Monday, October 27, 2008 9:41
Calls are a-ringing?
In Top Story, Uncle Leong, Uniquely Spore • 1,824 views • 26 Comments
Leong Sze Hian / Columnist
Charity calls ringing?
I refer to the President’s Star Charity Show on 12 October.
When the show was nearing its end, just minutes before 10 p.m., the amount of donations from calls from the public shown on the screen was about $ 478,000.
After adding a few large corporate donations, the total amount donated announced at the end of the show was $ 5,041.833.
This means that the few corporate donations was about $ 4.6 million, or about 90 per cent of the total.
This year’s public calls donations were also less than last year’s.
I understand that for last year’s show the difference between the amount collected and donated was about $ 850,000. Was this amount paid to the television station for staging the show ? How much, if any, will the television station be paid for this year’s show ?
As I believe that the few corporate donors may have donated regardless of whether there was a television show, perhaps we could re-consider the need for all the effort and paying a few hundred thousand dollars more to run the show, than the amount donated by the public.
By the way, it was disclosed in media reports in November 2005, that the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) paid $ 2.5 million to produce the NKF Cancer Show.
In this regard, I wrote a letter published in the Business Times on 22 November, 2005, asking how much was paid in total for the approximately 10 charity shows in a year. To the best of my knowledge, I don’t think there was any reply to my question.
Ringing in my ears and pockets
I refer to the article “SingTel fixed-line rates go up” (ST, Oct 7).
SingTel has said that it would provide $ 1 million worth of $ 10 credit vouchers to help households that need financial assistance. This means that there will be 100,000 vouchers.
Since media reports have said that all the 130,000 transport vouchers have already been snapped up, and that many other needy families can tap on the CCC and Comcare funds. So, will the 100,000 telephone credit vouchers be enough? Will CCC and Comcare funds be made available again ?
Won’t usage of such funds reduce the assistance that these funds were meant for in the first place ?
Since SingTel is increasing its local fixed line subscription by $ 10 a year, and most customers (a total of 60 per cent of residential customers, and 75 per cent of business owners) will pay up to an additional $ 1.50 a month ($ 18 a year) with the new 14 per cent increase in rates for call charges, wouldn’t the $ 10 credit voucher be enough to offset the subscription increase only ?
Does this also mean that about 40 per cent will pay much more ?
As SingTel’s fixed telephone lines is a monopoly (excluding high-end bundled services) for an essential service, does it have to get approval for the increase, like that for transport and electricity ?
What is the justification for the increase, when SingTel’s Net Profit (underlying) increased by 46 per cent (10 per cent per annum), from $ 2.517 billion in FY 2004 to $ 3.681 billion in FY 2008 ?
This is more than 10 times the profits of the transport operators, and more than 150 per cent that of the power companies.
Citing the Ministry of Manpower statistic that the annual average wage rose 52 per cent between 1997 and last year, may not be very appropriate, as the median wage change for the same period was only about 1.66 per cent per annum.
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26 Comments
TOC, don't misrepresenting!
TOC, don't misrepresenting!
Also what about this being the first phone rate increase in 18 years?
Again you are only presenting one side of the story.
TOC is the 144th, versus the 145th. You are like McCain’s attack team, coming up with all sorts of unsubstantiated claims.
MMSMPMMC
One thing for sure, Singnet business will also get affected when more household terminate their fixed-line service. Just like me……. I am switching over to StarHub for their digital line boardband.
misrepresenting
hahaha!
We in the blog knows what the PAP govt has misrepresented all these years:
Cost price of HDB flats
Cost of forward fuel price versus cost of natural gas to fuel our electricity (where did the difference go?)
GST 7% to help balloon the budget surplus (NOT THE POOR)
TOC, keep up the good job!
