Rising Xenophobia in Singapore?

Taken an extra long hiatus from blogging, ever since I've started work and gotten a lot more projects.. but well, blogging is about coagulating some random thoughts in my mind and putting it down on record so, at some future point in time, I might take a look and gasp at these thoughts. Or not, whatever...

============

Of "Real" Singaporeans, Foreign Talent and Workers

If you ask me, Singapore's society as a whole is maturing, social graces are by and large more visibly present nowadays. Hardly any inconsiderate fool talks loudly in a cinema, seldom do we see people spitting in the street, and smokers have been resigned to their fate of being banished to smoking in jungles 2,000km away from any built up area. (Just kidding on the last, of course.)

This I'm talking about, is referring to the "real" Singaporeans. At the risk of sounding xenophobic myself, I define "real Singaporeans" as those born and bred here, with parents that were born and bred here in our sunny island.

My reasoning for this is simple: Only people born and bred here with parents of the same status will fully embody the Singaporean-ness in them. This is in no small part due to the nurture factor of a person's upbringing. If one is not nurtured in a "100% Singaporean" upbringing, he or she is likely to have "foreign elements" present in his/her character. I shall not delve into further detail here.

There have been quite a few articles of late (spanning over the past year) over foreign talent (FT) and also on our dear foreign workers (FWs) - a general term for those who take up the "less desirable" jobs.

Having FT and FWs are no doubt essential to our economy, and also the cosmopolitan mix of our country. Firstly, Singapore has an ageing population, not unlike other developed countries, and possibly also a brain drain, especially with modern China being the next "USA in the early 1900s". The Singapore government has no doubt foreseen this problem long ago and relaxed our immigration policies in the past decade to welcome with open arms all available talent from all corners of the globe.

Can We Take More?

According to the official census count, our population increased 36,300 to almost 5 million over the course of 6 months, a 1.1% increase, and we are ranked one of the most densely populated territories in the world. Net live births was 22,604, which means about 14,000* "new" citizens (NCs) were integrated into our society since 2008.

I write with concern on the apparent inability and inflexibility of some of these foreigners to integrate smoothly with our society as I know it. As the old saying goes, "when in Rome, do as the Romans do". With the influx of these "new citizens", as well as the other non-Singaporean residents (NSRs for short), some of them have imposed their own lifestyles back home in our environment.

What I've observed increasingly, and also featured in the most recent Sunday Times, is the "fight" between car drivers and cyclists. I am all for cycling as a hobby, as a way to bond and also as a green way to get around, but apparently some of our dear foreign friends (nationalities of which I shall not mention) have taken things one step too far by riding as they would in their own home countries.

Examples of this kind of behaviour would include, riding out onto the middle of the lane and changing path without prior warning, not obeying traffic lights, going against the flow of traffic etc. And it doesn't help that Singapore's law apparently is skewed in favour of pedestrian and cyclist accident victims.

Other interesting elements are the increasing property prices, the crowded roads and the VERY crowded trains. (I shall not touch on the latter as I have discussed it before.) Property prices are shooting sky high, due to the scarcity of land and the ever-increasing population. Wasn't it not too long that our government proposed an eventual population of 6.5 million people on this island? I'm not entirely sure if the existing and future infrastructure can comfortably host this number of people.

How do we plug the gap?

Chatter inside popular forums reveal that there seems to be a rising tide of xenophobic attitudes towards our FT and FWs. Every time a newspaper reports about a foreigner's shocking behaviour, such as the incident some years back where the group of foreign workers who sprayed foam into a girl's eyes on a New Year's Eve party and then violated her, such xenophobic chatter increases. If this rises beyond a turning point, I am not sure if the very fragile fabric of multi-raciality, multi-religious, and multi-nationality of our society can withstand the onslaught of xenophobia.

Recent anecdotal stories have led me to believe that the authorities are tightening the immigration policies more, in view of the burgeoning population. I've just recently heard of a finance professional that got rejected for PR. This is truly astonishing given the prior seemingly lax attitude of our government towards recognizing "foreign talent", as well as the industry that particular individual was in.

However, I feel that more has to be done to encourage integration of existing NCs and NSRs into the Singapore culture. Whilst I do not expect every one in these two groups to be enthusiastic about the integration aspect, basic mannerisms (and quirks) of Singaporeans have to be learnt as compulsory "general knowledge" for their own good. This will better help them understand the Singaporean way of life, to protect our legacy for the children of the future, and finally to protect themselves.

Whilst the children of tomorrow are increasingly tuned to having foreign faces in their classes, it is my wish that we do not lose sight of who we are, and what we are made of. To be honest, I am proud of Singlish, as it is one of the uniquely Singaporean things. In fact, if one heads to Europe or any popular Singaporean holiday destination, the thing that gives a fellow Singaporean away is our accent. Oh yes, we do have an accent!

I shudder to think what will happen to this country if no proper care is taken to undertake the above.

*figure may be higher as census count is taken half-yearly.

Author's note:

This article may be offensive to those who have tried their level best to integrate into Singaporean society, but rest assured, I am not referring to you. I love my foreign friends, who have either chosen to take up PR and citizenship or not. It is not a matter of who, but more importantly, how many, and this forms the gist of the whole article.

How to have your cake and eat it

Let's talk about how to raise the cost of car ownership, and at the same time raise public transport fares, AND how to make the public swallow the bitter pill.

Impossible in other countries? Not in Singapore - adidas' famous (or infamous) slogan applies - impossible...... is nothing.

-------------


The ERP (Electronic Road Pricing) system is an ingenious idea. Whoever came up with this idea should have the Nobel Prize (Economics).

I mean, seriously. Why have toll booths? Why pay people to collect money, when you can have it automated? When the system is faulty, there is no trouble for the government at all - the onus is on the driver to prove so.

Cheap to build, and the gantry can be up in days (probably 1 month or less if you throw in software configuration testing etc.) Next, you can start charging motorists based on a whim and fancy - "oh, traffic speeds are below 45kmh." And wait, motorists only need to be given a week's notice.

No alternative routes need to be suggested, Singaporean drivers don't need nannies to teach them how to drive, yeah? They can always use the numerous sites on the Internet to tell them how to plan their routes, and there's even one which will tell u how much your intended route costs (only ERP of course, petrol not included).

The government's rebuttals are getting tired of late. "Speeds are falling, we have to arrest the trend, before it rapidly degenerates and investors get put off into ploughing money in Singapore Inc."
Fear Factor, anyone?

It conveniently forgets the investors and its citizens ALREADY in Singapore who find the escalating costs going out of hand, or does the SG government do a calculated risk that Singaporeans are just too settled in to move out of this tiny island? Even if so, what about the existing investors/ foreign talent etc?

And the latest news, taxi drivers are finding it expensive to drive into the CBD because of ERP, so many will choose to stay away. So now commuters who need a cab in the CBD need to call for one! What next?

-------------------

The next bone I have to pick is the rising public transport fares. The government recently announced a change in the public transport fare structure that would be distance-based, rather than depending on how many times u switch buses/trains. That is reason to cheer, until you read on and realize that it is actually a facade for something more scheming - to raise fares for 6 out of 10 people who actually have direct buses from source to destination. What's more, transport companies are encouraged to scrap direct routes because they are "less efficient".

FARE HIKE, then no more direct routes? What in the world is the government thinking? When u factor in a journey's time, please also factor in waiting time. It is NOT fair at all to just compare travelling time, (because if you didn't already know!!!) waiting time can take up a significant portion of the total time u take to get from place to place! I wonder just how far removed our ministers are from the ground. Seriously!

