Kvetch Haven

Before more people misunderstood "KVETCH" as a person name, perhaps I should explain the meaning a little.
Kvetch actaully meant to complain and whine. This blog named "Kvetch Haven" so that I can complain a little, whine a little about life. Of course, this blog will not be solely on constant whinning and complain.

The Mood Sets In

whispered @ Wednesday, July 27, 2005 by stardusz

Well, while listening to my iPod towards the end of my lecture and with volume tuned to the softest possible, got inspired by the music composed by Nubuo Uematsu (I hope I won't get prosecuted for adding lyrics to his music though)...

Do bear with me:

verse:
When we first met,
I thought we will be both together
Nothing in the path we've choose will ever hinder
When our eyes met,
I thought it will be ever after
No tide was too strong for us that we cannot handle

bridge
As days goes love has slowly withered
There is nothing much to say
When you gives up in the end
You say, "Don't cry, love you still"

chorus
When you're gone, I'll be strong
What is left are memories
They are sweet, they will stay here with me
I'll be strong,
With you always on my mind
You can fly, I don't mind as I have move~ on~

Also written a poem (this is actually done during lecture, then inspired to write a song for this lyrics-less music and did the lyrics on the way home)... here it goes:

I thought I saw you
Only to discover it is someone else's shadow
I thought I smell you
Only to know that it is the smell of a stranger
I shed a drop of tear
Hoping you'll catch it, hold it, treasure it
I grin and smile
Wishing you'll see it, feel it, share my joy

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An Anti-Singapore, Anti Singaporeans thread

by stardusz

Saw this link from an anonymous guest in Singpaore Expats Forum

Signing off as "threadstarter_is_funny" here is my reply to him/ her:

haha, what a misleading title to make people to fall into a trap to read this thread...

Really weird, but hey, threadstarter, if you dare to criticise Singapore and her citizens till they seems worthless, why didn't you start this thread with you name? Why would you rather be an anonymous poster?

If Singpaorean are racist (which is true to a certain extend), aren't you one yourself? In fact, you are far worse then them, from the post you've made... You've shamed your own culture, race and country.

Singapore maybe boring to a certain extend, but Singapore is definitely far more safer then a lot of countries thus 'luring' foreigners to stay here. Without the kiasu-ism, do you think you can walk safely in the streets of Singapore?

Sometimes, people just write without doing self reflection... Well, it happen to me too... Hence I cannot blame the threadstarter for not looking into the mirror before commenting about the local in Singapore... This is a sad thing. It really is.

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Changes in Job Recruitment in Recent Years

whispered @ Sunday, July 24, 2005 by stardusz

Have been browsing through some job recruitment portals recently as I need to brainstorm some ideas for a module in my current project. While browsing, I have noticed the requirements for new employees have, though not a lot, evolved over the years.

On the average, you need to process at least a diploma, minimum of 2-3years of working experience (in relation to the certification that one has attained) and though you might be qualified to the just mentioned criteria, your job will most probably be contract-based (1 year on the average). Despite all this, it will be an advantage if you are multi-talent, then you might be able to get a paycheck of say about $1800 (gross, before CPF).

It is not easy to have get a job in a society like Singapore, where employers are in favour of potential employees who have a higher education level attained then those who have a vast experience in the same field. No doubt this scenario is changing, the pace is like snail crawl - slow.

In this slow transition period, I wonder how many people have "die" in the battle field already. Many people switched field, since they are no longer "wanted" in that arena; something that I deemed as a talent lost. On the other hand, it is not easy for them, the employees, to come up with such a decision, as switching field actually requires the person to go through the process of re-learning, re-adjusting to the new environment and new challenges in the new field. Such a decision will be even tougher to make when a person has a family; more worries cloud around him and the outcome of his decision will have an impact on his family as well. I guess this is the crucial that actually test how cohesive the family is and how they stand by each other.

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Forum - is not search engine but a channel for infomation sharing

whispered @ Thursday, July 21, 2005 by stardusz

While surfing the internet today, a friend of mine MSN me for help. He told me that he suspected that there is something wrong with his PM (Private Message) function in a local Mac Users forum as he did not seems to receive any PM after messaging some forumers in the forum. I then suggest to him that maybe he can try to PM the moderators in charge to seek for help.

We chatted on and he told me something that made my heart sank. He told me how a moderator of that forum reprimanded a new Mac user for not doing a search in the forum before posting a question on how he should go about maintaining good performance for his harddisk.

