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Tag: SDP

  • SDP: We Repeatedly Warned About UBS Investment

    SDP: We Repeatedly Warned About UBS Investment

     

    The recent announcement that the GIC stood to lose in excess of $5.6 billion comes as no surprise. The Swiss bank had been plagued with problems and the SDP had warned on at least five separate occasions against the GIC investing in it.

    1. As early as 2009, the SDP warned:

    “Either Dr Tony Tan (who was the GIC’s executive director then) knew about the developments and problems that UBS was facing and chose to ignore them, or he had no clue that trouble was brewing in and around the bank. Which is worse?” (link)

    2. We repeated the warning one month later:

    “The GIC put in US$10 billion into UBS which later announced a US$19 billion write-down. UBS admitted to helping to defraud the US Government and was made to pay substantial amounts in fines. Is this how our best and brightest in the Government practice due diligence?” (link)

    3. Dr Chee Soon Juan cautioned a third time that year:

    “The latest revelation is that Citi, UBS, Merrill and Barclays had all invested in the Bernie Madoff scam. Mr Madoff ran the biggest Ponzi scheme in corporate history and duped his investors to part with nearly US$50 billion of their money. In fact UBS is being sued in France by a wealth management company for its involvement in the Madoff madness.” (link)

    4. When UBS got into further financial trouble in 2010, the SDP again sounded the alarm:

    “But instead of learning from its mistakes, Mr Ng Kok Song (then GIC’s Chief Investment Officer) doubled down and said in 2009 he that he still had ‘confidence’ in the ‘long-term prospects’ of the investment. This confidence seems quite misguided.” (link)

    5. In 2011 during the Presidential Election, we raised the matter yet again:

    “Either (candidate) Dr Tony Tan knew about the developments and problems that UBS was facing and chose to proceed by putting money into it anyway, or he had no clue that trouble was brewing in and around the bank. Whichever it is, the incident does not back up Dr Tan’s boast that he is the experienced guardian with the ability to, in his words, see ‘the dark clouds over the horizon coming on.’” (link)

    These warnings, however, fell on deaf ears as the GIC continued to pour money into the troubled bank only to belatedly cut its losses 10 years later.

    The recklessness and incompetence of this government has resulted in a massive loss of billions of dollars of the people’s money. As Chairman of the GIC, PM Lee Hsien Loong cannot remain silent on this matter.

    A public inquiry is wholly appropriate and necessary at this juncture.

     

    Source: http://yoursdp.org

  • Damanhuri Abas: Reserved Elected Presidency In September A Foregone Conclusion

    Damanhuri Abas: Reserved Elected Presidency In September A Foregone Conclusion

    The death of Othman Wok being a trusted Malay of LKY’s era will invite some controversy. The State assisted funeral, the ongoing tributes on TV and the press are expected. The Govt must surely remember and celebrate the Malay man that became the face they wanted for the community.

    His passing is not planned but may be a timely coincident in light of the upcoming Malay reserved Presidential election scheduled in September. Rumours are going around that the choice is between Halimah or Zainul. Either one will soften the Malay ground which may not in truth be as eagerly embracing the idea of a Malay President, not under the circumstances it did. On paper Halimah may offer additional appeasement value being the first woman President, a Malay and a Tudung wearing one too. These are definite emotional winners on the heart strings of the Malays.

    Already the regional Malay crowd are warming up and not so quietly curious about this prospect and some even jumped the gun in excitedly running full page article about the potential new Woman Malay President of Singapore with a tactful jibe to the affirmative action footnote of we are right afterall, since Singapore also do it, rhetoric.

    The opening of the Yusuf Ishak Mosque in Woodlands also was a landmark event attended by top Govt officials including the PM for the first President namesake Mosque that clearly is another softening the Malay ground exercise. Other than the untoward controversy over the pulpit design, the event was definitely helpful towards winning mostly hearts and some minds.

    Soon Ramadan will come and than its Hari Raya Puasa followed by Hari Raya Haji. These back to back religious and festive moods are blessings for the Govt leading up to the September vote if there is a vote. Most Malays by then would have somewhat come around and accepted the Malay President with our trademark nonchalant just accept it lah tolerant mindset, and move on.

    Looks like come September, the Malay President is game set and match. You got to give it to them, another brilliant political masterstroke from the Govt.

     

    Source: Damanhuri Bin Abas

  • Jufrie Mahmood: Millionaire PAP Ministers Have Lost Touch, Don’t Understand Anxieties Of Common Singaporeans

    Jufrie Mahmood: Millionaire PAP Ministers Have Lost Touch, Don’t Understand Anxieties Of Common Singaporeans

    Minister Lawrence Wong and his cabinet colleagues don’t live in 99-year lease HDB flats.

    With their millions, chances are, they would be living in landed free-hold properties in choice areas. Their properties are for keeps which they can pass on to their succeeding generations.

    They therefore don’t have the anxieties that we ordinary mortals have.

    That is the difference.

    Unlike your COE for motor vehicles the HDB and most other private properties’ COE is for 99 years.

     

    Source: Mohamed Jufrie Bin Mahmood

     

  • Chee Soon Juan: Goh’s Folly – Commodification Of Public Housing

    Chee Soon Juan: Goh’s Folly – Commodification Of Public Housing

    IT IS SAID that a politician thinks of the next elections but it takes a real leader to think of the next generation.

