PAP could have won Punggol East

There were two articles in the Sunday Times by Warren Fernandez and Han Fook Kwang analysing the Punggol East by election. Warren’s comments could be summarised under the following points, The writing was on the wall for the PAP, There’s no winning without a fight, Politics may be local, but all elections are national, Voters want ‘someone like me’, and Politics contrains policies. In these headings he more or less explained why the PAP lost Punggol East. If only the PAP could read his analysis before the by election, it would have won. There are so many enlightening comments and strategies which would help PAP in the by election and may be in the next GE.

Han Fook Kwang’s recommendation was simpler. He suggested that the PAP needed ‘to relook is the type of candidates it fields for elections….Get the right people in its leadership and the right policies will follow.’ What Han Fook Kwang did not say is that the PAP had been recruiting the wrong people that came up with the wrong policies. This is just what I read between the lines.

To me there were many issues facing the PAP then and going forward. The quality of its candidates, some were good, left much to be desire. It was so obvious to the voters but not to the PAP. Even some ministers are doubtful starters in the GE. They were the ones who formulated all the policies that were not only unpopular but seen as against the interests of the citizens. And obviously they did not get it and quickly propounded this great theory of a 6.9m population without highlighting the consequences of such a crowd but only economic growth. And we know what the PAP wants is not what the people want. And trust me, they are going to vote for the White Paper in Parliament with overwhelming majority. And they will proclaim that it was approved in Parliament.

Will a change in the type of candidates work? It is not just because they were elitist, not because they were parachuted down in the last hour, not because they could not connect with the people, I think there are more to it. It is history at works.

White Paper on population in Parliament

The MPs have probably one week to read the White Paper before debating in Parliament. I am sure many are very well prepared to debate this Paper by looking at the report that said 42 MPs will be talking on this issue.

One question that comes to mind is the position of the MPs. Will they be speaking for or against the 6.9m population? And the follow up question, how did they come to their final position? Did they talk to their constituents to seek their views on this crucial issue? How many of the constituents did they speak to in less than one week?

Or maybe they know what their constituents want and simply walk into Parliament to speak on their behalves. Or maybe there is no need to talk to their constituents as they have given them the full mandate as their representatives to say what, being the talented knows all MPs, they think is good for the constituents?

And I am sure they will vote for the interests of their constituents. And I am sure each one will be their own man or woman, to think and speak independently, and to vote independently with their conscience, and of course for the good of their constituents.

The people’s interests are in good hands. Trust me.

Time to bring back Stop At Two Policy

The Stop At Two population control policy was effective and needed in the 70s as our economy was underdeveloped and could not provide the jobs needed with a rapidly growing population. Then the economic boom came but the Govt fell asleep on this policy and let it dragged on when it should have been stopped. An expanding economy needs more workers and Stop At Two was obsolete, with hindsight. But there was no natcon to tell the Govt so. A loosening of this policy could have revived the slowing birth rate or at least reignite the sexual urge to reproduce and have more babies.

Rip Van Winkle continued to sleep when he was paid to think, to plan and to work. Maybe he was happily dreaming about the fortune he had been paid or enjoying his Karaoke sessions. And the Govt went on a buying spree, importing millions of foreigners dressed up as foreign talents. And now the population hits 5.3m and being unprepared for it, the infrastructure is straining. The most obvious are the public transport system, the hospital beds and housing.

Rip Van Winkle continued to sleep or high on drugs. The first neglect was forgetting to turn on the tap for the babies to start flowing. Now it is compounding the mistake by falling asleep again and wanting the tap to keep flowing when the bathtub is overflowing. The Govt does not know that there are now too many people in the island and it is time to turn off the tap. Instead it wants more, a population of 6.9m!

What is really needed now is to cap the population at 5.5m or thereabout. Over the last ten years our population growth was way beyond 3% annually, like on steroid. We have out grown and overshot the replacement rate.  It is time to recalibrate the population, resize and moderate and adjust the mix between citizens and non citizens. By adopting a national policy of 5.5m population, the rest of the Govt policies could then be fine tuned to this new target and status quo.

As the local bred and born citizens start to reproduce, more and more foreigners can then be allowed to leave. Let the locals replace the foreigners systematically and not the other way, and all the time keeping in mind the 5.5m population target. By doing so, there is really a need to reintroduce the Stop At Two policy again without letting the population size run away to 6 or 7m. Not only that the influx of foreigners needs to be stopped, the growth of the local population has also to be managed to keep it at 5.5m.

Don’t fall asleep and let things run uncontrolled to create another crisis. The island cannot afford to let the population grow unchecked, and from the general conversation, the citizens are more comfortable with 5.5m population. High population is a double edged sword and can cut both ways.

Please, no more sleeping and no more over killed or over blown. It is very difficult to have faith in a govt that did not know when the population is too small or too big.