Ministers and top management of LTA, please take the public transport at least once a week. The condition here is, you are not allowed to inform the bus companies when you want to take it. You are also not allowed to tell them where you are taking it from, or where you are going to. In brief, you should act as the man on the street for a day a week, so you can feel our pain.

If the government wants to encourage people to use public transport, then for heaven's sake, please improve the regularity, particularly during peak hours! Reasons like existing infrastructure not being able to support more regular train schedules are NOT acceptable. If the people at the top can for one moment stop running the country like a company, they might even have the heart and clarity to see the common man's problems. Or is it too cloudy on top to see the ground below? Or maybe, just maybe, they choose to assume these problems don't exist. After all, it's easy to do that when you have a nice comfy car and a motorcade to whisk you around wherever you need to go. And ERP is paid for by the government!

---------------

High fliers, time to lower yr cruising level. Lower yourselves for one moment, live and breathe the shit we're facing now for some time, before you go back up to your perch and "continue looking at the big picture".

Do you feel the pinch?

I got this from a colleague over email and I think it's good to share this...
Disclaimer: the list and the dates have not been verified, and is for reference only.


2007 and the list of price increases


Jan: All diesel-driven vehicles to undergo smoke test.
Jan: NUH's A&E fee raised from $70 to $80.
Jan: Skilled Foreign workers levy raised by $50, from $100 to $150, for all sectors.
Jan 26: SMU Law Course to cost more, NUS says it may increase fees too.
Feb: KK Women's and Children's Hospital hikes ward treatment fees.
Feb 14: Tax penalties from GST audits could increase. With the hike in Goods and Services Tax (GST) by two percentage points, tax analysts said tax penalties arising from businesses making mistakes in GST audits may also increase.
Feb 25: Sunny Cove: Fees to Pulau Hantu Raised - As of 24th February 2007 (Saturday), the operator had increased the price for the chartering of boat to local water. With the price hike, all courses conducted at local water will be subjected to the increase from 25th February 2007 (Sunday) onwards.
Feb 25: Eldershield premiums to go up by year's end.
April 1: Singapore Medical Association withdraws guidelines on fees. Doctors now have more flexibility to adjust their fees, following a decision by the Singapore Medical Association (SMA) to withdraw its guidelines on fees, as of 1 April.
April 1: URA increase fees for Housing Developers's Licence â€" from between $500 to $8,000.
April 2: NUS revise car park charges.
April 8: Means testing for hospital admission to start within a year. Subsidised patients that stay more than five days in a public hospital can expect some questions about their income.
April 11: Ikea to start charging customers for plastic bags. (ST, 11 April, 2007)
April 25: The Singapore American School increased tuition fees by between $425 and $1,000.
April: Within hours of each other, the four petrol companies in Singapore - First Shell, then Singapore Petroleum Company (SPC), ExxonMobil and lastly Chevron - each revised its prices. The retail price of petrol and diesel rose by 10 cents. (Electric New Paper)
May 12: Inflation heads for a higher plane. For now, the major public concern is a rise in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) from 5% to 7% in July, which is likely to exacerbate the series of worrying price increases over the past year.
May 14: NUH increase ward charges for B2 and C-class wards by $2, increases of 4 and 8 per cent.
May 23: DBS raises its e-transaction fee for initial public offering (IPO) applications. Retail investors who applied for IPO shares launched on or after that date, through the local bank's ATMs and Internet banking, were surprised that they now have to pay $2.
May 29: New fee hikes at public hospitals and polyclinics. A NEW round of fee hikes is underway at most public hospitals and some polyclinics. Subsidised patients at four public hospitals will now pay $24 or $25 for every visit to a specialist clinic, up from about $21. All 18 polyclinics, which used to charge a standard consultation fee of $8 for adults, now charge anything from $8-$8.80.
May: From milk to Milo, cooking oil to coffee, canned foods, processed foods, wheat products and more, prices have been rising recently at supermarkets and hypermarts here.
June 1: Prices of milk go up. The price increase for condensed milk ranged from $0.10 to $0.50, which means the prices for some brands of condensed milk have gone up by nearly 45 per cent. The price increase for evaporated milk ranged from $0.15 to $0.47, marking a percentage increase of between 18 per cent to 48 per cent.

June 4: Online hosiery shop increases price. There will be a overall price increase on 4th June 2007 for all brands due to increased cost of yarns and cost of shipping.

