What i dont like about the pap government

[Manager]

and then there is also the issue of using the HDB upgrade to win votes. if they have foresight, we wouldnt have need to built lifts that stop at every floor now.. it is dur to their lack of foresight that some people doesnt have that facilities and now need to vote for them to get it.. or did the PAP actually had everything planned to use it as a bait to win votes???

 

[Debonerman]

or did the PAP actually had everything planned to use it as a bait to win votes???

You bet they do! The first time I set my eyes on the new HDB block cluster at the corner of Tampines Avenue 7 and Street 45, I said to myself, there goes a future privatisation exercise to increase asset worth! Just built a wall around it. Put up a security post at the gate. Build a swimmiming pool and a tennis court over two of the numerous playgrounds. But you must vote PAP to get it.

 

[Papsmearer]

i am not saying the opposition will be a better choice but
in PAP why everything must run like you are running a business? hospital must make money, housing must make money, public transport also must make money??? why so commercial like???? :oIo:

Because Kuan Yew is a tight fisted money faced hakka Jew?

 

[Debonerman]

Because Kuan Yew is a tight fisted money faced hakka Jew?

After this election, the PAP will start selling Naming Rights to the highest bidder! How about a future Ong Beng Seng SPH Brothel?

 

[Manager]

if that is really the case... then i say they have great foresight but are evil. and we should expose them..
sadly noone besides them will know the true and people are forced to vote for them if they want the "upgrade"
i am really glad i dont live in a hdb..

You bet they do! The first time I set my eyes on the new HDB block cluster at the corner of Tampines Avenue 7 and Street 45, I said to myself, there goes a future privatisation exercise to increase asset worth! But you must vote PAP to get it.

 

[depeche]

Sam talks like MIW...

 

[Manager]

it is ok if sam talks like MIW, i think i can handle that.. so long it is constructive..

Sam talks like MIW...

 

[Leongsam]

SMRT makes over a 100 mil a year. hosptial make millions of dollars a year and still claim they are a not-for profit organisation.. is that correct then?

The cost of rolling stock is astronomical. Do you want SMRT to be stuck with today's technology or do you want to see the Maglev trains which can whisk you from Jurong to Changi airport in 5 minutes.

Same goes with hospitals. The latest imaging and cancer treatment technology can run into hundreds of millions of dollars and equipment goes out of date very quickly. The cutting edge equipment used today will be obsolete in 5 years. Hospitals can't afford to operate on razor thin returns. They have to make healthy profits in order to stay ahead of the game.

 

[Debonerman]

The cost of rolling stock is astronomical. Do you want SMRT to be stuck with today's technology or do you want to see the Maglev trains which can whisk you from Jurong to Changi airport in 5 minutes.

Same goes with hospitals. The latest imaging and cancer treatment technology can run into hundreds of millions of dollars and equipment goes out of date very quickly. The cutting edge equipment used today will be obsolete in 5 years. Hospitals can't afford to operate on razor thin returns. They have to make healthy profits in order to stay ahead of the game.

You nitwit! You know what electromagnetism will do to a built up city like Singapore? Maglev my foot! You must have had taken non kosher food recently!

 

[Leongsam]

You nitwit! You know what electromagnetism will do to a built up city like Singapore? Maglev my foot! You must have had taken non kosher food recently!

Many studies have been done regarding the health risks associated with modern Maglev technology. It has been found that even those with pacemakers can safely board and travel in a Maglev powered train. The magnetic field surrounding the train is no stronger than the earth's magnetic field.

 

[Manager]

healthy profit is of course a need.. but there is no need for huge profit

SMRT make a profit of more than 100mil a year ( PROFIT NOT operation cost), they could simply reduce the fare or invest in better or more trains to improve the infrastructure.. but you still see packed sardines in the mrt in the morning... if the money was spent to upgrade the infrastuture..people wont be so pissed off..

same for hospital equipment.. take ctscan for examples the cost is about 2.5 mil-3mil.. the average charge for a patient doing a ctscan is about 250 on average depending the type of scan they did.. multiply that by 25 patients a day and 365 days and they would have recoup the money back in slightly more than a year. why the need to charge so much for a scan?
and mind you.. they usually sell the machine to a 3rd world country after a few year and that will add to their profit.

