the poor lower middle income class!

There was this guy who is earning $2000 a month and seeking help from the community. He could not go on with this income. And his problem is compounded by the fact that he lives in a 5 room HDB flat. Compare this with a foreign talent who earns the same amount. The FT is going to pray to god to bless the Singapore Govt for the chance to be here to work. For the $2000 means he could probably save $1200 every month and by the time he decides to go home, he is going to be a very rich man in his village. Any FT reading this, please do not take it as an attack against FT. This is just a comparison to show how relative is the worth of money and cost of living. The $2000 Singaporean, although still branded as lower middle income, is a POOR man. A man who needs financial assistance. And for those who says he must cut down his other expenses like eating one bowl of rice lesser and drink one cup of coffee less, I find such comments very cruel and unbecoming. The cost of living here is high, disproportionate to the income of the people. So, ask him to sell his 5 room flat? Another arrogant and thoughtless comment of Singaporeans who thinks their own good fortune will last forever. Only thick headed Singaporeans would tell someone in such a plight to sell his 5 room flat. For the flat was bought by CPF contributions and he would not see much of it after selling as most of the money would still be retained by the CPF. We can keep on boasting about our people, lower middle income class as if they were really lower middle class. They are living near the poverty line if one takes away all the fixed overheads that they cannot runaway from. eg CPF, consevancy fee, PUB, telecom, TV, public transport, basic meals, GST, school fees, medical, pocket money for children, the little contributions to social functions like a wedding, death etc. How much is left? How much is there to squeeze further? And all the fees are still going to go up as sure as the sun will rise. Welcome to the good life of a lower middle class Singaporean.

Can we forgive Mr Brown?

I am not sure if Mr Brown is still in Singapore. Or is he thinking of emigrating and be a quitter? Might as well. He must be feeling a lot of pressure now. Poor chap. How can he attempt to undermine national strategy? That is serious stuff. Maybe he should apologise and come clean and see if he can be rehabilitated. In communist terminology it is called self confession. Who knows, he might get his job back and may even be promoted after that. The return of the prodigal son! We are a forgiving people. Sunday is good day for confession and forgiving. Yes, shall we give him a second chance?

after the crooked bridge, what's next?

Malaysia plans to build RM490 million sports academy

Located on the outskirts of London, the extravagant project is raising eyebrows By Leslie Lopez The Straits Times Malaysia’s plan to build a half-billion-ringgit sports academy on the outskirts of London has drawn flak from some quarters who say this is an extravagance the country cannot afford. Government officials say that the Sports Ministry is quietly pushing ahead with an ambitious project to build a sports excellence academy at the cost of roughly 490 million ringgit on a 17.8ha piece of prime real estate owned by a Malaysian research agency in Hertfordshire. Proponents of the plan say the new academy will help Malaysian athletes excel internationally, develop the country's capabilities in sports science and medicine and improve the standard of coaching. Should Singapore up the stake and build a bigger one in the USA or Australia? Then we can make our footballers world class and aim for the world cup...Our impossible dream...may just come true.

myth 40

'Singapore is a dictatorial or totalitarian state' This is a label that many have branded Singapore and have even thrown many wild accusations at the political leadership. How can Singapore be associated with a dictatorship or a totalitarian communist regime? Any Singaporean would be able to tell easily what an elected representative govt is as compared to a dictatorship or communist regime. We are a freely elected democracy modelled against the British system. What stands out glaringly in a dictatorship or a totalitarian state is the use or abuse of power. Power in such states is absolute and resided mainly in the dictator or in a small group of men at the top. And the use of power is without shame, embarrassment or qualms. Power was used often in its naked form. People were pulled up and put away, unheard off, forgotten and disappeared. No excuses needed, no reasons given. In communist or totalitarian states, sometimes they did try to give some resemblance of a people's govt. And people to be put away often were labelled as reactionaries, revisionists or committing crimes against the state or doing things that undermine national interests. These are the clear cut dictatorial or totalitarian regimes. Then there are the mixed regimes or disguised regimes like the Marcos and the Suhartos. The military junta in Myanmar is simply what it is, no need for any pretension. The Phillippines under Marcos was a dictatorship called democracy. The Indonesia under Suharto was also a dictatorship under the cover of guided democracy. How can Singapore be a dictatorship or a totalitarian state when the govt are honest, sincere and respectable people of high integrity? If one considers the kind of polities under Marcos and Suharto, we must feel very bless with what we have here. Totally no abuse of power, and the citizens are free to live their lives and get rich, and feeling very safe. And we have been such a great model of a successful democracy that many countries are modelling themselves after Singapore. The best example is China. The Chinese system though communist, is actually communist in name. It is very pragmatic, very Singapore like. The rate that China is copying and imitating Singapore, soon it will be accused of becoming a democratic country, Singapore model. Oh, Communism in China now is a myth.

