us that space to be our own voice. But we do need a strong voice on the global stage. 

Let your good sense and rational self prevail and vote wisely.

Communication with the government is established online through social media like facebook.
YOU are YOUR OWN VOICE ON SOCIAL MEDIA. You are intelligent enough to speak for yourself. 

What you need in parliament are doers and not talkers.

Ask yourself who you can entrust your future because you are voting for doers and not talkers.

Some say: 'Vote PAP you will regret for the next 5 years'

#overheard

Some say: 'Vote PAP you will regret for the next 5 years' ,
I say: 'Sure, we have regretted for the last 50 years, what is another 5 years?'

Some say: 'Vote oppositions for a third voice!' ,
I say: 'Sure! but since they get paid so much being an MP, why only ask them to make noise? Don't you want them to do more works?'

Some say: 'PAP always instill fear in Singaporeans'
I say: "Opposition parties always instill hatred in Singaporeans. With fear, you think twice, thrice before you act. With hatred, you are hot headed and you act furiously, fiercely and create havoc, which one more scary?'

Some say: 'Vote opposition for a change'
I say: 'if it ain't broken, don't fix it'

Some say: 'Vote opposition, give them a chance, you never try, you never know'
I say: 'Some things are like drugs, you know it's bad, you don't have to try it'

Some say: 'PAP spent more time fixing oppositions than doing real works building the country'
I say: 'If oppositions don't oppose for the sake of opposing, are clean and honest, sound and logical, stay on their toes, do their part and do a good job, nobody needs to fix them'

Some say: 'PAP is dirty, they control everything and make things difficult for the oppositions'
I say: 'Politics is dirty, people who want to enter into it must know the rules of the game, be prepared for it or leave the game. No one will make things easy for their opponents in a competition or a war.'

Some say:'You are hardcore PAP supporter, IB, dogs'
I say: 'Call me pigs or dogs as you wished but you still can't make me one. I support the one that is sound, logical, sincere, trustworthy, safe, secure and proven. By the way, does IB stands for intelligent boy?'

Its everyone's dream to have a higher pay, a fully subsidised medical care and affordable prices for goods and services

Its everyone's dream to have a higher pay, a fully subsidised medical care and affordable prices for goods and services. 

When I look at China, Korea and Japan, I see them as a giant manufacturing plant, when I look at Saudi Arabia and Aust, I see them as a storage plant with almost inexhaustible commodities, when I look at America, I see them as a capital magnet that everyone doing business would love to have their company listed there. 

However, when I look at Singapore, we only have a small port that is consistently under the threats from Msia and Thailand, our so called tourism only revolves around zoo, orchard road and sentosa, our manufacturing industry is already at the sunset stage and it is our financial services industry that plays a major role in attracting FDI which contributes significantly to our GDP. 

This brings us to a question, why would people want to invest in our country in the first place?
There are a number of reasons but the most important reason is because we have a triple A credit rating which assured investors that it is safe to invest here. 

What does AAA means for investors? It means that the risk of defaulting is extremely low due to factors such as economic growth, low government debts, ample reserve, political stability and debt to maturity etc. 

What does it mean for us as a nation? It means that our cost of borrowing can remain low as our nation doesnt need to pay a sky high interest rate for our sovereign debt and our currency can also stay strong because there is a strong demand for our bonds as foreign investors are buying into SGD indirectly. 

What is a good measurement for economic growth then? It will have to be our GDP with the twin PMI (Manufacturing and services) as its vanguards, and with the profit margin of listed manufacturing companies in Singapore shrinking due to weak global demands and rising cost(shortage of low cost labours), we are now almost running on a single engine to maintain growth.

Should our triple A rating dropped one day due to political instability or the depletion of reserve due to our government spending more than what it can receive either from the returns of our sovereign funds and taxation (we are not going to having surplus every year), the rates for government borrowing will rise and the nation will erode the reserve faster as we keep on borrowing to ensure the funding for all the programs that will make Singaporeans happy.

This will undoubtedly accelerate our decline as investors will no longer feel confident thus resulting in the reduction of their investments and with the wealthy gone, the drop in corporate tax and the inability to raise tax from the middle class, our credit rating will drop further and the downward spiral will see the end of a nation. 

By Charles Chen Junhao