- Joined
- Jul 24, 2008
- Messages
- 33,627
- Points
- 0
<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgbfr1 width="1%"> </TD><TD><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR class=msghead vAlign=top><TD class=msgF width="1%" noWrap align=right>From: </TD><TD class=msgFname width="68%" noWrap>kojakbt_89 <NOBR></NOBR> </TD><TD class=msgDate width="30%" noWrap align=right>Sep-8 7:49 pm </TD></TR><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgT height=20 width="1%" noWrap align=right>To: </TD><TD class=msgTname width="68%" noWrap>ALL <NOBR></NOBR></TD><TD class=msgNum noWrap align=right> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgleft rowSpan=4 width="1%"> </TD><TD class=wintiny noWrap align=right>38593.1 </TD></TR><TR><TD height=8></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgtxt>PAP’s pre-election “wayang kulit” to cut loss at next general election
September 9th, 2010 |
Author: Your Correspondent
http://www.temasekreview.com/2010/09/09/paps-pre-election-wayang-kulit-to-cut-loss-at-next-general-election/
OPINION
With public disgruntlement and anger at its misrule for the last 5 years at an all-time high, the increasingly unpopular PAP regime is in damage-control mode, unleashing a series of short-gap measures to appease native Singaporeans and to add more new citizens to the electoral registry rather than to address the root cause of the problems.
In fact, some of the new policies appeared to be targetted at PRs to encourage or coerce more of them to take up Singapore citizenships just in time before the next general election so as to ensure the PAP’s continued political survival which is now in serious doubt following a series of lapses of such catastrophic proportions that even its propaganda mouthpiece media has difficulties covering up its incompetence.
From the recurrent spate of floodings, sky-rocketing property prices, rising social tension between locals and foreigners to the YOG fiasco, the PAP doesn’t seem to get anything right nowadays. Its gaffe-prone ministers are more adept at peeving Singaporeans off than to allay their concerns and anxieties.
As National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan admitted himself:
[Source: Straits Times]
Let us examine the latest slew of measures announced by PAP ministers:
1. Reducing the intake of foreigners from 100,000 to 80,000 next year
Will 20,000 less foreigners make Singapore any less crowded? PM Lee has a history of flip-flopping. Last year, he promised Singaporeans that he will “moderate” the inflow of foreigners. Half a year later, he appeared to renege on his words by promising to bringing in 100,000 foreigners (excluding their families) next year. Now, he is singing a different tune altogether. What we need is not a reduced inflow of foreigners, but a complete revamp of the current immigration policy which is untenable in the long run.
2. $9,000 for existing NSmen as a “reward” for their contributions
How can such a paltry sum ever compensate those who have sacrificed two precious years of their lives in service of the nation plus another 10 years more of reservist obligations? How many NSmen will actually get the money given that those who have completed their NS cycles are excluded from the award and the amount will be deposited in three tranches in CPF which is like empty figures in the air? Forget about the $9,000 which is an insult to our contributions to the nation. Just get the new citizens like YPAP leader Sinha Shekhar to serve two years of NS or community service and everybody will stop complaining.
3. 16,000 new flats to be built next year
If HDB can build so many flats in a single year, why didn’t it build more flats between the years 2006 and 2008 when the flood-gates are flung open to immigrants? Only about 11,000 new flats were built in these three years resulting in the sky-rocketing prices we see today. These 16,000 flats will take three to four years to complete before they are ready for occupation, hardly a scant consolation for young couples who are waiting for a roof over their heads.
4. New property rules to curb speculation
The new housing rules penalized Singaporeans more so than the new citizens and PRs who own properties overseas. How is HDB going to check if they do not own overseas assets when they purchase HDB flats? On the other hand, genuine Singapore upgraders will find it tough to afford another 10 percent downpayment if they do not sell of their existing properties. HDB should just ban PRs from the resale markets or impose a minimum residency period before they are allowed to purchase resale flats to stabilize prices.
