From: SGNEWSALTE 7:52 am
To: ALL
4467.1
Bro redbean, you are not wrong. The CPF have always been a cheap source for the govt to play tycoons, and the whole scheme of raising the minimum sum for the ordinary account and medisave as well as the "longevity insurance" scam is to retain our CPF for them to continue with their exploitations. Let me warn all reading, this is not the end of it. The next thing this govt will do is to stop the deceased's CPF from being distributed to their next-of-kins in cash. Mark my word this will come eventually when withdrawals becomes substantial. They will cook up some fictitious problems, use the state media to create alarm, and then come up with measures to retained the deceased's CPF within the govt account.
http://www.littlespeck.com/content/economy/CTrendsEconomy-081228.htm
CPF
A crucial question
In view of massive losses in Singaporeans’ assets, will government turn to CPF for solution?
Dec 28, 2008
It is a crucial question that the highest authority in government should answer: In view of our disastrous investments, will the state turn to Central Provident Funds for help?
This is a burning doubt in many people’s minds and the authorities should no longer keep quiet as though the issue doesn’t exist.
In times of financial crisis, the political leaders should be more open about the status - and the use - of the state reserves and the people’s savings, rather than maintain a dignified silence.
Too much money is involved. Our whole future is at stake.
Merely saying ‘don’t worry our investments are for up 30 years’ is no longer enough.
There should be full public disclosures on the details, and discussions on government intentions for the future.
The latest to voice suspicions is prominent blogger, redbean who fears that the government may “keep the CPF for as long as possible to enable them a cheap source of fund for their own investment schemes.”
He added, however, “I hope I am wrong.”
Here’s how he penned his concerns, which reflected those to many Singaporeans: -
In March this year the official figure given was that Temasek was managing $185b of assets.
If these were in equity or equity related assets and stocks, my guesstimate is that it would have lost 50% of its value at least.
But the figure will be much better if kept in fixed deposits or less risky assets that are saved from the financial crisis.
If the loss is in the 50% region, I said if, the loss must be made up from somewhere.
I fear the money in CPF. Would the minimum sum and Medisave be further increased?
Would the withdrawal age be further delayed? Would there be new measures to shift the goal posts?
There are now more reasons to wish that our investments are intact, that the talented fund managers are doing well to keep them growing or at least not losing.
There are more reasons not to change the government so that the talents and the continuity will help to safeguard our assets and investments, and our future.
The CPF is like a sacred cow. It is the people's hard earned money and must rightfully return to the people for their own benefit at the earliest possible time.
Definitely not till they are dead or near death. This is simply bad.
I have all the time this bad feeling, and I can be totally wrong on this, that there are people with designs on our CPF money.
To keep the CPF for as long as possible to enable them a cheap source of fund for their own investment schemes. I hope I am wrong.
I hope the real reasons to keep the money for as long as they can is really for the good of the people, in the interests of the owners.
But should anyone really have wrongful designs, they must know that the designs are wicked and will do them no good.
The first is the intent to 'sapu' money.
No one should ever think of it as the CPF money rightly belongs to the people and depriving the people from getting it back is already sinful, if not criminal.
Decent and honourable people who believe in not doing evil should never harbour such thoughts.
The second intent to use the money for whatever schemes or things, may include thoughts of returning the gains to the people, if there are gains, may have some mitigating factors to lower the ill effects of the first intent.
But if it is just to exploit this cheap source of fund with no regards to rewarding the owner of the money, it is unforgiveable. Seeing it in any other way is still a dirty thing to do.
Do I sound like preaching or delivering a sermon? The rights and wrongs of such acts and intents are difficult to dispute or wish away.
Do not have designs on the people's hard earned money for private interests.
If there are, it is better to let the owners know and seek their permission and forgiveness. Do not temper with money that is not yours. By redbean
Comments
Anonymous said,
Obviously if the CPF or reserves are redistributed, the country will be poorer in the balance sheet.
