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Chitchat Why Jamus Lim join Workers' Party ?
- Thread starter batman1
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Theindependent
GLCs seem to be competing too directly with SMEs. he says
FB screengrab: Jamus Lim
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Singapore—After an estate walk at Anchorvale last weekend, Workers’ Party MP Jamus Lim (Sengkang GRC) took to Facebook to shine a light on the current problems of small business owners.
In a post on Sunday (Mar 28), Dr Lim, an associate professor of economics, wrote about an Anchorvale resident who is a small-business owner, who talked about the challenges she faces amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
However, on the flip side, these large companies also have the advantage of greater resources “and possess the productivity buffers” to sustain them through the hardship of the pandemic.
And when large national firms endeavour to keep their businesses doing well “by expanding their domestic margins,” this appears to Dr Lim as “competing too directly with our local small and medium enterprises (SMEs), at a time when overall market demand is already down”.
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He added that the Workers’ Party has continued to advocate for small businesses in Parliament.
Additionally, in last month’s Budget debate some Workers’ Party MPs suggested that Government-connected firms could link up with SMEs in expansion efforts in the region, “and in doing so, uplift them via knowledge and experience transfer”.
This would mean collaborating in the endeavour to conquer foreign markets instead of “cannibalising each other in competition over our small home market.”
Dr Lim went on to warn that endeavours to increase the productivity of SMEs would be unsuccessful if these companies “are not allowed room to shore up their bottom line during these challenging times”.
The resident he spoke to believed this as well, the MP wrote. “She said that the available grants were mostly about digitalisation, but these were largely irrelevant when she was having difficulty securing business and making rent.”
However, Dr Lim expressed the hope that more support would be given to SMEs beyond digitalisation financing projects.
“This would entail scaling up and making our business development programmes more proactive, and ensure that we target productivity improvements in non-tech/non-pharma sectors, too,” he added.
/TISG
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GLCs seem to be competing too directly with SMEs. he says
Author
- Advertisement -
Singapore—After an estate walk at Anchorvale last weekend, Workers’ Party MP Jamus Lim (Sengkang GRC) took to Facebook to shine a light on the current problems of small business owners.
In a post on Sunday (Mar 28), Dr Lim, an associate professor of economics, wrote about an Anchorvale resident who is a small-business owner, who talked about the challenges she faces amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Sengkang MP wrote that he has “mixed feelings” about what the woman had told him, noting the fact that bigger companies are able to hire more workers “and sustaining employment through the pandemic is important for readying the economy for the eventual recovery.”
However, on the flip side, these large companies also have the advantage of greater resources “and possess the productivity buffers” to sustain them through the hardship of the pandemic.
And when large national firms endeavour to keep their businesses doing well “by expanding their domestic margins,” this appears to Dr Lim as “competing too directly with our local small and medium enterprises (SMEs), at a time when overall market demand is already down”.
- Advertisement -
He added that the Workers’ Party has continued to advocate for small businesses in Parliament.
Additionally, in last month’s Budget debate some Workers’ Party MPs suggested that Government-connected firms could link up with SMEs in expansion efforts in the region, “and in doing so, uplift them via knowledge and experience transfer”.
This would mean collaborating in the endeavour to conquer foreign markets instead of “cannibalising each other in competition over our small home market.”
Dr Lim went on to warn that endeavours to increase the productivity of SMEs would be unsuccessful if these companies “are not allowed room to shore up their bottom line during these challenging times”.
The resident he spoke to believed this as well, the MP wrote. “She said that the available grants were mostly about digitalisation, but these were largely irrelevant when she was having difficulty securing business and making rent.”
However, Dr Lim expressed the hope that more support would be given to SMEs beyond digitalisation financing projects.
“This would entail scaling up and making our business development programmes more proactive, and ensure that we target productivity improvements in non-tech/non-pharma sectors, too,” he added.
