Decided to share this

I was writing to BenK regarding the issue of Foreigners in our country.
Thought I'll share this. Something for us to think about.
xxxx

Hey Benjamin,

I came across this comment by someone who calls himself "Mani" in an article that addresses PM Lee's take on the current inflow of foreigners.

"Mani the Parrot:

Due to the PAP’s liberal immigration and pro-foreigner policies, foreigners now make up 36 percent of Singapore’s population.
It is now easy for foreigners to obtain Singapore PR and new citizenship which does not require a minimum period of residency.
The relentless influx of foreigners into Singapore has lead to mass retrenchments of local citizens, depressed the wages of ordinary Singaporeans and increased the cost of living.
Such a disastrous, ill-conceived and misguided policy to increase population by mass relocating and importing foreigners at the expense of the local citizens can no longer be tolerated by Singaporeans.
Mass immigration had also lead to the destruction of the social, cultural, linguistic, and ethnic coherence necessary for national unity and adversely affecting the quality of life of the existing Singapore population.
With lower wage growth, higher rents and housing costs, more urban congestion, more pollution, and more pressure on public services and infrastructure; the huge influx of foreigners also threatening to shred the fabric of our society and destroy the ties that hold our nation together.
The reason PAP is able to cling to power and still earns millions of dollars in salaries in spite of all the damages it has done is because it is the dominant party in our totalitarian state, when the rest of Singaporeens is suffering from the ruling party economic mismanagement of the city state.
Even a bird brain can predict that it is high time that we exercise our votes properly by voting out the Pro Alien Party and in tandem, vote for an alternative government to take care of our interests first and not the interest of the foreigners."



So what are the possible implications for Singaporeans at present? Job opportunities, university placements and housing. Young couples who wish to settle down are already (last I hrd from my friends) bidding for Build-T-Order
units which will be in the mkt in like 2-5 yrs time. 14 couples to one unit. Say, my bf proposes to me when im 25. We want to get married, we bid for one of these BTO flats. We compete with 13 other couples. We fail. When we finally get one, it's gonna be for another 5 yrs. That's when im 30!!!! My ovums are dying and shriveling and that's a fact. The optimum age for women to give birth is when they're 23-26.
Let's not forget the rocketing prices of flats and resale flats because there's such a high demand for it. If u study economics u would know. I've a cousin (non-Christian) who's 30 and registered for marriage already , she's still waiting for her flat which will be ready end of this year. So if they're thinking of making babies, it wont be anytime from now till the traditional ceremony. She'd been living with her husband at her in-laws. Sometimes, they'll stay over at my aunt's instead. The traditional ceremony will be held end of this year.
I've a friend who's 24 this year, her bf (31) proposed last year. The wedding (including ROM) is not announced yet till they get a flat which they're almost desperate for but still, they have to wait.
Another friend, 23 this year. Her bf (28) proposed to her last year. They just got a 3-room flat at an exorbitant price. Their traditional ceremony will be held end of this year.

"The prices of HDB flats have sky-rocketed in recent years fueled by mass immigration in the face of limited supply of new flats. PRs form some 20 percent of buyers in the resale market. The Straits Times reported last year of an Indonesian PR who forked out an astronomical $653,000 to buy a 4-room resale HDB flat in Queenstown though he could well affford a condominium. "

University placements. It is a fact that the govt gives scholarships to scholars from other countries (eg. Sean Lim), with monthly allowances provided. Will these scholars stay on as talents here? We don't know, But I already know that Sean has made plans elsewhere, he's already announced that he won't settle here. How many scholars out there are like him?
Canida applied for a scholarship programme. Failed miserably (her fault I guess).

I guess competition raises the par for productivity. So I won't talk about job opportunities for now.

