How has Boon Wan fared in solving the housing problem?

After the last GE the PAP took cognition of the housing problem and removed Mah Bow Tan, went in search of a minister that could rectify the problem he had created. Oops, my apologies to Mah Bow Tan, it was never a problem. Only some people saw it as a problem and the govt agreed to do something about it.

Boon Wan was brave enough to volunteer for the job. He was confident enough to take on this daunting task of a huge problem that was really not a problem depending on who you are. Of course he knew, and everyone knew it was a full blown problem and cannot be resolved overnight after so many years of neglect and mismanagement. I would presume, may be wrong, that Boon Wan would want to solve the supply and demand problem to ensure that all Sinkies can afford to buy a HDB flat and that the prices of flats would remain at least stable. And I think if anyone would to want to measure the performance of Boon Wan, these should be the two factors to look at.

Boon Wan started aggressively to ramp up the building or more flats, many more flats. Unfortunately this is not looking good enough as the number of Sinkies wanting to buy HDB flats are still forming a long waiting list and the new flats will take several years to come on line. And also many Sinkies that were unfortunate enough to fall victims to his predecessor’s policies are still unable to buy direct from HDB. They are still cursing at the govt for sure.

The other big problem of course is the price of HDB flats, the resale flats and private properties. Have the prices been stable, or have they shot through the roof, even at greater speed than under Mah Bow Tan’s time and to greater height?

Has Boon Wan solved the housing problem? Or has he revisited the history of HDB and asked why there was no such problem before and the people were happy and grateful for their HDB flats but now the big shit all over the place? Has Boon Wan achieved what he set out to do? Shall he be given a red card or a medal?

Would he do the necessary and do a major change by building public flats for all Sinkies instead of new citizens? Many true blue Sinkies have served NS, fathers, brothers and themselves but not eligible to buy HDB flats because of all the stupid rules and regulations. How could the govt do these to the true and original citizens while making things so good to new citizens at their expense? Pro Sinkies or pro new citizens who are really foreigners?

6.9m population – Would the Govt listen?

This is a queer question really. The Govt has been telling the people that it will listen to the people since the last GE. It even deprecated itself by calling the people as the masters and the Govt as the servants of the people. This means that the people should be telling the Govt what they want and what they want the Govt to do. And to make things look real, the Natcon is still in process where the Govt will talk and listen to the people. Now what is the purpose of talking to the people if the Govt does not listen to the people or listen but no need to register?

The Govt has come out with a White Paper detailing the whys and the needs for a 6.9m population. This Paper originates from the Govt and from its thinkers. And it seems that this is what the Govt has more or less decided, without consulting the people. Or maybe it is now going to consult the people. But would it listen to the people if the people decide otherwise, not to have 6.9m people by 2030? Would the Govt simply go ahead and implement the increase in population despite the protest and disapproval of the people? Has the Govt already unilaterally decided on this road and any discussion with the people is only cursory?

The Paper will be tabled in Parliament for discussion and a vote will be taken where 80 PAP MPs will likely to vote in favour of it. Technically the MPs represented the people. But what if the MP did not ask the views of the people and simply voted based on their own belief or party line? In such a case it is not representing the views of the people but the party. It is so easy for the MPs to have a dialogue with their constituents or in the Natcon and gather the views of the people that matter.

The increase in population is going to affect everyone in the island. Should there be a need to hold a referendum on this? Or would the Govt simply go ahead with it as it has decided and whether the people is for or against it nothing would change the Govt’s mind? A protest rally is being organised by Transitioning.Org in HongLim this Saturday against the 6.9m. How many people will attend to make their views heard?

Would the govt listen to the people and let the people decide on this critical issue? There are more than 3 million citizens. The Govt is actually the 80 odd politicians in Parliament and why should they decide a matter like this without wanting to get the approval of the people? The Govt is listening, the Govt is the servant of the people?

What do you think?

Hsien Loong – an admission of incompetence?

