With the recent price hikes in Singapore’s transport systems, more and more disgruntled Singaporeans are beginning to feel annoyed with what is happening in Singapore. Some may still defend Singapore’s system and policies, comparing it with neighboring countries such as Thailand and Malaysia, and try to convince themselves that Singapore’s transport system isn’t that bad even with all the problems we are facing.

Our transportation is getting from good to bad to horrible. To drive a car in Singapore, you got to apply for COE (Certificate of Entitlement) that costs as much as the car itself. COE is now fluctuating between $30000 and $60000. Taxi prices just rose again, having taxi ‘surcharge’ from 6pm to 10am the following day. So there’s only 8 hours of non-peak periods where you don’t have to pay for surcharge. The taxi companies might as well just add surcharge for the entire day! Now those who can’t afford to drive or take taxis, they have to resort to the MRT – which is failing too! There have been 3 break downs in the past few days! What is wrong with our transport system???

What has our failing transportation system got to do with foreigners and the government? Everything.

The reason why Singaporeans are unhappy with influx of foreigners here is because we are not given preferential treatment. Foreigners are given so much incentive to come to Singapore that us Singaporeans feel as though we’re marginalized and we are the sacrifice to ‘build’ Singapore. With more foreigners pouring into Singapore, I fail to see the immediate benefits of having so many foreign workers but the negative social and cultural corrosion is becoming more obvious.

Our trains are flooded with foreign workers, many of them hard laborers board the trains with a stench of unpleasant body odor. Trains need to keep up with the number of commuters so they increase their frequencies, but our MRTs have been breaking down and SMRT have no idea how to deal with angry and unhappy commuters. Crime rates are increasing, more people are committing suicide. Our birth rates are declining as this society has become so stressful that people have no mood or time to have sex. Inflation and cost of living keeps rising, but our salaries remain stagnant. Some people feel that it is easier to find a job in Singapore if you are a foreigner! I’m not sure if that is true, but I won’t be surprised. Singaporeans are too arrogant to take a job that pays $2000 a month? No, we are not too arrogant. How does someone earn $2000 a month support a family in Singapore when everything is so expensive now??

We are unhappy because we decided to make Singapore our home, our ancestors decided to make this our home. We shouldn’t have to bear the consequences of letting the flood gates open for foreigners by compromising our quality of transport, quality of service, unscrupulous hiring tactics, corroding our Singlish and Singaporeness - all in the name of building Singapore’s economy. Who are we building this economy up for? For them or for us? After building up a world class economy, if foreigners are allowed to enjoy it as much as Singaporeans, then what pride should we have to be a Singaporean? The problem isn’t foreigners, but foreigners that did not pledge their allegiance to Singapore like I did. If you want to stay here, be a citizen! Serve the nation! Learn bloody Singlish!

What the government can look into is setting penalties for Singapore PRs for forfeiting their application for citizenship. Singapore PRs gets almost similar benefits to Singaporean, but they can leave any time since they are holding other nationalities at the same time. What I’ve heard is that some Singapore PRs even buy HDBs, and when they earn enough in Singapore, they sell their HDBs for a profit and return to their home country to retire! How about increasing taxes on foreigners based on income? How about limiting number of houses and cars they are allowed to own in Singapore? How about making it more difficult for Singaporeans to get sacked or retrenched? Besides English tests, how about implementing oral examinations and hygiene lessons for foreign workers!

Perhaps my suggestions may come across as very Nationalistic, but if the government continues the way it does, can Singapore still make it? Let Singapore love us as we love Singapore. Let us feel that this country deserves for us to defend and protect.

[ Read the rest of this entry » ]

Her name was Extremeila, she was quite perculiar
Her eyes wide opened, examining the world
She was spoilt but not broken.

She met a boy, it didn’t matter his name
She examined his every move and being
Completely befuddled.

The boy loved her, oh he did
But Extremeila, being quite perculiar,
Was too easy to break.

The boy told her he loved her so
He would dig his eyes out should his eyes ever
Lusted for another

The boy told her he loved her so
He was willing to forsake his arms if they ever
Showed care towards another

The boy told her he loved her so much
He was going to pluck his heart out to prove that
He loves and loved no other

Extremeila, spoilt and perculiar, Meila
Thought she found her perfect boy
Without eyes, arms or a heart.
Perfection, Meila learnt, was to be broken.

