Opinions

As expected, Budget 2019 rolled out the goodies for Singaporeans. The PAP government won't admit it but this all works in its favour as it prepares for the next elections. Nevertheless, after all the anticipation leading up the budget announcement, a sense of emptiness pervades.

Singaporeans can't be bought with goodies and whatever goodies that will be rolled out to Singaporeans was just inadequate. Whatever the case may be, just take the goodies because it belongs to you and not the government.

One important issue that may have been overlooked by Singaporeans, unless you are business owners in the service industry, was the reduction of the foreign worker quota. This would be done by reducing the dependency ratio ceiling (DRC) in stages, over two years. By 2021, employers have to ensure that their foreign worker strength does not comprise of more than 35% of their total workforce. 

It was the PAP government that opened the doors to foreigners to take advantage of the global economic downturn in 2008. While Singapore was well-placed to recover from the downturn, it was a flawed solution as it meant that there was an influx of foreign workers. This resulted in depressed wages and added more competition for locals, especially those in the lower-income group.

Singaporeans, including owners of SMEs, have become too dependent on this foreign labour.

The move to lower the quota is long overdue. It should have been carried out a long time ago. 

Now that the SMEs need to restructure and innovate to meet the challenges of the decrease in manpower head on, how will the government help them? Structural reforms take time and a lot of money to undertake and SMEs don't survive. How are we to cultivate an innovative spirit when businesses aren't allowed the time and given the necessary support to grow?

Singapore will look different in 2021. Some SMEs may vanish forever but before that happens, ensure that you vote the right people into parliament in the next elections.

The writer, Kelvin, is unmoved.

In case you missed it, Minister Heng Swee Keat delivered a speech on the 2019 Budget. Some takeaways include the bicentennial bonus, personal tax income rebate, top up of Post Secondary Education Accounts for students and the Merdeka Package.

Now I'm sure many of us are thinking if the elections are coming. Why are there so many chicken wings being given out now? Should we be happy? Well the answer to that is written all over the 151 medias social media accounts. Even though Straits Times has an article titled 'Budget gets thumbs-up from older folk and young people', a closer inspection on their comments section reveal what citizens really think. Questions about whether elections are coming, accusations of the government buying the votes of citizens through chicken wings like these and also how the chicken wings do not actually help us with the rising costs in Singapore. 

Many people also agreed that these chicken wings are pointless. "Why not just release our CPF instead of doing so many pointless things?" is one of the more popular questions raised. What do you think? Would you rather they release our CPF monies instead of coming up with these schemes?

Less than a week ago, an angry man named "Anis Rizky" took a video of his own confrontation with an uncle who was burning offerings very early in the morning, and posted on his own FB profile, in a misguided attempt to initiate a backlash against the uncle. We all know by now, the backlash was on the man instead. Netizens branded him arrogant, inconsiderate, and a trouble-maker.

There have been many people who parodied the guy. 

This one by Thyronne Soh Yan Da and his friends may have taken it too far. So what happened was in order to make fun of the guy, Soh and friends, who claim to be from Yishun, went all the way down to Woodlands to the exact place where the confrontation took place. And what happened next? They just lit as much candles, incense, and paper offerings, and all the time mocking what happened.

They were escalating the situation unnecessarily. 

These guys are not heroes. They are idiots and we have to let them know.

"Anis Rizky" did not show any respect or consideration to the religious practices of the uncle. He deserved to be made fun of. What was heartening was that even our Malay Muslim friends chided him for what he did. It was obvious that his thoughts were inconsistent with the thoughts of many of those in the minority races. He was a bad apple but he wasn't able to make everyone else as rotten as him.

So enough was enough. That was until this jokers came along.

Firstly, there was no need for such a reaction. By exaggerating their burning of offerings, they were baiting people. What if someone else was angered by it? What if it was an Indian guy, or a non-Taoist Chinese who reacted instead? What if it turned out into an actual fist fight? Were they prepared for it?

