TR EMERITUS

任何一项政策，如果大多数的人不及格，不合格，就像体能测验，公积金最低存款那样，而这些政策又累积好多年不改变，这到底意味着什么？推而广之，细想一下，这就是行动党政府的一党独大，不透明，不以大多数人利益为前提的办事作风。 军人体能测验推行了这么多年，到现在竟然有70%的人不及格。这到底是国人体能上的问题，还是行动党政府的政策出了问题。为了弥补这个漏洞，新的体能测验标准就不得不出炉了。 从体能测验的没有与时并进，再联想到行动党的其他政策，我们就更加容易明白，了解，为何行动党的政治战斗力只剩下30%。简单的举出几个例子： 公积金最低存款：大多数会员到了55岁，还是无法达标。既然达不到标，又如何养老？ 贫富差距无法改善，低收入人士的薪金，10几年没有调整。行动党在照顾落势群体上，可以说是不及格。 医院床位和医生人数不足，迟迟不解决。医药保险在无可逃避的情形下，只好推出应付人民的不满。 体能测验为何如此多人不及格 原因可能很多，但是归纳起来可以有三点： 国民服役人员的体质，越来越差，比起建国一代来得差。 测验标准根本就有问题，只是一直没有加以改进。国防部在宣布新的三项体能测验时，就指出这点。问题是为何延迟到今天，才来改变。 体质差，测验指标也不对。两者加在一起，不及格的人竟然高达70%。 如果以即将淘汰的体能测验作为标准，武装部队70%的军人在体能上不合格，这也意味着武装部队的战斗力只剩30%。如果要打持久战，在体能上，也只有30%军人能够耐得了。 所以，无论在公在私，体能测验的标准是一定要改变的。30%及格率，实在是太难看了。新的体能测验标准，更加接近现实，务实的体能要求，务实的标准，结果当然就是要突破50%的及格率。 2011年大选过后，行动党政府一直在做补丁的工作。他们在体能上，在政策上的改变，就犹如这次国防部大动作修改军人体能测验标准一样，就是希望把行动党的战斗力提升上来。如果一直处在30%的战斗力，即使有优良的军备，政府的所有资源协助，行政法令的垄断控制，行动党还是无法守住根据地。没有真的和假的动作，行动党面临失守选区，失手阵地的机会很高。 但是，通过修改标准，没有改进体能，以虚幻方式取得及格，对于选民来说，是否是真的应该给行动党及格？选民是否能够看清楚，行动党的虚幻造势，而不再被行动党蒙骗过关。 行动党端出的牛肉，虚的实的都有。建国一代的红包，医药福利，限制外来劳工人数，增加新组屋数目，补贴公共巴士数目，限制校友小一报名，全国对话，行动党领袖网上社交活动等等，的确让行动党的战斗力增加不少。选民如何分清楚，看明白，虚虚实实，又让行动党过关，再次错失真改变的机会。 即使行动党端出的牛肉再多，有几个基本点，行动党是无法妥协，不会让步的。 第一个就是透明度。行动党不相信人民有判断力，因此，治国不需要向人民详细交代。行动党说，人民要相信公积金，储备的多少，我们有AAA的评级，审计总长的背书，如果进一步透露更多详情，反而对我们的外汇储备政策造成伤害。因此，政府透露多少，人民就要相信多少。 第二个就是经济挂帅。搞经济，行动党认为自己是内行人。在新加坡它认第二，没有敢认第一。而行动党50年来的经济政策，不可能为了迁就选民，而做出大改变。行动党的务实，不会因为有人没钱看病，55岁过后，没钱养老，有人没有房子住，而手软，心疼。我们只要看看，公积金最低存款，即使多数人无法达标，行动党还是要一直不断的增加最低存款数目。 第三个就是战将问题。行动党提了几十年的接班人问题，一直都没有办法解决。现在的问题，不只是青黄不接，素质上，献身精神也有问题。候选人依然是来自政府部门奖学金得主的小圈圈。从目前端出来的可能候选人牛肉看来，也不见得有何特出之处。年轻和资深部长，处处让人担心，害怕他们再次说错话。虽然，错话对反对党有利，但是，对于新加坡人来说，看到他们领取高薪，又说错话，心里真不是滋味。因此，还是希望他们少说错话。 体能测验虽然只是国家社会的一部分。但是，从这个点，我们把它放大，就可以知道行动党政府是如何治国的。国防部是财政预算开支最大的部门，它连军人的体能都搞到不及格，不是30%而是70%不及格。因此，我们绝对有理由相信，行动党不及格的地方，何止体能一项，看看公积金，医药政策，社会政策，房屋，交通甚至经济政策，都出现瓶颈和令人不满的地方。 行动党当然明白自己的战斗力如何。它一方面呼吁国人注意身体健康，多做运动，自己也锻炼体能。另一方面，它也在修改标准，把不能达标的项目，说成达标，还找人背书，期待在大选时胜出。选民可要分辨清楚，这里的虚虚实实，不要再上当了。多看看不同的意见，多听听反对党的声音，就能分出虚实来。 . 否极泰来 http://pijitailai.blogspot.ca/  Read More →

Electron micrograph of an Ebola virus The Ministry of Health issued a health advisory today (31 Jul) asking the public not to be alarmed by reports of Ebola cases overseas. MOH said that its current assessment is that Ebola poses a low public health risk to Singapore. This is because "there is low travel connectivity to West Africa where the current outbreak remains limited to". Also, the disease is transmitted only from direct contact with bodily fluids of those infected. MOH said it is "in close contact with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and our counterparts" internationally and will continue to monitor the situation. "Our hospitals will be vigilant in testing for Ebola where clinically indicated, such as in patients with the symptoms and a compatible travel history. All suspected and confirmed cases will be isolated. In addition, the Ministry will conduct contact tracing and all close contacts will be quarantined, if a case is detected," it said. MOH advises Singaporeans travelling to affected areas to maintain vigilance and adopt the following general health precautions when overseas: Practice frequent hand washing; Avoid direct contact with with blood, secretions or other body fluids of infected living or dead persons or animals, as well as environments that have become contaminated with these infectious fluids such as soiled clothing, bed linen, or used needles; Avoid participating in burial ceremonies which require direct contact with the body of a deceased infected person. Avoid contact with wild animals, including bats, monkeys, apes, chimpanzee and gorillas, whether alive or dead, including their raw or undercooked meat; Returning travellers from affected areas or travellers who suspect that they have been exposed to Ebola virus should seek immediate medical attention and mention their recent travel to the attending physician if they develop any disease symptoms while travelling in or within 3 weeks of being in any of the areas. Ebola Virus Disease (EVD), formerly known as Ebola Haemorrhagic Fever is a disease which causes severe, often fatal illness in humans. Currently there is an outbreak of EVD in West Africa, which was first reported in late March 2014. As of 23 July 2014, WHO reported a total of 1,201 cases including 672 deaths in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. On 25 July 2014, Nigeria reported that a 40 year old Liberian male, who had flown from Liberia to Lagos, Nigeria, and who died on 25 July 2014 tested positive for EVD. EVD is transmitted through direct contact with blood, body fluids and tissues of infected persons or animals, or by contact with contaminated objects. The incubation period of EVD varies from 2 to 21 days. Patients are not known to be contagious during the incubation period but become contagious once they begin to show symptoms which include sudden onset of fever, weakness, muscle pain, joint pain, headache and sore throat. This can be followed by vomiting, diarrhoea, rash, stomach pain, red eyes, impaired kidney and liver function, and in some cases bleeding. There is no vaccine or specific treatment for EVD. Authorities in other countries taking actions Meanwhile, Thailand and Australia have joined Hong Kong and Europe in taking precautions as fears that the west African Ebola outbreak could spread to other continents grow and a leading medical charity warns the epidemic is out of control. Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said yesterday (30 Jul) that the crisis gripping Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone would only get worse and warned there was no overarching strategy to handle the world's worst outbreak of the disease. It said, "If the situation does not improve fairly quickly, there is a real risk of new countries being affected." A top doctor in charge of a Sierra Leone treatment centre died of the virus earlier this week. In Canada, local media reported that a Canadian doctor had put himself in quarantine as a precaution after spending weeks in west Africa treating patients with the virus alongside an American doctor, who is now infected. Hong Kong announced quarantine measures for suspected cases, although one woman arriving from Africa with possible symptoms tested negative, while the EU said it was ready to deal with the threat. "We cannot rule out the possibility that an infected person arrives in Europe but the EU has the means to track and contain any outbreak rapidly," an EU source said. "The level of contamination on the ground is extremely worrying and we need to scale up our action before many more lives are lost," said EU Humanitarian Aid Commissioner. Australia has already warned against travel to Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. "We are closely monitoring the overseas outbreak and Australia's domestic response," chief medical officer Chris Baggoley said. Thai health authorities said they had ordered all hospitals to monitor patients for any symptoms, particularly nationals or foreign tourists who had been in the outbreak area. In Britain, where one person has tested negative for the disease, Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said it was regarded as "a very serious threat". Big Chinese investments in Africa Even though MOH said that "there is low travel connectivity to West Africa where the current outbreak remains limited to", that doesn't mean Singapore may be safe. At present, China is investing heavily in Africa. In particular, in the resource-rich Guinea where 319 people have died in 427 reported EVD cases (WHO data as at 23 Jul), China is a heavy investor there ('Was Guinea Bought by Beijing?'). Just last month, it was reported that China Hongqiao Group agreed to buy a company developing bauxite deposits in Africa for about US$120 million. Hongqiao and Winning Logistics (Africa) Co. signed an accord to buy an unidentified company developing a mine in Guinea. The target company holds the right to develop and produce bauxite for 25 years from a deposit with a total resource base of 2.2 billion metric tons, the report said [Link]. Other Chinese investments in Africa include heavy infrastructure building, which the Chinese construction firms usually bring their own workforce from home to work in [Link]. Hence, large Chinese investments in West Africa will mean more travelling between the 2 places. And Singapore being a popular place for PRCs to travel, work and study in, it cannot be discounted that Ebola virus won't travel here via China. After all, the incubation period of EVD could be as long as 3 weeks, which means an infected person will show no symptoms for 3 weeks. In this regard, MOH should not take the Ebola threat lightly.    Read More →

UK civil service chief executive – a cock-up in the making? Roger White I started drafting this post as a follow up to my recent comment on All change at the top of the UK civil service. It was going to be a detailed analysis of some minor points and discrepancies in the details released yesterday about this new job. But as I looked at that detail I thought ‘No, there’s something bigger here.’ Something bigger that makes me think this is a potential cock-up in the making. Where to start? First, what is a CE (chief executive)? Common parlance would assume it’s the leader at the top of an organisation, responsible to a board or a committee in the private and voluntary sectors, to politicians in the public sector. Not so in the UK civil service. This ‘chief executive’ will be accountable ultimately to the Prime Minister work day to day to the Minister for the Cabinet Office work day to day on efficiency issues to the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, and in management terms report to the Cabinet Secretary, who is the Head of the Civil Service. Some of this complexity is inherent in politically-accountable organisations, some is not. The polite phrase for this sort of accountability used to be matrix management. The Scots call it a guddle. When you dive into the detail of the job description, you find that the chief executive only has ‘executive control’ (what I guess I’d call line management) over the commercial, supplier management, digital, property, HR, project management, shared services and civil service reform functions. Essential as these are, they're what I’d call support functions. Apart from that, the job description features words like ‘support the Cabinet Secretary’, ‘attend as an observer’, and ‘play a key role … in corporate leadership’ (all my emphases). This is not CE territory. Perhaps the truest indicator of role and status in an organisation is salary. Wouldn't you expect a chief executive to have the highest salary in an organisation? The clue’s in the word ‘chief.’ Where they don’t, at least in the public sector, problems ensue. Ask any hospital chief executive trying to manage medical consultants. Ask any traditionally-constituted local authority education department manager what it’s like dealing with a head teacher who earns more than you. The civil service chief executive will have an annual salary of £180,000 - £200,000 although ‘more may be available for an exceptional candidate, subject to approval’. Helpfully, the UK government – and praise to them for this – publishes the salaries of all ‘high earner’ civil servants. The most recent figures available are for October 2013. Then, the cabinet secretary was on a salary scale of £235,000 - £239,999, although at the time he wasn’t head of the civil service as well. So his salary may be more now. In one sense, fair enough. He will be the CE’s line manager. But cast your eye over the rest of the list. Of a total of 171 senior civil servants, 51 or 30% will earn at least as much as the CE, and some more. Since the post is responsible for driving the government’s efficiency and reform programme the auguries are not good. Am I cynical in thinking that those more highly paid leaders, not least the powerful departmental permanent secretaries, will see the so-called CE as the cabinet secretary’s helper, to be propitiated for his/her boss’s sake, but to be kept at arm’s length when it comes to their own department and own ministers? And what sort of paragon is to fill this post? Here the information provided is ambiguous. The civil service’s own pack says an outstanding individual who has a proven track record of running large complex, multiple-stakeholder organisations through a period of change and cost reduction … which would be likely to be in the private sector. Their recruitment consultants, an American company called Korn/Ferry International, says an outstanding individual who has a proven track record of running large complex, multiple-stakeholder organisations in the private sector. I guess you can take your pick or give Korn/Ferry a call to see which version is right. In any event the aspiration is clear – someone who is or is likely to be from the private sector. That’s fine, and I wouldn't exclude them, as I wouldn’t exclude an outstanding candidate whose experience is wholly or mainly in the public or voluntary sectors. But a word of warning to whoever insisted on this requirement (Conservative Minister for the Cabinet Office, Francis Maude?). The public sector is littered with failed appointments from the private sector. For obvious reasons. The political environment is very different from that of a major private sector company. Many can make the leap. Many cannot. Candidates are warned. The other aspect I’d worry about if I were recruiting for this post is the salary, which looks pretty modest by private sector standards. Will it attract the ‘outstanding individuals’ optimistically sought? Finally, a word of caution on Korn/Ferry. I have no reason to doubt their professional competence. But if you look at their current portfolio of 55 opportunities you will find that most are private sector, only two say they are in the UK, and only one – this post – is a government job. I hope for the sake of candidates and the civil service they are aware of all the complexities the new chief executive will encounter. [Footnote. The links to online material about this post will doubtless not work after it has been filled. I have saved the civil service's own 'spec' for the post as well as Korn/Ferry's web site page about it.] Roger White *  The author blogs at  HelpGov's helpful blog... trying to make sense of government and public services, and other stuff.  Read More →