Samsui woman, 95, jumps to her death

Photo courtesy of TRE
 
Why would an elderly woman at 95 want to end her life this way? And this is no ordinary woman. The samsui women, the pioneers that built the HDB flats and factories of this country, were the hardiest women in Singapore’s history. They toiled under the hot sun and rain, like the present construction workers from neighbouring countries, protected only by a rectangular red cloth contraption on their head. They were the red head army of workers carrying cement and bricks on their back and balancing on the narrow wooden planks that led to ever higher and higher floors of HDB flats under construction. They worked day and night with no complaints. I don’t think they even join the union to protect their welfare and working conditions.
 
When Madam Loke retired at 60 as a construction worker, she continued to work as cleaners and other manual jobs to earn a living. There was a quiet pride and dignity in these women. They do not beg for a living. They worked for a living. And she continued to work till her 80s, as coffee shop assistant or any odd jobs available.
 
Recently she had a fall and was hospitalized. According to her daughter, she jumped to her death so as not to burden her children. The medical cost to keep her alive is prohibitive. She could be the last old person to jump to her death for fear of high medical cost.
 
The govt is seriously working out a medical insurance scheme for the oldies to take care of their medical bills till 100 years old or more. They only need to pay the insurance premiums, if they can afford it, and all will be fine. There will be no more such problems. The Medishield Life could be the live line for the oldies to live longer and have peace of mind.
 
As for Madam Loke, she lived a life of dignity and probably enjoyed working till way past her 80s. Think all old Sinkies enjoyed working till they die. Working for the oldies in this island is for their own good, respect and dignified. Many average Singaporeans will live their golden years this way, working till they can work no more. There is now one more reason for them to work for, the impending Medishield Life and an insurance premium to pay for.
 
Maybe I am wrong. Medishield Life for the oldies is free, or they pay when they were young. Not sure about this, and not sure at what age will it be free, or will it be free at all.

Crime against Singaporeans

Last weekend I wrote about the Rape of Singapore. I hope it would set the Sinkies thinking of the shitty situation they are in. I just read a timely posting by a Ricky in The Real Singapore on his sacking of 7 foreigners, 6 Pinoys and an Indian IT personnel for crime against Singaporeans. This is what he wrote and I don’t think this is a hoax.


‘Hricky28@hotmail.com to TRS dated 23 Nov
Dear The Real Singapore,
 
Guys, on friday i sacked 6 pinoy nationals and 1 indian national at the MNC i work for fraud basically.
 
One of the pinoy that was sacked was a HR personnel (Pinoy), another was an IT personnel (Indian National).
 
What happened was that these two clowns had colluded in hiring their own nationals (mainly pinoys) in the company.
 
Basically we had put up Job adverts looking for some people, now when the people sent the email, anyone that was singaporean was deleted, they kept only the foreigners (pinoys.)
 
The IT personnel was basically bribed by the Pinoy to delete the log files on our SMTP server as well, making it seem that no singaporeans applied for the job.
 
What the IT personnel does not know, i keep another log file separately (disguissed as a system file) sent to another server.
 
When i saw the log files did not match the IT personnel gave some rubbish story only after i threatened to report him to the police, he told me the story.
 
Basically the Pinoy hr had people from the phillipines apply for any openings in the MNC i work and deleted any resumes that were singaporeans and he managed to get 5 pinoys past me.
 
They work on the idea that he gives the job their first salary belongs to the Pinoy HR. The Pinoy HR then gives 20% of that to the indian national to do cleanup on the server to clear traces.
 
The HR and IT guy were sacked without notice on Friday. The 5 pinoys that got in were also sacked. These were not small jobs but jobs that payed more than 6K/mth. Purpose i am making this post is so that you guys can be aware of the fraud going on in certain companies and games that foreigners are playing on singaporeans….’
 
This does not seem to be an isolated incident and could be quite a prevalent practice for sometime. It explains many things. It explains why employers superficially claimed that when they put up advertisements, very few or no Sinkies applied, implying that Sinkies did not want the job. It explains why the companies are filled with foreigners instead of Sinkies. It also explains why there are so many PMEs unemployed. It also explains why Sinkies sent out hundreds of application letters and not a single reply or very few replies were received for an interview. It also explains why Sinkies were often rejected after an interview.
 