June 6: Even before the Nets fee hike kicks in, a shoe shop in Parkway Parade has already started charging customers extra to cover the increase.
June 7: Wholesale price of ducks goes up. The wholesale price of ducks has increased by 20 cents a kilogram.
June 7: Eggs price increase. Eggs now cost between 17 cents and 18 cents each.
June 29: Rental space rents rise. Islandwide, rents at Grade A malls have moved up by between 5-7 per cent in the first half of this year and could increase by another 5-6 per cent by end-2007, analysts said. (Business Times, June 29, 2007)
June 29: Fees up by 14% on average at NUS. Two days before the higher 7-per-cent GST kicked in on July 1, prospective students of the continuing education arm of the National University of Singapore (NUS) received news that fees for many courses had gone up â€" by an average 14 per cent.
July 1st: GST increased from 5% to 7%.
July 1st: THE Singapore Petroleum Company (SPC) and market leader ExxonMobil became the first companies to raise pump prices at their petrol stations following the GST hike. The two companies increased prices across the board for their three grades of petrol and diesel by 0.23 cents to 0.33 cents per litre from 7am. Caltex will be increasing its pump prices on Monday. (ST, July 1, 2007)
July 1st: NETS announced a price hike for its Electronic Funds Transfer Point-of-Sale (EFTPOS) and CashCard Services to between 1.5% and 1.8%.
July 1st: Pasir Ris â€" Punggol Town Council revise penalties for late payment of S&C charges to 2% and absorb 7% GST.
July 1st: Cigarette prices up as bar ban kicks in. Tobacco companies raised the prices of popular brands by an average of 40 cents. This brought the price of a 20-stick pack of Marlboro or Dunhill cigarettes, for example, to $11.60.
July 3: Resale price index for HDB flats rise 2.9% from 3 months before.
July 4: The Committee Against GST Profiteering (CAP) has found price changes to be generally moderate since the announcement of the GST increase in November 2006.
July 10: Changi General Hospital increases A&E charges. Following in the wake of earlier hikes by the National University Hospital and Alexandra Hospital, CGH this month increased its A&E attendance fee by $10 â€" or 15 per cent â€" to $75. For the B2 and C-class wards, the daily treatment fee went up by $1, representing a 6-to-10-per-cent increment. The daily ward charge for B2 wards also rose by $1, or 2 per cent.
July 11: Starhub raise prices for cable tv packages. SCV subscribers pay $4 more across the board.
July 11: The Committee Against GST Profiteering has received 33 complaints in the past six months about price increases, all dealing with food items. About 10 cases involve chain businesses. (ST, July 11, 2007)
July 15: Electricity tariffs to be raised by almost 9% for July to September.
July 18: Govt raises development charge from 50% to 70% for new building projects from 50 per cent to 70 per cent of the increase in value of the land.
July 21: HDB rents at 10-year high. For the first time in recent memory, monthly rents for some HDB flats have pushed northwards of $2,000 in leases signed in the last couple of months. (ST, 21 July 2007)
July 25: Hospital bills up 10% to 30% across all ward classes.
July: July inflation hits 2.6%, highest in over 12 years.
July (CPI): Housing costs increased 4.9 per cent because of higher housing maintenance charges, electricity tariffs and rented accommodation costs. (ST, Aug 23, 2007)
July (CPI): Food prices went up by 1.4 per cent, mainly due to dearer cooked food, fresh fish, fruits, vegetables and milk powder.
July (CPI): Transport and communication prices moved up by 1 per cent, reflecting mainly dearer petrol and higher car prices.
July (CPI): The index for education and stationery rose by 2.1 per cent as a result of higher fees at commercial institutions and universities.
July (CPI): Prices of clothing and footwear increased by 3.9 per cent.
July (CPI): Health care cost rose by 2.2 per cent on account of dearer chinese herbs and higher charges for general medical consultation and dental treatment.
Aug 2: SBS, SMRT seeking bus, train fare increases. If approved, transport fares could rise by up to three cents from October.
Aug 2: Singapore Airlines raises fuel surcharge â€" from between US$2, US$5 and US$9.
Aug 6: ERP rates at Orchard, YMCA and Fort Canning Tunnel to go up. From August 6, cars passing the Orchard, YMCA and Fort Canning Tunnel gantries will be charged an additional $0.50. That makes it $1 per entry. Rates for motorcycles will also double to $0.50. Goods vehicles and small buses will now be charged $1.50. Heavy goods vehicles and big buses will be charged $2.
Aug 7: Student made to pay adult fare.
Aug 7: Cost of living in S'pore getting higher compared to neighbours. Singapore retains its 9th position out of 41 Asian locations as the most costly city. (CNA)
Aug 7: Car insurance premiums likely to increase. Higher premium rates for car insurance look almost certain, after the motor sector suffered a second consecutive quarter of losses. Rises could be between 5 and 10 per cent, according to one insurer, as the industry battles higher claims. (AsiaOne, ST, Aug 7, 2007)
Aug 8: 17% hike in Delifrance's tuna croissant sandwich, from $5.05 to $5.90.
Aug 10: Change of supplier sees spike in price of medicine. A 80ml bottle of Minoxi 5 from Trima Pharmaceutical used to cost $38.50. This time round, the price was $45.50 for a 60ml bottle. Going by volume, the price increase was a hefty 57.6 per cent. (ST Forum, Aug 10, 2007)
Aug 13: Up to 30% levy imposed on hotel room revenues during F1 race. The Trade and Industry Ministry (MTI) has decided a levy of 30 per cent for hotels on the trackside, and 20 per cent for others.
Aug 23: More ERP gantries, extended hours.
Aug 24: By Aug 24, the Committee Against GST Profiteering had received 115 complaints on alleged GST profiteering. In the first two weeks of July, after the GST increase came into effect, 49 complaints were received, surpassing the 30 complaints received in May. (ST, Aug 29, 2007)
Aug 27: Singapore raises 2007 inflation forecast to 1-2 per cent. Singapore 's central bank confirmed an apparent off-the-cuff remark by Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang in parliament that inflation would come in at 1-2 percent this year, above the government's previous forecast of 0.5-1.5 percent. (Reuters)
Aug 29: Middle-aged suicide rate up. In 2003, there were 14 suicides (of men in their 40s and 50s) per 100,000. In 2006, it went up to 19 per 100,000. For women, there were 8 per 100,000. In 2006, it went up to 13 per 100,000. (TODAY, Aug 29, 2007)
Aug 29: Storage boom as rents rise. Companies which provide self-storage facilities are reporting a rise in rentals by foreigners as rising rental prices force more of them to downsize. (The Electric New Paper, Aug 29, 2007)
Aug 31: Government raises property development charges. For non-landed residential use, the charge was raised by an average of 58 percent with prime areas like Cantonment Road seeing the biggest jump of 112 percent. Areas seeing the highest increase (of over 100 percent) include Telok Ayer, Maxwell, Shenton, Anson and South Bridge Road. (CNA)
Sept 1st: New dog licensing rules. To discourage dog owners from keeping unlicensed dogs, allowing their dogs to stray or not muzzling dogs of breeds 2 that are required to be muzzled in a public place (eg, the Rottweiller or Mastiff); the maximum fine for such offences has been raised from $500 to $5,000.
Sept 5: Esso won't go public on fuel price changes. IF YOU are an Esso customer, you will not know if the price of your fuel has changed until you drive right up to a pump. ExxonMobil - the biggest player here with 74 out of the total of about 200 stations - has adopted a new policy against revealing changes in pump prices to the media. Neither does it display prices at station entrances. (Straits Times, Sept 5, 2007)
Sept 11: Adult EZ-link fares for buses upped from October. From 1 October, adult EZ-link fares for buses will increase by between one and two cents. But there will be no increase for train fares. (CNA)
Sept 12: Special needs school raise fees by 100%. I was shocked to receive a letter in July stating that school fees would increase by 100 per cent from this month. No other institution - even private schools - operates in this manner by increasing its fees by 100 per cent. (Letter to ST forum)
Sept 13: Employers to buy medical insurance for foreign workers. From January next year (2008), employers will have to buy and maintain insurance for the medical expenses of all foreign workers on Work Permit or S Pass. (CNA)
Sept 25: Electricity tariffs to go up because of higher oil prices. Barely 2 months after the increase of 9% in July , electricity tariffs will again go up later this year because of higher oil prices. SP Services said electricity tariffs will be raised by an average of 0.86 cent, or 4.29 percent, per kilowatt-hour, for the three months from October to December. (CNA)
Sept 25: Cosmetics costing more? Taking a hit from the Goods and Services Tax hike, prices of consumer products in Singapore grew at a pace not seen since 1994. (TODAY)
Sept 27: Gardenia loaf of bread cost 5% more in three months. " Yesterday we found out that its price has soared to $2. If you work that out against the original $1.90, it means that the total price increased is 5.3 per cent in three months." (Letter to ST forum page.)
Sept 29: Why higher fees for vacant flat? "MY LATE grandfather, who was the sole owner and occupier of a three-room HDB flat, had been paying $38 a month in conservancy fees to the town council. His estate now has to pay $55 a month (a 45 per cent increase) for the vacant flat, the reason being that the $38 concessionary charge no longer applies as it is now unoccupied." (Letter to ST Forum Page)
Sept: Singapore Indian Fine Arts Society to increase fees from between $5 to $10 due to the society becoming a GST-registered entity.
Oct: Starhub Cable TV sports channels subscribers pay $10 more.
Oct 1: Public transport fare increase takes effect.
Oct 1: Private home prices in Q3 up by 8%: URA flash estimate. The prices of private residential property in Singapore increased by eight per cent in the third quarter of this year. ( CNA )
Oct 1: HDB resale prices up by 6.5% in Q3: HDB's flash estimate. Public housing resale prices went up by 6.5 percent in the third quarter of this year, compared to the previous three months. (CNA )
Oct 1: Petrol, diesel price up 3-5 cents. At 10am, Caltex increased its petrol and diesel prices by 3 cents a litre, while Shell upped its rates by 5 cents a litre. By 3pm, Singapore Petroleum Co followed suit by raising its pump rates by 5 cents a litre. The increase is the fifth upward revision since July, as crude oil prices hover at record levels above US$80 a barrel. (AsiaOne)
Oct 1: Hotel room rates expected to go up by 25% in Q4. Hotel room rates in Singapore in the fourth quarter are expected to be 25 per cent higher than that of last year, according to industry players. (CNA)
Oct 3: The price of chickens has risen by 20 to 50 per cent here since last week, caused by the wholesale price hike from Malaysia, among the factors, according to media reports. (Bernama)
Oct 4: Queensway Shopping Centre, Sim Lim Square and sky-high rentals in Singapore . As the leases are expiring about now, get ready for a radical change in Sim Lim Square , the highest rentals for the shops selling the lowest margin products ever. (C Net Asia)
Oct 19: SIA ups fuel surcharge by between $3 and $9. The new charges, which are between $3 and nearly $9 more than the current surcharges, will apply to tickets issued from Oct 24 and to both SIA and SilkAir flights. (TODAY)
Oct 20: Price of flour up 30%. The price of flour has increased again, but this time it has gone up by thirty percent. This is the biggest ever hike, according to industry watchers. From January, it will cost 20 cents more to buy a loaf of bread. (CNA)
Oct 22: Caltex petrol, diesel prices up. AMERICAN oil company Chevron raised pump prices of its Caltex petrol and diesel by five cents a litre on Monday - the sixth increase since July and the second in about a fortnight. The others - Shell, ExxonMobil and Singapore Petroleum - are likely to do likewise in the coming days. Chevron's move brings its pump prices to record levels. (Straits Times)
Oct 26: Private home prices up 8.3% in Q3. Singapore private home prices rose 8.3 percent between July and September to their highest level in a decade. (Asia One)
Oct 27: Prices of HDB resale flats keep accelerating. 'As at end-September, the HDB resale price index has increased by about 11 per cent since the start of the year,' the HDB said. For five-room flats, the median resale price in Queenstown is the highest at $603,000, followed by Marine Parade at $560,000 and Bukit Merah at $530,000. ( Straits Times)
Oct 28: Singapore raises noodle prices. Starting Nov. 1, the price of noodles in Singapore will increase 20 percent to 30 per cent, the Singapore Noodles Manufacturers' Association announced on Sunday. (AHN News)
Oct 30: ERP rates going up again for third time this year. Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) rates are going up again for the third time this year. There will also be new gantries erected. From November 5, motorists will pay $3.50 from 7:30am to 8:00am. The amount charged goes up to $5.00 between 8:30am and 9:00am. This is a $1.50 increase in the 8:30am to 9:00am period since February this year. (CNA )
Oct 30: 100 bakeries to raise bread prices by up to 20%. OVER 100 bakeries have indicated that they will be raising bread prices by up to 20 per cent, following a jump in flour prices. (Straits Times)
Nov 2: Expect steep hikes in tyre, wheel and battery prices. BESIDES record fuel prices and higher Electronic Road Pricing rates, motorists must prepare to pay more for batteries, tyres and wheels. The Singapore Motor Tyre Dealers Association is preparing to announce sizeable price hikes, with battery prices going up by as much as 50 to 70 per cent. Tyre prices will go up by 20 to 30 per cent, and wheels by 10 to 20 per cent, the association's assistant secretary, Mr Robert Tng, told The Straits Times. (Straits Times)
Nov 5: A TRIP to the supermarket will cost more now than it did at the beginning of the year. A Straits Times check on a random basket of basic goods sold at supermarkets here revealed price increases in almost every category, from fresh chicken to coffee and milk formula. (Straits Times)
Nov 5: Prices for Singapore Petroleum Company Limited (SPC) motor gasoline across all three grades and diesel will be increased by seven cents per litre. (SPC)
Nov 8: Raffles Place retailers face space crunch, soaring rents. A recent study by property consultant Cushman & Wakefield found rent rises of up to 24 per cent over the past two years in the area. (Straits Times)
Nov 23: Singapore 's October CPI up 3.6% on-year, 1.3% on-month. Singapore's October consumer prices rose 3.6 percent from a year earlier after an increase in the Goods and Services Tax (GST), government data showed on Friday. (CNA)
Nov 29: Pump prices increase by 5 cents. All four oil companies Shell, Caltex, ExxonMobil and Singapore Petroleum Company (SPC) â€" have increased pump prices for petrol and diesel by five cents. In the past 11 months, the price of petrol has shot up nine times and twice just in this month alone. (CNA)
Nov 29: Second Link toll charges to go up next year. VEHICLES from Singapore crossing into Johor via the Second Link Expressway will have to pay higher tolls from Jan 1, the Malaysian government announced yesterday. Passenger cars using the Second Link route will have to pay RM10.80 (S$4.60) next year, compared with RM8.40 now. (Asia One)
Dec 9: Price of luncheon meat soar, from $1 to as high as $3. Prices of luncheon meat have been on the rise since August when the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) rejected and destroyed a consignment of canned pork products from two food processing plants in China. (New Paper)
Dec 10: ComfortDelgro raises taxi fares. Commuters will pay between 18 per cent and 49 per cent more for a taxi ride home from the city from 5pm to midnight . ( Straits Times) ( CNA)
Dec 11: SCHOOL bus fares will go up by at least $5 to $10 in January, sparked by the increase in diesel prices in recent months. (Straits Times)
Dec 14: Singapore 's second-largest taxi operator SMRT will be raising its fares from next Friday, December 21. The changes are in line with the adjustments made by market leader ComfortDelGro which will be increasing fares from December 17. (CNA)
Dec 14: Hike in POSB coins charge excessive. "IN THE past, whenever I made a deposit or withdrawal in coins, I paid $5 in service charge for every $500. Now, I have to pay $15 for every $500. So if I changed $1,000 into coins, I would lose $30." (ST Forum Page)
Dec 14: Adjustment rate for housing loan changed unilaterally. "This unilateral change in adjustment rate is an increase in effective interest on the loan, and it is done without changing the loan interest rates. Is it fair for banks to offer adjustment rates as a 'feature' to woo customers but, six months into the loan, unilaterally reduce the benefits of the feature?" (ST Forum Page)

