Open your hearts to foreigners

This statement alone is flawed and misleading. It is a misconception that Singaporeans are hostile to foreigners. Nay, all foreigners are welcomed here. There may be a few personal and individual incidents of unhappiness or irritations, but on the whole we do not exhibit xenophobic behaviour to our guests. Most fit in very well. Some even go around beating up Singaporeans and insulting them for being stupid. And the Singaporeans take in with a big smile. Some even offer the other cheek. Last year alone we have 63,600 PRs and 17,300 new citizens, nearly 81,000. Our birth rate probably produces 35,000 to 40,000 newborns. With such a huge influx into a small pool of 3 million citizens annually, and to get away with it is a near miracle. But how long can it last? How long can relations and peaceful co existence be maintained? How long can the economy continue to grow to absorb all the people? Shall we stop at 5.5m or 6.5m or 10m? Whatever number, the number game must come to a stop. I still find it very dangerous to think that our lifestyle and environment will not be affected if we keep on stuffing more people here. We will soon be like goldfishes gulping for air on the surface of an aquariam. We should stop this foolish thought that we can go on and on with the help of creativity and technology. Just the roads and transportation will kill us. We are entering a stage when people will not leave their little flats as it is very costly. Driving a car to town, petrol, parking and ERPs will easily add up to $30 or $50. For those taking trains and MRT, a return trip is $3 to $5. Hey, these are money that not everyone can spare. And all the little frills of green lungs and space for a little escape from the rat race will be gone. We may have no place to train our NS men or camps for them to stay. Yes we can keep building higher and higher. We can build more and more roads and MRTs. For what? For who? For what kind of life and what quality of life? At what cost?

What happy mistake?

Whoever thought that the $6.4b surplus was a mistake was being too presumptious. How could it be when all the detailed planning and calculations were churned in the computers and simulators for so many rounds? And the ending of the budget debate was as predictable as the sun will rise from the east. OK everyone had been given a chance to kpkb, and all the criticisms were flawed. Period. I was also presumptious to think that some measures that I thought had gone overboard would be reined back. Alas, I was as wrong as everyone who were calling it a happy mistake. It was an outcome that was likely to be well conceived and expected.

More Parliament gems

Judy Mitchell must be told the brutal truth. If cannot afford to stay in 5 rm, downgrade lah. Go for 4 rm, 3rm or even rental flats. Live within your means and affordability. Simple. Now who is going to tell her that? Who is good at telling brutal truth? I am only good at talking about compassion, kindness, help the needy etc etc. But these are only rhetorics in cyberspace. Just talk cock only. Can't do anything for them. What, I don't have that kind of money, and that's the truth. And Lily Neo is fighting for the lower income group again. She is appealing for more help for them. She said we can't keep telling these untalented people to keep running faster. We need to train them and help them to upgrade. That's true. If they can, they would not need help anymore. But what do they expect, to become managers, CEOs or Ministers? Just kidding.

MPs scoring own goals

Unbelieveable, but the MPs are doing just that, questioning policies and happy mistakes in Parliament. At the rate it is going, we don't really need an opposition. They are definitely doing a better job than the opposition, or is there an opposition? Inderjit Singh looks more like the leader of the opposition bench. If they continue to do such a fine job, next GE everyone may be voting just for PAP. Now when will the Whip crack? When will someone stand up and say don't score your own goals? Actually it will be interesting for all the govt MPs to say aye and shut up and see what the opposition will say. It is likely that Parliament will be over in two hours. And everyone can go back to work and make more money. Don't have to waste time saying the obvious. But the obvious have to be spoken for two reasons. If they are raised and forgotten, like the housewives, then people will say, see, I don't hear any objections any more. The people are all happy and support the policies. After a few days everything will be forgotten. I also forgot who spoke for the housewives vehemently in the last Parliament session. Now everyone will not want to know about the housewives anymore. Correction, Amy Khor did mentioned about them again. Anyone else? Issues must be repeatedly raised and spoken to keep them alive or else face the fate of becoming non issues and passe. The second reason is that though they are obvious to many, to the decision makers, they may not be that obvious. Or they would not agree to the policies and decisions and schemes. That's how happy mistakes are made and why MPs got so many goals to score. And then there is the group that will say everything is affordable. I am going to stick up a column to quote the comments whenever someone said something is affordable from now on. That will be good for posterity. Then we can start counting the affordables and aggregate them up.

When bonuses are tied to profits

Where would these lead to? Essential services, transport companies, hospitals, schools and universities, etc, when the bonuses of their top executives, including staff, are tied to profits made, what would be the organisations' objectives and policies? Would the fees or prices of their goods and services ever come down? Coming down means lesser or no bonuses. So what? Profit for profit sake without looking at other intangibles or objectives can be very destructive. Just like managing a country for economic and monetary rewards and ignoring other values or the people's general well being, can lead to one certainty.