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28-08-2015, 02:00 AM
An honorable member of the Coffee Shop Has Just Posted the Following:
http://www.tremeritus.com/2015/08/27...ion-soundbite/ (http://www.tremeritus.com/2015/08/27/23-sg-core-yet-another-pap-election-soundbite/)
2/3 SG core: Yet another PAP election soundbite? (http://www.tremeritus.com/2015/08/27/23-sg-core-yet-another-pap-election-soundbite/)
http://www.tremeritus.org/simages/dmca_protected_sml_120n.png?fbc256 http://www.tremeritus.com/wp-content/themes/WP_010/images/PostDateIcon.png?fbc256
August 27th, 2015 | http://www.tremeritus.com/wp-content/themes/WP_010/images/PostAuthorIcon.png?fbc256
Author: Contributions (http://www.tremeritus.com/author/contributor/)
Two-Third Singaporean Core: Yet Another Election
Soundbite?
Lim Swee Say proclaimed last week that local workforce should comprise
two-thirds Singaporeans and that this is a firm target.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/…/two-thirds-si…/2064820.html (http://www.channelnewsasia.com/mobile/business/two-thirds-singaporean/2064820.html)
Should you believe him?
We suggest that as with many of his pronouncements, Singaporeans should
discount this latest sweet sounding proclamation by at least 30% for the
following reasons:
Firstly, why did PAP wait until 2015 just weeks before the GE to announce
that this is a firm target?
Why wasn’t this put into place after the 2011 GE?
Secondly, what does the PAP mean by “Singaporeans”?
Technically, this would include both new citizens and PRs and indeed, this is
how PAP sees it.
As Tan Chuan Jin said when he was Manpower Minister:
“The Singapore core is defined by people who have made Singapore their home,
to serve and contribute to the society, and not whether they were born and bred
in the country.”
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/…/acting-manpowe…/575716.html (http://www.channelnewsasia.com/mobile/acting-manpower-minister/575716.html)
So essentially, the PAP could fulfil its pledge of making the workforce a
Singaporean core by granting citizenships to foreigners within the country, many
of whom are from India, China and the Philippines.
Finally, how does Lim Swee Say propose MOM enforce the guideline of two-third
S’porean core?
Today we can see many companies hiring an unusually large number of foreign
PMETs and work permit holders.
This is not surprising given that many companies have found a way to
circumvent the Work Permit quota.
One common method is for the company boss to “hire” relatives to put them on
the company’s payroll to artificially boost the number of locals, hence
increasing the corresponding number of foreigners that can be recruited. The
“salary” paid to the relative is then returned with the latter keeping a token
sum as a “reward”.
As for PMETs, suffice it to say, there are no quota restrictions. Many
foreign banks have taken advantage of this to hire from abroad especially from
India, to the extent that the financial industry is now dominated by Indian
nationals.
Standard Chartered, Citibank and Barclays are good examples.
If the PAP is really so concerned about Singaporeans forming the core of the
workforce, why has it turned a blind eye to this practice?
We are guessing one reason could be this: CECA which the PAP has signed with
India promising to open the doors of 127 professions to Indian nationals.
The CECA is a binding agreement and any one party can take the other to court
if it violates any of the clauses.
And indeed, India has shown a willingness to do that:
http://wap.business-standard.com/…/govt-decries-ceca-violat… (http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwap.business-standard.com%2Farticle%2Feconomy-policy%2Fgovt-decries-ceca-violation-by-singapore-113021700123_1.html&h=oAQGdcvT2AQHYLCWRYpsHTveCH1GdwH8JN1sYd4weayxhhw&enc=AZPOVFK94lGjYGIT3RXpZO_7-ebiARltTnor8HYQF0lLx4i9b-sGr9pyulZ7UknGcWBqaDTle3mm2Jwo-1QBZf6UJiCO7x_bqBfYrtDfrisP373qPLOynsmBWopTbw2xhfV vhDGjix93NdVyT2WJfKrCF0waKgDspLAzgyU840p2QumI3S6Rw uXvx4ijZxQmJbDqXziTqDpmoo5prrqmM2wn&s=1)
To compound matters, the PAP has committed to the ASEAN Free Trade Area which
will allow free movement of labour across ASEAN member countries.
So can Lim Swee Say enlighten us how he can extricate us from the hole that
his Prime Minister has dug for us?
Or wait, maybe he can’t and does not intend to.
Maybe as we suggest at the beginning, this two-third Singaporean core
pronouncement is really just an election soundbite.