Below is a direct quote from the moderator, timgoh0, himself:

"If you had bothered to search before starting a new topic, you will find that defragmentation is quite unnecessary. But NOOOO, you have to go start a new thread and ask a question about a topic that's been covered so many times that it's starting to get stale(If topics can get stale)."

Pardon me, but there are a few questions which popped into my mind when I saw such a reply:

what is the purpose of a forum if you want your users to run a search in order to find an answer? Isn't it true that a forum is set up to help their fellowmen in the community?
what is the role of a moderator in a forum? Are they there to help (and if they did not know how to go about helping, at least show some guidelines or url that might be able to assist someone who run into some problem) or to shut the door to newbies who need some pointers to get started?
It seems like this kind of unfriendly moderators mostly appear in the local scene (Singapore), I've been to other forums setup in other countries and I rarely came upon such ill-mannered moderators who think that they are some kind of god within the forum (yes, only within the forum, when you are in the real-world you are just a NOBODY), so are the moderators and some other senior forumers playing God themselves?

Has forums of the local scene has really fallen from grace? Why are Singaporeans' ugliness not spared in the cyberworld?

Forums are a place for people to share information. So, if you are not willing to share the knowledge that you have, please, step down as a moderator and allow someone better to take up the job.

Also, we got to take note that forums are not meant for chit-chatting. If what you want is to talk and rant about life, then, you should go to places that provide online chatting or IRC (Internet Relay Chat). This is something that many forum users have misinterpreted a forum for. If in doubt, check it out in at dictionary.com for the meaning of forum.

A moderator role is to ensure that discussions stay within topic and if the thread went off topic, he will either give a warning or locked the thread to prevent further straying.

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NKF Saga: Aftermath Thoughts

whispered @ Thursday, July 14, 2005 by stardusz

What an uproar NKF has created for the past 3 days. Now, the public faith, i.e. us, for the organisation's integrity is shaken.

Just because of one man unwillingness to disclose how the fund was being distributed in the organisation, just because of the lavish bathroom suite in his personal office, just because of his annual salary of SGD $600k (and this exclude the 10-12 month bonus that he got for the past few years), the patients under the organisation care suffers.

The public, excluding a small handful that already have doubts on NKF and have stopped donating, has placed so much faith and trust in this non-profit organisation to provide the needy with the appropriate care and needs. I believed that almost 90% of those who donated consistantly to the organisation never have any doubts in them.

Well, that is until the CEO himself admitted that he boosted the number of patients from 2000 to 3000, a figure is 50% more then the actual number of patients. This is a psychology foreplay as numbers play an important role in calling out the kind souls for donation. Besides, NKF might have made used of the plight of some patients, made their stories into a short 2-3min flim to gain more kind souls into donating their hard-earned money. (This is how I felt)

The CEO confessed that the gold tap what was in his personal bathroom suite cost $990. OMG!!!!! This is extravagancy!!! This amount is what some Singaporeans are earning, yet we heard someone saying that it is fine to have a $990 gold tap? So after installing the tap, the water that flows through it is purer?

What made the public even madder was the comment made by Mrs Goh C.T., who is a lawyer and the wife of someone with a respectable status. (Well, I respected her husband). When asked on her comments regarding this case, she said that "For a person who runs a million dollar chartiable organization, $600,000 is peanuts as it has a few hundred millions in reserves". What the.... Does she know that many of us are struggling here in Singapore just to make ends meet? Does she know that for a fmaily with a gross income of SGD $24000 a year, it is going to take them 25 years to earn the amount of SGD $600,000?? (and this DOES NOT include the bonus that the CEO gets!!!) And inflation rate was NOT even included when I did this simple calculation.

How many people got anguish over such a mindless statement. She might not say it with much ill intention, but this statement strike many of us like lighting. It hurt us badly, yes, very badly.

Just read from the paper, a former NKF volunteer was made to apologise publicly to NKF in 1997 for making "defamatory" remarks, after he was "caught gossiping" with another volunteer on how the organisation squandered the money and that the CEO flew around the world in first class.

Well, I guess "revenge" (in this case, NKF trip on its own to get itself exposed publicly) is always sweet. If I were him, I might be grinning from ear to ear now.

