Economics Business Music Politics Altruism

SG50@VCH: LYNNETTE SEAH & SHANE THIO on Sat, 21 Mar 2015, 7:30pm at Victoria Concert Hall

Lynnette Seah

The exquisite sound string from the violin and violinist blended nicely with the acoustics of Victoria Concert Hall. It produced a sonority that reverberate my tympanic cavity through the auricle to produce a romantic and lyrical tonality that transported me into musical nirvana.

Shane Thio

Opening number was Johann Sebastian Bach’s Violin Sonata for Violin and Harpsichord BWV 1016 which his son Carl Philipp Emanuel, wrote to his father’s biographer Forkel in 1774, describing

Johann Sebastian Bach

the six sonatas for violin and harpsichord (BWV 1014-19) was among the best works of (his) late beloved father. The exquisite rendition by Lynnette Seah on the Violin was marred in part by her partner in crime for the evening Shane Thio on the harpsichord. Having heard the duo’s performance of other pieces on Seah’s debut CD “a musical odyssey”, I can only reach a verdict of insufficient practice on Thio’s part as someone of Thio’s stature, stage fright should no longer be an issue. The hall was mostly full and the audience a fairly well informed group should had been a morale booster.

Seah had her score on stand but Thio might have overestimated his memory capacity and sailed without score and page turner for the first two pieces and resorted to them only in the third and final piece after the intermission. For a piece like BWV 1016, it is tantamount to harakiri or stupidity as his part is fully scored by the composer with little or no room for variation except for some ornamentation.

Seah’s performance was mostly probably modeled after Arthur Grumiaux and Christiane Jaccottet in the area of tempo, phrasing and most vividly the tonality of the violin. Viktoria Mullova teaming with OttavioDantone is more celebratory whereas Seah’s and Grumiaux’s lean towards a contemplative aura. Emotion is the undertone for this piece with heavy Italian emotional mojo to boot. Mullova’s sounding with lighter bowing is in line with the faster tempo most prevalent in the second of the four movement piece. Rachel Podger is one of my favorite violinists but for her rendering of this piece with one of the better informed baroque musician Trevor Pinnock did not strike my heart string for some unknown reason. Her tone was thick like Grumiaux but is contaminated by some purposeful higher harmonics which might not reflect the intention of the composer. Perhaps the problem is mine as who am I to critique a baroque giant like Pinnock.

Arcangelo Corelli

Progressing from Bach a German composer writing a piece in BWV 1016 with strong Italian overtones, the next piece Violin Sonata Opus 5/12 by Corelli was truly all Italian. The basic ingredient is based on later Follia which is one of the oldest remembered European musical themes. Although the theme is centred around a minor mode, the expression sways dynamically from a sombre Adagio beginning in the first movement to expansive Vivace celebratory dance in the middle movement before coming full circle to end with another Adagio.

Seah took to lighter bowing in the slower movements to a naturally spirited at the height of the Vivace movement. One of the corner stone of this piece being a La Follia lies in the beauty of the chord progression. I wonder how Thio could have contaminated it by improper chord formations in a few instances. Wrong chord is forgivable but wrong chord formation is blasphemous as they are mathematical DNA deeply ingrained in musicians all and sundry.

Cesar Franck

Thio reclaimed his reputation in the final piece Franck Sonata for Violin and Piano as out went the harpsichord and in came the piano with score and page turner in toll as well. The transition from baroque to romantic era as well as a piece with more virtuoso part for the piano compared to the two earlier pieces by Bach and Corelli providing Thio with more newsprint. Thio’s solid control over the sustain pedal needing sudden hold back was exquisitely executed. Incidentally, this piece was a wedding gift from the composer to violinist Eugene Ysaye. Ysaye performed the piece during the wedding after a hurried rehearsal accompanied by one of the wedding guest who is a pianist. I guess there is unlikely to be a lack of musician to rise to the occasion as an accompaniment in a musician wedding especially of Ysaye standing. Wedding repertoire has a special place in my musical journey having played at many weddings when I was young. Another Siamese twin to this piece you must hear is Wieniawski Légende Op 17 in G minor which was written as abetrothal in my humble opinion on my blog.

