Rest In Peace Lee Kuan Yew

"Whoever governs Singapore must have that iron in him. Or give it up. I've spent a whole lifetime building this and as long as I'm in charge, nobody is going to knock it down." - Lee Kuan Yew (1980).

I feel privileged to have lived in an era where a great man took a small nation and made it really special.  I am of course referring to Singapore and the vision and drive of its modern day founder, Lee Kuan Yew, who passed away today, aged 91.

He was a man I admired greatly and one of the key reasons I decided to make Singapore my home for a period of 5 years. Yes he had his detractors, but even they would have failed to emulate his drive, vision and passion for the country.

Singapore has lost a great man today but fittingly as it celebrates its 50th Anniversary, they have gained a first world nation; all thanks to LKY and the citizens who worked under his stewardship.

My sincere condolences to the Lee family at this time.


Lee Suan Yew, Mr Lee Kuan Yew's youngest brother

Riotous Behaviour And Rapid Deflation

In the earlier day of television and movie newsreels, the few references to Indian news often depicted scenes of batten-wielding police breaking up rioting mobs.  It seemed that the heat, dust and general living conditions meant that the local populace was on a short fuse and it only needed one incident to spark a full scale riot.

While you still get references from time to time to this form of constabulary crowd control, rioting Indian mobs are not as prevalent in the western media as they once were.

However this situation changed on December 8, when 400 foreign workers from the Indian subcontinent went on the rampage in Singapore 's Little India.

I am pleased to note that the Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong, has used his New Year address to the nation to reiterate that this sort of behaviour will not be tolerated in the Republic:

"We will continue to treat foreign workers fairly, but we expect them to obey our laws and social norms" 

"The riot in Little India was inexcusable. We have taken firm action against the culprits. Several have been charged, others warned and repatriated, and still others advised to abide strictly by our laws".

To which I say "here, here!"

Whatever the provocation, this sort of senseless mob violence has no place in The Little Red Dot.

In a more positive vein it is pleasing to learn that the country's economy grew by 3.7% in 2013 according the Ministry of Trade and Industry.

At least they are not suffering from a  case of rapid deflation, as is the case of a giant rubber duck in Taiwan which exploded only hours before it was meant to be a centerpiece in that country's New Year celebrations

Related articles

• Riots in Little India inexcusable: Singapore Prime Minister
• Singapore foreign worker riot triggered by bus accident
• Singapore's economy grew by 3.7% in 2013, says PM Lee

PM Lee's national Day Rally Speech - 2013

The best speech I have heard from Lee Hsien Loong to date. The futurist projections show an exciting time ahead for Singapore; and some challenges.

The Haze Poem

The Haze Poem

I amazed at the haze
and the ignorant bliss
of farmers who burn
as if nothings amiss

As I stand in the mall
looking out at the smog
there's just me and my mask
and a passing stray dog

Think I'll invent a huge solar powered fan
Sumatran focus in mind
Send it back if we can
Taste your own medicine
is my cunning plan

Roger Smith, 2013

• Hazed and confused

Racial Harmony Day In Singapore

PM Lee: New citizens must embrace Singapore values
While new citizens may be of the same race as a Singaporean who was born here, PM Lee pointed out that they have different habits and attitudes. He emphasised the need to maintain harmony between new and old citizens on Racial Harmony Day.

The First Cut Is The Deepest?

The Singapore Government has clearly been taking note of the 2011 Election results and the voters dissatisfaction with the high level of remuneration that local politicians receive in the Republic.

There is a reason for these salaries which are the highest in the world; they are currently pegged to the salaries of the top 48 from six industry sectors.

The new proposal (and it is just a proposal at this stage, not law) is to extend this benchmark to the top 1,000 across all industries. i.e. the median income of the top 1,000 Singaporean earners.  Mind you, there is also a ' 40-per-cent discount to "signify the sacrifice that comes with the ethos of political service" clause' which rather dissipates the political or real effect of any pay cut.

The President will be hit hardest with a 51% decrease but I am sure will live quite comfortably on the remaining S$1.5 million.

Even with a 36% cut, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will remain one of the highest paid politicians in the world at S$2.2million ($US1.7 million). By comparison, US President Barack Obama earns about $400,000 and the British PM about $US 270,000.

Post-pay cut, the PM's new salary will still be three times that of the Hong Kong chief executive, Donald Tsang, the world's next highest paid political leader, who earns about $550,000.

How the salaries will compare after the pay-cuts

The least a Minister at the lowest entry level grade would expect to get is $S935,000.  According to TodayOnline their salary will now comprise a fixed component of 12 months' pay and a traditional 13th-month Annual Wage Supplement (bonus).

