Friday, September 04, 2015

Gardens by the Bay cannot assuage our insecurities

I need no crystal ball to foresee that Hsien Loong will be planning for some huge vanity projects....again this GE year. He has a habit of using these building constructions as a means to portray his "vision".

Again and again. 

There was already the Marina Bay Sands, the Gardens by the Bay, the Marina and then Jewel, the High Speed Train (on-going still?) and now there is this plan to build 3X the size of current Marina Bay at Tanjong Pagar, The Greater Southern Waterfront (GSW).

It is all about building, building and more building. Building a nation is simply not about the buildings. A vision that is determined by the number and size of the vanity projects that he can pull together is only a construction plan, a vision of architectural landscape? But for a nation, for a home, for our homes, that does not suffice. 

There is no doubt of the aesthetic values of these constructions and everyone appreciates beauty, however, at the end of the day, what purpose does it serve for a peasant like me? These constructions are indeed useful for me to showcase the wealthy side of Singapore. To boast. But how many times a year do I need that for? Ultimately, it serves only to intensify the hollowness of my own vanity. And to put it into the current situation where the peasants are overwhelmed by a huge sense of insecurities, Hsien Loong's "vision" appears a little too empty and a total lack of a sense of proportion.

The hardtruth is, I can't rely on these pompous projects for my job security, retirement security, healthcare security and even transport security. 

On the contrary, cosmetics like the GSW that serve to beautify our landscape may very likely to increase living costs as it will boost the land value in and around the area in the form of higher rentals, housing prices and higher profit possibilities for some groups of people. 

So what is Hsien Loong really chasing after?

The well-being of the peasants? Or more playgrounds for a specific strata of the population?

Vision serves as the framework for all necessary policies and ideas to be put in place. Does not necessarily involve constructions at all. And my vision for a nation, must serve to better as many stratum of our society as possible. Not the other way round of using isolated constructions and scenic areas to fill up that vision. 

What does Hsien Loong seriously want? I can't see his SG100 vision or even SG75's amid these bricks and cement. For bricks and cements do not translate into the care, security and trust that make a home, that enrich your presence. He wants to make Singapore a special place. But all such doings of his only make Singapore dull and shallow.

Lastly, these mega plans will only furher impoverish the already shallow pockets that I have. 
 

Tuesday, September 01, 2015

With you, for you, for Singapore. PAP cares....

“I know with my heart that this is a Government that has staked everything on serving Singaporeans.” ---Sim Ann.


I must agree with Mdm Sim Ann right from the bottom of my heart. And this is a short list out of a long one to show examples of how PAP truly cares for the peasants of this country. 

1) Wage cut for you; pay rise for them
Good intention: Wage cuts cheapen your labour price so as to help you to stay competitive.


For the peasants and for Singapore,  in 1999, in response to the turmoil of Asia Financial Crisis (AFC), 10% reduction on CPF employer’s contribution. Before the reduction, employer and employee contribute 20% each to CPF.


The reduction rate was never restored to its 20% pre-AFC period until now --SIXTEEN years after AFC.


Between 1999 and 2014, Singapore’s GDP has grown from USD$85.71 billion to  USD$307.87 billion. How much more of our GDP does PAP want before they will restore our 1999 CPF rate?


For the aristocrats, for Singapore, PAP rewarded themselves in payrise twice in the years 2000 and 2006. In 2000, 12%-14% pay rise for ministers. The extent of pay rise was higher than peasants’ wage cut. They did not recover the full wage cuts that year.


In 2007, ministers saw 60% pay rise. It’s a 60% increase of an already huge salary, not a 60% of $1000. And still, CPF rate contribution for employees did not return to the 20% level.


Conclusion: PAP truly cares for the you……. by enhancing peasants' labour cheapness even though the CPF cuts affected many who were servicing their housing loan through their CPF funds. However, as long as the peasants work hard, they will be rich in their CPF. And all peasants have equal opportunities to be rich as Lim Swee Sway.


2) Minimum wage for PAP but not for you


Good intention: To spur lazy peasants, otherwise they will not work for the economy


For Singapore, minimum wage for peasants will wreck Singapore’s economy. Because peasants are just pawns for our economy, therefore their cost of labour should be kept to the minimum to reduce the impact for businesses, GLCs and MNCs.


For them, our ministers need a minimum wage before they are willing to sacrifice and step forward to serve our country. Minimum wage for ministers will also ensure good talents will step forward and lead the country. Without these highly-paid ministers, Singapore will collapse!


