I too agree that it’s bullshit to say unless we pay our miniters millions, we won’t have talented ministers that will stay away from corruption. Even with their previous pay package, we have many incompetent ministers and corruption exists at all levels in both the public and private sectors. For a greedy person, no money is too much money.

Instead of cultivating future politicians that goes “Some day I want to be a politician so I can earn lots of money. It’s my ticket to becoming a millionaire”, why can’t we spend more effort in instilling national pride and interest in politics in schools so that our children will one day grow up and say “I want to serve my country because I love my country and I want it to become a better place.” I don’t even think our current primary and secondary curriculum have any politics or much unbiased history of Singapore’s politics. We are given the ‘clean’ version of our history, then what difference is there between Singapore and China and North Korea? The problems of our politics in the past should be something that is taught to our children, so that they understand how Singapore came about. We aren’t here today because everyone was nice and smiling and shaking hands with everyone. I want my children to know what’s at stake, what was sacrificed for us to get to this beautiful garden city, I want them to feel proud of Singapore – mistakes and achievements.

It would appear that in the committee’s deliberations, one of the important factors has been on how much to pay the ministers well so that people would not be deterred from taking on the job.

Have we come to this pathetic state? Is there such a paucity of people with a sense of mission in politics that we need to scrape the bottom of the barrel with the dollar sign to entice people to come forward? From the large number of people offering themselves to opposition parties in the last general election, where financial gain for them is less likely than financial liabilities, this cannot be so.

A good political leader should be one with a strong moral conviction to do what he believes in without regard for his life, liberty or monetary reward. If a person is deterred to serve his country and his people because the money is not right, how can such a person be a good political leader?

People who do not recognise their special obligation and duty to society, which has invested so much in them and helped them attain a high status and position and need to be enticed by humongous salaries to serve are really no extraordinary people and could be dispense with.

We should not gloss such people with labels like “talented people” and “good people” when the word “mercenary” would be a more appropriate term. It would really be a service to the country to deter such people from political office. We would be much better out off without leaders who are more interested in their pay cheques than in serving the country.

Related posts:

1. We are Singapore, Singaporeans – Are we?
2. The Flaws of Singapore’s GRC System
3. Not Enough Foreign Workers in Singapore?

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.

We Are Singapore

There was a time when people said
That Singapore won’t make it, but we did
There was a time when troubles seemed too much
For us to take, but we did
We built a nation, strong and free, reaching out together
For peace and harmony

Chorus 1:
This is my country, this is my flag
This is my future, this is my life
This is my family, these are my friends
We are Singapore, Singaporeans

Singapore our homeland, it’s here that we belong
All of us united, one people marching on
We’ve come so far together, our common destiny
Singapore forever, a nation strong and free

( Repeat Chorus 1 )

( Sung )
We the citizens of Singapore
Pledge ourselves as one united people
Regardless of race, language or religion
To build a democratic society
Based on justice and equality
So as to achieve happiness
Prosperity and progress for our nation

Chorus 2:
We are Singapore, we are Singapore
We will stand together, hear the lion roar
We are Singapore, we are Singapore
We’re a nation strong and free forevermore

( Repeat Chorus 1 & 2 )

We are Singapore, Singaporeans ( X 2 )

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1. Not Enough Foreign Workers in Singapore?
2. My Vote Counts [Singapore General Elections 2011]
3. The Flaws of Singapore’s GRC System

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

No related posts.

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.

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2. Work and Social Network
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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:

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1. We are Singapore, Singaporeans – Are we?
2. The Flaws of Singapore’s GRC System
3. Singapore Ministerial Salary

Teo Hui Fen

ZINC Salon

THE CENTREPOINT #04-16

176 Orchard road, Singapore 238843

Tel: 62359891

Opening hours:
Mon – Fri:   11:00 am – 9:00 pm
Sat:                10:30 am – 7:00 pm
Sun:              10:30 am – 5:00 pm

DISCLAIMER: THIS IS NOT A PAID ADVERTISEMENT! But don’t know if you quote my name got discount or not… I’m posting this as a favour for Huifen and also to all Huifen’s clients and fans~~

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I guess, then, the question is: what makes a good president?

What Makes a Good President

1. The wave.

A good president should have a good wave. I think future presidents wannabes should always practice their waves infront of the mirror. Although hand waving seem to be a very simple gesture, but different kind of waves send people different signals. For example, the other day I stopped by a police road block and I thought the policeman waved at me to ask me to leave. It turns out that he was waving at me and asking me to stop. The incident nearly turned into a scene from Grand Theft Auto. This incident could have been prevented if only he had a better, clearer, wave. He should be sending clear and strong message that : I’m the president of Singapore, my job is to wave well and look good.

