TR EMERITUS

Was there a together 10 million Plan? Er... Heng Swee Kiat said there was no such plan. Vivian Balakrishnan accused the SDP of sprouting falsehoods in their 4Y 1N election campaign. Now that the heat of electioneering is doused, let us calmly attempt to understand the significance of the 10 million figure and its impact on Singapore society. I remember back in the 2011 election, one of the issues that led to the PAP losing its highest vote share and consequently its first GRC was that Singaporeans felt overwhelmed by the deluge of foreigners in our population. The talk of Singapore losing its “Singaporean core” due to a society overran by new immigrants. Later, the government released Population White Paper on “A Sustainable Population for a Dynamic Singapore” in January 2013 that projected Singapore’s population to be 6.9 million by the year 2030. The White Paper roused deep displeasure and a rare mass rally was organised to protest against Singapore’s immigration plans. Organisers claimed that more than 7,000 people converged at Hong Lim Park to demonstrate. In the Parliamentary sitting when the White Paper was discussed, the Workers’ Party (the only opposition) proposed a “discount” but to no avail and the matter simmered. Then in February 2017, Yeoh Lam Keong, former chief economist of the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation presented in a public forum, “Singapore Economy: Past, Present and Future Challenges”, his view on the immigration policy, labour forge growth and final population size. He noted that to achieve a normalised GDP growth of 2% and to meet the target of a population of 6.9 million, the Labour Forge Growth must be kept down to 1.5% from 3% to 3.5% in the early 2010s. (see graph presented). This was given that our productivity growth was low at 0.5% despite so many governmental future economic committees flogging the challenge of productivity. He further noted that the White Paper was incomplete as the world or Singapore would not end in 2030. Projecting further into the future, by 2050 at 1.5% Labour Forge Growth, Singapore’s population would be 10 million. With that kind of imminent population in 30 to 40 years’ time, he posed the question whether the future of Singapore society is the Switzerland Dream or Dubai Nightmare in the making. 2030 is now only 10 years away. The government has not given an update on the successes of the Future Economic Committee. It is no wonder that an urban planner like Liu Thai Ker would talk about preparing society for 10 million. Therefore it was disingenuous for Heng Swee Kiat and Vivian Balakrishnan to have said that there was never a 10 million plan unless they had not been included in the Population White Paper discussion.   * Facebook post by Tan Tee Seng.      Read More →

What a wasted opportunity. Instead of having a meaningful and dispassionate discussion on the Leader of the Opposition concept, we are seeing verbal diarrhoea being spewed on the merits and demerits of whether Pritam Singh should have made it public that he was donating part of his increased allowance to charity. With Ho Ching entering the fray, the discussion just went downhill. Her arrow was aimed, obliquely perhaps, at Singh, although she didn’t mention his name in her FB post. She seemed to be upset that many others give to charity, but then don’t publicise it. And the “most handsome genius” Calvin Cheng was also there in the trenches calling Singh’s action political theatre. The CEO of Temasek’s indirect attack attracted a lot of attention because she is no ordinary woman. She is a corporate leader and the PM’s wife. Which of the two hats was she wearing? Or was she writing as a citizen, or as the conscience of Singapore society? Ho Ching is so into social media that she can share or write multiple posts in a day. Some are about inane topics like food and animals, others are about what PAP leaders are doing. We can take comfort from the fact that she is not as bad as Donald Trump who goes berserk in attacking his rivals by throwing smoke bombs and using intemperate language. But what does her husband, the PM, think of his wife’s posts? Has he advised her against doing it? Or is he the modern husband who doesn’t want to interfere in his wife’s affairs. Whatever his views, her actions cannot be wished away as she is the most important woman in Singapore. And what she says on Facebook will be sliced and diced to unimaginable conclusions. It will lead to splitting an already polarised society. Ok, she has kind of apologised but water has already flowed under the bridge and the wounds are not going to be healed soon. The Leader of the Opposition is worthy of a deep scrutiny and debate because it can shape the future of Opposition politics. Many feel that it is a scheme to draw Singh and his comrades into a trap to be slaughtered. The PM mentioned it at least three times that he was looking forward to seeing alternative proposals from the Workers’ Party. For that to happen, Singh and Company will need all – and I emphasise ALL – the help from civil servants, who should not second guess or hold back from giving information. The PAP holds the cards in this game. It has many more people, much more experience and much more information. It can turn out to be an unfair affair. The burden is on the ruling establishment to show it is sincere. If there are gaps in WP’s arguments, reveal them but do not gloat over the Opposition’s mistakes. And stop the inquisition-like approach, which some have tended to display. As for Singh, he has to present water-tight ideas and, if proven wrong, show sincerity and contrition. This is like a Liverpool-Leeds United football match. Liverpool is always the favourite to win against underdog Leeds. But look at the way Reds manager Jurgen Klopp treats his rivals with compassion and empathy. If both PAP and WP play the game with Singapore uppermost in their minds, then we are on to something.     P.N. Balji * P.N. Balji is a veteran Singaporean journalist, who is the former chief editor of The New Paper and TODAY newspaper, and a media consultant.        Read More →

Minister for Sustainability For a population of 5.5 M, we have a PM, a DPM, TWO senior ministers, and THREE ministers in PM office., plus a host of other Ministers.. --sheeesh.! All highly paid..from tax payers' money..! And Grace Fu is now also Minister for "Sustainability"..! What in the world does such a minister do ..?? ( I am reading a book called "100 Bullshit Jobs" by Stanley Bing. This must be one of them.!)   * Facebook post by Leslie Terh.      Read More →