Basically the Sinkies have been raped by these foreigners right in Singapore and made to look like clowns despite their high qualifications. The clowns go right to the top. These foreigners are laughing themselves silly not just at the highly qualified but stupid Sinkies who have been brought up in a system that works without knowing that the system has been hijacked by crooks to work against Sinkies. Sinkies don’t question the system as they have faith in a fair and honest system, a system they have been brought up in. But when dishonest people from the Third World, and First World start to use the system for their own advantage, the Sinkies would not have a clue what went wrong. The PMEs would still believe that they are not good enough for the job. And the daft would believe that those who got the jobs are talented, foreign talents that are better than Sinkies. Who are these daft people? You know surely.
 
Sinkies, now you know why you are not even called up for job interviews. Your applications didn’t even cross the gate. This is a crime against Sinkies, a nation wide conspiracy that have been going on for too long. Isn’t it time that MOM do something, set up a task force to get these criminals and put them behind bars? It is a massive task, as massive as faked certificates and qualifications, as massive as discrimination against Sinkies.
 
You cannot kill this crime with lip service. You need a lot of manpower and a lot of resources and a genuine commitment to want to do justice for the Sinkies. You need dedicated Sinkies who think Sinkies and want to protect Sinkies to do the job. Do not hire foreigners to do this job. That would not only be silly but a heinous crime against Sinkies. MOM cannot allow the Sinkies to be raped right before their eyes. Immediate actions need to be taken. Stop the farce, stop acting and do something real. At least do something for the Sinkies, the citizens you are supposed to look after and protect. We don’t pay you humongous salaries for nothing.
 
Stop the crime against Sinkies. There are many other silly things that these foreigners are doing to rape the stupid but honest Sinkies. What are you going to do about it? More FCF?

The Rape of Singapore

Someone suggested that a good topic to write about is the Rape of Singapore. I was kind of taken aback. I have heard of the notorious Rape of Nankin, how could there be a Rape of Singapore. When I look around, everything is so fine, so perfect, exactly like what George Yeo said. The people are so rich and getting richer. The govt has just announced the building of another 500,000 new homes in the choices part of the island for the people, and everyone with money are eyeing lusciously at the opportunity to live in these wonderful places or investing in them for a quick buck.

What does this Rape of Singapore gonna be? In the context of Nankin, there were the brutal killings of the citizens in hundreds of thousands, looting and raping of the women in the streets. It was the equivalent of a holocaust in fast forward mode. There is no way that this will be allowed to happen in this island. We have the most powerful armed forces in the region and a dedicated pool of National Servicemen all ready to defend and die for the country. And there is no enemy out there, or if there is, they would not be our match.

Can the Rape of Singapore be interpreted in different ways, like the country being taken over or looted, the womenfolk being raped but not physically? With the best and ablest in the govt, selected by a stringent tea drinking session to weed out the opportunists and money grabbers, or people who only think of their self interests, there is no likelihood that the country would be sold out by moles or traitors. This is something that this honourable govt and all the honourable men and women would not do, at least intentionally. The country is like a golden goose laying golden eggs and the people in power would have the least reason to allow a Rape of Singapore taking place. They can’t be doing the raping for sure.

The only possibility of a Rape of Singapore is in the wildest imagination of some deluded people, or in the minds of those fit for IMH. Oh, there is another slim possibility that the rape is taking place but nobody sees it or knows about it, something like a white elephant in the classroom and everyone is blind to it and say, no leh, no elephant leh. Where got? Have we been rape and still dunno? Can anyone tell me? Why are the people crying rape and crying traitors? These people must be mad.

I could not find any grounds to write about the Rape of Singapore and would never see this happening here under this able govt. This country will never be lost to the foreigners and there will not be a Rape of Singapore. By 2030, we would likely have 7m citizens in this ever more prosperous island, and with a bigger Singaporean core of, yes, 7m citizens to strengthen the Singaporean core. That would only make this island more secure in the hands of so many Singaporeans. Singaporeans’ interests have never been in better hands.

Enjoy the Sundays for all you can. No one is raping or looting this island.

Dengue outbreak once in 50 years

The outbreak of this disease and turning deadlier is giving cause for concern to the govt. It has never happened before, 20,000 cases before the year is over and claiming another life, its seventh victim. What is unacceptable is that it is happening right in the heart of Orchard, right in the middle of pre Christmas sales, and so near to the Istana.

Singapore is a small island famous for it efficiency in social policies and wiping out mosquitoes must be a piece of cake. It can’t be more difficult than wiping out the people’s CPF savings for housing and various schemes and minimum sums right? If Singapore cannot prevent this disease from spreading, a bit impossible for it to be wiped out, then no country can do better. Just pray and hope that this is only a once in 50 year incident and will be blown over by Christmas when the tourists failed to turn up and no blood to suck.

