Jaslyn Go’s Blog

Subject: Re: UNRESOLVED ISSUES ARISING FROM BLOCK VISIT ON 4th September 2007
To: lee_kuan_yew@pmo.gov.sg, kootk@mindef.gov.sg, indranee.rajah@drewnapier.com, lui_tuck_yew@moe.gov.sg, samtan@cdac.org.sg
Cc: “Yam Keng Baey” <baey.yamkeng@capitaland.com>, tnp@sph.com.sg, npeditor@sph.com.sg, santokh@sph.com.sg, tekmeng@sph.com.sg, melvin@sph.com.sg, kenjr@sph.com.sg, muralis@sph.com.sg
Date: Tuesday, 28 April, 2009, 8:16 PM

Dear Sir / Madam;

The New Paper Article “Go to your MP instead of Complaining” on 28th April 09, which remind us to stop complaining and go to our MP instead.

Perhaps I should refresh my MP and in fact, the whole Tanjong Pagar GRC MPs that despite sending numerous emails and reminders, till to date, I have not receive any response from my MPs.

Perhaps Mr Fulwood or Ms Elysa Chan are not aware that we can write what we want to our MPs, but MPs have the luxury to chose not to respond to us, and in situation like this, what is next for us?
cheers;

Jaslyn Go

— On Thu, 10/4/08, Jaslyn Go wrote:

Subject: UNRESOLVED ISSUES ARISING FROM BLOCK VISIT ON 4th September 2007
To: lee_kuan_yew@pmo.gov.sg, kootk@mindef.gov.sg, indranee.rajah@drewnapier.com, lui_tuck_yew@moe.gov.sg, samtan@cdac.org.sg
Cc: “Yam Keng Baey” <baey.yamkeng@capitaland.com>, chengwee@sph.com.sg
Date: Thursday, 10 April, 2008, 3:47 PM

1. 1. There are Indian glue sniffers who often loiter at the staircase and hide there to sniff glue.
   2. Inhalant abuse, a criminal act, is known to intoxicate the abusers who are then predisposed to committing more crimes.
   3. This situation has occurred many times and whenever I call the police, the latter would take 30 to 45 minutes to arrive, by which the time, the suspects would have finished their glue sniffing and left the scene.
   4. I shifted out 2 years back partly because of this situation as I was pregnant and I did not feel that the neighbourhood was safe at times.
   5. I also raised another incident in which I spotted an axe-wielding Indian man sitting in the ABC hawker centre with his eyes fixated on the adjoining car park as if he was waiting to greet someone. I called the police and offered to help identify the axe-wielder.
   6. The axe-wielder must have been loitering around on a frequent basis for the Indian man in your entourage was also able to describe him as limpy and short.
   7. I told you that the police had reasoned that they had to catch him red handed for them to take action. However, in order to apprehend any suspect red-handed, the police must respond in time but they never did so.

1. 1. Whether he was asserting that Bukit Merah was very much unsafe and with a lot of criminal activity necessitating police attention and which leads to slow response time of the Police, and
   2. Since there was indeed so much crime in Bukit Merah, why did not the Police deploy more manpower to cope with the cases?

1. 1. As an MP, you have been given the mandate by the people to find solutions to our complaints; and
   2. If you need me to provide you with the answers, what then are you supposed to do in your position as our Member of Parliament?

1. 1. I reside in a point block where the lift lobby area’s natural lighting is dim. This is made worse by having doors installed at the staircases such that even during daytime it is dim and made worse when it is cloudy, rainy or overcast
   2. On several occasions, my neighbours, our maids, our children and myself have slipped and fallen because the bad lighting prevented us from seeing that the floor was wet from the rain.

1. 1. you asked your accompanying town council staff whether the lights could be switched on when it is cloudy or rainy. The town council staff replied that residents could just call and request the town council to switch the lights on. He added that he needed to check if this was feasible and would revert
   2. You asserted that the doors were a design flaw which you could do nothing about. The staircase and door provides the residents privacy and therefore as residents we should give and take.

1. 1. to switch the lights on 24 hours a day and 7 days a week would increase the electricity bill and this cost will have to be passed onto the residents. You asked whether or not we would want that.
   2. you cannot accede to every resident¡¯s request and that I would be very surprised at what some of the residents are asking for.

1. 1. CPF money is our money. As owners, we have the right to decide whether or not we need any annuity. It is not for the Government to decide for us
   2. In any event, what proportion of people live beyond 85 years of age? How big is that sector of the population in actual fact
   3. I reminded you that not everyone is as long lived as our great leader Mr. LKY. Furthermore in our generation, with the degree of stress and pollution environment, not many can even make it to their 60s.
   4. For the small percentage fortunate to lives beyond 60, the Government should do its duty to look after them and not pass the responsibility to others
   5. Our generation, being more educated, will know the importance of planning for our future retirement, and we do not need the Government to tell us what to do and what to buy for retirement.

1. 1. By the time the details are released on the 17 Sept parliamentary hearing, there will simply be another rubber-stamping exercise, and the fate of all those aged 50 or below will be sealed
   2. One need not look very far into history for examples of such arrogance: the GST increase, Presidential, Parliamentarian and Ministerial salary increments: Once the details are out, the decision is passed and our fate is sealed!

1. 1. You referred to statistics which purportedly show that almost 50% of the current population will benefit from the annuity scheme
   2. You threw the challenge for me to walk around Block 3 to witness the large number of single old folk or those abandoned by their children and who have no one to look after them
   3. You cited the need for the government to increase the pool of resources to help those who have no means of supporting themselves in old
      age.

1. 1. The current older generation who could live to an old age would not benefit from the proposed annuity scheme as it applies only to those aged 50 or below
   2. Furthermore, like my case where I have my own retirement plan, why is the government still making it compulsory for these people who are better-off to buy the annuity
   3. Should it not be every citizen’s personal right to decide how we spend our CPF money? CPF Money is after all our money AND NOT the Government’s money.