The following is a letter to the Straits Times forum by Gilbert Goh:
I REFER to Monday’s report, ‘CDAC training help for Chinese Singaporeans’. I was astonished to read that the Chinese Development Assistance Council has rolled out similar programmes as those by the Workforce Development Agency (WDA).
Government-sponsored Workplace Skills Qualification courses can also be obtained at WDA and its community development council (CDC) branches. Ms Irene Ng, an MP for Tampines GRC, brought up the issue of such duplication of services in Parliament last month.
Why are CDAC and other self-help groups (Mendaki and Sinda) duplicating resources here when they can do more to help retrenched workers? CDAC can perhaps channel more of its resources to Speak Mandarin programmes or conduct Mandarin courses free of charge for those who want to take up learning the language.
It could also network with more Chinese-owned companies and come up with overseas working opportunities for those who have been retrenched, or roll out support groups and networking activities for such people.
CDAC should streamline its activities and take up bold measures to help the retrenched in the Chinese community. The same goes for other community self-help groups. They would not be of much help if they copy programmes started by other government organisations.
It is when such associations think out of the box to help fellow Singaporeans that we can emerge stronger from this current crisis.
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They have to show they do something what. And this easier to do than other things. Duplication is not on their minds.
I am indeed shocked that CDAC and the other self help groups started the same thing as WDA!
It is not only blameless but a waste of public funds as we all contribute 50 cents to a dollar depending on your salary range.
They have to also answer to the Chinese community as the money is donated through monthly contribution.
I hope that self help groups will now think out of the box and come up with something constructive to help our fellow unemployed citizens.
It is not only surprising but disappointing that we have such shallow thoughts from the self help groups.
Gilbert Goh (#2),
If a self-help group does a better job than the PAP Government in channeling welfare and assisting the retrenched, be assured the PAP Government will find something to interfere with its success. The ultimate purpose of the PAP government is to preserve PAP hegemony.
That is precisely what happened to The Chinese High School in 1999. The Thai Royal Princess was scheduled to visit the Ministry of Education and there was a last minute request to visit The Chinese High School instead. It turned the school upside down because a dignitary was coming to visit and it only had 24h to prepare.
The success and prominence of The Chinese High School overshadowed the Ministry of Education. Since 1996, Chinese High has been sending students to Silicon Valley for industrial immersion program. The Chinese High School was a pioneer in IT education. Computer programming is a compulsory component of the education program. Chinese High also promoted itself rigorously abroad by promoting its scholarship programs in Southeast Asia and China.
Chinese High also run its own exclusive Gifted Education Program (GEP) and an inclusive Talent Development Program (TDP) which allows students to hone specific interest and skillset towards certain fields. Eg. the Chinese TDP not only includes the standard O level education, but also special classes on Chinese history, literature, dialect, businesses and field trips to China. Chinese High also first promoted the Integrated Program scheme before MOE caught a wiff of it.
Chinese High is making the PAP-led MOE appearing very backward. To fix the situation, PAP has to be represented on the Chinese High board. The Thai Royal Princess’ visit basically confirmed Chinese High is making many progressive steps in the right direction and PAP is not part of it. After the visit, the then Minister of Education Teo Chee Huen petitioned to join the School Board. He was promptly rejected by the board and the Alumni Board denounced his application.
A week later after the rejection, the Ministry of Education announced an enquiry into alleged embezzlement of school funds by the then school principal and that gave MOE the right to appoint two senior MOE staff to the Chinese High board. The honourable principal and a handful of loyal teachers quit in protest and a former MOE superintendent was appointed as the new Chinese High principal which also gives him the ex-officio position in the school board as the secretary.
The new principal wasn’t welcomed by the school staff and the student population. In fact, the student union then refused to cooperate with the new principal to organise events. More teachers left under the leadership of the new principal. However, as soon as the inquiry was over (which took about 2 years), the new principal was fired by the school board while the senior MOE staff no longer can seat on the school board. Although the enquiry cleared the original principal’s name, the damage to his reputation was already done. However, the original principal has now been re-hired to lead the Hwachong International School.
PAP’s only true goal is PAP hegemony. If a self-help group does a better job than PAP, it will be persecuted. However, if the self-help group duplicates a PAP scheme and does a better job, the self-help group can still attribute the success as a PAP brainchild. PAP is a danger and obstacle to Singapore’s progress. From here onwards, it is just economic down-spiral as long as PAP retains power.
Gilbert,
I don’t exactly see how Speak Mandarin Courses will help people find jobs?
Anyhow, The “self-help” groups were also set up by the govt, so there is no reason why they wouldn’t duplicate.
I believe we should be asking more seriously why the WDA cannot think of more innovative policies? After all, the WDA is a Development Agency, not a Training Agency. Seriously, it is a very low-denominator job for the WDA to be doing job-matching. That is a task better-suited to the Self-Help Groups who have a better in-principle view of their own communities’ needs.
Rgds,
Arix
Denise Phua brought up this same inssue in Parliament, lamenting how the many helping hands scheme lead to wastage and confusion for people at the ground. With multiple data bases held in many hands (CDAC, MP, Charitable organsations) some will get no help, while some others may get double dosage!
Minister Vivien need to relook this . This is highly important with the recession now in place.
But sometimes I feel the PAP minister purposely withhold thisstreamline effort so as to confuse the citizens and make it difficult to obtain any helping hands, because the govt believes that no one needs a helping hand if we have zero unemployment rate.
That is the sad scenario.
I think the Indian chiefs from MOM, WDA and the CDACs are just trying to outdo each other to score points. There’s just too many schemes out there:
1. Skills Development Fund (SDF)
2. Skills Redevelopment Programme (SRP)
3. Workforce Skills Qualification (WSQ)
4. Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience (SPUR)
5. Skills Training Programme (CDAC)
Hi All
I guess it is all political then?
If that’s true then it is very sad.
I can see that the self help groups colelct monet from the citizens through monthly deduction from 50 cents to a dollar depending on your income.
The people should have some say in how the funds are used. Though the govt does pumped in some money, it seems to use it as a political vehicle.
Labour Minister Lim Swee Say heads the board with 5 other PAP members.
The ED of CDAC Sam Tan is also an MP.
This is almost like a political vehicle used for political gains.
Respect to PAP MP #5
Ask Minister Vivian Balakrishna?
The Ministry of Community & Youth Development is the de-facto political graveyard.