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Chitchat Why Jamus Lim join Workers' Party ?
- Thread starter batman1
- Start date
Jamus looking forward to catching folks. 
Next weekend, #TeamSengkang will celebrate the #SengkangGRC mid-Autumn festival. Our #Anchorvale event will be held at (and around) the 333 Isles multipurpose hall. As usual, there will be a range of activities, including seasonal riddles and games, a dragon beard candy stand (kindly made possible by Singapore's Dragon Beard Candy), and—what is usually a highlight of the night—the lantern procession around the estate.
As it was last year, we will also host a do-it-yourself lantern-making competition. We encourage all parents and children to turn this into a family activity: design and built your “family lantern” using recyclable materials at home. No registration is required; just bring it to show off on the day. We’ve set aside prizes for the best three lanterns. Looking forward to catching folks there!
Jamus Lim
13 h ·Next weekend, #TeamSengkang will celebrate the #SengkangGRC mid-Autumn festival. Our #Anchorvale event will be held at (and around) the 333 Isles multipurpose hall. As usual, there will be a range of activities, including seasonal riddles and games, a dragon beard candy stand (kindly made possible by Singapore's Dragon Beard Candy), and—what is usually a highlight of the night—the lantern procession around the estate.
As it was last year, we will also host a do-it-yourself lantern-making competition. We encourage all parents and children to turn this into a family activity: design and built your “family lantern” using recyclable materials at home. No registration is required; just bring it to show off on the day. We’ve set aside prizes for the best three lanterns. Looking forward to catching folks there!
Jamus continues house visits. 
This week, our #TeamSengkang house visits allowed us to cover about half of 302B #Anchorvale, and we were also able to chat with residents at the nearby 215C #Compassvale coffeeshop.
302B is a block with an interesting design; it was designed to house large-format, “jumbo” apartments, but—perhaps because takeup was poor—each unit was then split up into two, and retrofitted to make them independent units. So they tend to be on the small size, with what seems to be disproportionately more elderly and lower-income residents.
One of these residents was a couple in their 70s. They survive on a meager CPF payout, because they worked modest jobs previously. But because they do draw something—however little—and their three-room flat isn’t a rental, they end up not being directly covered by any assistance from social services programs. So despite living in conditions that most of us would consider poverty, they aren’t officially poor (after all, the government steadfastly refuses to institute a poverty line). These are Singaporeans that slip through the cracks.
Perhaps what is most remarkable is the couples’ mindset. When I asked them about what kind of help they were getting from the state or their family, it was essentially nothing. But they still felt the need to fend for themselves, and didn’t wish to unduly burden their kids. If anything, what they were most fearful of wasn’t how they would get by each day, but rather the threat of various frauds and scams that would threaten the little they had.
This resilience is admirable, but I wish that, as a country, we can do more for the family, and families like this. There is a weekly food rescue and monthly food ration that we assist with in #SengkangGRC, which helps plug some of the gap that isn’t met by official channels. But I personally think that such movements are a reflection of some degree of state failure, driven by a stubborn policy ethos of self-reliance that may have been appropriate while we were a resource-constrained developing nation, but less applicable to one that is routinely among the highest in per capita incomes worldwide.
Jamus Lim
5 d ·This week, our #TeamSengkang house visits allowed us to cover about half of 302B #Anchorvale, and we were also able to chat with residents at the nearby 215C #Compassvale coffeeshop.
302B is a block with an interesting design; it was designed to house large-format, “jumbo” apartments, but—perhaps because takeup was poor—each unit was then split up into two, and retrofitted to make them independent units. So they tend to be on the small size, with what seems to be disproportionately more elderly and lower-income residents.
One of these residents was a couple in their 70s. They survive on a meager CPF payout, because they worked modest jobs previously. But because they do draw something—however little—and their three-room flat isn’t a rental, they end up not being directly covered by any assistance from social services programs. So despite living in conditions that most of us would consider poverty, they aren’t officially poor (after all, the government steadfastly refuses to institute a poverty line). These are Singaporeans that slip through the cracks.
Perhaps what is most remarkable is the couples’ mindset. When I asked them about what kind of help they were getting from the state or their family, it was essentially nothing. But they still felt the need to fend for themselves, and didn’t wish to unduly burden their kids. If anything, what they were most fearful of wasn’t how they would get by each day, but rather the threat of various frauds and scams that would threaten the little they had.
