TR EMERITUS

Written by Our Correspondent During a speech made at the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Senior Minister S. Jayakumar said Singapore needs to "re-invent and re-position" itself early to prepare for the next phase of development. He did not elaborate more on it. The Economic Strategies Committee (ESC) released a report lately recommending that Singapore boost its labor productivity and increase its investments in R&D, but make no mention of reforming its political economy dominated by its two gigantic sovereign wealth funds and state-linked companies. The major companies in Singapore are all owned directly or indirectly by GIC and Temasek Holdings in one way or another which makes it difficult for small start-ups to develop and expand and for existing players to compete with them on a level playing field. Singapore's unique model of mixed state-capitalist control of the economy had come under fire lately from prominent MIT political economist Professor Huang Yasheng who criticized it as a "sure-fire way to stifle the economy in the long run." In a recent speech made at the Civil Service College, Prof Huang urged Singapore to “rethink” the “Temasek model” and warns that Singapore’s state management model has “milked this system for all it is worth.” “The private sector is the best way to grow the economy. It has the most productive, most innovative and entrepreneurial culture. The state-owned enterprise system doesn’t give you that….You are already hitting the wall. Retaining this strategy could mean sacrificing future growth that is possible only through a bigger, more dynamic private sector,” he said. Prof Huang felt that governments should not get involved in venture financing as they are using taxpayers’ monies and questions how the government can defend its decisions to invest in “failing individuals and projects”: “Nine out of 10 investment projects fail. Does the government have such a high tolerance for risk? It’s taxpayers’ money, right? I don’t think, politically, it’s legitimate for the government to keep investing in failing individuals and failing projects. How do you defend these decisions?,” he asked. Prof Huang was referring to the disastrous losses amounting to billions of dollars suffered by GIC and Temasek Holdings in its overseas investments which could be better used to promote entrepreneurship and help emerging new players in the local economy. While Temasek Holdings kept insisting that it is a "commercial entity" owned solely by the Ministry of Finance, it doesn't change the fact that it obtains some, if not most of its funds indirectly from Singapore taxpayers through an intricate, complex and opaque system. Singapore's economy was largely dependent on manufacturing in the 1970s and 1980s which helped propel it to become a developed economy within a generation. However with competitors like China, India, Vietnam and Malaysia catching up, Singapore can no longer compete with them in terms of labor costs. Singapore's GDP growth during the last few years has been fueled largely by the influx of cheap foreign labor which keeps business costs down and pops up the GDP figures artifically with widespread social ramifications for its citizens. Though there appears to be a shift in official mindset that Singapore needs to reduce its dependence on foreign workers and increase its labor productivity, it is difficult for the Singapore workforce to "wean off" from its "addiction" to foreign labor overnight. Another Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong said lately that there will not be a sudden "turnaround" in the government's pro-foreigner policy and the number of foreign workers may actually increase in the next few years to come. The PAP has been talking about "re-inventing" the economy for year, but lack the political will to dismantle the GLC system to make the economy more competitive and innovative for doing so may lead to a loosening of its control over the country.  Read More →

