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Showing posts with the label Singapore

Jamus Lim is a Fucking Populist

Well you didn't hear it from me, I heard it from various media platforms, it's all over the place, doesn't take much effort to find. And it originated right from the mouth of Tan Chuan Jin, right in parliament session. Then again, so? Who cares, even if anyone cares it doesn't change anything, nothing, furthermore Tan apologised to Jamus, it was accepted and over already, that's it, just like kids fighting in primary school, teacher tell them to shake hands and be friends again. All of us, or rather the whole world knows who is running Singapore, let's not beat around the bush, opposition only exists because PAP allows them to exist, cold hard truth, but opposition from what I observe so far their role is more supplementary than core, it's like a big nice cake and they are the few decorations on top of it to make it look nice but of course it's not as simple as that, they do contribute in parliament sessions if you spend some time reading the transcripts
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Transport Minister Anti-Graft Probe

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/iswaran-cpib-assist-investigations-ongoing-pm-lee-3622586 Transport Minister S Iswaran is assisting the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) with an investigation into a case uncovered by the agency . The bureau did not elaborate on the nature of the investigation in its statement on Wednesday (Jul 12). Wow, never thought I would ever see this kind of news in my lifetime, I always have full confidence in our government in terms of integrity, yeah some of their policies sucks but corruption is never on the table, I bet many Singaporeans also didn't expect this, wonder what my father is thinking now, he is undying PAP supporter. The more glaring part is the case was uncovered by the agency, usually no waves if there is no wind... https://time.com/6293965/singapore-minister-iswaran-graft-probe In 1986, then-Minister for National Development Teh Cheang Wan was investigated for accepting bribes. He died before he could be formally charg
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Singapore Presidential Election Soon

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I was totally expecting a walk-in i.e. no contest since Tharman came out to contest, I'm pretty sure there is no dispute if I say that this guy is one of the most popular politician if not the most popular in Singapore; he got 74.61% of votes in GE2020, the highest among all constituencies. Then surprise, 3 more candidates stepped forward, also good to have fair competition, so now the list of candidates below. Tharman Shanmugaratnam , I'm sure everybody knows him even if you don't know what he do. George Goh Ching Wah (left), brought Australian retailer Harvey Norman to Singapore, also the non-resident ambassador to Morocco. Seng Soon Kia (right), former secondary school teacher. Turritopsis Dohrnii Teo En Ming , IT consultant. This turned up in a google search... not trying to make fun or anything but that's quite an odd name.
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Vaper or Vapist in Singapore

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/more-caught-using-vaporisers-in-2022-hsa Vaping is getting very popular and common here in Singapore even though it is still illegal,  I think there is a fine but no jail. I see it quite often at smoking areas or sometimes when they walk, they just vape and put it back in their pocket. Personally I see vaping the same as smoking, I'm a smoker by the way but I don't vape, vape also don't have that smoke smell, you know after you smoke you walk into a room everybody will know you smoked but vaping don't have this problem, they even have all the funky flavours like lychee, skittles and whatnot. Some of my colleagues also vape, when I asked where they got it from, they always say they got it from a friend's friend, main reason why they vape is because it is cheaper than buying cigarettes. Health-wise don't know man, some articles say smoking more harmful, some say vaping more harmful, I guess in the end it all comes down to pri
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Cigarettes Price Go Up (Again)

https://www.asiaone.com/singapore/budget-2023-smoking-becomes-more-expensive-govt-raises-tobacco-tax Last year one carton of L&M Blue is S$114 at Sheng Siong, S$11.40 for one pack. After that they increase to S$121, S$12.10 for one pack. (+6.14%) Then after the budget 2023 announcement, today I bought at S$138, S$13.80 for one pack. (+14.04%) "The increase in excise duty for all tobacco products is expected to generate about $100 million in additional revenue a year , said Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong, who delivered the Budget on Tuesday." At least this guy is honest about it, because if government really care so much about our health they might as well just ban tobacco, they don't because it is an income stream. Another S$100m in revenue, not sure how helpful it is if the various government organisations are wasting funds every year, it's like buying heroin for heroin addicts, left pocket in right pocket out to feed the addicts, and th
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Happy Deepavali!

