‘The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance is seeking
Parliament’s approval to increase Singapore’s membership subscription
limit to the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (or
IBRD) from the current US$40 million to US$672 million….
Our current subscription limit is US$40 million. This limit has not
changed since 1966, when we were much smaller and poorer. Considering
our economy has grown a lot since then, our current subscription appears
relatively low. We have one of the lowest subscriptions among the 188
member countries in the World Bank.
Having said that, the quantum of the proposed increase in our
subscription limit is not small. It is going up from US$40 million to
US$672 million – an increase of almost 17 times. Can I ask the DPM how
the Government arrived at this quantum?’ Gerald Giam’s speech in
Parliament
Contribution to the World Bank to do good is a good thing. What is US$672m
when we have billions in our reserve? We are giving away $210m as
tuition grant to foreign students studying in Singapore and the total
amount, including all things, could be double or more of this sum
annually. Another US$672m is ‘sup sup sway’. When there is so much money
around, just spend lah.
Gerald Giam is asking the DPM how this sum is derived? Does it matter? I
can give one hundred and one explanations but what does it mean?
Nothing. What is enough, not enough or too much is relative. It is like
eating in a hawker centre, food court or restaurant kind of argument.
What matters is how is this sum going to be funded? From taxes, ERPs,
SWF’s revenue, from CPF, the casinos or where? The money must come from
somewhere and someone has to pay for it. Even though it is nothing
compares to the billions to be spent on the pending purchase of F35
aircraft, it is still money that could be put to better use. We spent
$4.3b for a 5km expressway! So US$672m is definitely very affordable to
give away.
Spending OPM is easy, but don’t cause hardship to the people as this is
an annual commitment and the same money can do a lot of good to the
citizens. When the govt wants to be generous, let’s be generous with the
citizens first, can?
It is US$672m man, not a small sum to the ordinary people. To those
spending OPM as a habit, it is just a number and would not affect their
pockets. But it will eventually affect the taxpayers and the citizens.
The money must cough out from somewhere.
The peranakans would like so say, ‘yeow siew’ for spending such a big sum of money when it could make many citizens happy.
Kopi level - Green
1/23/2014
1/22/2014
Tuition grant, how much did we give away?
Png Eng Huat asked in Parliament and the MOE gave its reply. $210 m were
given to international students as tuition grant annually. Presumably
or assumingly this is the average sum, so in 10 years it will be $2.1b
and 20 years it will be $4.2 b.
There are several questions to this figure. Is it just for tuition grants and excludes living allowance and others, or is this the total package given away? Also, how much was given to PRs? PRs are not citizens mind you. What is the amount, can any tell?
As for the number of students receiving the grant in polys, it was 1,700 for year 2011 which is 6% of the cohort, lesser than the 9% in year 2010. Similarly 2,200 grants were given to university students in 2011, or 13% of the cohort instead of 18% in 2010. The combined number is 3,900 for 2011 and much less than in 2010. All the data do not include PRs. And the data are only for two years, 2010 and 2011.
How many of our own children, the children of citizens, were deprived of a place that rightly belonged to them but went to foreigners and PRs? Seriously, what is the objective of throwing so much money to foreigners and not giving uni and poly places to our children? I can understand that it is good to do it as a charitable act to help other countries. The question is how far should this go and how much should we compromise or deprive our children in so doing?
I don’t thing there is another country in the world that gave away so much to foreigners and hurting the children of citizens so much in doing so. What is the return for all these money and places for foreigners?
This is not your grandfather’s country you know. The money does not belong to your grandfather too.
There are several questions to this figure. Is it just for tuition grants and excludes living allowance and others, or is this the total package given away? Also, how much was given to PRs? PRs are not citizens mind you. What is the amount, can any tell?