As Lee Hsien Loong famously said:
Singaporeans, new arrivals, people who are on permanent residence here,
people who are on employment pass here, all participating in one big Singapore
family… So that we feel that this is a place which is special, which belongs to
all of us.
http://zeenews.india.com/…/singapore-belongs-to-all-those-l… (http://zeenews.india.com/news/world/singapore-belongs-to-all-those-living-here-pm-loong_929546.html)
http://www.tremeritus.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/CECA_played.jpg?fbc256The
Alternative View
Source:
The
Alternative View’s Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Alternative-View/358759327518739)
Click here to view the whole thread at www.sammyboy.com (http://www.sammyboy.com/showthread.php?213995-2-3-SG-core-Yet-another-PAP-election-soundbite&goto=newpost).
http://www.tremeritus.com/2015/08/27...ion-soundbite/ (http://www.tremeritus.com/2015/08/27/23-sg-core-yet-another-pap-election-soundbite/)
2/3 SG core: Yet another PAP election soundbite? (http://www.tremeritus.com/2015/08/27/23-sg-core-yet-another-pap-election-soundbite/)
http://www.tremeritus.org/simages/dmca_protected_sml_120n.png?fbc256 http://www.tremeritus.com/wp-content/themes/WP_010/images/PostDateIcon.png?fbc256
August 27th, 2015 | http://www.tremeritus.com/wp-content/themes/WP_010/images/PostAuthorIcon.png?fbc256
Author: Contributions (http://www.tremeritus.com/author/contributor/)
Two-Third Singaporean Core: Yet Another Election
Soundbite?
Lim Swee Say proclaimed last week that local workforce should comprise
two-thirds Singaporeans and that this is a firm target.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/…/two-thirds-si…/2064820.html (http://www.channelnewsasia.com/mobile/business/two-thirds-singaporean/2064820.html)
Should you believe him?
We suggest that as with many of his pronouncements, Singaporeans should
discount this latest sweet sounding proclamation by at least 30% for the
following reasons:
Firstly, why did PAP wait until 2015 just weeks before the GE to announce
that this is a firm target?
Why wasn’t this put into place after the 2011 GE?
Secondly, what does the PAP mean by “Singaporeans”?
Technically, this would include both new citizens and PRs and indeed, this is
how PAP sees it.
As Tan Chuan Jin said when he was Manpower Minister:
“The Singapore core is defined by people who have made Singapore their home,
to serve and contribute to the society, and not whether they were born and bred
in the country.”
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/…/acting-manpowe…/575716.html (http://www.channelnewsasia.com/mobile/acting-manpower-minister/575716.html)
So essentially, the PAP could fulfil its pledge of making the workforce a
Singaporean core by granting citizenships to foreigners within the country, many
of whom are from India, China and the Philippines.
Finally, how does Lim Swee Say propose MOM enforce the guideline of two-third
S’porean core?
Today we can see many companies hiring an unusually large number of foreign
PMETs and work permit holders.
This is not surprising given that many companies have found a way to
circumvent the Work Permit quota.
One common method is for the company boss to “hire” relatives to put them on
the company’s payroll to artificially boost the number of locals, hence
increasing the corresponding number of foreigners that can be recruited. The
“salary” paid to the relative is then returned with the latter keeping a token
sum as a “reward”.
As for PMETs, suffice it to say, there are no quota restrictions. Many
foreign banks have taken advantage of this to hire from abroad especially from
India, to the extent that the financial industry is now dominated by Indian
nationals.
Standard Chartered, Citibank and Barclays are good examples.
If the PAP is really so concerned about Singaporeans forming the core of the
workforce, why has it turned a blind eye to this practice?
We are guessing one reason could be this: CECA which the PAP has signed with
India promising to open the doors of 127 professions to Indian nationals.
The CECA is a binding agreement and any one party can take the other to court
if it violates any of the clauses.
And indeed, India has shown a willingness to do that:
http://wap.business-standard.com/…/govt-decries-ceca-violat… (http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwap.business-standard.com%2Farticle%2Feconomy-policy%2Fgovt-decries-ceca-violation-by-singapore-113021700123_1.html&h=oAQGdcvT2AQHYLCWRYpsHTveCH1GdwH8JN1sYd4weayxhhw&enc=AZPOVFK94lGjYGIT3RXpZO_7-ebiARltTnor8HYQF0lLx4i9b-sGr9pyulZ7UknGcWBqaDTle3mm2Jwo-1QBZf6UJiCO7x_bqBfYrtDfrisP373qPLOynsmBWopTbw2xhfV vhDGjix93NdVyT2WJfKrCF0waKgDspLAzgyU840p2QumI3S6Rw uXvx4ijZxQmJbDqXziTqDpmoo5prrqmM2wn&s=1)
To compound matters, the PAP has committed to the ASEAN Free Trade Area which
will allow free movement of labour across ASEAN member countries.
So can Lim Swee Say enlighten us how he can extricate us from the hole that
his Prime Minister has dug for us?
Or wait, maybe he can’t and does not intend to.
Maybe as we suggest at the beginning, this two-third Singaporean core
pronouncement is really just an election soundbite.
As Lee Hsien Loong famously said:
Singaporeans, new arrivals, people who are on permanent residence here,
people who are on employment pass here, all participating in one big Singapore
family… So that we feel that this is a place which is special, which belongs to
all of us.
http://zeenews.india.com/…/singapore-belongs-to-all-those-l… (http://zeenews.india.com/news/world/singapore-belongs-to-all-those-living-here-pm-loong_929546.html)
http://www.tremeritus.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/CECA_played.jpg?fbc256The
Alternative View
Source:
The
Alternative View’s Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Alternative-View/358759327518739)
Click here to view the whole thread at www.sammyboy.com (http://www.sammyboy.com/showthread.php?213995-2-3-SG-core-Yet-another-PAP-election-soundbite&goto=newpost).