Poor gets poorer

Just a few months back, the government appointed the wife of Senior Minister of State for Defence as the new Auditor-General. They claimed there was no conflict of interest. See No COI. Thank you Chan Chun Sing for explaining the process of selecting an AG but no, it does not address the fundamental conflict of interest issue. Unless you don't know what it means. But we are not really that stupid that we can't tell it doesn't address it. Actually, explaining the process does address another issue... nepotism. But that wasn't the topic, was it? Or maybe there was some underlying sense of guilt over nepotism that resulted in this being used as the explanation. Hmm...

Regardless, it demonstrates the government's lack of care about what's right and wrong. Ask any audit committee. Will they knowingly appoint someone related to one of their company's employees as their head of internal audit? I don't think it's rocket science that you don't do that. It's not about whether the person supposedly has integrity or the relevant experience. The perceived independence is what's most important. Duh.

Anyway, I was recently triggered by the announcement of the GPS ERP system. It got me so mad that I decided it's time to write my blog to release some pent-up angst. The principle of it is just plain wrong. No, it's not about the fact that it can track if I'm speeding or having an affair, or even losing my privacy to the government. I know the debate between privacy vs. security can go on endlessly with more than 100 different perspectives. Yes, I know elsewhere in the world (e.g. EU) is swinging towards stronger privacy protection for their people while our government is obviously going in the other direction. In any case, the wrong principle I'm highlighting is about penalising the poor once again. Just like the ever increasing GST.

Distance penalty has already been built into the current driving system through fuel taxes. The more you drive, the more fuel you require, the more taxes you pay (unless you are free to go JB every other day but then again you are limited to the amount you can pump and you still need to drive a distance). And now the new system is ALSO about taxing you by distance. Guess who stays in the outskirts of Singapore, like Yishun, Pasir Ris, Jurong West? The crazy rich? No..... it's the common poor folks like me. And who are those who can afford to stay in town or near town? Well, no prizes for getting the right answer. Bottomline is, why do the commoners keep getting penalised for not being in the richer tier who can afford to stay somewhere more central? We are now double-penalised with the new system!

So if we are so poor, why do we still get a car? Come on, go fix the MRT before you ask people to stop using the car! Even before any of us switch to public transport, it is clear that our infrastructure cannot even cater to the population who's using it. The breakdowns are so common that they are no longer news. That's how sad it has become.

By putting buffoons with NO experience on running transportation companies at the top doesn't solve the issue. Oh, money solves the issues for them. Just get the most expensive solutions and pray they work. But where does the money come from? Ohhhhhhh..... wanna guess? Singapore supposedly has a PTC who CARES for the commuters. The only significant thing I recall them doing is to increase the fares for commuters. Why are they not challenging the increased costs instead? Didn't our labour union advocate cheaper, better, faster? What happened to that slogan SMRT and PTC? So yeah, I won't be surprised that the super high costs incurred to resolve our MRT issues are happily cascaded down to the commoners. And the people at the top who are spending profusely regardless if the issue is fixed or not? Ah ha... I believe they are getting fat salaries and bonuses.

For us poor people, our money is stuck in CPF and depreciating by the minute. The CPF pays 2.5% / 4% while our inflation is higher than that. And they just announced a 6.4% increase of electricity tariffs. See tariff rise. What this means is that, our savings will never be able to keep up with the cost increase. And by the time we retire, we will probably be in the same state as our parents where the value of their savings once upon a time could really help them retire comfortably but now, can barely even pay for daily expenses. $2 used to mean a meal for me but now, can only buy me a cup of tea. I wonder what it can pay for in 20 years time... entry to the toilet?

Many people say, if so unhappy, then migrate lor. Now, Singapore is my country and my family roots are here. The government is NOT the country. If they do something wrong, why should I be punished for it and leave the country? Shouldn't it be them? Anyway, I'm waiting for the time when it's my turn to be "bribed". I wonder what they will call my generation. After pioneer, merdeka... the disgruntled generation? :)

Memorable trip

Just ended a trip to Iceland. It was planned more than half a year ahead but we were sceptical about it happening at all. Until it happened. And the real details were only sorted out like a couple of weeks before the trip! That adrenaline rush to do last minute was... real.

Haven’t had the opportunity to travel by myself with a bunch of girls without the kids or husband since I got married. First time doing it and it felt like I had time to do reflection again since I didn’t need to worry about someone crying or changing diapers or making milk.

Everyone played a key role in making it fun. EO, my official backup driver, was slightly crippled at the start and walked everywhere with a walking stick. Constantly the butt of LT jokes, it was good fun having her around with her food bag. Also the one responsible for getting hotel rooms for all every night. BL, EO’s sister, also contributed by sharing EO’s permed hair that got everyone (especially me) so curious how she actually looked in her 20s. WG, my unofficial backup driver and our pilates coach, was my roommate and someone who understood most of what I was saying. Same generation probably.. LOL. LT was the official DJ for the trip with her list of classics and Jacky Cheung’s songs! Of cos, she also was the funniest with all the EO jokes. JC was always watching out for everyone else and taking photos for everyone too. And there’s me! The official driver plus person fixing last minute itinerary and restaurants (except for first night and chef’s table by LT). Did a little DJ job at the end part of the trip and also injected wisdom of my generation (e.g. definition of emo).

I think the group mix was very good and everyone was quite easy-going. No one really fussed over the rooms, food, places etc. Just played by the ear most of the time. Though there was a slightly rough time when EO got a little sensitive with LT’s remarks at Moss, I was glad all turned out well subsequently.

After all the food and fun in the trip, it feels like I need to start planning something similar every other year or so to keep my sanity. It is a refreshing break from my everyday family time and creates precious memories that will keep me going for a good number of years. Also, it was quite an eye-opener into several characteristics I didn’t know before about my colleagues (soon to be ex-colleagues). Holiday seemed too short but then again if it dragged on another few more days, who knows, we may start pulling each other’s hair!