The mosquito experts are all busily trying out new solutions to stamp the spread of this disease in a highly dense environment that makes intercourse so convenient.  A company called ‘Oxitec is tinkering with the genetics of mosquito species to produce sterile male mosquitos that would…only mate with the females carrying the disease, leaving the 3,500 other mosquito species across the world untouched.’ The best part is that the males will only seek the females of the dengue carrying Aedes mosquitoes. How could they trained or spiked the drinks of these male mosquitoes to go for Aedes females only is truly ingenious. I thought it would be easier to ensure that the Aedes females are dressed to kill with the most expensive cosmetics to attract the sterile males. Alternatively might as well turn all the male mosquitoes into eunuchs, no desires. That would clean them up in one generation.

There was a stupid and innovative idea floated during the last outbreak that sounded damn silly but I agree could be workable, very effective and inexpensive. The idea is simply to provide maternity hospitals or water receptacles for the Aedes to lay their eggs. There is no need to go hunting for them. Just have these water containers in convenient locations to make it easy and conducive for the Aedes mothers to be to do the necessary. The clearing and cleaning job can be done once a week or a fortnight, knowing the incubation and free swimming lifespan of the larva and pupa. No need rocket science and expensive drugs and technology. And no hussle at all. Only common sense, labour and plastic containers would be enough to do the job.

At times simple and silly sounding solutions work best. And no need to pay the experts silly for their expertise and expert salaries. And we have all the cheap foreign workers to do the job with some responsible locals as supervisors. It is elementary, Watson!

Why, too cheap and cannot charge big bills so not a financially rewarding proposition? Cheap is no good. Must pay more then can be good. Better still if the ideas came from FTs. Perhaps if they appoint a foreigner to head the Ministry of Environment, all the mosquito problems will go away.

We want Michael Fay

Michael Fay and his teenage friends were just mischievous spoilt brats doing mischief out of boredom. It was a phase of growing up, doing some silly things and regretting it later in life, but with no real intent to hurt or harm anyone. The blame can be assigned to puberty and the inbalance of hormones.

That incident of a few young punks spray painting a few cars and caned for vandalism was world news and probably hit the front page of many big time media world wide. The boy was ordered by the court to be whipped 6 times on his butt. His parents went crying to the White House and President Clinton took personal interest by writing a personal letter to the President of Singapore for leniency.

Michael Fay was given 4 strokes of the cane instead of 6. The caning of Michael Fay was nothing personal. It was a symbolic act of caning a boy for his mischief, an act needed to keep vandalism in check. What was more was that it said a big NO to the President of the USA by a small island famously known as a little Red Dot. The people approved and walked around with heads in the clouds. We stood up to the pressure of the world’s only superpower by caning his backside if needed to.

This episode is still remembered today by the people of the world. They look Singapore up for defying the Emperor. Only recently, a political forum in Taiwan spoke of the case again with awe and deference to the Singapore Govt and the man who said no to the Americans, LKY. LKY won a lot of admiration from Singaporeans and peoples of the world, and even the Americans. They respected him more. The Americans despise wimps. When there is a time to stand up and standing up for the right thing will bring honour and dignity, not the kind of dignity from having a big paycheck. In such times, not standing up will turn one into a stooge, a feeble lame prick.

The social climate of the little Red Dot has never seen the days of Michael Fay since. The island is being inundated with foreigners who acted as if they own this colony, and they ride roughshod over the citizens, ridiculing the citizens, abusing the citizens, beating up the citizens and even threatening the govt that they would take their businesses elsewhere. They have no respect for a weak govt. In the corporate world, they discriminate against the citizens and rubbish them no matter how good are the citizens, and favour their own kind, right before the very eyes of the govt. They kicked out and replaced highly qualified citizens with their own kinds. Can you believe that, in someone else’s country, not in their country? The little Red Dot is getting more little by the days. It is at risk of disappearing.

What did the govt do? Better not to say anything to offend anyone. Michael Fay was a juvenile. His naughty act can be forgiven for his youth. The rogues that are running around in this island are supposedly very talented professionals, men who are at their prime, who are expected to be able to think and act sensibly. They acted worse than the boy Michael, and more like beasts.

Appeasement, to let them off easily with little fines, or pleas would not work with bullies and swell headed thugs. They will keep on spitting at the locals and beating them up if they are not hauled in and be given a few strokes on their butts to mean business, to tell them this is our land and they better behave and obey our laws and respect our citizens.

