They were so drunk

They were the superer of all the super talents in the island. They were the thinkers and tinkers, whose ability to plan, to be proactive, to read into the future, to nip problems in the bud, were claimed as superior and worth every million they are paid, but they failed to see what is coming. They went on and on dismissing the daft Singaporeans, telling the Singaporeans to buck up, to down grade, not to expect too much if they could not afford it, tighten belt, to acept a quality of life worst off than their uneducated or semi educated parents, while they pay themselves millions and millions and enjoy a living standard far exceeding the Swiss. They think the people are blind, and daft of course. They were so drunk that they could only uttered that they empathized with the people’s plight, but questioned the poor if want to eat in hawker centre, food court or restaurant over $50. They could not understand what $50 mean to the poor. They only understand that they needed millions and millions to maintain their opulent lifestyle. Right into the midst of the GE, their swollenheads were still in the clouds, not knowing what the ground was like. Only the intense pressure in Aljunied jolted George Yeo into awareness, that the anger of the people was real. And only the last couple of days that they started to change tack, to apologise, to want to listen to the people, to change their style of talking down to the people. The dismissal of George Yeo was a defiance act, a rebellion against the PAP. And the people of Aljunied made it very clear that the days of the PAP are over. The general public too sent the same message. The losing of one GRC was a cautious step taken by the people. They were still unsure of how the opposition would be like. They were looking for change, but with apprehension. The popular vote of the PAP fell from 77% to 66% to 60% must say something. Would the high and mighty understand? If the WP could show the people of Aljunied and the rest of the island that they could manage the estate well, if they could show that they are responsible and as able as the PAP in Parliament, the next GE will see a sea of change that the people have been waiting for all these years. Too much good food and good life is like having too much fat in the head.

Time to depoliticise community organizations

The staff of town councils in Potong Pasir and Aljunied GRC is worried that they may lose their jobs with the change of political masters. This is a very unnecessary and divisive situation where people’s livelihood is tied to the fate of political parties. It is very unhealthy and should not be such as the innocent people should not be dragged into the turmoil and tussle for political power. The town councils are not the only organization that is affected by this kind of arrangement. There are many that need to be depoliticized. In the aftermath of the fallen Aljunied GRC, Zainul Abidin ‘assured the activists that residents who need urgent help can go to the community centre, where the chairman of the Citizen’s Consultative Committee will write letters on their behalf to the authorities.’ Don’t they have a new set of MPs to handle their problems? Aren’t the community centres and the CCCs non political organizations, neutral social or govt organizations that would continue to operate to serve the people no matter which political party comes to power? For the good of the country and the people, and the staff concerned, it is better that such institutions be made to be apolitical and will not have to suffer the fate of political changes. PS. Heard that a NSP supporter has been sacked from a Town Council. If this is true, it is not going to look good for coming together as one people after the GE.

First sign of god's anger

The people of Aljunied had defied god and voted for another god. It is time for them to repent for the next 5 years. The first sign of god's anger is here...hot weather. And the people shall bear with the heat. Altogether there shall be 7 signs, 6 more to go. Flooding is likely to be next. The third sign must be swarms of locusts, in the image of man.

How to bring down a GRC?

The opposition parties adopted different strategies in the GE to take on the PAP. Some took the GE as a war and tried to cover every inch of the ground with every man they got. This proved to be very costly and wasteful, and ineffective against a superior enemy. The WP and SDP adopted a strategy that turned weakness into strength. What they did was to concentrate their fire power against a small section of the enemy forces, ie, weak overall, but strength in a small corner of the battle field. They have studied the Art of War well. Identify the weaknesses of the enemy, and exploit it to their advantage. A GRC is a fortress, impenetrable. But it must have some weaknesses. The PAP has made them almost unsinkable by having one, and now two ministers to helm them. The weakness is the inclusion of one or two weak candidates that they want to sneak into Parliament. Now get the idea? The opposition can do one better by mounting a team of their best candidates, an A Team against a B Team with a few stragglers attached. This could be the magic formula. And this could win the NSP Marine Parade and Tampines if they had not diluted their strength by spreading too thin. The SDP was almost there. Vincent could probably be their weak link. Not everyone would accept him as he is, and some organizations would even tell their followers to stay away from him. Aljunied is a different case. The PAP team was in no way inferior to the WP. They were pitting strength to strength. There were other elements favouring the opposition, and when at par, the votes go to the opposition. This strategy could be applied in the next GE and the PAP would have to be doubly careful to defend the GRCs. Trying to sneak in weak candidates may no longer be that easy. And if they add another layer of armour, like putting up a genuinely strong GRC team, the weak candidates would be forced to stand alone in SMCs. The PAP would not have the whole battle ground to themselves and can place their soldiers at will. What ever they do, they are going to expose more weaknesses in their line up to be exploited.

Luxury cars should adopt the sales formula of HDB

A practically risk free sales formula like the selling of HDB flats is the best for companies selling luxury cars. These companies can sell their cars under the BTO scheme where the buyers have to pay a deposit upfront to confirm intent to purchase. The companies can set a block of 100 orders or a multiple of that, and only when the orders are filled, will they place the orders with the manufacturers. The parent companies would then start to hire the workers, purchase material and activate the production lines. And they can apply the JIT principle for delivery of the cars. This sales formula will make the companies so efficient in producing exactly the number of cars to be sold. And there is no need to carry stocks, saving on storage and depreciating costs and also no risk of unsold cars. The profit margin will definitely go up, and so are the prices, as they are not easily available. Adopting such a sales formula, a sure win formula, the customers would have to plan their purchases well in advance as it will take maybe a year or two before they can take delivery of the cars. I am recommending this sales formula to Mercedes, BMW, Porsche and Audi, for a small fee of course. I think they will love this ingenious idea. It can only come from Singapore, a uniquely Singaporean formula. No more production headache, no more carrying of unwanted stocks. The headache is passed to the buyers of course.