Singaporeans are truly stupid

Every morning Today paper will be given free in several places. Every morning I pass Raffles Place MRT, quite early. And there will be piles and piles of Today paper to be given away. And sometimes the crowd will build up and jam the MRT station, all waiting for 7.30 am, for that is the time that the paper can be given away. Why 7.30am? Because the latecomers complained that they did not get their copies. So now must wait till 7.30am so that latecomers are happy. What about the early birds? Of course they are unhappy. What the fuck! If they have 1000 copies, 1000 readers will have the chance to get them. Why did they bother to care about early or late birds? And causing so much congestion in the station. And tempers ran high as well with some cursing and swearing at the distributors. But Singaporeans are rule followers and just cannot think. The boss says 7.30am. So do as the boss said. The boss can be stupid, doesn't matter. Follow orders and nothing will harm you. Maybe I should not generalise that all Singaporeans are stupid. Only some. The stupid decision makers.

Gantries and more gantries

Motorists will be the happiest people in paradise. Driving around will be a breeze, or at least around town comes 7 Jul. 5 more ERP gantries will go up and 32 more will up their toll fees. Or like they said, 'Have money will travel.' Just pay your way and all the way. It is great to be toll operators. It is only logical that the central business district be restricted to people who have a reason to be there. No more jalan jalan or makan angin in CBD for free. It is another form of Disneyland for the banking and finance people. In fact all other offices that are not related to these industries should not be there. They only add to the congestion and high demand for office space. Yes, have another set of regulations to keep non related industries from locating in the business districts. Set up a list of criteria to fulfil, something like mean testing. If don't qualify, no business to be there, shift out. We need to put people in their proper places.

Malaysia - What petrol subsidy?

Malaysia is a net exporter of oil. It is producing oil and selling oil at a highly inflated price due to speculations by western oil traders. The cost of production of oil is also relatively unchanged. So what subsidy is Malaysia talking about? They should be talking about profits, and huge profits. The only kind of subsidy is market subsidy, a uniquely Singapore experience. Because of the high market price, the Malaysian govt could sell their petrol at a much higher price. So to sell them at a lower price, it is called SUBSIDY! Does the Malaysian Govt understand this term? Singaporeans do and are very cynical about it when it is mentioned. And why cut the 'subsidy' and then decide to give back to the people in kind while at the same time incurring the wrath of the people? There are good things to learn from Singapore. But some things are quite silly and should not be copied without knowing what they meant and how badly they are received by the people. Low petrol prices in Malaysia is not subsidy to the Malaysians. It is lesser profits to Petronas, to the Malaysian Govt.

Fanatics in Paradise

We were talking about fanatics of human rights, pushing their views to everyone as if their views were the only one acceptable. Everyone must accept what these fanatics say or believe in. We have another kind of fanatics in paradise. They believe that Singaporeans will all live past 80 years old. And they did not stop at that. They did not just push their views and quarrel with people to believe in them. They did what was necessary. For they also believe that if one is to live past 80, then one needs more money to live. And they sincerely believe that all these are tooth and it is good for the people to have a lot of money when they are at their dying years. And they have good reasons too. When you are at that age, you need more money, not for holidays, but to pay big hospital bills. These are very logical. So from July 1, 2008, the sum in Medisave will be increased to $34,500. This is untouchable unless the sickness is serious enough or approved for payment from this saving. Never mind if one already have Medishield or private medical insurance. The important thing is to have this sum of money in Medisave. Safely kept there for you. Then also, the Minimum Sum in the CPF will be increased to $106,000. This is to ensure that citizens of paradise will be rich before they die. They can be poor when they are young. But they cannot be poor when they are old. And if this sum is not enough because inflation is going to eat a big chunk from it, you can be sure that it will be increased progressively. Do not be surprised if the Minimum Sum will hit $1 mil one day. And Singaporeans are all very happy and grateful for this savings that they must put aside. There is a Chinese saying, suffer first and enjoy later. Provided if you live that long to see the money.

Myth 183 - I am helping you

The hungry tiger was poised to devour the little goat. The little goat was shivering and unable to move, partly at the sight of a huge and ferocious tiger, partly because it was too weak to run. It had not eaten a full meal for several days. The owner of the little goat was equally worried. He must do something to help the goat. 'Wait, wait!' He shouted at the tiger. 'Please don't eat my little goat.' The tiger roared back. 'I am hungry and need to eat the goat to live.' The owner was very understanding. He knew that tigers would want to eat small animals for his meal. It was a reasonable act. He looked at the little goat and came out with a solution. He told the goat, 'Look, whatever, the tiger is going to eat you. And there is no way to run. The only way to save your life is to offer a leg to the tiger.' The little goat knew that it had no choice. And the owner was trying his best to help. It squeezed its eyes shut, bit its teeth and prepared itself for the tiger to rip off one of its legs. The owner was in a way a savior. The little goat was grateful for the help. A monk came along. 'Amitabha (or O mi to fu).' He said in his peaceful and serene way. 'Let me help.' Then he turned to the tiger, 'Here, have my arm instead.'