Appeasement is bad. Capitulation is even worse. We need to do a Michael Fay on some of these foreign rogues that think they could bully our citizens and discriminate against them at work, for thinking that the whole island is all fools and whims to be had. The widespread discrimination in employment at high levels is sickening and cannot be condoned even for another day. Have we gone limp, unable to stand up to the humiliating affront by the foreigners that we begged and offered them good jobs and a good life here? Where is our manhood? We had that in the past, even though Michael was a boy. Are we so afraid of the rogues and we have to let them run amok in our country and do as they please, to abuse and insult our citizens?

Where is the man?

To cowpeh cowbu or not?

My article on WP’s silence in many hot and controversial issues has received mixed reactions as usual. Some are still unhappy that the WP has stayed away from making a stand when the people wanted them to say something. Some have complimented the WP for being wise by not being drawn or trapped into a situation like Chee Soon Juan or JBJ and other opposition politicians and be smashed to bits and buried alive.

There are merits and reasons to want WP to speak up. There are also very good reasons not to speak up but speaking up only at a critical moment when it counts. It is easy for WP to fire away at the many issues that the people are unhappy about and score political points and win over more supporters. Other than this, they are not going to gain anything meaningful and may open themselves to attacks just like cleaning the ceilings of hawker centres. Everything they said would be used to slice them to pieces, right or wrong, nitpicking to the tiniest hair. Even if they can say all the right things, all they need to do to get into trouble could be as minor as a sneeze while speaking.

What would happen to the issues if WP did not speak up? The problem could magnify and accelerate to an intolerable level much faster since no protest could be seen as everything is good, no problem, policy well received, or no one can find anything wrong with the policy. It is like allowing the fire to burn itself out.

Speaking out and pointing out problematic areas would allow remedial actions to be taken to rectify the flaws and could even turn a bad policy or issue around. A potentially explosive issue or bad policy could be massaged to become more acceptable. Speaking out, criticizing is helping to solve a problem, helping to make things better. The bad part is that no one likes to hear the bad news, the critiques, and people who spoke out are seen as bad people, trouble makers, the messenger of bad news, and often be kicked in the arse.

This may be a good reason why WP chose to stay reticent, don’t ruffle the feathers, don’t be a smart aleck when it is not welcomed, don’t be the messenger of bad news and don’t get butted for trying to help. What is the point when whatever they said would be received badly and seen as stirring trouble, with the wrong intention?  Must as well let people be happy with their mistakes and let the problem and pain fester and rot, and wait for the opportunity to pick up the pieces when it is too late to salvage a bad situation. Being quiet, non committal has many merits and can be strategically very sound too. It can also be a game of psycho, making the enemies wandering what one is up too and what is brewing. It may force the enemies to panic, to act prematurely and start barking for the wrong reasons. It can mislead the enemy to become complacent, to think there is no threat, all so nice and humble and accommodating. A nice and easy going politician, always smiling and so sweet can be even more dangerous than a barking dog. It is all a game and how the politician can play to his advantage. What is real or unreal?

We are just bystanders watching the chess players moving their pieces. Who will emerge the winner when it is game over, the quiet one or the one that is kpkb for the wrong reasons?

The price of justice

Recently an angmoh was fined $4000 for beating up a taxi driver after his drinking spree. Yesterday another angmoh was charged for beating up an Asian local who subsequently died, and was sentenced to 18 months jail. Oh he also had to pay a hefty $32,000 as compensation to the dead man’s mother for medical expenses. $32,000 must be a very generous compensation for the low life here, and 18 months jail was meant to be a very serious and deterrence sentence for beating a local ending in death. Another silly angmoh cyclist violated traffic rules, taunted a local woman driver in the middle of the road, and nothing happened to him. Maybe someone went to beg him to be nice to the locals.
 
The price of justice or the cost of justice is pretty affordable in this Sin City. I may want to caution that this price is only applicable to angmohs. I am not sure if the price would be heavier for the locals, or for the citizens? And I could even expect the price to be extremely high if a local were to beat up an angmoh, and worse if it ends up with a dead angmoh. The compensation could be in the millions, taking into account the potential income of the angmoh over a life time.
 
This is after all an ex angmoh colony and the angmoh tua ki mentality is still prevalent among the ex subjects of the empire. It is in their blood, in their DNA. They would employ angmoh first even for local companies doing local businesses. If I were an angmoh, I would make this place my play ground, to make money, have fun beating up the locals and enjoying the hospitality of the local women who are more than willing to oblige. Many would literally flip over when they see an angmoh, the prize possession of a low thinking local woman.
 
