Was, another, confession?

Mah Bow Tan said "he was 'caught off guard'  by how the HDB resale market trended north in a recession year" during an interview with Mediacorp as reported in the Today paper. He added, "nobody, no matter how prescient, no matter how clever, would have been able to predict that this was what was going to happen."

I fully agree. I don't have a crystal ball with me to gaze everyday. I don't have any data or reports on the increase in population. I don't have any data on the supply and availability of flats. Neither do I know the demand pattern or the prices or flats in market. I don't even know the market prices or how govt policies could affect demand and supply and prices of flats. I don't have a team of super talent to tell me what is happening. But that is me. I am just an ordinary citizen, a layman who is not in the loop of information flow and decision making.

Should the people demand and expect the super talents, the best paid administrators and policy makers to say 'I don't know, I didn't see it coming?'

But one thing the minister knows for sure, the prices will keep going up. And that is because 'the current system is far superior to one that keeps housing cheap through a non market based system.' How did he know? Ah, it is the govt's policy, the way the system is set up and administered, that will dictate that prices must go up and not come down. No need to be prescient or clever to know this.

And what is the alternative or the only alternative available? A fixed price system whereby home owners would have to return the flats to the HDB and get back the price they paid for it. This is like the current govt is the best govt and the alternative is that all our women folks will become maids and the economy will collapse if another party comes to power.

Okay, no need to predict property prices, just go ahead and grab the next property quickly. Don't rush but if you don't buy now the next property will be more pricey. I wish I can be so confident of what tomorrow shall bring. Oh, I forgot, there are conditions attached. Property owners who want to ensure that their property prices will just go up and not down better know what to do.