There was resounding encore and gifts of a few garland of flowers to Seah but none to Thio not that I want to rub salt to the wound further. Thio is there as an accomplice rather than the star of the show and he has done it very well as a reflector so that the lime light in on Seah. The encore Melodie for Violin and Piano by Gluck was dedicated to Seah’s mother and it is one of the pieces in her CD.

A Musical Odyssey by Lynnette Seah

To appreciate Seah’s long sojourn with Singapore Symphony Orchestra as one of the founding artist of Singapore Symphony Orchestra, do buy her CD “a musical odyssey”. The entire CD makes for good nocturnal listening pleasure. All 10 sonatas recorded at Esplande Recital Studio were sonically well done by my audiophile peers I dare venture to be presumptuous. Track 11 of Bruch Violin Concerto seems to be incidental recording lifted off a live performance at EsplanadeConcert Hall and not up to the sonic quality the audiophile community would expect.

Lastly, the audience were impeccably well informed with no inappropriate clapping between movements and seems to connect with the performers in like manner of ‘may the force be with you’ in Star War speak. You cannot hear, see or feel it but its presence is beyond a shadow of doubt.

Peter Lye aka lkypeter
lkypeter@gmail.com Safe Harbor. Please note that information contained in these pages are of a personal nature and does not necessarily reflect that of any companies, organizations or individuals. In addition, some of these opinions are of a forward looking nature. Lastly the facts and opinions contained in these pages might not have been verified for correctness, so please use with caution. Happy Reading. Peter Lye (c) Peter Lye 2014

Wikipedia®Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License

Beethoven on the ‘A’ Train

Be careful what you wish for as it can turn out negatively when it is granted. My wish to hear Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO) perform in Victoria Concert Hall (VCH) 7 years ago at their 29^th Anniversary concert was full filled this week when she celebrated her 36^th anniversary concert at VCH. I attended the second of the 3 night repeat performance on Friday 13^th 2015 which to some is an inauspicious date but I have no such tendencies.

No one could fault SSO in choosing Beethoven’s 9^th Symphony Opus 125 in D minor “Ode to Joy” nick named “The 9^th”. The 9^th appeals not only to classical music aficionados but also enjoy universal suffrage having been transcribed into more modern renditions by the likes of Michael Jackson and many notable modern artists.

Having heard SSO under the baton of Lan Shui performing The 9^th in 2009 at Esplanade Concert Hall in Singapore, he did not disappoint in terms of speed as he chose the more modern faster meter totalling just under an hour whereas performers of older vintage like Furtwangler clock up to 70 minutes. Compared to the 2009 performance, players were better prepared though a tinge of tension still hung over the orchestra. I see no reason for Lan Shui to try to catch the ‘A’ train figuratively speaking. He can afford to clock slightly past the hour whilst still keeping the grandeur and celebratory mode of the piece.

The 9^th demands both a large stage and a larger hall for the music to breathe.

The stage was so crowded that the four cellists had to sit shoulder to shoulder and they can be forgiven if they slip as there is barely room for them to maneurve. The 4 soloists were awkwardly positioned between the second violin and the brass section and their voices were drowned out by the orchestra as a result. Beautiful inter leaving between the 4 soloists and the choir were mostly lost and came across as a boutique of badly chorused flowers.

The smaller and more intimate size of the hall did not provide enough air and good mix of both direct and reflected sound waves. In audiophile speak, it is akin to how large speakers would sound in a small room generally. It’s a pity to have BBC Singers fly all the way here without the correct venue to stage the performance.

Although SSO delivered a much better performance compared to their 2009 performance, the wrong stage and hall ambience made this performance less enjoyable overall. As the refurbished VCH had only reopened recently, is definitely has the potential todeliver better sonics. Fine tuning the hall is more of an art than science and we must allow it time to mellow. As for the 'A' train thingy, Lan Shui has chosen to be in the company of modern Beethoven interpreters.

Wikipedia®Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License

Wisdom of Va$ue under Fiat Currency - March 2015

"We want to believe things (money) have intrinsic value, .... the US dollar is backed by “nothing”, ... any currency system is backed by “nothing”"...Fortune Magazine

No single instrument can claim to be a safe haven including USD and gold but collectively, a safer haven is within reach.