As for the number of students receiving the grant in polys, it was 1,700 for year 2011 which is 6% of the cohort, lesser than the 9% in year 2010. Similarly 2,200 grants were given to university students in 2011, or 13% of the cohort instead of 18% in 2010. The combined number is 3,900 for 2011 and much less than in 2010. All the data do not include PRs. And the data are only for two years, 2010 and 2011.
How many of our own children, the children of citizens, were deprived of a place that rightly belonged to them but went to foreigners and PRs? Seriously, what is the objective of throwing so much money to foreigners and not giving uni and poly places to our children? I can understand that it is good to do it as a charitable act to help other countries. The question is how far should this go and how much should we compromise or deprive our children in so doing?
I don’t thing there is another country in the world that gave away so much to foreigners and hurting the children of citizens so much in doing so. What is the return for all these money and places for foreigners?
This is not your grandfather’s country you know. The money does not belong to your grandfather too.
No sane person can breach our checkpoint security
With the tight security checks at our checkpoints, particularly at
Woodlands and Tuas, it is insane for anyone to think of slipping through
the checks and getting away. It could be done by foot as proven by a
Took. But to get across in a vehicle is unimaginable.
Well, a Malaysian woman motorist did just that and was lost in our concrete jungle for 3 days. Our network of cameras also failed to locate her despite an island wide alert. She was only caught when she did another tailgating job into the Ministry of Foreign Affair, intentionally I supposed, to prove something. Why she did that is still puzzling. It seems that she was trying to prove to the security officers that she could do what she like and there is no way for them to trace her unless she offered herself, like driving into the MFA compound voluntarily.
The police should interrogate her intensively and learn a few tricks from her. Never mind if she is insane. The divide between a genius and an insane is only a thin line, so they said. This may be the Achilles heel of our security system, that only an insane person can breach it in an insane way. If the woman is sane, there is no way for her to get through and run free in this tiny island when there was no attempt for her to change cars, number plate or camouflage the car.
She simply drove the same car everywhere she wanted. Cool man. Insanity is our weakness.
Well, a Malaysian woman motorist did just that and was lost in our concrete jungle for 3 days. Our network of cameras also failed to locate her despite an island wide alert. She was only caught when she did another tailgating job into the Ministry of Foreign Affair, intentionally I supposed, to prove something. Why she did that is still puzzling. It seems that she was trying to prove to the security officers that she could do what she like and there is no way for them to trace her unless she offered herself, like driving into the MFA compound voluntarily.
The police should interrogate her intensively and learn a few tricks from her. Never mind if she is insane. The divide between a genius and an insane is only a thin line, so they said. This may be the Achilles heel of our security system, that only an insane person can breach it in an insane way. If the woman is sane, there is no way for her to get through and run free in this tiny island when there was no attempt for her to change cars, number plate or camouflage the car.
She simply drove the same car everywhere she wanted. Cool man. Insanity is our weakness.
Sinkies the modern day Sick man of Asia
Many Sinkies are still lull to believe that the future is so rosy and
will be so for a long time to come. For the super rich, sure, if things
get bad, pack up and go to the new homes they bought all over the world.
They have the least to worry what would happen to Sin City tomorrow,
even if it goes to dustbin. Their preoccupation is to make hay while the
sun is still shining, grab as much as they can while they still can.
For the rest of the Sinkies, they are really sick. They got replaced by foreigners in their jobs, with many who came with fake qualifications. And the sick Sinkies just accept it as normal, nothing wrong with that, can’t do anything about it.
And those who are still working could be working for fakes who had qualifications and experience that were lower or far inferior to them, or all fakes. And the sick Sinkies got to call them boss, listen to their rubbish and got screwed by them as they liked to show who is boss.
And in hospitals, they could be treated by fakes and paying top dollars for it and paying top salaries to the fakes. They are lucky if nothing goes wrong, if not their lives could be at stake or the condition get worse.
And the NSmen are there to protect these fakes in the country who are taking their jobs, their parent’s jobs and making their parents jobless and hoping that their NSmen children could give them some pocket money. How many of them are here when there are at least 500k in the PME category? How many, 10%, 30% or 50% or more?
