Language aside, the general school facilities and resources in Indian
government schools are not comparable to Singapore government schools,
and Indian teachers and students often work and study under adverse
conditions.
I have often wondered how Indian government schools, despite their
inadequate and commonly antiquated education facilities and resources,
can produce talents in demand by a first world country like Singapore.
There must be something unique (almost magical) about the Indian
government schools, their education administration and education
Ministry, Ministers and their officials....
How much of the Indian talents are “real” talents that Singapore cannot
survive without them? How can India produce the first world talent when
Singapore cannot despite our good education facilities and model?....
Lastly, if a Third World country like India can produce First World
talents which Singapore must have to survive, why can’t First World
Singapore produce the talent investors require (though not in the same
numbers)?
It is only when the PAP government is really taking serious actions
(rather than their ‘fanciful talks’) to control the inflow of foreign
talents especially from India can our well-skilled and educated
Singaporeans remain in employment without fear of unfair competition.
Kok Ming Cheang
The above statements from Kok Ming Cheang's article in the TRE are something that I have been musing about and perplexing to many Singaporean PMETs that have lost their high paying jobs to foreigners especially those from India. Amusing to me is one thing, but pain and suffering to the affected PMETs and their families is another. And to those that paid lip service to the suffering of this group of Singaporeans and claiming that they understood their pains and empathise with them,with their lives while they live their lives of aplenty because of their million dollar salaries, is another.
This is very serious matter and should not be taken lightly. The reason
'wayang' as some in the social media have said about the sudden
interest in MOM to right the decades long wrong to the Singaporean PMETs and
their families hopefully is not really just another wayang because
election is around the corner.
Is there anything wrong with this education conundrum or something is wrong with the facts? Is it true that third world Indian education is producing all the talents that first world Singapore education is unable to produce? Or is it true that Singapore's first world education is not producing the talents that first world Singapore needs, ie failure in the Singapore education system? Something is very wrong. Something is fake, cannot be both. Either Indian education is really good and producing good talents for Singapore or it is not. Or Singapore's education is really producing duds despite its claim of being world class or it is not.
What is fake, which part is fake? Can Singapore, after spending so much money to have a world class education system is not really what it is, everything is fake, fake world class education therefore unable to produce the talents it needs? Or India's third world education is producing fake talents that the stupids in Singapore cannot tell the difference and took them in as talents? Which is which?
What is real and what is fake?
1/26/2020
US has always been an illegitimate rogue country run by criminals and psychopaths
Five hundred years ago savage barbarian hordes from Europe went on a rampage to invade foreign lands far and wide and brought 500 years of curse to the whole world. Wherever they went they killed and plundered and deprived the natives of their land. Before very long the continents of the Americas, Africa, Asia and Australia were brought to their knees under white barbarians control and domination. In the Americas there was almost wholesale genocide of the natives by the British, France, Spain, Portugal and Holland. It is most outrageous all these invasions, conquests, killings and genocide of the natives were carried out and justified in the name of their Christian God and based on the instructions of their holy book which claimed their God empowered them to do so.
United States and Canada were founded by the savage hordes from England. The original United States which broke away from England in 1775 consisted only of thirteen states with a territory of only about six hundred and fifty thousand square miles. However, due to its endless aggressive wars of conquests it soon expanded to over Three million six hundred and fifty-five thousand square miles within a span of about one hundred and thirty years from 1775 to 1905, and all at the expense of the native American states and Mexico.
Having conquered the whole of continental north America, the evil white Americans then proceeded to conquer across the seas, across the Pacific Ocean to conquer Hawaii, Guam and most of the islands in the Pacific Ocean.
White American savage aggression has not stopped. They think no one can or is able to stop their aggressive wars of conquests and they make their aggressive wars as ongoing and a continuing process until it conquers and dominate the whole world under its tyranny and total hegemony. It is now trying to conquer the Middle East and deprive the Arab muslims of their lands so as to acquire full control of the oil and other mineral resources in the region. In south and central America its heavy hands of damnation bully and interfere in the internal affairs of each and every country in the region. It has constantly conducted brutal regime change in many of the countries in the region.
