Inside Investment

Dear Inside Investing Daily reader,

The man who predicted the Fall of Communism is now predicting the Fall of Capitalism...

He's dined with the Rockefellers...He's hung out with the Clinton's...banged heads with the Beltway...and meddled with the media monopolies...He was the biggest name of the '80s and '90s investment newsletter world.

And in his first controversial video production in 17 years, he reveals news of a landmark development, which he believes will set off the most violent economic reversal in history... one that carries the power to bring down not just the American financial world, but the entire capitalist system...

Watch this controversial video, send it to everyone you know, before the Powers that Be wipe it from the Internet...Warn them of the shocking event to come, and move quickly now to protect your assets and your loved ones...

Sincerely,


Brian O'Connor
Associate Publisher
Strategic Investment

watch video

Watz Buzzing - 5 Apr 2012

Be A Man, Do The Right Thing

With the latest racial hullaballoo on smell and the subsequent apology [Link], I thought it'd be good to share the above video for all to see. According to this gentleman, it is the food that's is consumed, not the hygiene factor that caused the smell.

Regardless of race, nationality, gender, political party, culture or religion, there are the good, the bad and the ugly. Though there may be more of one kind (good, bad or ugly) in any group, there will always be a mixture in each. I'm a Singaporean of Chinese descent and I find Peter to be great a entertainer who lightens me up and makes me happy.



This just reminded me of Teo Chee Hean [Link] asking civil servants especially those expensive elites to do the right thing!

Mdm Vellama Marie Muthu of Hougang and her lawyer M Ravi has asked the court to declare if the Prime Minister has the option to decide on the by-election and when it is held [Link]. The judgement is reserved and I bet very soon our local favourite Kumar will crack a joke on it.

Meanwhile, instead of pussyfooting, PM Lee should 'do the right thing' and declare the date for the by-election in Hougang soonest possible. I just hope that the experts in the AG Chambers who are challenging Mdm Vellama will not come up with a letter like this to make more Singaporeans "buay song". The law? The logic? The self-preservation of one's position at the expense of one's honour and integrity? The right thing to do?

The Ministers' obscene salaries were raised to the millions after 2006 GE at their whims and fancy without any COI. Why the silly COI and wastage of $860,000 to pay Mercer to do Gerard Ee's job of recommending the right salaries is beyond me. If decision makers could bring the salaries up, why couldn't the same decision makers bring the salaries down. Why put on an expensive show?

I just hope the PM will 'do the right thing' this time by not outsourcing or abdicating his duty to the AG Chambers on the decision to have the by-election. Let's not waste peoples' time and money. Let's not neglect the residents of Hougang.

Yeah, be a man, "do the right thing and do the thing right" by having the By-Election soon!

feedmetothefish

Bad Habits

Established in 1854, Chijmes was once the original site of the Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus. Chijmes became a lifestyle destination after a $100-million makeover was completed in 1996. Archbishop Nicholas Chia of the Catholic Church in Singapore took offence with the planned "sacrilegious night of partying” scheduled there for Saturday 7 April, eve of Easter Sunday. Naturally police reports were filed, and letters went out to various ministries with the alphabet soup acronyms like MHA, MCYS and MICA.

Director of organiser Creative Insurgence, Aaghir Yadav, pleaded in vain, “The overlap with Easter weekend was not intended to be offensive. We have since been in touch with the Archbishop’s office to explain our position and have apologised for offending anyone unintentionally,” he said. According to his AngMoh mindset, there was also nothing offensive with the "nun-inspired Cosplay costumes". Nice try, but no cigar.

Landlord Perenial Retail Management, through counsel, asked the sacrilegious parties involved to cease and desist, threatening legal action to ensure enforcement if necessary. He may not fear God, but lawyers are more scary in Singapore. Yadav capitulated:

Singapore Notes

Escape from the Escape Chapel Party!

The Escape Chapel Party, described as a “sacrilegious night of partying” scheduled to be held tonight right inside the chapel at Chijmes has been cancelled.

NOTE: This post is not meant to insult or denigrate any racial group or religion and if you are easily offended, please do not scroll down. There are pictures which you may find disturbing.

An image allegedly shared by Aaghir Yadav, with the intent of promoting the event.

Among those who had called for the party to be cancelled was Archbishop Nicholas Chia, who heads the Catholic Church in Singapore.

Yet posters like this were used:

Not a good habit to get into.

