soo khoon the consumate politician

soo khoon is punching myanmar yesterday, after telling off the aussies. he is now more the consumate politician that we have not seen for ages. and that is what politicians should be, confident and outspoken and with a view. not the 'err, no comment' or just wave and faded away. we need politicians to stand up to push an issue, hold their grounds and not simply give up when being pushed or encounter opposition to their cause. we need a little more aggressiveness in debates in parliament. not cackles. more clashing of the swords. otherwise either the mps will fall asleep or find other more important things to do and leave parliament with empty seats. parliament should not be just a rubble stamp, every bill put up just to hear aye aye. no wonder parliament is so boring. and better to skip parliament then to bear through the routine of a boring speech.

minister's salary benchmark

as a hr professional, i am very impressed by the formula used to benchmark the minister's salary. it is conservatively 'pegged to two thirds of the income of the 24th highest earner(median) among a group comprising the top eight earners from six professions(bankers, accountants, engineers, mncs and local manufacturers.' hypothetically if in one bad year all these professionals are hit by a slump and the 24th highest earner earns only $50,000 pa, then our ministers will be paid 2/3 of $50,000 pa. but if there is an extraordinary year when there is a boom and the 24th earner earns $20 million, our ministers will also be paid 2/3 of $20 million. this is very fair. it is like a gambler going into a casino. when lucky, can make a few million. when unlucky can lose a few million. i like the formula. no need for a salary scale. no upper limit nor starting salary.

lucky singaporeans: delusion of wealth

most singaporeans are asset rich in their hdb flats. own a flashy brand new car, and earning a salary that is big when exchange rate is factored in. and now the govt is going to give them more money. wow, what a life as a singaporean. but the wealth of singaporeans is fleeting. the hdb flat is worthless once the lease expired. the flashy car is technically worthless after coe expires. the income and handouts from the govt will quickly go to paying all the bills, children's education, tuition and school fees, medical bills, conservancy charges, fines, erps, gst etc are the average or lower middle class singaporeans really well off? compare to their technically poorer malaysian cousins up north, i think the malaysians are very much better off, their worth in real assets and value of their cheaper currency. everything they are getting is cheaper except for imported luxury stuff which they can choose not to pay for them. by the time a singaporean wakes up from his delusory dream his assets would have been worthless, and he will be penniless and still a lot of unpaid bills waiting to be paid, and an expensive medical bill waiting for him to sign. he will be in debt forever. any economist willing to do a real comparison, apple against apple?

hsien loong: minister's pay below benchmark

hsien loong said that the minister's pay is still below the year 2000 benchmark. i will be very happy if i were a minister. can expect another pay rise to keep up with the benchmark. even if there is no pay rise, can go around telling people that ministers are under paid. either way it is good news. ministers sacrificed for lower pay! this type of noble thing can talk loudly. steve chia asked for transparency, for disclosure of minister's pay. but this was rejected. this always reminds me of means testing when the poor bugger is expected to come clean and tell everything about his shoddy financial status. whatever, i am never comfortable whenever there is no disclosure or transparency. at least the president's pay is transparent.

not many mps courting the housewives for votes

in parliament, several mps or only two mps spoke up for housewives. only irene ng made a decent plea to recognise the works of housewives. what the housewives are doing would have to be done if they stop doing it. and the works need to be paid. steve chia's explanation about national service is rather less tangible. the housewives are working and performing a job that has economic value. just so simple. but maybe the housewives are too busy staying home and will not go to the voting centres. so no need to take them seriously. if they do, make sure they vote for irene and steve chia. and where is that organisation called aware. probably they did not know that housewives worked. ya, tai tais don't work. tai tais in aware don't work. only ah sohs in the heartlands work as housewives.