May the new year be the BEST YEAR Yet and this year is the best year.
Oh, YES!
Friday, December 31, 2010
an old man
we have been staying in the same area for 27 years and met many familiar faces.
this morning was no particular.
he always worn t-shirt and shorts and took a seat at the void deck when i was surfing interent.
the last time when i met him, he was in good shape, it meant that he did not have any scars and his face was healthy looking.
however when we saw him this morning, there are two or three red scars on his left lower neck area.
he has became old then, and from the way he changed, it is not a good thing.
things always change, and i have accept the fact that he has grown old.
well, that is life.
Monday, December 27, 2010
Thursday, December 23, 2010
on the road, again.
after hearing what our fellow colleagues' situations, we understood that things changed eternally.
so, we will be on the road, yet again.
really will be missing our dearest colleagues.
Friday, December 17, 2010
stagnant wages over the past decade, high cost of living and youth violence
The high cost of living coupled with inadequate wages in Singapore have serious – sometimes deadly – consequences for the people. The recent spate of violence involving teenagers are a manifestation of the economic problems that is impacting society.
One of the biggest factors contributing to such an escalation of youth violence and waywardness is the lack of firm parental guidance.
The obvious question is: Where are the parents?
Most of them are working, of course. Wages in Singapore are so low that without both parents earning incomes, it is impossible for households to meet the family’s expenses.
YPAP's member took 200 upskirt videos and burned CD
Danny Soo Ee Hock took 200 upskirt videos with a camera pen and was charged with 9 months jail, according to the papers.
what was left out was his background linked with YPAPand he was recipient of Public Service Medal, a PBM, just this year at the 2010 National Day.
and also
Danny Soo Ee Hock was the Chairman of YPAP Punggol South and Punggol Park Community Club.
The Singapore media deliberately omitted the fact that he is a YPAP leader roped in by Teo Ser Luck in all its articles on his conviction.
Teo Ser Luck has so far kept mum on Danny Soo’s conviction and pretended as if nothing has happened.
WHEN Mr Teo Ser Luck became an MP in 2007,
he wanted Mr Danny Soo to head one of the grassroots organisations in his ward.
The MP for Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC, now 39, felt the sales manager, a grassroots volunteer for 12 years, had the heart to serve others and had the support of grassroots leaders, including the seniors. and today, the Punggol Park Community Club Management Committee (CCMC) is led by one of Singapore’s youngest grassroots leaders.
He convinced Mr Soo
Said Mr Teo, on his choice of Mr Soo: ‘He cares for others. He had been volunteering for many years and earned the respect of others to be…
a potential leader.
Monday, December 13, 2010
many Singaporeans may not be better off over the last decade
please refer to the Ministry of Manpower’s (MOM) Singapore Workforce 2010 Report ,released on 30 November.
The real nominal median income for all employed residents rose by only 1.1% to $2,500 in 2010.
After two consecutive years of negative real income growth in 2009 (- 1.8%) and 2008, six years (2001 to 2006) whereby median income hardly moved, and just one year of significant rise in 2007, the bottom line is that real wage growth for the last 10 years or so,
With inflation running at 3.5% now, and the Minister of State for Trade and Industry’s (MTI) recent announcement in Parliament that inflation is expected to hit 4% by the end of this year,
The real median monthly income from work of residents in full-time employment only increased by 1.8% to $2,710 in 2010.
Part-timers’ real median monthly income increased significantly by 11% to $700 in 2010.
Since the definition of a part-timer was changed from 2009, from working 30 to 35 hours a week, this increase in income may be due to some extent to more people not being able to get work of more than 35 hours a week.
If someone works seven hours a day, for five days a week, would you consider this worker as a part-timer?
Also, how does one survive on just $700 gross income (which includes the employee’s CPF contribution) a month in Singapore?
In this connection, from 1999 to 2010, the median gross monthly income of part-timers increased by only 1.4% per annum, from $600 in 1999 to $700 in 2010 (not adjusted for inflation yet).
If we adjust for inflation, the
There were 400,100 residents who earned up to $1,200 and below per month from work, forming 21% of the workforce. This was slightly lower than 401,600 or 22% a year ago.