Of course, there are many who think that Catholics and Christians are making a mountain out of a molehill. After all, the last religious service was held in the old chapel in November 1983.

Lohcifer

What the rich do with their wealth?

We are the third richest country in the world according to Forbes on a per capita income basis. This means real money on the head of every Singaporean. And it could be more if we have not imported and bloated up our population with foreigners. But never mind, we are still very rich and should make full use of our money to create a utopian Singapore. How and what is a Utopian Singapore?

My idea of a Utopian Singapore is one that Singaporeans do not need to work any more, or at least no need to work till they die. The third richest country in the world working its citizens to death! Can you believe it? Singaporeans only need to enjoy life, go to school to study anything they want. Go to learn arts and sports and study the sciences for fun. Why not, with the kind of money we have?

We have plenty of money and we can use the money to hire really talented people to create and make more money for us. We can pay for the lower skill people to do manual jobs and the higher skill people to make money. We pay them to do everything for us, but most important thing is to make us richer. Why aren’t we doing this? Aren’t we spending millions and millions to the most talented to make money for us? Or are we spending millions and millions on the most talented to make us work for them? If this is the case, then something is very wrong somewhere. The formula is wrong. The outcome is wrong. There is no need for Singaporeans, the third richest people in the world, to work and to work to death........

redbean

That S$10,000

In 2005, I landed my first job in Singapore. That was the year Jen went to Perth for her studies. I was dejected but I channeled my negative energy into work. It was tough working as an IT helpdesk. We hardly left our seats, even for toilet breaks. Our eyes were constantly glued to the monitor and our minds were always pre-occupied. Handling complains thrown our way every single minute was the name of the game. A few months into it, my perfect eyesight deteriorate to a state I couldn't even read the number of an oncoming bus. Along with the splitting headaches after work, it wasn't funny.

That year, my friends hardly saw me. I had virtually zero social life. One reason was fatigue. The nature of the job gave me a phobia of hearing a phone ring. I hardly pick up calls outside work, unless it was from Jen, calling from Perth. The second reason was that I had no money to socialise.

When I started work, I set myself a very tough goal. To gather S$10,000 worth of cash by the end of 12 months of my first job. To do that, I derived a simple plan. I needed to put aside S$834 on my pay day. I set up an additional account to do that. Every month $834 will be transferred to the account without fail. By 12 months, I would have accumulated S$10,000.

No sweat - for many no doubt but considering that my gross pay was S1,800, it was some feat. Let's just see how much I took home after the CPF deduction.

1800 x 0.8 = 1440

My expenses............................?

asingaporeanson

Marriage by Cue Cards

My cue card says you'll need to let me feel your G-spot next! Voilà!

Acting Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports, Chan Chun Sing announced at Marriage Convention 2012 recently that Marriage Central – a National Family Council initiative – has launched a course kit that includes cue cards to “get couples to open up and better understand each other.”

Isn’t this pathetic? Has the state of marriage in Singapore come down to this? Does the kee chiu major general who is in our face all the time nowadays  – perhaps as part of the media campaign to make him more likeable since it is widely believed that this “blue-eyed boy” is likely to be a future prime minister, and since he had such a unimpressive start as a fuddite when first introduced to the public for the first time in the last elections (remember his comical “in the last 20 years, there were many occasions when we had to stand our ground and stare down the competition” comments?) – really believe that cue cards produced by American “relationship specialists” who have values that are decidedly different from those of ours would work? (By the way one of their books is entitled Single Men are Like Waffles, Single Women are Like Spaghetti.)

Is this how we run things? By cue cards?...........

Lohcifer

PHOTO: The alleged PRC driver who ran over 66 year old Singaporean aunty at Sengkang

A shocking accident happened yesterday morning in Sengkang where a SBS Transit bus simply ran over a 66 year old woman crossing the road when making a right turn, dragging her under the bus for half a minute and killing her on the spot.

He was obviously ‘dreaming’ as the brake lights were not even on after he hit the woman.

According to the Straits Times, the SBS driver then spoke in a thick Chinese (PRC) accent to the passengers to disembark from the bus as if nothing has happened:

He appeared to be calm and composed when he was led away by the traffic police. It is not known if he has been arrested for dangerous driving.

SBS Transit has so far refused to divulge the name and nationality of the driver. It has been actively recruiting drivers from China in the last few years due to ‘shortage’ of local workers.......

NYP Racist Remark

“ No society or group should be judged by how some of its members behave. That is unfair.”

