Confusing times for a confused PAP leadership
February 5th, 2010 | 
Author: OPINION
Faced with rising frustration, resentment and anger from Singaporeans over its misguided liberal immigration and pro-foreigner policies, PAP leaders have been flip-flopping to and fro in their recent public statements to an equally confused electorate.
Some of them appear to have contradicted earlier statements made by themselves while others give the impression that they do not know what their colleagues are talking about.
While such blatant discrepancies can be attributed to the senility of some senior PAP leaders, it is pretty shocking that younger members of the party don’t quite understand the ramblings of one another either.
As late as December last year, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong told Singaporeans that foreigners are “essential” to Singapore as they took up jobs shunned by locals.
Minister of Community, Youth and Sports Dr Vivian Balakrishnan added that the government cannot “shield” Singaporeans from competition with the foreigners.
A week later on 1 January 2010, PM Lee tried to reassure Singaporeans that they “remain a priority for his administration.”
Now, how is he going to ensure that when he cannot even protect locals from losing their jobs to foreigners?
In early January this year, Law Minister Shanmugam said he had a “hunch” that foreigners and PRs are not responsible for driving up HDB flat prices:
“You say maybe foreigners are paying these high valuations. I think if you check, you’ll find that the majority are Singaporeans.”
Two weeks later, the octogenarian Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew contradicted him during a speech made at an event to celebrate HDB’s 50th anniversary:
“…property prices have gone up because foreigners with permanent residence are buying into the market.”
So who should Singaporeans believe, Mr Shanmugam or MM Lee?
The celebrated Minister in Prime Minister’s Office Lim Swee Say has constantly urged Singaporeans to be “cheaper, faster and better.”
Now Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong wants Singapore workers to focus on acquiring new skills, rather than working longer and harder, to be more efficient.
National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan seems clueless about the sky-rocketing prices of HDB flats. He has been insisting that they remain “affordable” to Singaporeans though evidence on the ground suggest otherwise.
In November 2009, he said a family with a monthly income of $3,000 can buy a flat worth up to $250,000 and spend only 30 per cent of their income every month on the mortgage.
“Similarly, a family with a monthly income of $4,000 can afford to buy a new flat worth up to $333,000 without spending more than 30 per cent a month on the mortgage. This means they can comfortably buy any of the flats offered in the latest BTO projects this month,” he added.
A month later, he admitted that he was “caught off guard” by how the HDB resale market headed north in a recession year:
“Nobody, no matter how prescient, no matter how clever, would have been able to predict that this was what was going to happen,” he said.
Now he acknowledged that some people may be “adversely” affected by his housing policies:
“There’s no question that our policies are designed for the good of the people. While there may be certain parts of the policies that are not favourable, overall, I think these policies are for the well-being of the people and are good for the country.”
Does he know what is happening exactly?
One cannot blame the junior ministers for being confused when their paramount leader Lee Kuan Yew appears to be equally lost as well.
The elder Lee has been one of the strongest proponents of the PAP’s unpopular immigration policies. As late as August last year, he was telling Singaporeans to “bear with the tide of immigrations” as foreigners are “essential” for Singaporeans.
In a recent interview with the National Geographic magazine published in December 2009, he was quoted as saying that “it is a good thing” that Singapore has welcomed so many Chinese immigrants (from mainland China) as they are more “hard-driving” and “hard-striving” than locals.
He is now singing a different tune altogether:
“We’ve grown in the last five years by just importing labour. Now, the people feel uncomfortable, there are too many foreigners. Trains are overcrowded with foreigners, buses too, property prices have gone up because foreigners with permanent residence are buying into the market. The answer is simple: We check the flow of foreigners, raise your productivity, do the job better, so that instead of two workers, eventually you’ll do it with one worker, like the Japanese do,” he said.
So is Lee admitting that his government has made a mistake earlier by importing too many foreigners over the last five years? If the inflow has been well managed, why is there a need to slow the intake now?
To further complicate matters, Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong said a week later that these recent moves by the government do not mark a “sudden turnaround” in its foreigner policy and that while the rate of increase will “slow down”, the number of foreign workers may actually rise!
These are indeed confusing times for a confused PAP leadership who are getting cold feet over facing angry voters in the next general election due to be called soon.
Both PM Lee and SM Goh claimed they were “surprised” by the on-going “mini-election” frenzy. Perhaps they still do not know that the real reason is that many Singaporeans cannot wait any longer to vote them out of office altogether!
With more and more young Singaporeans joining the electorate, there is a lingering fear that a mini “political tsunami” resembling that of Malaysia in 2008 may happen in Singapore.
The signs are there: young Singaporeans are becoming more vocal and critical of the government (at least online), more of them are joining the opposition including former government scholars, the new media is gaining sufficient readers to counter the mainstream media and more importantly, the genuine concerns of Singaporeans over the rising number of foreigners and high prices of HDB flats are not going to dissipate with time.
After opening the floodgates to allow the foreigners in, there is no way the ruling party can evict them to bring Singapore back to the 1990s.
The demographics of Singapore has been changed beyond recognition with certain parts resembling more than provinces of China and India. This is the result of years of uninterrupted PAP rule and voters will be reminded time and again whenever they find themselves in “unfamiliar” territory surrounded by strange people with strange body odor!
The recent “flip-flops” are nothing more than just strategic posturing to appease voters and to crawl back lost support. Cosmetic changes have been implemented in the fields of education and healthcare to better “distinguish citizens from PRs.”
Even PM Lee is singing praises of Singaporeans by giving “credit” to their “resilience” for keeping last years’ unemployment rate low.
He forgot that his father had just called Singaporeans “daft” if they were to cast a protest vote against the ruling party in the next general election and also insinuated that Singaporeans are “lazy” with his infamous remark made in the same National Geographic interview:
““If native Singaporeans are falling behind because the spurs are not stuck into the hide, that is their problem,” he was quoted saying by journalist Mark Jacobson.
Perhaps what PM Lee actually meant is that Singaporeans are “resilient” despite of all the “spurs” that the PAP has stuck into their hide all these years!
Surely only a confused electorate will vote such a confused party which does not know where the country is heading into power again in the next general election!
Singaporeans must vote wisely in the next general election to reclaim ownership of their beloved country which belongs to all of us and not just to the PAP or a select few.
