Now you people got to go and sayang the ministers. Sakit lah.
I hope this cut will not affect the political system of recruiting the best to stand for election. The good guys who still want to serve should still step forward despite the lower salary. And the concern of corruption if pay not enough, may it not happen to prove that the old belief is right.
Someone please tell them their dignity will not be affected adversely at all. In fact their dignity will get a boost, and a bigger boost if the cut is bigger. And the record of the world’s top 30 highest paid politicians will still stay and unlikely to be broken for another donkey years to come.
1/04/2012
Latest on Ministerial Salary cut
This is not confirmed but came out from the wire. The recommendations could see a 28% cut for Hsien Loong, 31% cut for junior ministers and 51% cut for the President. MPs will get a 3% cut.
And this will be back dated to 21 May 2011.
And this will be back dated to 21 May 2011.
Waking up Rip Van Winkles
After reading the article on Piyush Gupta, I have to take back my words on foreign talents running local enterprises. He went in and found a rotten apple that still looked good from the outside. ‘He was aghast that a bank of the standing of DBS lacked the very basic and fundamental processes required of it.’ And DBS head hunted some of the best finance talents across the world to be in such a state. Don’t they have any talents working in the bank to avoid the mess? ‘…a lot of processes and systems which you would expect a large, professional organization like DBS to already have established and ingrained were not in place, said Mr Gupta…’
The bank did not know which customers were profitable, which branch were profitable, and the operations in every country, the platform and processes, were different and many many more things needed to be straightened up. You need to read the full text in the article in today’s ST to appreciate the problems he inherited. Does it mean the bank was sleeping all these years?
Two years on the job, ‘the bank’s management now understands the credit risk and market risk better,(unbelievable)…and also has much more standardized processes across all its markets.’ And he had done more, and the bank is now more confident of the stability of the overall banking operation at this stage.
Thank God that they brought in Gupta in time. Wonder what would be the state of health of the bank if it continues with the status quo. This is a foreign talent that came in to shake everybody up, wake up, wake up. No wonder they could not find a local to fill the top post.
They had a few foreign talents before, and I think all with credentials from the Ivy leagues of American fame. What is different about Gupta is that he needed not be from the American cohorts. He graduated from Delhi University and got a MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. Now I understand why the Americans are forming a beeline to India to recruit their banking talents. And our mistake is obvious.
Instead of going to India, we went to America. DBS is fortunate to go to America through Citibank to find its talent from India. It was quite like an accidental discovery of America by Columbus.
Hope the Singapore govt knows where to get their foreign financial talents from to achieve its ambitious plan of turning the island into a premier financial hub. Wall Street talents and those from American Ivy League are no longer in vogue. They actually messed up the American financial system and nearly brought the down the rest of the world with them.
The bank did not know which customers were profitable, which branch were profitable, and the operations in every country, the platform and processes, were different and many many more things needed to be straightened up. You need to read the full text in the article in today’s ST to appreciate the problems he inherited. Does it mean the bank was sleeping all these years?
Two years on the job, ‘the bank’s management now understands the credit risk and market risk better,(unbelievable)…and also has much more standardized processes across all its markets.’ And he had done more, and the bank is now more confident of the stability of the overall banking operation at this stage.
Thank God that they brought in Gupta in time. Wonder what would be the state of health of the bank if it continues with the status quo. This is a foreign talent that came in to shake everybody up, wake up, wake up. No wonder they could not find a local to fill the top post.
They had a few foreign talents before, and I think all with credentials from the Ivy leagues of American fame. What is different about Gupta is that he needed not be from the American cohorts. He graduated from Delhi University and got a MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. Now I understand why the Americans are forming a beeline to India to recruit their banking talents. And our mistake is obvious.
Instead of going to India, we went to America. DBS is fortunate to go to America through Citibank to find its talent from India. It was quite like an accidental discovery of America by Columbus.
Hope the Singapore govt knows where to get their foreign financial talents from to achieve its ambitious plan of turning the island into a premier financial hub. Wall Street talents and those from American Ivy League are no longer in vogue. They actually messed up the American financial system and nearly brought the down the rest of the world with them.
Turning Pareto upside down
The recent tightening of regulations on trading high risk instruments and products through the SGX is ruffling some feathers, of the investors and brokerages. It is quite a complicated exercise to safeguard the interests of naïve and ignorant investors in sophisticated, highly geared derivatives and foreign shares. The new regulations have made monitoring, administration and its execution quite a formidable exercise, and with many loose ends yet to be tested.
