Post National Day Rally

Yep, Singaporeans are complaining again. I really buay tahan!!

Firstly, there is probably going to be nothing at all in the new package that will benefit me - I am a SAHM so no need for maternity leave anymore, no intention to send my kids to preschool, no need for the HDB priority cos we have no plans to move (I think I don't wanna move until my kids are old enough to pack their own stuff!!), paternity leave has not much impact on us cos Hubby does have quite a lot of leave (need to clear!!) and he doesn't take long stretches of leave cos we don't have overseas vacation. Oh, we will benefit from the new Medisave for newborns, just like everyone else : )

Truth to be told, as I was listening to PM Lee, of course I was hoping that there would be something for SAHMs.. but well, nothing. And frankly, I think the government would be nuts to offer incentives for women to become SAHMs! We already need more human beings in the workforce.. how to let go of women who need incentives to become SAHMs?? If indeed more and more women are already willing to become SAHMs without external incentives, I am sure that is already a headache for the government.. good enough that we are not penalized ok. If you remember about positive/negative reinforcement/punishment, the lack of a reward is not a punishment. So, it is definitely not right to say oh since working mothers get more subsidies, it's punishing SAHMs... no no no. If encourage women to become SAHMs + give long maternity leave (16 weeks is already long ok) + give paternity leave... WHO work????

I am fortunate that my hubby is able to support our family of four and I don't die die have to work. But seriously, how many of the people around me who are complaining are those who die die need dual incomes to survive?? Or just need dual incomes to sustain a comfortable lifestyle which they are used to and are not willing to sacrifice for the sake of their children? I am not saying that it is wrong to be a working mother, I am saying it's a choice. It's a personal choice, it's a family choice, it's a lifestyle choice. If after considering all aspects and one/both spouse(s) are not willing to become a single-income family, cannot blame the government right?

Preschools. Haha. There are now 247 PCF kindergartens. BUT so many people choose to enrol their children in more expensive and atas preschools. Whose fault? Whose problem? Yes, yes, some might say the quality is different. So, you choose quality, you pay lor. (This is just like the housing problem.) No money? Then give up the overseas trips, give up enrichment lessons, give up branded clothes & bags & makeup & car & condominium. Tata! Got money liao! 

I also like very much the decision not to nationalise preschools. Because people just wanna enrol at atas schools without paying atas fees. But then, the whole world also want that mah. Then not enough places.. then how? Instead, the government will be bringing in new AOPs (Anchor Operators, ie PCF & NTUC) and upgrading existing AOPs. Yes! More non-atas kindergartens! DO NOT DO NOT DO NOT give in to not-poor parents who only want atas preschools and not willing to pay! Worried about social mobility? Worried about disadvantaged lower-income families? Government will take care of them!

Actually, the abovementioned is just referring to people around me, i.e. definitely not poor people. Not rich maybe, but not poor not poor not poor. So I am very glad that the proposed increased financial support is targeted toward low- and middle-income groups. That's the way to go! Must help those who are really poor and who can't even afford PCF kindergartens even though they are happy to enrol their children there. Ignore those who have money but still want to complain.

[Sidetrack: My 33-month-old son is attending one morning (3 hours) of preschool a week. It is an atas and expensive preschool. One month (i.e. 4 lessons) costs about $300. If we want to enrol him there for daily lessons, it will be a crazy $1500 per month. Since we can't afford it/don't want to spend this kind of money, if/when we do want to send him for daily classes, we will enrol him at PCF instead. A kindergarten which we can afford. It is probably not as good as his current school, it definitely doesn't meet all my criteria for a good school, but it's our choice after considering our limitations. No complaints.]

Money aside, PM has made it clear that there is no need to drill young children (poor kids) academically in preschools. Loud and clear. But will parents listen? Nope. They will just complain they have no choice because the local education system is so competitive and academic-based. I agree, it's competitive and academic-based. To me, that is exactly why there is no need to worry so much during preschool. Because our education system is so effective that the kids will learn what they need to learn for P1 during P1! The parents are the ones spoiling the market and making life difficult for teachers, other parents and policy-makers. Kiasu, and then complain it's other people's fault.

We cannot control the larger system - unless you are willing to be a social activist &/or advocate. But, are you willing to make the sacrifices to do so? No? So you just wanna complain? Let's just do what an individual can control - make a difference with your own children, drop out of the rat race. We have to start somewhere, instead of waiting for some other people/things to change first.

Housing in SG

Woo, missing in action for about a week, and once I regain some energy, I can't wait to write about.. this? Haha, well, it's August, the month of National Day, Loving Singapore, Our Home, so why not? Furthermore my mummyzhu's happy world is largely thanks to the government! Thus, it's very apt to profess my undying love and admiration for them *nod* I am also very glad that I am not making any revenue from my blog, cos I really don't have to care about readership!