Nixon’s presidency was punctuated by many significant events like his visit to China as well as the famous Watergate scandal. His most deep and long lasting decision to abandon convertibility of USD into gold has escaped many history textbooks for posterity. Perhaps tinsel town should consider a movie on this theme.

After Nixon abandoned convertibility of USD into gold in 1971, the gold standard figuratively speaking for measuring value lost its lustre. By 1973 all hope of restoring the Bretton Woods System was lost plunging the currency world into a sea of chaotic free floating fiat currencies which we have today.

Reverence for USD and her government took an unprecedented and irrecoverable hit followed that decision. Her position as the untouchable global leader remains but has diluted to undisputable and within gun sight of other global power wannabes. This puts the fragile peace since Second World War into jeopardy. In addition, most wars have its roots in economics and break out when the political process to band aid the economic wound fails and goes gangrene.

Against such a backdrop, measuring value in investment which was axiomatic in the past based on commodity and representative currency has turned into the equivalent of 50 shades of the grey. The economics 101 of money invented some 3000 years back in China is to facilitate trade and a referential store and measure of wealth for future consumption.

Reference losing its reverence is akin to salt losing its saltiness.

As a medium of exchange, it has served us well without which, cumbersome barter trade becomes the only other means of trade. Trade is necessary evil as we do not make all we need and there is no necessity nor advantageous to do so. Fiat money has created or exacerbated international trade involving different currencies as well as inflation/deflation as its intrinsic value floats about.

It is also by far the best store of value as it is non-perishable, portable, and holds an intrinsic value and so we believe until we unearth the dust beneath the carpet about fiat money. Pascal-Emmanuel Gorby most eloquently described the state of intrinsic value of money in an article "All Money is Fiat Money" in August 2013 of Fortune magazine as follows. "We want to believe things (money) have intrinsic value, .... the US dollar is backed by “nothing”, ... any currency system is backed by “nothing”".

Currency is revenue generating unlike gold which has a high intrinsic value but no such abilities save for capital gain/loss which in itself a product of demand and supply differential. Interestingly, since time memorable, gold has been universally recognized as valuable in its own right with little productive use except for limited application in some industries and this account for a small portion of the total demand for gold.

The strong demand for gold might reflect the diminished confidence in fiat currency as gold almost always appreciates as a flight to safe haven whenever there are significant disturbances in the political and economic spheres.

For the man in the street, it is important to consider spreading your risk to protect yourself from the systemic risk in fiat currency.

Consider parking part of your wealth in other currencies and hold enough of your local currency sufficient for a time horizon for transactional purpose. Avoid currencies that are pegged to each other like HKD and USD for example.

Exposed your wealth to certain countries and industries that you see an upside after due diligence. Funds could be a good alternative as some markets are not easily accessible or you might not have the scale to do so.

Invest in hard asset that you might need in the mid to long term to hedge against the currency risk like buying a house in a locale that your plan to retire in.

No single instruement can claim to be a safe haven including USD and gold but collectively, a safer haven is within reach.

Wikipedia®Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License

Music, Medicine and Trout

Oil painting of Franz Schubert
by Wilhelm August Rieder (1875)

Lunch time talk with my business partner who was a doctor for many years drifted into our founder Sir Stamford Raffles suffered from syphilis which is a STD and he also kept a Chinese mistress in Singapore.

The composer of "The Trout" Franz Peter Schubert in my previous article on Omega-3 died a bachelor of syphilis. Some music historian attribute his death to typhoid perhaps to remove the shame attached.

For those who are familiar with classical music, please skip the next two paragraphs as I explain the nomenclature.

Why label great classical works with monolithic and unimaginative titles? Having a meaningful name "The Trout" is a rare honour. The technically correct name is Piano Quintet in A major D.667 and lets unravel the actual name. Piano Quintet means a Piano accompanied by a String Quartet. Quintet is a root word for 5 and therefore 5 performers. A string quartet; quartet meaning 4; normally consists of 2 Violins, Viola and Cello but Schubert had one of the two violins substitued with a double bass in this case. The line up would be Piano, Violin, Viola, Cello and Double Bass. The D.667 is a reference number and most commonly used as Opus except for some composers like Schubert and Bach. A WvO or Posth means no reference attached or done posthumously after the death of the composer.