The cost of rolling stock is astronomical. Do you want SMRT to be stuck with today's technology or do you want to see the Maglev trains which can whisk you from Jurong to Changi airport in 5 minutes.

Same goes with hospitals. The latest imaging and cancer treatment technology can run into hundreds of millions of dollars and equipment goes out of date very quickly. The cutting edge equipment used today will be obsolete in 5 years. Hospitals can't afford to operate on razor thin returns. They have to make healthy profits in order to stay ahead of the game.

 

[Leongsam]

healthy profit is of course a need.. but there is no need for huge profit

"Huge" is relative and so is the perception of the high cost of traveling by MRT or using the services provided by hospitals in Singapore.

I'm no cost accountant. Perhaps the costs could be reduced somewhat but that would simply shift the goal posts. People are never really happy till they get something for nothing.

All I know is that in most modern cities around the world, public transport is a lot more costly compared to Singapore and while it may be possible to get on a waiting list so that a 2.5 million dollar ctscan can be performed for FREE, in reality, you've already paid for the treatment way in advance via higher taxes.

I'd prefer to pay $500 for a ctscan when I need one rather than pay $2000 more in taxes EVERY SINGLE YEAR on the off chance that I MIGHT need a FREE ct scan one day.

 

[Manager]

the general feeling is that the pap government knows that the profit making scheme isnt going to go down well with the people, so they privatise it. make it into a business module and people will have no excuse to complain because it is no longer a fully government run organisation anymore..

 

[Manager]

sam, they are not doing it just to the hospital and smrt. Almost everything is run like a commercial company these days..
we are paying for a high cost of living but not getting a high standard of living..

it is normal to get wait 3-5 hours to see a doctor at the A&E..and the mrt is always crowded.. i could be wrong on the mrt point as i dont take them often.. but from the rare occision i did, they were very packed and that is what other people are telling me too..

and of course i would like you to comment on the hdb issue too if possible.. you do talk sense and i like it....

"Huge" is relative and so is the perception of the high cost of traveling by MRT or using the services provided by hospitals in Singapore.

I'm no cost accountant. Perhaps the costs could be reduced somewhat but that would simply shift the goal posts. People are never really happy till they get something for nothing.

All I know is that in most modern cities around the world, public transport is a lot more costly compared to Singapore and while it may be possible to get on a waiting list so that a 2.5 million dollar ctscan can be performed for FREE, in reality, you've already paid for the treatment way in advance via higher taxes.

I'd prefer to pay $500 for a ctscan when I need one rather than pay $2000 more in taxes EVERY SINGLE YEAR on the off chance that I MIGHT need a FREE ct scan one day.

 

[Leongsam]

it is normal to get wait 3-5 hours to see a doctor at the A&E..and the mrt is always crowded.. i could be wrong on the mrt point as i dont take them often.. but from the rare occision i did, they were very packed and that is what other people are telling me too..

In Auckland, patients have been known to wait at A & E for 2 days before they receive any treatment. I broke my arm in 1999 when I was cycling in NZ. I arrived at A&E (Middlemore) at 7 pm. By the time I was attended to, it was 5 am the next day.

As for packed MRT carriages, you obviously haven't been to Tokyo.

 

[glockman]

I can't say I agree entirely with what you've said. Your friends are successful (good for them), but they come across as being selfish and not concerned at all with the long term viability of the country. They have no interest in the political climate and are ok with the fact that this country is owned by elites and the rich (which they think they are a part of). In order words, they are happy with what they've achieved and pretty much do not bother about anything else. Everything's fine as long as they can make their money. Happy with being able to employs maids and cheap pinoys, happy with their Sixth Ave house, their lambos and porsches.

I have good friends and relatives who are successful too, some are exactly like what you've mentioned. But some are unhappy with the status quo. Among them are two lawyers, an SIA pilot, three businessmen (with international operations and own overseas factories), a banker, two retired doctors, and a surgeon. The common trait among is : they don't like how things are run. They question how ministers can make so much money, behave so arrogantly and talk down at citizens. They ask why are policies being pushed through so easily without considering the impact it has on the population?

So, contrary to what you've stated, not all successful people are happy with the way the PAP runs Singapore. They are the ones with brains and heart. Your friends appear to lack in the latter. Or perhaps they subscribe to the belief that ignorance is bliss. Close one eye, and as long as they can make money, everything's good.

Most successful Singaporeans are very happy with the way Singapore is being governed.

