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DIS-grace-fuL

Thick Face Black Heart

Alfrescian (InfP)
Generous Asset
Grace Fu, 04 January:

"When I made the decision to join politics in 2006, pay was not a key factor. Loss of privacy, public scrutiny on myself and my family and loss of personal time were. The disruption to my career was also an important consideration. I had some ground to believe that my family would not suffer a drastic change in the standard of living even though I experienced a drop in my income. So it is with this recent pay cut. If the balance is tilted further in the future, it will make it harder for any one considering political office."


Grace Fu, 05 January, after her FB post attracted 900+ comments:

"“Thank you for all your candid views. I respect all of them. I realise my last posting could have been misunderstood. The committee has done a thorough job with a substantial recommendation over a fairly emotive topic. I accept and respect the recommendations."
 

Thick Face Black Heart

Alfrescian (InfP)
Generous Asset
[h=1]Public misunderstood my comments: Grace Fu[/h]
ynewslogo-071424_075919.png
<cite class="byline vcard">

By Faris Mokhtar | Yahoo! Newsroom – <abbr title="2012-01-05T13:08:52+00:00">1 hour 12 minutes ago
</abbr></cite>



(UPDATED Thur 7:10pm: adding Grace Fu’s quotes)

Senior Minister of State for Ministry of Environment and Water Resources Grace Fu said the public might have misunderstood the remarks she made on her Facebook page on Wednesday.

In her latest Facebook post made at about 5pm on Thursday, she responded to the barrage of comments critical of her earlier remarks by saying she is “honoured” to be given the opportunity to serve the people.

“Thank you for all your candid views. I respect all of them. I realise my last posting could have been misunderstood. The committee has done a thorough job with a substantial recommendation over a fairly emotive topic. I accept and respect the recommendations,” she wrote.

However, she also maintained her position about the tradeoffs of further lowering ministerial salaries.

“I am honoured to be given the opportunity to serve the people. However, it may not be wise to call for the tradeoffs to be tilted further to an extent that it dissuades good people from coming forward in future,” she added.

In her previous remark on Wednesday in response to the proposed salary revisions, Fu, who is also Senior Minister of State for the Ministry of Communication, Information and the Arts, hinted that further reduction in ministerial salaries might deter anyone from considering political office.

“When I made the decision to join politics in 2006, pay was not a key factor. Loss of privacy, public scrutiny on myself and my family and loss of personal time were,” Fu had said.

She added that, “The disruption to my career was also an important consideration. I had some ground to believe that my family would not suffer a drastic change in the standard of living even though I experienced a drop in my income. So it is with this recent pay cut.”

However, she reiterated that it may not be “wise to call for the tradeoffs to be tilted further to an extent that it dissuades good people from coming forward in future”.

Prior to joining politics in 2006, Fu was CEO of PSA Corporation (Southeast Asia and Japan). During her 10-year career at the Singapore port operator, she steadily rose through the ranks, holding various appointments in finance and marketing before becoming regional CEO.

As of Thursday afternoon, her post had drawn over 730 comments with more than 821 shares. Most criticised her, questioning if local politicians were motivated by public service or by million-dollar salaries already deemed to be the highest in the world.

Unveiling its report on Wednesday, the Ministerial Salary Review Committee proposed a 36 per cent pay cut for the Prime Minister, a 51 per cent cut for the President and a 37 per cent cut for entry-grade ministers.

Facebook user, Raziff Hamid, wrote on his Facebook wall that in past decades when former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew and the first generation leaders were in charge, people entered politics driven by their altruism, unselfish regard or devotion towards welfare of its citizens.

“However the same sentiments did not cascade down to the next generation either by the folly of their own policies or this is just an exception... sad day for politics,” he said.

Another user Ivy Tan said she finds it “disturbing” that local politicians are not motivated by public service.

She said, “You can have all the paper qualifications and impressive work experiences in the world, but if you’ve got no inherent passion for your job, you’ll never be able to make a big difference.”

Jia Jun Ng also noted on his Facebook post that the main objective in participating in politics is to be the bridge between the government and its people.

“If one has the passion for it to make a difference, why will this affect their decision to join? The pay cut is not that ridiculous judging from the current economy we are in,” he said.

‘Fu’s comments reasonable’

On the opposite end of the discussion, netizens have defended Fu’s remarks which they said were fair.

User Joshua Hoe Tian Ming pointed out that none of the posts critical of the minister’s comments have refuted her point that politics is a career in the public eye and that loss of privacy for the politician and his or her family is a huge price to pay.

The term "public service" also does not mean one must be poorly compensated, said Hoe. “Just because politicians are supposed to be serving society at large, including the poor and unemployed, does not mean their pay should be pegged to that,” he wrote.

“If they fail to serve, punish them by voting them out, not by a misconstrued notion that they only deserve what their poorest constituents are getting,” he added.

