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15-06-2014, 10:00 AM
An honorable member of the Coffee Shop Has Just Posted the Following:
Source: My Singapore News (http://mysingaporenews.blogspot.sg/2014/06/the-cpf-issue-took-down-minister-in-1984.html?spref=fb)
6/14/2014
The CPF issue took down a minister in 1984
In 1984, Howe Yoon Choong, then Minister of Health, produced a paper, Report of the Committee on the Problems of the Aged, with the main objective of delaying withdrawal of CPF savings from age 55 to 60. This created an up roar with the workers telling the trade unions they were strongly against it. The feedback was so negative that it led to his stepping down from politics.
Though the report was stating a demographic problem that was waiting to happen, it was wrong news at the wrong time. It is always never pleasant to be a messenger of bad news. Often the messenger got fried. Howe’s recommendation was a simple delay from age 55 to 60, but it was bad enough to bring down a serving minister for suggesting it.
Since then, several changes had taken place in the CPF scheme. Withdrawal age was pushed back to 60, 62, now 65 and may go higher. The withdrawal sum is no longer a lump sum but in the forms of drips and drapes, an annuity payable monthly. Then there are now two minimum sum schemes that are holding back a huge sum of the people’s savings, at current rate, about $198k with the Medisave included. In addition, the CPF members are compulsorily required to purchase CPF Life annuity insurance and an akan datang Medishield Life medical insurance.
Compare these changes to what Howe Yoon Choong had proposed the delay from 55 to 60 was nothing. How did the Govt managed to get so far without an uprising or an up roar like the time of Howe? Maybe the people did not protest. Maybe the trade unions did not protest. Maybe the protests were not fed back to the Govt. Maybe the Govt simply ignored the protests. Whatever, things seemed to have gone down well superficiality, or quietly. No protest meant the people agreed to the changes.
7 Jun told a different story. It was like all the problems and anger were bottled up and just exploded. The can of worms was ripped apart and no one can close it anymore. The issues and unhappiness are in the open. No complaints, no protest, no demonstration? What is real?
Is the anger is real? If the misgivings and unhappiness are real, would this CPF thing bring down another minister? Or would it bring down instead a Prime Minister? I think not. I think it could be worse. Everything that is wrong with the CPF has come together as one big problem and is blowing up at one go.
Please feel free to disagree. I know, many would think this assessment is an over exaggeration of a small problem or no problem. Don’t make a molehill out of a mountain. Oops, don’t make a mountain out of a molehill. It will fizzle off and nothing more would be heard of it. Life will return to normal. And the minimum sums will just keep piling up as planned.
Kopi Level - Green
Click here to view the whole thread at www.sammyboy.com (http://www.sammyboy.com/showthread.php?184100-The-CPF-Issue-Took-Down-A-Minister-In-1984&goto=newpost).
Source: My Singapore News (http://mysingaporenews.blogspot.sg/2014/06/the-cpf-issue-took-down-minister-in-1984.html?spref=fb)
6/14/2014
The CPF issue took down a minister in 1984
In 1984, Howe Yoon Choong, then Minister of Health, produced a paper, Report of the Committee on the Problems of the Aged, with the main objective of delaying withdrawal of CPF savings from age 55 to 60. This created an up roar with the workers telling the trade unions they were strongly against it. The feedback was so negative that it led to his stepping down from politics.
Though the report was stating a demographic problem that was waiting to happen, it was wrong news at the wrong time. It is always never pleasant to be a messenger of bad news. Often the messenger got fried. Howe’s recommendation was a simple delay from age 55 to 60, but it was bad enough to bring down a serving minister for suggesting it.
Since then, several changes had taken place in the CPF scheme. Withdrawal age was pushed back to 60, 62, now 65 and may go higher. The withdrawal sum is no longer a lump sum but in the forms of drips and drapes, an annuity payable monthly. Then there are now two minimum sum schemes that are holding back a huge sum of the people’s savings, at current rate, about $198k with the Medisave included. In addition, the CPF members are compulsorily required to purchase CPF Life annuity insurance and an akan datang Medishield Life medical insurance.
Compare these changes to what Howe Yoon Choong had proposed the delay from 55 to 60 was nothing. How did the Govt managed to get so far without an uprising or an up roar like the time of Howe? Maybe the people did not protest. Maybe the trade unions did not protest. Maybe the protests were not fed back to the Govt. Maybe the Govt simply ignored the protests. Whatever, things seemed to have gone down well superficiality, or quietly. No protest meant the people agreed to the changes.
7 Jun told a different story. It was like all the problems and anger were bottled up and just exploded. The can of worms was ripped apart and no one can close it anymore. The issues and unhappiness are in the open. No complaints, no protest, no demonstration? What is real?
Is the anger is real? If the misgivings and unhappiness are real, would this CPF thing bring down another minister? Or would it bring down instead a Prime Minister? I think not. I think it could be worse. Everything that is wrong with the CPF has come together as one big problem and is blowing up at one go.
Please feel free to disagree. I know, many would think this assessment is an over exaggeration of a small problem or no problem. Don’t make a molehill out of a mountain. Oops, don’t make a mountain out of a molehill. It will fizzle off and nothing more would be heard of it. Life will return to normal. And the minimum sums will just keep piling up as planned.
Kopi Level - Green
Click here to view the whole thread at www.sammyboy.com (http://www.sammyboy.com/showthread.php?184100-The-CPF-Issue-Took-Down-A-Minister-In-1984&goto=newpost).