PAP Minister: “Not realistic†for GIC to avoid losses
-
Originally posted by charlize:
We have MPs asking ministers tough questions like how to maintain healthy hair during parliament sessions, so rest assured Singaporeans will be well taken care of in the future.
Yes also making delicious request like setting up a Food Museum to catalog uniquely Spore foods like mee siam with hum, fishball noodles without balls.
-
Originally posted by charlize:
We have MPs asking ministers tough questions like how to maintain healthy hair during parliament sessions, so rest assured Singaporeans will be well taken care of in the future.
Which MP ask such question, I am curious. I want to know which HDB towns are better than others.
-
Originally posted by Samuel Lee:
Which MP ask such question, I am curious. I want to know which HDB towns are better than others.
You ask a lot of questions. Are you local or foreigner in the first place?
-
Originally posted by new moon:
Angel you are misleading. 1st you say ppl not happy with govt can jump now you changed to say "jumping can happen from many reason"
Like that even worse. Garhmen will be so busy opening floodgates to replace thousands of citizens unhappy with garhmen + those who jumped for unknown reasons.
Aiya, i am applying the govt tactics mah, whistle blow here and there to paint a blur blur image so that citizens also dunno what is happening, then suddenly, this increase and that increase.
Have u attend any govt seminar or talks, first they give ang pows to older and unfortunate people, then like me, they talk about the cost of living, the hardships we go thru, peoples are poor, everyone clapped hands, then finally, they said, prices of Conservatives charge will be going up to help the poor Singaporeans cleaner get better paid, all also clapped hands like having a birthday party like this...u get the picture???
-
Originally posted by Poh Ah Pek:
Then minister pay highest in world is realistic?
Well, WOW!!! my lovely Ah Pek, hug hug you first..Anyway, their pay should be realistic, it goes into their bank account everymonth, sure it is realistic that they are getting high paid.
As for GIC, it said to be paper lost, so that is not really realistic realized yet
-
Originally posted by angel7030:
Aiya, i am applying the govt tactics mah, whistle blow here and there to paint a blur blur image so that citizens also dunno what is happening, then suddenly, this increase and that increase.
Have u attend any govt seminar or talks, first they give ang pows to older and unfortunate people, then like me, they talk about the cost of living, the hardships we go thru, peoples are poor, everyone clapped hands, then finally, they said, prices of Conservatives charge will be going up to help the poor Singaporeans cleaner get better paid, all also clapped hands like having a birthday party like this...u get the picture???
Got the picture liao. I will try to attend some of these talks 'cos now very out of touch with real economy. But 1st must see go for medical treatments 'cos nowadays I quite daft & deaf.
-
Originally posted by new moon:
Got the picture liao. I will try to attend some of these talks 'cos now very out of touch with real economy. But 1st must see go for medical treatments 'cos nowadays I quite daft & deaf.
U better becareful hor, dun stand near the MPs or Minister,..can catch fire one hor -
Originally posted by angel7030:
U better becareful hor, dun stand near the MPs or Minister,..can catch fire one horHuh?
-
Originally posted by soul_rage:
You know what is most laughable?
That there are Singaporeans who actually believe that these ministers are worth every penny
That there are Singaporeans who actually think that it's actually ok to pay 4-5x more than the market rate for our leaders, never mind that these Singaporeans themselves have to accept market pay or lower
That there are Singaporeans who actually really believe that losing billions is alright, those jokers should still sit in their positions. That Mas Selamat's escape, no minister took responsibility for it.
That there are Singaporeans who actually continuously vote in every election for the PAP, because (1) they are irresponsible in their votes, (2) they fear the PAP, (3) they think there is no better alternative (when they don't EVEN have the guts to try)
The most pitiful is that of us Singaporeans, for there is nothing you can do for people who refuse to help themselves.
I fear what will happen to Singapore in 30 years, given stagnant wages and ever-increasing costs. I fear what will happen to our fellow countrymen, given that very soon, lots of us will lose our jobs at the ripe 'old' age of 40, and have to depend on part-time work to survive.
And yet, if these are the very people who vote for the PAP, shouldn't they deserve the plight they are in?
I would like to see what is going to happen in the next election. I am ready to do my part. But if I see that we still only have 2 oppositions in the govt after that election (and GST increases to 10%), then I will truly give up on my fellow countrymen, and just focus on my own life. After all, I am already out of the vicious cycle.
