It is most immoral and most unethical for politicians who are elected to parliament to serve the people but instead they take it as opportunities to serve themselves in every way and in all ways. It's time the people demand the ministers and politicians cut down their salaries to a more realistic level instead of paying themselves overbloated salaries of millions of dollars. Is there any wonder when people say the big time robbers are found in parliaments and small little robbers are found in the streets? Also those directors and CEOs in GLC - Government Linked Companies and statutory boards or government departments have no basis or rights to be paid in the millions. Why is the foreigner made instant Singapore citizen and CEO of DBS paid more than ten to fifteen million dollars every year. It is very illogical to be paid sky high salary while the average citizens are paid pittance and still have to pay all kinds of rubbish taxes including income tax and peoperty tax.
The scenario must change before it is too late or else The Mandate of Heaven must show its anger and displeasure in violent revolution. Politicians and ministers better wake up and do the right thing instead of indulging in meaningless demagoguery to justify their high pay and increase of taxes.
We demand socialist governance for Singapore and a more fair and equitably share of the national pie for all citizens.
A Singapore socialist.
Eagles Eyes
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ReplyDeleteOwn-selves paid own-selves. Who ? The Party Against Peoples ! It is sinful to pocket millions $$$$ knowing very well that many citizens, esp the middle and low income citizens are suffering and worrying when their next meals.
ReplyDeleteWhy do they need so much $$$ ? Are they going to die from hunger ? This is liking to daylight robbery at the highest level. Or are they going to bring the millions $$$$ into their golden coffins with them ?
Agree that ministers, president, and senior civil servants are grossly overpaid. Whether Singapore does well or not depends more on global & external factors rather than what the govt does.
ReplyDeleteMany FTs here are foreign trash.
However, writer is too biased against that indian new citizen. He deserves the $20M a year coz since he took over as CEO in 2009:
- DBS share price has gone up 325%
- dividends per share has increased 82%
- Company's free cash flow has increased from $3.4 billion to $17.6 billion.
- He's made many DBS employees very very rich.
- He's also made many Sinkies who invested in DBS very very rich.
If you missed out on the DBS growth story over the last 12 yrs because you weren't invested, than you only have yourself to blame for not recognising the improvement of a S'pore-based company.
As they say, you born poor, not your fault. But if you die poor, than ALL your fault.
I also agree that a lot of taxes & fees are bullshit, especially GST which is CONFIRMED going up to 9% by 2023. Use VTL & buy stuff in JB --- but don't bring in too much else ICA will say you're importing and charge you GST.
HDB town council fees are also another big BS. They can cut by 25% and still be able to increase, let alone maintain, the estate sinking funds.
As for income tax, learn how to invest & generate passive income so that you pay zero income tax. Or go old school and use unrecorded, cash-only payments (but not really feasible, mostly shit jobs do this).
"However, writer is too biased against that indian new citizen. He deserves the $20M a year coz since he took over as CEO in 2009:
ReplyDelete- DBS share price has gone up 325%
- dividends per share has increased 82%
- Company's free cash flow has increased from $3.4 billion to $17.6 billion.
- He's made many DBS employees very very rich.
- He's also made many Sinkies who invested in DBS very very rich.
If you missed out on the DBS growth story over the last 12 yrs because you weren't invested, than you only have yourself to blame for not recognising the improvement of a S'pore-based company."
This is laughable comment. Come on, if the FT deserve the salary, please go and work for truly non-government-link companies. All these government-linked companies leverage monopoly and government-support to have advantages over other banks, and isn't this naturally make the company earn extraordinary profits ?
If the FT work for private companies, and earn millions, no one care, but using assets born by public monies and say earn extraordinary profit just like Temasek Holding ?
Serious ?
You are seeing only the profit side. Before the financial crisis, all the big American banks were reporting more profits than DBS. Then what happened?
ReplyDeleteWhat happened to the acquisition of the bankrupt Indian bank, how much was DBS being sued, how much did DBS paid? Is the case settled? Any more liabilities to be settled?
You also hear big sovereign funds making money, a lot of money, but never hear them losing money, or at most lose a little bit.
How much is real, how much is still under the carpet, who knows?
DBS was built by Singaporeans, with Singaporean money, with a lot of govt and systemic advantages. After that it was there at the right time to enjoy the fruits from the hard work of the founding generations. All the local banks are enjoying just as much profits, as reported relatively.
When judgement day comes, when all has to open book, then we will really know who is treading water, who is strongly planted on the ground.
In case you all don't know, in 2009 before that Indian took over, DBS was voted the worse of the 3 local banks and published in Business Times. Now it's the best.
ReplyDeleteSince 2009, DBS has kicked the balls of UOB and OCBC both in terms of profits gains as well as share price increase.
If you all are financially literate & able to just do a quick Google and Yahoo Finance check you wouldn't have shown your ignorance.