Dec 14: Hike in luggage surcharge wasn't publicized. "When they were at the check-in counter, they were informed that the overweight charge was $20, not $8, and if they did not pay up they would not get their boarding passes. They had no choice but to pay." (ST Forum Page)
Dec 20: Potong Pasir to raise S&C charges. THE opposition-held Potong Pasir ward is raising its service and conservancy (S&C) charges for the first time in a decade. Residents there will pay between $2.50 and $8 more a month, depending on the size of their HDB flat. (Straits Times)

Dec 20: Expect to pay more for food from next month. SINGAPOREANS should brace themselves for a sharp hike in food prices starting from New Year's Day, which could affect anything from curry puffs to ice cream. (Asia One)
Dec 28: Electricity tariffs to go up. Highest since 2001. From next month (Jan 2008), electricity tariffs will go up nearly 6 per cent, to 22.62 cents per kilowatt-hour (kwh). (Straits Times)
2007: HDB ups valuation and administrative fees for valuation report of flats. This is to include the new 7% GST.

Back in SG and some thoughts......

In case any goon doesn't know I'm back in SG yet, this serves as a notice ;)

Anyways, after coming back, I realized that Singapore on the whole has a risk-adverse environment and low tolerance for making mistakes. The price of efficiency and having the whole machinery oiled so well is that the people and government lose their heart, their feelings, their everything - all to become a unit of production in the grand scheme of things. We're No.1 in so many things - no.1 most crowded MRT trains, no. 1 in longest waiting time between MRT trains, no.1 at MRT jumping suicides, no. 1 at raising fees and fares, no. 1 in number of ERP gantries put up (OK, this is just tongue-in-cheek, but you know what I am driving at.)