What has Pareto got to do with this change? The bread and butter business of the remisiers is trading local stocks and other legitimate and well established instruments. This is the forte of most remisiers. They know the business, the stocks, the companies and the happenings in the industry.
As for high risk and highly geared derivatives and other queer instruments, including foreign shares, they are a totally different kettle of fish. Not many of their clients are sophisticated enough to want to dabble in them regularly. Occasionally there will be a few never say die commandoes who may have heard something or given a tip by someone and wanted to go in for a quick punt. The business generated by these unfamiliar stuff is pretty small and in between. It may not be more than 5% of their business, or not at all.
And when foreign shares are concerned, it is sheer impossible to know what they are. Clients could technically ask to trade stocks from Australia, Indonesia, Philippines, Japan, Taiwan, Korea, Hongkong, Shanghai, all the other countries of Asean, Europe and the US. The number and spread of stocks are simply insane to know. Even the big funds or brokerage would not have enough specialist staff to know what they are dealing with or even claim to know the stocks of a particular market. There is just no superman to know any one market or all the markets even if he is full time on it.
Get the picture? The local remisiers who are pretty familiar with the local companies and stocks are not allowed to advise their clients in the trading of these stocks. They are supposed to be order takers, dumb key board operators in a way.
In the case of foreign stocks and derivatives, which most remisiers would hardly have a clue or only superficial knowledge, they are expected to advise their clients on how to trade these alienand unfamiliar stocks and queer derivatives. Get me now?
There is no excuse for any remisier to not know about these Specified Investment Products or SIPs, when they are expected to give advice to their clients. Now, how can one be an expert in the stocks and derivatives around the world? I don’t think any brokerage or international funds have such an expertise and definitely not in one particular trader. It is simply an impossible requirement.
Even if the remisiers are willing to attend all the training needed, to gear themselves on these foreign shares, it will be at least 10 years by the time he gets to attend all the training sessions. Here comes Pareto. Why spend so much time on an activity that is hardly 5% or less of one’s business, so as to be qualified professionally to give advice to clients? Or can one simply give advice on something he does not know?
Can there be such an animal in existence that is capable of providing professional advice to clients on all the overseas stocks and all the highly sophisticated instruments at the same time, and still spend 90% of his time managing his clients trading on local stocks, even as an order taker?
I doubt a super computer can do a proper job.
What has Pareto got to do with this change? The bread and butter business of the remisiers is trading local stocks and other legitimate and well established instruments. This is the forte of most remisiers. They know the business, the stocks, the companies and the happenings in the industry.
As for high risk and highly geared derivatives and other queer instruments, including foreign shares, they are a totally different kettle of fish. Not many of their clients are sophisticated enough to want to dabble in them regularly. Occasionally there will be a few never say die commandoes who may have heard something or given a tip by someone and wanted to go in for a quick punt. The business generated by these unfamiliar stuff is pretty small and in between. It may not be more than 5% of their business, or not at all.
And when foreign shares are concerned, it is sheer impossible to know what they are. Clients could technically ask to trade stocks from Australia, Indonesia, Philippines, Japan, Taiwan, Korea, Hongkong, Shanghai, all the other countries of Asean, Europe and the US. The number and spread of stocks are simply insane to know. Even the big funds or brokerage would not have enough specialist staff to know what they are dealing with or even claim to know the stocks of a particular market. There is just no superman to know any one market or all the markets even if he is full time on it.
Get the picture? The local remisiers who are pretty familiar with the local companies and stocks are not allowed to advise their clients in the trading of these stocks. They are supposed to be order takers, dumb key board operators in a way.
In the case of foreign stocks and derivatives, which most remisiers would hardly have a clue or only superficial knowledge, they are expected to advise their clients on how to trade these alienand unfamiliar stocks and queer derivatives. Get me now?
There is no excuse for any remisier to not know about these Specified Investment Products or SIPs, when they are expected to give advice to their clients. Now, how can one be an expert in the stocks and derivatives around the world? I don’t think any brokerage or international funds have such an expertise and definitely not in one particular trader. It is simply an impossible requirement.
Even if the remisiers are willing to attend all the training needed, to gear themselves on these foreign shares, it will be at least 10 years by the time he gets to attend all the training sessions. Here comes Pareto. Why spend so much time on an activity that is hardly 5% or less of one’s business, so as to be qualified professionally to give advice to clients? Or can one simply give advice on something he does not know?
