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06-10-2013, 07:00 PM
An honorable member of the Coffee Shop Has Just Posted the Following:
73594.1 (http://www.sammyboy.com/3in1kopitiam/messages?msg=73594.1)http://sg.news.yahoo.com/ngiam-tong-...100223359.html (http://sg.news.yahoo.com/ngiam-tong-dow-laments--tamer--civil-service---elitist--pap-100223359.html)
Ngiam Tong Dow laments 'tamer' civil service; 'elitist' PAP
http://l2.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/aqbBky_wK2USeOxKogXn1g--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTQwO3E9ODU7dz00MA--/http://l.yimg.com/os/249/2012/03/13/Yahoo-5-jpg_044949.jpg
By Jeanette Tan (http://sg.news.yahoo.com/blogs/author/jeanette-tan/) | Yahoo Newsroom – 2 hours 9 minutes ago
http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/qnDeHghF7f97MU.Gy1P5lQ--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Y2g9NDczO2NyPTE7Y3c9NjMwO2R4PTA7ZH k9MDtmaT11bGNyb3A7aD00NzI7cT04NTt3PTYyOQ--/http://l.yimg.com/os/publish-images/news/2013-10-01/04c514ef-3b28-402b-8c71-4dffd1ca2994_blog-ngiamtd-png_074031.png
(http://sg.news.yahoo.com/photos/former-civil-service-veteran-ngiam-tong-dow-spoke-out-bluntly-against-the-civil-service-and-pap-in-photo-1380621124690.html)Yahoo Newsroom - Former civil service veteran Ngiam Tong Dow spoke out bluntly against the civil service and PAP in a recent wide-ranging interview with the SMA. (Yahoo file photo)
Former senior civil servant Ngiam Tong Dow recently gave his candid views on the state of affairs in Singapore's public service and the ruling People's Action Party (PAP), calling the former "tamer" and the latter "a bit too elitist".
Now 73, Ngiam spent a good four decades serving in various portfolios within the government, chairing the Economic Development Board, taking on permanent secretary roles at the ministry of finance and the Prime Minister's Office, and chairing numerous government-linked organisations, companies and agencies that included DBS, the CPF board and HDB.
Among other pointed opinions Ngiam expressed in a recent wide-ranging interview (http://www.sma.org.sg/UploadedImg/files/Publications%20-%20SMA%20News/4509/Interview%20NTD%20full%20transcript.pdf) published in the September edition of the Singapore Medical Association (http://www.sma.org.sg/) newsletter, he voiced these thoughts when he was asked about whether he saw exchanges of ideas and criticisms in the civil service.
"The civil service has definitely become tamer, which is not good because we need a contest of ideas," he said. "The difference is that no one wants to make a sacrifice anymore. The first generation of PAP was purely grassroots, but the problem today is that the PAP is a bit too elitist."
He said this in the context of his earlier comments about ministerial salaries, when asked what he was hoping to see in newer and younger political leaders.
"In the early days, Lim Kim San and Goh Keng Swee worked night and day, and they were truly dedicated," said Ngiam. "I don't know whether Lee Kuan Yew will agree but it started going downhill when we started to raise ministers' salaries, not even pegging them to the national salary but aligning them with the top ten.
"When you raise ministers' salaries to the point that they're earning millions of dollar(s), every minister — no matter how much he wants to turn up and tell (PM Lee) Hsien Loong off or whatever — will hesitate when he thinks of his million-dollar salary," he continued. "When the salary is so high, which minister dares to leave, unless they decide to become the opposition party? As a result, the entire political arena has become a civil service, and I don't see anyone speaking up anymore."
On purchasing talent from abroad
Ngiam also spoke at length about Singapore's strategy of purchasing talent from abroad to boost various sectors of its economy and industry, taking, for instance, its investment into biomedical research.
"We shouldn't buy trophies," he said. "The best thing is to train our own people and give them the experience… we were spending over $6 billion trying to raise productivity.
"I found out that we have 30,000 trained workers each year, if we took into account the graduates fro all our universities, polytechnics and institutes of technical education!" he continued. "Yet, our employers refuse to take them on because they say that while the graduates may have the theories, they may not be able to do the job!"
