At first Yeo Ning Hong claimed that PSA did not compete on costs
but quality. But he later had to swallow his pride when major
shipping companies migrated in hordes to Port Pelepas by reducing
PSA charges.
Considering that he was one of the key ministers in the previous
cabinet he had actually revealed a long-standing government secret
in charging land costs on public and essential services when lands
were already paid for by the citizens and should not be charged
against the citizens once again as HDB has done in selling its
flats to the people.
Yeo had at first stubbornly held his ground on the double land
charge on PSA services and public housing and maintained the
government's right to double-charge on land costs.
He had finally been forced to cancel the double land charge in the
PSA fees and port dues as otherwise PSA might be swallowed up by
the bigger sharks like Pelepas. So shrimps will not try to tinker
with the sharks so Yeo relented and has to forgo land double charge
to preserve PSA's economic competitiveness as against shark
Pelepas.
How much cuts were made on the land costs by the PSA in the
cut-back on its fees and port charges ? How much of these cuts were
due to elimination of double charge on land rentals and how much
were due to improved mechanisation and efficiency?
Why the LTA, JTC, HDB, Town Council, privatised hospitals and
polyclinic and Utilities and Public Transport companies and all
essential Public services could not do likewise to drop the double
taxes on lands as these lands were already paid for by
taxpayers.
Must the government continue to impose land charges resulting in
increasing costs of living every year.
Must the government continue to corporatise essential public
services to GLCs and allow GLCs to charge for lands and
infrastructures all over again when these services were already
paid by taxpayers before transfer to GLCs.
Does the government treat the people as smaller fish as shown in
its giving way to Pelepas over the land costs whereas it refuses to
cut back the land costs on essential medicare and utility and
transportation services.
People have repeatedly suffered from high costs of medicare,
utility and public transportation services due to unthinking
double-charge on lands already owned by the people but government
has refused to withdraw the double land charge whereas when
threatened by Pelepas it would just capitulate as Yeo Ning Hong has
had to be forced to do so?
If the world is like a big ocean where big fish eat small fish must
government treat people as small shrimps to be bullied to no
end.
Why do we need to elect government only to elect them as bigger
sharks to eat us small fishes?
It is about time the principle of government charges be
straightened out in the open and not hidden as cabinet discussions
as Temasek or GIC are doing in investing away people's monies on
lost shin corp or micropolis.
So all the so-called leadership end up in such big eat small as
seen in past policies of how government charges and double charges
the people?
Is that what the post 65 MPs or younger Ministers will recommend or
tolerate in the globalised era.
People of the lower income group are forced to pay up to 40%-60% of
their take-home pay on utilities and transportation costs jacked up
by government by creative land accounting.
So if there is going to be a change for the economy to make it
competitive like the 1960s-1970s, the first thing to change is to
look into over-charging based on tax-and-recover and
corporatization policies which have been the main reasons for high
costs and dropping wages.
The earlier the old guards relented like Yeo Ning Hong the quicker
will the people end the current suffering and MRT jumping.
Certainly the solution is not to put up only good news and forget
to mention bad ones like the PSA or NKF hoping they will disappear
on their own?