This resilience is admirable, but I wish that, as a country, we can do more for the family, and families like this. There is a weekly food rescue and monthly food ration that we assist with in #SengkangGRC, which helps plug some of the gap that isn’t met by official channels. But I personally think that such movements are a reflection of some degree of state failure, driven by a stubborn policy ethos of self-reliance that may have been appropriate while we were a resource-constrained developing nation, but less applicable to one that is routinely among the highest in per capita incomes worldwide.
Jamus went to the SG Climate Rally. 
Over the weekend, I joined Dennis Tan Lip Fong 陈立峰, Gerald Giam 严燕松, and my #SengkangGRC teammates Chua Kheng Wee 蔡庆威 and He Ting Ru 何廷儒 at the SG Climate Rally, to lend our support to the tireless activists (and dreamers!) gathered at to advocate for stronger policy action of the environment.
With climate change, it just isn’t good enough for us not to want to upset the apple cart. While nobody wants to upend the entire system, adopting a tentative attitude may come back to bite us, because it allows the planet’s problems to get to a stage where reversing the damage becomes much harder. While nobody thinks that the transition should occur suddenly, there is a case to be made for more decisive action today. This includes measures that the #workersparty has raised in Parliament, including a higher carbon tax (albeit one that adjusts to cater to macroeconomic conditions), making this tax more broad-based an less subject to exemptions, and providing stronger incentives encourage adoption of electric vehicles.
The good news—to the extent that there is—is that we’ve been at the brink of a climate crisis before. When I was a kid, I recall how everyone panicked about the hole in the ozone layer. But humanity as a whole recognized the seriousness of the threat, and got its act together. Although the current environmental emergency appears to be on a slower burn (no pun intended), it is reversible to a degree (again no pun intended), so long as we set our minds to bring about decisive change. That is the hope of those gathered at Hong Lim Park last Saturday, and one that o hope will be echoed by the rest of us.
Jamus Lim
5 d ·Over the weekend, I joined Dennis Tan Lip Fong 陈立峰, Gerald Giam 严燕松, and my #SengkangGRC teammates Chua Kheng Wee 蔡庆威 and He Ting Ru 何廷儒 at the SG Climate Rally, to lend our support to the tireless activists (and dreamers!) gathered at to advocate for stronger policy action of the environment.
With climate change, it just isn’t good enough for us not to want to upset the apple cart. While nobody wants to upend the entire system, adopting a tentative attitude may come back to bite us, because it allows the planet’s problems to get to a stage where reversing the damage becomes much harder. While nobody thinks that the transition should occur suddenly, there is a case to be made for more decisive action today. This includes measures that the #workersparty has raised in Parliament, including a higher carbon tax (albeit one that adjusts to cater to macroeconomic conditions), making this tax more broad-based an less subject to exemptions, and providing stronger incentives encourage adoption of electric vehicles.
The good news—to the extent that there is—is that we’ve been at the brink of a climate crisis before. When I was a kid, I recall how everyone panicked about the hole in the ozone layer. But humanity as a whole recognized the seriousness of the threat, and got its act together. Although the current environmental emergency appears to be on a slower burn (no pun intended), it is reversible to a degree (again no pun intended), so long as we set our minds to bring about decisive change. That is the hope of those gathered at Hong Lim Park last Saturday, and one that o hope will be echoed by the rest of us.
Jamus felt a rollercoaster of emotions. 
Like many others, I felt a rollercoaster of emotions as I watched the marquee 100m sprint final at the Asian Games. We first got to see our Veronica Shanti Pereira make the cut for the final, albeit without automatic qualification. She was then lined up in an outer lane, with faster qualifiers and the defending champion occupying the favored middle lanes. After an even start, we saw Shanti seem to pull ahead, and hold a razor-then lead over the pick. But a final surge by Chinese sprinter Ge pipped our Sprint Queen, by a mere 0.04 seconds.
For a quintessential competitor like Shanti, this is probably disappointing. But her smiles as she ascended the podium and waved her medal revealed the depth of her spirit, and made her a winner, regardless. And let’s not forget how historic the achievement is for us as a nation—our last athletics medal in the Games was almost a half-century ago—and how we can always continue to egg on all our athletes to achieve ever-greater heights in the future.
