Punggol East By-Election coming ? MP steps down
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Harlequin:
Anywhere else in the world is just about the same when people buy their first home, that is if they are lucky enough that their gov are capable enough to provide them with cheap public housing as heavenly as Singapore.[/quote]Ahem.hmm. You sure Singapore has cheap and heavenly public housing?!!! :yikes:janet_lee88:
[quote=\"ngl2010\"]And the 7m people will increase the demand for property so supply will still play catching up. So, property prices will still go north? I hope I am wrong.
New couples having to wait 3 years minimum for their first flat...their BTO flat is just an empty shell. Young couples have to save for wedding and renovate their flat and buy furniture. Even if they go for the minimum decor, renovation and furniture adds up.
New flats are in non-mature estates. If these young couples stay there and then start a family, they will be busy fetching/sending bb to and fro parents' place which is usually not near. Reason is bcos newly wedded couples can hardly afford to pay premium prices for resale units near their parents.
I just wonder if my kids can afford to buy a flat in future...or they also face the scenario of having to buy flats in the outskirts. Property prices will not come down.
They should concentrate on their efforts on providing sufficient HDB flats for majority and leave the private property market alone as the old saying those rich people can take care of themselves. Let that be a free market and make people to work hard to achieve to own private property. Why they impose ABSD on Rich foreigner, let them pay premium for high end private property since we are selling them space in the air. This will benefit citizen.
The problem is insufficient HDB flats for majority, MND allows people to retain HDB flat after buying private properties now. They should go back to good old day where these up-grader must sell their HDB flat within 6 months after buying their private property so that they do not hog the HDB flat and create under supply of resale HDB flat. Instead of tackling this problem, they implemented cooling off measures! -
3Boys:
Alamak! When come to housing, the immigration controls the working permit, PR, foreginer, visitors etc.. from my common sense le..How come MND never got the figures from them first before planning for how many housing required to build for Singapore! You mean they overlooked this and the planning is up to what they feel like it! :yikes:
How does knowing the parking woes of residents prepare us for SARs, 9-11, banking crisis, eurozone crisis and interest rates below 1%?sunflower:
Has anyone watched “Undercover Boss” or “Hotel Hell”? Very interesting shows, which point us to the importance of having bosses who are able to connect with the ground.
For effective and successful governance, we need to be able to manage at both macro and micro levels. Policies at macro level help push the country forward, but at the same time, a system needs to be in place to understand and address problems at micro level as well.
In crafting policies, we need to have the foresight to plan 10 -20 years ahead, be able to anticipate potential problems and having preventive measures in place to counter them, not fire-fighting measures to tackle problems as they arise. And how do we anticipate problems? …by knowing the ground sentiments well.
Like it or not, high COE ain't the most important problem in the world.
They called this as foresight. Housing supply problem is not foresight la..shouldn't use foresight la.. It's because they wanted to cut so lean to maximum usage of the existing situation la and does not want to have a bigger buffer (why? money again!). .. When come to housing, they should not cut things so fine...all their poor planing la.. :imconstipated: -
3Boys:
What you’ve cited are global issues policies. There are many different levels in terms of policy making. BTW, knowing ground sentiments doesn’t mean getting into the trivial details.
How does knowing the parking woes of residents prepare us for SARs, 9-11, banking crisis, eurozone crisis and interest rates below 1%?sunflower:
Has anyone watched “Undercover Boss” or “Hotel Hell”? Very interesting shows, which point us to the importance of having bosses who are able to connect with the ground.
For effective and successful governance, we need to be able to manage at both macro and micro levels. Policies at macro level help push the country forward, but at the same time, a system needs to be in place to understand and address problems at micro level as well.
In crafting policies, we need to have the foresight to plan 10 -20 years ahead, be able to anticipate potential problems and having preventive measures in place to counter them, not fire-fighting measures to tackle problems as they arise. And how do we anticipate problems? …by knowing the ground sentiments well.
Like it or not, high COE ain't the most important problem in the world.
You would have to had watched the shows to understand what I mean. Some bosses just couldn’t, or refused to understand/accept what was happening.
