I got this good news

Heard over the news that our taxi problem is more or less resolved. Taxi passengers are happier as the waiting time has been halved. And taxi drivers' income is also better than before. Now we have happy passengers, happy drivers and happy taxi operators.

Can we afford 6.5m?

In many respects we can. But in the area of transportation, I doubt we can keep pushing further. Under the present 4.5m, we are greatly stressed. We are at the verge of erecting ERPs at every junction. What if we have 6.5m? Cannot imagine the congestion. Now our car population is about 500,000. Add another 2m people, we can expect another 200,000 cars on the road. Then what? Build another network of roads? The expressways, if we double it, may still look ok. It is the smaller roads that will choke up and get blocked out. There is no way one can drive out of the car park with 700,000 cars unless we are going to pay through our nose to get the car moving. We have MRT! Even now, if we add another 10% to the commuters, the MRT will be struggling. Forget about buses on the roads. 6.5m! Still pushing it?

Passing of an era

The golden years are slipping away. We are seeing the passing of the last leader of an era. LKY had just given a lecture in Saudi Arabia to share his wisdom, and for the intelligentsia to tap his knowledge. He is the last leader who thrives in adversity and transformed this island to a city state of distinction. Sadly, we are not seeing another man to fit that role. We have many leaders but none come close. None will be invited by an international audience to share his intellect. None has achieved the stature and distinction that LKY has achieved. He was and still is the leader of this city state. Our administrator type of leaders are good and excellent civil servants, making outstanding employees. Probably a product of a system that hinders the production of leaders. Men, no matter how able, who wait to be called, are not leaders. Leaders, especially of a nation, must stand out and lead on his own. We don't have that kind of leadership for the last 20 years. The golden years will still glow and glitter for a few more years before they fade away. Unless we have another shining leader to assume the kind of leadership to lead the people, not administer the people the way we are doing. Not telling the people, and not compelling the people by legislation to get going.

No Petrol Day

Got the below article from an email. Hi folks,.......... Lets give it a try! Lets fight the high cost of PETROL. Lets HELP OURSELVES against the PETROL COMPANIES!! If we all cooperate, it should give a SHOCK to the petrol industry! Lets give it a try. Got NOTHING to lose !!! See message below>>>>>> IT HAS BEEN CALCULATED THAT IF EVERYONE DID NOT PURCHASE A DROP OF PETROL FOR ONE DAY AND ALL AT THE SAME TIME, THE OIL COMPANIES WOULD CHOKE ON THEIR STOCKPILES. AT THE SAME TIME IT WOULD HIT THE ENTIRE INDUSTRY WITH A NET LOSS OVER 4.6 BILLION DOLLARS WHICH AFFECTS THE BOTTOM LINES OF THE OIL COMPANIES. THEREFORE '24th JANUARY ' HAS BEEN FORMALLY DECLARED 'STICK IT UP THEIR BEHIND 'DAY AND THE PEOPLE OF THIS NATION SHOULD NOT BUY A SINGLE DROP OF PETROL THAT DAY. THE ONLY WAY THIS CAN BE DONE IS IF YOU FORWARD THIS E-MAIL TO AS MANY PEOPLE AS YOU CAN AND AS QUICKLY AS YOU CAN TO GET THE WORD OUT. WAITING ON THE GOVERNMENT TO STEP IN AND CONTROL THE PRICES IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. WHAT HAPPENED TO THE REDUCTION AND CONTROL IN PRICES THAT THE ARAB NATIONS PROMISED TWO WEEKS AGO? REMEMBER ONE THING, NOT ONLY IS THE PRICE OF PETROL GOING UP BUT AT THE SAME TIME AIRLINES ARE FORCED TO RAISE THEIR PRICES, TRUCKING COMPANIES ARE FORCED TO RAISE THEIR PRICES WHICH AFFECTS PRICES ON EVERYTHING THAT IS SHIPPED. THINGS LIKE FOOD, CLOTHING, BUILDING SUPPLIES MEDICAL SUPPLIES ETC. WHO PAYS IN THE END? WE DO! WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE. IF THEY DON'T GET THE MESSAGE AFTER ONE DAY, WE WILL DO IT AGAIN AND AGAIN. SO DO YOUR PART AND SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD THIS EMAIL TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW. MARK YOUR CALENDARS AND MAKE 24 JANUARY A DAY THAT THE CITIZENS SAY 'ENOUGH IS ENOUGH'. We forward so many junk email to many of our friends, now let us do it for some useful cause to cut down the price of the petrol........ REMEMBER: JANUARY 24, 2008.... NO Petrol Day...!

$290 definitely enough

The ministry is reviewing the need to revise the $290 for the Public Assistance Scheme and understandably it will take time, maybe a year, as it is tax payers money that is being given out, and got to be very careful in spending such money. In the meantime let me make a guesstimate on how much would such folks need to get by. Say $2 for breakfast, $3 for lunch and dinner. That's $8 a day or $240 pm. Another $50 for rental and PUB bills. Just nice. And at year end give them a little angpow of $50 to buy a few pieces of new clothing. That should do. For such a sum, the frugal and thrifty may even have some savings if they rely on instant noodles, add an egg, a few pieces of vegetables or tauhu or ikan bilis. Great and healthy meal and got money to spare too. If Boon Wan would to review the sum, I think he will err on the side of generosity and may round it up to $300. That will be nice. As for me, I must also plan for my retirement. I am looking for a job that will pay me $5k pm on retirement when I do practically nothing. That will be very nice. And if I spend $8 a day on food, I will have plenty of money to live like a king on weekends in Batam. Wow, getting $5k pm on retirement and doing sweet nothing. Anyone got such a lobang please let me know.