Singapore 2011 Budget

Dear All,When I post this, detractors will immediately ask me to migrate to Singapore.
Why should I?
I love this country, therefore I want it to improve for the sake of not myself, but for my children, friends, family and fellow countrymen.


Do you know what to do at the next GE? Think and vote wisely.



Singapore 2011 Budget


Slew of Budget goodies unveiled

Singapore’s Minister for Finance, Mr Tharman Shanmuganathan, delivers the Budget Speech for the Financial Year 2011. (AP Photo)
Singaporeans will receive a total of S$6.6 billion of benefits in the 2011 Singapore Budget announced by Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam on Friday.
$3.2 billion Grow and Share Package: The average Singaporean household will receive S$3,500 from this year’s Budget. This will come from the S$3.2 billion to be spent on the “Grow and Share Package” and S$3.4 billion in longer-term Social Investments for households this year.
All adult Singaporeans will also receive Growth Dividends to share the fruits of last year’s exceptional economic growth. The majority of Singaporeans – 80% – will get $600 to $800 each.
CPF rate revision: The Government will raise the employer contribution rate to CPF accounts by another 0.5 percentage points, from 15.5% to 16%, which will restore the total contribution, rate to 36%. The additional 0.5% will go into the Special Account.
The Government will also revise the CPF salary ceiling from $4,500 to $5,000 per month to keep pace with income growth in recent years. This will align the salary ceiling back to the 80th percentile income, and help middle-income Singaporeans.
Radio and TV licence fees removed permanently: The annual licence fee of S$110 for televisions and S$27 for vehicle radios will be removed with immediate effect. Those who have not paid this year’s fees will not have to make the payment, while a refund will be given to those who have already paid.
Mr Tharman said that’s because the fees are losing their relevance. He said televisions are no longer limited to middle and higher-income groups, with 99% of lower-income households owning them today.
Tax cuts: Singaporeans will receive a personal income tax rebate of 20% for individual resident taxpayers for YA 2011. The rebate will be capped at $2,000. Taxes will be reduced significantly for middle and upper-middle income families. Marginal tax rates will be reduced for first S$120,000 of chargeable income.
Levy increase for foreign workers: The Government will also introduce more levy increases on foreign workers for all sectors this year. Most of the additional measures will be phased in at six-monthly intervals, starting only from 1 January 2012, and extending till 1 July 2013, one year beyond the previous schedule.
S$10 billion home upgrading: $10 billion will be spent to upgrade homes and rejuvenate estates over the next 10 years. This is a major effort to preserve the value of HDB flats and will go towards the Home Improvement Programme (HIP), Neighbourhood Renewal Programme (NRP) and Lift Upgrading Programme (LUP), it will invest up to $55,000 per flat.
Low-income groups will also receive additional housing subsidies to better afford their homes. The Government will set aside S$175 million each year for the new Special CPF Housing Grant to help the bottom 50% Singapore households own their homes.
For more details, refer to the speech summary below or read the full transcript here.
http://www.singaporebudget.gov.sg/budget_2011/budget_speech.html

What is truth?

Lately, lots of personas have come out to preach "the Truth".
Fact remains that the truth is not what you profess to be true.
Take it from Buddha.

"But what makes these 'experts' preach their own opinion and call it truth?" asked the inquirer. "Is it an inheritance of humankind to do this, or is it merely something they gain satisfaction from?" "Apart from consciousness," answered the Buddha, "no absolute truths exist. False reasoning declares one view to be true and another view wrong. It is delight in their dearly held opinions that makes them assert that anyone who disagrees is bound to come to a bad end. But no true seeker becomes embroiled in all this. Pass by peacefully and go a stainless way, free from theories, lusts, and dogmas."


- Majjhima Nikaya

For all the Judges out there

Pray, don't find fault with the man that limps


Or stumbles along the road.

Unless you have worn the shoes he wears

Or struggled beneath his load.



There may be tacks in his shoes that hurt

Though hidden away from view.

Or the burden he bears placed on your back

Might cause you to stumble too.