Singapore Flyer and Sky Park

http://aserialnumberonmyvote.blogspot.com/2006/05/grounding-singaporeflyer.html Grounding the SingaporeFlyer When the concept of the Singapore Flyer was first announced, I wondered what sort of attraction one could see 160metres high above Marina Bay. Look south, and all we will see are various oceangoing-ships at anchor. We look east, and we just might be able to see planes leaving Changi Airport. Look West, and we'll see signs of Singapore's economic muscle in the container business, and the huge CO2 emitter that is our Petro-chemical plant called Jurong Island. Look north, and we'll get a nice view of the Skyscrapers, and possibly a view into the heart of Singapore. Apparently, according to a Wikipedia entry, a 'flight' on the Singapore flyer is expected to cost around S$27.50.The London Eye, on the other hand, cost me £13 (S$40) back in 2003. What the flight gave one the opportunity to see was London, and all 800 years of its development into the capital of the United Kingdom. In a sense, it was boring - all around, you could see were lots of typical english housing roofs, stretching for as far as the eye can see, a testament to London's long history of civilization.It was fun to see the various railway lines snaking into the huge train stations, and watching trains come and go. And to look at the various statements of each generation, in examples such as London's Gherkin, and the Millennium Dome. The flight was over too quickly, and I longed to watch the trains go all day from literally a 'bird's eye view' of London.Insulted by many, and initially only given a 5 year planning approval, The LondonEye is now one of London's top attractions, and if you want a overview of London, a trip up the London Eye has no substitute. (except a Helicopter flight over London maybe.)Unfortunately, for Singapore, our inability to really create complementary planning has enabled us to score an own goal for the SingaporeFlyer even before it boards its first passenger. That is the Marina Bay Sands. With the Singapore Government accepting the Las Vegas Sands bid, it seems, a perfect substitute for the SingaporeFlyer has shown itself.The planning proposal indicates that "A 1-hectare Sky Park at 50th storey (above the three hotel towers ) offering panoramic views " is part of the offering from the Marina Bay Sands. Now, I could be wrong, and "Location, Location, Location" holds true that the real estate the Singapore flyer sits on will never be the same as the one Marina Bay Sands sits on, but looking at this particular picture, and imagining where the Singapore flyer will be, most economists and real estate professionals will be hard pressed to say that the experience offered by the SingaporeFlyer's has NO substitute.According to Yawningbread, he says that the Sky Park will be a 'public park', which means no entrance fees(?!). I cannot conclude that it will be a public park from either STB, and the LasVegasSands website fails to load (on both IE and Firefox) , so the question remains open, but I do doubt that it will cost S$27.50 to enter the Sky Park, unless the operators are perfect collusionists with the SingaporeFlyer firm.So, I guess, the most important questions for investors of the SingaporeFlyer now are: When will I ever recoup my multimillion Singapore Dollar investment? Is s$27.50 still viable given the presence of a near perfect substitute less than 1 kilometre away, and possibly with free entry? Why didn't I put in my contracts a no-compete that Singapore was not allowed to approve any development that could create a near-perfect substitute for the x-years? Is there any way of getting compensation for the loss of revenue a-la when Singtel was "forced" to give up its "telecommunications" monopoly early? Arrrrrgh!!!!!!! [Oh, the fun of being an STB bureaucrat dealing with the SingaporeFlyer people ;-)]Way before the Marina Bay Sands was confirmed, back in 1999, I already felt that it would be difficult for people to want to take a trip up an oversized Ferris Wheel, when half of the view was just empty sea. Now, with a near-perfect substitute, I think the SingaporeFlyer will become a perfect business case study on business uncertainty and the failure of vision.Anyone with investments related to the SingaporeFlyer best be calling his broker now or consulting his online brokerage web site? Theodore Ong wants to share the above article here. I find it quite interesting and informative. The link also gives some beautiful pictures of the Singapore Flyer and the Sky Park on top of the Marina IR.