Tuesday, September 29, 2009

F1 and Men in the Street of Singapore

If it did not come from the horse's mouth, you'd thought that a out-of-touch-high-faluting soul said it.

Extracted from Straits Times [Link]: Pointing out that F1 was far from being an elite race, Mr Goh said that those who cannot afford the $8,500 Paddock Club seats have access as well via the general walkabout tickets, which went for as low as $28. 'So that way, the organisers have made a special provision for the man in the street,' he noted.

The walkabout tickets let a person stand at designated areas to watch the race and this year, for the first time, about 7,500 were sold at the discounted early-bird price of $28.

It's a bloody shame that the discounted early-bird price of $28 entitles one to watch nothing but merely hear engines roar. Pity the poor guy who wrote to ST Forum to complain that he's been conned.

No, F1 is not an elite race. Neither is football a gentlemen's game played by ruffians and rugby a ruffians' game played by gentlemen. Or is it? I'm of the opinion that there are gentlemen and ruffians in almost every sports and hypocrites in many politicians.


Living within my means and not having the luxury of SM Goh's connection and salary, I'm lucky to catch some of the F1 action at a coffeeshop TV by just buying a 90 cents kopi-c-siew-tai (black coffee with evaporated milk and not much sugar).

Yes, the man in the street did get a chance to watch the elites' sports but to use the $28 example was kinda dumb. To me, the live telecast would have been a better example.

I enjoyed the race. However, I find it odd that the PM of Singapore had the pathetic role of presenting the trophy to the winner. He looked as uncomfortable as he he did delivering the National Day Speech (with weird gesticulation). Wouldn't it be more appropriate if Vivian Balakrishnan or Teo Ser Luk did the job instead. At least they are sports related and look the part. Or like many others, has the PM's Office (highest office in the land?) sold out to commercialism too? F1 now. What next? Gambling dens? IRs?

Singapore's men in the street are getting confused with lots of things lately. They are trying hard to understand:
  • Why income has stood still? Reduced with pay cut?
  • Why cost of living is shooting through the roof? From food to HDB flat to transportation . . .
  • Why lately, the embarrassing self-congratulatory news in msm of Temasek & GIC caliming to recover Singapore's lost treasures ( as in Citigroup, Barclays, ShinCorp, ABC, etc.)?
  • Why foreign talents are no longer talents but victims of greedy employers and despots who refuse to let go?
  • Why we can hardly breathe with a 4.9 million population that we did not have the pleasure to screw for?
  • Why we continue to get skewed responses from MP where salary increase is highlighted without comparison to cost of living [UBS Survey Link]

    Not quite, says MP Seah Kian Peng, who also chairs the Government Parliamentary Committee for Community Development, Youth and Sports.
    'The figures may be right, but the conclusion could be wrong,' he notes.
    Rather than look at prices and wages in isolation, he says the key considerations should be: Do Singaporeans lead a better life than they did in the past, and are the poor taken care of?
    'If the answer to both is yes, then moving up or down two notches becomes mere semantics,' he says.
    He cites a recent government report which found that the salaries of the bottom 20 per cent of wage earners have risen. Their monthly wages increased from $1,200 in 2006 to $1,310 last year.

So why are men in the street so disillusioned?

Or is it just me?

feedmetothefish



11 Comments:

At September 30, 2009 at 9:38 AM , Anonymous Alan Wong said...

"He cites a recent government report which found that the salaries of the bottom 20 per cent of wage earners have risen. Their monthly wages increased from $1,200 in 2006 to $1,310 last year."

This type of misleading statement gives the impression that our lower income group which form 20% of wage earners is getting an average monthly pay of S$1,200 in 2006 which has since increased to S$1,310 in 2008 an increase of approx. 10% (S$110/S$1,200) over 2 years. In reality, is this the case ?

I suppose this is how our PAP MPs usually get away with murder by citing some recent government report.

May I ask this particular MP whether he has taken the extra step to check whether the recent government report is accurate ? Where did they get their figures ?

For example, does it take into account of those part time wage earners ? How has they fared ? Or there were any records or statistics to begin with ?

I really like to know how the government actually prepare their report ?

Why are they not prepared to do a similar one for those who pick up cardboards & empty cans for a living ?

Or a report to show how our PAP Ministers's salaries has fared over the years ?

So what's the use of a government report if it is not comprehensive enough to give the true picture of what's actually happening ?

The way MP Seah try to argue his case gives me the impression that he is actually only interested in cultivating his boss's patronage, so that he can continue to enjoy the current benefits of his MP position.

There was no real demonstration on his part that he was really interested in the welfare of those in the lower income group. The same with all our PAP leaders!

 
At September 30, 2009 at 11:48 AM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Our beloved PM loves flashy parties while our P loves to listen.

Maybe they should switch their roles so that the new PM can better listen to his citizen while the new P can have parties everyday.

 
At September 30, 2009 at 2:07 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

This man gets all the wrong information from the jamban.

Two elections ago he was quoting from some jamban guy that the chikus in Hougang and papayas (I think so) in Potong Pasir were ripe for the PAP's picking. Instead the chikus were plucked and collected by Low and the papayas by Chiam. Both constituencies are still under opposition.

Some people lose credibility without knowing it by their actions and words.

 
At September 30, 2009 at 4:55 PM , Anonymous F1 circus over said...

What a ripoff to pay 28 bucks just to hear the engines roar in the F1 when one can watch it on TV and also hear the roar. LOL
Anyway the F1 is for the elites, just like Yacht racing. How many ordinary citizens can identify with such events compared with football, athletics, MotoGP, etc ?

I agree with you Fish that our sissy PM was a clumsy guest of honour. However I don't think either Teo Ser Luck or Vivian deserve to replace our sissy PM simply because the 2 buggers came into parliament by the backdoor....not in the true spirit of competition using underhand tactics. LOL

The men in the street should really ask whether the F1 circus has benefitted them....like more jobs being created and not just for the weekend only.

 
At September 30, 2009 at 9:49 PM , Anonymous sgcynic said...

Alan Wong:
May I ask this particular MP whether he has taken the extra step to check whether the recent government report is accurate ? Where did they get their figures ?

Dear Alan, never mind that.
'The figures may be right, but the conclusion [is] wrong.'

 
At October 4, 2009 at 10:13 AM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

I tend to agree with your observation esp on F1 and IR. I hope the Government has not sold itself to the commercial world but it seems it is. As a Government, there are more to it just to maintain the economic growth. We need to take care of their other needs as well, especially the poor. Furthermore, it should listen more to the voices of the people instead bulldozer through most of the issues, thinking that they are the elites who know all and can make all the decisions.

 
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