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Good value for whose money?
Published on 2013-04-17 04:25:00
"If this $10 million gets 20 per cent of our commuters to shift their behaviour, I think that's fairly good value for money", so said Mr Janil Puthucheary, MP for Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC. Mr P was echoing the government's numbers when he was speaking,
Myths and might
Published on 2013-02-12 20:57:00
Someone brought this article to my attention. If you have not already read it, I think investing some of your precious time on this will be enlightening and well worth it.Economic Myths in the Great Population Debate, written by members of the Econom
Credbility
Published on 2013-02-10 22:30:00
More on the White Paper on Population. The PM said, quite rightly, that the conversation will continue outside of Parliament on the issues raised. Whether the Paper is right or not, we will know possibly in 2020 or 2030. Many of us may not be around
Hyperbole
Published on 2013-02-08 20:08:00
As expected, the much debated Whitepaper on Singapore's future
Singapore for Lease
Published on 2013-01-30 22:42:00
The government of Singapore just announced that its target population growth number, right up to 2030, will be 6.9 million. No one can fault this government for being forward thinking. In fact, right from the very beginning, in 1959, Singapore has be
Hazarding a guess
Published on 2013-01-26 22:07:00
Ms Lee Li Lian, opposition Workers' Party
Two for one
Published on 2013-01-12 17:08:00
Two for the price of one. The PAP
Suspect body of work
Published on 2013-01-12 01:03:00
Here it goes again, another sordid account of sex and lies rolled into a case of
Mind your own IT business
Published on 2013-01-05 19:59:00
Singaporean, or at least those politically-aware, would have seen it coming. A reportedly shell company owned entirely by the PAP buying up a software system that was developed with tax-payer money for the sake of maintaining a software system that e
Unhappy in Singapore
Published on 2012-12-26 03:54:00
Much has been made about Singapore being a place with many unhappy people. I overhead some Singaporeans talking about it, and came to realise that there are indeed many things that Singaporeans are not happy about. And these are not new. They have be
Unhappy Riches
Published on 2012-12-21 18:43:00
It is sad that Singaporeans don't feel happy. According to a recent
By-election effect
Published on 2012-12-12 08:33:00
A by-election afoot again! And the cause of it? Sex. Singapore is beginning to look like a sleazy place for people in high err, places.Mr Michael Palmer, erstwhile MP for Punggol East, has suddenly and unexpectedly resigned both his Parliamentary sea
A raw deal
Published on 2012-12-07 08:25:00
Goodness gracious me, did I hear wrongly or is it just a nightmare? According to reports, the Transport Minister appears to be blaming, albeit indirectly, the long-suffering public transport commuting public of being responsible for the unhappiness o
A whistle stop
Published on 2012-12-01 17:52:00
A police whistle hung on the wall in my boyhood house in the Naval Base. It was made of brass, so it wasn't a toy. I didn't think much more about it, until years later, after the family had moved away, my
Fright train - the Zombies
Published on 2012-11-14 09:00:00
This is an all too common sight on the subway trains nowadays. Not only do you have to contend with the crowd, you also need to contend with a crowd which is oblivious of the crowd. Why so? When you have commuters glued to their videos, and music, an
Cleaning after
Published on 2012-10-06 21:11:00
Singapore wants its people to clean up after themselves. After so many years, it has become routine that diners at its public dining areas, commonly referred to variously as Foodcourts, Hawker Centres and Coffee Shops, expect cleaners engaged by these Foodcourts to do the dirty work, i.e. clear the dishes and collect the cups from the tables so that it can be occupied by the next diner. After all, doesn't the price of the food already include these cleaning services? Singaporeans, you see, are v [..]
Fighting fire
Published on 2012-09-21 19:52:00
I spoke to a few teenagers the other day about Sam Bacile's "Innocence of Muslims" and the widespead violent response to it. Imagine my surprise when they asked me what it was all about. With this news hogging headlines in every print and internet publication, it was incredible these youth of the internet generation were not all that aware of what was going on. I can understand it if they didn't know about the Chinese and Japanese tussling over an island somewhere between China and Japan. It is [..]