Despite the white American never ending streaks of wanton aggression it is very confounding that most of the third world countries especially many of the ASEAN countries and Arab muslim countries like Saudi Arabia, Egypt, UAE, Tunisia and Algeria never condemn the Americans but on the contrary coddled up to them. Is this indifferent attitude the result of inherent fear of the brutal military might of the evil empire of the United States. Or is it some or many of the ex-colonial countries have benefited somehow and in some ways from their ex-colonial masters. Take for example in the late 1890s to early 1910s England had occupied tens of thousands of square miles of Chinese lands in Southern Tibet or North East Frontier as the British called it and in the North West or the Ark Sai-chin corridor and in Lakdah, Chinese territories in which the Indians inherited from the British and thus took over the mantle of British imperialism at the expense of China. Also the state of Assam which was once an independent kingdom was also incorporated into British India and in which India does similarly inherited and benefited.
Indonesia also benefited territorially from Dutch colonialism. It illegally annexed Papua New Guinea and East Timor into Indonesia though these two territories are entirely different entities from the Indonesians.
Malaya also benefited from British colonialism when it was given the huge territories of Sarawak and Sabah formerly known as British North Borneo.
So it seems it is not only extreme self-interests but also ravacious greed that they behave in such outrageous manner especially some Asean countries like the Philippines, Vietnam,Malaysia and Brunei which capitalise on the enmity between China and the United States to take advantage on China by falsely pursuing illicit claims to many of the Chinese islands and territorial seas in the South China Sea region thinking that they might have the backing and support of the Evil Empire to their unfounded wild claims.
The recent assassination of Iran's commander in chief Mr Soleimani by the United States is state terrorism. Mr Soleimani was lured to his death by the subterfuge of President Trump via CIA and the Pentagon under the dark cloak of diplomacy to discuss ways to lessen tension between Iran and Saudi Arabia with Iraq taken for a ride as an intermediary. This reminds us of The Ides of March in which Julius Caesar was lured to his death in Rome in the struggle for supreme power of the Roman Empire. Yet Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt and none of the ASEAN countries either singly or as a group condemn the white American cowardly state terrorism. ASEAN countries and their ministers and politicians like to echo the American fake talk of following international rules, laws and regulations. The white Americans and its western allies have been committing so many countless atrocities and flouting all the international laws and rules all the time and yet ASEAN countries and some Arab muslim countries have been outrageously singularly silent without a word of condemnation against the Evil Empire. Yet the ASEAN ministers and politicians will always shamelessly echo the American agenda of demonisation of China.
Why are the presidents, prime ministers, ministers, influential politicians and elites of ASEAN countries so reticent about America's state terrorism. Why are they so blind or is it their eyes are covered with veils of wool that they cannot see all the evil deeds done by the white Americans. Yet the white Americans have been terrorising the non-white countries in the world for the last few hundred years, killing, murdering and genociding hundreds of millions of natives in North America, Central America, South America and Hawaii and as an extension of their terrorism now killing Arab muslims and Iranians in the Middle East. Further more it is trying to create another theatre of war in the South China Sea region pitting the littoral states of the region against China. Of course as usual the evil empire will use the silly South East Asian countries as pawns and proxies to fight its imperial wars against China while it profits from the war conflagration with huge monstrous profits in weapons and arms sales to the unsuspecting littoral countries of the region.
If the non-white countries do not condemn all the evils and misdeeds and wars of aggression ot the demonic white Americans and jointly oppose them they will be subjecting themselves to another 500 years curse of American and white imperialism.
Let's hope the third world or non-white countries of the world will be wise enough to wake up to the inherent evils of the white Americans and stop being made use of by the evil empire as pawns and proxies in their never ending perpetual wars of aggression and plunder.
Southernglory 1
Sunday, 26th January, 2020
United States and Canada were founded by the savage hordes from England. The original United States which broke away from England in 1775 consisted only of thirteen states with a territory of only about six hundred and fifty thousand square miles. However, due to its endless aggressive wars of conquests it soon expanded to over Three million six hundred and fifty-five thousand square miles within a span of about one hundred and thirty years from 1775 to 1905, and all at the expense of the native American states and Mexico.