At the conference on Singapore Perspectives organized by the Institute of Public Policies, Hsien Loong surprised the audience of local and foreign dignitaries by admitting that the govt was not perfect and had caused a lot of problems related to the influx of foreigners and the squeeze on building housing and infrastructure to cope with this high demand. This is the second time after the last GE that he has admitted to flaws in govt policies. This is reported in Channel News Asia, ‘Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has admitted the government did not have 20/20 foresight, resulting in problems with inadequate infrastructure in the country….’

What is Hsien Loong trying to achieve for this admission? For a govt that prides itself as the best in the world and paying itself out of this world salaries, will the people accept such a grotesque mistake when you don’t need a university professor to see the problems coming up? When the govt brought in 2m people in such a short space of time and neglected in ramping up the supporting infrastructure and housing to provide for such a huge number of people, is it a case of mistake, incompetence or something else? It is not unbelieveable. It is amazing!

The most horrifying part is the freeze in building housing when any idiot will know that 2 million people would need that much more roofs over their heads. And this 2m number is nearly a doubling the population of slightly more than 3m, bringing the population to 5m plus. This is not an elephant in the class room. It is a dinosaur and nobody could see it and to provide for it. And we paid millions for the super talents to at least do a decent job. Can we expect them to see the dinosaur? Hey, no rocket science ya?

So what, shall the people excuse and forgive the govt for this oversight? We are not talking about any third world govt that are paid peanuts. We are paying everyone of them, the crème al crème, according to their weight in gold and more.

What do you think?

Sinkies cannot afford to be CBF

The call for Sinkies to be cheaper, better and faster is running contrary to the high cost of living and high cost of everything. How can Sinkies ever think of surviving in a city when the cost of everything is going up and still expect to work to be cheaper, better and faster? This kind of combination can only work when the workers are foreigners who don’t have to buy expensive properties, provide for a family and may even need to buy a car for transportation.

The end result of this formula is to have very rich elite at the top and very poor foreign workers at the bottom. Those in between, the average Sinkies, will be squeezed dry trying to be cheaper but paying for everything that is getting dearer.

How, what do you think? Can Sinkies afford to be CBF?

Punggol East – We are not daft

Whoever thinks that the voters, in general and those in Hougang or Punggol East, are daft got to get his head check. The maturity of the voters, mind you they may not have first class honours or top doctors or scholars, but many are very well educated, with tertiary education. And many are definitely smarter and more qualified that the plane loads of FTs being unloaded to replace them. At least our local FTs are carrying genuine certificates and qualifications from world class universities and from our world best primary and secondary schools with very well qualified and trained teachers.

The pattern of voting in Punggol East was simply brilliant. It was reported that in every polling station, the WP won. There was no exception or enclave where there was stronger or weaker support for the PAP or WP. Translating this, it means the support is from the overall majority of the voters.

And the voters made every vote count. There was no significant wastage where votes went to the two minor parties. All the votes were either for the PAP or the WP. The voters were serious, very serious. They wanted to make a real difference, and they did.

The last Presidential Election could be a strong factor to remind the voters that anyhow vote could be a very costly mistake. This time they made no mistake. They wanted Li Lian earnestly and every vote for Li Lian was carefully considered, or in the same way for Koh Poh Koon.

The smart voters have arrived. The voters today are not like the illiterate uncles and aunties when a little last minute carrot or goodies could sway them. They not only looked at municipal or local issues, they also understood the big picture. You can’t con them anymore. Welcome to the new Singapore and a more intelligent electorate. They are simply saying, ‘We are not daft.’

Dr Paul Cheung - 8m population no problem

'Singapolitics.sg, 28 Jan 2013

Singapore can, if it wants, accommodate eight million people. That is Dr Cheung's belief.

The Hong Kong-born Singaporean, 59, spent close to 30 years monitoring the interplay between Singapore's population and economic growth, including 14 years as the Government's chief statistician.

"We must always plan for the upper limit. We have to be creative and have in mind urban infrastructure for a much larger population," Dr Cheung says….'

I think Dr Cheung is being too conservative. I personally believe that this island can take in 20m or more, if we want to. But prepare to live a life of a 20m population city in a little piece of rock. What is the problem if one is willing to adapt and pay the price for it? Sure can one.