Hri Kumar Facebook, 29 March 2012:

https://www.facebook.com/notes/hri-kumar/nyp-racist-remark/346447995401804

My initial reaction to the report Ms Shimun Lai’s offensive post was of anger, disgust and exasperation.

She has rightly apologised and withdrawn the remark. This will be a tough learning experience for her, and I hope she emerges the better for it.

But the heat she and others like undergraduate Sun Xu have generated with their thoughtless remarks will not dissipate so easily.

Racism will not go away, however many apologies are uttered. It has been part of society since, well, society began.

Singaporeans says

Singapore bank takeover bid draws flak in Indonesia

LAWMAKERS from two of Indonesia's most powerful political parties voiced opposition on Tuesday, April 3, to a bid by Singapore's DBS Group to take over local lender Bank Danamon, and said they wanted to bar heavy foreign ownership of local banks.

But they signaled they may not be able to stop the US$7.2 billion deal that would be the largest ever foreign takeover in So utheast Asia's biggest economy, at least for now.

Local investors and bankers in Jakarta also told Reuters they would lobby against the bid by DBS, even though there seemed to be no regulatory obstacles. Several complained
Indonesian banks were not given a level playing field overseas.

"We will regulate banks in a reciprocal manner, with a limitation on foreign ownership," said Harry Azhar Azis of the Golkar party and the vice-chairman of the parliament's financial committee.....

Singapore Window

How Filipino talents have taken us for a ride in Singapore!

I’m a PR holder who is considering to convert to be a Singapore Citizen. However, I saw some information in certain websites which really discourages me. Some of them are on display here:

http://forum.singaporeexpats.com/ftopic86153.html

There is another person posted on pinoy’s forum:

http://www.pinoysg.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=49917

And this is a classic example of how some PRs are using Singapore as stepping stone to greener pastures elsewhere:

http://www.pinoysg.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=38021&highlight=work+singapore

And my friend (a Filipino) shared with me how a nurse in KKH also uses the same tactic – stay as PR in SG for 10 years, few years ago they revoked their PR status, took out their CPF to support them to go to Canada and recently they are back in SG to work as a EP pass holder! The reason they are back to Singapore is because her husband is unable to find an engineer job in Canada – she is the only one working there as a nurse.

It’s also common knowledge that most hospitals in SG employ Filipinos – last time I heard they comprise almost 75% of the overall nursing manpower here. Recently, if you notice, there are now more PRCs working in the restructured hospitals and private hospitals and they can’t even speak and write proper English! How terrifying it is for the patient or the parent of the patient.

I am going to convert to be a Singapore citizen soon and support my son when he goes to NS (I always believe military training is good for boys, so they will not grow up as a “softie”) and will contribute to the society in Singapore. I just hope that the government is able to differentiate between who truly has a heart for the country and who does not.

I really look forward to share with you my thoughts as a Singaporean soon – only need to show a pink IC. Don’t give up, encourage the young to fight for our country..............

TR EMERITUS

PR withdrawal

Step 1) clear all your TAXES first with IRAS (usually its your employer who will file online on behalf); just inform your HR ahead of time…based on my experience, my HR manager filed it within 2 days only…

Step 2) go to ICA, write a letter stating your intention/reasons for cancelling your PR status. (I just wrote mine manually in front of the officer at ICA ); then wait for the Letter of Renunciation of PR status issued by an ICA officer; usually takes about 10 minutes in total waiting time. they will stamp your passport with 1 month validity to stay here in SG; but may also extend for another month if needed, as advised:

At ICA: bring all relevant documents such as passport, PR card and yellow journey card.

Step 3) go to CPF website, do the online cancellation of your PR status. (its faster, only 10 working days) and manual application is 15 days.

Step 4) go CPF building at Tanjong Pagar, 2nd floor…inform the staff that you will submit the needed documents to support your online application. They will notarize all your documents there..so no need to do any notarization from any lawyer..(its a lot of money saved!). Again: THEY WILL DO ALL THE NOTARIZATION (they will even photocopy for you too!).

At CPF office they will ask for all originals….only 2 documents will be asked: 1) ICA letter, 2) passport (current and old).—yes…only these documents alone if processed online! no more! no less!…coz I bring all my stuff; from birth cert, marriage cert,and all….the CPF officer was laughing at me why I bring so many unnecessary documents.