Having conquered the whole of continental north America, the evil white Americans then proceeded to conquer across the seas, across the Pacific Ocean to conquer Hawaii, Guam and most of the islands in the Pacific Ocean.
White American savage aggression has not stopped. They think no one can or is able to stop their aggressive wars of conquests and they make their aggressive wars as ongoing and a continuing process until it conquers and dominate the whole world under its tyranny and total hegemony. It is now trying to conquer the Middle East and deprive the Arab muslims of their lands so as to acquire full control of the oil and other mineral resources in the region. In south and central America its heavy hands of damnation bully and interfere in the internal affairs of each and every country in the region. It has constantly conducted brutal regime change in many of the countries in the region.
Despite the white American never ending streaks of wanton aggression it is very confounding that most of the third world countries especially many of the ASEAN countries and Arab muslim countries like Saudi Arabia, Egypt, UAE, Tunisia and Algeria never condemn the Americans but on the contrary coddled up to them. Is this indifferent attitude the result of inherent fear of the brutal military might of the evil empire of the United States. Or is it some or many of the ex-colonial countries have benefited somehow and in some ways from their ex-colonial masters. Take for example in the late 1890s to early 1910s England had occupied tens of thousands of square miles of Chinese lands in Southern Tibet or North East Frontier as the British called it and in the North West or the Ark Sai-chin corridor and in Lakdah, Chinese territories in which the Indians inherited from the British and thus took over the mantle of British imperialism at the expense of China. Also the state of Assam which was once an independent kingdom was also incorporated into British India and in which India does similarly inherited and benefited.
Indonesia also benefited territorially from Dutch colonialism. It illegally annexed Papua New Guinea and East Timor into Indonesia though these two territories are entirely different entities from the Indonesians.
Malaya also benefited from British colonialism when it was given the huge territories of Sarawak and Sabah formerly known as British North Borneo.
So it seems it is not only extreme self-interests but also ravacious greed that they behave in such outrageous manner especially some Asean countries like the Philippines, Vietnam,Malaysia and Brunei which capitalise on the enmity between China and the United States to take advantage on China by falsely pursuing illicit claims to many of the Chinese islands and territorial seas in the South China Sea region thinking that they might have the backing and support of the Evil Empire to their unfounded wild claims.
The recent assassination of Iran's commander in chief Mr Soleimani by the United States is state terrorism. Mr Soleimani was lured to his death by the subterfuge of President Trump via CIA and the Pentagon under the dark cloak of diplomacy to discuss ways to lessen tension between Iran and Saudi Arabia with Iraq taken for a ride as an intermediary. This reminds us of The Ides of March in which Julius Caesar was lured to his death in Rome in the struggle for supreme power of the Roman Empire. Yet Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt and none of the ASEAN countries either singly or as a group condemn the white American cowardly state terrorism. ASEAN countries and their ministers and politicians like to echo the American fake talk of following international rules, laws and regulations. The white Americans and its western allies have been committing so many countless atrocities and flouting all the international laws and rules all the time and yet ASEAN countries and some Arab muslim countries have been outrageously singularly silent without a word of condemnation against the Evil Empire. Yet the ASEAN ministers and politicians will always shamelessly echo the American agenda of demonisation of China.
Why are the presidents, prime ministers, ministers, influential politicians and elites of ASEAN countries so reticent about America's state terrorism. Why are they so blind or is it their eyes are covered with veils of wool that they cannot see all the evil deeds done by the white Americans. Yet the white Americans have been terrorising the non-white countries in the world for the last few hundred years, killing, murdering and genociding hundreds of millions of natives in North America, Central America, South America and Hawaii and as an extension of their terrorism now killing Arab muslims and Iranians in the Middle East. Further more it is trying to create another theatre of war in the South China Sea region pitting the littoral states of the region against China. Of course as usual the evil empire will use the silly South East Asian countries as pawns and proxies to fight its imperial wars against China while it profits from the war conflagration with huge monstrous profits in weapons and arms sales to the unsuspecting littoral countries of the region.
