what abt us?

i know who i should vote for if my district doesnt do a walkover again.

Title : Singapore could face another round of inflation if firms raise wages
By :
Date : 09 July 2008 2154 hrs (SST)
URL : http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/359295/1/.html

SINGAPORE : Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam has warned that Singapore could face another round of inflation if companies increase wages to help workers cope with the higher cost of living today.

He said this will also affect Singapore’s competitiveness and the ability to create jobs.

Mr Tharman was speaking to some 500 workers at the Singapore Industrial and Services Employees’ Union dinner on Wednesday evening.

Higher rice and oil prices have led some Singaporeans to call on the government to set the tone by raising wages.

But Mr Tharman said such short-term measures are not prudent. Instead, he said the government has provided assistance to help Singaporeans deal with the higher cost of living.

These include S$500 million in GST Credits – to help citizens cope with the increased Goods and Services Tax – and special bonuses for senior citizens.

Mr Tharman said Singapore also addresses the problem of inflation mainly through its exchange rate policy. Since the beginning of last year, the Singapore dollar has appreciated by 11 per cent against the US dollar.

However, the minister said there is a limit to how much Singapore can allow its dollar to rise to fight inflation. Mr Tharman said if Singapore dramatically strengthens its dollar to offset the higher prices, it will instead hurt economic growth badly.

He said oil prices have increased by 50 per cent since the start of this year. And it has gone up by about 100 per cent compared to a year go. Food prices globally are now up to 60 per cent higher than one year ago.

Mr Tharman cautioned Singaporeans to brace themselves as oil prices may increase further.

He said, “We expect inflation to be between 5-6 per cent on average this year, with inflation being lower towards the end of the year. We also expect inflation in the second half of the year to be lower because the effects of last July’s GST increase on inflation will wear out.

“However, the recent sharp increase in global oil prices will add pressure on inflation. So we are monitoring this and the impact on inflation closely, and will decide if inflation forecasts for this year need to be revised.”

Looking at the global situation, Mr Tharman said the weakness in the US economy could extend into next year. But he maintains that Singapore can expect Gross Domestic Product growth to average between four and six per cent this year.

Mr Tharman said the lasting solution to inflation is to continue with efforts to help workers upgrade their skills and earn better wages.

He said it is also important to help experienced, mature workers stay employed and help home-makers get back to work. This will not only increase the household income, but help improve Singapore’s tight labour market. – CNA/ms

Copyright © 2008 MediaCorp Pte Ltd

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This avoidance of admitting mistakes or apologies is so well entrenched, it is practised by those in the private sector as well as the public sector.

Learn to say sorry
1 October 2003

Lee Han Shih
peccavi013@yahoo.com

WHY do political and corporate bigwigs find it so difficult to apologise in the public?

Look at the two events that shocked Singapore recently.

At listed Asia Pacific Breweries, a trusted finance manager allegedly embezzled $116 million.

True, the case is now before the courts and the company has acknowledged that it is reviewing some of its procedures to plug loopholes. But has here been an apology? Unfortunately, no.

In the government-run Environmental Health Institute, where a 27-year-old researcher caught the Sars virus, an apology was made eventually, but not on the day the botch-up was announced.

What’s more, the person who apologised was Environment Minister Lim Swee Say, who was not even on the frontline of the fight against Sars.

In contrast, Acting Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan preferred to focus on the lessons to be learnt from the episode. And Mr Wang Nan Chee, director-general of public health at the National Environmental Agency, the man so visibly in the public eye when the new Sars case was first discovered, was not present alongside Mr Khaw to take the flak.

It was Mr Wang who had first asserted that the virus could not have come from his labs. His comment had suggested there was another source of Sars in Singapore. This, in turn, raised widespread concerns and caused the stock market to plunge.

His expression of regret came only later when Mr Lim showed the way.

It is sad, but keeping mum in the face of mistakes has become something of a Singapore tradition. Everyone in the public and private sectors does it.

Remember the fiasco where the Infocomm Authority of Singapore “accidentally” overpaid Singapore Telecom $388 million? Were there any apologies to the public? Nope.

Remember when an employee of formerly-listed Centrepoint Properties was convicted for corruption? Not a word of apology was conveyed to investors.

How about the seven-month delay of the North East MRT Line? The Land Transport Authority went silent.

Nothing, however, beats the Housing and Development Board’s upgrading job at Marine Parade, which has gone through three contractors and numerous delays.

At first, the HDB refused to apologise. Then its CEO Niam Cheng Meng, did say sorry but directed it mainly at Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong, MP for the area.

Singapore likes to boast it has the best government in Asia. This claim is hard to dispute when it comes to economic achievements.

But look at Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. Their politicians may behave like thugs and corruption is rampant. But public apology is a way of life.

The higher you climb up the greasy pole of politics, the more publicly you apologise for your misdeeds or your subordinates’ mistakes.

In the UK, apologies are often accompanied by resignations.

Never mind that those are mostly perfunctory acts and politicians who resign are reinstated quickly. They still fill a necessary function.

In a democracy, governance is not just something that must be done, but it must be seen to be done.

Public apologies and resignations are, thus, signs to the public that their governments acknowledge their mistakes openly and are willing to take responsibility for them.

This is something Singapore needs to learn, and fast. For decades, the public was content to remain voiceless and minority shareholders gave up their power in exchange for a clean and efficient government and well-run companies that delivered profits regularly.

In the midst of a soul-destroying recession, the mood is less tolerant. Those in charge cannot walk away from mistakes without a full explanation, an apology or even some form of restitution.

The key word is accountability.

The writer is a freelance journalist. He can be contacted at peccavi013@yahoo.com

So, why doesn’t that theory pply to ministerial salary? Wouldn’t increasing ministerial and superscale civil servant salaries result in “price-wage spiral” in the private sector, as the latter raise pay further to entice certain civl servants???

Also, this inflation bonus proposal is just bullshit (nothing but a PR exercise). YOur employer can give you a “bonus” now, but it from your year end bonus!!

I like this lead by example business. Great if they take your plea of reduction in ministerial pay, esp Wong Kan Seng’s.

It was then reported recently in a letter to the ST Forum, that an employer was shocked to find out that his employee, having been given this “little help”, had it cut further due to CPF CONTRIBUTION!

Now I wonder, for those sandwiched class who have to pay income taxes, come tax season next year, any rebates? Or are they going to get taxed for this “little help” as well?

Let”s move on and get ready for a change in the top leadership. The change is long overdue!!!

Let”s move on and get ready for a change in the top leadership. The change is long overdue!!!

It is interesting to note that despite record inflation, the govt has not announced any belt-tightening measures for govt expenditure.

Then again, we’re told regularly that the economy is doing well. So, instead of tightening belts, the govt will be increasing salaries for their ministers.

Ideally, we be ruled by people loving leaders, but thus far, it is evidently money loving.

patriot.

Sounds good on paper and if you’re an aspiring officer cadet, fresh from JC/poly (more so though if you’re from JC and happen to be idealistic).

Idealism has no place in Singapore, a purely pragmatic country, and we cannot expect a minister to lead by example, unless it is pragmatically beneficial to do so. Which would be about now, i would say…