The Singapore Daily

"..PM Lee’s dare to dream is revealing in itself. Against the reality of Singapore, it sounds almost like a taunt: to sleep, perchance to dream, but only if you dare."
Cavalierio

"The thing is, we don’t want to do propaganda art."
Audrey Wong

"..the very fact that all these [CPF Life and Eldershield] schemes and policies are both mandatory and self-funded are indicative that the government has no desire to own the problems."
mjuse

"I feel it is a little ironic that a champion of mainstream values [Singanews] did not want mainstream attention."
Sam Ho

This week’s roundup and recommended reads after the break.

Housing
- The Secret Political Blog: Can’t afford HDB flats? You deserve it if you’re poor
- TOC: Disillusioned with trying to purchase a HDB flat
- The Temasek Review: HDB: new flats sold at “significant discount”
- Hard Hitting in the Lion City: Singapore Property Prices
- Recruit Ong: Andy Xie: What We Can Learn as Japan’s Economy Sinks
- My Sketchbook: "Affordable" public housing by HDB
- Diary of A Singaporean Mind: Affordability in Singapore..
- ~eternalhap~: Preliminary Thoughts on Public Housing in Singapore
- The Temasek Review: A letter from Ng Kok Lim: HDB’s affordability benchmark is not reasonable
- The Temasek Review: A letter from Ng Kok Lim: Home ownership becoming a liability rather than an asset
- The Star: Fears of a property bubble spur buying spree [Thanks Mike]
- TOC: The future of discontent
- Lion Investor: Is Property in Singapore Affordable?
- The Temasek Review: How much money is HDB making or losing from the sale of new flats?
- The Temasek Review: In response to ST journalist Fiona Chan’s article
- Diary of A Singaporean Mind: The cause of HDB resale price surge..
- The Secret Political Blog: Straits Times editorial chides Singaporeans for being unreasonable
- The Temasek Review: The paradox of Singapore’s economic growth: Housing Component
- Diary of A Singaporean Mind: Straits Times Editorial: …Its all YOUR FAULT!
- Hard Hitting in the Lion City: A Strange One
- Singapore Alternatives: HDB High Prices & Influx of FT
- My Singapore News: Downgrading the quality of living
- Singapore Dino: Singapore’s National Disgrace: The Straits Times
- Singapore Social and Political Thoughts: Massive Spin for these Town Council MPs

Strangers in a Strange Land
- Sg Pirate Game: Deceptive Statistics [Recommended]
- The Temasek Review: Singapore’s art groups decline to be propaganda mouthpiece for National Integration Council
- Singaporean Skeptic: Mr PM: Please release the exact figures.
- My Sketchbook: Slowing down the intake of foreigners
- TOC: Lessen dependence on foreign labour [Recommended]
- Singapore Social and Political Thoughts: What is the PAP thinking?
- TOC: Winning the hearts and minds of orphans
- Sg Pirate Game: Singapore Chocolate Factory
- Singapore Social and Political Thoughts: A Look at Australian Immigration Policy
- ALVINOLOGY: Stranger in my own country
- The Temasek Review: Are foreigners depriving locals of places in NUS, NTU and SMU? (Part 1)
- BlogTV: Gayle Goh on integration, the UK, and a mindset change. [via TOC ]
- The Temasek Review: Are foreigners depriving locals of places in NUS, NTU and SMU? (Part 2)

Singapore’s Newest News Hub: SingaNews
- The Kent Ridge Common: Why a pro-family program should rise above sexual issues
- Sam’s Thoughts: Combing the Mane of Singanews for Lice [Recommended]
- The Kent Ridge Common: Why a pro-family program should rise above sexual
- TOC: Thio Li-Ann’s speech at New Media Breakfast forum
- Simply Gab: SingaNews: Divine intervention or distraction?

Singaporeans are fed, up with progress!
- Blowin’ In The Wind: In millionaire-rich Singapore, majority income below national average
- The Temasek Review: State media crowed about Singapore being a “millionaire country”
- Mathia Lee: Meritocracy, as we would like it
- The Temasek Review: The paradox of Singapore’s economic growth: Time & Income [Recommended]
- TOC: The unsustainable Singapore model

Town Councils
- Today In Singapore: Some Report Card
- The Temasek Review: Teo Ho Pin blames residents for S&C arrears
- Simply Gab: Town Council Reviews: Where is the Green?!

Road to Perdition Election
- TOC: Have your views of the political parties changed in the last 3 years?
- The Kent Ridge Common: Upfront with The Reform Party: An exclusive interview with Mr Kenneth Jeyaretnam and Mr Justin Ong

Twilight in Paradise. Growing Old In Singapore
- The Kent Ridge Common: Of Ph.D. taxi drivers and the aging conundrum

Twilight in Paradise. CPF Life
- flaneurose: On CPF Life [Thanks twasher] [Recommended]
- The Temasek Reivew: CPF Life – A Critical Analysis

Singapore Coloring
- Sam’s Thoughts: Good News Malay!
- ed’s Blog: What is singapore’s ‘Promote Mandarin Council’ actually Promoting? [Thanks lary]

Truth, Justice, and the Singapore Way
- Diary of A Singaporean Mind: Singapore Justice is sometimes baffling..

The Gospel of Harry
- The Secret Political Blog: MM Lee teaches Russian students how it’s done in Singapore
- Singaporean Skeptic: Lee Kuan Yew says the darndest thing.

The Gospel of Harry: Harry Lee and the Men in White
- Blowin’ In The Wind: Men In White: More
- The Kent Ridge Common: Of Men In White and objective history

GIC, Temasek State Fund Investments
- Singapore Dino: Temasek-owned companies suffer bad publicity in Australia
- Singaporean Skeptic: Who is responsible for GIC’s profit? (A tale of 2 news paper report.)