Priss 14122011

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I wonder if this poem is too morbid…

The Muppets are coming to Singapore’s cinemas next month!

I think my favourite Muppets character must be Kermit the frog… And who can forget Kermit singing The Rainbow Connection! It’s become such a classic now.

On vacation in Los Angeles, Walter, the world’s biggest Muppet fan, his brother Gary (Jason Segel) and Gary’s girlfriend Mary (Amy Adams) from Smalltown, USA, discover the nefarious plan of oilman Tex Richman (Chris Cooper) to raze the Muppet Theater and drill for the oil recently discovered beneath the Muppets’ former stomping grounds. To stage a telethon and raise the $10 million needed to save the theater, Walter, Mary and Gary help Kermit reunite the Muppets, who have all gone their separate ways: Fozzie now performs with a Reno casino tribute band called the Moopets, Miss Piggy is a plus-size fashion editor at Vogue Paris, Animal is in a Santa Barbara clinic for anger management, and Gonzo is a high-powered plumbing magnate. With secret, signature, celebrity cameos, Disney’s “The Muppets” hits the big screen Dec. 8, 2011.

Catch The Muppets in cinemas this 8 December 2011 and like the Official Disney Studios Singapore Facebook Page!

It was a pity I couldn’t attend the launchof Bombay Sapphire Blue Room!

The Blue Room experience and an art exhibition by BOMBAY SAPPHIRE® curated by Kult3D is a celebration of creative talents, where nine commissioned artworks inspired by BOMBAY SAPPHIRE® are showcased at dbl O Art Space from now till 18^th November 2011, is making an appearance in Singapore for the first time outside of London. Solo designers and collectives participating in the exhibition are Kult3D, Creative Toolbox, kittozutto,Mojoko+SHANG, Clara Yee, Kristal Melson, Dju-Lian Chng, Foo Jia Wen and Tara Thadani.

I’m so curious about the dbl O Art Space because dbl O is famous for being a club… so what has art got to do with clubbing? I should really drop by soon!

dbl O Art Space, Level 2, 222 Queen Street

Opening hours of the BOMBAY SAPPHIRE® Blue Room:
Tuesdays – Thursdays: 6pm – 11pm
Friday & Saturday: 5pm – 12mn
Sundays: 4pm – 8pm
Mondays: Closed

My Nuffnang story started about 3 years ago. Then, there were a few competitors in the field of blog management and marketing and I wasn’t sure which companies should I stick with – so I put many advertisers bar in my blog! Haha.

Sure, there was a point I considered doing advertorial for other international (mostly American) marketing campaign sites, but they had all kinds of strange ads! For example, blog post on gambling websites, slot machines, soft porn sites etc. I wouldn’t have wanted my blog to be tainted with those advertorials!

Soon, Nuffnang’s competitors died out one by one and Nuffnang really prevailed and proved itself to be at the top of its industry. They have been always professional and offered top brand names that I would like to feature in my blog.

More than just the attractive advertising rates Nuffnang have pitched my blog for, attending Nuffnang events really makes me feel so pampered. Although at other media events and press conferences, you get to rub shoulders with big bosses and media personnel from the ‘traditional’ media… Nuffnang events often has a special something and really caters to the needs of bloggers like myself..

My Nuffnang Memories…

Blood Donation 2008

Power Over Cervical Cancer (POCC) 2010

Laurier Challenge 2010

Come 16 December 2011, 500 bloggers from around the Asia-Pacific region will flock to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for the Nuffnang Asia-Pacific Blog Awards 2011 in Putrajaya Marriott. The Awards aims to not only honour the region’s best bloggers, but also to bring together blogger communities from across Asia-Pacific. The Nuffnang Asia-Pacific Blog Awards is brought to you by Volkswagen Malaysia and Putrajaya Marriott.

