PAP will get 75% in next GE

Some critics are saying that this PAP govt is looney. Look at the slate of increases in taxes, fees and more to come and how well they are received by the citizens and you will know how popular is this govt and how strong is the support from the people. After raising education fees, SC&C charges, water fees by 30%, transport fares going to be next and the most comprehensive tax of all, the GST, you can only expect more as the govt is so confident that the people will accept them as gratitude to the good and incorruptible govt and their good policies. It is ok if a few Singaporeans are unemployed, underemployed or forced to retire, they know that it is their faults for being so, unable to compete with the influx of highly talented foreigners, so they will happily go for retraining to take on less skill jobs.

What is important is that all of them would gratefully vote for the PAP in the next GE or in many more GE's to come. There is a very strong bond between the people and the govt. Some may question why 70% voted for the PAP in the last GE and still in shock, in disbelief. The Lee Kuan Yew effect was there and played a significant role to swing the votes. But what is more important and reliable is statistics.

By now 50% of the citizens are likely to be new citizens. This means 50% of the votes would go to the PAP from the new citizens. The balance of 50% could be divided into 50:50, for and against the PAP, ie 30% hard core and 20% swing votes. This would give the PAP another 25% of the votes to make it 75%. It was 70% in the last GE which was an indication that the full impact of foreigners turned new citizens was not enough and there was still a bigger swing votes for the opposition or against the PAP.

By the next GE in 2020 you can expect the new citizens, I don't use the word Singaporeans as it would put the original Singaporeans together with the new Singaporeans in one group, and very misleading. The new citizens are very appreciative of the good life given to them by the PAP, citizenship, cheap housing and good jobs that they could never find anywhere else, definitely not in their God forsaken home countries. And somehow their talents got raised to an unbelieverable level, all better than daft Singaporeans. How would they not vote for their benefactor, the PAP?

With the number of new citizens still increasing rapidly, the 75% votes for the PAP is a given in 2020. No amount of rallies and convincing arguments could change the statistical advantage of the PAP. More new citizens would mean more votes for the PAP. When more than 50% of the population is new citizens, translated to guaranteed votes, the battle is over before it even started.

Now you know why despite all the big increases and the cock thinking 30% water fee hike the PAP is still confident of winning the next GE hands down? And now do you know why there is no public protest for all the hikes? The original Singaporeans are now a minority and have resigned to their fate. Their only choice is to migrate or to be downtrodden by the new talents from little unknown villages. There is nothing they can do now. The PAP is double confirmed to rule till SG100.

Do not under estimate the power of mathematics and the magic of mathematicians.

Li Keqiang’s speech – What to make out of it?

Premier Li Keqiang has delivered his much awaited and most watched speech at the 12^th National People’s Congress and China watchers are busily trying to dissect every bit of his speech to understand what he was saying and where is China heading. The keynote address by the Prime Minister of China has gained stature internationally and would be closely watched by leaders of nations around the world wanting to understand China and its policies. Any analyst hoping and expecting something dramatic and earth shaking pronouncement in this speech is likely to be disappointed. Li Keqiang’s speech is best described by a few words, consolidation, stability and avoiding the risk that may come from domestic and external factors.

The tempo of the speech, covering almost every aspect of the Chinese economy and touching on the life of the Chinese people, is a sign of a leadership that is comfortable with what they have achieved and what they had set out to do. It is a speech that said China is on the right course and will continue to move ahead in a steady pace with not much haste.

China has initiated many big plans and projects internally and in the international arena in the last decades, particularly in the last few years. A distinct observation that everything is going on as planned, and doing well, is their absence from being mentioned in Li Keqiang’s speech.  What were not spoken were equally important if not more important like the AIIB and One Belt One Road international projects. The American rhetoric on the South China Sea were not worthy of mention as well. The anti corruption drive too did not find a place in the speech.

The whole emphasis of Li’s speech is about consolidation of what China has been doing over the years, economic development to bring about a prosperous China and better quality of living for its people. Improving the environment, clear sky, creating jobs and lowering unemployment and agricultural reforms to improve productivity took the main stage. The economy is targeted to continue to grow at a more leisure pace of 6.5%, a departure from the years of hectic double digit growth to ensure a more stable and sustainable growth.

