There is, of course, no need to ape everything Singapore does. After all, according to a former president of Indonesia, it is no more than a red dot on the map! Besides, there is no way Malaysians or Penangites can pay the chief executives of the government what Singaporeans are paying their prime minister and ministers.
Retired academic Dr Goh Ban Lee, in an article for Malaysian paper The Sun.
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How insightful ! Everything about us summarised succintly in 4 sentences.
Well said…calling a spade a spade. Hope to see some high and mighty in our midst..with conscience…who dare to say likewise. And for goodness sake…let us learn not to flip over the moon whenever overseas leaders praised us to the heap..it’s all politics..stupid!
M’sia tak bolen
S’pore boleh
We got the $$$
Singaporeans got to learn to be simple, humble and frugal.
Singapore Leaders need to learn to be less conceited, money-minded and calculative.
Actually, its not Sinaporeans agreed to pay their leaders, its the leaders
are paying themselves. I have not doubt about the result if a referendum is held on the issue of Ministers’ pay.
Is no one interested to comment on Charles Chong’s remarks about singaporeans and the 15minutes waiting time for 1st world buses where fares were hiked more or less regularly for the last few years?
Tried as i might, I could not fault Dr Goh for her comments that :
1. it is a little red dot. even ‘they’ elites have described it as a little red dot. It is tiny piece of land compared to even malaysia. So, it is not faultable statement.
2. ‘they’ are paid the highest world record in the world for that line of work. the 2nd place USA president is a far far 2nd position. In fact, an unofficial observation showed that the world’s top 30 highest paid gubbermen officials (inclusive of ranks that are non deputy/pm) are all singaporean.
So, what is the big deal about her comments which I could not find any fault with?
Charles chong, anyone?
Dr Goh Ban Lee made a fair point – learn the good aspects of Singapore and do not adopt the bad aspects of Singapore.
Yes Dr. Goh Ban Lee, you are right.
Do not ape S’pore, not when it is run by the biggest chimp and his gang.
5) Jack on June 16th, 2009 1.12 pm
” Actually, its not Sinaporeans agreed to pay their leaders, its the leaders
are paying themselves. I have not doubt about the result if a referendum is held on the issue of Ministers’ pay.”
Talking about Referendum thingy, I like to honestly ask you, do you know any singaporean, past, present who knows, really knows, of all the possible voters,
HOW MANY DO NOT SUPPORT THE RULING PARTY?
My personal observation, based on limited and finite resources, is NO ONE REALLY KNOWS. At best, they give an estimated guess. But the fact remains, no one knows.
Is this fair to voters?
Is this right?
Is this known by the whole universe already?
Is this healthy ?
Is this the way for future singaporeans ,going forward?
yours,
Lee FATT Yew, really.
why do you emphasize the FATT in caps?
Well if Dr M’s comments are anything to go by then Singapore is indeed projecting itself as a “good boy in a bad neighbourhood.”
Mahathir wrote about LKY recently calling him a ‘little emperor’ http://chedet.co.cc/chedetblog/2009/06/the-modern-middle-kingdom.html
Hi #11 Anakin, well, thanks for noticing. ‘FATT’ in cantonese means Prosper or To Prosper or Prosperity. In times like this, hoping for ‘Fatt’ is what i can do as we wait for USA salvation of Asia.
Sometimes, I chant “Fatt and Fatt”. ‘Fatt’ing all day makes me feel better. Please do not mistake it as english word. The nick is a name we use to identify ourselves as the comment posters here.
Allow me the pleasure to wish you “may the FATT be with you”.
PEACE. :)
Hi M,
Sianz.. Dr M brought the water issue again…
Well thanks for enlightening me. Fatt be with you also.
its not as if we have a choice in this matter.
Malaysian are always wiser in thoughts and words
and
they are so lucky to be endowed with plenty of natural resources.
They are just born lucky, Nature has been very kind to them.
Malaysia and Malaysians need not be bothered with what foreigners say
Malaysians or Penangites have too much courage and sanity to resist paying their leaders the obscene amount of money Singaporeans are paying their ministers!!! If any Singaporeans are truly proud that their own ministers are paid such obscene amount of money, you probably deserve the “golden period” as promised by the old man!
I wish to express my sincere Respect and Admiration for Malaysians.