Those who refuse to save themselves, aren't.
PAP MP Ong Ah Heng admits sacking Singaporean elderly workers and replacing them with foreigners in his constituency
March 3, 2010
As MPs are supposed to raise the concerns of Singaporeans in Parliament, one would expect them to speak out against the ruling party’s pro-foreigner and liberal labor policies which saw foreigners competing with Singaporeans for limited jobs in the market.
Instead, the PAP MPs put up a “wayang” in parliament yesterday by jumping to the defence of foreign workers led ironically by one of the oldest MPs among them – 66 year old Ong Ah Heng from Yishun Central.
Not only did Mr Ong gave an “impassioned speech in defence of foreign workers who make significant contributions”, he admitted quite frankly that he had previously sacked Singaporean cleaners and replaced them with foreigners in his own constituency:
“I know of one family who complain the cleaners in their precinct are lazy and too old. They don’t want local workers who are old, they want young foreign workers. To satisfy the demand, I changed the local workers to foreign workers. Foreign workers are not a burden to us. Their presence here is not negative. Without foreign workers, things will be worse,” he said.
Did Mr Ong sack the Singapore elderly workers just because of a single complaint from one family? Did he make any provisions to help the sacked workers obtain another new job?
Jobs should be reserved for Singaporeans as far as possible, especially the elderly who still have to work to support themselves.
Mr Ong’s blunt remarks speak volumes of the efforts of the government to get companies to hire elderly workers. How can it expect companies to follow suit when its own MP prefers foreign workers over Singaporeans?
Yishun Central residents should consider changing Mr Ong for a younger MP in the next election. After all, he is not too young himself.
PAP MP Ong Ah Heng slammed by angry netizens for callous remarks on Singapore elderly workers being lazy
March 5, 2010
Previously little known PAP MP Ong Ah Heng became a “celebrity” almost overnight with his most outrageous remarks about Singaorean elderly workers being “lazy and too old.”
During speech made in Parliament this week to defend foreign workers, Mr Ong admitted that he had sacked Singapore elderly workers and replaced them with foreigners:
“I know of one family who complain the cleaners in their precinct are lazy and too old. They don’t want local workers who are old, they want young foreign workers. To satisfy the demand, I changed the local workers to foreign workers. Foreign workers are not a burden to us. Their presence here is not negative. Without foreign workers, things will be worse,” he was quoted as saying in the Straits Times.
Our article on it has drawn more than 3,000 views and 100 comments in less than a day with the majority of respondents lampooning the 66 year old MP for his insensitive remarks and calling him to be “replaced” as well.
Z3roin wrote:
“Mr Ong is old himself too, maybe he shld be replace too. What is the goal of being a MP? To help the needy people in the area under him/her, hearing the voices of the people…Did he in the first place ask and know more about what happens at that situations? One complain and get replaced…One without a kind heart, is not worth the respect as a fellow human beings.”
Senior citizen concurred:
“Did they not tell the elderly to work until their last breadth? Why was that elderly worker slow or lazy? Was she suffering from some ailment? If the worker is slow or lazy, the problem lies with the management – what did the management do to motivate her? Pay her peanuts and expect her to work? Have you ever watched foreigner road sweepers? Have you seen that the ends of their brooms do not even touch the ground, let alone the garbage? Was the resident who complained a foreigner so that they could get their friends over? Ong Ah Heng – you ought to be replaced too. You are too old. What a sad day for Singaporeans! To have MPs like him… sigh…”
Sigh felt sorry for Singapore elderly workers who still have to work well into their twilight years:
“These senior citizens should be enjoying their golden years …. why are they working so hard to make ends meet? Can they withdraw all their CPF money which is supposed to be their retirement fund? Complain about their laziness and lack of skills and replace them with foreigners, pleaseee …. what a lame statement. I am really sad that MP Ong has bend so low to raise this incident to justify the foreign workers policy. The billions we lost through TH and GIC would have been enough for a social welfare prog for these seniors who have been part of the nation building workforce. Very sad …. is there no conscious in the policy makers now?”
Disappointed opined that the PAP government has let the people down:
“In LHL’s PAP 50th anniversary rally, he said the following : In order to win elections the party must maintain the support of majority of Singaporeans, we are not representing just one group – the young people, the old people, women or a particular race – we’re representing all groups young middle aged the elderly – they are all our supporters.