Another hand movement that is crucial for a president is the shake. You know how in the business world, people would often assess the other party by how firm his handshake? Since the president is Singapore’s figurehead, he would definitely need to have a good and firm handshake. From the below picture, you can see that SR Nathan has been doing a very fine job in this area.

2. Looking cool and regal in pictures

Alvinology photoshopped some pictures of potential presidential candidates for 2011 and judging on his compilation… I would say George Yeo scores the most point in this area. Too bad George Yeo isn’t running for the elections. Not only should the president look good in the portrait pictures, his wife must also be able to compliment him. I think the best example would be Obama. Michelle and Barack Obama look really good together!

Although in Singapore, looking like hip celebrities can actually be a disadvantage because it might give the impression of non-seriousness. Look at SR Nathan.

Oooooo soooo seriousssss…

Last but not least…

3. Able to take care of Istana with over $4 million a year

This is the most important point to take into account when considering who you want as your future Singapore president. The person must be able to take care of Istana. The Istana is a 106 acre estate, Singapore’s equivalent of The White House, also the President’s home for the duration of his job.

The President of Singapore holds the highest paying political position in the world (overhand salary). However, he needs to pay for his staff and I’m guessing electrical and water bills for his big house! There are so many animals, rooms, fountains, plants, golf course and other facilities, and also people managing the Istana, I’m surprised that the president only gets $4 million! [Info from Yahoo news]

I suggest that all presidential hopefuls to submit their 4 year plan on how they will upgrade, maintain and uphold the prestigious name and structure of the Istana.

So when casting your vote for Singapore’s next president 2011 this 27 August 2011, do think about what are the qualities that you really want from your president. Whether you are voting for Tony Tan, Tan Cheng Bock, Tan Kin Lian or Tan Jee Say, I do hope that you would take the above 3 points into consideration.

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Yam Ah Mee is the Chief Executive Director of the People’s Association.. He was the returning officer whose job was to announce the results of Singapore General Election 2011 and his famous line was “ Pursuant to Section 49, Subsection 7E, Paragraph A of the Parliamentary Elections Act: I declare…” By the end of the elections (which ended at around 3am), we could all memorize that line! Haha…

I saw this cartoon caricature picture by Morby Lin spreading on facebook and it’s really funny haha… It really does look like him!

Read: http://theurbanwire.com/2011/05/10/yammering-online-for-yam-ah-mee/

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The truth is, Tin Pei Lin, George Yeo and Chiam See Tong are all “freak” cases of the GRC system, the latter 2 can even be called victims of the GRC system. The fact is if Goh Chok Tong was not running alongside Tin Pei Lin in Marine Parade, she would not have a free ride into parliament. If George Yeo was running as a single candidate, against even strong opposition candidates, he would most likely be still in parliament. If Chiam See Tong was running solo, he too would have been elected in. Some people speculated that for Chiam See Tong’s case, he should have stayed in Potong Pasir and ran for the SMC alone. But remember: the aim of all opposition parties this election was to have MORE seats in the Parliament. Chiam See Tong took a risk so that his party can get 5 elected seats in the parliament, it was a pity that it didn’t work out.

The truth is roughly 60% of the Singaporeans voted for PAP and 40% voted for opposition parties but our preference are not reflected in the number of seats taken up in parliament: 81 seats to PAP and 6 seats to WP. How are the people properly represented in government if 40% of the people preferred an alternative voice but they are only represented by 7.4% in parliament? This result came about due to the flaws of the GRC system.

Our government (PAP) can close 1 eye about their alleged blatant gerrymandering but re-drawing our electoral boundaries every election. I would like them to explain how does moving people from 1 GRC to another benefits the people. I have heard people say “what is the agenda of the opposition parties? they are just power hungry or want status!”. Unfortunately, I don’t know what is PAP’s agenda when they keep pushing people from 1 GRC to another GRC. I would like PAP to explain how does that benefit the people and benefit the economy. Let me give you some examples.

1. I live in the area inbetween Dover MRT and Buona Vista MRT: I now belong to the West Coast GRC. My friend lives in Boon Lay, she belong to the West Coast GRC.

2. My friend lives opposite Alujnied MRT: He belongs to the Moulmein-Kallang GRC. Another person that lives near Novena belongs to Moulmein-Kallang GRC.

3. Yet another friend of mine lives near Sixth Avenue (along Holland Road): she belongs to Tanjong Pagar GRC. Another friend that lives in Tiong Bahru: she also belongs to Tanjong Pagar GRC. Yet another friend living in Bt Panjang belongs to Holland-Bt Timah GRC!!!

