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PE: Tan Kin Lian eyes constructive ties with PM
Mr Tan added he wants to follow in the footsteps of the late former president Ong Teng Cheong.
" (Mr) Ong knows his duty as a president, to safeguard the reserves he did his best to act independently and to ask questions... I will follow his example," Mr Tan said.
" The Constitution does not say the president cannot connect with people the Constitution does not say that the president cannot listen to people and bring their concerns to the government.
tO stEp dOwn AftEr bEIng ElEctEd PrEsIdEnt ? ? ? ?
PE: Tan Jee Say wants to be
govt’s auditor
eVery gOvernment mUst be aUdItEd
- AmerIcA
- BrItAIn
- GermAny
- FrAnce
- ItAly
- JApAn
- ChInA
- TAIwAn
- IndIA
- ? ? ? ?
PE: Dr Tan Cheng Bock suggests merging Mendaki, Sinda, CDAC
PE: Dr Tan Cheng Bock suggests merging Mendaki, Sinda, CDAC
Then, All the mInIstrIes shOUld be mErgEd ? ? ? ?
jUst pAy Only One mInIster's sAlAry ? ? ? ?
wIth Only One gEnErAl, mOre sOldIers tO dO wOrk ? ? ? ?
CPF fund investments
post modest loss
AMANDA FENG
SINGAPORE
According to data from fund research firm Lipper, CPFIS-included unit trusts posted a loss of 1.52-per-cent, while investment-linked insurance products reported a 2.18-per-cent loss.
“Considering the impact on global markets from unexpected events such as the Middle East turmoil, the March 11 Japan earthquake as well as deteriorating fiscal conditions in Europe and North America, CPFIS-included funds have proved to be resilient,” Lipper said in a report.
— Unit trusts and investment-linked insurance products included under the Central Provident Fund Investment Scheme (CPFIS) posted an average loss of 1.89 per cent in the first half of the year, a better-than-expected performance amid the uncertain global economic situation.‘Indonesia can cope with worsening global economy’
Indonesia can cope with a worsening global economic situation and has policy instruments in place to deal with a crisis, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said yesterday.
South-east Asia’s biggest economy has grown steadily at 6.5 per cent this year, powered by consumption from an expanding middle class the export of natural resources and investment, while policymakers have contained inflation and cut government debt levels.
Reflecting gains Indonesia has made since it was battered in 1998 by the Asian economic crisis and turmoil that forced longtime President Suharto from power, Mr Yudhoyono declared:
“Our self-perception as a failed state has finally disappeared.”
The President, in an annual speech to Parliament ahead of the country’s Independence Day, said: “Even though the economic situation in Europe and the United States is not good news for the world, we have sufficient confidence to overcome that uncertainty.”
INDONESIA TRANSFORMED sInce 1998
ReutersNew Thai govt to focus on pushing up people’s income
PEOPLE CENTRIC Govt increAses PEOPLE's INCOME
but nOt Own INCOME & Own PENSIONS ? ? ? ?
BANGKOK
Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s Cabinet held its first full meeting yesterday to agree on the programme it will present to Parliament, probably next Tuesday or Wednesday.
“Before, we were focusing on exports but today we have to focus on the domestic economy — increase people’s income and bring down their cost of living,” Ms Yingluck told reporters after the meeting.
The government seems determined to push ahead with the populist programme that won it a landslide election victory on July 3, although some economists warn this could set off a wage-price spiral.
Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce Minister Kittirat Na Ranong said earlier that among the priorities were a minimum wage of 300 baht (S$12.08) a day, a starting salary for university graduates of 15,000 baht a month, a cut in company taxes, a reduction in fuel prices and a campaign against drug use.
The proposed nationwide minimum wage would mean an increase of 90 per cent in some provinces, which is bound to hurt small businesses. These firms say they would not be helped much by an offsetting cut in corporate tax to 23 per cent from 30 per cent.
NSP , WP react to PM’s Rally speech
SINGAPORE
The National Solidarity Party (NSP) said it was disappointed that the “important issue of population growth target remains unaddressed”.
“This Rally speech has chosen to ignore the elephant in the room,” said its secretarygeneral Hazel Poa. “The Government can fight the fire now by increasing the number of BTO (Built-to-Order) flats and buses, but without addressing the root of the problem, which is the lack of co-ordination between population planning and infrastructure planning, such problems could recur.”
NSP called for “a sustainable long term population plan, one that takes into account not only economic considerations, but also social ones”.
While the Workers’ Party (WP) welcomed the Government’s decision to raise the household income ceiling from S$8,000 to S$10,000, the party noted that “this will add to the current high demand” and hence more Housing and Development Board (HDB) BTO flats will need to be built to ease the current supply crunch.
“Nevertheless, the affordability of flats continues to be a concern, and WP remains of the view that the Government needs to review the formula of pricing new flats and the recommended length of HDB housing loans,” said Mr Gerald Giam, head of WP’s media team.
WP also suggested the Government’s review of the homeless issue should look into “some flexibility of criteria to qualify for rental flats and more than two concessionary loans”.
