2 room flats - when reality sets in

"This is part and parcel of what we've been doing, to expand the range of options for Singaporeans from all walks of life to enjoy the privileges and pleasures of living in a HDB environment, to own their homes and have a stake in Singapore." Mah Bow Tan Singaporeans from all walks of life, from the very rich to the very poor, will now have the opportunity to enjoy the privileges and pleasures of living in a HDB environment. So I would presume that there is no family income to exclude those with higher incomes to buy 2 room flats. Otherwise how could the rich Singaporeans qualify to buy 2 room HDB flats? And I didn't know that it is so pleasurable to living in a HDB environment. And it is also a privilege! Singaporeans are so lucky. They better quickly sell off their private and landed properties to enjoy such pleasures which they have missed. And these 2 room flats are made affordable for Singaporean, meaning that many cannot afford them if there is no subsidies. What is the reality of all these? Are the bottoms falling off and Singaporeans no longer able to afford 3 rooms or bigger HDB flats? OK let me qualify this statement before it becomes brown soup. When talking about HDB flats, I am referring to the heartlanders/hardlanders. Not the successful and super rich in their private and landed properties. So are the heartlanders now becoming hardlanders? Are their lives improving, are they better off today than yesterday? Is downgrading into 2 room flats a lifestyle choice, a privilege for people to enjoy the pleasures of HDB living. What is real? When the stake of a Singaporean is a 2 room flat, is there really anything worth defending or fighting for?

use a bully to fight a bully

Irfan Husain, a columnist for Dawn, an English language newspaper in Pakistan, has an article published in the Today paper titled, 'Insecurities of the Local Bully.' The gist of his article is about a big bully, Israel, bullying its weak and helpless Arab neighbours. It is such an irony that this big bully was once weak and helpless under the Nazis in Europe. They were meekly marched into concentration camps and gas to death without much resistance. The Arabs actually show more resistance to this bully than when the bully was bullied by the Nazis. It is all a game of power. In the face of a stronger bully, the weak will surrender meekly. The nemesis of the Israelis must be the Nazis. Maybe the Arabs should work closely with the Nazis, get their help, to fight the Israelis. The Nazis sure know how to frighten and intimidate the Jews. And when come face to face with the Nazis, the Jews will have no answer. You need a bully to handle a bully.

time to learn from malaysia

Who says Malaysia has nothing to teach us? Slowly but surely we are starting to copy the good ideas coming from across the causeway. The first hint of such a mental shift is to build the underground road network in the city and allow the developers to collect tolls. Collecting tolls is the masterpiece of Malaysian infrastructure development. It is their trademark. Now we are going to fly our national flags in taxis, buses and private cars. The Malaysians have been doing this for donkey years. Now Singapore is catching up with the idea. What else that we can learn from our neighbours? Would we be considering building a half bridge too? Good for toll business. Or are we going for more Guinness Book of Records? The Malaysians have beaten us to that in the number of records they have created, the largest national flag, the largest ketupat, the biggest kettle, the largest drum orchestra, etc. We can have the longest queue in Orchard Road, the longest popiah, the longest sarong....the most artificially created icons, the merlions...

myth 46

'Know who is more important than know how' In a society that prides itself as prim and proper, without any cronyism, and the best man wins based on his own merit, it is quite surprising to here such a myth being spread in the kopitiams. Often you can hear people whispering that the guy who is rising rapidly in the corporate ladder has very little know how but plenty of know who. Isn't this familiar? Of course this is a myth. Everyone attains their position of authority and power definitely not just because of know who. Knowing who is important, but not that important. Being the who's who is the thing. When one is the who's who, there is no need for knowing who. But this is not something that is peculiar to any country. It is common to all countries and all cultures. Being a son in law is good enough to aspire to be the youngest CEO or the next Prime Minister. Being the son, like Richard Li, will be given billions of dollars to play monopoly. Real stuff! So, what's so great about know who? The next time when someone whispers about knowing who, point to the who's who.

MPS - meet and punch session!

This taxi driver is just too much. How could he turn a Meet the People Session into a Meet and Punch Session. No matter what, should charge him for assaulting a public servant. It is not joke being a MP and be beaten up by a resident. I hope the MP is covered by some insurance for such occupational risks.