[redbean]

Singapore needs a weather satellite
Several years ago when the heat was on haze coming from Indonesia, they recommended that they would need a satellite to keep track of all the fires in the huge archipelago. This sounded very reasonable given the size of the area to cover and the difficulty in locating the fire. It is normal for hundreds of fire to be burning without anyone knowing. With the satellite, they can pick them out on the computer screen easily, send a signal to Singapore or Malaysia and the two can parachute their fire fighters over the affected areas in no time.
We have an equally gigantic problem in flooding. Some ridiculed it by calling it ponding. But it is a very serious problem that necessitates ploughing millions or billions into it. A weather satellite seems to be useful to locate where the floodings are. If we have such a satellite, the flood prone areas or flood areas can be easily located. And when there is flooding, the affected people can be quickly informed and flood correcting measures be taken.
Such a satellite can also be used for many other purposes like tracking immigrants and population increases for the govt to build more supporting facilities for them. If we have such a satellite earlier, we would not have a housing shortage problem, we would not have hospital shortage problem, and we may not even have road congestion problem. It is still not too late to acquire a satellite to solve our problems. It is a good early warning indicator. It would tell us where the problem is going to come from.
We are a big country and we really need something in the sky, like the satellite to help us solve our big problems. Talking about the sky, maybe we should seriously consider acquiring an Air Force One for the Prime Minister to travel from the Istana to Parliament House, to Ang Mo Kio or Lim Chu Kang or whichever part of the island, by passing the traffic jams and ERPs. The PM could then be at any part of the island quickly and this will increase his productivity.
While we are talking about productivity, I remember the stylish and fanciful swimming suits wore by Olympic swimmers to shave a few mini seconds from their timing to beat the world records. The specialized suits are quite frictionless and will allow them to slice through the water at ease. I think the same principle can be applied to the flooding problem. The flood water is flowing too slowly through our drains and canals. If we can apply a frictionless material over them like the swimmer’s suits, the water will move faster and minimize flooding. They will get to the Marina Barrage at double quick time. But someone must open the flood gate to let the water out or it would make a flip turn and run back to where it came from just as fast.
If the walls of our canals can be smoothened, they can also be used by the skateboard enthusiasts to train and perfect their skateboarding skills when the water is low. No need to spend money on special skateboarding parks and equipments. Out smoothened canals will just be as good and saving on precious space too. Bukit Timah and Rochor Canal can be turned into tourist attractions like Shinjuku.
They say, win win solution man. So many wins. I am so excited this morning with my creative juices flowing unceasingly.
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what i posted is just my personal view. feel free to disagree.

[redbean]

The road of no return

As a country we are doing very well, and extremely well in many areas. We have become rich and life has become very comfortable to many. There is no doubt that we are the envy of the world in being what we are today. And it is quite appropriate to call this the paradise on earth to many of the wealthy residents.

While the rich and able are happily living their lives, the lower income earners are getting to feel the pinch. And this pinch is going to get worst everyday. No one can deny that many goods and services are going to be out of reach to the average citizens.

There are several major causes that are leading to a frightening future and if nothing is done to restrain these forces and reverse the trend, the eventuality is not going to look pretty.

The high property price of residential and commercial properties is a very dangerous game to play. For those who have acquired the properties, they are just in for a good ride and everything is looking better everyday. Many are selling their properties bought for a few hundred thousands and selling for a few millions. They are so happy to live with their new wealth till kingdom comes.

The problem will be those coming after them. Residential property is going to be the biggest debt for the future generations to bear. They would have bought these properties costing hundreds of thousands or a few millions. Their only hope is that the value multiplies like their predecessors and at the end of the day they could sell off for an easy retirement. Could this be repeated?

The high prices of commercial properties too have a compound effect on the cost of living. Everything, goods and services, will cost more and more to cover the rental or property cost.

The real problem is that there is no winding back. Falling property prices will hurt a lot of property owners. This time around, with the debt becoming so much bigger, it is inconceivable how serious would the problems be if there is a crash. And the govt cannot afford this to happen and will have to keep boosting or supporting the high prices. There is no other way out. Price going down is not an option of the planners.

It is unlikely that the lower income groups can catch up with the high cost of housing and services, in particular the very deadly medical bills. A gap is going to open up very soon, when more and more of the lower income will be gasping for air. Their meagre income and the mini increment rate can never keep up with the rapid rise in cost of living. Once this gap opens up, social disorder is going to be a major issue.

