How much wage increase can hurt inflation? Inflation is already at the highest in 26 years but wages highest in 26 years? Come on! Wise up would you, Minister? I think your million dollar wage should not increase less it adds more to inflationary concerns. There are already whole load of cheap foreign talents in Singapore, how will it affect our competitiveness to be any less. You mention another round of inflation coming if wage is increased. Ya, like i stupid citizen dont read world news. Inflation now is way beyond our gahmen ’s control. If oil remains high above US$120 what can 3-5% wage increase do to inflation while expensive oil remains. Inflation dropping off as mentioned by the gahmen towards 2nd half will not materialise any time sooner. Sit tight everyone for a roller coaster ride this year.

FG

“Upping wages is no cure – Tharman”

Upping wages is no cure for commoner but upping salary by few millions has a cure for the coffers ?

Isn’t millions of dollars not enough to stuff your mouth or is your mouth as big as your greed ?

Comments edited by moderator to remove cussing.

By PAP’s conventional thought, workers’ wages must be suppressed in order to attract and retain foreign investments. However, wages for the civil service and especially the ministers, are excluded from their own logic. It’s a no brainer that all this is because of PAP’s misleading and self-serving policies.

Under what illusions does PAP expect majority of Singaporeans (except beneficiaries) to consider this line of logic as fair, equitable and above board?

At best, this is an attempt to divert attention from the fact that PAP’s policies have contributed much to the local inflation as well. Opening the floodgate to foreign workers is as good as “robbing the poor” to “benefit the rich.”

The amount of foreign worker levy collected is so obsene that it cannot be revealed. A sincere responsible govt would have logically utilised the levy to assist those affected by the foreign worker policy. is it an illusion that the levy is supposed to encourage employers to hire locals?

Majority of Singaporeans are well aware of PAP’s agenda. It is the ministers that are disillusioned. Only a major corrective surgery performed by Singaporeans can reverse PAP’s course.

Why not you lead the example without a pay raise? I follow suit!

Since the govt’s recent budget had a $6.45 billion dollar surplus, contrary to what the govt’s initial calculation was (a $700m deficit), perhaps the minister (who introduced the GST hike) would consider reversing the 7% GST back to 5% – or even less.

I think we are all very very tired of the woeful mismanagement of the economy thus far. All that we are banking on nowadays, it seems, are dollars from the F1 race, Singapore Flyer and the upcoming 2 casinos.

And for these, we should give the PAP ministers a third salary increase this year?

Thanks to our ministers. We workers will not ask for increament, in order to solve the problem of inflation. We don’t mind eating rotten fish and expired bread tainted with fungus. Without you ministers, spore will be gone in 5 years. Thanks to Tharman, Gan KY, Dr Ng. You can increase your salary to $5 million per annum each, with entertainment allowance, housing, petrol allowance,etc…. I am very grateful to pap, without which my wife will be maid or prostitute in foreign land.

Upping wages is no cure? Then you dont up your wages la!!!!!!

Look at the food center, price simply up with no control. Wage earner are the one get the hard hit. More ERP indirect cause inflation. What don’t it cut down the employee CPF, after all it is our money. Why don;t he suggest no GST for necessary items.

I have yet to hear our ministers to come out something viable to curb the ever-increasing prices, but the same old thing- “upgrade your skills and earn better wages”. Now, our homemakers must leave home to work to curb higher expenses due to higher inflation. Working at home is not enough, but must work outside the home! In the end, one might work to pay one’s medical bill. I could not understand how could one earn better wages if the wages are not increased? In that case, may I suggest the Government to raise Personal relief for tax-payer from $500 to $1,000 for himself and his family. This surely is on par to the present standard of living.

I understand the Government’s concern for businesses not to fold-up due to rising costs that eventually affect the economic growth of the country. But, due to higher costs, businesses also gain higher profits, especially petrol companies, transport operators, food and beverage sectors, etc, etc. Consumers pay higher bills for commodities and utilities and the providers get more and more profits. The big players can offset the higher expenses but not the consumers. So, please spare a thought for the lower-end income people, mainly the consumers.