It's coming to end of the year again, Deepavali also happen to fall on Monday so it's a long weekend, nice, can relax at home haha. Then Christmas and New Year both fall on Sunday, so following Monday is a holiday, power! 2023 also good, got quite a few long weekends, most power is the Chinese New Year, 5 days of break. Anyway current job still alright, probably going to stay here for quite some time, plenty of new things to play with but so far haven't gone overseas yet, stars didn't align haha. Stay safe all and enjoy this long weekend!
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Sheng Siong have Very Impressive Employee Benefits

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Saw their recruitment poster last weekend and I was very impressed by their employee benefits, so much so I took a photo of it. Note that the salary is "Up To", not sure what's the salary for inexperienced folks though. Just looking at bonus, they have 4 types of bonus, Variable, Performance, AWS and Monthly, still got Monthly bonus, first time I see this bonus. The staff discount is very interesting, I wonder how much or how many percent, any cap or not. I remember long long ago I worked at NTUC Fairprice also got staff discount, maybe like 15 or 16 years ago, just part-time only. I think it was quite a small percentage, so small I didn't even realise until someone told me staff have discount, then I see like no difference or too little to notice. Meals provided, this one power, these days one meal outside getting more expensive unless someone can cook at home for you and bring to work. Birthday voucher, interesting, I know of birthday leave, first time I see birthda
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Kurt Tay vs Loh Jia Hung at Void Deck

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https://www.asiaone.com/singapore/wrestling-champion-kurt-tay-accepts-strangers-challenge-fight-void-deck-now-under-police Actually Kurt Tay is same gang as me, Singaporean with foreign spouse. His wife is from Vietnam, now holding PR and they have a son and a daughter. I watch his YouTube videos sometimes, his videos are quite unusual, but so far I see he's just doing his own stuff and not disturbing anyone. Some of the comments can get very nasty, not sure why some people find enjoyment disturbing him. I think this led to the fight: "Speaking to AsiaOne, Tay said that Loh had been repeatedly taunting him and challenging him to a fight. " I found Loh Jia Hung's profile on Linkedin, he is a student at Republic Polytechnic, I see under his "Skills", clearly he is physically very skillful: I also found Kurt Tay's profile on Linkedin, by the name of "Tay Foo Wei", clearly he doesn't have any of those skills that Loh have. So why would a young
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NS55 Credits SG$100 - Withdraw via ShopeePay

Last Monday 4th Jul I received the SMS from "NS Portal" saying SG$100 credited to LifeSG mobile app so I checked and found that I can use it at Sheng Siong, just nice I always do my groceries there. I thought it would be similar to the last time when they disbursed the NS50 SG$100 physical vouchers, like if I buy total $120, $100 pay by the vouchers, then remaining $20 pay by credit card (or cash or NETS). Boy was I wrong. Me, wife and daughter went to Sheng Siong and happily bought so many things, came up to $160.70, I asked the cashier can use the NS55 voucher or not she say can, but cannot exceed, must be less than $100, lol wtf, end up I paid by credit card, long queue behind so I also paiseh to ask too much. Then another staff told me I can withdraw cash from their Sheng Siong ATM, but can only withdraw $90, there will be a $0.20 charge, actually I saw this in the news also:  https://www.asiaone.com/lifestyle/legit-man-shares-hack-how-redeem-ns55-credits-cash-sheng-sion
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Sad Story of Difficult to Get Along