If we do not make our voices heard now, we will never get the opportunity again because they will be drowned out by the new immigrants who are likely to vote for the PAP!
Singapore for Singaporeans! Vote for change! Vote out the PAP!
Posted in Opinion
This is the result of a single-party system.
They have in power for so long with token opposition that they became arrogant and complacent. They have developed a mindset that they are always right, everyone else is always wrong, and they refused to listen to any opinion contrary to what they think.
What’s worse, the same mentality has propagated down the rank-and-file, and now you see civil servants and the YPAP developing the same mindset and attitude. The recent saga on the YPAP Facebook and the manner officers from MND/NParks in handling the homeless issues are testaments of such a mindset development.
Now that the electorate are fighting back with the use of new media to voice their unhappiness, it is not surprising that the political leadership are at sixes and sevens in how to respond. They have it good for so long, had lost touch with the ground, and have forgotten it is the people who put them in power.
So we see conflicting messages coming from them. They are just tailoring messages to suit their situation at that moment.
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This guy makes fun of ESC report — calls “cut and paste” report
Can’t stop laughing
http://atans1.wordpress.com/2010/02/04/cutting-and-pasting-the-esc-report/
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We need CLEAR Leadership.
We Expect no Mediocre.
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Good work documenting all the flip flops.
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Gd summing up of what they been saying and contradicting themselves.
Keep up this kind of stuff TR.
One grouse: as these are all factual. Shld be under “Reports” )))))
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Everyone is surprised by their sudden U-turns.
I am confused – very confused.
Is it PAP vs PAP (opposition)right now?
Or everyone in the party suddenly have split personalities?
If I were to behave the same way, not only were my maid be confused, my dog and cat would also be confused.
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The government did an excellent job of screwing things up. Now they try to retify things by the ERC (or whatever they want it to be called).
3 issues that cannot be ironed out by this short term fixes…
1) Education
The stress, the confusion, the complexity of the current education system is leaving the administrators fighting for academic excellence instead of educating the children, the children feeling extremely stressed that even straight As are still not good enough and parents involving in school work just to get their kids enrolled in primary schools.
2) Structural unemployment
What will happen to Singaporeans when they reach their 40s and becomes unemployed? The current administration talks about upgrading but there’s only so much one can upgrade and still remain employable at that age whilst juggling with their escalating fixed expenses and diminishing years of income productivity.
3) Public properties inflation & probable Non-Performing Loans on HDB books
Failure to curb the escalating public housing prices left many locals who bought flats with a debt that will weigh them down for the next few decades. This will increase their fixed monetary commitments and prevent them from beinig flexible in job searches and make unemployment an extremely unfavorable situation for families to shoulder.
The introduction of CPF as a form of debt payment and an increase of tenture to 30 years are key drivers for price escalation has left many citizens having the false confidence in their debt repayment abilities.
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That is the whole idea. To confuse the confusing sg. Because sg do not (bochap) care about what gov is doing. So, gov just say what they like. There is more important agenda here which we may never know. So, come to think of it, I think to complete replace may be a good idea after all. At the end of the day, they still take their millions, and more new citizens who are willing to pro-create(my 2 cents).
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It was very obvious that the Government is tired of fresh ideas and completely loss of direction.
The mass migration influx was the clearest proof that politics rules economic instead of economics rules politics because it was really the Government’s SIMPLEST SOLUTION TO THE MOST COMPLEX DIFFICULT ECONOMIC PROBLEMS.
It is clearly in a mess yet a Minister denied it even to the extent of damming alternative media…alleging that “if you believe what is written in the alternative media, Singapore is in an absolute mess”
IS IT NOT??
The writing is on the wall for very long and the ground swell of anger swirling. The Minister should have asked his grassroot supporters to invite residents to PAP-organised free food and party to test the reality on the ground.
How many will thankfully turn up even for Christmas????
IT IS GETTING TOO EMBARASSING OF OBVIOUS.
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It would really be interesting to see how things go after the ‘up car’.
I look forward to the day. Exciting!
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there is no leadership at all.
They have been self serving.
All this esc report is crap. There is no new ideas and given the track record of this govt, they are lazy, we cannot expect anything good from them.
We need to give them incentives to work for us, singaporeans.
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The strategy of 4 “Cs” at work:
First, they try to “control”.
Failing so, they try to “convince”.
Failing so, they try to “confuse”.
In all events, never ever “concede”
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No one in PAPAYA will own up on the stupid policies and mistakes . They only know how to lick their masters or take cover . Time to vote them out completely . we are all ready . Blame game started .
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<<>>
TR, Mark didn’t quote MM. That line is Mark’s original piece.
It’s one thing to twist a story; it’s another thing to allege someone owning words he didn’t say.
Be careful.
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{{{““If native Singaporeans are falling behind because the spurs are not stuck into the hide, that is their problem,” he was quoted saying by journalist Mark Jacobson.}}}
TR, Mark didn’t quote MM for that line.
That line is Mark’s original piece.
It’s one thing to twist a story; it’s another thing to allege someone owning words he didn’t say.
Be careful.
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Obviously they do not know what each other is saying, so who’s running the ship? Talk c**k sing song. Where is the credibilty?
No better than snake oil sellers..
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I got nothing more to say except to show this to PAP “loyalists” or Pro PAP not very independent thinking fools…
Please be shown this:
http://www.quotationspage.com/subjects/stupidity/
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The Mentor said we Singaporeans are daft and lazy. Daft means stupid. But the Mentored One says we are resilient.
Can we be both daft, lazy and resilient at the same time ? Either one must be lying to say 2 opposite things about us ?
Who should we believe ? I am confused. Are you ?
