Great And Inspiring National Day Rally Speech by PM Lee

I must have to say the National Day Rally Speech this year is the best ever.

EVERY National Day, filled with pride and gratitude, I count the nation's blessings.

Ravaged by Sars five years ago, Singapore now continues to enjoy a robust remaking.

Our education system continues to be transformed. Our present institutes of technical education are the polytechnics of yesteryear, our present polytechnics, the universities of the past.
Given time, our current universities will surely achieve international Ivy League status.

A First World economy; a leader in financial and medical services, information technology and biomedical research; a sovereign wealth fund, with two entities among the top seven; rated first among 131 countries in 'public trust of politicians' and 'transparency of government policy making' by the World Economic Forum; with a vibrant arts scene and Formula One night racing next month... Singapore is sizzling.

A global leader in public housing and, arguably, public transport, it is a microcosm of racial and religious harmony.
Does this make us a great nation? I think not, at least not yet. We must improve customer service standards, as a recent study suggested. So too, our 29th spot among 140 nations in the Global Peace Index.
While many factors make a great nation, I suggest one to which we can all contribute - that we live and act by three values that describe the spirit of Singapore: integrity, service and excellence. These are also the core values of the Government.
By practising them as a nation, and not just as a government, we shall be more compassionate to the less fortunate and build a more equitable society.
My birthday wish for Singapore is to celebrate this indomitable Singapore spirit each day, embracing and living with integrity, service and excellence, forging ahead as one nation from good, to great.

As long as taxes are not raised, it is ok

ok la.
some more goodies for the ladies or gals on the way.

bro kansas,they still can collect or get back lots of money from us,in different ways like putting up more ERP and those CISCO will be very hardworking going round issue summons.

>>>I must have to say the National Day Rally Speech this year is the best ever.<<<

Agreed. Lotsa entertainment value.

Inspiring it is!

Very businesslike with lots of chartware.

One point he made abt Car pricing is very interesting. Comparing a Yr 2000 Toyota Corolla (110K) to that of a 2008 model worth only 65k. Good comparison to show that it is really AFFORDABLE now compared to 8yrs ago.

OMV is slightly lower cause import duties and tax is now lower. But he did not mentioned that the price of COE in 2000 was alot higher. S$51 992 for Apr 2000 to be exact for a Toyota Corolla compared to S$12,899 today.

Now that makes a big difference. Nearly 40K difference. We would have continued to pay such high COE premium if not for the LOOPHOLE of export.
Many exported their cars after driving them for a few years and thus recouping the rebates on the unused COE.

So if you really net it out, it is not that much difference with the rebates and higher OMV you would have enjoyed. Also, in 2000, the ERP gantries are not in Toa Payoh and Esplanades with some operating till 10pm at night sucking all your cash card $$.

So when there is a comparison between 2000 and 2008, why the LTA rev has dropped 50%. It is not OMV. It is not car price. BUT COE $$..which needed to be rationalised so that they don't need to reverse out that rev through rebates.

Huh...that he did not show on his charts

To sum it up in one word: Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.....

clinton666 said:

I must have to say the National Day Rally Speech this year is the best ever.

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u pap croony ?! are u sure its that good?
y all the audience fell asleep

And where they get this figure?They got do sums for sat erp or not? I really wish they give us a report for cars passing the erp grantries daily this is what I called transparency.

CAR owners are not losing out despite paying higher Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) charges, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has said.
Motorists have in fact been saving because a recent cut in vehicle road taxes outweighs the extra that they fork out in increased ERP charges.

In an example he shared with the audience on Sunday night, he said an owner of a 1.6 litre Toyota Corolla, for instance, would have paid $874 in road tax and $122 in ERP annually.

This was prior to changes in the ERP rates six weeks ago, and a 15 per cent cut in road tax which took effect last month.

As a result, the motorist will pay $744 in road tax and $198 in ERP charges.

While he pays more in ERP charges, the motorist will still have an overall savings of $54 every year, said Mr Lee.

punter888 said:

And where they get this figure?

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Actually, you have to dig and question every supporting statistic that's reported in the papers. The devil is in the details.