The other major concern is foreigners and foreign workers. There is no way to get rid of them in the short term. And as they grow and melted into the whole social fabric and economic system, they will be embedded as a part of our society and tearing it out is out of question. It becomes an inter dependable arrangement, that the system needs them or will face another big empty hole. This is another policy of no return.

The competition by foreigners, and many would have been given the pink IC, will be felt adversely by the original Singaporeans. How this game will be played out in the longer term is still hazy. Couple with the marginalisation of the lower income groups, which will keep swelling, it is looking like a recipe for more unbearable consequences. A recipe of no return.
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what i posted is just my personal view. feel free to disagree.

[redbean]

Child adoption could promote crimes against children
CNA recently screened several documentaries about child adoption and the crime of child snatching to feed the needs of childless couples. A child could fetch tens of thousands in places like Quangzhou. I was particularly touched by the documentary ‘I love mommy’, about a little orphan girl from Quangzhou, if I can recollect, being adopted by American parents. There was a little difficulty in the early period of adjusting into a new life. But love by the adopted parents conquered everything and the child grew up quickly into her new home and new parents. It was a very happy ending, with both adopted parents and child having a wonderful union living together as a family.
Many children, especially the girls, were abandoned in China, and in many poorer countries. It is a very good thing for couples with no children to want to bring them home to give them love and shelter. The problem is child snatching to feed the adoption industry. The fear and anguish of children and parents being forcibly separated is a very cruel act of crime. It is simply unimaginable and intolerable. The number of child snatching in China alone comes to a few hundred thousands annually. It is a very serious problem.
There must be very strict laws and punishment for child snatching. The criminals, child snatchers, are inflicting so much pain that lasted a lifetime on their victims.
While the adoption of orphaned children is a good thing, an act of compassion and love, it must not lead to a growing industry of crimes against innocent children and their parents. When the criminals see the demand, the more they will be tempted to snatch children. Parents must be extremely careful when looking after their children, particularly in red areas when child snatching is a common state of affair.
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what i posted is just my personal view. feel free to disagree.

[redbean]

A religious Order for Sin City
The rage against infidelity and personal indiscretion in the media continues unabated. Everyone is taking potshots at the transgressors and demanding apologies or confession. Bill Clinton must be quietly telling himself how lucky he is to be living in the US. If he was our President, he could be stoned to death or attacked in public.
This thing about the high expectation for a high moral conduct could be a manifestation that in a paradise called Sin City, there indeed resided many sinless residents. Only the sinless could dare to demand such a high standard of moral behavior from others, to equal theirs.
And soon there could be a call for a higher standard of conduct from civil servants and political leaders. Do not be surprised that they could demand an annual declaration of fidelity and good conduct like the annual non indebtedness declaration. And all new candidates could be expected to sit through a moral test followed by an interview by a board of monks and priests before being accepted to the religious order. And of course the Prime Minister would then be elevated to the position of High Priest of Paradise. Anything less of a perfect personal conduct would not do.
Just a word of caution. When standing on a high pedestal to pass judgement on personal indiscretion, do not be personal. The power of the internet and the right to freedom of speech do not give anyone the right to personal attacks. Let’s restrain and restrict ourselves to policies and issues. There is nothing wrong with disagreeing with policies or be disgusted by them. Every policy can be good and bad to different people. Stay clear from being personal even if in Sin City.
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what i posted is just my personal view. feel free to disagree.

[southernglory1]

Let's hope Singapore will never come to that stage of the UK. Any way it is rather fearful . Something must be done to prevent Singapore from coming to that awful stage.





To: Subject: Fw: Why is UK broke?










This is preposterous!

A doctor told me that a woman in her late 20's came to the hospital today with her 8th pregnancy.

She told the first doctor she saw: "My mum told me that I am the breadwinner for the family." He asked her to explain.

She said that she can make babies and babies get money from the State for the family. It goes like this:

The Grandma calls the Department for work and pensions, and states that the unemployed daughter is not capable of caring for all of her kids.

DWP agrees, and tells her the children will need to go into foster care.

The Grandma then volunteers to be the foster parent, and receives a cheque for £700 per child each month.

Total yearly income:

£58,800 soon to become £67,200 when the 8th one is born, tax-free and nobody has to go to work!

In fact, they get more if there is no husband/father/man in the home! The brother does not count.

Not to mention free dental treatment, free housing, free council tax free school dinners, free tuition fees at college or Uni, free eyecare and glasses, free prescriptions and various other benefits...

Total value of all benefits combined probably approaching £100,000 per annum which wouls require an income of around £148,000 to create.

About my salary as a senior consultant with years of experience and surgical skills in a central London teaching hospital

Indeed, Grandma was correct that her fertile daughter is the "breadwinner" for the family.

