Singaporeans a minority in the banking and finance sector

 Singapore has been the preeminent financial centre of South East Asia for decades. At one time we could boast of so many great Singaporean bankers in our midst. Today the stark reality is that Singaporeans are an absolute minority in this sector, especially in the top management level. Singapore not only lacked finance and banker professionals but also IT specialists despite the fact that Singapore is the most advanced nation in the region and boasting of three top world class universities.

And guess which nationals are the top bankers and IT specialists in Singapore? They came from a country that was never a financial centre, with not a single university in the top 100 rankings of world universities and regarded as a third world developing country. How is this so, how is a top notch first world nation and being the financial centre of the region unable to produce the top talents in the field of banking and finance and IT and has to rely heavily on a third world country for top talents and accepting the fact that its graduates are unsuitable for employment in the top echelon of banking and IT?

There was a short article hiding in the bottom half second page of thenewpaper on 19 Aug that clearly described this pathetic state of affair in the development and growth of our talents in these two industries. The title of the article, 'Protecting and growing Singaporean jobs top prority: MAS' highlighted the problems raised by Raymond Koh, a retired senior banker and Ravi Menon, MAS MD's response to this call. The problem as written by Raymond Koh, 'As a retired senior banker, I can say categorically that in the past two decades, many foreigners hired in Singapore's finance sector have been for upper-middle to senior management positions.' Ravi Menon's reply was that while not where we want to be, the picture was not that bad.  

Goh Keng Swee must be turning in his grave. Goh was instrumental in demanding that top banking jobs must be helmed by Singaporeans and took the foreign banks to task for any delay towards this goal. But since his passing, this mission was forgotten and allowed to slacken until this pathetic state of affair becomes a shame to the glory of Singapore as a financial centre. Whose fault is this? Education, MOM or MAS?

The articles exposed so many controversial and unsavoury happenings in the banking and finance industry with everyone trying their best to hide the unappetizing truth, that Singaporeans are a minority in the industry, especially in the top management level. The stats quoted were hiding a lot of things that they did not want Singaporeans to know. MAS estimated Singaporeans make up 70% of the sector's workforce sounds comforting, estimate only. But only 43% of senior management jobs went to Singaporeans. How many percent of top management jobs went to Singaporeans was not mentioned. This one better not to tell, or no statistics.

And the three local banks proudly announced that Singaporeans and PRs made up more than 80%  of their employees. What they refused to say is how many of the 80% plus employees are Singaporeans. Why is there a need to hide these numbers? Not pleasant to tell? Might as well say this is a state secret that may harm the nation's interest if disclosed?

Every organisation and govt dept would always used this number, Singaporeans and PRs or locals as a single data and not wanting to tell what is the percentage of Singaporeans versus PRs in the numbers. Why? Why? Why? Singaporeans can understand that when one is getting paid with obscene salary it is quite embarrassing to tell. But how many Singaporeans are employed cannot be a state secret right?

The more they hide, the more suspicious it becomes, the more people are unhappy and to know the truth. Singaporeans can only guess that the truth is going to be very painful and unacceptable to Singaporeans and Singaporeans' interest.

What do you think? When there is nothing to hide, no need to hide. Is it so difficult to tell a simple statistical truth?

At the way it is going, with opportunity for top banking jobs going to foreigners, giving foreigners all the trainings and exposure they need but could not get in their home countries or elsewhere, it is only a matter of time when there will be no Singaporeans holding top banking and finance jobs in Singapore. If Singapore is not going to train and give opportunities to Singaporeans, no other country will do that for Singaporeans.

Worsening Sino American relations - How real are the China Taiwan and American Taiwan relations?

 There was an article in the ST by Goh Sui Noi, Singapore's China correspondence on the worsening relations between China and the USA with the latter acting more aggressively and madly to want to push China to the brink of war. Trump and his mad dog Pompeo have been going around the world to egg nations to form an alliance against China in a new cold War. Not many silly nations have stood up to join this destruction adventure of the warmongering Americans. Only the die hard 5 eye nations of Anglo Saxon breed were left to carry on this dangerous pursuit for war.

In the same article the correspondence mentioned that it was worrisome that the Americans are selling F16 fighter jets to Taiwan and more weapons including cruise missiles.  How worrisome is this development is complicated by the deep intrique in the relationship between Taiwan and China. Are the difference unbridgeable, real or just for show? Even if it is for real, the leadership can change after an election of the Presidency and a pro China could make a 180 degree change in the policy towards China and unification. 

