Ultraman can protest at Hong Lim: Superheroes have saved the Singapore Constitution

Approximately a year ago the following article appeared on Reuters:

Singapore anime figurine protesters meet real police
SINGAPORE, Sept 7 (Reuters) - A protest action by a group of Singaporeans with Japanese anime figurines such as the 5-inch tall Ultramen, robots and monsters with placards met some real-life police in the city-state.
A handful of fans of Japanese anime had turned up at a Singapore public park on August 25 with armfuls of the toys to protest against a clampdown on Internet downloading of anime material by Singapore animation distributor Odex.
The incident was not reported in the local press, but pictures and accounts have started circulating on many blogs and political Web sites. (http://textfiend.net/zerohero/?p=454).
"The police didn't stop us from what we wanted to do. But their being there was enough to intimidate," the event's organiser -- who only wanted to be known by his online moniker Zer0 -- told Reuters by telephone.
He added that police -- who had four anti-riot vans at the scene -- also took down the anime fans' particulars and that they were filmed by plainclothes policemen. A police spokeswoman said she could not immediately comment.
Public protests are rare in Singapore, where outdoor demonstrations are banned and any public gathering of more than four people requires a permit.

What a long way we have come. At the National Day Rally last week, the PM announced that Singaporeans can now protest peacefully at Speakers’ Corner without a permit. It seems that this can be done from 1st September onwards. Civil Disobedience has worked! Singaporeans may have remained a little fearful of entering into the political fray. But, Ultraman and gang are superheroes with supercourageous hearts and not to mention deadly powers, skills, etc. They have done an excellent job in getting the authorities to relent a little. None of the superheroes were arrested or charged. Now, a year later, it is perfectly legal for all Singaporeans to gather and protest at Hong Lim.

So, it is with great pleasure that I commemorate the anniversary of the Anime protest today. :-)

A note to Ultraman: You still cannot protest at the Youth Park.

errrrrr..p - Who wrote the rally speech?

National Day Rally speeches are not intended to be funny. I am sure, however, that any good speaker would throw in a joke or two in the speech just to hold on to the attention of the audience. So, how is this for a joke:

'When ERP was increased, we also reduced road tax and improved public transport. As a result, many more Singaporeans can now own cars. With more cars on the road, we need to increase ERP to keep traffic flowing.' - PM Lee Hsien Loong, National Day Rally 2008

ERP was intended to reduce traffic.
COE system was also intended to reduce traffic.

According to the Straits Times report today (18 Aug 2008): 'He said that since 2000, the Government has been making it easier for many more Singaporeans to own cars. Vehicle-related taxes have been progressively reduced and more Certificates of Entitlement (COEs), which one must have before purchasing a car, have been released.'

This has made vehicle ownership easier and put more cars on the road.
This has increased traffic.

Solution: Increase the ERP.

And then, when it starts doing its job, implement more policies to put more cars on the road. When when traffic gets worse, increase ERP.

A never-ending spiral of ever-escalating costs. A money tree that really grows. Wow! That's brilliant.

To be fair, I merely read the quote in the Straits Times article online. Something could have been lost in the translation. Perhaps there is some nuance to the words that may be better apprehended if one watches the speech. Perhaps it was a candid admission of a flaw in the policy of making car-ownership easier since 2000 and that something would be done to fix it once and for all and that it would not be turned into a cash-squeezing spiral.