Japanese prove MM Lee WRONG

[rodent2005]

LKY is prepared to spend $11 Billion or 6% of GDP on defence in PEACE TIME conditions yet can be SO STINGY and unwilling to spend more on upgrading drainage infrastructure.

LKY had NO QUALMS or hesitation whatsoever about the expense in retrofitting a SIA plane to specially fly his stroke stricken wife from UK back to S'pore ASAP. Would SIA or the PAP govt do the same if an ordinary S'porean bloke in UK were to suffer a stroke?

PAP has no problem spending $40m in grants and subvention every year on loss making Esplanade. I don't think Esplanade has ever made a surplus since it started, and it was like many years ago.

 

[Goh Meng Seng]

Holland is an area which is BELOW sea-level and yet is NOT flooded because of engineering intervention.

I have heard about Holland's case but yet to do any research on it. Maybe you or someone here could provide some details.

So I gather that the reasons why LKY had spouted his crap about: "No Amount of Engineering can make S'pore flood free must be:
1. He had BAD advice from inexperienced NUS engineers or
2. Third rate foreign talent engineers who can't get employment or rejected in their own countries said it can't be done.
3. Not willing to spend money upgrading drainage infrastructure.
4. He thinks he is cleverer than all the engineers in the world because HE alone knows best, everybody is IGNORANT.

It is really sad that we are paying TOP HIGHEST salary to our ministers and yet they lack that kind of fighting spirit and care for the citizens.

Yes, from the speech made by PM Lee, it seems that they are not willing to spend money to upgrade the drainage infrastructure. PM Lee did not say it is impossible to spend money to prevent floods but just that it is "too expensive". However, he did not tell us how expensive it is to do it.

In the end, his father has to come out and declare we cannot overcome such "act of God"!

We pay top dollars for ministers and we expect top and extraordinary performance from them! But so far, these COG (Caught Off Guard) ministers are really disappointing.

Goh Meng Seng

 

[drifter]

Agreed, i was in Tokyo many times, even when i saw on tv heavy rain and floods in Tokyo, my area only had some rain and i still managed to get to many parts of town without seeing any of the reported flooding. The main areas are really well designed and i must say, well engineered. I have spoken to a few of my learned Korean friends who are in the construction line in SG.

They were very surprised by the claim that engineering cannot help to prevent the flood. They then said to me, then why is the government claiming the marina barrage can relieve flooding??

sad to say that alot of singaporean just believe the news ....media is always misleading .

 

[borom]

The saddest part is that we have not heard a single word from our so called
"world class " universities here.

Whilst the man in the street are debating the issue, the engineering faculties in our universities have nor uttered a single word in public on this matter.

Just compare this with the many experts on property prices (mainly real estate agents) who almost on a weekly basis claim in the ST that prices will be going up.

Our education system is a failure as it merely serves to emasculate the so called educated by overloading them with work.

 

[Teo Kok Eng]

Whilst the man in the street are debating the issue, the engineering faculties in our universities have nor uttered a single word in public on this matter.

Good point I'm looking forward to hear from these "world class" professors who happened to draw top salaries too.

 

[Cestbon]

LKY lie.
Close one eye on Ho Jinx losing billions of $$$.
Doen't want to spend money on flood prevention.
Japan have G-cans
http://www.ktr.mlit.go.jp/edogawa/project/g-cans/frame_index.html

Malaysia have smart tunnel
http://www.smarttunnel.com.my/

 

[Ramseth]

I have heard about Holland's case but yet to do any research on it. Maybe you or someone here could provide some details.

Simple geographic commonsense and engineering. Holland built dams to block seawater from flowing and flooding inwards. Their cities are named Amsterdam, Rotterdam etc. after the dams that enabled these cities to be built and survive. Their flood danger is from the sea. Singapore flood danger is from the rain. Holland is temperate lowland. Singapore is tropical island. There's a difference. Singapore built barrage to block freshwater from flowing outwards to create a rivermouth reservoir. In times of heavy rainfalls, you go imagine. No matter how high tide, the sea cannot flood Singapore, only the rain can. In Holland, no dam means flood no matter how low the tide because most of it is below sea level anyway.

