TR EMERITUS

During a dialogue session with Paya Lebar residents last Sunday, an irate resident asked Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan to clarify the CDC bonuses:  Question: This month it was on the internet that there is some Northwest CDC staff getting 8 months bonus. My question now is it true and if it is true, why is public money being used in this manner?    Excerpts of Khaw answer: "I really don't know because I don't run Northwest CDC. I don't run any CDCs so I am not familiar with whether there is such a bonus. I honestly do not know."   EDITOR'S NOTE: To be fair to Mr Khaw, if even the Mayor of Northwest CDC admitted that he does not know the bonuses of his staff, how can we expect a Minister from a different ministry to be aware of it? It has been a month since rumors of the CDC bonuses first erupted on the internet and we still do not know the truth. The PAP and the state media has been most evasive about the question, hoping that the saga will abate over time. Since the People's Association did not refute the rumor directly, there must be some element of truth in it. To admit that civil servants are recipients of such generous bonuses will be courting political suicide. In other countries like the United States, such information is readily available over the internet. The PAP has always pride itself in being a honest, accountable and transparent government? Why is hiding the truth from us? Shouldn't tax-paying citizens deserve to know how much they are paying the civil servants? What's wrong with receiving so many months of bonuses as long it can be justified? It is an opportunity lost for the government to forge closer ties with the online community by being upfront and forthcoming with the allegations. With no MPs bothering to ask this pertinent question on our behalfs in Parliament, our probability of getting an answer is very remote.  Read More →

一些庞大的政府部门，今后可能需要超过一名全职部长来管理。 　　李显龙总理昨天在总统府会见媒体，谈论内阁最新一轮改组时表示，随着经济体变大，人口增加，国民要求提高，加上制度变得复杂，不管是国家发展部，国防部，教育部或贸工部，部长的职责都比过去繁重。 　　他可以确定的说，像贸工部，外交部，教育部和国防部，肯定需要多名政务部长或政务次长来协助部长的工作。“我得说当中几个较庞大的部门，其实需要超过一名全职部长。不过那是我们今后必须考虑的问题。” 　　总理也指出，尽管政府的工作比过去庞大和沉重，但政府部门照旧维持在15个，包括总理公署 (Prime Minister's Office)在内。经过这轮改组，部长包括代部长的人数是21人，总人数也没有改变。 　　他不认为15个政府部门和21位部长和代部长人数过多，因为政府的工作实际上已变得更繁重。 　　总理说，目前21位部长中，当中有10人也就是一半，是在过去三届大选即1997年、2001年和2006年的大选中选出来的。这些年轻部长以活力和新想法，主导政府决策。年龄较大资深部长，则凭着丰富经验和阅历，在国家面临危机时提出各种忠告。 　　他表示，政府部门究竟应该有多少项任命，又或者总理公署应该有多少位部长，其实没有定数。他把一些部长安排在总理公署，只是一种技术上的安排，他们的职责不一定在总理公署，但每个人都会有各自的职责。 　　身为总理，他的职责是组织一批全面、能有效运作的领导团队，确保每位部长、政务部长、政务次长都有一定分量，都能有所贡献，虽然大家未必做同样的事。他说，不是每一个人都在草拟政策，也不是每一个人都在搞基层，又或者以咨询者的角色自居，但每个人都有特定责任和分量。 　　在解释政府的工作为何比过去繁重时，总理以贸工部为例说，贸工部内部其实有个小外交部，它需要和中国、印度、亚细安、亚太地区、本区域，甚至整个世界建立外交和经济关系，一方面培养友好关系，另一方面维护我们的利益，推展我们的观点。 　　总理说，这样的工作比20年前、甚至10年前密集和繁重很多倍。我们虽是个小国，但要求还是一样，担子只有比过去沉重，可是我们还是维持同一数量的部门。 当问及政府最近物色新人是否更困难时，李总理稍面有难色说，他不愿说这个过程更艰难，因为政府过去确实引进不少优秀的人选。不过在上届大选中确实有些人选因为自觉还没准备好，所以没参选。“我想私人企业现在有更多机会，人才也更分散，所以要召集和说服他们会更困难。例如一名出色的科学家或研究员，我必须推断他是否适合从实验室的工作转到亲吻婴儿和打理一个部门，这是很大的转变也有风险……人们现在会觉得点头答应是更困难的事。” 政府没有“资政制” 　　李显龙总理要求贾古玛在卸下副总理的职务后继续留在内阁担任国务资政，是要借重他多年的宝贵经验，认为他能继续作出贡献，这并不意味每一位卸任的副总理都会转任国务资政，并长期留守在内阁中。 　　李总理也指出，副总理出任国务资政的作法其实早有先例，已故建国元勋拉惹勒南最早在1984年卸下第二副总理职务后，便担任总理公署高级部长（英文职衔同为Senior Minister）。不过，前副总理陈庆炎退休后便回返私人界，没有出任国务资政。 　　“这都得视情况而定，只要他们能继续为内阁团队和新加坡作出贡献，我认为是值得把他们留下的。” 　　政府内阁将有三位资政，分别是内阁资政李光耀、国务资政吴作栋及即将转任国务资政的贾古玛。李光耀是在1990年卸下总理职务后出任内阁资政；吴作栋则是在2004年将总理棒子交给李显龙后出任国务资政。 　　贾古玛从政前曾是新加坡大学的法律系院长，在1980年大选中当选后，隔年获擢升出任律政部和内政部政务部长，1984年正式升任为劳工部长、内政部及律政部第二部长，至今已有近30年的从政经验。 　　总理说，贾古玛拥有的经验深具价值，而他也很重视贾古玛提供的意见，所以才会要求他继续留在内阁。 　　“就拿去年的白礁案件来说，很少有人（像他那样）对一个延续长达30年的问题了如指掌，并一开始便着手处理这个问题、直到它解决为止。贾古玛研究白礁争端的起源并亲自在国际法院聆听法官所做的裁决。” 　　未来，贾古玛除了留任国家安全统筹部长外，也将继续负责气候变化及外交政策上涉及法律事务如边界谈判课题。“我们解决了白礁主权的争端，但还有其他尚未解决的课题，不时会有一些新问题出现，我想贾古玛能在这方面作出贡献。” 总理消瘦是在减重 　　如果你觉得李总理最近看起来有些消瘦，那是因为他听从医生指示减重，而不是健康出了毛病。 　　李总理昨天回答记者有关他的健康状况问题时说，他的健康情况良好，如果有人觉得他看似瘦了，那是因为他的身体质量指数（BMI）超过理想水平，所以医生嘱咐他要减重。 　　“我昨天看报道，许文远（卫生部长）说人要保持身材苗条些比较好，所以我现在的压力更大了。” 　　总理说，他每年定期做健康检查，医生会仔细检查，目前为止他的身体无恙。“现在我的健康没问题，不过人生无常，你能做的也只有好好照顾身体，其他的顺其自然。但在这同时，我也要确保整个团队的实力是雄厚的，就是说整个领导团队不是只靠一个人运作。” 　　现年57岁的李总理在1984年踏入政坛，他在1992年11月曾被检验患上中期淋巴癌，在接受化疗后康复，多年来没有复发。 Source: Zaobao.com  Read More →