Dont sneer at the man who's down today

Unless you have felt the blow

That caused his fall or felt the shame

That only the fallen know.



You may be strong but still the blows

That was his if dealt to you

In the selfsame way, at the selfsame time

Might cause you to stagger too.



Dont be too harsh with the man that sins

Or pelt him with word or stone

Unless you are sure - yea, doubly sure -

That you have no sins of your own.



For you know, perhaps,

If the tempter's voice should whisper as soft to you

As it did to him when he went astray

It might cause you to falter too.

6 for the relationship

Six Things Which Weaken Relations:

1) Misbehaving

2) Ignoring

3) Lying

4) Breaking Promises

5) Avoiding Contact

6) Doubting



Six Things Which Strengthen Relations:

1) Good Attitude

2) Helping

3) Trusting

4) Respecting

5) Entertaining

6) Forgiving Mistakes.

Aim high

Aim for the moon...even if you miss you'll land amoungst the stars.

I LOVE LIFE

I would never trade my amazing friends, my wonderful life,
and my loving family for less grey hair or a flatter belly.


As I've aged, I've become kinder to myself, and less critical of myself.
I've become my own friend.
I don't chide myself for eating that extra cookie, or for not making my bed, or for buying that gadget that I didn't need, but looks so avante garde in my hand.
I am entitled to a treat, to be messy, to be extravagant.

I have seen too many dear friends leave this world too soon; before they understood the great freedom that comes with aging.


Whose business is it if I choose to read or play on the computer until 4 AM and sleep until noon? I will dance with myself to those wonderful tunes of the 80's, and if I, at the same time, wish to weep over a lost love ...... I will.


I will walk the beach in a swim suit that is stretched over a bulging body, and will dive into the waves with abandon if I choose to, despite the pitying glances from the jet set.

They, too, will get old. Perhaps they don't realise it yet.


I know I am sometimes forgetful.
But there again, some of life is just as well forgotten.

And I eventually remember the important things.

Sure, over the years my heart has been broken.
How can your heart not break when you lose a loved one, or when a child suffers, or even when somebody's beloved pet gets hit by a car?
But broken hearts are what give us strength and understanding and compassion.

A heart never broken is pristine and sterile and will never know the joy of being imperfect.

I am so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turning grey, and to have my youthful laughs be forever etched into grooves on my face.

So many have never laughed, and so many have died before their hair could turn silver.

As you get older, it is easier to be positive. Or at least, it ought to be.

You care less about what other people think.

I don't question myself anymore.. I've even earned the right to be wrong.


So, to answer your question, I like being old.
 
It has set me free.
I like the person I have become.. I am not going to live forever, but while I am still here, I will not waste time lamenting what could have been, or worrying about what will be.
 
And I shall eat chocolate every single day (if I feel like it).

Malaysia memang boleh

Well, if people are dumb enough to vote BN, then everything also can.........like:

 

Thought for the Day

However good you may be you have faults; however dull you may be you can find out what some of them are, and however slight they may be you had better make some-not too painful, but patient efforts to get rid of them.


-- John Ruskin

Thought Of The Day

The three great essentials to achieving anything worthwhile are;

first, hard work,

second, stick-to-it-iveness,

and third, common sense.

 - Thomas A. Edison (1847-1931) American Inventor

What is inner peace?

A tendency to think and act deliberately, rather than from fears based on past experiences.



An unmistakable ability to enjoy each moment.



A loss of interest in judging others.



A loss of interest in judging self.



A loss of interest in conflict.



A loss of interest in interpreting the actions of others.



A loss of ability to worry.



Frequent, overwhelming episodes of appreciation.



Contented feelings of connectedness with others and nature.



Frequent attacks of smiling through the heart.



Increasing susceptibility to kindness offered, and the uncontrollable urge to reciprocate.



An increasing tendency to allow things to unfold, rather than resisting and manipulating.

Thought of the Day

It takes a great deal of boldness mixed with a vast deal of caution to acquire a great fortune; but then it takes ten times as much wit to keep it after you have got it as it took you to make it.


-- Rothschild