Our wages are inadequate at the lower levels. It must be raised adequately to meet the high cost of living.

The average monthly earnings in Singapore in the first quarter of 2008 is $4,316. In the USA and a few other countries, the minimum wage is about one-third of the average wage. If this concept is applied in Singapore, our minimum wage should be $1,430 a month.

In Korea, the minimum wage is 27% of the national average. In France, it is 66%. In Taiwan, it is 34%. In Singapore, our low income workers earn about $750 a month. This represents 17% of the national average, and is much lower than Korea.

My friend told me that three jounalist from Taiwan visited Singapore to see how the poor live. He brought them to visit some rental flats. The flats were dark as the occupants did not want to spend money on electricity and do not watch television. The journalists said, “The poor in Singapore are poorer than the poor in Taiwan. In Taiwan, the poor can afford to watch television”.

…Competitiveness. It’s always about COMPETITIVENESS. So afraid of putting a ding on the economy (as if a constantly reported rosey economy ever did us all any good..).
I doubt any of the ministers know what it really is like out there, with cheap foreign labours all over the place, and in every industry. Let me relate today’s experience when I went and replaced my car’s tyres and rims:

I was early at the tyre shop, the boss wasn’t in yet, so an assistant was assigned to me. From observation he is a new employee, but not new to such jobs, and he is a Chinese National obvious from the way he speaks. So he proceeded to marry my selected Pirelli tyres to the sport rims. After the second wheel was done, I went over to take a closer look – guess what? The tyre was fitted with the outside wall inside! Explained to him that it is incorrectly fitted, as these tyres have directional and external orientations, yet he insisted in deep accented Mandarin that it is correct!

I wasted no more time with him, and went into the office to inform the administrator and she immediatley took this Foreign Talent off my orders. She suggested waiting for the boss who will personally fit my wheels. While all this was going on, the opposite shop another Chinese National was working on a truck’s wheels with one of those air-powered bolt rivet guns – suddenly there was a loud bang and the air hose connected to his gun whip lashed all over the place like a snake gone berserk. He just walked around looking at it not knowing what to do. A man probably a colleague and apparently a local, walked over to the valve and turn offed the supply.

Now, perhaps the economy and competitiveness isn’t hurt, and jealously protected. But whose protecting the level of service, and skills necessary in rendering services and products within our economy??? I am not just refering to tyre works and auto shops, because across the board people are fed up with lacklustre service standards from FTs and much have been said of those from China because they are pretty much saturating the job market.

So excuse me Mr Tharman, you may need to look for more cures than just one for inflation. Focussing too much on just the econopmy and competitiveness while grossly neglecting all other areas makes not a COMPETITIVE government – the word COMPLACENCY comes to mind again…

“So excuse me Mr Tharman, you may need to look for more cures than just one for inflation. Focussing too much on just the econopmy and competitiveness”

Of course all these clowns will focus on economy and competitiveness after all they pegged millions dollar KPI on these factors. For them to gain is for us to die. And we know how bloody fart up is these KPI are. Just ask Wong Can’t Sing. Screw up big time and still KPI is as solid as ever. Really One big happy Lee Family.

The country is rich but the people are poor, in the pocket.

India is poor but the people are rich, in the heart.

The govt sets wage guidelines???? This is surely not a free economy.

We are all mostly screwed for good.

I share all the sentiments expressed above. Those were my first reaction when I read the headlines in the newspapers. Definitely NOT a case of leadership by example, I’m sad to say….. :(

“Upping wages to offset inflation was no cure as it would simply cause employers to pass the costs on to consumers as well as dent Singapore’s competitiveness.”

