In the name of competition...

Now countless pleas have gone unheeded. It's an argument that is old, but yet unanswered.

Is the privatisation of public transportation really for the good of Singapore?

The situation now is the rising prices for taking public transport. Now i'll just list down some of my observations.

What they say :

• Rising oil prices and other operation costs.

What we see :

• Duplication of resources. An MRT engineer at SMRT does almost exactly the same thing as an SBSTransit engineer.
• Wasteful 'competition'.

• A free shuttle service is provided for commuters between dhoby ghaut, little india and chinatown.
• The route is already provided for by SBSTransit's north east line. Thus, adding a free shuttle service is a wasteful cost to SMRT.
  

What they say :

• Introducing more than one service provider introduces competition, thereby forcing existing providers to become more efficient, and provide a greater level of service.

What we see :

• Unique routes. To get from point to point, there are not really a lot of real alternatives to take. Hence, each company has a monopoly on their individual routes, so there really is no real incentive to improve efficincies.

• This is a point I will not be able to prove. As a commuter, I see no tangible improvement in the service provided by either company. The grumpy impatient driver driving the bus I have take ten years ago is the same grumpy, impatient driver that he is, only a little grumpier and a little older. Previously, he was a TransIsland driver. Now, he's an SMRT driver. Same difference...
  

Before you think that I am blaming the 'gahmen' for wasting money etc... Let me try to balance the argument up a little.

The short term suffering of the middle to lower income aside, our 'gahmen' is once again guilty of nothing more than the usual foresight at 'doing what's best for the nation'.

Privatisation allows the companies to venture out of our tiny red dot, to do business.

Profit-motivated companies will face less restrictions at venturing than a stat board would. SingTel is doing this. SPServices is doing the same. DelGro Corporation, the parent company of SBS Transit is actively doing business overseas as well.

So, don't expect the gahmen to Nationalize (define :- Opposite of Privatize) our public transport companies, ever.

In the end, "LPPL"... Logic still works out for the greater good of singapore. Aiyah, poor people in Singapore, work harder la. Don't take bus lor, walk lah... GST increase? Work harder la. Don't eat lor. Charge us for air? Don't breathe lor.

Update

It's been almost three weeks since i've written in, and what an eventful three weeks it had been.

Helped out at Destin and Jessie's wedding, project deadlines, begin helping out with Tony and Madeline's wedding. Wow... It's been fun, but tiring.

Did not realise that a wedding could be so complex. Most of D&J's wedding had run smoothly enough because it was relatively simple and also due to their excellent planning. T&M's would be tougher but more interesting as well. From their plans, there would be more chinese customs, stuff like getting a 'tong zhi' (young boy) to jump on their bridal bed, pee into a traditional urinal bowl with an egg inside, and eat that egg all for the belief that it would make the couple conceive early.

Hmm... He will receive an ang bao... But even a thousand dollars would not be enough for me to even consider eating an egg half cooked by my own urine!

If I get no objections, I would place some of the photos I've taken from D&J's wedding soon. So stay with me for a bit.

And dear readers... what spurs me on to write is the fact that I know there are friends out there reading. Thank you very much for reading! I will try my best to carry on writing.

ICT Day Seven - Ten : Out Pro lor!

Finally out processed today. The hardest day to get through by far. Back hurts like hell today. Spent the entire morning playing 'bluff'. Tricked Michael Thiam like crazy.

Questions :-
1) Why did the entire battalion have to play cohesion games at the very last hour of the very last day of ICT, when the rest of the day was spent doing nothing?

For cohesion. Depends on what cohesion means. The entire bunch of reservists felt cohesive enough. As I was f**king out loud about the inefficiency of the out process. Someone from another company, another platoon whom I have never seen before told me to "relax... last day liao. Just tong finish this stupid thing, and get out."

2) Why were meals indented for the entire battalion for the entire ICT when we could have left early for most of the days?

Must be because SFI kao bei that they waste resources and earn too little, since most reservist personnels do not want their food. "Right hand pocket, put to the left hand pocket"

3) Why survey is done before out processing?

Because out processing is the most time consuming, and has the most inefficiency.

4) Video cameras and phones are really banned in camps because of security meh? In out ICT camp, need security one meh?

No.

SAF Spent a lot of money on these series of commercials to make soldiers look damn garang...



some bloody idiots make stupid video clips... makes soldiers look damn gu niang...



Aiyah... whatever it is... its over. Now its time to focus back on work. and focusing on getting my back healed by Monday.