Something's Up Down Under

Things are looking very interesting down under ... you won't see these pictures in the mainstream media... I wonder why!!??

These are rally crowds at SDP (Commonwealth) and Workers Party (Simei). Last week's crowds at Hougang was scary as well.

So whats the main grouse of these Singachildren? Yes there are many things good and wonderful in Singapore ... civil service works like a clock, all applications are processed quickly and efficiently, there are almost no banking queues ... most things can be paid online, most people have housing thanks to CPF, the streets are safe and crime rate is very low ...etc...

The one main grouse is that the country do not seem to belong to them anymore. Its all good and such to have all highly qualified ministers, but there is elitism in that. You do whats good for the country as if it were a corporation.

They are correct to want to bring in highly skilled population if Singapore is to continue to move up the value curve, if Singapore wants to continue to be the strongest currency in the world ... but they missed out on the true aspirations of many of the middle and lower middle class population - they do not feel the country belongs to them anymore.

Soon, property prices will continue to head up, causing many of its citizens to take the money and nowhere to go, maybe Johor I guess. The gap between the expats (the haves) and the have nots will widen.

Influx of foreigners (foreign talent) ie crowding out employment opportunities of locals, driving up housing prices, changing the social make-up/culture.

According to the ruling PAP, if they were to continue with the plan to bring in more skilled expats - the population might hit 6.9m by 2030 as shown in the summary of the White paper below - where the citizen will no longer be the majority of the population by 2030... thats why one of the biggest draw is the proposal by one of the opposition party is to slow the intake of skilled workers so as to allow Singaporeans to be the majority of the population of Singapore. Not to sacrifice development but to do it slower and always maintaining the majority to be Singapore born citizens.

There are other things Singaporeans are concerned about:

Most Singaporeans can never take money out from CPF in their lifetime. The minimum age for withdrawal is 65. On top of that you can only take out the balance after keeping a minimum sum of 161k in the normal account (and will increase in line with inflation). Most lower income people will never be able to use this money in their lifetime! That's why so many old uncles and aunties are seen working at McDonald's and food courts across Singapore, the paltry CPF monthly sustenance pay is too paltry to cover expenses in this ultra expensive city.

Ruling party perceived to be out of touch with masses with seemingly elitist retorts which are seen as almost arrogant and condescending. 

Blame king mentality- blaming the government supported casinos which caused a rise in social problems since their introduction.

Some things are more important than economics and growth.