Mr Thumbman, and his fellow Moneystirs should lead by example and not allow their own pay to be raised this year, so that their employer, the govt, will not be caused to pass the costs to the poor citizens of Singapore in the form of higher ERP, GST, medical bills, etc… etc… as well as dent Singapore’s competitiveness.

actually.. it is true – an increase in wages without a corresponding increase in productivity will only cause inflation to persist further due to a wage-cost spiral.

not that i’m saying that the government’s economic management has been astute so far, or very sensitive to people’s needs, given that tharman’s statement came smack on the news of an increase in ministerial salaries.

but there is no point castigating him for saying something true: that increasing wages alone will not solve the problem; the labour competitiveness in singapore does get affected, and that will have a detrimental effect.

what can be done however is more generous fiscal measures: gst rebates, monetary handouts etc etc especially in light of the budget surplus.

burningrepublicstate,
do read the The Singapore Miracle book (available in Singapore, saw it in Border), and you understand what all the coffers say are nothing new. The book document almost the problems and issues Singapore face currently and in the future. It has forewarn the coffers very early on. ONe thing it mention that productivity and upgrading has a law of diminishing return.

The notion that gov initiate the price hike and gSt causing inflation, and create new surplus which endup in Temask, GIC and who knows well is what piss people off. This might be self-inflicted too. Do you really care about the paltry gst rebates , monetary handouts that other countries envy about Singapore when they did not know how our coffers work ?

When the gov lose totally credibility, become arrogant and need so much money for moral authority, people will never the believe the gahmen again because they know it is all created by the government in their personal agenda.

Now you know why the backslash about this Tharman ? True, it is the pinkish clown who shamelessly throw the burden to Tharman after he realize his follies, but then as a high ranking garman, he is just responsible and accountable for all these. Failure to speak up and stand against the Lee, and is this something we do not know in parliament ?

Higher wages for the low incom workers does not lead to uncompetitive business. The business will still be competitive, but the top managers and shareholders will get less than before (and still quite a lot). They may pay less in rental, so the property owners will not make big gains (but they will still make a good gain).

A fairer distribution of income will lead to a fairer and more just society. If more people are better off, they can spend on their living needs and make the economic grow. And they can raise a family and have children. It does not help the economy to have 30% who are so poor that they find it difficult to cope with the cost of living.

It is quite shameful for a soceity to have the weaker members work on two jobs, just to earn enough to survive.

Yes, Mr Tam Kin Lian is spot on the onservation of the poor in Singapore. One needs to do is the visit the older estates and single room HDB units to see how poor the residents are. Many can even have 2 meals a day and struggle to fill their basic needs. Just observe the figures reported in the press on the number of people receiving the periodic handout of rations by the CDCs or MPs and you will realise that indeed the numbers are big. Another area often not indicated in the ones in all the charities, homes and shelters. If NCSS needs and is collecting so much money and the PM recently reclared the record collection, just how many people are actully tucked out of scene in these places. Indeed many feel that the picture of progress and prosperity for all is but just a facade to conseal the real situation. Lets just say, our efficient government has successfully learned how to mange to poor that they do not become a eye-sore. The reality is that many are begging to survive and yet there are hardly any on the streets. Now that’s Singapore.

[...] sob! – Singabloodypore: Singapore calls lawyers’ allegations over rights unfounded – TOC: Upping wages is no cure – Tharman – Sgforums: Tharman: worker wage increase causes inflation, gov fee not – VR-Zone: Employers should [...]

ya when u gahment increase of your salary is important , u all find 1001 reasons to do . close gap worry mp will leave. do min salary for pp will increase inflation . what do you think we singaporean are , sucker to you . slaves? i think enough is enough. is too much . u r just too much .

If the FTs are so good, have the government even considered taking in FTs into the government, i am sure with their attractive pay packages, they will be able to find some outstanding talents who may actually be able to come out with some constructive ideas on fighting inflation.

His answer to Singapores problem is only one sided, when he means do not give pay raise to the employess, he missed out the part when he should also tell companies how to spend their money, example use it on ERP system , buying office furniture, donating to the RICH ?

His analogy is like saying MAS = WKS , maybe this is true after all ?

Cant seem to relate and cant make sense , how much do we pay this guy again ?