The next piece to unravel are the movements. Most pieces come in 3 or 4 movements. The transition from one movement to another can be punctuated with a pause or can be stringed together with no pause. Have attended concerts where some audience clap inappropriately between movements. If unsure, follow the crowd in your next visit to a concert. The label attached to each movement normally indicates the speed, mood and other special instructions. The Trout has 5 movements in our piece are I Allegro vivace, II Andante, III Schrezo: Prestissimo, IV Andantino - Allegretto, V Allegro guisto. Most of these words are Latin in origin. Some popular musicians attach titles like Andante Cantabile without reference the composer and title which shout of their possible lack of knowledge in classical music.

The maxim dead artists are worth or cherish more after their death hold true in this piece. The piece was written when he was 22 years old but was only published 10 years later or one year after his death. The piece was commissioned by a weathy music lover Sylvester Paumgartner. In current context, it means a for profit work where the artists gets funding ( and directions ) from the customer.

Jeremy Siepmann have this to say about this work "..irresistible piece of such infectious good humour....(how a) tightly structured quartet conjure up such a crystal clear aquatic picture" which explains the special name of The Trout. Perhaps you are more more ready to dive into the entire 5 movements now and enjoy it in the process.

Trout like most oily fish is a good source of Omega-3 as opposed to whitefish. Oily fish have oil in many parts of their body and contain an avergae of 30% more oil than whitefish which only have oil in their liver.

Lastly, for the more adventerous, these are highly recommended recordings gleaned from Gramophone Classical Music Guide.

1. James Levine, Gerhard Hetzel, Wolfram Christ, Georg Faust, Alois Posch. DG 431 783-2GH DDD
2. Christian Zacharias, Leipzig Quartet (Andreas Seidel, Ivo Bauer, Matthias Moosdorf ) Christian Ockert. MDG 307 0625-1 DDD

"META" Censorship-To Singapore with Love by Tan Pin Pin

Explaining 'meta-data' is like double talk as it literally means data about data. It is fine to be

confused for the moment as the concept shall unveil itself by the end of this piece or I would be in trouble.

The Book

The latest spin in Singapore's chapter of cyber space revolves around the media regulator Media Development Authority (MDA) decision to attach a Not Allowed for All Rating (NAR) to the 2013 film "To Singapore with Love" by Tan Pin Pin. NAR is the apex rating meaning fully banned without exceptions and possession can be criminal as well.

Statement from MDA on their rationale for the NAR is as follows; "MDA has assessed that the contents of the film undermine national security because legitimate actions of the security agencies to protect the national security and stability of Singapore are presented in a distorted way as acts that victimised innocent individuals"

The NAR news went viral quickly on Internet with a plethora of varied comments. Some in

Tan Pin Pin

coarse to the more refined academic and poetic language. Language aside, the contents of the discourse runs through a common vein. Allow it to be screened and let the public be the final arbitrator of truth privately and not collectively as opinions are not likely to be uniform.

Perhaps, the dispensation of communism, race and religion can polarize Singapore into disarray has passed. Singaporeans have grown up and no longer an immature populace requiring paternalistic oversight by the government to keep us safe from harms way.

Not withstanding these, I tend to support that some government operations have to be covert for national interest and even USA acknowledges this. However, these agencies like Secret Service, CIA, FBI and Homeland Security are accountable to a very select and small Congress oversight committee. They do have some form of blank cheque but large cheques will be scrutinized by the oversight committee after the fact as many of these covert operations are time sensitive.

The dictum today's news is tomorrow's history is even embraced by Lee Kuan Yew. He recognized this in his memoir mentioning that most probably some doctoral candidates might choose to research the dispensation on Singapore and Lee Kuan Yew during his rule.

Finally, the raison d'etre for this piece is to facilitate the explanation of the concept of Meta Data. So please do not attach any political affinity to this piece and the author.

There is no denying that chatter ( Meta Data) about the film and its rating by the government most probably generated more and varied materials than the film itself. Some of my friends in sales and marketing went so far as "Dirt Sells" by way of free news print acreage. People are curious by nature. Banning it will generate more curiosity. Perhaps law makers should consider censoring 'Meta Data' if there is ever such a phrase or even possible.

Ebola-An Economic & Political Solution?