This is how the liberal politicians spend our taxes.

When this generous programme was invented in the '60s, the Great Society architects forgot to craft an end date...

and now we are hopelessly overrun with people who vote only for those who will continue to keep them on the dole.....

No wonder our country is broke!

Worse, our Muslim brothers have been paying attention, and by mandating that each Muslim family have eleven children, they will soon replace the voting bloc above and can be running this country.

Don't forget to pay your taxes!!

There are a lot of “breadwinners” depending on you!

[redbean]

Hundred flowers bloom
Remember this campaign in China? If I can remember correctly, this happened some time before the Cultural Revolution when there seemed to be a loosening up of govt control and the people were encouraged to speak freely. Freely they spoke, a bit too freely. Then the door was closed and all who spoke freely were rounded up in a dragnet. It was a clean sweep and all the dissidents, unhappy people and anti govt agitators were behind bars on sent to reeducation camps in the rural parts of China.
Free speech and freedom of expression have a price. It is free to speak, to express and attack people, but when done wrongly, unrestrained and without proof, spurious, defamatory, it can be like entering a mouse trap. A hundred flowers bloomed may end up with a hundred flowers doomed.
Don’t take your freedom too casually and for granted. One must know one’s place in society.
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what i posted is just my personal view. feel free to disagree.

[southernglory1]

Anonymous said...

China and the reasons behind the Cultural Revolution



For about one hundred and fifty years from 1830s to 1948 China was in shambles. She was at the mercy of the West, Russia and Japan. The later part of Ching Dynasty was decadent and corrupt to the core. China at the earlier part of the Ching Dynasty under Kangsi and Chien Lung was all powerful and dynamic with a strong economy and military. Emperor Kangsi and Chien Lung always managed to drive away the barbaric Russians who made frequent incursions and invasions in the western part and north eastern part of China. Under Kangsi and Chien Lung China's political boundary extended beyond Lake Baikal and north of the Heilungchiang River ( the Russians called it Amur River in honour of the Russian pirate and buccaneer )who successfully invaded these lands in 1860s when China was weak. The Russians subsequently took away all Chinese lands in the maritime province right up to the sea facing Japan and the Pacific Ocean. In all from 1830s to 1885 Russia illegally occupied about 3.6 million square miles of Chinese lands which is equivalent to the present size of China.

Many patriotic Chinese revolted against the corrupted Ching rule especially during the Taiping Rebellion of the 1860s but the rebellions were often put down by the Ching Government with the help of the West ( mainly England, France, Russia,Germany, US ) and Japan.

It was not until the years between 1910s and 1920s that the Ching was successfully overthrown by Dr. Sun Yat Sen and other fellow Chinese patriots who established the Chinese Peoples' Republic under the Kuomintang. The Republic was beset with dangers with traitors like Yuan Shi Kai ( a Ching Dynasty general who defected to Dr.Sun ) who by plots and treachery tried to found a new dynasty under him and with dangers from the West and Japan who tried to torpedoed the Republic.

It was not until Chairman Mao, Premier Chou En Lai, General Zhu DE and many other self sacrificed patriots came to China's rescue under the Chinese Communist Party which fought many relentless wars against warlords, traitors like Chiang Kai Shek, Japanese and other western aggressions from Russia, England, US and France that China finally stood up as a self-respectable dignified country and Republic on 1st October,1949 no more to be bullied by others.

However the West, Russia and US and Japan still never give up hope of destroying the Chinese Peoples' Republic under Chairman Mao. There were internal traitors, splitists, separatists , reactionaries and counter revolutionists who were self serving and they saw no wrong in collaborating with outside powers to destabilise and destroy China. These bad elements are worst than virulent diseases or poison. Many managed to creep into government services or high offices. They tried to sabotage the Peoples Republic of China. Chairman Mao had to evolve a method to flush out the traitors and counter revolutionaries. Hence there was a cultural revolution from 1966 to 1976 when Chairman said, "let a flowers bloom and a hundred thoughts contend." Here the real devils, the traitors and counter revolutionaries showed their ugly faces and they were all cast into the net to be disciplined. Just as a doctor who prescribes medicine to kill the cancer cells will unavoidably destroy some good blood cells so the cultural revolution did undoubtedly hurt some innocent people.

But in Singapore it is hardly different. It is just one party trying to dominate others and hold power forever. There are no traitors, separatists, reactionaries or revolutionaries. It is just others with different political thoughts and system of running the island state for the benefit of the people. UNfortunately these people are treated as enemies by the party in power.