Tew N S
Common layman, tak boleh tahan liao, due to price hike, donate what, ask president and all ministers donate lah, they are so stingy, collected so much tax payers money.
the president’s star charity show is an occasion for the government to show how much the unelected elected president is contributing to the welfare of the common people and justify his $3 million/year salary. as far as i am concerned, it is a big farce. the big corporate donors are the glcs mostly. it also allows mediacorp and singtel to make more money, thats all!
like everything else in singapore, it is stage managed.
tiredman
I don’t even want to watch that performance. I have already donated 2% of whatever I bought for my consumption to the charity. Give me a reason why do I need to donate more when our G told us that 2% are for the poor?
I time that I donate is when I see old grandma and old grandpa standing on the streets during late night selling tissue papers. Sir, I do not see these old people being helped. Why? President Charity Show? Why? Where the 2% did go to? I feel puzzled and helpless.
Daniel
“After adding a few large corporate donations, the total amount donated announced at the end of the show was $ 5,041.833.”
Are these large corporates entitle to much tax rebate base on the amount they donate ? Are these figures inject by the corporations are made to make the event look successful, and however at the end of the day, these corporations are able to get back those return through tax rebate ?
Daniel
“the amount of donations from calls from the public shown on the screen was about $ 478,000.”
What ? That is very little. Nathan as the president of Uselessness should BAIL OUT the charity show with his own undeserved pocket money !
If one drills in, can find lots of w..ms.
I salute mr Leong for his analysis.
In general, I believe singaporeans should wake up and learn to question as the more you can question, the more information you may get, subjected to how is the information being controlled.
Not many can handle the truth.
Luckily, this is singapore. singaporeans don’t like to question. Questioning is the 1st step to gaining knowledge.
When everyone learns what is meant by Questioning, many information can surface. Or maybe majority choose to live in the dark?
I hope not.
tiredsingaporean
all these years president charity shows are wayang only to let the people know that the garment cares alot, tell me how much money are actually meant for helping the poor out from the total money donated in each show, after minusing all the this and that, maybe 10% left, how to justify against that 3millions+ yearly pay out to the president salary, a president should be someone who can decide and take the neccessary actions to make sure that all the citizens are taken care off which is his top priority and not the other way round and agree to whatever hikes the ruling party wishes, our system is totally upside down and it need change, a bit one indeed.
aygee
To TOC, Dont misrepresenting, Comments 1 and 2,
Thank you for pointing out what could possibly be an errorenous points from Mr Leong. What we dont need from you is a judgement call from you saying that TOC misrepresents stats.
Let Mr Leong rebut your points before you start making personal and judgemental statements about Mr Leong and TOC.
ronin
PAP’s tactic is to increase all prices and then pretend to give away goodies to “help”……..hoping that people will vote for them in return
tiredsingaporean
13) ronin on October 27th, 2008 9.53 pm PAP’s tactic is to increase all prices and then pretend to give away goodies to “help”……..hoping that people will vote for them in return
not this time anymore, well unless they suddenly annouce that all citizens can now withdraw all their CPF savings at the original policy at 55 years retirement age, then most probably the older folks would still vote for them, if not, then don’t think so.
chorus
12 aygee:
“Thank you for pointing out what could possibly be an errorenous points from Mr Leong. What we dont need from you is a judgement call from you saying that TOC misrepresents stats.
Let Mr Leong rebut your points before you start making personal and judgemental statements about Mr Leong and TOC.”
First off, kudos to TOC for not censoring the comments about misrepresenting.
Secondly, aygee, this is not the first time this has happened. #1’s comments may be harsh, but we should demand no less than 100% accurate reporting if TOC is to be a truly credible alternative media outlet from Singaporeans.
If not, as #1 has mentioned, it will simply be 144 alongside 145, no?
DA
“To TOC, Dont misrepresenting, Comments 1 and 2,
Thank you for pointing out what could possibly be an errorenous points from Mr Leong. What we dont need from you is a judgement call from you saying that TOC misrepresents stats.
Let Mr Leong rebut your points before you start making personal and judgemental statements about Mr Leong and TOC.”