Can there be such an animal in existence that is capable of providing professional advice to clients on all the overseas stocks and all the highly sophisticated instruments at the same time, and still spend 90% of his time managing his clients trading on local stocks, even as an order taker?
I doubt a super computer can do a proper job.
Stop the raid on your CPF
I have to pick this issue up regularly to remind the Sinkies that the CPF savings are their money. No buts, not even legislation is allowed to take them away from you. I have read in many blogs and feel very embarrassed and shameful that Singaporeans are resigned to the fate that their CPF money is as good as gone, forever. Some meekly took the position that it is another form of tax. Please, do not allow that kind of mindset to let your money slip away. It is Ah Q mentality. When people slap you, try to rationalize it away as okay and meekly walk away pretending to be happy.
Just remember the obnoxious HDB housing policies, the wind down of the building programme despite the huge demand, the long wait, the runaway prices. If Sinkies have accepted them as given, can’t be helped, can’t do anything about it, these policies would still be in place and the Sinkies will still be taken for granted.
The same goes to their CPF money. Once Sinkies stop the fight, it will be the end of their money. The minimum sum will keep going up and up and away. If the Sinkies want the raiding of their CPF savings to stop, they have to start right now, together, to kpkb, to make sure that the govt heard you. All the money must be returned to their rightful owner by 65 at most. The senior citizens are not idiots or of unsound mind, not all. They can manage their money and know how to use them for their own benefits.
After 65, any money to be left in the CPF must be voluntary. And the govt can explain all the good reasons why the Sinkies should keep putting their money in the CPF and to encourage them with positive incentives like higher interest rates or whatever perks. It must be done on a willing party basis, optional. Is there such a word called ‘optional’? I think many did not know of its existence. The only word they understand is compulsory. No one must be coerced by legislation to be parted with their hard earned money.
After 65, life can be terminated at any time. Let the people decide what they want to do with their money. The govt has no right to do that. Legislation is force, is crude and ugly.
The minimum sum in the Medisave is another issue that is intolerable. It is as good as paying your medical fees in advance, in the tune of $30k when one may not even need it. It is a farcical reasoning. Not everyone wants to spend his money on expensive hospital bills to be alive and have nothing left, and become stragglers or crawlers to pass their meaningless living in oblivion. It is pathetic.
The raid on the people’s CPF must be stopped. And only the Sinkies can stop them. Never give up on your blood sweat money. You earned it and it must be yours to spend, to do as you please unless God says otherwise. No human gods should think they are wiser and can assume the role of God. Anyone supporting such a policy, to deprive the people of their hard earned money without good intention, better be mindful of what you are doing.
Just remember the obnoxious HDB housing policies, the wind down of the building programme despite the huge demand, the long wait, the runaway prices. If Sinkies have accepted them as given, can’t be helped, can’t do anything about it, these policies would still be in place and the Sinkies will still be taken for granted.
The same goes to their CPF money. Once Sinkies stop the fight, it will be the end of their money. The minimum sum will keep going up and up and away. If the Sinkies want the raiding of their CPF savings to stop, they have to start right now, together, to kpkb, to make sure that the govt heard you. All the money must be returned to their rightful owner by 65 at most. The senior citizens are not idiots or of unsound mind, not all. They can manage their money and know how to use them for their own benefits.
After 65, any money to be left in the CPF must be voluntary. And the govt can explain all the good reasons why the Sinkies should keep putting their money in the CPF and to encourage them with positive incentives like higher interest rates or whatever perks. It must be done on a willing party basis, optional. Is there such a word called ‘optional’? I think many did not know of its existence. The only word they understand is compulsory. No one must be coerced by legislation to be parted with their hard earned money.
After 65, life can be terminated at any time. Let the people decide what they want to do with their money. The govt has no right to do that. Legislation is force, is crude and ugly.
The minimum sum in the Medisave is another issue that is intolerable. It is as good as paying your medical fees in advance, in the tune of $30k when one may not even need it. It is a farcical reasoning. Not everyone wants to spend his money on expensive hospital bills to be alive and have nothing left, and become stragglers or crawlers to pass their meaningless living in oblivion. It is pathetic.
The raid on the people’s CPF must be stopped. And only the Sinkies can stop them. Never give up on your blood sweat money. You earned it and it must be yours to spend, to do as you please unless God says otherwise. No human gods should think they are wiser and can assume the role of God. Anyone supporting such a policy, to deprive the people of their hard earned money without good intention, better be mindful of what you are doing.
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