Thursday, April 28, 2011

The truth

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said, "(Mr Low) is perfectly entitled to want to win a GRC.

"(But) think carefully because it affects your property value, it affects your neighbourhood, if affects your country, it affects your future."

And I am in total agreement with him, as it reflects not just a plausible future, but what is happening now.

For the last 5 years, PAP was in almost absolute power, and boy, did our property value grows, and that instead of being please by it, I am worried sick. Now, rising property prices does nothing for me, I cannot monetise it and downgrade in the midst of a growing family. I could consider staying in the tent with my family but I am not sure Vivian will like it. The hard truth here is that, should the property price keeps going up, my children may need to spend 40 or even 50 years to service a 700k+ ~ 1mil public housing, and that means that they will need to work to their 90s before they can retire.

On an immediate note, rising property price also means..... increase in rent, and it does not take a mathematician to figure that it all adds up to inflation.

Affecting my neighbourhood, well, with our arms wide open to foreign "talent", I am feeling like the stranger in my homeland. Hey, I am probably leaving in UN. I will not be surprised that some of my local neighbours wither have to move out, or they are attracting artworks on the wall that resembles something like "O$P$" whatever they maybe. And hey, I won't be surprise that a number of wakes that takes place are due to the intermittent train stops that I experienced in MRT. Now, for someone that has taken the MRT since it started, I have seen the peak hour waiting from 3 mins went to 3 mins over the years and sometime improve to a 6 min waiting time, I am a fimr believer in the virtue of waiting but I am not sure the hundreds of people share the same feeling. Sometime, I feel like the human pinball, moving in the molasses of human traffic. Not to mention the help the block cleaning auntie gets to ensure she stay in employment by leaving her all the cans of beers and butts and sometime rice after their gathering.

I am also thankful that all my friends from other country helped me to do my part to fight inflation to make sure that I don't get too much pay to buy stuffs. I have to make sure that I always buy house brand and frozen stuff to make sure that I do not go over budget. And that I am not concern about having 3 meals in hawker center, food court or restaurant, I have my meals at home or in the company canteen as they are the only place that I can afford.

As for my country, I am glad that a good doctor tells us that running a practice as a doctor is actually national service. If I ever have a son, I will tell him that he can be whatever he can be, and that should he ever decide to be a lawyer, practicing law is also a form of national service. Not sure if MINDEF agrees to that though.

As for my future, I am concern of course, I am very sure that JB is a good place to retire and I am sure that I can find a good nursing home there. Hey maybe Batam is also a nice place. provided that I can work to my retirement and that the minimum sum is at 300k when I retire at 85.... after which, I will still try to work at Mcdonanlds or collect cans.... But that is if I can still stay gainfully employed and not displaced by some foreign talent whose only talent is to be able to survive on less as their family are located at their hometown whereby SGD100 can sustain a family of 5 for 3 months. I am also worried that we are not going to increase our GST to help more poor.

I thank the PM and his cabinets for their dedication and I am sure that the million dollar salary is really too little. I am pretty sure that its more good year whereby we have to stay together while they move ahead.