5. One billion dollars to upgrade train signalling system
SM Goh revealed it will cost S$1 billion to upgrade the train signalling system to increase capacity and reduce the waiting time for commuters. Again, the results won’t be manifest till years later meaning that Singaporeans will have to put up with the big squeeze for the time-being which raise questions why the government did not anticipate the increase in population and beef up our transport system to prepare for the inevitable when it has so much time to do so. Furthermore, the upgrading is likely to lead to high transport costs for Singaporeans as warned by SM Goh. Remember – nothing is free in Singapore. Whatever the PAP “gives” us now, we probably have to “pay back” ten times later.
6. Forcing PRs to become Singapore citizens:
This is almost unheard of anywhere else in the world. We have heard of people waiting for years to become U.K, U.S, Canadian and Australian citizens but over here, we have a thick-skinned government which issued veiled threats to get PRs to renounce their citizenships to become Singaporeans and to add salt to the injury, the response from them isn’t positive at all. Instead of cajoling the PRs to take up Singapore citizenships, the government should study on how to make being a Singaporean more attractive. Why should PRs become Singaporeans when they can enjoy all perks associated with citizenship minus its responsibilities? The PAP’s move to shore up its flagging support base is reminiscent of that of Barisan Nasional which gave out citizenships to Indonesians before the 2008 Malaysian election. Of course it didn’t help much and BN still lost its two-third majority to a resurgent opposition.
Singaporeans should not be deceived again by the latest “wayang kulit” put up by a desperate PAP regime to placate them ahead of the next general election which may prove to be a watershed in the history of Singapore.
On the eve of the 2006 general elections, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong unveiled a “Progress Package” for Singaporeans. What happen after he was rewarded by the voters with another 5-year term? GST, ERP, COE, S&C and cost of living went up, especially that of public housing. The pay of PAP ministers increased by more than 100 percent resulting in a bloated government. Why do we need so many ministers and MPs including two former Prime Ministers in the cabinet for a small country of only 700 square kilometers in size?
We are a democratic republic, not a fascist feudal one-party state like communist China. We need more opposition in Parliament or even a change in the ruling party in order to clear up the mess left behind by the PAP regime.
The next election may be the last window of opportunity for native Singaporeans to reclaim ownership of their beloved country after which they will surely be overwhelmed and dominated by the PAP regime and the hordes of foreigners it is mass-importing to perpetuate its political stranglehold forever.
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgVFM colSpan=2 align=middle>View Full Message</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
http://www.temasekreview.com/2010/09/09/paps-pre-election-wayang-kulit-to-cut-loss-at-next-general-election/
OPINION
With public disgruntlement and anger at its misrule for the last 5 years at an all-time high, the increasingly unpopular PAP regime is in damage-control mode, unleashing a series of short-gap measures to appease native Singaporeans and to add more new citizens to the electoral registry rather than to address the root cause of the problems.
In fact, some of the new policies appeared to be targetted at PRs to encourage or coerce more of them to take up Singapore citizenships just in time before the next general election so as to ensure the PAP’s continued political survival which is now in serious doubt following a series of lapses of such catastrophic proportions that even its propaganda mouthpiece media has difficulties covering up its incompetence.
From the recurrent spate of floodings, sky-rocketing property prices, rising social tension between locals and foreigners to the YOG fiasco, the PAP doesn’t seem to get anything right nowadays. Its gaffe-prone ministers are more adept at peeving Singaporeans off than to allay their concerns and anxieties.
As National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan admitted himself:
[Source: Straits Times]
Let us examine the latest slew of measures announced by PAP ministers:
1. Reducing the intake of foreigners from 100,000 to 80,000 next year
Will 20,000 less foreigners make Singapore any less crowded? PM Lee has a history of flip-flopping. Last year, he promised Singaporeans that he will “moderate” the inflow of foreigners. Half a year later, he appeared to renege on his words by promising to bringing in 100,000 foreigners (excluding their families) next year. Now, he is singing a different tune altogether. What we need is not a reduced inflow of foreigners, but a complete revamp of the current immigration policy which is untenable in the long run.