User Kai Li Tan also defended Fu, who is also MP for Yuhua, saying she was only voicing out her honest opinion. Tan noted that only an “idealist and simpleton” would expect those joining politics to serve solely for passion or the public.

“As much as I do not think it (is) justified to overpay our ministers or political office holders, I do believe passion alone cannot feed the stomach. Political figures or not, everyone has a family to care for and personal dreams and desires to achieve,” said Tan.

User Thian Beng Yap also took issue with the way some fellow citizens criticised MPs on every front without “any wisdom”.

While the government does commit mistakes, he believes in its sincerity to serve the nation, and that ultimately this same value will help win the country over, he said, adding, “Like some would say, politics is a thankless job.”
 

Thick Face Black Heart

Alfrescian (InfP)
Generous Asset
Grace Fu clarifies comments on ministerial pay cuts

20120105.183033_gracefu.jpg



AsiaOne, my paper
Thursday, Jan 05, 2012
Senior Minister of State for Information, Communications and the Arts Grace Fu first aired her views in response to recommendations announced by the ministerial salaries review committee yesterday afternoon.

The former CEO of PSA Corporation (Southeast Asia and Japan) posted her comments on her Facebook account about two hours after the recommendations were announced.

"When I made the decision to join politics in 2006, pay was not a key factor. Loss of privacy, public scrutiny on myself and my family and loss of personal time were," she wrote on her Facebook profile.

She added, "The disruption to my career was also an important consideration. I had some ground to believe that my family would not suffer a drastic change in the standard of living even though I experienced a drop in my income. So it is with this recent pay cut.

"If the balance is tilted further in the future, it will make it harder for any one considering political office."

Her comments garnered around 700 replies - both supportive and critical - as of 6pm Thursday evening.

Nearly 20 hours after she first posted her views on the matter, Ms Fu clarified her comments earlier this evening.

In a second posting, she said, "Thank you all for your candid views. I respect all of them. I realise my last posting could have been misunderstood.

"The committee has done a thorough job with a substantial recommendation over a fairly emotive topic. I accept and respect the recommendations."

"I am honoured to be given the opportunity to serve the people. However, it may not be wise to call for the tradeoffs to be tilted further to an extent that it dissuades good people from coming forward in future. I read today's papers and some readers make the same point.

"Thanks for your views again."

Local newspaper my paper reported that some Ministers-of-Parliament supported the recommendations for their allowances but said that the reduction in salaries is significant.

Ang Mo Kio GRC MP Inderjit Singh told the bilingual paper that it will be tougher to "attract the younger ones who have yet to reach the prime of their careers" to public service.

Fellow Ang Mo Kio GRC MP Ang Hin Kee said a delicate balance is needed to attract not just those with capability but also those with the heart to serve.

"Pay is only one aspect of why someone wants to serve; you also need passion, and the committee's adjustments reflect that," he said.

[email protected]
 

Cruxx

Alfrescian
Loyal
I do believe passion alone cannot feed the stomach.

I do believe that $30 a day, $900 a month is enough to feed the stomach. I don't begrudge anyone aspiring to become a millionaire. But pls, save us the trite and disingenuous argument that you've got to be "realistic" and pay people millions because one needs $ in order to survive. For fuck's sake, stop conflating millions of dollars with money as a tool for subsistence. You don't need millions of dollars to survive :mad:
 

Hans168

Alfrescian
Loyal
We attracted pple who are money motivated whereas we shud be attracting pple who are power motivated
Basic mgmt principle like this is deliberately being misunderstood or overlooked/

No wonder we got the bandits raiding the tresury......... police dare not catch them n judges turned a blind eye or izzit that their honchos are also benefitting?

......... alas
pple like Goh Keng Swee is no longer being manufactured.......... extinct
 

Hans168

Alfrescian
Loyal
Grace Fu clarifies comments on ministerial pay cuts

20120105.183033_gracefu.jpg



Someone noted in this morning radio talk that all the new ministers n wannabees are from NTUC, army or GLC
This basically confirm that it is not money that will attract pple from private sector
In fact it shows that money will attract those bees from above named sectors who are earning much less n hope to
make a killing in their new comp n benefits
 

freedalas

Alfrescian
Loyal
Grace Fu got into politics and climbed up quickly all because of her father James Fu who used to serve LKY as a running dog. LKY is one person who would go to the deepest ocean to take revenge on anyone who had offended him but at the same time would also go to the end of the earth to repay anyone who had been loyal to him. Grace Fu's rise is a reward for her father's utter devotion to the Old Fart. It's nothing to do with her competence, if we assume she has any. So she should just keep her bloody mouth shut and enjoy the salary that she so richly undeserved.
 