So we are not supposed to raise our wages because ‘productivity’ has not kept pace? What about you ministers and top civil servants getting out of this world raises and now it looks like you cannot deliver on the economic targets, inflation rate you have budgetted? (e.g. suka suka adjust inflation and blame it on oil price yada yada yada)

You should be Cutting your Salaries !!!

Smug !
PTUI!

Hear that a director in a STAT Board is earning S$22K per month!
No wonder when you talk to them about the haves and the have nots here,
they got super glue on their lips. Of course Tharman can say that because his out of this world salary can take many rounds of inflation.
What is he doing about it? Giving handouts like the GST credits is not the answer.
I don’t think too the economy has been mismanaged all these years but the needs of Singaporean has been by passed at the expense of getting more and more. It will come back and bite them ( and us too ) later.

23) Focko on July 11th, 2008 3.45 pm If the FTs are so good, have the government even considered taking in FTs into the government, i am sure with their attractive pay packages, they will be able to find some outstanding talents who may actually be able to come out with some constructive ideas on fighting inflation.
total agree with you . so can . can we change you gahment such u r so expensive. i believe a china PM OR MP is better cause cheaper . or can do the NO CONFIDENCE vote like malaysia can MR TAN advice ?

The only cure is to shut the F-up and make your vote count!

“The only cure is to shut the F-up and make your vote count!”

Mr Tharman,, I only get to vote once so far in late 1980s, now please give me and all the citizen to vote without the freaking dubious GRC to give all the bull. Let’s go back to one to one vote. To hell with GRC system .
Give back our right to vote.

Instead of spending time complaining, discussing etc…
Use the time to talk to ur uncles, aunties, parents, friends, pakcik, makcik… whoever happen to live in constituencies lucky enough to get to vote…
TO MAKE THEIR VOTE COUNT… the next time round…

geng, you forget about the PR and the foreigner who may get to vote too. Include them to be convinced as well… ops I forget, they are at mercy of our government too.

These people are really wicked. After they have given themselves two unnecessary pay increments with a third on the way, they can now turn around and tell those hardpressed Singaporeans that there will be no pay increment for them. How they can have the conscience to do this sorts of thing is beyond me. Hardly surprising that Singapore is evolving into a souless society. If these people continue like that we might end up as a nation of robotised humans.

I agree with MM that it will take the opposition 5 years to erode this country ….. look at the way things are going….I can tell you its heading for destruction with the current opposition.

Citizens really need to wake up… and see whats happening around us before the Shit hits the fan.

Use your vote wisely ….. look at the policies, study and understand how they impact the everyday man on the street.

Are we seeing a situation, where black is white ?

To sum it up. Mr Finance Minister please do your maths properly before another embarrassment like the $6.4 billion surpluses happens again. Please use maths to count the effect on competitiveness if wage increased by a 1% and also the artificial strengthening of our currency. Dont just pluck words in the air and throwing it at your citizens and say this is the truth. How do you expect us to have any confidence in what you said after the billion dollars surpluses not tool long ago. If i am your image consultant i will tell you to shut up for the time being until your sheeps all are in dreamland to sprout propaganda again.

FG

With wages being capped and inflation at a high level, it is timely for the Governemnt to reduce GST from 7% down to 5% or lower. This will provide some temporary relief to offset the cost of living. I believe that the budget will still show a surplus. If not, it is all right to run a small deficit to be charged against our reserves.

since several months back, i’ve no idea what these leaders are saying in the press… i got to read twice those statements they say out of their fat ass trap and be flabergasted. Now it seems to me that these people (read i no longer refer them as leaders) are perhaps too arrogant.

Points to support my point are as follows:

1) tharman’s craps as above
2) mm’s theatric shows in court
3) holy mas selamat escape and how they made a TCS show outta it
4) the ERP increases and how they made statements about more craps

Enuff to show that they’re getting outta hand… now, where’s their mummy?

Hi Kin Lian,

I concur with you fully here. It’s time that we, citizens, take responsibility for our vested Singapore future to come together as a social focus group. The aim is to discuss and offer alternatives/ feedback to opposition parties for them to pursue the issues with the ruling party or the speciifc ministry.