Mr Giam reiterated the WP’s Manifesto 2011, and that “more can be done to put such children and families on an even keel”, especially having fixed instead of meanstested fees, and better career development opportunities for special education teachers.
fOr A wEll plAnned Administration,
pOpulation increase should rEAlise the bEnEfIts Of
ECONOMY Of SCALE & lOwer prIces
And nOt cOngestIOn as wEll as INFLATION
— Opposition parties welcomed Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s National Day Rally speech to place Singaporeans first, but suggested more could be done in areas such as housing, education, and supporting small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to cope with the rise in manpower costs and rentals.Temasek’s share of
economy around 10%
Letter from Stephen Forshaw
Managing Director, Corporate Affairs, Temasek
WE ARE puzzled by recent and mistaken claims that Temasek’s “stake in the Singapore economy could be almost 60 per cent”.
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) measures the output of an economy, and in March 2001, the Department of Statistics published a study showing the 1998 GDP contributions by various entities.
- Foreign-owned companies contributed just below 42 per cent.
- Non-government related Singapore-owned companies contributed over 33 per cent.
- Government-linked companies contributed 13 per cent to GDP: Majority-owned Government-linked companies contributed 9 per cent companies that had minority Government-related ownership of 20 to 50 per cent contributed under four per cent.
Temasek portfolio companies in Singapore are a subset of Government-linked companies and thus contributed less than 13 per cent of GDP in 1998.
The Singapore economy has since grown and become more diversified. Temasek has itself divested several major businesses such as the power generation companies.
Thus, we expect Temasek portfolio companies to account for 10 per cent, or less, of GDP today.
For the interested public, Temasek produces its annual
Temasek Review, available online at www.temasekreview. com.sg. In addition, various frequently asked questions are covered at www.temasek.com.sg/ media_centre_faq.htm.Why charge twice for the same sanitation service?
Letter from Chin Kee Thou
SEWAGE disposal has come a long way from the days of the bored hole or pit latrine and the bucket system.
My first encounter with the bored-hole latrine was in the early 1970s, during my National Service. It was not only cheap and efficient, with no disposal fee, but also provided nutrients to the surrounding vegetation.
The bucket system was common then in the city. Night soil carriers were employed and they transported the buckets in specially constructed night soil trucks, with many locked compartments resembling today’s safe deposit boxes.
The utility bill would include a removal fee known as night refuse fee.
With urbanisation and development of Singapore’s kampungs, we resettled into high-rise flats fitted with toilet bowls.
A sanitary appliance fee for disposal of sewage was imposed for each toilet bowl, in replacement of the night refuse fee.
Later on, a waterborne fee was added and stays on to date. Can the authority clarify on the double fee for sanitation service?
Both are fees levied for the same purpose — to offset the cost of treating used water and for the operation and maintenance of the public sewerage system — but charged in two ways, based on the number of sanitary fittings and the volume of water used.
I am all for welcoming entrepreneurs who bring in the capital or know-how, to establish or grow businesses here. But is there really a dearth of Singaporeans able to lead companies here?
If so, what efforts are being made by these companies and the country to nurture and train local talent for the top jobs?
fOreign compAnies brIng Own stAff and are here tO mAke mOney and remIt prOfIt bAck hOme ? ? ? ?
Is increas in lOcAl GDP eqUAl tO
increase in fOreIgn home country's GNP ? ? ? ?
Surely locals can lead our companies
Why are foreign MNCs better able than home-grown corporations to spot and appoint local talent to key posts?
Let me begin by saying that I have nothing
Conrad Raj But it still pains me to find many companies here neglecting to nurture and groom local talent for top posts, preferring instead to hire from abroad.
So I was a little disappointed earlier this week to learn that my former classmate and good friend Koh Poh Tiong, 64, will in October be succeeded as chief executive of Fraser & Neave’s (F& N) food and beverage division by yet another foreign talent — Mr Pascal de Petrini, 51, formerly from the Danone Group.
When Mr Koh left F& N subsidiary Asia Pacific Breweries (APB), he was also succeeded by a foreigner, Belgian Roland Pirmez.
I have nothing against Mr de Petrini.
He may be a great successor to Mr Koh, just as Mr Pirmez has done fabulously at APB, with the company recently reporting record net profits up 18 per cent to S$250.6 million on a 20-per-cent higher turnover of S$2.24 billion.
Could a local talent have done better or just as well?
Perhaps yes, perhaps not, but then we will for the time being never know.
Mr Koh, however, is a true-blooded local talent and in his 26 years with the F& N group has, in the words of chairman Lee Hsien Yang, “served the group with distinction”.
against foreign talent. In fact, some
of my best friends are foreigners. And like
most Singaporeans I do not suffer from
xenophobia.
Is capitalism doomed?
The massive volatility and sharp equityprice correction now hitting global financial markets signal that most advanced economies are on the brink of a double-dip recession.
Nouriel Roubini is chairman of Roubini Global Economics, professor of Economics at the Stern School of Business, New York University, and co-author of the book Crisis Economics.
O V E R H E A R D :
COMMUNISM's CENTRAL PLANNING ECONOMY is :
- STABLE ? ? ? ?
- nO speculation ? ? ? ?
