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Author of review calls H1N1 scare ‘pandemic that never really was’
	Monday, 21 l 06 l 2010 Source: The New Paper


	THE World Health Organisation’s advice during the H1N1 flu pandemic played a part in governments around the world stockpiling billions of dollars worth of antiviral drugs as part of global pandemic preparations. As a result, WHO’s reputation has been severely damaged. This is what two reports, both of which came out in April, have charged. One report is by journalists at the BMJ (formerly known as the British Medical Journal). The other is by the health committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (Pace). Singapore’s Ministry of Health (MOH) is among those who have spent millions on H1N1 vaccine. The ministry bought 1.3 million doses of the vaccine last year, when fears of a dreaded pandemic were high. There are over 850,000 doses of the vaccine left as of May 31, said MOH. They will expire next April. Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan wrote in one of his blog entries: “Because nobody can tell beforehand how the pandemic will pan out, countries will try to order as many vaccines as they can afford. No health minister will want to be seen to be short of vaccines for their people.” Disposed of Elsewhere, the United Kingdom ordered enough vaccines for 80 per cent of the population to have two doses. Only about 15 per cent will be used. The rest will be junked by the end of this year, said Mr Paul Flynn, socialist member of the assembly and Labour MP for Newport West. Mr Flynn authored the Pace review on how the H1N1 pandemic was handled. He said: “This was a pandemic that never really was.” In reply to e-mail questions from The New Paper, he said: “I am greatly concerned about the advice the WHO gave and the consequences of that alarming advice,” he said. BMJ’s editor-in-chief Dr Fiona Godlee pointed out that three scientists out of 22 who worked on the guidelines were named as having received some money from pharmaceutical companies. AWHOspokesman responded to the BMJ report vaguely, saying that declarations of interest are submitted by all experts who attend WHO expert committee meetings. But Nature News refuted some of the claims made by Mr Flynn and Dr Godlee. It said that many countries – including the United Kingdom – had placed large orders for H1N1 vaccine weeks before the WHO declared H1N1 a pandemic on June 11 last year. The United States, for example, ordered US$649 million (S$908 million) of pandemic H1N1 influenza vaccine antigen and $283 million of adjuvant on May 22 last year. So the WHO could not have influenced the purchases in any way, it said.

http://forums.vr-zone.com/chit-chatting/448285-spore-doctors-given-expired-tamiflu-moh.html

Doctors given expired Tamiflu in Singapore | Techgoondu

Techgoondu, 25 Jun 2009

Doctors given expired Tamiflu in Singapore

Singapore’s Ministry of Health has sent expired Tamiflu supplies to the general practitioner’s in Singapore. Tamiflu, which comes in boxes of 10 pills each, is the anti-viral drug for th H1N1 flu. According to the report and to my own sources as well, these Tamiflu meds hve expiry dates of 2007, and was manufactured in 2003. MOH has added a sticker that says that these meds can be used beyond their shelf life - to 2010.

MOH’s circular to the GPs say this:

We would like to assure you that the extension is with the approval from the manufacturer (Roche), U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and our Health Sciences Authority. This extention is made possible due to our stringent conditioning and maintenance requirements in our storage facilities. The efficacy of the drug is not compromised in any way and is fit for usage.

Straits Times has done really well to get doctors to give their response.

Dr Wong Tien Hua, a general practitioner in Sengkang, said an expiry date can vouch for a drug’s effectiveness only for that period. ‘If it is past the expiry date, the effectiveness of the drug might not be good,’ he said, adding that someone with the H1N1 virus might take longer to recover if given ‘expired’ medication. (from ST)

Agreeing, Dr Vincent Chia, deputy director of Healthway Medical, said although it is a national stockpile, the onus will still be on the doctor to explain to patients. ‘Tamiflu is not without its side effects…so when that happens we won’t know if it’s because the drugs are expired or because of the side effects,’ he said. (from ST)

For the full story, go to ST.com here The Straits Times Interactive

pharoah88 ( Date: 03-May-2011 08:33) Posted:

Doctors given expired Tamiflu in Singapore | Techgoondu Techgoondu, 25 Jun 2009 Doctors given expired Tamiflu in Singapore Singapore’s Ministry of Health has sent expired Tamiflu supplies to the general practitioner’s in Singapore. Tamiflu, which comes in boxes of 10 pills each, is the anti-viral drug for th H1N1 flu. According to the report and to my own sources as well, these Tamiflu meds hve expiry dates of 2007, and was manufactured in 2003. MOH has added a sticker that says that these meds can be used beyond their shelf life - to 2010. MOH’s circular to the GPs say this: We would like to assure you that the extension is with the approval from the manufacturer (Roche), U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and our Health Sciences Authority. This extention is made possible due to our stringent conditioning and maintenance requirements in our storage facilities. The efficacy of the drug is not compromised in any way and is fit for usage. Straits Times has done really well to get doctors to give their response. Dr Wong Tien Hua, a general practitioner in Sengkang, said an expiry date can vouch for a drug’s effectiveness only for that period. ‘If it is past the expiry date, the effectiveness of the drug might not be good,’ he said, adding that someone with the H1N1 virus might take longer to recover if given ‘expired’ medication. (from ST) Agreeing, Dr Vincent Chia, deputy director of Healthway Medical, said although it is a national stockpile, the onus will still be on the doctor to explain to patients. ‘Tamiflu is not without its side effects…so when that happens we won’t know if it’s because the drugs are expired or because of the side effects,’ he said. (from ST) For the full story, go to ST.com here The Straits Times Interactive

By Channel NewsAsia, Updated: 03/05/2011

GE: Do you remember GE 1991, asks WP Sylvia Lim

WP secretary-general Low Thia Khiang (L) and chairman Sylvia Lim at a rally in Kallang. (Photo by OOI BOON KEONG - TODAY)

SINGAPORE: Voting Opposition members into Parliament has its benefits, said Workers’ Party (WP) chairman Sylvia Lim, citing the 1991 General Election (GE) as an example.

That year, she noted, the Opposition took four constituencies — Potong Pasir, Nee Soon Central, Bukit Gombak and Hougang — while the PAP received only 61 per cent of the valid votes.

" (The PAP) later assessed that Singaporeans were very concerned about the cost of living," Ms Lim told a WP rally in Kallang on Monday night.

" A few months later, then—Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong agreed to form a cost review committee to examine why the people felt the cost of living was too high."

The committee, she said, looked into the four main areas of concern: Healthcare costs, the price of new Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats, as well as the costs of education and transport.

The committee found that the change in the HDB’s pricing policy had made new flats more expensive and reminded the HDB to focus on affordable housing for the lower— and middle—income groups, Ms Lim said.

That review only happened, she added, because of the " wake—up call" from the 1991 GE.

" What happened after the 1991 election shows that the PAP takes election results very seriously," said Ms Lim, one of the WP candidates for the " hot seat" of Aljunied Group Representation Constituency (GRC).

" It’s time to use your vote to get the PAP Government to take action and control the cost of living — just like what happened in 1991."

At the rally, Mr Gerald Giam, the WP candidate for East Coast GRC, asked whether Medisave and MediShield could cover huge hospitalisation bills.

He suggested that a universal basic hospitalisation insurance scheme be introduced instead.

" Our scheme would provide coverage for hospital care in B2 wards," he said, adding that the premiums could be paid from Medisave.

Mr Giam also suggested that private clinics near a patient’s home, and not just polyclinics, be allowed to give referrals to government hospital specialists — while still allowing the patient " to pay ... subsidised rates at the government hospitals" .

WP chief Low Thia Khiang also touched on the issue of housing, after Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew had suggested that property prices were low in Hougang because it was an Opposition ward.

Mr Low said he went to the HDB website and " found the resale transaction price for a five—room flat in Hougang is S$560,000" .

" In Pasir Ris ... it’s only S$490,000," he added. " MM Lee should ask (National Development Minister) Mah Bow Tan why is the resale price of five—room flats in Hougang, an Opposition ward, higher and more valuable than those in a PAP ward?"

Mr Low also echoed Ms Lim’s statement that a strong Opposition in Parliament is ultimately good for Singaporeans " so that it (the Government) will respect the wishes of the people, make and implement policies carefully" . —

TODAY

By Channel NewsAsia, Updated: 03/05/2011

GE: " I don’t want to destroy anything, I want a better S’pore" , says RP chief

Kenneth Jeyaretnam (RP)

SINGAPORE: Reform Party (RP) chief and candidate for West Coast Group Representation Constituency (GRC) Kenneth Jeyaretnam said he wants to make politics an ordinary activity.

He said competition is just as essential in politics as it is in business.

Mr Jeyaretnam said this at his party’s rally held near West Coast Park.

" As an economist, if I am in Parliament, I can can debate the national issues," he said.