Yes, many Sinkies are now the new Sick man of Asia, bullied by the fakes and have to serve the fakes and without knowing it or cannot do anything about it. And the foreigners despised the Sinkies, feeling very free to insult and beat up Sinkies, just like old Shanghai where the foreigners are more equal than the locals.
There are many equivalents of foreign concessions, China concession, Indian concession, Pinoy concession, Thais and Pinoy concessions. There are even business parks and condominiums practically filled by foreigners.
Maybe I am wrong, all the foreign PMEs are the real McCoys. The Sick Sinkies are really no good. This may be the reasons why so few were caught with fake certificates. And it is a total waste of money to pay an Indian company to check on their qualifications when all of them are real, or very few are fakes. Imagine getting paid $50k or $60k just to submit reports that may prove all negatives.
Sinkies should just bugger off to other countries to find a job and let the real foreign PMEs to replace them at home. History has come full circle. The poor parents of Sinkies came from the Sick Man of Asia in the 19th and 20th centuries to look for work. Today, the Sinkies are themselves the new Sick Man of Asia and scurrying back to China and other countries to look for work. Their parents could not find decent jobs in their country China. Today, Sinkies cannot find decent jobs in their country, Sin City. Their parents were replaced by foreigners who invaded their country by force. Today’s Sinkies are replaced by foreigners who invaded their island by invitation.
Kopi level - Green
For the rest of the Sinkies, they are really sick. They got replaced by foreigners in their jobs, with many who came with fake qualifications. And the sick Sinkies just accept it as normal, nothing wrong with that, can’t do anything about it.
And those who are still working could be working for fakes who had qualifications and experience that were lower or far inferior to them, or all fakes. And the sick Sinkies got to call them boss, listen to their rubbish and got screwed by them as they liked to show who is boss.
And in hospitals, they could be treated by fakes and paying top dollars for it and paying top salaries to the fakes. They are lucky if nothing goes wrong, if not their lives could be at stake or the condition get worse.
And the NSmen are there to protect these fakes in the country who are taking their jobs, their parent’s jobs and making their parents jobless and hoping that their NSmen children could give them some pocket money. How many of them are here when there are at least 500k in the PME category? How many, 10%, 30% or 50% or more?
Yes, many Sinkies are now the new Sick man of Asia, bullied by the fakes and have to serve the fakes and without knowing it or cannot do anything about it. And the foreigners despised the Sinkies, feeling very free to insult and beat up Sinkies, just like old Shanghai where the foreigners are more equal than the locals.
There are many equivalents of foreign concessions, China concession, Indian concession, Pinoy concession, Thais and Pinoy concessions. There are even business parks and condominiums practically filled by foreigners.
Maybe I am wrong, all the foreign PMEs are the real McCoys. The Sick Sinkies are really no good. This may be the reasons why so few were caught with fake certificates. And it is a total waste of money to pay an Indian company to check on their qualifications when all of them are real, or very few are fakes. Imagine getting paid $50k or $60k just to submit reports that may prove all negatives.
Sinkies should just bugger off to other countries to find a job and let the real foreign PMEs to replace them at home. History has come full circle. The poor parents of Sinkies came from the Sick Man of Asia in the 19th and 20th centuries to look for work. Today, the Sinkies are themselves the new Sick Man of Asia and scurrying back to China and other countries to look for work. Their parents could not find decent jobs in their country China. Today, Sinkies cannot find decent jobs in their country, Sin City. Their parents were replaced by foreigners who invaded their country by force. Today’s Sinkies are replaced by foreigners who invaded their island by invitation.
Kopi level - Green
1/21/2014
Fare Hike Protest 5pm 25 Jan Sat at Hong Lim
Gilbert is organising another protest at Hong Lim Park this Sat on the public transport fare hike.
