Foreign Workers Problems: HDB Complaint calls & Crime rate

It is a solid fact that there are foreign workers everywhere in Singapore. Every now and then, you would hear news of residents complaining about them being a nuisance for littering, drinking, gambling etc in our HDB heartlands.

Although we know it’s not the intention of most foreign workers to create trouble in Singapore, it would be interesting to find out about the number of complaint calls to HDB against them in the recent years. But strange enough, I couldn’t seem to find any piece of information or press release on HDB’s website. Did we see an increase or not? And if there is an increasing trend, what has HDB done to alleviate the problem?

Second, the Police published the year 2006 statistics on the crime rate of foreign workers in Singapore:

The number of foreigners arrested for crime decreased by 278 persons from 3,036 to 2,758 persons in 2006. They accounted for about 14% of the total persons arrested, same as in 2005. More than half (1,632 persons or 59%) of the foreigners were arrested for theft and related offences, with shop theft accounting for 31% of the offences.

Yes, from the data it seemed the recent influx of foreigners did not seem to cause a jump in the number of criminal cases concerning foreign workers. However, those were just recorded offences. I believe there are many other cases which were probably not recorded due to their nature (drunken rowdiness, loitering etc). Wouldn’t it be appropriate if the Police could provide the public with this piece of information too?

The following was obtained from The Straits Times:

Foreign workers to help keep Jalan Kayu safe

ONE friendly neighbourhood patrol, in Jalan Kayu, has taken on a new group of recruits: Foreign workers living in the area.

About 40 of them will take turns joining neighbourhood police and local residents on their weekly patrols of Jalan Kayu, which is near neighbourhoods in Seletar, Yio Chu Kang and Ang Mo Kio.

The programme, called the Jalan Kayu Rangers Community Safety and Security Project, is a joint effort by the Jalan Kayu Citizens' Consultative Committee, the area's neighbourhood committee and the Sengkang Neighbourhood Police Centre.

It was launched on Sunday morning by Mr Wee Siew Kim, an MP for Ang Mo Kio GRC and adviser to Jalan Kayu grassroots organisations.

He said the idea for the programme came about after old three- and four-room residential blocks along Seletar West Farmway 6 were converted last year into two dormitories for 6,000 mainly Indian, Bangladeshi and Thai foreign workers.

'While there has not been any reported conflict between foreign workers and the residents, we hear of residents complaining about drunken rowdiness, littering and loitering in large numbers,' said Mr Wee.

'So, we started this programme as a preventive measure - a way for 'mentor foreign workers' to help their peers understand our laws and social norms.'

So far, 38 foreign workers have undergone a four-month training programme on aspects such as first aid at the workplace and the anti-littering and anti-spitting rules in Singapore.

But they are not the first to help spread the anti-crime message among their peers.

Since March, some have been trained to serve as Foreign National Crime Prevention 'ambassadors' in a police initiative.

Planning for a comfortable retirement

ChannelNewsAsia reported the findings from a recent retirement study done by global information and media firm The Nielsen Company. Frankly speaking, I have not done any retirement plans (except insuring in a few life insurance plans) as I thought it’s still too early for a guy who is in his late 20s to start worrying about his retirement egg.

However, I was pretty shocked to read close to a fifth of Singaporeans surveyed feel they need a huge sum of more than S$1,000,000 to retire comfortably. When I saw the figure, I began adding up the possible costs and factoring in the inflation rate to try to arrive at a more reasonable figure but I can’t. There are just too many factors to consider.

How much is enough?

I believe everyone wants to maintain his living standards upon retirement or at least not suffer a huge drop in living standards. There are too many things which I feel are important in my future consideration on how much I would need for my retirement. Top on the list would be the variable medical costs.

If you look at how rapidly the medical costs are increasing in the recent years, you would worry about how much you would need for your entire twilight years. Yes, my medical insurances could cover part of the total amount I need but I feel it would still be inadequate. I think it would be difficult to determine how much I would really need until I’m in my 40s and nearer to my retirement years. Judging from my health status and the average medical costs then, perhaps I could make a clearer and better gauge of the portion of my savings I need to set aside for it. Right now, I feel financing my insurance policies is all that I need to do.

What about the remaining amount of money I need for my retirement piggy bank? Well, first I think I would need money for my daily subsistence, hobbies like sports (if I could still move then) and movies, travel, transport costs, SCV cable and internet, water, electrical and phone bills etc. Perhaps S$600-800 a month would be enough. That’s of course based on the current money rate and prices. We all know how prices can shoot up easily, right?

When to retire?

Ah that’s a million-dollar question which our million-dollar ministers have answered some time ago. Not the 67 years of age which they have suggested. It’s too late for people like me who wants to retire earlier and enjoy my remaining years. Retiring at the age of 60 seems more reasonable for me. But I think I would set a timeline probably at the age of 55 for my retirement saving plan just in case there might be a sudden loss of income after that due to some unforseen circumstances. So if that’s the case, I would be left with only around 25 years to save up.

Looks like I really need to look for a financial advisor and start my retirement plan soon.

Singapore gambles on

Even Hong Kong Disneyland couldn’t net the giant Chinese market and is struggling with its lower than expected attendance for a 2nd year.

In Singapore, Crazy Horse failed. We are building not 1 but 2 Integrated Resorts (IRs), one in Marina Bay, another in Sentosa. There is so much competition for the lucrative gambling profits in Asia with Macau, Vietnam and many other Asian countries coming up with newer and bigger casinos. For no reasons, I have a feeling that this casino venture would either end up with a “big bang” success or it would end up a disaster with repercussions to our country for many years to come.

HK Disney crowds disappoint for 2nd year

HONG KONG - Attendance at Hong Kong Disneyland, which the government had already branded unsatisfactory, fell to just over 4 million in its second year, it said, representing a fall of more than 20 per cent.

Walt Disney's second Asian-based magic kingdom after Japan has spluttered along since opening to great hype in September 2005.

After attracting a lower-than-expected 5.2 million visitors in its first year, Hong Kong Disneyland said its second year attendance was near the 4 million mark.

'The second year we had more than 4 million visitors, which makes up a total number of more than 10 million for 26 months,' said spokesman Glendy Chu on Tuesday.

Disney would not give a more specific figure, given its policy of not sharing commercially sensitive information, though the 4 million figure represents a drop in attendance of over 20 per cent.

