Traffic after the Lunar New Year holidays

On the first few days after the Lunar New Year, the \re was reduced traffic on the roads as most workplaces were still closed. It was wonderful to drive along the roads, without the excessive congestion. How nice life would have been in Singapore, without the crowds and congestions. It was also easy to find a parking space.

Can Singapore afford to have the same roads and parking spaces, if it has a smaller population? The answer is "yes". There are many suburbs around big cities where there are ample roads and parking spaces. It is possible for a community to afford a higher ratio of roads and parking spaces and still be viable.

Businesses in Singapore are allowed to squeeze customers for the last ounce of profits. They pursue profit maximization without regard to other factors, such as the quality of service. This is the reason for the high cost of living and the poor quality of life in Singapore. This is why the MRT trains are crowded and fully packed, even late at night.

We need better regulation to ensure that businesses provide a standard of service that provides comfort and a better quality of life of the customers. They can still be allowed to make a reasonable profit after meeting these standards.

By allowing many foreigners to live and work in Singapore without expanding our public infrastructure and  facilities, the Government is also pursuing a similar goal of using our resources to the limit, and creating a poorer quality of life for the people. This type of bad policy should be avoided.

Tan Kin Lian