PAP has failed miserably

[tyudm]

As a governing entity, it has an easy job to do running a small nation with a very pliant and obedient citizenry and friendly neighbours. Wish I joined them, I'd have a big fat salary and an easy job.

Cheers!

Can't agree more. They are only good in governing small nation.
As the population grows and with the reclaimed land , the nation also grow.
Before they reach 6.9, we have so many shows.

 

[Leongsam]

In Ozzie and New Zealand as long a car has 4 wheels can take you from
point A to Point B! good enough! Practicality and not prestige!

Life in fast lane for some ... and dead end for others

By David Linklater
12:00 PM Saturday Jan 11, 2014

The Toyota Corolla was New Zealand's top-selling passenger vehicle last year with its Hilux (below) the top selling commercial for 2013.


WINNERS

TOYOTA NEW ZEALAND
No surprise here, but it still has to be said: Toyota continues to utterly dominate the New Zealand new-vehicle market. The Japanese brand was top in 2013 for the 26th consecutive year, with a 19.6 per cent share of the market. Second-placed Ford has closed the gap a little, but it's still a really big gap: the Blue Oval achieved an 11 per cent share.

It was a booming year for the Kiwi new-vehicle market overall, with 113,117 registrations, a 12.2 per cent increase over 2012. Commercials were particularly strong (level with small cars as the most popular vehicle type) and enjoyed their highest December ever.

<nzh-inline-image id="12430715" position="left">Toyota had the model range to take advantage of this sales dynamic. Still, the evergreen Hilux came under intense pressure from the Ford Ranger for the top light commercial sales spot and indeed, the Blue Oval almost made history by ending three decades of Hilux supremacy. But Toyota triumphed in the end, albeit by the slimmest of margins: 5041 registrations, compared with 4924 for the Ranger.
</nzh-inline-image>
Hilux was also the second-best-selling model of any type for 2013. The first? Toyota Corolla of course.

GLASS CEILING SMASHERS
Admittedly, the glass ceilings at car companies are made of strong stuff. But here's some progress: in December came an announcement that Mary Barra would take over as chief executive officer of General Motors, the first female boss of a major carmaker.

<nzh-inline-image id="12430752" position="right">GM is also now the biggest company in America to have a woman in its top job. Former chief executive Dan Akerson did leave Barra with quite a to-do list. As 2013 drew to a close he said GM would withdraw the Chevrolet brand from Europe in 2016 and shut down Australian manufacturing in 2018. Onward and upward.
</nzh-inline-image>
FANS OF ICONIC SPORTS CARS
Two legendary super-sports car brands were launched in New Zealand in 2013.
<nzh-inline-image id="12430754" position="left">The Giltrap Group brought McLaren home to Auckland with a new distributorship and showroom in Grey Lynn, the 50th outlet for the brand in the 50th anniversary year of McLaren.
</nzh-inline-image>
It's also the ninth in the Asia Pacific region, as McLaren establishes a global footprint for its burgeoning range of cars.few years, but Australasian importer Ateco Automotive reckoned the future was bright enough to launch a new showroom in Auckland last year. The new facility in Newmarket is selling the Elise, Exige and Evora.

VOLKSWAGEN
<nzh-inline-image id="12430757" position="right">Volkswagen really cleaned up this year with its seventh-generation Golf. It picked up a plethora of local awards, including Driven Car of the Year and New Zealand Car of the Year (from a panel of Motoring Writers' Guild members, including Driven journalists, and the AA), as well as some major international ones - European Car of the Year and Japan Car of the Year.
</nzh-inline-image>
It was the first time that the latter award has gone to a non-Japanese brand.

LOSERS

AUSTRALIAN CAR INDUSTRY
So much has been said on this subject already, but 2013 will be remembered as the year that Ford and Holden called time on Australian manufacturing.

In May, Ford said it would cease Australian manufacturing operations in 2016. Holden was bullish about its future Australian-built models at the time: it had to be, as it was busy launching the VF Commodore.

In December Holden said its Australian manufacturing would end by 2017. That just leaves Toyota making cars in Australia. At present it is struggling to make a business case to build the next-generation Camry from 2018.

Mitsubishi ceased production across the Tasman in 2008, while Nissan Australia closed its factory doors back in 1992.

SIME DARBY AUTOMOBILES NEW ZEALAND

Sime Darby Automobiles (SDA) New Zealand lost three brands last year.

The launch of Fiat Chrysler New Zealand in May signalled the end of a long struggle by SDA to hold on to the Chrysler Jeep Dodge (CJD) distributorship it had held since 2009.

