TR EMERITUS

Lee Bee Wah We were told that paying our ministers top dollar was to compensate them for their sacrifice of foregoing big bucks in the private sector. So we thought that settled the issue. But when something like the Ridout controversy crops up, the rumblings we keep hearing are that ministers – already the world’s highest paid – have to make a huge sacrifice to go into politics. Yet their sacrifice is met with people raising a hue and cry over ministers’ rental of government bungalows. So the issue of salary and sacrifice, which we thought was settled, is not settled after all. What they want is to have their cake and eat it. Having ownself convinced ownself they need to be paid handsomely for their sacrifice, they still harp on sacrifice of loss of income whenever it suits them. If a salary well in excess of a million dollars a year is not enough, then what is? The one that takes the cake is a video posting on Facebook by former People’s Action Party Member of Parliament Lee Bee Wah. [LINK] She said there was no need even for an investigation or a debate in Parliament on the Ridout saga. Calling Minister K Shanmugam a “big-hearted man,” she said he “earned at least $100 million lesser” since entering politics to “serve the people.” Where she got that stupendous $100 million figure from, she did not say. This is the kind of sacrifice talked about wildly, with numbers thrown in from nowhere. When it comes to sacrifice, aren’t the people the ones who shoulder the lion’s share of the burden? Earning a minuscule fraction of what ministers earn, the people have to cope with GST increase, cost of living increase, runaway public housing prices, rise in COE prices, rise in ERP rates, rise in healthcare premiums, rise in utility rates, rise in joblessness, and rise in job insecurity. Still, they want the people to bite the bullet, make do with less, and get on with life. But they themselves dwell on sacrifice as if they are disadvantaged when in effect, they are the masters and the people the servants. Their self-entitlement extends to elections – they want nothing but the whole cake to themselves. Having won an overwhelming majority of seats, they get upset over losing a few slices of the cake. They turn around and call opposition voters “free riders.” Instead of pledging to work hard for everyone, regardless of who they voted for, they throw a tantrum for not having it all their way. Never mind that the people have to struggle and slog away for a share of the pie that is shrinking. Sometimes there are only scraps left. But the cake is all theirs, to have and to eat.   Augustine Low      Read More →

To za tobą, Michael (it’s behind you). MAS' losS of $30.8b is an internationally explosive news item but it does not catch Critical Spectator’s (CS) attention. Or is it because it has no propaganda value for PAP? Is there a reason to wait till Jul 3 to discuss Ridoutgate in Parliament at about same time 2 days later that MAS released its 22/23 annual report? Just a coincidence? Singaporeans are consumed by distraction of soap operas to bother about serious economics stuff. CS wrote several articles that hit hard at opposition figures and anyone who raised questions against the conduct of the two ministers who took up residence at the government-owned bungalows. Our resident Polish blogger Critical Spectator never misses each and every opportunity of positive news to churn out a fawning blog that pleases officialdom. The cheer leader feeds his adoring unquestioning Facebook followers as Ho Ching shares his post. Don’t get me wrong. Of course I am glad when the government does the right things. What I would like to see is balanced commentary, including times when mistakes were made, or policies that achieved negative results. I am not on a Schadenfreude trip to gloat over this colossal loss. As a matter of fact, I fully recognise the loss is an unavoidable cost of pursuing a monetary policy to manage non-inflationary growth. It is not mismanagement and does not reflect on MAS’ performance. Hey CS, did Singapore grew richer by S$42.1b? Perhaps CS failed to observe this in MAS 22/23 financial statements. During the year, MAS made additional purchases of S$42.1b of foreign currencies which lifted OFR level to a high S$597.8b. Why didn’ CS boast again how Singapore has grown richer by S$42.1b. Remember his headline on 14 Jul 2021: “S’pore is richer by over S$200B thanks to COVID-19, as Temasek announces record returns” CS was referring to increases in Temasek’s investment portfolio and MAS’ OFR (official foreign reserves) which grew by S$160b in 20/21. Retired investment banker Chris Kuan was first to point out an increase in the asset side has a corresponding increase in liability side. For that, Chris was lambasted by CS. I ventured into the lion’s den and engaged CS in his FB page. Basically I expended Chris’ point, that OFR is funded by debt therefore there is a cost, that increase in OFR does not reflect increase in wealth, We all understand wealth increases if there is undistributed net profits and shareholder value has improved, not simply by looking at an increase in any specific asset item. I was lambasted by a colony of IBs who refused to hear contrarian views nor a willingness to learn. In response, I blogged to explain in “Again, did Singapore grow richer by S$235b during the pandemic? - (26 Jul 2021). Will CS post GIC increase wealth by more than S$162.7b? This is jumping the gun since GIC annual report is not out yet, but let me explain. I prophesied somewhere (FB?) sometime back that, bearing disastrous asset depreciation, GIC is on it’s way to climb several rungs up the list of world’s top sovereign wealth funds after MAS makes its forecasted transfer of S$185b Official Foreign Reserves to the government. In 22/23 MAS transferred out S$162.7b. CS in the past had been chest-thumping on behalf of Singapore government on how GIC and Temasek have been super fund managers increasing wealth by referencing only portfolio size increases. I had mentioned an increase in portfolio size from valuation and internal funds are great. But if its from capital injection, something he failed to take into consideration, then any idiot can increase portfolio size. So I’m wondering, with this transfer of S$162.7b OFR, will CS go ra-ra again and say look, a massive portfolio growth, see how GIC increased wealth. Couple of points affirmed by MAS Managing Director: There were several points which I had tried unsuccessfully to share in the lion’s den and which have now been affirmed by Ravi Menon in his presser. I hope CS had paid attention and recall how we crossed swords. 1. Both Chris and I had explained there is a liability side to the huge OFR since all forex intervention to purchase foreign currencies are sterilised. That means debts are created in the form of MAS bills and reverse repos. There is a carry cost for these foreign asset. And here we are, in 22/23, due to increased transactions and SORA (interest rate) MAS was hit with an interest expense of S$9b. Menon affirmed this is attributed to borrowings to absorb the liquidity caused by selling SGD to purchase foreign currencies. 2. CS repeatedly explained Singapore is the glittering city on the hill that all foreign elites are so enamoured they funneled their money here. All these money flow chasing SGD is causing the upward pressure on the exchange rate. I had countered wealth may seem to have flowed in like crazy but they are not necessarily onshore. It does not mean elites bring in their wealth and convert to SGD. Say a PRC Chinese, fearful of CCP capital controls, moves his huge USD deposits to Singapore. It does not mean he is converting to SGD. He merely deposits USD with a local bank. The funds remain offshore. Menon has affirmed the wealth flows do not mean money came into Singapore. Their wealth remains offshore. According to Menon, of property transactions, only 4% were from foreign funds.   Patrick Low * Article first appeared on Down The Rabbit Hole.      Read More →