And I do agree that some of the current batch of ministers are better than some of those from the 2nd batch (GCT era). During GCT time, I felt intensely that priorities have shifted away from the fundamentals of what it means to be a public servant.
Running a government is very different from running a profit driven company. I can tell you, it was a very tedious process, trying to transform and fit everything into quantifiable and measurable KPIs, to be “profit” driven, that certain things somehow gave way along the way. -
We were lucky to secure a 4 room in this mature estate 15 years ago.
Though it is old, I will not consider selling it bcos I waited so long for lift on every level (the lift is right at my door step) and MRT will be ready in 2015.
Though my flat is no freehold, I better hold on to this mature unit for its convenience and wonderful amenities…maybe for my kids since prices have headed north. -
3Boys:
3boys
I actually don't agree with your analysis.Dora1:
3boys
I totally agree that we are very fortunate and SG is indeed a lot better than many other countries. However, we are where we are because of the hardwork if the old PAP in the 70s and 80s, and of course our grandparents and parents. The PAP of today cannot take the credit for what we have today. In the stat board that I'm working now, I have the privilege to work with an ex super scale civil servant who was still mentoring us until he passed away at 81 years old. According to the stories that he shared, the emphasis was always about the people, think of ways to save tax payers money. Also, the senior civil servants were rises from the bottom so they can make sound decisions very fast. But the senior civil servants of today are scholars, dun dare to make decisions as they are not familiar. Also, there is always the cost recovery that we have to bear in mind so all the stat board and ministries have to find ways to increase income to meet the cost recovery KPI.
So yes, we should be grateful to PAP for making SG as successful as it is today, but dun misplace the gratitude. It's not the current office holders.
And the reason ppl are in favour of WP is exactly that, we can see that the new PAP is going downhill and is bringing SG with it. That's why we need and opp like WP to slap them and put them back on track. And I agree with LTK, WP dun have the resources to replace pap so this is our best way out now
The current lot put more thought into policies, they finesse.
Think back to things like graduate mum's priority school admission, sterilisation of lowly educated women, stop at 2.
Who's policies were those?
How about ministerial pay? Who was the strongest advocate for high pay, threw the gauntlet down to CST and LTK back in the early 90s? Hint, our founding PM.
You think extra-marital affairs of PAP office holders are new? There are strong rumours of at least one high ranking minister of the 80s and 90s engaged in EMA, covered up.
The leaders of the '80s......
People don't know history, they don't study politics.
Frustrates the hell out of me.
The current lot is better, they try to convince, they rationalise.
But people have rose tinted glasses. They forget the political strategies of PAP today are firmly embedded in the past.
The older generation had their time, they were wildly successful.
But they are wholly unsuited to leadership today.
This whole concept of the past being better than the present is just fallacy.
I think we are talking abt different eras. I'm talking abt 70s and 80s. You are talking about 90s. 90s is the start of the Singapore Inc, which we are seeing now. The whole Singapore has turned into a profit oriented organisation.
Of course, policy makers in the 70s and 80s may not have the best policies when we look at it now. They also do make mistakes, they were a young gov then afterall. By the way I'm talking abt the whole gov, not our founding father alone. However, the difference is the fundamentals of the policies back then are nation building, people wellbeing etc. It may not always please everybody, the implementation may be questionable - we had an authoritarian gov anyway. You will hear the older generation complain that the gov is authoritative, strict, no human rights etc etc. The gov back then was like a very old fashioned and strict father, pushing policies down your throat cos they think it's good for your. Whether they really are right or not, we'll leave it to historians to discuss. However, fundamentally, it's for the nation and wellbeing of the people.
The gov of today is obsessed with profit and loss, cost recovery, GDP, being famous in the world. All citizens are reduced to numbers. The country is run like a company. People feel betrayed by the gov, everything is abt money. And not to mention the major influx of immigrants making us feel like a foreigner in our own homeland. All these feelings will not show up in statistics. We are humans with feelings, not money making and baby making machines.
That's why they didn't see the defeat coming -
Dora1:
Dora1, :goodpost:
I'm talking abt 70s and 80s.
90s is the start of the Singapore Inc, which we are seeing now. The whole Singapore has turned into a profit oriented organisation.