I bet if you are financially savvy & really financially independent, you wouldn't be bitching so much.
You must be the same fxxker, WSG. No doubt
DeleteYou talked so much acting as if you are so knowledgeable. Do you know how much advantages and weight did DBS have over the other two local banks? At one stage it was no bigger than UOB but wanted to swallow UOB by you know how.
ReplyDeleteAnd do you know that DBS stock prices must not come down as Temasek and GIC depended heavily on it, and the value of both depended heavily on DBS and a few GICs. If its price falls, then the value of Temasek and GIC holdings would also fall.
Can understand? This is the most simple way to explain it to a simpleton who pretends to be an expert.
@ Eagle Eyes
ReplyDeleteWhile I can understand your anger and frustration at the situation, understand that the PAP has 82% favour of the people by poll and over 60% by election.
At the end of the day, they have a mandate...and in Singapore terms that is essentially carte blanche to do whatever they like, at any time for any reason....and they are not even obligated to give reasons.
That's the reality of Singapore's political economy. On balance though, it is still a fantastic place to make your mark and increase your economic/ financial circumstance.
They got 80% backing? You must be joking.
ReplyDeleteIt is the rule of fear that gave them 60%.
What the people is going thru is no joking matter and the camel's back is about to break when the millionaires going around as if they own Singapore and nothing will happen to them and their rule will be unending.
Haha......
ReplyDeleteThe Good Old Days of Sin coming to an end soon and so will most of its' assets of which many were sold. Once the Property Development and Population are saturated, the End will come naturally.
The Fate and Destiny is sealed.
What will END are the useless sinkies not pulling their weight & unwilling to change -- they will be thrown into the rubbish dump. Singapore will continuously renew itself, even if it means replacing the entire population.
ReplyDelete@1049
ReplyDelete>> They got 80% backing? You must be joking. <<
Those numbers are from random polls. Make of it what you will.
>> It is the rule of fear that gave them 60%. <<
You could be correct, but not in the way you might think. No one in Singapore "fears" the govt anymore, please lah. We have some of the highest educated and literate voting population.
That said, rest assured that the "fear" you refer to might be a "fear" of people experiencing a decline in their economic and financial circumstances because a "wrong govt" was voted in.
The PAP has benefitted in being voted in because the nation has been a mind-boggling economic miracle in all of world history. Many scholars, media pundits and economic commenters, as well as the PAP themselves claim that it is because of PAP "good governance" that Singapore is a resounding economic success.
There is nary a mention of course about the vibrancy of the Singaporean private sector or the work ethic and discipline of the individual Singaporean.
Don't give the govt more credit that it deserves. Their job is to serve the nation. The "success" comes from individual effort and private enterprise. Govts and politicians can award themselves those millions by parliamentary process.
However there are about 150,000 Singaporeans who are millionaires who did it by their own efforts, intelligence, and luck... not the govt.
“You know the Singaporean. He is a hard-working, industrious, rugged individual. Or we would not have made the grade. But let us also recognise that he is a champion grumbler.”
ReplyDeleteThe Wit and Wisdom of Lee Kuan Yew, 2013
Old Harry certainly understood his peeps. ๐
Over-Paid Ministers Have The Tendency To Over-Do Things?
ReplyDeleteHighly over-paid Ministers have the tendency to highly over-import foreigners, new citizens, new voters, and Covid-19 infected persons. Facts and figures in the past 20 years have consistently shown this trend.
For example, yesterday, Sunday 9 Jan 2022, MOH reported there were 854 new cases of Covid-19 infections. Of these new cases, about 70%, or 587 cases were happily imported and warmthly welcomed. Only about 30%, or 218 cases, were local transmissions, out of which 16 cases were said to have come from the foreign workers dormitories (which I suspect is grossly under-reported).
Also yesterday, of the reported confirmed 327 Omicron cases, 218 were imported and 109 were locally transmitted by the imported. From this data, it tells us that the imported Omicron cases are twice as much as the locally transmitted. That means, instead of reducing the number of imported Omicron cases, the MTF has purposely allowed the number of imported Omicron cases to double that of the local Omicron infections.
Overall, the MTF seems not happy with the small number of Covid-19 infections transmitted locally, and as such, has increased the imported cases to 70% of the total number of Covid-19 infections.
That's my interpretation of the facts and figures.
What do you think?
P/S:
Pampered children are likely to become spoilt brats. Pampered Ministers likewise are likely to become spoilers.
It is human nature to think that one is worth more than what one is paid.
ReplyDeleteThis sort of positive bias in the human brain is part of the complex survival mechanism of the biological entity we call "human beings".
One might say it is an in-built delusion. However it does offer a real benefit which keeps the organism alive long enough to transmit its genes to the next generation.
Every human behaviour, positive or negative can be traced back to this fundamental objective of ensuring that our genes continue to survive by generational transfer.