'In the short term, we did not achieve the attendance targets for which we had hoped. We recognise that we need to bolster our numbers which is our focus today,' Disney added in a statement.

Hong Kong Disneyland had not previously released a second year attendance figure following its slow start, prompting Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Frederick Ma to say recently that Disneyland's performance was 'not satisfactory'.

The park has suffered from its small size, peak-period crowds and a limited number of major attractions, making it a challenge to snare repeat visitors, especially those from China. A rival theme park, Ocean Park has also eaten into Disney's business against the odds, and now enjoys higher attendance numbers.

The firm is also under pressure to find funds for a revamp.

It had to recently negotiate with its lenders to re-schedule its commercial term loan facility of HK$2.3 billion (S$431 million), and to remove financial performance covenants to ease its debt burden.

Disney said it would add new attractions next year.

Disneyland's main theme park rival in Hong Kong, the home-grown Ocean Park, pulled in 4.92 million visitors for the same period, according to the Ming Pao newspaper. -- REUTERS

My thoughts on Ministerial Pay Hike

I was utterly wrong. I have been harbouring this thought that the PAP government will not announce a 2^nd ministerial pay hike but they did as “promised” in the end.

In my previous post “Glory for Nation or Money”, I mentioned many people are unhappy with the rising cost of living and the few unpopular policies (Annuity Scheme, GST Hike etc) that were announced some time ago and the ruling elites are running a risk of losing that delicate “bond” with Singaporeans. So I wonder, why would they even think of pushing through with the 2^nd wave of ministerial pay hike now?

To be frank, I cannot accept the government’s repeated justification that it must pay high to match the average salary of the top 8 professions’ earners to attract and retain talents in the government. As many bloggers have pointed out, if there is a need to entice potential candidates of ministerial quality with huge monetary rewards to join the government, it might as well be better for these people to remain where they are in the private sector as serving the nation is ultimately different from “serving” shareholders.

But why is the government unable to attract and retain talents? I think the main reason is not because good people are put off by the “low ministerial salaries”. Neither is it because good people dislike PAP. It is a problem with Singaporeans who are generally politically apathetic, unpatriotic and greedy. Imagine if we have the entire population who is truly concerned about the running of the country, theoretically there would be more elites who are willing to serve the nation whether or not the government provides huge monetary rewards.

What we need to do now is not to continue increasing ministerial salaries to obscene levels but to make more Singaporeans engage in discussions on social issues. When more people care about what’s going on in Singapore, surely some of them would feel the urge to come forward to do something about the problems that the country faces. An active citizenry is important for the survival of Singapore in the competitive world of the 21^st century.

The new ministerial pay structure can be found on The Straits Times "Ministers, top civil servants to get 4% to 21% pay rise in Jan"

Taxi Fare Hike - Attempting to solve a problem but creates another?

We have “solved” another problem by doing it the Singaporean way, this time through a massive taxi fare hike. The so-called “in-depth review” of the taxi industry to address taxi passengers’ concerns is, in my own words, a world-class flop.

First, the peak hour surcharge of $2 has been replaced by a variable 35% surcharge of metered fare. With the change, technically only trips with taxi metered fares of around $6 will not see any peak hour surcharge hike. However with the increase in the distance meter and waiting time rate, I can confidently conclude almost all taxi trips will see a huge jump in the peak hour surcharge portion (probably in the region of $4 and more) of the fare especially for passengers on long-distance trips as the further they travel, the more they have to pay for the surcharge.

Question: Did the management ever think it might be an overkill? To solve the problem of insufficient cabs during peak hours with a massive surcharge hike, ComfortDelgro, together with the rest of the taxi companies which are sure to follow suit, will just be playing a game of “musical chairs”, forcing more people to switch to the already crowded public transport (MRT and buses). This is really creating a solution just for the sake of it.

Next, city area surcharge upped from $1 to $3. It does sound like a great solution to draw more taxis into the CBD to pick up passengers but think of it this way, if the CBD surcharge is increased 3 times the current level, won’t you get a situation where there are really more taxis in the CBD but on the other hand, greedy taxi drivers will avoid the outskirts of the CBD as they would rather drive into the CBD to earn the $3 surcharge. $3 is not a small amount of money. It’s the cost of a meal at the food court. What makes the management think the drivers would not do this to maximise their earnings? Attempting to solve a problem but creates another?

What happens to those waiting anxiously for taxi on the outskirts such as VivoCity, Eu Tong Sen Street etc? Force them, I mean encourage them to make taxi bookings? Great idea to fleece more money from the public, isn’t it?

A final note: The taxi companies should not raise taxi rentals and taxi diesel prices unnecessarily for the next few years. Don’t make this current taxi fare hike a prelude for an attempt to raise taxi rentals in the near future to beef up profits. They already have more than enough to answer to their shareholders.

*FM 95.8 had a call-in programme yesterday and amazingly all taxi drivers who called in were against the taxi fare hike, stating that the hike will not improve their livelihood. The guest speaker, who takes the mode of transport daily to and from work, laments over the extra amount of money she has to spend and feels she may need to switch to public transport.

More reads:
83% Hike in Taxi Fares not Comforting at all
Taxi fare hikes: Opinions
A Flat Fee Suffices - On Taxi Fares in Singapore
Our Great Transport Hikes

All the Pope wants for Christmas is...

All the Pope wants for this Christmas is to stop the trend of Christmas gift-giving to stem out excessive materialism and consumerism:

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict on Sunday urged Catholics to rediscover the religious significance of Christmas, saying the holiday should not be dominated by materialism.

The Pope's words at his Sunday blessing to crowds in a rainy St Peter's Square marked the second consecutive day that the Pontiff warned of consumerism just as the Christmas shopping season kicked off in Italy.

"Too often, unfortunately, today's manner of living and perceiving Christmas suffers from a materialistic mentality," he said.

On Saturday, when Roman Catholics marked the feast of the Immaculate Conception, the leader of the 1.1 billion member Church said adults were only deceiving children by introducing them at ever younger ages into a life of unbridled materialism.

Too many children were growing up in a world saturated with "false models of happiness" and being lured by unscrupulous adults into what he called the "dead-end street of consumerism," he said on Saturday.