The question is, why bring this Dr Cheung and a 8m number into the picture? Is this a case of if our properties are expensive, just bring in another country with more expensive properties to make people feel that we are still cheaper? And we can claim we are better off? So if we are planning to fill the island with 7m, bringing in 8m will make 7m looks like small change isn’t it.

What is the intention and purpose of all these, and the 7m White Paper?

Ok, Dr Cheung qualified by saying if we want. Do the Singaporeans want a 7m or 8m population? Who really wants such a population and do they mind ask the rest of the Singaporeans if they mind?

Koh Poh Koon waiting for Hsien Loong

After losing the by election, Koh Poh Koon is now waiting for Hsien Loong’s decision on what to do with him. Hsien Loong has said that he would field him in the next GE. All things considered, Koh Poh Koon is quite a likeable guy unless one belongs to those who just detest elite and elitism. He said he still wants to serve the people. That is the easiest thing to do. There is no need to wait for Hsien Loong to decide his fate.

Koh Poh Koon is his own man, or at least that was what he said. Even if the PAP did not want to field him, he can serve the people in many other ways. There is nothing to stop him from serving the people in the opposition parties. But there is this unwritten command that a PAP candidate can only serve the people as a PAP and joining the opposition parties is not serving the people. Why like that one?

Even if Koh Poh Koon is not fielded, and even if he does not want to join the opposition parties, there are thousands of ways he can serve the people either professionally by giving discounts or subsidies to Sinkies that need his professional help. Or he could join many of the charities to help out.

When the heart is there to serve the people, there are many avenues to do so. There is no need to wait for anyone or any party. Just do it.

Punggol East – Another statement for social media

Apart from reading the ground well, social media played a very significant role in the toppling of the PAP candidate in Punggol East. All the track records, more carrots and all the big gun, and another elite served on the platter were not enough. Ah Lian was seen as good enough, better than all the things the govt could offer, to serve the people of Punggol East. Isn’t this something?

The most important role of social media in this case was its call for the voters to vote wisely, not to split their votes in view of another two more opposition candidates. Votes going to SDA or RP will mean votes going to the PAP. As a result, the two candidates received abysmally small number of votes, RP with 1.18% and SDA with 0.56%. Thus they could not do any harm to the chances of the WP. The call for a better future for the children and their children given the extremely high cost of living and very competitive working environment were well received. And all must remember the call for SDP to withdraw, which they did, to pave the way for a direct fight between the PAP and the WP.

I credited this honour to the netizens simply because there was no such call in the main media. The people were voting in unison, as one single united force, to put up another opposition candidate into Parliament. The great credentials and reports of Koh Poh Koon were turned around as reasons to dump him in favour of Ah Lian. The calls to support WP were quite widespread in the social media and totally silence in the main media. And if there was no social media, these calls would not have gone far and wide to the ears of every citizen. Now the citizens understood why and how they should cast their votes to make every vote counts.

One has to admit that social media alone could not do much damage. There was a confluence of events that made the call that much more meaningful and effective. Social media and its direct readership could still be small. But the impact it carries is not something to trifle with.

Punggol East – The big disconnect

The biggest statement of the result of this by election is the big disconnect PAP is experiencing without knowing. PAP claimed that it is doing everything for the people and is with the people. And all the policies are carefully thought out and implemented for the good of the people. Obviously the people in Punggol East did not buy it. And if this is what the people across the island are thinking, the days of PAP in power will be over very soon. How could PAP and all its pro people policies that are good for the people ended up in losing this by election? The PAP must believe that everything it did is for the good of the people, and it still believes so. But does the PAP know that the people do not believe so?

And the PAP is still believing that it lost because it was a by election and by election is always unfavourable to the ruling party. How wrong can it be and when is the PAP going to face the truth and see the ground as what it really is? The ground has changed, the people are unhappy with the policies and therefore the govt. Get it?

On the WP side, it has read the ground well and actually is connecting with the people, the citizens who wanted change. There is a big connect between the WP and the people in Hougang, Aljunied and now Punggol East. Where has the PAP been all these years to lose touch with the ground? What a statement! How could the PAP lose touch with the ground when it has so many grassroot leaders and institutions on the ground?