Fiat Chrysler head office is on a mission to unite distributorships for its various brands around the world. For SDA, the ideal scenario would have been to pick up Fiat and Alfa Romeo from existing distributor Ateco Automotive, to join its CJD operation.

That was not to be. In February, the announcement came that CJD would leave Sime Darby and join the Italian brands at a new company, Fiat Chrysler New Zealand, a partnership

between Ateco owner Neville Crichton and former Fiat Chrysler Australia boss Clyde Campbell. A confusing state of affairs, but ultimately a major disappointment for SDA.

In terms of new-car brands, that left SDA with Peugeot and (as of February) sister brand Citroen, which had moved across from Ateco at the behest of the French factory - a move unconnected with the CJD changes.

ECO-CAR INNOVATORS
Last year, two companies with big dreams about greener motoring pulled the plug on their operations.
<nzh-inline-image id="12430717" position="left">
Better Place, founded in 2007, wanted to establish a network of battery switching stations for electric vehicles (EVs). It partnered with Renault, which produced a version of the Fluence sedan compatible with the technology.
</nzh-inline-image>
The idea was that when your EV battery ran flat you pulled into a Better Place station and it was replaced with a fresh one. The technology was similar to that used to load missiles on to fighter jets.

By 2012 there were 21 operational battery swap stations in Israel (where the company was based) and Denmark, and about 1400 Better Place-compatible Fluences on the road.

Still, that was a bit short of the company's projection of 100,000 such vehicles on the road within three years.

Better Place was deep in debt and liquidated in 2013.

Fisker, maker of the high-tech Karma plug-in hybrid, also finally ran out of juice in 2013.

Launched in 2009 with a conditional loan of $528 million from the American government, the company had plans to produce not only the Karma luxury sedan but also a lower-price, higher-volume model from 2012.

Karma was the ultimate glamour green car: Hollywood star and hybrid early-adopter Leonardo DiCaprio was an investor and brand ambassador.
The Karma was critically acclaimed but plagued by problems, including a launch delayed by two years, technical problems and plain bad luck, such as when an entire shipment of cars for Europe was destroyed by Hurricane Sandy in October 2012.

Fisker was also hauled into court as questions arose about why the government had committed so much money to a venture aimed at the fortunate few.

Hong Kong company Hybrid Technology acquired Fisker's government loan in October 2013 and the carmaker filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November. If the Chapter 11 case is approved in court this month, Hybrid Technology will probably acquire Fisker in its entirety.

VOLKSWAGEN
It might have conquered Car of the Year in so many ways in 2013, but the Volkswagen brand took some big hits as well. First there was the global recall of some cars fitted with

DSG transmissions (2008-11 models): the problem centred around an electronic fault which could cause cars to lose power unexpectedly.
This highly publicised issue undermined VW's reputation for supreme reliability. It also created hysteria in Australia, as it was linked to a fatal road accident in Victoria in 2011, in which it was thought a woman's 2008 (manual-transmission) Golf may have lost power before being hit from behind. A coroner later ruled there was no fault with the car.

There were more recalls later in the year, again for DSG transmissions, as well as fixes for a fuse on the Tiguan and fuel line modifications on the Amarok. Minor issues, but proof that you can't win all the time in the automotive industry.

By David Linklater

Copyright ©2014, APN Holdings NZ Limited

 

[Leongsam]

In Sinkeipore there's group of cyclists only cycle Pinarello Dogma these bastard cyclists
are the arrogant lot, if u are new and just join them no one will talk to you unless you bought
everything top end, that will cost you $20K, than they will accept you as their group!!

The Kiwi Junior World Champ won the race on an alloy frame and a Shimano 105 groupset. No point having flash gear if your legs can't do the talking.

 

[Satyr]

Singapore is one of the most successful nations on earth. The government must be pretty fantastic.

Like all pretty fantastic things when it becomes undone people will wonder why they did not see it coming. Except we did.

 

[eatshitndie]

Hoi .... how come you left out Volvo ?:o

volvo is now owned by tiong thus too cheena. vulva more like it. :p

 

[streetsmart73]

many sinkies are suffering from stocholm syndrome and continue to vote for PAP and continue to be screwed by PAP

hi there


1. good one.
2. there is always some loser born yesterday, today and tomorrow.
3. dafter sheep that needs to be instructed, led and of course pay expensively for the foolery.

 

[Cerebral]

I don't understand why so many misguided people keep saying that the PAP has failed when all the indices point to the fact that Singapore is one of the richest countries on earth.

Just because some people fail doesn't mean the government is at fault.

