Wages are too high - Lim Swee Say

I quote below from an article in the Statestimes with the title, 'Manpower Minister Lim Swee Say - Wages are too high'

'Speaking at a conference for businesses, Manpower Minister Lim Swee Say complained that wages in Singapore are too high and that productivity gains are not catching up with wage growth.
Worded in Singlish, Minister Lim Swee Say said:
“Cheaper competitors are getting better with higher educational levels, while better competitors are getting cheaper through better technology. If productivity gains continue to lag behind wage growth, Singapore’s competitiveness will be eroded.”
The Manpower Minister then complained about the lack of productivity growth in Singapore, and that the country’s GDP has been badly affected:...'

My immediate reactions, is he referring to salaries at the top or wages at the bottom, like cleaners getting $1000? Can Singaporeans survive in this world's most expensive city if the wages are too high and be lowered?

By the way, whose problem is it that productivity is low? What is he or the govt going to do about it?

MH370 – The strange mysteries

The disappearance of MH370 without a trace after 3 years is itself a mystery waiting to be solved. The tragedy of losing 239 lives on board is unmentionable and if this is the work of some evil men and women, let them be condemned when the truth is revealed. The truth will surfaced, only a matter of time. It is too big an object and too many lives involved to be covered and forgotten.

The disappearance is a big mystery so far. But there are many other mysteries happening surrounding its disappearance in the followup actions and search for this missing aircraft. I will try to list down some of the mysteries that demands an explanation.

The first mystery is the wild goose chase in the Antarctic Ocean for an aircraft lost in the South China Sea while heading towards China. Today, after the silly searches by silly reasonings, the truth that the whole search was a hoax becomes more obvious. Only very wicked people would mislead the affected and concerned parties to search in the wrong place and wasting precious time and resources from looking at more likely places.

Another mystery, the world’s Number One busybody,  the one that knows everything, the USA, was unusually silent on this incident. They did not bother and did not want to show how clever they were, their technical knowhow, the aircraft was American, to lend a helping hand.  The reticence and non participation of the Americans is suspiciously mysterious.

And the next mystery is the little western outpost, Australia, assuming the role of experts in missing aircraft and searching for missing aircraft. When has Australia acquired such expertise and became the voice and authority in this incident? Did Australia build the aircraft, was there a specialized centre in Australia to do all the testing of aircraft parts that no other countries could do better?

What about the mysterious resurfacing of little bits and pieces of aircraft parts, supposedly to be from MH370 appearing in African coast? For these bits and pieces of airframe sheet metal to be washed ashore in Africa is already a mystery difficult to explain and very strange. The strangest thing is that every little bit of the sheet metal found seemed to have been stamped with numerals to announce that they came from MH370. Anyone familiar with the aircraft industry would know that rarely were numerals imprinted on sheet metal on an aircraft. And the whole airframe is sheet metal, mostly with no identification or need to have numerals printed on them. Numerals or serial numbers are normally on instruments and pieces of equipment on the aircraft imprinted by their manufacturers.  Numerals on sheet metal?  It was like someone made it a point to print identification numbers on every piece of sheet metal found to ensure that everyone would believe that these were from MH370 and the bogus theory that it crashed in the Antarctic Ocean is true. And as the story goes, nearly every piece of the sheet metal has numerals on them to say, ‘I came from MH370’. How coincidental, and how evident?

What can be more mysterious that all the parts must be sent to Australia, the overnight experts, to do the testing to confirm that the parts were from MH370, and in most cases pronounced so only to be rejected or denied later as not true or not sure? In reality, every piece of sheet metal is practically the same and no one can tell the difference or where it came from, unless there are specific numerals imprinted on them. No amount of test can tell otherwise. There are no ‘thumbprints’ to talk about and to rely on.

Do these mysteries tell a story, explain the bigger mystery of the missing MH370?

Why are the Americans so silent about the missing MH370, none of their business when everything in the whole world is their business? When an embezzling case involving the Malaysian govt and Malaysians, nothing to do with the Americans, could lead to the American Justice Dept ordering an investigation and to recover the missing money that did not belong to the Americans but to the Malaysian govt? Why the Americans did not deem fit to commission an investigation as the aircraft was a Boeing 777, American made?

Why is this busybody so quiet, so unusually quiet, exceptionally quiet about the missing MH370? This is the biggest mystery of all the mysteries surrounding the MH370 disappearance.

Globalisation is Good – Depends

Below is a comment by a blogger called Patriot, in TRE,

Patriot:

October 30, 2016 at 12:36 pm Patriot(Quote)

see the video link on Trump vs Clinton Presidency.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QnRk7jpuJ0

Globalistion and free liberal import of immigrants threaten every nations jobs, identity, sovereignty and security .

Establishments, special interests groups and donors who supported globisation are reaping the nations wealth at the expense of the citizens.

Those who spoke against it are labelled as xenophobic and rebels.

Britain had dump globalization. Will US follow likewise?

70% SG pls wake up now . Save SG .

 

The US and Britain are closing their doors to immigrants and to globalization. Whether this is good or bad would depend on where you are coming from. To Trump and the Brits, globalization is bad, and that I also agree. But I would want to take another angle to view this position and say that globalization is not only good to the US and Britain and also to Europe but also a natural eventuality of history. And here are my reasons.

America does not belong to the Europeans or white Americans. It originally belonged to the native Americans. The white Americans called them savages or Red Indians. They massacred them and robbed their land to call it the USA for the migrants from Europe. See the point I am making?

