Any Singapore Ferrari owners?

very beautiful 250 GT..love it in black aswell!

 

I really love it how you said MY country. I love my country very much and wherever I go, I will tell people I am Singaporean, and its always nice to hear the nice things they say about us. Thats why I have even extended my NS service term although I am done with my 10 year cycle. It just gets sad to see the state of affairs now, and how things are turning. Nonetheless, I will still love my country, the people who live in it and the little things we are left to enjoy here. For one, I love the food. Cant find a dirty pan Char Kway Teow anywhere else. As much as everywhere else that I have travelled to always seems like the greener grass, nothing has ever put a smile on my face as much as when I land in Singapore and feel likes home. My family, my friends keep me going.

Not forgetting his expression when he said it.

I remember his expressions in the movie Face Off too. Priceless. For everything else, there is plastic surgery. But nothing like the insane look in his eyes in Face Off. Plastic Surgery cant give you that.

 

If the tax rates are not where they are now and with such housing and transport policies, i am out of here. I am sure there will be much fewer wealthy immigrants as well. Don't think MP would have migrated to Singapore if we had 40% tax rates with current housing and transport policies. While Char Keow Teow may be nice, it will taste a lot worst with the above tax policies. See what is happening to France now. Many of my Italian friends are pissed off and looking for options. It's a global market place and Singapore has to stay competitive. We can pick and choose where to go to. It's guys like us who create jobs or hold top management positions. While we are small in no we contribute a lot more to the economy. So stop bashing those who succeed.

 

Agreed that the Char kway Teow will lose its taste with the way things are going on now, and that is why I am saying that beyond the crap that is going on, Singapore is still home, and for me to pack up and go elsewhere will be tough for me. I cant bring myself to leave behind what I am most familiar with, not because of the fear of change, but because of the deep rooted relationships here.

I can only sit back and hope for the best, as we know that our voices are rarely heard, and that any type of shift can only happen every four years, and even then, it will be a little shift. So until the majority party does something about themselves, those of us who really love this country will just suffer quietly, with no want to move elsewhere, or at least till it becomes impossible to stay here anymore.

As for me, I will continue to cross my fingers and hope. Its not that I dont want to do anything, but what can a whole group of people do, when no one is listening?

 

The people who are bashing those who succeed are the so-called "ordinary Singaporeans". Just have a quick look around the various online forums. Rich bashing is everywhere. If you drive an exotic, you must be a show-off, blood sucking MF who hires all FTs to keep costs low, block the promotion of equally "talented" locals, etc, etc.

Politicians, knowing which side of their bread is buttered, has to respond accordingly. Otherwise, they will be out of office in 3 years time. What happened to the Singapore government which sought to do the right thing - regardless as to whether it is the popular thing? Well, times have changed. When policemen wore shorts, the Government could pretty much do whatever they want, keep the opposition in "check", and have the ability to do the right things that catapulted Singapore to where she is today.

Now? You just have these whiny locals who mindlessly complains non-stop about the FTs, the Minister's pay, the blood sucking rich, the Elites, etc. If you're not successful by today's standard (in their own minds), i.e. if you're not living in a condo, drive a BMW or Merc, are able to afford a major holiday a year, it's pretty much the Government and the Elite's fault. Even if they are, they are still frustrated that they are not able to stay in Districts, 9, 10, 11 or Sentosa ...

So, whilst I understand your frustrations with the Government, you need to understand where they are coming from. Doing the right thing could just mean signing their own death warrant nowadays ...

 

We all agree there is a problem. What we don't agree is what to do about it. Succumb to popular opinion seems to be your suggestion for the purpose of self preservation. For me honesty is the best policy. Admit to mistakes, present a plan to solve these problems with a timeline. An example is our train system. Provide a report on the problems and the solutions. Govt is good at presenting numbers in the past. Govt has all the data about commuter traffic. If govt tells the population by certain time, there will be more trains, shorter frequency, etc. you give the population confidence the govt has a plan to make things better. That to me is the way to go and not what it's doing now. In the private sector, we have a problem, we identify it and we take steps to solve it and make these steps very clear to our employees to get their support. Same deal bro.

 

Hey guys I'm seeing on FB etc all these matte coloured Ferrari's now on the road in Singapore. Does that make ME a trendsetter? I've never been a trendsetter before!!

 

Yes, Derek you were the one whom got the matt stickered trend kick started here......wooohooooo! And many actually shave their heads to drive one as well......hahahaha!

 

Bro, sans the apology, that's what the Govt has been trying to do. They are working the LTA and transport operators hard to improve the rail services, increase the number of lines, increase the number of trains and thereby increase the frequency of the trains. They are also buying something like 800 more buses over the next 5 years to put on the road. They have publicly stated all these in order to try to win back the public. They hope to accomplish most of these before the next GE. Well, they have to - otherwise, they'll lose even more seats.