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The whole idea of this country is containment. You do what you are told and no ifs and buts. Study hard, work hard, pay and pay until you drop and vote PAP the best there is for your future and children’s future. Don’t question why, what, who, when and how our investments flops, price hikes, and influx of foreigners to our shores. Don’t need check and balances in government when PAP is ruling for it is the best option and more good years ahead. The serious things to ask oneself is why every month the pocket is not enough. Well, you need to pay for alot of services in SGP. Generally speaking, depending on individual needs and lifestyle, EZ link card, town council, electricity and water bills, radio and tv license, kopi/tea hikes every year, food hikes, cigarettes and alcohol tax, cinema tax, petrol tax, property tax, income tax, maid levy, cash card, ERP card, COE, road tax, car park, school fees, medical bills, insurance bills, subscriptions, children expenses, parents pocket money, housing loans, tithes and donations, credit card bills and so on. So it is empty every month – never enough. And this is coming out from every individual salary. With $2600 median salary per month, where got enough for savings and so on? I dare say not even when you earn $3000 to $4000 per month. So every lives is squeeze to the maximum. And we are still lamented for being slack, need competition from foreign talents for being unproductive and need more productivity coming from ESC. It is not rosy at all for all Singaporeans. It is unrealistic for MBT to say $3000-$4000 pay a month can pay for $300k HDB loans for 20-30years. He is assuming one can be gainfully employed for such a length of time and also will not fall ill at all. Not forgetting there is a cpf minimum sum and so on. There is no more money left when one is 62 for retirement.
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Don’t worry, its not that confusing or difficult . When election comes and u have a chance to vote, don’t cross the box with the circle and lightning. Anything else is fine.
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Democracy exists in several shades – from liberal to the sinister and the diabolical. Ask Robert Mugabe or Kim Jong-il. They all extol their versions. LKY says his is “uniquely Singapore” but Mr. David Adelman, Ambassador-designate admitted that Singapore is not a democracy and replied that the United States must engage Singapore on these issues: “My view is the United States must engage Singapore on these issues. You identified the area where, quite candidly, Singapore needs the most improvement if it were to live up to the ambitions Americans have for democracy. Make no mistake, currently Singapore is not a multi-party democracy, and I intend, if confirmed, to use public diplomacy to work towards greater press freedoms, greater freedom of assembly and ultimately, more political space for opposition parties in Singapore to strengthen Singapore into a multi-party democracy.”
Regardless, most agree democracy is characterized by “majority rule”, rule of law and separation of powers. Within the three characteristics one find:
• Freedom of expression
• Social and political tolerance
• Civil society
• Accountability and transparency
These have often been described as a characteristic features of a democracy, but without responsible government or constitutional protections of individual liberties from democratic power it is possible for dissenting individuals to be oppressed by the “tyranny of the majority” or for dissenting majority to be oppressed by the “tyranny of the minority” (as in the case of Singapore).
Essential in representative democracies is competitive elections that are fair both substantively and procedurally. Freedom of political expression, freedom of speech and freedom of the press are essential so that citizens are informed and able to vote in their personal interests.
Our founding fathers congregated here from diverse ethnic backgrounds and origins. One such is Mr. S Rajaratnam whom Lee Kuan Yew described as a “stout-hearted lion”. LKY went further “If this generation can imbibe some of Raja’s spirit in our new era and environment, then Singapore will have a bright future.” 4 February 2010.
I ask MM Lee which of Raja’s “spirits” have not been violated, compromised or waived by the LKY himself or PAP government:
Political tolerance,
Rule of law,
Freedom of expression,
Accountability & transparency; and
Civil society
LKY went further: “Singapore has since come a long way in uniting our people……and must continue to press on together to become more and more, one people and one Singapore.”
Confusing times? No. I quote Dickens: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times; it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness; ……. we had everything before us, we had nothing before us.” It depends on which side you fall into.
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They have created problems which they themselves don’t know how to solve. Let’s help end their misery by voting them out and send them back to the private sector where they can earn “5 times more”.
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Bringing money from another country to purchase a house here?
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Now they are ‘Gabra’, lol.
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Confusion that arise from upholding pride on Singapore as Little Red Dot, so effective till today with extent of being far too uniquely for local Singaporeans
Huge economic gain by government (eager to stay in power/ prosperity) have crossed dangerous line for well being of many Singaporeans (struggle to live in happiness/ progress)
Without balanced energy of Little Red Dot (true leadership), Singaporeans can never think of living in true happiness/ prosperity/ unity
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To the 66.6% of jokers who voted for PAP in 2006. Please wake up.
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btan,
66.6% do not represent the population. It only includes those constituencies that were contested.
There are many of us here that are unhappy and disgruntled but live in wards that are regarded as strongholds of the ruling party!
We do not get a chance to voice our unhappiness at all!
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as any westerner will tell our govt. its all bullshit . we have taken to this tune for too long. now we will never ever believe again what they said. the reason is they never keep to their words.
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I have been reading articles on the TR website for quite some time now (about 6mths?). I cant help but say that my eyes really ‘opened’ after looking at things from a different perspective and angle. Though I have tried promoting the site to frens and family, not all are that willing to venture into an ‘unknown’ site. I was just wondering…does TR intend to do a printed bulletin of some sort? That may help increase awareness.
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■Pho on Fri, 5th Feb 2010 11:37 am
There are many of us here that are unhappy and disgruntled but live in wards that are regarded as strongholds of the ruling party!We do not get a chance to voice our unhappiness at all!
You just have to play a part by letting all your friends, relatives, siblings and if possible mass emailing all your contacts to let them knows whats been happening around singapore that they are not aware off due to the ever smoking screen by the MSM shitty time.
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pap really panic now!
上下不一，内乱外患，军心大乱，迟早输光。
人民团结，投反对党，给他好看，必见曙光。
Lacking synergy among themselves
Internally fighting while externally facing adversity
The troops are chaotic
Soon they’ll lose big
People stand united
Vote for opposition
Give them a lession
Shall see the dawn!
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Papaya internal conflict and confused . Just to win the next election , they will go all thew ay out to kill all locals . they don’t care as long as they collect millions . They don’t care if temasek and GIC lost 100 BILLIONS as long as they win the election .
Is this the garman we want and will the citizens be taken care off ?? use you voting power .
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when there is no one left to fight, you start fighting yourself .. hahahaha PAP suffering from schizophrenia
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I don’t believe this is going on.
The WORKINGS of the Government is DISINTEGRATING IN TATTERS. They “accepted” (EVEN BEFORE PARLIAMENTARY AND PUBLIC DEBATE) the ESC strategy of a future economic direction REDUCING the need for foreign labour.
OUT COME THE SCREAMING “APPROVED” MSM HEADLINE BIG HIT -
THE BIG SHIFT..HIGH-POWERED PANEL TELLS WHAT IT WILL TAKE TO GROW SIGNAPORE’S ECONOMY AND RAISE WAGES….# Higher Productivity # Improved Skills and More innovation
Now a few days later, the song is MORE FOREIGN WORKERS.