Instead of the cultural revolution Singapore party in power has instilled a culture of fear via a culture of suing.

Southernglory1

February 24, 2012 10:43

[redbean]

11 year old handcuffed

Below is a letter posted in 3in1kopitiam blog. I am not sure if this is true and if found untrue I will remove it immediately. I just felt that I am seeing a child being raped in broad daylight. And I hope this is not true. It must not happen in my country, when a little girl of 11 is being handcuffed for a petty crime.

My 11 year old daughter was arrested and handcuffed for 2 hours today.

Dear all,

I, a Singapore born and raised Chinese citizen would like to apologise to the Singapore Government and all tax paying fellow citizens for my failure to teach my children enough about the folly of stealing

I am a night shift worker so I sleep in the day.

At 5 pm today, I woke up and discovered my younger 11 year old daughter missing. I asked the older 13 year girl but got evasive answers. After a half hour later, I panicked and called the Police. Ten minutes after the call, they called back to inform me that my daughter had been arrested for shoplifting at a Guardian Pharmacy store and that I have to bring the elder along as well to the NPC as she was involved. My queries for answers as to the circumstances under which she was arrested were curtly declined.

When I reached the NPC, I was horrified to see my daughter slumped over a table sleeping with her right hand cuffed to a railing on the wall. Sitting opposite her and typing a statement into the computer was a female uniformed Malay officer. I ascertained later she was one of two Malay arresting officers. Having been an SC before, I understand police procedures but had never seen the lack of discretion when it comes to minors as I was witnessing in my daughter's case. That female Malay officer made no eye contact with me at all for the entire duration I was in the station. Not even when she in the report room where I was.

I vented my anger at the officers present about the necessity of handcuffing my daughter leaving her in such a torturous physical position to endure despite the fact that she was already in Police custody. I told them that as a minor, she is not going to be charged for her first offence. What purpose does it serve with regard to procedural safety? That she will snatch their revolvers and turn it against them? Why subject her to the same treatment for adults committing more serious crimes?

A Malay SSSgt led me into an adjoining interview room and gave me a summary account of my daughter's arrest. He told me he will get my elder daughter's statement expedited so that we can go home as soon as possible.

I went outside for a smoke to help calm myself down before returning. I saw then that the handcuffs on my daughter were removed. She was released for her elder sister's turn to be interviewed and for a police statement to be made. I checked her wrists and discovered abrasions on both her wrists and a contact burn mark in one. I took photographs on the spot. Earlier on, I had taken a photo while she was handcuffed to the wall railing. I want to have it printed, framed and mounted in our home so that they will never forget this episode.

I was allowed to bring my younger daughter out for a quick dinner. When we returned the elder daughter had just finished her statement. She was not handcuffed. We left the NPC after I had signed both their bail bonds. We have to return to the Police Div HQ at a later date.

I took my daughter to a hospital emergency department to have her wounds attended.

Back home, I interrogated my children and found that it was the elder sister who has a compulsive obsession with makeup products, instigated the younger to pilfer that $11.90 pair of lipstick. My younger daughter has a timid temperament and is very vulnerable to suggestions. She is still undergoing counselling in school after she slashed herself from elbow to wrist not too long ago when she was ten years old after constant bullying in school.

When they were spotted they ran and escaped but the younger, out of a sense of guilt returned to surrender the stolen item to the Malay shop assistant who detained her and called the Police.

I share this story with all because I fervently hope that parents will not have to undergo the same turmoil in my heart that I feel now and that they will use my children as an example on the consequences of stealing and getting caught eventually.

Once again, let me express the deep remorse I feel for the shame I had brought to the Singaporean Chinese community through my less than adequate nurturing of my children's absorption of good moral values.

I also like to thank the Malay shop assistant who detained my child when she tried to return the stolen item and Guardian Pharmacy's strict non-negotiable policy to deter shoplifting and the teaching of a good lesson.

Lastly, I would like to thank the Singapore Police Force and the Government for the benefit of the experience my child had gone through, that benevolence which I hope my child would repay with interest when she grows up into adulthood. She don't have a passport, she can't flee the country and not return. So please do not worry.

Peace be upon all.
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what i posted is just my personal view. feel free to disagree.

[redbean]

The untold nation builders of the 1950s

In the 1950s we were still not a country or a nation. We were a colony of the British Empire. After the war, the people were getting more politicised and aware that the British were colonial masters and running this island for their own interests. The interests of the people were secondary. The British only think of the purse of the king or queen in England. A few elites started thinking that they could run this island better, for the people who were making this place their home.