With so many like-minded people on TOC, I’m sure we should be able to gather good and quality response.

No more ifs and buts. May I suggest TOC issue a statement regarding this proposal, if agreeable, to allow those interested to sign up. My only concern is the infiltration of moles.

TOC, let me have your opinion here and I’ll be in contact promptly.

I am in support of the views presented by Mr. Tan Kin Lian on the wages of our lowest rung of workers, in particular the cleaners.

I would like to discuss about the issue of cleaners in our HDB estates managed by HDB in the past and now by the town councils since the late 80s. There are close to a million flats managed by a total of 16 town councils. There are presently three managing agents, namely; EM Services (a HDB owned company), Premas International (a subsidiary of Capitaland under Temasek) and CPG managing 13 of the PAP town councils. The 14th PAP town council is managed by its direct staff.

The reason why I am touching on the town councils is because together, they can offer about 5000 jobs to our local citizens. Instead, as it is now, 90% are taken up by foreigners, many of whom are non-bonafide workers from Bangladesh and China.

The problem of non-bonafide workers working in HDB estates managed by town councils is not new. It dates back to the days when town councils were formed. Why are these workers allowed by the managing agents to work in their estates?Are the town councils not harbouring them? Why are the managing agents, who are also contractors, not penalised? Moreover, these managing agents also allow the cleaning contractors to house them in bin centres which are not condusive for dwelling.

I have been told about 5 years ago, there was a mandate from the Ministry of manpower (MOM) requiring all town council cleaning contractors to employ locals. It appears that nothing has been done by the managing agents to enforce this on the ground. As a result, the situation is getting worse now. You find more foreigners are being employed, especially PRCs. The main culprits are the managing agents.

The only reason why contractors risked employing non-bonafide foreigners is to maximise their profits. Enforcement actions by Ministry of Manpower are few and far between. I supposed it’s worth the risk.

In order for our locals to be employed in this area of work with reasonable wages, no stones must be left unturned by MOM and the managing agents of town councils to flush out all non-bonafide foreign workers deployed in town council estates.

Unless and until managing agents are held accountable for non-bonafide workers in their estates, our locals will not be able to command reasonable wages working as cleaners in the town councils. The current wage of a local cleaner in town council is about S$600.00/month, working 365 days a year.

I say this because my relative, who use to work in Eunos estate, managed by Marine Parade town council lose her job to a PRC about a year ago, after working there for 8years. Similarly, her friends encountered the same fate in Ang Mo Kio estate (Prime Minister’s ward).

I look forward to Mr. Tan Kin Lian probing into this issue as it would mean a few thousand jobs made available to our senior citizens who are in their 50s and 60s. Is a salary of S$1,200.00 to S$1,500.00 in Singapore’s context today, asking for too much?

[...] sob! – Singabloodypore: Singapore calls lawyers’ allegations over rights unfounded – TOC: Upping wages is no cure – Tharman – SPUG: Peasants should not ask for payrise – Coffee Shop Talk: Tharman: wages increase = suicide – [...]

We must thank Mr Tharman for giving us a clue to identifying one of the contributing causes of the current bout of inflation woes.

If our wages have not risen sharply in years, and yet inflation has been blowing out of control, who’s wage-rise have been causing it?

The eminent Minister obviously has by now noticed a correlation between the changing figures on his monthly payslip and the inflation rate over the past few years, to have made this statement.

So has every employer and every employee. (In Mr Tharman’s statement he would like us to construe the word “competition” as to mean comsumer prices, but employees compare wages too, and employers are competing for talents all the time. Are those not competition?)

A Minister’s salary is almost equivalent to the payroll of a typical SME of about 50 employees, and if an employer had followed the same “benchmark” and upped his staff’s wages and payscales over the past few years in the same way the Cabinet and the civil service did, shouldn’t the costs have been passed on the consumers by now?