Yes to dress
Published on 2012-09-21 05:13:00
I rarely, well come to think of it, never, comment on fashion, and especially the way women dress. I'll make an exception because, like many, I am impressed with
Educating the parent
Published on 2012-09-16 17:07:00
The Ministry of Education (MOE) didn't disappoint. Apparently it heard from the ground about some of the grouses about the way children are taught in schools and the school system itself. So in its last policy revision, it is no longer ranking (banding is the word used by the MOE) schools. Indeed it now says that all schools are good schools, whatever that means. We know this is not true, but it doesn't harm to be ambiguous, does it? I suppose not. The MOE says that academic results is not the b [..]
Wayang wayang
Published on 2012-09-14 17:54:00
There was reportedly another wayang going on in Queenstown yesterday. For those who do not already know, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge - the grandson of Queen Elizabeth II, was in town the last couple of days. One of their stops was in Queenstown where some shows were put up for them. mrbrown suggested that this was, well, a shallow show put up to, I suppose, rub someone's behind.Well, even if this is wayang, it is good wayang. Don't tell me that when your aunt or uncle or brother, or even a [..]
What is the Point?
Published on 2012-09-14 03:27:00
I cannot agree more with letter writer, Mr Nick McHugh, when he asked if it was odd that the government's response to incidences of death by cycling in Singapore is to increase penalties on cyclists (Stiffer penalties for cyclists do not solve the problem). I
Minting myths
Published on 2012-09-07 19:00:00
I am glad that the honourable Member for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC and a Senior Counsel no less, has given voice to what many Singaporeans have been whispering about around the island about the education system in Singapore. Among them was the oft heard claim that teachers defer to private tutors to do the teaching ("teach less, learn more"), and even encouraging parents to engage private tutors for their weaker students, if they haven't already. I have even written about it recently, but not with as [..]
One or two?
Published on 2012-08-26 21:23:00
The PM announced last evening that men will also be entitled to paternity leave, similar to women's maternity leave, to look after their just borned child. Everyone in the University Cultural Centre auditorium
Death and Taxes
Published on 2012-08-23 00:32:00
Should we treat paying taxes not so much an obligation, indeed no a duty, but an act of charity. This is what a letter writer to Today suggested come days ago. Yet ironically, in that same paper, on the facing page, a letter writer wrote about how certain public servants are wasting tax-payers' money by engaging private law firms in their law suits.At one level, I agree with the letter writer. As many would by now have found out, the personal tax bill for many this year is far far more than last [..]
Un-maidenly
Published on 2012-08-18 18:42:00
Ever had somebody bark "Excuse me" to you? Yes, bark. Its annoying to say the least. This phrase is no longer that polite, and indeed apologetic, request to heed a need. The way it is used by some people nowadays sounds like "Hey low life, you are getting in my way. Move aside
Tuition nation
Published on 2012-08-14 04:57:00
"The fool and his money are soon parted". I learnt this a long time ago. First as an idiom in primary school. Then in a venture that I was just too careless over. Just careless, not foolish, mind you.But there are some people who are foolish, like those that paid thousands of dollars to an unaccredited tutor that purportedly could teach their children to be gifted. Obviously these overly ambitious parents are prepared to swallow the bait, hook, line and sinker. I suppose "gifted" to them meant t [..]
Numbers game
Published on 2012-08-12 20:40:00
The numbers do not lie. On a per capita basis, Yahoo Sports reported that Jamaica, with a population of 2.7 million, won nine gold medals in the recently concluded London Olympic games. This casts doubt on people who say that Singapore's population is too small to produce world beaters in sports. For the record, Singapore won three
Daoxiao lunch
Published on 2012-08-10 19:50:00
Singapore has become a cosmopolitan place, and a bit confusingly amusing. I was having lunch on National Day at a Chinese restaurant serving dao-xiao mian (literally shaved noodles). I was attended to by a waiter who took our order in English. Nothing odd about that.
Regardless of language
Published on 2012-08-09 04:34:00
As Singaporeans recite the National Pledge today in celebration of its 47th National Day, I am reminded of the phrase in the pledge "regardless of language...". Much has been made of our Table Tennis trio of Feng Tianwei, Li Jiawei and Wang Yuegu being foreign imports and therefore not representative of the country's sporting abilities. One the the factors often cited about this ambivalence toward the trio is their inability to speak English, or even try to to learn to speak English. Is the abil [..]
