When I read the article about Holland-Bukit Panjang Town Council saga with Lehman Brothers exposure, my jaw dropped hearing the senseless remark chairman Dr Teo Ho Pin made. Here's a picture of the 'humble' garmen official, the source of the very clever statement.
The article can be found at:
http://www.todayonline.com/articles/287994.asp
To sum it up, the town council faces a potential $8-million loss, which is 6.7% of their sinking fund. Other town councils like the Ponggol-Pasir Ris faces a $4-million (2.6%). No wonder they call it sinking funds.
I quote Dr Teo in his entire 'nonsensibility':"They (residents) should thank the Town Council for working hard to come up with a diversified portfolio to generate income so that residents would not have to fork out more money."
He reminds me of another Dr from a neighbouring country who is known for shooting his mouth off without second thoughts. How can he tell residents to be grateful in the light of potential loss. These people pay their hard-earned money to these town council people, trusting that they will take care to use it wisely.
We know that the loss is not entirely their fault and that the intention was to generate more funds, but it is very arrogant to lose public money and then make a shameless remark like this. At the very least, stay humble and apologize (or at least empathize with the people).
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