This is Part 2 of Fang Shihan’s interview with Mr Leong Sze Hian. In this video, Mr Leong looks into the problems faced by some people in monetising their HDB flats for retirement and the problems with the CPF Life Scheme.
Part 1 is here: Year In Review: HDB flats – subsidy, affordability, prices.
Our world class government only recently started to realise the need to teach people money sense. Money no enough for house, health care and retirement.
A New Techniquie of Economic Policy for the New Year…
The recent finacial crisis… has woken many towards new formative ways…
Singapore for one has prescbribed to this new policy of sustanance…
Having a rich afforable and expansive governmet, perhaps Singapore has started on the New Era on Ecnomic Policy. Such as,
Having to sustain the natural fall due to collective pressure. Soros, has explained on this free fall….how it happens…and due to the market.
How to beat the free fall….Singapore is trying to teach the world.
I am trying to organze how it is donig this .I will do it and put it up.
Cheers, Happy new year friends.
I think the choices are clear for the average joe or jane. We work till become useless, there is not going to be much $ left for retirement, because most $ go to HDB flat.
So, why work for the next 20,30 years if you already know the miserable state (highly probable) that you would end up. Stop it from happening now is the best choice, or i see no point.
Just like walking down the cliff, when you know it is there !
We are no superman, we can’t fly!
Apparently, the HDB and CPF systems have been purposefully designed to make you slave for the PAP till you drop dead.
A friend of mine, a lady whose mother is rich and she works for her mother’s shop. While talking, we touched on cost of living in singapore. She tells me, “actually singapore is still very affordable”. To her!
She is saying the truth – this is one of the Truths in her perspective, to people like her.
Another friend of mine, works for her who works for her mother.
This citizen bloke earns a meagre salary of $900 per month .
He brings water bottle to work and avoids buying drinks.
He cycles to MRT to avoid paying and paying the shuttle bus that is also takes longer than cycling to MRT from his flat. He wants to get married but he finds life is so touch in singapore, compared to before. He has an ITE cert but faces competition from foreign workers.
He gave a different perspective – the cost of living is very high. higher than before. main cause is the HDB.
So he is ALSO saying the TRUTH.
I hope people understand that there are many Truths:
To people like the lady, cost of living is affordable .
To people like the bloke who is not born with silver spoon, life is tough!
Many people like the lady exist and so prolly if people laments life is tough, they may think or say to the person, “get out of my unsympathetic face, you lady bugger!”
Will these read Alternative Blogs? I think they won’t even give a hoot!
oh, typo, should be “get out of my unsympathetic face, you laZy bugger!”
I dun mind being a lady bugger. lol
Being a well educated citizen, i thought i know the policies well .
I am surprised to have learnt so much more thanks to Mr Leong’s sharing his insights on the policies.
This tells me, oh no! how many also do not know this!!!
Apathy can destroy.
Kill it before it kills you.
Spread the words of wisdom.
Do others a favor and do yourselves a favor.
email, sms, etc. tell them to post comment here after viewing the videos especially part 2.
We need such a strong personality who possess such genius insights as well as Finance knowledge as Mr Leong in parliament. He wins, i win, we win.
I watched the entire 2 part video and have woken up that we need Alternative Media. I foresee that 2010 will be dominated by Alternative MeDiA.
By the way, I like Shi Han. She is so nice looking and sweet. Her voice, oh my goodness! so sensual! yeee ha!
#5: ((I hope people understand that there are many Truths:))
Instead of your anecdotal evidence, the truth lies in somewhere else.
Who does the PAP government represent? The truth is the neo-liberal PAP functions to protect the interests of the superrich, the foreign multi-nationals, the money launderers, economic criminals wanted by other countries, et cetera.
But the vast majority of Singaporeans are employees, having to work for a living. These people have no representation to protect their basic rights, including the tenure of employment. They are subject to the whims of their employers who are given the power to “hire and fire” by the neo-con PAP government.
Hi All,
After watching both parts, I came to the conclusion that this gentleman really knows what he is talking! I also admire him for the courage to speak out from his field of expertise.
May him and Tan Kin Lian be the pioneers of a new generation of Singaporeans who is courageous to reveal things that ordinary Singaporeans should know,
I will definitely vote for this type of candidates if my area has an election. These people are true-blue Singaporeans who still have a heart and talk with conviction and sincerity. Unlike the nonsensical statements uttered by some of our millionaire ministers.
Perhaps he is better off not standing for elections, otherwise people will just judge as being ‘another politician talking’ and not the content of what he’s saying.
I believe many suspected the same issues exist.
