Basket.

"Behold the folly of the Persian, who forsook such splendour to plunder such poverty." -Spartan commander Pausanias, viewing the opulent tent of Persian general Mardonius after the Battle of Plataea, 479BC.

A quote reminiscent of the present situation, as our public transport operators, despite hundreds of millions in profits every year, seek to further loot the pockets of the poor. It is nothing short of shameful, bare-faced, criminal greed, in my opinion every bit as scandalous as the NKF revelations - and condoned by the government in the form of the PTC, which seems to think that protecting consumers means ensuring the raise in fare prices is not too great. As opposed to, uh, vetoing any raise at all?

First-class prices for first-class service, they say. That's ridiculous, because as I have already pointed out, the service is nowhere near first-class. Here's a thought: why don't you just make the fucking buses run on schedule instead of squandering all the money on luxuries like, say it with me, "the world's first pilotless underground heavy rail system" (aka the North-East Line). Or on TV sets for every bus. Well, at least make them show some decent programs. But no, we have none of that and I don't see it coming any time soon. The only thing that ever seems to be coming soon and actually arrive is fare increases. It is unjustifiable. This lust for money, the money of the poor, is inexcusable.

There, of course, is not much the lot of us can do, but watch and fume as corporate fatcats slaver over the money they have so unfairly snatched for ordinary, hardworking citizens. Just one more demonstration, I suppose, of how important the workers who built present-day, prosperous Singapore with their own bare hands are in the eyes of the powers that be.