9/29/2015

Hsien Loong’s new cabinet

A new cabinet was announced yesterday with Lui Tuck Yew replaced by two new faces in Ng Chee Meng and Ong Ye Kung plus several ministers of states and parliamentary secretaries. Vivian is promoted to Foreign Minister and Boon Wan has taken over the hot seat in Transport. Other than the overloading of several ministers and ministers of states and parliamentary secretaries to helm each ministry, a way of saying that that the job is damn big and requiring many ministers to cover, attention is all on Boon Wan’s role in Transport.

The talk of the town is the matching of the most troublesome job to the most effective minister in the cabinet. Boon Wan is touted as the minister that solved the housing issue which to some was never an issue until his predecessor messed it up with his screwed up policies. Boon Wan should thank the person for digging a hole that all he needed to do was to fill it up and get all the credit like he had done a miracle.

The Transport Ministry is a different kettle of fish from the series of failed housing policies that were in a way consciously created for some spoofy reasons. Though much work and money have already been spent to tidy up the problems in public transport, this is not as easy as filling a hole that someone dug. And if the population is going to rise to 6.9m and more, the little extra lines added would still not be enough to meet the rising demands. Boon Wan would now have to face a real tricky situation that is evolving all the time and any mistake or failure would be felt immediately in real time. The commuters cannot be told to wait for 3 years when the train stops running.

The real test of Boon Wan’s ability has just begun. This transport problem is real and it is not just building more lines and having more trains on the track. It is not just a brick and mortar issue. Let’s hope Boon Wan will do a miracle deserving of praise in transportation.

28 comments:

Anonymous said...

https://youtu.be/GLLlKgYO42Q

YouTube videos of Indians cheating in their exams

Can the former meeneestyle of education right the wrongs in the financial industry since he corrected some mistakes by botak before he left his former post by reinstating several former A-Level subjects such as Further Math, Computing etc into NEXT YEAR new JC cohort previously REMOVED under botak's REIGN......

Anonymous said...

Why the CEO, CFO, COO of DBS bank all from a cuntry (in)famous for rape and cheating in exam in a blantant and rampant scale?

Can the incoming Mr Mt KK Via Ferrata dig deeper and see anything ( lopsidedly or otherwise ) wrong in such anomaly in sinkieland especially the financial industry?

How can oldies sinkies rest in peace (eventually) if they are not shown the reasons (and justifications) why no (born and bred) sinkies (like Koh Beng Seng etc etc) are seen and/ or deemed capable of doing those jobs of CEO, COO and CFO in DBS?

Anonymous said...

When WKS and MBT visited Beijing in 2010 and took the bullet train to Tianjin, then vice Premier Wang Qi Shan was shown in some photos with a "disdain look " .......

Now as the No. 6 bigwig in the Chinese Standing Committee of the Central Politburo, what would Wang think of Sinkieland's rookie FM in Mr YOG 300+% over budget, Mr Haze kpkb (NATO only), Mr Dengue Epidemic, Mr Hawker Centre Roof Ceiling, Mr School Boy Debater etc all rolled into one?

Let's watch Wang's body language when they next meet .....

Anonymous said...

Wah! Khaw Boon Wan so good one.
Maybe after he cleans up the Transport Ministry problems, Khaw can go over and help Temasek.
Temasek is getting tummy sick again.

Glencore's shares fell 29% yesterday!

http://blogs.barrons.com/emergingmarketsdaily/2015/09/28/as-glencore-debt-fear-hammers-miners-is-bhp-safest/?mod=yahoobarrons&ru=yahoo

I wonder what investment criteria Temasek uses to achieve a -29% one day return?

This Death Watch over Glencore is a public service message provided by yours truly;
A Singaporean from the 30% part of Singapore.

Anonymous said...

Sure or not, Tharman removed Further Maths and Computing from A Level? Is that the reason why our students got no computing knowledge?

Sure or not, DBS CEO, CFO and COO all from one foreign country? Like that might as well change the name to that country, call it DBX. How can our country be in control of foreigners? Don't bluff bluff ok. Singapore garment cannot be so stupid right? Or is this why Tharman removed from Finance Ministry?

So dangerous man.

Anonymous said...

Rb // his transport problem is real and it is not just building more lines and having more trains on the track. It is not just a brick and mortar issue. //

$8 cow said he often went Semb Park to stroll after posted to MND.

He also quiped before GE 2015 when asked by some reporters that if posted to MOT, he will.need to camp permanently in Semb Park.

Indeed, he may need to do more than that ...... He may be permanently "based" in another (type of ) "park" permanently....... MOT is known to be a "burial ground " for 3 preceding meeneestyle. $8 cow is hoping he will be the exception and rare one. Going by history, not in a million years. It is often proven tbat big crises are as much of randomness as deterministic. Massive underground tunneling in over urbanized Sinkieland will make this randomness as big if not bigger than the deterministic factor .....

$8 cow may become " roasted " cow .....

Anonymous said...


I have full confident that KBW will be the BEST Transport Minister
in the last 50 years.

No problems are too big and difficult for KBW!

Don't worry! KBW is the man! Keep it up!

So sit back and relax relax and let the magic show begins.

Cheers.

Anonymous said...

The BIGGEST problem in sinkieland is NOT public transport.

Many sinkies "brainwashed " to think that way ......

The elephant in the room is the trade numbers ...... and it has been tanking since 2012.

If $8 cow is so good, dun pretend MOT is difficult job and "reluctantly " volunteer for it.

$8 cow should volunteer for the MTI job!

Anonymous said...

DBS India all run by Indians. Put money there and let them do as they like. Got any Singaporeans there for oversight to make sure that our money will not disappear? Or we are so trusting of foreigners that we can park millions out there and trust all is well?

