Comments, opinions and an occasional ramble
Archive for January, 2008
Our own Obama? Not so soon
Jan 11th
Li Xueying opined in the Straits Times today about whether Singapore is ready to look beyond race when it comes to selecting her leader. I was thinking about the same thing when Barack Obama won the Iowa caucus.
A recent poll has shown that majority of Singaporeans are receptive towards a non-Chinese prime minister. Personally, I don’t really care about the race or gender of the PM. The best person should be given the job, period. Unfortunately, even if Singaporeans are ready for a non-Chinese PM, as long as SOME people are not ready, Singapore will never have a non-Chinese PM.
Perhaps the following paragraph from Li Xueying’s column will demonstrate more clearly what I mean in the preceding paragraph:
In 1988, when revealing how his successor was selected, then-Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew said that then-National Development Minister S. Dhanabalan could have been considered if not for his race. Singapore was not ready for an Indian PM, said Mr Lee then.
Singapore’s system of governance is not the same as the USA. Our prime minister is not elected through a popular vote. The prime minister is picked from the party that wins the most number of seats in the legislature. Even if a non-Chinese person has overwhelming public support, as long as the party doesn’t think that person is suitable for the job (be it due to race, gender or capabilities), that person will never become PM. Public opinion does not matter.
If Singapore is to have its own Obama, it can only happen if either 1) The Prime Minister is elected through a popular vote or 2) SOME people change their opinion. Else, the glass ceiling will always remain.
Means testing just means we should be more proactive
Jan 10th
It appears that few are disagreeing with the means testing proposal by MOH to determine the level of subsidy Singaporeans should receive in the event of hospitalisation. The main concern, as usual, is whether the middle-class folks will be heavily burdened as a result.
Actually, I think the middle-class folks are unduly worried. Sure, hospitalisation can be expensive business but it need not be if one takes up private medical insurance. And, comprehensive private medical insurance for hospitalisation isn’t unaffordable for middle-class folks in Singapore, at least not yet.
We already have Medishield for basic hospitalisation coverage. Middle-class folks should ‘upgrade’ their Medishield through the Private Medical Insurance Scheme (PMIS) and take up an additional private plan to complement Medishield. The market is quite competitive (see this PDF document that compares the various products on the market) so premiums are affordable for middle class folks.
Personally, I’ve signed myself on PruShield Premier plus PruShield Extra. It currently costs me about $450 a year, with about one-third of it coming out of my Medisave account. It’s a small price to pay for a peace of mind. PruShield Premier allows me to go to a private hospital and the benefits are as charged, meaning there’s no cap. With Prushield Premier alone, I’ll have to co-pay a small portion of the expenses (deductibles and co-insurance) so I added PruShield Extra which takes care of that. So, in the event that I’m hospitalised (which I have not experienced and I hope not to experience), my insurance takes care of every single cent of my hospital bill.
There are many other similar products out there on the market (see this link for a list of insurers) and it’s perhaps a good time for middle-class folks who are not yet covered to start reviewing their coverage. Means testing will not be a problem for middle-class folks if they know how to cover themselves with private medical insurance. Since Medisave can be used to pay for private medical insurance, it makes even greater sense to get one.
Means testing simply means that we have to be more proactive in ensuring adequate personal medical coverage. I heard over the radio today that the Life Insurance Association is going to engage the health ministry in talks to discuss the impact of means testing on insurers, as well as to explore ways to encourage Singaporeans to take up private medical insurance. Since means testing have grabbed the attention of Singaporeans, I think now is the best time to broadcast the importance of private medical insurance.
Million dollar HDB flat (almost)
Jan 9th
I almost fell out of my chair reading the latest record price for a HDB flat. It went for a whopping $890,000. I guess the next record price will be a million dollars.
Rising HDB flat prices in the resale market is a bad thing for many Singaporeans, especially for first time buyers. Of course, there’s always the option of buying a brand new flat from HDB. However, don’t expect a brand new HDB flat to be much cheaper because of the pricing policy practised by HDB.
As an example, I bought my current flat at Jurong West St 93 for $249,000. The blocks have already been completed when I applied for a unit. After talking to my neighbours who got their units 3 months before mine (they were relocated due to SERS), I found out that they paid $30,000 less than what I paid.
Since the flats were already completed, there is technically no change in cost of building. The only reason is probably because the housing market started to heat up in the second half of 2007. My neighbours got their units in the first half of 2007, before the housing market fever started. Of course, compared to buying a resale flat now, it’s still cheaper by $30,000 – $40,000 so I’m not complaining.
However, if anyone is going to buy a new flat now, especially for the build-to-order (BTO) scheme, you might want to think a little harder whether you want to buy it now. Under this scheme, your flats will only be ready in 4-6 years time, and if the market is down in the dumps by then, you are stuck with paying the installments for that high price you agreed to 4-6 years ago. Of course, there’s also the mental anguish of watching the value of your home drop before you even move into it!
Having said all these, it doesn’t mean one shouldn’t buy a flat now. Just know what you are getting yourself into if you intend to buy a flat now.
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