The USA does not belong to the migrants from Europe. Thus, globalization, brining in more immigrants is not new. Every migrant has a right to be in this new country that the earlier migrants devastated and disemboweled of its original natives. It is open country now for every migrant. The early migrants and the new migrants have all the right to be in this ‘No man’s land’ robbed from the native Americans. My apologies to the remaining survivors of the native Americans that are now as good as non entities in their homeland. No one, not the early migrants, asked them if it was alright to bring in all the migrants to their country to replace them. Now there are so few of these original natives to make their voice heard, that this was and still is their land and they have a right to say No. But who cares? Did the white Americans bother to ask for their opinions, to protect their rights to their country, to massacre them?

The moral of the story, if one loses his country to the new migrants, forget about getting it back. The new migrants would take over and in the name of globalization, share the country to anyone they want. How is this related to Singapore? Are the Singaporeans also losing their country to globalization?

What about Britain and Europe? Look at history, Britain and Europe were built on the wealth and riches of the countries they conquered and looted. It is time they share their countries with the natives of those lands they conquered and raped. This is only fair right? This is pay back time for Britain and Europe.  The wealth in Europe to a great extent belonged to the rest of the world, especially Asia, Africa and Latin America, including the Middle East of course.

So, be generous, return the favour, yes globalization is the right thing, to share your wealth and countries with the rest of the world. No one will accuse them of being traitors to their people and countries. They owed everything to the rest of the world and they are coming to Europe to take back what was theirs. Britain and Europe are just returning what they took in the past.

Do I sound logical, fair and just? I think it is historical correct. What you sowed you shall reap. But there will be those who said forget about history. It is the past. Let’s move on.  Don’t be so sure. The fairest and most just natural law is what you sowed you shall reap. The Asians called it karma.

Is globalization good for Singapore and Singaporeans? It depends on whether you think this island is yours or if you are silly enough to give it away or daft enough not to know what is happening to your island. Then you deserve it when it is lost to globalization and to the new migrants.

When racists and religious bigots rule

How sad it would be if this island is taken over by racists and religious bigots that went around attacking everyone and claiming to be victimized and discriminated but the truth is that they are the real racists and religious bigots using racism and religion as a tool to attack the innocent.

These racists and religious bigots are hiding in every corner, especially in social media to attack everything under anonymity. They accused everyone as racists or anti their religion at the slightest excuse and putting themselves as the righteous ones. There are also many cases quoted in the main media of such reckless and wild attacks and the innocent victims that have no intention of discriminating anyone ended up feeling so guilty and having to apologize to these racists and religious bigots.

The govt must step in, take a stand on this, be the main arbiter of who and what are racist/ racism and anti religion. The racists and religious bigots must not be allowed to rule the day and dictate to the people what they think things should. These racists and religious bigots must be taken to task for their wild and spurious attacks against the innocent.

Singapore is the most free from racism and religious discrimination country and must not allow the racists and religious bigots to blow their trumpets as and when they like, like Singapore is a highly charged racist country and intolerable to different religions. No one in Singapore has been attacked and spitted at because of the colour of their skin or their religion.

This menace must not be allowed to spread. The govt has the responsibility to nip this in the bud, starting with exposing and naming the racists and religious bigots hiding under anonymity in the internet and attacking the innocent. If this is not stopped, anyone dying his hair blond could also be accused or racism because he is insulting others for not having blond hair, like discriminating against black or brown hair.  The stupidity of racists and religious bigots is beyond your imagination.

Stop racism and religious bigots before they think they could set the agenda for the rest of the people. This scourge is rising and must be stopped immediately. The racists and religious bigots are attacking everyone when they are the real racists and bigots.

Duterte unsettles Asean

The move by Duterte to patch up relations with China, to lean closer to China is now touted as unsettling to Asean. When the Philippines were leaning to the USA, be the barking dog of the USA, raising tension in the South China Sea, that was not unsettling to Asean. What this new slogan is saying is that Asean should be leaning to the USA against China, and this is what the Asean states wanted. What about Thailand and Malaysia turning to China, to raise their relations to a higher level, are they also unsettling to Asean?

Look at it from another angle, the only gang in Asean that is unsettled is the pro US camp, the cronies and barking dogs of the US, aka little USAs. These cronies would be very unsettled now that Asean is no longer the puppet on a string to be dragged on by the nose by the Americans to create tension in the region. Their only agenda, is to let the US use Asean to encircle and contain China of which Obama is so proud and bragging about it.

Would not Asean countries be happier now with lesser tension in the SCS? Would not the Asean countries praise Duterte for maintaining peace in the region and bringing more economic development to his country and bettering the lives of the Pinoys instead of trying to pick a fight that it could not win?

For Singapore, there is nothing to worry about. Singapore is neutral and did not take sides. Singapore will support an independent and neutral Asean balancing the interests of big powers without being a crony or barking dog of any big power.

Let those cronies and barking dogs get unsettled for trying to be little USAs or Trojan Horses. Singapore is a principled country and meant what it said. Singapore does not take sides. Singapore is neutral. How brilliant of our leaders.

Singapore is safe while Asean is being unsettled by more Asean countries turning away from the USA to China. Singapore can sleep well, very well while those American barking dogs would have sleepless nights wondering what to do next, to cosy up to their American masters and to plot against China.