Long story short! The S’pore govt. has created a hotch-potch of contradictory policies & mutually exclusive outcomes that cause great pain & suffering for the people. Tan Chuan-Jin is not a saviour that can unravel this web of vested interests & political manoeuvres. The whole system has to change or face an implosion of relatively great force to upheave the system.
1. PUBLIC HOUSING
Let’s be blunt here! HDB public housing is not really for housing per se. For most people, it is a form of profitable investment. For the govt. it is a voting buying mechanism for future GEs. Years ago when Pasir Ris was an emerging new town, there were rows of completed flats but no one was staying there except for a few lighted units. Why? Apparently, newly married couples would book units there but did not occupy them preferring to stay with their parents. After 5 years, WHAM! they sold them for good capital gains. This is an investment game which Singaporeans are wise about! If not, why the HDB Resale Levy & 2 bites of the cherry rules? Why a rash of HDB upgrading schemes whenever it is close to election time? Why opposition wards get so run down after a few years under opposition rule? Why the racial quotas for HDB housing estates?
Of course, the HDB income ceiling is not there for no reason! Like primary school streaming, they channel the “have’s” to private housing & the “have-not’s” to public housing. This is a form of political patronage! The rich will never appreciate the PAP whereas the poor will be undoubtedly grateful for the rest of their lives.
2. FOREIGNERS ISSUE
The foreigners issue is very clear. The govt. & GLCs need to have a bigger share of the profits – to keep S’pore ticking & to pay the Ministers their million dollar salaries. By keeping wages low & capital cheap while keeping land cost high & retaining a bigger share of profits for management & shareholders (sic. the Govt.) – foreigners are led in like cattle to do the donkey works. Don’t need to be an Einstein genius to see this!
3. CONTRACT JOBS
This is a very dangerous job trend for Singaporeans. Like the COE system where COE was originally designed to keep private vehicle population within a % of general population. The open immigration policy blows apart the COE system into a wide open ‘race to the top’ where only the wealthy can afford a 47% share of COEs for their Mercedes Benzs & BMWs.
For contract jobs, the higher cash income disguises the CPF/Medisave ‘liability’. It looks so rosy until one hits 55 years old – he or she then faces a huge CPF & Medisave minimum sum for retirement. Even the home is forced to be pledged to meet this ‘liability’. This is a DEMOGRAPHIC TIME BOMB!
Recently, the govt. has cracked down on commission & variable income workers like real estate agents & taxi drivers to meet Medisave needs in lieu of the coming Medishield Life plan. They are forced to pay S$5k/yr to S$40k minimum into Medisave before their licence extension to “tan-chiak” [Ed. "tan chiak" is Hokkien for "make a living"] can be granted.
Social Commentator