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Coffeeshop Chit Chat - Rear Admiral Minister Thinks Fr His Rear</TD><TD id=msgunetc noWrap align=right>
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Thinking From The Rear
Rear-Admiral Lui Tuck Yew, Acting Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts (MICA), reminds one of the Italian joke that goes: why does an Italian tank have 5 reverse gears and 1 forward gear? Answer: the forward gear is for when the enemy attacks from behind. The last time we visited the subject, the Competition Commission of Singapore (CSS) said the Media Development Authority (MDA) is the party responsible for the SCV-Singtel screw-up in the EPL bid. Lui is now saying, “Consumers will have to send their own signals to service providers as to whether they want to continue with the arrangement we have today.” Translation: don’t bother me, I’m too busy being a million dollar minister.
The real joke, if we are to believe Lui, is that MDA actually commissioned a study last year on “competition issues” (we are not told how much of taxpayers’ money was wasted for this) and is looking at “short term and long term regulatory options”. We hope he did not plan to outdo Mah Bow Tan who splurged $400,000 to rename Marina Bay. For all the “studying” and “looking”, EPL is richer by about $200 million, and Singaporeans are still not sure they will be watching football the way it was delivered by cable. The 3 parliamentarians were being polite in expressing doubt if competition for rights between the pay TV operators has been detrimental to consumers.
The bitter truth is that there is only one operator supplying cable TV, and one operator supplying IPTV. Thanks to MDA, Singaporeans are forced to choose between two monopolies. The solution is up in the skies: with satellite dishes, we won’t be fettered with the Hobson’s choice.
But don’t expect too much from the Rear-Admiral, the guy can’t even add. The data he presented to parliament revealed that the Esplanade Operating Expenditure for 2008 was $63m while Earned Income was $24m (2007 figures are $61 m and $27m respectively). Yet Lui is maintaining that “the Esplanade has not incurred any shortfalls.” Taxpayers’ monies, under their accounting term of “Government Grants”, were blown in 2008 to the tune of $40m (2007 number was $37m) to cover the shortfall. Money that could have been used for the jobless and needy, instead of staging high falutin’ concerts for the expatriate community and the elites. From the perspective of the lesser mortals, the spikes on the “durian” are not the only thorns in the Singapore flesh.
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For local news from non-local mainstream media, visit: http://singaporenewsalternative.blogspot.com </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
Thinking From The Rear
Rear-Admiral Lui Tuck Yew, Acting Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts (MICA), reminds one of the Italian joke that goes: why does an Italian tank have 5 reverse gears and 1 forward gear? Answer: the forward gear is for when the enemy attacks from behind. The last time we visited the subject, the Competition Commission of Singapore (CSS) said the Media Development Authority (MDA) is the party responsible for the SCV-Singtel screw-up in the EPL bid. Lui is now saying, “Consumers will have to send their own signals to service providers as to whether they want to continue with the arrangement we have today.” Translation: don’t bother me, I’m too busy being a million dollar minister.
The real joke, if we are to believe Lui, is that MDA actually commissioned a study last year on “competition issues” (we are not told how much of taxpayers’ money was wasted for this) and is looking at “short term and long term regulatory options”. We hope he did not plan to outdo Mah Bow Tan who splurged $400,000 to rename Marina Bay. For all the “studying” and “looking”, EPL is richer by about $200 million, and Singaporeans are still not sure they will be watching football the way it was delivered by cable. The 3 parliamentarians were being polite in expressing doubt if competition for rights between the pay TV operators has been detrimental to consumers.
The bitter truth is that there is only one operator supplying cable TV, and one operator supplying IPTV. Thanks to MDA, Singaporeans are forced to choose between two monopolies. The solution is up in the skies: with satellite dishes, we won’t be fettered with the Hobson’s choice.
But don’t expect too much from the Rear-Admiral, the guy can’t even add. The data he presented to parliament revealed that the Esplanade Operating Expenditure for 2008 was $63m while Earned Income was $24m (2007 figures are $61 m and $27m respectively). Yet Lui is maintaining that “the Esplanade has not incurred any shortfalls.” Taxpayers’ monies, under their accounting term of “Government Grants”, were blown in 2008 to the tune of $40m (2007 number was $37m) to cover the shortfall. Money that could have been used for the jobless and needy, instead of staging high falutin’ concerts for the expatriate community and the elites. From the perspective of the lesser mortals, the spikes on the “durian” are not the only thorns in the Singapore flesh.
=======================
For local news from non-local mainstream media, visit: http://singaporenewsalternative.blogspot.com </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