In any scenario, there will be failures. For example, when I was in school, we had very good teachers and the school produced many scholars annually. However, there were still students who failed and that was because they were either lazy, stupid or both.

No school can guarantee 100% passes and no country can guarantee 100% success for everyone. There will always be losers.

I assume you are referring to per capita gdp. Do not forget that sg is a export led economy, meaning the gdp is not a reflection of its people's wealth.

Leong sze hian has recently released an article on tge bottom 20% and it was abysmal.

If you are referring to our over-flowing coffers, then think again. We are not sure if there's any left in the piggy bank.

Every Singaporean is beset with tons of debts, hence Moody's downgrade. So which part is pointing to us being wealthy?

 

[zhihau]

The government creates the conditions that are conducive to success. The rest is up to the people.

yah, don't throw them crutches, right?

 

[Leongsam]

I assume you are referring to per capita gdp. Do not forget that sg is a export led economy, meaning the gdp is not a reflection of its people's wealth.

Leong sze hian has recently released an article on tge bottom 20% and it was abysmal.

If you are referring to our over-flowing coffers, then think again. We are not sure if there's any left in the piggy bank.

Every Singaporean is beset with tons of debts, hence Moody's downgrade. So which part is pointing to us being wealthy?

Singapore has more millionaires per capita than anywhere else in the world so it has to be doing something right.

And take a look at the car sales figures. Where else in the world would Mercedes and BMW top the car sales charts in a country where a car costs 3 times more than anywhere else on earth.

When it comes to foreign exchange reserves, we are number 11 in the WORLD despite being a tiny nation of only 690sqkm.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_foreign-exchange_reserves

People like Leong Sze Hian may continue to bleat about the plight of the bottom echelons of society because it suits his agenda but in reality the bottom 20% aren't important as they'll never be a factor in determining the destiny of the country. These are the flotsam and jetsam of society ie worthless encumbrances that Singapore has no choice but to put up with.

 

[tyudm]

No difference whatsoever. A school provides the infrastructure and the guidance and creates the opportunities to excel. The students then have to put in the hard work and perseverance and make a success of their lives. If they fail, they have only themselves to blame.

A country is exactly the same. The government creates the conditions that are conducive to success. The rest is up to the people.

The difference is, the government is obscenely paid to do a job efficiently and diligently. The student, if he failed, will not be paid very much higher than what a cleaner gets.
The govt failed to provide adequate infrastructure in their unscrupulous scheme to bring in new voters.
At the same time, no proper guidelines were provided to the respective ministries when the FT floodgate was open.
Housing, hospitals, schools, transport, dormitories, recreational areas for FT congregation...etc were all caught off-guard.
The only thing conducive is the short cuts for the rich and famous to obtain citizenship.

 

[tyudm]

Singapore has more millionaires per capita than anywhere else in the world so it has to be doing something right.

And take a look at the car sales figures. Where else in the world would Mercedes and BMW top the car sales charts in a country where a car costs 3 times more than anywhere else on earth.

Do you have the figure on how many millionaires were imported and how many are associated with the Lee family?
Do you also have the breakdown on how many of those luxury cars you illustrated were bought by locals and new citizens?

 

[Leongsam]

The difference is, the government is obscenely paid to do a job efficiently and diligently. The student, if he failed, will not be paid very much higher than what a cleaner gets.
The govt failed to provide adequate infrastructure in their unscrupulous scheme to bring in new voters.
At the same time, no proper guidelines were provided to the respective ministries when the FT floodgate was open.
Housing, hospitals, schools, transport, dormitories, recreational areas for FT congregation...etc were all caught off-guard.
The only thing conducive is the short cuts for the rich and famous to obtain citizenship.

Singapore has one of the best infrastructures in the whole world so I really don't know what you're on about.

It was ranked number 3 in the world in 2011

http://www.photius.com/rankings/infrastructure_quality_country_rankings_2011.html

This site ranks Singapore at number 2 in the world http://www.rediff.com/business/slid...tries-with-best-infrastructure/20130312.htm#3

A German site ranks Singapore at number 3 in the world http://www.gtai.de/GTAI/Navigation/...-germany/Business-climate/infrastructure.html

http://www.businessinsider.com.au/countries-with-better-infrastructure-2013-3?op=1#2-singapore-23 ranks Singapore at number 2 in the world.

http://www.indexmundi.com/facts/indicators/IQ.WEF.PORT.XQ/rankings ranks port infrastructure of Singapore at number ONE in the world.

http://top5ofanything.com/index.php?h=ef123c0d Singapore rated number 3.

