myth 89

'Have a pap smear at least every three years' Just read this in the paper this morning. Haven't we have enough of pap smears? Just kidding.

hand holding indonesia

My proposal to Indonesia on the haze problem. Divide Sumatra into 6 regions with Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore being responsible for two regions. Similarly Kalimantan be divided into 3 regions with Brunei taking one region and Malaysia taking two. And for each region appoint an Indonesian Mayor In Charge of Environment(MICE). And each MICE be supported by an adviser whose advise is to be followed. And when the MICE failed in his job, the Adviser shall report to Jakarta to have the MICE removed. I think that will work.

the poor had it.

The poor had it. The bulk of the commuters of public transport comes mainly from the less well to do Singaporeans. These are the people whom the govt takes great care to make sure public transport is affordable. And if there is any increase in transport fare, it will be done cautiously, and in small amounts like 2c or 3c. One can expect that the transport operators will also be sensitive to the fares that the commuters are paying and not to over charge them. But we are still hearing commuters being made to pay extra because of system failure or errors. The poorer segment of the society, often less articulate, also did not have a voice. Are there really people who represent them and their interest? Take this uncle for example. He seldom takes public transport. Then hopped onto a bus and asked the bus captain how much it cost to his destination. $1.30 came the reply. Uncle scratched his pocket for his $1.30. He only had 80c, and no ez link pass. The captain patiently waited for his fare to be deposited into the box. Uncle asked, 'got change?' as he took out his smallest $2 note. Captain grinned. Sorry no change, exact fare please. Uncle was caught not knowing what to do. And the queue behind him grew impatient. He reluctantly let his $2 dropped into the box for his $1.30 ride. And no change. Why is it that the poorer commuters should always be made to pay more for the convenience of the big transport operators? How many uncles and aunties have been forced to pay that much more for their rides? But they are to be blamed for not having the exact change. It is the system. The bus captain is also unable to waive the short changed. A modern and world class system has no tolerance for the ignorant and difficult to train poor. This is another brutal truth of a world class transport system. To be fair to the transport operators, they have given enough publicity on the need to have exact fare. Or else the computerised system cannot cope with all the change. They have educated the commuters and the commuters jolly well know what is expected of them. The poor commuters shall not make a nuisance of themselves.

how to kill the SJER?

Even before the ink dries, there are all kinds of distracting voices that could derail an aggressive and promising strategy to turn Johore into a metropolis. The Sultan is saying that foreigners are dirty. How is this going to be helpful to the SJER? Cut the causeway! Another ambivalent if not counter productive statement. Would investors and Singaporeans think that they will really be welcomed in Johore? But the most destructive statement on the SJER is to claim that Singapore will stand to benefit from it. And worst if someone claims that Singapore will gain more in the cooperation than Johore or Malaysia. The thought that Singapore will benefit from any project is like the tolling of the death bell. Whether it is real or imagery, once the Malaysians or some Malaysians heard that Singapore will benefit, susah lah, how can the deal go through? The easiest way to kill the SJER is just to crow how much Singapore will benefit from it. So whoever want to kill this project, just make sure that the Malaysians heard it loud and clear that Singapore is going to benefit from it. And to hasten its demise, just claim that Singapore will benefit more than the Malaysians.

the haze is back?

The haze got worse last night. This morning it appears to be getting bad. It seems that the Asean Ministerial Meeting is not bearing any fruit. Or is it that the ransom asked was not paid and the haze will not go away? Looks like the Asean neighbours would have to buy the Indonesians a satellite and build all the dams they want for the haze to go away.