I feel we have much to learn from them.
1 being Malaysiakini.
We have TOC and Wayangparty but Malaysiakini is malaysiakini.
Nevertheless, all 3 I like.
Its up to the rest of the people now.
Aiya, even some from Penang have migrated to Singapore to be ministers and MPs. Like Health minister Khaw Boon Wan and MP Irene Ng. If they had stayed on in Penang, they may not earn in a lifetime what they earn here in just a few years!
Phuy@ #18
As I said in earlier post, its not that Singaporeans agreed to pay their leaders, its
their leaders are paying themselves. Based on acquaintances, I have yet
to come across 1 (yes,not even a pathetic ONE) person who agreed to their pay. Don’t believe go ask around.
FATT @# 10
The ruling party got 66.6% of the votes in the last GE. If we are honestly a true
democracy, ie people vote according to their heart without fear, carrots or sticks
whether common citizens or civil servants, fair election rules, impartial media
coverage etc, you can deduct at least 10% from the ruling party score.
Again this is based on straw poll on the ground
Actually, I respect Dr M, when he steps down he really do it. We have to learn from malaysia., their generosity, their democracy……etc
Unlike ours who is an antique , still blocking the way for our country to move forward. every year he stays our country will move further back.
aiyoyo
now then know that we’ve been paying so much,
by the way are commoners getting what they pay for?
still puzzled..
aiyoyo
I think other major countries like US, China, France, Germany, UK etc must pay their Presidents,PMs, cabinet ministers high salary like S’pore or else they will be corrupted like what our old man said.
Hi Jack #21.
Yes, the PAP got 66.6 per cent of the votes in the last election. This is 66.6 per cent of the votes in the constituencies that were contested — constituencies in which Singaporeans got a chance to vote.
What are the feelings of Singaporeans in the constituencies that were not contested?
(Anybody has figures on this — how many Singaporeans in the constituencies that were not contested? What is the percentage against the entire electorate?) How would they have voted if given the chance? My guess is as good as yours.
Of course, there will be some among us who will say that that the 66.6 per cent vote for the PAP is representative of how the rest of the Singaporeans who did get the chance to cast a vote, would in any case vote, if allowed to. But that is hypothetical at best.
An independent survey in the uncontested constituencies could throw up a better perspective of how Singaporeans feel about the PAP, and whether they would cast a vote for the ruling party if there was a contest.
Anybody has any ideas on this?
Singaporeans being kiasu, will vote for Pap again this time, the % will increase more than 66.6 %.
“What are the feelings of Singaporeans in the constituencies that were not contested?”
A VALID question indeed. I wonder what the MSM has to report on this thingy? I mean , is this not news worthy? I think it is 101% newsworthy.
Alas, it does not take 1 hand to clap, as in , the people are responsible to show how they feel as they are the subject of the question. So, is there a REFEReNdUm on this thingy? If not, at most people can Guess or Estimate or Suspect. Pretty unscientific and unneccessary. For people’s sake, have an official PRE or POST ELECTION Referendum on popularity or the lack of it polling based on 100% (or as close to it as humanly possible) Electorate.
This need not have legal effect, as in, it still should be the election that determines the winner or loser Officially. But it IS still as important as the election given the Walkover system DENIES casting of votes as long as there is no candidates to contest with the incumbent. I propose in this situation, a GRC or the like should be nullified and clubbed with other walkover GRCs or the likes to form a cluster that REQUIRES all Voters there to cast their vote and a CHECK BOXes saying something like “I support Ruling party” AND “I DO NOT! support ruling party even if there is no opposition candidate to contest” SHOULD be added to the Ballot paper as choices.
My reason is simple : Although there is no candidate to challenge the ruling party, Voters should get to vote to contribute to a report card on the ruling party that has ruled for HALF a CENTURY!!!! in a row, non-stop, continuously. The definition of a Voter, based on my understanding, is that he performs the act of voting. Why this walkover thingy has to Deny Voters from voting? Walkover , in my view, is the ruling party is UnContested. This should not erase the Need for Voters to SHOW THE RULING PARTY the APPROVAL Rating , that is not based on Sampling or Estimates but Actual Real human Voter voting.
I am very puzzled why citizens never gave a strong signal they want to vote , such that it becomes clear how much they want to participate in the progress of the nation. Yes, several have complained , but behind closed doors or quietly. But like this, would the message be clear?
