Fortune Favours The Brave
Dr Sing Kong Yuen, BVMS (Glasgow), MRCVS
Date:
12 May, 2011 |
 toapayohvets.com
Be Kind To Pets
Veterinary Education
Project 2010-0129 |
 "I
told my wife and my two daughters. Vote for the opposition
party! We all voted for the opposition!" the self-employed
businessman in his early 50s had invited me and another friend
of his for lunch at Toa Payoh Crystal Jade Restaurant
yesterday May 11, 2011.
This person whom I shall call Jeremy had gone to the MP for
help as the URA wanted to evict him from a building which was
not ready for enbloc development. So he rented without
official licence from the government and used it to house
foreign students' hostel. He had around 30 students from
Vietnam and China. Due to some complaints, the URA wanted him
to close down his business by threatening the Landlord for
non-compliance with government laws. The MP wrote a letter and
sent it to the URA. The URA replied to Jeremy who noted that
the subject of the letter was incorrect. He asked the MP to
see his original letter.
"The PAP MP simply refused to me his original letter," Jeremy
informed us. "Did he really write the letter or was he
covering up his mistake and would not admit it?"
This led him to believe that this MP was not sincerely trying
to help him, an ordinary man. "I got to find him from my
contact," he said. "I got an extension of time to close his
business as I need to place his students to approved hostels."
This to me seems to be a failure of the duty of care and
diligence of that particular MP. Why be an MP and not bothered
to be genuinely interested in the ordinary man's problems with
the high-handed civil servants who rule by the law?
The end of his business and income were devastating. His
daughter was getting married soon. He was jobless. So he was
not happy with the way the MP was handling his case. "Why
don't you forward your case to PM Lee Hsien Loong and let him
get the feedback as to the lack of care by his MP in your
case? Writing incorrect letters and not wanting to show what
he had written is just not what is expected of an MP" I had
never approached MPs in my life but this act of the PAP MP
would be one of the several that had cost the PAP a loss of
the overall voting percentage in the 2011 General Elections.
He shook his head. After all, he had cast his protest vote and
his family had done so too.
"So you are pro-PAP," Jeremy deduced.
"I voted for the PM because he has performed well in his job
to develop Singapore into a first-world country. Performance
counts in real life and in business." I said.
"You too?" Jeremy asked his friend who is living in China
doing some business.
"Yes," he said. We were the silent majority. If the PAP MPs
continue to behave as lords over their realm, the silent
majority will become the vocal majority as the Senior Citizens
get fewer each year. Then the "Proud and Arrogant" label
some attributed to PAP will really stick into the mindset of
the majority of the population and the PAP will cease to exist
to become the government.
So, in this group of 3 citizens over 50 years of age, 1 in 3
voted for the opposition.
"You should thank the MP whose assistant wrote the incorrect
subject to the URA," I said. "After you lost this job, your
China contact asked you to handle a $1.3 billion oil deal by
looking for oil terminals to buy and you have got one
appropriate seller now in the midst of negotiations. How much
is 1% commission if the deal closes?" I asked.
His friend said: "$1 billion is 1000 million. 10% is 100
million. 1% is $10 million. We should have more free lunches
from Jeremy!"
Jeremy smiled. Life is certainly good for him, thanks to this
PAP MP who did not show compassion by refusing to let him see
what the MP had written to the URA.
"I am looking for an experienced property lecturer to give
talks to a group of 30 foreigners coming to Singapore in
July," he announced as he signed a bank loan document brought
to him by a young lady banker to the restaurant. This bank had
loaned 80% to his foreign buyer and he had to bring the option
to purchase to the buyer in China personally to get it signed
and delivered within 14 days. So he would be flying to China
soon. He had sold a few condos to foreigners. "No point
servicing Singaporeans," he told us. "Foreigners are better.
Do you have any Singapore developer as I have a township to be
developed in China?"
We don't have any. "I have a lecturer for your Seminar," I
said. "He is 70 years old and is well qualified to talk about
property investment in Singapore. He is licensed to teach RES
and REA courses presently."
So he has what he wanted just by inviting me for lunch out of
the blue.
Fortune Favours The Brave.
We talked about HDB flat prices in general as he is now a
licensed RES property salesperson. "I advised my daughter to
buy a 4-year-old Strathmore HDB flat by paying more rather
than a 20-year-old flat in Holland Road. The piping would be
new and the prices will appreciate more as she can see Orchard
Road's Ion Shopping Centre from her flat. It costs $800,000,"
he said. "You know, the cash over value (COV) was $70,000
cash. I did not have money to help her as the government had
closed down my hostel business. Fortunately, my in-law wrote a
cheque for that."
I was happy for him as life is rough for a self-employed with
this PAP government introducing new rules, new fee charges and
new licensing requirements which can only benefit the more
successful enterprises that have the money to comply with such
stringent rules. The cost of living keeps going up yearly as
the various government departments keep creating new licensing
rules which need money to be paid for the new statutory boards
and qualifying examinations and indemnity insurance.
"How come your daughter can buy a 4-year-old Strathmore flat
when the Minimum Occupation Period (MOP) is 5 years?" I asked,
remembering my REA lecture notes as I will be taking the
examination in May 25,26,27, 2011 soon.
"The MOP was 3 years for this flat at that time," he said. Now
I recalled that the lecturer had stated some dates in which
the MOP was 3 years but don't remember the exact period of
time.
"She and her husband just exceeded the $8,000 household income
ceiling as there was a promotion for her," he said.
"Well, what happened?" I asked.
"I wrote to the HDB to let them know that I was jobless. HDB
checked me out and found it to be true. I would need to sell
my flat as I would not be able to cope with payment of my
$2,000 monthly mortgage payment. So, the HDB permitted the
purchase of the flat."
"So you see, the PAP government is compassionate," I tried to
let him have a balanced view of the politics of governing
Singapore. "Otherwise, your daughter and son-in-law should not
qualify the resale flat. In other words, you have so much good
fortune owing to the good performance of the PAP (in getting
so many HDB flats built and providing $30,000 or $40,000 cash
subsidies for first-time buyers) and even giving your daughter
a $30,000 housing subsidy as a first-time HDB resale flat
buyer. Her father in law wrote a cheque of $70,000 for the
COV. That is $100,000 cash for a purchase of a flat. Where
does other fathers find such good fortune?"
He did not comment since he knew both of us did not vote for
the opposition. Fortune really favours the brave. For lesser
self-employed sole operator persons, a close down of his
business by the government policies usually means the end of
his working life. But Jeremy is the type who actively helps
others and network quite extensively. You can see that he even
got a qualified real estate practitioner and lecturer to give
a talk to his group of 30 foreigners whom he has got from his
bank.
In life, you have to be proactive by networking and helpful to
others without being calculating and you can see why Jeremy is
successful. With 30 foreigners qualified by the bank and
interested in Singapore real estate and the sale of the oil
tanker as a storage terminal in China, Jeremy is much more
successful than many in their 50s.
Does Fortune Favour The Brave? It seems to do so in Jeremy's
case. |
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