Fuzzy Math

Something has gone wrong with the government's sums recently. The Minister Mentor suddenly revealed that he never quite "bought into" the idea that Singapore should have a population of 6.5 million people and that such a huge population would lead to very bad overcrowding. A good balance between economic sustainability and humane living conditions might be 5.5 million according to him.

I wonder what happen to this about turn? It is hard to be convinced that with all the government justifications and the planned infrastructural works to make Singapore able to accommodate 6.5 million people, the very idea itself has not been endorsed by the founding father of Singapore. More likely that this is some kind of beginning of back-pedalling and very soon after the Godfather's comments, some kind of review would be done and suddenly 5.5 million is a better number afterall. So would it be 5.5 million or 6.5 million? Whatever it is, expect more and more crowding on the roads, on the buses and MRTs (after the government make driving so expensive that in future the only people who can drive on the road would probably be the top 5% income earners in Singapore) and in the malls. How cosy.

How many of the new jobs created went to foreign workers? This appears to be a very simple question but recent reports seemed to hint that it might be easier to measure the position of the proverbial electron which can exist in more than one place at a time when no one is looking. First the TV news and the newspaper published that 6 out of 10 newly created jobs went to foreign workers (*gasp* How can they allow such horrifying falsehood to be published) and then before you have the chance to even say "typo", suddenly the numbers are correct again. Now the officials figures are that 1/3 of the newly created jobs last year went to the foreigners. What a relief. But wait, maybe there is not inconsistency afterall? Is not 6/10 = 1/3? Just like Godfather and Mahatir had once said that Asia has its own brand of democracy which is more suited to the Asian society and culture unlike the decadent liberal democracy of the West, maybe there is also a Singaporean mathematics where 6/10 = 1/3.