TR EMERITUS

Two weeks have passed since we heard the Ministerial Statements on Foreign Manpower and Free Trade Agreements at the parliamentary sitting on 6 July 2021. I am greatly encouraged by the enormous and sustained interest that Singaporeans have shown in the issues raised by the Ministerial Statements. Subsequent to the parliamentary sitting, Minister for Manpower Dr Tan See Leng revealed that the Ministry of Manpower and tripartite partners are reviewing the Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices in order to strengthen measures to tackle workplace discrimination, and he said “it will not be long” before they come back with a recommendation. A few days later, during a lecture at the Institute of Policy Studies, Monetary Authority of Singapore managing director Ravi Menon recommended tightening the qualifying salaries for Employment Pass and S Pass foreign PMETs as well as targeting individuals in firms found to be guilty of discriminatory hiring in favour of foreigners. It is motivating to feel the winds of change and heartening to see the effect of PSP raising the right questions in parliament. However, simply making some tweaks and adjustments to current policies is not enough. They do not address fundamental problems that stemmed from the lack of foresight in striking a balance in the job market from the very beginning. PSP’s aim is to seek a thorough review of the impact of the Foreign Talent policy and the huge inflow of foreign PMETs into our labour market over the past twenty years. We wish to see a clear plan of action from the government that can bring about tangible improvements to address the sufferings of affected Singaporeans. To accomplish this we need more data from the Government. At the 6 July parliamentary sitting, PSP filed 7 questions requesting for hundreds of data points across different nationalities and work pass categories over the last twenty years. In response, the Government provided two Ministerial Statements which revealed only a few scattered points of data. Besides the lack of data, we also found the presentation of data to be problematic. E.g. data points were presented in convoluted and confusing ways, we requested for data on PMETs but the data given only covered PMEs, and so on. Hence, at the upcoming parliamentary sitting on 26 July, we will be raising another 8 parliamentary questions to ask for fuller data sets as well as to seek clarifications on the few data points disclosed by the Ministers. For example, we will be requesting for time series data from 2005-2020 involving professionals, managers and executives (PMEs). Health Minister Ong Ye Kung only provided two single data points from that time period, which is that the total number of PME jobs created for residents (Singaporeans and PRs) and foreigners were 380,000 and 112,000 respectively. We will also be asking for more details about the 97,000 jobs that the Minister said had been created for residents by the 660 Singapore companies that have invested in India since 2005. Minister Tan See Leng mentioned that the government does not publish detailed statistics on our foreign workforce, especially by nationality, for “foreign policy reasons”. While this is understandable to some degree, the reason as given is vague. If there are no specific concerns, I would urge the Minister to provide whatever data he can in the spirit of, in his own words, allowing for “meaningful engagement” on the issues. We need to examine the data and ascertain the facts before we can reach meaningful conclusions. In attempting to present a narrative without comprehensive data to support it, the Ministerial Statements simply do not carry the credibility that such statements normally do. Accordingly, there is also little credibility in any mainstream media reports trying to support the same narrative. With all due respect, the Government must recognise that it is not good enough to make sweeping statements and give reassurances when it provides scant evidence to back up its assertions. During the debate, Minister Ong Ye Kung also tried to frame certain questions in a binary way to push me to give simple “yes or no” answers. I believe that Singaporeans are sophisticated enough to understand that we can have nuanced positions on complex issues. For instance, I have repeatedly said in parliament that PSP fully supports FTAs in general. But how beneficial FTAs are depend on their specific terms in relation to our domestic conditions. While FTAs do not take away our sovereign right to regulate immigration, some may still constrain our latitude to formulate and implement our immigration policies. We also urge Singaporeans not to get distracted by allegations made against the PSP. We have never said that CECA gives “unfettered access” to our labour markets and such constant accusations are regrettable. They shift the focus away from the real and pressing issues that genuinely concern Singaporeans. The PSP will continue to ask the right questions in the run-up to and during the #PSPJobsDebate to enable us to get a fuller picture of the situation of displaced Singaporeans. The #PSPJobsDebate is focused on the jobs and livelihoods of Singaporeans. Stay tuned. Not forgetting, I would like to wish Selamat Hari Raya Aidiladha to all Muslims. May today bring blessings and joy to you and family.   * Facebook post by Leong Mun Wai (PSP).      Read More →

