Thought of the day

As a new semester approaches and I struggled to read my latest textbooks, my mind cannot help but wander off somewhere else.

I may have above average grades but that does not make me a star student or a genius.

My attention span is the same as a 18 year-old, easily distracted and fidgety when a textbook is within 30cm from my face.

I am in Jakarta now, but my mind is fixated on Singapore. I am no patriot, but looking at the weather reports, I wonder if there would be reports of a third successive flood.

Suddenly, the 1st world, developed country, Singapore which was immune to natural disasters, counts flood as worse nemesis.

My thoughts resonate with the worried rich men, who stays in Bukit Timah. They must be wondering if they should buy more buckets for their maids to scoop out water if their basement carpark floods, or should they construct a barrage made of sand bags to deter the 'Act of God' (as described by MM).

I also thought about the Lucky Plaza ah bengs, who worries about getting their 'Amani' jeans wet when they report for work at the basement mobile phone shops. Maybe they should invest in 'Berberri' rubber boots, which will keep their feet dry and are stylish.

As PUB continues to scratch their heads looking for answers, the same way Mulder does in X-files. I can't help but want to shout to them, "Aye Dei! The Truth is out there la".

I try to continue my reading. Then I came across David Hume's observation. The writer wrote, 'People, once accustomed to obedience, never think of departing from the path in which they and their ancestors trod and to which they are confined by so many urgent and visible motives."

Well it sounds a bit profound at first, but on closer look (and several repeated readings), I can summarise it in my own terms, complacency due to comfort.

Of course this is not new, our government have been 'kind' enough to urge us not to be complacent, by using the donkey example, so that even my grandmother understands.

However, we review the past year and found that many of such complacency is found in their own backyard. ISD (limping terrorist), SMRT(Swiss Graffiti) and PUB (Floodgate) the latest culprit. Actually just Google any agency and probably there would be some story popping out somewhere.

To illustrate it better so that even the oldest member in the Parliament understands, is to use the Sarah Palin example. While campaigning with McCain as a potential Vice-President, her unmarried teenage daughter was found to be pregnant, while she was preaching about abstinence in schools. Then she did an about turn to support her daughter's decision and being proud to be a grandmother.

Well you can't do much now that the cat's out of the bag, so you might as well deploy a smokescreen to divert people's attention. That's a great tactic, and we see this every now and then.

A colleague said something that was in my mind for the longest time, "We are growing too fast and we can't catch up." 2 IRs, lots of new people, Circle line, Downtown line, Marina Barrage, hundreds of condo development, there was a lot of digging. Up coming, Sports Hub, more reclaiming, more condos and more new people. Someone should have seen something coming.
Just like when I took 5 modules last semester, and my wife warn me that my grades would suffer. As short-sighted as many of our leaders here, I proceeded and ended up with an 'F'.

In 2009, I went with a friend to look for a resale flat in Hougang. A 5-rm flat cost $370K, expensive in our perspective, as it is not renovated. As he decides to look at other inexpensive location, we walked away. Forward to a 8 months later, he bought a 4-rm flat just 15 mins away by bus for $480K. As we speak the prices are going higher as sellers expected cash up front of at least 35-40K.

Everyone was taken by surprise by the sudden price rise, and many couples, including me, was priced out. I guess we would be less surprised if the amount was raise more gradually, like prices of utilities and number of ERP gantries.

However, we were not as surprised when our pay were still the same as it was a year ago, no make it 3 years ago.

I feel that as a country prepares to move forward, everyone must move together. You don't leave anyone behind.

Ministries and agencies must do more to handle the sudden demand and population imports, and not left sprawling for solutions when things happen. Maybe there are small voices here and there, but their warnings are too soft to be heard by the higher ups.

Let's not be complacent. Everyone is responsible. Everyone.

Ok I finished wandering with my thoughts, it's time to get back to the book. I am taking 3 modules after what happened, as I am no longer 18 and certainly do not want another F.