All these will eventually fall back onto us as consumers. Cost of living is going up no matter what. What concerns me is the rate at which it is going. Govt helping much? There's something to think about. Oh or better not. We should spend more time upgrading ourselves, come what may, we have to feed ourselves and run the rat race, no time to think. Once upon a time, a person with n income of $2500 can feed the whole family. But now, to sustain the same lifestyle, they'll need a dual income. Employees salaries remain the same. Govt help much? I guess more problems instead of more help since we're capitalist with minimal social welfare.
LimSweesay said that raising employee wages doesn't help. I know why he said that, but I also know we have to somehow. But didn't the govt raise their salaries a couple of yrs ago? Hmm...
PM Lee said he'd rather fix the oppositions than think of right policies for Singaporeans. Blatantly claiming that his power in parliament is more impt than Singaporeans???
"Suppose you had 10, 15, 20 opposition members in Parliament. Instead of spending my time thinking what is the right policy for Singapore, I'm going to spend all my time thinking what's the right way to fix them, to buy my supporters votes, how can I solve this week's problem and forget about next year's challenges?" Lee Hsien Loong, 03 May 2006.
How kind of him for such transparency on his agenda.

SM Goh's wife said that 600k is peanuts to a rich organisation (NKF Durai's case).
"For a person who runs a multi-million dollar charity organisation, $600,000 is peanuts as it has a few hundred millions in reserves"
For an elite, that's beyond tactless.


U see those aunties and uncles selling tissue papers at MRT stations and hawkers?
I know of this old uncle who's a cleaner at my estate. He can't even walk properly but he goes around cleaning up the area (a wonderful job at that).


U mentioned London?

" They resent the pressure on England's social services -- and fear losing jobs to foreigners. Many Londoners express deep concern about homegrown Islamic terrorism, which showed itself most violently in the 2005 Underground train bombings that killed hundreds of innocents. Despite increased security measures, British authorities estimate several thousand radicals in England remain ready to carry out terror attacks and that the threat of another major attack is rising. Others see London quickly losing whatever is left of its heritage to enforced political correctness and unchecked multiculturalism. They fear London is becoming "Londonistan" -- a shiny, Disneyesque collection of tourist attractions surrounded by separate, increasingly radicalized ethnic "no go" zones. REACHING THE CITY OF THE FUTURE The truth is more complicated and falls somewhere between the rosy and alarmist views. "This city has truth, but it has a lot of lies, too," observes Serena Bailey*, an IMB missionary on Sims' London mission team. "People are really, really confused. There's no unity."

Source: http://www.thefreepressonline.co.uk/news/3/1323.htm

That's just London. At least the English who resents living in a place where there's "overbearing" diverse culture can still find his heritage elsewhere in UK. What about Singaporeans?


"As we walked the streets of London, I bet I heard 65 languages," he recalls. "When I got back home, I was waking up at night hearing those voices and seeing those faces from all over the world. It was as if God said, 'You don't have to go to the world; the world has come to you. The world is in London and that is where I want you to be.'"

Oh, or maybe it can be a good thing?

Let's see... perhaps the govt might also allocate new spaces for new religious practices brought into Singapore??? We can't rule that possibility out. So as Christians, we should start striving to spread the word to these foreigners too! Actually, I'm quite happy to see PRC chinese, indians, etc who come to our church. It's a feeling i get, that even though we're all different, we're the same.



There are always long term and short term implications, advantages and disadvantages.
I'm seeing this More Foreigners in a more objective view now.
As a Singaporean, I worry for our heritage. Are we able to get these foreigners to assimilate into our society or do we have to change our culture instead? It's now 36% foreigners. in 10 years? 20 years? Some of them may be Singaporeans too. I'm not saying the Singaporean culture is all so great. LOL. It's not, but u get the picture. There might be some loss of identity. Foreigners who decide to be PRs here will eventually give birth to Singaporeans. What we don't know yet is how these new generation Singaporeans will turn out to be.


The crux of this matter, as I see it, is the conflicting interest of the preservation of the Singaporean heritage/culture and economic growth/ sustainable development. Like I said, I'd rather Singaporeans sacrifice a little for more welfare instead of being so economically driven. There's no perfect political system, but one with more heart would be nice.