But surely something has gone wrong, something badly wrong. I try to figure out but couldn’t. I also cannot see anything wrong. So I rather believe that nothing is wrong. It is only a by election and in such election, the ruling party is always at a disadvantage. In the next GE the people will definitely vote the PAP back to power to ensure their own prosperity. Nothing to worry about.

As for Koh Poh Koon, he is likely to continue to serve the voters in Punggol East, and likely to be appointed as the grassroot advisor, to walk the ground, to connect with the people. He is still new and would want to hang around unlike some who quit politics immediately after losing an election.

Workers Party wins Punggol East

I dare not believe this will happen earlier in the week though I secretly hoped this would happen. My position then was a close fight, a 50:50 chance going either way. A two horse run by election. The strength of the ruling party was still too dominant for the opposition. And this by election was about a little girl facing a top notch elite supported by the ruling party, and in a 4 corner fight. It was too much to ask for.

Now it happens. At 2 am, I am still awake to the excitement of this game changing event. How could the PAP lose this by election, losing a very safe seat previously won by Michael Palmer with a clear margin in a 3 corner fight? This time the result, WP 54% and PAP 43%. The other two in the four corner fight were completely whitewashed. No need to mention about them. It is a good lesson to note that the voters today are very well informed and would do what is best for their own interests. Going forward, three or multi corner fight to disrupt a proper contest between two main parties will no longer be material.

The voters of Punggol East has rejected the PAP outright with a convincing victory that speaks more than just a by election. The repercussion is serious and the foundation of the PAP is rattling. The support of the voters can no longer be taken for granted. The claim that the party is for the people is rejected outright by the people. It also implies that the voters are rejecting most of the policies that the ruling party claimed to be good for them.

This victory in Punggol East is no joking matter. As I had posted earlier, this is a by election that the PAP cannot afford to lose. Losing Punggol East is the harbinger of more losses if the govt still thinks it can do whatever it wants and shafts the policies down the people's throats. It is as good as game over. The PAP's sure win formula is no longer working.

All the opposition will be gearing themselves up for the GE in about 3 years time. Punggol East has shown the way and they can see it coming now. The netizens were reading the ground very clearly. Unfortunately the PAP was not. It was a two horse race as the netizens have predicted correctly.

PAP is on the side of Singaporeans

This is the position of the Govt and spoken by Hsien Loong on Thursday to wrap up the by election campaign. Many Sinkies are startled into disbelief. But I tell you the truth, it is true. Look at all the living examples around you and you will agree.

First, the foreigner influx is a good thing. Wait for 7m population, it will be even better. Don’t believe me? Look at your property prices! Every Sinkie is now so rich, sitting on multi million dollar properties. This must be really good, extremely good.

Another example, crowded public transport especially the trains. Some are complaining. But only rich and fast growing countries would have such jams in public transport. Look at Japan, we are not even near there. The jams and the foreigners in the trains are signs of progress and they make the SMRT make very good profits too, and good for all kinds of businesses.

Some were complaining about giving university places and scholarships to foreigners while our own children were deprived of places and have to go overseas on PM’s scholarship, ie Papa and Mama Scholarship. But we need these foreign talents to boost our dying and degenerating gene pool. Think about it, these foreigners will enrich our lives and the quality of our future children. We will have a lot of kopi susu and tea with milk children growing up soon. And the foreign talents contributed to our economic growth too, when they stayed to work. And our boys can do NS happily while the foreign talents oil the economy.

No need to add more examples, the more foreigners here the more vibrant is our economy, and the value of things all go up to help our economic growth. And the Sinkies will benefit directly with all their properties going up in prices. No need to work, just sit on your properties and see them appreciate in values, and at the same time can collect rentals.

The prosperity of Sinkies can be seen by the amount of money they are willing to pay for a piece of paper, COE, to be allowed to buy a car. You think poor Sinkies can afford this?

Sinkies must see the good side of having all the foreigners here. They make us very rich or at least feel very rich. See, understand or not? All the policies are for the good of Sinkies. As for the money in the CPF, the minimum sums, it is all for Sinkies. All the Sinkies will be able to afford the world best medicare and world best prices. No sweat. And many will die very, very rich. There will be poor Sinkies alive. But all dead Sinkies will be very rich with the minimum sums they left behind.