I feel like a robot/machine/economic unit of production in this humongous production plant called Singapore. Not appreciated, not recognized, not anything.The government would do good to recognize this fact, and pull back talented Singaporeans (who are most likely to take off in search of greener pastures), otherwise Singapore will soon be filled with 6 million lifeless, heartless, visionless "Singaporean bodies".

One people, one nation, one Singapore - what happened to that? LKY's legacy is going to crash and burn soon, if the heart of the country is not reinstalled properly. I myself am thinking of reasons why not to quit Singapore. Help me, someone?

Excerpts of LKY's interview with IHT

This is a good read, to understand the ideas in the guy who made Singapore what it is. That's not to say I totally agree with him, but some salient points are made, and I guess that it's good to know how our government (and our Prime Minister's father) thinks.

One thing that has been dissed around in the blogosphere for the longest time yet and one that I take issue with is, why China and Hongkong have accepted gays (officially), and Singapore is still like a little backwater village with its archaic laws (against homosexuality) made by some uneducated village heads. The Singapore government's stance is that the law is there, but we're "taking an ambiguous approach". So while you are "free to be gay", you might want to watch your back. The government can so choose to label you as one and throw you into prison simply cos... you're homosexual. But then, did they not read that, laws that are not enforced (and/or are not enforceable) only serve to weaken the legal system. So we might as well rid our system of it.

For me at least, although I don't like homosexual behaviour, I do not think that society will denigrate to the level of the slippery slope arguments that seem to be the reasoning of choice with politicians in Singapore. Because if you look at China, although homosexuality has been "approved" by their Communist government, that kind of behaviour and being is still frowned upon in society, even being laughed at, because China is and always will be an Asian society (read: conservative.) Ditto to Singapore, so I think PAP is worrying too much.

I've no time to read the whole article yet so I'll come back to this some time later.

Happy National Day Singapore

On this very joyous occasion, I am not in Singapore.

Before I launch into an endless tirade about nothing in particular, three simple words: Happy National Day! Yes, it's once again, 9th August. This is probably the first National Day I'm not on home soil, but I'm guessing it won't be the last. Strangely enough, I am missing home as I write this. More on this later on (or not, we'll see...)

I remember...

In primary, secondary and junior college, where we had to sing the National Anthem and recite the pledge everyday. And of course, when we went to do our NS too. Majulah Singapura!

In the army, where our respect for the flag (both National and the SAF one) was increased because of the almost God-like status. Saluting the flag, ah yes, like we do to officers. Hmm, I vaguely remember we salute officers only cos they carry the Singapura insignia on their shoulders. (Sidetrack: But whatever lah, I hate officers with the yaya papaya attitude.)

I remember the time when I got punished, because I offered to take over my junior's duty of flag-raising (when I was in the army). The flag's tip merely brushed the ground, and a staff sergeant who just woke up and was blurry-eyed, accused me of dropping the WHOLE FLAG on the ground. Needless to say, I“had committed” the worst sin during peacetime (besides AWOL and taking drugs, that is.) It became one of the camp's biggest issues of the day (and no, I had no illusions of grandeur of being one of the most famous then – or should I say, notorious.) For that, I had restriction of privileges (it could have been worse) and my bookouts became more irregular than the number of times a person with constipation went to shit in the toilet. So much for offering to help. Bahhhh.

The first time I was away from Singapore for an extended period of time – my student exchange in Finland. Really tested me a bit, but haha, I didn't really miss home cos I was having too much fun partying away with my ang moh friends. Spent my first New Year, Chinese New Year and Labour Day away from home during that period. Man, I sure missed the ang baos. Hahahahaha.


Now I'm working in China, I miss the familiarity of places that I always visit. Suntec City, where my company's Singapore office is; town, where I meet my friends for lunch; the clubs, where I get to party away with equally crazy friends; the comfort of having TRUE friends around; my uni gym, where I got the most value out of (cos it's "free" and I'm used to the equipment there); Geylang, where I hang out for suppers with friends (sometimes); driving around at night, when the night wind is cool and refreshing; getting lost on streets and turning around in circles, albeit still knowing I'd be safe no matter where I am.

The place I'm in now has lots of shady characters, people of dubious backgrounds, some who are out to look for a quick buck, others who patiently cultivate your trust in them and wait to make a lump sum at your expense, others who belong to some Mafia and whatnot.

Bahhh, the imaginings of my mind. How I wish. Right now, I'm just on alert everywhere I go. Contrast this with back home, where I could be walking on the streets at 2 or 3 am, with nary a care (maybe I'd be careful not to step on snails that occasionally stray onto pavements.)

The culture, the feel, the environment in each place is... just so different. Uniquely Singapore is unique in more ways than one.

Once again to my brothers and sisters in Singapore, and all over the world, let us rejoice on this day and sing the National Anthem with gusto. I won't be joining you guys in person, but in spirit, I'm always with you.


*sob sob* --> (ya right!)


See also: Choo Zheng Xi on TOC - How Do I Love Thee, let me (not) count the ways

Constitutional amendment

Looks like the ruling government are making even more dubious decisions after their last pay raise issue (click on the above link to read Molly's take on it - a rather good one I must say). This post is not meant to be a commentary, but rather as a record for myself to come back and look at after some time.

After being out of the country for some time, I've more or less lost touch with the happenings on the ground. Now I'm trying to make up for lost time.

Keep up the good work, fellow bloggers! Our people are learning to read online articles for more news! =)

This blog will not be updated till further notice

Due to pressing personal problems and those with work, I will cease updating of this blog till further notice.

I will be away in Shenzhen, China till the end of the year and I heard that Blogger is banned in China. As such, I think it might be impossible to blog on this platform.

I thank all my previous readers for their support and I hope bloggers out there will continue on your endeavours to protect Singapore's and Singaporeans' collective interests!

WE LOVE SINGAPORE!

The closing of UNSW Asia

Well it's been a long time since I've written, and this topic doesn't especially seem to be fresh, but I'm particularly appalled by the university's shocking decision to close shop even before trying out for a year.

It's easy to see how the university is at blame for choosing to quit and leave their inaugural batch of students high and dry. It's easy to point fingers at the UNSW's governing council, who were given all of 30 seconds to read through the proposal for the setting up of the Asian campus in Singapore. One of UNSW Asia's concerns was that it would be a B-school, ranked below our own local universities. I think that was one of the concerns of SMU when it was set up not too long ago too, but look at what branding has done for them. All these and more, we can easily put a finger to.

However, the more shocking thing is the lack of investigation by our own media into the reasons behind the collapse of UNSW Asia. Or should it be the case that we shouldn't be surprised cos it's anti-government to question the wisdom of EDB officials? Or anti-establishment to dig up worms when it might be the case that OUR own officials might be at fault?

In a bid to be an educational hub in Asia, or renowned in the world for educational services, Singapore needs to re-examine the real underlying reasons behind all that hubba-bubba. How is it that the UNSW officials rushed through the proposal? Was it because EDB was pushing them too hard? Why is it that Warwick University, the second to be wooed as part of Singapore's dreams to form an educational hub, decided that it was not feasible to set up a campus here? Academic freedom was cited as the reason, but what exactly was behind it? More specifically, we need to break out of the vagaries - what in the name of "no academic freedom" was Warwick and UNSW against? A clarification by the MD of EDB has nary a response to any of these more "fundamental" questions.

