Take risk to remove climate of fear, PAP

Catherine Lim brought out a good point in the Reuters’ interview “Climate of Fear hurts Singapore”:

"They seem to have drawn a line when it comes to opening up politically, and that to me is dangerous,"

She had pleaded for a “political opening up” in a recent letter which was rejected by the press. I think PAP do need to understand that the art of taking risk is not only an integral part of economic success, it is also part and parcel of social progress.

Yes, our economy seems to be in good hands. Economic growth seems healthy with GDP constantly at 6% and above annually. Although we may have not fared well in our Shin Corp and Barclay investments, we still have a massive amount of reserves. Our investment arms Temasek Holdings and GIC are continuously expanding into regional and international markets and have reportedly obtained healthy returns of 18% and 8.2% respectively. We have showed to the world and convinced them Singapore’s economic prowess is something which cannot be underestimated. All these can only be achieved through a prudent system of risk management.

But why can’t the PAP allow more risk in its management of people? I understand all ruling parties in the world want to control its people and remain in power forever but PAP’s use of a subtle form of fear tactics to control is irking me and many other Singaporeans: no PAP votes means no HDB upgrading; no good and well-paid government, your mothers and daughters will become maids in other countries etc.

We are often so afraid of incurring the government’s wrath that we have this fixed mentality that going against the government is deadly wrong and toeing the line is a sure way of survival. Of course, it’s nothing compared with what rogue regimes have done: massacres and killings to silence critics.

However, can this continue to work in the future? I doubt so. As what Catherine Lim has said, it stifles creativity with all the invisible “Out-of-bounds markers” and we are losing many talents who seek better lives in freer societies. The government is losing millions of taxpayers’ money over the years nurturing talents who decide to call it a day because they dislike living under this constant climate of fear. I think more people are expected to do so when our society becomes more affluent. So if the PAP government really wants to retain talents, not just in civil service but also in Singapore as a whole, it has to first show to its people that it indeed is a good government and not a “control freak”.

We must agree that PAP is an efficient government. But it needs “upgrading” to learn to drop the use of fear tactics to rule. When that day comes, I will draw a big fat cross neatly on my voting paper beside the lightning logo with pride.

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"

Phone Scam Again!

Phone scammers again! Yes, they are getting more creative and convincing with their evil-doings but I wonder why do some Singaporeans continue to be cheated by them? Haven’t the police informed the public through the mainstream media to be more discerning when they receive calls from people who claim to be government officers?

The Straits Times wrote:

Woman cheated by elaborate phone scam

A WOMAN has reported to police that she was cheated by phone scammers who used a money laundering ruse to con her into transferring $2,500 from her bank account.

The Chinese woman in her mid-20s, said she was at a shopping complex along Selegie Road on Wednesday when she received a call from a voice recorded message in Mandarin at about noon.

The caller said she had a message from the High Court and told her to press 9. She was transferred to a Mandarin-speaking woman who told her she had a pending case against her.

The complainant was then transferred to another woman, named Yang, who told her that her account number was found in a list and suspected her of being involved in money laundering.

Yang then transferred her call to another woman who she said was a judge by the name of Li.

The 'judge' asked the complainant for details of her bank accounts, and told her to withdraw $2,500 from one account to verify the authentication, and to transfer the money to an international account.

The woman did as told.

Why Press Freedom in Singapore matters?

I think we are taking the values of free speech and free press for granted. While I do not deny we need to engage in self-censorship for issues like terrorism and official secrets to maintain Singapore’s national security, it is however our mainstream media’s role to provide the most accurate and the most unbiased information for all Singaporeans without any risk of intimidation by our government to prevent our journalists from writing about sensitive or embarrassing issues such as Singapore’s fast widening income gap, rising cost of living, foreign talent policy and Temasek’s foreign investments etc.

However, if our journalists decide not to take on an investigative role but instead adopt self-censorship in their news reporting in the name of “nation-building”, allowing the government to control any information to release to the public or withhold any undesirable piece of information so that the government can carry on with their agenda without any external pressure, the journalists are doing their readers a disservice as they are assuming the released information they have in hand is 100% accurate. And when they publish those “facts and statistics” in the newspapers, people will believe every single word that they read as truths.

Therefore, in order for our mainstream media to remain objective, it must be able to legitimately criticise the government and inform the public in the most complete and responsible manner. It is more important that we suffer small ailments or hiccups as early as possible than to cause Singapore to suffer major setbacks should any government policy fails in the future.

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

UN warns Burma that World's patience wearing thin

WARNING TO BURMA

World's patience wearing thin: UN

Situation is not acceptable and unsustainable, Ban Ki-Moon warns Rangoon

Visiting United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon yesterday urged the Burmese junta to move forward on democracy and human rights protection as the international community's patience was running out.

"I would like again to emphasis that the return to the status quo is not acceptable and is politically unsustainable," he told a press conference.

He did not say what would happen if the international community did lose patience but noted the junta should allow opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to engage with the senior junta leaders.

The UN secretary-general arrived in Bangkok on Sunday for a three-day official visit to honour His Majesty the King's 80th birthday. He discussed the situation in Burma with Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont during a bilateral meeting.

The UN, through special envoy Ibrahim Gambari, has made little progress in persuading the junta leaders to hold political dialogue with Suu Kyi, Ban said.

However, the junta's appointment of deputy labour minister Aung Kyi as a liaison minister between Suu Kyi and the authorities was regarded as "a good start", he said.

The military crackdown in September in Burma that killed a score of protesters raised international concerns.

The UN chief commissioned Gambari to seek solutions to end the political stalemate. He urged Asean, of which Burma is a member, to continue its role in engaging Burma's leaders and fully support the role of the UN in pushing the military-ruled country towards democracy.

But room for the regional grouping has been very slim since last month, when Burmese Prime Minister Thein Sein rejected an attempt to have Gambari brief leaders of Asean and its allies on his work at a summit in Singapore and emphasised he would work with the UN only.

Surayud said Thailand would take the rotating chairmanship of Asean late next year and would have the chance to hold a summit between the UN and Asean to discuss the matter.

The UN chief said the Burmese authorities should take his warning that the world is "running out patience" seriously as the people of Burma have suffered from isolation for a long time. It was time for the military-run country to bow to the wishes of the international community for full democratisation and protection of human rights.

Yesterday was Human Rights Day, and the 59th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, when the UN began the campaign to promote human rights around the world.

"Therefore, again I urge the Myanmar [Burma] authorities to fully respect the principles and all of the UN charters by fully engaging with the international community and by restoring full democracy and promoting human rights," Ban said.

The article was published in The Nation, Bangkok

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.