Why does the MOM keep using the same $1,200 benchmark, year after year, for the last 10 years, without adjusting for inflation.
After adjusting the $1,200 for inflation, I estimate the percentage of residents earning less than $1,200 to be over 25%.
In 2001, 25.1% earned less than $1,200. So, I believe more people today earn less than $1,200 (inflation-adjusted), compared to 9 years ago.
If we include the non-seasonally 4.1% or 84,400 unemployed as of June, and the 10,900 discouraged unemployed, I estimate that
Discouraged workers are persons outside of the labour force who were not looking for a job because they believed their job search would be in vain.
176,700 or 9.0% of employed residents in 2010 were part-timers, up from 156,200 or 8.4% in 2009. Around half or 49% of the part-timers in 2010 were willing and available to work additional hours (i.e. underemployed), down from 52% a year ago.
However, the number of underemployed residents rose from 80,500 or 4.3% of all employed residents to 86,600 or 4.4% over the year.
Once out of work, mature residents were more likely to stay unemployed for extended periods. Close to three in ten (28%) resident job seekers aged 40 & over had been looking for work for at least 25 weeks in June 2010, higher than two in ten (20%) for all job seekers.
Of all the categories of workers, Service & Sales workers had the highest unemployment rate of 5.5%. Even Cleaners, Labourers & Related workers had the third highest unemployment rate of 5.3%.
Aren’t these the jobs that we have been constantly told that Singaporeans don’t want? If so, then why is the unemployment rate so high for these workers?
Does this mean that even Cleaners and Labourers who lost their jobs, had difficulty getting re-employed in the same jobs?
To what extent has our liberal foreign worker policy contributed to this?
In my view, the above statistics clearly indicate that
Median” I have explained above. It is the figure that is the halfway mark: half the population would be below the figure and half above it.
“Mean” is what the layman calls the “average”. In the case of incomes, it is naturally weighted by the number of persons within the same income band.
Because the distribution of incomes in virtually all societies is skewed, with lots of low-income earners and few higher-income people, there’s always a gap between median and mean. Generally speaking, the more skewed the income distribution, the larger the gap.
Now, look back at Singapore’s figures for 2009 and 2010. Last year, the mean income (S$3,609) was 49.1 percent higher than median income (S$2,420). This year — 2010 — the mean income (S$3,819) is 52.8 percent higher than median income ($2,500). The gap is increasing. Again.
The real nominal median income for all employed residents rose by only 1.1% to $2,500 in 2010.
After two consecutive years of negative real income growth in 2009 (- 1.8%) and 2008, six years (2001 to 2006) whereby median income hardly moved, and just one year of significant rise in 2007, the bottom line is that real wage growth for the last 10 years or so,
is only about slightly over one per cent per annum.
With inflation running at 3.5% now, and the Minister of State for Trade and Industry’s (MTI) recent announcement in Parliament that inflation is expected to hit 4% by the end of this year,
it is likely that workers may see a third consecutive year of negative real wage growth.
The real median monthly income from work of residents in full-time employment only increased by 1.8% to $2,710 in 2010.
Part-timers’ real median monthly income increased significantly by 11% to $700 in 2010.
Since the definition of a part-timer was changed from 2009, from working 30 to 35 hours a week, this increase in income may be due to some extent to more people not being able to get work of more than 35 hours a week.
If someone works seven hours a day, for five days a week, would you consider this worker as a part-timer?
Also, how does one survive on just $700 gross income (which includes the employee’s CPF contribution) a month in Singapore?
In this connection, from 1999 to 2010, the median gross monthly income of part-timers increased by only 1.4% per annum, from $600 in 1999 to $700 in 2010 (not adjusted for inflation yet).
If we adjust for inflation, the
increase per annum is near to zero.
There were 400,100 residents who earned up to $1,200 and below per month from work, forming 21% of the workforce. This was slightly lower than 401,600 or 22% a year ago.
Why does the MOM keep using the same $1,200 benchmark, year after year, for the last 10 years, without adjusting for inflation.
After adjusting the $1,200 for inflation, I estimate the percentage of residents earning less than $1,200 to be over 25%.