Granted, targets have to be set so that we can reach our dreams of being a hub (of this and that and everything else), but surely FLEXIBILITY could be arranged? Up till this point in time, the government is still very rigid. How can it move past its own authoritarian, hand-holding culture when the big shots in the party cannot even move out of the shadows of their (fore)fathers?

We already have 3 or 4 full-service universities - NUS, NTU (not Nanyang IT!), SMU and (to a lesser extent?) UniSIM. So I question the feasibility for overseas universities to take root here. If there is any, the authorities should at least allow them to carve out a niche that they could excel in - for eg. when SMU came on board a few years ago, they were able to market themselves as THE business school. Similarly, we should have art schools, sports institutions and music universities in Singapore so as to diversify the educational aspects that can be found in our country. I heard that some music school was being wooed to set up here, and I'm very gladdened to hear that news.

I think it's a typical Singaporean mentality to be kiasu and kiasee, but more often than not, rushing things through hastily without thinking of the consequences will lead to the things not being accomplished satisfactorily. In this case, it not only spells the end of cooperation between UNSW and Singapore, but more importantly, it makes a dent in our aspirations to be THE place to get your education. And as we all know, negative things and images tend to stick around for a long time to come. Pray tell, what is EDB (who incidentally is suffering from lack of proper internal controls after an internal audit by the Attorney General - its first in 46 years!) is going to do about this.

A reputation, once damaged, is going to need so much salvation to get back to where it once was.

Singapore, Forever a Migrant City?

Whilst I do not attempt to hit out wildly at the government, I do have my fair share of criticism for certain policies they uphold. Sure, the government is doing at least SOME of the things right, because our country is growing from strength to strength. But look at our people, they are getting increasingly disgruntled. The leaders are stunned. Why, should they not be happy for us we are drawing million-dollar salaries? Why, is Singapore not having consistent growth? Why, are we not worth our weight in gold? Really? Then find us someone who can do our job, and we might quit. Foreign talent, anyone?


As I commented in the Young PAP blog (reference the link above, please) on EOC's post, our country has made good on its progress and has attained first-world status. Now after our basic physiological needs have been met, Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs actually suggests that we might have moved on to the next level, and what's that? Yes, safety. What safety? I quote excerpts from Wikipedia: of body, of EMPLOYMENT, [...] of health and property.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs - every business student knows this by heart. (Disclaimer: I am NOT from Business.)

Which brings me to...

The Foreign Talent policy. Sweet. Don't we all have a love-hate relationship with it?

No, actually I know of people who only love it. Our leaders. Don't they? They only proclaim the positives of this policy, and conveniently sidestep the problems that this policy can bring about.

Business students anywhere and everywhere would know, that globalization and diversity are inevitable in this era, and our government has so cleverly tweaked immigration and work policies to make it easier for an inflow of, what we now know as, foreign talent. Yes yes yes, of course, Singapore only has one resource, foreign talent. Oops, I actually mean Singaporeans, our human resource. And now that resource is unhappy that it is being used, but not given remuneration commensurate with the amount of time spent studying, or serving National Service, or the number of upgrading workshops they have attended. So they leave. And get labels like traitor, quitter and the like.

So that's how our government leaders are worthy of their salaries. They invent names! They do not squirrel down to the root of the problem, but think they can hold people back by publishing their faces in our very own well-loved and widely-circulated Shit Times. Oooh, dangerous territory I am wading into.

So as to protect myself, I would like to have you and the whole world know, I agree with many policies that PAP has made, I am happy with how the country has been run so far, but that does not necessarily preclude me from speaking up about those policies which are quite clearly disadvantaging Singaporean citizens now, and well into the future.

Whilst I am NOT a low wage-earner (or maybe, who knows), nor someone who is not internationally mobile (after being endowed with a world-class education from 18th-in-the-world NUS, yayness!), I feel for these categories of people. Nowadays, I go out and I try to spot the old men and women who are picking up cans from the streets, from the rubbish bins, the dishevelled old man who sits by the wall begging for money, the cleaners! (OMG this should really be another post.) The cleaners in the food courts, or the hawker centres, or the coffeeshops are more likely than not to be our senior citizens, 65 or older, supposed to be enjoying their twilight years. Hey they could be your grandmas or grandpas for all you know.

OK, I shall not deal with the topic that these elderly folk should be resting at home, playing chess at the void deck with their friends or jetting off to see the world, but now I shall more pertinent to the point. Have you guys noticed a paradigm shift? Now what did I just say earlier? Did you spot something wrong? Were you sharp enough? I specifically point you to this statement. "The cleaners in the food courts, or the hawker centres, or the coffeeshops are more likely than not to be OUR senior citizens..." Anything wrong?

No, wrong. That was in the past. Now, the cleaner cleaning your table is likely to be a "foreign talent" - many from India/Bangladesh/Timbuktoo, and more recently, more from China. OMG really, you surely need talent to clean a table! Then the not-so-talented elderly folk have no money to retire, no job to work and a rather supportive government providing them with $290 per month. Wait, that's just slightly more than my monthly pocket money - $200 - and I did not have to pay for my transport fees, or utility bills. I only had to pay for my school lunches. And guess what, $200 was just about enough for me. So pray tell, does the government need anymore proof that $290 per month is not enough? Darn, I strayed from my main topic again!

Rehashing Nicholas Lazarus's point (read his comments from EOC's post), the locals should not suffer because of replacement by cheaper substitutes. The government says, upgrade lah! Eh, upgrade to what? What other skills does a cleaner need to have besides being able to clean stuff? Oh yeah, maybe being able to paint walls, use Microsoft Word, and being fluent in 3 other languages besides English and Mandarin might help you to snare the cleaner position. Then other problems remain, what about those who are not academically inclined? I mean, they couldn't do well in school that's why they ended up in menial jobs in the first place, right? Correct me if I'm wrong.

All in all, my point is, Singapore has to develop into a more compassionate society. If foreign rubbish is going to balloon our population to 6.5 million, then I can say with confidence (and maybe a little flourish) that I will be saying bye bye Singapore! And then after leaving Singapore, "YES, NO MORE RESERVIST!" I do not want to see the little red dot we love so much turn into a huge rubbish dump.

You see, at the end of the day, I am still proud to say I am Singaporean. What about the foreigners?

PM freezes own pay for 5 years and donates pay hike to charity

Since this topic has been on my blog for a while, I thought I'd just add this in for completeness sake. I think the PM's gesture is to alleviate any pressure on his government for the pay increases. It's a good move I guess, since pressure has been mounting over this issue. This topic is a tired one already, and I do not wish to debate anymore about it. Case closed. Thing is, the Civil Service might be scheduled for another pay increase at the end of the year.


Read about the PM's conciliatory gesture here.

(ST, 11 April) - Ms Denise Phua (from Jalan Besar GRC) argued against using high pay to attract talent to ministerial positions. Very well thought out and easily understandable. A good read.

Singapore ministers receive ~25% increase in salary

The news is out:
- The Channelnewsasia article can be found here.
- The full ministerial statement by Mr Teo Chee Hean (Minister-in-Charge of the Civil Service) can be found here.


Stuff your face with this. Our PM will earn $3.1 million while our President will earn $3.2million. MM and SM will earn $3.04 million each.