What I am saying is the people should be responsible for not having the chance to vote , also even if it is also because candidates join ruling party instead of opposition, not that there is insufficient candidates. And many dare not step forward for whatever reasons for the last half a century.
Collectively , the people is partially responsible in their own ways.
For the amount of money that we are paying for our Prime Minister, may I request that my tax dollars are used to pay Barack Obama instead. I think for the amount of money that we are paying our Prime Minister, I dun think I am getting my money’s worth of talent. Since our government has always been very open about foreign talent, I am sure this is no issue right?
I think for our Prime Minister salary, I think we can get President Obama, Hiliary Clinton and maybe even Tim Geinther for the salary of 1 Singaporean Prime Minister. Value of money leh!!
-applaud-
and after converting to ringgat, lagi cannot.
for once we can shut our gaps and take the cue from our neighbours that the power lies with the people. even the royals are not spared and yet we fear a dictator and his son and cronies. pathetic lot we are. well perhaps we don’t want to rock the boat as everyone is hoping their son will be the next MP and the whole family and generation to come will enjoy life as elites. join the opposition and you end up paying your father’s debts. pride and respect is the only heredity you get but it cannot feed you.
Dont ape SIN – When doing business in SIN, meeting the wife get you nowhere. But in Malaysia, it is a must to see the executive wife.
Love SIN and immediately one becomes a Sinner.
#25 “What are the feelings of Singaporeans in the constituencies that were not contested?”
i guess you are right, that no one knows for sure.
But if you think about it logically– when the opposition decides where to contest, they will probably choose the areas they have highest chance to win and leave out areas they think they have less support.
So, at least by the opposition party’s internal estimation, the support for govt in non-contested areas should be higher.
Hi #33 RW,
however, the fact remains that we or the opposition can guess. no matter how good a guess they think is their guess, it is still a guess. Not scientifically convincing enough.
Its sad that no one in singapore will ever know how many (out of all possible voters) did not support ‘them’ in the last several elections, even if we allow +/- 5% margin for error.
Well, as long as the people accept.
But I am curious how the whole world sees singapore’s situation.
If one were to compare , we need to 1st realise that this country is not like most countries which is much much more unmanageable in terms of size and population. The population is so small that it makes more sense to find out what all the voters feel about the ruling party and not by way of sampling or street polls but to get ALL possible voters to vote.
30) DP on June 17th, 2009 7.19 pm
“”" well perhaps we don’t want to rock the boat as everyone is hoping their son will be the next MP and the whole family”"”
1 thing the people cannot run away from is
that the People are still responsible in their own ways for the status quo of this era. Is it good or bad, I leave it to you the citizen of 1st world country called singapore.
hi Lee Fatt Yew,
i agree with your post #34 & #35.
besides not all get a chance to vote.
more so on the quote below.
////1 thing the people cannot run away from is
that the People are still responsible in their own ways for the status quo of this era. Is it good or bad, I leave it to you the citizen of 1st world country called singapore.////
that, an ugly truth for most who made ‘that’ choice.
Well, ex-President Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines was only paid US$7,000 a YEAR. Mahathir was paid less than S$7,000 a month. Sometimes, this is really a case of penny wise, pound foolish. As a wise man once said, he was/is one of highest paid politician in SE Asia, but one of the poorest.
Petronas makes tens of billions of profits a year (net profits – not revenue). Where did all the hundreds of billions disappear to in the past few decades? Think.
Malaysia can’t afford to pay their Ministers? Don’t have to lah. They are all dying to get into office for a pittance. The Klang FTZ saw RM12.5 billion disappeared into thin air – how many ministers they can pay at RM10 million per year for how many years with that kind of money? Go and work out the arithmetic.
Do the Singapore Ruling Party Politicians invest in businesses ?
And if they do, are there any conflict of interest ?
Oh ape us you must ! Afterall, we are the best in the world, even better than the US. Our politicians are paid the highest in the world. We continue to loose BILLIONS and still able to be anointed with national awards. We claim that we are approachable and reachable to our people and yet they douse us with kerosene and greet us with flying chairs. And rather spending time cooking nasi lemak at home, you must ape us to go to Paris to learn cooking ok ?