If you haven’t yet caught the race, here’s a link: https://fb.watch/nozyuiGraN/
Jamus Lim
9 h ·Like many others, I felt a rollercoaster of emotions as I watched the marquee 100m sprint final at the Asian Games. We first got to see our Veronica Shanti Pereira make the cut for the final, albeit without automatic qualification. She was then lined up in an outer lane, with faster qualifiers and the defending champion occupying the favored middle lanes. After an even start, we saw Shanti seem to pull ahead, and hold a razor-then lead over the pick. But a final surge by Chinese sprinter Ge pipped our Sprint Queen, by a mere 0.04 seconds.
For a quintessential competitor like Shanti, this is probably disappointing. But her smiles as she ascended the podium and waved her medal revealed the depth of her spirit, and made her a winner, regardless. And let’s not forget how historic the achievement is for us as a nation—our last athletics medal in the Games was almost a half-century ago—and how we can always continue to egg on all our athletes to achieve ever-greater heights in the future.
If you haven’t yet caught the race, here’s a link: https://fb.watch/nozyuiGraN/
Jamus managed to wrap up his #TeamSengkang house visits to 302B #Anchorvale.
This week, we managed to wrap up our #TeamSengkang house visits to 302B #Anchorvale. The persistently high cost of living—a recurrent theme—emerged again as a source of concern and frustration among the residents there.
Two residents shared intriguing thoughts along these lines. One was a gentleman who was married to someone from China. He candidly spoke about how disappointed about trying to eke out a living here, even though—as a born and bred local—he wished very much to stay. He observed that despite the fact that China having a much lower levels of per capita income, one would never be forced to scrounge for a living. I’m not certain if that’s entirely true; there are parts of rural China where poverty bites more acutely. But I would venture that—for many Singaporeans who are relatively lower income (and even those who may appear to be more comfortable)—the higher costs for food, transport, and housing add up quickly, and end up eating away much of that income differential. This leaving many feeling like they are only earning more on paper, but they continue to struggle to make ends meet otherwise.
Another resident shared about how prices for many daily necessities have risen faster than what would appear to be the case in the inflation statistics—$7 mee goreng, anyone?—but wages have yet to catch up. There’s some nuance to this. Inflation, of course, is measured over all goods; it’s not uncommon to feel like the cost of everything is rising, even as we sometimes forgetting that some things have not changed in price. And wages have indeed grown to at least match higher prices (last year, after adjusting for inflation, salaries rose by 0.4 percent). But this feels like a step backward, not least because real wage increases have been pretty solid in prior years. And of course, some industries may still have lagging wage adjustments.
The bottom line is that things remain challenging for many folks, and when companies report record profits, but still continue to raise prices, it doesn’t strike the ordinary worker as fair. This is even more so when those companies provide government-linked public services, like buses or post. The #workersparty will continue to probe these issues in Parliament. #SengkangGRC
Jamus Lim
23 September at 07:23 ·This week, we managed to wrap up our #TeamSengkang house visits to 302B #Anchorvale. The persistently high cost of living—a recurrent theme—emerged again as a source of concern and frustration among the residents there.
Two residents shared intriguing thoughts along these lines. One was a gentleman who was married to someone from China. He candidly spoke about how disappointed about trying to eke out a living here, even though—as a born and bred local—he wished very much to stay. He observed that despite the fact that China having a much lower levels of per capita income, one would never be forced to scrounge for a living. I’m not certain if that’s entirely true; there are parts of rural China where poverty bites more acutely. But I would venture that—for many Singaporeans who are relatively lower income (and even those who may appear to be more comfortable)—the higher costs for food, transport, and housing add up quickly, and end up eating away much of that income differential. This leaving many feeling like they are only earning more on paper, but they continue to struggle to make ends meet otherwise.
Another resident shared about how prices for many daily necessities have risen faster than what would appear to be the case in the inflation statistics—$7 mee goreng, anyone?—but wages have yet to catch up. There’s some nuance to this. Inflation, of course, is measured over all goods; it’s not uncommon to feel like the cost of everything is rising, even as we sometimes forgetting that some things have not changed in price. And wages have indeed grown to at least match higher prices (last year, after adjusting for inflation, salaries rose by 0.4 percent). But this feels like a step backward, not least because real wage increases have been pretty solid in prior years. And of course, some industries may still have lagging wage adjustments.
The bottom line is that things remain challenging for many folks, and when companies report record profits, but still continue to raise prices, it doesn’t strike the ordinary worker as fair. This is even more so when those companies provide government-linked public services, like buses or post. The #workersparty will continue to probe these issues in Parliament. #SengkangGRC
Jamus celebrated mid-autumn at #SengkangGRC.