Step 5) just within 10 days..and tananah-nah…! money will be transfered into your account with all the interests!..its money time! big money! so handle well…hehehe…and just enjoy your next journey wherever u may be

dream on!

Singapore Responds to “Unhealthiest” Country Tag"

Singapore: The World’s “Unhealthiest” Country?

Singapore’s lawmakers have always worried their city-state’s growth is unsustainable given its lack of water, energy and other natural resources. But a new study says matters may be worse than they know, with the country’s current “ecological deficit” leaving it last out of 150 countries ranked for their overall economic and ecological health.

The Eco2 Index, crafted by researchers at the University of British Columbia, looks at both the economic and ecological security of a country and how fast countries are using up resources at their disposal – an initiative they say was promoted by the threat of climate change, a growing world population and mounting financial problems.

“We hear that countries are suffering financially every day in the news, but that only tells half the story,” said Rashid Sumaila, director of the university’s Fisheries Centre, in a statement. “Piling up ecological deficits is just as concerning as piling up financial deficits.”

Singapore was joined by other high-income countries at the bottom of the list, with many sharing similar land and resource scarcity problems. The five “unhealthiest” countries according to the index besides Singapore were Jordan, South Korea, Israel and Kuwait. The researchers hope that this list will be able to better prepare these countries in planning their consumption and future resource needs.

Coming out top on the list were Bolivia, Angola, Namibia, Paraguay and Argentina, even though they may have relatively weaker economies. Researchers say are better prepared to offer future generations the financial, food, water and energy security they require.

The Southeast Asian country coming out on top in the index was Myanmar, ranked 32 out of the 150 countries. Resource-rich Indonesia was ranked at 42, despite having significant pollution problems, with Malaysia and Thailand at No. 80 and 96 respectively.

Researchers from the University of British Columbia partnered with a non-governmental organization focused on ecological sustainability, known as the Global Footprint Network, in compiling the list, using figures and data from the World Bank..............

Singapore Responds to “Unhealthiest” Country Tag

When researchers deemed Singapore – with its manicured gardens, clean tap water and chewing gum-free streets – the world’s “unhealthiest” country with the biggest “ecological deficit,” some residents of the city-state were a little puzzled.

Known as the Eco2 Index, the measure crafted by researchers at the University of British Columbia looked at both the economic and ecological security of countries around the world, ranking them lower if they have limited natural resources at their disposal to meet their resource needs. Researchers said countries that ranked lowest (Singapore was last out of 150 countries) were unprepared when it comes to planning for their consumption and future needs, using up resources faster than they will be able to replace them.

Singapore’s government, known to be meticulous planners, have responded to the index’s results, which they say are “biased against import-dependent, land-scarce, densely populated countries such as Singapore,” which by their nature and geographic location must rely heavily on imported resources like food and gas.

“As a city-state, it would have been more relevant if Singapore was benchmarked against other cities, which typically are also import-dependent for energy, food and water, rather than countries,” said a spokesperson from the country’s Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources........................

ranking of economic and ecological health

Watz Online - 4 Apr 2012

Jurong West murder: Her eyes were gouged out

                     

She told her neighbour she was getting married and promised to invite her to her wedding. Two days later, Miss Elsie Lie was found dead in her flat.

Her body was covered in slash marks, and certain parts were allegedly gouged out and flung out of the window from a flat she was renting at Block 633, Jurong West Street 65.

Among some of the grisly evidence found when police combed the area on Saturday morning were Miss Lie's eyes. Paramedics pronounced her dead at 7.30am.

Her boyfriend, divorcee Gabriel Lee Haw Ling, 38, has been charged with Miss Lie's murder.

Before her death, Miss Lie had told her ground-floor neighbour, Mrs Carol Ng, 39, on Friday that she was engaged.

Mrs Ng told The New Paper: "She was clutching a teddy bear when the two of them came to my house on Thursday.

"She told me that had just come back from Genting and she showed off her engagement ring."

The couple had not been seen the past two months. But on Friday night, Miss Lie suddenly returned home.

According to the evening daily, the couple had been fighting from 6.30pm. They stopped when the police arrived around 1am, but resumed half an hour later.

During that time, tenants of the unit which is shared with other occupants - a Bangladeshi couple and another Bangladeshi man - heard moans and groans coming from the room.

It is unclear as to what happened from then till around 6am when the Bangladeshi tenant returned home to find blood trails near the bedroom. He alerted his other tenants, the Bangladeshi couple, who then called the police.