Is this ECONOMIC RESTRUCTURING or POLITICAL PROPAGANDA AND MINDSET FARKING???
IT IS IMPOSSIBLY HARD TO WEANE OF COCCAINE ADDICTION or is it NOT?
Or is the headline read should read ‘BIG SHIT …high-powered political panels is telling you new story of no-believability of 46-page confusing masterpiece???
Surely it is time for change to germinate new hopes for our children and generations to come.
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To Pho,
Fully concurred with your statement.
It is up to the opposition to contest…dun aim low…aim big…use everything including the kitchen sink.
Waiting to cast my vote in my always walkover GRC [Woodlands]..bloody fish!!
Haiz.
http://www.quotationspage.com/quotes/Johann_Wolfgang_von_Goethe
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PAP leaders have been flip-flopping to and fro because most of them are telling lies and twisting the facts to their advantage.
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They can speak whatever nonsense they like, we are 100 percent ready to vote for any Opposition.
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Imagine reaching home and finding your cat is cooking dinner… the dog mopping the floor and the maid napping at a corner…
Now.. thats really confusing…
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toratoratora on Fri, 5th Feb 2010 10:15 am
Everyone is surprised by their sudden U-turns.
I am confused – very confused.
Is it PAP vs PAP (opposition)right now?
Or everyone in the party suddenly have split personalities?
If I were to behave the same way, not only were my maid be confused, my dog and cat would also be confused.
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Competition is always good. With a good mix of MIW and Opp in parliment, the ones who will benefit are the citizens. God Bless Singapore
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The proof is in the pudding. Look at what they do and not what they say..
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LocalChineseGuy, my friends are like that too. They suffer from a disease called ‘bochap’, indifference. I say they are too lazy to think. No amount of urging will help. I believe there are many Singaporeans who are like that. That’s why we ended up in the current state of affairs.
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If you are serious in partake in real nation building and wanted to a say in your destiny, start by educating your immediately family, whom you treasure and love most, tell them the why & how the PAP policies have impacted each and everyone in one way or other, knowingly or not.
Because at the end of the day, everyone is affected by the government policies, whether good or bad, like it or not. But recent performance by the PAP are far from satisfactory while everyday we get more demoralised (high cost of living, influx of FT/FW, job security, stagnant wages etc)
The 66% have given PAP years of headstart to make Singapore a better place and their promises of “Swiss standard & No one will be left behind” is just another hollow GE campaigning motto – Are we near that yet? Are we as a nation getting better? Are we really first world?
I am doing my part by highlighting the flaws and the cause and effects to my immediate family, it will take time but it is most effective way to ensure you vote with “Eyes Wide Open” on an informed choice.
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They are a bunch of nincompoops.
They think that they can say whatever they want.
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Hope the opposition parties can unite together and not be confused amongst themselves.
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According to jim collins, author of how the mighty fall
PAP is now at the 4th stage of decline,Grasping for Salvation (altogether 5 stages, last stage being capitulation to irrelevance or Death)
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I think the durian smells ripe for Change.
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I think PAP better wake up, if these issues not wisely handled nobody knows what will happen. What happened to the political situation in Japan and M’sia recently could happen here.Singapore will be in BIG TROUBLE! The opposition political parties may have no choice but better be mentally prepared to accept heavier responsibities, not just parliamentary check and balance. PAP may face the biggest challenges ever in their history, issues can be tougher than those handled by its senior leaders in the 60s. God bless Singapore our beloved nation, God bless our leaders…Let’s pray for divine wisdom for all with a servant’s heart.
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Replying to…….abs on Fri, 5th Feb 2010 2:07 pm
I relate what you have said to my dog and cat, they rolled on the floor with great laughter. My maid only meows upon hearing your joke.
I am terribly confused!
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One more for the TR’s database.
some days ago the ESC (economic restructure committee) recommended nucleur energy. Yesterday Goh chok tong said all the way from the middle east that nuclear energy isnt to be considered in the short term and we need not expect that we will have nuclear energy soon.
You ask me I ask who. nobody knows what’s going on.
zero
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I often hear of complaints from fellow Singaporeans that the overwhelming influx of foreign talents, snatching our jobs. Foreign students are taking up places in our “better schools” at the expense of the Singaporeans. Recently, from personal experience, I begin to concur with these people. My son got his GCE “O” Level results last month. The education system & schools here is so competitive. My son scored 7″A1″s including CCA and distinction for chinese, still rejected by NJC, got posted to his 2nd choice Anderson Jc. He scored B4 for his humanity, guess this is the reason for being rejected.Looks like getting straight “A”s these days is very common.With 7A1s, including English and three pure Sciences and two Maths subjects and CCA(he took part in NCC and kayaking) and a distinction in Chinese. Although we did not do that well for his Combined Humanity subject (B4) as he was ill on the day of the paper and was not able to perform his best, he did score an A1 for this subject during his school preliminary exam. We went ahead to apply for Science course at NJC (National Junior College) and was rejected. We didn’t even dare consider applying for Hwa Chong JC as we heard that a number of his China scholar schoolmates with 8-9 A1s are applying for Hwa Chong JC – we decided to avoid competing with these China scholars. We were utterly surprised and disappointed that we were rejected by NJC despite appealing to the vice principal. Failing to get his first choice, we then went to appeal for a place at St. Andrew JC. The staff at SAJC told me to wait (there are several hundreds of appeal cases in the queue), said that my son’s result is very common among the appeal cases. Our appeal was not only rejected by St Andrew JC, we tried Nanyang JC, application was not successful – reason being no more vancancy left in this JC. I think the relevant authorities (MOE as well as the St Andrew JC) owe us an answer on the JC selection citeria so as to help other Sinagporeans avoid the agony we faced recently. Are the top JCs places all taken up by IP and/or foreign students? What is most puzzling even there is vacancy issue with tier-2 JC like SAJC, presumably to be less competitive. What concern me most is that my son feels very de-moralised after the series of rejections by these JCs. I remember during my time getting into Hwa Chong JC (1979) was not too difficult. We really hope that our children could complete their GCE “A” Level education in Singapore. Certainly, Singapore will forever be my home. Time to speak up for change!