/TISG
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from toc.com:
WP’s Jamus Lim proposes an independent fiscal council; MP Indranee Rajah dismisses the idea
While speaking at the Ministry of Finance Committee of Supply debate on 26 February (Friday), Workers’ Party (WP) Member of Parliament (MP) Jamus Lim called on the Government to think about setting up an independent fiscal council in order to improve all major policy proposals for budgetary as well as macro purposes.
He explained that fiscal councils are made of agencies staffed by professional civil servants whose job is to evaluate policy proposals in order to offer budgetary implications. They are independent, and are expected to give non-partisan assessments of the predicted effects of policy on revenue and expenditure.
“As such, they serve as trusted public institutions that can help score reform ideas and proposals, to help ensure the economy’s commitments to sustainable public finances,” he explained.
As for the functions of fiscal councils, Mr Lim said that they offer public assessments of fiscal plans and performance, as well as evaluate and provide macroeconomic and budgetary forecasts.
While such roles may already be carried out by the Ministry of Finance (MOF), fiscal councils would provide advice that are non-partisan and are able to scrutinise policy proposals by the policymakers.
“In contrast, the fiscal council will provide advice—the key word here is advice, as they do not possess any formal power to determine the budget—to the whole of Parliament, at their request.
“As such, the council would be available to scrutinize policy proposals offered by PAP backbenchers, as well as opposition parties,” he noted.
In his speech, Mr Lim also pointed out that fiscal councils are common worldwide, especially among advanced economies. Some of the examples he provided include the Netherlands’ Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis, the Congressional Budget Office in the United States, the Parliamentary Budget Officer in Canada as well as the United Kingdom’s Office for Budget Responsibility.
He also stated that the former WP MP Low Thia Khiang also raised a proposal to create an independent office of budget responsibilities during 2017’s Committee of Supply debates.
“This proposal builds on that, detailing the functions of the proposed agency and its service to the full legislature, and the underscore the distinct macro-fiscal environment today,” said Mr Lim.
If that’s not all, the MP for Sengkang GRC also pointed out that there is evidence showing that fiscal councils can improve fiscal performance, particularly when they are given legal and operation independence, are tasked with monitoring fiscal rules and are supported by a robust media presence.
Mr Lim added that such a council can be very useful at this point of Singapore’s economic evolution, given that the country is running its largest budget deficit since independence.
“I propose that the Ministry of Finance consider the formation of an independent fiscal council, the Parliamentary Budget Office of Singapore, seeded with an initial $20 million, and tasked with the mandate to score all major policy proposals formally advanced by Members of Parliament, for budgetary and macro implications,” he concluded.
MP Indranee Rajah rejects the need for additional fiscal monitoring institutions
In response to Mr Lim’s proposal, Second Minister for Finance Indranee Rajah expressed that many of the fiscal councils, which she addressed as Independent Fiscal Institutions (IFIs), around the world were created in regards to the Global Financial Crisis in 2008 and 2009 with the intention to prevent future fiscal crises.
“However, the context in Singapore is very different. The ills which led to the need for IFIs in other systems are not present in our system and we continue to keep a very strict eye on our fiscal prudence,” she said.
Ms Indranee also pointed out Singapore’s strong financial standing, which include its AAA credit rating, running balanced budgets in each term of Government and barring major crises.
She went on to state that Singapore currently has a strong system to “scrutinise spending and debate budgetary matters without incurring the costs of setting up additional fiscal monitoring institutions”, such as the annual Budget debate and the Estimates Committee of Parliament, which checks the Government’s budget.
The Second Minister also pointed out that the Office of Budget Responsibility in the UK has been criticised for “overly optimistic forecasts and has had to downgrade its forecasts several times since it was set up”.
WP’s Jamus Lim proposes an independent fiscal council; MP Indranee Rajah dismisses the idea
While speaking at the Ministry of Finance Committee of Supply debate on 26 February (Friday), Workers’ Party (WP) Member of Parliament (MP) Jamus Lim called on the Government to think about setting up an independent fiscal council in order to improve all major policy proposals for budgetary as well as macro purposes.