Police found a knife and several household items but did not appear to be the murder weapons, reported Shin Min Daily News......

Ex-SMRT chief finds new job

     

Outgoing chief executive of train operator SMRT, Ms Saw Phaik Hwa, has found a new job in a listed company which is not in the transporation field.

According to The Straits Times, the 57-year-old did not reveal the identity of the company and added that it was not appropriate for her to do so, given that the company is publicly listed and should make the announcement of her appointment.

After nine years at the helm, Ms Saw resigned from SMRT on Jan 6, shortly after two massive rail breakdowns along the North-South line last December.

The incidents triggered a government-appointed committee of inquiry that will begin on April 16.

Ms Saw's resignation came as a surprise as she had said before that she was staying put despite calls for her to step down.

According to the newspaper, a search for her replacement is ongoing and it understands that possible candidates include an SMRT board member and a senior manager at a property group.

There is also talk that a retiring senior army officer is in the running.
The newspaper also reported that her ability to find a new job is similar to the comebacks she had made nearly 10 years ago.

In December 2002, Ms Saw was named chief executive of SMRT just months after being retrenched from duty-free retail chain DFS Venture Singapore, where she had been at for 19 years

Man, 50 arrested for smashing side mirrors of police car

Police today arrested a 50-year-old man for damaging a police car near Jalan Besar.

Officers from the central police division parked their patrol car along Pitt Street at about 8.35pm and left it to patrol the Jalan Besar area.

When they returned about 45 minutes later, they found both side mirrors smashed.

After receiving a tip-off, police arrested the Chinese man along Dunlop Street for allegedly damaging the police car.

Teenager gets 18 months' probation for having sex with minor

A teenager has been put on 18 months' probation for having sex with his then 12-year-old girlfriend.

The 18-year-old had pleaded guilty to four charges in February this year.

Besides having sex with the minor on two occasions in 2009 and 2010, the teenager was also convicted of hurting her using criminal force.

For these, the court also ordered the teenager to perform 100 hours of community service.

He will also be subjected to a curfew, and must stay home between 10pm and 6am.

His mother and elder sister were also ordered to put up a S$5,000 bond in case he fails to comply with the court orders.

For having sex with a minor, he could have been jailed up to 10 years, fined, or both.

On the charge of causing hurt, the accused could have been sentenced to two years' jail, fined a maximum of S$5,000, or both.

For using criminal force on the same girl, he could have been jailed up to three months, fined up to S$1,500, or both

DBS in biggest S-E Asia bank takeover

S$9.1b offer made for Bank Danamon Indonesia

In the biggest banking takeover by a South-east Asian lender, DBS Group Holdings is offering to buy Bank Danamon Indonesia for about S$9.1 billion, including paying Temasek Holdings S$6.2 billion for its 67.4-per-cent stake, as industry experts disagree over the merits of the deal.

The acquisition will make DBS the fifth- largest bank in Indonesia - where bank penetration is low and annual loan growth is running at 20 per cent.

Bank Danamon, Indonesia's sixth-biggest bank by assets, will be merged with DBS Indonesia following the deal.

DBS chief executive Piyush Gupta said: "Indonesia is an exciting Asian market and we believe that we will be able to contribute towards the growth of the Indonesian banking sector, especially in areas such as infrastructure financing, project financing, trade finance and syariah banking.

"With Danamon, we will be able to significantly diversify our revenue mix and further consolidate our position as the Asian Bank of Choice."

According to its website, Bank Danamon and its subsidiaries operate about 2,900 branches and have close to 62,000 employees in Indonesia. Net income last year rose 16 per cent to 3.3 trillion rupiah (S$452 million).

Mr Gupta said he expected the deal to close in the second half of the year, subject to regulatory approval.

DBS, the biggest bank in South-east Asia by assets, will pay for the acquisition of Temasek's stake by issuing 439 million new shares at S$14.07 apiece to Fullerton Financial Holdings, a wholly-owned unit of the Singapore investment giant.

DBS will make a mandatory cash offer worth about S$2.9 billion for the remaining Bank Danamon shares, offering 7,000 rupiah for each share - a hefty 56.3-per-cent premium to its one-month weighted average of 4,480 rupiah. It will finance this part of the transaction with internal cash and future debt issuance.

Temasek is on both sides of the trade, as it already holds a 29.7-per-cent stake in DBS.

