The rush hour crunch is getting on the nerves of Singaporeans and costing the job of the Minister of Transport and Communication in the last election. Whether it is a case of mismatch of policies or a case of not listening, or a case of losing touch, while the commuters are groaning in pain, the official policy is to discourage car ownership and pushing more people to take public transport. And there is also this big and desperate call for more foreigners to come in or else there will be no economic growth.
If this is not madness, then the dictionary would have to change the definition of the word. The population is feeling the crunch everywhere, on the road, in the bus and trains, in social outlets, in schools, looking for jobs, looking for a place to live, there are just so many people fighting for space and services.
Saturday’s front page news in the ST is about shortage of hospital beds in public hospitals. Can it be? We have one of the best healthcare systems in the world and hospitals are running out of beds! The corridors of some hospitals have also been temporarily converted to squeeze in more beds.
Queues are everywhere, even to park cars. And it will be worst when there is a big event being held.
Not to worry, some wise cracks will pronounce that these are signs of progress and prosperity. Singaporeans who want high growth rates and prosperity must not complain about such little inconveniences. These are happy problems. Do they want to switch places with some underdeveloped countries when these problems are non existent? So, please welcome another 900,000 foreigners to ensure that there is continued growth.
The crunch is on. Is this what the Singaporeans want? Is this what growth and prosperity is all about? Can the standard of living be maintained or be betterer without having to live to the brim in all things? Why must every activity or place be bulging and congested and people in a constant state of stress, fighting for fresh air?
Why must we increase the population further from the 5m today when living conditions are showing signs of stress and fatigue everywhere? Is slowing down the population growth a guarantee for economic downturn and decay? No better way out?
6/06/2011
6/05/2011
Let’s make Money and More Money
It is good if everyone can make more money. The govt makes more money, the people make more money, everyone else make more money, including the foreigners. Making a lot of money is not a bad thing. It is good, really.
The trick is making more money from who and for who. Our govt has made plenty of money and a huge reserve. Who are the main beneficiaries of this wealth? Why are the people feeling the pinch and some calling for mercy? Obviously they are not benefiting from the prosperity of the country. I am not commenting on who the HDB is making money from, if they are making money at all, as they recorded something like $1b or $2b loss a year ago, I think. It was in the papers. Likewise the other ministries and stats boards and their money making policies, and who they are making money from.
I am fully behind the govt for making money as their top priority. The whole country must be restructured to make money, but not solely from the people. We can import more foreigners too, if they can help us to make more money, subject to how many our little piece of land can take.
The next most important priority is to make sure the Citizens benefited from all the wealth created. Let the Citizens be the ruling class. The wealth of the country must filter down more to the Citizens, not $10m for you and $1k for me.
Redesign and re prioritise
The govt can redesign the benefits of citizenship and make citizenship a very special class of people, the owners of the land, and not be given to any Tom, Dick and Harry. Make citizenship a privilege class, even an entitlement class, with the right to a share of the nation’s wealth and cheap housing and facilities. Isn’t that what a govt is for?
The country has already set aside a huge reserve. The reserve needs lesser top ups from the profits of the country’s future investments. A bigger portion of the profits can be returned to the Citizens.
The PRs, the foreign workers and professionals can work and live here, to contribute to our wealth. That is the whole purpose of their presence in our land. Let them work for us, treat them well, but don’t forget that this is OUR Country and we own this piece of rock. We provide them with the opportunities to work, to make a good decent income, safety and security, and a good place to stay. We must be rewarded for that. If they think they have a bad deal here, and have no choice but to come here, they can go elsewhere. You have to pay to visit Disneyland! What more if they even allowed you to make a good living here?
If the wealth and benefits of the country are well filtered down and shared by the people, there will be less anger and more pride and commitment to the country and govt.
Make Singaporeans the ruling class of their homeland. They are not daft. Many policies of citizenship/population must be tweaked to accommodate a new system and priorities in favour of the Citizens. Singaporeans be the master, the owner and main beneficiary to this paradise that we have created. There must be a distinction between a Citizen and others. In Rome, not everyone is a Citizen. Don’t throw away our citizenship like casino chips if they are really worthy.
PS. We already have a very exclusive ruling class.
The trick is making more money from who and for who. Our govt has made plenty of money and a huge reserve. Who are the main beneficiaries of this wealth? Why are the people feeling the pinch and some calling for mercy? Obviously they are not benefiting from the prosperity of the country. I am not commenting on who the HDB is making money from, if they are making money at all, as they recorded something like $1b or $2b loss a year ago, I think. It was in the papers. Likewise the other ministries and stats boards and their money making policies, and who they are making money from.
I am fully behind the govt for making money as their top priority. The whole country must be restructured to make money, but not solely from the people. We can import more foreigners too, if they can help us to make more money, subject to how many our little piece of land can take.
The next most important priority is to make sure the Citizens benefited from all the wealth created. Let the Citizens be the ruling class. The wealth of the country must filter down more to the Citizens, not $10m for you and $1k for me.
