Chitchat Why Jamus Lim join Workers' Party ?

[jw5]

Jamus distributed oranges.

Jamus Lim​

1 d ·
Over the past人日 weekend, #TeamSengkang went ahead with our annual lunar new year orange distribution to residents at #Anchorvale and #Compassvale coffeeshops. It was wonderful to be able to share new year well-wishes with residents and (especially) our hardworking stallholders, and to wish all a prosperous and joyful year ahead.
As always, my sincere thanks to all our trusty volunteers who sacrificed their Saturday morning to help pack and lug the hundreds of oranges we gave out, instead of sleeping in on a remarkably cool and rainy morning. Your commitment to the residents of #SengkangGRC is truly warms (the-you-know-what-of) my heart.
As this festive season winds down and we head back to the crunch—we’re hunkering down for a Parliamentary sitting next week, before #Budget2023 season goes into full force on Valentine’s Day—we’ll be riding on the current good vibes until the next big festival (which will be in April)!

 

[jw5]

Jamus distributes oranges to a youngman.

 

[jw5]

Jamus distributes oranges to a family having their meal.

 

[jw5]

Jamus poses with an unmasked couple.

 

[jw5]

Jamus distributes oranges to an unmasked lady.

 

[jw5]

Jamus poses with an unmasked oldman.

 

[jw5]

Jamus gives oranges to an oldman.

 

[jw5]

Jamus with his team of orange distributors.

 

[jw5]

Jamus poses with his colleagues, a rabbit and a bearded man.

 

[jw5]

Jamus continues house visits.

Jamus Lim​

2 d ·
The #TeamSengkang house visit over the past week was a two-fer; we headed back to #Compassvale to wrap up 293A, before making a start on 290A across the street. On another evening, we also managed to finish up 315C #Anchorvale.
A few residents spoke about changes they’ve observed in the estate, and how they were happy about the little improvements that followed from feedback they had provided. I often share that many of these little projects are a big part of what we can roll out relatively quickly, beyond the more extensive suggestions, which we try to incorporate into the cyclical repair and redecoration (R&R) works, or via successful proposals to the Community Improvements Projects Committee (CIPC) fund. In the end, our goal is to keep making incremental improvements to #SengkangGRC, to better the day-to-day of our residents.
One resident—when asked whether he had any feedback on national issues—also spoke about how he was happy that we were regularly raising various concerns in parliament. Ultimately, his wish on policy matters was very simple: “just be our voice.”

 

[Karmile005]

 

[jw5]

Jamus poses with an unmasked family and their unmasked dog.

 

[jw5]

Jamus smiles while posing with an unmasked family.

 

[jw5]

Jamus poses with an unmasked couple and their son.

 

[jw5]

Jamus poses with an unmasked family holding his calling card.

 

[jw5]

Jamus poses with a chiobu.

 

[jw5]

Jamus asks for permission to speak to resident.

 

[jw5]

Jamus was on a panel.

Jamus Lim​

3 d ·
I recently had the distinct honor of joining Rebecca Sta Maria (APEC Secretariat) and Manu Bhaskaran (Centennial Asia Advisors) on a panel on the future economy, organized by the SMU Economics Intelligence Club, and more-than-ably moderated by Adam Ahmad Samdin.
The session offered our take on how balanced growth in Asia could be achieved. In addition to the usual suspects (green growth, sustainable financing), we spoke about how traditional pillars of economic dynamism in the Asia-Pacific—such as trade openness and integration, solid real growth, and geopolitical cooperation—are fraying. Institutional resilience and good governance are the way forward, but of course, these are often buzzwords that are easier to mete out than execute. Still, without knowing what’s needed, it’s impossible to even try.
We also had the pleasure of evaluating the top-three finalists in the case competition. It wasn’t an easy decision, and all the teams performed creditably. My thanks to the organizers—who have undeniable poured sweat and tears into making the event happen—and congratulations to all the winners and participants! I’m pleased to see that the state of macro research among our undergraduate body remains vibrant and exciting.

 

[jw5]

Jamus Lim​

3 d ·

The Workers' Party​

3 d ·
In his speech on the HDB motion, MP Jamus spoke about how the goal of ensuring retirement adequacy, using housing as an asset, is inconsistent with the principle of ensuring affordability and accessibility in public housing.

 

[jw5]

Jamus recommends Singaid.

Jamus Lim​

1 d ·
As some folks may know, I used to work in a multilateral development institution (the World Bank). What fewer people know is that the Bank actually comprises a group of institutions, each of which perform slightly different functions. The largest body is the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), which helped with post-WW2 rebuilding (it and since been repurposed into offering concessionary loans and advisory to middle-income countries). The IBRD model is to issue bonds (which it can cheaply since it is super-creditworthy), and charge a spread on their lending above the rate they borrow, to offset costs. This is still usually more competitive than countries borrowing from markets directly (although that’s changing). One other important arm is the International Development Association (IDA), which offers grants to the poorest countries. Because IDA gives me money away (conditionally), it needs to raise money from richer nations (it does so every 3 years).
Singapore contributes to IDA, and this money needs to be approved in Parliament. As a wealthy nation that has benefited from the global multilateral system, we (rightly) contribute our share to the pot. The need to support other countries has become even more urgent in light of how many emerging economies were hit hard by the pandemic, and have yet to recover fully. When these countries do well, so do we, as external demand for our exports increase. But we can actually do a little more than that. When we were still a developing nation, we shied away from foreign aid, because we didn’t think we had the spare cash or expertise to offer. This has now changed, and we are a success story in development.
Since we are already channeling routine financial support/subscriptions to bodies like IDA and the IMF, why not do so within the rubric of a dedicated aid agency? This would help us grow and develop (pardon the pun) a core of local professionals in the area. Having our in-house aid agency can also ensure that our funds are channeled toward priorities that make most sense to us. The multilaterals are dominated by larger players. We can better target our assistance to ASEAN neighbors.
Would a local aid agency—call it SingAid (Singapore Assistance for International Development)—lose its way? I find that hard to believe. We pride ourselves on the quality and efficiency of our civil service, and justifiably so. If we keep SingAid’s mandate narrow, and it’s budget tight, we can make it an aid agency that is a model for other nations, much like our civil service. We can show the world what a pro-neutral aid body looks like. #makingyourvotecount