In 2001, 25.1% earned less than $1,200. So, I believe more people today earn less than $1,200 (inflation-adjusted), compared to 9 years ago.
If we include the non-seasonally 4.1% or 84,400 unemployed as of June, and the 10,900 discouraged unemployed, I estimate that
over 30% of residents earn less than $1,200 (inflation-adjusted)or are unemployed.
Discouraged workers are persons outside of the labour force who were not looking for a job because they believed their job search would be in vain.
176,700 or 9.0% of employed residents in 2010 were part-timers, up from 156,200 or 8.4% in 2009. Around half or 49% of the part-timers in 2010 were willing and available to work additional hours (i.e. underemployed), down from 52% a year ago.
However, the number of underemployed residents rose from 80,500 or 4.3% of all employed residents to 86,600 or 4.4% over the year.
Once out of work, mature residents were more likely to stay unemployed for extended periods. Close to three in ten (28%) resident job seekers aged 40 & over had been looking for work for at least 25 weeks in June 2010, higher than two in ten (20%) for all job seekers.
Of all the categories of workers, Service & Sales workers had the highest unemployment rate of 5.5%. Even Cleaners, Labourers & Related workers had the third highest unemployment rate of 5.3%.
Aren’t these the jobs that we have been constantly told that Singaporeans don’t want? If so, then why is the unemployment rate so high for these workers?
Does this mean that even Cleaners and Labourers who lost their jobs, had difficulty getting re-employed in the same jobs?
To what extent has our liberal foreign worker policy contributed to this?
In my view, the above statistics clearly indicate that
many Singaporeans may not be better off over the last decade or so.
Median” I have explained above. It is the figure that is the halfway mark: half the population would be below the figure and half above it.
“Mean” is what the layman calls the “average”. In the case of incomes, it is naturally weighted by the number of persons within the same income band.
Because the distribution of incomes in virtually all societies is skewed, with lots of low-income earners and few higher-income people, there’s always a gap between median and mean. Generally speaking, the more skewed the income distribution, the larger the gap.
Now, look back at Singapore’s figures for 2009 and 2010. Last year, the mean income (S$3,609) was 49.1 percent higher than median income (S$2,420). This year — 2010 — the mean income (S$3,819) is 52.8 percent higher than median income ($2,500). The gap is increasing. Again.
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Top Singapore officials trash the neighbours
WikiLeaks releases files containing highly controversial comments made by S’pore diplomats (AFP file photo)
A fresh batch of diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks containing comments allegedly made by high-ranking Singapore diplomats threatens to heighten tension in the region.
Among the explosive comments reportedly made by them:
– Malaysia is a “confused and dangerous state” due to “incompetent politicians”
– M’sian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim did “indeed commit the (sodomy) acts he was indicted for”
– Thailand’s political elite is dogged by corruption and its crown prince is “erratic” and “easily subject to influence”
– Japan and India were struggling to deal with China’s influence due to their “stupid” behaviour
Singapore’s past and current Foreign Affairs senior diplomats Peter Ho, Bilahari Kausikan and Professor Tommy Koh were named in the confidential diplomatic cables, which were leaked to Australia’s The Sun-Herald and The Sunday Age by WikiLeaks.
Sun-Herald andThe Sunday Age:
MALAYSIA'S "dangerous" decline is fuelled by incompetent politicians, Thailand is dogged by corruption and a "very erratic" crown prince, Japan is a "big fat loser" and India is ''stupid''.
So say some of Singapore's highest ranking officials, according to leaked US State Department cables which are likely to spark intense political controversy in the region.
The cables, leaked exclusively to The Sun-Herald by WikiLeaks, detail separate meetings between senior US officials and Singapore's Foreign Affairs chiefs Peter Ho, Bilahari Kausikan and Tommy Koh.
The trio, who at the time of the 2008 and 2009 cables occupied some of the most senior positions in the foreign ministry, all give US officials damning assessments of Malaysia. According to one cable detailing a meeting in September 2008, Mr Kausikan told US Deputy Secretary of Defence for East Asia David Sedney there was a "distinct possibility of racial conflict" which could see ethnic Chinese "flee" Malaysia and "overwhelm" Singapore.