The 1995 movie "Outbreak" by Morgan Freeman portrayed an Ebloa like outbreak but is manufactured in Hollywood so take it with a pinch of salt. The six month old Ebola crisis which started in Guinea, has spread to Liberia and Sierra Leone and claimed about 2,100 lives. It caught the attention of the world but not serious enough move them to response at the requisite level. This is important as the solution to the problem might lie in the economic and political sphere than medicine.

The SARS outbreak in 2003 grabbed global attention with a quick world-wide clarion call coordinated by WHO. The response to Ebola had been tardy and half hear-ted thus far. Voices of politicians have been anything but lip service literally.

The reason could be manifold one of which is “The long and ugly tradition of treating Africa as a dirty, diseased place” written by Laura Seay and Kim Yi Dionne for The Washington Post. The global community must rid itself of this old dictum and rise to the occasion by embracing all human lives as equal. ( but some are more equal than others; punt intended from Animal Farm).

Ebola’s historical mortality rate is close to 90% according to WHO but experts are reporting rates in the neighborhood of 60%-80% in the field this time round. This could be due to better care. In comparison, SARS actual mortality rate for the 2003 outbreak was only 9.6%.

Both diseases have some commonality. Proven preventative (vaccine) and therapeutic treatments are not available. Only supportive care to help the body fight the disease is available.

A number of drugs are in various stages of development but nowhere near human trial. Some quarters propose deploying them into the field immediately with little to loose in view of such high mortality. Some objections seem valid but others sound frivolous.

Firstly, it could kill the patient and unleash dangerous novel disease. There is no Bio-Safety-Level (BSL) facility in the field and accidents might lead to catastrophic outcomes.

Scientist that live in glass houses are even voicing that there is no means to construct proper double blind trial test and therefore the outcome is of limited future scientific value.

The supply is limited and cannot be increased quickly. Decisions on who gets the drug might be a sociological nightmare.

The administrators or politicians at FDA in USA do not want a binding precedent that drug companies might exploit in future. The affected 3 African countries' equivalent “FDA” are primordial and grossly lacking in scientific capabilities and they are unlikely to be the road block.

The real life field situation is akin to the movie “Outbreak” but the similarity ends with the solution. The “Index” primate was located in a remotely improbable drama fueled by the imagination of the script writer. The extracted anti-gen works like an elixir in delivering an almost instant cure. The anti-gen was mass produced and distributed and the day was saved by Morgan Freeman. We are not witnessing such solutions in Africa.

The solution to the Ebola epidemic in Africa is right in front of us.

Firstly, it has been proven that with better supportive treatment, the mortality rate goes down drastically. This has been proven to a small extent by the few cases that were repatriated back for treatment. Although we cannot be totally sure of the outcome, we are definitely sure that this course of action have little or no risk but might drain the treasuries as air dropping military field hospitals and personnel is not going to be cheap. Politicians are unlikely to support this because of Not In My Backyard (NIMBY) as the R0 or the measure of infectiousness is low and therefore remote possibility of Ebola reaching their shores unlike SARS which has a higher R0. In addition, if it does, the collateral damage is minimal as it is easily contained with good health infrastructure.

Secondly, there is proof to support Ebola as an orphan disease. Since its discovery in 1976, the number cases is not exactly small but the patients are mostly the poor in Africa with limited capability to pay for the drug. There is limited incentive for drug companies to invest in. Other funding channels to fund or co-fund such initiatives are government, charitable foundations and NGOs. Even with such assistance, it is not easy to attract talent into such specialties in enough numbers to support a viable infrastructure for such work.

The process from Bench to Bed is an insidiously long process because drugs are becoming more complex and harder to test for efficacy, safety and many other factors. Man kind cannot be so myopic and be directed by $ alone.

We might not have a medical cure for Ebola but as a global community, we do have the means to arrest this outbreak by putting enough resources and change cultural norms in Africa. The will to do so by politicians might be weaker as it seems that Africa had brought this upon her self.

Cloudy Computing

Cloud Computing was controversial in its infancy but has gain credibility quickly as advantages over main stream computing gain cloud.

The recent leakage of nude pictures of some celebrities like Jennifer Lawrence and Kate Upton from Apple iCloud has delivered major set backs to Cloud Computing.

The prospect of Cloud Computing has indeed turn more cloudly.