Over the weekend, we celebrated mid-autumn at #SengkangGRC, which for us was at #Anchorvale Isles. It was delightful to see both young and old come out, and to witness the enthusiastic efforts at guessing our festive riddles, constructing the do-it-yourself lanterns (and participating in our recycled material lantern competition), and enjoying both traditional and modern interpretations of dragonbeard candy.
For me, the highlight of the evening was being able to share the story behind the festival (or, at least, a children’s version of it). I usually spend my time delivering lectures to much older kids—and in English, not Chinese—so it was both an atypical experience, and a gratifying one. Those that sat around seemed to enjoy learning about the story behind the season, and the role the moon plays in all this.
As always, our thanks to all the volunteers who put in hours of work in pre-event planning, manned the stations on the night itself, and kept things running smoothly, as well as to Singapore's Dragon Beard Candy, for patiently cranking out sweet after sweet for the residents that waited in line.
Jamus Lim
2 d ·Over the weekend, we celebrated mid-autumn at #SengkangGRC, which for us was at #Anchorvale Isles. It was delightful to see both young and old come out, and to witness the enthusiastic efforts at guessing our festive riddles, constructing the do-it-yourself lanterns (and participating in our recycled material lantern competition), and enjoying both traditional and modern interpretations of dragonbeard candy.
For me, the highlight of the evening was being able to share the story behind the festival (or, at least, a children’s version of it). I usually spend my time delivering lectures to much older kids—and in English, not Chinese—so it was both an atypical experience, and a gratifying one. Those that sat around seemed to enjoy learning about the story behind the season, and the role the moon plays in all this.
As always, our thanks to all the volunteers who put in hours of work in pre-event planning, manned the stations on the night itself, and kept things running smoothly, as well as to Singapore's Dragon Beard Candy, for patiently cranking out sweet after sweet for the residents that waited in line.
Jamus invites you to run. 
This weekend is our usual Saturday #SengkangGRC #RiverRun, and since Chua Kheng Wee 蔡庆威 seems to have run out of excuses, he’ll be leading one of the groups this week as we head out. As always, we aim to cater to runners of all levels of experience (and enthusiasm, heh), so please join us if you’re able!
Jamus Lim
10 h ·This weekend is our usual Saturday #SengkangGRC #RiverRun, and since Chua Kheng Wee 蔡庆威 seems to have run out of excuses, he’ll be leading one of the groups this week as we head out. As always, we aim to cater to runners of all levels of experience (and enthusiasm, heh), so please join us if you’re able!
Jamus continues house visits.
Over the past week, we had our #TeamSengkang house visits at 288B (and part of 289A) #Compassvale, along with 301D #Anchorvale. It was a little of a study in contrasts, with the former—having been constructed relatively recently—comprised of many younger families, while the latter block—being among the earliest developments in the town—having more elderly households.
There was a common theme, however: that the recent price increases—postal, water, gas, and electricity—were all coming on the back of already-substantial spikes in the cost of food. Their proximity and size led one resident to exclaim that these were “too close, too many, can’t breathe.”
To be fair, the rate of price increases has slowed over the past year. Inflation peaked around the middle of last year, at close to 8 percent. It is now half that. But for many households, this isn’t quite enough; wages have barely kept up, and for many staples in our spending—food, transport, housing—the rate of inflation is actually higher than what the headline rate suggests. And the price of utilities—which had mercifully moderated due to a global drop in energy prices—is set to rise soon, with recent announcements of impending price increases.
This is in spite of a number of these utilities companies reporting profitable operations. Sure, these earnings could dissipate quickly, once their higher costs are factored in. But one still wonders if now is the best time for the people to tolerate tariff hikes. In the meantime, it makes sense for the government to step in, by rebating as much of its higher tax take (higher mainly because a fixed tax percentage applied to a higher base automatically generates more nominal revenue) back as possible. This isn’t generosity or a giveaway; it is just making sure that the government doesn’t make money, through no effort of its own, while the people are suffering. #SengkangGRC
Jamus Lim
5 d ·Over the past week, we had our #TeamSengkang house visits at 288B (and part of 289A) #Compassvale, along with 301D #Anchorvale. It was a little of a study in contrasts, with the former—having been constructed relatively recently—comprised of many younger families, while the latter block—being among the earliest developments in the town—having more elderly households.