https://tnp.straitstimes.com/news/singapore/grandfather-84-and-granddaughter-14-found-dead-bukit-batok "...the girl was a Secondary 2 student who lived with her parents and grandfather." Somehow I feel a connection to this story. I imagine 7 years forward my daughter would be in Secondary 2, my parents would be in their 70s, we would have moved to Tengah, me, my wife and daughter would have our own 3-room flat, my parents would have their own 2-room flat right next door, I strongly believe this is the best outcome. There is a Chinese saying: 相见容易相处难 Directly translated it means: easy to meet, difficult to get along with Based on my personal traumatic experience, I can tell you this saying is very true. One year meet a few times versus everyday meet is very different. When me and wife were still living with my parents, every 2-3 days get into conflict over the smallest things, sometimes between my wife and my mother, sometimes between my wife and my sister, most of the time be
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Koufu @ Tanglin Halt is Nuts

https://marrythaigirlsingapore.blogspot.com/2022/06/inflation-is-ridiculous.html Just a few weeks ago, I felt the inflation when I bought the economy rice at Koufu, today my wife went to the same stall to buy one plate of rice, 3 veggies and 1 sotong, SG$7.60. Sotong only 3 pieces, have no idea how they charge. Then when I buy the drinks, one iced milo and one Fanta grape for SG$3.80, wah seh, even if the iced milo is SG$2, then SG$1.80 for the Fanta grape is crazy. I think we will avoid the Koufu from now on, it's just ridiculous the way they increase prices, just eat at hawker or cook at home way cheaper, I always prefer hawker food anyway, that Koufu happen to be more convenient because it is right beside the Sheng Siong. At the same time I wonder what our government is doing about this inflation, found this post:  https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/singapore-to-release-s15b-support-package-as-energy-prices-stay-high I wonder how much it will help, will Koufu ch
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Inflation is Ridiculous

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These days I experienced quite a number of food stalls with increased prices, even the economy rice near my house at Koufu Block 88 Tanglin Halt Rd also upped their prices. Two veggies one meat SG$5.50, beef or pork same, two packets for SG$11. I noticed that the helper was very carefully packing the food and trying his best not to give too much lol, must be instructions from the boss. Even the stalls at hawker centre also upped their prices, noodle one packet SG$3.50 become SG$4.00. Next year GST also increase, the year after also increase, GST increase 1% means everything increase by at least 10% or more, this is a historical baseline because the last time GST went from 5% to 7%, everything increased by 20-25% or more, anyone who lived through that will tell you it's true. So SG$5.50 + 10% + 10% = SG$6.70 for a packet of two veggies one meat economy rice at heartland? Or worst case SG5.50 + 15% + 15% = SG$7.30? I think by the time my daughter start working, one cai png at heartla
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Wife Left Money Inside ATM

Yesterday night we went to buy groceries, wife and baby went into Sheng Siong then I went to smoke. After not even 5 minutes, suddenly my wife called out to me and told me she forgot to take the money after she withdraw, asked her how much and she said S$200. I asked her anyone behind her or not but she cannot remember. So I immediately used my phone to call the POSB hotline, there's a number on the ATM, anyway I also saved that number earlier on, 1800 339 6666. It took quite a while to finally have someone talk to us, so I told the story, the service staff told me there are two scenarios, one is if nobody take the money, the ATM will take back the money, and credit back to account (didn't mention how long or when), two is if someone take the money, they will check the CCTV and then it will be a police case, but the latter is rare. Either way, she will need to raise a request for her team to investigate, then she ask me to pass the phone to my wife because she is the account ho
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Panasonic Retrenchment

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/panasonic-employees-retrenched-refrigeration-compressor-manufacturing-2197001 I think cost of worker in Singapore is too expensive, that's why Panasonic go elsewhere, I think in future these production line jobs more and more difficult to have in Singapore. But then it's also weird that production goes to other countries, but other countries their skilled workers come to Singapore, then their skilled workers compete with our skilled workers, our low-skilled workers no job, maybe I think too much but I certainly hope this is not the case. Also I notice these days youngsters the salary damn high, fresh grad I heard get S$5000, haha I don't know work how long then get that salary, times are different now.
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Received S$100 Grocery Vouchers