To be humans, we need Rights

Today marks the United Nations’ International Human Rights Day. There has been a plethora of human rights issues in the world over the years ranging from outright discriminations, child labour, slavery to abuses such as torture and inhumane treatments or punishments. As UN’s Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon has mentioned:

It is our duty to ensure that these rights are a living reality -- that they are known, understood and enjoyed by everyone, everywhere. It is often those who most need their human rights protected, who also need to be informed that the Declaration exists -- and that it exists for them.

The term “human rights” seemed like something very abstract and difficult to be understood by common people and nothing beats having a video and some pictures to persuade people that protecting and promoting human rights is necessary.

Above: Jim Carrey spoke about the human rights violations in Burma. Children being forced to become soldiers in Burma as a result of continued military expansion, high desertion rates and a lack of volunteers. There has been a clear violation of minimum age for military recruitment. Aung San Suu Kyi has been wrongfully put under house arrest even though she had earned the right to set up a democratic government.

Right: Sudan - Civilians under attack in scramble for Darfur. Relief organisations are still facing problems reaching people in need, due to insecurity, poor road infrastructure, the size of the territory affected (roughly equivalent to France), and the ongoing rainy season. Therefore, according to the United Nations, needs in most sectors (food, shelter, clean water, primary health care) are only being partially met.

Left: Mass graves in Iraq graphically testifies to the brutality of Saddam Hussein’s regime and the challenges of building a more pluralistic and law-based state.

While we may count ourselves lucky to live in a peaceful and affluent society like Singapore, there is still a need for a platform to address several human rights issues such as maid abuses, child abuses, and discriminations against other races, women and homosexuals etc. Thus, I fully support the petition calling for the setting up of a national human rights commission in Singapore led by SG Human Rights’ founding member and lawyer Chia Ti Lik.

The following article was obtained from AsiaOne:

Group of human rights activists on Sunday launched a petition calling for the setting up of a national human rights commission.

The call comes from SG Human Rights, a nine-member informal group set up in October following the July decision by Asean leaders to include a provision for a human rights body in the Asean Charter.

Its petition launch took place at the Speakers' Corner in Hong Lim Park and was one of several activities held around the island at the weekend to commemorate Human Rights day on Monday.

The day marks the anniversary of the United Nations General Assembly's adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on Dec 10, 1948.

Founding member Chia Ti Lik, a lawyer and former Workers' Party member, said the group felt that more attention needed to be paid to human rights if Singapore was to become a truly first-world nation.

He hopes for an independent panel that would check human rights abuses and educate the public on human rights issues.

Singapore’s property market is running a fever

Singapore’s hot property market has become the latest noteworthy conversation topic and it is not just the private property market that sees massive rises in Singapore’s house prices over the past year, even the local HDB residential market has seen record transaction prices.

It was only a month ago we read in the news that two Marine Parade 5-room flats were sold for record prices of $750,888 and $730,000, and a 3-room HDB flat was sold for $380,000. Crazy isn’t it? For $380,000, you could easily afford a resale HDB executive maisonette in areas like Bukit Batok.

Although the resale price index stated on the HDB’s website seems to show a continual healthy increase over the previous quarter in 2007, it would be interesting to note that the number of resale applications registered seems to have started to decrease across the board for all flat types in the 3^rd quarter of 2007. While I do not deny this could be a normal fluctuation, it would be a sign for concern should it continue to drop in the 4th quarter of 2007.

I must declare I am no expert in the property market but I believe there must always be a “tipping point” in the price of goods which is ultimately dependent on the supply and demand forces of the market. When the demand for resale flats come down as a result of a lack of affordability by most buyers, the price of flats would also drop naturally.

While we are still far from the 1997’s resale price index peak range of 130s, I think it is not prudent for any buyer to pay high prices for a resale flat during this period even though industry experts have been assuring us that residential property is still a good long-term investment. Why do I think so?

Scenario 1:

If we were to follow the trend on HDB’s resale price index, it is barely 1 year before the property market overheats. Give and take, let us say 2 years before the property market starts to crash, the buyers who have bought their flats recently would not be in time for their next sale if they intend to because they cannot meet the minimum occupation period (MOP) of 2.5 years from the effective date of purchase if the owners takes a loan from HDB and without CPF Housing Grant Scheme(otherwise MOP would be 5 years) . And even if they do not take any HDB loan for the purchase, the window period would still have to be a minimum of 1 year. It would thus be a risky short-term investment as no one can predict exactly when the crash will happen.

Scenario 2:

Even if the buyers decide not to sell but hold on to their newly purchased, already over-valued flats while waiting for a better price, they would be caught in a difficult financial situation where they have to finance their house loans and at the same time, see their flat values drop until asking prices are adjusted to the clearing level. The actual total loss at the next sale may be unimaginable. The 1997 property market crash victims know it.

So it’s time we take the inherent risk seriously as once the property market crashes, it is hard to stop. Potential buyers should not try to stretch themselves too much. We certainly want our money to be more liquid so that we can all survive through the impending recession and cope with the relentless rising cost of living.

Singapore's Pump Prices Up Again

Pump prices went up again. There are more cars and drivers than there used to be. The uprising China and India demand more energy. The world is also experiencing more and more extreme weather conditions which require more energy to cool down or heat up the homes and offices but the world's oil supply is following an opposite trend. Can our government bring down the price of oil?

*You can purchase the informative "The Oil Age" poster online. It describes the world oil production and depletion problem, shows a detailed map of the current world oil reserves and explains the important use of oil in various industries like food and plastic production.

The following article titled Oil Prices: It Gets Worse was obtained from Time.com

This gloomy assessment comes from the International Energy Agency, the Paris-based organization representing the 26 rich, gas-guzzling member nations of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The agency is not known for alarmist warnings, and its World Energy Outlook is typically viewed by policy wonks as a solid indicator of global energy supplies. In a marked change from its traditionally bland, measured tones, the IEA's 2007 report says governments need to make urgent, bold decisions on energy policy, or risk massive environmental and energy-supply crises within two decades — crises and shortages that could spark serious global conflicts.

"I am sorry to say this, but we are headed toward really bad days," IEA chief economist Fatih Birol told TIME this week. "Lots of targets have been set but very little has been done. There is a lot of talk and no action."