And your dad earns the proverbial PEANUT.

Rethinking Social Welfare in Singapore

Yesterday night I attended the NUSPA talk on the abovementioned topic, where the guest speakers included Mr. Teo Ser Luck (Parl. Sec., MCYS), Mr. Gerard Ee (former NCSS president and NKF chairman) and Assoc. Prof. Ngiam (Head of Social Work Dept, NUS). Overall, I felt that the session was an interesting one with many views bandied about, and there were some passionate voices amongst the audience and probably more who did not get heard.

--------------
Salient points of speeches raised by the guest speakers (not in their exact words): -


1. Mr. Teo
- Policymaking involves about reaching out to the masses [...] and managing public expectations.
- Education will be afforded to all Singaporeans because it is a leveller, health and housing are also basic needs which Singaporeans will not be denied of.
- $1.5 billion has been spent on healthcare subsidies last year.
- Welfare funded by taxes. Social security is a trade-off against economic competitiveness. Singapore needs to stay competitive because it cannot afford to be an insular economy.
- Scandic countries who traditionally offer comprehensive social welfare is now trying to revamp their social security systems. Social welfare -> high taxes. If companies choose to relocate to avoid the higher taxes, then unemployment is raised and more people will have to survive on social welfare. A vicious cycle is formed.
- Singapore has family-centric housing policies (e.g. children getting one-off subsidies on flats if they choose to stay near their parents).
- Social assistance: should look at family's ability to help first.


2. Assoc. Prof. Ngiam
- Before 50s: "Gotong royong", informal social networks to look out for each other, traditional philanthropy
- 60s: Basic social services - education, health and housing (these 3 form the bedrock of our society)
- 70s/80s: RCs to help with each estate's problems, FSCs to help families.
- 90s: "many helping hands" approach, CDCs set up.
-2000s: Workfare, Social Security bonuses (so-called 1st world intervention -> first signs of moving towards higher level of social security). This period heralds a change in government thinking about direct cash handouts to the people.
- Government's official stance is the individual is responsible for him/herself.
- Welfare mix/pluralism: (self, family, community, state)
- VWOS incur complex governance and professionalism issues (whether to use a light touch or regulatory approaches). Ultimately the management boards should be responsible for the organizations.
- Reliance on government surpluses not guaranteed, esp. during bad times.


3. Mr Ee
- Value systems have changed. Community spirit was strong in the 60s, but eroded by globalization effects. Society leans more towards individualism now.
- Many VWOs, schemes in place, but people not aware of them.
- Schemes need to be followed up with good implementation. Need more volunteers.
- Need people on the ground to look out for others.

----------------


I think that the speakers were able to give an alternative ring to things which I was unable to see. Previously I thought why more welfare shouldn't be given to the poor in Singapore as we always see elderly people picking up cardboard boxes and cans in the rubbish bins. Now I am beginning to understand that it is not so much a question of more welfare but rather how to go about finding these people, and whether these people will actually want help.

I agree with Mr Ee that we as individuals should try to help people around us, instead of asking the government to help (a more inefficient process). But the quantum of the social assistance that the government is offering now might seem a little on the low side, given the $290 a month cash handout is hardly enough to tide anybody over one month, if you count transport, food, rent and other miscellaneous stuff. But, as Mr. Teo pointed out, any amount given out is an arbitrary figure and it is hard to come up with one that can suit everyone (chew on that). I believe that a flexible scheme would be more appropriate, so that admin officers can have more room to manoeuvre based on the circumstances of the person(s) involved.

It is indeed tempting to ask for ever-increasing social security, but we must also bear in mind the cost of doing so. Proper cost-benefit analysis must be done to ensure that an optimum level will be reached. In the meanwhile, we can all sacrifice that $2 to help someone who we believe to need it more than us. I will certainly be opening my eyes more widely now to spot these people. I hope you guys will too!

The political blogosphere

Ever since I made my first "serious political blog post", I've been getting quite a lot of hits from some "very obviously political" blogs. I'm not sure to be worried or not, after all, I'm not a regular "political post-er". My mum said, "You better not get into unnecessary trouble" after she learnt that I was "trying my hand" at making political posts. That's it for her, getting into trouble. The very mindset that PAP wanted(?) to inculcate in the general public, so that policy-making would be an easier task (they've really succeeded for the older generation). I believe that whatever I say here makes sense (at least to me) and I am not getting involved in brainless slandering, so I have nothing to fear. After all, PAP would not be so dumb to arrest me for something so small. Singapore is not yet that scary a police-state as foreigners would have you believe. For me, writing about these issues are more of an exercise in my language and ability to debate on serious stuff. I'm not sure, but it could also be an awakening in my political senses, whatever.


After blog-surfing with one blog referring to others, I chanced upon a blog which Chee Soon Juan wrote in. Wasn't really interested in his writing, cos his posts were not bite-sized (I have "Attention Deficit Disorder" =P). From that blog, you can link to many other political blogs, so I guess I do have some reading material whenever I am bored.


But it's quite heartening to see that there are many locals who share a deep interest in reigning issues in Singapore. Ministers' salaries aside, there have been quite some other issues out there too, like neighbourhood upgrading (a mindless posting written in appalling English - well at least it looks like English - with interesting comments by others), a blogger's reply to this, and others. I think the leaders should be proud that their wishes have come true, that the young are no longer as politically apathetic as they once were. It's what they wished for, didn't they? (That's why I am a firm believer of "being careful of what you wish for".)


This might actually bode well for Singapore as a whole, because more Singaporeans feel more strongly about many issues, which only goes to show that they regard this land as their home and they actually want to make things work properly here. Of course there will be people so disillusioned that they decide to leave for greener pastures, but I think it's about the same everywhere. The saying "power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely" goes for EVERY government in power, the degree of which is reflected in the balance of power in the ruling government's favour.


For me, I will definitely be making Singapore my home, at least for the foreseeable future. I do not indulge in absolutes now, after observing first-hand what happened in other countries, and because the world is so wide. At this stage in my life, I am more mobile than most other older people, because I have not bought a house or car (which requires you to sink a substantial part of your finances in, therefore giving you a firm "rooting" to Singapore.) I hope my 6-month overseas stint will give me something to think about. For me, pure democracy is a stupid system, simply because in general, I believe majority of the people are stupid, and they do not know what is good for them. It takes someone with foresight to lead a nation, and the notion of "majority wins" is something best left to a group of friends deciding on where to eat for dinner.


I have to say I'm quite impressed with the PAP policymakers' foresight after hearing from my European friends about their own governments back home. The opposition parties in Singapore are, in my belief, not quite up-to-mark yet, they are, at best, only functioning as a check on PAP (so they do not have "unfettered power"). As a blogger said (I'm not sure if it was a Young PAP person), these opposition parties have yet to submit proposals for a Shadow Budget to show how they would allocate national resources for various purposes. I believe that would be a clear indicator of their level of preparedness, if they were able to draft something like that up. Till then, let the opposition "rule" Potong Pasir and Hougang, just so long as PAP doesn't rule over the whole land.


OK that's all for today. Nothing's been too interesting in my life now, so I guess, posts nowadays will mainly consist of what I read in the papers or online.


P.S.: There was a newspaper columnist who called the term "blogosphere" nonsense. Guess he doesn't believe in the evolution of language. Things change (and on a large scale, add up to a paradigm shift), mindsets that don't are best left in the history section of the library.