If the non-white countries do not condemn all the evils and misdeeds and wars of aggression ot the demonic white Americans and jointly oppose them they will be subjecting themselves to another 500 years curse of American and white imperialism.
Let's hope the third world or non-white countries of the world will be wise enough to wake up to the inherent evils of the white Americans and stop being made use of by the evil empire as pawns and proxies in their never ending perpetual wars of aggression and plunder.
Southernglory 1
Sunday, 26th January, 2020
1/25/2020
1977 - Year 0 in China
阿丕书记：第1集 https://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMzg2OTU4Njcy.html?spm=a2h0j.11185381.mdlikeshow.1~3!4~5~5~A
The above is a short serial on the transformation of a poor agrarian country to what it is today, a new metropolitan state that is on its way to surpass to the USA as the richest and most modern economy and country in the world. The serial started in 1977, a year after the end of the destructive Cultural Revolution led by the Gang of Four. The Cultural Revolution was effective in turning China into Year Zero, when all industrial activities were halted and destroyed, when all the elites and well educated professionals, mostly western graduates were branded as revisionist, either locked up in reeducation camps or sent to the countryside to work as farmers, and many did not survive the campaign.
In 1977, the horrendous impact of the Cultural Revolution was felt everywhere, when poor was glorified, when being rich was scorned and treated as enemies of the people. The luxury of the time was to be able to eat an egg, no meat, no fish. An egg was often shared by four persons. Food on the table was mainly vegetables. Individual enterprises were frowned upon, banned and a crime, small business, hawkers etc were non existence as they were not permitted. If was life in communes.
1977 was the lowest point of the Chinese Civilisation after it was reunited under the CCP. 1977, a year after the death of Mao and the execution of the Gang of Four in their primitive destructive policies, was the year when Deng Xiaoping was reinstated as the deputy head of the CCP and many other key organisations, but effectively the de facto head of China. 1977 was the beginning of the opening up and transformation of modern China, leading to the Four Modernisations and the new China today.
The serial gave an in depth and truthful depiction of the hard life of the Chinese people and how the reformed intellectuals and educated elites released from reeducation camp gingerly tiptoed around to transform the Chinese economy and the thinking of the Chinese people. Once the oppressed and restrained energy of the industrial Chinese people was released and set free, everything was on a roll, but with a lot of resistance from the old and conservative schools of communal living and poor is good cadres.
This is a history lesson for those interested to know how it all started and where it all started as many have forgotten how hard and tough life was in China in the 60s and 70s. A whole new generation of Chinese people have grown up without knowing what is poverty or hunger and bad leaders and bad govt policies. Coincidentally Wuhan, Hubei is now the centre of attraction because of the virus epidemic.
The 19 chapters retold the story of a newly released Secretary General called 阿丕, full name 陈丕显, being posted to be the number one man in Hubei and how he rebuilt this province from scratch, from Year Zero.
Happy and Prosperous Chinese New Year to everyone.
The above is a short serial on the transformation of a poor agrarian country to what it is today, a new metropolitan state that is on its way to surpass to the USA as the richest and most modern economy and country in the world. The serial started in 1977, a year after the end of the destructive Cultural Revolution led by the Gang of Four. The Cultural Revolution was effective in turning China into Year Zero, when all industrial activities were halted and destroyed, when all the elites and well educated professionals, mostly western graduates were branded as revisionist, either locked up in reeducation camps or sent to the countryside to work as farmers, and many did not survive the campaign.
In 1977, the horrendous impact of the Cultural Revolution was felt everywhere, when poor was glorified, when being rich was scorned and treated as enemies of the people. The luxury of the time was to be able to eat an egg, no meat, no fish. An egg was often shared by four persons. Food on the table was mainly vegetables. Individual enterprises were frowned upon, banned and a crime, small business, hawkers etc were non existence as they were not permitted. If was life in communes.
