A review of government performance under PM Lee Hsien Loong
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Let us review how has the government improved our lives since PM Lee has taken office in 2004.
PM Lee Hsien Loong and a few ministers have repeatedly said that they welcome people with different ideas to engage them in robust policy debates and even invited them to join the party.
Thinking that this invitation s for real, and that PM Lee may be more open and willing to be subjected to accountability and transparency, I emailed to youngpap offering to take part in its internal policy debates but so far I was referred from one agency to another without any result.
It seems that I will have to be apply to join as a PAP member and work with or undergo some kind of pupilage under an MP before I could take part in such debates.
I informed youngpap secretary that I should not be subjected to their membership rules since I am only interested to take part in their debates as devil advocate but there was no further reply.
Lately the government has instead announced that it will send its various agents to counter cyber criticisms.
Is such a move equal to being open, accountable and willing to engage in debating people with non-conformist ideas.
Instead PM Lee has instead despite its increasing government surpluses and extraordinary incomes from capital gains and land sales began to increase the GST on the excuse of helping the poor or middle class.
It is obvious that he is not his own man and had only followed the pap past policy of taxing and recovering all costs against the people only to lose the people's monies by the billions on some dubious Shin Corp investments without any accountability to the people.
So now we should ask : Has PM Lee really understood the people's needs and aspirations.
Is he capable in lowering people's average costs of living ?
Instead we see his continuing the past practice of increasing taxes by raising the GST to 7% even as indirect taxes on housing are adding a heavy burden to the people.
His actions so far has only benefited the elites in terms of jobs and salaries with only the rich enjoying the property boom in the prime CBD.
Is he likely to stop the HDB's profiteering in sale of public low-cost housing and double-charging on lands already owned by the people.
Is he likely to succeed in restructuring the economy from the pro-foreign-investment to a model which will stimulate the domestic economy and entrepreneurship.
Is he likely to improve the lives of the majority or will prices, taxes and burdens have to continue to go up and up like before even as people's wages are dropping.
Will the MPs and Ministers dare to make changes to past policies which are no longer working for the greatest benefits of the greatest but which are causing all the NKF malpractices. -
Are you pro-PAP? No offence.
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1 day, lets all go down and register for a strike. then make it public so that the government will actually listen.
but lets be frank, there are always 2 sides to a coin.
tho PAP seems like protecting the rich, and all but they have still let the country grow. but by how much, we dont know, and would other leaders bring us to better heights, we also will nv know.
but lets be appreciative that they do manage the country well, but they have not been able to fulfill the needs and wants of the people. it is like the huang shang of ancient china, the country grows, but the lives of the civilians are tough.
kinda sad that PAP is like the huang shang, all the officials aka ministers getting good $, while the PM aka huang shang is reaping the big rewards.
i always thought loyalty to 1's country is of upmost importance. but it is sad to see the reality of living in Singapore. immigration was nv on my mind when i was young. but now i see the benefits of living outside singapore.
Loyalty to singapore is serving NS
staying in singapore to Pay and pay is loyal to the PAP
i really wonder, in ancient china, there are officials who served the roles of opposition, but in singapore it is like everyone is on the PM side. like taiji everyone pushing everything to others... -
The following are the "20 Major government policy errors" as posted to Feedback Unit since 2002 which are still unsolved:-
(1) Bureaucracy in civil service. (e.g. HDB's bureaucratic reply on criticism on its false claims of subsidy on its sold flats)
(2) High costs of living due to tax-and-recover policy e.g. medical, utilities, housing, transportation, education, etc, etc where corporatized GLCs were formed to raise fees with double-charging on lands and infrastructure already paid and owned by the citizens)
(3) Failure of the Growth Triangles (All the projects in Bintan and Riau were failing)
(4) Affective divide caused by restriction on freedom and intellectual space (More attempts being made to cause more divide by cyber-countering criticism)
(5) Work site safety problems (COI recommendations on Hotel New World Collapse not implemented causing more collapses e.g. Nicol Highway collapse.)