The new shares issued by DBS will increase its interest to 40.4 per cent but Temasek has obtained a waiver from having to make a takeover bid for the bank.

Looking to reassure investors over the impact on its balance sheet from the new shares, DBS, which reported a record profit of more than S$3 billion last year, said a dividend cut was very unlikely.

Chief financial officer Chng Sok Hui said: "Assuming the same payout rate of 56 cents a share, the additional payout is about S$200-over-million. That is something within DBS' ability to meet in terms of dividend payment."

But dividends were one of Moody's key considerations when the rating agency yesterday placed all of DBS Bank's ratings on review for downgrade.

Moody's said: "DBS Group as a holding company - has limited earnings capacity whereas it will have higher leverage ratios after this transaction.

"Therefore, DBS (Bank) - as the group's principal earnings contributor - is expected to play a substantial role in supporting the increased debt burden of its parent.

"This will likely require DBS (Bank) to upstream higher dividends to provide the bulk of the funds that DBS Group will need to service debt as well as to pay dividends on its enlarged share capital base."

JP Morgan said in its note to investors: "DBS is a deposit franchise bank with corporate lending history. Danamon is a lower CASA (current account savings account), higher LDR (loan-to-deposit ratio), with larger vehicle, micro-financing and SME portfolios. Integrating these two would pose operational challenges, which cannot be put on a spreadsheet. DBS management has been executing the turnaround well but there is no track-record of integrating acquisitions."

It added: "Given the history of value erosion in Dao Heng, investors would likely be wary of another transaction," referring to DBS' US$5.8 billion (S$7.28 billion) takeover of the Hong Kong bank in 2001.

UBS analysts, however, were more upbeat, saying the acquisition would be transformational for the Singapore bank in Indonesia, adding that the deal "could be earnings-accretive relatively quickly".

The deal could, however, potentially face a hurdle if a plan mooted by Indonesia's central bank to cap foreign ownership of banks at 50 per cent becomes law.

DBS added yesterday it had received approval from Malaysia's central bank to commence talks to acquire a 14-per-cent stake in Alliance Financial Group in Malaysia.

Trading of DBS shares, which closed at S$14.18 apiece on Friday, was halted yesterday for the Danamon announcement.

Private home prices fall

A combination of a weak global economy, the Government's cooling measures hitting home and peak prices that are putting off investors have led private home prices to fall for the first time in almost three years.

According to flash estimates by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), prices fell 0.1 per cent between January and March, after a 0.2-per-cent increase in the previous quarter. The dip comes as Housing and Development Board resale prices increased at the slowest rate since 2006 - further evidence of a subdued market.

But for the majority of private property hunters here - many of whom had been eagerly waiting for a price correction - they could be disappointed if they now expect prices to fall across the board.

Analysts expect prices for mass market homes in the Outside Central Region, or the suburbs, to continue to head north, even as prices of private properties in the Core Central Region and the city fringes - which are favoured by investors - could fall by as much as 5 per cent this year.

Prices of HDB resale flats rise, but ....

Prices of Housing and Development Board (HDB) resale flats inched up by 0.6 per cent in the first three months of the year, compared to the fourth quarter of last year, flash estimates showed yesterday.

The increase is less than half the 1.7-per-cent rise in the previous quarter, and is the slowest rate of increase since 2006.

Analysts attributed the stabilising prices to government measures, including the ramped-up supply of new Build-to-Order (BTO) flats, increased income ceiling for these flats and the authorities' commitment to speed up the process for first-time applicants.

Data from real estate agencies also showed that the median cash-over-valuation (COV) for HDB resale flats is falling.

According to PropNex, the overall median COV for all flat types has fallen to about S$25,000 since January - a dip of S$7,000 compared to the fourth quarter of last year.

Similarly, ERA data showed that median COV for all flat types in the first three months of the year has fallen by between 16.7 per cent and 18.2 per cent, compared to the fourth quarter of last year. ERA said it expects overall median COV to continue to fall and stabilise at S$15,000 by year's end.

ERA key executive officer Eugene Lim said: "The recent change of rules to (allocate) 15 per cent of the BTO flats in non-mature estates for second-timers has also drawn away some buyers."

SLP International head of research and consultancy Nicholas Mak said that, unless the economy enters a recession, he did not expect HDB resale prices to drop significantly given the strong demand from permanent residents and singles who are restricted from buying new flats.