" What is the PAP (People’s Action Party) so scared of debating the issues with me? I don’t want to destroy anything —— I want a better Singapore.

" So you need us in Parliament so we can scrutinise the policies.

" For instance, it was the Reform Party that first pointed out that the economic growth record of which the PAP are so proud is actually hOllOw."

Speaking at the same rally, RP candidate for Ang Mo Kio GRC Arthero Lim sounded a warning against voting for the PAP.

Mr Lim said Singaporeans will lose out because the PAP will bring in more foreigners.

He also urged the crowd to cast aside their fear of voting for the Opposition, saying that residents in the Opposition strongholds of Hougang and Potong Pasir have not come to any harm.

" Remember, don’t fear the PAP! Challenge the PAP! Protect your own rights, secure your own future!" Mr Lim said.

" Because if you don’t, what will happen? You are endorsing the PAP brand, and that’s very dangerous. Because why? They are going to bring in more foreigners to take your place, to take your jobs!"

—CNA/wk

M P PRODUCTIVITY ALLOWANCES

FAIR TO THE PEOPLE

FULL TIME: S$18,000 per month

PART TIME: S$2,500 per month

T I M E

tO INSTALL

An INTEGRATED 87 CONSTITUENCY TRIPARTITE PEOPLE'S RESERVES KEY

known as THE ACID TEST KEY

Is THE PRESIDENT KEY

E F F E C T I V E ? ? ? ?

E F F I C I E N T ? ? ? ?

E C O N O M I C A L ? ? ? ?

Is THE PRESIDENT KEY

ACCOUNTABLE ? ? ? ?

for INACTION ? ? ? ?

and LOSSES ? ? ? ?

tO PEOPLE'S RESERVES ? ? ? ?

The PRESIDENT KEY

DID NOT STOP THE LOSSES OF PEOPLE'S RESERVES ? ? ? ?

COULD NOT STOP THE LOSSES OF PEOPLE'S RESERVES ? ? ? ?

DARED NOT STOP THE LOSSES OF PEOPLE'S RESERVES ? ? ? ?

DID NOT KNOW HOW TO STOP THE LOSSES OF PEOPLE'S RESERVES ? ? ? ?

BECAUSE THE INVESTMENTS WERE NOT TRANSPARENT TO THE CITIZENS ? ? ? ?

The PRESIDENT KEY

Is It The SUCCESS KEY ? ? ? ?

NO

Is It The ANSWER KEY ? ? ? ?

NO

Is It JUST ANY KEY ? ? ? ?

YES

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive& sid=adldZ5kLXljw

Singapore’s GIC Loses $33 Billion as Assets Tumble, WSJ Says

By Andrea Tan and Chris Peterson - February 17, 2009 06:44 EST

Feb. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Government of Singapore Investment Corp., one of two sovereign wealth funds owned by the island, lost as much as S$50 billion ($33 billion) in 2008, the Wall Street Journal said, citing two people familiar with the matter.

The fund doesn’t plan to get rid of its investments including in Citigroup Inc. and UBS AG even as asset values plummet, the newspaper said. GIC expects the two banks to provide substantial long-term returns, according to the report.

Sovereign wealth funds in Asia and the Middle East have pumped money into global financial institutions to help replenish capital eroded by writedowns and losses that have topped $1 trillion globally. GIC, overseeing more than $100 billion of reserves, has invested about $18 billion in UBS and Citigroup since December 2007.

GIC’s losses are similar to those at Temasek Holdings Pte, the city-state’s other sovereign wealth fund, according to the Journal. “GIC does not comment on speculative reports,” Singapore-based spokeswoman Jennifer Lewis said today by phone.

The value of Temasek’s portfolio shrank 31 percent in the eight months to Nov. 30 as the global stock-market slump eroded the value of companies from Barclays Plc to Merrill Lynch & Co., Lim Hwee Hua, senior minister of state at Singapore’s finance ministry, said on Feb. 10.

Temasek’s assets were valued at S$127 billion, down from S$185 billion at the end of March 2008, Lim said then. The MSCI World Index declined 38 percent over the same period in U.S. dollar terms. The benchmark tumbled a record 42 percent in 2008.

GIC, along with Temasek, reduced equity holdings amid the global downturn last year “early in the crisis,” helping the funds to post smaller losses than the MSCI World Index, Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said on Jan. 19.

