Response to ERP rates

I watched a few interviews conducted by the media on TV last night. A couple responded in shock. How could it be, so high, it was going to affect their livelihood. Then another put it in another way. Too many cars on the road. And he recommended that the COE price should be raised to $80k. That would keep the car population down. The latter response is more in line with my earlier post. You either make car ownership so costly or driving on the expressways so costly, otherwise the congestion problem is not going to go away. But of course there are many other ways of minimising the problem and these will take time and cost. The raising of ERP charges or COEs are short term measures and have been short term measures for many years. The real solution is still awaiting to happen. And the 6.5 mil population will only make things worst.

Giving is stairway to hell

I was reading Sheralyn Tay's report in Today on what Charles Hampden-Turner said at the conference on National Volunteerism and philanthropy and Corporate Social Responsibility. In his speech he said everything that we need to know about the false assumptions and farce of charity and means testing. He does not recommend blind generosity, the singlemindedness to give and think that that is the road to paradise, a good and generous act. One side just give and the other side just receive, instead of rewarding success, we reward failure. And related to means testing is that the recipients will try to outdo each other to be the '100% certified slob' to qualify for handouts or subsidies. These people may even give up job opportunities or other means to help themselves as those means would make them less eligible to qualify. Thus there will be 'a race to the bottom.' And that was exactly what the public were slapped with during those charity shows when pathetic cases were paraded to show how bad their conditions were. Does anyone bother about the pride and diginity of these poor souls? Or poor souls need no pride?

Getting squeezed or living in comfort?

Siamak Adibi, a foreign talent, and Darren Chong, wrote to Today about their concerns over the issues of limited resources and a growing population. Siamak is considering leaving if the condition gets worst. Our hospitals and public facilities are over taxed. People have to queue and wait for hours to see the doctors even with appointments. Public parks and utilities are stretched. Then Pritam Paul, another FT, dismissed such concerns and praised the great and liveable conditions we are having. He compared to India when the conditions were appalling and chastised Singaporeans for not knowing the paradise that they have. Mark Lee posted another letter saying that we, as a first world country, should measure ourselves against first world countries and their conditions of living. We should be comparing ourselves with Sydney, Melbourne, Toronto, Montreal or Copahagen or similar places, definitely not with Manila, Mumbai, Bangkok, Hanoi or Jakarta. What Mark said is simply not to distort the truth by using poor and inappropriate examples. This is as good as lying.

Good that ERP rates have gone up

Finally a bold decision has been taken to raise ERP charges higher. Unfortunately it is still not going to be effective. It is still not high enough. We really need to have a tough man at the job to go for it, $10 or $20 per pass should do the job. Then the expressways will be faster and smoother. The raising of the charges will mean a few things. The smaller roads or roads with cheaper ERP charges will be jammed. That is what my crystal ball said. Unless public transport is good enough to replace private transport, and unless people with families and little children to rush to parents or schools can find alternative tranport that is efficient and fast. What is going to happen is that people will get use to the high charges and go back to use the expressways as there is no other better alternative transportation to meet their needs.

Boon Wan told, go ahead with mean testing

The issue of means testing has been in the back burner after Boon Wan has second thought over its implications. I think he was wavering as the idea is anything but mean. Now he has been told to go ahead with means testing. And of course, means testing, like raising GST, is to help the lower income group to pay for their medical fees. This is an unique formula that only works in this island. And if I did not hear wrongly, it is also to make medical fees more affordable to middle income earners in case they can't afford it anymore. Lucky Singaporeans.

How much would the wantan mee cost?

With the price of flour going up by 20 or 30%, how much will that plate of wantan mee or char kuay teow cost? The beef ball noodle, the fish ball noodle, hokien mee, mee goreng, and don't forget the chapati and the roti prata. All these are the staple food of the ordinary Singaporeans. How would this affect their daily diet? Would they now have to cut down their consumption or have to tighten more to keep themselves going?

Money in the decision making process

Why are Singaporeans so sceptical about the CPF and the annuity schemes to think that the govt is after their money? Is this perception fair? And now we have Singaporeans thinking that the public transport system and the ERPs are all there for the same purpose, to get more money from the Singaporeans instead of solving the transportation problem. Everyone now is thinking the same kind of thought. Can we blame them?

No further need for charity shows

With automatic insurance schemes starting from birth to 20 years old, with CPF, Minimum Sum Withdrawal and Annuity Schemes, and also lease buy backs, Singaporeans should be adequately provided from cradle to death. There should be no need for charity shows in the future when all these are in place for the new Singaporeans. And all these are provided by the Singaporeans own pockets. No need charity and welfare from the govt as well. We have taken for granted that all Singaporeans can afford all these schemes in addition to supporting themselves and their families.