    And so it is with Mr Goh Chok Tong who may, having bolstered the PAP’s grip in politics through his asset enhancement and HDB upgrading schemes, lay claim to being a brilliant politician but, through these same policies, demonstrated utter failure as a leader.

    In 1991, under pressure to deliver a good result to secure his mandate as the new prime minister after taking over from Lee Kuan Yew, Mr Goh introduced the asset enhancement programme which, for all intents and purposes, cajoled (or threatened, as some saw it) Singaporeans into voting for his party in return for enhancing the prices of their HDB flats.

    The plan worked brilliantly, securing for the prime minister and his party mates a healthy victory. But it also started the pernicious mentality among Singaporeans that one’s flat was a commodity whose price stood to appreciate markedly over a short span of time.

    As a consequence, few thought little of shelling out huge sums of money, mainly by using their retirement funds, to finance HDB purchases. The motivation was that one could monetise the asset and realise robust capital gains at a later stage.

    Such a trend had two unfortunate effects: The first was that using CPF savings to service HDB mortgages would leave many financially wanting in their retirement years.

    The second is that as prices rose, young entrants into the public housing market would find it prohibitive to start a home. As a result, many young couples put off having children as their finances come under pressure.

    The propaganda, pushed by a media that act more like cheerleaders than vehicles for thoughtful deliberation, compounded the public’s exuberance for asset enhancement. Duly stoked, homeowners devised ways of using their flats to turn a profit.

    Some have even resorted to buying older flats at high prices with the view to reaping the benefits of redevelopment through the Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme (SERS).

    (The SERS selects older blocks of flats for demolition and replaces them with new ones. Displaced occupants stand to gain from a fresh 99-year lease of their new flats and are, in some cases, compensated financially or given subsidised prices for their new flats.)

    Related article: SDP proposes Non-Open Market flats

    This prompted the National Development Minister to step in and point out that SERS, as the name suggests, is selective – extremely selective, in fact – of blocks earmarked for redevelopment; only four percent have come under the scheme since it was launched in 1995.

    In addition, the Minister reminded, when the 99-year lease is up, a flat would have to be returned to the state. In other words, it becomes worthless.

    How does this square with Mr Goh Chok Tong’s vaunted promise to enhance one’s asset in return for voting for the PAP?

    A cynical ploy

    It was the height of irresponsibility to make a promise that the government is ill-equipped to deliver. For one thing, property prices are not determined by fiat. Much of it relies on the state of the economy. With an increasing number of workers being retrenched (or if they remain employed, having their wages frozen) and the young finding it more difficult to find jobs, how are Singaporeans going to afford bigger and more expensive flats or, for that matter, even their first one? And if they can’t, how is value of HDB property going to go up?

    With the global economy showing little appetite for the kind of exploitative trade seen over the past few decades, Singapore’s economic fortunes have dimmed considerably. The inexorable march of automation also means that more and more Singaporeans will be out of jobs, replaced by robots. Add to these China’s determination to by-pass Singapore (a staunch US ally) as a trading centre in order to secure its own shipping interests, our economic future looks shaky.

    In the face of such uncertainty, how is the PAP going to make good on its asset enhancement promise? It was, to begin with, unrealistic to expect prices to appreciate indefinitely. Yet, Mr Goh and company chose to ignore the pitfalls in a cynical bid to buttress its political hegemony.

    The policy also has ramifications at the macro level. With a significant portion of income tied up in property, consumer spending and other forms of domestic investment are necessarily curtailed. Investments in higher education or to start-up businesses are also reduced. All these have serious implications for our economy as we move ahead.

    In the final analysis, housing – in particular public housing – should not be a tradeable commodity. It is our home in which we bring up our children, that roof over our heads when ill-winds blow. It should never have been turned into a commercial entity.

    ​Therein lies Goh Chok Tong’s ultimate folly.

     

    Source:www.cheesoonjuan.com

  • Jufrie Mahmood: Malay Community Cannot Trust Masagos Zulkifli Anymore

    Jufrie Mahmood: Malay Community Cannot Trust Masagos Zulkifli Anymore

    Facebook post from SDP ex chairman Jufri Mahmood.
    (Translated from Malay in original post)

    I thought as a Muslim Minister, you would be more understanding of the aspirations of the Muslimahs in this issue.
    I thought you would give more hope and have more opportunities to convince the Government that this is a very important issue to the very community you are representing.
    I thought you are more devout than the colleagues and friends in your little group.
    Never would I have thought that you had a knife all along, and you stabbed us in the back.
    You are truly manipulative.
    How could you!

    KUSANGKA SEBAGAI SEORANG MENTERI BERAGAMA ISLAM KAU LEBIH MEMAHAMI ASPIRASI KAUM HAWA KITA DALAM ISU INI.
    KUSANGKA KAU AKAN MENCERAHKAN LAGI PELUANG UNTUK MEYAKINKAN PEMERINTAH TENTANG PENTINGNYA ISU INI KEPADA MASYARAKAT YANG KAU SEPATUTNYA MEWAKALI.
    KUSANGKA KAU LEBIH WARAK DARI RAKAN-RAKAN DALAM KELOMPOKMU.
    SEDIKIT TAK KU SANGKA KAU BAWA BERSAMAMU SEBILAH PISAU DAN MENIKAMKU DARI BELAKANG.
    KAU SUNGGUH UNSANGKARABLE.
    SAMPAI HATIMU!

    Source: www.allsingaporestuff.com