The Ultimate Culprit for Poor SGs' Smell - FAP Traitor PM!

[makapaaa]

[h=3]Proud of my 'poor' Singaporean stench[/h]I was outraged reading this news on TRE: Briton belittles people taking public transport.

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When members of the public asked him why he made those remarks, he apparently deleted his Facebook account, and later posted an apology with a clarification <HERE>.

Although I am shocked by the Briton's remarks, I am not totally surprised. Let me tell you why.

With COEs hovering over the $70,000 mark, and with financing restrictions on motor vehicle loans, it certainly looks like eventually, only the rich would be able to afford and drive cars in Singapore. Already 63 percent of Singaporeans take the public transport now. The Government wants to increase this to 70 percent.

Towards achieving this, the Transport Minister, Mr Lui Tuck Yew said in an interview to Bloomberg TV that the Government "had to take some measures here in Singapore that are both unorthodox and somewhat controversial and expensive."

So while the rich zoom around town unperturbed by ERP increases, car-parking charges and ever-increasing road capacity to cater to their ease of transportation, 63 percent of 'poor' Singaporeans have to cope with over-crowded trains and buses, buses and train that frequently breakdown, public transport which don't arrive on time, and transport fare hikes.

While prime land like Sentosa Cove and Marina Bay become playgrounds for the rich and powerful, the 'poor' gets pushed to the peripherals of Singapore to places like Woodlands, Sembawang and Sengkang. (An article I wrote earlier on this topic is HERE.)

While world leaders like Pope Francis points out that "there is no hard evidence that trickle-down economics has worked for anyone, except the rich", our leaders make comments like this:

“In fact, if I can get another 10 billionaires to move to Singapore and set up their base here, my Gini coefficient will get worse but I think Singaporeans will be better off, because they will bring in business, bring in opportunities, open new doors and create new jobs, and I think that is the attitude with which we must approach this problem.” <LINK>​

Why, by pegging their salaries to the top 1000 earners in Singapore, our political leaders seem to be identifying more with the well-off than with the common man on the street.

Do you still remember, "Please, get out of my elite uncaring face"?

No, I am not saying that all the filthy rich are smug, but when the rich and powerful have better (unfair?) advantage in domains like transportation, land allocation, and education, it is quite easy for them to remain aloof and adopt an elitist mindset - to lose touch with the aspirations and challenges of the ordinary Singaporean.

My worry is, that there may be far too many among the filthy rich who feel like the Briton, but only make such comments in their closed circles.

But as for me, I am proud of my stench - the stench of a "poor", ordinary Singaporean, and am also proud of the sacrifices my mom had made in raising me!

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Article was edited after it was published. Considering the Briton's apology, I have removed the Youtube video.

 

[makapaaa]

From THE ONLINE CITIZEN:
[h=2]About respecting people and blending in[/h]

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January 24
[SIZE=+0]08:00[/SIZE][SIZE=+0]2014[/SIZE]

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Pamela Lim is an entrepreneur and entrepreneurship lecturer. This article first appeared on her Facebook page. We thank Pamela for allowing us to re-publish it in full.
He pulled my sleeve and told me to boldly cross the busy street when we were in Hong Kong, telling me that he is “Kwai Lo” (Hong Kong term for expat) and nobody will dare run him down. And he was right. The van screeched to a halt and we made it across the street safely. I turned to apologize to the driver but he just waddled off. I was shocked that he was so confident that he would get the same treatment in any Asian country, since he has worked in Hong Kong, Manila and Singapore. For the first time, I regretted employing him as our CFO.
That evening, we had dinner and I apologized that he waited for five minutes and mentioned it was bad manners. He told me he expected no manners or etiquette from Chinese, since we spit into the bowls we eat out of. Though I was angry, I just smiled politely. And that is the problem. Because we choose to be polite, people like him think we are stupid. Because we are not confrontational, we are weak. That was the last C-level Brit I have ever employed when I was running my companies.
At our annual meeting a few years back, our outgoing President made a remark that set everyone in the room laughing. His remark was, “Singaporeans can’t write.” I wasn’t sure if that was a joke or a criticism. And when he said that, I looked around the room to search for some kind of reaction, since it was a room full of academics who depended on their writing to make a living. But they just laughed, as politely as I did when I was told I had no table etiquette even before I sat at the table.
I think SOME (not all) people who are not familiar with our culture have clearly misunderstood us. Singaporeans and Asians in general are polite and non-confrontational people, even in the face of insults. While MOST westerners are polite and know their limits, SOME think that we agree with them simply because we do not violently disagree. I see this at the work place, in the university, and in my own companies.
I believe if one wants to work or live in a foreign land, he needs to learn to respect the people of the land, and not categorize people or things according to his standards. So what if our food requires us to take bones out in the middle of a meal? So what if we use our cutlery differently? So what if we dress in our smartest office wear and eat humbly with anyone in a hawker center? So what if our kids do not get to play outside? So what if our accent sounds wrong? So what if we like our coffee in a plastic bag? So what if our secretaries in the office are obliging and willing to make your coffee? So what if we write differently? So what if we have less opportunities in our education because our country was poor when we were young? So what if we like to dress simply and take our public transport?
If you are a foreigner in Singapore, here’s a little tip: You have no right to mindlessly throw insults just because we are too polite to tell you off. You shouldn’t think that you can fool us with lies, excuses and half-truths, since we can see through these, and just don’t want to make you look bad. You shouldn’t measure us with your yardsticks because if we measure them against ours, you will fail badly as well.
If any foreigner can make an attempt to blend in, we will receive him with open arms. But if he cannot respect our people, our culture and our habits, please go home. We bear no grudges. Hopefully a better place with better opportunities awaits him.

 

[Leongsam]

“In fact, if I can get another 10 billionaires to move to Singapore and set up their base here, my Gini coefficient will get worse but I think Singaporeans will be better off, because they will bring in business, bring in opportunities, open new doors and create new jobs, and I think that is the attitude with which we must approach this problem.”​

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I fully agree with this statement. I have seen it work in the Bay Area CA while I lived there for more than 3 years at the beginning of the tech boom.

The multimillionaires that venture capital benefitted everyone from cafe owners to car dealers to valet parking attendants.

The multi millionaires that created more seed capital for the next wave to start.

 

[Agoraphobic]

The forces that leads towards this attitude is fed by Singapore's own advertisements for finer living with statments like, "..... for those whoe have arrived....." It seems to work, saleswise.

Cheers!

[h=3].................

While prime land like Sentosa Cove and Marina Bay become playgrounds for the rich and powerful, the 'poor' gets pushed to the peripherals of Singapore to places like Woodlands, Sembawang and Sengkang............