It didn’t seem to bother him. It was just a flutter, like it is for thousands of Singaporeans who spend millions every week gambling on the English Premier League.

On the Internet alone, some 4500 registered players put about S$1mil in soccer bets with British firms.

A bigger number of punters like my friend place bets among themselves. No matter that some dialect-speakers can’t even pronounce the names of a few teams.

Up steps Singapore Pools, the government-operated company that handles all types of gambling – lottery, 4D, Toto and S-League betting. On Friday, it was reported to be planning to make a play for part of this cyber market.

As the world economy changes, Singapore is finding it harder to compete with cheap manufacturing countries like China and India and, at the same time, provide jobs for its population of 3.25 million.

While a high-level economic committee reviews options and considers plans that will enable the island state to make a living in the New World, many are calling for an abandonment of “sacred cows” – or fundamental principles – that made the nation wealthy.

Several weeks ago, someone suggested building casinos on Sentosa Island to attract foreign tourists and keep its own money – which is now flying to Malaysia, Australia and Britain.

Saying “no” to casinos has long been a sacred cow. In the 60s, Macao’s Stanley Ho expressed an interest just as Sentosa was shaping into a new resort.

Okay, said the Lee Kuan Yew government, provided it was open only to foreigners, not Singaporeans. Stanley Ho took the next plane home and the idea died. Nobody is interested if Singaporeans can’t play there.

Obviously the same argument to keep them out still prevails today. Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng recently gave the same reply: Sorry, no dice.

This is, of course, one part of the committee’s work – to draw up new economic directions for the future.

The second portion is reviewing present policies and economic principles to see what are irrelevant and have to be replaced – and by what.

The objective is to make Singapore more competitive by increasing the use of technology and reducing business costs.

For middle-class Singaporeans, this is both good and bad news, likely more of the latter.

Over the longer term, reducing business costs will mean
(1) a lower standard of living because of lower wages,
(2) a lower Sing dollar
(3) lower property (including HDB) prices, a bad omen since 85 percent of Singaporeans are home-owners.

The good news, they hope, is more jobs and a lower cost of living.

In fact, many Singaporean companies and the civil service have been cutting or freezing wages during the past year. Chances of a restoration any time soon are slim.

Last week Deputy Prime Minister BG Lee Hsien Loong, who heads the economic committee, confirmed that tax rates would be reduced to make them “conducive to people who do well and make it big.”

Currently, corporate tax is 24.5 percent while personal tax is 26 percent.

This would be done without planning for a deficit budget, he added.

Eventually, said BG Lee, who is also Finance Minister, healthcare (whose high cost is often criticised) and education would be open to competition, just like banking and telecommunication.

Warnings are already out to traffic and other offenders to prepare to lighten their wallets if they insist on breaking the rules.

The Land Transport Authority announced last week that car owners who were late in paying their road tax from the next budget year would be fined S$10 to S$50 for the first month, and an additional S$50 after that.

For late payment of COE (certificate of entitlement for vehicles) the fine is between S$50 and S$250.

The authority is also cracking down on motorists who stop illegally before a gantry to avoid the Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) charges. On Thursday, police swooped down on three areas, picking up 16 offenders.

Fines were between S$130 and S$160. It’s a convenient way to increase revenue to replace lower taxes.

The recession, which is entering its second year, is changing Singapore and its people.

In my estate, “For Sale” signs have been posted in more landed property, including houses refurbished and bought only five or six years ago. The buyers have run into trouble in their jobs or business.

A friend who lives and jogs around Sixth Avenue told me that more than 14 houses were vacant and seeking tenants.

High rents and fewer customers are affecting small shops that provide a means to earn a living for the older, less educated people who would otherwise find it hard to get skill-demanding jobs.

Their despair has spawned a return of something that has long disappeared from Singapore, a scatter of illegal street stalls at housing estates selling fruits, clothes and VCDs.

“The police come, we run,” said one unlicensed hawker, who earns about S$60 a night. “I don’t have a choice. I can’t get a job. This is my rice-bowl.”

In the New Singapore, property auctioneers are moving into the “repo” market.

Columbariums, which cremate the dead and store their ashes, are moving into modern competition. They are organising special draws on the Internet for customers, offering a condo or a car. In land-short Singapore, there are no cemeteries, except for Muslims.

Much of the bright lights have gone in more ways than one.

Retail giants and shopping complexes have reduced their decoration budgets by as much as 50 percent.

With many shoppers hanging on to their money, sales earnings are nowhere near the previous year’s figures. Department stores suffered a 10 percent drop in business, while it was 30 percent to 50 percent for high-end specialty ones.

But gloom may not last long. Some economists see the current fat-shedding exercise – reducing costs and inventory – will one day restore Singapore’s strong growth.

In five years’ time, conservatively speaking, the city will regain its old strong former self, except now it will have better skills and ideas.

Seah Chiang Nee is a veteran journalist and editor of the information website littlespeck.com

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