EDITORS' NOTE:  The writer is currently a General Practitioner in private practice. He wishes to remain anonymous. I refer to the report on 30 March 2009 - "1,000 foreign-trained docs still not enough" (read article here). Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan revealed that the public healthcare sector needs to recruit a thousand more foreign doctors to filled the gaps and a third medical school may be needed in the future. I beg to differ with Mr Khaw's observation that there are insufficient doctors in Singapore. There are 250 graduates from NUS medical school every year. Less than half the number of doctors retire or close down their practices in the same period of time. The shortage of doctors lies in the public sector especially in primary healthcare and less popular specialties like Geriatrics, Internal Medicine and Palliative Care. Over half of our polyclinics are now staffed by foreign doctors who have communication problems with elderly patients. Very few local doctors wish to further their careers in the polyclinics and left for the private sector upon the completion of their bonds. Why is this so? The monthly salary of a final year medical officer at a polyclinic is only S$5,000 plus compared to S$8,000 to S$9,000 in the private sector with less than half the workload. Even a part-time locum working only three days a week can chalk up the same amount. An internal medicine trainee needs to spend a few years toiling in the public hospitals, but end up with a salary less than fellow GP colleagues outside. The attrition rate for internal medicine is probably one of the highest amongst all specialities. Many of my friends who were internal medicine trainees give up halfway due to work-related or family reasons and some already passed their MRCP examinations. Though medicine is a holistic profession and financial renumeration should not be an overriding factor in determining the career paths of doctors, more can be done to ensure that local doctors are adequately rewarded for their contributions to public healthcare. MOH has always argued against that an increase in salaries of healthcare workers will lead to higher healthcare costs for Singaporeans. We spent only 4% of our GDP on healthcare which is far less than most developed countries. The government can well afford to spend more of our GDP on healthcare to improve working conditions of local doctors and nurses so as to keep more of them in the workforce. Why do we have so few local nurses in public hospitals? The starting pay for a staff nurse is only S$1,500 compared to about A$4,000 in Australia. Though it is cheaper to employ foreign doctors, they are merely stop-gap measures which do not address the root cause of the problem. With an aging population, we need more family physicians, geriatricians and palliative care specialists in the healthcare system to add more years of healthy life to Singaporeans.  Read More →