Molly got into a cab just now and the friendly cabbie was telling Molly how amused he was by a radio news report about what a female MP in Ang Moh Kio GRC said (this is according to the cabbie, so I have no chance of verifying it).

The cabbie's account was that Sylvia Lim had questioned the early implementation of the GST hike, saying that the reduction of corporate tax would actually increase the government's revenue because it is supposed to attract more investors. (It's like shops having a sale - you make less profit per item sold, but you eventually make more profits than you would have before because you sell more items.) The rebuttal by this particular MP, again according the the cabbie, was that the GST hike cannot wait. She supposedly said in Hokkien that you can't wait till you want to shit before looking for toilet paper. Something along the lines of: Ai pang sai jia lai chway zua.

How cultivated that is! How connected with the masses!

Said cabbie went on to offer a range of alternative analogies - none of which is related to excretion.

OK, as Molly mentioned, she has no idea whether the cabbie's account was accurate or not, so helpful readers might want to point Molly to the truth.

Parliamentary debate is very interesting. As even the ST's Ms. Chua Mui Hoong notes, it has become a cheerleading session for MPs - with the exception of opposition MPs perhaps. How sad it is for the ST. I thought cheerleading used to be the ST's job. (Ah, it must be the perils of globalization causing the ST to lose its job.) Anyway, Ms. Chua is very clever. She suggests that PAP MPs should go beyond cheerleading. Which means that they should be cheerleading - it's just that they have to do more than just cheering.

(Of course. They have to "rebutt" opposition politicians too. Perhaps using shitty analogies, if the cabbie wasn't kidding me.)

To be honest, there are really important issues brought up in the Parliament debates. Such as the issue we have been hearing for 4 decades about the need to prevent Singaporeans from developing a crutch mentality. In other words: WELFARE IS A DIRTY WORD.

According to a CNA article, MPs apparently think that people become lazy because of the benefits the government is giving to the poor:

"Mr Arthur Fong, MP - West Coast GRC, cited a constituent who was reluctant to return to the workforce as her children's education needs were already met by various assistance schemes.

He said: "While the government constantly comes up with programmes to help the needy, we must ensure that the needy have the self determination to help themselves. I am therefore heartened; the Minister reminded the House that our people should not lose their self reliance. This is crucial for us to flourish as a nation."

Bad, bad housewife. Reluctant to return to the workforce.

Did Mr. Fong ask her why though? Perhaps if she returned to the workforce, the "extra" income would disqualify her children from assistance schemes? Perhaps she has other reasons to stay at home?

No, of course she's just being lazy and unwilling to help herself. Well, at least she made babies. That's very important.

Yours truly,
Molly Meek la Bimbo Satirique