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It pays to be in government

It pays to be in government

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's salary has jumped to S$3.1m, five times more than that of President George Bush, leader of the world’s most powerful economy.

The annual salary structure for the Cabinet Minsters are as follows (in Singapore dollars):

President – $3,187,100
Prime Minister – $3,091,200
Senior Minister – $3,043,300
Minister Mentor – $3,043,300
Deputy Prime Minister – $2,452,500
Minister and Senior Perm Sec – $1,593,500 (MR4 Grade)
Entry Superscale Grade – $384,000 (SR9 Grade)
Member of Parliament – $216,300

In Washington, a senior White House official has told a correspondent that he “was floored” when told that Singapore’s PM takes home a salary five times that of Bush.“I’m going to emigrate and run for office in Singapore,” quipped the senior administration official, who sat in disbelief after reading that story.

Mentor Minister LKY had initiated the mega-wage policy in 1994 for two reasons.

First, it would prevent the sort of corruption that exists in many countries, and second, it would allow the government to recruit the most capable leaders and retain them from being poached by the global private sector.

Benchmark their earnings to leaders in the richest countries, it is real hard for me and many Singaporeans to swallow or to accept any reasons to see them being paid so many times more. To me, Public office is about service, not profits. This is the Government majority has voted for. Seen somewhere, someone has remarked that " “Now, when I look at a minister or an MP, I see a $-sign.” This is a truly unforgettable remark.

No wonder, seen on a TV game show, when the host ask one of the kids what is her ambition, her responds is "I want to be a Member of the Parliament"


- this was written as inspired by mentos

It's time to tighten our belts

Seen in the Sunday Times, that Singaporeans are feeling upbeat about year 2008 and 7 out of 10 persons are expecting pay rises.

But will that be enough? I don't think so. People like me are feeling the pinch and fully aware of the rising cost of living -especially the transportation cost, the utilities cost.

Don't talk about the ridiculous ERP rates that can suka-suka increase, the petrol prices, even the prices of public transport like bus and taxi have gone up. This for most of us, cannot be avoided as we need to go work on Monday - Friday, transport is a must unless you are those lucky ones that live near your workplace. If it is food or beverage, we can have other alternative like eating roti and drinking water. Public transport is simply unavoidable!

The annual inflation is 4.2 per cent. I doubt my pay increase can't even match the inflation rate.

It's time to tighten our belts.

A light-hearted looks at the new year's ahead with Christmas jingle

Rising cost of living - Joy To The World tune

Joy to the world, my pay has come!
Let me receive my due
Let every hand, get bonuses
Then all the tills will ring
Then retailers will sing
And all in the family will want something

Joy to the world, the dollar reigns!
Let men stay in employ;
While wheat and oil, feed, meat and grains
Go up in price oh boy,
Go up in price oh boy
Go up, go up, in price, oh boy

Shopping not my cuppa tea

I had never like to shop.This is probably due to my size. Walking through the aisle is a challenge. I mean, not only have I need to avoid my clumsy self from knocking off those display items from the shelves and breaking them, I have to watch out for those kids running around the store.

Fine, this to some maybe just an excuse, don't talk about my clumsiness. With the festive seasons, the crowd is super huge. Shopping without an idea what to buy is painstakingly tough.

And with the crowd, I could not think straight as I would hear people yakking around. Kind of distracting for a person like me who gets distracted easily.

After successfully manoeuvring around the store and have an eye on something to buy, getting assistance is like a nightmare. No one seems to care or offer help. It's so ironic, when you need assistance, no one is there and when you don't, they come after you.

And then, comes the closing of a transaction, oh my god!, the queue at the cashier is long. Read somewhere that the cashier is the most important section in a store. It's human, some potential customers may want to get something from the store but seeing the queue, will turn them off. Do the retail stores aware of this fact?

(But, I do have some good experiences with cashiers. One is many months back in Robinson @ Raffles City, whereby the cashier are friendly and recommended me to shop for shoes as there's a discount sales when I am paying for a bag. Good services.
The other one is Watsons' @ Bugis. This is well-known for the long queue during weekends. I'm totally surprised that the cashier wears a smile and apologizes for having the customers to wait in a queue! Nice touch.)

Choosing a present is definitely not my cup of tea. I am a very boring person, and one cannot find a hinge of creativity in my choice of present.

I could have shop for weeks and find nothing. In the end, I would resort to giving gift vouchers. Boring huh? I totally agree.