People with a penchant for idiocy have no business in politics

This is an example of a imbecilic and bigoted response to common people's concerns. Laugh at the absurdity of the whole thing. I'm sure my grandma wouldn't have made a mistake like that if she were a politician.

This lawyer, presumably a rich and arrogant one, makes a VERY LAME case in trying to justify the increase in ministers' salaries on the Young PAP blog. (I'm not sure what Dr Vivian as YP Head is doing, is he even checking their language and the tone they set?) This Nicholas compares top-level civil servants to people in his profession (not a very good analogy to start with), whom we know to be serpents in disguise, two-faced people who are able to lie through their teeth and feel no prick in conscience AT ALL. They're probably the only sort of people whom, even after repenting before the altar, God might still not forgive.

I PURPOSELY put this down, because just as Nicholas Lazarus makes no attempt in being political correct sensitive (being an aspiring politician and sounding like a bumbling buffoon), I don't see why I, as an engineer and totally unschooled in the fine art of politics and politicking, should make comments any less hurting and piercing than his own. (But surely, that's how most people think of lawyers anyway, so go ahead make my day and sue me.) What did this guy learn during university anyway? Only how to lick his books?

I seriously hope for Singapore's sake people like him NEVER get to rise to the top, because this is when we all NEED to start migrating. With people like him on top, arbitrary increases in salaries and taxes are going to come hand-in-hand (with one feeding the other), and lousy excuses which are gloved in political incorrectness will be bandied about. Or maybe they won't even bother with giving reasons and excuses since they have a proclivity for idiocy. They'll just tell you get on with life, peasant folk. "If you're not capable enough to be sitting in my chair, I suggest you just pay your due taxes or I'll get Mr Policeman to arrest you and Mr Judge to keep you in jail for a long time."

I hope the likes of him will be thrown out of the party just so MM Lee's efforts in grooming talent don't go to waste. NUS, NTU and SMU might want to consider opening up "Politics and Diplomacy 101" courses for aspiring politicians just so they don't commit cardinal sins like stabbing their supporters/fellow citizens openly in forums and blogs. Young PAP should actually start screening their members and not allow any Tom's Harry Dicky hobo to enter and commit political kamikaze on its behalf. Or maybe MM Lee himself might wanna actually help school these people in the art of reasoning and common sense. Only then PAP can hope to stand strong once again.

Ministers and civil servants' pay to increase (part 2)

Back on the topic of government salary increases, I found a few interesting articles regarding this issue. Since the ruling government made it abundantly clear that political discourse should belong ONLY to political blogs, which I believe need to have a license(?) and I have NO wish to license this cos I HATE dislike (OK language called for reworking) people whom I dunno reading my blog, so I'll leave this as objective as humanly possible (faced with the amount of money we're talking here, of course.)


(Phew, run-on sentence. My GP tutor would have killed me for this.)


Anyway back to the topic. First I bring you, an extract of our MM's speech and views about raising government pay. He reasons that to keep top people in ministerial positions who are corruption-free, we require to dangle monetary carrots to attract talent and to retain existing ones. And he contends that ministers in Singapore are NOT ordinary people as they have to deal with Singapore's scarcity of natural resources as well as the fact that we have limited human resources. That, he says, makes managing Singapore all the more challenging. I guess MM Lee has good reasoning, and he has the wisdom of years behind him to base his views on. Kudos to him for being able to take unpopular decisions for the good of the country and succeeding. I'm not a big fan of his, but because of him, I believe that a limited democracy is the best system to go.

YoungPAP's elaina olivia chong bolsters this view. She says "money is the proverbial carrot" and that even ministers should not be expected to take the "moral high ground". I reserve my stand on this, however, I agree with some of her statements. But the first statement in her second paragraph puts me off. I feel that she, as well as many of the ministers and policymakers should respect the diaspora of views in the forums and on the ground and maybe use their elite brains to try to understand where the common people are coming from. Seek to persuade people to your side, not coerce people into your thinking. In this aspect, I believe that for all its successes, PAP (and by extension, YoungPAP) has one big failing - that in their duty to the public to properly educate the masses on their reasons for numerous policies, not just on this issue. Sooner or later, I predict that it will fall (if it continues on this way), not because it is not a good government, but because the-Singaporean-on-the-street is becoming increasingly disgruntled and perturbed with these "elite ministars" just making decisions on their own. (If you did a double take on "ministars", no, it's not a spelling mistake.)

And then there are of course the people on the ground who are just plain disturbed by the multimillion-dollar salaries that the ministers are taking home. It seems that somehow, some of them got their facts mixed up and some thought that it was a million-dollar monthly salary that the ministers were taking home. Haha. I mean seriously, you want to blog, get your facts right first. That's the annual figure for you, dudes (although it's still frigging huge.)

The opposing camp:
I am Singaporean XX - Singaporeans in Demand?
I am Singaporean XX, cont’d - An Answer. (apparently the same guy.)
And for good measure read the comments below the very first post (the post where MM Lee was quoted). I guess these views are simple enough to digest, and need not be elaborated on.

Then there are others who try to infuse their views with facts: http://samaryn.com/2007/03/05/linking-pay-with-performance-in-singapore-civil-service

For even more information out there, use Google.

Politics, politics, politics.

If there's one reason why we should support this obscene salary, it's because it will help the ministers stay "white" and free from corruption. After all, not many in the world can afford to bribe a million dollars. Corruption in the government is a very serious affair, because it is at the highest level and is very hard to check. Once corruption seeps into the highest levels, it can remain there for a very long time. I mean, look at the neighbouring countries, the ministers are paid lowly salaries, but turn out to be the richest people in their respective countries. Scratching your head? Look no further than Thaksin, or Mahathir. I guess most people here are familiar with them both. I'm not saying they're corrupt, but I just wonder how they got so rich. I bet you are too.

So far, paying out millions has worked fine. But then, when the casinos come rolling in together with the high-rollers and the vice that come along with it, ahhh, then I really wonder.


Edit: Oops after re-reading, I realized I wasn't being very objective (and the post is very messy). But heck, unless some higher powers orders the razing of this blog, nothing will be changed.

Ministers and civil servants' pay to increase

If you thought a $3000/month job was good, wait till you see Singapore government ministers' pay.

Right now, they're earning S$1.2 million annually (I think the PM earns more than that). If we take a normal year (365 days), that works out to be $3287.67/day. That's assuming they even work every day of the year. They should, else their pay will be even more obscene.

And now our dear PM has said it's NOT ENOUGH, since a 1994 ruling pegged ministers' salaries to a benchmark that has been set at "two-thirds of the median income of the eight top-earning professionals in six professions", which includes lawyers, bankers, businessmen, engineers(?!?!) and I can't remember the last two. (Strangely enough, doctors weren't included in the list- aren't they supposed to be pulling in big bucks too?)

Anyway, the government has calculated this benchmark to be $2.2 million now, so I think they're going ahead and PM's gonna say something like, "OK Singapore Inc. is doing quite well now. We've won numerous awards like Best Airport and Best Airline in the world, No.1 Least corrupt government in the world, Top 10 Best Nightlife Spots in the world, yada yada. As your reward, I'm giving you a $1 million increase in pay as a pat on the back, how's that? You guys staying or leaving for the Middle East?"

I think Singapore can get another award: Highest Ministers' Pay in the world.

But then, if you angle it differently, it all begins to make sense. Looking at the level of the ministers' pay, one wonders why there is any need for corruption in Singapore AT ALL.