The reason for the IEA's alarm is its expectation that economic development will raise global energy demands by about 50% in a generation, from today's 85 million barrels a day to about 116 million barrels a day in 2030. Nearly half that increase in demand will come from just two countries — China and India, which are electrifying hundreds of cities and putting millions of new cars on their roads, most driven by people who once walked, or rode bicycles and buses. By 2030, those two countries will be responsible for two-thirds of the world's carbon gas emissions, which are the primary human activity causing global warming.

India and China have argued against enforcing strict emission controls in their countries, on the grounds that these could hinder their economic growth and prompt a global economic slowdown. But the new IEA report says working with China and India on alternative energy sources and curbing emissions is a matter of global urgency.

The bad news is not only environmental. As the world scrambles to boost energy supplies over the next two decades, an ever-greater percentage of its supplies of oil and gas will come from a dwindling number of countries, largely arrayed around the Persian Gulf, as the massive North Sea and Gulf of Mexico deposits are finally exhausted. That will leave the industrialized countries far more dependent on the volatile Middle East in 2030 than they are today, and the likes of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iran will dictate terms to companies like ExxonMobil and Chevron, which increasingly operate as contractors to state-run oil companies in many producer nations.

"Most of the oil companies are going to be in an identity crisis, and need to redefine their business strategies," Birol says. The soul-searching may have already begun, as oil executives begin sounding the alarm about the supply crunch that lies ahead. Last week, Christophe de Margerie, CEO of the French oil giant Total, told the Financial Times that even the target of 100 million barrels a day is an optimistic one for an industry that currently produces 85 million — far short of the 116 million barrels a day the IEA projects will be needed by 2030 to fuel the global economy.

And in a sharp departure from the usually reassuring comments offered by Big Oil executives, De Margerie said companies and governments now realize that they have overestimated the amount of oil that could be extracted from places difficult to reach and costly to explore. "It is not my view, it is the industry view," he said. In other words, the message is that the current sky-high oil prices may not be a temporary burden on the world economy.

Forecasting prices, however, has become an increasingly inexact science for analysts, as prices in recent months have galloped ahead of their worst predictions. Says Oswald Clint, a London-based analyst for Sanford Bernstein: "A year ago, our predictions for November 2007 were about $50 to $62 dollars a barrel" — at least $35 short of Tuesday's price. The oil-research firm predicts that expanded production will bring oil prices back to $70 a barrel by 2010. But to Birol, that sounds optimistic.

"If you want to lower prices you have to slow down oil demand growth in China and India, use cars more efficiently, use biofuels, and also convince producing countries to pump more oil," says Birol. But he is uncertain any of that will happen. "I don't see the political will." Then again, nothing fuels political will like a soaring price at the gas pump.

A Foreigner’s Perspective of Singaporean Bloggers

Dr Henry Jenkins, the Director of MIT Comparative Media Studies Programme and the Peter de Florez Professor of Humanities, visited Singapore sometime ago and blogged about his experiences after hearing much about Singapore’s work culture and in particular, three very distinct stories of Singaporean youth "misbehavior" on the blogging platform. His full blog post titled Singaporean Girls Gone Wild contains excerpts below:

“Singapore is so known for its work ethic and sense of decorum that I have joked off and on about marketing a series of videos of Singaporean Girls Gone Wild which consisted of school girls in uniforms throwing peanut shells on the floor of the Raffles Hotel bar with wild abandon before returning to studying for their exams. After all, one of the first things that I ever learned about this country was that the law specified that one could be thrashed with a bamboo cane for chewing gum in public. My first impression then was something like that planet in Star Trek: The Next Generation where one could be put to death for stepping on the grass.”

On Wee Shu Min:

“When Wee Shu Min, the teenage daughter of a Singapore member of parliament stumbled across the blog of a Singaporean who wrote that he was worried about losing his job, she thought she'd give him a piece of her mind.

She called him "one of many wretched, undermotivated, overassuming leeches in our country" on her own blog and signed off with "please, get out of my elite uncaring face".”

On Sarong Party Girl:

“So in choosing to call her blog, Sarong Party Girl, the youth was trying to reclaim a negative term which embodies an explosive mixture of sexual and racial transgression, while no doubt thumbing her nose at traditional sexual morality in her country.”

He continued with:

“So rather than question why it is that the authorities had to act, or the merits of which is the more appropriate law to use, or whether this is a prelude to a political clampdown, the Internet's cause will be better served if active users weigh in and do their own clamping down...”

Indeed. That's what we should do. We do not require any regulations at all for the Internet is a free space for everyone.

Foreign workers causing social problem in Singapore

Straits Times reported on Sunday “Foreign workers at void decks leaves residents seething”. I concur with the report as I am one of the frustrated residents living in the area. In the report, residents staying along Jurong West Street 61 complained that groups of Indian foreign workers have been gathering at the void deck of Blk 651A during weekends, drinking beer bought at the nearby mini-mart and are normally quite rowdy and when they get drunk, they would urinate or sleep wherever they like and might even get into fights among themselves and with residents.

However, what Straits Times reported is only part of the big social problem that we face in the area. I shall illustrate my experience here.

At the end of the corridor of my flat unit, there is a unit which is occupied by a group of Indian foreign workers (They could be Sri Lankans but I can’t confirm as I don’t communicate with them at all). It is supposedly rented by their employers to house the 6 to 8 of them.

What irks me is not them being Indians (I am not a racist) but the problem is that they are usually quite noisy at night. As they are on weird work shifts, probably starting at around 3 or 4pm, they would normally not sleep before 3am. They would watch TV and VCD or talk loudly in the house. Sometimes, they would even walk out of the flat and start talking on their mobile phones during the wee hours.

You might wonder why we don’t make a complaint to HDB which, as far as I know, rents out flats under 2-year contracts to employers of foreign workers. Yes we did, few years ago and we managed to get rid of the previous occupants because they were even worse – some walking around in the house in underwear. We are already thinking of complaining to HDB about this batch of foreign workers because we are suspecting them of allowing unauthorised workers to stay in the same house but we are keeping watch over the situation as we do not want any over-reactions.

Apart from the problem at my block, Boon Lay Interchange, which is near the reported Blk 651A, is another location where you would see foreign workers congregating in public places. They do not gather in small groups of 3 to fives like in the Blk 651A situation. The problem at the interchange is somewhat more serious.

