It's CNY tomorrow and I'm still at the office, holding the fort. It's only fair that the Chinese staff get to celebrate their new year, just I had my celebrations for Hari Raya. It seems like eons ago since I last said something here. A lot has happened since the turn of the year, and by all accounts, everything seems to be turning out fine.
My princess has started smiling and laughing already. However, having turned 4 months yesterday, she has still to learn how to roll over. More often than not, she just lies on her back staring at me or her mama waiting for something to happen. Doesn't seem to be a proactive baby lah - more a reactive one thus far. Either way, I can't get enough of her toothless grin. Talking about babies, had a comical conversation with a friend whose son was born within days of Izza, where we joked about bethroting our kids. It's nothing more than just a comical conversation, but I am intrigued at that thought.
For sure I won't do that to my daughter, I'd rather let fate and her own heart take care of that. I mean thinking about it, I'm not sure how I would react at being told, "Son, this is your future wife". It's a good thing that such practices are practically unheard-of in our society though it may still be prevalent in some social backwaters in a bid to preserve one family's social status, at the same time avoiding that social status barrier. It would be side-splitting to hear the son reply to that proclaimation with, "Thanks Dad, she's pretty, but I'm in love with a guy".
Date released a few days back showed that the population of Singapore is nearly 4.6million. of that at least 3 million are residents with the rest being foreign talent. It just amazes me how many people are cramped almost sardine-like in Singapore. I mean, have you seen the human traffic at the MRT stations during peak hours? Yeah, we could probably flatten Bukit Timah and Mt Faber and use that soil for further reclamation to further expand Singapore but would that alleviate the crunch that takes place every rush hour. I doubt so. While it is imperative that we remain competitive and in doing so, having to boost our dwindling population, does it have to be at the cost of the comfort of the residents?
Put it this way, the last time I took the MRT I almost puked in the train from all the "aroma" that was swirling around the already-stale air. I mean, you put in the un-deodorised people together with the hundreds of foreign workers rushing to get to Little India and you know you got a weapon of mass destruction right there. For me that was enough, don't these people practice basic hygiene? I got off the train and waited for a less crowded one. That's not the end of it. We have yet to account for all those ungracious locals who think they own the damn train. Soon, I swore off public transportation.
The recent announcement of the expansion of the MRT services coupled with expanded bus services might be able to alleviate these issues - not including the ungracious Singaporean. The numerous courtesy campaigns doesn't seem to work on these people. Talking about that recent announcement, what it means basically is, you can own a car, but I'm gonna penalise you hard if you drive into town and add to the congestion. Some may think it's poor planning. I think it was a superb strategic move by the Government.
Here's how it works.
First they, increase the number of COEs. This in turns lowers the price of the COE, making it more affordable to own a car. Then, they flood the market with China-made cars, as with everything that comes from China, cheap but not necessarily good. Then, they relaxed car-financing rules. Now, those 3 moves automatically allowed those who previously couldn't afford a car, to suddenly be able to own and operate one.
As the car population grew and the congestion became worse, they are able to justify increasing the ERP charges and adding more gantries. To sweeten the deal, the ARF is reduced by 10%, which translates to roughly $1500 for a Corolla and probably $5000 for a Merc or Beemer. The ERP raise is almost 50% and it is a recurring charge, while the ARF is only a 1-time charge at the point of purchase. Well, do the maths.
Can't you see? First we are all drawn towards cheaper car prices and, once we are saddled with 10-yr loans for our cars, we are slapped with the ERP raise and more gantries. To the average Singaporean, who is living their dream of owning a car, it is sucking us dry. To the Government, it's ka-ching.......
PS: I just wonder what great package the Government is going to come up with for the next election to make us forget the ERP raise.
