With some children, they are best seen and not heard. Senior Minister of State for Transport Josephine Teo is one over grown kid who just does not know when to zip her lips. Even before we have a chance to recover from her disastrous “national service cannot be measured in dollars and cents” sound bite, she has to come up with a more monstrous "zero car growth likely in the future" quip.
Our parents once looked forward to the 5 Cs - Cash, Car, Credit Card, Condominium and Country Club. Although short changed by Goh Chok Tong's promise of a Swiss standard of living, through hard work and prudent financial planning, many have managed to achieved the 5 C status. Now Teo is threatening to set us back by one C. Whatever happened to "progress for our nation"?
She could have checked with her boss first - Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew - who promised in 2011 that the car growth rate would not be reduced to zero, knowing that such an outcome would go against the aspirations of those looking forward to owning a personal set of wheels. Perhaps she is making the bet that Lui, cursed and bogged down by the recent failures of the train system - poor guy is reportedly vowing to "claw back confidence in the rail system" - would never survive another election. Perhaps she wants a situation whereby only the elite can drive around in private vehicles on publicly funded roads, relegating the rest of us mere mortals to - how did Anton Casey put it? - the "stench of public transport."
The Singapore Vehicle Traders Association secretary raised a pertinent point, "If it's zero growth, is it still necessary to leave a COE system?" Let's see how Teo responds to her ultimate pay master about the loss of revenue from the lucrative COE scam.
Our parents once looked forward to the 5 Cs - Cash, Car, Credit Card, Condominium and Country Club. Although short changed by Goh Chok Tong's promise of a Swiss standard of living, through hard work and prudent financial planning, many have managed to achieved the 5 C status. Now Teo is threatening to set us back by one C. Whatever happened to "progress for our nation"?
She could have checked with her boss first - Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew - who promised in 2011 that the car growth rate would not be reduced to zero, knowing that such an outcome would go against the aspirations of those looking forward to owning a personal set of wheels. Perhaps she is making the bet that Lui, cursed and bogged down by the recent failures of the train system - poor guy is reportedly vowing to "claw back confidence in the rail system" - would never survive another election. Perhaps she wants a situation whereby only the elite can drive around in private vehicles on publicly funded roads, relegating the rest of us mere mortals to - how did Anton Casey put it? - the "stench of public transport."
The Singapore Vehicle Traders Association secretary raised a pertinent point, "If it's zero growth, is it still necessary to leave a COE system?" Let's see how Teo responds to her ultimate pay master about the loss of revenue from the lucrative COE scam.