The Master Skill

It is the time of the year to call for more training and skills upgrading. We need to raise our skills, go for more training to improve productivity, and then to increase our income. I fall nicely into the group of 45 to 65 that needs more training and better skills. I need them, for I have another 20 or 30 years to go. Like I said earlier, enough time to start another family or to build a new career. The future suddenly brightens up. So much to look forward to. In the past I was only looking for whatever little money left in the CPF. Now got chance to start a new career, go for job interviews and asking the organisation about promotional prospects. Feeling like a new person again. Got to search for my certificates and testimonials and dust away the dusts, and make photocopies of them. Now, how to write an application letter? Forgotten how, too long ago. Training first. Come to think of it, if I could have gone for the right training and learn a master skill, then there is no need to go for more training at this young age of 60. Is there such a master skill that one can acquire and become a knows all for good? There must be one that allows one to be so skilled that one can switch industries and jobs like changing clothes and still continue to enjoy high pay, high perks and high bonuses year after year, unending. And the best part, no more training needed. And one's value and talent and skill get better everyday. Can anyone advise me on where to learn this master skill? Or is there such a master skill?

Time to stop the £$%&* $100 levy

I have so many flowery superlatives to describe this casino entry levy, but again, better to keep it to myself. By now many will know what this levy is all about in the most negative ways. It is anti Singaporeans, anti PRs, anti business, and makes the casino operation and business look so awkward. It keeps away the people that should be in the casino and flood the place with undesirable and unwelcome visitors like foreign workers. And it creates so many unnecessary trivial issues and a lot of work. Best, more Singaporeans will be caught trying to sneak in without paying. The two casino operators are serious business people who have put up billions of dollars upfront. The least that we could do is not to make it difficult and tedious for them to run a proper business. They are prepared to play ball, accept every rule that we impose on them, no matter how inconvenience and nonsensical. They are willing to cooperate with the govt completely, not to trangress or violate any of our sensitivities. We need to give them a break and make the profits they deserved. And in return they are going to provide many jobs and spawn many supporting businesses which are good for our economy and our people. What I would recommend is to scrap the levy for all Singaporeans and PRs except for those that have been excluded for crime and self exclusion orders, and whoever that were excluded for good reasons. We cannot discriminate against our own citizens in our own home. The reason to prevent people from gambling with the levy is plain naïve. How can we open a casino and prevent people from gambling? The people who want to gamble will find places to gamble, away from the two casinos, in Batam or Genting or underground casinos. The levy is nonsense towards this intent. The levy should be applied to foreigners instead, especially those that are not going to be beneficial to the business. This will help to recover some of the revenue loss from Singaporeans and PRs. But not all foreigners need to pay entry levy. The high rollers should be exempted for obvious reasons. For ease of implementation, make use of the credit cards. Foreigners who carry gold or platinum cards should be exempted. A small token of say $30 or $50 should be imposed on those with other credit cards. No credit cards, no entry. Let the ownership of credit cards be the controlling factor for admission. And credit card companies should be warned not to abuse this requirement and issue cards recklessly as credit cards will now be in demand by foreigners. This is good for credit card business too. Whatever revenue loss in levy could be recouped from more patronage and gamblers allowed into the casinos. The revenue for the govt could be more. Applying the levy on foreigners will also allow the current system and equipment for collection of levy to remain in use and not a white elephant to be put away. We have come so far down this road to allow casinos in our shores. Let’s be serious and let the business thrives and grows. This is big business incurring big investments and cannot afford to fail both for the operators and for our economy. The levy requirement is just not conducive for the business. And I am claiming intellectual property rights to these outrageous recommendations that are bound to raise a lot of eyebrows and ruffle feathers. But make no mistake about these, the recommendations are serious, practical and pro business. The levy on Singaporeans is simply dysfunctional and would anger many Singaporeans and PRs. How could we introduced apartheid against our own citizens and think that it is fair and good? 5 already got caught on the first two days of operation. I hope my suggestions will be accepted and the two casino operators should consider paying me a handsome consultation fee for it. And the govt should also pay me a sum double that the casino operators are willing to pay me for telling them to do something they dare not do, that is necessary for the good of the business and to create more employments. Would there be a minister tough enough to admit that my audacious recommendations are what that needs to be done, and to tell the administrators that this is the way to go, and of course to pay me my rightful dues. Of course no one needs to pay me anything as no one is under any contractual agreement to do so.

Why India will always be number 2 to China

The two civilisations have many things in common. Put an Indian and a Chinese together to compete, they will give each other a good run for his money. There is little to choose between the two. Why then will India always be number 2 to China? Many observers have noted the systems, customs, culture and language as the main baggages that will slow down India. This has been proven in history over the last 60 years. India gained its independence in 1947 and inherited a country with all the systems and infrastructure in tact. There were little disruption and the country continued to build up from that point in time with no major upheavals. The CCP gained control of a devastated China in 1949 and went about to destroy whatever that was old and irrelevant. China went through a crisis stage of revolution and destruction in all fields, culminating in the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s. Communist China was built on the ruins of a fallen dynasty and decadent customs and belief system. It started again on a relatively new slate in 1978 when it embarked on its four modernisations and opening up to the West. Today China has leapfrogged ahead of India and running in full steam with all engines firing. India is still taking a stroll, and making progress too, but at different pace. But these are not the main factors that is holding back India. India is targetting to overtake China to be the number 1 Asian power. It tries to compete and outdo China in every field. In areas that it is not competitive it just cry out loud that China should keep away from its sphere of influence. China on the other hand is trying to overtake the USA in all fields. What ever America is doing, China is trying to catch up. And China is catching up very fast. And this is the main reason why India will never catch up with China. It is focussing on a wrong target. The barrier that China intends to cross is way up in the sky. India is looking only at China and is already gasping for air and panting. Unless India sets its sight to overtake America, it will only be chasing China and be in China's shadow.

Uncle Yap's productivity prognosis

I happened to read Uncle Yap's comment on how to raise productivity in Singapore. And he said it should start right from the very top. Right. He recommended that Hsien Loong chopped half of his cabinet to show the way. I was musing over it the whole night and concluded that he was half right and half wrong. He was right in his diagnosis but wrong in his prescription. Right in the sense that any major policy must be top down with the leaders taking the lead and showing the way. But I don't agree with his recommendations to axe the top talents at the very top of the pecking order. These are the rare talants and in very limited supply and should not be anyhow wished away. Instead, I will counter suggest that in order to make them more productive, they should be given more jobs to do. Appoint them as Chairmans and directors or advisors to more institutions and organisations so that their talents and expertises are out to good use. Each one can easily take on 3 more Chairmanships or 10 directorship or 20 advisorships at least. My suggestions are definitely more positive and effective and agreeable for implementation, and definitely will raise productivity at the highest level. Making suggestions that cannot be implemented or will be rejected is, yes, unproductive.

New playground for foreign workers

Singaporeans and PRs have to pay $100 for entry to the Resort World casino. Foreign workers could enter free. What a great ruling. Now all the foreign workers will be making the casino their dining hall and playground. Free food and drink for the whole day at a cost of $3 for transport. And free aircon and comfort in a brand new resort. Ooh la la. Now we will see how the casino operator going to handle this kind of situation. The casual Singaporeans who could go in and spend a couple of hundred bucks would not find it worth their while to pay $100 to enter the casino. Instead, the casino will have to put up with a mob of hungry foreign workers who may put in ten bucks into the jackpot machine, and many may not and will just be there for the free food, comfort and entertainment. Interesting rulings and interesting situation.