During the night of every weekend or public holiday, hundreds or may be a thousand of foreign workers (mostly if not all Indian nationals) congregate over a large area stretching from the rectangular open space in front of the MRT Station to the periphery of the interchange and the overhead bridge leading to the new park which is currently under-construction (See the picture obtained from Streetdirectory.com). They normally do not drink there but the amount of litter they leave behind is a lot. You can take a look at the areas on Monday mornings. Really unsightly and unhygenic.

I am trying to heed PM Lee’s advice to be understanding towards foreign workers but this social problem involving foreign workers in Singapore has been affecting us for years and there seems to be no perfect solution to our frustrating problem. Repeated complaints to MPs do not work. So we are in a Catch 22 situation where on one hand, we take in more foreign workers (estimated to be 50,000 more over the next few years) to boost our economic development but on the other hand, we tax-paying Singaporeans are forced to share more of our common spaces with foreign workers who behave so differently from the majority of us.

Educating them would also not have the intended effect as most of them are on short-term contracts so when a batch of foreign workers finally learns our social habits, it’s time for them to leave and the next batch which knows nuts about our culture and habits takes over.

Voting against the government to show our displease in the poor handling of this situation would not work either as the areas affected are only a fraction of West Coast GRC and Hong Kah GRC. Worse still, oppositions don’t seem to be interested in the western GRCs. Seriously, so what can we do other than shifting house?

Cracks appearing between Singaporeans and Immigrants

Cracks are already appearing between Singaporeans and the new settlers who have come as permanent residents, not just between different ethnic groups, but also within races.

Ill feeling towards foreigners is beginning to surface in this most unlikely of places – cosmopolitan Singapore – attributed to the record influx of immigrants. By tradition, Singaporeans with their own migrant history have been open about foreigners from east or west, which has led to a recent mass arrival of settlers and visitors.

More than a million have arrived, mostly during the past decade, and although they have brightened the economy, they are also starting to incur a social cost as well as increasingly sparking friction with locals. Despite land reclamation, Singapore remains a small city, one of the densest in the world. The pressure is testing the tolerance level of Singaporeans, who are struggling to cope with a widening income gap and rising prices. Already one third of the 4.68 million people here are foreigners, not to mention the nine million tourists who arrive annually.

It has prompted warnings from leading figures, the latest from Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong. According to him, cracks are already appearing between Singaporeans and the new settlers who have come as permanent residents “not just between different ethnic groups, but also within races.” People are showing less trust towards one another. Goh said “the new residents did not mix easily with Singaporeans” and the latter, in turn, “tended to leave the new-comers alone.”

Earlier, retired and respected civil servant Ngiam Tong Dow said if he had his way, Singapore would think twice before pushing for a 6.5 million population. Questioning the rationale, Ngiam said in an interview published in the governing party newsletter that Singapore does not need numbers but talent.

The 70-year-old said: “If we do it wrongly, it will change our economic and social system.” He stressed the need to appeal to people’s hearts. “Otherwise, Singapore will become just a six-star hotel where guests stay in good times and flee when times are bad. We will never become a nation,” he said.

Singapore’s mainly middle class, stressed by a widening wealth divide, is deeply worried about the large inflow. “Foreigners are viewed as threats to locals’ livelihoods, they are viewed with suspicion and envy,” a surfer posted.

A pivotal part of immigration is the successful luring of wealthy foreigners to settle here. It is doing wonders for the economy, but is also aggravating inflation and widening the income divide. If Singapore were not careful, it could split into two or three parts, warns Foreign Minister George Yeo. “And that third Singapore is the big chunk of people squeezed in the centre, between the poor and the rich,” he said.

“This group is the most vulnerable. If they feel the high life is out of their reach, frustration can set in. And being more mobile than the lower-end group, they can be tempted to vote with their suitcases. That is an option the other group doesn’t have.”

These warnings show growing government awareness that the speed to expand the population, if not the strategy itself, may threaten social harmony. Several incidents between foreigners and locals have stirred emotions, reflecting the current sensitivities.

These are minor everyday happenings in a crowded city that would have gained little attention if they had involved only locals, but were blown up into hot issues because foreigners were involved. In the latest case, Singaporean Michelle Quek said a Caucasian and his wife or girlfriend attacked her and her friend after her schoolbag “accidentally hit the woman”.

She said a quarrel ensued, which resulted in the Westerner holding up her friend by the arms, lifting her off the floor and dropping her onto the floor. She herself was punched on the nose. A couple of angry bystanders confronted the Westerner and stopped him from leaving, nearly causing more mayhem.

Singaporeans were also enraged when three young British tourists mocked an elderly rickshaw rider because he couldn’t pedal fast enough for them, then posted a video of the struggling old man on You-Tube.

Titled “The Slowest Taxi in SE Asia” it showed the trio squeezing into the small rickshaw, poking fun at the 76-year-old rider throughout the 10-minute trip. One remarked, “God, he’s in fifth gear” and every one laughed. They ran off without paying. Scores of Singaporeans bombarded the visitors, expressing what they would like to do to them. “Don’t come back to Singapore,” wrote one. “We will be waiting for you.”

Westerners are, of course, not the only people who are affected. In fact the bigger issue is the tens of thousands who have flocked here from China and India. Last year a record 70,000 foreigners were admitted; this year the figure is set to be higher.

Verbal insults have become a frequent phenomenon on the Internet between Singaporeans and some of the better-educated permanent residents. So far there have been no major incidents but the underlying resentment has given rise to fears that a small incident may one day flare up into big trouble.

Some aliens find it difficult to find accommodation; others get a cool reception from office colleagues. The government and community representatives have organised citizenship ceremonies and social gatherings to make the newcomers feel welcome. Leaders often extol the role of foreign talent in nation building.

Respected blogger redbean wrote of a growing potential for xenophobic tension. “For those who have to face the foreigners daily in all his living activities, when every citizen has to fight for his space and the air he breathes, tension is likely to build up and break out.”

The article was written by Seah Chiang Nee and obtained from The Star

Clashes between Singaporeans and Foreigners

There has been quite a few cases of outburst between Singaporeans and foreigners recently. Singaporean Michelle Quek was attacked by a foreigner after his girlfriend was accidentally hit by Michelle’s school bag. Another example involved three British tourists, one of them named Bo Davis, and Singaporean trishaw man Mr Lee.

