TR EMERITUS

We refer to the article “Singapore ‘can’t have First World economy, Third World costs’: Lim Hng Kiang” (Straits Times, May 6). Cannot be First World economy with Third World costs? It states that “”We have to acknowledge that, over time, Singapore cannot be a First World economy with Third World costs. There has to be some balance.” Rising costs have been an ongoing issue. The Budget debate in Parliament in March had included intense discussions about rising costs for businesses here, with soaring rents and utilities, increased wages and worker shortages among the complaints.” Third World wages? - Why are we still paying Third World wages – of as little as $5 plus an hour to Singaporeans, and as little as $18 a day to foreign workers, when the cost of living is one of the highest in the world? So many lower-income workers? There were 207,100 residents earning below $1,000, 416,900 below $1,500 and 627,800 below $2,000. Since the total workforce was 2,004,600 in 2012 – it means that about 1 in 10 earn below $1,000, 1 in 5 earn below $1,500 and 3 in 10 earn below $2,000. As  to “worker shortages” and a tight labour market – why is it that the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of Singaporeans has increased  from 2.8 to 3.0% in the last quarter? Shouldn’t the unemployment rate be coming down if we have a tight labour market, instead of up? With regard to “increased wages” - Negative real total wage change? According to the Ministry of Manpower’s (MOM) web site, the real annual total wage change (excluding employer CPF) from 2008 to 2012, was -2.4, -1.0, 2.7, 0.1 and -0.8, respectively. This works out to a cumulative real decrease in wage change of about -1.5% or -0.29 per annum, from 2008 to 2012 – A negative real total wage change for the last 5 years. Real income growth? Real median income change from 2008 to 2013 was only about 1.0 per cent per annum … for the 20th percentile – the real change per annum for the last 10 years was only about 0.3 per cent Real growth in graduates’ starting pay negativ? … The real growth in university, polytechnic and Institute of Technical Education (ITE)  graduates starting pay has been negative in the last 7 years or so. The rhetoric seems to fly in the face of the statistics! https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=683850448348437&set=a.164656716934482.42580.100001704640544&type=1&theater The statistics speak for itself SY Leong and Leong Sze Hian  Read More →

Investigating the Little India riot (Photo: TODAYonline) I read with concern the report “Number of foreigners as police officers is ‘for society to decide’” (May 3). Certain issues should be considered and addressed properly before the Home Affairs Ministry decides to recruit any foreigners into the Home Team. First, I am concerned the foreign police officers may come from a culture steeped in corruption — even among civil servants — and about whether they would be susceptible to bribery here, which would affect the integrity of our police force. Second, in the event of a riot or protest here, would they side with their compatriots instead of doing what they should do? Third, if these police officers do not speak English clearly or well enough or cannot comprehend locals, such a communication breakdown could have unintended or disastrous repercussions. Wendy Soh * Letter first appeared in TODAYonline (6 May 2014) 'Before deciding on hiring foreigners as cops, consider these issues'  Read More →

Patient's son: My father suffers from kidney and lung illnesses, and was recently admitted to Tan Tock Seng Hospital for about a month because of a hip fracture. Although my father was very alert when he was admitted, his health deteriorated within two weeks and he became delirious. My family spoke to a doctor about my father's obvious sickness but we were assured that nothing was amiss. We insisted that a test be done to ascertain if my father had an infection, and the doctor reluctantly agreed to do it the next day. We pressed for it to be done immediately, given the condition my father was in, and the doctor eventually relented. The results showed that my father had a bad infection. Antibiotics were administered immediately and he recovered after a few days. While my father was generally fairly well looked after in hospital, incidents such as this could have been life-threatening. Was my father's case a one-off oversight, or was it a case of the doctors being overworked? Our Government has often reiterated the need for affordable health care, but the care must also be decent and of good quality. Vincent Ong Kok Lam Reply from Tan Tock Seng Hospital: Mr Vincent Ong Kok Lam shared his concerns over the management of his father's condition during the latter's stay in our hospital. The senior Mr Ong was admitted to Tan Tock Seng Hospital on Feb 19 with a heart attack and a hip fracture. Other advanced illnesses were also revealed and the treatment options were fully discussed with Mr Ong and his family. He was treated and cared for by our nurses, orthopaedic surgeons, cardiologists, the pain medicine service, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, medical social workers and palliative medicine specialists. On March 6, Mr Ong was noted to be confused and had pulled out a catheter inserted earlier to relieve his hip fracture pain. Investigations revealed he had suffered a second heart attack with accumulation of fluid in his lungs (heart failure). He showed no signs of infection or fever. This was explained to the family members, but they felt his deterioration could be due to an infection and requested that tests be done. Our doctors acceded to the family's request and, as a screening test showed the possibility of an infection, administered antibiotics as a precautionary measure. Mr Ong's heart attack and failure were stabilised with blood transfusions and other medical interventions. When confirmatory tests did not reveal any evidence of infection, the antibiotics were stopped. Mr Ong's condition continued to improve and he was subsequently discharged on March 13 after appropriate caregiver training. We assure the family that there was no oversight in the care of Mr Ong. We understand Mr Vincent Ong's concerns and are continuing to engage him further to assist in his father's care. Thomas Lew (Associate Professor) Chairman, Medical Board Tan Tock Seng Hospital * Both letters first appeared in ST Forum (7 May).  Read More →