 

[myo539]

Holland is an area which is BELOW sea-level and yet is NOT flooded because of engineering intervention.

Hello, I was in Holland but never experienced any "extraordinary" rain. The Dutch have no fear of rain because it often comes in continuous drizzles usually in winter.

Europe where The Netherlands is located has never experienced the type of monsoons or typhoons or cyclones that this part of the world has. If engineering feats can solve their problems - China, Japan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Bangladesh etc - will never ever have floods every year when the monsoons, typhoons or cyclones come.

LKY is wise and he knows human or engineering has its limitations.

 

[Ramseth]

LKY is wise and he knows human or engineering has its limitations.

It's stretching a bit to call someone who blocks rainwater from flowing out in a monsoon area wise.

 

[kingrant]

Just an aside. Holland is worth a visit and a drive around the countryside to the poulderdykes.

The land is below sea level and you keep forgetting it so that some sights take getting used to. E.g. in Singapore, you have bridges and viaducts for cars, buses and planes over a river. In Holland, it is very common to drive on a country road and suddenly come across a viaduct where a huge boat is crossing to get to the sea or vice versa. In other words, a river over a road.

The Dutch are experts in flood control. Remember the boy who sticks his finger in a dyke to prevent a leak? That's legend from Holland.

Simple geographic commonsense and engineering. Holland built dams to block seawater from flowing and flooding inwards. Their cities are named Amsterdam, Rotterdam etc. after the dams that enabled these cities to be built and survive. Their flood danger is from the sea. Singapore flood danger is from the rain. Holland is temperate lowland. Singapore is tropical island. There's a difference. Singapore built barrage to block freshwater from flowing outwards to create a rivermouth reservoir. In times of heavy rainfalls, you go imagine. No matter how high tide, the sea cannot flood Singapore, only the rain can. In Holland, no dam means flood no matter how low the tide because most of it is below sea level anyway.

 

[RonRon]

The only positive point of GMS being a politician is thick skin

 

[halsey02]

It's stretching a bit to call someone who blocks rainwater from flowing out in a monsoon area wise.

I think you all are missing the point, not seeing the forest for the trees. After so many decades, surely PUB have good engineers to forecast, plan & build infrastructure that ensure flooding do not occur albeit acts of God.

It is either the planning is defective or most likely the 'software' people that are paid millions to manage it are. The picture is clear, the people that are paid obscene amount of salaries have lost their spurs in their hide, are not even hungry, are extremely complecent in the jobs. They became fat & lazy.

It needed a Lee Kuan Yew to set things that are going horribly wrong; and that in fact a very dangerous precedant and this had been repeated many times. How long can Lee Kuan Yew, step in to set it right? Have the current leaders especially the head of the government 'reset' something that had gone wrong?

It is not engineering, nor act of God, it is the people that are paid millions that are wrong & needed badly to be replaced; before some castrophe happened that can be prevented if people had listened & spent time looking after, not just today, tomorrowl but everyday.

We need that kind of, hungry people with spurs in ther hides; if not we ae investing in a future doom.

 

[Goh Meng Seng]

It is not Act of God nor the lack of talent in our million dollar ministers... it is the problem of having a stingy government!

I have just learned that when solutions to any problems which involve increasing FEES and revenue to the government, it will be swiftly implemented: increase parking fees, ERPs... even though the reasoning is so absurd (if you have a car, you need to either park or drive it isn't it?).

But when the solution involves government spending millions or billions without apparent way of getting revenue out from it, then all sorts of excuses will be out... Act of God, it is too expensive, impractical.... etc. They could not charge ERP on water flow on Singaporeans isn't it?

It is all because of MONEY, folks.

Goh Meng Seng

 

[Goh Meng Seng]

The only positive point of GMS being a politician is thick skin

My dear Ron Ron,

How can my skin be thicker to people who are paid millions each year but just push off their responsibilities by saying "caught off guard"? In Hokkien, really "bei paiseh"!

Goh Meng Seng