Saturday, June 16, 2018

Govt in overdrive to justify $20 M Summit spending

Seems like the focus of our govt after the US-N Korea Summit ended is to justify the $20 M poured into holding it.  Could it be because of the negative outcome as most critics said the agreement signed between the 2 leaders is full of holes?  Or could it be because our closest neighbor Malaysia is cutting back on govt expenditure while ours is still spending like they have a gold mine?

The main stream media went into overdrive the last few days to highlight how much monetary benefits Spore has gotten out of the summit.  Really?

I recalled after PM Lee announced that $20 M will be splashed on the summit, CNA interviewed 2 economists if Spore would benefit from the summit.  Both said the tangible economic benefits are limited.  However, after the summit we are thrown figures like $700M - Meltwater report, $200M worth of global publicity, $150M to $750M of economic benefits ($750M- increase by $50M overnight ?)......

Looking at the figures from $150M to $750 M - the difference is $600M ie 400% difference! Such a wide gap - and they expect us to accept them at face value and believe in them?

The $20M is already spend on the Summit, but all these airy figures are intangible benefits which may not even materialized.

To top it up, Minister K Shanmugam said that North Korea missiles can reach S'pore in 20 mins. The same old trick- using scare tactics.  Since when did North Korea ever threaten S'pore?  If US, our long time friend thinks we are part of Malaysia, N Korea likely has a more fuzzy idea of our geographical location before the summit.

Sigh! After wasting $20M of public fund, now they want to dupe us into believing the money spend is worth it. This is too much to stomach in 1 week.


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