TR EMERITUS

From our Correspondent According to latest figures released by the Singapore Department of Statistics, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for general households for the first half year rose by 0.8 per cent compared with a year ago. (read full report here) Tne CPI is one of the most useful indicators of inflation. It measures the change in the prices of a fixed basket of goods and services commonly purchased by the majority of households. During the first half of 2009, the inflation rate for the lowest 20% income group was 1.6% while that for the middle 60% and highest 20% income groups was 0.7% and 0.9% respectively. Food prices and accommodation costs were the two main items responsible for the increases in the CPI for all income groups during the first six months. The higher inflation rate experienced by the lowest income group reflected the relatively higher weights of food and accommodation in its CPI basket compared to the other two income groups. Despite the sluggish economy and stagnation in wages, inflation continues to grow, albeit at a lower rate compared to last year. The lowest 20% income group is hit hardest by inflation as their wages have stagnated or declined in the face of a relentless influx of cheap foreign labor. Singapore's population has increased by 4.3% to 4.84 million residents. Citizens contributed only 0.8% to the increase. Though many Singaporeans have expressed their reservations and concerns about the rising number of foreigners, the government is adamant that foreigners are "vital" to the economy. The presence of large numbers of semi-skilled foreign workers may have helped to depress the median wages of the ordinary Singaporean, leading to rising cost of living at the same time. The government has spared no efforts in making foreigners feel welcome in Singapore and to "integrate" new citizens into the community. Singaporeans have been urged to reach out to these newcomers. The few additional benefits that citizens enjoyed over PRs had led to calls from the citizenry to coerce PRs to take up citizenship after residing for a number of years. Though Singaporeans acknowledged the importance and contributions of foreign workers, many want to set a cap on the number of foreigners being granted PRs and citizenships.  Read More →

From our Correspondent According to an international website, Singapore has the dubious honor of having the second highest death rate from Swine flu in Asia at 2.27 deaths per million. The highest is Malaysia at 2.48 deaths per million. (source: http://www.flucount.org/) Singapore's surprisingly high death rates put it far ahead with more populous and less developed countries like Thailand (1.75), Philippines (0.11) and Vietnam (0.02). There were no comments from the Ministry of Health on the latest statistics. The government has been preparing Singaporeans for the pandemic mentally. Due to our small size and open economy, it is inevitable that the pandemic will hit our shores, it claims. Hong Kong, which was hit hard by SARS in 2003 has a death rate of only 0.57 deaths per million this time. The latest and 12th H1N1 death occurred on 20 August when a 41 year old Chinese foreigner passed away from pneumonia contributed by influenza A (H1N1). There are currently 53 H1N1 patients hospitalized in the ICUs of government hospitals. Polyclinics reported a spike in the number of flu cases in the months of June and July. A latest media release from MOH reveal that the H1N1 pandemic may be "ebbing". Singapore's healthcare system is consistently ranked as one of the best in the world by the World Health Organization (WHO). Its health minister is also one of the highest paid.  Read More →

By Bhaskaran Kunju, Political Correspondent “THIS is an unusually serious and heavy subject for a National Day Rally. Normally, you talk about babies, hongbaos, bonuses.“ That was a line Prime Minister Lee made part way through his National Day Rally speech, on August 16. It was unusual for a National Day Rally message to contain an in depth discussion on the need for social cohesion and at such great lengths. Especially since other topics, namely the economy has been at the forefront of recent times. It certainly took many people by surprise, not least because of the depth he delved into. PM Lee did touch on this during his National Day Message a week before and Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew followed it up in his annual National Day dinner speech at his Tanjong Pagar constituency. There are some possibilities as to why this topic has been brought up and I will outline some.   Selling Singapore as a multi-racial nation As part of the speech PM Lee included an anecdote reported in an Indian newspaper, of an unnamed Indian man who had fled his home state of Gujarat after the communal riots of 2002. As a Muslim he had resented the Hindus who had slaughtered his family and compatriots, but after moving to Singapore and witnessing the racial and religious harmony present, he no longer felt the hatred and was open to members of other religions visiting his home.   