APEC 2024 Peru. Biden shafted to a corner in the back row. Xi in front row next to Peru's President
4/26/2011
I angry with Mah Bow Tan
I am not only angry with Mah Bow Tan, but also very disappointed with him. He is so confusing. Doesn’t he believe in his asset enhancement policy? I believe in him and am depending on him to push up HDB resale price so that I can sell my flat for a million bucks and retire in Lijiang.
Look at what he is doing? He is ramming up the building programme for BTO flats. And he is building so many in so short a time, just like the way they brought in the foreigners. The damn thing is that at that time he was not building, or building very few flats. Now, with the inflow of foreigners slowing down, he is building more flats frantically. What is the meaning of this?
What is he trying to do? Pushing down HDB resale prices? Pushing down COV prices? Hey, what are you doing man, I was so happy supporting your asset enhancement policy and eagering waiting for the resale price to hit the roof, and now you are reversing everything that you have done? Are you losing faith in your asset enhancement policy? Are you losing faith in believing what you were doing was right?
I am really disappointed and confused by what you said and what you do now. Are you for asset enhancement or not? Look at the other ministers, they are fully committed to the foreign talent policies and not wavering with what they think is right and good for Singapore. They are telling the Singaporeans daily that more foreigner’s policy is good. They are acting like deaf frog and will continue with the foreign talent policies, charging ahead when they think is right. They believe they have something good for Singaporeans.
And after the election if they continue to ram up the influx of foreigners, no one can call them hypocrites. For they have never regretted what they were doing.
In the case of housing and asset enhancement, if the policy changes again after the GE, what would people think? Before GE say and do one thing, after GE say and do different thing. But don’t worry, I will support you, and many people will be happy if the asset enhancement policy is resumed in full force. Don’t take too long as many are waiting for the price of their flats to shoot to the sky again.
Please go back to your asset enhancement policy. Don’t be disturbed by a few kpkb in cyberspace. They are just noises.
A crafty politician knows how to play the game of real politik well --in this case, not in the global sense but in the local sense.
ReplyDeleteThe smart operator knows that the govt has to be perceived as a magical agency that transcends logic and can make contradictions work -- i.e. to be 'all things to all people'.
HDB is, and has been for decades a wonderful tool for manipulating the motivations of voters. The PAP knows this, and are experts at playing this card.
It begins by embedding into the consciousness, the idea that every citizen is 'entitled' to a home, and that it is the govt's job to provide them with one. Naturally, everyone who doesn't have a home or cannot afford one on the open market agrees with this. When they do, they are SUCKERED – they've taken the bait and are now like a fish on a hook, at the mercy of the fisherman.
To make the bait work, the govt has to deliver. And it has. Over 80% of people live in HDB, which means at the end of the day, the smart politician knows that 80% of people have been 'hooked', and a significant majority are also 'cooked'. Now the politician can fuck with their minds.
With the people locked into a conceptual trap, it is easy to con them by suggesting (they are in a highly suggestible state/ trance) that they can have both sides of a contradiction – that they can have affordable homes as well as rising asset prices. Most folks are not accountants or skilled in real-world economics, so they believe that rising assets prices are 'good' because it makes them feel 'rich'. Never mind the fact that 40% or so of their monthly cash-flow goes to servicing debt...fuck it, we are rich!
The private sector real estate sector loves this too. Rising HDB values usually occur in environments of vast liquidity – low interest rates – and this means many HDB-ers will be 'flipping out' of HDB into private property, keeping prices and values firm and earning profits for developers and sellers.
One would think that govt interference would pitch public and private markets against each other. No, they tend to work together in tandem. Another master stroke of the PAP – they are able to 'unite' private and public together on the housing issue – a definite political advantage.
How I wish I could manipulate the markets I operate in this way. This is nothing but pure genius. A home is a deeply emotional concept – it plays into a person's identity, sense of security, sense of belonging and sense of worth.
In the game of politics, the winner is the politician who is more successful than his opponent in manipulating the consciousness of the voters. It has nothing to do with logic or natural laws.
In order to accommodate a future population of 10-15 million people, the cuntry is going to need housing – 'affordable' housing. Present owners also need to see their home values increase, as do the vast numbers of property speculators in Singapore. When the typical citizen discovers that condos are selling for 5 mil, it is 'ooh' and 'ahh' wonderment and joy because he knows his pokey little 3-room has just gone up. He feels 'rich'. He will vote PAP.
It's a trap. And people are caught. It is emotional – logic and good sense left has already left the building.
