Nature Society wants Ubin to be gazetted as a nature reserve

‘A nature group has called for Pulau Ubin to be given the same level of protection as a nature reserve, given the concentration of rare and endangered wildlife found on the off shore island.’ This is reported in the Today paper on 19 Nov 14.
 
I can only say fat hope. We don’t even have enough land for 6.9m population, where got land for wildlife? The only kind of wildlife we are protecting are those rogue retailers in the shopping centres and the wild foreigners on bicycles in our roads.
 
Actually I am wrong to say that we don’t have enough land for 6.9m. Some experts claimed that we have land for 10m. I think we have enough land for 100m population. We are preparing to bring the world’s jobless population here because we don’t have enough babies for economic growth. After 6.9m, they will say we need more growth, and it will be 10m. After 10m, they will say need to have economic growth, and it will be 20m, and so on. 100m maybe just a planning number. It could go bigger.
 
Pulau Ubin, Tekong and all the southern islands would need to be filled, expanded, to prepare for 100m in the future. Where got the luxury of land for wildlife?

Kopi Level - Green

CECA and Smart Cities in India

I hope the MPs would raise these two issues in Parliament and discuss the merits and demerits for Singapore and Singaporeans. Whose big ideas were they? What is in them for us? How much are we going to spend and how much are we going to get in return? Goodwill is not good enough. Praising Singapore as a good friend is not good enough. Praising Singapore as smart or stupid is not good enough. We cannot be doing charity all over the world and squeezing on the people to do it.
 
We need to know the bottom lines. Parliament must draw a line on major decisions involving big money, big projects that must be approved by Parliament. Not everyone can suka suka go and spend the people’s money on their pet projects or hobbies. No one should travel the world and behave like a philanthropist using the people’s money.

Kopi Level - Green

PAP big gun in Aljunied and Hougang

Lim Boon Heng, the big gun of yesteryears, is seen in a grassroot affair in Aljunied and Hougang, leading a team of freshies that are likely to be the candidates for the next GE. Just my guess. The question, why Boon Heng and not some incumbent ministers? Perhaps Boon Heng has volunteered to throw his weight in Aljunied GRC to carry the new team to victory. By the look of things, Boon Heng is the most worthy heavy weight that could to do the job now, or is the bravest to lead the charge.
 
Boon Heng’s first salvo is to question what would happen if WP would be in charge of SG? For him to ask such a question is like saying what PAP has done is the best, or WP would make a mess of everything. Can WP do anything worst? What do you think?
 
The other issue is about the finance of AHPETC. Boon Heng was horrified that the Town Council has turned a $3m surplus to a $734k deficit. I can understand the surplus part, ie excess revenue collected. Good thing. Collect more is good and better to transfer the excess to the Sinking Fund and sink to the bottom and be forgotten. Another untouchable fund?
 
What is this deficit? Is the deficit due to losses due to bad investments or mismanagement? Or is it because some residents are facing hardship and have problems servicing their monthly conservancy fees? Or is it that some ‘above the law’ citizens chose not to pay because they did not vote for the WP and they have the right not to pay?
 
In the first case, hardship, would it be better to ruthlessly chase for payments by issuing legal letters or threats of evictions? In the second case, are there people above the law that they can choose not to pay their conservancy fees because they did not elect the MP? Is there any law about such hooligan behavior? Can the residents in PAP constituencies who did not elect the PAP MP do the same? If can then it would be a good precedent for more lawlessness in this City with gangsters running wild everywhere. And the best part, no law to apprehend them and to bring them to justice in a rule of law country.
 
What is the issue? What do you think?
 
Please also read TRE’s editorial on the disproportionate distribution of govt grants to GRCs and why AHPETC got among the least and how some GRCs covered their deficits by huge govt grants. The TRE article is titled ‘Desmond Lee, all town councils run deficits.’

Kopi Level - Green

Residents to elect their own mayors?

Someone suggested this to be a better thing. My question, why do we need mayors in the first place? To give more pay to the mayors? What can the mayors do that the MPs cannot do or vice versa? Oh, MPs are part timers, too busy working and making money. Are mayors part timers also? If full timers are needed, why not make MPs full timers? $16,000 pm is not small change and deserves to have a full time person on the job.
Either we make the MPs do their job or replace them with mayors. It is an either or option. There is absolutely no need to have both. We are a little pee sai. Got so much work for mayors, MPs and town councils to do? Got very powerful CCC Chairman some more!
 
Please don’t waste public money and resources. We are too small and no need to create so many levels of appointments and work and money to pay to so many people.
 
Why don’t we create a mayor post for every constituency and 5 or 6 mayors for big GRCs? Are our people that incompetent? London and New York with more than 10m population only has one mayor each. They are not falling apart. Are our HDB estates better run by our mayors than London and New York?
 
Do we need mayors for every 20 blocks of flats or every 100,000 people? Hey, our mayors are all super talents earning super talent salaries, definitely more than the mayor of London and New York.
 
Are we getting value for money? Or are we made to become Santa Claus?

Kopi Level - Green

Big banks fined in the billions in Europe and the US

Saw a few pieces of crawlers over Channel News Asia a few days back. UK fined big banks US$1.7b for forex rigging. US fined big banks US$1.4b for forex riggings. Swiss authority fined UBS US$139m for forex rigging. My doubts about how the big banks could make billions in the business of banking suddenly got clearer. No, just on lending and earning interests would not make that kind of money. And no, just on trading would not make that kind of money either. When the big banks are cooking up billions in profits, the likelihoods of fraud and rigging are not far fetched. Give them a chance, like the last US financial crisis, every one of these banks will declare insolvent, bankrupt over night. History will repeat itself.

Who believes that banks are honest bankers doing honest and conservative businesses? Today, the big banks are the biggest rogues in fraudulent practices, money laundering, and rigging in forex and sell toxic derivatives. And if they are not caught and fined, it is not that they are innocent. It is just because they have yet to be caught. So be wary, be very wary, when banks are blowing their trumpets about the billions they are making, just like before the global financial crisis. And until today, none of the CEOs have to be locked up in jail. They continued to cheat and fraud using their banks and some low level traders would be used as the scapegoats. Any fines would be paid by the banks. The CEOs are blameless. They did not know what was going on.

A note of clarification. The big banks I am referring to are those in the US and Europe. Those that are here are absolutely safe, 101% sure. They would do what the rogue bankers are doing in Europe and the US. Our banks are making genuine small profits from loans and financing. We are so very lucky. Must be the good govt, the good governance and the good men in charge of the banks and all the good regulations we introduced.

I hope there is no nightmare in the making. Just remember Murphy’s Law.

Kopi Level - Green