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Over the past recent weeks, they have thrown so much smoke grenades to confuse the ground.
They must have been great followers of Sun Tzu’s Art of War.
However, with easy access to internet that chapter in Sun Tzu’s Art of War is now obsoleted.
There is a new version in Sun Tzu’s Art of War – the use of Trojan Horse virus and Pacman to confuse netcitizens
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10 + 5 = ___???
Why did MM Lee say PAP will rule for the next two General Elections (ie, for next 10 years as GEs are called every 5 years at the latest)?
Why did MM Lee cite a timeframe of 5 years to slow down the rate of foreigner increase?
Over the next 5 years, I reckon the born-in-Singapore citizens will be irrelevant when the newly-minted Singaporeans form 45%-50% of the voting population (up from the present one-third share). During the “honeymoon” period, guess which party will these newly-minted Singaporeans vote for?
The Pariah, http://www.singaporeenbloc.blogspot.com
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This article mentioned about the young voters who are more critical and more vocal.
NOTE: Under the Elections Act, the electoral roll was cut on 1 Feb 2009. The bumper crop of Dragon babies born in 1988 would have reached the voting age of 21 from Feb 2009 onwards.
There is nothing in our Elections Act to compel re-cutting of the Electoral Roll xxx months from actual GE date. Whether the Electoral Roll will be re-cut is left entirely to the discretion of the Prime Minister.
So let’s see whether the Dragons, Snakes and Horses will get to vote in the coming GE if it is called by 2012 at the latest!
The Pariah, http://www.singaporeenbloc.blogspot.com
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The PAP leadership is not in confusion mode as suggested. On the contrary, they are actually employing what you would call as a fly-by-wire engineering technology (in aeronautics applied for new generation jet fighters). This technology allows the flight computer to have many modes of flying programmes all running at the same time (which technically would mean the fighter plane when in combat would constantly be in a state of instability) but by activating the desired signal required the plane would respond immediately on real time basis, making the plane extremely manoeuvrable.
So the PAP leaders are now also employing this technology in their management style, so that should any turn be required the pathways are already paved for quick deployment. What does it mean actually ? It means “tikum tikum” ! If Plan A works, they take credit. If it doesn’t “hey we didn’t do too badly, other government’s got worst plan than us” and then it’s on to Plan B and if it still doesn’t work, revert to the next plan and so forth. The mother of all excuse if all plans don’t work ? It is always somebody else’ fault lah !
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When they call for a meeting, they meet to sleep. Thats why they have no idea what each other is thinking. Let alone set a common front to face the questions posed. They simply dont care and yet we pay them millions to come up with this level of standard.
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From the way the senior leaders talked over the past weeks, my respect for PAP is fast diminishing. I feel very insulted to be labelled “DAFT”. Can’t remember who exactly said this. One other leader attempted to teach us the meaning of vote and election. I really hope the press has mis-interpreted what they actually said. Our PAP senior leaders are some of my most respected persons. I hope Mr Ong Teng Cheong, our beloved and highly respected People elected President is still alive.
Heart broken with PAP! I am ready to VOTE!
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“Nobody, no matter how prescient, no matter how clever, would have been able to predict that this was what was going to happen,”
then Nobody, no matter how prescient, no matter how clever, would would be justified to command better-than-World-CLASS pay.
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When tax payers and voters pay mega bucks we expect great results, NOT mediocre ones.
The people still have the power in their hands to remove the PAP from complete control.
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The most important thing is to ensure PAP dont have a 2/3 MAJORITY in the coming election. Vote in as many Opposition Party even if a donkey is there as a candidate. Nothing is worse than a wolf in a sheep clothing. I personally think this gov is hopeless and no amount of help can stop the rot and decay from years of good life and ivory tower management of the people. They had it real easy.
We the people suffered job cuts, pay cuts, long hours of work, healthcare for the rich only, congested public transport system, GST, rising food costs, expensive medical costs and compete with PR/FT for schools…many more. Even a blind in the street knows that the GOV is not doing their job. How can we Singaporeans who can see are blind to the GOVERNMENT’s incompetency? Time to rethink your life and decide what is the best for your future and the future of your children. If PAP wins landslide again in the next election. Singapore is doomed.
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Keen observation. Lets watch how the events unfold before making a final judgement.
The test is how it is being implemented in the next few years.
Best is to watch what they do instead of what they say over a period of time.
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I FULLY agree with Fever Guy. Way To Go, Man!
We need CHANGE. We want CHANGE. We WILL vote for the OPPOSITION Parties and RID our Country of PAP once and for all. We have had enough of their nonsense.
We must Vote wisely.
Majullah Singapura, Majullah Opposition Parties!
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Ingrate
On your comment that : the Mentor said we are lazy on one day and the Mentored One said we are resilient on another day.
Well, here’s my take. There is no discordant play there. They are both right. What they mean is that we are “daft in a resilient way”. And we are Singaporeans. The Mentor and The Mentored One are also Singaporeans, so they are also daft : but unlike us who are “daft in a resilient way”, they are “resilient in a daft way”.
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Yes, yes, yes! Singapore for Singaporeans! Vote for change! Vote out the self-serving PAP!
LKY can lie and prevaricate and browbeat till he’s blue in the face but his credibility bank is finally bankrupt. Nobody, but nobody, believes a word he says any longer. Without the MSM to keep up the deceit and propaganda his stock would have been zero long ago.
Let’s really give them a freak election result to remember. The old vampire is watching the sunlight slowly reach his coffin and he’s afraid for the future of his brood. You can almost taste his fear. And about time too.
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The problem here is the entire ruling party is actually engineered only by 1 person in full control all these years. The rest of the party members are just robots waiting for orders and because their failed policies has today been backfired so badly and being discovered by the singaporeans, everyone that toll the line is not really in their confused stage rather than they are all afraid to move any further, out of fear that they might screw things further but to wait for the master’s order, as usual. This is the kind of disease if not treated quickly can cause their entire party to collapse in a matter of time.
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There seems to be a CAMP A and a CAMP B.
Perhaps there are ardy “Internal” problems.
LHL is rather quiet…wonder why? Lost? Confused? Shaft aside?
or gathering notes for a final Blast ?
Never seen such “dis-oriented ” Pappies before.
Winds of Change coming.