If the assets are lost through speculations, however, the results are still the same. both ways, the country is poorer. But where it is impossible to do so in the first instance, we could have make it big with the second one. And wrote a book to teach others about it. Don’t lose sleep over this. What happened was an anomaly. Mind you, we haven’t lost any money yet.
You should be laughing your way to the bank, 100 years from now (SIC).
redbean said,
Thank god there is still hope...in a hundred years!
Kaffein said,
Indeed. I have been telling this to my friends and colleagues since 4-5 years ago. But nobody listens to me.
Told them that what makes you so sure your money won't be used for investments and all it needs is a world financial crisis and you may lose all your monies at one swipe.
My friends think I'm anti-PAP and anti-establishment. Perhaps now they may think otherwise. I told them, just think Ferdinand Marcos and Suharto, and the country is still trying to figure out where all them money has gone.
I'm not saying it is such, but if there are no independent checks, how would anyone know?
Take NKF for example, if it hadn't been for the ST slip and the arrogance of TT Durai, how would anyone know the mismanagement of the funds?
If it hadn't been for the collapse of the Lehman brothers, who would have thought they had been sold high-risk funds?
If Madoff wasn't discovered, who would have thought he had cheated so many people and smart people in business and investments?
Who would have thought the town councils had used our monies to invest and lost, and not even a word out until 2-3 months later when people demanded for an account?
Even then, the answers were dodgy and unclear.
Never say never.
Anyway, that's what CSJ (opposition leader Chee Soon Juan) pointed out publicly and he got sued.
Well now, with the recent collapse of so many financial institutions, people are waking up and starting to ask questions.
So perhaps it will be good for the government to explain in simple terms to the questions on the ground.
Anyway, they are clean so some father figure had vouched for. So there is nothing to fear. It definitely will give them a good boost in people's confidence.
Let's hope.
http://mysingaporenews.blogspot.com/2008/12/wishful-thinking-or-wicked-intent.html
To: ALL
4467.1
Bro redbean, you are not wrong. The CPF have always been a cheap source for the govt to play tycoons, and the whole scheme of raising the minimum sum for the ordinary account and medisave as well as the "longevity insurance" scam is to retain our CPF for them to continue with their exploitations. Let me warn all reading, this is not the end of it. The next thing this govt will do is to stop the deceased's CPF from being distributed to their next-of-kins in cash. Mark my word this will come eventually when withdrawals becomes substantial. They will cook up some fictitious problems, use the state media to create alarm, and then come up with measures to retained the deceased's CPF within the govt account.
http://www.littlespeck.com/content/economy/CTrendsEconomy-081228.htm
CPF
A crucial question
In view of massive losses in Singaporeans’ assets, will government turn to CPF for solution?
Dec 28, 2008
It is a crucial question that the highest authority in government should answer: In view of our disastrous investments, will the state turn to Central Provident Funds for help?
This is a burning doubt in many people’s minds and the authorities should no longer keep quiet as though the issue doesn’t exist.
In times of financial crisis, the political leaders should be more open about the status - and the use - of the state reserves and the people’s savings, rather than maintain a dignified silence.
Too much money is involved. Our whole future is at stake.
Merely saying ‘don’t worry our investments are for up 30 years’ is no longer enough.
There should be full public disclosures on the details, and discussions on government intentions for the future.
The latest to voice suspicions is prominent blogger, redbean who fears that the government may “keep the CPF for as long as possible to enable them a cheap source of fund for their own investment schemes.”
He added, however, “I hope I am wrong.”
Here’s how he penned his concerns, which reflected those to many Singaporeans: -
In March this year the official figure given was that Temasek was managing $185b of assets.
If these were in equity or equity related assets and stocks, my guesstimate is that it would have lost 50% of its value at least.
But the figure will be much better if kept in fixed deposits or less risky assets that are saved from the financial crisis.