I am sure you are now all convinced by my clear and simple logic. It makes cents right? Er, I mean sense.

SPH employee arrested for threatening Kenneth Jeyaretnam

This is the latest news on ST online that a 23 year old employee of SPH has been arrested for threatening Kenneth Jeyaretnam’s wife and son in London using emails. The administrative assistant with ST classified ad has since resigned and is out on bail.

The brave or provocative Philippines

Depending on how you look at it, some may think the Philippines are very brave to want to stage a fight with China. Some will think it is a very provocative thing to do. Anyway, the Philippines are taking the disputed island claims in the South China Sea to the UN International Tribunal for the Law of the Seas(ITLS) unilaterally as if it is a very brave act against China. And everyone knows that the ITLS has no jurisdiction over such claims if the interested parties could simply ignore its findings or recommendations.

So what are the Pinoys trying to prove? Or who is really behind this silly move, of a little mouse trying to pull the whiskers of the dragon? They have not forgotten how they threatened to arrest Chinese fishing boats only to flee when the Chinese wanted to sink their biggest antique called a warship. Or maybe they are still angry of that sheepish incident and wanted to prove that they are made of stronger stuff?

By making this provocative affront, it has forced Singapore which has always tried to be diplomatic, to take a stance to distance itself from the Philippines. Singapore has made an official statement that this is strictly a Pinoy initiative, nothing to do with Asean. And it added that such territorial claim can only be settled by the claimants and Singapore is not a claimant.

Singapore’s position would have undercut the Philippines if it ever thinks of using Asean to fight this spurious claim with China. And maybe the only country in Asean that would support such callous and silly move will be Vietnam. The rest of Asean would rather choose either to be neutral or to discuss with China through dialogue.

The Philippines have opened its cards, that it wants a confrontation with China, to provoke China, to raise tension, which is the last thing Asean wants with China being the biggest trading partners with several of the Asean states.

Is Lui Tuck Yew kidding?

‘Given Singapore's limited space for new roads, the government plans to further curb vehicle growth from next year, revealed Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew.’ This is quoted from Yahoo News.

We have just heard of a White Paper discussing about Singapore having a population of 7m from the current 5.3m. Can the island have enough space for an additional 1.7m people when it cannot find space for new roads and have to curb the growth of vehicles on the road? It is either the island still has a lot of space for more people or the island has not enough space. It cannot have more space for more people but not enough space for vehicles unless these people do not need the use vehicles in their lives, for private or public transport. The growth of road network will also be halved. Lui said, "You can't allow it (the vehicle quota) to grow at the rates in past years simply because the road networks are not expanding as what we have done before,"

It is getting very confusing. When population growth is concerned, we can grow and grow and build and build more housing to support the growth. Then we cannot have space for more roads for more vehicles.

Subsidies are like crutches, for the richest people in the world

More subsidies, more subsidies, as if the govt is the Santa Claus. Oops, no, not the Santa Claus but the rich man doing charity and those stretching out their hands must feel grateful to this demi god. Without this demi god there will be no subsidies and the cost of everything will be unaffordable. So the grateful citizens that need subsidies will be forever grateful that the demi god is around. And this group of grateful will stretch from the low income to the middle income. This is a lot of grateful people.

Really, subsidies are like lelong sales. Price marked up exponentially only to give an equally big discount for the recipients to think they are getting a good deal. For that, they may even be cheated as the cost could be much lower and the price could be much lower too. If the prices are not marked up so high, there is no need for subsidies at all. It is all a matter of packaging. What really is important is the bottom line, what the people have to pay for it.

The other negative aspect of subsidies is that the recipients are portrayed as helpless, dependencies, desperadoes and needing charity, needing handouts. When or if the price is priced correctly, there is no need to queue for handouts. The dignity of the recipients will not be thrashed. Why make people go and beg for subsidies?

There are better ways to bring down the cost of operators or service providers without having to make the recipients queuing up for it, submit their particulars to plea for help. Things can be done much simply and respecting the pride and dignity of the recipients.