Govt going into selling insurance business?

First we have compulsory annuity schemes. Now we have automatic Medishield for kids. And more schemes for youth and young adults on the way. Where else can one sell insurance in a large scale to the masses in such an easy manner. Compulsory and automatic. The latter, ok, can opt out within a month after automatic inclusion. And at $30 annual premium, I concur that it is affordable. What if the opt out rate is too high to make the scheme not economical? Would it then become compulsory? It is a good scheme and good for the people? Why not make it compulsory in the first place? Or why not make compulsory annuity be automatic and allow the people to opt out of the scheme if they do not want to? The premium cannot be a key consideration to decide whether it is compulsory or automatic I supposed. $30 versus $1000 or more per annum?

Curbing property speculations

Mah Bow Tan announced new rulings to curb the hot property market before it starts boiling out of control. The fear of a spiralling high property prices running beyond the reach of the average Singaporeans is a great concern. And now this concern is also creeping into the fear of FTs who will also be aversely affected. And in turn the whole business cost. What seems to be lacking is a clear strategy as to what the property market should be like and how Singaporeans of different income level would be accommodated in the big scheme of things. We have the HDB market, the condo market, the landed properties and the high end market. The different markets can be structured to serve the different sectors of the population, local and foreign, carefully planned to benefit the real home owners and the speculators, balancing a need to keep properties affordable and at the same time a lively speculative markets. We are now seeing piecemeal solutions to a very complex problem.

Madrasah to revamp

Yaacob Ibrahim announced that three Islamic schools would have their curricula revamped to raise the standards of academic subjects. This is a very bold move that will change the direction of the Madrasah schools and the orientation of its student products. For all these years, Malay students enrolled in Madrasahs are steeped in religious educations, spent a big portion of their time and effort on religion and related matters. This will have its toll on the time spent on the pursuit of academic and non religious subjects. And I think it is asking too much for the students to excel in both religious and academic subjects. To concentrate in both areas equally is very demanding. The competiting attractions and importance of the two paths make it a very difficult choice for the Malay leaders to choose. There must be a compromise and give and take whichever the path is chosen. And only the Malay leaders can make such a decision with the support of the Malay community.

Pluralism versus Homogeneity

China, India and Japan are flying to the moon. These Asian countries are doing it all on their own. Homebred and homegrown talents to drive their space programmes. And the Russians have been doing it all along. On the other hand there is this great mixed pot called America with talents from all over the world. At the moment, plurality of talents is leading the competition by a nose, taking the Russians into the picture. Would we see a homogeneous country, depending on their own talents, outdoing a plural society made up of the best brains from all over the world? It is a new kind of experiment on the world stage. What if it eventually proves that home grown talents can do it on their own without foreign talents?

Huge payrise for the Civil Servants

The Civil Servants, especially the lower ones, are going to get their just rewards. Average 8.6% and better ones 14-17%. Of course this pay rise, in percentage form, should go all the way to the top, I think. It is quite a sum at $1 million level. Two reasons were given, competitive environment and demand for better quality of services. The former is quite true. As for better quality of services, I have my doubts. If we compare dollar by dollar paid, we should be the best governed country in the whole world. And if quality is measured in monetary terms, our quality must be hundreds of times better than our neighbours and even better than the USA or Japan. Are we getting better quality policies and decisions or are we learning from the lesser paid countries and depending on them to teach us to do better?

Johor

Johor 'Sell it to Singapore!' A tongue-in-cheek solution from a Malaysian. Fun to read. The Anti-jihadist. Oct 24, 2007 Ladies and gentleman, Malaysia is facing a cash crunch. The oil, lifeblood of the Government's treasury, is running out. Hugely expensive programmes such as NEP and subsidies are politically untouchable, so hence must run in perpetuity. And of course Malaysia will in the future need more massive Merdeka parades, more shiny new Russian jets to overfly said parades, and more spaceflight participants to consume teh tarik and commit khalwat in orbit. So many expenses and dwindling income. What to do? Simply put, Malaysia seriously needs a lot of cash...and the little cash-loaded red dot to our south (which need not yet be named) needs real estate and resources. So my friends, with my tongue placed firmly in cheek, I would like to offer this simple answer for Malaysia's impending financial woes. Let's sell Johor to Singapore!.... The Anti-Jihadist http://pedestrianinfidel.blogspot.com/ This is part of an article I pulled from littlespeck.com. It is a post good for reading on a Sunday morning and let the imagination runs wild. Look at the possibilities for economic growth. And I think Singaporeans would not mind having the Sultan of Johore installed as the ceremonial ruler for life. And the Sultan will have achieve his dream of Singapore returning to Johore. This is just my personal view. In commercial terms it is called reverse takeover.