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Let’s not be carried away by emotions here. Instead convert our anger to action to serve Singapore and our fellow citizens. Volunteer ourselves to help in opposition parties grassroot work. Visit the websites of the opposition parties, offer help in any forms. We are no better than PAP if we all talk and no action. Share your ideals for future of Singapore with all your Singaporean friends and relatives. Convince them to vote wisely, time for change. Time for Singaporeans to wake up!
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Hey The Awakening, I love your term “fly-by-wire engineering technology.”
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John… I went through it.. Just no point. They dont hear nor listen . They do what they like… they think their social engnieering is correct. They buy schemes for those they chose. rrect. Make plans to leave this sorry state and then return to show who is right.
When the Emperor returned, he found out his own soldiers had mutinied against him & abandoned him. He looked around for help. He could not trust the Vietnamese. Neither did he trust the Thais. He could possibly turned to the French.. but they were far from him.. His only recourse, he turned to China.. By which time.. China told him to abdicate and come live in China. So he did.. Cambodia today is ruled by the Vietnamese..
Tell me when PAP falls, who will they turned to? Hwa Chong scholars from singapore or Hwa Chong scholars from China? Scholars from Vietnam, China Chinese? Malaysia? or Middle East? Who will come defend Singapore? Who will PAP turn to?
I am only guessing. By which time, you and your child will be overseas & happily living out a good life. REAP WHAT YOU SOW… ROME HAD to FALL ONE DAY. Its today and i am no longer there to help you.
Just a scenario for you. The plan is going through my head. This is a sorryful state of affairs. Like RATS in a city, they are happy you are trapped in it. Fix yourselves some wings and fly.
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They are clueless.
It is time we voted them out.
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hellooo?! hellooo!! Why do you say that only young citizens will vote PAP. Pleaselah, give us oldies some respect. Who do you think comprised the 33.333% who did not vote PAP? What about those who were never given a chance to vote because of walk-over?. Also, some do get wiser as they grow older. I know of some octogenarians (not middle-age fuddy duddies like me) who have given their vote to the opposition. So tolong aah, give some of us long-sighted, receding hair, healthy paunch, water-retentive people some credit as well.
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Sorry old age aah. I meant NOT vote PAP.
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Yah man, very confusing up to a point on whether to ask the Father to step down or his Wife to step down. Very confused indeed.
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Most of the comments here at TR talk about the need for change and how we must vote the PAP out. This happens in almost all the articles posted. I clearly believe these calls are very pointless for these reasons.
1) How is it possible to vote them out when most of the constituencies are not contested
2) How to vote them out when Singaporeans are not stepping forward to contest and also joining the opposition. Having 2 former scholars joining opposition is nothing to shout about. We need more such people if not no change will occur
3) The last most important point that all the TR readers forget is that most of the voters in sg are inextricably tied to the need for continued PAP governance. How? Such a large proportion of the population work for the civil service, government linked companies….why then would these individuals jeopardise their rice bowls by voting out the PAP
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“LKY can lie and prevaricate and browbeat till he’s blue in the face but his credibility bank is finally bankrupt. Nobody, but nobody, believes a word he says any longer.”
But I believe in his words 101% but only if you reverse it the other way. For example, when he says that PAP is least or virtually incorruptible, you have to take that PAP is the most corrupted in the world. When he says that flat is affordable, you can be guaranteed that HDB flat is the most unaffordable and expensive house in the world.
Can you believe it that the SinGov is the most extreme negatively.
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Sad2B Singaporean
Hey thanks for your kind words. It’s great sounding isn’t it? However, I wasn’t the originator of the term. It is an actual aero-dynamic aircraft flight control systems involving digital computer programmes controlling simultaneously various flight options for the pilot, which makes the aircraft (cutting edge fifth generation fighter jets) in very unstable mode when in combat flight. At the slightest switch of controls depending on the intention of the pilot, the relevant programme controlling the flight of the plane would kick in with instantly, making it extremely manoeuvreable.
Previously, fighter planes were controlled by analog systems which depended heavily on mechanical hydro-mechanical controls dependent on manual switches and movements, etc. The fly-by-wire system typically replaces manual input as the flight controls are now replaced by electronic signals carried by the wiring system surrounding the whole structure of the plane. Our present F-16 Falcons (Blocks C & D) have this system. So do our newly acquired F-15E Strike Eagles. But our F-5E Tiger are not on this system even though they were upgraded by ST Aerospace about a decade ago. These are being earmarked for replacement by the future procurement of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter currently under flight evaluation tests by Boeing in the US.
I think this same system which was developed for military combat air mission purposes is now also in various stages of being incorporated into civil aircraft such as Airbus and Boeing planes.
Thought you might want to know a little bit more about the subject.
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The Awakening
Thanks for the info, that’s alot of info you got there. Are you in the aerospace industry? Cool guy
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6/2/10
The PAP is like all the other ruling political parties in Asia which is now almost at the end of their Life Span and it is like Dead End for them.
What our Modern Singapore needs now is a new group of leaders to lead perhaps a Unity Government (first the Singapore Opposition must be able to deny the PAP two third majority in Parliament and hence they are not able to do what they want ie simply pass any laws in the favour to perpetuate their iron grip in Singaproe perhaps forever)
Perhaps, a new Oppositon Leader to lead and unite all them and give them a new breathe of life, and this he or she must have a good mix of Malaysia’s Anwar Ibraham and young Lee Kuan Yew (not what he is now), and hence able to take the PAP on give them hell and a good run for their money especially now all the PAP Ministers and MPs have not been able to live up to the expectation of Lee Kuan Yew since PM Goh days.
Regards
Andrew Chuah
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When one does confusing things that end up confusing oneself… And then try to confuse others that oneself isn’t confused at all… one ends confusing EVERYONE … with oneself INCLUDED OF COURSE!!! Meaning that…
THE VERY SOURCE of ALL THE CONFUSING Things And CONFUSION… IS THE CONFUSION IN ITSELF!!!
GREAT JOB papPY!!!
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Temasek Review should start setting up an Opposition Donation Fund Raising Campaign right now!
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That old silly cunt and his troops had to go!
The comment he make shaming his own country man, what a pronker he is.
One can not bring all the money with him when one die, such greedy not individual but a group.
Singaporean will be screw for life with the same bunch running show.
