There
are many things that the govt can do but not doing. And they choose to hide
behind market forces, laizze faire, and allow Sinkies to be disadvantaged,
cheated, discriminated in their home land and crying for help but no answers
from the govt except some crappy excuses. For those without a job, go for
retraining to take on a lower paying job that could be many times below their
qualifications. For those without a home, go buy from secondary market or
private properties like can’t afford chicken eat sharksfin. For those without a
place in the local universities, go overseas. For those who cannot afford
medical treatment, don’t worry, no one will be deprived from medical help
because they cannot pay. The govt will work up better schemes so that they can
afford to pay, like Medishield Life. In Medishield Life everyone will be made
to pay even if they have no money. Very
affordable. For those who need financial assistance, don’t worry, just don’t
demand for restaurant food.
There
are many affirmative actions that the govt can take so solve its 3rd
World problems and only 3rd World solutions. One, it is so easy to
ensure every Sinkie a job whether in the govt services or in private sector.
Just make a foreigner to ship out. Unfortunately the truth is that foreigners
are shipping in to replace Sinkies.
Two,
Sinkies that are still homeless, just offer them one within their means from
the HDB. Stop using all the silly reasons and excuses. All Sinkies need a roof
over their heads and not everyone can afford a private property. As for the
later, no one should be forced to bankrupt their savings to buy private. Only
black hearted idiots in the govt will insist on this. The Sinkies are paying
and they are not asking for free housing or discount. But the govt insists on
denying some Sinkies from housing.
Three,
every Sinkie should be offered a place in the university if they are qualified.
This is not easily done when the demands are so great. Don’t ask me for an
answer. I am not super talent and am not paid super talented salary to provide
solutions. If we can give so many places to foreigners, why not a few more to
our own citizens? To hell with all the stupid rankings that insist on having
foreign students and professors to get better rankings. We don’t need such
silly stuff like the World Cup and more gold medals by foreigners.
Four,
every Sinkie needing medical treatment shall not be denied treatment. This is
an easier problem to solve even without the Medishield Life, which in the minds
of many has a wrong motive. The govt cannot blame people for being suspicious
of the intent and purpose of Medishield Life. It is too obvious to the people.
Five,
every Sinkie needing financial assistance can be helped. What is the point of
having trillions or hundreds of billions in our reserves? Stop wasting money on
one silly mega project would have plenty of money for many hardluck Sinkies.
What say you?
Spot on! If these are taken care of, there is surely going to be a baby boom by Singaporeans like in the 1950s, 60s and 70s.
ReplyDeletegeming ... geming . .. geming
ReplyDeleteknnccb ... knnbccb papigs
Mr CCL: " There are many things that the govt can do but not doing."
ReplyDelete"The great myth is the manager as orchestra conductor. It's this idea of standing on a pedestal and you wave your baton and accounting comes in, and you wave it somewhere else and marketing chimes in with accounting, and they all sound very glorious. But management is more like orchestra conducting during rehearsals, when everything is going wrong."
Professor Henry Mintberg ( 1939 - Present ), author of "The Rise and Fall of Strategic Planning", "Managers, Not MBAs", winner of McKinsey Award for Best Article in Harvard Business Review
In reality, many studies have shown that those in management levels more often than not instead of "showing systematic, reflective planning" are more of "ants-like beings rushing from one activity to another with much discontinuity, brevity and variety, strongly oriented to action and dislike work associated with the reflective realm."
To be effective means to attain or reach one's objectives or goals.
It may entail 1) planning, 2) organising, 3) directing, 4) coordinating, 5) leading, 6) motivating, 7) controlling etc.
In many failings in modern society, could it be the "lack of effective strategic planning"?
Could it be "insufficient talents exist or emphasis placed in the reflective scope of planning work"?
In our nation building efforts in areas like population, economic growth, sustainability, is there a "grand strategy" or are our leaders mostly "attaining near term fruits but planting the seeds of future social and economic problems'?
Between 1997 to 2003, this little red dot arguably had three economic downturns namely in the period 1997-1998, 2000-2001 and 2003. What happened?
ReplyDeleteIn 1984 NDR speech and also a 1990 keynote speech at one of the forums in NUS, former MM Lee talked at length about his leadership renewal, his impending "retirement" and the "handing over of the political baton" to the second generation leaders.