He then said he has suggested that the Ministry of Finance pays for the salaries (http://blogging4myself.blogspot.sg/2013/03/ngiam-tong-dow-lets-get-our-young.html) of new graduates that employers hire and train for their first year, so that if they are hired permanently, their training will be free-of-charge; if not, half of their salaries should be returned to the government.
"I think that's the best way, as we can reduce a lot of manpower wastage," he said. "I have not received a response yet!"
On babies, foreigners and the silver tsunami
Ngiam admitted that he, too, lacks an answer for the needs of the “silver tsunami”, referring to the elderly. He also said foreigners are important parts of Singapore's economy, particularly because Singaporeans are not always fit or willing to do the jobs they do.
He does have a message for young Singaporeans who are choosing to have fewer babies today, though.
"You are now young, successful, with First Class Honours from Cambridge University, and you live with your parents — life cannot be better. Project your mind to when you are 60, when maybe your parents are no longer around, do you want to live in a mansion all by yourself?" he asks. "Every human being has to have a mate for company, like how my wife and I are going through the golden years together. In general, we should appeal to real-life scenarios like this."
He also criticised the current incentive schemes encouraging parents to have more children, saying the policymakers responsible for them "(don't) know anything about human motivations".
"People don't have children just to satisfy your population ratios, but out of love and affection," he said pointedly. "The most important thing is for them to decide if they can live all alone when they're older."
"Your children and grandchildren will be the greatest joys in your life," he continued. "Whether they take care of you later in life, that's in God's hands, but the joy that they provide is irreplaceable."
Read Ngiam's full interview here (http://www.sma.org.sg/UploadedImg/files/Publications%20-%20SMA%20News/4509/Interview%20NTD%20full%20transcript.pdf).
Click here to view the whole thread at www.sammyboy.com (http://www.singsupplies.com/showthread.php?165192-Ngiam-Lambasts-FAP-Traitors-Elitist-Eunuch-and-Treason-Ways!&goto=newpost).
73594.1 (http://www.sammyboy.com/3in1kopitiam/messages?msg=73594.1)http://sg.news.yahoo.com/ngiam-tong-...100223359.html (http://sg.news.yahoo.com/ngiam-tong-dow-laments--tamer--civil-service---elitist--pap-100223359.html)
Ngiam Tong Dow laments 'tamer' civil service; 'elitist' PAP
http://l2.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/aqbBky_wK2USeOxKogXn1g--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTQwO3E9ODU7dz00MA--/http://l.yimg.com/os/249/2012/03/13/Yahoo-5-jpg_044949.jpg
By Jeanette Tan (http://sg.news.yahoo.com/blogs/author/jeanette-tan/) | Yahoo Newsroom – 2 hours 9 minutes ago
http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/qnDeHghF7f97MU.Gy1P5lQ--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Y2g9NDczO2NyPTE7Y3c9NjMwO2R4PTA7ZH k9MDtmaT11bGNyb3A7aD00NzI7cT04NTt3PTYyOQ--/http://l.yimg.com/os/publish-images/news/2013-10-01/04c514ef-3b28-402b-8c71-4dffd1ca2994_blog-ngiamtd-png_074031.png
(http://sg.news.yahoo.com/photos/former-civil-service-veteran-ngiam-tong-dow-spoke-out-bluntly-against-the-civil-service-and-pap-in-photo-1380621124690.html)Yahoo Newsroom - Former civil service veteran Ngiam Tong Dow spoke out bluntly against the civil service and PAP in a recent wide-ranging interview with the SMA. (Yahoo file photo)
Former senior civil servant Ngiam Tong Dow recently gave his candid views on the state of affairs in Singapore's public service and the ruling People's Action Party (PAP), calling the former "tamer" and the latter "a bit too elitist".
Now 73, Ngiam spent a good four decades serving in various portfolios within the government, chairing the Economic Development Board, taking on permanent secretary roles at the ministry of finance and the Prime Minister's Office, and chairing numerous government-linked organisations, companies and agencies that included DBS, the CPF board and HDB.