The individual bonus is based on the minister's performance as determined by the Prime Minister while the National Bonus will be linked to "the socio-economic progress of average and lower income Singapore citizens".

Source - Report on Salaries for a capable and committed Government (TodayOnline)

While the international press is is offering scant praise ito news of the pay cuts, it needs to be remembered that the rational behind the high salaries in the first place was to entice the best professional candidates into politics.

This might be a fine idea in times of economic bliss but when recession bites, as it has in Singapore these past two quarters, the voters find such largesse difficult to stomach. This in combination with MRT problems, housing price rises and taxi woes points to challenging times ahead.  The income of Singaporeans in the bottom fifth has been flat or negative in the 10 years to June 2010 while politicians salaries have soared since the 1990's.

But I wonder if all the above truly reflects the cost of a politician?  Making judgments on salary alone is insufficient.  A 'total cost of office' should include salary, entertainment, total travel, pensions and personal security costs, to name but a few.

If such an equation was in place then the true comparison between US President's cost and those of the Singapore PM would be dramatically different.  Having seen the US President's advance security sweep in action before a planned visit, I can vouch that these are thorough and the costs considerable.

Bottom line which only the voters can answer -  are you getting value for your money?

Related articles

• Top 10 Highest Paid Political Leaders of the World (PHOTOS) (ibtimes.com)
• Singapore Predicts 'Difficult' 2012 on Europe, Foreigner Curbs (businessweek.com)
• You: Singapore snip: prime minister takes big pay cut (guardian.co.uk)

Something Old, Something New

Although the two most senior men in the PAP recently announced their retirement from Cabinet, both as predicted remain very influential, albeit behind the scenes.

LKY is to be Senior Advisor to GIC which is Singapore's largest investment vehicle and the Goh Chok Tong has become Senior Advisor to MAS as well as being anointed as Emeritus Senior Minister, which has a distinctly academic ring to its title.

Former Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng as well as Mah Bow Tan and Raymond Lim have retired from the Cabinet.  In the case of Wong Kan Seng one presumes that he was retired, after a decent interval of time, following the debacle of the Mas Selamat escape which caused great embarrassment to the government.

I am not at all surprised by the rapid elevation of Tharman Shanmugaratnam in the PAP ranks.  His appointment as one of the two Deputy Prime Ministers is a reflection of his political presence and acumen.  I recall meeting at the launch of the ill fated UNSW Asia when he was Minister of Education.  He was eloquent, attentive and a man of considerable bearing.

Teo Chee Hean, the other Deputy Prime Minister could also be a future PM of Singapore as he too has the presence and political nous to succeed.

Someone else who impressed me in the past was Madame Halimah Yacob and I note she has been made a Minister of State for the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports.

It will now be interesting to see how the Opposition responds as they have this term to bring their star players to the fore.  Sheer weight of numbers from the government benches will make this a difficult but not insurmountable task.

To succeed further they will need to stick to championing the issues that the people of Singapore want addressed, and not succumb to petty inter-party squabbling which has been a problem in the past.

Related articles

• PM to chair GIC, Tharman new MAS chairman (khamerlogue.wordpress.com)

Two Less Lions In Lion City

From Left - Goh Chok Tong and Lee Kuan Yew

There will be two less lions at the Lion City's top political table from this moment forward. Both MM Lee Kuan Yew and SM Goh Chok Tong has decide to retire from Cabinet and focus their efforts soley on their constituencies.

According to the Straits Times they described the very recent General Election as a 'watershed' one and that 'they have decided to leave the Cabinet and have a 'completely younger team of ministers connect to and engage with this young generation in shaping the future of Singapore.'

"We have studied the new political situation and thought how it can affect the future. We have made our contributions to the development of Singapore. The time has come for a younger generation to carry Singapore forward in a more difficult and complex situation. The Prime Minister and his team of younger leaders should have a fresh clean slate. A younger generation, besides having a non-corrupt and meritocratic government and a high standard of living, wants to be more engaged in the decisions which affect them. After a watershed general election, we have decided to leave the cabinet and have a completely younger team of ministers to connect to and engage with this young generation in shaping the future of our Singapore.
But the younger team must always have in mind the interests of the older generation. This generation who has contributed to Singapore must be well-looked after."

While it is timely to pay tribute to both men for their stewardship of Singapore, the political tide has changed somewhat and their resignations reflect this new reality.

There is need for the PAP to reinvent itself after being re elected by the smallest margin since independence.

The younger people of Singapore do not respond to the pleas for 'nation building' in the same way as their parents once did.  They expect the government to be more responsive to their basic needs, such as housing and jobs and to listen to their criticisms.