6.9m is like acquiring a nuclear reactor

Once our population hits 6.9m, the need and call for a nuclear reactor to provide the energy will no longer be an option but a compulsion. The price of oil by then will be so expensive, and other forms of energy will not be efficient and are also likely to be just as expensive. So tak dah choice, mesti pergi nuclear. And we will be living with one nuclear reactor underground and a nuclear reactor on the surface.

A 6.9m population is not a joke. It needs to be fed, to be housed, it needs jobs and all kinds of goods and services, and everything is a cost. Another 1.7m mouth to feed and house is not ‘main main’. My God, any crisis will turn this population into a nightmare. When things are good and rosy, when the economy is good, there is nothing to worry about, who cares, trust me. When there is an economic downturn, the 7m is not going to go away overnight. And when their needs are not met, they are going to implode.

The nuclear reactor underground is less of a worry than the one above. The 6.9m is ticking and kicking and will not go to sleep. It is like keeping pets, dogs and cats and now big cats. The bigger the more to feed and the more dangerous when food runs out.

Don’t pray pray. It is not masak masak. You want 6.9m, and when you don’t want just flush down the toilet. They are intertwined and attached with the whole economy and infrastructure. It is not easily unwind like our housing prices. The difference between a genius and a berserk is only a fine thin line.

And I am not talking about water and reservoir and all the rest that are needed.

Enlightening speech with a Foreign Talent

 

 Enlightening speech with a FT citizen

I was in a remote western region in China and we were stranded at this small lousy airport. And there is only 1 Indian man (age 59, I found out from him later). No one could help him and I knew I was the only one and of course being kind hearted, and naive Singaporean, I voluntarily went. I saw his "RED passport" and we connected!!! Then we started to discuss the Punggol East By-election, the government and the policies. (Please do not assume a RED passport is automatic bred and bornt in Singapore... I was lambasting how Singapore has transformed from a lovely state to a state where everyone has become emotionless and working round the clock to pay for everything and to survive.) 15 minutes into the discussion, he told me he is FT who came to Singapore 10 years ago and quickly offered PR and new citizen in less than 2 years. By the way, this guy is not Foreign Trash, he is Senior Management in Fortune 500 (the ranking is below 50) and paid over $20,0000++ a month. Below are questions from me and answers from him:-

Me: The government is doing a bad job and people are suffering.

FT: I read the Straits Times and every survey is indicating good, I dont agree what you said is true and today. (I said, you really believe that BS? You did not have time to browse the web than to believe the propaganda...I went on to tell him many examples like AIM etc, he was shocked... but the newspaper version is so different.... but anyway he said he did not have time, working very long hours every day)

Me: Well, do you feel we imported too many FT, especially low quality ones from neighbouring regions.

FT: Yes, totally agreed, its getting too crowded and also the pay for average guy is getting lower but living expenses are sky high. (But he was a FT himself but of course this man used to work in the US and UK for many years before arriving into SG, probably what they called a real FT)

Me: If Singapore is so good, are you going to retire in Singapore?

FT: Retire in Singapore? (shrugs with a laugh)

Me: Why? You said Singapore is so good etc.... And you said those surveys damn good.

FT: Honestly speaking, my pay is crossing $20,000 a month but I wont retire here. First, our CPF is trapped and the medical cost and daily expenses are so high. I am going to renounce and take all the cash and move back to India. Anyway, I also dont want to die in a foreign land.

Me: Arent you one of us?

FT: In a way but I still need to go back, this place is getting too expensive to live and I dont want my body to be resting here, I am not bornt here.

Me: $20k a month you telling me this? How about those making $5000 or ....

FT: Dont pretend you dont know, they work and pay all their lives until they die. And I am not going to be in that position.

Me: Your kids in Singapore?

FT: I sent them to UK and US and told them not to come back.

Me: Singapore is such great place, you told me and why.... ahhhhh (cynicism)

FT: I could not imagine that they be paid $2500 after their graduation, compete with millions of foreigners and pay a debt of 30 years for that million dollar HDB. And education in US is more prestigious and they can get into Fortune 500 companies easily and they buy houses and drive cars etc. And if they really return to SG (which I doubt so.. because they are originally from Calcutta and honestly, they dont really like Singapore), they will be Foreign Talent and be paid very high like me, no need to fight with those foreigners.

Me: They did not serve NS huh?

FT: You asking me silly questions, I did not convert them PR before 18... I found way to go around it (laugh very hard)

Me: Warao (Singapore style). You enjoy so much from Singapore and how you going to thank us?

FT: I voted PAP every GE, and that is thank you. And they gave me PR, new citizenship and also my HDB (I sold at record profits and now living in nice condo in Jurong East). When I retire, I will sell and take all the CPF to India. I really appreciate Singapore.

wah piang eh...... i am really that daft and naive like most Singaporeans.