Dear All
Many a time, the Government will piss us off. Sometimes more than
normal.
This instance of the impending GST Hike is one of those.
My reasons are given in my letter to ST Forum Page sent
today.
Whether or not they will publish the letter, this I do not know,
but what I do know is if this letter goes out into the forums, the
pressure on them to publish will be greater.
Furthermore and for the early benefit of Forumites, the letter is
reproduced below:
Warm regards
Ti Lik
QUESTIONS UPON THE GST HIKE
Two phenomena of the Goods and Services Tax:-
1. the GST is like a knife cuts across all social strata and
classes; and
2. where the blade of GST cuts, the wounds inflicted are unequally
deep.
People on the middle and lower rungs inevitably suffer more as they
do not have enough to begin with and the GST increase further
inflates the cost of living for their basic needs.
All Governments are duty bound to make life better for their
people. All the more one which proclaims itself to be a 1st World
Government.
Singaporeans voted for a 1st World Government and for a better
life. Will this GST hike better the peoples lives?
Is this to be expected of a 1st World Government? A Governments
inability to undertake initiatives without levying further burden
on its people speaks volumes about its abilities.
The Government attempts to justify the GST hike by dressing itself
as a righteous knight juggling a number of problems. However in
doing so, it missed out on the following introspective
questions:-
1. Has it not occurred to the Government that Singaporeans fail to
replace themselves because the Government has made life too
stressful for its citizens to consider adding helpless dependents
into their lives?
2. What is the logic of increasing GST on one hand and setting up
schemes to attempt to alleviate the pain on the other? If it is so
difficult fund the expenditure, would Singapore be better off not
increasing the expenditure?
3. Has it not occurred to the Government that there are places
within the establishment that can afford to have their expenditure
and wastage reduced?
4. What happened to the PMs call to Stay Together and Move
Ahead?
5. Is the GST hike our PMs idea of leaving no one behind?
6. Has the Government considered levying tax on luxuries instead to
meet the expenditure?
In short, our Government has a flawed character: A recalcitrant
unwillingness to spend the peoples money on the people and an
assiduous need to balance the account books at the expense of the
people whenever any expenditure is required.
If the recent suicides (via MRT or otherwise) have caught the
attention from our Members of Parliament, then none of them should
stand by and allow this latest GST hike.
All public office bearers, the people who have benefited and are
still benefiting from this country have a sacrosanct duty to their
entrusted ward, the people at all times.
A Government has duties to fulfill, questions to answer and a
people to take care of in its entire term of office and not only
just prior to the next General Election.
It is depressing to every Singaporean to have to remind the PAP
Government of its duties and its own promises so soon after the
recent General Elections is but what needs to be done has to be
done.
Let this be a gentle reminder to the Ruling Party: That no amount
of figures and arguments can rationalize the illogicality of a
Governments actions and the inherent contradiction with its own
promises. Let not the administration of Singapore degrade itself to
mediocrity.
Chia Ti Lik