Mr Ho's assessment of Malaysia in March that year, given to another US official, is also unflattering and includes claims that former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad had been "throwing stones" at his replacement, Abdullah Badawi.
In his September meeting with Mr Sedney, Mr Kausikan savaged Thailand's political elite, labelling Thaksin Shinawatra as "corrupt" along with "everyone else, including the opposition". Mr Kausikan was also critical of Mr Thaksin's relationship with the Thai crown prince, saying he "made a mistake in pursuing a relationship with the crown prince by paying off the crown prince's gambling debts".
In a September 2009 meeting, Mr Koh savaged Japan and India, describing Japan as ''the big fat loser'' in the context of improving ties between China and ASEAN, a cable says, adding: "He was equally merciless towards India, describing his 'stupid Indian friends' as 'half in, half out' of ASEAN."
The cables documented remarks made by the three officials, who all gave damning assessments of Malaysia and the region during separate meetings in 2008 and 2009 with US officials.
Mr Ho and Mr Kausikan were both permanent secretaries at the MFA at the time, and the latter still holds that position. Mr Koh is the ministry’s ambassador-at-large.
One cable that deals with Malaysian opposition leader Mr Anwar’s sodomy case, dated November 2008, reveals that Singaporean intelligence officials told their Australian counterparts that Mr Anwar engaged in the conduct of which he is accused, a claim he has steadfastly denied.
It read: ”The Australians said that Singapore’s intelligence services and Lee Kuan Yew have told ONA (Australia’s Office of National Assessments) in their exchanges that opposition leader Anwar ’did indeed commit the acts for which he is currently indicted’.”
The document said the Singaporeans made this assessment on the basis of “technical intelligence”, a term likely to describe intercepted communications.
The ONA is also recorded as saying that Mr Anwar’s political enemies “engineered the circumstances from which the sodomy charges arose”.
“ONA assessed, and their Singapore counterparts concurred, ‘it was a set up job and he probably knew that, but walked into it anyway’,” the cable states.
Malaysian PM Najib Razak is labelled an "opportunist". (AP Photo)
Another cable at a meeting in September 2008 detailed Mr Kausikan telling US Deputy Secretary of Defence for East Asia, David Sedney, that there was a “distinct possibility of racial conflict” which could cause ethnic Chinese from Malaysia to “flee” and “overwhelm” Singapore.
“A lack of competent leadership is a real problem for Malaysia,” said Kausikan.
He added that ruling Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak needed to prevail politically in order to avoid prosecution in connection with the murder of Mongolian model Altantuya Shaariibuu.
“Najib has his neck on the line in connection with a high-profile murder case,” he said.
In a cable earlier the same year, Mr Ho reportedly described the Malaysian PM as ”an opportunist” who would ”not hesitate” to be critical of Singapore if it is “expedient for him to do so.”
Thailand's political elite is dogged by "corruption at all levels". (AP file photo)
Damning assessments of other nations’ politicians were also made.
In the same September 2008 meeting with Mr Sedney, Mr Kausikan condemned Thailand’s political elite, indicating that Thaksin Shinawatra is “corrupt” along with “everyone else, including the opposition”.
Mr Kausikan also criticised Mr Thaksin’s close relationship with the Thai crown prince, saying that he “made a mistake in pursuing a relationship with the crown prince by paying off the crown prince’s gambling debts”.
In a September 2009 memo, Mr Koh made damning comments about Japan and India, labelling Japan as “the big fat loser” with regards to improving ties between China and ASEAN, with another cable saying, “He was equally merciless towards India, describing his ‘stupid Indian friends’ as ‘half in, half out’ of ASEAN.”
Mr Koh is also recorded praising China’s ”investment and intelligent diplomacy in the region”.
He is reported to have said, “I don’t fear China. I don’t fear being assimilated by China” while he also hailed its decision to invest in Africa ”without lecturing them about human rights and democracy as the West does”.
A fresh batch of diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks containing comments allegedly made by high-ranking Singapore diplomats threatens to heighten tension in the region.