A simple thought of taking control of the country and to decide their own future became the seed of fermentation and the struggle for independence. The people wanted to determine their own future and not be led by the colonialists with their own agenda. They wanted a better distribution of the wealth of the island by seizing political power.

The few good men did what they needed to do. They agitated the people to stand up and fight for their own future. The otherwise stateless and docile people, the workers, were politicised. They could see a better future if they were willing to fight and risk their lives. The people were awakened to the possibilities, to be their own masters and not the servants. Those days they used to end their letters with the phrase, ‘Your obedient servant.’

The servant mentality was removed. They were unshackled. And they fought for what we have today. They continued to slog after independence to build a fairer and more equitable society for themselves and their children.

The course of our history would have been different if they have been cowed, frightened, kiasu and kiasi. The course of history would have been different if they have been apathetic, kia cheng hu, and remained docile and obedient to the power of the day.

They took their future into their own hands, to shape it the way they wanted it to be. The people decided what was best for them. Without their courage to confront the colonial govt, to fight for their own good, we would not be what we are today. We only have to thank them for standing up, to face the selfishness of the colonial govt, to say, ‘give me back my island.’ We would decide what was best for us.

History always have great moments like this, when being compliant, being docile, being obedient, being afraid, were not an option. The generations of the 50s gave us this country. As our inheritance, it is tragic to lose this country by default and sheer negligence on our part. It will be a great tragedy and an unfilial act to our forefathers, our benefactors, who fought for a country for us and our children. They were migrants to a non country. They gave us a country we can call home. We are no longer migrants and stateless.

The descendants and beneficiaries of the sacrifices of our nation builders have a duty and responsibility to protect this little island they inherited. It must not be given away freely to anyone on any flimsy excuses. If we lose this inheritance through inaction, the tragic shame will be on every Singaporean.
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what i posted is just my personal view. feel free to disagree.

[redbean]

44 men to make or break your life … and your country

Every 5 years our democratic system gives the citizens the right to elect 87 men and women to run the country and indirectly our lives. And by the rule of a simple majority, all it needs is 44 men to be elected from one party to form the ruling govt. In a normal democratic system they will manage the country under some platforms and ideas they sold to the electorate and are expected to work within those ideas and policies during their term in office. Varying from those consented ideas will be a violation of trust. Running away with new ideas that were not agreeable during the election promises would be a breach of faith and the people’s consent be sought again.

A mature democracy would have its checks and balance to ensure that the ruling govt does not get carried away with what they want to do and think that they can commit murders with total disregard to the views of the people. In an immature state, where the people are ignorant, depoliticised, fear of the govt and did not know their right to change govt, many trespasses, abuses and unilateral decision making in direct conflict with the wants of the people are often shafted down the people’s throats at will.

Are we still in such a state of immaturity or have we grown up as a well educated, informed and politicised people, aware of our rights as citizens, the OB markers that the govt must respect, and our right to shape our lives and the future of our nation? Or are the people still as naïve, apolitical, disenfranchised, to surrender all their rights to an elected govt of 44 men to do as they pleased with their lives and country?

In an era of ignorance and illiteracy, the people may by default allow the elite to rule them on the assumption that they know better. And sometimes the elite may get deluded or delude the people into believing that they are demi gods or immortals, and they are the best to drive their lives and country forward. I believe as a people calling ourselves first world, with many highly educated and qualified, such myths will long be thrown into the longkangs. The people are now as knowledgeable and well informed as the ruling elite, and have a mind of their own to know or to question what they want in their lives and where the country shall be heading. There is really little between the ruling elite and the people at large in terms of intellect and wisdom.

Assuming the latter is where we are today, should the people continue to dismissively take the edicts of the elite and let the elite rule them, interfere with their lives and take the country to wherever they want?

Do we want to have a 6m population or more, ever increasing housing prices, unable to own private cars unless paying with an arm or a leg, that we should be content to live in smaller and smaller high rise flats, lesser breathing and leisure space, to go around in public transports that the people has little control of and often at the mercy of operators’ interests and whims and fancies and with little privacy or privacy violated by the ill mannered and uncouth?

Would it be time that the people tell the 44 elected representatives that they are there, given the chance to run the country, only with the consent of the people, and if they failed or are not up to it in their jobs, they will be summarily removed by the people? Is it time the people take control of their country, decide where it wants it to go, and be in charge and not be ruled by 44 people who were only to do a job with their approval and not to think they can do anything they want without the people’s agreement, that they own the country, the people and the people’s life and wealth?