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Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has brought too much suffering to Singaporean for the past 5 years. He should be the no.1 person to be voted out!
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Lee Hsien Long is never a Prime Minister caliber. Since birth until today he always need people to assist or nanny him. When young, his parent had maids & bodyguards to look after & take care of him. In his schooling days he is chauffeured to school. In fact his whole life was planned out since the day he was born.
Now he as a Prime Minister he have 1xMM, 2xSMs, 2xDPMs & a couple of Ministers W/O Portfolios assisting him. Not to mention other supporting staffs as well.
I do not know how he, his parent, wife & children feel when he needs so much of assistance in his life in everything he does. I will be too shy to step out of my house if I am like him.
I really hope my Prime Minister one day can stand on his own. As right now, I am a laughing stock to some of my other nationalities friends. They say my current Prime Minister is a BABY.
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new age for singapore , time has arrived
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What’s another word for “thesaurus”?
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Should we had a new opposition party?
May call the people untied front!
We need young capable entities to come up with ideals that will woo the Singaporeans.
We need unite the people, we don’t need to compliant about those existing tyrant wrong doing.
We all know, being point as useless and lazy by our founding so call father.
You and me are deem useless for them, in occasion some peanuts will be thrown to us.
Compliant will not help the current opposition party.
More over the present Government had already put in place special unit to counter, opposition.
I m sure they had calculate how in oder your arss hair length and growth.
If you are out of line and oppose to their aggression and being commented as a repressive state.
You are to face a life of harassment, are you ready for that?
Well I m not, life cycle for me to short lots of hard work doesn’t pay for me, if i have bundle put away, then may be I invest in opposition!
Money talks Bullshit walks! As long as you are Singaporeans!
Be Someone then we will see!
Does my head in, what do aircraft tech talks had to do with these forum?
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Sad2B Singaporean
No, I am not in the aerospace industry. Previously I was a senior banker but now I have a foot in a property related business, and another in investments (equities).
I just happened to be a military buff who has a tremendous appetite for reading a lot of military stuff, particularly in weapon technology and science.
Regards.
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I can understand almost every politicians are liars in any part of the world but ours had really gone to the extreme from the way they treat the citizens, so these great liars must be booted out, no one must be spared for the sake of our nation and our people.
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Replying to …….45with2zizag on Sun, 7th Feb 2010 7:51 pm
Talk is cheap. Action speaks louder than word. When come to raising funds for opposition, all gaps shut
Why all these complaints? No wonder we are being called the less mortal ….meaning “seow ren” (small people in Chinese)
As dor this forum, better sit in front of the computer eating melon seeds and talk cock.
For another 50 years, nothing is going to change. For each our very own – that’s truly Singaporean.
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PAP = Doublespeak and Doubletalk. What they forgot and it is apparent that they have been doing it for much too long(LYING AND DECEPTION) that they are now oblivious to the fatigue that has set in. They seem to be counting or have lost count of the number of times they have been propagating lies and misleading Singaporeans. Now it is a disease lar. Hence the DIS-ease and confusing times lar.
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@ The Awakening on Fri, 5th Feb 2010 5:54 pm
“The PAP leadership is not in confusion mode as suggested…… What does it mean actually ? It means “tikum tikum” ……”
While your military aircraft analogy is informative, I do NOT see a a fly-by-wire engineering technology ” as possible applicable to public policy decision-making and application.
Public policy deliberation is MACRO,INTRICATED, GLOBALISED OF INTER-RELATIONSHIPS AND MAY I SAY HIGHLY ILLIBER OF INFORMATION COMPREHENSION, THOUGHTS AND ACTION DEICION EVEN TO THE BEST TECHNOCRATS. An aircraft is just aerodynamics – the variables and contingencies can BE DIGITISED OF OPTIMALITY but never public policies.
You can spin an aircraft in a dogfight in split seconds. But can you imagine “turning back the clock” of impact and consequences if the Government did the hypocritically announced “BIG SHIFT” IN MIGRATION INFLUX. The Government might change all PRs into temporary work permits – NOT BLOODY FOREIGNERS WILL SHOW UP to have their passport re-validate from PRs cancellation into work permit. So what is the Government going to do? Randomly arrest them on the street, drag 1.5 million into ICA and cancel their PRs. And if all else failed, they become illegal immigrants. Do you think our GOVERNMENT DARE TO CANE ALL THESE ILLEGAL MIGRANTS – involving diplomatic rows with so many foreign Governments for granting PR, changed our mind and then caned their citizens??
PUBLIC POLICY FAILURES ARE ENDURING OF CONSEQUENCES AND VERY DIFFICULT TO TURN AROUND USING TIKUM TIKUM FLY-BY-WIRE MANAGEMENT PHILOSOPHY AS YOU POSTULATED.
Looking at realities happening, the housing crisis driven into bubble cycle – can that be reversed without reversing PR tide? NO! and it will take years if the Government now undertake a massive build of a few hundred thousand flats. But will that happened? NO!! They conned Singaporeans with “en bloc” redevelopment, blanked out HDB on banner display and farmed out to foreigners as “rental accomodation.” this is called “fly-by-wire” solution to FIRE-BY-POLICY FAILURES CONFUSION.
Look at how long, MBT denied ill-affordability, then change stance to choosy Singaporeans, then “fresh new concerns”, then finally from apex of power, migrants drive up HDB prices after Shanmu denying it publicly the week earlier.
The PROTRACTED DENIALS OVER MONTHS proved the confusion. Fly-by-wire management changed in seconds, maybe days. The housing crisis was in denail mode for YEARS. THE EVIDENCE OF TOTAL CONFUSION AND FAILURE ALONG WITH FOREIGN TALENTS AND MIGRATION INFLUX BOILED UP BY BULLSHIT AND POLITICAL AGENDA COMPOUNDING.
Look at ESC report – 9 months to prepare and only 46 pages when the issues are SO BIG AND SO COMPLEX AND GLOBALLY DRIVEN OF CONTINGENCIES. The ESC report ignored TH and GIC which holds hundreds of billions of national assets – SACRED COWS UNTOUCHABLE – where is the restructuring of domestic economy other than cosmetic and political masturbation? I only have to look at a bankable (financially -enabled of working) feasibility of starting up a minicule mining operation of say of total mineable copper of just 1.6 million tonnes in Australia ( big mines in Chile is a fews billion tonnes in comparison of size measurement) – it will take 6 months at least AND ALL TECHNICAL INFORMATION ARE ALREADY AVAILABLE FROM EXPLORATION DRILLING OPERATION, only contractor’s quote, engineering designs changes, costs estimates, and revenue projections etc. In the ESC, where do we get all those relevant MACRO DATA in such short time, put them together and analyse impact and then formulate policy decision in 9 months????