The list goes on. We live VERY far away from the area of the name of the GRC, and far apart from each other. Someone that stays in Hougang may belong to Aljunied GRC or Hougang SMC!!

How does anyhow cutting the areas up into GRCs improve our neighbourhood? Can my MP in West Coast GRC manage Boon Lay AND Dover the same? Infact, you may be from a GRC with a 100million dollars Town Council fund, but after re-drawing the electoral boundaries, you may end up in another Town Council with 50million dollars funds (let’s take for example). I am not sure if this is even true because I don’t think the GRC system, the Town Council system, our Town fundings are fully explained and made widely available for public records. Transparency please?

How does drawing of electoral boundaries benefit the PAP? Well, they have the numbers of different polling centres around the island, and they can shove blocks that has a stronger opposition support into other GRCs that have stronger PAP support to balance it out. How does it benefit the people? I have no idea.

Most, if not all, of the opposition supporters I have spoken to, really like George Yeo and really appreciate what he did for our country. However, even more people want to see promising talents like Sylvia Lim, Low Thia Kiang and Chen Show Mao speaking up for the rest of us in Parliament. If there is no problem with our government, why did Lee Hsien Loong apologize and George Yeo hoped to reform our government?

Now, if the PAP see the results of this election, it is definitely NOT a strong mandate of the people. This is a wake up call from the people. We are not trying to be disloyal or rebellious – we are all patriots that want something more for our country. We are all trying to be brave, like Singapore’s no. 1 brave man – Chiam See Tong.

I do like the PAP, I do like some policies they implemented in the past, I do like that my country is stable. However, after making so much progress to this nation, shouldn’t we sit back and reflect on what we have done right and wrong and what we can improve on? The reason why many Singaporeans voted for their opposition party even though they are not as strong as some PAP members is because we need more people that can tell PAP where they have done wrong. So far, only when things goes awry then PAP will apologize amend. But many of these things can be prevented if they had more alternative opinions.

I hope that after this elections, after all the outburst of unhappiness and disappointment online be it from PAP supporters or opposition supporters, despite our differences, we can all agree to 1 thing – that the GRC system is not working anymore.

Take from Straits Time’s election page.

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Are Singaporeans really so shallow  as to say things like “if he is gay, I don’t want him to represent Singapore” ???!!!?!??!

Even if you do not support the “gay agenda”, it does not mean that a gay person cannot represent your GRC better than a straight person. And BTW, just because someone is married to a woman, it doesn’t make that person straight as well. Who knows how many PAP members are homosexual? And seriously… who cares!

My point is, our representatives in the government should represent the general public. They come from different race, religion, social economical statuses (although most are rich), jobs, experiences, cultures, hobbies, and SEXUAL ORIENTATION. Please don’t be so stupid as to think that there are very few homosexual or bisexual citizens in Singapore. You have a huge majority of candidates that represent your rights as a hetrosexual, why would anyone be threatened by ONE potential MP? That ONE MP would not be able to rock any parliament votes. In fact, just because he is homosexual, that doesn’t mean he has to actively fight for gay rights in parliament at all!

You might have seen me talking a lot on gay rights and gay issues in my blog, this is not because I am homosexual or bisexual. I just feel that they do not deserve to be treated as lesser human beings.

“The issue is not Wijeysingha’s sexual orientation. That is a matter for him,” said the team from Holland-Bukit Timah GRC in a joint statement. Rather, “the video raises the question on whether Wijeysingha will now pursue this cause in the political arena and what is the SDP’s position on the matter”.

Said the PAP team: “We believe that candidates should be upfront about their political agenda and motives, so that voters are able to make an informed choice.”

“Let me state categorically, we are not pursuing the gay agenda and none of our Members of Parliament will,” said Dr Chee.

Its candidates had stepped forward because “they love this country and they know that Singaporeans yearn for an alternative voice in Parliament. That’s their only agenda”, he said.

“When we speak up, we do so for all Singaporeans because we serve all Singaporeans, not just a segment of Singaporeans.”

“Let me state categorically, we are not pursuing the gay agenda and none of our Members of Parliament will,” said Dr Chee.
Its candidates had stepped forward because “they love this country and they know that Singaporeans yearn for an alternative voice in Parliament. That’s their only agenda”, he said.
“When we speak up, we do so for all Singaporeans because we serve all Singaporeans, not just a segment of Singaporeans.”

http://www.todayonline.com/SingaporeVotes/EDC110426-0000505/PAP–Will-Wijeysingha-pursue-gay-agenda?-SDP–No,-we-will-not

Read: http://kirstenhan.me/2011/04/26/in-which-i-complain-to-the-new-paper-for-their-homophobic-headlines/#more-2459

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