World Table Tennis Final, China versus China

The recently concluded World Table Tennis Championship in Moscow saw Chinese players representing China and Singapore competing. The Chinese players won, and Singapore claims glory. We are the World Champion in Table Tennis. There will be victory celebrations and we can tell the world how great our table tennis players are, and we have world champions living among us. I still can't find the slightest feeling of exuberance in this great achievement. But that is only me. I believe many will be celebrating our World Champion status, a midget country that has no resources except human talents has finally produced world beaters. Something to be proud of. For the rest of the Singaporeans, be happy that you have a chance to celebrate and cheer and clap your hands furiously for this great glory. Thanks to our foreign talent policy. This is proof that it is a successful policy and we need to do more to bring in more foreign talents and we can be happy everyday. They have lifted our standard of table tennis. And there are many fields that we need them to lift us to higher planes. Bring them in! In jobs and employments as well. Our productivity will also stand to benefit. And the rest of the Singaporeans can be happy clapping for them, never mind if some Singaporeans are jobless or have difficulties finding a decent job. From the big picture it is good.

Something right and something wrong

There is a letter in mypaper today by a Mrs Anna Lee on the good life of PRs in Singapore. When they completed their employment terms here, they take out all the CPF and go home to their big 'renovated luxuriously and comparable to a Good Class Bungalow here,' in the Philippines. And these are just the middle executives with incomes in the $2,500 bracket. With this kind of income, the exchange rate and low cost of living, their income here could multiply many times back in their home town. We can only boast of our great infrastructure and world class govt and world class lifestyle at world class cost of course. And the option is either or. We cannot have world class everything without paying world class prices. That is the only way and as they said, you can't have your cake and eat it. Our middle level executives with a combined income of $6000 to $8000 can at best live in a pricey 5 rm HDB flat. So, win some lose some. And for those graduates trying to find a decent job, maybe wait for a while to save enough for a 3 or 4 rm flat, and that would be quality living they can afford.

Can we afford to produce so many graduates?

We have three state universities and several local and joint universities in our little city. And each has been increasing their intakes of undergraduates rapidly. And we have several polytechnics as well. Then we also have students going abroad on scholarships or on their own to pursue that degree. In total, it is quite possible that 40-50% of each cohort will turn up with a degree and another 20-30% with a diploma. Can our economy absorb all these graduates and keep them usefully and meaningfully employed with reasonable jobs and income commensurate with their qualifications? Employing graduates in jobs that do not require their level of education is not satisfactory and not a desirable solution. In order to accommodate all these graduates, there must be a policy change to make it workable. The liberal policies of welcoming foreigners that are no better or even less well educated or trained as our citizens must be modified. If we are serious in wanting to raise the educational level and technical expertise of our citizens, we must have the capacity to absorb them into the system. The liberal policies of employing foreigners for middle executive levels and above need revision, including setting quotas for local versus foreigners. If the job market is to be lassez faire, the unfair competitiveness of foreign talents will only rule out the employment of local graduates and we will be building a little time bomb in the social fabrics of our society. There will be a political and social price to pay. Answering to the demands and expectation of parents and individuals to want a tertiary education is one part of an equation. Satisfying their higher expectations in jobs and lifestyle is the other. The first part is being accomplished with the availability of more university and polytechnic places. Looks like the second part of the equation is still unsatisfactorily managed and will build up more stress in our system. The young and unemployed graduates and the displaced PMETs will be a force to be reckon with.

A desperate plea from an honours local graduate

'...I sank into a mental depression and felt completely useless. There was a period whereby I can’t even afford to have a proper $3 meal outside and had to feed myself with instant noodles and plain water every day.' The above was from an article posted in Gilbert Goh's Transitioning.org. It is quite a long article by a local honours graduate who called himself Tan. He said he had just got an administrative job after 5 months of search, 11 months of door to door salesman, and another 4 months of search after he was retrenched from his first jobs of 3 months. Tan was expected to be the sole breadwinner of his family but his jobless status had forced his parents to continue with their odd jobs just to carry on. And he was also settled with a study loan to pay. Without a job, without an income, he ended having to borrow to clear his debt. This is the plight of some new graduates who are not lucky enough to have rich parents and could go on a long overseas holidays after graduating, and finding a job is secondary. Yes, some are not so fortunate. When graduates of tertiary education was only 3% or 5%, a degree was a passport to a good life with jobs aplenty waiting for them. When 30% or 40% of each cohorts ended with a degree, the equation changes. A degree is just a degree and many applicants are also armed with degrees. It is not a guarantee that one can land a job so easily. Then we have the talented foreigners coming in to take a share of the jobs available, and there are the retrenched or jobless PMETs begging for a job as well. Funny that this is a problem when technically we have full employment. Something is amissed. It will be a matter of time before our graduates start to drive taxis or be croupiers in the casinos, or as salesmen as saleswomen. Please lower your expectation even if you are a graduate as you will hit one by throwing a stone into any crowd. I wonder how much the parents will have to pay to bring up a graduate. And I wonder how much will be needed for these young graduates to start a home, to buy their first 3 or 4 rm flats. Forget about anything bigger or private. Those must come from the pockets of rich parents. Are we happy with the current situation? Are we doing it right or doing it wrong?

Can the Railway deal be derailed?

More positive comments are coming out from UMNO leaders, including Khairy Kamaruddin, the UMNO Youth Chief, who was the hottest head in fanning anti Singapore sentiment in the days of Mahathir. He too could see the logic and benefits of such a deal when the sky is clear and the wools were removed from his eyes. The benefits are so obvious and tremendous that only those who chose not to see would miss them. So far the glaring silence from the Mahathir camp and his erstwhile comrades in arms is the only notable thing in Malaysian news. They have kept quiet, including Mahathir. While things are looking well, Najib's path is still not smooth sailing as he is being challenged on his NEM, New Economic Model. Some UMNO branches are accusing him of selling out Malay rights. Najib's trump card is his father's reputation of being the champion of Malay Special Rights. One of the puzzling argument by his opponent is that some Malays are still not able to compete equally with the other races. Could any race have members that are all able and talented to be the best among the best? This is a flawed argument that is being thrown out as a justification to extend the NEP. In reality, every racial group will have its talents and not so talented and the latter will forever be left behind no matter what and how long it takes. It is just a natural thing. To expect all the Malays to be equally competitive is a false argument. Najib still has a big task ahead as he seeks to find new directions to take Malaysia to the future. And the danger of him being toppled and his plans discarded in mid stream are highly possible. Malaysian politics is very fluid and anything can happen except certainty. Nothing is firm or certain. Laws can be changed overnight, policies revoked, and master plans shelved. The only saving grace today is the urgency to want to move forward and achieve a developed country status. And a lot of money and resources have been expended on the IDR. Pulling back and pulling the plug will be very costly. There is no turning back in a way. But be not too sure on this. Is the Railway Agreement a deal done? The politicking has not started yet.