 

[AhMeng]

Singapore has one of the best infrastructures in the whole world so I really don't know what you're on about.

It was ranked number 3 in the world in 2011

http://www.photius.com/rankings/infrastructure_quality_country_rankings_2011.html

This site ranks Singapore at number 2 in the world http://www.rediff.com/business/slid...tries-with-best-infrastructure/20130312.htm#3

A German site ranks Singapore at number 3 in the world http://www.gtai.de/GTAI/Navigation/...-germany/Business-climate/infrastructure.html

http://www.businessinsider.com.au/countries-with-better-infrastructure-2013-3?op=1#2-singapore-23 ranks Singapore at number 2 in the world.

http://www.indexmundi.com/facts/indicators/IQ.WEF.PORT.XQ/rankings ranks port infrastructure of Singapore at number ONE in the world.

http://top5ofanything.com/index.php?h=ef123c0d Singapore rated number 3.

Infrastructure can feed the poor?
Of course you going to tell me that they are poor because they are stupid blah blah blah...

But being TOP 3 at what price?

Why dun you bloody come back if you think SGP is so good

 

[Leongsam]

Do you have the figure on how many millionaires were imported and how many are associated with the Lee family?
Do you also have the breakdown on how many of those luxury cars you illustrated were bought by locals and new citizens?

Read http://www.forbes.com/sites/neerjaj...-fastest-in-the-world-to-become-millionaires/

The diversity simply proves that Singapore is a great place to make money no matter who you are or where you are from. It's testament to the sound policies of the PAP govt.

 

[Leongsam]

Infrastructure can feed the poor?
Of course you going to tell me that they are poor because they are stupid blah blah blah...

I don't know how many times I have to say this but the poor simply don't factor when it comes to formulating sound policies. Feeding them wouldn't help matters. All it would do is to encourage them to breed further.

In order to develop winners, policies need to be formulated to develop those who are talented and motivated. Policies that reward losers will do nothing but encourage more losers.

 

[tyudm]

Singapore has one of the best infrastructures in the whole world so I really don't know what you're on about.

It was ranked number 3 in the world in 2011

http://www.photius.com/rankings/infrastructure_quality_country_rankings_2011.html

This site ranks Singapore at number 2 in the world http://www.rediff.com/business/slid...tries-with-best-infrastructure/20130312.htm#3

A German site ranks Singapore at number 3 in the world http://www.gtai.de/GTAI/Navigation/...-germany/Business-climate/infrastructure.html

http://www.businessinsider.com.au/countries-with-better-infrastructure-2013-3?op=1#2-singapore-23 ranks Singapore at number 2 in the world.

http://www.indexmundi.com/facts/indicators/IQ.WEF.PORT.XQ/rankings ranks port infrastructure of Singapore at number ONE in the world.

http://top5ofanything.com/index.php?h=ef123c0d Singapore rated number 3.

There is this famous American who ran a ponzi scam to cheat in stocks and equities...I can't remember his name.
The fact is, he was extremely rich but the truth is, he is a cheat.

The facts you put forward are still facts but the truth is, PAP has failed now.

 

[Equalisation]

It is without a doubt that they have failed through the past 20 years !

There is an urgent need to summon Captain America once again ! :o

 

[Leongsam]

There is this famous American who ran a ponzi scam to cheat in stocks and equities...I can't remember his name.
The fact is, he was extremely rich but the truth is, he is a cheat.

The facts you put forward are still facts but the truth is, PAP has failed now.

People who run Ponzi schemes are not rich. They have negative equity.

When it comes to infrastructure, there is no way of cheating. It's either there or it isn't.

You keep claiming that the PAP has "failed" but exactly what yardstick are you using? My yardstick is to compare Singapore with other first world countries and having experienced life in NZ, USA, UK and OZ, I'd have to say that they have been spectacularly successful in comparison.

However, the PAP members cannot walk on water or fly like superman. They are still mortal at the end of the day so "failure" is relative.

 

[AhMeng]

I don't know how many times I have to say this but the poor simply don't factor when it comes to formulating sound policies. Feeding them wouldn't help matters. All it would do is to encourage them to breed further.

In order to develop winners, policies need to be formulated to develop those who are talented and motivated. Policies that reward losers will do nothing but encourage more losers.

So do u suggest that we should cull all the poor people?

 

[Leongsam]

So do u suggest that we should cull all the poor people?

I'm not saying they should be culled as that is rather inhumane. However, I do believe the law of natural selection should be allowed to take its natural course.

Amongst the motley crew of under achievers, a handful will realise the error of their ways and rise to the occasion and become very successful.