Secondly, by doing the burning not is a different neighbourhood altogether, they give the wrong impression that this practice can be done anywhere. If it can indeed be done anywhere, why not do it on Pulau Semakau, further away from mainland Singapore and no one to be offended by you. If you were not so ignorant, you'd have known that the offerings for the ancestors have to be near your house.

Don't go around looking for trouble and give people the wrong impression. In Singapore, racial and religious harmony is already so superficial. We don't need a bunch of idiots to make it more confusing.

The writer, Kelvin, is ashamed of these idiots.

With the focus on AI, data analysis and automation, many SMEs in the cleaning industry are finding it harder and harder to survive, even without the competition they face from moonlighting foreign domestic workers (FDWs). These FDWs, usually provide part-time cleaning services, usually at a very attractively low prices.

One such business owner, Sekaran Rengiah, of PinkMaids.sg, disapproves of such practices, and blames the moonlighting FDWs for his predicament. What these maids are doing, Sekaran points out, is illegal. There are also those who come here on social visit passes, or on student passes, and moonlight illegally as part-time cleaners.

He is not wrong. Under local employment laws, those working on an S-Pass or a work permit are not allowed to moonlight and face hefty punishments, if they are found doing so. These may be fined or even imprisoned. 

There is indeed a market for cheap cleaning services which are of quality. Singaporeans are usually busy and away from their homes for most of the working week. They do not have the energy to deal with the mess at home but just shower and go to bed. 

These illegal workers are meeting the demand, and fulfilling a need. Who can blame them? You can't blame the customers either.

It is left to the authorities to manage the problem. MOM and other agencies need to carry out better policing and adopt stricter enforcement regimes to clamp down on such illegal services.

On the other hand, cleaning companies should also take stock of their capabilities and review their products and services. They can look into automating some cleaning process, or use more environmentally friendly tools and products that do not harm their users, and the clients, to stay ahead of the competition.

The writer, Faith, is OCD.

This has come out rather quietly as the PAP already has its hands full managing the fallout from all the other scandals that are plaguing them. However, don't rule out hearing more about it in the next few days. According to the latest statistics compiled by the Department of Statistics, household income and household income per capita increased last year, while the Gini coefficient, after taking into account Government transfers and taxes, dropped to 0.404.

What this means is that PAP will tell you that your salaries increased and the salaries of your household increased. For those staying in one or two room flats, they will also tell you that you have benefited more from the government's interventions to redistribute income.

On the surface, these statistics paint a rosy picture of the income levels here in Singapore. They do, but they do not tell the full story. 

One needs to fully appreciate how expensive Singapore is. The cost of living is astronomical. The fact is that, according to measures by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), Singapore has been at the top of the most expensive city list for five years in a row. These measures are not subjective. Just take a look at the prices of housing and cars. Even expats who work here know better than to purchase cars in Singapore.

Imagine what it means for the lower income. They are told to remain employed, slog and work hard, but tamper their wants and aspirations.

The redistribution of income is not sufficient. The richest should be taxed more. If the richest have a problem with being taxed, are they really the kind of people that we want in Singapore? 

Better quality of life has to be accessible to everyone. Not just the rich. Only then can we progress as a society.

The writer, Faith, is not impressed by stats.

A netizen has gone online to tell his tale of woe, as he believed he had been scammed of money. The guy was at Lavender, and he came across an Ang Mo guy who went up to him, and asked him for help. 

The Ang Mo guy said that he was a banker in Malaysia, working for the HSBC bank. he also claimed that he got so drunk the night before with his friend, and they ended up losing all their belongings, including bus tickets to KL and money. So, he asked the guy to help him with $16, as he needed about $40 for 2 bus tickets home. The guy felt something was wrong, but being so trusting of this Ang Mo, he withdrew from his POSB ATM Saving Account which had less than $50 left. 

The Ang Mo gave him his WhatsApp phone number, and said that he will repay him once he gets the chance to. Upon searching the number, the guy realised he was given not a Malaysian number, but a Hawaiian phone number. He also realised that his trust of an Ang Mo was misplaced, and that he will never get his money back. Lucky it was only $16.