TR EMERITUS

Dear Mr Matt Miller,   I refer to your Washington Post article dated 3 Mar 2010 which was carried by the Straits Times on 5 Mar 2010 under the similar title of "US can get pointers from S'pore's health-care system".   Your assertion that Singapore is the only rich nation with universal health coverage is false.  According to a reply (http://www.moh.gov.sg/mohcorp/parliamentaryqa.aspx?id=22864) by our health minister to parliament on 18 Aug 2009, our nationwide MediShield Plan covers only 84% of our population with two main groups left uninsured - the young below 20 years and non-working spouses.   You have the impression that Singapore was a poor country a few decades ago.  Yet even then, we were already amongst the top in Asia in terms of per capita GDP.  In fact, we have been thriving since our founding in 1819 as a port and crown jewel of the British Empire.  Yes, we've made leaps and bounds over the last few decades but that only means that we're richer now compared to a few decades ago, not that we were poor a few decades ago.  If you were to compare the US of today with the US of a few decades ago, you will similarly find that the US of a few decades ago seems so considerably poorer.   While we may now have a higher per capita GDP than your country, our take home pay according to UBS' global survey on prices and earnings is only less than half that of New Yorker's.  Therefore, it is not enough to just look at the GDP, we must also look at how much of that GDP is going into the people's pockets.  Judging by the UBS survey, Singaporeans are getting the much shorter end of the stick than you Americans.   Your comparison of your country's healthcare bill of 17% of GDP to our healthcare bill of 4% of GDP over exaggerates the frugality of our healthcare bill.  Because if you were to look at the healthcare bills across the East Asian economies of Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea, they too are similarly conservative at around 5% to 7% of GDP.  So within the league of the East Asian economies, Singapore's healthcare bill doesn't seem so out of the ordinary.  In fact, most of the Western nations spend between 8% to 11% of GDP on healthcare.  Therefore, the US healthcare bill is not just bloated in comparison to Singapore, it is bloated in comparison to all other Western nations.   Again, you appear to over-exaggerate your case by comparing the 33% of health spending paid by Singaporeans against the 90% of health spending not paid by Americans.  You should have instead compared the 33% of health spending paid by Singaporeans against the 10% health spending paid by Americans.  In any case, it shows that Singaporeans are paying a larger share of healthcare bills ourselves compared to you Americans.  Would you rather that Americans pay more out of their own pockets even though they have already paid more in terms of taxes and social security?   Our so-called mandatory retirement savings is really not so mandatory after all since Singaporeans are allowed to use it to pay for housing so much so that many end up having no money left for retirement.   Your impression that we have 'ample safety net for the poor' is ludicrous to say the least.  It is well known that 'welfare' is a dirty word in Singapore.  Social safety is a concept that does not exist in Singapore.  Although we do have the Public Assistance Scheme, it only amounts to $17.3 million this year up from $13 million last year.  That makes social safety 0.007% of our GDP compared to 14.8% for your country.   Therefore, contrary to what you have said, we are not further to the left than either President Obama or his foes.  Your article is so chock-full of mistakes, I don't understand why Washington Post and the Straits Times even bothered to publish it.     Thank you     Ng Kok Lim  Read More →