Actions speak louder than words. How does the PAP take care of the people ? I am not expecting too much. Nevermind about the influx of lower cost foreigners replacing the younger Singaporeans. But for the elderly ? Their MP takes care of the elderly cleaners by expecting them to be on their toes and work like younger people? If they can’t be as productive, sack them ? Even if they are lazy or not productive, at least they are willing to work instead of relying on the government for handout. Also I don’t think these elderly cleaners are the highest paid cleaners in the world. Why not be more forgiving to these old folks and let them live their remaining years graciously instead of feeling that the society they are in is cold and heartless?”
Singaporeans should not be too harsh on Mr Ong Ah Heng. He is only reciting the PAP’s mantra: “You die your business!”
TR
Local company seeks Filipinos ONLY for customer service assistant positions
March 7, 2010
During his speech on the Budget, Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam repeated the circular argument mentioned earlier by other PAP ministers like PM Lee Hsien Loong that foreign workers are needed in sectors shunned by Singaporeans:
“If we had not brought them in, we would not have been able to ease the supply bottlenecks in the private property markets, build HDB flats, or expand our MRT network,” he was quoted as saying in the Straits Times.
If this is really so, then why are foreigners being preferred over locals in jobs which can otherwise be taken up by them as shown by the job ad below posted on a Singapore job portal:
Customer Service Assistant is an office job which Singaporeans will not shun.
The pay and working hours offered by the above company at Ubi are quite reasonable and it should have not difficulties getting Singapore workers, however it is clearly indicated that ONLY Filipino need apply.
Do Filipinos possess certain special skills which Singaporeans lack? What does the company need a Filipino specifically to as customer service assistants?
The mainstream media kept portraying Singapore workers as being choosy about jobs such that employers have no choice but to turn to foreign workers, but the reality is that Singaporeans are being shut out of many jobs they will have no qualms doing.
Singapore’s labor policies are incredibly lax and allow companies to employ as many foreign workers as possible so long the dependency ratio of local to foreign workers is met.
However, as “local” consists of both citizens and PRs, the rule can be easily circumvented by getting earlier arrivals to apply for Singapore PR.
Obtaining Singapore PR is also amazingly easy and lax by any standards as there is no minimum period of residency needed. For example, the Professionals/Technical Personnel & Skilled Worker scheme (or simply PTS scheme) is the easiest and most assured route to Singapore PR. It’s estimated that more than 90% of the people obtain their Singapore Permanent Residence through this scheme, many of which are approved in less than a year.
The key requirement under this scheme is that a foreign worker must be working in Singapore for at least six months on either an Employment Pass, Entrepreneur Pass, or S Pass.
[Source: Guide me Singapore]
The company above is likely to help its Filipino Customer Service Assistant apply for a PR which will free up another slot for a foreign worker. Therefore it is thereotically possible for companies to have 100% foreigners and 0% Singaporeans on its payroll!
It is quite obvious from the recent “parliamentary debates” on the Budget that the PAP is either still clueless on what is happening on the ground or is acting blur to cover up its atrocious mistakes.
Had the above advertisement been posted elsewhere, it would have sparked a massive public outcry with the government being forced to take action against the errant company.
Singapore employers have the audacity to discriminate against Singaporeans precisely because they know they have the tacit support of the pro-foreigner PAP government.
Unless Singaporeans send a strong message to the PAP in the next election, they will always be powerless second class citizens in their own country.
Temasek review
How can Singaporeans make themselves more “marketable” when they are competing with foreigners on unequal terms
March 8, 2010
During a discussion about Budget 2010 on YPAP Facebook, a 28 year old Singapore man who have served two and a half years of National Service lamented that he had been taking on contract jobs for the last few years because all the permanent jobs are going to foreigners.
It brought a sharp rebuke from a probable Indian new citizen/PR Mr Sinha Shekar who replied that “there is nothing called permanent jobs” and called on Singaporeans to make themselves more “marketable and move ahead”.
There is nothing fundamentally wrong in Mr Sinha Shekar’s statement except that no matter how Singaporeans try to make themselves more “marketable”, they will always be on the losing end so long the ruling party’s pro-foreigner policy remains unchanged.
Singaporeans have been exhorted repeatedly by PAP leaders to make themselves “cheaper, better and faster” and to go for re-training to upgrade their skills.
While continued education, training and upgrading should make one more marketable theoretically, the outcome is less than desirable in reality as evident by recent figures released by the Manpower Ministry which shows that only 6 per cent of the workers receive a pay rise after attending training courses conducted by SPUR.