Find out how you can win tickets to Nuffnang’s Blog Awards 2011 here! http://awards.nuffnang.com/2011/win-exclusive-invites/

I have seen many teenagers in my facebook account that are not concerned or mindful about what appears on their facebook pages or other social media platforms. I am worried for them because I know most of them take it has harmless fun. With the latest incident with Adelyn Hosehbo, I think it serves as a good warning to other teenagers – be more mindful with what you want the world to see! (Background story: Adelyn Hosehbo posted on facebook that she slapped her mother. Read more at alvinology)

1. Do not add hundreds and thousands of “random” friends on your facebook unless you don’t mind not knowing who has access to your information. It really depends on how comfortable are you sharing your personal information online. With Adelyn Hosehbo’s facebook page, there are quite a few “friends” of hers that are mocking and scolding her publicly on facebook.

2. Check your facebook privacy settings. In Adelyn Hosehbo’s profile page, you don’t need to be her friend to see things posted on her wall. Again, how much would you want to show the world – while not knowing who is reading it.

3. Don’t post things that may potentially be harmful to yourself. Eg. Posting that you slapped your mother, stole a car, commited a murder… things like these should be kept to yourself. If I slapped my mother, I would probably be too ashamed to even tell my closest friends. Your potential employers might actually see all those on your facebook someday… Go get a diary if you really need to pen it down. I wonder if this generation people still use diary or not…

4. Don’t post your school for public to view if you are likely to get stomped. See now everyone in Singapore knows that Adelyn Hosehbo was from Marsling Secondary School. Not a very good image for your alma mater.

5. Last but not least……… If any readers reading this post has violent tendencies like Adelyn, please speak to your school counsellor or approach counselling centres near your home. A list of VWOs in Singapore can be found here http://www.ncss.org.sg/vwocorner/members_list.asp

I do not like STOMP as it is breeding an anonymous self-righteous vigilante platform as I voiced my opinion here before http://www.deadpris.com/2008/12/16/stomp-singapores-most-disgusting-seen/ but these kids should have seen it coming *sigh*

There are always consequences to your actions.

UPDATE 3/11/2011: Seems like Adelyn read my blogpost and changed her facebook privacy setting. Good girl.

A few days ago, Straits Times had a report on how Singapore’s increased foreign worker levy is affecting MNCs in Singapore and how these MNCs might bring their investments to other countries. To my surprise, Straits Times wrote another Special Report section on the same issue again.

Straits Times 26 October 2011 reported, again, “Firms feel impact of foreign worker crunch”. The article went on portraying how businesses finds it difficult to hire both Singaporeans and foreigners, with 4 different reports of businesses not able to find workers. However, when I read the article, this is what I felt they were trying to say:

1. Businesses do not want to hire Singaporeans because they are too demanding.

“We are willing to pay $2500, higher than the $2000 we pay for foreigners, for a new local, but they tell us, ‘Saturday, Sunday I don’t work. Go out sea to troubleshoot, very tough, cannot’.”

“Most don’t have the patience – they quit halfway and become property agents”

“Some job seekers asked “Does the bus stop in front of your shop?” and “Can I get a cash advance?”.”

Well, I don’t think Singaporeans being concerned about their job welfare is a problem. Employers want to hire quality labor for as cheap as possible while employees want to find a job that pays well enough for the amount of work and trouble they have to be put through. Fair? I’m sure these employers would be so happy to find workers that work 7 days a week for $400. Do they care that our salary has been stagnant for the last 10 to 20 years and the cost of living is increasing?

2. Implying that foreigners are cheaper and better workers than Singaporeans.

It’s possibly true! These foreigners earn peanuts in their home countries. When they come Singapore, they are earning many times more than of what they would get back home. They come with experience, knowledge and are more humbled and appreciative of their jobs (probably). Then why don’t these companies just go to China or India to set up their companies instead?

Singapore has a great infrastructure, safety, government stability etc. etc. that is what attracts big businesses here. Should foreign workers instead of Singaporean workers be reaping the benefits of having such a great country? We didn’t set up this awesome place to attract investors and businesses just to have foreigners come and reap the reward that is suppose to be ours.

Ok. Let’s take a look at this from 3 different views of Singaporean workers.