1977 was the lowest point of the Chinese Civilisation after it was reunited under the CCP. 1977, a year after the death of Mao and the execution of the Gang of Four in their primitive destructive policies, was the year when Deng Xiaoping was reinstated as the deputy head of the CCP and many other key organisations, but effectively the de facto head of China. 1977 was the beginning of the opening up and transformation of modern China, leading to the Four Modernisations and the new China today.
The serial gave an in depth and truthful depiction of the hard life of the Chinese people and how the reformed intellectuals and educated elites released from reeducation camp gingerly tiptoed around to transform the Chinese economy and the thinking of the Chinese people. Once the oppressed and restrained energy of the industrial Chinese people was released and set free, everything was on a roll, but with a lot of resistance from the old and conservative schools of communal living and poor is good cadres.
This is a history lesson for those interested to know how it all started and where it all started as many have forgotten how hard and tough life was in China in the 60s and 70s. A whole new generation of Chinese people have grown up without knowing what is poverty or hunger and bad leaders and bad govt policies. Coincidentally Wuhan, Hubei is now the centre of attraction because of the virus epidemic.
The 19 chapters retold the story of a newly released Secretary General called 阿丕, full name 陈丕显, being posted to be the number one man in Hubei and how he rebuilt this province from scratch, from Year Zero.
Happy and Prosperous Chinese New Year to everyone.
1/24/2020
Guaido, a traitor walking with his foreign collaborator in Pompeo
US
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called on Monday for cooperation in the
struggle to remove Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro from office amid a
long-running crisis in the South American country.
The appeal came as Pompeo met with Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido for strategy talks.
"We must put an end to Maduro's tyranny which harms Venezuela's citizens and has an impact on the entire region," Pompeo said after meeting with Colombian President Ivan Duque in Bogota. Yahoo News
What is a traitor, how to identify a traitor? In the case of Guaido of Venezuela, it is easy. But no leader from any country outside Venezuela would dare to condemn him as a traitor in cahoot with the Americans in trying to bring down a legitimate elected govt. What is the rule of law when foreign country openly interfered and agitated for the removal of a leader of another country and supporting an opposition leader, trained and finance him, to overthrow the legitimate leader?
This cannot be legal, the rule of law, international law and practice. This is a violation of the rule of law, against international law and human decency. This is lawlessness and what Guaido is doing is obviously an act of treason, a traitor to his country.
Imagine if a Singaporean would be in the shoe of Guaido, what would happen? Would the Americans one day do the same to Singapore, supporting an opposition party leader to bring down the govt of the day? This is a principle that must be protected and Singapore must speak up against it. Where are all the big mouths in Singapore that were very loud in shouting the rule of law and objecting on the grounds of principles and international law?
Does Singapore support such traitorous act, support the American interference in the domestic politics of another country?
1/23/2020
Mysterious Wuhan virus - who planted it?
Virus Alert!
China has officially reported only six deaths caused by the new mysterious strand of corona-virus. The mysterious new corona-virus has spread to the US, Japan, Thailand, Hongkong, Taiwan, Vietnam and Singapore. And perhaps also Malaysia, Indonesia and Australia. The number of affected and death is growing and could be a world epidemic.
China was the first to report this incident to WHO on 31 Dec 19. On the same day the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention identified a seafood market suspected for the outbreak. Why are the Americans so smart and so well informed that they could immediately identified the source of the outbreak from far away America when China was still trying to find where it all started?
China today is not a dirty and filthy third world country like many parts of Asia, Africa and SE Asia. The farms in China are modern and scientific and clean. Why is it that most outbreaks of Swine Fever, Bird Flu and this mysterious virus always happened in China and not in dirty and filthy third world countries? Think? China a natural and fertile bed full of lice, fleas and viruses?
Is it that white gods did not like China and always inflict China with things that they would weaken China, to create problems for China? Notice white gods hardly put such diseases in white countries and also in filthy and unhygienic third world countries?