Among the explosive comments reportedly made by them:
– Malaysia is a “confused and dangerous state” due to “incompetent politicians”
– M’sian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim did “indeed commit the (sodomy) acts he was indicted for”
– Thailand’s political elite is dogged by corruption and its crown prince is “erratic” and “easily subject to influence”
– Japan and India were struggling to deal with China’s influence due to their “stupid” behaviour
Singapore’s past and current Foreign Affairs senior diplomats Peter Ho, Bilahari Kausikan and Professor Tommy Koh were named in the confidential diplomatic cables, which were leaked to Australia’s The Sun-Herald and The Sunday Age by WikiLeaks.
Sun-Herald andThe Sunday Age:
MALAYSIA'S "dangerous" decline is fuelled by incompetent politicians, Thailand is dogged by corruption and a "very erratic" crown prince, Japan is a "big fat loser" and India is ''stupid''.
So say some of Singapore's highest ranking officials, according to leaked US State Department cables which are likely to spark intense political controversy in the region.
The cables, leaked exclusively to The Sun-Herald by WikiLeaks, detail separate meetings between senior US officials and Singapore's Foreign Affairs chiefs Peter Ho, Bilahari Kausikan and Tommy Koh.
The trio, who at the time of the 2008 and 2009 cables occupied some of the most senior positions in the foreign ministry, all give US officials damning assessments of Malaysia. According to one cable detailing a meeting in September 2008, Mr Kausikan told US Deputy Secretary of Defence for East Asia David Sedney there was a "distinct possibility of racial conflict" which could see ethnic Chinese "flee" Malaysia and "overwhelm" Singapore.
Mr Ho's assessment of Malaysia in March that year, given to another US official, is also unflattering and includes claims that former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad had been "throwing stones" at his replacement, Abdullah Badawi.
In his September meeting with Mr Sedney, Mr Kausikan savaged Thailand's political elite, labelling Thaksin Shinawatra as "corrupt" along with "everyone else, including the opposition". Mr Kausikan was also critical of Mr Thaksin's relationship with the Thai crown prince, saying he "made a mistake in pursuing a relationship with the crown prince by paying off the crown prince's gambling debts".
In a September 2009 meeting, Mr Koh savaged Japan and India, describing Japan as ''the big fat loser'' in the context of improving ties between China and ASEAN, a cable says, adding: "He was equally merciless towards India, describing his 'stupid Indian friends' as 'half in, half out' of ASEAN."
The cables documented remarks made by the three officials, who all gave damning assessments of Malaysia and the region during separate meetings in 2008 and 2009 with US officials.
Mr Ho and Mr Kausikan were both permanent secretaries at the MFA at the time, and the latter still holds that position. Mr Koh is the ministry’s ambassador-at-large.
One cable that deals with Malaysian opposition leader Mr Anwar’s sodomy case, dated November 2008, reveals that Singaporean intelligence officials told their Australian counterparts that Mr Anwar engaged in the conduct of which he is accused, a claim he has steadfastly denied.
It read: ”The Australians said that Singapore’s intelligence services and Lee Kuan Yew have told ONA (Australia’s Office of National Assessments) in their exchanges that opposition leader Anwar ’did indeed commit the acts for which he is currently indicted’.”
The document said the Singaporeans made this assessment on the basis of “technical intelligence”, a term likely to describe intercepted communications.
The ONA is also recorded as saying that Mr Anwar’s political enemies “engineered the circumstances from which the sodomy charges arose”.
“ONA assessed, and their Singapore counterparts concurred, ‘it was a set up job and he probably knew that, but walked into it anyway’,” the cable states.
Malaysian PM Najib Razak is labelled an "opportunist". (AP Photo)
Another cable at a meeting in September 2008 detailed Mr Kausikan telling US Deputy Secretary of Defence for East Asia, David Sedney, that there was a “distinct possibility of racial conflict” which could cause ethnic Chinese from Malaysia to “flee” and “overwhelm” Singapore.
“A lack of competent leadership is a real problem for Malaysia,” said Kausikan.
He added that ruling Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak needed to prevail politically in order to avoid prosecution in connection with the murder of Mongolian model Altantuya Shaariibuu.
“Najib has his neck on the line in connection with a high-profile murder case,” he said.