COVID-19 Cases in Singapore by Planning Areas (Source: Wikipedia) C19 has been with us for over 1.5 years alearly and there are clear signs that it is gaining strength, intensity and devastation in that it has mutated and ravaging many countries in waves. Looking back, I will list some of where the pap ministars and its task force have fallen short and in some cases, done some grand stupid things, totally unfitting and undeserving of the political salaries that they know how to pay themselves so well. 1) In early C19 days, Lee Hsien Loong very foolishly advised Singaporeans and the mainstream media parroted his call daily not to wear mask if they are not sick. Over the last 1.5 years, we have gone from no need to wear mask if you are not sick to failure to wear mask will attract a first time fine of $300/ to even double masking for some people today. Just see for yourself how big the U-turn has been. To lhl, I will say this to him. If you don't know something, just keep quiet because it is ok not to know everything. You are a somebody and not a nobody in Singapore and there are too many unthinking suckerporeans who will blindly believe everything, hook, line and sinker that you told them. Your wrong advice could potentially have fatal consequences for so many people who believed you. Btw, after >1.5 years, I have yet to hear or read about lhl apologising to Singaporeans for the ill-advice that he had dished out. I wonder If anyone ever came across his apology and if no, I ask if that is too much to expect? 2) We now know for sure that it was so wrong for the pap government to press on with the 2020 Chingay procession and those pap women ministers and MPs who gathered in large numbers to celebrate the International Women's Day 2020. To make matters worst, C19 vaccination wasn't even heard of then. 3) Very loud and vociferous calls, screams even were made by so many concerned citizens urging the government to ban Short Term Visit Pass and Dependent Pass holders from South Asia and India in particular from entering Singapore when C19 was ravaging India but those calls were largely ignored. To add insult to injury, a new Familial Lane was introduced and among others, it facilitated boy and girl friends entry into Singapore. The karaoka index Vietnamese bu came in through that. The rest is history. I strongly urge the largely book-smart only pap ministars to dig much deeper into it and see if it was a real boyfriend or a pimp or even a paid fella playing a make believe game with our ICA etc and if ICA is totally 'innocent' too. 4) I ask if Safe Entry and Trace Together are really useful tools when we need them most or are they more for show gadgets. Were they able to trace and identify the many, many different people who stepped into those shopping centres where many karaokas were located? 5) I ask why were those Safe Distance Ambassadors so visible at hawker centres, shopping centres and market places etc but none checking at karaokas lounges? Many of them were so young and looked so immature to me. Are they aware or not aware about what were going on behind closed doors? I ask if they were properly trained, properly briefed before they were sent out or were they more for show and to create temporary employment opportunities for our soaring unemployed Singaporeans? Our millionaire pap ministars obviously fail to understand enough that the largely obedient masses will obey and co-operate with the authorities anyway and the naughty ones will find a way around the rules. 6) And this is one of the stupidest one. Being book-smart only is not enough to govern Singapore effectively. Entertainment and night life licences must come under the police because only the police has the 'appropriate authority', the standing, the image, the manpower and the experience to keep hanky panky businesses under control. To pivot karaoka businesses to F&B businesses operating under F&B licence is akin to changing from a German Shepherd to a toy poodle to guard the bank. I, as a citizen clap loudly for you, the 4G pap government. 7) .... Think.   Simon Lim      Read More →

If you are tourist, you step into Singapore, you are surrounded with nice building and infrastructure, you would immediately think Singapore is advanced and prosperous. If have lived since the 1960s till now, you could see the difference is nice buildings but everything else has declined. People who lived long enough would enjoy those eras of peace and prosperity to tell you that life was better than. A surveyor called me and I asked her the same question, she said yes Singapore had better quality of life and peace more than twenty years ago. Now life is lot of stressed and many people are unhappy. We have nice buildings but peace and prosperity had evaporated. The old folks are not retiring, they are returning to work to ensure they live a decent life in their old times because there is no sustainable retirement (can't count on CPF) in Singapore, you slough till your last breath. The nice building you see does not come with quality, all the new BTOs suffer from inferior quality and you see complaints online and also the space getting smaller but prices going higher. You don't need space for sex thats what a snobbish arrogant minister said. We supposed to have world class institutions but instead we preferred to hire third world graduates from un-ranked or low ranked ones, while ours end up under-employed, unemployed or plying the road as PHVs or food deliveries. We now see ponding on a regular basis, no longer once in 50 years. The transport is failing frequently, corruptions within civil service and public are also frequent and the justice system seems to become more partial aligning with rich, elites and foreigners. We are paying sky prices for politicians but the parliament is always quite empty and the handling of the pandemic exposes the gaps of these world class talents. One thing for sure is that they do not take responsibility for anything, it is always someone else or the public to take the blame. Many decade past, we have never seen an extreme act in school but now thing has gone so drastic recently. Most things deteriorate, we are seeing failing and decline in many areas. Complacency? Inferior quality? We should ask ourselves why life was better in the past and things do not fail. And why now so many things are happening and we still continue to bury our head into the sand and assume everything is ok? We should take their excuses each time and console ourselves life is better than our neighbours? Wake up la, Singapore!   Singaporean Sheep      Read More →