He explained that fiscal councils are made of agencies staffed by professional civil servants whose job is to evaluate policy proposals in order to offer budgetary implications. They are independent, and are expected to give non-partisan assessments of the predicted effects of policy on revenue and expenditure.
“As such, they serve as trusted public institutions that can help score reform ideas and proposals, to help ensure the economy’s commitments to sustainable public finances,” he explained.
As for the functions of fiscal councils, Mr Lim said that they offer public assessments of fiscal plans and performance, as well as evaluate and provide macroeconomic and budgetary forecasts.
While such roles may already be carried out by the Ministry of Finance (MOF), fiscal councils would provide advice that are non-partisan and are able to scrutinise policy proposals by the policymakers.
“In contrast, the fiscal council will provide advice—the key word here is advice, as they do not possess any formal power to determine the budget—to the whole of Parliament, at their request.
“As such, the council would be available to scrutinize policy proposals offered by PAP backbenchers, as well as opposition parties,” he noted.
In his speech, Mr Lim also pointed out that fiscal councils are common worldwide, especially among advanced economies. Some of the examples he provided include the Netherlands’ Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis, the Congressional Budget Office in the United States, the Parliamentary Budget Officer in Canada as well as the United Kingdom’s Office for Budget Responsibility.
He also stated that the former WP MP Low Thia Khiang also raised a proposal to create an independent office of budget responsibilities during 2017’s Committee of Supply debates.
“This proposal builds on that, detailing the functions of the proposed agency and its service to the full legislature, and the underscore the distinct macro-fiscal environment today,” said Mr Lim.
If that’s not all, the MP for Sengkang GRC also pointed out that there is evidence showing that fiscal councils can improve fiscal performance, particularly when they are given legal and operation independence, are tasked with monitoring fiscal rules and are supported by a robust media presence.
Mr Lim added that such a council can be very useful at this point of Singapore’s economic evolution, given that the country is running its largest budget deficit since independence.
“I propose that the Ministry of Finance consider the formation of an independent fiscal council, the Parliamentary Budget Office of Singapore, seeded with an initial $20 million, and tasked with the mandate to score all major policy proposals formally advanced by Members of Parliament, for budgetary and macro implications,” he concluded.
MP Indranee Rajah rejects the need for additional fiscal monitoring institutions
In response to Mr Lim’s proposal, Second Minister for Finance Indranee Rajah expressed that many of the fiscal councils, which she addressed as Independent Fiscal Institutions (IFIs), around the world were created in regards to the Global Financial Crisis in 2008 and 2009 with the intention to prevent future fiscal crises.
“However, the context in Singapore is very different. The ills which led to the need for IFIs in other systems are not present in our system and we continue to keep a very strict eye on our fiscal prudence,” she said.
Ms Indranee also pointed out Singapore’s strong financial standing, which include its AAA credit rating, running balanced budgets in each term of Government and barring major crises.
She went on to state that Singapore currently has a strong system to “scrutinise spending and debate budgetary matters without incurring the costs of setting up additional fiscal monitoring institutions”, such as the annual Budget debate and the Estimates Committee of Parliament, which checks the Government’s budget.
The Second Minister also pointed out that the Office of Budget Responsibility in the UK has been criticised for “overly optimistic forecasts and has had to downgrade its forecasts several times since it was set up”.
After chobolan for soo long....2 of them came out from the woodworks.
He is the only one working....compared to his team mates. I starting to feel sorry for him.
WP's Jamus Lim seeks to address residents' long-standing frustration in lift breakdowns - The Online Citizen Asia
The Workers’ Party (WP) Member of Parliament (MP) for Sengkang GRC Jamus Lim is looking to make progress in addressing the long-standing plight of residents at Anchorvale Vista estate where lift breakdowns are a common occurrence.
