12/04/2005

corporate governance by khaw boon wan

according to khaw boon wan, 'the key points about corporate govenance, aside from accountability and transparency, is checks and balances. This is not your own company, your own family business. Even if it is your own family business, and you have minority shareholders, you have to be accountable.' in corporate governance you need watchdogs to watch the professional management. but how can watchdogs be watchdogs if they are appointed by the people they are supposed to watch?

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Do we have a choice in the first place?? Singapore has only a small pool of "trustworthy" and "elite group" deem by our government capable of performing the role of watchdogs.

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

hi anonymous,

trustworthy starting to turn rusty. in politics, one of the key functions is the distribution of wealth and power. how these are shared will affect the retention of power and the support given to the power. power is more difficult to share as the lost of power eventually leads to the lost of everything. but wealth is easier to spread. and wealth can be created if the environment is favourable.

the present system allows a small group to increase their wealth and not spreading them wide enough. it is not that there is insufficient wealth. there is no need to keep piling up so excessively while others are left on the wayside. it does not make sense to allow an individual to hold 2 or 3 key positions and add on a few directorships. this is like one man getting 5 or 6 men's pay. and these are not penny jobs but high paying ones.

and now people are lamenting that there is not enough local talents and thinking of giving our wealth to foreigners, unknown entities who have not contributed anything here while the locals are cast aside.

this is a very pathetic and tragic development.

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

our watchmen are assumed to be men of high calibre and integrity. and after being paid very well, they will not stray.

nkf with one single stroke has destroyed this myth.

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

nkf has done a lot of damage to the whole system of elitism and super talents. a lot of the previous assumptions are not only being questioned but proven to be untenable.

the worst thing that it had done is to discredit a whole pool of the notables. men at the top of their professions and wealthy individuals, all being dragged into a shitpool. of course some walked into it willingly.