TR EMERITUS

From our Correspondent While many Singapore netizens were nonchalant about Utusan Melayu columnist Zainuddin's criticisms of Singapore as a "third world democracy" a few days ago with some even corroborating his claims,  Malaysian netizens poured scorn on Zainuddin for bashing Singapore. Mr Zainuddin had said that although Singapore is more advanced than Malaysia, the Republic does not enjoy the same freedom: "Singapore sticks to a Third World democracy despite having a developed world mentality, while Malaysia has a Third World mentality but a developed world democracy." (read report here) The response from Singaporeans over this perceived snide from their neighbors up north was surprisingly mute both in cyberspace and reality. Only one letter was sent to the Straits Times Forum by a Jeffrey Law on Saturday criticizing Zainuddin. (though we will probably see more letters from ghost writers writing in support of Singapore next week.) At the popular Sammyboy Forum, few forumers have jumped to the defence of Singapore. Wrote JinGanKor: "Say us 3rd world democracy hohoho, is the old man going to sue them?....If he dare not sue, means Mr Zainuddin is right." Nice-Gook supported Zainuddin's views of Singapore: "Absolutely true. Their politicians were detained under ISD too, but are still in politics after their stint. Lim Kit Siang and his son Lim Guan Eng the current CM of Penang are good examples. Even Mahathir did his time under ISD. Can anyone cite any politicians in Singapore back in politics after their term of service under ISA?" Teekee added that Singapore is ranked 82th on the World's Democracy Index: "Even Albania is better than us....I feel so ashamed!" (read all comments here) On the other hand, the Malaysian netizens are strongly critical of Zainuddin's outburst against Singapore. Belachan57, who started the discussion on the internet edition of Malaysian paper "The Star" wrote: "I could help but be amused by another one of those politicians bashing our neighbor from across the causeway in the unreliable Utusan paper. Envious because they are far better then us or  a case of diversion over our own intolerance.Let's be realistic. Our neighbor broke off from us with nothing but a port to it's name whilst we are left with an abundance of natural resources!" Victorchew46 added: "The bigger joke is we are bashing a neighbour that does us no harm except to show us that they can utilize limited resources better and that they accept our "rejects" (highly intelligent people with great skills). Whereas, another neighbour is throwing rotten eggs at our embassy, protesting and planning to go to 'war' with us by asking for volunteers to sign up (reminds me of Confrontation days) over a song and a dance and they are not even scorned at!" woody_invisible was sure who is the better country: "That 'Not-So-Trustable' daily, don't even read from the paper, let alone believe in them. And there still are stupid dogs who keep on harping on our neighbouring country, while many of our Malaysians HAVE to go down south to 'EARN BETTER WAGES'. If we are better than the neighbours, why can't it be the other way round?" Though most comments are in support of Singapore, there was one netizen with the moniker "frodonet" who posted numerous comments to disparage Singapore. He was scathing in his criticism of Singapore: "If you say Singapore is a first world nation, i tell u this : 1) A first world nation will have a freedom of speech which Singapore has none like ROTI NAN! 2) A first world nation will have a pension system which Singapore has NONE but instead CPF is like you won't be getting it at all. 3) A first world nation would have free universal healthcare service which Singapore has NONE 4) A first world nation will have free/affordable cheap education but Singapore it is SO EXPENSIVE! 5) A first world nation, would take care of it old citizens, in Singapore they want to build a hospice in jb just to cut cost..funny ? 6) A first world nation is where its' leaders would not declare or raise their own pay until become the world's highest. 7) A first world nation is where employees are protected but in Sg employees are exploited. 8) A first world nation is where it's sportsmen are of it's own breed..singapore only good at hiring foreigners and change their citizenship...tak malu! u may win the game but never win the respect.. Singapore is NOT A FIRST WORLD NATION. It is self declared." [Source: The Star] It won't be a surprise at all if frodonet turns out to be a Singaporean. Related articles: >> MM Lee accused of "sowing poison" by Malaysian paper >> Performance of Malaysian opposition states repudiates scarce tactics of MM Lee by Fang Zhi Yuan and Lim Siow Kuan EDITORS’ NOTE: If you like our work and would like to support us, please transfer your donations via paypal to our account ([email protected]). Any amount will be greatly appreciated! Alternatively, you can also help boost our advertising revenue by clicking on the ads displayed. Thank you! Join our tweet at: http://www.twitter.com/temasekreview  Read More →