(6) Failure to Deliver the promised Swiss standard of living (Wages of workers are dropping and more educated and highly educated are becoming unemployed)
(7) Asset enhancement scheme fiasco (Majority of citizens are struggling to pay their mortgages to the HDB due to profiteering)
(8 ) Unit trust investment fiasco (Majority CPF invested in such funds suffered losses and lost their retirement funds)
(9) Foreign relation fiascos (e.g. Souzhou, Shin Corp and Global Crossing)
(10) Failure of economic restructuring to value-adding strategy (Despite big meetings and big restructuring plans during the last three deep recessions)
(11) Double-charging on lands (paid by taxes) in sale of HDB flats and triple charges on vehicles.(retaining excise duty even after COE/ERP)
(12) Meritocratic education that neglected broad-based education. (Only emphasising on meritocracy to create elitism for political tool)
(13) Mother tongue - CL1 admission fiasco
(14) Reaching World Cup soccer league by 2010 (no sign of getting near.)
(15) Investment losses by thousands of citizens from CPF funds.
(16) Backfiring of public wage restructuring on economic competitiveness.
(17) Lack of accountability and transparency in investments of citizens' monies in overseas investments.
(18 ) Loss of economic competitiveness due to high costs.
(19) Neglect in promoting entrepreneurship
(20) Neglect in nurturing the domestic sector of economy.
Are there lately any improvements or effective solutions to these problems? -
There is no need to be pro-any one or anti-any-one if one can just make up one's mind to be pro-Singapore.Originally posted by Darkness_hacker99:Are you pro-PAP? No offence. -
F9 lor.. i think internationally.. only ah bush and ah bian did a worst job than him lor..
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What is leadership? Is it talents, insight, foresight or all the ivory tower assumptions ?
How do people judge leadership ? How can vision, foresight, insight be put to work in the daily work place?
What kind of leaders should citizens choose ? Should leaders be people possessing academic talents or experiences in good corporate governance, passion to serve with moral uprightness or nobility of spirit?
It would appear that one critical quality which is most urgently needed is the ability to carry out plans and visions and mobilize people in major upgrading or improvements.
But more often than not people seem to be concerned only with presentations or academic ability without recognition of true implementation abilities.
Despite many years of emphasizing on leadership, scholastic attainments, it was to be found that today we have a rather uninspiring domestic economy which consequently has to rely heavily on foreigners to prop up the whole economy.
What happen to all our own talents or do we have no talents?
The Asian Financial crisis has exposed self-centredness as the ultimate cause of financial instability.
Why is it so easily forgotten and why are we still promoting individualism and self-centredness resulting in malpractices in all the NKF going on in so many organizations.
opportunities to prove their exceptional leadership qualities ? Sad to say, apart from giving look-good presentations and technocratic statistical digests, very few of the academic leaders have measured up to a high standard worthy of note or commendations.
Taking into account all the above-stated causes of our problems, the next phase of leadership therefore should not be leadership as these are too conceptual and unattainable and are the root causes of malpractices going on in many of our organizations.
The real challenge is to work towards teamwork and results-oriented hands-on work processes which can involve and motivate all in doing their parts to upgrade total success of all.
There appears great obstacles to overcome because conceptual leadership and many of its assumptions have been implanted in our minds for too long so much so that people have accepted them as real.
So it is obviously a major issue whether in our fast-paced technology age will leadership by individuals make such a big impact and what happen if we cannot find the proverbial leaders needed for success.
What we actually need most may be simple down-to-earth broad-based technology and knowledge application by the masses.
Therefore we should strive in every work place to lay down our tasks in attainable work processes which will allow staff to take over and exercise their broad-based knowledge application and teamwork.
We will need such new-age implementation leadership based on pro-active work processes which will give us a better chance to solve our "20 major major government policy errors" as posted to the Feedback Unit since 2002.
We can keep talking about benefits of investing in grandiose plans like biomedical researches, but if the actions are dependent on one or two individuals how could we excel and achieve results. -
If by anything, the Govt failed miserably in its attempt to stem the brain drain, partly through its non-inclusive policies and its unwillingness to face the fact that Singapore, is just a small dot in the fish pond.
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SSDY = Same Sh.it Different Year -
i think it is still premature to bring this topics up as I think he would be better jude after another election.
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I think a better judgement can be had, after the "big tree" has fallen... -
yap, this is the right attitude, absolutely.Originally posted by robertteh:There is no need to be pro-any one or anti-any-one if one can just make up one's mind to be pro-Singapore.
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I'm Pro-Immigration...
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Extremely well said.Originally posted by robertteh:There is no need to be pro-any one or anti-any-one if one can just make up one's mind to be pro-Singapore.