To contact the reporters on this story: Andrea Tan in Singapore at atan17@bloomberg.net Chris Peterson at cpeterson@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Tony Jordan at tjordan3@bloomberg.net

http://forums.vr-zone.com/newsroom/457392-mas-suffers-s-9-2-billion-loss.html

MAS Suffers S$9.2 Billion Loss sigmazzz Jul 16th, 09, 12:42 PM

#1

Singapore central bank suffers S$9.2b loss

The Malaysian Insider, 16 Jul 2009

Singapore central bank suffers S$9.2b loss

SINGAPORE, July 16 — Singapore's central bank said today it posted a net loss of S$9.2 billion (RM22 billion) in its last financial year that ended March 2009, badly hurt by a decline in global markets.

The loss compared to a profit of S$7.44 billion in the same period a year earlier, the Monetary Authority of Singapore's managing director Heng Swee Keat said at a press conference.

" The unprecedented global financial crisis has weighed heavily on financial markets worldwide, leading to severe declines in valuation across many asset classes amidst heightened market volatility," he said.

" MAS's investment was negatively affected by this crisis."

The loss in the last financial year equalled about 3.5 per cent of the central bank's average assets, he said.

http://theonlinecitizen.com/2009/07/breaking-news-40-billion-losses-by-temasek-holdings/

Breaking News: $40 billion loss by Temasek Holdings

Posted by theonlinecitizen on July 29, 2009 69 Comments

1 Share

“We are certainly not happy with the negative wealth added in March last year, as well as March this year,” says Ho Ching. (See Bloomberg report below.) Read the transcripts of Ho Ching’s speech here.

SINGAPORE, July 29 – Singapore state investor Temasek said on Wednesday its portfolio had fallen by S$40 billion as of end-March 2009 from a year ago.

“In our Temasek Review last year, we reported an annual value-at-risk of almost S$40 billion last March. This meant a 16 percent probability for our portfolio value to drop more than S$40 billion by March this year. Indeed, it has turned out to be so, and more,” CEO Ho Ching said in a speech.

Temasek had S$185 billion in assets as of end-March 2008, which fell to S$127 billion as of November 2008. Ho did not give the exact portfolio level.

This was the first public comment by Ho, also the wife of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, after Temasek said last week that Charles “Chip” Goodyear will not become CEO due to differences over strategy.

Ho said Temasek would continue to look at internal and external candidates for her replacement.

- Reuters.

TAN JEE SAY BLASTS TEMASEK AND GIC LOSSES

Posted on April 29, 2011 by satayclub

SDP's Tan Jee Say says that Temasek and GIC should be made to account to the public for their investment losses

Singapore Democratic Party candidate Tan Jee Say has blasted the PAP over the enormous losses incurred by sovereign wealth funds Temasek Holdings and the Government Investment Corporation (GIC), and further lambasted the government’s refusal to disclose the accounts of the two state-owned companies to the public.

Mr Tan, a former senior official at the Ministry of Trade and Industry as well as Principal Private Secretary to Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, had been criticised by Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean over proposals to spend $60 billion to reshape the Singapore economy. Mr Teo had said that $60 billion was “not small change”, and emphasised that there were “ten zeros” in the figure.

Speaking at the SDP’s rally in Yuhua, Mr Tan retorted that his proposed $60 billion spending plan was to help Singapore develop a stronger services infrastructure, through investments in schools, daycare centres, polyclinics and hospitals.

On the other hand, he said, Temasek Holdings had lost “tens or hundreds of billions” on risky foreign investments, adding that Singaporeans do not even know the exact scale of the losses. He said that “because the government doesn’t want to tell us how much was lost, it must be bad”.

Temasek Holdings is wholly owned by the Ministry of Finance and is run by Ho Ching, the wife of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

In addition, Mr Tan also reserved strong criticism for Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, saying that he ought to learn how to manage his own ministry’s budget before commenting on the issues of others. He also repeated the SDP’s call for Dr Balakrishnan to explain to the public how his Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) overspent the Youth Olympic Games budget by over $300 million – a figure that Mr Tan said was “not small change”.

By Channel NewsAsia, Updated: 02/05/2011

GE: SDP’s Tan Jee Say says unions & govt should be separate

Tan Jee Say, SDP

SINGAPORE : Singapore Democratic Party’s candidate for Holland—Bukit Timah GRC, Tan Jee Say, 57, has said that unions and the government should be separate as there is a conflict of interest.

He was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of his team’s walkabout and house visits in the GRC on Monday.

