TR EMERITUS

By Jamie McGhee from Bloomberg Warren Buffett, the billionaire chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. who pays the company for postage and personal phone calls, received a $100,000 salary for a 29th straight year as he arranged a $27 billion acquisition. Berkshire’s shareholder equity, a measure of assets minus liabilities, rose 20 percent to $131.1 billion in 2009 and annual net income climbed 61 percent to $8.06 billion. Buffett received no bonus in 2009 and he doesn’t get stock options or grants, Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire said late yesterday in a regulatory filing. “Considering that far-more-mortal executives have been paid far more for delivering far less, the standards of comparisons would warrant a monumental increase,” said Tom Russo, partner at Gardner Russo & Gardner in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, which holds Berkshire stock. “He could say, ‘I’m worth a billion a year,’” Russo said. “That’s not Buffett.” Buffett reimbursed Berkshire $50,000 last year to cover the cost of postage stamps, phone calls and staff time used for personal tasks, the company said in the filing. Vice Chairman Charles Munger, who also made a $100,000 salary, paid $5,500. Buffett and Munger don’t use company cars or belong to clubs paid for by Berkshire. Security Costs Berkshire reported $344,490 in costs for Buffett’s personal and home security. That’s up 9.1 percent from $315,709 in 2008. Buffett, 79, completed the purchase last month of railroad Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. for $27 billion, the biggest acquisition of his career. He built Berkshire into a $200 billion company over four decades, transforming a failing maker of men’s suit linings into an enterprise with businesses ranging from car insurance and underwear to power plants and corporate jet leasing. Buffett is also Berkshire’s chief executive officer as well as its largest shareholder. Since 2004, Berkshire’s compensation committee has determined salaries. Prior to that, Buffett recommended his own salary to the board. “He views the shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway as partners,” said Jeff Matthews, author of “Pilgrimage to Warren Buffett’s Omaha” and founder of the hedge fund Ram Partners LP. “If you have your own skin in the game, you own the shares of stock alongside your fellow shareholders and you make them a ton of money, you will make yourself a ton of money, and that’s the proper way to do it in his mind.” Read rest of the article here  Read More →

Written by Our Correspondent In the parliaments of other modern democratic states, ministers are often grilled for hours by lawmakers on their policies where they are expected to provide answers immediately on the spot. Any lapse of concentration of display of incompetence will spell the end of their political careers as their speeches and replies are telecast live to the entire nation. There are no live telecasts of the parliamentary "debates" in Singapore. The media selects only certain "presentable" segments to be screened and even then, it is unable to hide the many empty seats or the embarrasing sight of MPs caught napping away on camera. The parliamentary sessions in Singapore are all scripted from the beginning to the end. MPs prepare in advance their speeches which are sent to the relevant ministries for detailed replies to be drafed so that ministers respond to their points in prior prepare texts. There are no impromptu questions or answers. Despite being the highest paid MPs and ministers in the world, Singapore lawmakers seem to be lacking in proper oratory skills to engage in meaningful debate with one another in Parliament, not that they are required to anyway since the PAP controls 82 out of 84 seats in Parliament. Aware of the amount of brickbats being hurled at the non-performing PAP MPs in recent days by netizens, PAP spin doctor and Straits Times Senior Correspondent Chua Mui Hoong is quick to write an article to defend her political masters. In a lengthy editorial today titled "No wayang - MPs serve as early warning system", Ms Chua "testify" that as a political writer who has been covering the Budget "debates" for 19 years, "Parliament is not just a wayng, scripted texts not withstanding." "MPs play a valuable role in the political process, often as an early warning system on issues simmering on the ground but not yet on the national radar," she added. The key role of MPs is to discuss, debate and decide on national policies and not just to provide feedback to the policy makers. Unfortunately, the political process in Singapore is tightly controlled by a few senior leaders within the PAP such that Parliament is fast becoming a farce, if it is not already one. For example, MPs usually spend a few weeks if not months debating on the National Budget in other countries before the Finance Minister finalize the details and announce it. It is the other way round in Singapore. Finance Minister Tharman had already announced the Budget for 2010 two weeks ago after which the MPs start "debating" on it  - If this is not a "wayang" to show the public that there is a functioning parliament, then what is it MPs, especially those from the ruling party, can never serve as an "early warning system" due to inherent partisan interests as well as being constrained by the Party Whip. An open, accountable and robust political system is the best safeguard against possible abuse of power by the government. Unfortunately, Ms Chua appears unable to appreciate this basic in spite of her many years of experience as a political writer.  Read More →

By Chua Mui Hoong from Straits Times MP after MP stand up and read from scripts. After a dozen or so have spoken, up steps a minister and proceeds to reply to their questions - from a script. Repeat for nine days. The above might be how a casual observer would sum up what takes place during the debate on the Budget which ends today. About 80 per cent of the debate is scripted, in that MPs prepare in advance their speeches, and ministers respond to their points with prepared texts. One Parliament newbie was impressed at ministers' comprehensive and quick responses, but was disabused of her admiration when I said the speeches on the ministries' budgets were prepared in advance and made known to the ministry so they can prepare detailed replies. With so much that is prepared, the cynical citizen is often left wondering: Is Parliament just a wayang? Just as half of Singapore today is wondering: Was that faint by Mrs Jack Neo five minutes into their press conference yesterday about his extramarital affair(s) just a show? I can't swear to the latter, not being present at that press conference, but I don't doubt the poor woman's suffering was genuine. But on the former, I can say as a political writer who covered her first Budget debate 19 years ago that no, Parliament is not just a wayang, scripted texts notwithstanding. The exchanges that take place towards the end of debate on a particular ministry's budget is unscripted. Here, MPs ask for further clarifications, and the minister has to deal with them off-the-cuff. Read rest of article here  Read More →