Instead, he was was using Bloomberg's editor-in-chief Matthew Winkler to peddle his "population growth is connected to immigration and economic growth" poison. Winkler had asked if there was anything Lee would have done differently since he took charge of the Government in 2004. His answer - should have addressed the ageing population issues earlier. Somehow he missed out on the other developments in the human race. People also get married, have kids, grandchildren, all in the natural order of things. Except when the cycle of life is disrupted by unnatural eugenic theories of social engineering that turn a nation on its head.
First we were told the foreigners were transient workers, they would go home after the infrastructure was built. Unknown to us, foreigners were encouraged to take up citizenships, straining the existing capacities of housing and transportation systems. All too soon, one out of three walking on our streets is an alien face.
Something is more frightening than Singapore turning into "a retirement home and not a vibrant city". The palpable fear is that our birthright, the stake holding in our land which young men in uniform have sworn to protect, is being diluted by the outsiders. The Joel and Ethan Coen movie "No Country For Old Men" must have been made with Singapore in mind.
Putting economic growth ahead of the concerns of the indigenous population could result in a Dubai, where 71% of the population consists of foreigners and expatriates. The expatriate population in the entire UAE makes up 91.5% of the working population. Already Singapore is marketed like Dubai, an exciting destination both for travelers seeking thrills and adventure and for expatriates seeking a healthy employment climate and a tax free lifestyle.
Emigrates in Dubai mostly include Asians, mainly from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Filipino. 16% of the population is not being identified either by ethnicity or by nationality but believed to be chiefly Asians. They are not identified by nationals mainly because they live in combined labor accommodation, not unlike the Woodlands Dormitory housing the bus drivers from China. The average age of total Dubai population is about 27 years. Is this what the government has in mind?
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in the UAE you can never become a PR or Citizen............you stay as long as you got a job no job sayo nara!!!!!!!!!!!!!we should have done that...........
ReplyDeleteKhaja,
DeleteAgreed with you. Remember our veteran MP Maidin Packer wrote a long passionate open letter recently addressing to PM addressing the same issues citing what you said. No PRs for foreigners. Stay as long as there's job for you. Leave when there's no job for you. Here, it's different. They are encouraged to be new citizens. In his open letter, he mentioned many other things. Goggle for it if you keen to read.
Education stress, high costs of living, medical costs, perpetual property bubble. All these a no no for having children. already told my children to think twice about starting a family here, in Singapore, maybe some other country and stay there for good. Perhaps pinkie should address all these isuues first before asking others to take the plunge. Not everybody is paid like a minister.
ReplyDeletePlease don't add more stress to pinkie. He's working very hard to stay in his job and salvage as much dignity$$$ as possible before the shit hits the fan.
DeleteCould the PAP ministers have this one thing in mind only?
ReplyDeleteTo make as much money as possible, as soon as possible before the shit finally hits the fan?
And when it happens, could it be possible for them to fly out of Sinkapore at the first flight, leaving stupid Sinkies with all the shit?
Most likely the first measure fot them.
DeleteTop priority for them is to keep themselves safe and sound.
Never ever believe they are in politic for the people.
They are making more money thsn business people. And they deman and pay themselves.
patriot
Don't compare with Dubai.
ReplyDeleteDubai citizens get free housing, and a long list of other benefits.
http://cod-democracy.blogspot.sg/2012/11/dubai-citizens-get-free-housing.html
We assume that PM Lee knows what he is doing.
ReplyDeleteHe really should be working in the private sector.
A politician's job requires a person to have a passion for improving the lives of ordinary Singaporeans
Dubai treats their citizens very well. Dubai does not give PR status or citizenship to foreigners easily. These are the 2 areas that are very different from Singapore. I understand you have a point to say about Singapore but please do more research on something you are not familiar with. This will add credibility to your arguments. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteYou mean PAP does very careful research before their mass immigration policy?
Delete- PAP carefully planned to ensure sufficient housing, doctors, trains, buses etc for all the new residents of Singapore?
Oh yes, they do!
DeleteThey have the entire machinery at their disposal, unlimited resources and finance.
They are fully aware of the different scenarios, from the death of Mahathir to per square foot costs at Lim Chu Kang cemetary.
It is the priorities that they consider that has screwed us in along with the snake oil arguments.
Declining births= death to Singapore
Open the door or else your wife will be a maid
Strike and I will do you in
National Service is a must or else
Threatening words.. simply rule with threats and good cop/bad cop routine
You mean research like what the president's son did during NS?
DeleteEvery Ex Professional Soldier must be voted out if Singaporeans do not want to be treated like recruits in the Army.
DeleteLook at the Ways the Paper Generals now Rulers talked to us. Every of their policies were implemented liked edicts and their words were liked commands and orders.
There are simply too many paper generals of which none has fought a single battle, in the Cabinet.
Do Singaporeans wish to be treated like recruits, taking every word from the Rulers as Orders?
patriot
The last General who ever saw Real actions was LG Winston Choo when he was with the 1SIR.
DeleteHe was never in Government holding any political office that I know of, unless being an Ambassador qualifies as one.
Anyone care to add?
And while we all focus on pple living here for longish periods of time, there are more than a million tourists/visitors - needing medical, public transport, food, somewhere to stay... every Month. And the number is growing.
ReplyDeleteAre we even at the point of/considering catering to these pple as well? Otherwise the crush continues.
The best part is that all those expensive homes, all those buyers contributing to high property prices, are foreigners, quite a few of whom are buying properties here as holiday homes!
And as errrrrrrmmmm retirement homes!
We citizens are like kids with no money, standing outside a shop filled with wonderful toys. We can only look on with sadness.