The proposed babies and parenthood scheme will eventually be eroded and the fees be raised by the operators to near the same level, with subsidies. The calibration to fine tune the handouts according to level of income is a very tedious and embarrassing affair, micro managing the life of people. The govt could work out the subsidies with operators and service providers, controlling their fees by giving more subsidies to more reasonably priced services while the upmarket brand be given less or no subsidies.

Still this is not the best option. It will, yes, become another crutch mentality thing. Making babies, bringing up babies must depend on govt subsidies! Why no one is talking about crutch mentality anymore?

Sinkies have become a people living on crutches, on govt handouts, despite being millionaires, multi millionaires or half a millionaires. Weird isn’t it? The richest people in the world but needing govt subsidies in almost everything to get by!

Punggol East – So far very tame, very civilised

For the watchers of this by election who expect a lot of fire and storm, it must be a big disappointment. So far everything appears to be very mild and tame. There were great expectations given the indiscretion of the ex MP who was also the ex Speaker of Parliament. Many could remember the fire and ferocity of the attack by the ruling party against the WP then in Hougang. All the big guns were firing in full force and the WP was finding no place to hide. It was shame, shame and shame all round. It was high morality against individual failings and indiscretion. It was monks and priests against sinners.

In this case all the shame, shame and shame somehow disappeared. There was a lack of viciousness from the WP side. Even the name Michael Palmer was not even mentioned, I think, forgive me if I am wrong on this, but I wasn’t following the rally speeches closely. I can only feel the kindness and the politeness in the whole tussle from all quarters. My respect to the honourable men and women in the opposition for not spreading the swill and shit out into the open for airing.

And even the AIM saga that was a time bomb waiting to explode but got defused. Or was it that no one is willing to light the fuse? Minus all the drama and fiery speeches, this is really like a tea party. Perhaps the politicians have matured and are less quarrelsome and less vicious. No longer behaving like little school boys or ruffians picking up on petty quarrels to look saintly. And this is good.

Well, who shall we thank for for such a civilized election campaign? Could it be a repeat of another Hougang dirty saga if the fallen MP was an opposition party MP? Would the niceties be exchanged for ‘please tell, please come clean’ for all to see who is cleaner or whiter than white? Thank God that things did not go down the longkang way. And no opposition speakers claimed or peddled to be men and women of high morals or of religious pedigree. And they still maintain a very respectable decorum and conduct while pitching for support from the voters without trying to tarnish or destroy anyone for personal flaws.

What more is there to say?

Obama's inaugural speech " sheer rhetoric" . BY Linh Dinh

Obama’s inaugural speech ‘sheer rhetoric’     Written by  LINH  DINH

Wed Jan 23, 2013 7:47AM

U.S. President Barack Obama’s inaugural speech was a “sheer rhetoric,” which many Americans know that “the situation is much different,” an analyst said.  

“In his inaugural speech, Obama said a decade of war is now ending and that the U.S. will walk to resolve future crises peacefully, but that is all rhetoric,” author and activist Linh Dinh told Press TV’s U.S. Desk on Tuesday.

“Because Obama is starting new wars, you know it is the attack on Libya and the hell that he is creating in Syria is entirely instigated by the United States, and he’s now provoking China.” he added. “The Prime Minister of Japan is visiting Washington DC next month, and this man is quite literally a nutcase. He is a very dangerous man. He denies that Japanese troops committed atrocities during World War II. He denies there were comfort women, that is, sex slaves, Korean sex slaves, during World War II, so he is the new Japanese prime minister, and he is an ally in the US provocation of China, so that’s another crisis that the US is starting, and why is the US doing that? It’s because the USS thrives in the war business. That’s the only business it has left.”

After taking his second inaugural oath of office in front of the Capitol building on Monday, Obama declared misleadingly that “a decade of war is now ending,” while pledging to maintain America’s superpower status through a global military presence.

“America will remain the anchor of strong alliances in every corner of the globe; and we will renew those institutions that extend our capacity to manage crisis abroad, for no one has a greater stake in a peaceful world than its most powerful nation,” Obama said in his speech.

