and theres no one here but me

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Venerable Shi Ming Yi
a fatherly figure in the local charity scene is slapped with charges of alleged forgery and scam. how disappointing. I guess even if he is innocent, singaporeans have already lost faith in local charity orgns when the news was broadcasted.

Once bitten, twice shy. NKF issue was a smack in the head to all singaporeans. now the benevolent and trustworthy Ren Ci is also sucked into the forgery saga. that is definitely another kick in the ass for us.

I dun watch those charity shows on teevee cuz i see no point in donating only when fanny wong is singing or zoey tay is immersed in a pool of turd. What is the point of donating only when the celebrity you support appears on tv? It has become like an internal competition for the miserable mediacorp artistes. while they fight over tv drama ratings, they also fight over telephone calls made during charity events.

for example,
Christofer Lee got the highest number of call-ins after he ran and crashed his body towards the on-coming truck to do a HANCOCK stunt. He suffered major injuries with a broken skull, crushed ribcage, major impact and damaged to his balls and will be unable to celebrate father's day for the rest of his life. Top local artiste and chris-beloved-gf, Fanny Wong sobbed uncontrollably upon hearing the devastating news.

When interviewed, Fanny Wong said "I'm really taken aback by the news and I cannot believe it. I'm sad that Chris can no longer perform (on stage and on bed) but im even sadder cuz while he got 38000 calls, i only managed 25000 calls. what the fuck! im ah-jie leh!"

The bottomline of it all is that people should donate because you are genuinely concerned about the expenses that such poor and ill-stricken patients have to pay each month. Personally, i try to avoid watching the show cuz one thing that will make my heart goes soft is when they play those short videos of some patient's life story before commercial break. Especially when the poor auntie starts shedding tears or you can see tears brimming in their eyes...

BUT i still didnt call. cuz i'm always held back by the idea that if i call in, i do not know where does the money go. my intention is to help that poor auntie on screen but i do not even know whether the money will really go to her. so why should i donate? i might as well find out where she lives and personally hand the money in to her. she can buy milo, biscuits, fan, table cloth and whatever she needs with the money if that makes her happy. because as long as i know the money is in her hands, ive done my part. she may not ultimately use it for medical treatments (which is more impt than milo powder) but can we be assured that money donated through orgns will definitely be used for med treatments?

I'm totally disgusted by news of local charity orgns pulling such stunts over and over again.
Set up the orgn->ask for fundings from MOH->help patients->ask for more $$$-> use money for patients->patients' med treatments are well subsidised->undergo treatment->live to 80.

but what happens?
Set up the orgn->ask for fundings from MOH->help patients->ask for more $$$-> use money for business and interest free loans to companies->spend on luxuries->extra cash help patients->patients' med treatments are moderately subsidised-> some have enough to sustain treatment->who cares if they live to 80.

i may have exaggerated a bit but my exaggeration is because im freaking pissed.
and on top of it all, i thought about the rising ERP charges and couldnt help but feel even more pissed. and finally, the most pissifying thing is that the tranport minister Raymond Lim said that by reducing the ERP charges will not help singaporeans but perhaps worsen the situation.

which part of his brain actually tells him that by increasing charges and setting up more gantries will eventually HELP singaporeans. in actual fact, not only they cause another rise in living expenses in singapore, they are also adding on to the list of things why singaporeans are turning their backs against the gov.

Mr Raymond Lim must have enjoyed his 20percent pay rise in the last pay adjustments for all ministers. if he earns 20k per mth, now he earns 24k. 4k to offset the rise in living cost, fuel prices and erp charges PER MTH is more than enough. comparing to measely-paid average singaporeans of 4-6k mthly income, singaporean's income is only equivalent to his extra cash.

Here's the breakdown:

1) Singapore President's Basic Salary raised to S$3,187,100 (24.9% increase)
2) Singapore Prime Minister's Basic Salary raised to S$3,091,200 (25.5% increase).
--> This is US$2.04 million, or about five times more than U.S. President George W. Bush, who currently takes home US$400,000
3) Senior Minister S$3,043,300 (13.5% increase) or US$2.01 million.
4) Minister Mentor S$3,043,300 (13.5% increase) or US$2.01 million
5) Deputy Prime Minister S$2,452,500 (18.8% increase) US$1.62 million.
6) Minister and Senior Perm Sec S$1,593,500 (32.5% increase) or US$1.06 million .
7) Entry Superscale Grade S$384,000 (3.3% increase) [SR9 Grade]
8) Member of Parliament S$216,300 (23.2% increase)
9) Average Singaporean: US$26,000 (S$43,104 or S$3,592 per mo) Source: Singapore Ministry of Manpower
10) The poorest 10% in Singapore earn S$3,600, or S$300 a month.
11) Welfare payments to the needy S$290 a month.

WOW!
with such devastating figures, can i not feel the pinch?
"The poorest 10% in Singapore earn S$3,600"
i belong to the poorest 10% of singapore

xoxo,amy2:05 PM

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