Just wondering how many Sinkies would bother to attend despite kpkb about the hike everyday. If only 500 turn out then it will be reported as only 500 are unhappy with the fare hike. The rest, the majority of the Sinkies support the fare hike and find the increase very reasonable and affordable.
Tiok boh?
Just wondering how many Sinkies would bother to attend despite kpkb about the hike everyday. If only 500 turn out then it will be reported as only 500 are unhappy with the fare hike. The rest, the majority of the Sinkies support the fare hike and find the increase very reasonable and affordable.
Tiok boh?
SMRT – Why so unforgiving?
Read a post by a Gabriel Bai posted in The Real Singapore of a student
whose mobile battery ran out and thought it was ok to get it charged
while in a MRT platform. She was caught by a train officer and charged
in court.
‘The first time she went to court, the judge advised her to write a letter to appeal to SMRT, considering how minor this issue was. The appeal failed, and the second time she went to court, she was then fined $400.
I just felt really unfair for her, considering the fact that she has no idea the sockets could not be used (there were no warnings, or labels that the public cannot use them). It was also her first offence, and that she is still a student working part-time to support herself.’
Should an incident like this committed by a young student that often than not did it without any malice, just a bit unthoughtful, be treated as a crime? Or should an adult of a big business be more generous and forgiving to just tell the student not to do it again? Why is the SMRT so harsh in its dealing with a young student that there was no room for a little kindness and forgiveness when the Judge had already indicated that a little human kindness was called for?
Ok, some asshole will say a crime is a crime, an offence is an offence. I accept that there are assholes that would think and react this way. But personally I would have let the student go with the most a warning. Unless there is more to this case and this was a repeat offender, then I can understand the need to make it an offence. But to charge a student in court for such a minor infringement is beyond me.
Well there are immortals and some are more righteous and less tolerant of the young. Some will just throw the book at anyone and hide behind the law. A little discretion is warranted in the enforcement of rules and regulations and even the law. Yes, when you only have a hammer, everything is a nail to be hammered.
This is the kind of sick society we have become in the way we deal with our young and fellow citizens. Oh remember, ‘Our apologies for the slight delay. This train will be delayed due to a technical fault’. And the commuters are expected to be forgiving. And ’19,000 stranded by third train delay in a week’. So, should the public throw the book at the SMRT? Or should the public be forgiving, kind and understanding?
The poor student would now have to put in his/her CV, charged in court for an offence. How would this minor indiscretion that ended with a guilty judgement in court affect this young person’s life? Where is the kindness and generosity when it is expected from the adults? Or should we applaud the SMRT for being very proper, an offence is an offence, a mistake is a mistake?
‘The first time she went to court, the judge advised her to write a letter to appeal to SMRT, considering how minor this issue was. The appeal failed, and the second time she went to court, she was then fined $400.
I just felt really unfair for her, considering the fact that she has no idea the sockets could not be used (there were no warnings, or labels that the public cannot use them). It was also her first offence, and that she is still a student working part-time to support herself.’
Should an incident like this committed by a young student that often than not did it without any malice, just a bit unthoughtful, be treated as a crime? Or should an adult of a big business be more generous and forgiving to just tell the student not to do it again? Why is the SMRT so harsh in its dealing with a young student that there was no room for a little kindness and forgiveness when the Judge had already indicated that a little human kindness was called for?
Ok, some asshole will say a crime is a crime, an offence is an offence. I accept that there are assholes that would think and react this way. But personally I would have let the student go with the most a warning. Unless there is more to this case and this was a repeat offender, then I can understand the need to make it an offence. But to charge a student in court for such a minor infringement is beyond me.
Well there are immortals and some are more righteous and less tolerant of the young. Some will just throw the book at anyone and hide behind the law. A little discretion is warranted in the enforcement of rules and regulations and even the law. Yes, when you only have a hammer, everything is a nail to be hammered.