In a Facebook post on Friday (2 Apr), Assoc Prof Lim shared that he and his team recently only managed to cover the top five floors at Block 312A in Anchorvale during their house visits, though they had much deeper engagements with the residents there.
“But there is no substitute for earnest, well-intentioned feedback, and so my job was just to listen intently and take notes for possible action,” he added.
According to Assoc Prof Lim, a recurrent problem for residents living in that block has been the frequent lift breakdowns. In fact, he noted that this issue has been a recurring one for the entire cluster at Anchorvale Vista.
He said that some residents would even go as far as to use the stairs if they had an important meeting to attend, for fear of being trapped in a malfunctioning elevator.
Assoc Prof Lim continued, “These blocks were designed with three elevator shafts—and given how there are only six units per floor—you’d think that lift loads would be totally manageable.
“But we’ve repeatedly received complaints about how these cars would frequently go out of commission, even when maintenance was always performed on schedule.”
He stated that the problem appears to be compounded by the fact that the lifts are not all that old. Upon inspection, he found out that the lifts still have seven years of shell life remaining. Hence, he opined that outright replacement does not seem to be on the cards, especially given their cost.
Assoc Prof Lim went on to say that each block’s challenges are problematic in their own way, just like Russian writer Leo Tolstoy’s unhappy families.
“But our plan is to deliberate this issue at length with the town council management, to see if we are able to resolve these lift woes in a more definitive and permanent way,” he assured.
Assoc Prof Lim concluded his post saying that he hopes he and his team will be able to make progress on such a long-standing frustration for the residents at Anchorvale Vista.
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WP's Jamus Lim seeks to address residents' long-standing frustration in lift breakdowns - The Online Citizen Asia
The Workers’ Party (WP) Member of Parliament (MP) for Sengkang GRC Jamus Lim is looking to make progress in addressing the long-standing plight of residents at Anchorvale Vista estate where lift breakdowns are a common occurrence.
In a Facebook post on Friday (2 Apr), Assoc Prof Lim shared that he and his team recently only managed to cover the top five floors at Block 312A in Anchorvale during their house visits, though they had much deeper engagements with the residents there.
“But there is no substitute for earnest, well-intentioned feedback, and so my job was just to listen intently and take notes for possible action,” he added.
According to Assoc Prof Lim, a recurrent problem for residents living in that block has been the frequent lift breakdowns. In fact, he noted that this issue has been a recurring one for the entire cluster at Anchorvale Vista.
He said that some residents would even go as far as to use the stairs if they had an important meeting to attend, for fear of being trapped in a malfunctioning elevator.
Assoc Prof Lim continued, “These blocks were designed with three elevator shafts—and given how there are only six units per floor—you’d think that lift loads would be totally manageable.
“But we’ve repeatedly received complaints about how these cars would frequently go out of commission, even when maintenance was always performed on schedule.”
He stated that the problem appears to be compounded by the fact that the lifts are not all that old. Upon inspection, he found out that the lifts still have seven years of shell life remaining. Hence, he opined that outright replacement does not seem to be on the cards, especially given their cost.
Assoc Prof Lim went on to say that each block’s challenges are problematic in their own way, just like Russian writer Leo Tolstoy’s unhappy families.
“But our plan is to deliberate this issue at length with the town council management, to see if we are able to resolve these lift woes in a more definitive and permanent way,” he assured.
Assoc Prof Lim concluded his post saying that he hopes he and his team will be able to make progress on such a long-standing frustration for the residents at Anchorvale Vista.
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Very often, politicians and those appointed to senior positions, would claimed that they are humbled. May I suggest that it would be preferred that they demonstrate that by, stating that they will accept an annual salary of 75 per cent of what they are offered.MPs should be more humble and less materialistic.
His Mandarin is that of a typical ACS boy.
His usage of Mandarin is gradually increasing.