The moment China alerted WHO of this virus, there were continuous reports in the western media that this thing is dangerous and would spread like SARS even though China was able to contain its spread at the early stage and death toll was only a handful. Why was it that the western media were so sure that this is a serious and contagious virus in the first place? Why was there so much hysteria even before this thing spread? Did they know something in advance that China and the rest of the world did not know? Did they know that this is highly contagious and would spread from human to human even before it spreads?
Heard of biological and chemical warfare? It is good that this thing is spreading and starting to reach the countries of the white gods. What goes around would come around in this highly connected small world. If this virus is planted by some white gods, let it return to the source and spread among the white gods like they spread it among the native Americans in the greatest genocide in human history a few centuries ago.
PS. The rate that this thing is spreading despite all the control and preventive measures suggests that this is a very sinister and mean act of someone or some organisation. It is almost uncontainable once it is let out of the bottle. It is unlikely to come from a wild animal source that immediately becomes so deadly and spreading so quickly.
China has officially reported only six deaths caused by the new mysterious strand of corona-virus. The mysterious new corona-virus has spread to the US, Japan, Thailand, Hongkong, Taiwan, Vietnam and Singapore. And perhaps also Malaysia, Indonesia and Australia. The number of affected and death is growing and could be a world epidemic.
China was the first to report this incident to WHO on 31 Dec 19. On the same day the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention identified a seafood market suspected for the outbreak. Why are the Americans so smart and so well informed that they could immediately identified the source of the outbreak from far away America when China was still trying to find where it all started?
China today is not a dirty and filthy third world country like many parts of Asia, Africa and SE Asia. The farms in China are modern and scientific and clean. Why is it that most outbreaks of Swine Fever, Bird Flu and this mysterious virus always happened in China and not in dirty and filthy third world countries? Think? China a natural and fertile bed full of lice, fleas and viruses?
Is it that white gods did not like China and always inflict China with things that they would weaken China, to create problems for China? Notice white gods hardly put such diseases in white countries and also in filthy and unhygienic third world countries?
The moment China alerted WHO of this virus, there were continuous reports in the western media that this thing is dangerous and would spread like SARS even though China was able to contain its spread at the early stage and death toll was only a handful. Why was it that the western media were so sure that this is a serious and contagious virus in the first place? Why was there so much hysteria even before this thing spread? Did they know something in advance that China and the rest of the world did not know? Did they know that this is highly contagious and would spread from human to human even before it spreads?
Heard of biological and chemical warfare? It is good that this thing is spreading and starting to reach the countries of the white gods. What goes around would come around in this highly connected small world. If this virus is planted by some white gods, let it return to the source and spread among the white gods like they spread it among the native Americans in the greatest genocide in human history a few centuries ago.
PS. The rate that this thing is spreading despite all the control and preventive measures suggests that this is a very sinister and mean act of someone or some organisation. It is almost uncontainable once it is let out of the bottle. It is unlikely to come from a wild animal source that immediately becomes so deadly and spreading so quickly.
1/22/2020
Ramesh Erramalli - So serious meh
SINGAPORE — Ramesh Erramalli,
the condominium resident seen verbally abusing a security guard in a
viral video last October, has been warned by the police over his
behaviour.
In a statement on Friday (17
January), the police said that a “stern warning” had been issued to the
44-year-old, in consultation with the Attorney-General’s Chambers, for
intentionally causing harassment to a security officer who was deployed
at Eight Riversuites Condominium.
A similar warning was also given to two men, aged 41 and 47, for causing intentional harassment to Erramalli. The police have also administered a 12-month conditional warning to two other men, aged 19 and 56, who threatened Erramalli and his family with death and violence. Yahoo News
Wow, the police is so serious this time when a foreigner threatened, oops, I don't think this is the right choice of word, must be accurate and quote the news report, he did not threaten, he 'verbally abusing a security guard only. And some, I think Singaporeans, not sure about this, were also given the same serious warning 'for causing intentional harassment to Erramalli', some 'threatened Erramalli and his family with death and violence'.