Perhaps Cloudy Computing might be a more appropriate name at this stage or consider a better name for Cloud Computing. by Peter Lye

Gaza War-Proxy in the making

Watching reported causalities mount as diplomatic cease fire effort falls on deaf ears is gruelling. The bigger concern is the possibility of the conflict growing into a global scale polarized upon the axis of religion.

USA Secretary of State John Kerry has openly admitted he has no political leverage to ask Israel to cease fire while HAMAS continue flying missiles into Israel. The defensive missiles for the Iron Dome to neutralise incoming missiles in flight is provided by USA to Israel.

On the other side of the equation, although HAMAS is openly criticised by most Muslim countries, they seems to be gaining sympathisers from fellow Muslim around the world starting with humanitarian aid. Such humanitarian aid can turn to both military and militant very quickly.

USA must calibrate her support for Israel even if they see this as an opportunity to eliminate HAMAS. God forbid ( of various incarnation ) for this conflict to turn into a world war divided between Muslim and that rest of the world.

I am glad that in Singapore, cabinet ministers are already preempting this possibility with our Muslim population though the possibility is very remote as Singapore Muslims are a thinking lot.

Peter Lye aka lkypeter
lkypeter@gmail.com Safe Harbor. Please note that information contained in these pages are of a personal nature and does not necessarily reflect that of any companies, organizations or individuals. In addition, some of these opinions are of a forward looking nature. Lastly the facts and opinions contained in these pages might not have been verified for correctness, so please use with caution. Happy Reading. Peter Lye (c) Peter Lye 2014

Coaching in Asia- Mind over Matter on Stigma

What is coaching? Eminent coach Jeffrey T Sooey; President of JTS has categorically stated being a coach is NOT equivalent to being a consultant, guru, expert, psychologist or friend. This is important as coaching has been closely associated rightly or wrongly with psychotherapy, psychiatry or sanity.

This is important in Asia because in general, psychology, psychiatrist and sanity are viewed narrowly in a binary manner or either sane or insane instead of a continuum. To combat this, Institute of Mental Health in Singapore started an Early Psychosis Intervention Programme to overcome the stigma and get patients to seek help earlier for better outcomes. In the same vein, one should also seek coaching earlier as you never know how it can help unlock the potential in you.

In a nutshell, coaching is supportive in nature involving training, teaching and development to reach professional or personal goals. It is more developmental rather than therapeutic as described above.

The Chinese Experience

(c)Peking University

We shall examine how coaching was already in existence in ancient time by examining the famous “Romance of the Three Kingdoms” written by Liu GuanZhong around 14 century as a non-fiction. It was set against the backdrop around the end of Han Dynasty and start of Sui Dynasty. Between these two dynasties, China went through a period of disunity and the Three Kingdoms was a part of this chaotic era. Though it was written as a novel, it had a strong dose of historical fact embedded to qualify as one of the great four great writings of Chinese literature therefore reflective of the culture of that era. The significant characters of interest are advisors Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi together with their masters Liu Bei and Cao Cao respectively.

The plot is thick, complex and long but the important plots here were the four main castes. The two leaders by way of benevolent Liu Bei and villain Cao Cao and their advisers Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi. In today’s context we could equate both Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi as having played the role of coach to their leaders. It was very evident that the advisers were not part of the line of authority and served in staff role giving them a more objective perspective. In coaching lingua franca, we would put them as not belonging to the system. Their primary role was to ensure the success of their masters and they were trusted and highly regarded by their masters. They do not hold direct executive power in most instances save for short period of time when the situation was dire. This distinction is important as coaches that cross this line to be part of the system normally do so with non-optimal outcomes if not managed carefully.

“The Art of War” widely attributed to Sun Tzu is another prime example. Although the authorship is still highly debated amongst scholars in light of new archaeological findings. This discourse is not important to us as there is common agreement that it existed way before the “Romance of the Three Kingdoms”. This book has reached renowned status globally and has been translated into many languages and adopted by many modern management schools and practitioners. Sun Tzu was a military advisor and/or general to King Hule of Wu State and highly regarded as an advisor to the King. It is interesting that the legacy he left behind in this book has served as a virtual coach to the many readers of his book who internalized the dictum appropriately. In the contentious chapter 11 of his book, he states the leader must be "serene and inscrutable" and capable of comprehending "unfathomable plans" which was against many modern thinking that the leader must stay in touch with ground zero. This truism was most probably why a leader needs a coach. A coach can apply frameworks more independently being NOT a part of the system and therefore able to help the leader see the forest from the trees better as both aspects are equally important.

