Old Goat is really way out to lunch now. I can see his senility in implementing the FT policy has resulted in the mess that we are in. He is really delusional.
- He says FTs come here to be our citizens, so the society can grow. SOme brave soul, like his son, should tell him that FTs become citizens to milk the country, get flats and speculate on them, take good paying jobs from sinkies. AND THAN EITHER GO BACK TO THEIR COUNTRIES RICH OR USE THE SINGAPORE PASSPORT TO EMIGRATE TO A WESTERN COUNTRY. Just wait until the sons of these new citizens are eligible for NS, you will see how fast they fuck off from here.
- He says 3 million singaporeans cannot punch above their weight? really? These 3 million sinkies work harder than most people, are more educated, live in a more technologically advanced country, have $250 billion in national reserves, etc. cannot punch above their weight? what bullshit is this? If you look at the per capita GDP numbers, we are already ahead of most countries that don't have oil revenues.
-He ask us all to accept the discomfort of fear from competing unequally for jobs. What a lancheow. Why don't he Ask his son or daughter in law to compete fairly for their jobs. See whether they can still be PM and Temasek CEO respectively. ANyway, its not a fear, its a reality that sinkie are competing unequally. For someone like him to dismiss it as a discomfort showss total uncaring and disregard for the well being of his people.
- He says without FTs, there will be no jobs to begin with. Excuse me, but I plainly recall in the 70s and 80s, there were plenty of jobs and NO FTs. The only FTs were construction workers or maids. Job creation in singapore has always been about MNCs coming in here to set up shop. There will never be enough singapore population to work if you are asking MNC sweatshops to set up factories here, hire thousands, and pay people $800 a month. On the other hand if you attract quality companies with good pay, Singaporeans can work there, no problem. I never heard of 2 million FTs let in just to keep jobs for 3 million singaporeans.
- He says let in FTs to get faster growth. What is the point of faster growth when the quality of life for the average singaporean is decreaing instead of improving? People will rather have lower growth if it means they don't get retrenched, pay so much more for their flats and daily expenses, jam into MRT every day, etc. Just because his bonus was based on growth does not mean its a good thing.
Old Goat should just come out and say the truth, which is of the original 3 million sinkies, probably 20% are overseas now on a permanent basis due to his policies and this is a desperate measure to import FTs to make up for the brain drain and manpower loss.
SINGAPORE: Former Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew said Singapore would not be able to punch above its own weight if it were to depend on talent from its own population.
He was speaking at a dialogue to wrap up the two-day South Asian Diaspora convention in Singapore on Friday.
DBS Bank's CEO Piyush Gupta posted a question to Mr Lee, asking just how big the issue of attracting foreign talent in Singapore is, having noted that it was a hot topic during the recent General Election.
Mr Lee felt it was an issue among Singaporeans even before the election.
Mr Lee said: "For some time, the Singaporean has felt the competition from talented foreigners. But these are people who have come here to become our citizens and I am a firm believer that the more talent that you have in a society, the better the society will grow.
"If Singapore depends on the talent it can produce out of three million people, it's not going to punch above its weight.
"It's because we have been drawing talent from across the globe - South Asia, Northeast Asia, China, India and beyond that - you have a vibrant economy which is way beyond what three million Singaporeans with the talent they can produce can do.
"So you've got to accept the discomfort, which the local citizens fear that they are competing unequally for jobs. (It) cannot be helped.
"But without them, the jobs will not be there to begin with. So welcome talent and we'll continue to welcome talent."
When asked how the political problem associated with the foreign talent issue could be managed, Mr Lee said: "You just have to assuage it.
"What is the choice - slow growth with no input of talent or faster growth with input of talent and the feeling that some of the top jobs are going to the foreigners? You may get no jobs at all if there were no growth."
Several participants at the convention also took the opportunity to tap Mr Lee's views on the importance of governance and meritocracy for the success of a country. One common question raised during the dialogue was how Mr Lee would have governed India, if the country was handed to him.
Mr Lee replied: "First, what sort of Indian would I be? A northern Indian? A southern Indian? That identifies you with the interest of a particular group.
"Or a Bombay Indian, which is the most cosmopolitan of all. But it may well be that a Bombay Indian doesn't represent Indians at all, so it's a problem India has to face.
"It is important whoever leads India should find acceptance with the widest group of Indians possible. But I think it is very difficult for any Indian leader to find more than 40 per cent of Indians believing he represents them."
Mr Lee also noted that Indians speak nearly 300 different languages, but in China, 90 per cent of the people speak the same language and that makes it a much easier country to lead than India.
