we shall ride on the chinese indian locomotives

our success formula was to be ahead of our competitors. we did that very well in the last 40s. we were lucky that our competitors were less tenacious as us. it was easy to stay ahead. can we apply the same formula to the compete with the chinese and the indians? two huge economies with equally intelligent and hardworking people? can we stay ahead of them? at the pace that they are catching up, soon we will be left behind. these are hungry people but with a will to succeed. they are as intelligent and hardworking as us, and better. they are prepared to work for less. they can do what we can do, and cheaper and faster. what do we mean by riding on their growths? can we supply them with our labour, supervisors and management? fat hope. labour and skill labour they have plenty. what we could perhaps contribute or add value to what they are doing is capital, which they will welcome at this point in time, and some senior management staff. other than these, they have no use for us. can we afford to raise the cost of our labour? if not, how are we going to improve and raise the quality of living of our people faced with such competition that we have no comparative advantage? the future looks pretty dim and gloomy. will we be returning to where we were? back to the future?

back to square one in 40 years

70% of cleaners in kopitiams were foreign workers. then came the charge of the ah pek and ah ma brigades. today 80% of cleaners are singaporeans. shall this call for a celebration? that singaporeans have fought and won back the right to work, as cleaners? 40 years ago, this batch of now ah pek and ah ma were in their 20s and 30s. they had followed the success story of singapore, through the tough years of the 60s when they were cleaners or odd job labourers, through the years of growth in the 70s when factory jobs were abundant, through the years of feeling wealthy in the 80s when the value of their hdb flats skyrocketed and some retired with a handsome cpf nesteggs. and then the golden years of the 90s when all their monies were reinvested either in bigger flats or in the stockmarket, which was followed immediately by the crash and bust years of today. these ah pek and ah ma are now as poor as they were before. and now they came marching out to start all over again, as cleaners and odd job labourers when they should be retiring and enjoying the fruits of their labour. will we see the ah sohs returning to the job market too, as maids? there were many singaporeans who worked as maids in the 50s and 60s for the british forces. will we see the uncles coming out of retirements to work as security guards or petrol pump attendances? some have already joined the cleaner's squad and as sweepers and gardeners. but with job redesign and job title changes, they could call themselves as hygiene technicians or environment inspectors or horticulturists.

nguyen tuong van versus melvyn tan

both issues are hot topics for the moment. in terms of response and participation, nguyen tuong van has a greater audience, including international audience. but in terms of views, there is probably a 50:50 divide on both sides. some support the death penalty and some against. in the case of melvyn tan, it is domestic and apparently more subdue. but the anger is there. the group in channelnewsasia perhaps is more expressive. the response from mindef is atypical, trying to adopt a calm, composed, no opinion, official statement. and thinking or hoping that the subject will end by itself. unfortunately it will not go away. every year you will have new ns men coming on line. the issue is simmering now and will affect all ns men, currently serving or have completed their liabilities. how serious are its implications only time will tell. remarks in the channelnewsasia forum revealed very sore sentiments. some feel cheated, their sacrifices to the nation cheapened, that they were treated like fools. the psychological impact on the morale of ns men and ns as an institution are being questioned and shakened, by the homecoming of a pianist. there must be some damage assessment and damage control before the issue runs out of control. many are not saying anything, very typical of singaporeans. and many are thinking or cursing within. it is crazy for inter state relationship to be held ransom by a criminal. it is just as crazy for a critical institution like the national service to be rocked by a pianist.

singapore must be seen to be consistent and fair

this drug trafficker case is now the talk of the town. it is splashed all over newspapers, tv media, websites and blogs. many old cases of drug taking and trafficking were also raised to question the consistency, transparency and fairness of the law. the case of the german girl who escaped the gallow and how some absconded after being out on bail. another issue that is repeatedly mentioned is the sovereign right of a nation to maintain its law and that the law must be applied equally to all, citizens or non citizens. to treat foreigners and citizens differently will undermine the authority of the law and govt. if the singapore govt is seen to be transparent and applies the law justly, fairly and consistently to all, without exceptions, people may criticise, appeal, plead, but they will eventually back off after letting off steams. the ugly part that will stain our reputation is for the govt to be seen as unfair, showing favouritism, or treating locals and foreigners differently. if such an accusation sticks, then we will face a credibility problem. no amount of explanations can wash away the sin once the perception of unfair practice sticks. the authority needs to be very mindful of such eventuality and not be compromised by pressure from any quarters.

do we really know the truth?

just a hypothetical case. nguyen tuong van is an australian. very likely the australian police could have been monitoring his movements. there is always a possibility that the australian police tipped thir singapore counterparts and let the singapore police stop him from reaching australia. the outcry could be just a show to tell the australian public that the australian authority has nothing to do with nguyen's arrest. but imagine the kind of damage nguyen would have done to the australians if he could unload his goodies there. we just would not know the truth...