is there a problem?

i am not too sure about this. but what i have gathered so far is that a born singaporean can only exercise his right to become a citizen of another country only when he attains the age of 21. this means that all male singaporeans who intend to take up another citizenship will still be a defaulter if he does not serve his ns. he is thus liable to be charged in court when he steps into singapore even if he is now a foreign citizen. cannot even be a pr here until after he has been charged as a defaulter. 'sway' to be born a singaporean. if born from anywhere else, malaysia, india or china, or indonesia, can come here and work as pr and be treated as a foreign talent. there is no possibility for the govt to accede to a request to defer ns pending application for foreign citizenship at 21. so technically cannot escape.

nkf to review its mission - khaw boon wan

i am wondering what is nkf? is it a national hospital with responsibility to look after kidney patients and the problem of kidney diseases at the national level? or is it a charity set up to help kidney patients who cannot afford the expensive treatment? from the way boonwan talked about nkf's future roles and responsibilities, looks like nkf is a national hospital with national responsibilities. then it is better to privatise it and run efficiently as a profit organisation. no need donations from the public. if it is set up as a charity, then it must be able to reduce the cost of treatment for the patients. setting up all the clinics and running at a cost higher or almost as high as a profit making hospital does not justify its existence. it is better for nkf to concentrate on subsidising the medical cost of patients from donated money. return or sell the clinics to the govt or private hospitals to run them at lower cost and better efficiency. (hi anonymous, trying to locate your latest post on this but couldn't find it.)

no shame in being poor - speedwing

i fully agree with speedwing that there is no shame is being poor. often in life a person is dealt a poor hand and got to live with it and make the best out of it. for the religious, there are many reasons for life to be this way or that way. society has looked at poverty differently. and there is often the intent to want to help, but just enough for the poor to continue to eke out a living, to extend their life in misery. no poor people can expect society to feed them and cloth them and to live well. but the poor needs help and help will be given, on conditions. this brings to the issue of means testing. my personal view on this is that the poor is already poor. help them if one can. no need to humiliate them more by subjecting them to embarrassing questions. the argument that there will be those who aren't really poor but will take advantage of the help given is valid but not really that serious. this can be dealt with on a case by case basis. the people in authority somehow find it so easy and comfortable to ask for means testing. what is means testing? basically it demands a person to be stripped naked for another person or a group of people to see, to inspect his finances. i have seen some of the questions asked in the forms issued by charitable organisations. many were simply intrusive and out of line with the realities of life. but basically the questions intend to make sure that the person being checked is penniless, totally broke. how many are so desperate when earning $1,200 is now considered poor and needed help. and this is officially acknowledged. many financial checks are way behind time. but that is not the point. the person who thinks that it is acceptable to subject another human beings to this kind of humiliating checks must be prepared to put himself through the same process. many people have asked that the people in authority declare their assets. but it all falls silence. who in his right mind would allow people to peep into their finances and personal matters? if this is objectionable to the rich, then it is objectionable to the poor too. both deserve some respect as a human being. many poor would rather suffer in silence and in poverty that than to lose their pride. the recent case of the 3 children who missed school is only a drop in the ocean. yes, those who have may say, if you are poor, when your stomach is empty, when you needed help, what is pride? should society be so harsh and passionless to treat a person in dire straits in a callous and insensitive way?

your baby pays tax

not only your baby pays tax. your grandpa and grandma pay tax. your school going children pay tax. your unborn baby also pays tax. gst is non discriminatory. anyone who consumes goods and services pay gst. the unemployed are not exempted. the old and bed riddened are also not spare. all pay gst. that is why i called for discrimination in gst. there must be discrimination so that those who should not be paying tax should not be taxed. whether this be in the form of direct exemption or indirect refund or some systems, let the administrators go and think about it. otherwise, no one is free from tax. the young and the old, working or not working, all pays tax. is this what we want? this is uniquely singapore.

ezlink card: super efficiency or profit crazy

for all the students who have just completed their 'o' level exam and are waiting for their results, some may have proceeded to jcs immediately, and some may still be waiting for entry to polys. many are still holding on to their student ezlink cards. what has happened is that the cards have been reprogrammed to charge them non student concession rate without any announcement. and for those students who have gained admission to jcs, they will be happily paying adult rate if they did not check their cards. and if they do, they would likely have to get the jcs to verify their student status and get mrt to revert them to student rates. any refund? this is efficiency in singapore that is not only ugly but frightening. can't the authorities be graceful enough to let the children use the c0ncession cards for a couple of months till after the 'o' level result is out? why the eagerness to earn those extra few cents from school children? well, are they working for their own bonuses or what? so, are privatisation and profitability turning humans into mindless greedy robots? shall we pray to this new god called privatisation? are we becoming a passionless society where everyone thinks of nothing but money?