Isn’t it silly for 3m people to succumb to 44 men and women elected by them to do as they please and with the people only at best, crying out loud but helpless to do anything about it? Who owns this country and who should decide how the people are to live their own lives?
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what i posted is just my personal view. feel free to disagree.

[southernglory1]

Subject: Pritam Singh's Speech on Govt's $1.1B gift to PTO


Interesting speech - you'll not see this in the Straits Times!

Pritam Singh's speech in parliament on the government's $1.1 billion gift to publicly listed bus operators.

"Moving on the second issue Mr Speaker, I would like to register my concern about the Bus Services Enhancement Fund as announced by the Minister. No one I have met since the Minister’s speech really disputes the benefits of additional buses on the road, particularly if in the Minister’s words, it will serve to reduce crowding and waiting time. But there nevertheless remain some very serious questions about this $1.1b “one-time” commitment to help fund the purchase 550 buses.

Mr Speaker Sir, many Singaporeans are asking why the shareholders of our publically listed bus operators are being extended this unusual generosity by the government. According to both their 2010 annual reports — both of which are available online – SBS Transit has a market share of 75% and has around 3000 buses on the road, while SMRT has slightly less than 1000 buses.

In the case of SBS Transit, the top 5 shareholders of the company hold 83% of all the shares of the company. The largest shareholder of SBS Transit ComfortDelgro owns 75.11% of the company, while the next four largest shareholders of SBS Transit are BNP Paribas Securities Singapore, DBS Nominees Pte Ltd, United Overseas Bank Nominees Pte Ltd and Citibank Nominees Singapore Pte Ltd.

In the case of SMRT, its top five shareholders account for 73% of all the shares of the company. The largest shareholder is Temasek Holdings which owns 54.33% excluding its deemed interest, while the next four largest shareholders are DBS Nominees Pte Ltd again, Citibank Nominees Singapore Pte Ltd, DBSN Services Pte Ltd and HSBC (Singapore) Nominees Pte Ltd.

The public unhappiness over the Bus Services Enhancement Fund since Minister Tharman’s budget speech has been very apparent. Part of the reason for this I hazard is because this government has traditionally been quick to urge Singaporeans to choose the path of self-sufficiency, reminding ordinary Singaporeans that there are no free lunches and no one owes us a living..

It would be useful for this House to remember that both SBS Transit and SMRT pay their top management market-rate salaries, pay their shareholders regular dividends, while operating in near-monopolistic conditions. By any stretch of the imagination, these are not broken-back companies.

In particular, the SBS Transit 2010 Annual Report also stated the company’s intention to purchase new buses in addition to funding additional capital expenditure. For that purpose, it launched a note program in May 2010, issuing a $100m fixed rate note, which is due in 2015. So not only is the company not a broken back entity, it clearly knows how to raise money too. And FY 2010, SBS Transit paid it shareholders dividends amounting to $27m, while SMRT paid out $102m to its shareholders.

Unsurprisingly, discerning and sensible Singaporeans have been quick eschew the government’s $1.1b windfall for the top shareholders of both SBS Transit and SMRT Corp. While I appreciate the government’s intentions to put buses on the road quickly, I would urge it to claw back the $1.1 billion of taxpayer dollar expended on these bus operators over a fixed period of time, after consultation with SBS Transit and SMRT Corp. There ought to be nothing unusual about this as the government already extends many direct and indirect financial subsidies to both these profit-generating private operators.

For e.g. they are exempted from bidding for Certificates of Entitlement, and they are also exempt from the Additional Registration Fee, the main vehicle tax and the duty on diesel. In addition, both these operators are allowed to keep their buses on the road for 20 years, twice as long as almost all other vehicles. They are also charged a nominal rent for the space their interchanges take up, while reaping the profits their advertising revenue generates.

Mr Speaker Sir, I am reminded of a resident who runs a SME, who spoke to me on the back of on the Aljunied Constituency Committee’s lunar new year dinner celebrations earlier this month. He implored me to petition the government in parliament to reduce or subsidise the COE of goods vehicles for SMEs. As members would know, the COE for goods vehicles and buses are classified under Cat C COEs.

While our two profit earning operators do not pay a cent for their COEs, small time businessmen will pay in excess of $50,000 for his COE based on today’s market rate. While this is not an apple for apple comparison, it says something about the perception the man on the street has about this government’s lack of desire to communicate why our bus operators are being extended this $1.1b gift. I understand the Transport Ministry will address this issue in the upcoming COS debates and I certainly hope it fully addresses the genuine misgivings many Singaporeans have over the Bus Services Enhancement Fund.