See, the act of Erramalli against the security guard was definitely not so serous, just verbal abuse. The threats against him was very serious, mind you threatening him and his family with death and violence. Given the two facts as reported, think the punishment for a foreigner like Erramalli is really serious. This may be a bad signal to other foreigners that are here providing and creating jobs for daft and jobless Singaporeans. What happens if all the talented foreigners pack up and go, many Singaporeans would be jobless and many properties would not be sold and many Singaporeans would not be able to rent their flats to them.
Initially I also agree with many angry Singaporeans that he should be sent home, not welcome here to bully Singaporeans. On second thought, I must agree with the police for such a serious warning and close the case. And better still, warned the Singaporeans not to be rude and fierce with foreigners, not to threaten these foreign talents. They must be reminded that their rice bowl depends on these foreigners. Be kind and gentle to the foreigners like the taxi drivers. When they beat you, do not hit back, call the police and the attackers would likely get a serious warning from them. Or they may then advise you to find a lawyer to take a civil suit against them, if you have the money. Very likely these foreign talents would have more money than you and can afford to pay for more expensive lawyers.
Anyway, it is good that the police is serious this time and this could be a good signal for the foreigners. If they harass or abuse Singaporeans, they would get a serious warning from the police. But their jobs would be safe, their PR status would not be affected and they could continue to earn big bucks in their high paying jobs here in Singapore, the city of foreign talents. Nothing to worry about.
Thank you very much.
1/21/2020
Welcome to compassionate and caring Singapore, when no one is left behind
Single mum with 16 year-old son stayed in police lock-up for 10-hours for not paying accumulated S&CC bills of $2150
Felt shocked to realise that a single mum with a school-going 16-year-old son was arrested at her office for not paying accumulated S & CC bills of $2150. She stayed in the police lock-up for close to ten hours before being release.The S & CC fees were unpaid for 18 months since April 2018.
I told her that she is fortunate they didn’t put her in jail outright. Prolonged non-payment of S & CC bills can land a person in jail here and she still has to pay up the default after the prison discharge. It’s probable that the single mum may have ignored numerous court orders triggering a warrant of arrest as a result.
Out of the total default owed, a massive 40% or $937 went to other miscellaneous costs such as penalty charge $310 and legal fee $627. The town council is willing to waive the penalty fee of $310 but not the legal charge.
The single mum, who is working as a promoter with a monthly salary of $1000 plus, told me that each time she couldn’t pay the monthly installment of $159, the town council will send in a legal reminder which costs about $200 – further aggravating the S & CC default. It’s akin to paying a loan shark but this time it’s a legalised one.
With such atrociously high legal charges levied on errant defaulters, the law firm representing the town council must have racked in tens of thousands of dollars each month on legal fees alone.
Moreover, besides paying the monthly installment of $159 for the default owed, she has to cough up another $78.50 for fresh monthly payment for S & CC charges. This is on top of the many other bills Singaporeans are currently paying.
Our town council sinking fund has reached close to $2 billion and some estate has pooled resources to derive benefit from economy of scale but none of the savings have being passed to the residents so far. Residents also are rather clueless as to how the town council uses the S & CC fees collected which could run into millions for each estate per month.
We also realized that in the past, some town councils used the excess sinking funds to dabble in risky financial investments but they have now stopped.
As for the single mum’s financial trouble, I asked her why she didn’t rent out one of her room to alleviate the situation – she told me that she is uncomfortable living with strangers under the same household.
The small single-parent family does not receive any maintenance from the ex- husband and the mum is working 12-hour shift for seven days a week trying to keep up with all her bills especially the S & CC one which may invite a jail sentence if not properly paid.
Gilbert Goh
Editor’s note: If you wish to help the single mother by transferring funds directly into her AXS account, you may contact Gilbert at goh_gilbert@yahoo.com
PS. Just have to repost this in full to show how caring Singapore is as a country. And this practice, long standing practice of sending legal letters that cost more than the sum owed must be good practice and would not be changed. So if someone owes $20, he would still be issued with a legal letter that would cost $200 and this would add to his debt. Nice!
In my business, when a client owes me a sum that is lesser than the cost of sending legal letters, I will treat it as bad debt and write it off instead of incurring more cost to myself and to the client.
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