BTW, I'm trying to figure out what's so wrong, so bad with having a retirement city. The pple coming here to retire would have to be rich, the kind of folk the govt loves. The only downside is they'd just have to put up with beggars -- 3 million citizens with their pockets to let.
Has anyone wondered why the Thai couple (TOURIST!!) were carring around $1 million in cash .... perhaps they were here to buy a holiday,retire home or park their cash in a property investment
DeleteWe are the parking area for hot money,black money ...so on
Is this the first time you hear of cabbies returning 6 figure sums to customers? If not, then maybe you can do a quick calculation of such an event happening several times over a few years, and conclude that there are many many many "tourists" trying to either bring their ill gotten gains here, or acting as courier for others. And yes, I confirm that the late Mr Ma Chi is a "financial advisor", and yes, private wealth banking is a booming business here. When GCT said "Swiss standard of living", he did not say it was going to be for you and me, just for the Indonesian businessmen and civil servants, Chinese princelings, US and European politicians and Brunei medical tourists (and of course our civil servants).
DeleteYou will also understand what keeps the red dot economy "robust" and "humming" despite the global financial crisis, and why they cannot let the Sing dollar fall at all cost.
Singapore is no country for old men, except ONE
ReplyDeletePolitic is all the same. They screwed you without your knowledge and you still thank them.
ReplyDeleteUntil Dubai's bankruptcy, you must be aware that the sheikhs' had frequent visits from his ah lau lasting over 10 years, dispensing advice from land reclamation to fixing the opposition, labour "flexibility" to the ABCs of inflating a real estate bubble.
ReplyDeleteAs to why pinkie is late and always wrong, well if you run a country by reading the latest cabinet paper from your PSs, who in turn have their scribes copy from the front page article from The Economist, you will always "lose touch with the ground" (P Balji gave that quote to the FT yesterday, not me). Thats the problem: the whole civil service are a bunch of copiers, devoid of experience and focused squarely on gaming the system to maximize their GDP bonus.
The difference between the UAE and Singapore is that the majority of the population there are transient workers, and will remain so. Do you think they will share their oil wealth with them by making them citizens? You can also see this in Brunei.
ReplyDeleteBut here they are converting them to citizens, to address a low TFR problem. Or a pretext to continue their GDP growth through population increase? These new citizens will never grow old meh, and add to the dependency ratio - a country of old men, including a centenarian by then?
The Pro Alien Traitors have no clue as to how to better the lives of Singaporeans.
DeleteTheir unchanging standard formula;
Singaporeans must always do National Service (i.e. suffer) so as to achieve economic greatness.
It's always work cheaper, longer and faster.
You want a better life?
Get talented FT's like Apple's Steve Jobs to lead Singapore.
Then you really get innovative solutions.
High or low fertility.
ReplyDeleteUnder PAP rule.
You got benefit or not?
Even if Singapore Reserves got $100 trillion dollars in cash.
You think Singaporean citizen will benefit or not?
After NatConning with PAP.
You think you will benefit or not?
We can vote for Kenneth Jeyaretnam.
DeleteHe and his party promise this:
Privatization of Temasek and GIC and distribution of equity to Singaporean citizens.
Yippee! I just received $320 workfare!!
ReplyDeleteErr.. just $110.. the remaining amout $210 is stuck in the CPF medisave.. so sweet of them to think about my high blood pressure medication costs.
( which I pay in cash now, and this money in medisave will be for my kids when I die!!)
They even thought about the next generation!! where got caring gahmen like that?? Hard to find you know.
What is your point?
ReplyDeleteIf it is that LHL is fucking selling out of Singaporeans out of his own self interest then you are spot on.
When I was twenty, I was serving national service for $90 a month. When I started working at twenty something, I was paid just a few hundred dollars and the reason given was I lack experience. At thirty something, with all the experience my pay was still low and the reason given, I lack the qualifications. So I went to do a full time masters degree program overseas. At forty something, with a masters and full of experience there was no job available and the reason given was there are better, faster and most importantly, cheaper foreigners available yet we see lousier, slower, blurer and more expensive ministers and mps around compared with the old guards. So what gives?
ReplyDeleteWe have now witnessed for ourselves how the salaries of our bus drivers, cleaners, etc., are now pegged to the salaries of PRC workers and no matter how long you worked in these jobs, there will not be much scope or hope for a much better life, unlike our Ministers who pegged themselves to the 8 highest earning professions.
DeleteIsn't that cunning for LKY to say that if we don't pay them well enough, they will tend to be corrupt ? But he didn't say at that time what is the use of CPIB if they are corrupt, you see.
Now tell me which profession in this whole world can equate themselves at par with 8 other different professions with just the mere stroke of the pen ? Suddenly one's remuneration is upgraded to a level that can only be achieved thorough years of hard work but without the risks and sweat of these 8 professions.
If our PAP leaders are so greedy and desperate for money, why don't they rob the bank ?
Let me try. It's because robbing the bank does not pay as well?
DeleteDid you do your Masters in Nigeria? Otherwise you could have met Sammy along the way. You might be in his chair and not writing in Tatt's blog. Sorry, start your own business, maybe sell banners to the PAP town councils, its quite profitable I heard. And guaranteed no one ever will dare check your accounts.
DeleteYou were conned into buying education.
DeleteDidn't do much good did it?
In Singapore, the wheel of life begins at PSLE.
Once your PSLE is below 250, thats it. Your entire life goes down the longkang.
"If our PAP leaders are so greedy and desperate for money, why don't they rob the bank ?"
ReplyDeleteBecause being a Minister in Singapore is easier. And it pays better.
No need to rob or extort when they are in position to demand and command.
ReplyDeletepatriot