That maiden medal
Published on 2012-08-03 23:54:00
Ms Feng Tian Wei has won a bronze medal in Table Tennis at this year's London Olympics, and many Singaporeans are proud and happy about it. After all, the last time a Singaporean won a medal at these games was in 1960, by Mr Tan Howe Liang, in weight-lifting. I say "many" because there appears to be many others who have poured cold water over it because Feng is not a 'true-blue' Singaporean. And the quarter million dollar reward for achieving this feat appears to be one of the reasons. True, Fen [..]
That 2200 bicycle
Published on 2012-07-14 18:32:00
Much has been reported, written, talked about around the table, discussed and dissected by all and sundry about the now notorious case of the Singapore NParks
God in the City
Published on 2012-07-07 20:58:00
There has been a spate of court cases on corruption June. Don't know if this is because of the sweltering temperature. This was preceded by sex cases in May. I wonder what July will bring. One cannot but be impressed by the work rate of the Attorney General's Chambers. Going by these cases (and more to come?), they can look forward to big performance bonuses at the end of the year, particularly if the cases lead to convictions and fines. I am not suggesting for a moment that the AGC has monetary [..]
Sex in the City
Published on 2012-06-07 20:05:00
2012 is shaping to be sex in the city of Singapore. First, there are the 44 odd men who were hauled to Court for having sex with an underage girl. Then there are revelations coming out of the Courts about how a former senior civil servant had his tryst with three middle-age woman (apparently still very desirable still), two of whom are married, so it was reported.And what a difference there are in these two cases. No, I don't mean the sex, although that is itself a salacious part of these two sa [..]
Crossing the bridge
Published on 2012-05-26 22:21:00
When the by-election was first announced a couple of weeks ago, my colleague confidently declared that the Hougang ward will revert to the PAP. I thought it was not likely as that will require a 15% swing, given that the last incumbent, Mr Yaw Shin Leong, secured about 65% margin of victory in the 2011 GE. Given that nothing very drastic has changed since then, except for the sacking of a sitting MP by the Workers Party, there was no real reason for the swing. Of course political commentators an [..]
Caught
Published on 2012-05-05 21:24:00
I was amused the other day to read how Mr
The Island that was
Published on 2012-04-22 18:29:00
It is a sad day for Singapore.The celebrated "Singapore works" moniker is in danger of extinction. The erstwhile
Hold the money
Published on 2012-04-21 16:30:00
Listen up, the identity of the whore who set up 44 men, and counting in sleepless Singapore is...Cannot tell or I will be fined S$5,000. Serious.I'd rather save it and pay the teenage whore that money...Hey, last I heard, she is older than 18 now. That means a visit to her bordello wouldn't get you hauled up to Court. Now you don't need to squat in jail after squatting on... Its open season if her identity is revealed.When you think of tainting (ahem) the witness, you'd understand why the Prosec [..]
Face it, PM
Published on 2012-04-21 03:48:00
It's nothing new, really. Since Mr George Yeo went a blogging some YEARS ago, the trend for other government-types to go online was inevitable. For those who have read George Yeo's blog, it was, well, rather officious. It adopted the civil service style of writing - para 1, para 2, para 3...But it caught netizens' attention, nevertheless. The blogging Minister.Now no less than Mr Lee Hsien Loong, the Prime Minister of Singapore, has taken to fronting his own FB page. That's great, though he is l [..]
Sleepless in Singapore
Published on 2012-04-18 08:50:00
What do 44 men have to do with an under-aged (i.e. less than 18 years old) girl? Well, they bought themselves sex with this girl. This in itself is unremarkable. It happens everywhere, every time. legally or illegally, consensual or otherwise. After all, they say that it is world's oldest profession, and by that, the world's oldest business. So what if 44 men had paid for sex? It happened. It will continue to happen. Of course, as they say, if you want to engage in such activities, just remember [..]