Between 1990 to 1996, under the leadership of the second generation leaders, a slew of generational and huge quantum changes in many policy areas were enacted such as Asset Enhancement programme, COE, ERP, huge ministerial salary increases and large annual bonuses. In the course of all these myriad inflationary policies, was there a "grand strategy" to steer the economy in the right direction?
As much as "Rome is not build in one day", the second generation leadership mostly until their assuming of pinnacle leadership in 1990 had about more than a decade of "understudy" from the 1970s onwards in the government before the retirement of many pioneer generation leaders such as Toh Chin Chye, Goh Keng Swee and former MM Lee from key positions between 1980 to 1990.
When current PM Lee took over in 2004, understandably the first priority was to "revive" the economy. Out of all the possible strategic directions and possibilities, PM Lee opted for the building of the integrated resorts as one of the key cornerstones of his "economic revival plan". This is a very serious and grave about turn in our nation building policy stance all these while especially former MM Lee's past assertion that "casinos will be built over his dead body" in this islet off the Malaysian Peninsula.
Fast forward to 2013, eight years after the casino plan was announced in 2005 and since then completed and in operation for the past 3 years, typical of the efficiencies and meticulousness of the renowned Singapore brand and swiftness in getting things done, Singapore may be reaping some of the near term rewards of this policy shift. Since 2005, land and property prices reversed their depressive downward trend experienced in the period 1997 to 2004 and began their upward unabated march culminating in two peaks in 2007/ 2008 and 2012/ early 2013 with in-between a 30% dip during the Global Financial Tsunami in 2009.
ReplyDeleteGoing forward, what is the "game plan"? Or rather, what is the "grand strategy", if there is one? How to achieve sustainability? Singapore may have slipped into a course where long term benefits are "substituted" for near term gains "to pull the economy out of its doldrums" since 2004 onwards.
"My feeling about executive bonuses is that any candidate for a chief executive job who even raises the issue of bonuses should be dismissed out of hand."
Professor Henry Mintberg ( 1939 - Present ), author of "The Rise and Fall of Strategic Planning", "Managers, Not MBAs", winner of McKinsey Award for Best Article in Harvard Business Review
Having published and passed the PWP ( Population White Paper ) early this year 2013 and with that the relentless push to build up the infrastructure to meet the future population needs, again is there a "grand strategy" to take care of the "software" side of problems and issues in the social, economic and political realm? Or is it another "casino" case? Building near term gains but "planting the seeds of long term social and economic problems"?
Are nations built similar to the "anatomy of human beings"? If it is, are we now in middle age and experiencing the slew of impending natural health and illnesses issues and problems on route to eventual inevitable demise? Can our "aging" be slowed? Can our "problems" be mitigated? Can it help if more "long term, reflective approaches" are taken? Can it help if some sort of "grand strategy" is devised along near term and mid term economic planning? Was it not when they asked for huge salary increase and yearly bonuses, they were touted as "super talents"? Aren't the "super talents" being paid the highest political office holders salaries and bonuses world wide not able to have a "grand strategy" working side by side with short and mid term planning?
With their "super talents", aren't they capable of adopting a deliberate strategy approach and at the same time be versatile and flexible to keep a watch out for the need to change gear and adopt an "emergent strategy" when necessary or when situations call for it? Are these how the "super talents" are taught and educated at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government for theie expensive tax-payer funded Masters degrees in Public Policy/ Public Administration? Are they not supposed to be "proactive" in their policy approaches and problems solving than almost always on the "defensive and reactive" mode?
ReplyDeleteWhat could be the solution?
Perhaps adopting what are expounded in Geoffrey Chamberlain's theory of strategy ( published 2010 ) and Eduard Spranger's six values namely:
1) Theoretical: A passion to discover, systemize and analyze; a search for knowledge.
2) Utilitarian: A passion to gain a return on all investments involving time, money and resources.
3) Aesthetic: A passion to experience impressions of the world and achieve form and harmony in life; self-actualization.
4) Social: A passion to invest myself, my time, and my resources into helping others achieve their potential.
5) Individualistic: A passion to achieve position and to use that position to affect and influence others.