Modern US Government

In modern government like USA, the President is surrounded by many advisors specializing in different areas like homeland, security, economics etc, as well as secretaries. A key differentiator between these advisors and the secretaries surrounding him lies in the fact that the advisors are non-executive in nature whereas those of the secretaries are executive in nature either directly or by fiat. By doing so, these advisors are also playing the role of a coach being detached from the system itself and having less issues when it comes to conflict of interests.

The “realization of what you are lacking is the beginning of knowledge” and coaching might bridge that all important divide standing between you and your goals in both the corporate and/or personal arenas. So what is stopping you from calling a coach and examine what a difference coaching can make to you and your key men and make a difference in your organization.

Peter Lye aka lkypeter
lkypeter@gmail.comSafe Harbor. Please note that information contained in these pages are of a personal nature and does not necessarily reflect that of any companies, organizations or individuals. In addition, some of these opinions are of a forward looking nature. Lastly the facts and opinions contained in these pages might not have been verified for correctness, so please use with caution. Happy Reading. Peter Lye
(c) Peter Lye 2014

The Great Singapore CPF (pension) Discussion.

Source: CPF.GOV.SG

Dr. TOH Chin Chye as a pioneer batch of PAP ministers spoke in parliament in 1984 that "The fundamental principle is this. The CPF is really a fixed deposit or a loan to the government, which can be withdrawn at a fixed date when the contributor is 55 years old." It ought to generate more questions about his reason for this passionate statement on CPF and went to far as to say "It is as simple as this, that the CPF has lost its credibility, the management of it. This is fundamental."

I am happy to say that current government still recognizes the gravity of this fundamental as 55 years old withdrawal lamp post is still there but might not shine as brilliantly as in the past.

For the fortunate few that can meet both the special and medisave minimum sums ( which will be S$155,000 and S$40,500 for special and medisave account respectively as 1st July2014 ), it is not that bad as they can still withdraw remaining amount above the minimum sums. They can collect the minimum sum when they hit 65 years old not as a lump sum but as a monthly annuity. Previous rule allows full withdrawal.

For others who do not meet these minimum sum requirements, the government has made a good gesture in allowing withdrawal up to S$5,000 or whatever is in your CPF if your balance is less than S$5,000.

On the reverse, the government has also liberalized the usage of CPF for home purchases ( both public and private ), various types of investment, education and healthcare. From a funding standpoint, I disagree with Dr. Toh's analogy of equating CPF to a fixed deposit. With such liberalizations, CPF have a more challenging and less predictable cash flow that on all reasonable counts must lead to a lower rate of return.

The government might want to consider shifting the annuity payout age to 55 to coincide with the magical number as oppose to the current 65. My guess for the 55 and 65 reference points are these. Firstly, population is aging rapidly compounded by sharp fall in birth rate. Secondly, life expectancy has also increased with better healthcare.

Shaving 10 years off an annuity will result in lower monthly payout but it will cover more members. The current average life expectancy of 80.2 and 84.6 for men and women respectively is an AVERAGE and does not show its distribution. Some might not live to 65 to enjoy the payout. Perhaps DOS should release this information.

If we put these two counter weights on a balance, it might not be so bleak. However, I do take issue with the almost unilateral bull dozing manner in it's implementation and the failure to explain the rationale and facts more succinctly.

In retrospect, CPF might have served its purpose as a retirement fund if kept purely as such without allowance to fund housing, healthcare and education. We are too deep into it making. Even if CPF wants to change course, grandfathering will be difficult and complex even if the heart is willing but the soul is weak.

Peter Lye aka lkypeter

lkypeter@gmail.com

Safe Harbor. Please note that information contained in these pages are of a personal nature and does not necessarily reflect that of any companies, organizations or individuals. In addition, some of these opinions are of a forward looking nature. Lastly the facts and opinions contained in these pages might not have been verified for correctness, so please use with caution. Happy Reading. Peter Lye

The Chinese Experience (c)Peking University

Modern US Government

The Chinese Experience

(c)Peking University