I pray Lord that it will all pan out just fine. Meanwhile, I'm grateful I'm living in comfort and everything I have at present albeit disgruntled at the high cost of living etc.



Regards,
Kareen

Apology from Balakrishnan?

I'd wanted to sign a petition after reading this, but realised I had to pay like $2 for that (which I totally would! If not for the fact that I don't have ibanking or paypal account).

kareen lee:

Isn't YOG supposedly an event for good publicity?
I resent that it proves otherwise.
The food poisoning incident confirms my growing distaste for how it is handled (The Temasek Review 2010).

I used to be ignorant of the politics here partly owing to the fact that I've always believed in PAP. Now, my eyes are opened wide and quite upsetting to learn of the rather appalling 'truth'.
Please have the citizens' interest at heart. Isn't that in your job description?

I just did an essay on HRM on competence.
Competency is defined as the knowledge and personality possessed by a person, together with what he does, that relates to superior performance (McEvoy et al. 2005).

I'm sorry to say that you have displayed horrifying lack of knowledge of what it's really like with the 'mere mortals or less than mortals if you please', your attempt to cover up the food poisoning incident says a lot about your personality and behavioural traits (though you'd recently renewed your marriage vows which I thought was sweet), and evidently, what you are doing or saying now (and before. e.g."How much do you want? You want three meals in a hawker centre, food court, or restaurant") is just... I don't even have a word to describe it. I don't want to be sued for directing "defamatory" remarks.

Hence, I'm sorry to tell you, based on the above accounts. It's legitimate to deduce that you are incompetent.

Cheers to a brighter future for Singapore. We need new leaders please. NEXT!


References:
McEvoy, GM Hayton, JC Warnick, AP Mumford, T Hanks, SH & Blahna, MJ 2005, „A competency-based model for developing human resource professionals‟, Journal of Management Education, vol. 29, pp. 383–402.

The Temasek Review, 2010, viewed on 23 August 2010, [http://www.temasekreview.com]

Rolls eyes

It's the bi-monthly Lim family gathering. ie- When my mom's siblings gather round for a sumptuous dinner.
This time, it's held at my home, and ve iz hadz home-cooked meal :D

I overheard this convo-

Second aunt: Roy (my big uncle's eldest interior designer/contractor son) did the design and renovation for your home right?

Mom: *gives a nod*

Second aunt repeats.

Mom: Yes. *continues to busy herself with the crockery*

Me: *rolls eyes whilst my back was facing her*

This less-than-enthu reaction from both of us stems from (if u dont know) this incident.

I recalled having to come home to a room full of drilling, dust and wooden shavings etc. Not to mention, the workers who smelt weird. Back then, we had to live in that mess! I had NO WARDROBE. We had to hang our clothes on a long pole that stretched from my bed's headboard to some mobile cupboard which was suppose to be thrown away!

Thinkin abt it makes me wanna reach out for a cup of water and splash it on Mr-skinny-ass (not that he was invited).

I rmb like after a month when our house was FINALLY done, Mr-Skinny-ass asked my mom if he could bring a couple of clients over to view our flat. My mom obliged. *rolls eyes.

Puh-lease! My mom was the one who designed the flat la. He only gave some "advice" which sucked. I believe he only said them so he could do less work. My mom's designs were not flawed. His was. See la! My fake wall had mould the other time. The stupid fan he installed sucks big time. So expensive summore. And finally, my room is so small!!!

*rolls eyes. Claimed credit for my mom's designs.
The kitchen top is prone to discolouration and scratches. What kind of advice was that?!


I hrd he has a new born. I hope the boy doesnt grow up lookin like his dad or he'll totally look like a rat.

Vhy oh Vhy?!

As some of u might have already guessed as much. I'm worried for the survival of Singaporeans and the future of my country under the "governance" of the Paps.

Let's see... Here's an article


The YOG and the dreams of Singapore's youth
by Eugene K B Tan 05:55 AM Aug 17, 2010

In The Lights of Singapore, prominent local lawyer Roland Braddell observed of the nascent sporting culture in Singapore in 1934: "I know of no sign that points more to a fine future for this town than the new spirit which athletics have introduced".

