It has been a frustrating year for many Singaporeans.
Although our
GDP has grown significantly for the past quarters but the decline
in the retail sector speaks volume of the kind of growth we are
getting.
Our purchasing power is either stagnant or unable to catch up with
the inflation caused by various factors. Any GDP growth that
doesn’t benefit Singaporeans
in terms of higher purchasing power and quality of life is
meaningless. It is at best
just another justification for the ministers to increase their own
pay.
On the other hand, we have to ask ourselves while our Nation
achieves almost 20% growth in GDP for the last quarter but have our
income achieve even half of that growth?
Besides, the cost of having such high GDP growth is tremendous. We
are just increasing more and more foreign labour to achieve growth.
This may result in suppressed wages for Singaporeans and at the
same time, a more crowded place for everyone else.
According to our study and research, the PAP government has
consciously embarked
on a very aggressive foreign workers policy to help boost the
economy since 2006. However, many ministers, including the
Ministers for Transport, Health and National Development are
basically “Caught off Guard” by such explosive population
growth.
Our public transport system could no longer cope with the excessive
increase of population over such short period of time. The growth
in train and bus services is lagging far behind the growth of
population over the years. This results in over crowded MRT trains
and buses during peak hours.
On top of that, the fares have increased for many of us since July,
for as much as 7% or more!
Our HDB flat prices are shooting off the roof. HDB failed to build
enough flats to cope with the population growth. The need of paying
a 30 years mortgage for a simple HDB flat is definitely not a sign
of affordability.
Hospital care is the most important matter of life and death.
However hospital beds are in great shortage as the building of the
new hospital is delayed for nearly a decade. It seems that the
Ministry of Health does not plan ahead. The problem could be so
acute that sometimes patients have to be left lying along the
corridors of the wards!
But yet, our Prime Minister has just declared that we need another
100 thousand more foreign workers! Are we supposed to endure a
further deterioration of these problems?
The recent floods that we have are creating doubts on the
competency of the highly paid PAP government. We do not want to
hear excuses from “once in 50 years”, “it is impossible to be flood
free” to “it is an act of God”. When we are paying the world’s
highest pay to the ministers, we expect such fundamental problems
to be solved.
To suffer 3 or 4 floods within a couple of months is totally
unacceptable to a small island that prides itself as a modern
world-class city state.
All these
happenings come under the charge of the world’s most expensive
ministers in Singapore. We need accountability but there is none.
We need proper checks and balances but there is
little.
Singapore needs to progress both economically as well as
politically in a balanced way. We should not just aim for some huge
GDP growth at all cost. We should also build a political system
whereby accountability is effectively in place.
It is time for us, my fellow Singaporeans, to reflect upon all
these happenings during this National Day. We have to ask ourselves
what kinds of living environment and quality of life we want for
our children. High GDP growth no longer guarantees better quality
of life but in contrary, lower our overall standard of living.
We also have to
ask ourselves whether we want our children to inherit a political
system that is based on total dominance of power by a single ruling
party, which will use every means to fix its opponents and those
who hold alternative views.
Do we want our
children to inherit a government which only demands the highest pay
in the world but shy away from accountability and
responsibility?
We need a change to this system and we need courage to change
it.
Wishing you a Happy National Day.
http://www.nsp.sg/ennsp-national-day-message-2010