Anonymous said...

Exports make up about 210% of sinkies GDP ......

With exports down, the massive recent past and (likely ) future pump-priming can only offset fractionally the decrease in exports due to the high leakages in sinkieland's economy and thus a very small, miniscule multiplier transmission to the rest of the economy compounded by the small size of sinkieland's economy ( abt $300 B) relative to say the US ( abt $16.5 T ).

Whereas exports made up only abt 10% of US GDP, it is far, far higher in sinkieland's world's most open economy.

Anonymous said...

With per capita C ( private consumption ) falling in the past few years ( a strong indicator of the poor becoming poorer ), sinkieland is likely to bring forward the BIG projects in the pipeline to keep sinkieland's sampan 2.0 afloat.

Anonymous said...

Will Khaw set a good example and hara kiri if he fails as a Transport Minister?
- I will donate a blunt and rusty knife to Khaw

Anonymous said...

DBS Bank's logo
"Living, Breathing Asia"

India is part of Asia right?

Anonymous said...

Collecting cardboards for exercise meeneestyle is retained in his last posting .....

Until 2020/ 2021 and probably in eternity, sinkieland's oldies will be faithfully abiding the "(UN)SOUND" advice of this B(ig)G(affe) and collecting cardboards for exercise.

Soon some old beans maybe doing their rounds of exercise in MBFC rampaging the bins in the surroundings during lunch time for cardboards while the CEO, COO, CFO of DBS are enjoying their lunch time fine dining high up with panoramic seaview i the marina bay area, courtesy of sinkies oldies past CPF and tax contributions. Meanwhile, under the HOT NOON SUN, some sinkies oldie BEANS are exercising rubbish bin to rubbish bin.

Anonymous said...

Some claimed sinkieland needs to be "UNICORNIC " to stand out.

But the new lineup is not only unexceptional!

It is "sub- ordinary " ......

The race back to 3rd world may have quickened its pace ......?

Is the current hazy environment an ominous sign ..... of the future ?

Anonymous said...

Benjamin Graham and Warren Buffett immersed themselves in value investing.

Tharman-SICK in their Glencore's investment subscribed to the reverse?

What a way to make sinkies day?

Anonymous said...

Did Khaw say "be realistic with MRT Breakdowns" ?
I thought he said "Be realistic with PAP Ministers salaries."

Anonymous said...

When a foreign company wants to set up biz in India, all the top management staff must be Indians. Can we impose same conditions for Indian companies setting up biz here, that top management must Singaporeans.

Or for them to set up biz here, Singapore companies top management must be filled by Indians?

The said...

That guy who was defeated in Aljunied in GE2011 is now immediately made an Acting Minister? Hope he's good at acting and win us an Oscar. Does that mean the WP's team at Aljunied are more than ministerial material?

Anonymous said...

New cabinet with brilliant people. Singaporeans are in safe hands. Well done LHL, you are a genius. We will be well cared for for the next 5 years. Hope the next GE will give you 80% mandate.

The said...

So, now we have three DPMs:
1DPM - Tharman
2DPM - Teo Chee Hean
3DPM - Khaw Boon Wan

And two MTI Ministries:
Minister of Trade
Minister of Industry

And two Education Ministries:
Minister of Higher Education
Minister of Lower Education (a.k.a. Skills Development)

And Chan Chun Sing is still Minister without portfolio (a.k.a. cho bo lan)

Anonymous said...

Singapore so big country so need two ministers for each ministry. Add two ministers' pay the cost per ministry doubles. And minister of state, add parliamentary secretary, more than double. But without so may talents how to cope with the job?

Anonymous said...

With such a "Kong Cum" motley and cut and paste comment, sinkies will need buy roast pigs to pray if can scrap thro especially with plp "kong cum" jump to conclusions when not a single deed is achieved that. On the minus side, card board exercise to deal with social problems, card board policeman to prevent crimes and face book kpkb to solve haze problem have seen sinkieland ENGULFED in perpetual gloom and falling knives stock market since yesterday's announcement. If so brilliant, why the whole world stock market lao sai yesterday after announcement and still continuing today? Plp, nodding donkeys and parrots will make the old guards stir in their graves ..... Including yesterday and today whole world more than 10 trillions evaporated in the market. ..... very brilliant hor! Such a "positive reaction" from the world financial elites .....

Anonymous said...

Khaw is the man for the transport minister's job. No problem with his heart, which I understand is 'pure".

In any case, even if problem comes, heart operation at $8 is a true bargain.

So, I support his new appointment. Give the man a tiger!

Anonymous said...

With so many part timers in PAP, no wonder Ah Loong needs so many Ministers to govern one of the smallest countries in the world.

Anonymous said...

Who says Singapore smallest country in the world? Why say, who say?

Singapore is damn big ok. Also damn big problem to govern.

Anonymous said...

Let's put it in the simplest way
to understand Sin.
Whence a population immerses
in materialism and vices, it starts
rotting from the core. Outwardly,
most things appear nice and dandy,
especially when it is make to appear
beautiful cosmetically.
It is much like a Cancer patient putting
on wig, wearing beautifully with all the
Gallant efforts to look good. But, it's just to appear good, as medically, the patient is beyond help. Fate is sealed so to say, just liked there was nothing Mosses could do for his flocks but to face the imminent catastrophe as a result of their indulgence.

No leader in any country in the World is as brazen as those running one of the tiniest state. The greeds display by the self claimed Aristocrats is horrendously
obnoxious and contemptible in human behaviours. Yet the Sin Rulers are oblivious of their sins.

Sin deserves hell, enough said.

Anonymous said...

It is all because of

One horrible man too
many.