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NKF Saga: Court Case Day 2 (continue)

whispered @ Wednesday, July 13, 2005 by stardusz

Note: a Petition was set up and over 400 people has voiced their unhappiness over the NKF saga

Petition on NKF saga

CEO 'wanted to raise as much money for patients' future'

[Extracted from The Straits Times on 13 July 2005]

ALL along, the NKF had maintained that its reserve funds would last only three years.

A different picture emerged in court yesterday when Senior Counsel Davinder Singh took Mr T.T. Durai through the charity's accounts.

Counsel also brought up the Straits Times article by senior correspondent Susan Long, which quoted NKF chairman Richard Yong saying he was worried that if the NKF did not have enough funds, he would end up having to decide which patients would live, and which would be left to die.

Counsel said that was a false statement, and as he proceeded to question Mr Durai, he read out parts of the article. This is an excerpt of their exchange:

Davinder Singh: The purpose of putting out that false statement was to give the public the impression that NKF continued to be in dire need of funds for those poor patients. True?

T.T. Durai: Yes, NKF required funds to support the patients, yes.

Davinder Singh: So that the donors will ignorantly donate more and more, true?

T.T. Durai: The donors will donate, yes.

Davinder Singh: And the more they donate, the more your performance ranking goes up, the more your bonus, true?

T.T. Durai: No.

Davinder Singh: Because yesterday you said you got your bonus based on your performance, so you have a vested interest in publishing untruths to inflate the donations so that, ultimately, you inflate your bonus?

T.T. Durai: No, I did it for the interests of the people of Singapore, to build more and more programmes, go from dialysis to prevention to cancer, to taking care of children.

Davinder Singh: This is not the only place where the false statement was made about three years ago, is that not right? You have also made that false statement in these proceedings, do you agree?

T.T. Durai: Can you confirm that?

Davinder Singh: Sure. Before I take you to that reply, I want you to look at the article itself. (There) is a photo of a very anxious Mr Richard Yong, with a caption which reads: 'I couldn't sleep, I couldn't eat. Who were we to play God?' Do you see that?

T.T. Durai: Yes.

Davinder Singh: Then below it is reported: 'NKF chairman Richard Yong on how the foundation ran dry in 1986 and had to choose among its 32 patients who should continue with dialysis, and who would have to be sent home with morphine to die. It hit home then. It was important to have 'healthy reserves that can withstand even the most dire economic times'.'

Implicit in that message was: 'Some years ago, we ran out of money.' Right?

T.T. Durai: Yes.

Davinder Singh: There were people lying down in the beds and we had to choose who to give that money to and who had to go home. Right?

T.T. Durai: Yes.

Davinder Singh: And, therefore, we need the comfort of health reserves?

T.T. Durai: Yes.

Davinder Singh: So that that situation will not arise again?

T.T. Durai: Yes.

Davinder Singh: In other words, the reserves will be there for the patients who need the money?

T.T. Durai: Yes.

Davinder Singh: Not for fundraising, right?

T.T. Durai: Yes.

Davinder Singh (quoting from the article): 'I couldn't sleep; I couldn't eat. Who were we to play God?' It hit home then: It was important to have 'healthy reserves that can withstand even the most dire economic times', and self-generated income 'so that we can be independent, instead of on our knees, poor and begging for life'.

In other words, without any more donations, we can't keep these patients alive?

T.T. Durai: Yes.

Davinder Singh: Yet, the suggestion was made that (the NKF reserves could last) only for three years. That is another false suggestion, is it not?

T.T. Durai: Not an accurate suggestion.

Davinder Singh: Sorry?

T.T. Durai: Not correct.

Davinder Singh: I used the word 'false'. Do you agree with me?

T.T. Durai: It is a matter of opinion.

Davinder Singh: Is there a difference, in your view?

T.T. Durai: No, it is not a correct comment.

Davinder Singh: Is it true?

T.T. Durai: It is inaccurate.

Davinder Singh: > Answer my question, sir, please. Is it true or false?

T.T. Durai: 'False' implies an intent to deceive. I cannot comment on that.

Davinder Singh: You can, actually, because...

T.T. Durai: I do not think there was any intent to deceive.

Davinder Singh: After what we have heard, after what we have seen from the accounts, you still say that there is no intent to deceive?

T.T. Durai: No. I mean, we honestly believed that we should raise as much money to help the patients for the future. That is the way my colleagues and I work in the foundation.