Jonathan Tan - The AIM saga taking the spotlight again


The internet is buzzing again with more disclosures of the AIM saga. Someone has disclosed an ex staff of NCS, Jonathan Tan, posting his achievements that included his work with the Town Councils amounting to $30m and a software licence fee of $5m. (S$30 million deal with Singapore Town Council. Software license at S$5 million. This is found in his Linkedin page). How are these numbers related to the cost of developing the Town Council Management System is going to be interesting. The $30m could include hardware and software development and the $5m could be a one time license fee, or would the Town Council be required to pay more license fee for continuous used are not clear.

Some netizens are already screaming their heads off by assuming that the management system costs $30m and being sold for $140,000. On face value it looks quite ugly. But given proper and creative accounting, everything will be in order. There will be fair wear and tear and a large portion could go to hardware and equipment.

There is this thing called depreciation or writing down of goodwill. So if all these have been written off as goodwill or depreciation, there is no value left to the software. And those who think that a $30m system selling at $140,000 will incur a big loss will be mistaken. When the residual value is 0, the $140,000 will become pure profit. Yes, selling the software for any amount is profit.

You may choose to disagree with my ingenious reasoning and explanation.

When the govt starts to throw money…

The latest babies and families $2b package is another of the govt’s way to throw money at the people. This is not a bad thing and the people welcome it. What I think the govt should take heed is that before they start to throw money, please be reminded that the money is from the people, it comes from the people. And if not enough, the govt will introduce more direct or indirect taxes on the people. The people will ultimately foot the bill and some will benefit some will not, some will benefit more and some less. What the govt should also be mindful is who the money is given to.

The unequal distribution of the country’s wealth could become unacceptable and a big problem when some recipients are deemed as undeserving of the handouts or should not benefit fully from such programmes. What some Sinkies have in mind are the direct beneficiaries of such govt schemes especially when they are new citizens. Giving new citizens equal rights and opportunities as a citizen is not an issue per se. What is troubling citizens is the throwing of money from the public coffers to new citizens. There are many schemes, from housing to education and medicare when being a citizen could mean a lot of savings and may even lead to a lot of instant monetary gains.

New citizens receive immediate monetary profits in housing when they are eligible ot buy direct from HDB while some Sinkies are not even allowed to, in education fee subsidies, in subsidies for public hospitals, educational opportunities etc etc. Should new citizens be entitled to such monetary rewards almost immediately when they become a citizen? A new citizen could reap hundreds or tens of thousands of dollars by simply becoming a citizen and scoot off when it is time to trade in the profits.

The latest $2b package would likewise benefit the new citizens most. Should new citizens qualify for such monetary or money equivalent benefits like all citizens? Should not there be a qualifying period to phase in govt benefits and subsidies for new citizens? Could there be a gradation of benefits in relations to how long a new citizen has been here? Why should new citizens be eligible or be entitled to financial reward when they have not done much in this island?

What do you think?

More schemes, more conditions for babies and housing

All the rules and restrictive conditions are simply unnecessary when the fundamentals are right. Today the govt is rolling out another $2 billion package to stimulate more births and more babies. It also tweaked the conditions for housing priorities.

All these are reactive policies, measures that try to patch holes caused by bad policies and assumptions. Why is the govt now so desperate for Sinkies to have more babies when all it needs is to import more fully grown adults, immediately productive? Why are the people not having more babies in the first place? What kind of life will our children lead when everyone is just an economic digit and each one will contribute to buy a million dollar pigeon hole and keep several hundred thousand dollars in the CPF dunno for who to use?

Then the housing fiasco that is going to balloon into the biggest monster Sinkies have to live with and many will have to suffer for the 99 year lease pigeon hole and paying for the main part of their lives. A 3,500 sq ft landed property can be had for $400k just across the causeway. Sinkies are going to live and work for the pigeon holes over their heads. And they cannot afford to stop work, both must work to pay for it. How to make babies and look after babies? No sweat, hire foreign maids and the babies will grow up speaking and behaving like FTs and can blend with FTs easier.

Why has the housing problem reach such a scale? And the tweakings and the conditions, are they really helping when all the govt needs to do is to do away with most of them and just simply build for the Sinkies. A caution here. Don’t turn every foreigner into a new Sinkie to add to the demand and the problem. The solution is so simple and no need more complex rules and conditions to confuse everyone without solving but adding to the problem.