NS for Singaporeans, Jobs for Foreigners
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMxTcRs3KDU
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Singapore's success not about PAP or opposition
http://www.straitstimes.com/ST%2BForum/Story/STIStory_262973.html
Singapore's success not about PAP or opposition
I AM from the same senior-citizen generation as Mr Lee Choon Wah, who wrote the laudatory letter last Saturday, 'Opposition yet to show it can deliver'.
In the past few decades, this generation lent its unquestioning support and blind loyalty to the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) Government.
Taking its place will be a new generation of younger, better-educated and Internet-savvy Singaporeans who can think, read between the lines and add two and two to make five.
The PAP Government can rightly claim some but not all credit for Singapore's success so far.
Its hardworking people, favourable time zone and geographical location have also contributed to its development as a financial centre and an air and sea hub.
Put simply, had the PAP governed Timbuktu in Africa, would the outcome have been similar?
Singapore's continued survival must depend ultimately on the collective input and teamwork spirit of its politicians, civil servants and people. No one group has a monopoly on ideas or can claim all credit for Singapore's achievements. Each group makes its share of contribution, big or small.
The necessary ingredients for good political governance are:
Caring politicians, who know they are answerable to the people to earn public respect, as well as encourage people to speak up freely to understand their concerns and tap their contributions.
Competent civil servants, who try hard to serve the public better and accept responsibility for mistakes.
Active citizens, who must overcome their fear of speaking up to highlight society's shortcomings and know there are more important things in life than making money, asset enhancement and HDB upgrades - such as good health.
Only when people can speak freely will they have a sense of rootedness as citizens of Singapore. They will then not be 'quitters' but 'stayers' and will not be indifferent and leave everything to the Government.
This is one critical challenge facing Singapore. Politicians must make up their minds once and for all whether to continue breeding 'yes-man' citizens who will let them govern 'their country their way', or sincerely nurture thinking Singaporeans who will team up with them to govern 'our country our way'.
See Leong Kit
Singapore's success not about PAP or opposition
I AM from the same senior-citizen generation as Mr Lee Choon Wah, who wrote the laudatory letter last Saturday, 'Opposition yet to show it can deliver'.
In the past few decades, this generation lent its unquestioning support and blind loyalty to the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) Government.
Taking its place will be a new generation of younger, better-educated and Internet-savvy Singaporeans who can think, read between the lines and add two and two to make five.
The PAP Government can rightly claim some but not all credit for Singapore's success so far.
Its hardworking people, favourable time zone and geographical location have also contributed to its development as a financial centre and an air and sea hub.
Put simply, had the PAP governed Timbuktu in Africa, would the outcome have been similar?
Singapore's continued survival must depend ultimately on the collective input and teamwork spirit of its politicians, civil servants and people. No one group has a monopoly on ideas or can claim all credit for Singapore's achievements. Each group makes its share of contribution, big or small.
The necessary ingredients for good political governance are:
Caring politicians, who know they are answerable to the people to earn public respect, as well as encourage people to speak up freely to understand their concerns and tap their contributions.
Competent civil servants, who try hard to serve the public better and accept responsibility for mistakes.
Active citizens, who must overcome their fear of speaking up to highlight society's shortcomings and know there are more important things in life than making money, asset enhancement and HDB upgrades - such as good health.
Only when people can speak freely will they have a sense of rootedness as citizens of Singapore. They will then not be 'quitters' but 'stayers' and will not be indifferent and leave everything to the Government.
This is one critical challenge facing Singapore. Politicians must make up their minds once and for all whether to continue breeding 'yes-man' citizens who will let them govern 'their country their way', or sincerely nurture thinking Singaporeans who will team up with them to govern 'our country our way'.
See Leong Kit
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Reservist's Disadvantage
The two years wasted on our conscription is one big issue, the other is also how the long reservist training each year is affecting Singaporean's job prospects and bonus.
1. Companies are reluctant to employ Singaporean males compared to PRs or WP Work Permit holders because of the disruption to their business. Although taxpayers make up for the salary, what cannot be quantified is the loss of business and for some, opportunity. Business or opportunity waits for no one. The civil service mindset cannot understand this as they have never operated a business and many of them never worked for the private sector.
2. Although businesses are required by law to release these reservist for training, what is there to stop them from reducing performance bonuses or promotion prospects? Can the law stop businesses from having a employment preference for foreigners due to this disruption?