Davinder Singh: Are you prepared to take out an advertisement in tomorrow's papers, apologising to Singaporeans to say: 'We did not intend to deceive but, unfortunately, you have been deceived. The money is not going to last merely three years, it will last between 30 and 40 years.' Are you prepared to do that?

T.T. Durai: No, I am not. I am not prepared to do that. I am just saying that we wanted to raise as much money for the patients' future.

Justice Tan Lee Meng: Mr Durai, it will help if you answer the question.

T.T. Durai: No.

Davinder Singh: Why? Why are you not prepared to come clean? We already know that, to use your word, there was an 'inaccuracy'. Why are you not prepared to come clean? This is people's money, you know.

T.T. Durai: It is for the people.

Davinder Singh: These are people who earn so little, giving. Why are you not prepared to tell them the truth?

T.T. Durai: The money is for the people.

Davinder Singh: And your taps.

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NKF Saga: Court Case Day 2

by stardusz

Note: The case, a 10-day trial, was cut short after NKF decided to withdraw its defamation suit against SPH. The lawsuit was filed after SPH senior reporter, Susan Leong wrote and published an article on 19 Apr 2004 regarding the "pricey bathroom fittings in Mr Durai's office suite". Four days after the article was published, NKF and Mr Durai sued SPH and Ms Susan Leong saying that the article was defamatory.

Personal note: Seriously, if that article is so damaging, why was the lawsuit dropped when it was only the 2nd hearing on 12th Jul 2005? What's up NKF and Mr Durai's sleeve? Are there some darker secrets that NKF and Mr Durai feared the public, that is us, to know when Lawyer Davinder Singh probed further?

Will T.T. Durai make a public speech soon to explain for himself and NKF on several issues as below:

Why the case was drop?
Why did they boost the number of patients that they have with them (actual figure: 2000, reported figure: 3000)
Will the donations by the public be made transparent, so that we, the public will be made known where our HARD EARNED money goes to.

T.T. Durai: Error in patient numbers not so material at that point

[Extracted from The Straits Times on 13 July 2005]

THE National Kidney Foundation claimed that it had 3,000 patients. But did it have only 2,000?

And if the right number was 2,000, why was the record not set straight so the public would know how many sick people needed help?

In a letter published in The Straits Times Forum Page on April 9 last year, Dr Gerard Chuah, chairman of the NKF Children's Medical Fund, said 3,000 dialysis patients were saved every year.

Senior Counsel Davinder Singh took NKF chief executive T.T. Durai to task yesterday for not correcting the figure.

Mr Durai admitted it was a mistake, but insisted there had been no intention to deceive the public. Here is an excerpt of their exchange.

Davinder Singh: You knew it was an error?

T.T. Durai: Yes.

Davinder Singh: Did you correct it?

T.T. Durai: No, I did not correct.

Davinder Singh: You accept it was your responsibility to correct it?

T.T. Durai: Yes.

Davinder Singh: Why did you not?

T.T. Durai: I thought it was not something which was so material at that point. I went on the basis the public supported us on the basis of our comprehensive programme.

Questioned further, he admitted it was material for the public to know how many patients the NKF served.

Davinder Singh: Therefore, there is a tremendous responsibility on the part of NKF and you to be precise, because everything that you say is designed to and has an effect on the decision-making process of the donor, right?

T.T. Durai: Yes.

Davinder Singh: If your object is to go out and get as much funds as possible, then clearly it is in your interests to demonstrate a great need for those funds, right?

T.T. Durai: Yes.

Davinder Singh: To demonstrate a great need of those funds, you would want to play up certain facts or certain figures, right?

T.T. Durai: Not play up, state those figures.

Davinder Singh: State those figures. One of those figures that is relevant is the patient numbers?

T.T. Durai: Yes.

Davinder Singh: So you knew all along, and you continued to know that patient numbers have an impact on the donor?

T.T. Durai: It's one of the considerations, yes.

Davinder Singh: Why, then, if you knew that, and if you knew that it was misleading or inaccurate, and you knew that you have a responsibility to set it right, why did you not set it right?

T.T. Durai: Being in fundraising for a long time, we are of the view... I am of the view that people give money for the credibility of the organisation, for the number of programmes we run and (the number of patients) is just one of the considerations. It was not so material at that point of time.

Davinder Singh: We have passed that point.

T.T. Durai: That is the way I view it.

Davinder Singh: We have passed that point because you have accepted that it is one of the factors that the donor will have regard to.