There was a common theme, however: that the recent price increases—postal, water, gas, and electricity—were all coming on the back of already-substantial spikes in the cost of food. Their proximity and size led one resident to exclaim that these were “too close, too many, can’t breathe.”
To be fair, the rate of price increases has slowed over the past year. Inflation peaked around the middle of last year, at close to 8 percent. It is now half that. But for many households, this isn’t quite enough; wages have barely kept up, and for many staples in our spending—food, transport, housing—the rate of inflation is actually higher than what the headline rate suggests. And the price of utilities—which had mercifully moderated due to a global drop in energy prices—is set to rise soon, with recent announcements of impending price increases.
This is in spite of a number of these utilities companies reporting profitable operations. Sure, these earnings could dissipate quickly, once their higher costs are factored in. But one still wonders if now is the best time for the people to tolerate tariff hikes. In the meantime, it makes sense for the government to step in, by rebating as much of its higher tax take (higher mainly because a fixed tax percentage applied to a higher base automatically generates more nominal revenue) back as possible. This isn’t generosity or a giveaway; it is just making sure that the government doesn’t make money, through no effort of its own, while the people are suffering. #SengkangGRC
Jamus Lim
3 d ·The Workers' Party
4 d ·"Coffeeshop chatter often likes to speak about how this government gives out chicken wings, only to take back a whole chicken."
In his speech on the Income Tax (Amendment) Bill, MP Jamus Lim explained why, given current economic conditions, rebating fiscal surpluses to the people was not so much about government largesse, but a moral imperative. #wpsg #makeyourvotecount
Jamus penned a retrospective for Forbes India.
Recently, on the occasion of the 10-year anniversary of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), I penned a retrospective for Forbes India, where I shared my thoughts on why the project has had such a mixed record—in terms of both how it is perceived, as well as its actual performance.
The BRI was probably conceived as a means to recycle China’s (very voluminous) surplus saving, while taking advantage of her expertise in infrastructure and construction. But it morphed into different things in different places, including shiny railways built around settlements that can feel very Chinese (even when located in further-flung places), or loss-making ports that have compelled officials to take over operations of these white elephants. All while leaving returns to BRI projects extremely uncertain. You may read the full thing here: https://www.forbesindia.com/.../belting-out-a-new.../88581/1.
As a sorta follow-up to the piece, I was also cited in an article by Bloomberg Opinion columnist Karishma Vaswani, on how I saw more limited upside to the BRI in the future. You may read her provocative piece here: https://www.bloomberg.com/.../china-s-belt-and-road-shows....
BLOOMBERG.COM
China’s Belt and Road Shows the High Price of Beijing’s Money
Xi Jinping’s geopolitical infrastructure project turns 10 this year. He should enjoy the party — the next decade won’t be so smooth.
Jamus Lim
4 d ·Recently, on the occasion of the 10-year anniversary of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), I penned a retrospective for Forbes India, where I shared my thoughts on why the project has had such a mixed record—in terms of both how it is perceived, as well as its actual performance.
The BRI was probably conceived as a means to recycle China’s (very voluminous) surplus saving, while taking advantage of her expertise in infrastructure and construction. But it morphed into different things in different places, including shiny railways built around settlements that can feel very Chinese (even when located in further-flung places), or loss-making ports that have compelled officials to take over operations of these white elephants. All while leaving returns to BRI projects extremely uncertain. You may read the full thing here: https://www.forbesindia.com/.../belting-out-a-new.../88581/1.
As a sorta follow-up to the piece, I was also cited in an article by Bloomberg Opinion columnist Karishma Vaswani, on how I saw more limited upside to the BRI in the future. You may read her provocative piece here: https://www.bloomberg.com/.../china-s-belt-and-road-shows....
BLOOMBERG.COM
China’s Belt and Road Shows the High Price of Beijing’s Money
Xi Jinping’s geopolitical infrastructure project turns 10 this year. He should enjoy the party — the next decade won’t be so smooth.
Jamus Lim
5 d ·The Workers' Party
6 d ·In his speech on the Free Trade Zones (Amendment) Bill, MP Jamus Lim posed questions about how devolving operational responsibilities to licensed agents will help improve our country’s money laundering goals, while also pointing out that the changing nature of the international economy may also make such legal modifications less important in future. #wpsg #makeyourvotecount
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