IT IS A JOKE OF POLITICAL HOGWASH IN UTTER CONFUSION. ESC recommended cutback in migration from current level of 36% foreigners. less than 48 hours later – THE REVERSE. The ESC recommended nuclear power as a policy OPTION but that was ruled out 48 hours after Government was reported in MSM to have “accepted” the ESC recommendation!!!
“Acceptance” and “policy reversals” in 48 hours after 9 months of “deliberations” .
Those three words have different meanings in Government than from English dictionary.
I WOULD SAY COMPLETE CONFUSION IN CRISIS MANAGEMENT. It is fire-fighting management now.
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MACRO,INTRICATED, GLOBALISED OF INTER-RELATIONSHIPS AND MAY I SAY HIGHLY ILLIBER OF INFORMATION COMPREHENSION, THOUGHTS AND ACTION DEICION EVEN TO THE BEST TECHNOCRATS
sorry, typo error
it should read as
MACRO,INTRICATED, GLOBALISED OF INTER-RELATIONSHIPS AND MAY I SAY HIGHLY ILLIBERAL OF INFORMATION COMPREHENSION, THOUGHTS AND ACTION DEICION EVEN TO THE BEST TECHNOCRATS
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Actually, I would not want the PAP to be voted out of power. Like it or not, they are generally a bunch of smart people who helped put in place practical policies for our resource-scarce island. However, they can be very hard headed in the way they think and this has caused many Singaporeans much heartache and insecurity. However, what I hope will happen for the next election is that PAP will lose more seats and at least a GRC going to the opposition. This kind of result will definitely wake PAP up and perhaps convince them to implement their policies with more care and compassion for Singaporeans. Let us not throw out the baby with the bath water.
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@ Johnny Boy on Mon, 8th Feb 2010 11:26 am
In the last 10 years, they have “lost the plot”, simply muddling through. That is why we are stuck in this mess – structural dislocation in the economy, no external globalised sector of any significance, housing bubble in the worst recession, migration overload and basically loss of direction going forward.This is “THE PROBLEM”
The ESC was “accepted” and “rejected” of key planks – migration level and energy (nuclear) option even before Parliament debate its content which is guaranteed NOT to hear any firework display.
History has long past its use-by date. We must change and move on. THE REST OF THE WORLD IS MOVING ON, don’t fall behind into oblivion.
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Anonymous
I think there is a discordant note there, and the misplaced note was in your linking the “tikum tikum” analogy with the fly-by-wire stuff quoted earlier.
Allow me to clarify here (if it was ever not clarified earlier). The “tikum tikum” phrase was used to describe the actual approach taken by the PAP leadership in carrying out their policies, a case of trial and error, in other words. If one policy works they will take on the credit and hark on their achievement day in and day out. If it fails, they will reason that the failure is not that bad because other countries had done worst in the area. Then they would try another policy to redress the first policy, etc and so on until one effects the desired remedy, and hey presto! another round of credit taking and alto-ego. From the 50 years in power since self-rule in 1959, this has been the case all along, although in the earlier years much of the success had not yet gone to their head.
On your comments on government policies in general and the consequences they entail through their enforcement, I would agree with you on the ramifications to society at large, some of which are reversible and some are not.
Thanks for the lively exchange of ideas.
Regards.
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@ The Awakening on Mon, 8th Feb 2010 3:28 pm
Point noted and thanks for the clarification.
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On your comments on government policies in general and the consequences they entail through their enforcement, I would agree with you on the ramifications to society at large, some of which are reversible and some are not.
Yes, some are reversible BUT as long as the reversing do not affect their pockets, it can be done, but again which present policy is not linked to profit driven ones, name me one?
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Good article, TR. I thought it was just me. These million dollar men had lost their bearings. They are truly caught offguard, that they have alienated the whole population, if not, at least 80%. The older citizens cannot find employment, the younger citizens cannot afford a home, all thanks to the stupid open door to all and sundry migrant policy. The time is right, it is now. Time for a change.
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Singaporeans are good in complaining, but when comes to voting they’ll still vote PAP and continue to complain. I have a friend named Simon. He is well educated and analytical about political and local issues in Singapore and how the people are living in repression while the governing body enjoys life. However I was shocked when he mentioned, “ultimately I will still vote for PAP”. My thought straightaway tells me that he is a civil servant who is afraid of being traced. I asked him were you a civil servant? He said not at all. He’s working in the private sector but he is afraid of PAP and that they may be able to trace and watch him if he votes for opposition. Look here, we have this problem. Well educated but dumb asses who puts their interest above the nation.
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Pay Attention People,
Practically All places, Propaganda Assured Papers, Prevent Accurate Perceptions.
Politicians Astounding Payrises, Plus Aplenty Perks, Provides Alluring Pleasures.
People Aren’t Peasants! Police Aren’t Parents!
Please Arise People.
Party Approved Policies; Pretentious And Patronizing.
Pain And Poverty, Pressures Amongst Populace.
Praises And Pride, Pleasures Amongst Powerful.
Parents, Adolescents, Peers
Please Arise People
Please Arise Prepared.
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check out mr. brown.
remember a podcast by mr. brown on pap being deaf and blind that’s why they are special.
the 5 year election interval affords them that time.
Don’t give them another 5 years.
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Show me a relible and competent opposition and I will vote for them. Till then the best bet is the PAP. Not 100% pure but better that the rot that is the opposition.
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Show me a reliable and competent opposition and I will vote for them. Till then the best bet is the PAP. Not 100% pure but better that the rot that is the opposition and the thousands of armchair critics that will not join or form their own political party. Afraid of being traced? Afraid of cracking your rice-bowl? Come out with a decent manifesto, a decent alternative plan — not idealistic but pragmatic, and I will give you my vote. Name calling and criticisms without concrete proposals cannot convince thoae looking for good alternatives to take a chance.
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