Post GE 2011 Discussion

[hypergatak]

ksi:

Can you confirm if Ministers are still on pension scheme? I was having this dialogue with 2 guys who insisted that Ministers should be highly paid in millions because they have no pension scheme. :mad:

I think they are still entitled to pension, there have been discussions in channelnewsasia forum on this topic as well :

http://forum.channelnewsasia.com/viewtopic.php?t=432955&postdays=0&postorder=desc&start=0

Steve Chia also asked the PM the question in parliament in 2004. See quote from Today Online dated 2 May 2011
\"Mr Steve Chia (picture) said he had asked why some ministers have a pension scheme in addition to their ministerial salaries, and claimed he was told it was \"written in their contracts\".

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who was Deputy PM and Finance Minister in 2004, had told Mr Chia then that the pension scheme remained relevant to officers in key areas of the public sector, and the terms of service were similar for political appointees\"

Think only our PM can confirm this.

[Funz]

insider:

Funz:

Normal isn't it. When they are wearing the party's hat, they have to support the party's policies and programmes. Whatever that they do not agree with should be trashed out behind closed doors. Likewise for corporate employees right. Cannot possibly go knocking on a customers door and bad mouth your employer and still expect the customer to buy from you.

Emm....Funz...those sentences in blue.

Whatever they don't agree should be trashed out behind closed doors, but do they really do so in having a good debate out for the common good of Singaporeans and putting party's and personal interests aside or have they agreed coz of party whip despite morally they think that some policies are wrong; that they are agreeing against their conscience? My favourite \"Emperor's New Clothes\" analogy? Public perception seems to be such that they formed the policy and that's it, everyone needs to accept / swallow it (eg GRC system. You listen to GY talked about the ideal size of the GRC system which I believe he ever debated strongly within themselves but PAP still pushing 6-member teams).

If they have agreed on policies which deep in their hearts they know maybe detrimental to Singaporeans' interests, then I find it is 'crocodile tears' that they were shedding during and after elections and pretend that they only know about the strong resentment only during election period.

If talking about corporate salesperson. If the boss of this salesperson gives him something toxic to sell, is he supposed to sell?

This disillusion...very similar to those experienced by the teachers in schools, that they also get disillusioned when they face the 'real politics' happening in their working fields...(many quit coz they do not have the magnetic effect of million dollars salaries to make them stay to do 'cruelty' to young children).

I am just talking about work ethics here. Whether or not behind closed doors when they trash things out, they do so for the common good or not or for that matter whether there is any trashing out carried out, I cannot judge as I am not privy to it.

As for your analogy of boss asking a salesperson to sell toxic stuff, well the salesperson can quit. And if guided by his moral compass, then that should be the obvious choice. But so long as he is still employed by the company, he has to wear the corporate hat and at most toe the work ethics line.

I guess I see things in many shades of grey instead of pure black and white. Certain things are necessary evils, certain things are evil born of good intentions others are simply self serving evils in the guise of the greater good. Remember, hindsight is 20/20, at the time when people were benefitting from the rise of HDB prices and were able to use these as stepping stones into private properties where were the voices that say nay to pegging the HDB prices to mkt price?

As an employer, I want them to ease the policy on hiring foreign workers. This policy to allow more foreign workers into Singapore is poison to some but balm to others so where to strike the balance?

[Funz]

sleepy:

insider:

Both are strong man in my eyes and given time CSM may get to be stronger than LTK and will LTK allow CSM to move in front of him if later really CSM can be ‘shinier’ than him or he will fight to kick CSM out?

Recall that CST was kicked out from the party he created by CSJ :yikes:

If LTK and CSM can work in unity rather than 内乱, their camp would theoretically grow stronger. If they screw up among themselves, voters will lose confidence & needless to say we all know which direction the votes will swing next round

Don't know why LTK reminds me of 曹操, must be the way he smiles :evil: Anyway, I think he is too smart to suffer the same fate as CST. CST looked so 老实

LOL, my Dad said the same thing about LTK. He thinks LTK is ambitious and very crafty. And yah that is the mention about the way he smiles, Dad says very sinister. haha

[Oppsgal]

insider:

Foreign workers are a must in Singapore, esp in the service industry.

The balance that they need to strike is not to let foreigners take over our more high paying management jobs and hang our experienced people who got retrenched or our young graduates high and dry in the air...

I think Foreign workers should only be in the line of construction. For service line, and cannot speak English, very troublesome...

What happens if one can only speak English and another one can only speak in Chinese?

[Oppsgal]

Funz:

As an employer, I want them to ease the policy on hiring foreign workers. This policy to allow more foreign workers into Singapore is poison to some but balm to others so where to strike the balance?

Singapore citizens should come first...Balance should be taken into consideration for the majority citizens and not just the employer who is Singaporean?

For other countries like Japan etc, mostly their own citizens get the jobs first, not much fighting for jobs with other foreigners...

[Funz]

Oppsgal, the problem some of us employers face is not that we do not want to hire locals but are unable to find locals who are willing to take up the job. So if we are unable to find enough workers to keep the business going, what do you think will happen? Even the few locals whom we have hired will be out of jobs because we have to close shop.


Hire only foreign workers in construction line? Have you seen who are the ones doing your aircon servicing, pruning the trees, cleaning your backyard? You reckon there are enough Singaporeans willing to take those jobs?

Don’t get me wrong, I get equally irritated when service staff come up to me and I cannot understand a word they are saying and they seem to have problems understanding me. But having friends in the F&B and retail business, I know they do not have much choice. They need hands and legs to dish out the food so they compromise on the ability to speak English. A wounded soldier is better then none.

A friend of mine had to put her expansion plans on hold and even wind up one of her restaurants due to manpower issues. Because of that, her restaurant manager who is a Singaporean is out of a job. Because she is unable to expand, there is a loss of employment opportunity for Singaporeans.

[concern2]

Has anyone posted this link before? Made me watching CST from his youth. Mrs Chiam looked so beautiful too.


It's titled \"Thank you Mr. Chiam\" Also, catch a glimpse of how meet the people session is like in the video. Really :scared:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oX5lxAUci-A

[concern2]

Funz:

A friend of mine had to put her expansion plans on hold and even wind up one of her restaurants due to manpower issues. Because of that, her restaurant manager who is a Singaporean is out of a job. Because she is unable to expand, there is a loss of employment opportunity for Singaporeans.

A big portion of cost in the service industry comes from the ever-rising rental. What is the rationale in the rise of rental har? :? :?

[Funz]

concern2:

Funz:

A friend of mine had to put her expansion plans on hold and even wind up one of her restaurants due to manpower issues. Because of that, her restaurant manager who is a Singaporean is out of a job. Because she is unable to expand, there is a loss of employment opportunity for Singaporeans.

A big portion of cost in the service industry comes from the ever-rising rental. What is the rationale in the rise of rental har? :? :?

Dunno not an expert in this area. How about the simple reason of demand out stripping supply? My business is run out of a HDB commercial property/govt owned properties. My rent has remained relatively stable. I tried tendering for other HDB commercial properties, the minimum bids for these tenders are not high but the people tendering for these properties can put in bids that are up to 5x the opening bid.

[limlim]

Oppsgal:

Singapore citizens should come first...Balance should be taken into consideration for the majority citizens and not just the employer who is Singaporean?

That essentially boils down to a basic question.. The Govt's duty is to serve the pple or serve the corporations?