Singaporean A – The lowly educated

In my line of work, I interact with many lower income and educated families. Many of whom work jobs that pays less than $1000 a month. Assuming that both parents are working, they earn a total of less than $2500 a month. These are the drivers, the delivery men, food packers, hard laborers, technicians etc. I really wonder how does a family of 5 survive on $2500 a month! HUH? A driver earns $1000 a month?? Are you sure?? Yeah of course they only earn $1000 a month… The company can easily hire a foreigner to work for $1000 a month, so why would they want to pay locals any more than that?

Singaporean B – educated

I hear this from a friend who works in the hotel industry. She is a fresh graduate with a degree and she only earns $1500 a month, working 6 days shift! Her Filipino colleagues working the same position earns $1800 a month holding S-pass. The only reason why a Singaporean earns $1500 a month and Filipino earns $1800 a month is because it is a requirement to attain an S-pass and employers do not pay CPF for foreigners. How is it that a degree holder should have to earn such minimal wage in a country like Singapore??? If there were no supplies of foreign workers in her sector, perhaps hotels would have to offer higher pay to attract locals to work.

I’ve got yet another friend, who is a foreigner, earns only $1800 a month and he was given an employment pass (E-Pass). This was approved after the General Election 2011 this year. When the government said they were going to raise the E-pass requirement to $2800… they actually meant $1800 is it?

Singaporean C – The highly educated

Studying a post-graduate course in Singapore, I was hoping to some day earn lots of money. I don’t. This I don’t blame the foreign workers but the under developed sector of psychology, counseling and social work. I found it difficult to accept that my current pay is less that of someone working in MacDonald in Australia. If I were to find work in a westernized country, I would get at least twice that of my current pay.

This is what is happening to many brilliant, smart, educated Singaporeans… They would rather work overseas than to stay in Singapore. What is there for them here? The public transports over crowded with China and Indian nationals? The higher competition their children may receive in schools due to foreigners? The fear of cooking curry at their own homes? The poor services we receive from non-English speaking staffs? The stressful, fast-paced life that does not even allow you to have quality family time anymore, don’t talk about even having kids! Where got time to even have sex!

I was not born in Singapore but I grew up here and I am proud to call myself a Singaporean. I have nothing against foreigners and I am not xenophobic. I have a problem with Singapore’s current legislation and the direction of which the country is heading. My parents thought Singapore was a great place to migrate and bring up their children… slowly but surely… Singapore is losing all the factors that made Singapore so unique and great.

All in all, we do need foreign workers in Singapore, but not at the expense of affecting the livelihood and quality of life of other Singaporeans living here like you and I.

News article:

Singtel is looking for the next Social Media Star!!! Prizes of $10000 and a contract with Singtel to host their YouTube channel to be won!!!

Open to female Singaporeans and Permanent Residents, the casting call will be run on SingTel’s Facebook page from October 15 to November 8 2011. The winner will walk away with a $10,000 cash prize and a contract to host the YouTube programme.

Wow… Seems to exciting! I’ve been asking Sab to take part with me!!! Hopefully something good comes out of this we we win something!!  

Hey Sab

Even though it has been a tough week for you, and I probably contributed a small faction of your stress level also? but I do wish you a happy happy birthday You always look 21 and hot ok!!!

Please don’t kill me for posting a funny pic of us But that picture pretty much describe how we’re like… you’re always full of surprises and excitement and I’m always there to disturb you! We’ve known each other for many years and we built a friendship that transcends so many aspects of our lives… our hobbies i.e. gaming and blogging, through our rich and poor times, through different boyfriends, even through different countries… And as princessy as you are, I am glad to have a friend like you around

Happy Birthday my princess <3

The Primetime Fall Fashion show organized by Singtel Mio TV and Robinsons was quite a fun night out! I was really excited to go because it was my first time to Avalon @ Marina Bay Sands. The parking at MBS is $6 after 7pm and it was quite difficult to look for parking lots too!

We were there on time but the fashion show wasn’t going to start till later so I dropped by Coffee Bean for a yummy all-day breakfast dinner! Love love love all-day breakfast menu at Coffee Bean!

Too bad I don’t have a nice camera to capture the glamour moments at Avalon last Friday! My iPhone 4′s flash isn’t powerful enough to capture much… Even Sab and Peggy had problem trying to capture nice pictures in the club