What this story carries is an underlying message that Singapore is a good place to emigrate to, one that has racial and religious harmony unlike any other state in the world. With India’s labour force increasing by the millions and a limited job market in hand, Singapore is being offered as a viable alternative. We have to take into account the possibility that in the progressive stages of the recession, the hardest hit would be the highest stratum of the economy, which coincidently comprises a large portion of foreigners or ‘new arrivals’. An article in The Times in January cited a Credit Suisse estimate that as much as 200,000 foreigners could leave the country, shrinking the nation’s population by 3%. This sudden departure would of course have adverse spillover effects in the long term socially and economically. With the economy on the thresholds of recovery there is a need to maintain and lure financial outlay. The GDP as noted by the PM contracted by 6.5% in the first half of the year, which is far less worse than expected. New jobs are also expected to be created. Our strength as an economical hub lies in our placid socio-political climate that is ideal for the uninterrupted burgeoning of enterprises. The reiteration of Singapore’s prevailing social cohesion could be seen to function as a reminder to corporations that the government has not wavered from it as well.   There is a genuine domestic concern over proselytisation The Prime Minister cited the recent AWARE saga and the case of the Christian couple who were jailed for distributing religious pamphlets to muslims, as examples of increasing incidents of proselytisation. While these incidents, especially the former, did ignite major debates during the course of the event, the issue of proselytisation has not been a dominating subject in the public domain. Hence, the assumption here is that there is a possibility that such cases have been swept under the rug from mainstream media coverage. It has been noted on other websites, that Dr Thio Li-Ann’s first question in Parliament in 2007 was “how many restraining orders have been made against religious leaders or other persons under the Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act since its enactment.” The reply given by the Home Minister Mr Wong Kang Seng was “No Restraining Order has been issued since the Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act was enacted in 1990. We came close to invoking the Act on several occasions to stop local religious leaders from mixing religion with politics and putting down other faiths. These religious leaders stopped their activities after they were warned by ISD.” Dr Thio is incidentally the daughter of Dr Thio Su-Mien; the self-proclaimed feminist mentor who led the Christian group ignited the AWARE saga. While the government sat out the heated debates and civil activities, PM Lee noted that the matter was discussed privately by the government. It is hence possible to concede that the government is genuinely concerned of a perceived religious threat politically and on social harmony. Mr Wong Kang Seng’s admission of warnings being issued is proof that perhaps the issue of religious activism is a lot greater than what’s been covered in the mainstream media over the years. Apart from the examples PM Lee cited no other similar event has been in the news. Though both the jail terms of the Christian couple and the AWARE saga received unfiltered, significant coverage and attention. That in itself was unusual to begin with, given the government’s strict rules on coverage of sensitive issues. Incidentally, the case involving the Christian couple occurred in 2007 and the arrests were made January last year, while news coverage only began after the sentencing.   The upcoming elections With talks of a successor to PM Lee being the hottest topic prior to the National Day Message delivered on the eve of National Day, many would have assumed that political succession or at the very least the coming elections would have had some significance in either of the National Day speeches. But all of this has since taken the back seat. The possibility still remains that we may be no more than 6 months away from the next elections. The topic of religious and social cohesion hence plays on to the quadrennial preaching that coincides with the election years. One, that reminds us to vote without prejudice and stresses the need for multi-racial representation. In addition to that, with the increase in ‘new arrivals’ over the past few years, the next elections would have a significant number of first time voters of foreign origins. This is a group, that may have unfamiliarity with the political and social climate of Singapore. In his National Day message on August 8, PM Lee included the term, ‘new arrivals’, which is either a synonym to the more commonly used ‘new citizens’ or an amalgamation of ‘new citizens’ and non-citizens. Whichever it is, it was significant as it was the first instance that a National Day Message had included this category of Singapore’s population. Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew also followed this up in his own address at the National Day Dinner at his Tanjong Pagar constituency on August 13, where the highlight of his speech was his reiteration on the need for foreigners, PRs and new citizens and the importance of accepting them into society. Furthermore the Prime Minister cited the outcomes of the recent Iran elections as an example of how religion has wrongly mixed with politics and as a situation we should avoid. The social cohesion topic hence appears to be as much as a reminder to the ‘new arrivals’ as it does to the locals on the coming elections.   