The number of new citizens and permanent residents (PR) is increasing year after year as a result of Singapore’s emphasis on its foreign talent policy. When people of different backgrounds, culture, beliefs and social behaviours come together, conflicts occur naturally. As what SM Goh mentioned in the Today newspaper yesterday, cracks in society are showing. No doubt, it has got to do with our foreign talent policy. The influx of foreigners into our society is often viewed as a threat to many Singaporeans’ livelihoods.

We certainly need to address the problem by reviewing our foreign talent policy. The movement of people is different from the movement of goods. Although you might argue foreigners will eventually assimilate into our society but how long would they need and to what extent are they prepared to do so? As time goes by, more Michelle Quek's incidents may happen especially when local-born Singaporeans become minorities in our society.

Michelle's blog carries the Youtube Part 1 and Part 2 .

Taxi Problems in Singapore and Possible Solutions

How often are we not able to hail a taxi in Singapore during peak hours or rainy days? During those times, we often see many taxi drivers driving their empty taxis on the outer lanes of the roads, putting on “ON CALL” signs, apparently waiting for the next caller willing to fork out weekend taxi peak hour surcharge of $2 and/or the call booking charges of between $2.80 and $4.

And now there is another problem. It was reported in the news that some taxi drivers are touting and demanding exorbitant flat fees from taxi passengers especially tourists visiting Singapore. While I condemn these “market spoilers” for their touting activities, there might be a need to understand why there has been a rise in such activities recently.

Two days ago, I took a taxi from Choa Chu Kang to Jurong Point. The moment I got on, the taxi uncle started a conversation with me. He complained to me how difficult it is to earn money these days and how the few “black sheep” (he was referring to the taxi drivers touting for business) have portrayed a bad image for the rest of the law-abiding taxi drivers. He mentioned some of them did touting at places like Clarke Quay because it was getting more difficult to find customers at night. How true this is I do not know but I agree that many drivers including the taxi uncle himself earn less these days as a result of the rising diesel prices and taxi rental costs. To worsen the situation, their diminished net earnings cannot keep in pace with the rising cost of living in Singapore.

I think the root of all these problems is with the complicated system of surcharges. The taxi companies should seriously consider lowering the midnight surcharge rate to a more reasonable one to help the taxi drivers attract more customers while reducing the possibility of a “hide-and-seek game” with passengers especially during the time between 11.30pm to midnight as it will not benefit them much if they do so.

The taxi companies could put in place a point system to allow some rental fee deductions if they make, say 2 trips during the “hideout” period. The peak hour surcharge rules should also be scrapped and instead, the same rental fee deduction system could be used for certain number of trips made during peak hours to alleviate the problem of a lack of taxis on the roads. In addition, more efforts should be put in to promote the “Share a cab” scheme to free up more taxis for other passengers.

At the same time, the daily taxi rental fee should be adjusted periodically in conjunction with any major fluctuations in the diesel price to give their drivers more “breathing spaces” in midst of the rising cost of living in Singapore.

Yes. All these solutions seemed to be benefiting the taxi drivers and their passengers, not the parent taxi companies but if volume of passengers pick up as a result of better efficiency of the whole taxi industry, sacrificing a small percentage of profits initially to earn a lasting goodwill from their passengers may not seem to be a bad idea after all.

Briton Bo Davis apologises to Singaporean trishaw man

Mr Bo Davis has publicly apologised to Mr Lee Shee Lam saying it was “disrespectful and insensitive” to make fun of an old man but Mr Bo Davis who was accused of being a bully, claimed they did pay the full fare of S$10, contrary to trishaw rider’s Mr Lee’s claim. AsiaOne reported the news as below:

Brit tourist who mocked S'pore trishaw man apologises on Net

We are sorry for what we did. So says one of the British tourists caught in the middle of an Internet controversy involving an elderly Singaporean trishaw rider. The three visitors were slammed on the Internet for mocking the 67-year-old rider during a trip here. They were also accused of not paying their fare after the ride.

One of them, Mr Bo Davis, has written a public apology for his. But he also said, contrary to trishaw rider Lee Shee Lam's claim, they did pay the full fare of $10.

A video posted by Mr Davis, 26, caused a furore on the Internet. The video showed the trio squeezed on board Mr Lee's trishaw as the elderly rider struggled to pedal under their weight. Mr Lee was later seen going from one passenger to the next to ask for his fare before they left in a taxi.

Mr Davis sent the apology to the Singaporean who re-posted the video on YouTube, a Netizen who identified himself only as Jimmy. In the note, Mr Davis said, in hindsight, the video "does look very bad". He wrote: "I offer my sincerest apologies to Mr Lee, his son and everyone that has been offended."

He added it was "disrespectful and insensitive" to make fun of an old man. Recalling the night of the incident, Mr Davis maintained his group later paid the full $10 fare. "I know I was laughing, but I wouldn't dream of not paying for the ride - that would be unforgivable," he wrote.

When told that Mr Davis claimed to have paid the full fare, Mr Sam Lee, the trishaw rider's son, said he stood by his father's account. However, he added: "But then again, the incident was three months ago, and old people may not have the best memory."

He said he has already let the matter rest, and he hopes Netizens will do the same.

Cost of Living vs Standard of Living

A million-dollar solution from Mr Lim Hng Kiang, our Trade and Industry Minister who is on a million-dollar salary:

“First, the CPI measures average changes in prices across all households. Whether there is an increase in the cost of living for a particular household depends on that household’s spending patterns. Switching to cheaper products can reduce the cost of living despite a rise in the CPI.”

I agree with him on the first part that the extent of the increase in the cost of living for a particular household does depend on that household’s spending patterns. There are indeed families or individuals who are spending beyond their means on material items. The increased cost of living would likely hurt their pockets more than ever.

However, the widespread inflation causing an erosion of purchasing power of Singaporeans as a result of the spiraling cost of living affects all people especially the lower-income people in Singapore. Although switching to cheaper products does help to reduce the cost of living, it also reduces the standard of living. How do you expect the lower middle-class and lower-incomed earners who are already on a not-so-high standard of living to lower their standards further?

As our fellow blogger Mr Wang has pointed out, the minister does not seem to understand the difference between the cost of living and the standard of living. In my opinion, he seemed very concerned with the monetary aspect of this whole issue and that keyword in his mind is cost so he does not seem to worry too much about our quality of living in Singapore.