Redesign and re prioritise
The govt can redesign the benefits of citizenship and make citizenship a very special class of people, the owners of the land, and not be given to any Tom, Dick and Harry. Make citizenship a privilege class, even an entitlement class, with the right to a share of the nation’s wealth and cheap housing and facilities. Isn’t that what a govt is for?
The country has already set aside a huge reserve. The reserve needs lesser top ups from the profits of the country’s future investments. A bigger portion of the profits can be returned to the Citizens.
The PRs, the foreign workers and professionals can work and live here, to contribute to our wealth. That is the whole purpose of their presence in our land. Let them work for us, treat them well, but don’t forget that this is OUR Country and we own this piece of rock. We provide them with the opportunities to work, to make a good decent income, safety and security, and a good place to stay. We must be rewarded for that. If they think they have a bad deal here, and have no choice but to come here, they can go elsewhere. You have to pay to visit Disneyland! What more if they even allowed you to make a good living here?
If the wealth and benefits of the country are well filtered down and shared by the people, there will be less anger and more pride and commitment to the country and govt.
Make Singaporeans the ruling class of their homeland. They are not daft. Many policies of citizenship/population must be tweaked to accommodate a new system and priorities in favour of the Citizens. Singaporeans be the master, the owner and main beneficiary to this paradise that we have created. There must be a distinction between a Citizen and others. In Rome, not everyone is a Citizen. Don’t throw away our citizenship like casino chips if they are really worthy.
PS. We already have a very exclusive ruling class.
Falling strawmen
The first strawman to fall in our political system is the GRC. Just like the impregnable mothership of the movie Independence Day, the weakness of the GRC is fully exposed and can be brought down. In the next GE, the ministers will be shivering, who will go next. And by the look of things, many will go down with the GRC in the present form.
We are now looking at another strawman bending with the wind, the elected Presidency. With $24m and more to take, hardly anyone is showing interest. For those who have come forward, they brought along a history that are not necessarily welcomed by all the people. Sure, a few will have their diehard fans, converts and cheer leaders edging them on as if the whole island is for them. The truth is further out there in the whole population.
Why is such an honourable office finding so few takers? Okay, 95% or more of the people have already been pre disqualified by the elitist criteria. All men are equal, many are less equal. The criteria is dismissive, with a stroke of the pen, the majority of the people are ruled as not good enough, and their rights as a citizen is limited, not fit to be President of the country.
As a NSman, trained and fit to fight for the country, to die for the country, why is he unfit to stand for the highest office in the land? He is prepared to stake his life for the people and country, defend its honour and freedom, why is he NG? All because he did not have the chance to be a top civil servant, a top politician or the CEO of a big corporation? Can the people accept these criteria lying down? They did, and still not questioning, and keeping mum.
Who is in a position to deprive all the honest and respectable citizens from running for the highest office in the country? A higher being?
We are now looking at another strawman bending with the wind, the elected Presidency. With $24m and more to take, hardly anyone is showing interest. For those who have come forward, they brought along a history that are not necessarily welcomed by all the people. Sure, a few will have their diehard fans, converts and cheer leaders edging them on as if the whole island is for them. The truth is further out there in the whole population.
Why is such an honourable office finding so few takers? Okay, 95% or more of the people have already been pre disqualified by the elitist criteria. All men are equal, many are less equal. The criteria is dismissive, with a stroke of the pen, the majority of the people are ruled as not good enough, and their rights as a citizen is limited, not fit to be President of the country.
As a NSman, trained and fit to fight for the country, to die for the country, why is he unfit to stand for the highest office in the land? He is prepared to stake his life for the people and country, defend its honour and freedom, why is he NG? All because he did not have the chance to be a top civil servant, a top politician or the CEO of a big corporation? Can the people accept these criteria lying down? They did, and still not questioning, and keeping mum.
Who is in a position to deprive all the honest and respectable citizens from running for the highest office in the country? A higher being?
6/04/2011
The Aliens of Paradise
Singapore is home to more than a million foreigners. Actually nearly half of Singapore’s 5m population are foreigners if permanent residents are included. Some were on temporary work passes as construction and manual workers, but many were professional and technical staff in the group called PMETs. The foreign PMETs is a big group of foreign talents employed in high earning jobs. Many were appointed to top local institutions over the locals when local talents were found wanting.
They are a very blessed group of professionals, earning high incomes and an enriching lifestyle that they could not find in their home countries. Some may take root and eventually become citizens while many will return home with a nice savings that will multiply several times in their homeland.
The Singaporeans must thank these people for contributing to the vibrancy and high economic growth of the country. This is the daily mantra that is heard in all the right places. And grateful the Singaporeans should be for the jobs that were created by their presence. Otherwise Singapore will not be able to enjoy the sustained high growth rates over the years, culminating in a superlative 15% growth in year 2011, the highest in the world.