Mr Mak noted that the moderating prices may not be good news for those hoping to upgrade to private property - at a time when the rise in prices of mass market private homes is outpacing those of HDB resale flats. Mr Mak said: "The dreams of upgrading to a condominium for many HDB upgraders may be gradually going out of reach."

Open court hearing for Hougang by-election case

The High Court will hear an application by a Hougang resident for a by-election to be held in the single-member constituency within three months or within a "reasonable" time.

It set the open court hearing for April 16.

The application was made by 42-year-old part-time cleaner, Madam Vellama Marie Muthu. She had filed an application on March 2 for the Prime Minister to be held accountable for calling a by-election in Hougang, following the sacking of former Member of Parliament Yaw Shin Leong from the Workers' Party.

New initiatives to help problem gamblers and their families

Two initiatives have been rolled out to help problem gamblers who are not ready or unwilling to seek treatment, and their families.

One is an online interactive self-help workbook for problem gambling, the first of its kind in Singapore.

The second is a psycho-education group open to the public, called "Families in Recovery through Education & Empowerment" (FREE).

Created by the National Addictions Management Service (NAMS), the interactive workbook (available at http://www.nams.sg/workbook) is targeted at problem gamblers who are experiencing minor to mild problems and those reluctant to seek formal treatment despite severe problems. It serves as an accessible way for them to start "self-guided intervention" before they consider seeking professional help.

Meanwhile, FREE, which began as a pilot in May 2010, has been expanded to reach more families of problem gamblers. FREE takes the form of group sessions where families can better understand gambling addiction, how to help their loved ones who are not in treatment, how to take care of themselves, and how to seek further professional help.

FREE is conducted twice a month in English and Mandarin. 195 people have taken part in the pilot sessions held from May 2010 to January this year. Those interested can call 1800-6668-668 for more information.

NAMS said that between April 2010 to March last year, it treated 398 patients for gambling addiction. Of these, 259 were new patients - which makes up 21 per cent of all new addiction cases seen at NAMS. From FY07 to FY10, gambling addiction remained the third most common condition seen at NAMS, after drug addiction (most common) and alcohol addiction.

NAMS said the rise in patients seeking help for gambling addiction over the years is likely to be due to the "increased awareness of problem gambling and treatment services available", thanks to the efforts of the National Council on Problem Gambling and NAMS.

13 nabbed for illegal gambling activities

The police have arrested 13 men for operating and gambling at an illegal gambling den.

In a four-hour operation which started at 12.30am on Saturday, the police raided a private apartment in Siglap and nabbed the suspects, aged 18 to 35.

They also seized gambling chips and poker cards used for the game known as "Texas Poker", as well as S$2,000 in cash.

Preliminary investigations showed that one of the men had rented the unit and converted it into an illegal gambling den.

Anyone convicted of illegal gambling could be sentenced to six months' jail, fined S$5,000 or both.

The police warned owners of residential and business units to ensure that their premises are not used for illegal activities.

It takes a serious view on illegal gambling activities and will continue to conduct strict enforcement against such activities.

Watz Buzzing - 3 Apr 2012

The legal plight of 60 immoral men....

"The men include a senior banker, a company director, a senior vice-president of a private company, lawyers, a senior police officer, a primary school principal who is married with a child as well as a scholarship recipient." - The New Paper Report[Link]

According to The New Paper, 60 men may be charge in court soon for engaging the services of an underage girl. The sleazy details which I won't be covering in my posting can be found the Saturday and Sunday edition of The New Paper. These men engaged the services of a girl who was advertised as above legal age but turned out to be underage.

According to reports, these men had no intention, no idea and no clue that they had broken the law until the police called them up. In Singapore, engaging such services is not illegal but it is illegal to solicit (advertised) and live off the immoral earnings (pimp).

However, the law was revised in 2008 to make the procuring services of those under 18 illegal (Section 376B). The funny thing is underage sex that involve no money is set at 16 yrs of age( 14 yrs under Section 376A and 16 yrs old under Women's Charter ).

Lucky Tan

A Matter Of Expectations

The Bukit Brown saga proved a new paradigm for "consultative governance" is in place. The man at the centre of the cemetery engagement effort, Tan Chuan-Jin, says he has no regrets about reaching out to interest groups on various policies. He attributed the disappointment of the soured interested parties to a "mismatch in expectations". "Everyone came in with their own expectations," he wrote, implying that everyone should have realised that the government's expectation comes first. Always have, always will be.