38) Another query on June 18th, 2009 9.17 am
“Do the Singapore Ruling Party Politicians invest in businesses ?
And if they do, are there any conflict of interest ?”
Interesting diverse view point.
I cannot comment if that is in conflict.
I do can say many MPs owns businesses if not sitting on many boards as directors. check out the websites of companies for their management teams.
Correct me if this is not true.
37) T on June 18th, 2009 8.48 am
Do you have any pittance of an idea how much is LOST already?
You think Obama is cheaper than our PM? Think again. He has Air Force One a Jumbo 747. A Helicopter and a battalion of secret servicemen. When Reagan wants to go and chop wood in his home town he flew Air Force One, and of course the batalion of servicemen went with him.
Think about the cost!
We would rather pay our ministers well and know that they are getting involved in APs, higway tolls, crooked bridge etc
Think again. High pay is high pay and it is not obscene. Tomorrow your children becomes a minister he or she will be paid the same.
Lim Swee Say kept asking us to tighten our belts and accept low pay. Our leaders are getting obscene pay. In school, they say if top is not straight, the below is slanted. After next election, they will re-peg their pay to private sector again. Recently, they published that CEO Liew is taking in $30M!
@ T,
“A wise man once said, he was / is one of the highest paid politician in SE Asia, but one of the poorest.”
Fast forward……this wise man is now the second highest paid politician in the universe and he should be comparing himself with leaders from Europe, India, Japan, China, Australia, NZ, HK, etc. Will this wise man now imply these leaders are corrupt or susceptible to corruption ?
It was condescending of this wise man to make the above quote.
Rather than comparing monetary wealth to see who is the poorest, this wise man is actually one of the poorest example of what leaders should be in the free world. I believe the quote mentioned by some clever netizen is appropriate for this wise man, ” To protect one’s reputation, give publicly, but steal privately”.
This to me is the art of hoodwinking. LOL
/// 41) Kim Jong Loli on June 19th, 2009 12.07 am
37) T on June 18th, 2009 8.48 am
Do you have any pittance of an idea how much is LOST already? ///
Dear Great Beloved Leader,
Let’s assume SG lost US$30 billion out of US$100 billion due to bad investment decision. Compare this to US$70 billion stolen/pilfered/leaked/commisioned away out of US$100 billion in bolehland. What do you think is more acceptable?
Mind you of the 30% lost, not all are realised loss; some are unrealised and can be recouped.
44) T on June 19th, 2009 11.17 pm
Are you making a guess ?
What is the Basis for what you claim?
Do you have access to all the transactions?
Or do you based on what is in public domain?
Do clarify leh.
By the way, T,
do clarify if TH admitted to the international press reports on their latest losses.
I must clarify, I do not buy the news since 2001 although I do borrow at times. recently have not read the news much.
All of them on both sides got different styles and ways to take lah….
I know Malaysia has changed as well….before it used to be outright bribery…..
but now they are all businessman……
Same for Singapore….either they are in business themsleves(directorship)…or their wife’s are in business…..
this is what happens, when there is no proper media…..and also no proper poplutation….
Just look at the heat Rudd…is getting in Ozland…over Ozfare….
we all know on both sides it’s going to take sometime for us to get there.
Lets just hope its sooner then later.
37) T on June 18th, 2009 8.48 am
“”As a wise man once said, he was/is one of highest paid politician in SE Asia, but one of the poorest.”"
1. Why do you assume they must not be one of the Poorest?
2. How do you know ? But where is the proof? If you can proof, you are accusing those of Corruption with evidence? Are you saying this? Can you clarify?
3. How do you know the wealth of the rest? Based on hear say? Are you alleging?
See, what you say needs to be substantiated. Else, you are accusing without evidence.
‘The Klang FTZ saw RM12.5 billion disappeared into thin air – how many ministers they can pay at RM10 million per year for how many years with that kind of money? Go and work out the arithmetic.’ T @37
So this is justification for our Ministers to be paid obscenely?
I wonder why the leaders of the US, EC Oz NZ, China, India etc use your same
logic to pay themselves obscenely too?
I guess the word “public service” should be strucked out from our vocabulary.
If our leaders are not there for it, I say tgood riddance if they get lost to the
private sector, and I mean the real private sector ( No GLCs, Stat boards )
and see how many can earn even half what they getting