By Richard Lu I am apolitical.  It is not important who or which party or parties gets into power ultimately.  So long the government of the day gives back our dignity, our rights to freedom and restores true democracy to our beloved Singapore.   Singaporeans are always fearful and skeptical – fearful that if an opposition were to wrest power from the PAP, Singapore would sink and we are doomed; always skeptical that the opposition would not be able to do the job, let alone a good one.   Let us consider what would happen if, in the best or worst case, an opposition (a party or a coalition of parties) gets into power:   The new government may find it uphill initially.  You see, the organs of the state – the legislature, the executive and the judiciary are so intertwined with the PAP after 47 years of uninterrupted PAP rule.    Consider these:    a.      We have a first-class civil service and administration but unfortunately the civil service is less than independent.  They do not even think independently as it is too tied to the PAP's apron strings.  Separation may be may be difficult initially.  Look at the PKR state government in Selangor.  The civil service there (including the head) was less than cooperative to their new political master         The situation is worse in Singapore.  The PAP hand-fed the civil service and so generously remunerated them that the lines between the legislative and executive are often blurred.    b.      The judiciary has been PAP-leaning.  Why, our Chief Justice is appointed by you-know-who!  The “elected” president must get his approval as well.   As a mater of fact, PM Lee Hsien Loong is not even his own man.  Do you see the problem?   c.      The People’s Association is a grass-root organization and along with its branches are almost all PAP operated despite being funded by our taxes.  How independent is the PA?  Even LKY admitted “......they see the PAP in the RCs (residents’ committees), CCCs (citizens’ consultative committees), and the CCs (community clubs).” (source) Would the PA and these grass-root organizations – the RCs, the CCCs and CCs stay independent and co-operate with the new government?  Readers please see TR’s article:   d.      The Town Councils should independent bodies running the HDB estates.  However, many are so "programmed" by their PAP Mayors that they are now thinking for PAP.  Would these PAP Town Councils work smoothly with the new government?   e.      The meshing is so complete in the Police that they view opposition members as their enemy.  Look at what happened to Chee Soon Juan and Gandhi Ambalam in court three week ago !  The Police treated them worse than common criminals !   And all this despite the Policemen’s pledge “to serve our community and our country and to be courteous and humane in our dealings with every fellowman.”    f.        Finally, the Military - the PAP Government has had a very cozy relationship with the military.  The Military leaders are heavily be-medaled, decorated, titled and honored by their political masters .  As a matter of fact, several Ministers have been drawn from the Military.   In political shifts, the Police and the Judiciary initially hold the balance.  The Military however must absolutely independent or we will see a Thai-solution in Singapore.  Singaporeans often underestimate themselves.  We are a product of the “fear” syndrome that LKY and the PAP has imbued us with.   Workers, citizens and students are the ultimate arbitrators of power.  We have seen in the Philippines and Indonesia that dictators were brought down by "people power'.   Other factors in Singapore's favor in the event of an opposition victory - Singapore is a financial hub, aviation, education and medical centers.  We have a world class airline, seaport and an airport that have been consistently rated the best in the world.  We are a Research and Development hub and a Law Center for Arbitration and other legal practices.  Younger Singaporeans habitually go to Cambridge, Harvard and the Ivy League universities and win accolades.  Do we lack the talents and abilities?  Would we sink and fail?     Please do not for one moment think the opposition is going to take over the Government immediately .  This is not possible due to the GRC mechanism and gerrymandering by the PAP.  Neither is this desirable.  Ideally, opposition members need to be elected into Parliament, learn the ropes, earn the trust and respect of the people and maintain some continuity before taking over the Government.    What alternatives beyond the PAP?  Companies close, investors pull-out and unemployment?  Singaporeans faced many crises in the past and stood at the cross-roads on many occasions.  Between 1955 and 1963 and again in 1965 we faced challenges that were monumental and had thought that these challenges were beyond us.  We rose on every of these occasions, did not cringed and did not wallow in self-pity.  We picked up the cudgels!   To be sure, there will always be challenges and Singaporeans will always rise and overcome.    I place my faith on our younger Singaporeans......and to the doubters and quitters - please migrate now. "It is not power that corrupts but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it."........ Aung San Suu Kyi   Other articles by Richard Lu: 1. Yes Singapore, you deserve a dose of incompetent government 2. Singapore: Morality and freedom  Read More →

Written by Our Correspondent Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong admitted yesterday that Singapore still has a considerable way to go in its productivity drive compared to other countries and urged Singaporeans to boost its productivity by 60 to 70 per cent. His minister Lim Swee Say had earlier urged Singapore workers to be "cheaper, faster and better." Now, the emphasis is on productivity. PM Lee emphasized that more efforts must be put in in order for Singapore to achieve the target of two to three per cent productivity growth over the next 10 years. "It's a turning point. Your numbers will grow more slowly and if you want the economy to do well, that means the productivity must go up....And if your productivity doesn't go up and we don't get the growth, then I think you may feel that you're relaxing a little bit more but the mood, the buoyancy, the optimism, will be quite different. So we have to work hard and take this very seriously," he added. PM Lee forgot to mention the fact that Singapore's over-reliance on foreign workers is a key reason behind its low productivity. Due to the easy availability of cheap foreign labor, companies and employers usually take the easy way out to employ large number of them to cut cost instead of boosting productivity to do so. Below is a graph depicting the relation between the rise in the number of foreign workers and Singapore's reduced labor productivity: [Source: Kojakbit, 3in1kopitiam moderator] How can PM Lee expect Singaporeans to boost their productivity when they have to compete directly with cheap foreign workers who undercut their pay? Unfortunately, it appears that he is still unwilling to acknowledge the severity of the problem is caused by his recklessness in opening the floodgates to foreign workers without putting in adequate safeguards to protect the livelihood of Singaporeans. Though his administration is singing a slightly different tune now compared to the past, its pro-foreigner policy seems to remain intact. Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong said lately that there will not be a major "turnaround" in the ruling party's lax labor policies and the number of foreign workers may actually increase in the next few years. Without any opposition in parliament to check on the ruling party, Singaporeans will have no choice but to listen to their political masters and increase their productivity while remaining "cheaper, better and faster" at the same time.  Read More →