That's what I have gotten for my family members! Haiz.

As for my friends, I have purchased something for them. Now I'm keeping my fingers' cross that they like what I have bought for them. At least not perfume, eau de toilette, gift sets from Body Shop, Crabtree & Evelyn, etc.

《喝彩》

由知名导演高志森和金牌编剧杜国威指导的粤语音乐剧《喝彩》于去年在香港首度公演，掀起了巨大回响，不但热卖35场，而且场场爆满。原汁原味的《喝彩》 已在于2007年11月23 - 24日首度在新加坡D'Marquee, Downtown East公演。而我也去看了。

《喝彩》故事讲述三位才华横溢的少年人Leslie（谭伟权饰）、Paul（郑家俊饰）和Danny（陈健豪饰）为多年好友，他们刚刚踏足社会，本应前 途无限。Danny在歌唱比赛中展露音乐天分，成为流行乐坛的新宠儿，但面对成名后的种种压力，竟渐渐依赖药物去逃避及减压。Paul口才了得，成为电 台当红 DJ，但却爱上赌博，欠下无法偿还的巨债。Leslie当上歌手，面对挫折从不放弃，终创出骄人佳绩，但长年累月绷紧著的神经却令他渐渐染上抑 郁的情绪。昔日的三个好友，在成长路上渐渐越行越远，分道扬镳。

故事透过以三位主角的自身遭遇带出现今香港青少年面对情绪、滥药及赌博等问题，题材励志，带出青年人面对逆境或困难时要有勇于面对的精神，而且为加强感 染力，演员在剧中更演绎张国荣和陈百强40首经典歌曲。

《喝彩》真的是一部有旺盛使命感的难得佳作，向大众传扬珍惜人生，为生命喝彩的正面讯息。

非常enjoy!




From Hong Kong, SpringTime Stage’s cantonese musical Shooting Stars is a tribute to the forever-missed Canto-pop stars Danny Chan and Leslie Cheung, who suffered from drugs abuse and depression respectively in their last years. The musical features more than 40 songs from the two artists and portrays some of the common problems youngsters face nowadays, including drugs, gambling addiction and emotion instability.

Enjoy the musical show. No regrets though my butts and back had suffered due to the cramp seatings.

父母親

A meaningful article that is worth reading...

I've learned...

They're written by Andy Rooney, a man who has the gift of saying so much with so few words.

I've learned... That the best classroom in the world is at the feet of an elderly person.

I've learned... That when you're in love, it shows.

I've learned... That just one person saying to me, "You've made my day!" makes my day.

I've learned... That having a child fall asleep in your arms is one of the most peaceful feelings in the world.

I've learned... That being kind is more important than being right.

I've learned... That you should never say no to a gift from a child.

I've learned... That I can always pray for someone when I don't have the strength to help him in some other way.

I've learned... That no matter how serious your life requires you to be, everyone needs a friend to act goofy with.

I've learned... That sometimes all a person needs is a hand to hold and a heart to understand.

I've learned... That simple walks with my father around the block on summer nights when I was a child did wonders for me as an adult.

I've learned... That life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes.
I've learned... That we should be glad God doesn't give us everything we ask for.

I've learned... That money doesn't buy class.

I've learned... That it's those small daily happenings that make life so spectacular.

I've learned... That under everyone's hard shell is someone who wants to be appreciated and loved.

I've learned... That to ignore the facts does not change the facts.

I've learned... That when you plan to get even with someone, you are only letting that person continue to hurt you.

I've learned... That love, not time, heals all wounds.

I've learned... That the easiest way for me to grow as a person is to surround myself with people smarter than I am.

I've learned... That everyone you meet deserves to be greeted with a smile.

I've learned... That no one is perfect until you fall in love with them.

I've learned... That life is tough, but I'm tougher.

I've learned... That opportunities are never lost; someone will take the ones you miss.

I've learned... That when you harbor bitterness, happiness will dock elsewhere.

I've learned... That I wish I could have told my Mom that I love her one more time before she passed away.

I've learned... That one should keep his words both soft and tender, because tomorrow he may have to eat them.

I've learned... That a smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks.

I've learned... That I can't choose how I feel, but I can choose what I do about it.

I've learned... That when your newly born grandchild holds your little finger in his little fist, that you're hooked for life.

I've learned... That everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you're climbing it.

I've learned... That the less time I have to work with, the more things I get done.