When such an eventuality happens, it could happen any time, everything the Americans sold to Taiwan would become China's. Oooops, I shouldn't say this to frighten the Americans from selling more advanced weapons and technology to Taiwan. Actually nothing to worry about this. The Americans know very well that this could happen and whatever they sold to Taiwan would be obsolete weapons and technology or modified and downgraded to prevent the loss of their technology to Taiwan.

F16s are ancient technology as far as war planes are concerned.  Even F15s can be regarded as antique when China is having the 4th and 5th generation fighter jets in J20s and J31s. The F15s and F16s would be up there to be shot down if needed. But the Americans are only prepared to sell only the F16s, not even the F15s.  This explains why Taiwan is not going to get any more advanced new weapons and technology from the Americans.  The Americans know that Taiwan would be part of China as a matter of time and would not be foolish enough to do silly things.  

The selling of F16s is just a token, for show and to get some foreign exchange. China would be quietly hoping that the Americans would offer more advanced weapons to Taiwan when they could easily lay their hands on them. There is nothing worrisome to China in the sale of F16s or advanced weapons to Taiwan. China would be the final beneficiary of this technology transfer.

What is real or unreal is not easy to fathom in international relations and in China Taiwan relations when both sides are  Chinese.  The white men do not trust Chinese, not even Taiwanese.

Covid19 - Trump called Putin and Xi for vaccines

Sssshhhh, don't tell anyone, Trump called Putin and Xi to share their vaccines with him to help him win the Presidential election in November.

Russia and China have both authorised the production of Covid19 vaccines for public vaccination. The vaccines would soon be available all over the world except for the USA.  The Americans have publicly condemned and attacked these vaccines as dangerous, did not meet the required fake American standards like Remdeviser and hydroxychlorine and of course disinfectant that the Americans are using, including Trump.

Russia and China do not need to say anything and happily issuing the vaccines to their people to protect them from the Covid19 virus. After all the crazy and delusionary attacks, the Americans are now too embarrassed to ask the Russians and Chinese openly for the vaccines. So they have to keep up their devious act of dismissing the Russian and Chinese vaccines as substandard. The more they do that, the less likely would the Russians and Chinese be willing to share the vaccines with the ugly and obnoxious Americans.  They would rather watch them get infected and die. After all it is their virus, Made in Fort Detrick. 

The virus is meant to be very deadly, a combination of Sars and HIV viruses spliced and attached together. That is why the virus is spreading so wildly and uncontrollable, with the original target being Chinese and all coloured people.  Unfortunately for the Americans, they did not expect the virus to mutate and attack the whites as well.  Though many coloured Americans have been infected and died, many whites are going the same way. This is a case of having a taste of their own medicine.

Now the unscrupulous and no principle clown Trump has quietly called up Putin and Xi to beg for the vaccines, promising to put a leash on the mad dog Pompeo not to attack them anymore.  Both Putin and Xi showed Trump their middle fingers.

So the attack on Russia and China continues. The latest, demonstrations in Belarus and Thailand. Thanks to the good work of CIA operatives. One thing for sure, no Russian or Chinese vaccines for the Americans. Trump must be banging madly at his table and demanding American pharmaceutical companies to quickly come up with a vaccine. God willing, they would fail in the process.

Foreigners here have become a sore point. The straw has finally broke the camel's back

 Addressing The Valid Question of 'What can you do?'

Don't just ask what can you do and stop there in despair. Think of a solution!

If by telling (complaining) them is not effective, then use the reverse psychological approach.

Encourage them to import more foreigners until it reaches a boiling point.

Once the boiling point is breached, all hell will break loose. The culprits will then be hounded and hunted down like rats. The power that be will become the power that cannot be. The heat will be so hot that it becomes untenable for the situation to remain status quo anymore.

Change then comes naturally as a matter of momentum.

Suddenly, out of the blue, true blue, pure blue, there arises a collective wisdom so great that no existing powers can overcome its avalanche and tsunami, its fury and wrath, its hunger and pangs, its raw power and forceful strikes..... The end of the Old is near. The New is born into the Brave New World!


That is one option that you can do.

If one solution does not work, think of another, and another, and another until you achieve your goal.

If at seeing the first sign of a problem, you just gave up, then you are no better than animals. At least animals can instinctively know how to adapt and survive. Not just survive but thrive.