That Brown Mount
Published on 2012-04-03 18:25:00
Bukit Brown - a
Burning money
Published on 2012-03-30 20:20:00
Bishan Town is in the news again. No, it's not just about its newest landscaping, though that is noteworthy. But more than anything else, Bishan is known for its expensive public housing. Many years ago, in the 1990s, during the height of the housing bubble, someone paid a million dollars for a public housing apartment there-an astonishing sum in those days! Today, one of its new private condominium, the Sky Habitat @ Bishan, is reportedly asking for S$1,700-S$1,800 psf
The right stuff
Published on 2012-03-21 05:39:00
I had a very bad experience when I visited Beijing some years ago. You see, my friend used a public toilet. We were in a place where tourists go to. I just can't recall which one that was. Anyway, she exited the toilet looking choked and on the verge of spilling her guts outs. What was the reason for this? The toilet. It was damned
The Bitter and the Sweet
Published on 2012-03-09 18:31:00
Well, finally the boss has spoken. The earlier foray into this subject by his henchman hadn't gone down well with many people, not least with this blogger. But I am disappointed. Somehow, PM Lee Hsien Loong's pronouncement on the subject of calling for/not calling for the widely anticipated Hougang by-election came across as less than Prime Ministerial. If he were in the hustings, it would have been expected. But in a Parliament where he is the Prime Minister and his party, the PAP, commands an [..]
Balancing the People
Published on 2012-02-29 07:27:00
Senior Counsel and the honorary MP for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC (etc. etc.) Mr Hri Kumar Nair has been crossing swords with Asst Prof Eugene Tan of SMU over the issue of the need to hold a by-election at the Hougang single member constituency (SMC). Prof Tan argued that the government is obliged to hold one. Mr Hri Kumar said no. That's what Mr Kumar's legalese amounted to anyway. You know what? I may be able to follow the argument, but I am no more enlightened by it all, especially Mr Kumar's argum [..]
Moral Glass Houses
Published on 2012-02-16 03:28:00
What's that they say? Those that live in glass houses should learn not to throw stones. National Development Minister, Mr Khaw "$8" Boon Wan reportedly "reminded voters to consider a person's character when they go to the polls, adding that there is no difference between a person's personal and professional life once he or she enters politics..."Well, nobody is perfect, and nobody can know a person perfectly. Often not even the person whom he/she shares a bed with every night knows each other pe [..]
Merry-go-round
Published on 2011-12-20 07:05:00
Well, its really a merry Christmas for taxi drivers in Singapore this festive season. And certainly a prosperous new year. I hate to take a Comfort cab nowadays, especially after 6pm EVERY day. From then till midnight, for all seven days of the week, the cabby will collect 1.25 times what the meter would read previously. That's pretty steep. So last Sunday evening after dinner at a restaurant, I opted to take the subway train home. As I was walking to the subway, I was looking out for a non-Comf [..]
The take-charge minister
Published on 2011-12-17 19:01:00
This must be a first. The North-South and East-West lines of the MRT system has been halted totally, from 5.30 to 10 today, Sunday morning, 18th December 2011! It can only take the might of a government minister, Mr Lui Tuck Yew, the Transport Minister no less, to order this stoppage. Without a doubt this is to avoid a likely 4th break-down of the MRT system operated by the SMRT, if events of the past 3 days are any guide.Yes,
No Go
Published on 2011-12-17 02:05:00
Singapore is looking like a third world country if the frequent breakdowns of its 'world-class' transport network is anything to go by. Yes, all of Singapore is pouring scorn on SMRT, the operator of the subway system, now that it has malfunctioned for the 3rd time within the space of a week! The first time was probably an accident. The second time just a fluke of nature. The 3rd time shows that whoever is in charge is sleeping on the job.You couldn't ask for a more profitable business running S [..]
Infamous Serenity
Published on 2011-11-05 04:10:00
Singapore is a sad place, it seems. That's right. It is not heaven on earth in spite of its glowing reputation where everything works, that it is an economic
I'm not lovin' it
Published on 2011-10-16 07:15:00
I got horrendous service, if one can call it that, at McDonalds Compass Point today. Terrible is the word that comes to mind as I recall the encounter. I headed to McDonalds for a takeaway meal at around 6.30pm. There wasn't a queue, just a man in front of me who wasn't ordering but waiting for his order to be served. There were ample waiters/waitresses (cashiers?) around so I thought I was guaranteed to a really fast buy.But wait, when the guy in front of me had gotten his order, I stepped up t [..]
Speaking for Pappy
Published on 2011-09-16 00:39:00
Frankly, I don't think the PAP needs anyone to speak for itself. However this is what the Facebook page,