The genuine problems of the MOM Jobs Bank

After more than a month of the Jobs Bank coming into operation there were high expectations that many Singaporeans would have found jobs through this strictly pro Singaporean apparatus of the Govt. So I was looking for some happy statistics to clap for my star minister for a job well done. But no data, really, can’t find any data. Now want to cheer for him also no chance to do it.
 
Then I read a few comments in the social media, including the authoritative comments of Leong Sze Hian, and it is confirmed that anyone hoping for some useful data coming out from this Jobs Bank Scheme is going to be disappointed. I am of course. And I was angry initially. I want to cheer, I want to clap and tell the citizens, especially the jobless PMEs and the PME taxi drivers that there is hope. Now I can’t. So don’t blame me for being angry. Felt being let down by another scheme that looked so good on paper. You mean they didn’t know that everyone is watching and looking for some numbers on this scheme?
 
On reflection, on hindsight, admittedly foresight not very good, I have second thoughts. It is really an impossible task for our boys and girls to design a programme to track the performance of this scheme. No way they could do it. There are just no good programmers to do such a simple job as the programmers are all foreigners. And very likely MOM cannot use foreign programmers for this job to show that this is pedigree Singaporean stuff.
 
What about having a few boys and girls thinking through a manual procedure like we used to do before we become an intelligent city and people? Surely must have some procedures for the companies to make monthly reports to MOM would generate some numbers, not up to date to the last minute and not computer perfect, but some data would still be good and available.
 
Now I have to figure out why our boys and girls could not think through a simple administrative procedure that works. First guess, they never approach the Administrative Service where all the talented administrative officers work. So they probably depend on non administrative officers to do an administrative job that they are not trained to do, sure would not work.
 
Or maybe they need some financial incentives like a doubling in pay. I think a doubling in pay from the ministers to the clerical stuff would be a good start.
 
So there you are, the MOM could not produce any data to tell how many Singaporeans applied for the jobs in the Jobs Bank and how many were successful and employed by the companies putting up advertisements for jobs for Singaporeans. And definitely they would not know how many of these companies already recruited foreigners after failing to find any suitable Singaporeans for their vacancies.
 
But MOM has many good data, like 65,000 jobs available in the Jobs Banks and something like 10,000 companies participating. Dunno if they know how many Singaporeans applied for these jobs. No need to ask how many were successful as they have confirmed they did not have such data.
 
Let me volunteer a suggestion. Since no Singaporean can design a decent programme to capture all these necessary information that the people would like to know, perhaps MOM can make an exception and outsource this task to the foreigners to design one. Make sure they write the programme quickly so that we can have some data to chew on.
 
And please don’t jump the gun to kpkb that MOM is useless or the Jobs Bank is a another wayang. There are obviously some genuine problems like lack of programming talents or administrative officers to design an administrative procedure that could produce the results expected.
 
PS, I am just speculating and I did not have access to how they work. Maybe I am just drumming. Please forgive me for my ignorance.

Kopi Level - Green

A new kid in the blog - MIKOspace

This is a new blog, MIKOspace from a good friend. The url is www.miko-wisdom.blogspot.sg.
Have fun reading.

Outsourcing the way to Go

Pardon my pun, it is real. Outsourcing is the greatest discovery of Sin City and we did it so well that we can end up shaking our legs and don’t have anything to do. We first outsourced our banking answering services to call centres, then we outsourced the whole IT functions to foreigners. We outsourced our construction industry to foreign workers and our service sectors to foreigners as well.

Our foodcourts and hawker centres are also being outsourced, including our famous Geylang. All have been taken over by foreigners. Our beggars would also have been outsourced if not of our strict laws to prohibit begging. But the fun side of begging is allowed and outsourced, like busking.

Our top management jobs in GLCs and the private sector are increasingly being outsourced to foreign talents. Oops, some have become instant citizens with the issue of pink identity cards. Our universities are also outsourcing their professorships to foreign academics. Our Medical services too are being outsourced, from nursing to doctors and specialists/consultants. Our civil service is also gradually being outsourced. Oh, I forgot, we will also be outsourcing our tertiary students like we outsourced our sports talents. Our students can rest or if they want to, can enrol in the polytechnics.

Now they are thinking of outsourcing the police and the soldiers. It will soon be a reality when the volunteers’ corp proves its worth. We can even do away with NS and let foreigners put on our military and police uniforms.