- He says FTs come here to be our citizens, so the society can grow. SOme brave soul, like his son, should tell him that FTs become citizens to milk the country, get flats and speculate on them, take good paying jobs from sinkies. AND THAN EITHER GO BACK TO THEIR COUNTRIES RICH OR USE THE SINGAPORE PASSPORT TO EMIGRATE TO A WESTERN COUNTRY. Just wait until the sons of these new citizens are eligible for NS, you will see how fast they fuck off from here.
- He says 3 million singaporeans cannot punch above their weight? really? These 3 million sinkies work harder than most people, are more educated, live in a more technologically advanced country, have $250 billion in national reserves, etc. cannot punch above their weight? what bullshit is this? If you look at the per capita GDP numbers, we are already ahead of most countries that don't have oil revenues.
-He ask us all to accept the discomfort of fear from competing unequally for jobs. What a lancheow. Why don't he Ask his son or daughter in law to compete fairly for their jobs. See whether they can still be PM and Temasek CEO respectively. ANyway, its not a fear, its a reality that sinkie are competing unequally. For someone like him to dismiss it as a discomfort showss total uncaring and disregard for the well being of his people.
- He says without FTs, there will be no jobs to begin with. Excuse me, but I plainly recall in the 70s and 80s, there were plenty of jobs and NO FTs. The only FTs were construction workers or maids. Job creation in singapore has always been about MNCs coming in here to set up shop. There will never be enough singapore population to work if you are asking MNC sweatshops to set up factories here, hire thousands, and pay people $800 a month. On the other hand if you attract quality companies with good pay, Singaporeans can work there, no problem. I never heard of 2 million FTs let in just to keep jobs for 3 million singaporeans.
- He says let in FTs to get faster growth. What is the point of faster growth when the quality of life for the average singaporean is decreaing instead of improving? People will rather have lower growth if it means they don't get retrenched, pay so much more for their flats and daily expenses, jam into MRT every day, etc. Just because his bonus was based on growth does not mean its a good thing.
Old Goat should just come out and say the truth, which is of the original 3 million sinkies, probably 20% are overseas now on a permanent basis due to his policies and this is a desperate measure to import FTs to make up for the brain drain and manpower loss.
SINGAPORE: Former Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew said Singapore would not be able to punch above its own weight if it were to depend on talent from its own population.
He was speaking at a dialogue to wrap up the two-day South Asian Diaspora convention in Singapore on Friday.
DBS Bank's CEO Piyush Gupta posted a question to Mr Lee, asking just how big the issue of attracting foreign talent in Singapore is, having noted that it was a hot topic during the recent General Election.
Mr Lee felt it was an issue among Singaporeans even before the election.
Mr Lee said: "For some time, the Singaporean has felt the competition from talented foreigners. But these are people who have come here to become our citizens and I am a firm believer that the more talent that you have in a society, the better the society will grow.
"If Singapore depends on the talent it can produce out of three million people, it's not going to punch above its weight.
"It's because we have been drawing talent from across the globe - South Asia, Northeast Asia, China, India and beyond that - you have a vibrant economy which is way beyond what three million Singaporeans with the talent they can produce can do.
"So you've got to accept the discomfort, which the local citizens fear that they are competing unequally for jobs. (It) cannot be helped.
"But without them, the jobs will not be there to begin with. So welcome talent and we'll continue to welcome talent."
When asked how the political problem associated with the foreign talent issue could be managed, Mr Lee said: "You just have to assuage it.
"What is the choice - slow growth with no input of talent or faster growth with input of talent and the feeling that some of the top jobs are going to the foreigners? You may get no jobs at all if there were no growth."
Several participants at the convention also took the opportunity to tap Mr Lee's views on the importance of governance and meritocracy for the success of a country. One common question raised during the dialogue was how Mr Lee would have governed India, if the country was handed to him.
Mr Lee replied: "First, what sort of Indian would I be? A northern Indian? A southern Indian? That identifies you with the interest of a particular group.
"Or a Bombay Indian, which is the most cosmopolitan of all. But it may well be that a Bombay Indian doesn't represent Indians at all, so it's a problem India has to face.
"It is important whoever leads India should find acceptance with the widest group of Indians possible. But I think it is very difficult for any Indian leader to find more than 40 per cent of Indians believing he represents them."
Mr Lee also noted that Indians speak nearly 300 different languages, but in China, 90 per cent of the people speak the same language and that makes it a much easier country to lead than India.
:oIo:
