is the crusade to destroy jobs over?

Fairness in treating the people fairly, allowing people to have a decent means of livelihood, choosing whatever profession they are comfortable with. Not everyone can become a prime minister or an engineer. There will be people who are good enough as a driver or as a hawker or an insurance agent. The govt has a responsibility to create jobs at all levels for the people. The last thing the govt should do is to destroy jobs. Jackson Tai and Tan Kin Lian have openly criticised the lack of a level playing field and big organisations like banks could muscle their way and destroy jobs of self employed. Unfair competition at all levels must be stopped. And decision makers must be genuine and sincere and not say one thing and do another, adopting unfair methods while putting up a front of fairness. The earlier the unfair trading acts or fair competition acts be introduced the better for the smaller guys. There is a need to hang a few heads to ensure a level playing field for all and sundry. The govt should free up the market and allow the proliferation of individual enterprises to grow, allow more free wheelings and dealings, setting the people free to put their talents to the fullest to help themselves. No need or lesser comcare or charity from the govt.

singapore's most valued export

Singapore must think of a new strategy to jump ahead of its neighbouring countries especially China and India. Both giants have been exporting their talents to talent starve Singapore for many years. What is needed is for Singapore to return them the favour. The strategy involves retraining the cheap foreign talents into the Singapore mould of super talents, marked up their market values after they have learned all the sophisticated technology and management style from world class Singapore system, then re export them back at a premium. If these countries cannot afford to pay them the super talent salary of Singapore, the US and European markets will also be good substitutes as they will benefit greatly from our talents, passed our quality control with the Made In Singapore brand. The most marketable and recognisable brand in the world for incorruptibility, honesty and efficiency, and very focussed in profitability. And this will pay for these world class salaries. We will then have a continuous supply of super talents for the world market. And this will be our new revenue source, tapping on China and India to supply the raw material, ie raw talents, and reprocess into super talents Singapore Style. For a start we should re export some of our own truly bred local super talents to make a mark or establish a foothold first. Once the US and European markets are used to our high end talented products, it will be easier for the later batches to follow through. Recently we have seen many super talents being retired at the prime of their careers. We have talents in public transportation, public health system, union management, education, politics and the various industries. This extensive pool of experienced and knowledged based experts would be hot properties for the head hunters to market abroad...the marketing of super talents instead of super conductors...uniquely Singapore.

stroking of the stock market

We have seen the first intervention in the form of an assuring statement by a top MAS official to calm the nerves of investors on Thursday. Then the visiting MD of IMF also added his two cents worth towards the same objective. And on Friday confidence returned to the stockmarket. Not that credit should all go to the two officials for their timely comments. The Dow gained more than 90 points the following night which gave more support and assurance that the world equities markets were not going to go on a free fall. And all these help in their little ways to arrest the slide further down. Despite all the above, it is still not enough if the mutual funds refused to take heed and continue their selling. All it needed was a handful of stocks to register double digit falls and fear will creep in again. And the herd instinct of running for safety during uncertainties will lead to an eventual crash. Our market is so precarious because of its minute size, and more frightening is the lack of any contigency plan to prevent a repeat of the financial crisis. The need and urgency for such plans to be incorporated and be ready to activate cannot be ignored and delayed. The mutual funds and foreign capitals could behave like financial terrorists. And a timely hit can create damages that could be devastating to our economy and would lead to blood on the street. What could happen is for some bad news or rumours to spread. Even without that, all it needs is for a blue chip stock to fall by 10-20% in price and people will scurry for cover. All the weak holders of the stock, the punters or short term traders will just sell out. And the shortists will jump in to accelerate the fall. And the fall deepens. Programme selling kicks in. More sell off. Then margin calls will be triggered, leading to more force selling by the banks. By then the price would have gone more than 20%. When a stock is hit this way, broking houses will impose curbs on trading the stock. Mostly it will be a case of sell only, no buying allowed except with cash out front. It becomes a vicious downward spiral. This can happen to one stock or several stocks or the whole stock market. There must be systems and procedures to prevent such incidents, from a spark turning into an inferno. An example is to halt the trading of a stock or even the whole market. Print out the data on the big sellers. Call up the company of the stock affected to confirm that there is no genuine bad news. Assess the damage and the real contributors to the fall. In the case of a funds selling out, especially shorting of the stocks, a standby fund can be utilised to buy into the stocks. The big sellers should also informed that intervention will come in and be advised to stop their selling. Public statements be made to explain the truth and regain confidence in the stock or market. And when nerves have been calm, sanity returns, the stock or market can then resume trading, maybe the next day or a few days later. This is only a layman's simple suggestion. The people managing the system will have better and more comprehensive ideas to protect the system. The attack on the stock market can be treated and handled like a terrorist attack. Plans can be made in advance. Operational teams and details be worked out, even simulation be test run to measure the effectiveness of the countermeasures. It is reckless to leave the fate of our stockmarket to chance and to the manipulation or assault by foreign financial terrorists. Or should it be licence to kill for the mutual fund operators?