While praises were heaped on these benefactors, a small corner of the population is sulking. There is another group of PMETs, the locals, that is finding life pretty tough going. Those above 50 got to pray that they do not lose their jobs for any reasons. For if it did happened, they are unlikely to find another employment. If they did, it will be a big downgrade and big reduction in income.
Many have gone for retraining for lower grade jobs with lower pay. Their skills and experience were no longer wanted and their jobs replaced by the new and gleaming foreign PMETs. Some turned to being self employed, driving taxis or becoming housing or insurance agents or any kind of agents, to be financially productive. With the high cost of living, high medical fees and high of everything, no income is a dreaded option. Worst, many still have school going children to support.
The lack of job opportunities for this small group of Singaporeans is not confined to just the oldies. Many in their 30s and 40s are also facing intense competition from foreign PMETs for jobs. The experience of writing tomes of application letters without getting a reply is defeating and humiliating. The sense of being not good enough or not wanted by any organisation is hard on the morale and self worth.
Even young graduates are encountering bad experiences in their job finds. The trend of hire and fire and contract staff are making life that much more uncertain. And the young people are expected, if they choose to get hitch, to take a huge housing loans of several hundred thousands, and repayable over 30 years.
How many people on temporary or short term contract jobs would dare to make such financial commitments? The letters of desperation and despair are mounting. In a country that can provide hundreds of thousands of good paying jobs to foreigners, it is troubling to see a section of its own citizens being marginalised, living in fear of being unemployed. These are the alienated citizens of a country that boasted of the highest concentration of millionaires in the world.
The aliens of paradise are complaining. They want to be heard, their plight known to the policy makers that turned their lives upside down. They are living a life of insecurity in a land of plenty for foreigners.
There is no official figure on the size of these aliens in their home country. Many are trying to make their presence felt today at Hong Lim Park, the Speakers Corner for free speech, provided one has registered with the Police. I am not sure if the rules have changed. If not, no free speech for anyone who is not registered with the authority before his freedom to speak.
Today, 4 June, at 5 pm, Gilbert Goh of Transitioning.Org forum is calling for the aliens to gather and make their feelings and plight heard. They are to wear black as a sign of unity and support for the affected. Jobs for Singaporeans is their call.
In the land of millionaires, fear not the despair.
They are a very blessed group of professionals, earning high incomes and an enriching lifestyle that they could not find in their home countries. Some may take root and eventually become citizens while many will return home with a nice savings that will multiply several times in their homeland.
The Singaporeans must thank these people for contributing to the vibrancy and high economic growth of the country. This is the daily mantra that is heard in all the right places. And grateful the Singaporeans should be for the jobs that were created by their presence. Otherwise Singapore will not be able to enjoy the sustained high growth rates over the years, culminating in a superlative 15% growth in year 2011, the highest in the world.
While praises were heaped on these benefactors, a small corner of the population is sulking. There is another group of PMETs, the locals, that is finding life pretty tough going. Those above 50 got to pray that they do not lose their jobs for any reasons. For if it did happened, they are unlikely to find another employment. If they did, it will be a big downgrade and big reduction in income.
Many have gone for retraining for lower grade jobs with lower pay. Their skills and experience were no longer wanted and their jobs replaced by the new and gleaming foreign PMETs. Some turned to being self employed, driving taxis or becoming housing or insurance agents or any kind of agents, to be financially productive. With the high cost of living, high medical fees and high of everything, no income is a dreaded option. Worst, many still have school going children to support.
The lack of job opportunities for this small group of Singaporeans is not confined to just the oldies. Many in their 30s and 40s are also facing intense competition from foreign PMETs for jobs. The experience of writing tomes of application letters without getting a reply is defeating and humiliating. The sense of being not good enough or not wanted by any organisation is hard on the morale and self worth.
Even young graduates are encountering bad experiences in their job finds. The trend of hire and fire and contract staff are making life that much more uncertain. And the young people are expected, if they choose to get hitch, to take a huge housing loans of several hundred thousands, and repayable over 30 years.
How many people on temporary or short term contract jobs would dare to make such financial commitments? The letters of desperation and despair are mounting. In a country that can provide hundreds of thousands of good paying jobs to foreigners, it is troubling to see a section of its own citizens being marginalised, living in fear of being unemployed. These are the alienated citizens of a country that boasted of the highest concentration of millionaires in the world.
The aliens of paradise are complaining. They want to be heard, their plight known to the policy makers that turned their lives upside down. They are living a life of insecurity in a land of plenty for foreigners.
There is no official figure on the size of these aliens in their home country. Many are trying to make their presence felt today at Hong Lim Park, the Speakers Corner for free speech, provided one has registered with the Police. I am not sure if the rules have changed. If not, no free speech for anyone who is not registered with the authority before his freedom to speak.
Today, 4 June, at 5 pm, Gilbert Goh of Transitioning.Org forum is calling for the aliens to gather and make their feelings and plight heard. They are to wear black as a sign of unity and support for the affected. Jobs for Singaporeans is their call.
In the land of millionaires, fear not the despair.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)