The overall picture is a China growing at its own terms and dictates with no great concern or the need to take high risk. There is no worrying trends and development that could trip the progress of the Chinese economy and China’s growing prosperity. 

There are areas of concern but nothing unmanageable. Li Keqiang did raise the issue of independence movements in Hong Kong and Taiwan, and China’s sovereignty in the South China Sea. His message was simple, without being confrontational to unsettle the critics and doomsayers, that China would firmly and resolutely protect the One China policy, removing any doubts on what China would do when the One China policy and Chinese sovereignty are challenged.

Li Keqiang did not respond directly to the provocative rhetoric from the Americans and in a way keep the South China Sea on an even keel. The modest increase in the Chinese defence budget of 7% is also another statement that says threats to China’s national security would be taken seriously but not something the Chinese leader is unduly worried about. China is not in a hurry to over indulge in military spending or in an arms race with the USA to compete for military dominance and superiority. 

China has chosen the path of economic development, to continue to grow and develop in a measured and predictable manner to improve the lives of the Chinese people. Military adventure and supremacy are not China's cup of tea.

In summary, Li Keqiang's speech is all about economic development, prosperity and the well being of the Chinese people and for China to continue to grow as a sovereign nation.

PS. Posted this in China Daily

Public transport to raise fare?

When was the last fare hike? Is public transport a strategic asset, a scarce resource? If so it must be priced right to make the people feel the pain of higher transport fare so that they would not abuse taking public transport unnecessarily and wastefully. Building infrastructure for public transport is very expensive and new transportation system is not cheap, not when you need to build for another 2m people in an already congested piece of rock. All the costs have gone up. The public must be encouraged to travel at off peak hours or not to travel at all and make unnecessary trips to stress the public transport system. Do these kinds of reasoning sound right or idiotic?
 
With rising cost of public transportation and better quality of public transport, some media said service quality has declined so not sure which is right, it is only right to raise transport fare. The improvements over the years with each price hike did not seem to make the quality of service improved much. Maybe the increase is not high enough so not much improvement could be seen.
 
Would anyone think it is clever to raise transportation fee by 30% like water?  Someone must have been reading Machiavelli and the advice of Machiavelli must have gone into their heads. When making increases, make it big and painful, the public would soon forget the pain.  Don’t do it bit by bit. When giving out handouts, then do it bit by bit to milk as much good will as possible like wanting to give a 10c discount, give it in 10 times or 5 times, like 1c or 2c at a time at a time. The daft would be grateful for 5 or 10 times.
 
Are the public expecting to be slammed with another big transportation hike like the 30% water fee and comes the next GE all would be forgotten? Transportation hike got good reason, to improve quality of services. You want better services, pay more. So simple.

Air is also a strategic resource and a security concern

Water is a strategic resource and affects national security. What about air? We have taken free and clean air for granted. The haze season has given us a taste of what it is like when air is no longer clean and healthy to breathe. Air may not be a scarcity, but clean air is. Clean air is also strategic and scarce if not well managed.

Think of the great effort and funds applied to keep our air clean. Clean air does not come naturally anymore. Keeping the air clean is costly but many people have yet to know how costly this is. Just to keep the haze away, the govt has spent a lot of effort and financial resources to keep the culprits from continuing with their harmful actions. And there is also a political cost when relations with our neighbours can be agitated and aggravated and in the end affecting economic relations and trade.

The tree planting activities, keeping as much greenery in the island, using clean technology, policing anti clean air activities all cost money. It would not be long before someone comes up with the idea to make the people to feel the cost of keeping the air clean and healthy. If water can be priced on the basis of making the people appreciate that it is important, the same kind of logic would not be far fetch to apply to air.

How about levying some kind of free and clean air taxes for the money spent to keep the air breathable for Singaporeans?  Would some nuts in the future be thinking that this is a good thing, to make the people feel the price of clean air and how important and valuable is clean air? If it really happens, then cham liao.