I've seen far too many people claiming that anti-PAP is equal to anti-Singapore.
I do not blindly blast the PAP out of spite. I oppose whatever policies that I feel are detrimental to Singapore, while I support whatever policies I feel are a step in the right direction. It just so happens that I oppose a lot more policies than I support.
In the end, I only wish to see what's best for Singapore. -
So far our results have been bought by money and not much else. Got a problem? Throw money at it and pray that it disappears. Not enough money? Tax more. How long can this continue? Who knows.
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I have one solution for all these headaches....Migrate!
Will definitely be tough working in a new country but it sure is worth it as it's a better quality of life.....
Remember this...Sillypore will have 6.5 million as its population in 15-20 years time. If you already feel squeezed and claustrophobic, just imagine yourself in Sillypore in 15 years time.
Beware of all the problems Sillypore is going to face....
Don't say I didn't warn you -
Indeed.. it will be a very crowded Chicken Coop...
Just because our keepers wants to collect more eggs to do business..
I'm flying the coop...
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i think both better then him...Originally posted by I-like-flings(m):F9 lor.. i think internationally.. only ah bush and ah bian did a worst job than him lor..
at least bush allows critics views to be aired, and at least he listens
and at least ah bian's campaign is interesting and eventful...
and, u can throw eggs and rotten vegetables at the governmental buildings as a form of protest... -
looks like no one has read fudgy's post...
migration seems an easy thing to say.. however, which countries will take you?
will you have to be successful? or go learn a new skill? upgrade your skills?
or be an elite here first?
ultimately, will another country want you if you are bugging out because you couldn't be bothered with your original country? you didn't want the hassle of trying to make it a better place?
with that in their minds, will their citizens treat you the same way you rail against those FTs who come to Singapore? hmmm, let me introduce you.. pot.. kettle... kettle.. pot.. because isn't that the same thing?
those who clamour for rights and all that, without shouldering the responsibility.. i dunno.. rings empty..
but ultimately, i guess it is the choice of the person wishing to do the hard thing and make their own country a better place, or the easy thing and go somewhere else..
whatever it is, i wish everyone finds the happiness they search for -
Originally posted by the Bear:
actually what kind of responsibility u talking about?
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those who clamour for rights and all that, without shouldering the responsibility.. i dunno.. rings empty..
but ultimately, i guess it is the choice of the person wishing to do the hard thing and make their own country a better place, or the easy thing and go somewhere else..
whatever it is, i wish everyone finds the happiness they search for[/b]
and how do singaporeans make their own country a better place when we just have to follow the decision made by the govt? -
you see the "meet the people" sessions? instead of being cynical and apathetic, go ask the relevant questions... take them to task...
use your vote with your conscience.. vote for the opposition if your heart and head tells you, spoil it if you do not wish to vote for either, or vote for the incumbent if you feel he has done a good job.. do not let others make up your mind..
be politically active.. talk to the people around you, change the minds or wake up the minds of the people within your sphere of influence..
what it takes is to stop being politically apathetic and most importantly, stop being cynical to a stage where you say "bo pian" and give up...
is your country so unimportant that you give up?Originally posted by valentinoo:actually what kind of responsibility u talking about?
and how do singaporeans make their own country a better place when we just have to follow the decision made by the govt? -
I think making a living based on the gov's system is hectic enough, without us trying to take them to task. Why would people wanna waste time and heartaching efforts trying to change what is unwilling to change?
Internationally, countries where people here migrate to, will more or less know why they chosed to up and leave without explanation. Our gov is "well known" internationally... -
looks like shutterbug is succumbed to cynicism and is deriding others for not being as cynical as he is
your face must be puckered up so bad from them grapes you can't reach -
Well, i could go to another country and have my grapes though I can't get mine in Singapore.Originally posted by the Bear:looks like shutterbug is succumbed to cynicism and is deriding others for not being as cynical as he is
your face must be puckered up so bad from them grapes you can't reach -
yeah.. could.. if that lot of people will let you have the grapes..
that's one of the things i was talking about... just because you want to migrate, doesn't mean the country which you want to go to will let you in
but hey, go for it if it is your goal..
what i find incomprehensible is that because you don't like things in your home and your family, you don't seek to make things right, but you just move out... the home and family is worth that little?Originally posted by Fingolfin_Noldor:Well, i could go to another country and have my grapes though I can't get mine in Singapore.