Mr Speaker Sir, I have a second query about the figure of $1.1b for the Bus Services Enhancement Fund. I had to learn from the media that the figure includes the total operating cost for the vehicles for 10 years, and it also includes the salaries of bus drivers.

According to the 2010 SBS Transit financial report, in that FY, SBS Transit placed an order for 600 buses, comprising 300 award-winning Euro-5 compliant Mercedes Benz low-floor single deck buses and another 300 Volvo double-deckers, all for the price of $268m dollars. Taking into account inflation over the two last years, I hope the government gives the public a detailed breakdown of the operating costs and the salary component that was set aside for the Bus Services Enhancement Fund, in addition to all other components that have not been publically revealed so far. Too much of this dispensation of taxpayer dollar to these two profit generating monopolies is currently unknown to the public beyond the big figure, and some transparency is in order.

Mr Speaker Sir, a third concern I note that dominated the online media in particular, concerns the unspoken of implications of 800 additional buses on the road. The routine questions are – is the government planning for another spike in immigrant arrivals, if so how many are being planned for? And what sort of planning parameters is the government working with? Is this $1.1b a harbinger of things to come in terms of an even larger population size?

It would be apposite for the government to answer these queries because there is already a sense of an over-crowded Singapore where public space is at a premium.

Other questions also dominate the public realm about this $1.1b gift. What will this cash injection do for bus fares going forward? Are both operators going to use the profits generated and invest them overseas? Should Singaporeans anticipate similar ostensibly one-time gifts to other publically-listed entities or companies of national consequence such as companies in which Temasek Holdings or GIC own a stake? And can the taxpayers now demand greater transparency from all companies like SMRT and SBS Transit which receive taxpayer injections? Beyond just educating the public on how their taxpayer dollar is spent, I believe such accountability would generate greater trust between citizens and the government.

Mr Speaker Sir, $1.1b is a whopping sum by any stretch of the imagination. The government should set out clearly how the figure was arrived at and what this policy move of extending cash injections to publically listed entities that perform a public function implies for policy-making going forward." - MP for Aljunied GRC Pritam Singh

[redbean]

Cyberspace a threat to national security
Chee Hean is talking about the danger of cyberspace as a threat to national security with bloggers posting all kinds of vicious remarks on race and religion. So what, clamp it down? The problem is not really cyberspace but race and religion themselves, and of course the individuals who are there to propagate hatred and mischief. And they are out there, with or without cyberspace. Race is divisive and so is religion. But race is something that is a natural development and without provocation, without politicization, different races can live peacefully together. The most successful country in peaceful racial coexistence is China. Ha, all the eyes popping out.
China has 48 ethnic racial groups and all have been living fairly comfortably together for centuries. The stereotyping of China in the West as a country where minorities are victimized and discriminated is a Western myth that the dull have been fed with for the last few centuries of colonization. Their minds and thinking are still subjects of the colonial powers. The truth is far from it. Tibet and Sinkiang were often brandished as examples of domination and suppression of minorities in the two regions. What is happening is politics and also religious antagonism. Books can be written to discuss such issues into perpetuity.
What were more troublesome are the entrenched and etched beliefs of religions in their holy books. Only the three proverbial monkeys would fail to see the destructiveness and divisiveness in these books. Unless they are edited out from the ‘holy’ books, religion will be the main source of conflict and intolerance. They are not the words of Gods but words of vicious bickering men of the past, for self preservation, self righteousness and the destruction of others as their enemies. Be with us and like us or you shall be killed or destroyed. But many choose to lie that such doctrines are non existence. They are just like the blind monkeys.
And it is exactly the presence of such doctrines that made religious conflicts unavoidable and peaceful co existence difficult. Those who succumbed to political pressure to co exist are violating the very true teachings of their religions that preached mutual exclusivity. Don’t tell me that I am lying. The truth is ugly. Until the ugly truth is acknowledged and done away with, man is just deceiving themselves that there is no evil.
It is not the internet or cyberspace that is at fault. And what have been posted in cyberspace against various religions is unstoppable. Those who want to view them to seek justification and assurance that their evil ways is the right way will seek them with or without regulations. And the vicious and dangerous will find their way, and cyberspace is not to be blamed. Without cyberspace, there are many printed material available and many walking interpreters and authorities of religious books will be there to spread the good news.
The education and emancipation of the mind from the medieval thoughts of old when killing on religious ground is righteous, is God’s will or God’s command, is the only solution. Free the people from the clutches of the primitive past. Update their thoughts and values to that of modern and more civilized world. It is so sad that modern civilizations are still entrapped by the small minds of ancient illiterates and ignoramus and to live by their evil words.
Who are we bluffing? The internet is now the new devil?
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what i posted is just my personal view. feel free to disagree.