- nO shOrtIng ? ? ? ?
- nO SWINGS of WEALTH ? ? ? ?
- nO WEALTH GAP ? ? ? ?
- nO financial crisis ? ? ? ?
tIme tO sAve
thIs wAstAge
And pAy
reAl bAnk sAvIng Interest rAtes
like AUSTRALIAN BANKS
NEW ZEALAND BANKS
INDONESIAN BANKS
MALAYSIAN BANKS
pharoah88 ( Date: 17-Aug-2011 12:05) Posted:
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Investment adviser and former civil servant Tan Jee Say, 57
I agree with Dr Tan Cheng Bock we can’t really pluck the figure from the air, but there are certain benchmarks, and I would disagree with the approach taken by the Government, at least the Prime Minister, in his terms of reference for the Gerard Ee committee — that you benchmark the salaries against the salaries of CEOs, and then you take a discount. I think that is the wrong approach.
The Minister is not a CEO.
[cOmpAre lemOn with lemOn and nOt wIth Apple ]
He is a public officer [nAtionAl servAnt], looking after the public’s interest. And his salary should be benchmarked to somebody in (the) public sector.
You have Japan, UK, they benchmark their salary to the lowest paid civil servant. And I think we should as public figures, not take the CEO’s salary as the starting point.
I would prefer a certain multiple of (the) minimum salary.
Maybe we don’t have a minimum salary in Singapore, but obviously I would advocate a minimum salary.
But let’s take the lowest salary of a civil servant of the lowest grade. If it is S$1,000, take a multiple of it, whether it’s 20, 30 or 40.
In Japan its 40 times ... I read a report somewhere, because salaries are low.
[It is for this rEAsOn that JAPANESE citizens are CALM in times Of CRISIS]
In the UK it’s lower than that because the UK salaries are higher. So I would benchmark against a public officer, if not a minimum salary.
gO fOre Open tender & Open TALENT Competition
we wAnt chEAp lAbOUr
In Order tO be MARKET PRICE COMPETITIVE
As Bank Saving Interest Rates are NEAR-ZERO.
Public Service sAlAry should be nOmInAl ? ? ? ?
Former Deputy Prime Minister Tony Tan, 71
The Government has set up a salary committee under the chairmanship of Mr Gerard Ee, comprising of people from a wide sector of society in Singapore, and I’m sure they are studying this issue very seriously.
What compensation the President should get, the Ministers should get, other public office holders (should get) ... We should wait until we get the decision, and whoever is President I’m sure will abide by the recommendation and decision of the committee as determined by the Government.
ASK the cOmmittee members
" HOW MUCH they are pAyIng theIr MAIDS ? ?"
" HOW MUCH they are pAyIng theIr emplOyees ? "
The OLDER the AGE the lOwer the SALARY ? ?
Former Ayer Rajah MP Tan Cheng Bock, 71
I think it’s a question that is quite difficult to answer.
And you cannot just pluck a figure from the air and say okay this is the amount.
There must be some basis when you make this type of decisions.
And I would say you really have to study the roles and responsibilities of the President. Many people think being the President is just to go around waving hands and so on.
When I read (President) Nathan’s report, I think he’s done a lot of things, apart from the ceremonial role, the custodian role and so on.
I think it’s a lot of work that is being done. Therefore I think before we do this and cut here cut there, let’s study the subject properly.
There’s a committee review, I will go by what the committee has decided.
Employers do not pay salary by volume of work.
Rather salary is pAId by willingness to pAy.
Need to ASK tax payers " HOW much they are willing to pAy ? ? ? ?"
dOn't ASK a cOmmittee whIch pAys
Other PEOPLE's Money [OPM] ? ? ? ?
Former NTUC Income chief Tan Kin Lian, 63
My position is very clear.
If it is S$4 million, the fair salary is less than half. And if it is reduced by the salary review, probably about half.
I’ve read the views of many people and they say, why are you paying such a big salary when you don’t have much to do.
I want to assure the people of Singapore, if I’m President, there’s a lot of things to do, and even so I want to donate at least half.
A [UN]fair salary for the President would be ...
The Straits Times held a roundtable discussion for the four presidential hopefuls yesterday. Among the questions posed to them was what they thought would be a “fair salary” for the President. Their replies were:
All the G7 & G20 are Travel PERKS ? ? ? ?
wAstIng tAxpAyers' tIme & mOney ? ? ? ?
[WHY nOt use SYPE VIDEO CONFERENCE ? ? ? ?]
After TWO LONG DECADES of mOre than regular meetings ? ? ? ?
What did they SOLVE ? ? ? ?
ALL they dId was to SOAR INFLATION and REDUCE SAVINGS INTEREST RATES ? ? ? ?
Luostock ( Date: 17-Aug-2011 10:37) Posted:
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Recent EmPloyment pass policy changes
Qualifying salaries for EP raised on July 1
Pass type * Old qualifying salary ** Current qualifying salary *** From January 2012
Q1 * S$2,500 ** S$2,800 *** S$3,000
P2 * S$3,500 ** S$4,000 *** S$4,500
P1 * S$7,000 ** S$8,000 *** S$8,000