3. Many senior managers or employers are foreigners, can they understand the sacrifice of our NSmen. Some even put pressure on our reservist for having to do training every year.
4. Many businesses also expect reservist to return to work during off period or when they book out to continue with their work or projects. These reservist are carrying the extra burden of training and work at the same time. Probably, 10% of reservist take the training as a break from work. Given the ease of employing foreigners without this reservist disruptions, how long more can they hold their jobs without a pay cut?
5. Even in large corporations, result orientated work teams with more Singaporean men achieve lower results due to their disruptions although their colleagues are supposed to take over their duties. Their colleagues are already busy up to their ears with work to bother about other duties. Can a civil servant understand this? Because of lower results, the team members lose out on performance bonuses and promotion opportunities as the corporation will ultimately look at the financial results and not your sacrifice to the nation.
6. Singaporean men who have families also carry the responsibility for their small children such as ferrying them, emotional support of their spouse and children. These are lost every year.
7. How many reservist need to take time off every week for failing their IPPT and have to do RT?
1. Companies are reluctant to employ Singaporean males compared to PRs or WP Work Permit holders because of the disruption to their business. Although taxpayers make up for the salary, what cannot be quantified is the loss of business and for some, opportunity. Business or opportunity waits for no one. The civil service mindset cannot understand this as they have never operated a business and many of them never worked for the private sector.
2. Although businesses are required by law to release these reservist for training, what is there to stop them from reducing performance bonuses or promotion prospects? Can the law stop businesses from having a employment preference for foreigners due to this disruption?
3. Many senior managers or employers are foreigners, can they understand the sacrifice of our NSmen. Some even put pressure on our reservist for having to do training every year.
4. Many businesses also expect reservist to return to work during off period or when they book out to continue with their work or projects. These reservist are carrying the extra burden of training and work at the same time. Probably, 10% of reservist take the training as a break from work. Given the ease of employing foreigners without this reservist disruptions, how long more can they hold their jobs without a pay cut?
5. Even in large corporations, result orientated work teams with more Singaporean men achieve lower results due to their disruptions although their colleagues are supposed to take over their duties. Their colleagues are already busy up to their ears with work to bother about other duties. Can a civil servant understand this? Because of lower results, the team members lose out on performance bonuses and promotion opportunities as the corporation will ultimately look at the financial results and not your sacrifice to the nation.
6. Singaporean men who have families also carry the responsibility for their small children such as ferrying them, emotional support of their spouse and children. These are lost every year.
7. How many reservist need to take time off every week for failing their IPPT and have to do RT?
Silence of the Lambs
"If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.”
Bishop Desmond Tutu
“And that is why I swore never to be silent whenever and whereever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.”
Elie Wiesel
“Cowardice asks the question, Is it safe? Expediency asks the question, Is it politic? But conscience asks the question, Is it right? And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular but because conscience tells one it is right.”
Martin Luther King, Jr
By keeping silent about issues whether it is political or family, you are also an accomplice to the crime.
“A most insidious form of fear is that which masquerades as common sense or even wisdom, condemning as foolish, reckless, insignificant or futile the small, daily acts of courage which help to preserve man\'s self-respect and inherent human dignity.”
Aung San Suu Kyi
“I am not interested in picking up crumbs of compassion thrown from the table of someone who considers himself my master. I want the full menu of rights.”
Bishop Desmond Tutu
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”
Martin Luther King, Jr
“To avoid making a mistake, say nothing, do nothing and be nothing.”
Anonymous
“The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people.”
Martin Luther King, Jr
“It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.”
Theodore Roosevelt
“When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love has always won. There have been tyrants and murderers and for a time they seem invincible but in the end, they always fall - think of it, ALWAYS.” Mahatma Gandhi
“Each time a man stands up for an ideal or acts to improve the lot of others or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope and, crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.”
Robert F. Kennedy
“Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear--not absence of fear.”
Mark Twain
Bishop Desmond Tutu
“And that is why I swore never to be silent whenever and whereever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.”
Elie Wiesel
“Cowardice asks the question, Is it safe? Expediency asks the question, Is it politic? But conscience asks the question, Is it right? And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular but because conscience tells one it is right.”
Martin Luther King, Jr
By keeping silent about issues whether it is political or family, you are also an accomplice to the crime.
“A most insidious form of fear is that which masquerades as common sense or even wisdom, condemning as foolish, reckless, insignificant or futile the small, daily acts of courage which help to preserve man\'s self-respect and inherent human dignity.”