If the loss is in the 50% region, I said if, the loss must be made up from somewhere.
I fear the money in CPF. Would the minimum sum and Medisave be further increased?
Would the withdrawal age be further delayed? Would there be new measures to shift the goal posts?
There are now more reasons to wish that our investments are intact, that the talented fund managers are doing well to keep them growing or at least not losing.
There are more reasons not to change the government so that the talents and the continuity will help to safeguard our assets and investments, and our future.
The CPF is like a sacred cow. It is the people's hard earned money and must rightfully return to the people for their own benefit at the earliest possible time.
Definitely not till they are dead or near death. This is simply bad.
I have all the time this bad feeling, and I can be totally wrong on this, that there are people with designs on our CPF money.
To keep the CPF for as long as possible to enable them a cheap source of fund for their own investment schemes. I hope I am wrong.
I hope the real reasons to keep the money for as long as they can is really for the good of the people, in the interests of the owners.
But should anyone really have wrongful designs, they must know that the designs are wicked and will do them no good.
The first is the intent to 'sapu' money.
No one should ever think of it as the CPF money rightly belongs to the people and depriving the people from getting it back is already sinful, if not criminal.
Decent and honourable people who believe in not doing evil should never harbour such thoughts.
The second intent to use the money for whatever schemes or things, may include thoughts of returning the gains to the people, if there are gains, may have some mitigating factors to lower the ill effects of the first intent.
But if it is just to exploit this cheap source of fund with no regards to rewarding the owner of the money, it is unforgiveable. Seeing it in any other way is still a dirty thing to do.
Do I sound like preaching or delivering a sermon? The rights and wrongs of such acts and intents are difficult to dispute or wish away.
Do not have designs on the people's hard earned money for private interests.
If there are, it is better to let the owners know and seek their permission and forgiveness. Do not temper with money that is not yours. By redbean
Comments
Anonymous said,
Obviously if the CPF or reserves are redistributed, the country will be poorer in the balance sheet.
If the assets are lost through speculations, however, the results are still the same. both ways, the country is poorer. But where it is impossible to do so in the first instance, we could have make it big with the second one. And wrote a book to teach others about it. Don’t lose sleep over this. What happened was an anomaly. Mind you, we haven’t lost any money yet.
You should be laughing your way to the bank, 100 years from now (SIC).
redbean said,
Thank god there is still hope...in a hundred years!
Kaffein said,
Indeed. I have been telling this to my friends and colleagues since 4-5 years ago. But nobody listens to me.
Told them that what makes you so sure your money won't be used for investments and all it needs is a world financial crisis and you may lose all your monies at one swipe.
My friends think I'm anti-PAP and anti-establishment. Perhaps now they may think otherwise. I told them, just think Ferdinand Marcos and Suharto, and the country is still trying to figure out where all them money has gone.
I'm not saying it is such, but if there are no independent checks, how would anyone know?
Take NKF for example, if it hadn't been for the ST slip and the arrogance of TT Durai, how would anyone know the mismanagement of the funds?
If it hadn't been for the collapse of the Lehman brothers, who would have thought they had been sold high-risk funds?
If Madoff wasn't discovered, who would have thought he had cheated so many people and smart people in business and investments?
Who would have thought the town councils had used our monies to invest and lost, and not even a word out until 2-3 months later when people demanded for an account?
Even then, the answers were dodgy and unclear.
Never say never.
Anyway, that's what CSJ (opposition leader Chee Soon Juan) pointed out publicly and he got sued.
Well now, with the recent collapse of so many financial institutions, people are waking up and starting to ask questions.
So perhaps it will be good for the government to explain in simple terms to the questions on the ground.
Anyway, they are clean so some father figure had vouched for. So there is nothing to fear. It definitely will give them a good boost in people's confidence.
Let's hope.
http://mysingaporenews.blogspot.com/2008/12/wishful-thinking-or-wicked-intent.html