T.T. Durai: Yes.

Davinder Singh: So stick with that. My question is ... why did you not correct the error?

T.T. Durai: I did not think it was of that major importance to correct the error.

Counsel then pointed out that by citing the figure 3,000 in his Forum letter, Dr Chuah had overstated the number of patients by almost 1,000.

Taking the figure of $2,600 that NKF says it spends on each patient, it gave the impression that it needed $31.2 million a year for those non-existent patients.

Davinder Singh: By overstating that number by 1,000, you have given the public the impression that you are in need of $30-over million when that is not true?

T.T. Durai: In a way, yes.

Davinder Singh: In a way. You see, one is either pregnant or one is not...

T.T. Durai: No, it was an error.

Davinder Singh: Is it false or is it true?

T.T. Durai: It is not correct, yes.

Davinder Singh: Another false statement, right?

T.T. Durai: It was not done intentionally.

Mr Durai said he accepted that it was false, but it not done deliberately. Counsel then asked again why he did not correct the error.

T.T. Durai: It was an oversight. I did not think it was material at that point of time, so I did not act on it. I had no intention to deceive.

Davinder Singh: How could that be an oversight?

T.T. Durai: Because insofar as I am concerned, the donor gives us money for a number of reasons and they give us money because the brand of the NKF... and I did not think it was so important at that point of time to correct this error. That is the way I felt.

Davinder Singh: If it was for the brand of the NKF, why bother to state patient numbers? The brand would do the selling. Right? Obviously the patient numbers add a gloss, are a selling point?

T.T. Durai: One of the selling points.

Davinder Singh: How could it be an oversight?

T.T. Durai: I had no intention otherwise. That is the truth.

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NKF Saga: Court Case Day 1 (continue)

by stardusz

A continuation os the case on Day 1 with some extracts on the dialouge exchange between the lawyer, Davinder Singh and the CEO of NKF, T.T. Durai

T. T. Durai: I should have said, I travel on first class

CEO says he should have said that 'on hindsight' so as not to mislead the public, but insists he had merely used his entitlement. Sharon Loh and Selina Lum report

DOES National Kidney Foundation (NKF) chief executive T.T. Durai fly first class when he travels at the organisation's expense?

Two men who said as much were taken to court separately in 1998. Both apologised and paid damages and costs to the NKF.

Former real estate consultant and NKF volunteer Archie Ong was one. He had said in conversation with NKF's Mr Alwyn Lim that the organisation squandered money and that Mr Durai 'jets here and there in first class'.

The other was aero-modelling instructor Piragasam Singaravelu, who said he had seen Mr Durai in Singapore Airlines' (SIA's) first-class cabin.

The NKF, including chairman Richard Yong, had maintained that senior executives fly business class for long-haul flights.

Yesterday, Mr Durai told the court that he does in fact fly first class.

For the past two years he has been entitled to a fare equal to SIA's business-class rate - which can translate to first class on other airlines. Previously, he paid the difference himself.

Questioned by counsel Davinder Singh, Mr Durai insisted that he did nothing wrong by using his entitlement to pay for first-class travel.

Their exchanges on this point went this way:

Davinder Singh: Can we have a straight answer to this question and listen very carefully to it: Using NKF's funds, have you travelled first class? A straight answer, you are on oath.

T. T. Durai: Yes, NKF has not paid for...

Davinder Singh: No, no. My question is very simple. Using NKF's fund have you ever travelled first class?

T. T. Durai: No.

Davinder Singh: Is that the honest truth?

T. T. Durai: I have travelled on NKF's business-class entitlement. I have used it to travel first class.

Davinder Singh: I ask you one more time. Forget entitlement. Money. NKF money used. You travel first class?

T. T. Durai: Yes.

Davinder Singh: You have?

T. T. Durai: Yes, on business-class entitlement.

To further questions, Mr Durai said he knew that an SIA business-class fare was higher than first-class fare on other airlines.

Davinder Singh: So effectively, what you have done is you have used money from the NKF ostensibly for business-class travel but really for first-class travel.

T. T. Durai: I have used...

Justice Tan Lee Meng: Yes or no?

T. T. Durai: Yes. Can I explain why?

Judge: You can but I would appreciate if you answer the questions.

Davinder Singh: You see, Mr Durai, this is public money. Isn't it your duty as a trustee of people's money to make sure that you get best value on a business-class seat instead of deploying this clever tactic of using one of the highest published rates to get first class on another plane?

