Singapore Ministers

[edisonsoul]

Re: Singapore Ministers

In truth, I think the ministers have basically shot themselves in the foot by having high salaries. By putting themselves up on the pedestral (high pay packages), they have inevitably raised expectation levels towards them among the folks here in Singapore. Coupled with the fact that they are dealing with a highly unpredictable external environment nowadays, not to mention a more educated citizenry scrunitizing their every move/policy, it is essentially a no-win situation for them, or at the very least, a high stakes game for them.

When you pay world class salaries to our ministers, I think Singaporeans are clearly, and rightly so, expecting world class decision making from them. Unfortunately so, they have appeared to be rather reactive and slow to change in recent times. And to be fair to them, I do not think it is easy for them/or anyone else to predict or anticipate all the changes which are going around in the world these days. Maybe they should adopt what the private sector does and go for a higher percentage of variable pay component in their compensations; really low basic, extremely high variable. This way, it will cultivate a performance-driven culture within the civil service, which will benefit all parties. Just my ten cents worth.

 

[edisonsoul]

Re: Singapore Ministers

As for the discussion on how the government can do things better, honestly, I think many people are missing the point about just how vulnerable a tiny island state of ours is. We are not like our neighbours, many of whom are resource-rich and have large domestic markets to leverage on. Neither are we like Hong Kong, who has a big brother in China to turn to. We are located in a region whereby we literally stick out like a sore thumb from the rest of the region, be it in our economic, social or religious traits. People lament about how we are way too friendly and skewed towards foreigners, but in a world like ours, there is no way we can survive for long if we are too inward looking. The only way for us to survive is to constantly prove our relevance and value to the outside world, and the last thing we want to do is to close all doors to them. Like one of the bros said earlier, you do not expect Swiss, US or Indian banks to hire Singaporeans immediately to head their operations here; similarly, if a Singaporean MNC were to set up offices elsewhere, you do not expect the company to hire local folks immediately. Culturally, socially and business wise, humans are just not wired that way.

Having said this, our government can certainly do better on two fronts; striking a good balance in their population policies and enhancing the way they communicate their ideas to the citizens. On the population policy front, I believe they are starting to move in the right direction and I think the key now is for them to strike a good balance. If they veer too much towards populist tendencies, it will serve our country no good in future. If they continue to pander too much to foreigners (perceived or otherwise), they will probably lose the trust of the local folks here, something which they have painstakingly built up over our developing years. And this brings us to the importance of communication. Perhaps the government is just too used to passing down orders to the population here over the years that they have forgotten that politics is all about the art of communication. I am sure they are taking steps to rectify it and hopefully they will be able to harness the power of communication and positioning to effectively convey the steps they are undertaking to make the lives of everyone out there much better in the long run. That is assuming they are crafting out the right policies that is.

 

[TripleM]

Re: Singapore Ministers

I wonder how it feels like to have a Spore Govt Shutdown like the US for a week...

Can go Kallang Guni Racing coz speed cameras are all not operational...huat ah!

 

[Red_Bean_Bun]

Re: Singapore Ministers

Hehe......just watch one go up to stage and read a bunch of if then else statements from a script. Even then still mispronounced, repeat 3-4 times and no one remembered what he said anyway in the end. Looked like someone taking an oral exam.

Then I watched Ginny Rommeti go up stage and delivered a speech extemporaneously and got all the statistics correct. This was followed by Claudia Cheng and Tan Chong Meng ....... all did well. No scripts and everyone got their points through. In fact, Tan Chong Meng exchanged views and stood quite well against Ginny on stage.......

We should cast our views wider ........ why can't US, Indian or Swiss banks hire Singaporeans to head their operations in their global headquarters ?

Perhaps the government is just too used to passing down orders to the population here over the years that they have forgotten that politics is all about the art of communication.

 

[edisonsoul]

Re: Singapore Ministers

I am sure we are getting there. If a Singaporean can be shortlisted as one of the few candidates to head the IOC, I am sure the future bodes well for us on the world stage. Then again, perhaps we should start at home first, and give our local executives a shot at some of the hottest seats in town.

We should cast our views wider ........ why can't US, Indian or Swiss banks hire Singaporeans to head their operations in their global headquarters ?[/QUOTE]

 

[wt_know]

Re: Singapore Ministers

at least one person got there liao ... Tharman
Chairman of IMF Committee and now named Finance Minister of the Year

I am sure we are getting there. If a Singaporean can be shortlisted as one of the few candidates to head the IOC, I am sure the future bodes well for us on the world stage. Then again, perhaps we should start at home first, and give our local executives a shot at some of the hottest seats in town.

We should cast our views wider ........ why can't US, Indian or Swiss banks hire Singaporeans to head their operations in their global headquarters ?

 

[wobbles]

Re: Singapore Ministers

My CEO drives a free Mercedes S350 company car with free petrol and flies Biz class anywhere...CCB GOVT!!!

Yeah, but you fly SQ SUITE CLASS and wipe your ass with 7-ply toilet paper you kapok'ed from the toilet.... What do you have to complain about?

 

[kenntona]

Re: Singapore Ministers

why can't US, Indian or Swiss banks hire Singaporeans to head their operations in their global headquarters ?

First, perceived limited exposure of the local professionals. Example a global derivatives head of trading - some ang mor guy probably has seen a bigger and more complex book, bigger volatility scenarios and face a more dynamic and fluid environment, after basing himself in Wall Street, London or HK. Relatively harder to find a similar local chap with similar global experience. The same will be applied against some head of operations, compliance and even credit/risk management.

Second, there is an element of lingo and/or operational familiarity in HQ operations. For instance, a French expat here dealing with his Paris HQ or a Jap engineer here dealing with his Jap counterparts in Japan ..... some of these executives actually revert to their "mother tongue" between themselves in meetings where Singaporean executives are around.....

