It's happened, what to do?

This is about what sum up the proceedings on tackling rising cost of living. Lim Hng Kiang said, "we 'cannot completely insulate ourselves' from the global price hikes." The govt is looking at other measures, no cutting of GST or petrol taxes or that sort of things. Anyway our petrol tax is 'modest,' only 44c a litre. And the govt's policy is to maintain price stability etc. Have prices been stable? Many have reached a point when every cent counts, when every little increases are no longer affordable. Can understand this or not? Oh, the high inflation rate will cool off later in the year. It is only temporary. Really, are we expecting the prices to go back to where they were before after the cooling off period? Obviously not and they will stay at current level. So how would temporary once off handouts going to help in the long term? And workers are not going to expect pay rise or substantial pay rise to offset the high inflation cost. The solution, please tighten your belt.

Get rid of baju kurung!

A heated debate is on in Malaysia to get rid of the baju kurung which the Malay students have been wearing since time immemorial. It is a traditional Malay dress and there is nothing indecent or disgraceful about it. What the advocates dislike about the dress is that it is too sexy and will be the reason for rape. How silly can they be. A pretty face is also a reason for rape. Hide the face? Ok, Ok, bring in the burqa. Malaysian students should henceforth be banned from wearing traditional Malay baju kurung and opt for Arabic burqa. Soon they will all be more Arabic than Malays.

Crazy people and their crazy ideas

Singaporeans who have the privilege of living to the ripe old age of 70 and above should be preparing themselves to depart from this physical world. Only those who have a lot of unspent money should think of how to spend those money, and one prerequisite is to keep themselves alive at all cost. And for Singaporeans who think they are lucky to live till 80 and above, enjoy everyday they can. Don't ever think of wasting your money by putting them into any form of life or medical insurance. The end is near. Whoever is asking people to keep buying medical insurance at that kind of age needs to have his sanity check. But of course, if there is plenty of money, go for it, and try to live till 100. For those who need the money to live, live and be happy for the day. Everyday is a bonus.

What's wrong with subsidies?

"I read the newspapers and the simplest thing is to write and say, subsidise. Rice, oil, bus fares, even putting seat belts on school buses. That is the surest way to go downhill” LKY I don't agree with his views on this. Subsidies or handouts are different forms of welfare. If one is wrong, both are wrong. Anyway, I don't think Singaporeans are asking for subsidies to the extent of giveaways at below cost. Market subsidies is one thing that can be cut for essential items. Profit in essential goods at times like this can also be cut as long as the importers are not losing money. Making profits on such items at such times leave much to be desired. Then there is the huge petrol tax that can be lowered without affecting govt revenue when petrol price was much lower. In fact it should be cut to lower business cost. Nobody is expecting a blanket subsidy for everything. Fine tuning a little here and there to help the people is what the people expect of the govt.

China got money!

China got plenty of money, $2 trillion in reserve. With so much money, China does not need any donation or help for the Sichuan victims. Is this what My Paper is trying to say in its front page article? I must agree. People with a lot of money should not be given more money. People who are earning millions should stop whining and demanding for more. Why? Simple, they got plenty of money. Anyway, just to ease my conscience, and to do a little for humanity, I still a few dollars to the Sichuan Earthquake victims. Never mind if China has a lot of money. It is personal. You do what you think is right or what that makes you feel good. You want to give, just give. Don't want to give, don't give. What about those who got millions and still think they need more? Does My Paper has a view on that? Never mind lah, they need it, and if they are able to take it, let them take lah. It would be nice if the msm take up such an issue for discussion. And if a rich country like paradise got hit by a natural disaster, I think many people will also ask the same question. Should they help paradise? Paradise got money what?