T. T. Durai: This is a decision made by the board. I used the entitlement.

Judge: The question is not who made the decision.

T. T. Durai: The board gave me...

Judge: Please answer the question.

Davinder Singh: Isn't it true that as a trustee of people's money, you have a duty to ensure that you get value for that money?

T. T. Durai: True.

Davinder Singh: Isn't it true that you need to fly in business class for business-class comfort?

T. T. Durai: This is an entitlement given by the board to me...

Judge: That was not his question. His question was, the directors feel that you deserve business-class comfort.

T. T. Durai: Yes.

Davinder Singh: And because you deserve business-class comfort, you are given a perk of business-class travel.

T. T. Durai: Yes.

Davinder Singh: Using the money donated by the man in the two-room HDB flat.

T. T. Durai: Yes.

Davinder Singh: Who has never in his life seen a business-class cabin?

T. T. Durai: I would not know that.

Davinder Singh: So you set your perk at SIA business-class rate, use that money to go first class and sue people who say that they have seen you in first class?

T. T. Durai: At that point (of the 1998 lawsuits) I didn't travel on first class. But in the past two years, the board has given me entitlement to travel business class on an SIA ticket. So I have taken the liberty to travel first class... That is what the board has decided. They know about this.

IN THE Straits Times article at the centre of the current lawsuit, NKF chairman Richard Yong was quoted as saying that nobody flew first class on NKF's money.

Asked now if that statement was true or false, Mr Durai replied: 'On the basis of what you said, it is not true.'

Mr Singh asked repeatedly if Mr Yong's statement to the paper was false. At first Mr Durai disagreed.

Davinder Singh: NKF does not pay for first-class airfare from Singapore. Does this say that if Mr Durai flies from Singapore, we only pay business class? But if Mr Durai flies from other countries back to Singapore, it is first class?

Therefore, is this statement by Mr Yong to the reporter Susan Long, meant for the public and donors, true or false?

T. T. Durai: It is not accurate, yes. Your interpretation is not accurate.

Davinder Singh: How will the public read this? You have sued two people who alleged you travelled first class.

T. T. Durai: They will have a different view of it.

Davinder Singh: They will read it to mean that none of NKF's executives including you fly first class using NKF's money, correct?

T. T. Durai: Yes.

Davinder Singh: And that is false, correct?

T. T. Durai: Yes.

Davinder Singh: Is this transparency or is this deliberate concealment of facts? We had come to this court to justify the lack of transparency. What we have now learnt is far more egregious than that. Is this a matter of transparency or an orchestrated attempt to lie to the public?

T. T. Durai: No. The board has made a decision on the entitlement - I have used my entitlement to travel the way I want for the purpose of business. It is not something I have done deliberately to deceive the public.

Davinder Singh: Are you now going to do the right thing to go to the two persons you took money from (in the 1998 lawsuits) to return it to them and to apologise?

T. T. Durai: No. I want to explain because at that time I was not travelling using NKF's money to buy a first-class ticket. I paid the difference and then travelled on first class. ...

Mr Davinder Singh asked several times why Mr Yong felt it necessary to mislead the public with a statement that was not true, and why Mr Durai had done nothing to correct it.

Mr Durai replied that he had merely used his travel entitlement and did not deceive the public.

Davinder Singh: Mr Durai, one last chance before I move on because if you don't have an answer, we know what it is. Why was it necessary to mislead the public?

T. T. Durai: You ask Mr Richard Yong that question. I don't know.

Mr Durai disagreed that his method of using his business-class entitlement to travel first class amounted to mismanagement of NKF donations.

Davinder Singh: The reason the public has been misled is that you know that if the public knew the truth, they would be upset that these methods were being used to get yourself on first class. Isn't that right?

T. T. Durai: No.

Davinder Singh: The public would be upset.

T. T. Durai: No.

Davinder Singh: That is why you are not telling them the truth. Why hide the truth?

T. T. Durai: I am just like every other CEO entitled to benefits and rights. We run a business organisation with a turnover of $120 million.

Judge: Why hide the truth? The question was, why hide the truth?

Davinder Singh: Why hide the truth? You see, if it is completely acceptable, completely above board, why not tell the public this is what you are doing? Why create a totally false impression, as we have seen in this article?

