The Minister's response should not surprise. What else could we expect? Firstly, the government is a firm believer in the so called efficiency of the private sector and will stick to this model even when there are good arguments against it. Secondly, since the WP put an official front to the idea of a national transportation body that many netizens, with hindsight regret, now call for, it has to be put down immediately without further discussions. Pure politics. Just last week MCYS MG Chan CS said that Singaporeans must provide ideas and not throw stones. Now we all know why Singaporeans don't really like the idea of being upfront with their suggestions because the ideas get rolled over very quickly, and with mighty force.
Back to the core issue of a national transportation body. The government itself is an example of a national body that is supposedly run, not for profit, although we know they do it to some extent to enhance the reserves. Occasionally, for political cover, they suffer budget deficits as well. Ministries exists not to make profits and Singaporeans are led to believe that they are both run efficiently and also provide the best there is out there. Then we have examples of privately run enterprise like the NKF or Renci that shows what a sham it can be when operated as a private enterprise when there are no clear checks and balances. The PTC aka Gerald Ee is clearly not seen by the public as a neutral body. No amount of dressing up such a committee is going to change public perception.
So why can't a good civil servant run the SMRT as a public company?. 350 admin service scholars and we are still unable to muster the right talent to look after a relatively simple enterprise? And no one is saying we pay peanuts ($600k +) to the CEO. No one is asking the SMRT to make a loss. A public corporation can open its books and show the public what its genuine costs are and why it needs to collect enough to break even. Singaporean's won't begrudge that. SMRT already uses massive taxpayer's money to build its infrastructure. We pay taxes to fund it and then we hand it over to a private company so that they can now charge what they like to make huge profits? We all know where the profits go to so the real reason to continue SMRT as a private enterprise is so that the money goes back into the reserves for further investment. But should a public transport (its an oxymoron to call it public transport since the SMRT is run as a private enterprise) used by 80% of Singaporeans be used as tax collection means?
The argument that privately run enterprise is more efficient does not even hold water in the case of the SMRT. Pictures of crowded trains and long waiting times informs us that there is more that can be done. Folks waiting at stations closer to the city still have to miss multiple trains whilst standing in sweat drenched clothes before they can get onboard only to smell the "fresh" scent from others standing skin to skin away. Complaints against increasing noise from the rail tracks of ageing trains are met with a response that a study team is being convened to determine if the noise levels are acceptable. If not, commuters will have to pay anyway.
No one is asking to ride trains for free although there is every reason why those loyal Singaporeans over 65 should be allowed to. We have all seen what private enterprise is doing to the SMRT. It does not look pretty. We should now let the national transportation body have a go. In fact, by doing so, the government will relieve itself of one of the sore points of Singapore society which is that one hardly gets anything back for being loyal citizens. Let Singapore hold an open hearing on this matter and allow Singaporeans to decide.
Governing....it's only Common Sense.
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