If you just resigned to the unfavourable fate and tell yourself, "What can you do?", and behaved like a lan-lan lan-chiow and talk like a puny lan-chiow, then you deserve whatever shits that came your way.

So, be hardworking a bit with your brain. Don't let your brain goes rusty and later becomes senile.

Humans are born with a brain to think better than animal instincts. If animals know how to adapt and thrive, humans should do even better.

If there is a couple vampires (husband and wife team) sucking your blood and poisoning your lives, you don't simply allow your lives to be wasted away. You find a solution to the problem. You either get rid of the vampires' followers in order to cut off the supply of fresh blood to the vampires, or you get rid of the vampires directly at all costs.

If there is no compromise
arising out of a long period of negotiations and sufferings, then it's either they survive at your expense or vice versa. Simple as that.

No country wait for 100%, or 80%, or 60% of the citizenry to have the courage to rise and face the monster. It has always been the minority that fought against the monster and won. Sometimes,
it's only one or a small group of persons. The pattern has always been David against Goliath. Never Goliath vs Goliath.

Therefore, start thinking of solutions now, before your future generations condemn you for inaction.

Cheer up!

SSO

Posted on behalf of SSO. The boiling point has come. The cries of Singaporeans are getting louder and would not be silenced anymore.

NS Square and 'locals' - Uniquely Singapore when a circle is a square, when non citizens are considered as Singapore core, as good as being citizens

Below is a reprint of parts of an article by Tan Bah Bah in theindependent.sg on the plight of Singaporeans and how their importance and relevance to Singapore, as citizens of Singapore, are being diminished by the often used term, 'locals' as Singapore core.  True blue Singaporeans that have made immense sacrifices in NS and many things else need not have to be made to feel that the PRs are as important as them, as core of Singapore when they are at most fair weather residents here, economic migrants.

True blue Singaporeans must feel offended and stand up to object to the reference of PRs as locals and Singaporeans in the same breath. This is unacceptable and only pro foreigners and PRs would love to use this derogatory term to hide the numbers of Singaporeans being displaced by foreigners.  We are citizens, PRs are not.  We made great sacrifices in NS, PRs don't.

Singapore is the most silly little country with silly people that voted for the bringing in of foreigners to replace them in high paying jobs by the hundreds of thousands and they been sacked or ended in low paying jobs like Grab drivers, security guards and delivery boys.

And now these foreigners are now addressed as part of the Singapore core. And the elites are unhappy if Singaporeans are not happy with this silly situation when foreigners are more equal than citizens.

 

Here is Tan Bah Bah's piece.

....No need for Temasek to be so overly sensitive. The more inappropriately high-horse and holier-than-thou attitude it adopts, the greater the anger it will get from true-blues who are already irritated at being told that they have no right to find out what the exact amount of their combined reserves is. And they may also be unhappy that this company charged with handling part of their national reserves has the audacity to lecture them on intolerance and the inability to see the big picture.
 

The more important issues are: who should the government be protecting the most? What precisely is the Singapore core?
 

This should be blindingly clear. It is the job of the people put into power to protect the lives and livelihoods of people who have put them in power. Singapore belongs to Singaporeans – not to the temporary occupants of Istana or Parliament nor to anyone else who are here who are NOT citizens, whether permanent residents or foreigners.
 

The only true Singapore core is true-blue born and bred Singaporeans. No others. They have every right to have their interests placed at the top of every national policy, especially those affecting their jobs and their future.
 

It is a massive insult to lump Singaporeans together with PRs as “locals” and have that insensitively packaged as the Singapore core. The government may wish to sell that as “taking care of the Singapore core”. Singaporeans will not buy that absurd koyo.
 

PRs do not have to serve National Service. They also have countries to go back to. True-blues do not, their roots are here.
 

And please do not have Singaporeans cynically believe the “NS” in the just named NS Square in Marina Bay stands for “New Singaporeans” and not National Service.

Tan Bah Bah, consulting editor of TheIndependent.Sg, is a former senior leader writer with The Straits Times. He was also managing editor of a local magazine publishing company.

 

SINGAPORE: The NS Square, which will replace The Float @ Marina Bay, will become a “red dot” and the “central focus” of Singapore’s downtown, announced Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in his National Day message on Sunday morning (Aug 9).  CNA

Let's see how square is this circle. Is there any straight lines that normally are found in a square, plus right angles? Oh ya, outside the circle there are some straight lines, but still no right angles.  

Children, raise your hands if you spot a square.