You really cannot blame them when supposedly high thinking elite also flip when they see an angmoh. Angmoh is best, in everything. How could anyone accuse the daft locals of being xenophobic when they idolize and worship at the sight of angmohs?

My son earns $10,000 (一万)

Many years back while doing my ICT in Taiwan I had time to take the train and be amongst the Taiwanese along the Taipei Chiayi line. The Taiwanese spoke mainly minnan dialect or Hokien as we are used to. These two women were chatting away like our aunties in the market, one probably not literate and another looked better off. The illiterate, very like some of those we met at the wet market spoke in the usual loud pitch for all to hear.

‘My son ‘tan’ 一万 lah.’ (One million in Chinese numerals but ten thousand in our terms)

The other woman nodded her head politely. I was impressed, initially not knowing what currency she was referring to. After a few more exchanges I heard that the son was an odd job worker. My first impression took on a new reality. At that time the exchange rate was something like S$1 to TW$15. A $10,000 pm is hardly anything, an equivalent of a few hundred Sing$.

Today, if one is watching the HongKong TV serial, often the pay are in HK$20k or HK$30k, and sounding quite astronomical for an office worker. After conversion there are like S$4k to $5K. Still very good but less startling.

Today in Sin City, many aunties are loudly announcing that their children are university graduates in pride. Many of the older aunties were at best O level, with many lesser or unschooled. During their time, a graduate was a very prestigious thing as there were very few around. Today around you a train cabin, likely 2 out of 3 are graduates, including the white collar foreigners.

What has happened is that inflation has caught up not only in the incomes of the people but in educational level. And a $10k income today is not much better than a $1k income in the 60s/70s. A graduate today is no better than an O level graduate in that era in terms of job opportunities and potential income.

Also in grades, today, straight As are the norm and you would need more to be above the average. Today, Crescent and Fairfield are the top schools. But in those days there were the average schools. Or are they really the top schools today when many of the top schools are not spoken of in the sense that they don’t participate in the O level exam? And many PSLE school leavers could not even apply to these unmentionable top schools as they have pre selected their intakes through the through train schemes. Please do not apply. If you are good we will contact you.

In housing, every average worker could aspire to own a 5 room flat or better in the 70s/80s. Today such flats are unattainable to many, even graduates as their first property. In those days, many office workers could buy a second hand car after one year of working. Any young police or army officer could buy a brand new small capacity car after a couple of years of working. Today most of them can forget about such luxuries. Take public transport is the norm.

Have we progressed? Are our lives getting better, from living in bigger homes to smaller homes, from car ownership to taking public transport? From just an O level and bringing up a family quite comfortably to a university graduate and still struggling to make ends meet.

Shall we celebrate that we have arrived in the first world with Swiss standard of living? Is the quality of life getting better?

Print media’s doom exaggerated

This is what Patrick Daniel said in his article in the ST a few days’ back. I must say I agree with his assessment but for different reasons. Digital and social media have carved out a big chunk of the pie and readership from print media and this is a fact. The younger generations are more comfortable with digital media and will keep fleeing the ground with a balance that will tip in favour of digital media in the long run.
 
On the other hand, print media has its own turf that is cut out for it. In fact both have their own audience and it is only a matter of who gets a bigger slice of the pie. The development of the two media is diverging into one that is reporting on facts and events, thanks to the political leadership, and another into more opinionated discourses and very interactive in nature. Digital and social media are going to be very personal, very emotional and with a very high rate of participation by the readers. It is a two way affair while print media is just reporting. The readers just read what the reporters reported. The reporting role is still necessary for the full time reporters to go around gathering news to report on and being paid for it.
 
The ST and its stable of lesser news media are doing well. According to Patrick Daniel, it is all about a commanding brand. I wonder if the brand would still be that commanding when other brands are allowed to print and sell their news. Why are there no neutral or alternative brands? Search me? In a monopolistic environment, it is elementary to gain the biggest share if not all the share of the readership and can crow about it. Where are the competitors? What would be the fate of the ST media if there are competitors? Would ST be doomed?
 
The print media’s shelf life has been extended. It will continue to exist for a longer time. This is a truism as digital and social media have their own limitations. When the latter becomes full fledge media with their own professional reporters, the balance would be tipped further to favour digital media. For the time being, the ST stable of news media shall rule the waves as the only media available. Just like the other monopolistic services, not making money and maintaining the market share is simply idiotic.