Of course, policy makers in the 70s and 80s may not have the best policies when we look at it now. They also do make mistakes, they were a young gov then afterall.
the difference is the fundamentals of the policies back then are nation building, people wellbeing etc. It may not always please everybody, the implementation may be questionable - we had an authoritarian gov anyway. You will hear the older generation complain that the gov is authoritative, strict, no human rights etc etc. The gov back then was like a very old fashioned and strict father, pushing policies down your throat cos they think it's good for your. Whether they really are right or not, we'll leave it to historians to discuss. However, fundamentally, it's for the nation and wellbeing of the people.
The gov of today is obsessed with profit and loss, cost recovery, GDP, being famous in the world. All citizens are reduced to numbers. The country is run like a company. People feel betrayed by the gov, everything is abt money. And not to mention the major influx of immigrants making us feel like a foreigner in our own homeland. All these feelings will not show up in statistics. We are humans with feelings, not money making and baby making machines.
That's why they didn't see the defeat coming -
JannettLee:
For this, I don't really feel it's a wrong move.
- Some middle group fed up with their cooling off measures too because cooling off measures are obstacles that make it difficult for them to upgrade to private property.
If the govt foresee a property bubble burst.. these steps may just save the middle income from some very expensive, high maintenance investments.. -
3Boys,
I’m not sure which part of my post emits ‘insufferable arrogance’. At least I didn’t assume that I am the only one in the world who knows about the history and politics. It doesn’t frustrate the hell out of me when others take a different view point.
I am not sure which part of history and politics you so lean towards to that I don’t know, but my gripe with their dirty politics goes back to Barisan Socialis. Perhaps you are one of those who are convinced that the BS are communists who ought to have been arrested under that accusation in the first place.
BS connected well with people because they spoke the same language, were on the ground with the common people, and identified with the needs of the people.
50 years those people suffered injustice and gave up their entire life for Singapore. Yet there’s nothing no one can do to return the dignity and freedom they were entitled to as well as anyone of us.
Most people are happy and contented with the current state of material life (which includes emotional and social stability) and so they are happy with the ruling party. It doesn’t matter what the party do or did to achieve what they achieve/d. You are grateful to them for giving you a prosperous country, a good job and a comfortable life.
To me, I am happy and comfortable with my own life. However, I can never give my respect to people who have used underhanded methods to achieve what they set out to achieve.
Sure, they have constraints. Who doesn’t? For a small country run by so many ministers with so much money and resources, it’s hard not to have it well-run, really.
I just hate it when you tell me that mc donald’s will do just fine when you are dining in a fine-dining restaurant. I hate it when you tell me that my kids don’t need tuition when you are splurging on them for your own kids. I hate it when you tell me that at least my aged parents got a cleaner’s job to do when your own parents are lounging at home, take strolls for leisure, and go for afternoon tea when they feel like it. -
limlim:
Actually lor, the first phrase of cooling measure is already > 2 year la (since 2010)...the property market is inching up instead le..the property (don't think it bubble) did not come down la...not even in hottest places like China/London/HK le..some of them do not have cooling measure some more la... Again, this is their unreal foresight! I always heard people complaint about they would have bought it before if not the intervention from government... :roll:
For this, I don't really feel it's a wrong move.JannettLee:
- Some middle group fed up with their cooling off measures too because cooling off measures are obstacles that make it difficult for them to upgrade to private property.
If the govt foresee a property bubble burst.. these steps may just save the middle income from some very expensive, high maintenance investments.. -
Dora1:
Really????? Why I get the impression that they are finding means and ways to spend all the allocated budget leh..Also, there is always the cost recovery that we have to bear in mind so all the stat board and ministries have to find ways to increase income to meet the cost recovery KPI.
refer to the MOM purchases of $500++ chairs and NEA $2k bikes etc.... And I believe many can attest that TCs tends to renovate a newly renovated infrastructures and these structures aren't really falling apart in the first place.. WHY are they spending money this way? Why it appears that only contractors are laughing all the way to the bank of all these unnecessary expenses + taxpayer money spending and residents don't really benefit?
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