In a cable earlier the same year, Mr Ho reportedly described the Malaysian PM as ”an opportunist” who would ”not hesitate” to be critical of Singapore if it is “expedient for him to do so.”
Thailand's political elite is dogged by "corruption at all levels". (AP file photo)
Damning assessments of other nations’ politicians were also made.
In the same September 2008 meeting with Mr Sedney, Mr Kausikan condemned Thailand’s political elite, indicating that Thaksin Shinawatra is “corrupt” along with “everyone else, including the opposition”.
Mr Kausikan also criticised Mr Thaksin’s close relationship with the Thai crown prince, saying that he “made a mistake in pursuing a relationship with the crown prince by paying off the crown prince’s gambling debts”.
In a September 2009 memo, Mr Koh made damning comments about Japan and India, labelling Japan as “the big fat loser” with regards to improving ties between China and ASEAN, with another cable saying, “He was equally merciless towards India, describing his ‘stupid Indian friends’ as ‘half in, half out’ of ASEAN.”
Mr Koh is also recorded praising China’s ”investment and intelligent diplomacy in the region”.
He is reported to have said, “I don’t fear China. I don’t fear being assimilated by China” while he also hailed its decision to invest in Africa ”without lecturing them about human rights and democracy as the West does”.
Friday, December 10, 2010
our labour ministar insist that we will be "uncompetitive" if we pay any more than what we are doing now.
I am the only local born Singaporean in my engineering department.
The rest are Bangalas, PRC Chinese, Burmese and Malaysian.
I came from a family of 10 siblings living in a 1 room flat at the demolished Blk 81 Redhill Lane with my dad taking home abt 200$ a month. We were poor.
Yes, I do care about the poor.
Local borns as well as poor Bangalas who paid $8k to come here. PRC Chinese who paid rmb 50k to come here.
I always ask myself how the European, American and Aussie construction workers can build all those buildings and are properly paid while our labour ministar insist that we will be "uncompetitive" if we pay any more than what we are doing now.
I personally think this is a big lie.
The fact is that we are shifting these wages from the workers to the bosses and landlords. Let's not begrudge the capital land bosses for drawing million dollars salaries and bonuses.
But let's give to the construction workers their rightful salaries. For this land belongs to local born Singaporeans, not just politicians and their appointed elites. Singapore for local born Singaporeans.
Foreign workers should be welcome to work and make a decent living here. But they should not be given new citizenships so easily. Just like I cannot get a Bangala citizenship easily in order to buy up the cheap land available there. DT
The rest are Bangalas, PRC Chinese, Burmese and Malaysian.
I came from a family of 10 siblings living in a 1 room flat at the demolished Blk 81 Redhill Lane with my dad taking home abt 200$ a month. We were poor.
Yes, I do care about the poor.
Local borns as well as poor Bangalas who paid $8k to come here. PRC Chinese who paid rmb 50k to come here.
I always ask myself how the European, American and Aussie construction workers can build all those buildings and are properly paid while our labour ministar insist that we will be "uncompetitive" if we pay any more than what we are doing now.
I personally think this is a big lie.
The fact is that we are shifting these wages from the workers to the bosses and landlords. Let's not begrudge the capital land bosses for drawing million dollars salaries and bonuses.
But let's give to the construction workers their rightful salaries. For this land belongs to local born Singaporeans, not just politicians and their appointed elites. Singapore for local born Singaporeans.
Foreign workers should be welcome to work and make a decent living here. But they should not be given new citizenships so easily. Just like I cannot get a Bangala citizenship easily in order to buy up the cheap land available there. DT
Saturday, December 04, 2010
Wednesday, December 01, 2010
wages increased by 4% 2010
it is noted the wages for singapore has risen by 4%.
the inflation rate for 2010 is 3%.
so, we have the real wage increased by just merely 1% for our strong growth of 15% GDP.
strong GDP growth did not necessary translate higher wages.
and our wages just barely cover all the cost with just 1%.
where did all the money goes to?
the inflation rate for 2010 is 3%.
so, we have the real wage increased by just merely 1% for our strong growth of 15% GDP.
strong GDP growth did not necessary translate higher wages.
and our wages just barely cover all the cost with just 1%.
where did all the money goes to?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)