arm twisting singaporeans to part with their money

singaporeans are forced and harassed to cough out thousands of dollars to pay for things they did not want. stripped of their clothings, lying naked in a spa, they were made to part with their money to buy holiday plans or health products etc. it is so easy to make singaporeans part with their money. amazing, and above the law. report to the police after signing the documents? fat hope. it is a contractual agreement that is binding in a court of law. at best the victim can take out a civil suit against the offending party. what about signing under duress? then try to proof in court, and spend more money and time to do it. singaporeans are well protected by the rules of law in the country, and the legal system. there is no need to complain. just go through the due process of the law. singaporeans are so bless.

things are too cheap here!

CPF is charging $18 as admin fee to transfer your medisave money to pay for medical expenses! Is this reasonable? It all depends on how much is the cost of labour and other overheads. If rentals and overheads and salaries are high, then in order to operate at a profit, it has to charge accordingingly. Is it an issue of fairness? It again depends on how to compute the cost of admin fee. Nothing is for free. People must accept this mantra. Even keeping money in the bank, if too little, the bank will charge $2 a month to maintain your account. And this is cheap, in fact too cheap, to think of the high cost of operating a bank, expensive rentals, computers and well trained and highly educated staff. Actually the bank should charge something like $30 or $100 as admin fee as their overheads are very high. And out taxi fares are still very cheap compare to other major cities. We should comfortably double or triple the taxi fares to make it more befitting to other first world cities. And there will be more people, including professionals and graduates, rushing to become taxi drivers. Then we need not have to employ foreigners or will there be a shortage of taxi drivers.

how to make a fool of the world?

I just feel that the world is being conned everyday by the crooks in political offices. And with the hyped on terrorism, any office involved could simply jigged a covert terrorist plan or message and circulate it around as the real stuff and it would send everyone scurrying for safety. And what is safe? Look at the items that are being banned from air travel and the explanation given to them. Practically anything in one's possession can be used to smuggle in a part of an explosive device. So what else is new or cannot be a part of such concealed weapons? Today passenger can still board a plane when deprived of any belongings except his passport and a few dollars. Tommorrow, some jokers are going to reveal that explosive devices or mechanism can be hidden in the anus or in the mouth or in some parts of the human body. Then all passengers will have to be subject to some body digging before they are declared safe for travel. The world is getting safer with such checks and preventive measures.

foreigners driving our taxis

Is this a good idea? Singaporeans have this 'everything and everywhere and everyone is safe and friendly' attitude wherever they go. We have taken safety for granted especially in Singapore. I am just wondering whether it is really a good idea to have foreigners driving our taxis. The taxi, in the wrong hands, is like a little prison or contraption. Once inside, the passenger is at the mercy of the driver. I shiver at the thought of our young children and females, males included, hopping into a taxi and thinking that they will be in safe hands, to be driven home. What about being driven into some secluded spots to be robbed or raped?

Chok Tong's comment on the Lebanon crisis

It is good and timely that Chok Tong came out with a fair and balanced statement on the realities of the Middle East problem and not taking sides. For the moment, as long as both sides refuse to accept the present position and the existence of the other party, it will be an endless war. The only possibility for any solution is for them to change their present position. Is it possible? The alternative is not very desirable as it will mean the killings of each other every now and then. Any absolute solution? Possible, only if one party is able to destroy the other completely, or if Israel is relocated. Otherwise, what choice could they have? Let's hope both parties understand that we cannot do much to aid the conflict and not to exert pressure on us to make a stand for any side.