PAP’s new candidate for Aljunied GRC, Ong Ye Kung, 41, a unionist, had said on Sunday that labour MPs were not in Parliament to say " yes" to everything.

In response, Mr Tan said: " They do not say ’yes’, but they do not vote ’no’."

An example, he said, was the decision to build casinos.

Responding to another comment by labour chief Lim Swee Say, 56, on the possibility of forming a " rojak" government if there are too many opposition MPs, Mr Tan said he did not think this was an issue.

" I think rojak is quite nice to eat, so we shouldn’t be afraid of all these threats. They give the impression that they are the only ones that know how to run the government, but look at the track record in the last five years," he added.

— CNA/al

#Are the citizenz better Off Over the LAST 10 YEARS ? ? ? ?#

Pharoah. U got too much to post on this little post, U can post your main point on new post GE2011 but dont flood too many there, wait too messy hard to get your point :)

WP’s Low hits back at PAP leaders [nOt thOrOugh enOugh ? ? ? ?]

1st World Parliament *

1st World OppOsItIOn *

1st World gOvernment *
Tanya Fong

tanyafong@mediacorp.com.sg
SINGAPORE
Speaking in Mandarin, Mr Low first addressed Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong’s comment that voters were being deceived by the WP’s manifesto —
“What I want to tell him is that if our proposal is koyok, it’s because the PAP’s policies have given the people aches and pains,” said Mr Low.
Mr Goh had said at the PAP rally in the Marine Parade Group Representation Constituency (GRC) on Saturday night that the Opposition lacked substance and also scrutinised the concept of a First World Parliament.
He said he researched it on the Internet and found two entries.
Mr Low responded: “I am afraid the SMis not thorough enough. There should be at least three entries. He forgot his mentor MM Lee, who also spoke about it in 2006. But I will not tell him where to find it. He has enough resources to find it himself.”
Mr Low was referring to Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew’s statement in the 2006 General Election, where MM Lee had stated:
“We want to have a First World Parliament for Singapore, so we need to have a First World Government and a First World Opposition. If you want us to treat you as gentlemen, argue on the merits of your policy and our policy. Take it to a higher level and we will treat you accordingly and respond accordingly.”
Mr Low responded by saying that the PAP is not a First World government. Instead, he added, the WP represents hope for a First World government.
He also took issue with MM Lee’s remarks on WP candidate for Aljunied GRC, Mr Chen Show Mao. MM Lee had said that if the WP fails to win a mandate in Aljunied GRC, Mr Chen, who has lived abroad for more than 30 years and been based in China since 2007, can go back to China.
Said Mr Low: “He is a returning citizen but MM Lee wants him to go back to China.
On the contrary, PAP welcomes many foreigners who have lived abroad for many years and grant them citizenship. Many Singaporeans are also abroad, does it mean that PAP will not (welcome them) if they want to come home too?
“Is it because the Government now has enough new citizens to take over native Singaporeans or is it because Chen is going head-to-head with PAP, so he is not welcome back?”
Mr Low also questioned the ministerial salaries and its co-relation to high-quality government candidates.
Said Mr Low: “The PM (Lee Hsien Loong) claims that there is debate within the PAP, the Government. Is this good governance or is this elitist, exclusive, unrepresentative, non-transparent and non-accountable?”
He noted that in the past, the PAP had said that high salaries were necessary to attract high-quality people from the private sector.
“So why is it that today, only eight out of 24 new PAP candidates for this GE are from the private sector?
Two-thirds are from the public sector.
“So what happened to the high-quality people from the private sector that the high salaries are supposed to attract?

If high-quality people from the private sector are turning to the Workers’ Party and other Opposition parties, it is a sign that good government does not necessarily require high salary,” Mr Low said.— Workers’ Party (WP) secretary-general Low Thia Khiang responded to various comments made by top People’s Action Party (PAP) leaders last night by citing several issues such as the immigration policies and ministerial salaries.Towards a First World Parliament — and that the concept is like “koyok” (Malay for quack medicine).

Grow and Share ‘not a gimmick’

Hetty Musfirah

hetty@mediacorp.com.sg

OVER HEARD:

G20 always COMPARE NOTES and COPY from each OTHER ? ? ? ?

WHAT SYSTEM is there that people cannot UNDERSTAND ? ? ? ?

May The 1st WORLD still cannot understand

" WHAT is Teach Less and Learn More ? ? ? ?"

nO Other country is implementing it ? ? ? ?

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