T. T. Durai: On hindsight, we should have done that - to say I travel on first class using a business-class airfare.

E-mail: sharonl@sph.com.sg
E-mail: selinal@sph.com.sg

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NKF Saga: Court Case Day 1

by stardusz

Well, I shall not post much, I believe readers are a better judges yourselves. Do leave your comments and how you felt after going through the extracts from The Straits Times.

Personally, I felt disgusted, and am actually outraged by his act. Well, read on and let us know how you felt after reading

NKF CEO's $600,000 pay revealed in court

By Bertha Henson
SUPERVISING EDITOR (HOME)

A CLOSELY guarded secret of the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) was finally made public yesterday: the salary of its chief executive T.T. Durai.

FIRST-CLASS TRAVEL: On Day 1 of NKF's defamation suit against SPH, Mr Durai admitted flying first class on some airlines but said the rates did not exceed SIA's business-class rates. -- WONG KWAI CHOW

Gasps could be heard in the courtroom when it was revealed that on top of his $25,000 a month salary, he also received 10 to 12 months in yearly bonuses. That makes his annual salary between $550,000 and $600,000, or $1.8 million in total over the past three years.

This fact, and the disclosure that he had flown first class on NKF's funds, emerged on Day 1 of NKF's defamation suit against Singapore Press Holdings (SPH).

The NKF, which is entirely dependent on public funds, offers dialysis treatment to kidney patients. Two out of every three Singaporeans contribute to it.

It is taking issue with a Straits Times article by senior correspondent Susan Long published on April 19 last year, which stated that a gold-plated tap had been installed and later replaced in the private bathroom in Mr Durai's office suite.

The NKF and Mr Durai contend that this was not the case and that the words in the article, 'The NKF: Controversially ahead of its time?', had damaged their reputation by implying that donors' funds were being misused. The hearing yesterday was delayed by the NKF's application for special damages of $3.24 million, which it claimed was what it lost in donations following the publication of the article. Justice Tan Lee Meng threw out the application and ordered the NKF to pay SPH's legal cost for its last-minute move.

At the hearing, Senior Counsel Davinder Singh, acting for SPH, noted that the tap in question cost $990, expensive by his standards although Mr Durai did not agree. The lawyer sought to show that the NKF was neither honest nor transparent about the way it uses donors' funds.

He told the court he had to ask the NKF three times, twice through the courts, to have the salary of its CEO made public.

Mr Durai, represented by Senior Counsel Michael Khoo, was the only witness who took the stand yesterday. Among those in the gallery was NKF patron, Mrs Goh Chok Tong, wife of the Senior Minister, who left midway through the hearing.

Mr Durai argued that he was not required by law to tell the public what he earned, even though he conceded that they paid his salary. Also, he wanted to protect his personal privacy.

Mr Singh asked: 'The man who earns $1,000 a month who donates $50... every month thinking that it is going to save lives, should they not know that that is the kind of money you earn?' Replied Mr Durai: 'I don't see the need for him to know.' He denied Mr Singh's charge that he refused to disclose his salary as he knew he would lose moral authority with donors.

Mr Durai's travel perks also came under scrutiny.

Not only had the NKF maintained consistently - as recently as in the April 19 article - that none of its executives flew first class, it had threatened to sue people who said Mr Durai did so.

At least two people have had to apologise publicly and pay damages and costs for saying they had seen Mr Durai travel first class, as the NKF said this implied he was wasting donors' funds.

Under questioning, he admitted he had flown first class on some airlines. His explanation: The NKF board allowed this as long as he did not bust the Singapore Airlines business-class rate.

Mr Singh countered: 'Isn't it your duty as a trustee of people's monies to make sure that you get best value on a business-class seat instead of deploying this clever tactic... using it for first class on another plane?'

Mr Durai replied: 'This is a decision made by the board. I used the entitlement.' The entitlement, he added, kicked in only in the past two years. Previously, when he flew first class, he had paid the difference out of his own pocket, he maintained.

Mr Singh noted that although he now flew first class, Mr Durai did not correct his chairman Richard Yong's assertion in the April 19 article that 'there is no such thing as first-class travel'.

'The reason you hide the truth is because you know that that is the wrong thing to do, using people's money, and you know that is mismanagement of donations.'