6) Traditional: A passion to seek out and pursue the highest meaning in life, in the divine or the ideal, and achieve a system for living.
may provide some answers in formulating a "grand strategy" alongside "deliberate" and "emergent" strategies that may one day immortalise this little red dot by transforming it eventually into the "Mecca of Modern Capitalism" in this current era.
Otherwise, as the Chinese saying goes, "不成功，便成仁".
Historically, how far can one kick the can down the road before there is no more road to kick the can? Are we fast approaching the dead end or are we in the middle of such a path and past and present leaders are just leaving the eventual consequences and problems to the future generations?
This one trick pony only knows how to increase population and nothing else.
ReplyDeleteWhat is PAP's value in contributing to improving the lives of Singaporeans?
ReplyDeleteWhat is PAP's value proposition to Singaporeans?
If you voted PAP, how does that benefit you, the Singaporean?
Wow! PSS is one intellectual. He's asking lots of questions with perfect hindsight. But no useful suggestions from him. What are your solutions if any that our Harvard educated scholars can't think of?
ReplyDelete@ Gintai 4.52pm
ReplyDeleteIt is highly likely a myth that scholars have a monopoly of ideas and potential solutions to social and economic problems.
The casino issue is a classic example.
Where were the ideas between 1990-2004 to solve our economic challenges? Did Singapore and the new team headed by PM Lee have to resort to a vice such as gambling to ensure the buzz and vibrancy in this little red dot if they did not deem the situation and outlook dire enough to go down this path in 2004/ 2005?
Was there no scholar on board or in any ministry to chip in and provide useful inputs despite arguably enjoying very good remunerations and benefits?
Are you suggesting giving the taxi fares to those sitting in airconditioned offices and you do not mind driving for free at your own expense and having a family to feed and expenses to pay?
Are you suggesting writing up policies proposals and "useful" solutions and emailing them to someone sitting in cushy, high paying jobs? Even if it is done once, twice, many times, is it sustainable without institutionalising such a route, if there is?
True natural leaders are born and not because they had gone to Harvard.
Bill Gates dropped out of Harvard. Likewise Steve Jobs during his undergraduate days.
Being educated in an Ivy League university or OxBridge does not presume ability or monopoly of ideas and solutions to a society's problems?
If scholars are innovators and full of ideas, Sg would be filled with the likes of Apple, Google, Facebook, Samsung etc and we would all be relaxing in some exotic beaches or snow filled wonderland at this part of the year instead of talking about whether to drive a taxi, becoming a security guard, becoming a hawker, taking up a contract temp job to put food on the table.
On the other hand, would you toil for free, when you have a family to feed, under the hot sun and the lonely darkness of the night driving a taxi day and night because you are programmed to be daft and what nots .......?
Are you on the same side as some people that no one can have any freedom to any writing if he does not put up a list of "useful" solutions to problems created by some high paying scholars?
Would you suggest your offspring to wait outside toilet cubicles and clean the shits off somebody's arses after they finished " pang sai " or even "lao sai"? Some situations now are like "lao sai"scenarios. Do you suggest your children to clean up the mess without any pay, authorisation or legitimacy? Somemore must use his own toilet papers, pails, water and what have you? Would you recommend that, seriously?
For over a decade, netizens of all levels have had made countless ideas, suggestions and proposals to the CEO and his Managers of Sin Inc. Unfortunately, they were treated as hot-air or and they turned deaf frogs, hear nothing and feel nothing.
ReplyDeleteMe said it when I waded into Cyberspace many years back that the Rulers should not treat the intellectuals; names were mentioned, as invisible or nuts. As of today, the Netizens are not only invisible, they are invariably treated as anti-establishment, trouble-makers, rebels and some worse branded terrorists.
What use are feedbacks to the Rulers.
Me would like to mention a few names of people that I personally know here who have worked very hard at nation building. Mr Chua Chin Leng, Leong Sze Hian, Gilbert Goh, Robert Teh, Gintai and the Many Other Bloggers that I visit as commenter such as Singapore Notes, Yawningbread and some Aggregator Blogs, TRS, Singapore News Alternatives etc. All these years, they have relentlessly and critically put forth their efforts.
Were they ever appreciated?
patriot