6/27/2007

The pathetic fight against 50c

Jeffrey Law Lee Beng stopped patronising the mee rebus stall because it charged him 50c more for a plate. This to him is profiteering from the GST rise. Didn't he know that all the cost to the mee rebus stall holder has gone up? To expect the stall to charge a 2% increase or 4c more is not only impractical but not enough to cover all the other costs. The stall holder is not only affected by the cost of his material but also cost of his livelihood. His rental, medical, children education, transportation, practically everything has gone up. He needs to earn a little more to make his living manageable. Now what is 50c? I am sure it is affordable. This is another way of looking at the current situation from one whose pocket is stuff with money.

6/26/2007

Infidelity or telling the brutal truth?

GST up, all prices up, everyone, or it seems like everyone is unhappy. Really? What is another $2 or $20 or $200? Rubbish, too insignificant to be bothered by such trifles. The truth, yes, the truth is that many Singaporeans are so rich beyond the imaginations of the hardlanders. Life is a bit hard in the hardlands. But out of the hardlands, life is simply beautiful. Everyday is a day of opportunities to make more bucks. And not in the thousands but hundreds of thousands or millions. There are many Singaporeans who can splurge ten or twenty thousand for a night of entertainment. Or writing a cheque for a few millions without winking. That is the real truth. The pleasant truth of the good life. What is your station in life? Sometimes gripping about all the little increases is quite insane when you are in another station when a few millions is nothing, small change : )

The David Rasif case - a parallel

Lawyers for the victims of Rasif, Senior Counsel Harry Elias, 'accused the store of giving Rasif "dishonest assistance" and receiving money "rightfully belonging(to the Zages) under suspicious circumstances. Alarm bells should have sounded when they received the cheques from David Rasif and Partners - Client's Account. The store should verify the legitimacy of the cheques. Should alarm bells be sounded when Richard Yong sold his properties? Should those involved in the transactions raise the alarm?

From watchdog to watchtower

Or from watchdog to guard dog, to pet poodle? At a media conference held yesterday, a Bangladeshi journalist called for the media to take a different role, that of a watchdog to a watchtower. What a joke. He should be more realistic and pragmatic and take the advice of Patrick Daniel of SPH. Patrick said he made 'no apologies for being pro Singapore.' He said, 'We have grown and prospered along with the city state. We have willingly played a nation building role.' He added, 'We have a good sense of what's out of bound...but the fairways are wide enough for us to produce credible, quality newspapers. Freedom with responsibility does not mean we settle for third grade products.' So our media quality is at least better than third grade. It is either second grade or first grade. Must be first grade. And the Bangladeshi journalist has a lot to learn. For the facts cannot be denied. We are richer and more prosperous than Bangladesh. We are first world. An Indian delegate then questioned if Singapore's success should be attributed to its 'media restrictive regime.' Patrick Daniel did not answer directly but said, 'There are laws and I abide by the laws and I produce the newspaper.' I must congratulate Patrick Daniel for his insightful reply to the Indian delegate. And the call to be a watchtower dropped dead after that, I think.

Landed properties for foreigners

This is the suggestion of Goldman Sachs. And for good reasons. A lot of money can be made as the prices of landed properties are under valued compare to those of privated luxury flats. The seduction of money and instant wealth are very attractive. Many who are sitting on landed properties could instantly double their asset worth and cash out. What happens next? All the foreign funds will flow in to grab up all the landed properties. And soon a big chunk of Singapore's sacred asset will be in foreign hands. The foreigners can own Singapore by default. It is as good as selling off the island. What is the good of money when the land is gone? The Russians sold Alaska to the US. Where is the money now? Alaska is still there and appreciating in value. Where is the money that we received for Christmas Island? We will see whether there will be any fools that will say, good idea, let's sell out to the foreigners.