They also forgot their savings in the CPF all gone into the only flat they have and need to sell them at old age to live on the millions and could not buy another similar place with the sales proceed. So other than Lijiang, they have to rent a little flat or share with strangers.
ReplyDeleteNo need a comfortable, famiiar and safe home when you are old.
As many readers know, I have never lost my 'connection' with S'pore in the 3 or so decades I've been a hotel visitor.
ReplyDeleteOnly 2 years after my 'emigration', I was back in S'pore, armed with real estate 'consultant' qualifications, working out of a plush Robinson Road office selling Aust property to gullible S'poreans. In those days, rental income was around $40-100 per week – fuck all. Our sales pitch was based on 'asset enhancement' – the rise of Aust property prices/ values over time. 'Get in now while it is CHEAP!' And it was cheap – even with the 'padding' of our markups to cover the Aust agent and their S'pore co-broker.
We shamelessly juked the statistics, producing colourful charts which showed straight line 'growth' of how a $55k villa could reach $300k – complete bullshit of course as many foreign buyers of Aust real estate got severely walloped in subsequent real estate busts that were to follow.
'Asset enhancement' is the foundation of all Pyramid scheme type con games. You have to convince people that they can get something for nothing – playing on greed on the one hand, then offering hope on the other in a mental environment of fear.
Works all the time. Those who say 'you can't fool all of the people all of the time' have no idea of the bag of tricks a smart political operator has at his disposal, nor about the skill and amorality of the politician who knows how to use those tools to manipulate a significant majority of the people.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteYour anger is everybody's anger right now.
ReplyDeleteThis man is what we call a 'sadist'. He does not care about whether you have CPF left for retirement or not. He sniggers at the pain that we suffer and will suffer when we have little left in our CPF, and he plainly enjoys it. Look at his face on TV!
What he cares about is how much you have in your CPF and he just makes sure that the price of the flsts he builds will more than empty your CPF. He knows that more than 80% of Singaporeans have no other choice except HDB.
anon 253
ReplyDeleteYou are a fine example of a what I call a 'sheeple'.
If you did a little math before you bought into the bullshit of CPF/ HDB, you would have spotted the elaborate con job.
However, The Sheeple chose instead to be blissfully ignorant (yes, it is a conscious choice) and now they blame The man for their own ineptness and lack of foresight -- I was going to say 'stupidity' but on this rare occasion I'm trying to be 'nice'.
no one was supposed to 'make money' from trading HDBs...but the people were always looking for 'lobang' to do so and it was themselves who started this shit of 'sum over value' payments or hot cash payments in the resale market.
Similar 'money making' ventures arose: like renting out entire flats, sub-letting out rooms. People are making money from so-called 'public' housing.
Very soon there was an 'economy' running full-bore in the HDBs, and luxury cars like Mercs and BM's started to 'appear' in the carparks.
The HDB is a thriving business not only for govt but for The Sheeple as well. They would buy HDB in their family members name, and rent out the entire flat whilst living somewhere else -- many in private properties.
In my early days I was renting from a woman who bought the flat in her 20-something and 'engaged' son's name but she and her son were living in a 2 storey house in one of the East Coast's 'better' suburbs. Perfectly legal.
The govt and the people are locked in as 'partners' in the HDB/ CPF game. Both sides benefit.
And therefore it is apt to stay that way.
Matilah Singapura knows Singapore well or should I say knows Singaporeans well.
ReplyDeleteSo, despite much kpkb from some netizens, most Singaporeans will still be very happy to have Minister Mah Boh Tan incharge of Housing. He shall retain his post.
Matilah Singapura knows Singapore well or should I say knows Singaporeans well.
ReplyDeleteSo, despite much kpkb from some netizens, most Singaporeans will still be very happy to have Minister Mah Boh Tan incharge of Housing. He shall retain his post.
My True Patriot-Individualist Singaporean Pledge:
ReplyDeleteI, a citizen of Singapore
Pledge myself to eschew the stupid sheeple,
Regardless of race, language or religion,
To build a life of individuality
Based on self-interest and equanimity,
So as to achieve happiness, prosperity, progress and anything else I fucking well please for myself.
How? Can or not?
First it was “I stand corrected”, then came “I don’t know what to say” and finally, or rather I thought I’ve heard the last of it “..it was tongue-in-cheek”.
ReplyDeleteNow when someone from current regime says something that incur the wrath of the people like certain language to be taught as foreign language, they say “..comment was taken out of context”.
How to trust in all this ding dong word games anymore? So does it mean that if you make certain promises now, you’d later make one of the above statements?
So you should not be surprised by this confusion from the current team at all.