Among other pointed opinions Ngiam expressed in a recent wide-ranging interview (http://www.sma.org.sg/UploadedImg/files/Publications%20-%20SMA%20News/4509/Interview%20NTD%20full%20transcript.pdf) published in the September edition of the Singapore Medical Association (http://www.sma.org.sg/) newsletter, he voiced these thoughts when he was asked about whether he saw exchanges of ideas and criticisms in the civil service.
"The civil service has definitely become tamer, which is not good because we need a contest of ideas," he said. "The difference is that no one wants to make a sacrifice anymore. The first generation of PAP was purely grassroots, but the problem today is that the PAP is a bit too elitist."
He said this in the context of his earlier comments about ministerial salaries, when asked what he was hoping to see in newer and younger political leaders.
"In the early days, Lim Kim San and Goh Keng Swee worked night and day, and they were truly dedicated," said Ngiam. "I don't know whether Lee Kuan Yew will agree but it started going downhill when we started to raise ministers' salaries, not even pegging them to the national salary but aligning them with the top ten.
"When you raise ministers' salaries to the point that they're earning millions of dollar(s), every minister — no matter how much he wants to turn up and tell (PM Lee) Hsien Loong off or whatever — will hesitate when he thinks of his million-dollar salary," he continued. "When the salary is so high, which minister dares to leave, unless they decide to become the opposition party? As a result, the entire political arena has become a civil service, and I don't see anyone speaking up anymore."
On purchasing talent from abroad
Ngiam also spoke at length about Singapore's strategy of purchasing talent from abroad to boost various sectors of its economy and industry, taking, for instance, its investment into biomedical research.
"We shouldn't buy trophies," he said. "The best thing is to train our own people and give them the experience… we were spending over $6 billion trying to raise productivity.
"I found out that we have 30,000 trained workers each year, if we took into account the graduates fro all our universities, polytechnics and institutes of technical education!" he continued. "Yet, our employers refuse to take them on because they say that while the graduates may have the theories, they may not be able to do the job!"
He then said he has suggested that the Ministry of Finance pays for the salaries (http://blogging4myself.blogspot.sg/2013/03/ngiam-tong-dow-lets-get-our-young.html) of new graduates that employers hire and train for their first year, so that if they are hired permanently, their training will be free-of-charge; if not, half of their salaries should be returned to the government.
"I think that's the best way, as we can reduce a lot of manpower wastage," he said. "I have not received a response yet!"
On babies, foreigners and the silver tsunami
Ngiam admitted that he, too, lacks an answer for the needs of the “silver tsunami”, referring to the elderly. He also said foreigners are important parts of Singapore's economy, particularly because Singaporeans are not always fit or willing to do the jobs they do.
He does have a message for young Singaporeans who are choosing to have fewer babies today, though.
"You are now young, successful, with First Class Honours from Cambridge University, and you live with your parents — life cannot be better. Project your mind to when you are 60, when maybe your parents are no longer around, do you want to live in a mansion all by yourself?" he asks. "Every human being has to have a mate for company, like how my wife and I are going through the golden years together. In general, we should appeal to real-life scenarios like this."
He also criticised the current incentive schemes encouraging parents to have more children, saying the policymakers responsible for them "(don't) know anything about human motivations".
"People don't have children just to satisfy your population ratios, but out of love and affection," he said pointedly. "The most important thing is for them to decide if they can live all alone when they're older."
"Your children and grandchildren will be the greatest joys in your life," he continued. "Whether they take care of you later in life, that's in God's hands, but the joy that they provide is irreplaceable."
Read Ngiam's full interview here (http://www.sma.org.sg/UploadedImg/files/Publications%20-%20SMA%20News/4509/Interview%20NTD%20full%20transcript.pdf).
Click here to view the whole thread at www.sammyboy.com (http://www.singsupplies.com/showthread.php?165192-Ngiam-Lambasts-FAP-Traitors-Elitist-Eunuch-and-Treason-Ways!&goto=newpost).