Terrorism In his National Day Message a week earlier PM Lee, asserted the need to be vigilant and strong against the threat of terrorism. The hotel bombings in Jakarta, Indonesia, in June would have been a worrying event for the government. Society in the eyes of the government is vulnerable. Proselytisation is of course not just a Christian phenomenon and terrorism in the covert guise of Islamic extremism is still evident in the region with the recent bombings. Our government has always maintained that we can never be 100% safe and that we are as always vulnerable to terrorism and in no means impenetrable. With the ISD arrests of JI members in 2002 and the escape of Mas Selamat, which headlined most of last year, the worry that somehow our society could be poisoned by religious ill doctrination that will ultimately sow the seeds of terrorism, is deeply ingrained in the minds of our leaders. Even more so since the hotel bombings were proof that religiously motivated terrorism has in no means abated over the years. The fact that significant members of the JI group responsible for the bombings were of Malaysian origin would also not have been overlooked. Another event that could have caused worry would have been the recently concluded civil war in Sri Lanka. With ethnic Tamils involved in the conflict, sentiments ran high among the Tamil community across the world. Many, in other parts of the world staged protests and sit-ins to show their support for the LTTE. While there have been no reported domestic incidents of demonstrations among the local Tamil community, there could have been a genuine concern for the government for any spillover effect. There are of course strict laws that would have put off any planned demonstrations though the local Tamil community was largely indifferent to the civil conflict. However any incidence of protests would have been disastrous and difficult to manage, as it would involve openly putting down not just a demonstration but also one that involves a significant segment of Singapore’s population. It is not know if there really were any planned demonstrations that might have influenced the Prime Minster’s speech. If there were any it would have been subverted away from public nevertheless to prevent an internal racial conflict. But with Malaysian authorities reporting possibilities of LTTE influence among the Tamil community in Malaysia, it is a plausible scenario and the perceived threat of racial unrest from a foreign source is one of genuine concern. This would have given rise to a need to promote racial harmony and emphasise the need to exclude external factors that may influence and affect the solidarity of our population. With the advents of the new media, it is easy for the propagation of foreign influenced manifestos to reach Singaporeans.   Conclusion With any political speech, the message is carefully calculated and delivered. Thus, it might be foolish to choose a linear argument over the Prime Minister’s decision to discuss social cohesion at the National Day Rally. Cynics might point out, that it could be a smokescreen to distract Singaporeans from the more prominent issues that face Singaporeans. While any thought permutation is possible, it is unfounded to believe that a single National Day Rally speech would have the power to erase the minds of Singaporeans from pressing concerns. There is a possibility that with the economy in relatively bleak conditions, an unemployment rate that is at 3.3%, up from 2.2% at the same period of time last year, retrenchments ongoing despite the contractions and Minister of Manpower Mr Gan Kim Yong asserting that “the outlook will continue to remain uncertain for at least the rest of the year”, there could be little else for the Prime Minister to expound upon other than to turn to the preaching of morality lessons. As he mentioned, normally the talk is on babies, hongbaos and bonuses. Unfortunately there are very little positives to talk about for the latter two and the topic of birth rates would have been repetitive. Furthermore the first of the two Integrated Resorts is expected to open in early 2010, and it was reported in April that a significant portion of the job vacancies has been guaranteed for foreigners, specifically from Philippines. Naturally there was public out roar and a growing concern that jobs are being outsourced instead of being reserved for Singaporeans. Apart from that there should be a large influx of foreign visitors as well. The population numbers and social stability is almost certainly set to be tested with the opening of our first casino. The foreign-local divide is hence one that is still yet unresolved and only a continuing abridgement process, initiated by the government could result in any possible social cohesion between the two groups.  This provides an additional perspective as to why social cohesion is suddenly being brought to the forefront. However, the real reason could be a combination of all the possibilities raised above. This would explain the significance of the topic in the Rally, as any one of the reasons is far too irrelevant to be the crux of an entire speech that would almost certainly have been expected to make headlines for some time.  Read More →