Last Saturday, the inaugural Youth Olympics Games (YOG) kicked off with the rousing, grand opening ceremony at the Marina Bay floating platform.

The YOG propels Singapore to centrestage; indeed, the world is in global city Singapore.



By the time the Games conclude, the world and Singaporeans would have been exposed to a continuous parade of young athletes demonstrating attributes such as excellence, vitality, speed, strength, endurance, elegance, coordination, beauty as well as team play and sportsmanship. They will surely evoke expressions of nationalistic pride here and abroad. Cheering on our own athletes on home soil will stir the emotional connection between the average Singaporean, the national athlete and the country.

How many of "our own athletes" are really OUR OWN athletes???

In July, it was reported that the YOG would cost $387 million, more than three times the initial estimate of $104 million. No doubt, this is the most prominent and expensive international event that Singapore has hosted.

Such budgeting should be held accountable! We demand transparency for this amount spent!!!

Cracks me up all the time. Esp the "oh yeah oh yeah oh yeah, HEY!"

Never mind that the YOG still lacks the glam factor and the economic returns are unproven. So, amid the hype, it's pertinent to ask: Why did Singapore commit such a big investment in the YOG?

Iz haz a scared if this really fails. That would be $387millions wasted!!! :'(

The YOG provides an unprecedented platform to signal Singapore's arrival as a global cosmopolitan, dynamic and successful city that is pulsating with ideas, passion and commitment. The YOG provides that crucial stamp of recognition and external validation.

I totally agree but only if the "prudence" of the Paps pays off.

Furthermore, there is deep symbolic meaning at work. Of particular significance is the central narrative of youth and their intimate role in Singapore's destiny.

We do care. So we need CHANGE!

The YOG celebrates Singapore's youths, and their being the harbinger of its future.

This massive effort to showcase the Republic and its youth is also about boldly reinforcing public opinion - particularly among young Singaporeans themselves - that this country is abuzz with dynamism, cosmopolitanism and vibrancy.

Check out the online poll CNA conducted!



Why this outreach to and engagement of our youth? One major impetus is to ensure that young Singaporeans, who are more footloose and accustomed to the good life, are better rooted here even in a globalised world.

With young Singaporeans increasingly mobile and brimming with post-material aspirations, the YOG offers the opportunity to reach out to and cajole young citizens to be part of this world-class endeavour. The YOG provides the segue to capture the imagination of young Singaporeans via the world stage.



LIVE THEIR DREAMS HERE

But it is wholly inadequate for Singapore to be just a place with its "happening" buffet of a colourful night-life, rich cultural offerings and a remade skyline. All global cities can do that and more. Instead, the ultimate message is the subtle: "This is home where you can live your dreams here".

For this to materialise, Singapore youths urgently need to be cognitively and affectively connected to Singapore. They are encouraged to adopt active lifestyles while playing active roles in their communities. One of the multifaceted utility of sports is that it is both an activity and a language that young people can identify with.

Despite Singapore's size and constraints, the YOG can provide it the credentials and bragging rights as a maturing nation-state that is confident of itself and its future - with young Singaporeans spearheading the nation's perpetual transformation.

Add to that the clarion call, targeted at the young, to reconceptualise the mythic and materialistic "Singapore Dream" that is gaining prominence in socio-political discourse here. Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong had asked earlier this month if, "at this stage of Singapore's development, should we still be spinning this dream of 5Cs (cash, credit cards, car, condominium, and country club membership)? Should we not re-think our priorities? Should our young not aim at something different, something more meaningful, a life more fulfilling?"

In essence, the YOG is not just about the YOG only. This showcase and celebration of youth, alongside the narratives of cosmopolitanism, excellence and success, aims to catalyse greater emotional bonding among young Singaporeans towards Singapore.