Mr Durai was asked if he should now 'do the right thing' by the two individuals who had paid him damages and costs for saying what he had now admitted in court. He said no, sticking to his claim that at that time, he did not travel first class using NKF funds and when he did so, he paid the difference himself.

bertha@sph.com.sg

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Boolean: Muslims != terrorists //there are black sheep everywhere

whispered @ Friday, July 08, 2005 by stardusz

Whenever there is a bomb incident, terrorists act, robbery, etc etc, alot of locals (in my case i would say Chinese since most of my friends are Chinese) would jump conclusion and tell me "must be done by Muslims, don't why they so free to do these things..." etc etc etc...

I really do not understand why are they being maligned...

When I say out my point of view, stating that not all Muslim are terrorists, those that did such an act is the few black sheep among, most of them will give me the kind of how-can-you-be-so-sure look...

Sometimes I just feel anguish for them... My Malay neighbours are all very nice people, though we seldom talk or communicate, but when we saw each other we smile and greet each other...

They are just like us, no difference at all, why do most of us like to jump conclusion and immediately think it must be them when bad things happened... I believed they are just as disturbed when they heard of bad news like what happened on 7th Jul '05 (Bomb explosion in London)

This is indeed very true... Many people like to jump conclusion and judge a person (in this case a religion) even before knowing what actually is the matter about.

And the sad thing is, once the mindset of a person (or a religion) is set to the negative side of a pivot, it is very hard for him/ her to prove to the people around him that it is not true. Some people make use of this weak mind of many human beings to manipulate a situation and or a person and gain something out of it or to get rid of someone whom he/she deem as a stone in his/her path.

The feeling of being maligned is felt, and a sour sensation swell around the eyes. Tear is on the verge of flowing out of its glands as anguish slipped in like a person who enter a room without knocking on the door

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Quote of the day:

whispered @ Wednesday, July 06, 2005 by stardusz

I'll be Your Angel to Embrace, to Protect, to Sacrifice... Fear no More, Hurt no More, Cry no More" ~ Kvetchaven

In a world where everyone is scavenging for their goal, many turn merciless and begun hurting people around them in the process.

No one is born with a heart to kill. In most cases, this was nurture out in the process of growing. However, not everyone will evolved into a beast.

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That Little Forest

whispered @ Monday, July 04, 2005 by stardusz

Living in a bustle country in Singapore, almost everyone was busy thinking of a way to earn money to live a better life. In this busy little city where not much greens were left, there was a 'little forest' reside in a corner of it. With overgrown shrubs and undernourished tree, it gave off an unwelcoming aura. It was a place where many avoided. Tales of monsters and goblins lurking inside were passed down from generation to generation.

Nearby the forest, there was an orphange and among the orphans there was a pair of siblings, Min and Sen. Min was 6 while her younger brother, Sen was 4. The siblings have no idea of how their parents look like and why were they abandoned. The only faint memory that Min has was their voice.

The bedroom that both Min and Sen slept actually faced the forest and the siblings always loved to admire the forest before going to bed.

"Min, min do you think there are really monsters living in that forest? Will the monsters really catch little children and eat them up? Do you know how monsters look like? Min, I'm scare, can you sleep with me tonight?" Sen would always asked Min these questions.

"I don't know if there are any monsters inside but..." Min grinned, "why not we creep out of here and go in to the forest to find monsters?"

Upon hearing this, Sen kept shaking his head and begged Min not to go.

"There's monster inside!!! They will eat us up!!" Sen whispered.

"Then you stay here and sleep. I'll go in, find monsters and make them my friend... Bye bye Sen," Min chuckled and walked quietly towards the door. Sen gave a frown and walked towards the door quietly where Min was waiting for him with a smile.

Min knew Sen would follow her because they were very close to each other and would follow her anywhere she go. Min placed her little finger on her lips and both quietly walked pass the guardian's bedroom.

"Min," Sen whispered, "I'm scared, I don't want to see monster already, can we go back to bed?" Min ignored Sen's begging and continued to walked towards the backyard.

Once they reached the backyard, Min held Sen's hand and ran towards the gate. Min hurried Sen because she was worried that the guardian might wake up and reprimand them for sneaking out into the backyard.

When they reached the gate, both were surprised that the latch was unlocked. Min opened the gate and together with Sen, Min got out of the orphange. In front of them stood the forest that they had always looked upon from their bedroom.

As Min and Sen slowly moved closer to the forest, they could feel their heartbeat beating fast. Sen grabbed on to Min's arm and as they approached, his grip got tighter. Just as they were about to enter the forest, a yellowish glow emerged from the forest... ...

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