These could be educated or experienced in Finance etc.
These may know what questions need to be asked.
These choose not to ask not knowing that there is a need for people to raise up concerns and questions for the benefit of society and fellow citizens.
They know somethings. They Consciously choose not to voice up or think about it or talk about it. These people sabo the society and sabo themselves in the long run.
pui!
There is another set of Truths, the truths to me. Take a look :
Truth 1 : Many from 3rd world would be so happy to able to work and live here , coming from and compared to where they come from, they would be more than glad to be citizens here supporting all the policies if not the policies in general. To them, sg is great place!
Truth 2: Born and bred citizens. Cost of living is higher and higher. Another round of Price hike and Tarriff hike have been announced a day or 2 just before this new year. What a way to start the new year. Many Tak Boleh Tahan. FTs saturating the place and fw competing for job with many low wage citizens and so-called ‘retirees’ who have to work to stay alive. Wages went downwards. Open door policy. “so many zeroes” . Thong of fire. Tak Boleh Tahan!!!!
This is also the Truth.
We must acknowledge that truth 1 alone is not the entire picture.
If out of 100 companies, only 1 company give back salary cuts by a bit and the rest did not, telling people only about this 1 example of good news and not mentioning the rest 99 who did not , would mean there are 2 truths. Speaking about 1 example is in itself not a lie. But we know better.
time to take out the thrash.
nowadays, its become more like a place which is newly founded land needing many citizens and people from poorer places are flocking here to setttle in great numbers liking what they see but have not really known what lies within.
The ‘funny’ CPF scheme and ridiculous HDB price are probably plans plotted by the government with aims to wipe out Singaporeans’ money in their CPF account after losing much of their hard-earned money through some awful investment.
Once I passed by a CPF building and saw an scruffy old man stepping out of the building with his mouth swearing ”See zeng hu!”. Simple three words has summarized everything bout our government at the moment.
I had a dream last night and saw how history is written 50 years from now.
The ruling regime has lost grip of the country. It tried to mend holes after holes and painted themselves to a corner. Knowing there is no solution, the elites planned to amass as much wealth as possible so that when they are forced out (of power), they can relocate and live on their monetary wealth.
The country is left in a turmoil with the NEW government having to manage with little resources. Resources that were depleted over years but covered up. The netizenry are angry that they had been conned. They are crying for justice.
The ex-ruling party members now live in third world countries where the officials can be bribed so that they are guaranteed immunity. All is well at first but somehow, they couldn’t escape the locals in their newly adopted countries from spreading the word that there are some very weathy migrants living amongst them. The bank managers will somehow know and they will talk. Extortions and kidnapping starts. They live in fear and needed heavy guards which they can easily afford. However, the guards gave them away and they will be extorted again and again.
The disgruntled citizens of their homeland seeking justice pressured the new government for repatriations and trial of these ex-ruling party members who fled. The new government gained consensus from the UN to bring them to trial. The banks in these third world countries were also ordered to freeze their monies. With the immobility of funds, the ex-ruling regime members cannot entice the locals who then sell them out to be repatriated to the country they flee from. They were tried, found guilty and jailed for a term which they will not survive.
The offsprings of the fleeing ex-ruling regime, with the little moral values in them and the wealth bestowed, behaved irrationally and involved themselves in all the dark forces. Drugs, gambling, alcohol were the order of the day. They all succumbed and demised tragically.
It’s just a dream or is it?
Thank you Mr. Leong Sze Hian for your analyses of CPF and other PAP government schemes aiming to suck us dry.
Very good of Sze Hian to expose these questionable schemes.
We Singaporeans must stand together to vote against the PAP who are out to cheat us.
There are 84 seats in parliament, we need to vote out at least 40 PAP MPs so that life would be more bearable for Singaporeans.
PM Lee says PAP government is for Singaporeans, yet property taxes and utility rates have gone up in the midst of pay-cut of workers. The PAP government are treating us as kids, taking us for a ride.
To see real changes, vote the PAP out and stop reading the Straits Times; the PAP would panic and deliver ‘Today’ newspaper to your door-step.
George Carlin said that he never trusts anything the government says. Any government. Do the same.
Also, Singapore is essentially a corporate fascist state run by plutocrats, where your worth as a human being is reduced to how much you can contribute to the island’s GDP. All your study choices and career choices are geared towards making you a digit, a cog in the wheel of SIngapore Inc. and a corporate slave.
A corporation seeks to make profits, reduce costs. Makes sense for business, but is foolish for running a country.