IMO, Singapore is not ready for this event. The number of local supporters (who are not coerced to being one) is disheartening. The govt needs take a breath, seek out the root of the problem and analyse what's happening internally. All these so-called achievements would mean nothing if most Singaporeans, instead of feeling proud, perceive this exorbitant expense to be a mockery! Why doesn't the govt open their eyes and SEE for themselves. They're not only blind. They're completely deaf (Lim Swee Say) and they choose to be that way. It sickens me.

IZ UNLIKE TO INFINITY.

And the call to live our dreams with Singapore as home must resonate with our youths, if Singapore is to continue to thrive.



The writer is assistant professor of law at the School of Law, Singapore Management University. He was the team manager of Singapore's national swim team at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

Iz haz a thought

Pork's organising a gathering next week and asked for us to RSVP. Thinkin I'd be meeting the girls, I readily agreed. But iz not! Iz meeting the guys too and I had to decline. Reason being, I can't afford spending time and money on "gatherings" like this which are, to put it bluntly for lack of a better word (or tactful), Superficial.
YEZ. iz superficial. We meet, talk about what-nots that I wouldn't even remember after we separate ways. Iz not quality time spent! I dunno, it's just... redundant.

Pork later sent me this : "Let's plan a girls' outing say 3rd sept? 27th Aug cant coz Jess and Wen going Natas fair. 10th sept I wan2 leave for Alfie. I hrd Ping gg HK w David in Sept too but nt sure when."

-_-

Heh.

The old me would've felt depressed from reading that coz it seems like out of that circle of friends, singlehood would prove to be MISERABLE becoz let's face it, nobody wants to be the odd one out.

Now that I've Robsie (thank God for ROBSIE!)... I haz a happee. Not that I've ever felt pressured to have a boyfriend (ok, maybe a little but iz teeny wee bit only).

But still depressing. I iz swamped with projects but dey iz goings and planning to go oh holiday?!
Let's not forget there's no way I'm going to have a holiday this year coz
1. No Church camp this June due to Chinese Bible Lectureship
2. Mom's going to Beijing this Oct WITHOUT me.
3. I iz haz a broke. and iz haz a scared of traveling without my mom. (Don't ask me why but the last time I went overseas wihtout my mom, I felt Meeserable.)


*sigh*


iz haz a sianz.


Alritey. Back to "bad apples" and "bad barrels".

iz haz a touched

Iz likes x10000000000000

I haz a power

Dear Diary,

Todae, I haz a happee. I haz found A power.

Todae, I haz a infected at leest 3 udderz to speak lolspeak.


LOLSpeak foreva!

Iz haz a mezzy

Time: 2200hrs
Survey: Floor





Items not belonging:

- Stack of Women's Magazines
- Spread out notes on ze floor
- Bags
- Overflowing box of cosmetics and skincare


Time:2205
Survey: Desk top




Items not belonging:

- Er... where do I start?





I iz muz clear up ze mess!

EFFING ANNOYING

I had been researching like 9 hours straight and I could only find like less than 40% of the information I need becoz

1) My freakin Adobe reader has some problem I cant read all pdf files. wth.
2) Everything requires money. Ones tupid data report can cost up to USD 1,900. WTH?!
3) Dammit I cant use outdated data. Which means anything before 2005 is considered irrelevant.

FML



And woe be unto me coz tmr is my supposed deadline in which I've to consolidate GM darft report.
AND SM report.


FML!!!!!!!

And it doesnt help that I was sick on thurs AND yesterday so I couldnt get anything done.

And non-stop housework chores to do in preparation for the stupid thing we have at home on Monday.

TSK.

Whatever

TSK.

FINE! IGNORE ME!

*angry*

I hate ppl who call themselves a "friend" but when they've got something else going on for them, they wouldnt go further than the pleasantries of replying "I'm good" when u ask about them. (Please note that they haven't the decency to reciprocate ur "how are you" by asking about u.)

Ah well.. Beats having NO replies at all.



Gots a new zit. No, two. No... four.
Damit.

Sch's a bummer.