Don’t forget that benchmarking is never one-way. It is a neverending spiral of “competition”. (Thanks to front-page news coverage, the entire nation including the kopitiam cleaner, has now learnt the concept of benchmarking wages against the legendary “Top 48″.)

It is silly to think that employers in Singapore do not wish to be competitive – they do so too, and it is especially so in the job market here – where because of high job mobility in a densly populated city, comparable positions can be found upstairs, downstairs and across the street , so employees simply settle for the best-paid offer.

What makes us think that Singapore businesses behave competitively only in pricing and cost-cutting, but not in renumeration, staff retention, recruitment and incentives. Like the government, every entrepreneur here only want the best talents for his company, and nothing less than the best he deserves to work with. Even the entrepreneurs themselves aspire to earn like our Ministers (and how else but by raising prices?). Who is to tell them they don’t deserve the best?

Employers take the cue from government leaders too. Pay for the best to get the best. I believe many employers did, and they will continue to do so.

Will the Ministers now begin to try to educate employers to keep wages down, settle for the mediocre (and not try to be meritocratic like the Cabinet, because your ordinary businesses and corporations do not deserve the best), and let go those top talents to take up expat packages offered to them in other countries?

The Cabinet also needs to educate everyone in this country, including themselves and especially their own children, that it is possible to live a more happy and fulfilled life with less income.

We must recognise that it is also possible to make the same contribution to the organisation you are serving (not an ounce more, not an ounce less) with the same or less pay. By leadership, and before everyone’s eyes, the Cabinet has proven this to be true.

Have we noticed an increase in productivity from the Cabinet since its pay increases. Ministers still work the same hours and deliver the same quality of work, don’t they.

But we have paid a high price to learn that lesson. Let it not go to waste.

We can eat cheaper food; We can live in smaller homes; we can bear with less luxury.

We can forgive (the individuals), but we must never forget the lessons, failures and bad examples taught to us by people who have been consumed with greed and become lost in their life’s purposes.

Brick,

You should write what you said to the Shitty Times and hope they published it. I doubt they will. Anyways, a well written piece article on self-reflection and necessary action needed by our million dollar ministers.

FG

Frusco,

Thanks for the insight on foreign workers working in our town council. My town council housed their workers in an empty room within the multi story carparks. They loves to wear sarong at night sitting infront of and near the entrance of the carpark. Many woman and children walk pass a small pavement to get home will feel embarrassed by their actions. They seems immune to their sarong dressing exposing their chest hair and half naked body. Why in the first place are the workers not housed in a proper room at a hdb or apartments? And why are these cleaning jobs given to them and not Singaporeans?

FG.

Mr ‘Tamak’ ,

what did you say no cure ??? I only hear a ‘BIG FART’ from you and it really stinks.

“If our wages have not risen sharply in years, and yet inflation has been blowing out of control, who’s wage-rise have been causing it?”

Now who have worsen the inflation in Singapore ? Blame it on the world again ? Increase GST after every election is a must whether it is justified or not for the government, don’t you agree ? So really, what’s inflation are you talking about ? Inflation already going to happen before the coffers implement GST hike. Coffers paint rosy picture, and now telling us inflation is impending. WTF !

“A Minister’s salary is almost equivalent to the payroll of a typical SME of about 50 employees, and if an employer had followed the same “benchmark” and upped his staff’s wages and payscales over the past few years in the same way the Cabinet and the civil service did, shouldn’t the costs have been passed on the consumers by now?”

“And let go those top talents to take up expat packages offered to them in other countries?”
Stop behaving and talking like the MIW whether you are one or not. No one says we have to let go all top talents. Don’t make extreme case that people in this site are so familiar.

“The Cabinet also needs to educate everyone in this country, including themselves and especially their own children, that it is possible to live a more happy and fulfilled life with less income.”

Really ? Are you sure ? Why not start with the cabinet drawing a salary of $100,000 per year then. People with $330 can survive one month, surely those with $100,000 is more than basic need. It is a disgrace that our cabinet need $3.7 millions to survive and now you telling me that it is possible ?

