Thoughts from a humid weekend in Singapore

       This weekend has been a one of much reflection for me, particularly the horrible accident which has been hogging the main papers this last week. You see, there was this accident along Victoria Street going towards Lavender Street and Rochor Road, which involved a Ferarri, a Comfort taxi, and a motorcycle. The Ferrari was driven by a Mr. Ma Chi, a 'financial investor' from Xiamen China. He was apparently driving at 200 km/hr and must have beaten several red lights. No matter, at 4.13 am on the morning of 12th May, he crashed, no hurtled into the taxi driven by a Mr. Cheng Teck Hock which had the right of way. To date, Ma, Mr. Cheng and the taxi driver's occupant, Miss. Shigemi Ito have died. The barrage of nasty comments aimed at the Ma family (they were from China, apparently very wealthy) in the wake of the accident has once again highlighted the rich - poor divide that has been festering in Singapore. 

       My absolute sympathies to the Cheng, Ito and even Ma families. Through the thoughtlessness of one person, Ma Chi, so may people have to be brought together to grieve. Many suggestions have been thrown up, such as ensuring that all supercar drivers undego additional defensive driving training, providing the 'Provisional driver' template and other suggestions. But in essence, the main issue is this. Drink driving. Initial reports suggest that the driver was smelling of alcohol when he was pulled out of the vehicle.  

      

      My suggestion for this is, to prevent  or at least minimise all future tragedies, for all entertainment establishments, KTV lounges, enforce and employ alcohol checkers say after 12 midnight. Mandate it, put it into law. Every one who leaves the establishment will be given a special breath check by the guy at the counter. If discos and entertainment establishments can have lines for checking people who reenter the place, they can do the same for everyone who leaves, say after a certain time. Midnight is my suggested witching hour.

      Draconian ? Loss of privacy ?  Well yes. however, this is a small price to pay compared to the innocent people who lost their lives, and worst still the innocent dependent families of the taxi driver, the unborn child and the family of the Japanese lady working here.   

      

Muthu's Lunch Date 14th May

Our feast 

          14th May was another interesting meet up with friends, whom I have made the last 4 years. Roland is my friend from Karate dojo KSK, whom I first met in 2008. Retired from active work these last 4 years, he has taken up directorships in several Government owned banks overseas. He is also the President of our Karate club, and offering advice in the Credit Counselling Bureau, which is meant for helping people who have issues with their money (or lack of) and curbing bad spending habits.  Eddie, also has retired from active work, and is managing his own business from Jakarta, where he was based for a number of years. Both were ex-bankers in very senior positions, and I am grateful to share their life experiences, as well as friendship. 

         They both impart to me the message, Life is Short, use your time wisely and meaningfully. Money is not the be all and end all of life. We all face death one day, so lets not have regrets of not doing the things we wanted, wished or should have done when we had the health and means to do it. 

        Carpe Diem.   

Mother's Day 2012 ; Sat 12 th May

Outdoor dining at Vivocity on a balmy Saturday evening

Mother's Day this year was a Spanish affair. I decided to try the restaurant Serenity at Vivicoty, which has been around since 2008. So I made the booking and we headed for the place at 7.10pm hoping that traffic was managable. We were wrong, it took us almost 45 minutes to head across town in bumper to bumper traffic which on a normal day would take no more than 20 minutes. Anyway, I had the presence of mind to book for the Roast Suckling Pig (1/2) which was slow cooked in the oven normally for 16 hours. It was certainly the highlight of the meal. For starters, we had the Tapas (or small snacks) of boiled cuttlefish with sweet sauce as well as the cod fish cakes. Excellent choice. 

      Seafood  Paella (pronouced Pay -eya)  

We ordered drinks, Sangria for me, which was Spanish wine with some cocktail mixture. The 2 boys had their milkshakes and Cokes, while May had plain water. The main courses was of course the Suckling Pig  and the Paella. The Paella was excellent in taste, the rice is sticky to the pan, and flavour of the fresh mussels, prawns and snow peas was something I would gladly try again. Finally the Piece de Resistance, the Suckling Pig. Slow roasted for  close to 1 day, the meat was sweet, flesh practically dripping from the bone and the skin, crispy. Perfect.

May and elder son, Noel.

The 4 piece band played a lot of Latin favourites while Sentosa's Universal Studios had some fireworks in the background. The only minor grouse was the service which, to be honest, was a little slow, but given that this was Mother's Day weekend, and they had a Full House, was the only blemish to an otherwise 1st rate meal coupled with the festive ambience. 

Happy Mother's Day to my wife May and my Mum, Anna. Much love from your husband and son.  

My 'new' car

      My current car the last 2 months is the Mercedes Benz E 230 7GTronic. Its a second hand car and I bought it from a reliable dealer for (get this) - US$ 90,000. Cars in Singapore are practically the HIGHEST in the WORLD, testament to the fact that the Certificate of Entitlement, or the piece of paper which entitles the buyer to purchase a new car is hovering around U$ 75,000. So, a simple calculation of say the Toyota Altis (1.6 litre), which is retailing in Japan for U$ 20,000.