At the end of the day, employers still do not see the value to pay more for highly trained and qualified Singapore workers when they can easily hire an unskilled foreign worker, thanks to the ultra-liberal labor policies in Singapore.
Despite some cosmetic changes introduced lately to placate angry Singaporeans such as raising the levy for foreign workers, it will have minimal impact on the ground as the cornerstone of the ruling party’s policies remain essentially the same.
During a parliamentary session last year, Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong dismissed calls from MPs to tweak the manpower policies to put locals first:
“Singapore has to remain an attractive place for businesses, so as to retain those which are here and attract new investments which will bring in more and better jobs for Singaporeans. We cannot get rid of all other competitors just because they run faster than us and make it into a locals-only game,” he said.
[Source: TODAY, 14 February 2010]
His message still applies today. Because Singapore is an export-oriented economy heavily dependent on foreign direct investments, it has to make itself attractive to businesses by keeping labor costs low and in order to do so, Singapore must remain open to foreign workers.
Unlike other countries such as Australia, Canada, Japan and South Korea which have imposed strict curbs on the influx of foreign migrant workers, Singapore welcomes them with open arms and even expect its own citizens to compete with them directly.
It will be political suicide for any governments in a functioning democracy to implement laws which disadvantage the local workers, but not so in Singapore where the ruling party holds an absolute majority in parliament and there is no opposition to check on it.
The S-pass scheme was introduced in 2004 to recruit foreign workers at the diploma level who command a basic salary of $1,800 and above.
These group of semi-skilled foreigners are taking up jobs which can otherwise be filled by Singaporeans. Contrary to what is reported in the mainstream media, Singaporeans are not shunning them – the terms offered are simply not attractive enough.
Without the easy availability of foreign workers, employers will have no choice but to pay more to hire locals and to invest in innovation to boost productivity, but in an open and unregulated labor market like Singapore’s, foreigners will forever enjoy an unfair advantage over locals:
1. Foreign workers cost much less than Singaporeans and they can well afford to be as they live alone and do not need to support their families here in Singapore.
2. For the same reason, they are willing to work for long hours including the weekends as their loved ones are not here to spend time with time.
3. Unlike Singapore males, they do not have to be away for up to 4 weeks a year to fulfil their reservist obligations.
A Singaporean worker may have undergone countless of courses to upgrade his skills, but if he is going to cost more than a foreign worker, a prospective employer will still opt for the latter eventually.
The onus is on the government to revamp its unfair and discriminatory labor policies against Singaporeans completely to level the playing field so that Singaporeans are able to compete fairly with the foreigners.
In Australia, a new rule was introduced lately to curb the intake of skilled migrant workers. Companies will have to pay a hefty levy amounting to the difference between the salaries of native Australians and foreigners to the government to ensure that locals are not disadvantaged.
Furthermore, the hiring of foreigners is restricted to only selected industries where there is a real shortage of local workers. Australians always have priority in jobs unlike in Singapore where its citizens have to put up with lower wages because the ruling party has opened the floodgates to foreigners.
While Singaporeans should make themselves more marketable constantly, they must be allowed to compete with others on equal terms and not on bended knees.
The government should consider implement the following measures to level the playing field and to make Singapore workers more marketable:
1. Phase out S-passes gradually so that foreign PMETs do not compete with Singaporeans for jobs which can otherwise be taken up by them.
2. Increase the levy for foreign workers to match the difference in wages between them and Singaporeans to neuter their unfair advantage in labor costs.
3. A grant for each NSmen hired by companies to increase their employability.
4. Remove PRs from the “resident” workforce, dependency ratio and all statistics used by the Manpower Ministry to prevent companies from exploiting loopholes in the regulations.
5. Impose a minimum wage for Singapore workers with the difference topped up by grants from the government.
The right to livelihood is a basic human right all Singapore citizens are entitled to and right now they are being denied it by the misguided policies of their own government.
Temasek Review
-
Originally posted by Poh Ah Pek:
You ask a lot of questions. Are you local or foreigner in the first place?
Sorry ho, I am LOCAL Singaporean with IC number of S91XXXXXC ok?
-
Originally posted by charlize:
Huh?
Remember Seng Han Tong kena burnt by the ah peh, oh, how is he, kena jailed in Changi for how long? No rotan right?