[redbean]

The pathetic pictures of dogs

Last week I remember the pictures of some of the best fighting dogs published in the media. They were mainly pitbulls, kept primarily for fighting, in some corners of Indonesia. The sight of these dogs was pathetic. Each was chained to an empty oil drum which doubled as their kennels. And the most unpleasant and unexpected, they were so under fed that the rib cages were showing prominently.

How could these fighting dogs fight when they were looking more like greyhounds? And fighting dogs or fighting cocks are like footballs and gamblings. The owners should be able to give them a decent meal and also for them to gain strength to fight. They have to be fed well it they are to bite well.

Perhaps those were the losers or the aged, left to be forgotten, to live or to die. The good dogs and the champions would still be well fed and well looked after.

Feel very sorry for these dogs. In their heydays as pitbulls they must have worth a lot and received a lot of strokings from their masters. They could be growling all the way into the ring as if they were invincible, prized possessions of their masters.
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what i posted is just my personal view. feel free to disagree.

[redbean]

All victims of Japanese atrocities need to apologise to Japan
After Liew Khai Khuin’s response to a school teacher’s enactment of WW2’s Japanese Occupation, there were some violent responses in the ST forum. Yesterday there was a follow up on the issue by Clarissa Oon, a senior ST writer. This is perhaps the most objective article written by the apologetic victims after the emotional outbursts in the ST forum.
The gist of her objective and critical analysis is that the war and the atrocities are only a matter of interpretation. There is no right and wrong really. In the case of China, it has no right to ask for an apology from Japan after what it had done to its people during the Great Leap Forward, Cultural Revolution and the Tian Anmen Incident. If China could kill its own people in the millions, what was so wrong about Japan killing Chinese? Until China acknowledges its crime over its citizens, it is inappropriate to demand an apology from Japan for war atrocities.
As for the other nations like Korea or South East Asian countries, their histories have a lot of omissions. ‘Singaporeans should also cast a self critical eye on biases and omissions in the telling of our own national history, even as we take a hard look at the narratives of other countries.’ And ‘While Japan’s neighbours should continue to nudge it to face up more fully to its wartime abuses, these countries should also move towards more honest and open examination of their own histories.’
So Asian countries, please rewrite your history honestly before making demands on Japan. Your own interpretation of your history is wrong. Japan’s interpretation is their business. Asian countries have to be honest first before they can ask Japan for an apology. I am wondering what the Asian countries were so dishonest about? Have they distorted their history and anyhow blamed the Japanese for the atrocities which did not take place? Were the claims of atrocities and brutality false, exaggerated as in the case of the Nankin Massacre? What is the relationship between their own histories, or what have the Great Leap Forward, Cultural Revolution got to do with Japanese barbarism towards the Chinese and South East Asian people?
I am floored by the convincing objectivity of the brilliant article and how the Asian countries were wronged about Japan. I must pay a visit to Yasukuni Shrine to apologise to the dead Japanese soldiers. We have no right to demand for an apology from the Japanese if we were not honest with our history, or in other words, our history could have been wrong. There were no atrocities and Japanese interpretation could be right, or the Japanese have their right to interpret their own history. It is only a matter of interpretation. It is our fault for wrongly interpreting our history and worst, for omitting about the good part of the Japanese atrocities against Asian people.
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what i posted is just my personal view. feel free to disagree.

[redbean]

Celebration time for Sinkies
HDB flats costing $1m in the resale market, or near to $1m. COE for small cars is now $64k and big cars $91k. And the best part, Sinkies are all celebrating, or at least none is complaining. The property owners are feeling so rich. The car owners who can afford to buy just a piece of paper to entitle them to buy a car must definitely be very rich.
These are happy problems. It only means that Sinkies are getting richer by the day without having to work. No wonder they have to import foreigners to do all the works. Sinkies only need to sit on their properties and feel richer everyday. Now they can also buy cars, park in the car park and wait for the prices to soar with COEs costing more than the value of a car.
With the million dollar flats, they can make a quick pile and spend a little on a brand new car. Who cares whether the train is delayed or not moving? Who cares if COE is $100k? A million dollar HDB flat can buy several COEs and cars. Life is wonderful in this little paradise.
The best plan is to sell the million dollar flat and switch to a 2 rm flat and take advantage of all the subsidies. Don’t work, so will qualify as low income earner. The extra cash can buy a Mercedes to drive around. Hear only the good stuff.
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what i posted is just my personal view. feel free to disagree.