Varuna

Alfrescian
Loyal
I think she was trying to stop voices of displeasure from spreading wider with regards to the recommendations by the committee which PM was ready to accept. She has definitely dented her image for nothing when she could have kept quiet like the rest. She took the chance and screwed it beautifully. Might as well. It's only by talking more that her true colors and character will surface for us to see.
 

Thick Face Black Heart

Alfrescian (InfP)
Generous Asset
I think she was trying to stop voices of displeasure from spreading wider with regards to the recommendations by the committee which PM was ready to accept. She has definitely dented her image for nothing when she could have kept quiet like the rest. She took the chance and screwed it beautifully. Might as well. It's only by talking more that her true colors and character will surface for us to see.


Grace Fu is an arrogant lady. Did anyone here see the way she conducted her walkabouts in Yuhua?
 

scroobal

Alfrescian
Loyal
Ms Fu was an ordinary performer in school and uni. Her first job was the result of former PSC Chairman Lee Heng Seng who was Deputy Chairman of OUB giving her a job. After a few years she moved on to Haw Par. All this nothing special. Then went to PSA and suddenly she must have gained additional grey cells and became a high flyer. Imagine when she first stood for Parliament in 2006, the PM stated in Fullerton Square that she will be appointed as MOS.

Her father was the first card carrying communist to change sides after his arrest during Operations Cold Store and the first batch to be released. To attract others he was given a prominent position in Govt. He was in same cell as Jek Yuen Tong, former member of cabinet who crossed years before. What an irony She is now SMOS, Jek's son went to head MSD. New MPs Janil and Ong Ke Yung are both sons of ABL communist front hardcore brigade.

Grace reminds me of Lim Boon Heng. She shared the story with the press and how she and her husband could not afford to buy a house after marriage and had to stay with her parents in their Palatial Bukit Timah House. What a sad story.
 

freedalas

Alfrescian
Loyal
Thanks, Scroobal for the juicy but nonetheless real details. This forum is indeed fortunate to have members like u who provide such insightful info all the time. It's good that forummers can see how people are being appointed to leadership positions under the PAP regime. In this case, it's purely LKY repaying Grace's father James Fu for switching to his side and then staying by his side as an obedient dog. Does anyone still believe that those in the cabinet are worth millions?
 

Windsor

Alfrescian (Inf)
Asset
I think she was trying to stop voices of displeasure from spreading wider with regards to the recommendations by the committee which PM was ready to accept. She has definitely dented her image for nothing when she could have kept quiet like the rest. She took the chance and screwed it beautifully. Might as well. It's only by talking more that her true colors and character will surface for us to see.

She wrote her comment with confidence because all the while, her Facebook received positive comments that in no way indicate any hostilities. Plus her grassroot leaders as usual only reported what she wants to hear.
 

zhihau

Super Moderator
SuperMod
Asset
She wrote her comment with confidence because all the while, her Facebook received positive comments that in no way indicate any hostilities

ahh... Aljunied GRC residents welcome MP Grace Fu with wide open arms :biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:
 

coolguy

Alfrescian
Loyal
A true blue singaporean, 06 Jan:
"When I made the decision to be born as a singaporean in 1965, pay was not a key factor. Serving NS, contributing CPF, suffering discrimationary policies, surviving 1st world high standard of living with 3rd world pay was also an important consideration. I had some ground to believe that at least I would not commit suicide even though I experienced a drop in my income. So it is with this recent pay cut. If the balance is tilted further in the future, it will make it harder for any one considering to be born as a singaporean."
 

GoldenDragon

Alfrescian (Inf)
Asset
Non-money issues, she's never misinterpreted. Money matters, when increase in salary, also never misinterpreted. Only misinterpreted when salary heads south. What a bitch! Knowing her upbringing, quite easy to digest her thinking and behavior.
 

Conqueror

Alfrescian
Loyal
Sian, Right ? You Know ?

A true blue singaporean, 06 Jan:
"When I made the decision to be born as a singaporean in 1965, pay was not a key factor. Serving NS, contributing CPF, suffering discrimationary policies, surviving 1st world high standard of living with 3rd world pay was also an important consideration. I had some ground to believe that at least I would not commit suicide even though I experienced a drop in my income. So it is with this recent pay cut. If the balance is tilted further in the future, it will make it harder for any one considering to be born as a singaporean."


Sian, right ? What to do ? The men have no courage to follow what Tunisia did to topple the regime. Some men in Sinkingland always like to bite their lips and psycho themselves saying, "It will be better tomorrow. Yes, I will bear it today." And they keep saying that for how long already.

新加坡人有病,啊!
 

zhihau

Super Moderator
SuperMod
Asset
Knowing her upbringing, quite easy to digest her thinking and behavior.

once living in the ivory towers, they can be quite isolated and lonely you know? they may even think there's hum in mee siam, thought people can see the CTE inside the MRT along NS line, or may even classify us as lesser mortals you know?
 
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