A monopoly is bad for business – you will inevitably get high prices, shoddy services and inferior quality. Similarly, bad things will happen when there is a monopoly in politics. Singapore is not uniquely different from other countries that its survival solely depends on the perpetuation of the incumbent political party’s hegemony.
LKY and his associates want to scare you with this BS, so you will obediently turn to the lightning bolt, whether by an actual ballot or moral support. Don’t fall for it.
Another thing: saving for retirement is really, in my honest opinion, another major BS. It is good to save, make your money grow, be financially prudent etc. But you will never know how long you are going to live. Touch wood and not cursing anyone out there, but you may die tomorrow.
The quality of life NOW, IN THE PRESENT, should be most important. There is no point slogging long hours like a slave (blue or white collar) for a pipe dream. Are you enjoying life NOW, doing the things you want to do?
It is not good to land yourself in debt. Getting a HDB flat is one of the major ways to land yourself in a hefty debt. Why buy an overpriced pigeon hole? Why pay money to an organisation which blatantly lies about subsidies and building costs? Why be held hostage to HDB’s ‘pro-family policies’, where singles are being discriminated against? And do you really need to sign a contract/ organise an elaborate dinner or ceremony (more debt!) to be with someone? Marriage is not cheap, divorce burns a hole in the pocket and children are very expensive with dubious tangible and intangible returns on investment. Marriage is not something you must do in life.
Many Singaporeans accept things as they are, at face value, without thinking, questioning or probing further. They do not explore alternatives to their lifestyles, and refuse to deviate from the tried and tested template. This is probably one of the reasons why the PAP gets away with so much nonsense.
the bottom line is that well over $60 B of tax payers’ monies had gone down the drain in just few years…these people need to find ways and means to recover these 60B…here in s’pore we have 4 cash cows that often open to inaccountability… the CPF, HDB, ERP and the COE
All i can say is Mr Leong choose to walk the road less, sorry, should be Least travelled. He can afford singapore cost of living like the many rich. He is more likely not affected severely by CPF schemes. He does not live in HDB but still does what only rare few dared to do – he Gave us a Voice and enlightened us.
I am touched!
Mr Leong has done what i confidently say is Service to the People, at least the 80% of whom who live in flats. This is what can truely and unabasedly be called People Representation. We need this kind of talent to serve the community. We need his insights and wisdom to check and balance.
what mr leong refers to as a farce is essentially the same as what is done for pension scheme contributions in force across the OECD. the difference is in such cases, your beneficiaries do not collect anything at all. so it is strange for him to condemn it as such.
i do not read LSH’s remarks as condemnation; like him i have also ask several questions concerning the CPF Life…till today i am still for them to reply.
I must improve my maths! … and common senses!
this should be made avail to the citizens in the Main Stream media..
the PAP is bullshitting All of us..
dishonesty, confusion, fear-mongering seems to be the way PAP works..
they will call for an election early 2010.. ..
the choice is yours to make..
Great Interview; however I think in future, we should get more experienced interviewers to conduct the interview. This interviewer didn’t seem to be very familiar with the topics at hand and asked really weird questions, some of which were not really on point. However, Mr Leong always manages to bring things back on track.
With a better interviewer, the interview could be that much better.
Add this suggestion to yr policy suggestions LSH?
http://atans1.wordpress.com/2009/12/29/making-sporeans-investors-in-spore-inc/
Insightful article -
http://www.asiasentinel.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2224&Itemid=204
aiyoyo
keep thinking
why need to wait so long before we can use our own $ earned by us???
aiyoyo
Are the grandpas, grandmas, old old uncles & aunties who continuosly support him endless and now complaining Dumb & Dumber? You please decide.
“1. “If I were in authority in Singapore indefinitely without having to ask those who are governed whether they like what is being done, then I would not have the slightest doubt that I could govern much more effectively in their interests.” – Lee Kuan Yew, 1962
2. “Repression, Sir is a habit that grows. I am told it is like making love – it is always easier the second time! The first time there may be pangs of conscience, a sense of guilt. But once embarked on this course with constant repetition you get more and more brazen in the attack. All you have to do is to dissolve organizations and societies and banish and detain the key political workers in these societies. Then miraculously everything is tranquil on the surface. Then an intimidated press and the government-controlled radio together can regularly sing your praises, and slowly and steadily the people are made to forget the evil things that have already been done, or if these things are referred to again they’re conveniently distorted and distorted with impunity, because there will be no opposition to contradict.” – Lee Kuan Yew as an opposition PAP member speaking to David Marshall, Singapore Legislative Assembly, Debates, 4 October 1956″
“2959″ should be 1959.