"Meet-the-people session tonight left me with 'down' feeling seeing unhappy residents that I could not assist due to regulations in place. One such example was that one resident tonight was unhappy with me because I could not get CPF to allow him to withdraw his savings.
According to the reply from CPF board, the minimum sum (MS) Scheme, members who turned 55 between 1 July 2005 to 30 June 2006 need to set aside MS $90,000 in their Retirement Account (RA), of which $45,000 must be in cash and the remaining $45,000 may be in the form of a property pledge. For those who turn 55 after July 2015 the MS will be $120,000.
CPF explained, in reply to my appeal letter, that the savings in the RA are meant to provide members with a regular income to meet their retirement needs from their drawdown age. In view of the aging population and longer life expectancy for Singaporeans, the RA savings need to be stretched for as long as possible as they may be the only source of funds which members can turn to for financing their living expenses in the old age."
Ms Lily Neo is a popular MP, well loved and respected by the people under her constituency, widely regarded as one of the rare 'good' MPs among the whites. The points she made in her Facebook post were nothing new and have been part of the Internet "noise" for years. Since 'noise' and 'trolls' are generally ignored by all members of the PAP these days, it is a good thing the fallacies of our CPF policies are yet again highlighted by somebody who has a higher chance to win some golden listening ears from the PAP. But oh wait. Lily Neo is both a member of PAP and Parliament. Where was she when the White Paper was being endorsed?
As far as we can see, Neo Lily clearly endorsed the White Paper. Assuming Ms Neo was sober when she voted, very clearly that was the result of the Party Whip in place. This should set us thinking. Consider this, most of us will not doubt Lily Neo's sincerity to serve the people. A person like her does not maintain a good reputation for many years by patronising her people. From her Facebook revelations, it was clear that she did not think much of our CPF policies yet she was made to vote for something against her beliefs, against her .... conscience. Lily Neo was probably not the only one among the PAP ranks to fall under the whip. Perhaps this can serve as a classic example why we Singaporeans, even for those who support the PAP, should stop for a second and think carefully about the consequences of giving the PAP too many seats in parliament.
| Political groups | PAP (80) WP (7+2 NCMPs) SPP (1 NCMP) NMPs (9) |
|---|
You'll be surprised some Singaporeans are not aware that the Parliament and the President jointly make up the legislature of Singapore. As represented by the chart above, the PAP currently has 80% of the total seats in Parliament. With the Party Whip in place, the government will encounter no resistance with a minimum of 80% votes behind them every single time. This explains why every policy proposed by the government is being rolled out cleanly from the conveyor belt to affect your lives directly, whether or not it is good, bad or ugly for you. Simply put, you have no representation in Parliament, even if your MP is willing to hug and cry with you during the meet-the-people-sessions.
Consider living a life where your spouse make every single decision in your marriage, you can have a say but you must oblige by his or her final decision at the end of the day. I don't believe such a marriage set up will last very long. Consider working in an environment where you have to do as you are told every single day without room for meaningful inputs or discussion. You won't be working in such a company for long. Consider living an entire childhood without winning a single negotiation against your parents. You will run away from home before long. Even the meekest of us will fight for our beliefs, rights and privileges in our personal lives in our own little ways. So, it is unreal how Singaporeans are agreeable with such an arrangement such that the government is allowed to make every single decision which impact our lives without any available channel for us to discuss, negotiate or stop it.
This isn't about anti-pap or anti-government. The concept applies even if an opposition party takes over as the government one day. No party should be given the absolute power to do whatever they please because it will inevitably lead to self-serving policies or even corruption. (are the signs already showing?) How about voting a little wiser the next round, people?
Many citizens are clearly unhappy with the CPF policy. My EM fren Douglas told me that his wife on reaching 55 yrs was told that she could only withdraw at 62 yrs. Recently she tried to do it she reached 62 yrs but was rejected. Only few hundreds a month. She was pissed off. My another fren Thomas just reached 55 yrs only allowed to withdraw $5K. More than $100K locked up. Ge can't take out his own money. He also very bitter against the govt. Some even can't use the ordinary account to pay housing instalments cuz all will be locked away once you hit 55 yrs. It's so stupid when you got so much CPF yet must use cash to pay housing loan! I don't think this govt will last long as pointed out by those affected citizens. They are digging their own grave indeed!
ReplyDeleteIs the CPF still our money? According to the poll on the top right hand side of this site, 30% don't agree. Telling figures, going by our 2011 election results.
DeleteCPF is not our money (i.e. no longer under our control) unless we escape the Little Red Dot and takes it with us. :d
DeleteThis is why LHL says there are no dead poor in Singapore. You die whilst your CPF funds continue to locked away against the day you get old, so that you do not burden this government.
DeleteScrew the whip. If any of the PAP men or women had principles, they would have voted no. They were elected to REPRESENT THE PEOPLE, not the frigging party. If I were a man in white I would have voted no. What can the party do to me? Censure me? Whip me? Go ahead la, my conscience is clear. Sack me as an MP? Really? No problem, I'll run in the by-election as an independent and I bet your mum's undies that the PAP guy running against me will lose his deposit.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I'll be withdrawing my CPF next year and will report back if there's any money left!
if you are withdrawing then who can i vote for in 2016?
DeleteMove to Hougang! ;)
DeleteUnfortunately, the majority of the people are sheepies. They are only capable of 'Hello Kitty' form of thinking.
ReplyDeleteThe DIY sheepies vote with their feet. ASingaporeanSon, CK and I did.
Deletehttp://asingaporeanson.blogspot.ca/2013/11/nicole-seah-failed-strategist.html
Majority of Singapore citizens of voting accept being F***ed. It takes too long to wake up the lion within them.
True.
Delete