Following the Woodlands group who objected to the building of an elder-care centre at the void deck of their HDB blocks, residents at Toh Yi estate voiced their grouses on 8 February against similar intentions for a plot of land at the junction of Toh Yi Road and Toh Yi Drive.

On 5 March, HDB officials distributed a circular to all the 1,600 residents in the area confirming it will stick to its original plan to build a block of 130 studio apartments, despite howls of protest and a signed petition. It rejected alternative sites suggested by 230 residents in the estate,including one just 20m away near Block 17 instead. MP for Holland-Bukit Timah GRC Sim Ann described HDB's decision as "a reasonable outcome that addresses the overall interests of residents in our estate".

On 1 April, the signboard is already is in place. Notice the dateline for application is 3 April - gives you the feeling that the plan was in place all along. The writing is literally on the wall. Sim Ann's "reasonable outcome" is not too dissimilar from BG Tan's. When Irving C. Johnson, who started the save Bukit Brown petition, called on the government to conserve what little is left of local history, the reply was a simplistic “Bukit Brown is needed in the future for housing." Quite likely the alternate sites for the Toh Yi project are also "needed for housing", as in more money to be made from private development instead of public housing requirements.

Singapore Notes

No need to call the police every time

The recent cases of offensive online comments will not be the last. But society's response cannot be to demand arrest and prosecution or keep seeking new curbs on the Internet

In the search for solutions for overcrowded MRT trains, a prize for out-of-the-box thinking must go to the 19-year-old Singaporean who proposed separate cars for Indians.

Her expletive-laden tweet last week was a reminder that Singapore's race relations are not always as harmonious as those sentimental National Day videos.

Many Singaporeans have expressed outrage at such racist thinking. Others are more alarmed that a tertiary student could be stupid enough to show it.

On one prominent political website, comments have been divided. Some readers have defended the girl, with one even calling for scientific research to uncover why Indians smell (seriously).

If Only Singaporeans Stopped to Think

My eye brows rose thrice

It was a strange choice of a word, and it jumped out at me. People’s Action Party member of parliament Vikram Nair (right) said he found it “hurtful” that Chen Show Mao (Workers’ Party) had implied that the PAP government had not done enough for vulnerable groups.

In my mind’s eye, I instantly saw a picture of a grown man running to a corner to cry. His feelings had been hurt.

What never-never-land does the ruling party live in? Do PAP members of parliament seriously expect opposition members to concede that the government had done ENOUGH for whatever section of the population they happen to be discussing at that moment? Is that the opposition’s role in politics?

yawning bread

Children getting maimed by escalators

From ’4-year-old’s hand torn after being pushed down MRT escalator’, 31 March 2012, article in asiaone.com

A four-year-old boy was pushed down the escalator at Ang Mo Kio MRT station, causing his left hand to get caught in the escalator and badly injuring it. The news first broke when Ms Visa Lee, who put up a Facebook post showing a photograph of the boy’s hand torn and bloody, called for help sharing the picture to locate witnesses for the accident.

According to reports, Lucas Xie was with his brother and maid going down the escalator when he was shoved from behind. He lost his footing and landed on his left hand, which subsequently got caught when the steps of the escalator went beneath the floor, The Straits Times reported.

Escalators are public limb-guillotines, things we take so often on a regular basis that we forget what lethal slice-and-dice contraptions these can turn out to be, epitomised by one of the more gruesome deaths from the Final Destination series.

Everything Also Complain

Should Petain Road be renamed?

Dear professor Tommy Koh,

I refer to your 20 Mar 2012 Straits Times article “Should Petain Road be renamed?”

You said the French Army had been progressively degraded after the First World War due to budgetary cuts. But between 1920 and 1938, French military spending was 4.3% of GDP, higher than Germany’s 3.3% over the same period [1]. Between 1920 and roughly 1934, French real military expenditure exceeded that of the German’s [2]. French military spending started to increase in 1930 whereas German military spending started to increase in 1933 [3].

In the second half of 1936 French premier Leon Blum launched the biggest arms programme ever attempted by a French government in peacetime [4-1]. The army and national defence minister Daladier spoke compellingly for accelerated arming because the French already knew from their secret service that the Germans were preparing for total war [4-2]. When Germany doubled its standing army in Aug 1936, France replied with a plan for a 21 billion franc army, navy and air force [4-3] and the cabinet authorised a 14 billion franc army programme on 7 Sept 1936.

Yours Truly Singapore