National Day Rehearsal - 2 Aug 14

These pictures were taken last week. The top pic is the performance stage, the largest floating stage in the world. Pic 2 and 3 are the performers and dancers in front of a huge screen. Pic 4 and 5 are the Red Lions dropping from the sky. Pic 6 and 7, the guards firing the 21 gun salute. Pic 8, beautiful doggies dressed up for the National Day. And the last pic is the fly past of the national flag in a clear sky with nice cirrus clouds.

For those who want to view the actions again, today's the day, 9 Aug, with the parade starting at 5.30pm. The performers and dancers would start the show at about 4pm.

Kopi Level - Green

A different kind of reserves Our national reserves, the money type, is going up and up, more and more, and no one knows how much is enough. The more the merrier. We could be sitting on more than a trillion dollars today. Not enough, sure not enough. More would be added every year and when we hit $2 trillion or $5 trillion, it will still grow and grow. There is no limit to what is enough.
 
We have another kind of reserves that are dwindling by the day. It gets lesser and lesser, smaller and smaller. Maybe because no one actually refers to it as national reserves, so losing it is ok. Actually not losing is, but transforming it into other more valuable assets is ok. I am referring to our land, the natural reserves, the parks, the green lungs and land that are not highrise.
 
There are some numbers like a certain percentage to be kept according to the planners. And this number is always getting smaller. No one actually says or is fighting for our land reserves to grow bigger. Any piece of reclaimed land is already chopped for use even before it is ready or reclaimed.
 
It may be nice to include our land reserves into the formula for national reserves to enjoy the privilege of growing and growing, or at least untouchable, cannot take out, or after taking it out, must put back with interests. Then we will have our land protected and even grow bigger. If not, our land and the reserved land will risk being used up for economic growth. We need the space, the fresh air, the option to be with nature, with the trees, the birds and the grass and rivers.
 
The land has more values than just being converted to industrial or commercial uses. They are our national reserves, to be kept and better to grow bigger. Unfortunately its fate is reversely proportional to economic growth or population growth. Can’t imagine how much of our land would be left as reserves when 6.9m or 10m becomes a reality.

Kopi Level - Green

PMEs must apply to SG Jobs Bank

The SG Jobs Bank is now in service with 50,000 jobs available for Singaporeans and PRs. These jobs are technically on offer for 14 days before the employer could turn around and claim they have tried but failed to get a local and now can go and get their men/women from wherever they liked. How serious are these companies looking for locals to fill the vacancies or how few locals are qualified for the jobs would soon be known when the statistics are available in the coming months.
 
It is very important that Singaporeans apply to these positions quickly as it is like they are being given the first right of refusal by these companies through the Jobs Bank. There would of course be some companies just going through the motion with no intent to hire Singaporeans and would do whatever that are necessary to get their desired candidates other than Singaporeans.
 
There are two things that are important here. First, Singaporean PMEs must respond vigorously to these job advertisements. And two, the MOM must keep a close watch at how the recruiting process is being carried out seriously and not a farce just to appease MOM’s requirements. Hopefully MOM has procedures to collect the data and to monitor and assess how things are being done professionally and not have companies pulling wools over their eyes. It is good that MOM has set up a Fair Consideration Department (FCD) to support the FCF and the Jobs Bank.
 
Gilbert Goh may want to provide a parallel monitoring channel for PMEs who applied and failed to secure a job despite the 50,000 jobs available. Keep track of what is happening to make sure the employers do not turn this Jobs Bank into a circus. With some of the comments posted in TRE, and if they are an indication of the intent of some of the employers, some monkeys would not treat the Jobs Bank seriously. The threatening remarks that MNCs would move out are hogwash. If they can find another paradise with an English speaking workforce, an environment that is so friendly for businesses and for leisure, no fear of personal safety, please go. And the arrogance of some claiming that they could not find local talents is a sign that they did not intend to find local talents and are bent on hiring their own kind.
 
