The latest gaffes to come out from the PAP comedy soundbox belong to Josephine Teo, the Senior Minister of State for Transport and Finance.
Here are some noteworthy ones from her recent interview with the PAP-run "Singapolitics":
On free MRT travel:
"People weren’t necessarily shifting because they wanted to save $1.25. (It) allowed them a lifestyle change. One lady I spoke to comes into the office earlier (and) goes home earlier: “Now I have more time to cook dinner and spend with my family. I’m enjoying it a lot.”
[So Josephine, if free travel allowed for lifestyle change, doesn't it mean that people were changing because of the free travel?]
On cabs and ERP:
"A cab driver wants the certainty that there is a fare to be picked up.
If there is no fare, the ERP can be very low and discounted, it still doesn’t mean he will want to go there. The more productive conversation is around how you can give taxi drivers better information on where the fares are."
[There are no fares within town and CBD? Have you seen the long queues at Takashimaya and Ion?]
On Project Jewel:
"The airport in (South) Korea has a prominent cultural centre and they have Louis Vuitton. Which one do you think is busier? We need the cultural showcases. But people do enjoy shopping. Changi Airport has to be responsive to what passengers want."
[You mean there isn't enough shopping in Terminal 1, 2 and 3? You spend $1.47b just to build a shopping centre?]
On train reliability:
"Singapore's train reliability is quite good compared to the best of the world."
[And of course, it broke down the next day.]
The Alternative View
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