One of the most prominent moments of the last week was getting in a screaming row over the phone with the godmother of a young man that we had just hired. She got the message that we were overworking him when she had told him to focus on his studies. The upshot of this argument was that we started behaving like divorced parents arguing over a kid. I called her an overbearing mother and she accused me of being an overbearing father. Then, temperatures cooled and we tried to reconcile, she asked me not to use words like Mummy and Daddy in relation to work colleagues because she felt the parental adjectives were “creepy.” While I’ve agreed with her not to use such adjectives in order to stay in a good place with her, I actually have a different perspective. She’s never been a parent but I have (and still am). I’ve realized that the experience of being a parent to a young adult is good grounding when it comes to the area of managing young adults (anyone over 21) in the work place. Kiddo, was probably one of the best teachers I could ever have. The first point that needs to be made is that being a parent is an emotionally challenging job. It’s a case of taking on obligation to care for another human being and as my mother said when I told her that I got Gina pregnant – “It’s a lifelong job – you don’t stop being a parent because a kid reaches a certain age.” So, when you take on a parental role, the role will involve taking on all sorts of obligations and how well or poorly you did depend on what that someone else has become. However, while the job comes with obligations, there is a small catch. The person that you take responsibility for won’t listen to you, thinks you’re a dinosaur and suspects that the best thing they can possibly do for themselves is to do the opposite of whatever you tell them to do. This combination makes the job frustrating. It’s a job requirement to except that you will inevitably be disappointed but at the same time you will have to respect their decision because its their life and their decision to make. The room for maneuver when guiding young adults is narrow. There are really only two things you can do. Firstly, you got understand that you are dealing with a grown man or a grown woman and not a small kid. Grown men and women expect a certain amount of respect as intelligent beings. The days when you could say that “I am your father/mother and I know best” will not wash. So, it helps when you sit down with them and explain the rationale of your instructions to them. It’s up to you as an older and wiser person to respect that the person you are talking to is an adult. If that said young adult ask you about the question about the rationale behind your instructions, explain it to them. Respect their ability to figure things out and they will inevitably respect that you may now a thing or two more than them. The second and more vital point about being a parent of a young adult that is especially applicable in the work place is the fact that young adults can be fairly observant and the old fashioned “I’m the boss” goes down as well as “I’m your parent.” Sure, they can accept that certain things might be different for the boss, but ultimately what they look to is you as an example. You need to be aware that they’re watching you and wondering if they want to be you when they get to your stage in life. So, the challenge for anyone managing young adults is this – what you say to them, is in many ways, not as important as what you show them. This requires stepping up your game. I mean, I never held a steady job for long. Then Kiddo came into my life and suddenly I became aware that what I did was probably going to shape her views on men. As such, I had to work, not so much because I needed to go towards household expenses but because in my mind, I wanted her to see a man go out and work and to be able to pay bills. I am glad to say that the two serious relationships that I’ve seen her in were with two guys who went to work and did what decent men do when it comes to taking care of the family Parenthood is a tough and demanding job. You could say that your management style needs to change on the job to suite the needs and the times. What you do as a parent is actually good training for you as a supervisor and as a person.   Tang Li *Although I’ve been based mainly in Singapore for nearly two decades, I’ve had the privilege of being able to meet people who have crossed borders and cultures. I’ve befriended ministers and ambassadors and worked on projects involving a former head of state. Yet, at the same time, I’ve had the privilege of befriending migrant labourers and former convicts. All of them have a story to tell. All of them add to the fabric of life. I hope to express the stories that inspire us to create life as it should be.          Read More →