Issues Galore

Since my previous blogs on a gamut of issues, I have reflected upon them further and here are some more thoughts.

It is important we dissect and deconstruct words and language. Demagogues rouse and incite precisely because they play on emotions. If he has both style and substance fine, but if he has only style then we are all done for.

When we pare words to its very bone, we sometimes find not a shred of connective tissue of truth. Somehow this seems to be the cunning domain of women and some men.

The gantry point hypothesis I raised earlier was an actual incident I experienced, albeit not entirely in that fashion. There is indeed a gantry point outside Bestway Building (the old Singapore Polytechnic) along Prince Edward Road. Tending to an emergency one late morning (the incident of which I will relate in another blog) , I had to decide where to locate to as I try to flag down a cab with little cash on me.

Domestically there could be a potential time bomb of issues galore that we are all better off on self-imposed exile, sent on a diplomatic mission with immunity to boot. In a foreign land, we can all be spectators without qualms unlike the blood-related umbilical cord tied to our homeland.

Back to my ERP rants. The COE was another measure to regulate traffic congestion via controlling the supply of vehicles on the road. It was to work in tandem with the ERP, mindful of population growth, increase in disposable income, decrease in vehicle and certificate of entitlement prices usually tied with easy credit financing.

The CBD congestion arose in the first place only because there was one financial and commercial hub then and perhaps even now. Imagine the multitude of office skyscrapers crammed into one huge designated business zone all competing for talents. It naturally follows that both human and vehicular traffic rise in crescendo.

If we had a number of business zones evenly distributed throughout the island, then there would not have been this human and vehicular crush which I am sure we are now trying to alleviate by delegating some to the heartlands and the New Downtown. It would make even more economic sense to assign each a specialised niche perhaps and each pared down to a size that befits its capacity. The CBD should be a central and much smaller model but providing a one-stop comprehensive range of services.

Sometimes when I look at my own town, it scares me to see the humongous 40, 30 and 25 storey blocks all cloistered around the central mall. What used to be a clear panoramic view of the skyline and the distant greenery is now hampered by concrete buildings.

There is only a 2-lane road plying the distance between these blocks and the flyover leading to the highway. As it is, traffic crawls along during the peak morning hours. Where will all this go once the new blocks are completed? Is the infrastructure sufficent to support the additional vehicular traffic?

By extension, schools face the very same problem with parking woes as parents line their cars outside its compound to drop off or pick up their kids. Imagine all 1600 students whose parents drive and you can see how one centre of education may entail human and vehicular crush. Perhaps schools can be broken up into smaller and more manageable units but with the added costs of managerial control at each and every educational centre.

Hey guys! Remember my retail megamall showcase theory! Well guess what dudes? The above just vindicated my theory of a retail megamall personality giving life to a retail megamall disorder. So how is that? Nifty? Kind of fits in nicely , doesn't it?

I was espousing a private public entity to include functions that a legal contractual agreement could not like residency status of a foreign partner and mutual tax filing for gay couples. I will be surprised that an open, inclusive and fairly democratic country of ours does not welcome gays as much as it welcomes immigrants (some residents whom I have had the pleasure of meeting). This is only fair if what my gay friendly pal tells me is the constitutional birth rights of an equal and non-discriminated citizen of a country. Otherwise Belgium, Netherlands, Spain , Canada and some states in America beckon.

If I got it right, legislation is a different kettle of fish from policies. Legislation is when a bill is read in parliament with its attendant amendments untill it becomes law. This usually takes time and are of national and crimes against the state interests. Policies are civil in nature and are plans of action executed by bureaucrats. They can be changed at the drop of a hat and should be flexible and responsive.

The egalitarian and relatively hassle-free tribal bands do seem to be the way to go. These are the encumbrances we have taken upon ourselves to carry in the name of city living. I say we bring down the walls of Jericho much like the Israelites did.