 

[MW]

Re: Singapore Ministers

and also we show pictures from social photography to prove our argument becos a picture speaks a thousand words ma....not I say one...........

 

[Red_Bean_Bun]

Re: Singapore Ministers

Exposure doesn't mean the individual will do well when tested. The potential of the individuals in Singapore are abound. We need to break out of the mould of "we are from a small island" mentality.

The only thing that schools here are not good with is around leadership by influence. When faced with resistance from people of other cultures - the one thing you can count on is your communication skills (not your section A, read this passage oral exam skills) followed by substance.

Singaporeans actually have a good reputation for our abilities and because of our small numbers in population - is quite in demand in the US and China.

Only the insecure would start speaking their local dialects in a global conversation. You should be happy when they do that - it shows they either fear you or see you as a threat - You are there competing with them.

First, perceived limited exposure of the local professionals. Example a global derivatives head of trading - some ang mor guy probably has seen a bigger and more complex book, bigger volatility scenarios and face a more dynamic and fluid environment, after basing himself in Wall Street, London or HK. Relatively harder to find a similar local chap with similar global experience. The same will be applied against some head of operations, compliance and even credit/risk management.

Second, there is an element of lingo and/or operational familiarity in HQ operations. For instance, a French expat here dealing with his Paris HQ or a Jap engineer here dealing with his Jap counterparts in Japan ..... some of these executives actually revert to their "mother tongue" between themselves in meetings where Singaporean executives are around.....

 

[MW]

Re: Singapore Ministers

actually our problem is we can't speak well in public...

Look at Obama..wah, his speeches can move mountains..I almost wanted to join the Marines after hearing his speech Live last nite...

 

[wt_know]

Re: Singapore Ministers

couldn't agree more ... the so called expert commented ... obama won the poll by his excellent speech
the speech could be scripted but the way he delivered the speech ... wow ... can move mountain

actually our problem is we can't speak well in public...

Look at Obama..wah, his speeches can move mountains..I almost wanted to join the Marines after hearing his speech Live last nite...

 

[Mockngbrd]

Re: Singapore Ministers

Was wondering what "social photography" meant , so i googled...

Social photography is a subcategory of photography focusing upon the technology, interaction and activities of individuals who take photographs. Digital cameras, photo sharing websites and the Internet have enabled new tools and methods of social networking[SUP][1][/SUP] while consumer trends such as flashpacking and adventure travel have led to a worldwide increase in socially connected photographers.[SUP][2][/SUP]

I think what that dude was referring is "Social documentary photography"

Social documentary photography is the recording of humans in their natural condition with a camera. Often it also refers to a socially critical genre of photography dedicated to showing the life of underprivileged or disadvantaged people.

*end of rant*

 

[TripleM]

Re: Singapore Ministers

actually our problem is we can't speak well in public...

Look at Obama..wah, his speeches can move mountains..I almost wanted to join the Marines after hearing his speech Live last nite...

When you speak in Singlish, no matter how grammatically perfect your speech is, it never sounds that good.
So to me, the issue is with the accent then the public speaking skills.

 

[wobbles]

Re: Singapore Ministers

Singlish does not equate Singapoean accent, whatever the latter means anyway. Singlish subscribes to its own set of grammatical rules - it's not just the way words are pronounced. An oft quoted example of the "Singaporean accent" is how we do not emphasis the voiceless dental frictative phoneme "th" in the way we pronounce the word "three". It often comes out sounding like "tree". That's got nothing to do with public speaking skills.

 

[kenntona]

Re: Singapore Ministers

Exposure doesn't mean the individual will do well when tested. The potential of the individuals in Singapore are abound. We need to break out of the mould of "we are from a small island" mentality.

The only thing that schools here are not good with is around leadership by influence. When faced with resistance from people of other cultures - the one thing you can count on is your communication skills (not your section A, read this passage oral exam skills) followed by substance.

Singaporeans actually have a good reputation for our abilities and because of our small numbers in population - is quite in demand in the US and China.

Only the insecure would start speaking their local dialects in a global conversation. You should be happy when they do that - it shows they either fear you or see you as a threat - You are there competing with them.

Yah, after all that, you will remember that we still bring our own management over to Suzhou when we started the industrial park project. It is only natural you want the control in your hands.

Hence natural to see expats managers in hired here to run foreign banks and companies.

actually our problem is we can't speak well in public...

Look at Obama..wah, his speeches can move mountains..I almost wanted to join the Marines after hearing his speech Live last nite...

Move mountains? Have you listened to MM Lee's speech? He will flatten any mountain !!!

 

[wobbles]

Re: Singapore Ministers

Move mountains? Have you listened to MM Lee's speech? He will flatten any mountain !!!

Pruss Huan pruss pruss. But MM Lee is a rare find - a once in a century statesman, not something that gets churned out by the PSC or Overseas Merit Scholarship mill like how it is nowadays.

 

[ozipo]

Re: Singapore Ministers

actually our problem is we can't speak well in public...

Look at Obama..wah, his speeches can move mountains..I almost wanted to join the Marines after hearing his speech Live last nite...

Our education system never emphasise public speaking and it could be by design. And for a long time we never have an environment to cultivate popular figures from sports or entertainment or any fields
One theory is popular public figure/s could sway the public into voting out the ruling party.

 

[Mockngbrd]

Re: Singapore Ministers

imo, someone like MM Lee in SG today will prob. never make it into PAP.

 

[wobbles]

Re: Singapore Ministers

imo, someone like MM Lee in SG today will prob. never make it into PAP.

Actually, I think he would - he has the credentials - Double Firsts from Cambridge in Law. That's all that matters now, isn't it? Paper qualifications?