Taiwanese in Peng Hu has voted against the building of Casino Resorts on Saturday, 26 September 2009. It is a great victory for people around the world who are against Casino gambling.
This world has too much greed going around and greed has just created a big mess in the finance industry resulting a world wide economic slow down and recession. Greed may be part of the human tools in making the free market possible but uncontrolled greed will be devastating to the whole system and societies.
Photo from China Times
It is just too bad that Singaporeans have allowed PAP to monopolize power and do whatever they want without proper consultation from the people. We are walking into an era of unknown social impact brought by the Casino Resorts which will be due by 2010. I could foresee that the PAP government would most probably waive the $100 entry fee for Singaporeans in order to save these multi-billion projects if revenue does not meet their initial expectations.
The very same excuse used by governments all over the world in saving banks and financial institutions which were at the brink of their collapse would be invoked, "they are just too big to fail". We will be held hostage by the two casino resorts if they fail and we could even envisage that taxpayers money would be used to bail them out if necessary.
The Taiwanese Anti-Casino victory may send a strong signal to the world that ultra-capitalism may not have its way if proper democratic process is being installed. However, it would mean little to Singaporeans as we are after all a small country with power monopolized by a single ruling party. Singapore may just become the Sin City of Southeast Asia basically because we lack the democratic means to decide whether we would allow ultra-capitalism like building Casino Resorts to take us on.
Goh Meng Seng
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7 comments:
当你是美女时，何必入风尘？
——台湾亚都丽致饭店总裁严长寿。他认为，台湾离岛澎湖人前天公投拒绝在当地开设赌场，是台湾的进步，也认为用赌博带动澎湖观光业是短视的做法
singapore's version will be "i am snow white, but i drifted"
"Singapore may just become the Sin City of Southeast Asia basically because we lack the democratic means to decide whether we would allow ultra-capitalism like building Casino Resorts to take us on"
So what are your solution then, Mr Goh?
mediacorp actress joanne peh wrote in her blog that minister for foreign affairs george yeo invited her on two occasions, one, visit to his office and two, to celebrate his birthday. why do ministers do such a thing? is it proper? you can visit joanne peh's website to find out. i feel very uncomfortable about it.
Anon 4:10pm:
Friend, she was invited or not, none of our business lah.
can you tell me one reason why she should not be invited?
there are many reasons for gy to invite her: he wants to be near young people and hear their views or they go to the same church or he is her fan and love her shows or he wants to offer her a part-time/full time job or he is considering whether she can be the nice eunice olsen or PAPer, there are so many reasons...
why you feel uncomfortable? for joanne or gy? for both of them, i think they are pretty comfortable with each other you know. ;)
Whenever govt puts money above people, the outcome cannot be good.
I did not trust the PAP to have those casinos because for years they allowed problem gambling to fester and along with it the loan shark problem. You wonder how the loan shark problem in Singapore can grow to its current size in a country that is so strict in every aspect.
Once the casinos are open and the social ills and problems propagate, the PAP will just pass the problems to social workers and religious groups...just as the have done with the problem gambling in the past few decades.
The anti-casino fight we fought should have been won if we were a democratic country. Most Singaporeans live close to the problem they see the loan shark notices in the lifts the paint on some of their neighbors houses - the ordinary singaporean understands the destruction gambling brings....and most oppose the casinos.
The govt says the casinos are to create jobs for Singaporeans but the reality is there has never been a shortage of jobs - we have imported 1+M foreign workers to fill jobs so how can there be a shortage of jobs? There is a shortage of jobs that match the skills and salary for cost of living of Singaporeans. Singaporeans have no advantage or special skills for casinos operations. Many of the jobs are filled by Filipinos, people from Macau who have these skills.
The main reason for the casinos is to bring attract a certain type of money into Singapore not jobs. The harm that it causes our society is not a consideration for this govt.
about this joanne peh and george yeo thingie, people gossiping about old cow eat young grass in the forum, so very disgusting lor for a minister, some more full minister leh. how can? some more her eyes look so cunning and vain type and she even lied about her enhanced breast due to her period wor. how can george yeo associate with such a bad role model leh?
Social movements have emerged in Taiwan. The government should really do something about this casino issues.
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