The Gay Debate continues

There is a report in the msm that the debate is turning ugly in cyberspace and in the public arena. It is an unusual debate where values and ingrained prejudiced brought up by years indoctrination were tested. People either are totally against it or for it. Everyone seems to hold a very strong view on the issue. The issue is another case of one group trying to impose their rights and wrong on another. The other is asking for acceptance and more. To be allowed to do as they pleased like any ordinary human beans. I did post a bit on what could have happened down the line. Even without making any judgemental statements, some are still appalled at my comments. Look at it seriously or cheekily, if 25% of the world population is gay, the opposite 25% will not have a chance to procreate. Or am I wrong and gays do want to procreate? Then stretch the imagination a little further. If 25% of the population becomes monks and priests, another 25% will also be deprived from procreation. All in, 100% will be doing all kinds of things except making babies. Whither the human race? Maybe this is a good thing. Why bother to be born to die? Why bother to leave paradise only to want to get back.

What a great opportunity for reporting

The gay debate is proving to be a welcomed relief for the msm. For once they are reporting vigorously on practically every word spoken in Parliament, even verbatim. The subject really was given a good airing with every single view reported, and in style. And how many pages over how many days. And how many hours did Parliament devote for this hot topic? Any time limits to speak? But every Parliamentarians relished at the opportunity to speak from their hearts. Wish the CPF and the annuity and other bread and butter issues were given the same intense treatment.

$364 million lost by Sembawang Marine

Another outcry for more corporate governance. After so many incidences of malpractice, the APB case etc, now Sembawang Marine is hit. Did we learn or is it all lip service? What happens to our corporate image as a squeaky clean country with excellent corporate governance? And it happens to GLCs! Shall we keep stumbling along with all the incestious relationship in the corporate world? What is wrong is wrong and has to be weeded out once and for all. Now we do not know how deep rooted are such malpractices in our public and private organisations. It took the NKF to shake up everyone. But APB did not have the same impact. Would Sembawang Marine do what NKF did to the corporate world?

The gay debate

It must be a very interesting debate in Parliament and many interesting things must have been said about gays and gay rights. I have not been following and could have missed many issues that were discussed. What I would like to know is how big is the number. In the case of mental illnesses, there is a 1 in 6 hit rate. If the gay population is also 1 in 6 then the issue is going to be with us for a long time. Historically, or biologically, human beans are meant to be male or female. The deviant genes that created the 70% or 60% male or female are rare and societies could live with it, either accepting their presence or outcasting them and deport them somewhere. Today, gays seem to be everywhere and getting rid of them or pretending that they don't exist is no longer a solution. The two camps arguing about gay rights did have their valid points. And I think Parliament did make a wise decision under current mindset and acceptable cultural and religious values. As we go down the line, how would the people accept two guys necking and kissing in the train or the bus? How would the public deal with cases of boys being raped by men? The office or public places will become very colourful with men looking like women and vice versa. We might even have to build new toilet facilities for the male, female and either or. Strange that Singapore is now the battle front for gay rights and what we do could set the direction for the movements in the future

Police and their handling of civil activities

The MPs had a field day asking Ho Peng Kee about how the police handled the public especially with regards to the wearing of T shirts with printed messages and holding of public forums. The way the police handled T shirts seemed to be the key attraction after the White Elephant Incident. And it seems that they are still doing the same thing in the case of the Myanmese protest against the military rule. And Ho Peng Kee was rather apologetic and tried to explain away as over reactions. I think we should be easy on the police after all they are there to protect the people. They have the people's interest and safety at heart. They are just doing what other police forces are doing so cannot be too far wrong. Just make sure they don't take on the style of Rela officers or the Myanmese police then we should be quite ok.

notable quotes - Ho Peng Kee

'The police have no intention to monitor what takes place online...Neither should Netizens, bloggers and the many of us who regularly send SMS messages worry.' Ho Peng Kee The is the strongest and clearest message coming from the govt that they are not monitoring cyberspace activities. I believe Ho Peng Kee is telling the truth. The police have many more important things to do than to waste public resources on such activities. The only time when they start to monitor is likely to be in response to some official complaints. And those two doggies that were trying to mess up my blogs, disappeared recently, were definitely not from the police. As where they were from, your guess is as good as mine.