Healthcare & Healthcare Providers
- The Gigamole Diaries: H1N1 vaccine – areas of concern
- Singapore M.D.: Residency Part II
- Gerald Giam’s Blog: Govt considers covering congenital illnesses under MediShield
- The Gigamole Diaries: The problem with slimming pills..

ERPains, Trains & Automobiles
- My Sketchbook: The new EZ link card

Recession
- Diary of A Singaporean Mind: The Economy and the Stock Market..

Religion
- TOC: On tolerance, sedition and forgiveness

National Service
- Singapore Alternatives: Protecting Military Secrets…?

Censoring Singapore
- Only "objective" and "factual" political films please, we’re Singaporeans: Martyn See writes to Minister on Zahari’s 17 Years
- Seelan Palay’s Blog: Seelan Palay submits Francis Seow video for rating

In Remembrance: Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam
- TOC: JBJ’s interview with FEER
- Jacob 69er: {Video} Tribute to J B Jeyaretnam by Dr Chee Soon Juan
- ed’s Blog: In memoriam, Joshua Ben Jeyaratnam : Move over JBJ, it’s time for ‘ed’

Daily Discourse
- Cavalierio: Requiem for a dream [Recommended]
- The Brotherhood Press: Will Singapore and Malaysia go to war in the name of chili crab? – A study in gastronomical intrigues
- The Temasek Review: The facade of meritocracy in Singapore
- 光でも闇でも: Singapore: a totalitarian state?
- The Grand Moofti Speaks: Singaporean Behaviour – Not So Bizarre After All
- The Kent Ridge Common: Who we should bring to bed – The Last Revolution
- Chia Ti Lik’s Blog: Kwik Press – Fast money – Fast Backpedalling – Fast Cars (F1) – Fast Women (Ballless Men) – Fast & Loose
- Master of the Obvious: Singapore – where whatever we do, is never good enough
- Blowin’ In The Wind: Singapore F1 spinoffs not easy to calculate
- The Kent Ridge Common: Is Singapore Hungry? – A Project Perk Discussion
- The Temasek Review: PM Lee Wades into Singapore’s Blogosphere
- Alas, a blog!: As SOEasy crashes and burns, Singapore’s Ministry of Education does the Right Thing

Life, the universe and everything
- Bernard Leong: Why and How Facebook should come to Southeast Asia
- Rambling Librarian: Stuttering: some resources and related links
- Singapore Fountain Pen: Beyond The Run – Yellow Ribbon Prison Run 2009 [Thnaks Major]
- Irreligious: Defending Ho Yeow Sun [Thanks Terence]
- Blowin’ In The Wind: Free because you blog, tweet, in an attention economy
- Chee Siok Chin’s Blog: The Visit [Thanks Seelan]
- Tales Over Coffee: Why So Serious? Singaporean Blogosphere Blues
- Dee Kay Dot As Gee: Sneak peek of the F1 Rocks backstage
- pressanykeytocontinue.com: Phuckthis.net Launched ! Vent, Complain, Share!

Infoblogaramous
- Singapore Entrepreneurs: Events For The Week – 19-26 Sept

ERPains, Trains & Automobiles
- A response to Case’s concern addressed, says EZ-Link
Dear Mr Danker

Given that your previous responses are lacking, kindly answer my queries:

In the first place, I am not convinced that it was necessary to change the EZ-link card system at all. As someone who uses the public transport system in Singapore (incidentally, Mr Danker, do you rely on the public transport system solely? Or do you drive?), the new EZ-link system appears more expensive to implement, and seems to only profit the public transport companies and EZ-link. It does not benefit me in any additional way as a public transport user. All I need, is a simple and affordable card that I can use for public transport. I don’t want an expensive card for multiple purposes. I am therefore extremely disappointed with the authorities for allowing the public transport companies and EZ-link to implement the new EZ-link card without good justification. I would rather the public transport companies pass on the savings to commuters by reducing the fares if these companies made so much money from us over the years. Mr Danker, do you realise that we have no practical alternatives for transport because the public transport companies have a monopoly in Singapore? So, Mr Danker, please justify to me why it is absolutely necessary and beneficial to public transport users for SBS, SMRT, EZ-link etc to incur the very expensive costs of overhauling the previous system to implement a completely new system?

Secondly, Mr Danker, why is it that the previous EZ-link card system was able to do auto-GIRO top-ups without charging extra costs, but the new system incurs extra costs? As a commuter, I do not want something that is more expensive. I would rather have an old system that costs less, instead of a new system that costs more, especially when the new system has no other additional benefit to me as a commuter. Besides, aren’t the top-ups all computerised and automatic? If so, that should be an efficient and cost-saving system. Pray don’t tell me that you are now manually doing the top-ups and that is why it is so expensive now.

Thirdly, Mr Danker, I am tired of public transport companies reaping huge profits from public commuters year after year. It results in trying to squeeze your commuters in 2 ways: (a) for more money and (b) in over-crowded trains and buses. Do you think it is possible for the public transport companies to spare a thought for the commuters and to stop trying to squeeze them? I would like to see the companies either (a) revert to a government-run public service or (b) become not-for-profit organisations. After all, public transport is an essential service to the public, not a luxury good. Don’t you agree?

I look forward to your replies.
matchger

No direct link to this, so we reproduce it here. [Thanks Lyndon]

September 26th, 2009 | Category: Weekly Roundup |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | Subscribe to comments | Leave a comment | Trackback URL