Tks for the feedback.

Re GST, I recall the time when Richard Hu was the Finance Minister and doing his best to bulldoze his way thru with GST. The only member in Parliament that stood in his way was Augustine Tan and AT was forceful in his argument against GST and apparently emerged as the victor, as the issue was shelved for several years, until AT retired from govt service. Then, with nobody in his way, RH put thru the bill. GST was clearly a wealth-creating gimmick for govt coffers. RH presumably received a pat on his arse for creating this additional wealth for the govt. “You have to create wealth to enjoy wealth”, GCT allegedly said.

So all these wealth-creators are now enjoying their wealth.

To be sure, the PAP has to be kicked out. They were good in the early years but now unfit for service.

If you analyse the statistics put out by the Singapore Department of Statistics you will find that while there are 1.8+ million Singaporeans employed, only 1.5+ million are contributing to CPF or have contributions made to their accounts by employers. Around 300,000 do not have any money at all going into their CPF. CPF is supposed to be compulsory. So, what gives? Does anyone care?
If you analyse the same statistics, more than one-third of Singaporeans receive wages of less than $1,000 a month (assuming that those who are not active CPF members all earn less than $1,000 a month).

This probably means less 1.5+mil people are paying taxes to support the rest of the population who do not pay taxes. For some of the people who are not active CPF members, they include the self-employed but also under-reported their income to avoid taxes.

my feeling is since no singaporeans can fix pap, well, the way it goes now is FTs will fix the paps sooner or later.

it is matter of time.

The chances for Opposition to grow (big or small), is very high given the ratio 81:3. Its a no-brainer that the only it can go is UP.

The obstacle is the mentality of sporeanos. They have NEVER experienced other scenarios. Never.

Even our revered super talented talent started out as a Opposition.
Technically, there is nothing BAD or ILLEGAL or WRONG or EVIL about the concept of Opposition. Some like to call it Alternative nowadays. It sounds better.
In developed countries and all other democracies in the world, Opposition is a Friend to many. To the unfortunate, the less well-off, the disadvantaged, those that fell out of the safety net. Its what they can rely on, its the people’s representative who can speak up for them.

is 81:3 a healthy or ideal situation for the long run?
can a human live for ever being a mere mortal, even if you own jumbo jets?
I dun care who u are , how rich you are or powerful u are. You to me is a mere mortal. Biology conquers you at the end of the day. The only constant is change, early or later.

the only way is UP. Prepare to fail when you do not prepare for the future. Why all so-called talents join one side and not the other? Obviously there are good reasons. But wholistically speaking, it means a weaker side continue to exist. Wholistically, this is not ideal. The weaker need to be given sufficient learning opportunity to mature and become robust to fight for the rights of the alternative type R population. All these take time. a lot of time. failing to start now means even later will we see fruit.

You are telling us. Investors ?? People like you with business dealings ? Does these good measures also ensure that whatever peace of mind and the inherent benefits derived from it are not too much skewed to in favour of some vested group only.

“i guess there always will be 2 sides of the coin.”

Of course we know this. That is why you are not hindered and you probably need some safeguard for your business dealings and also happen to be one of those on the cosy side of the coin.

Asking for security is fair game and security does come in lot of forms and it must not be at the expense of some equally valid matters (e.g greivances to be brought and bringing the wrongful parties to accountability) that need to be addressed.

That’s why I think the Opposition has to overcome this hurdle. Yes the momentum has started with JBJ, but they WE must do more if we are to see any hint of a check on the dominant party.
Their war-cry is clear.. vote the party . They have ‘chosen’ for citizens – honest etc etc.. But do the citizens ever ponder then why have any MP? Why don’t we just have the cabinet? The level of representation for the people in Parliament is dismal – F9 as far as I am concerned. Nothing has ever been overturned – can any party really have 100% hit rate on acceptable policies? Infallible? Come on.. this is not heaven… if it is. .means we are dead !
Look at HK.. they wanted to implement GST, the people protested, it was shelved. Compare here.. GST for the POOR !

And that’s true, SS. A flaw that needs to be corrected.

Plausibly, and very plausibly, some of the people who have been receiving handouts from the govt think that it is generous but they may not be aware that these are just peanuts and that it is taking back the money many times over through other means.

Elderly people who do not understand much about politics need some counselling from other family members who do. That may help in the voting process for the future.

QUOTE: … individuals forget that change comes not just from the arena of parliament and street protests, but also from the sitting and thinking individual, that the personal is the political, that action originates from one’s thought, conscience, and consciousness. END QUOTE.

The Pariah, http://www.singaporeenbloc.blogspot.com

The police appeared highly inefficient and acted like robots programmed to do a single task. They had no clue what was happening.

Also those in plain clothes refused to show their ids.

IMHO, this POA is to stop us from such waste and inefficiency.

APEC, YOG etc are once in a blue moon events while POA is with us everyday. Do not use APEC, YOG as an excuse to implement POA where one man can be considered as holding a protest.

Now I fear to walk in the street less a zealous police officer decides to arrest me for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

If the police really fear disruptions during APEC, YOG, why don’t they have the POA during the specific dates. Do not use an axe to kill a chicken.

That make sense, however, like what some of us has mention, you seem to have forgotten that the barriers are already in place. This is a wall. when there is already sufficient barriers in place, i don’t think you will need to build a wall, just to prevent that mishap…furthermore, warning signs are in place too.

if you really manage to miss the warning, plus the barrier that is in place, and yet need a wall to save you, then I must say…something is wrong with that person.

Well like i said, you can always ask the moderators to check my IP to determine if i am from the UK.

I travel quite abit around the UK, sometimes to different cities, and of course it always allows me to draw comparisons with Singapore.

#40, well i look at it more as a safeguard rather than a restriction. To know that my business would not be disrupted.

My purview is that of a dangerous slope and this act is simply the barrier placed at the edge of the slope to simply prevent anyone from falling over.

Does it hinder me? Yes it probably will prevent me from heading in the direction of the slope or accidentally slipping over, but then again i know that i have a safeguard from falling.

Personally i guess all of us have their own viewpoints over this matter, and nope i am not a quitter, just a frequent visitor with business dealings in the UK for extended periods of time.

I thank everyone for their comments kind or unkind. I guess there are alot of people out there angry with the MIW and Gahment for many reasons. But sometimes you cannot deny that they come up with good measures such as this to give investors a peace of mind.

I guess the true test would be to realize how Singapore evolves after MM Lee. I for one, good or bad will definitely not quit on the place i call home.

Well, whatever viewpoint i take, i guess there always will be 2 sides of the coin. But I personally hope amidst all this discussion that ultimately we can make a positive difference for Singapore, our families and our future generations.

Don’t mention. It does not hinder you as you are in uk now. If you are truly one of those who is not getting squeezed bcos of the fact of being a highly talented mobile person, why should you be hindered. My hat to you if you are a real private sector person while saying the above and not in any way linked to the blessing of some public sector connection.

Who in the right mind will be thankful for having restrictions being placed on them – it just goes against the nature of being human unless you really do not know what you are saying.

I live in London myself and actually went to observe the riots. At least these rioters have causes to pursue. What do you have, apart from a selfish urge to seek safety at the first sight of any minor disturbances?

Even if the opposition contested and won ALL THEIR wards, PAP will still have majority representation in parliament.

That is to say- Even then, we’re powerless. :)

Majulah