MM Lee Kuan Yew is now 87 and SM Goh Chok Tong a sprightly 69.  Both have once again shown astute political judgement in their decision to resign from cabinet, although I very much suspect that behind the scenes their opinion will still be sought.

Related articles

• Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew, Goh Chok Tong to Leave Cabinet (businessweek.com)
• Singapore Founder Lee to Quit Cabinet (online.wsj.com)

A Bigger Red Dot

Today Singapore has come of political age.  While it is true that the ruling PAP party was returned to power, (deservedly so in many peoples minds) with 60% of the vote (14% less than the previous election), it is equally true that there has been a very large swing towards the Opposition parties.

The very idea that 40% of the 2.35 million eligible voters would choose not to vote for the PAP would have been unheard of two decades ago.

93% of Singaporeans turned out to exercise their vote which shows the level of interest in GE2011.

The big news of the night was the Workers Party win in Aljunied GRC, a rather large 'red dot' in the heartlands, which automatically gives them five seats in the new Parliament.

Three senior Ministers of the last government lost their seats in Alujnied including a distraught Foreign Minister George Yeo, who will no doubt become Ambassador Yeo in the near future. To his credit he remained a gentleman in accepting his defeat.

Hougang too remains firmly in opposition hands.

There remain two electorates that may be subject to a recount, Joo Chiat where the PAP is ahead by 400 votes on election night and Potong Pasir where the margin is even tighter - a mere114 votes.

Thanks to social media's influence on the young and Facebook stars such as Nicole Seah, even safe havens such as Marine Parade were given a wake up call.

The NSP managed to capture 44% of the vote in this electorate although, as predicted, Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong's PAP team were returned to office.

Last night's results also saw the demise of Singapore's longest serving opposition politician- one of two in the last Parliament. Due to boundary changes and party swapping Chiam See Tong had to contest the Bishan-Toa Payoh electorate where his SPP party only managed to get 43% of the vote.

So behind the numbers what does this all mean?  The return of a stable government in a volatile economic environment is a real plus and the PAP's stewardship through the toughest of recessionary times should not be forgotten.

Despite this acceptance, the people of Singapore have signalled strongly to the government that they are not happy with the status quo; especially the growing wealth gap, the influx of foreign workers, rising prices and the cost of housing.

While six Opposition members is a small percentage of the total house they should be able to provide a stronger voice for the people's concerns.   If the government chooses to not address these issues we could see a very different result in five years time and true repentance.

Related articles

• What George Yeo's loss means for Singapore
• Singapore's ruling party loses multi-seat constituency - Reuters (news.google.com)
• Singapore's Lee Retains Power With Smallest Margin Since 1965 - BusinessWeek (news.google.com)

The Singapore Electorate Map

Click on the Map and then click again to see the larger version

2.35 million Singaporean voters but in the case of a no-contest in some electorates, not all will get to vote.

For example, a friend has told me that she is getting to vote for the first time in 10 years as her previous GRC has now become a SMC.

Related articles

• Singapore Opposition Contests Record Number of Seats (online.wsj.com)

Thinking Strategically

Yesterday the Singaporean PM and his Malaysian counterpart signed an important agreement.
 

Since the separation from Malaysia more than forty years ago that country has retained a sovereign presence in the heart of Singapore.  They own the Railway station and track that snakes its way through Singapore.  It is still gazetted as the Johor Bahru station in Malaysia

When Mathatir was in power his jaundiced view of Singapore and the world meant that this was never going to be resolved.  I am anticipating he will snipe away from the sidelines about this agreement and try to stir up trouble.

What was demonstrated yesterday was political maturity and  willingness to compromise for the benefit of all parties.

There will be a new railway terminus at Woodlands and the equally good news is that the rather charming (if somewhat dilapidated) railway station at Tanjong Pagar will be retained and conserved as a heritage building.  A new rapid transit system will link Singapore and Johor Bahru by 2018.

On the same day it was announced by Lee Hsien Loong that the water treatment station at Sungei in JB will be returned to the Malaysians when its lease runs out next year.

In the 1960's Singapore lived under constant threats of having their water supply cut off but latter developments such as the Marina Bay barrage and technologies such as NeWater treatment have largely negated this threat of such political blackmail.  The reliance on Sungei is not what it once was.

Singapore plans strategically for its longevity as a nation.  Having no natural resources of its own, other than people, it is reliant on others for the basics of life such as food and water.  Having largely addressed the water issue it also looks to broaden the supply chain for its food supply.

It has plans to invest heavily in a large faming and food processing food zone in North East China and if this comes to pass much of its meat and vegetables will come from this source in the future.

This development is only in the study phase but if it comes to pass fifteen years from now Singapore will no longer be beholden to volatile countries such as Indonesia for its meat supply.