Aung San Suu Kyi
“I am not interested in picking up crumbs of compassion thrown from the table of someone who considers himself my master. I want the full menu of rights.”
Bishop Desmond Tutu
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”
Martin Luther King, Jr
“To avoid making a mistake, say nothing, do nothing and be nothing.”
Anonymous
“The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people.”
Martin Luther King, Jr
“It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.”
Theodore Roosevelt
“When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love has always won. There have been tyrants and murderers and for a time they seem invincible but in the end, they always fall - think of it, ALWAYS.” Mahatma Gandhi
“Each time a man stands up for an ideal or acts to improve the lot of others or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope and, crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.”
Robert F. Kennedy
“Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear--not absence of fear.”
Mark Twain
Friday, June 13, 2008
Swiss Do Total of About One Year Military
Swiss men spend only a total of about ONE year in their 30 year military life.
http://pages.prodigy.net/vanhooser/the_swiss_and_their_guns.htm
Today, military service for Swiss males is universal. At about age 20, every Swiss male goes through 118 consecutive days of recruit training in the Rekrutenschule. This training may be a young man's first encounter with his countrymen who speak different languages. (Switzerland has four official languages: German, French, Italian and Romansch.)
Even before required training begins, young men and women may take optional courses with the Swiss army's M57 assault rifle. They keep that gun at home for three months and receive six half-day training sessions.
From age 21 to 32, a Swiss man serves as a "frontline" troop in the Auszug, and devotes three weeks a year (in eight of the 12 years) to continued training. From age 33 to 42, he serves in the Landwehr (like America's National Guard); every few years, he reports for two-week training periods. Finally, from ages 43, to 50, he serves in the Landsturm; in this period, he only spends 13 days total in "home guard courses."
Over a soldier's career he also spends scattered days on mandatory equipment inspections and required target practice. Thus, in a 30-year mandatory military career, a Swiss man only spends about one year in direct military service. Following discharge from the regular army, men serve on reserve status until age 50 (55 for officers).
http://pages.prodigy.net/vanhooser/the_swiss_and_their_guns.htm
Today, military service for Swiss males is universal. At about age 20, every Swiss male goes through 118 consecutive days of recruit training in the Rekrutenschule. This training may be a young man's first encounter with his countrymen who speak different languages. (Switzerland has four official languages: German, French, Italian and Romansch.)
Even before required training begins, young men and women may take optional courses with the Swiss army's M57 assault rifle. They keep that gun at home for three months and receive six half-day training sessions.
From age 21 to 32, a Swiss man serves as a "frontline" troop in the Auszug, and devotes three weeks a year (in eight of the 12 years) to continued training. From age 33 to 42, he serves in the Landwehr (like America's National Guard); every few years, he reports for two-week training periods. Finally, from ages 43, to 50, he serves in the Landsturm; in this period, he only spends 13 days total in "home guard courses."
Over a soldier's career he also spends scattered days on mandatory equipment inspections and required target practice. Thus, in a 30-year mandatory military career, a Swiss man only spends about one year in direct military service. Following discharge from the regular army, men serve on reserve status until age 50 (55 for officers).
More NS Deaths in Singapore
Time to relook at our NS system? After all, it has been 4 decades and the world has changed since then.
SAF suspends physical training after two deaths in two days
By Valarie Tan, Channel NewsAsia Posted: 12 June 2008 1715 hrs
SINGAPORE: In an unprecedented move, the Defence Ministry declared a three-day halt to all physical and endurance training activities in the army, navy and air force. The 'time-out' from 12-14 June follows the death of two servicemen in training within two days. 20-year-old Officer Cadet (OCT) Clifton Lam Jia Hao, a pilot trainee with the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF), died on Wednesday, one-and-a-half hours after he collapsed while he was undergoing jungle orientation training in Brunei. A day earlier, 20-year-old army recruit Andrew Cheah Wei Siong died after he fainted while taking part in a two-kilometre walk training activity on Pulau Tekong. Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean said the suspension will allow the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) to review and re-focus on training activities to ensure that proper procedures are in place before training resumes. "While the SAF needs to carry out realistic training, this will be done without compromise to safety," added Mr Teo. The minister also extended his condolences to the families of Mr Cheah and OCT Lam. "I am saddened by the loss of two young and precious sons of Singapore," Mr Teo said in a statement. - CNA/ir
Checkout Joel's take on this saga.
