Or “why don’t you just “guay guay” put the savings in CPF and earn interest and feel RICH?”.

Are all these sentences helpful and useful?

Maybe some real actions will help to boost some confidence here.

If the law suit against the financial bodies for mis-representation drags until next GE, the chances of getting the money back may be quite high as that’s the time for some to play HERO.

Or is he afraid to get into the cross-fire in such a crisis?

Or is he by nature a very aloof person who pretends to be approachable and accommodating?

Like some of you, I too begin to sense that whenever there is a crisis at the national level, he seems to take cover, allowing others to speak on his behalf.

A real leader should be proactive to take the lead to handle any national crisis head-on instead of side-stepping by making others taking the rap for him. The least he could do is to at least to say a few words to pacify public anger, unhappiness and disquiet.

What kind of leadership is he trying to show all of us?

This year in particular, costs have been driven up wildly in so many ways by increases slapped from various angles, most of which originated locally, rather than globally. The 21% increase in electricity tariff is but the latest salvo, and if the inflation triggered by the 2-point GST increase was any indication of things to come, we can expect even steeper, sustained, across-the-board price increases when a basic utility such as electricity now costs significantly more.

With the ever-increasing Minimum Sum requirements for CPF, it’s little wonder that common folks earning down-to-earth salaries would be looking for ways to grow their savings reasonably, to have access to ready cash, and to work as long as possible, so as to keep up with the costs of living. I personally have seen cases where people with monies in CPF are forced to live on handouts because those monies cannot be used for day to day living expenses.

The perspective that SM Goh should consider is really that of the ordinary citizen. The ordinary citizen has been hard hit by artificial cost increases that can be postponed or even reversed, but which the authorities chose not to for economic reasons. He sees little prospect of ever getting anything out of his CPF even in old age, other than the proportionately unrealistic CPF Life annuity payments, and when he disposes of his house on the assumption that he’s able to find smaller, cheaper housing for life, and that only after repaying CPF with interest.

The real perspective, Mr Goh, is bleak enough for most, without losing money in irresponsibly-packaged products targeted at middle-agers. Now, if Mr Goh or any of his colleagues would do the right thing and just spend some real time with his fellow citizens doing their best to survive in Singapore, it would not be difficult to see why things look so different on the ground.

I’m surprised at Mr Lim Hng Kiang’s comments in today’s ST’s report entitled “S’pore Govt warns of slower growth and higher unemployment ahead”. He said that inflation has peaked and that prices can be expected to drop in the months ahead. Is this truly the MTI’s assessment? On what basis was this conclusion arrived at, especially after the 21% electricity tariff increase kicked in? Would Mr Lim care to enlighten us on the cause of his optimism?

Maybe he can even win presidency if the majority supports him as always ?

The script goes like this: usually SM and MM will come out to say something, in no particular order. Then PM will make his appearance, and say something to the effect of “what to do? It happened. Let’s move on”, followed by a string of chorus from MSM. That would be the last time we will hear of it, like CPF Life and Mas Selamat. And before you know it, they have found the perfect solution (yes, that’s MAS working quietly behind the scenes with CPF) to help future investors – by locking up their money in CPF in the ever-increasing minimum sum game.

And as predicted, MSM came up with timely headlines today about Marina Sands Resort hiring up to 10,000 people. Does the number sound familiar? 10000 lost substantial savings, 10000 IR positions up for grabs. Kudos to MSM.

When “intelligent fraud” under different guises has been deliberately committed at an aggressive pace openly and widely by financial institutions, especially local banks, against innocent and ill-informed citizens, it is the responsibility and the task of MAS to take proactive actions (not reactive lip-service) to immediately initiate criminal investigations in conjunction with the Commercial Crimes Division into such “intelligent fraud” to bring about justice where it deserves.
I hope we are not going to have to wait until the situation turns out to become a similar fiasco like that of the Great Limping Escape of Mas Selamat Sudah-Lari or the Nicole Highway Collapse?

Telling the citizens that MAS is working behind the scene is not only a lame excuse to shake off this responsibility and avoid taking on this urgently-needed task, but also a very unprofessional approach that spells suspicion that there could be something that cannot see daylight, something that the MAS might be trying to hide from public knowledge. Is the MAS trying to protect any govt-linked companies from the backlash of this wide-spread public unhappiness?

Why this dragging of feet, the obvious reluctance to take direct immediate actions, which is not the style of our track-recorded PAP govt?

Is GCT getting too old, no more mentally alert enough to do the job? If so, maybe he should voluntarily retire immediately and make way for a younger, more alert, proactive and politically-neutral person for the good of our country and our people.

I sincerely feel that the position of the Chairman of MAS should be held by a non-politically motivated person so that he/she could not be sub-consciously held beholden to his political party and political leadership.

So much for good governance and trust. I hope I’m wrong.

Just asking only.

Heard of TW Bian story?