Only $400,000 to make a decision with a "name" ?
The Government spent $4,000,000 to engage 3 different sets of
foreign consultants to confirm if an MRT system is needed for
Singapore, or if the bus system could be further improved.
This amount was spent on top of the fact finding mission of the
then Minister Ong Teng Cheong (deceased), who organised a large
committee to travel through all the major cities on earth, to check
out their transportation system and development plans in a large
urban setting; AND had recommended that a Mass Rapid Transit system
is a definite NECESSITY for the future of Singapore.
The First Group of Consultants confirmed the necessity of having an
MRT, while the Second Group of Consultants favored an all Bus
system.
The Third Group was smarter by recommending an improved bus network
to work in conjunction with an MRT system.
Total bill of $4,000,000 was explained to be justifiable by then PM
LKY, as he believed that a decision that require a major
expenditure on a multi-billion dollar project has to be carefully
made.
The fact that major population centers cannot function without a
Mass Rapid Transport was not seen or appreciated to be obvious by
then PM LKY, when this was already confirmed in the report by our
own local Fact Finding Mission conducted by then Minister Ong Teng
Cheong (deceased) - who was a trained and practising Architect
before entering politics.
The present $400,000 is "PEANUT" compared to this $4,000,000 that
was cracked during 1980s.