The final step in outsourcing will be the govt, the political leadership. When this last step is done, our leaders would have a lot of time to make state visits to countries after countries for networking and fellowship. And if they like it, they could go and watch our outsourced sportsmen and women competing in the Olympics, Asian Games, Commonwealth Games and World Cup, and to cheer them to victory. This will raise the morale of the outsourced sportsmen and women and motivate them to win more medals for the citizens to celebrate on their return. Yes we will be like the Romans, the ruling class. Our leaders could go on study missions too. The bulk of the work to govern the country would be delegated to the foreign talents acting as ministers and prime minister.

The best part of this is that when the foreign talents fumbled, even if they are appointed as ministers or prime minister, they can be fired immediately. It is difficult to do this if the prime minister or ministers are Singaporeans. And the people will be happy as there will be accountability. Non performing foreign talent ministers would be fired like in the private sector.

There is a slight problem though. What would the citizens and leaders be doing with all the free time they have if everything is outsourced? Would they be making themselves redundant when they have nothing else meaningful to do, except maybe counting money or speculating in properties?

Oursourcing is the way to GO indeed.

Kopi Level - Green

Hanoi’s submarine deterrent against China

There is an article titled, ‘Hanoi to deploy submarines in deterrent against China’ in the Today paper on 9 Sep. The analysts and scholars were all in praise of the Vietnamese submarine capability and trumpeting that China is now getting a big headache with Vietnam acquiring 3 kilo class Russian submarines. And Vietnam is deploying the area denial strategy to keep Chinese ships and submarines out of Vietnamese water. The strategy, intelligence and assumptions are truly impressive.
 
Let me see, 3 submarines from Vietnam will now contain 70 Chinese submarines. This is the most brilliant military strategy I have ever heard as a student of military history. Sun Tzu or Zhu Ge Liang would look like amateurs. China must learn from Vietnam on how to use its 70 submarines to contain American submarine fleets that are probably ten times more and bigger and more sophisticated. China must quickly send a team to learn from the Vietnamese in this ingenious strategy that Sun Tzu would raise his hands in defeat.
 
This is akin to the Philippines threatening to go to war with China with its fishing fleet led by a museum piece of scrap metal called a battleship. China must be having a big headache with the threat from Vietnam’s submarine might and the Philippines naval fleet of fishing boats.
 
I am very impressed with the analysis and worried for China. Soon China’s navy would be contained by Vietnam and the Philippines and would have to confine its naval vessels to the East China Sea only, and be kept away from the South China Sea.
 
We are seeing the rise of two naval powers in the South China Sea to over shadow China’s sea power with minimal effort and resources but sheer brilliance in ideas and strategies. Impressive is the word.

Kopi Level - Green

Chok Tong to India to reaffirm ties

‘In a statement yesterday (7 Sep), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Emeritus Senior Minister (ESM) Goh Chok Tong will visit India from 7 to 11 September 2014 to reaffirm the close bilateral ties between Singapore and India.
 
“To promote stronger links between the next generation of ministers from both countries, ESM Goh will be accompanied on his visit by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office and Second Minister for Home Affairs and Trade and Industry S Iswaran and Minister of State for National Development Desmond Lee,” the statement said….’
 
What does the above statement mean? To promote stronger links, does it mean the current links are not strong and intimate enough? What would stronger links mean? Is it because the Indians are not happy with the CECA and Chok Tong has to go there to renegotiate or to assure the Indians that things could be better?
India used to have two strong men in the Singapore Govt in full support of stronger bilateral relations, ie Chok Tong and George Yeo, who were instrumental in the signing of the CECA. In the absence of George, is Chok Tong the only strong lobby left and the Indians are feeling insecure and need to be reassured that someone will replace George in this relationship?
 
Which country must Singapore send the ESM to reaffirm frail ties? Or which country needs to be regularly hugged to tell them that ties are good and no need to worry? Or it is the other way, that Singapore is feeling the coldness from India and needs to be embraced by India to feel good? Have we not have had enough of the Indian Fever, or are we asking for more? I already started to imagine Chok Tong doing the John Travolta routine, Indian Fever once again, minus George Travolta. Who is the next George Travolta in line to build strong Singapore Indian ties?

Kopi Level - Green