What is the use of feedbacks or speaker's corner?
These are merely justifications and look-good presentations of
democracy to the outside world which are meaningless and of no
effect on real improvements or upgrading.
Debates will be the better solutions.
For example, Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan has been a great debater in
his days.
How about debating with people on the subject of high cost of
living. Is it inevitable that Singapore must continue to keep to
its high cost policy of the past by charging every fee increase on
the slightest excuse.
Here is one feedback to Dr. V but he has not made any attempt to
respond.
QUOTEDr. Vivian Balakrisnan has asked Singaporeans who complainted
about high costs this question- can you help us to provide a
solution.
Very simple solutions to the high cost problem are many such as the
following:-
(A) SET UP A PROPER AND OBJECTIVE BASIS OF CHARGES OF ALL
GOVERNMENT FEES AND HDB SALE FLATS ETC.:-
(1) Taxes - apportion the personal and corporate taxes, GST, COEs,
and vehicle and petrol taxes etc into portion used to fund
essential government services and portion for long-term
investments
(2) Rewrite all basis of accounting to avoid hidden costs of
accumulation of investment gains so that such gains are returned to
offset costs e.g. lands acquired by HDB or JTC or government for
public housing etc should not have been handed over to SLA and sold
back to HDB and JTC and allow them to charge for lands again
already owned by people at market prices.
(3) Utility fees should be computed based on consumption items e.g.
oil, wages, overheads, materials, parts and not including land or
building rentals or infrastructure depreciation (fixed assets like
land were acquired by government and paid from tax payers
surpluses)
(3) Disclose the full sets of accounts without creative accounting
so that all the hidden gains and costs should be presented for
scrutiny by anyone interested and by an independent panel.
(B) Try the following Three alternatives before putting up fee
increases:-
(1) Cut costs and use cost saving to absorb expected increases.
(OSP has offered comprehensive cost-cutting solution)
(2) Remove land rentals, fixed asset costs and infrastructure costs
already paid by taxpayers upon acquisition and construction and all
surpluses from asset appreciations shown in accounts prior to
corporations of government into GLCs etc to return them to
consumers.
(3) Increase only as a final resorts to cover consumption items or
wages after removing non-consumption items amply provided by budget
and off-budget statutory surpluses and national reserve. (with
provision that in event of surpluses they should be passed back to
all citizens to lower fees and not give rebates to only the lower
income groups which so far only lead to more problems to the middle
and lower-middle income groups who are already citizens and not
doing that well now because of joblessness.
Do not govern by creative accounting as happened in Enron,
Worldcom, CAO etc and NKF by quietly accumulating assets and
surpluses.UNQUOTE
If government wants change, it has to debate its major policies
which are no longer working well in today's conditions.