Very randomly, I came across this - a politician's reply to a Singaporean's complaints (what else?) about housing.

Hmm, I live in a nice big (145 sqm) HDB Executive Apartment. Definitely not one of those shrinking/shrunk 90 sqm four-roomed flats. So.. of course I have nothing to complain about, right?? Well, you see..

The flat had two previous owners, it's 3rd hand for us and we signed on the dotted line in early 2008. No cheap heavily subsidised new flat from HDB. We were subject to the merciless market.

The COV quoted was about $45000. (We ended up not having to pay in the end cos the earlier valuation report had expired before we could sign anything, and the new valuation was exactly the asking price.) Anyway, we had decided to buy the flat before knowing we would not have to pay the COV. Seriously, I didn't have the money. Luckily my hubby-to-be had. And I swear that if neither of us had the money, we would have just looked at other flats which we could afford.

Our flat is nowhere near a MRT station or town centre or nice big park or shopping centre or branded school etc. The nearest MRT station is four bus stops away, definitely not within walking distance.

We did consider flats at Marine Parade, but we knew they were out of our range, so we did not even visit any of the for-sale flats there.

In conclusion, I very much agree with what the above link mentions - reality is not a bed of roses. We can't have it all, we have to learn to be satisfied. Want a big flat? Go for older flats. But be prepared to pay $$. Want a new flat? Then be prepared to wait and go through balloting etc. Want a cheap flat? Then there will be more inconvenience in terms of traveling and shopping etc. Want amenities? (e.g. Bedok Central) Then pay $$!

I Love LKY, I Love PAP

I like this so much that I have decided to write a blog post with this included.

[Disclaimer: This is MY blog and I write what I feel and what I think is correct. If you have strong differing opinions about LKY &/or PAP, please do yourself and me a favour and STOP reading NOW. If you insist on reading, it's your own problem, and don't tell me your disagreements. I don't care, I don't want to know.]

I am a 100% supporter of PAP and Lee Kuan Yew. Personally, I will feel I am a failure as a parent if my children do not show 100% appreciation of PAP and Lee Kuan Yew. I won't get angry with them, I will only be angry with myself. I won't show anger towards them, I will only weep alone. And weep I did, when I heard rumours that LKY might be in dire health just before National Day. I was at home with the boys, and I couldn't stop my tears from falling. I was so sad that he might pass on before I have a chance to properly educate my children about all he has done for Singapore, for us. I took out his books and showed his picture to Jiale, and told him this is Lee Kuan Yew, he is the reason why we have all we have today. But Jiale is simply too young to understand more. I know he is very old and if he is in poor health, it might be less suffering for him to let go. But I was so sad that he might pass on before Singaporeans learn to truly appreciate him and be thankful for all he did. Imagine being on his dying bed and knowing that there are people out there who disregard his hard work and think what he did was wrong.

But I say, just look around you, at the flat you are living in (and probably own), look out at the neighbouring blocks, look downstairs at the neighbourhood parks and amenities, open your door and walk out safely - these are all direct results of the hard work of LKY and his teammates. I maintain that if you like the Singapore you see now, that means you like LKY and PAP. It's like you like to eat cake, but you don't like eggs and flour. OK, well, flour doesn't taste good on its own, but without flour, there's gonna be NO CAKE. Some say it's not just LKY/PAP's efforts, the average Singaporean worked hard too. Yep, sure, try making a cake without any flour. You can substitue another ingredient, but then, what you get will not be the same cake ya? It won't be same the Singapore we love!

Charisma. Convictions. Courage. Willingness to take risks. Willingness to put his own career and future and safety on the line FOR THE NATION. Without all these, a bunch of commoners would just be insufficient.

I used to live happily in a world where I thought surely every Singaporean appreciated LKY, surely every non-Singaporean felt jealous as hell we had LKY but they didn't. But over the past years, especially during elections and National Day, I realised that the world might not be as nice as I thought. And recently, I realised that it might have something to do with Facebook and the general eruption of Internet and social media. Facebook made me feel that the majority of Singaporeans were anti-LKY, anti-PAP. But at the recent NDP, I heard the loudest cheers when LKY arrived at the parade. I realised that perhaps in the real world out there, beyond FB, the majority of Singaporeans love and appreciate him. So, I shall stop getting worried and scared by what I see on FB. I shall believe that the non-appreciative posts on FB are from the minority. No idea whether this is true, but I would rather believe something happy than something depressing given that I have no way to verify.

The best thing about the malicious rumour? I see more appreciative Singaporeans speaking up on FB. I hope that it will no longer just be the complaining ones complaining, but also more appreciating ones appreciating! : )