10/03/2008

3 good men to the rescue

This is the price for keeping quiet and not complaining and allowing corporate abuses to continue for so long. Now with people losing their nest eggs, 3 good men are appointed to clear the shit. Gerard Ee of NKF fame, Law Song Keng and Hwang Soo Jin were appointed as watchdogs in the finance industry. It could be worst! Now we have 3 knights to the rescue. Anyone still harping that Singaporeans should remain dumb and quiet and all things are in good hands? Why do we have CEOs, Chairmans and Board of Directors? Aren't they are the one responsible for good corporate governance, good business practices, good corporate citizens and good ethical practices? Apparently they have failed. Now instead of self regulations, they have succumbed to greed and allowed unethical business practices to go on under their watch. I personally have seen many such dubious conducts in practice and have fought a few cases. Corporate misconducts are rampant to say the least. And often they must have the go ahead from very high level, to protect bottom lines. Do we have to appoint committees to watch over the watchdogs? It would be ridiculous. The appointing of watchdogs is already ridiculous. Can't we depend on the honesty and righteousness of corporate bigwigs to do the honourable? Or in our long run towards economic progress we have appointed thieves and thugs to high places when common decency and morality have been thrown into the longkang? Bernie Sanders, a US Congressmen, was in the news last night commenting about the current US financial crisis and the bailout plan. He was angry that the US govt is putting money into the hands of people who created the mess. It was like appointing foxes to guard the hen house, so he said.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

a chinese proverb "An honorable person is a majority of one."

Anonymous said...

Honesty, decency and righteousness are words not found in the financial world of Singapore. When everything was fine and when all of us were making money, why complain? Everybody was happy. There was nothing to com[lain about. Now when the shit hits the fan, people start pointing fingers and crying foul. Why didn't these people cry out when they were laughing their way to the bank? Dubious conducts in the world of finance and business are evryday affairs. All you have to do is scratch the surfae and underneath you will find unethical practices. One good example is the "dirty" money from China and Indonesia. Where are the morality in that?

If you want to play in the pond infested with sharks, then you must not cry when you get bitten.

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

what you are saying is another sign of rot. some old fashion virtues are still valid even today. cheating, swindling, conning, bluffing, lying etc to earn a good living cannot be acceptable.

but you are right. making money is a measure of how talented a man is. no need to bother about the how.

Ⓜatilah $ingapura⚠️ said...

> Corporate misconducts are rampant to say the least.

Actually that is not true.

Most businesses run smoothly and are managed by upright and competent people. That's how good companies stay alive, and continue to deliver goods and services regardless of the economic climate.

Don't allow a few "bad apples" to cloud your good reason. The world won't be functioning if good companies weren't doing their job. In spite of global financial turmoil we're still living ok -- because there are people producing the goods and services we need to REMAIN alive.

Integrity makes good business sense. Good reputations lead to good profits.

Anonymous said...

Redbean is right, Matilah Singapura is also correct.

The cheater is right, the cheated is also right because Anon#Post October 03, 2008 9.21 is also betul(true).

The World is make of good and bad and vice-versa. No wonder policeman and lawyer are so essential.

Badness is good in that it creates a lot more jobs, view in this angle, it is quite positive isn't it?

patriot

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

business are run by upright and competent men! show me one and i will show you ten that are not upright and competent. ok, maybe ten is an exaggeration. there are upright and competent men. but they are many crooked and incompetent men. i am speaking from personal encounters.

Anonymous said...

Competent in making money, but upright, I am not too sure there are very many left. The Chinese have a saying - you know the person, you know the face, but you never know the heart. Business people are out for one purpose - to make money, not to accumulate merit as in buddhism, so anything goes, otherwise you go bust or get swallowed up. It is difficult to find upright and competent men in the business world.

Ⓜatilah $ingapura⚠️ said...

> Business people are out for one purpose - to make money,

That's exactly right.

And the only way to do it long-term stay successful and profitable is to ensure (self-governance) that you don't sully your good name by getting caught doing something unethical, immoral or illegal.

"Profit" is not a dirty word.

"Anything" might go, but there are consequences. Sure, there are crooks... but there are crooks in the church, in charities, in Buddhism and other things people consider to be "moral pursuits".

There are "bad" people in the world, but I believe most people are "good" most of the time.

To their credit, "bad" people make the world a more interesting place--i.e. they create "entertainment". The level of violence and mayhem is usually bigger than the biggest Hollywood blockbuster. Awesome! :)

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

yep, bad people make the world more interesting. better still, bad people masquerading as good people make the world even more interesting.

Anonymous said...

Bad people make the world more interesting. Not when you are the target or victim of bad deeds, like terror attacks. Then you will sing a different song.

Ⓜatilah $ingapura⚠️ said...

I don't agree.

The terrorists are all devoutly religious. They follow their holy book(s) to the letter.

Now, there's a belief floating around which many people subscribe to and that belief is that "religion is GOOD", and that all religions are morally equivalent because they give mankind guidance on how he ought to live (a "good" life)... which would include the occasional slaughter of "infidels" and other materially or sensually-centered malcontents.

These are "good" people cleaning up our world, and boy to they provide me with countless of hours of smokin' entertainment!