The minister’s statement makes me feel so disillusioned. We have worked hard hoping for a better standard of living but now the government tells us to switch to cheaper alternatives? The 2% GST hike this year, which was uncalled for, has already affected us to some extent. I really do not see the point of sacrificing our living standards further. And is he again going to suggest lowering our standard of living further during the impending economic crisis which might happen in a year or two and a more or less confirmed GST hike after the 2010/2011 elections?

If that were to happen, there are probably many who might have to heed his advice and own smaller flats, buy more house brands thus sacrificing taste for price, do without maids or perhaps eat one less meal per day.

Ren Ci mishandled charity donations like in Durai's NKF Scandal?

Here it comes. One inquiry after another. First it was the scandal at NKF, then Youth Challenge, now it is the Ren Ci charity organisation. The Ministry of Health (MOH) is conducting an inquiry into Ren Ci after discovering possible irregularities in certain financial transactions between Ren Ci and some external organisations in an earlier audit review into the charity’s past dealings.

In the NKF saga, Mr TT Durai admitted in court for using public donation money meant for kidney patients to fatten himself with a $600,000 salary (which was claimed by Mrs Goh Chok Tong to be ‘peanuts’ for someone who was able to lead a top class healthcare organisation) for 3 years and lead an extravagant lifestyle which included luxurious toilet fittings, a gold-plated tap and first-class air travel.

Similarly, the external audit and the authorities in The Youth Challenge scandal, on the other hand, discovered Mr Vincent Lam's total annual remuneration of $248,867 which ended last year, was more than half of total donations and other income earned by the charity.

Both scandals have resulted in serious public backlash especially in the case of NKF where some 6800 people cancelled their monthly contributions stating they did not want to pay for “the CEO’s luxury”. An online petition for Durai’s resignation drew some 40,000 people, forcing the government to respond swiftly before the blame be shifted to the MOH.

Over the past 2 years, we have already seen a significant drop in public donations to charity institutions. Singaporeans do not trust them as readily as before and it becomes harder for these organisations to raise public funds to support its charity programmes.

What the government does now is correct. We should not allow a similar mistake to be made twice. By initiating a public inquiry into the accounts of Ren Ci while continuing to subsidise all patient care services through MOH until Ren Ci’s IPC status gets reinstated, it should gain public trust from Singaporeans for the transparency and good governance in the handling of this matter.

However, with the latest event going on, I believe many donors who are already very cautious with their donation money, would prefer to be ‘safe than sorry’ and be even more unwilling to donate whether or not Ren Ci is found guilty of mishandling of public funds. The end result? The reputation of charities continues to plunge and their beneficiaries suffer.

We all know charities are social pillars of the society and have a social responsibility to the donors but I am appealing to all Singaporeans that as much as we condone malpractices, we should see this issue in perspective and not let such unfortunate events dampen the spirit of magnanimity. The beneficiaries should really not be the ones paying the price for the fault of the system or the few “bad eggs” in it.

Singapore Maid Abuses

In Singapore, foreign domestic workers (FDW) or better known as maids are often subjected to abuses of many forms. And while Singaporean employees are protected by our labour laws, maids are not. Although the Singapore government has taken notice of the frequent maid abuses and has taken more significant steps to persecute any maid employer, the relation between these employers and their maids still seems to be of a “personal arrangement” and there can be many interpretations of what this relation can be.

Day-offs, for instance, are privileges not entitlements. Even though there are indeed some caring employers who allow their maids to take adhoc off days whenever they desire, very often we see maids work as per normal on weekends. The exclusion of legally entitled off days and also maximum working hours from the Employment Act on foreign domestic workers could also mean the maid’s working conditions and schedule can be arranged solely at the employer’s discretion. No wonder we often hear complaints of maids having to wake up very early at 5 but only allowed to sleep at midnight after they have finished their work and their employers have retired to bed.

Besides this, I have seen maids told to share meals with the children. And mind you, it’s not huge portion of food, just about the same amount which an average adult would need to make himself full. How can maids who need to do a lot of menial work survive with so little food?

Maids are also often required to carry heavy loads of shopping bags while their employers walk freely or carry very little stuff. Such discriminative treatment in daily life is equally stark.

I do not think maid abuse is an isolated problem. Some people do not even know what abuse is. To them, they think it is alright to treat someone who happens to work for them any way they want as if they are the kings and queens and the poor maids are their slaves.

I also believe if you treat the maid well, she will also reciprocate, work harder for you and employer-maid relationship improves. Isn’t that a win-win situation?

Other related article: A national blip - Overlooking and abuse of maids affecting region's image of Singaporeans as spoilt, insensitive people

Wife's turn in jail - for maid abuse
By Elena Chong, Court Correspondent, The Straits Times, Oct 31 2007

A WOMAN whose husband has just completed a three-week jail term for molesting their Filipino maid will find herself checking in on Monday for a two-week sentence for abusing her. Senior planner Thya Meng Hong, 42, pleaded guilty last month to caning and pinching the 24-year-old maid on her arms. Two other charges were considered during the sentencing for the offence, which took place at her Paya Lebar Road home last November.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Luke Tang told the court that the maid, who began working for the family the month before, was in the kitchen when the couple's five-year-old son wanted her to write some numbers in his notebook. When the maid said she was busy, the boy started to cry. She had no choice but to do what he had asked.

When Thya saw her writing in his notebook, she asked angrily why she was doing so and why the boy was crying. The maid told her the boy had asked her to write as he was lazy. This made Thya even angrier, whereupon she picked up a cane and hit the maid, and pinched her as well.

Two days later, the maid lodged a police report on the abuse. Mr Luke Lee, representing Thya, said she had been suffering from migraine and back pain from slipped discs. Thya, who has been on medical leave since August, had been under stress from having to return a succession of maids to the agency and train replacements from scratch, he added.

Cost of Living and the Need to Limit Spending in Singapore

The recent sharp increase in house prices and general cost of living have caused Singapore’s ranking on the latest Cost of Living Survey by Mercer Human Resource Consulting to climb from 17^th to 14^th, just ahead of New York, US. Although the Singapore government has stated the Consumer Price Index (CPI) of Sep 2007 to be only 2.7% more than the same period last year, I believe the figures do not reflect reality as it does not seem to give an accurate picture of Singaporeans’ expenditures.

