TR EMERITUS

Dear Mr Shanmugam,   I refer to your comments as reported by Straits Times on 18 Jan 2010.   You said that it is a misconception that there are five million people putting pressure on all of us because the 1.3 million here on temporary work permits impose no burden on the public housing system.  That unfortunately, is the real misconception.   Even as workers on temporary permits aren't allowed to buy flats, they are allowed to rent flats or rooms.  The flats that they rent becomes unavailable for sale to the people and thus puts presure on the availability of units.  Also, land that could otherwise have housed Singaporeans are being used to house workers like those in Serangoon Gardens.   On what basis do you brush aside the 500,000 PRs as being too small a number to impact prices?  You said the number of BTO flats to be launched this year is 12,000.  If every one of these 500,000 PRs were to buy a flat each, it would take 40 years to build all the flats to accomodate these PRs.   While Singaporeans may be the ones who are forking out top dollar for certain flats, are there cheaper alternatives for the same locations?  And for flats that are much more far flung, are they really that much cheaper?   Instead of imposing limits on resale flat prices, the Government can impose limits on the price of new flats sold by the HDB.  In a climate of spiralling prices, the Government should not join in the fray but should hold flat prices steady instead.  That way, the government does not end up making one person happy at the expense of another.  It only makes itself less happy.  Is the government willing to do that?   The concessionary loans and grants of $40,000 pale in comparison to the $100,000 to $200,000 increase in flat prices over the last three years.   While 8 in 10 Singaporeans pay for their flats entirely through their CPFs, they will have to keep paying for the next 30 years and would have nothing left in their CPF for retirement.  You call that affordable?   Politics is, first and foremost, about satisfying the needs of the people.  All popular revolutions and uprisings stem from inadequate provisions from the government.  The art of communication cannot change the feelings of hardship that the people has to endure.     Thank you     Ng Kok Lim  Read More →

Written by Our Correspondent A PRC couple together with a 90 year old granny, a female friend and a maid boarded a SBS bus without wheelchair accessibility at Mandai and was told by the bus captain that they were not allowed to bring the wheelchair up the bus due to safety reasons. However, they insisted on doing so and sat on the bus for 6 hours, refusing to leave! The bus captain has no choice but to stop the bus along the road and after informing the SBS's headquarters, transferred the other passengers alread aboard to another bus, but still the PRC family did not alight from the bus. The police were alerted to the scene to settle the dispute to no avail. The five of them continued to cry, wail and scream on the bus that they want to go home. They kept complaining to the policemen: "We want to go home! We haven't had lunch yet or gone to the loo! There are no buses now to go back, what should we do?" When interviewed by Lianhe Wanbao, 48 year old Madam Lin who worked in the media industry said angrily: "The bus did not put out any sign that forbid wheelchairs to be brought up and we did not commit any crime. So why was the bus stopped by the road and refused to fetch us home?" It is not revealed if Madam Lin is a new citizen, PR or foreigner, but since the couple are together with a maid, it is likely that they are PRs or new citizens living here in Singapore. Madam Lin eventually requested SBS to call a cab to send them home which it did by arranging a Maxi Cab for them free of charge which ended the 5 hour fiasco. This is the second time within a week that PRCs found themselves mired in controversy due to their public behavior which does not quite fit into the usual social etiquette of Singaporeans. Two days ago, Shin Min Daily published an article about an unruly PRC lady customer who walked off without paying her fare upon calling a cab and even lodged a police report against the taxi-driver who tried to ask her to pay up. (read article here) She subsequently made a formal complaint to the taxi company which terminated the services of the driver a few days later. On 16 January 2010, we reported the story of a PRC woman staging a solo “protest” at the Ministry of Education Headquarters at Buona Vista for the last two days to demand that MOE transfer her child to a top primary school in Singapore. Though MOE has already offered to place her child in another school in the vicinity she lives in, but she continues to insist that she be given a place in the school of her choice. She was reported to be in the MOE building till 12 midnight last night and only left after the police threatened her with arrest if she continues to loiter in a government building. (read article here) According to the latest update from our source: "The saga continues today too! Still hanging around with child in tow!!" Due to the ruling party's liberal immigration policies, foreigners now make up 36 per cent of Singapore's population with the significant proportion coming from mainland China. Singapore's strongman Lee Kuan Yew said in a recent interview with The National Geographic magazine that it is a "good thing" for Singapore to welcome so many Chinese immigrants as they are more "hard-driving" and "hard-striving". For once, Lee's "prediction" is accurate: they are indeed more "hard-driving" than Singaporeans as the above examples have shown. News source: Lianhe Wanbao  Read More →

Lianhe Wanbao, 18 January 2010 一对中国夫妇带着90岁高龄阿嬷，与女亲友及女佣，登上无轮椅设施的巴士遭拒载，被指硬把轮椅搬上车，坐在巴士上不肯下车，足足闹了6小时。 5人到万礼 (Mandai) 祭祖后，搭巴士回家时，携带着阿嬷的轮椅上车，巴士上没有残障设施，车长基于安全理由拒载，但他们却不肯下车。 　　 巴士车长把巴士停在路边，依照总部指示，指示车上其余十多名乘客搭另一辆巴士。5人仍然留在巴士上，不肯下车，双方僵持不下，还惊动警方到场调解，整个风波耗上6个小时才得以平息。 　　 这起闹剧发生在昨天中午时分，地点是靠近万礼火化厂及骨灰安置所外的万礼路。 　　 来自中国的林女士（48岁，媒体工作者）投诉说，她和丈夫、女亲友、90岁阿嬷以及女佣5人，当天早上从勿洛转了一趟车之后，才来到万礼祭祖，去的时候带着轮椅上巴士没有遇到阻拦，不料回程却遭到拒载，愤愤不平。 　　 林女士说：“巴士上没有标出来，说不能带轮椅上车，我们又没有犯法，为什么一直把巴士停在这里，不能送我们回家呢？” 　　 巴士车长开不了车，惊动警方到场，5人一直留在巴士上。阿嬷长时间没得休息，没有吃东西，看起来很虚弱。最后，林女士一家要求巴士公司召德士送他们回家，这场风波大约傍晚5时许才总算平息。 - Lianhe Wanbao   Read More →