I'm no apologist for the Govt but I think that some of the "ordinary" Singaporeans' demands are quite OTT. They want minimum wages, they want high wages, they don't want competition or at least too much competition from FTs but want the foreign corporations to continue to invest here. And unlike those growing up in the 70s and 80s, they don't work as hard as we used to - now it's all about "work life balance". Also, they want good service and inexpensive food but they don't want the cheaper labour that we need to import to provide for this. Worst, when the "tray return" campaign was launched, there was a well supported Facebook page that asked people to boycott this because they though the cost of the food they paid should include such "service" already! So, what to do?

 

it's nice to know that I left an indelible mark in Singapore

 

along with the bits and pieces that flew off your car ...

 

Your last sentence best sums up the situation. "So, what to do?" The govt is terrible in communicating to the public. An example is the blue paper to increase population. How can they discuss this subject when there is so much resentment and no clear solution in sight? It was a PR disaster. Good point you brought up is the cheap foreign labor in the food industry. If not for them, hawker prices will go up. Make this clear communication to them. You want to keep food prices as they are you need to have foreign labor for such jobs. Where is the communication? This make sense to both of us but to the average Joe, they don't get it. For your info, i close down a restaurant biz which my co had for 15 years as i expected the labor situation to get worst due to govt policies. Don't fight it, just close the biz. My staff all found jobs within a couple of days and thank me for the retrenchment benefits. So, what to do? Improve your communications.

 

hahahahhahahahahahahahhaa. That was a nice start to my morning.

 

Derek....how's the desert? Hope all is well and good with you.

What are you driving now?

And dont you have whatsapp? Let your voice be heard there in the group la.

 

Lamborghini Aventador and electric poles kiss one another in Thailand | MyAutoBlog

supercars and electric poles dont mix

 

Wasted....

 

Just saw this from Singapore Business Review

537 restaurants closed last year

Citing data from from the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority, Colliers International said that 686 restaurants were set up in 2012, translating to an average of just under two restaurant openings a day. Yet, the F&B sector has not been without its casualties. A total of 537 restaurants closed in 2012.

Colliers said Japanese restaurant group RE&S, and the TungLok Group (which runs a chain of mostly Chinese restaurants) had to close some of their eateries because of the manpower crunch. It was reported that the TungLok Group would not be opening any new restaurants in Singapore for a while. Colliers warn it is only a matter of time before the effect on the retail real estate sector is felt.

Several of my friend's businesses have also been hurt by manpower issue after the recent crunch on FTs in sectors where locals shun. Eg. Giordano, eateries & fashion.

In fact, most of my friends who are veteran businessmen here reported profit in all countries except Singapore! Some will be closing their local counters soon as it's just not viable to run businesses in Singapore anymore while most have shifted their operations overseas as well. High cost of rental, salary, shortage of labour & transport costs. They need to renew their fleet of vans/lorries but the coe simply kills while older vehicles=higher maintenance & drivers are proving impossible to hire unless you pay over S$3K or face fines hiring even Malaysians. Sigh.

 

SMEs are the backbone of the economy but all are squeezed out of living. Then young start-ups are impossible now so there's no renewal future creating a greying business environment where only large corporations thrive.

My friends in overseas offered me some franchises for Singapore over the past two years but I rejected them simply because it's very difficult to start & maintain anything here anymore. It's sad & I fear the worse for young entrepreneurs.

 

Bro, nothing gets dirtier than Malaysia for a dirty wok of char kway teow but I still love the Singapore style & darker please

Anyway, as one experience more, you'll find that the world is large enough to be small & we don't necessarily have to live or die in where we're raised. I was even thinking of selling bak kut teh in the Med during winters! ^^ Not sure how the French will like pork boiled in clear pepperish soup!?

 

No kidding Harold, did you cook up this up? ^^ let me go find that disc later, one of those classic

 

That's disgusting to be honest. Clearing up after one's meal should be thought from young within the family so it's upbringing. My China relatives will open folded paper boats to throw litter on the dining table while Malaysians uses an extra bowl but when we Singaporeans eat in hawker centres? Yikes.....so who's 3rd world here!

But they did point out about job loss for the old which is interesting. Now shouldn't our old be happily retired instead of doing such work? Is the CPF inadequate, children or State @ fault here?

 

jon, i took the trouble to find you the scene! enjoy!

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSGb-mCFjqY&hl=en-GB&gl=SG]Gone in 60 Seconds - Funny Part - Dutch subtitled - YouTube[/ame]

 

Very nice! Thank you very much.

 

One of the best scenes ever for a classic car lover. Still rings so true today.

 

Ferrari Cstradale360 , Used Cars for Sale, Ferrari Cstradale360 Cars for Sale, Ferrari Car for Sale - STCars | STCars

Another garage queen up for sale!