Caregivers getting notice in Parliament

The issue of caregivers getting some recognisation was discussed in Parliament. Boon Heng would need more time to study the implications before deciding on how to deal with them. Caregivers now only refer to those looking after the sick and aged. What about the young? There are many obvious cases of working couples with young children that need someone to look after. At the same time all the housewives are encouraged to rejoin the industry. The logical choice is to hire a maid. A better and more reliable choice is to get the grandmas, grandpas, sisters or brothers to look after the children. It is more pro family values to depend on relatives than to hire a maid. No doubt this role of mending the young is part and parcel of family life, the alternatives are there for the caregivers of the young to seek a more rewarding jobs than to stay at home. In this materialistic world, the more we need to look at those who choose to stay at home to look after the young and their love ones. This is not an issue for the minister looking after the aged. He has his hands full. Maybe another minister can take a look at it.

Mas Selamat Kastari can survive for a long time

Survival experts claimed that Mas Selamat could survive a long time in our forest reserves on fruits and small animals. That's not very comforting. It is almost one week. Think he might find the wild fruits and wildlife taste pretty jerlat by now. A pot of hot lemak curry and fried chicken might be heavenly to him. It might be a good idea to place a nice food spread on the fringe of the forest. Anyone know what is his favourite food? Easier than searching for him in the thick forests. : ) I got this funny feeling that while the commotion is all in the nature reserves and parks, he could be watching television somewhere in the comfort of civilisation.

Never mind rising rentals...

Singapore voted best city to live in for expats inspite of complains by locals of rising costs and housing. Looks like the increasing cost is not a problem to the foreign talents. Time to raise rentals higher as the foreigners don't mind. I think the foreign students also won't mind. After all Singapore is still cheaper than other western countries and these students are probably quite rich. And for those who aren't, they are probably recipients of scholarships. High prices good. High rentals must also be good. They are paying for quality.

Returning some petrol tax dollars to consumers

If I am not mistaken the petrol tax is based on a fixed percentage of the petrol price. The price has gone up from around $1.80 or less to above $2.00 on average recently. This means that petrol tax collected will proportionally increase by about 10%. Would be nice if the tax can be adjusted downwards just a little to keep petrol price from running away. Transportation cost for all goods and services will go up accordingly if petrol price is allowed to go up unchecked. The repercussion is very pervasive. I already hear people saying 'Fat Hope' that petrol tax will be reduced. Don't ever dream of it. High petrol price is due to external factors beyond our control.

Hong Lim Speakers Corner

There were new calls to revive and promote the Speakers Corner. It is obvious that the corner is dying like the bubble tea shops. It was a flash in the pan excitement. So some people are trying to make this corner a lively place for talking cock again. I believe that the Speakers Corner should be left as it is, as the Symbol of Free Speech that is uniquely Singapore. A speaker's stand should be erected in the park, like the one Stamford Raffles is standing on. And on the stand should be inscribed the history of free speech in Singapore. It can start something like this. Long long ago, freedom of speech was very important in Singapore. And the govt contributed this park for the citizens to express themselves freely. This speaker's stand was also erected to allow the speakers to stand above the crowd to speak. Long queue of speakers took turns to speak to a park packed with spirited Singaporeans. Over the years the people got richer and more contented with their lives and found speaking in the Speakers Corner a waste of time. Slowly they abandoned the park. They have more important things to do, like making more money, than wasting time here. Today, the Speakers Corner is a monument and symbol of the history of freedom of speech given to the people. At the bottom it may include a postscript saying Singaporeans choose to stay at home as transportation cost is too high to get to the Speakers Corner. And on the reverse side of the speaker's stand the whole procedure on application for a permit to speak in the Speakers Corner can also be inscribed. This will make it easy for anyone to know how to go about applying for a permit. The place can then be promoted as a tourist attraction.