From South China Morning Post The sacking of Urumqi's Communist Party Secretary Li Zhi yesterday, a rare move in response to public protests, reflects the gravity of the situation facing the central government in Xinjiang. Five people have been killed and scores injured in mass rallies triggered by Han Chinese who are angered at a failure by provincial authorities to secure their safety amid a wave of terrifying attacks with syringes. The main target of the protesters, Xinjiang party leader Wang Lequan , remains in his position, at least for the time being. But the city is tense and people are frightened. Coming only two months after violence between Uygurs and Han Chinese claimed nearly 200 lives, it has the potential to escalate. The priority must be to ensure people's safety and to show them that their grievances are being taken seriously. Security forces have shut down Urumqi, Xinjiang's capital, and arrested journalists. At least three reporters from Hong Kong were beaten and detained. Though they were later released, their rough treatment - including an allegation by one of the reporters that a gun was levelled at him - was unjustified and excessive. The harsh response by security forces across the city may have helped restore order at a superficial level, but the atmosphere of fear and uncertainty will not dissipate so easily. People need to feel safe and secure. Continuing an internet blackout and cracking down on reporters will not help restore calm and confidence. By blocking news and releasing only partial information through official channels, rumours and panic can easily spread. Trouble apparently first started when some Han Chinese demonstrators tried to march on Uygur neighbourhoods, causing riot police to step in. For weeks, families have been afraid to go out. Parents are not allowing their children to attend school because of fears about anti-Han attackers armed with syringes. Uygurs are worried about retaliation by Han Chinese. People refuse to take public buses. Shops are closed. Though scores of suspects have been arrested for the attacks, serious doubts remain. Clearly, people have lost trust in the government's ability to maintain order since the deadly riots broke out in July; the syringe attacks have added fuel to the fire. The latest rallies can be seen as a response to the riots instigated by the Uygurs in July. The central government is especially worried as they are taking place only a month before the nation's 60th anniversary. Sending Minister of Public Security Meng Jianzhu to the scene shows Beijing's concern. Meng said the syringe attacks were a continuation of the July violence perpetrated by separatists bent on pitting Han Chinese against Muslim Uygurs. That may or may not be the case. It is unclear how organised those attacks have been. But by adding ethnic tensions to the mix, there is now a potentially combustible situation. Every effort must be made to establish the truth and stop the attacks. But the hardline approach adopted will not solve the deeper problem of ethnic tensions in Xinjiang. The root causes need to be tackled - i.e. the economic inequality and social injustice from which Uygurs suffer. Their region might have been modernised, but many feel their culture and religion are being marginalised. A more sensitive and inclusive approach is needed if tensions are to be eased. The task is not an easy one, but it must be undertaken if people in Xinjiang are to feel safe and live together in harmony. Source: SCMP EDITORS' NOTE: The Temasek Review is a paid subscriber of South China Morning Post  Read More →

By Damon Yeo, Business Correspondent On the same day DBS announced their new CEO, the piece of  news was quickly overshadowed by another which was about how their legal team will be setting itself up to defend a High Court case against the bank. (read article here) From various reports, it appears that DBS will be arguing that they had made “an obvious clerical mistake” and that any investor should have noticed it. Those investors, of course, included hundreds of elderly and uneducated investors who were clearly led to believe that the High Notes 5 investments that they had purchased from the bank were relatively risk-free. This case is perhaps the most interesting civil case in Singapore since the NKF saga and it will be interesting to see how the High Court will eventually rule, bearing in mind that MM Lee had already openly reprimanded these investors. This however, is not the bank’s first brush with bad publicity. In fact, over the years, DBS had often been in the spotlight for a series of unsavoury incidents. Arguably, the biggest blunder of them all was in November 1998, when DBS acquired POSBank for S$1.6bn. At that time, DBS claimed that this acquisition will generate economies of scales provide impetus for the bank to become a bigger player in the regional stage. (read report here) Before being bought by DBS, POSBank was a statutory board of the government and their primary mission was to encourage savings amongst Singaporeans and help the man-on-the-street. (read article here) Profit-making was secondary. It all changed when DBS came in. Hundreds of thousands of savers lost their tax exemptions on interest earned and in 2000, much to the furore of the Singaporeans from the lower-income group, POSBank introduced monthly service fees for small accounts. Out goes POSBank’s image as warm and friendly organisation. DBS’s rivals also questioned why POSBank was never up for bid in the first place. A quick check on DBS’s ownership tells it all - government-linked Temasek Holdings was a significant long-time shareholder of the bank. For DBS, the acquisition was no all sweet too. During the early days of the acquisition, DBS was undecided on keeping the POSBank franchise or merging it altogether into the DBS name. In 2001, they decided to spend S$1million to rejuvenate the POSBank brand name, but in 2002, announced that the POSB franchise was bleeding $44million a year. The dual network of branches and ATMS, a legacy of the transfer, is still evident today, 11 years on. Definitely not a win-win merger, one has to say. In June 2002, a Chinese national and a simple computer virus caused the bank much embarrassment.  30-year-old Sun Rong used a Trojan program and made off with $62,000 from 21 DBS accounts. He had no accomplices and left the country before DBS even noticed that their “cyber vault” had been broken into. Just for the record, Sun was never apprehended. About two years later, DBS upped their ante and caused themselves further pain overseas. In an ultimate blunder, 83 safe deposit boxes from branch in Hong Kong were dumped and crushed at a scrap yard. (read article here) The bank realised the error only after customers raised the alarms over the missing boxes. A full apology to the customers did not come after two working days later. The bank later admitted that a lack of oversight and clear orders lack to the debacle, but insisted that customers had signed contracts freeing the bank of liability for any damages to the items placed in safety boxes.  In December last year, DBS drew flak from the some members of the public when they selected Focus on the Family as its charity. (read article here) This particular charity is not only Christian, but has taken up a strong anti-abortion and anti-homosexuality stance. This move by DBS was not just distasteful, but had also alienated customers who have different religious and sexuality beliefs. Earlier this year, DBS got itself into yet another PR disaster, when it publicly rebuked one of its employees, Ms Josie Lau, for taking on top post at Aware, a fully volunteer group advocating woman rights. (read article here) The public reacted angrily to the bank’s reaction, as the position which Ms Lau was taking up was a prestigious role in the local community. Some high-ranking Human Resources personnel from other multinational corporations went as far as to saying that DBS should be proud that someone from the bank wants to take up the position. On the business side of things, DBS has no doubt been strong. Ever expanding into various markets in Asia, staying out of trouble in the sub-prime debacle and steadily stream of profits are evidence of the bank’s success in this aspect. Perhaps, time is now for DBS to look beyond their shareholders and focus on their other stakeholders – their customers and their employees.   About the Author: Damon is a proud graduate of Nanyang Technological University in 2004 with a degree in Accountancy. He is currently working in the finance department of a UK Bank. He is also a regular contributor at redsports.sg.  Read More →