Would some jokers be saying that this is to help the people and good for the people, for the people’s good?  Would there be free and clean air tax in the future?   Smokers be warned, you are contaminating the air with all kinds of harmful agents. You have yet to be made to pay for harming the environment, making the air unclean and the efforts to keep the air clean from cigarette pollutants.

But before free air is in the calculation, would power and electricity fall into the same category as water and be subject to the same strategic thinking and pricing? We don’t have natural power production sources and producing power and electricity is very expensive. Tiok boh?

MOM taking 50 firms to task

MOM has taken 50 firms to task for not giving fair opportunities to employing Singaporeans and another 250 firms put on the watchlist. Is this enough after letting in 500,000 foreigners, so called talents to take away jobs from Singaporeans and still happily employed while many Singaporeans PMETs are unemployed or underemployed or resigned to early retirement? This pathetic situation has been going on for the last 10 to 20 years!

Think of the pain and suffering thousands of Singaporeans have gone through. Think of how many families got into financial trouble or even broke up. Think of the emotional suffering of Singaporeans seeking jobs but got rejected and rejected or not even called up for an interview. Think of the number of dejected cases, depression cases, Singaporeans losing confidence in themselves, some even became IMH cases. Think of the disappointment of parents for raising their children and putting them through the expensive education system. Think of the disappointment of young Singaporeans after spending their parents’ life savings and unable to find a decent job, some were lucky to end up with part time job but not enough to feed themselves, how these young people felt, unable to repay the kindness and generosities of their parents, wanting to be filial but unable to, and feeling ashame and useless.

Are the MOM and the govt doing enough to help the Singaporeans suffering because of the 500,000 foreigners here and depriving Singaporeans from getting a job to feed themselves and to have some pride and dignity as an individual? Oh MOM is partnering foreign agencies to look for jobs for Singaporeans, where, overseas? If Singaporeans could not find jobs in Singapore, how are their chances to finding jobs overseas, to be what, cooks, gardeners? Seow!

What is wrong with this bloody system? Why are Singaporeans being forced out from their homes and country when there are 500,000 foreigners happily employed here? I look around Raffles Place and MBFC and at the young foreigners and cannot believe my eyes that what they are doing cannot be done by Singaporeans? There are easier solutions to helping Singaporeans to find a decent job than trying to send them overseas. Please stop doing nonsense and get the basics right. There is no need to teach million dollar ministers how to do their job unless they are unworthy of their million dollar salaries. It is time to be serious and do the necessary and the due diligence. If they still cannot think out of the mess, just think of immigration passes and quotas will do.  It is not difficult and it is only a responsible thing for the govt to do. I have wasted so much breath talking about this issue while so many Singaporeans are suffering and some people are happily tweedling their thumbs counting their millions and acting innocent.

How much more must Singaporeans suffer from this fate due to govt policies to bring in more foreigners at their expense? Singaporeans mismatched, misfits, foreigners from little villages with funny degrees are better fit and better matched?

Stupidity has no cure. Forsaking the Singaporeans is a crime against Singaporeans.

If no serious and immediate action is taken, if the govt is not going to provide the opportunities for Singaporeans to be suitably employed, Singaporeans will end up without the relevant skills, without the experience to move up the corporate and skills ladder for higher appointments. Singaporeans would become skill less, less experiencede and unemployable with foreigners getting all the on the job training and experience to boot in their CVs.

A good example is the CEO positions. Why give them to foreigners to gain the experience and not to Singaporeans? Soon no Singaporeans would be good enough to be CEOs, even in GLCs.

This is tragedy in the making and Singaporeans would become the dodo birds of the 21^st Century, in their own country. This is another kind of ‘Sook Ching’ in a way.

I read somewhere that Lim Swee Say was so emotional in Parliament when talking about the unemployment of Singaporean PMETs. Some were saying that he was shedding crocodile tears. I hope he really felt the pain and suffering of the unemployed or under employed Singaporeans and understood how ‘chek ark’ 折悪is such a policy of giving hundreds of thousands of jobs to foreigners but leaving Singaporeans in the lurch, in despair. I also hope that those MPs and ministers sitting in the Parliament also felt the same and would quickly start to do something to help Singaporeans instead of talking cock, to help the people that voted them into Parliament. They owe it to the voters not to foreigners.