MOM would have a lot of work cut out for them to haul up the rascals for a whipping. The Jobs Bank is only a start and now it is the details and the realities on the ground that matter. The FCD needs more manpower to police the processes. Singaporean PMEs must make an effort to reclaim their rights to decent jobs from this portal. All those professionals driving taxis, under employed, unemployed, please submit your applications quickly and best, give Gilbert Goh a feeler of your applications and the results for analysis.
 
Let’s hope this is real and the employers are serious. Any rejections have to be critically checked by the FCD to make sure they are valid and reasonable. They need to start by checking the CVs and qualifications of the imports from overseas and punish the culprits severely to make a point. The FCD/MOM must have the means to deal with the recalcitrants and not just having kopi and nice talks with them. Everyone must watch how this game is being played henceforth and Singaporean PMEs are not convenient rubbish to be dumped into the waste paper bins.

Kopi Level - Green

10m population snippets

Many nice things have been said about having a 10m population. Some even encouraged the planners to be braver and go for 20m or more. Some were thinking seriously on how to accommodate 20m. One suggestion is to build 40 storey flats and nothing less going forward. This is not only cheaper than building 40 storeys down into the ground.
 
The advantage is that when there is an emergency, you can jump out of the window of 40 storey high flats. If you are 40 storeys down under, you cannot jump out.
 
Some were suggesting that all the low rise landed properties in Bukit Timah, Holland and Tanglin be acquired by the govt to make way for 40 storey high rise flats. And the owners would be happy if paid market price for their land, x 40 of course. $1m becomes $40m, $10m becomes $400m. Win win for all.
 
Old low rise HDB flats can go for SERS and owners get a free new flat when new blocks are all 40 storeys and above. No need to worry about 99 year lease ending. Get a new 99 year lease for free.
 
What do you think?

Kopi Level - Green

First generation PRs no need to serve NS, but second generation…

Many people have raised the issue of first generation PRs not serving NS. Some even deliberately opt to become citizens after a certain age to avoid NS. But if I am not mistaken, the often repeated defence to this policy is that the second generation of PRs or citizens would have to serve NS. This took away some of the vehemence of NSmen for the time being. Finally their children would have to serve NS.
 
This is what I have believed, rightly or wrongly. Now there is an article in TRE that told a different story. Maybe I have been mistaken all the time. According to this article, ‘PRs who fail to serve NS face serious consequences’, the children of PRs can opt not to be PRs and stay here under student passes. I swear this is new to me. Blame me for being ignorant. I quote an elaboration of what this means in the same article.
‘Foreign expats’ sons go for Student Pass instead
 
Due to the stringent tightening of NS policy especially after the PAP Govt suffered a GRC loss in the last election, foreign expats will now tend not to apply PR for their sons. Their sons are put on student pass so as to avoid NS and work or study issues later.
 
A good example is former Indian national and now new Singaporean citizen, Raj. During an interview with TOC [Link], Raj revealed that only he in the family has converted to Singaporean citizenship. His wife and daughter remain as PRs and his son is on a student pass.
 
Raj said that if his son was a PR, he would need to serve NS. He preferred to “let his son decide if he wanted to put his roots down in Singapore or go back to India when he turns 21″.
 
The benefit of having his son on a student pass is that his son can always work in Singapore later as a “foreign talent” and eventually become a PR himself. He will not be considered a second-generation PR since he was not sponsored by his parents in the first place. A second-generation PR who gives up his PR is barred from working or studying in Singapore.
 
Raj said, “We have friends who are from India as well as Singapore. My kids must grow up knowing their roots and our Indian culture, so we purposely go out of the way to stay connected with our friends from India, especially those from our own hometown.”
 
“Living and adjusting to so many different races of people is a very big challenge,” he added.
Raj chose to let his children study in the Global Indian International School instead of a local school.’
 
There are two points to this quote. One, PRs indeed had the option for their children not to serve NS. Another point is that they do not think our policies of having the four major races learning their own languages and roots are good enough to retain their own culture and need to go back to absorb their own culture in their mother land. Also, they are not going to sink roots here as their children would not be one of us.
 
Does this not defeat the objective of having immigrants to be one of us, to be rooted here? We would end up with transient families and more old folks problems if their children would not want to be citizens.
Why like that one?

Kopi Level - Green