I'm in contact with many of my ex classmates, army buddies etc who have made good.

They make up a cross section of Singapore success stories... an insurance agent, an eye surgeon, a chee bye doctor, a vet, an ex SIA director, a CEO who took his company public, a retired lawyer, a retired banker, a developer etc.

Apart from the guy from SIA, none of them had any links with the govt. They all made good on their own. All of them have the means and the finances to emigrate anywhere in the world if they wanted to but they choose to live in Singapore because they feel it's the best place for them and their families.

The people who are NOT happy with the way the PAP runs Singapore are generally the ones who never aimed to be successful, never planned for the future, never saved for a rainy day and never gave a thought towards creating their own nest eggs for retirement.

One of the best govt policies is the liberal attitude towards importing foreign labour and that includes maids. It's a godsend for anyone who wants to run their own show. Cheap maids for the housework... cheap employees to run the business. It's an entrepreneurs wet dream! My friends love the life they lead with maids to pick up after them at home and Pinoys to do the dirty work at the office.

 

[Manager]

2 days and you see nothing wrong with that? both system needs to be look into and improvement is needed.
we are not comparing who is worst off.... it is not a case of i am bad and you are worst. we look into i am good and if you are better i will need to strive and improve..

i really dont see why you need to compare auckland with sg... let's focus on the issue.. if something can be done to improve the system.. then lets do it...

In Auckland, patients have been known to wait at A & E for 2 days before they receive any treatment. I broke my arm in 1999 when I was cycling in NZ. I arrived at A&E (Middlemore) at 7 pm. By the time I was attended to, it was 5 am the next day.

As for packed MRT carriages, you obviously haven't been to Tokyo.

 

[soikee]

If an entity runs without making money, then finances have to be channeled from some other source to subsidize its operation. When a govt subsidizes ANYTHING, the money comes from none other than the TAXPAYER. In case you didn't realise it, that means YOU!

In OZ, taxpayers subsidize a whole range of services and that includes paying unemployment benefits to a bunch of useless scum ABOS who then use YOUR money to buy booze and drugs.

These ABOS end up drunk and absolutely stoned in the gutters. An ambulance then has to pick them up and take them to public hospitals where they are patched up to the point where they can stagger out of the hospital under their own steam. Guess who pays for the treatment. That's right.. the TAXPAYER!.. the honest hardworking members of society.

They go straight to the bank to cash their welfare cheques and the process repeats itself all over again.

Mark my words you do NOT want Sinkieland to go down that route.

Yo Sam, you wanna take a short cut?

Go catch a Snapper or Barramundi and fuck an Abo and you're entitled to free taxes.

 

[jw5]

To answer the thread title question, it's the way they talk to the people.
I don't agree with all their policies, but some of what they do is necessary, for the simple reason that human beings are arseholes who will take advantage of loopholes.
Of course, they are no better.

 

[Leongsam]

So, contrary to what you've stated, not all successful people are happy with the way the PAP runs Singapore. They are the ones with brains and heart. Your friends appear to lack in the latter. Or perhaps they subscribe to the belief that ignorance is bliss. Close one eye, and as long as they can make money, everything's good.

I'm sure there exists a whole spectrum of viewpoints amongst the successful. I don't like the way the country is being run either but if I analyse my own feelings, it has more to do with my personal disgust at the sort of characters that are running the country rather than the principles upon which the country is governed.

For example, I feel like slapping WKS on a daily basis. Even if he didn't open his damned mouth, I'd still feel like smacking the guy about the head simply because I can't stand his face. However, there have been no major security breaches during his watch so he must be doing something right. Mas Selamat is hardly a major issue. Terrorists bringing down a high rise building would be.

Another example is the flood fiasco and the way every single minister ducked for cover with nobody taking responsibility. It was an atrocious display of lack of accountability. However, at the end of the day, I cannot fault the underlying principle upon which the whole Marina Barrage concept was conceived and that is that Singapore HAS to become self sufficient in water. The govt knows this and has taken every measure to ensure that it happens. The execution has some flaws and Orchard road ended up as river but the intentions of the govt were entirely honorable in my opinion.

Ask your successful friends whether they're willing to give up their foreign maids and hire Singaporean maids at market rate instead? Test them out by asking him to put their money where their mouth is. It will reveal exactly how much they're against the Singapore system that has made them what they are today.