-   Import Car Price                                : U$ 20,000
-  Additional Registration Fee : 150 %  : U$ 30,000
-  COE                                                  :  U$ 60,000 ('small' car COE is about S$ 75,000 or U$ 60,000)


  Voila ! you get the sum of  U$ 110, 000 or  S$ 130, 000 or RM 318,000 ! For a Toyota Altis no less.


  For  a new Mercedes E 250, you would need to fork out U$ 200, 000, something unthinkable for most Americans but frankly, Singapore has a growing number or elite rich, who park their cash here.


  So mathematically, the percentage price of the COE in relation to a small car like the Altis is 105%, see U$ 60,000 compared to the US$ 50, 000. But when you put that against the price of a Lamboghini Gallardo which has a U$ 1.000,000 import price tag, it is 'only'  7.5 % (based on big car COE prices) So anyone with half a brain will be able to assess that the COE supply is 'favouring' the rich, for if you could afford U$ 1 million for a car, whats another US$ 75,000 ?


     But for the person who is starting out a family, he or she will feel the pinch, because given that the average earning capacity of the ordinary Singaporean is in the region of about US$ 2, 800. In short, new cars will only be afforded by the rich or the people with rich parents who subsidise the cars for them. Ordinary Singaporeans, and most expatriates will contend with the (much criticised and aging)
MRT, taxis and public buses. Its manageable, but the recent spate of breakdowns by the MRT trains late last year and many times this year have made it a public embarrassment.


    Ridiculous isn't it ??    
  
    Of course, you will get the banks and dealers offering you, some discount from the interest you paid over the (up to 10) years, and you end up paying an obscene amount of around US$ 105, 000. When you factor in the interest paid for the car when you actually pay (its 1.88% on outstanding balance), if you drive it for the 10 years (most people don't, rather they end up changing cars and 'upgrading' and hence head towards deeper debt), you would end up paying something like US$ 120,000


        This is probably 4 -5  TIMES what you would pay for a similar type car in Japan after you add their taxes and insurance.


       That is why I opted to buy a second hand car. The COE was based on past 3 years price so it was a more manageable US$ 40,000. Plus I have customers, overseas partners and associates to cater for, so the second hand Merc was my choice, for better or worse.


       Its an elitist system we have in Singapore , and for those who desire to own a car, be forwarned, this is an expensive choice.

Happy Mother's Day Friends

My mother, Anna, June 2009

Every second Sunday of the year, the world traditionally celebrates Mothers' Day, so I  am reminded about the wonderful love and care my dear mother, Anna, showered on the both of us brothers when we were young, during our teenage years, early adulthood and into middle age. 

Anna was frugal, but with a kind soul. She helped everyone who came to her, as was her nature. She was the eldest of the Wen family (my maternal grandfather was called Wen P.C.), so had the leadership instincts honed in from young. My mother, was initially from a well - off family, which saw its fortunes fall in the early 1940s to 1960s. So she had to raise her younger sisters and brothers together with my Por Por.  Life then was very hard, having suffered  first under the Japanese occupation, and then when my Grandfather left the family for a number of years, leaving them with virtually nothing.

After marrying my father, their fortunes changed for the better, but my mother's frugal ways was always evident, always scrimping and saving and making wise purchasing decisions on property (local and foreign) , equities, antiques (I am still learning), jade and gold trading. She was the 'money brains' of the family while my father was the successful barrister well regarded for his debating acumen as well as his generous contributions to society.

I am very determined that I want to emulate or even surpass my mother, in first acquiring the 'money brains' and also the sense of helping the underprivileged in society get an equal opportunity in life. 

Here's to you Mum, happy Mother's Day !   

  

Jurong Bird Park - a revisit

Squawk, squawk, yeah, I've had a long day too ! 

       Recently this past week, my company has been hosting our partners from Rookee India, and the visitors expressed an interest to visit the world famous  Jurong Bird Park. As we had a couple of hours of free time, I took it upon myself to bring them to the Park, at around 4pm. From a vision by the late Finance and National Development Minister, Dr. Goh Keng Swee, the Bird Park was a reality in the early 70s and the first and largest man - made waterfall housing a huge aviary with thousands of birds roaming, in a practically cage - free environment, a large fine mesh netting covering a huge expanse of trees.

        I have visited the place when my kids were still toddlers, more than 10 years ago. Recently, I may have brought some visitor from Japan some 5 years ago, but the memories and the experience is still as good as the previous ones.

        Here is a picture of me with a Lory, a small parakeet. These birds are friendly and very colourful. They also make a racket and with one squawking into my ear, I am sure she has got my attention !

Call me, maybe ?

Really hot song by Carly Rae Jebsen, funny video and even funnier ending. Watch it and enjoy. No prude comments please. This is the 21st century.