http://theonlinecitizen.com/2008/06/should-mindef-be-more-transparent-about-servicemen-deaths/
& Molly Meek
Specters of Unnameable Soldiers: On Necessary Deaths & Singapore's Tragic Modernity
http://mollymeek.livejournal.com/192012.html
SAF suspends physical training after two deaths in two days
By Valarie Tan, Channel NewsAsia Posted: 12 June 2008 1715 hrs
SINGAPORE: In an unprecedented move, the Defence Ministry declared a three-day halt to all physical and endurance training activities in the army, navy and air force. The 'time-out' from 12-14 June follows the death of two servicemen in training within two days. 20-year-old Officer Cadet (OCT) Clifton Lam Jia Hao, a pilot trainee with the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF), died on Wednesday, one-and-a-half hours after he collapsed while he was undergoing jungle orientation training in Brunei. A day earlier, 20-year-old army recruit Andrew Cheah Wei Siong died after he fainted while taking part in a two-kilometre walk training activity on Pulau Tekong. Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean said the suspension will allow the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) to review and re-focus on training activities to ensure that proper procedures are in place before training resumes. "While the SAF needs to carry out realistic training, this will be done without compromise to safety," added Mr Teo. The minister also extended his condolences to the families of Mr Cheah and OCT Lam. "I am saddened by the loss of two young and precious sons of Singapore," Mr Teo said in a statement. - CNA/ir
Checkout Joel's take on this saga.
http://theonlinecitizen.com/2008/06/should-mindef-be-more-transparent-about-servicemen-deaths/
& Molly Meek
Specters of Unnameable Soldiers: On Necessary Deaths & Singapore's Tragic Modernity
http://mollymeek.livejournal.com/192012.html
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
NS stint may hinder job prospects for S'poreans
ST Nov 20, 2006 (Published in Straits Times)
NS stint may hinder job prospects for S'poreans
WHEN I started business in the motor trade a couple of years ago, I was surprised that many companies are reluctant to employ Singaporeans for several reasons. One of the main ones is that most male Singaporeans have to serve two to three weeks' reservist training every year.As a Singaporean, I understandably want to support my own people and give our men an opportunity. So my company went against the grain by employing one permanent resident and one Singaporean where most other companies go with PRs.Both were equally hard working and resourceful. However, the Singaporean had in-camp training and when he failed his individual physical proficiency test (IPPT), he had to go for further training which meant that he had to leave work early. No such thing with PRs.Although the Government reimburse the employee during reservist training, a company employs someone because of his contribution to its profitability. Does the Government take loss of business into consideration?Small companies do not have the financial strength to bear the loss. Does this mean male Singaporeans can work only in large companies?
Reservist discrimination in JobsDB.com?
http://alvinology.wordpress.com/2008/03/26/reservist-discrimination-in-jobsdbcom/
Mr Wang Say-so
http://commentarysingapore.blogspot.com/2006/11/ns-and-employment.html
http://commentarysingapore.blogspot.com/2006/09/rethinking-ns-part-1.html
http://commentarysingapore.blogspot.com/2006/09/rethinking-ns-part-2.html
NS stint may hinder job prospects for S'poreans
WHEN I started business in the motor trade a couple of years ago, I was surprised that many companies are reluctant to employ Singaporeans for several reasons. One of the main ones is that most male Singaporeans have to serve two to three weeks' reservist training every year.As a Singaporean, I understandably want to support my own people and give our men an opportunity. So my company went against the grain by employing one permanent resident and one Singaporean where most other companies go with PRs.Both were equally hard working and resourceful. However, the Singaporean had in-camp training and when he failed his individual physical proficiency test (IPPT), he had to go for further training which meant that he had to leave work early. No such thing with PRs.Although the Government reimburse the employee during reservist training, a company employs someone because of his contribution to its profitability. Does the Government take loss of business into consideration?Small companies do not have the financial strength to bear the loss. Does this mean male Singaporeans can work only in large companies?
Reservist discrimination in JobsDB.com?
http://alvinology.wordpress.com/2008/03/26/reservist-discrimination-in-jobsdbcom/
Mr Wang Say-so
http://commentarysingapore.blogspot.com/2006/11/ns-and-employment.html
http://commentarysingapore.blogspot.com/2006/09/rethinking-ns-part-1.html
http://commentarysingapore.blogspot.com/2006/09/rethinking-ns-part-2.html
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