This is the kind of sick society we have become in the way we deal with our young and fellow citizens. Oh remember, ‘Our apologies for the slight delay. This train will be delayed due to a technical fault’. And the commuters are expected to be forgiving. And ’19,000 stranded by third train delay in a week’. So, should the public throw the book at the SMRT? Or should the public be forgiving, kind and understanding?
The poor student would now have to put in his/her CV, charged in court for an offence. How would this minor indiscretion that ended with a guilty judgement in court affect this young person’s life? Where is the kindness and generosity when it is expected from the adults? Or should we applaud the SMRT for being very proper, an offence is an offence, a mistake is a mistake?
Thaksin’s ghost would not go away
He was ousted in 2006 by a military coup during his second term in
office. 8 years have gone by while he lives in exile with a big
corruption tag on his head and a jail sentence. His Puea Thai Party has
since been winning elections after elections and is the standing govt
that the protesters in Bangkok are trying to dislodge from office.
Yingluck has been accused of all kinds of crimes and the latest for
corruption related to her rice policy for the Thai farmers.
Under pressure from the protesters who were pointing the corruption finger at her, she called for a general election to vote her out. The Democrats refused to participate knowing that they would lose again. Why would a political party with so much power behind it and claiming to represent the majority of the Thais afraid to fight a general election and so convinced that it would lose?
Do they believe in their accusations against the Yingluck govt for being corrupt and that the Thai voters are not stupid to want to vote a corrupt govt back into power again and again? Or the majority of the Thais do not believe anything the Democrats and the protest leaders are leveling against the Yingluck govt? Or they believe that the Democrats and the Bangkok elite are more corrupt instead?
Thaksin has been away for so long. If he and his sister are so corrupt, why would the Thais keep voting them back to power? Why would he not go away? The majority of the Thais are stupid?
Why would the Thais want to continue to support the Thaksin and Yingluck party? Do they know what is good for them and which party is against their interests? They cannot be voting for a party and leaders that are corrupt can they?
What is the truth? The Yellow Shirts and Suthep are claiming on moral high ground but still believe that they would not be voted in by the majority of the Thais. He even declared a victory day ‘more than 5 times’ but no confident to fight a general election. Funny isn’t it?
They said you cannot bluff all the people all the time. 8 years have passed and Thaksin is still a popular leader of the Thai people. He and Yingluck must have done something right or his corruption tag would have finished him off, and Yingluck as well. Who is being conned, the simple rural farmers or the educated Bangkok city folks?
Kopi level - Green
Under pressure from the protesters who were pointing the corruption finger at her, she called for a general election to vote her out. The Democrats refused to participate knowing that they would lose again. Why would a political party with so much power behind it and claiming to represent the majority of the Thais afraid to fight a general election and so convinced that it would lose?
Do they believe in their accusations against the Yingluck govt for being corrupt and that the Thai voters are not stupid to want to vote a corrupt govt back into power again and again? Or the majority of the Thais do not believe anything the Democrats and the protest leaders are leveling against the Yingluck govt? Or they believe that the Democrats and the Bangkok elite are more corrupt instead?
Thaksin has been away for so long. If he and his sister are so corrupt, why would the Thais keep voting them back to power? Why would he not go away? The majority of the Thais are stupid?
Why would the Thais want to continue to support the Thaksin and Yingluck party? Do they know what is good for them and which party is against their interests? They cannot be voting for a party and leaders that are corrupt can they?
What is the truth? The Yellow Shirts and Suthep are claiming on moral high ground but still believe that they would not be voted in by the majority of the Thais. He even declared a victory day ‘more than 5 times’ but no confident to fight a general election. Funny isn’t it?
They said you cannot bluff all the people all the time. 8 years have passed and Thaksin is still a popular leader of the Thai people. He and Yingluck must have done something right or his corruption tag would have finished him off, and Yingluck as well. Who is being conned, the simple rural farmers or the educated Bangkok city folks?
Kopi level - Green
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