singapore idol, change the casts

The Singapore Idol should be about talent, in whatever form. Or if it is a programme to generate fun and laughter, then it should be one of pure fun. I cannot find it funny when I could not even bare the sight of the participants, contestants and judges. How then could it be entertainment? Sorry I am saying this out of my own prejudice. I know some are enjoying every minute of it. I find it difficult to see the young imitating themselves to behave like nerds and imbeciles. And to make matter worst, the imitation was so plastic. Impersonation of other celebrities is an art form that when done well can be extremely entertaining. This applies also to the judges. Their impersonation or attempt to be like the personalities in the American Idol, failed miserably. So fake by over acting. Their expression, both physical and verbal, were so unbearable to watch. It would be much better if they be themselves, be a bit like Ah Beng or Ah Lian, be more natural. Now where are the directors? When are they going to come in and tell the judges not to over act? Simon Cowell is about playing himself. And he is naturally him. I think the only guy here who can outdo him by being himself is LKY. Cool and precise in dissecting the contestants into bits. And when he said the truth, people listen. The popularity of the programme will shoot up skyhigh. Tt will also be an excellent opportunity for him to connect with the younger generation. How about that huh? Change the cast and script and bring in the number one Ah Lian, Zhong Qin as well. Did I get her name right? And maybe the nasty Flying Dutchman. I have seen him in his nasty self once at Raffles Place hitting out at an innocent viewer early in the morning.

are we teaching or learning?

Below is a perceptive and telling it as it really is article from a citizen. A young girl called Gayle Goh. She tells the truth that no traditional media would dare to say. And this is what citizen reporting is all about. Her title is 'Teaching China Lesson.' I would think a better title will be like ' Learning from our own experience in China', or something like 'Shall we be duped a second time'. Teaching China Lessons - Really Interesting blog from Gayle Goh, 17-year-old student at Anglo-Chinese Junior College. May 24, 2006 http://i-speak.blogdrive.com/ Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew has gone to China with the confident declaration that Singapore can help the emerging giant to 'connect' with Southeast Asia and the West. China has received him warmly, with much pomp and goodwill, complete with showing him a little plot of orchids and a mini merlion as part of his welcoming ceremony. Promises are bandied about, as are grand words; Beijing says it wants Singapore to participate in China's development, and Singapore says its doors will always be open. The diplomats are all smiles and good cheer, and what could look more promising? Yet it is not the first time that we've seen this 'wayang' (word of the year) unfold. We saw how in the 1990's much pomp and acclaim were given to the launching of the Suzhou Industrial Park joint partnership between China and Singapore. Often touted as Lee's brainchild, it was to combine China's cheap labour and manufacturing costs with Singapore's expertise, experience and yes - national reserves. Before that, China had already professed its intention to follow the 'Singapore model' of development, which gave way to the rather unusual cooperation between the two nations; rather like a slumbering dragon ambling in the wake of a precocious younger lizard, strutting along, annoyingly full of itself. The China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park, for all its grand fanfare, was a complete embarrassment. Ruined by corruption, nepotism, delays, and incompetent management which saw the park facing competition from the Suzhou New District, another industrial park in the region, the affair tapered down quietly into a complete handover of administration from Singaporean to Chinese hands, and a subsequent drop in investment from Singapore into China. My own father's business would know. Seeing a massive flow of customers shift into Suzhou, he thought to follow the exodus of demand into the province as well, and set up operations there a number of years ago. Today, we still have not been able to begin trading there, due to the inefficiencies and corruption that seem endemic to China. We have faced problems in everything from having our logo registered as a trademark, let alone obtaining a permit to manufacture and trade in Suzhou. My father's company was one of the 'dupes' of that hype, and it begs me to wonder if anything at all has changed in this new rapprochement between Singapore and China. Singapore seems to be vigorously blowing its own trumpet in order to stay relevant and needed to the region. But to be honest, I wonder if China really does need us, or intend to follow our advice. How much clout do we really have? We say we want to connect China with the West. They hardly need our help for that. China's booming markets and its huge potential for contribution to the global trade volume and the expansion of Western markets ensures that East and West are very much connected in a 21st century form of Silk Road. Since Mao-Nixon detente in the early 1970's, relations between China and the USA have been carefully cordial. And insofar as connecting China in Southeast Asia, Singapore honestly has no truly friendly ties to any SEA nation save for Indonesia at the moment. We most recently pissed off Malaysia and Thailand - are we really any authority on ASEAN friendship and cooperation? Furthermore, China-ASEAN trade is already booming without Singaporean assistance, it would seem, since the signing of the China-ASEAN Framework Agreement on Comprehensive Economic Cooperation on Nov 4, 2002, and the scheduled commencement of the FTA in 2010. Given this, I wonder what Singapore can truly do for China besides drink tea, look at orchids, and advise them to learn English. I guess we're doing all this just in hopes of snatching up a bilateral FTA deal after the China-ASEAN one comes into effect, as has already been announced as to be Singapore's intention by Lim Hng Kiang in 2004. Until then, it seems we have nothing but diplomatic hot-air overtures and a history of failure to offer. By GayleGoh._________________