The silly rationalisation of Sinkies

At one time they were saying road congestion was good, a sign of progress. Without road congestion, when the roads are wide and empty, it means no progress, not enough cars on the road. So people cannot afford cars. Then the same kind of reasoning was used to show progress in train services. Trains must be crowded, the more crowded the better. Tokyo was then the role model. If trains are not packed enough, something is not right. At least profit is not right. So trains must run packed like sardine. Then we have achieved Tokyo’s train service standard.

And in the same mouthful some would talk about gracious living by taking trains. KNN, how to be gracious when everyone is squeezing with everyone, and pushing and rushing to find a place to sit? Now that is too much of a luxury. Everyone should get use to pushing and squeezing just to board a train, or would have to take the next or the next train.

Now the famous call, small flats are good. It would not lower the quality of life. But it stops short of saying the smaller a flat the better the quality of life. There is no need to move around. Turn your head and there is the tap. Turn the other side and there is the fridge. Turn another way and there is the TV. Turn around and there is the toilet. So convenient. Don’t have to move. Save on energy to get around.

This stupidity made Liew Mun Leong so angry that he made it known that small flats are inhuman. He could never be so right. Just look at the dog and its kennel. It is a dog’s life. Now how can people disagree with the king of property developer? But not to worry. Some will come out with better argument to say Liew Mun Leong is wrong.

Last time 10 or 20 people lived in a single cubicle not bigger than a HDB room also no problem. Today, putting two people in such a room cannot be a problem right? It is very spacious and comfortable, a luxury.

Some will say, last time people lived next to the pigsty also no problem. Why should people be complaining about nursing homes, hospices or foreign worker’s quarters next door? Last time Eve hung a fig leave as her dress.

Sinkies are damn good at self justification or to make silly things sound good or right just to win an argument. $1000 pm can buy a public flat and came out with a lot of statistics to prove it some more. When are they going to prove that a $1m 3rm flat is cheap and good even when the lease is only 30 years? It is going to be if they are going to make expensive public housing more affordable. First cut the size, then extend the repayment period, and next shorten the lease. They make sense and very logical. The flats will only get more affordable.

If a 3 rm flat with a 99 lease is too expensive, shorten the lease and it will become cheaper. A 3 rm flat of 80 sq m is too expensive, build one that is 50 sq m, it will definitely be cheaper.

What else will they be justifying next? More people in the island are good. One can learn to live with people of different cultures without having to fly to their countries and without even having to leave the flat if they are invited to live in the same flat. The life experience will be so much richer, learn different languages, cultures, cooking, and the idiosyncrasies of foreigners. We will be able to understand the people of the whole world better. For what purposes I don’t know. Maybe to become the Secretary General of the UN. The experience will be an asset when apply for such a job. Or as ambassadors of the UN, if they need such people.

Fish and his fishy justice

Fish wrote in his blog about the flaunting of injustice in broad daylight, in an article ‘Forget justice in Singapore.’ Fish is angry when things get fishy.

I would like to calm the Fish down a bit, take a deep breath of water and try to look at things from a different perspective, then everything will be right, nothing fishy, the fishy smell will be gone. Fish should try looking into the fishbowl instead of out of the fishbowl. Sure different one.

Fish main gripe was about raising GST to help the poor. He sincerely, honestly, did not believe that it was so. Let me explain. The poor are in much much better off position here. Look, they can easily buy a flat with $1000 pm income. And they are the most blessed poor in the world, the envy of the world.

Look at the real poor. The real poor are those that did not have enough to spend. It is not how much you earn, but how much is your expense account. I can empathise with those earning $50k pm and finding life very tough, and their quality of life being affected if they earn a bit less. The GST hike is to help these higher income poor. They have big expense account and need the money to live decently.  For the low income poor, a $50 increase in their income could mean a choice of eating in a hawker centre, foodcourt or even restaurant. Of course it is cheapo restaurant lah. For the high income poor, you can’t help them with $50, not enough even for tips.  They really need help.

As for estate duties, it is to help the poor definitely. In every funeral wake, the normal comment about the chap lying in the coffin is ‘poor bugger’. See, the bugger is poor and any help will do. And abolishing estate duties is definitely to help the poor buggers. When does the rich come in? Where got help the rich buggers?

In the Woffles and Charlie Lim case, or the principle and the odd job labourer case, justice have been done, fair and fair.  Law Minister Shamugam already explained the rationale. It is all about the time spread, like HDB flats have not shrunk in size over the last 15 years. Perfectly accurate statement of facts.

No miscarriage of justice lah. Sorry lah Fish. Can you see my point? What the Fish?

Char Kway Teow with egg or eggs

Not a very good choice for breakfast for many. Too much oil and lard and very greasy too. Char kway teow normally comes with one egg. Some customers would ask for two and pay for it. Eggs and sausages are about the most expensive items in a plate of char kway teow. I always have mine with one egg.

The two eggs char kway teow are not normally done. In very rare and unusual cases, char kway teow may come with two eggs without the customer asking for it. This is nothing unusual to the recipient or the char kway teow man. It all depends on who is the customer. And he does not need to ask for it. It is given, freely and happily by the char kway teow man as respect and recognition of the customer.

Some still feel irked by such little favours. What is an egg? How much would it cost? To the favoured customer, he may not even blink an eye if someone were to offer him a million bucks under the table. What is a few million dollars to the rich today? Many are giving millions away for good a cause, like charity or helping a good friend.

An extra egg for a plate of char kway teow still would be seen as not right. It is not the amount that matters. It is the act, the thought of inappropriateness, impropriety. It is like some used to say, a crime is a crime, no matter big or small.

The media is filled with many minor indiscretions which can be easily pooh poohed away. Why make a big issue out of a mole hill? That is not the point. That is exactly the point. In a society that is run by the rule of law, when corruption is unacceptable or thought non existence, minor acts of indiscretion can become a big thing. How can? Why, he very important ah? Who is he or who is he related? Can like that ah? Why poor people cannot leh?

An egg is an egg. Nothing more nothing less. But given in an improper manner it may crack a wall. To say one more egg is okay, within the limits, only makes it more not okay. It makes it look really bad. Amen.

Happy Red Series

This piece is called Eternity. It is one of my Happy Red Collection. A piece of rar art created by Mother Nature using the Art of RAR technique. More rar art pieces can be viewed at www.artofrar.blogspot.com/.

Woff woff….Woffles Wu or Who?

Wah lau eh. Even Hri Kumar, an eminent lawyer and part of the establishment, cannot tahan oredy. Woff, woff, woof, wolf.

Woffles Wu is a nice guy, very talented and doing a good business in making many people look good and happy. The biggest wrong done to him, I think, and many would agree, was to fine him $1000 for what he had done. I am sure Woffles would gladly pay $100k fine and say a big thank you to close the case and everyone say, yes, it is fair, he did wrong and paid for his wrongdoing.

Now the kiss on the wrist is going to cause Woffles more embarrassment as well as the establishment. Everyone is crying foul. It is a big shame indeed. Nothing to do with Woffles. Now he is being dragged deeper into the shit hole.

The precedence set cannot be wished away and were in the papers. Everyone knows what the minimum penalty should be. Luckily no one claimed in mitigation that he is a super talent and should be treated differently or else he will migrate and Singapore will lose him.