2. $9,000 for existing NSmen as a “reward” for their contributions
How can such a paltry sum ever compensate those who have sacrificed two precious years of their lives in service of the nation plus another 10 years more of reservist obligations? How many NSmen will actually get the money given that those who have completed their NS cycles are excluded from the award and the amount will be deposited in three tranches in CPF which is like empty figures in the air? Forget about the $9,000 which is an insult to our contributions to the nation. Just get the new citizens like YPAP leader Sinha Shekhar to serve two years of NS or community service and everybody will stop complaining.
3. 16,000 new flats to be built next year
If HDB can build so many flats in a single year, why didn’t it build more flats between the years 2006 and 2008 when the flood-gates are flung open to immigrants? Only about 11,000 new flats were built in these three years resulting in the sky-rocketing prices we see today. These 16,000 flats will take three to four years to complete before they are ready for occupation, hardly a scant consolation for young couples who are waiting for a roof over their heads.
4. New property rules to curb speculation
The new housing rules penalized Singaporeans more so than the new citizens and PRs who own properties overseas. How is HDB going to check if they do not own overseas assets when they purchase HDB flats? On the other hand, genuine Singapore upgraders will find it tough to afford another 10 percent downpayment if they do not sell of their existing properties. HDB should just ban PRs from the resale markets or impose a minimum residency period before they are allowed to purchase resale flats to stabilize prices.
5. One billion dollars to upgrade train signalling system
SM Goh revealed it will cost S$1 billion to upgrade the train signalling system to increase capacity and reduce the waiting time for commuters. Again, the results won’t be manifest till years later meaning that Singaporeans will have to put up with the big squeeze for the time-being which raise questions why the government did not anticipate the increase in population and beef up our transport system to prepare for the inevitable when it has so much time to do so. Furthermore, the upgrading is likely to lead to high transport costs for Singaporeans as warned by SM Goh. Remember – nothing is free in Singapore. Whatever the PAP “gives” us now, we probably have to “pay back” ten times later.
6. Forcing PRs to become Singapore citizens:
This is almost unheard of anywhere else in the world. We have heard of people waiting for years to become U.K, U.S, Canadian and Australian citizens but over here, we have a thick-skinned government which issued veiled threats to get PRs to renounce their citizenships to become Singaporeans and to add salt to the injury, the response from them isn’t positive at all. Instead of cajoling the PRs to take up Singapore citizenships, the government should study on how to make being a Singaporean more attractive. Why should PRs become Singaporeans when they can enjoy all perks associated with citizenship minus its responsibilities? The PAP’s move to shore up its flagging support base is reminiscent of that of Barisan Nasional which gave out citizenships to Indonesians before the 2008 Malaysian election. Of course it didn’t help much and BN still lost its two-third majority to a resurgent opposition.
Singaporeans should not be deceived again by the latest “wayang kulit” put up by a desperate PAP regime to placate them ahead of the next general election which may prove to be a watershed in the history of Singapore.
On the eve of the 2006 general elections, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong unveiled a “Progress Package” for Singaporeans. What happen after he was rewarded by the voters with another 5-year term? GST, ERP, COE, S&C and cost of living went up, especially that of public housing. The pay of PAP ministers increased by more than 100 percent resulting in a bloated government. Why do we need so many ministers and MPs including two former Prime Ministers in the cabinet for a small country of only 700 square kilometers in size?
We are a democratic republic, not a fascist feudal one-party state like communist China. We need more opposition in Parliament or even a change in the ruling party in order to clear up the mess left behind by the PAP regime.
The next election may be the last window of opportunity for native Singaporeans to reclaim ownership of their beloved country after which they will surely be overwhelmed and dominated by the PAP regime and the hordes of foreigners it is mass-importing to perpetuate its political stranglehold forever.
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgVFM colSpan=2 align=middle>View Full Message</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