The silly Spaniards still think they are an empire

A Spanish court had heard complaints by a Tibetan group of alleged genocide by the Chinese soldiers in Tibet and even issued a court’s order to arrest Chinese leaders like Jiang Zemin and Li Peng. China has issued a strong protest and called the act despicable.
 
Actually China should simply issue an order for the arrest of the judge who presided in this farcical and mischievous court case and all the court officials involved for terrorism and for slandering the Chinese leaders. Who did they think they are to go around arresting other country’s leaders? There is no need to protest against the silly Spaniards. Just make sure that those involved do not set foot in Hongkong or Chinese soils. Put up an arrest on sight warrant with ‘wanted’ posters for the judge or judges and court officials.
 
China could impose a trade sanctions against Spain until the Spanish govt makes an apology for the silly act.
 
China can also remind the Spanish of their genocides in Latin America and the Philippines, not forgetting the Spanish Inquisition. They killed tens of millions of South Americans in the name of the God when they invaded these countries. The British did the same to the North American natives and more than a hundred millions were brutally shot in cold blood. How to exterminate a continent of people? Ask the British and the Spanish, they did it.
 
Who committed genocides?

NYT’s harsh criticism of the Philippine military

There is a scathing attack of the Philippine military by the New York Times today. Basically it said that the Philippine military is outdated and lost, no equipment and no leadership, and doing so little in the aftermath of the Haiyan disaster. While the eastern islands of the country was devastated, the Philippine military were waiting for things to happen, waiting for equipment, waiting for orders that never came because their useless mobile phones didn’t work.
 
On the other hand the Americans were running the whole rescue operations with their latest military equipment, warships and airplanes doing the donkey work. The best the Philippine military could do was sentry duties to guard against looting. Let me quote, ‘The destructive fury of Typhoon Haiyan quickly laid bare the limitations of the Philippine govt’s disaster preparation and relief capabilities,…it is also focusing an unflattering spotlight on the nation’s military – an overstretched, poorly funded force that has been criticized for its late arrival to the disaster zone….even when several thousand soldiers were finally able to fan out across the devastated islands…their work was, and continues to be, hampered by a lack of provisions including food, heavy equipment and communications technology needed when cellphone service is down.’
 
My view is that the criticism is overly harsh as the Philippine military was not designed and equipped for disaster relief work. You should see how efficient they were in chasing foreign fishing boats in the South China Seas. They have so many ammunitions to fire at the unarmed fishing boats and even killing its captain. They even have a new warship with courtesy from the Americans. And they are ever ready to take on China head on should a war erupt. NYT should not under estimate the military prowess of the Philippine military.
 
The govt has also budgeted $2.15b to buy more war equipment to modernize its military. Only hitch is that the equipment is still on the way. Once the equipment arrives, it will be a military force to be reckoned with. It is unfair to expect them to be good at disaster work. NYT is expecting too much.
 
Singapore just spent $4.3b on a 5km road tunnel. This is exactly double the amount the Philippines are spending to modernize its military. For a small military set up like Singapore, this sum of money could double modernize the Singapore military surely. We may even have a new military force if $2.15b can modernize a huge military like the Philippines to take on China.

New Master Plan for 500,000 new homes

This new Master Plan is called a draft Master Plan. Well, it is the new Master Plan for the next 10 to 15 years, or between 2023 to 2028. Would it make any difference if it is a draft or not a draft plan? At 4 persons per new homes, this plan can comfortably accommodate another 2 million residents.
 
The PWP of 6.9m is for year 2030 and for an increase in population from 5.3m, or an increase of 1.6m in 17 years time. So the two plans seem to be complementary to each other. Some may want to quibble why 7.4m (5.4m +2m) in 2028 and not 6.9m in 2030? Let’s not split hair (or split cables) over such a small discrepancy.
 
Many Sinkies must be salivating at this prospect, looking forward to such great places to live and play. And being public housing, they will definitely be sold at a discount from market prices, or with a generous dose of subsidies. The future is surely looking so rosy. Boon Wan is planning well ahead.
 
Let me make a guesstimate of the prices of HDB flats in Holland V in year 2023. If the price is going to double in ten years, each unit of a 4rm flat should easily be around $1.2m at least, conservatively. But not to worry, the income of Sinkies should also be double or triple by then, so these flats would definitely be affordable, or the govt will make them affordable.
 
I can only dream, for by then I dunno where would I be. The fortunate young Sinkies would be the future proud owners of these dream homes and living a great life, gracious living among 7m people.