“Have we noticed an increase in productivity from the Cabinet since its pay increases. Ministers still work the same hours and deliver the same quality of work, don’t they.”

REally ? Where is Mas Selamat ? Ministers work same hours ? But is it them catching Selamat personally or is he giving all the shit things left for the police and army to do the job. Don’t make the coffers so noble as though they are the one doing it.

“A Minister’s salary is almost equivalent to the payroll of a typical SME of about 50 employees, and if an employer had followed the same “benchmark” and upped his staff’s wages and payscales over the past few years in the same way the Cabinet and the civil service did, shouldn’t the costs have been passed on the consumers by now?”

Why talk about SME and entrepreneurs and compare these coffers with them. The formers are risk-taker, sacrfice a lot, and if business fail, they go down with it together with their workers. On the other hand, the coffers have totally no risk, use MSM to coverup and deliver bullshit, blame it on the world, everybody, but not on themselves.
Please brick,
do not smear the name of SME and entrepreneurs, the coffers are simply not worth even to compare with anything but themselves. Even Burma junta deserve more respect than our coffers as at least the Junta never claim they are world-class, honest and full of credibility.

“By leadership, and before everyone’s eyes, the Cabinet has proven this to be true.”

What leadership ? What benchmark ? What’s monopoly ? Been first in a class where the class size is only one doesn’t prove anything at all, it only prove that the class is pathetic.

Fancy even dare to insult IBA, how arrogant and inept can our coffers be ! If coffers have guts and leadership, sue IBA then and show how mighty they are to the world. Sue IBA then or our government is nothing but a coward.

All these are stories, and with the internet , the MSM is loosing its grip on its “FACTUAL CONTENT” publishing “INFORMATION” without questioning the full content of a statement being made.

I guess the internet is a very good tool for a country like Singapore. with open discussions comes open minds.

Not some rubbish, like GST to help the poor, do not increase wages, etc.

What we need is simple, better quality of life, by having a miminum wage, good and sound retirement plans and quality medical care.

I am quite sure these are the issues that have not been addressed.

Singapore for Singaporeans. and please dont waste tax payers money by buying sporting goods of other brands.

Please support local brands!

Harrison,

Sorry for the late reply. I am not sure which proposal you are referring to. The GST reduction proposal?

By the way, you can reach us at theonlinecitizen@gmail.com

Thanks.

Regards,
Andrew Loh

How can we upgarde ourselve to remain employable & increase wages when our beloved ST is reporting that degree holders from Philippine are here working as coffee shop server?

I felt very angry that the report was writen in such way to reflect as if S’porean are too picky to do this work.

I dare tell u that if you find a place that pay me 10X more than what I get in Singapore as a coffee server in coffee shop, I will be more than willing to be away from my family a year or two to take up this job.

Any advise or comments from anyone

The Finance Minister has said that “increasing wages will not solve the problem of inflation in the long term, and may even prolong it”. He suggested that rising wages can in fact trigger a second round of inflation.

If wages cannot be increased, I wish to suggest a temporary measure to address the concern.

The Minister told Parliament earlier this year that the budget surplus for was expected to be $6.4 billion for 2007, compared to the deficit of $0.7 billion that was originally projected. The GST collection arising from the two percentage point hike in July 2007 contributed to an estimated $1.4 billion.

Inflation for 2008 has been officially estimated to be 5% to 6%. This inflation rate is several points higher than the average rate of 2% to 3% in recent years.

I suggest that GST should be temporarily reduced to 5%. This will bring some relief to the many families who now find it difficult to cope with the high cost of living. The cost to the Government is $2.8 billion a year and can be more than supported by the current level of budget surplus.

If the budget surplus falls significantly in 2008 due to the slowdown in the economy, it is possible to draw on the national reserves, subject to approval of the elected President.

The current high level of inflation, which is unprecedented during the past two decades, justify this special consideration.

“How can we upgarde ourselve to remain employable & increase wages when our beloved ST is reporting that degree holders from Philippine are here working as coffee shop server?