Vivian is the epitome of the quality of our ministers. In his world, no one will work for free. Only those who are either rich or corrupted do. Our ministers went through diligent checks, as stringent as our immigration bureau which allowed a talent such as Yang Yin to attain PR status with his fake degree to con a wealthy old lady in the most innovative way, therefore ministers are all proven to be people of quality and integrity. Our uncorrupted ministers are still far from  the level of wealthy yet to work for free. Therefore, peasants need to satisfy the ministers’ insatiable greed bank accounts so that one fine day, ministers will be rich enough to work for the nation for free.


Conclusion: PAP truly cares for you……. by enabling peasants like us to slug for third-world-country income in a first world costs of living. This is for the betterment for Singapore. Nation welfare precedes unimportant individuals. National reserves should not be raided to help individuals.


3) For you to pay for the social cost; for them to reap GDP


Good intention:  For Singapore, for them, peasants have to pay socials for the ills of GDP and PWP to appreciate the privilege of being the citizens. Free lunches are only reserved for 2nd grade talents from foreign countries. Because we must treat our guests with hospitality.


Social costs are not included in the calculation of GDP. Fortunately, otherwise it will pull down their sterling achievement and Hsien Loong might sob. 


The ills of population growth are borne by individual peasants. Growing crime rate and new forms of crime for our outstretched police force, depressed wages lead to hardships for families, increased tensions between cultures of different nationalities, increased possibilities of infectious diseases in a densely populated area, increased competition on limited resources causing stress and anxiety, increased responsibilities of our NS men who are paid a meagre allowance to demonstrate their duty towards our nation, increased job insecurity. But remember, all these are done for Singapore. It might be too profound for the peasants to understand.


For Singapore, the two casinos brought about job opportunities for the peasants and our foreign guests. If peasants insist to gamble away their money and allow casinos to break up their families, there is little PAP can do. Peasants can make their own choices. Either they commit suicide when they are heavily in debt, or they can choose not to. Broken families are not a concern for the PAP as it does nothing to beef up GDP figures. Trade offs for you and for Singapore.


Conclusion: PAP truly cares for you…... as it has already spent a fortune with the best intention on advertisements to educate peasants about the vices of gambling. It has done its best to protect local peasants from the ills of gambling. For Singapore, we should not burden our nation further.


4) Hospital Bed crunch for you
Good intention: To enable peasants to understand the hardship of a third world country in order to appreciate what PAP has done for Singapore. The peasants’ hide will become thicker after this.  


For Singapore, Khaw Boon Wan, the compassionate buddhist, deliberately maintain status quo for the number of hospital beds in Singapore despite growing and aging population during his time as the Minister for Health to help save costs. If the peasants are being warded at the corridor of the hospital, either they choose to fly out of the country to seek cheaper medical care elsewhere, or they can choose to die. It is cheaper for the latter.


Conclusion: PAP truly cares for the you...... by spurring the peasants to lead a healthy lifestyle. Either they fall sick, or they don’t fall sick. They can start collecting cardboards under the scorching sun. In this way, they can prevent sickness and then spend less on healthcare. If peasants fall sick, they must take note NOT TO FALL SICK AT THE SAME TIME. Otherwise, peasants will cause over-crowding at the government hospitals. Anyway, the PAP has ensured there is sufficient space along the hospital corridors and even went to the extent of setting up tents likened to a refugee camp, to accommodate paying peasants. The peasants must be grateful for PAP’s efforts because it is worse in the Sahara desert where there isn’t even a hospital in sight.


5) Hazey days at PSI 400 but no stop-work order for you


Good intention: So that working peasants can acclimatise to the haze and continue their healthy lifestyle through work.


Vivian and Shanmugam have already repeatedly told the peasants that there is nothing they can do about the natural disaster. We cannot go against the nature. If the winds decide to blow the haze towards a tiny, vulnerable, resourceless, defenceless country like Singapore, there is really nothing the PAP can do at all.


Since PAP cannot blow the haze away, it has to be pragmatic and take the opportunity to train its people to acclimatise to the hazards of the haze. Peasants should not shy away from work like the natural aristocrats who can stay in the comfort of their air-conditioned palaces. Otherwise, our economy will crumble to the grounds into bits and pieces and vanished into the thin air in puffs if PAP calls for work stop for 2 days. The entire country will come to a standstill and there will be no one to clean the estates for the natural aristocrats. For Singapore, peasants must inhale the haze.


Conclusion: PAP truly cares for you…... by being honest of the problems that the PAP are incapable and uninterested of solving. They will not seduce the peasants into the belief that PAP is an overpriced superhero who is reluctant to shield Singapore from all man-made and natural disasters. Haze is good as it will reduce visibility and therefore, the peasants will spot fewer rodents running amuck during this period.


6) Jobs for foreigners; underemployment for you


Good intention: Foreigners are our guests. It is ill-manners if peasants do not treat them with respect and lavish them with the best opportunities that Singapore has. Don’t let the emperor Xian Long Hsien Loong be fully ashamed by the peasants’ behaviour.