Well, I don’t think the TOC or its readers have ever withheld “personal and judgemental statements” about the PAP for any of its misrepresentations, regardless of whether its members were given a chance to rebut the points. Fair game to call someone out of errors, I say.
one day
to the number one comment, you can set up a website like toc and attract people.
just do it and we shall see how good you can do it and how many people you can attract.
then we will know who win and who lose.
if you win i think many people here will join your website instead of toc.
i will also.
geng
It will be interesting to know how much the President himself donates each year.
Since he earns SO MUCH for doing what he does, and the show is called HIS Charity Show after all.
Whenever You Give to The Poor, Do Not Blow A Trumpet
Whenever you give to the poor, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites . . . . like to do, that they may be recognized and honored and praised by men.
But when you give to charity, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,
So that your deeds of charity may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. Mathew 6:2-4
Robbery
if i am reing robbed for $100, then robber throw back $5 to me, should i be thankful not?
How much of these giving is really given from the heart? . . . given from a heart of compassion and passion for the disadvantaged!
Especially from corporate companies and some individuals – is it truly altruistic giving or is there some other motives attached.
These numbers by itself, of the President’s Star Charity Show, are hollow and quite meaningless.
Leong Sze Hian – thank you for doing a great job of giving insight into macro and micro issues and presenting them convincingly and courageously. Love your articles and writings!
How and where do they distribute these vouchers ? Community Centres ? Geylang Lorongs ?
ObamatakOsama
Donaldson Tan
Does anybody have the video of President Ong Teng Cheong playing Teresa Tengś ¨The Moon Represent My Heart¨ on piano while his wife sang the song? I am not sure if this video was part of the President Charity Show or NKF Charity Show. However, I am pretty sure it is the first time I see any Singaporean politician participating in a charity show not as spectator or VIP guest.
Donaldson Tan
So you are comparing a 10-year change in average wage against a averaged 1-year rate of change in median wage — which can confuse the reader.
With all this talk of misrepresentation in MiniBonds, is TOC the new misrepresentation in Statistics? – #1
You completely missed the point. Mr Leongś point is that the median wage is a better indicator than the average wage. To prove this point, let´s refer to the income distribution data from 2006 Wage Report released by the Ministry of Manpower.
According to the 2006 Wage Report, the actual national average income is S$3554/mth. Although the actual median income isn´t provided, one can infer from the data provided that the median income is somewhere between S$2000-2999 per month. My guess is that the actual median income would be S$2300 per month, which is close to the standard starting pay for graduates.
The average income and the median income would be very close to each other if and only if the income distribution follows a symmetric model. The discrepancy between the average and median income reflects the growing income gap no doubt.
loop
I simly refused to watch any charity shows stage by Mediacorp. Why should they be paid to do this? Isn’t this charity? They should either do it for free or not do it at all. I’m sure people will still be donating to charity with or without Mediacorp taking part.
aygee
To comments 15, 16 17,
I agree that its fine to tell someone if they made an error. and i thank Comment #1 for pointing it out.
BUT, the point i was trying to make is let Mr Leong come back and clarify himself.
“TOC the new misrepresentation in Statistics?”,
“You are like McCain’s attack team, coming up with all sorts of unsubstantiated claims.”
Those comments doesnt add to the conversation, judgemental, and uncalled for.
And to Comment #2, you are saying TOC only represent one side of the story. I disagree – TOC gives an alternative discourse to what we read in mainstream papers.
Anyway, i’m digressing to the original intention of the post, so i shall stop here.
I refer to Leong Sze Hian’s writings:
“Citing the Ministry of Manpower statistic that the annual average wage rose 52 per cent between 1997 and last year, may not be very appropriate, as the median wage change for the same period was only about 1.66 per cent per annum.”
This is misleading. You are comparing “52 per cent between 1997 and last year (2007)” against “1.66 per cent per annum”.
So you are comparing a 10-year change in average wage against a averaged 1-year rate of change in median wage — which can confuse the reader.
With all this talk of misrepresentation in MiniBonds, is TOC the new misrepresentation in Statistics?