https://www.mof.gov.sg/news-publications/press-releases/160-000-singaporeans-to-receive-grocery-vouchers-in-october-2021 Now they give door-to-door, like this also better, so that idiots cannot go steal other people's vouchers, this is as good as S$100 cash because you can use it at places like Fairprice or Sheng Siong and other major supermarkets. I think people in Singapore quite fortunate, in these difficult times at least the government will extend help, not a lot but better than nothing. I heard from my wife in Thailand this is unheard of. Anyway stay safe everyone, most important is health.
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KTV Covid Cluster

https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/ktv-covid-19-cluster-grows-148-cases-likely-ongoing-spread-6-more-ktv-lounges-moh Wah seh, shit suddenly got serious, I think better stay home as much as possible, you never know who visited those places but keep quiet, I don't think they will enforce the use of TraceTogether app or token, in the first place they are probably not operating legally. https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/covid-19-ica-familial-ties-lane-boyfriend-girlfriend-ktv-cluster-15233666 And this Vietnamese girl, her Singaporean boyfriend sponsored her entry into Singapore, and then she go hopping around the various KTVs, I don't want to guess what she was doing but it's just outright obvious, I wonder if her boyfriend knows about it, really spoil market for all the genuine SG/Foreigner couples, now public have even worse impression of such couples, sigh.
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Lol BTS Meal

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https://www.todayonline.com/8days/eatanddrink/newsandopening/mcdonalds-bts-meal-sells-out-5-mins-some-received-bts-logo-less For S$8.90, you get these: 9-piece Chicken McNuggets® - BTS-branded packaging Two new limited-time sauces (Sweet Chili and Cajun) Large Fries Large Coke® Original Taste Less Sugar - BTS-branded packaging So it's the same old 9-piece nuggets meal with a different packaging and sauces. Maybe because I'm not a BTS fan so the differences are totally negligible to me... I wonder what people are going to do to the packaging after they finish the food...
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Give Wrong Vaccine

https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/boy-16-remains-well-after-being-taking-moderna-vaccine-meant-for-18-and-above-thorough-review-done-moh Actually giving wrong vaccine is not uncommon in Singapore nor around the world, it also happened in our national immunisation programme too. In case you don't know what that is, see the link below. https://www.nir.hpb.gov.sg/nirp/eservices/immunisationSchedule Usually I heard kids accidentally getting extra dose, but always end up ok, the vaccines are actually very safe to use, I suppose extra dose means extra protection as long as it doesn't cause any adverse reaction. Anyway if the first dose is ok, subsequent dose should be ok too. For this particular case, it's not extra dose, it's still Covid-19 vaccination just that it's by a different manufacturer approved by US FDA. Safe or not safe for people below 18 years old nobody knows because their clinical trials are based on people 18 years or older. But like I mentioned, as l
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Next Prime Minister?

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/heng-swee-keat-dpm-4g-leader-step-aside-pap-pm-lee-accepts-14581784 Seems like Mr. Heng is not going to be the next PM of Singapore, so I wonder who will replace Mr. Lee. I think we have many smart people in Singapore capable of leading this country, and I don't think it should always come from one place, if possible I would prefer the PM (and other key positions) to be chosen by the people, anyone who has the courage, the willingness to serve and the capability should be able to step forth and take up the challenge. Why I say need courage is because this person will be both loved and hated by the people, as a leader, it is impossible to make everyone happy, a lot of time tough decisions need to be made for the greater good and not everybody can see it or benefit from it. The reality is that if you are only loved by the people, then something is wrong and vice-versa. Balance and forward-looking is the key. There's probably someone
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Spent SingapoRediscovers Voucher

Yesterday booked the cable card ride, it's unlimited so can take as many times as we like. Adult is S$27, child is S$17 so total is S$71. Minus S$10 child subsidy so end up using S$60 voucher and paid S$1 by credit card. Daughter liked the cable car ride, we ride to Mount Faber then to Sentosa, then went to the beach but didn't go into the beach, now blocked off, need to book first then can go in, can also book there but we didn't, so daughter just played outside a small area with sand. Still left S$40 voucher don't know what to do, maybe just leave it there.
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Long-Term Visit Pass - Plus (LTVP-PLUS)

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