I felt very angry that the report was writen in such way to reflect as if S’porean are too picky to do this work.”

Why not the online Citizen write about the government in other countries that get paltry pay but yet earn the respect of the citizen and do much better our money-greedy government ? Then we can see whether our government is picky or not on their own pay, give a quote on how much ministers are getting oversea, and state that as percentage of our coffers’s earning.

Mr Tan,

Why not you go joined Reform Party? I bet most sinkies will vote you in. All that u mentioned are very good points. A really good People MP. I hope u dont end up in PAP party because whatever came out from all the bright and irreplaceable talents have given us all these craps for many years. If you end up in PAP, you will be a nice flower stuck in a pile of poo. I truly wish Singapore can rid of all these self prasing parasites that still cant see themselves as fleas.

FG

Daniel,

“Sue IBA then or our government is nothing but a coward.”

Actually, LKY would have no qualms to initiate a defamation suit against IBA. His only condition would be that the case be heard in S’pore’s High Court.

His integrity only appeals to those who need his GIC and Temasek controlled funds.

Harrison,
you are right. This old man is coward and can only win on home-ground using kangaroo law and court. Isn’t Singapore lawyer part of IBA’s 30,000 lawyers worldwide ? Why not LKY sue those Singapore lawyers who are in Singapore since they are part of IBA ? Didn’t these lawyers help to draft the report too ? Isn;t this is a easy task for him as he has done to Dr Chee ? Is he so senile as to lose his intelligence of destroying anyone that get his way? Oh by the way, is these lawyers working for the government too ?

I find that ironic that LKY is so thick-skinned as elephant to demean IBA which he wholly praised in the first place. Really why is going on in his mind ? Is he so really crazy and arrogant ? Is he still sound ?

Has he step down long ago, people is willing to forgo his past, and now noway people going to forgive and forgo his past when all his deep smelly shit has been digged up. No layman going to forgive him except the coffers who keep relying on him for ongoing million-dollars pay cheque .

Now let see if this freak is going to build the Great Wall of Singapore to prevent his so-called human-right foreigners from conspiring against Singapore.

Old man has been living in his make-believe world for far too long. God save the emperor and give him real eye and a true heart.

No words can describe the utter disgust i have of Tharman. He have no shame, with his million dollar salary by uttering such remarks. May Tharman the Heartless lose in the next election.

I think the single most important contribution to inflation today, is the rise in Minister’s salaries, followed by the rise in salary of all civil servants – which occurred last year.

As it is, PAP manifesto has failed – as the bottom 20% income earners saw a dip in salary, but inflation is shooting to 10 percent. What a shame. I am beginning to reject their manifesto.

Daniel

A few year ago he tired to sue Devan Nair in Canada, his case was thrown out, don’t have the details, maybe some of you can help here.
I think he has crossed the line and I’ve totally lost all respect for him, sad.
If he keeps going on like this , he’s going to be seen like a laughing stock to the younger people. Talk to them and they have such a low impression of him, just step down and let go.

“If he keeps going on like this , he’s going to be seen like a laughing stock to the younger people. ”

People already have low impression of the old man. Only the MSM and textbook glorify him and his kingdom since publisher and GLC relies on him for $$$$$$$$$. As layman who attune to the never-ending PayAndPay scheme, we should known that. It is very scary that each day the local AngMoh is now blatantly exposing the oldman’s rhetoric and lies, and yet many Singaporean still seem apathetic about what happen.

This oldman is getting comical and irrational each day, and his ministers seem to contract his ‘disease’ in the same way, giving rubbish and nonsense to justify price hike and ERP, and treating Singaporean like a fool. For all I known, he is already a laughing stock and run the world’s most expensive circus. Oh yeah, we are his paying audience, and also his clowns because we keep quiet and let this fool exploit.

Really, what has become of Singapore ?

I think come next election, PAP going to get a shock, how much singaporeans really hate them.
I guess the young generation will not vote for them, the mid ones hate them, the old ones who are without jobs loathe them…
me i wish them all dead.