Written by Our Correspondent After dragging its feet for a few months, the Singapore authorities have finally decided to press charges against former Romanian diplomat Dr Silviu Ionescu who is implicated in a hit-and-run road traffic accident in December last year. Four passer-bys were knocked down by a black Audi A6 from the Romanian embassy and one of them, a 31 year Malaysian, had passed away from his injuries. The 13 charges include "causing death by reckless driving, causing grievous hurt through a rash act, and failing to stop, help or lodge a police report after the accidents," the Straits Times reported. Despite being a prime suspect in the case, Dr Silviu was strangely allowed to leave Singapore for Romania three days after the accident. It is not known how Singapore is going to bring Dr Silviu back to face the charges. The Romanian government has not waived the diplomatic immunity for Dr Silviu and has merely suspended him from work. Singapore and Romania do not have an extradition treaty and Dr Silviu cannot be forced to return to Singapore even if his diplomatic immunity is lifted. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), which has remained mostly a spectator in the fracas, has now summoned Mr Aurelian Neagu, the Romanian Ambassador to Singapore, who is based in Tokyo, to a meeting next week to discuss the charges. Foreign Affairs Minister George Yeo broke his silence on the case only after three weeks with a most regrettable remark that "what happened was very bad". There were no further press statements from MFA till Dr Silviu accused the Singapore government of "setting" him up during an interview with a Romanian TV station last month which greatly embarrassed Singapore. He alluded that he was "persecuted" because of his "political activities" in Singapore. When told of the verdict by the Singapore Coroner's Court two days ago fingering him as the culprit, Dr Silviu retorted: "This is bulls***" He also insinuated that he stood a higher chance of a fair trial in Romania, a "democratic" nation and a member of the European Union. An obviously peeved MFA was forced to reveal two international rankings to defend Singapore: "In the Global Competitiveness Report for 2009 and 2010, for instance, Singapore ranked 19th when it came to judicial independence, while Romania placed 84th." For a nation which prides itself in being the first in every ranking, 19th is an absolute disgrace.   Please join our Facebook discussion on this article here and invite your friends to do so as well to raise awareness among fellow Singaporeans.   Copyright © 2009 – 2010 The Temasek Review (If you are going to reproduce this article on your blog or forum, please provide a link back to ours) Related articles: 1. Dr Silviu Ionescu doesn’t think much of verdict 2. Subhas Anandan wants $100K compensation for widow of deceased accident victim 3. Quietor”wayang”diplomacyintheescapeofDrSilviuIonescu 4. Confirmed: Dr Silviu Ionescu is the driver 5. Email interview with Yenny Young, wife of Mr Tong Kok Wai 6. Dr Silviu Ionescu: fact remains that I was not in the car at the time of the accident 7. Investigating or procrastinating: Dr Silviu Ionescu still holidaying in Romania 8. George Yeo on Romanian embassy car crash: What happened is “very bad” 9. Online petition calls on Romanian govt to make ex gratias payment 10. Dr Silviu Ionescu: I took cab to notify car theft 11. Eye witness saw driver quarreling with a young girl in the car  Read More →

Written by Our Correspondent The Reform Party will be conducting a joint walkabout together with the Singapore Democratic Alliance at Bishan Street 11 this coming Sunday at 9am. When contacted by the Straits Times yesterday, Mr Kenneth Jeyaretnam, Secretary-General of the Reform Party, said that "the event will assess support for a possible Reform-SDA alliance in Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC." According to a Straits Times report last year, opposition veteran MP Mr Chiam See Tong has expressed his intention of roping the fledging Reform Party into the SDA and talks have been ongoing between the two parties for quite some time. Mr Chiam, a MP for Potong Pasir for 26 years will be leading a team in neighboring Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC at the next general election. The GRC is a stronghold of the PAP helmed by Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng and has not seen an electoral contest since 1988. With public disgruntlement and resentment at an all-time high against the ruling PAP for its discriminatory policies, the opposition stands a good chance of increasing the number of seats they won in the 2006 general elections, including a GRC for the first time since the scheme was introduced in 1988. The Reform Party was set up in 2008 by the late opposition leader Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam. Since then, it has seen an influx of young professionals joining the party including a former SAF scholar and a former senior civil servant. The other opposition parties have also witnessed an increase in the number of members with tertiary education, a sign that more Singaporeans are becoming disaffected with the PAP. Unable to stem the swing of votes among native Singaporeans to the opposition, the PAP has been busy wooing the new citizens to shore up their flagging support base. The electoral rolls were updated twice in the last two years with the last update adding some 400,000 eligible voters to the rolls, of which the percentage of new citizens remain unknown. As immigrants tend to vote for the ruling party which gives them the opportunity to start life afresh in Singapore, they will form an increasing influential voting bloc in future elections as the percentage of native voters continue to dwindle. Unless Singaporeans reclaim their nation in the next general election, they may end up as second class minorities in a Singapore dominated by the newcomers.   Related articles: >> AGC filed appeal against SDP 5's acquittal >> SDP five acquitted of charges of illegal procession >> Singaporeans charged for "walking"   EDITORS’ NOTE: Please join our Facebook page here and invite your friends to do so as well.      Read More →