Foreigners will create jobs and learning opportunities for peasants! See, there are lots more local peasants driving taxis than 2 decades ago because of the presence of foreigners. Some taxi drivers come with degree qualifications too! Don’t you feel proud to be driven around by a graduate? Which third world country has that? For Singapore, peasants must do the country proud. Foreigners have also created more jobs for police, security guards, inspector for fake paper qualifications and cleaning jobs.


Some peasants, being lazy, who refused to take up lower rank jobs, deserved to be unemployed. It is not shameful at all to work as a maid for $500 salary. Look, some maids went home and bought land and set up business and became bosses. Such aspirations! Peasants should learn from foreigners. 

For Singapore, peasants must sacrifice some small inconveniences to better our country and strive for the best opportunities for the foreigners. So that Hsien Loong can boost about the generosity of Singapore. He will be proud! How well we treat foreigners, much better than the Aussies!


Conclusion: PAP truly cares for you……..by bring hordes of foreigners to spur the peasants. Otherwise, how do peasants compete globally? PAP has brought the entire globe to Singapore for the peasants without even stepping out of Singapore!


7) No CPF for them; can-see-cannot-touch-CPF for you


Good intention: To help idiotic peasants who cannot manage their own finances from squandering away their hard-earned money on mistresses, gigolos and casinos.


PAP has a responsibility in ensuring the peasants on how they should spend their retirement funds. Otherwise, Singapore will collapse! Where on earth can you find such caring political party. In the meantime, PAP can divert the CPF funds for overseas gambles investments to benefit the peasants. Hopefully there will be returns for such ventures. Which first world government will milk money out of peasants to help invest for them?


As a caring and responsible political party, PAP will consider extending the full withdrawal age for the peasants as the population is aging. Many peasants are living longer than they should. 

For Singapore, peasants should not burden the country. Withdrawal age at 80 might be a fair age for withdrawal. By then, the peasants will have attained sufficient maturity to spend their retirement funds wisely. They will be too weak to travel to Batam by then.


Conclusion: PAP truly cares for you……... Enough said. Because they are the PAP, they are honest with their words. When PAP said they care, they really care because they are the PAP. For the past 2 decades, PAP has never said that they care. So when they claimed that they care, that is the hard truth that peasants must accept with gratitude. 

8) Care about your money; not your health

Locking up peasants' CPF savings is  one of the difficult choices that PAP has made. Because PAP knows what is best for peasants. PAP does not ban the sale of cigarettes because as long as peasants keep themselves healthy, cigarettes do no harm. BUT CPF will harm peasants.



Conclusion: PAP truly cares for you……...and knows exactly how to care for you.

9) Breakeven for you in healthcare; blank cheques for them for vanity projects
Good intention: Peasants can't bankrupt our country with their healthcare costs; vanity projects can put Singapore on the world map to boost about the PAP.

PAP needs money to build or sponsor vanity projects/events like Gardens by the Bay, Heliz bridge, pretty ministry buildings, F1 which can't even breakeven by themselves. This will help put Singapore, not Singaporeans, on the world map. PAP can claim credit for that and boast explicitly about themselves, not Singaporeans. It will bring glory to the country too although the peasants can't use this glory to find good jobs, affordable healthcare or to assuage living costs.
 
Hsien Loong mentioned the need for Medishield Life to breakeven. Gardens by the Bay needs no breakeven. Speaking from the point of profit-making for healthcare shows his care for our peasants. Because taking care of our sick and elderly is not PAP's responsibility. It is the peasants' own responsibility. Therefore, this is to train the peasants to be self-reliable and avoid bankrupting the country.

Some people choose to be sick, to be struck with chronic sickness, to be born with health issues; the elderly should maintain healthy lifestyle by collecting more cardboards or choose to die off instead of burdening our healthcare system. 

We are such vulnerable country; resources are limited. After making heaps from our HDBs, ERPs, COEs from the peasants, healthcare must contribute to the national revenue. It is the honour of our senior citizens to build this nation but they cannot bankrupt the country. The country does not owe them anything. But the country owes the PAP for everything.

Conclusion: The PAP loves vanity, they build their self-esteem from these hardware. And because they care for the peasants, the peasants should share the cost of PAP's self esteem. 








After listing a few examples of PAP’s care, the peasants should be moved to tears. If they don’t, they got to reflect why they felt this way. Look, the PAP has turned Singapore into such wealthy nation, much much more successful than Sahara Desert. What more do you want? Anything more than this is simply greed and corruption! If peasants do not appreciate it nor want to contribute to Singapore, PAP will then be forced into getting foreigners to contribute.


For you, with you, for Singapore!


By the way, who does the “who” actually refer to? And “for Singapore” means for all the people in Singapore right?