In Singapore, if you are not earning a lot and unmarried thus may not see the need of owning a property to start a family, I think it is still “liveable” if you stay with your parents. However, life changes once you have a family to raise. Financially, it becomes more challenging: There is now a need to pay for your own HDB flat, buy a family car, pay for your kids’ necessities and tuition fees, take up essential insurances for all family members etc. It becomes harder to maintain a family with 2 or 3 children under the same roof.

And without conscious efforts to limit spending and to keep a close eye on your money, expenses can balloon to unexpected amounts if the rising cost of living were to continue uncontrollably. No wonder more and more Singaporeans find it hard to survive in Singapore:

Grocery bills increase as prices for foodstuffs go up

ST check finds that basic items in random basket of goods now all cost more By Marcel Lee Pereira & Lin Xinyi, Straits Times.

A TRIP to the supermarket will cost more now than it did at the beginning of the year. A Straits Times check on a random basket of basic goods sold at supermarkets here revealed price increases in almost every category, from fresh chicken to coffee and milk formula.

For instance, a popular brand of luncheon meat cost $1.70 in January, but now costs $2.50. Then, fresh whole chicken sold for about $4.50; the price is now closer to $5.20. This, on the back of news last week that noodle and bread prices were on the rise. But Singapore is not alone: Prices of bread, pasta, potatoes and meat are going up, putting pressure on family budgets around the world.

Russia imposed Soviet-style price controls on a range of foodstuffs last month. China has released stockpiles of pork, while Bangladesh, Jordan and Egypt are raising subsidies or slashing import tariffs. Suppliers The Straits Times spoke to said droughts in Australia, crop failures in the US, reduced milk production and higher cost of tinned food cans are all contributing factors.

Globally, prices of wheat and milk are at historic peaks. Corn and soyabean prices have also risen steeply, and international wheat prices have risen nearly 74 per cent since January. With higher grain costs, feed will become more expensive, and suppliers say this will mean a rise in meat and milk prices.

Rising food prices have contributed to inflation here. September's overall Consumer Price Index showed that prices generally retreated by 0.3 per cent from the previous month, but the food component - the biggest item at 23 per cent - rose 3.7 per cent as the cost of fresh vegetables, fruit, seafood and milk powder, as well as hawker and restaurant food, went up.

Consumers The Straits Times spoke to said that while increases for each item may seem like a token sum, together, they add up to a much bigger grocery bill. Housewife Cynthia Leow, 30, told The Straits Times she noticed she was paying about $10 more during her weekly supermarket trips.

Similarly, Ms Huang Ya Li, 60, said she needed to set aside an additional $20 a month for groceries, compared with the start of the year.

Mr Yeo Guat Kwang, president of the Consumers Association of Singapore, said that price increases were inevitable, with the climate playing a major role in food shortages. But he said things were not as bad as they seemed. Consumers, he said, had the option of buying house brands from supermarkets, and these were generally cheaper. Supermarket chain NTUC FairPrice said its house brand products are, on average, priced 10 per cent to 15 per cent lower than comparable national brands.

Checks revealed that bread and butter prices for FairPrice's house brands have remained steady over the past 11 months, but there have been 15 cent to 25 cent increases for coffee and cooking oil. Besides food, prices of tyres and batteries are also going up. The past 11 months have also seen increases in the goods and services tax, public transport fares, fuel prices and rents.

And now, more hawkers are giving notice that they may not hold out on price increases much longer as they are also feeling the pinch. The owner of a handmade noodles stall at the Gourmet Paradise foodcourt in the Toa Payoh HDB Hub said she is hoping to charge 20 cents to 30 cents more for every bowl of noodles from next year to cover costs. She said that rental on her stall, which is now $4,500 a month, is set to rise to $5,500 at the start of next year, and then to $6,500 in 2009.

In the meantime, Ms Huang said she was doing her best to be cautious with her spending: 'If a meal at a coffee shop is $3 or more, I will look for something cheaper. I eat to fill my stomach, so it does not matter whether the food is nice or whether I am given more ingredients.'

Also see my article on The future is bleak: Rising Prices and Widening Income Gap

The future is bleak: Rising Prices and Widening Income Gap

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has announced on Tuesday that Singapore’s economic growth is expected to slow to 4 to 6 percent in 2008. So what is in place for us? The weakening economy, rising costs in goods and services and an ever widening income gap between the rich and poor are together constructing a bleak future. As the article written by Wolfgang Reuters on Spiegel Online International noted: “It inevitably brings higher unemployment, a decline in government revenues and growing poverty.”

Our country is becoming more and more globalised but the onslaught of globalisation has caused many who are older, unemployed, less educated and less privileged to become the state’s rising disenchanted in an environment of rising costs and widening income gap.

Goods and services are getting more and more expensive. Every now and then, we hear news about increased prices of products. Online media has also aggregated list of price increases. This apparently high inflation which our government has constantly denied always has the most drastic impact on people with lower incomes, who need to spend a larger percentage of their disposable income on ordinary consumer goods than high earners. In addition, prices of oil have also hit record high levels. When oil prices go up, everything else will follow. As if coping with all these hikes is not bad enough, to rub salt into the wound, the government hiked the GST from 5% to 7% since July this year. Till now I still do not see how the GST hike could have benefited the poor as what they have claimed.

As Singapore becomes more affluent with record number of millionaires, poverty is still not something of the past. As much as our leaders try to convince us that Singapore does not have beggars, we still see them roaming the streets. Many seemed to have “evolved” into empty can and used cardboard collectors for resale back to manufacturers to earn mere pittance.

Some people have raised the inequality flag. Mr Brown, for one, has written an article “S’poreans are fed, up with progress!” for Today newspaper sometime ago to illustrate the whole issue. Martyn See, who is another, created a very touching short film named “Nation Builders” and brought out the harsh reality of how the poor eke out a living in our cosmopolitan society.

We may have lived in illusion, dreamed that we live in a wonderland, but the worst is yet to come: When the economic crisis strikes, more Singaporeans will join the league of poor and bankrupted. Let us hope you and I will not be the unfortunate ones.

Other related articles:

A bane for middle-class: On Inflation and recent Price Hikes