Wednesday, April 06, 2011

Rebuttal to points made at Kent Ridge Ministerial Forum

Views sent by a reader of my blog

A number of points made by PM Lee at the recent Kent Ridge Ministerial Forum can easily be rebutted. Below are rebuttals in no particular order:


PM pointed out that The Economist had recently praised S’pore’s system. However, he conveniently forgotten that the same publication has previously criticized S’pore in numerous articles. Several other reputable magazines and newspapers have also criticised S’pore’s system, but they have been routinely slapped with multi-million-dollar defamation lawsuits filed solely in S’pore where the outcomes are certain (of course!!). Therefore, is the PM practising selective reading here?


In justifying the stratopheric pay for cabinet ministers, the PM said that past US presidents usually earn millions from speaking engagements and book publications. I wish to remind the PM that these monies don’t come from taxpayers. They come from willing buyers/payors in a competitive private setting. By contrast, the monstrous ministerial salaries are totally funded by taxpayers money. Furthermore, the oft repeated claims that our ministers are highly talented and thus, highly sought after in the private sector should mean that they can also easily earn the same millions by writing books and from speaking engagements?? No? What about the highly lucrative board positions at numerous GLCs and statutory boards given to our ministers after they step down? What about their special pension that starts paying them $179,000/year from age 55 till death? What about the huge benefits both pecuniary and in-kind our minister’s family members derive from him being in office? One just needs to check out the positions held by spouses and children of our senior civil servants and ministers.


PM claims that only PAP has an “A Team”, but the people have witnessed that their performances have been far from “A” grade. PAP is becoming like the ill-fated Titantic ship whose captain has become complacent and aloft.


In defending the GRC concept, PM said that some of the current ministers would not be in office had they started off contesting in SMCs. The same argument should apply to opposition party candidates. How do the people know whether these candidates are as “lousy” as PM made them out to be if they are not eve given a chance to hold office? All opposition party candidates face a baptism of fire at election. Nowhere else in the world do we have a political party candidate cruising to officer without having to fight an election!!


The NUS forum wasn’t aired on national TV, so the public won’t know what questions the students raised and whether they disagreed with the PM. It would be very very sad for S”pore as a nation if our varsity students are just a bunch of unthinking yes-men.


TY

9 comments:

ron said...

Pension of $149,000 per annum?

Thats $12,400 per month for doing nothing from the age of 55!
( forget about elderly folks needing a job and continue to work! )

Wow! thats a target we should be aiming for! it really is THE benchmark of success no?

How I wish my CPF could offer me a 1/5th of that ( $2480 p month )

Tan Kin Lian said...

Someone asked if I was the person who wrote this letter. The answer is "no".

The letter was written by a person who has the initial TY. He has written to me before on several other matters, so I know him well. This time, he wanted to "get the matter off his chest" and said that it is all right for me to post his letter in my blog.

yujuan said...

Anybody notice that whenever our top leaders tried to engage the students in a face to face forum to talk politics, a bright student would throw the leader a question that stump him, and he has to laugh or need the moderator to cover his embarrassment.
It happened with SM Goh, now with our PM. We would like to see how Tharman or Vivian would fare better
if they were to face a student audience.
Not easy when you are thrown a question like : "Then does it mean I would be able to pay less tax, or serve one to two years less NS".
Brilliant young man, questioning the unequal equation of upgrading HDB works for PAP and non-PAP constituencies.

Tan Choon Hong said...

“… they can also easily earn the same millions by writing books and from speaking engagements.”

The Hokkien have a colourful expression when comparing people: “This person’s ten moustache-hairs are not worth a single leg-hair on the other person.” Can our ministers command the respect of a Bill Clinton or Lee Iacocca on a book-deal or speaking engagement?

Recruit Ong said...

"Then does it mean I would be able to pay less tax, or serve one to two years less NS".




such questions have been flying around online for ages... goes to show how out of touch the papayas are hahaha

Unknown said...

Those who read the report in the ST were outraged for reasons as expresed here.
But I felt insulted. My intelligence and those of the younger generation.
Opposition can't field an A Teams ?
Does it mean that there are only about 100 or so intelligent people in whole of Spore (and all in PAP) .who have commitment,integrity, etc????

Unknown said...

Good article!!!

Minister Mentor Lee has written several memoirs recently and they have been selling well. Aren't the royalties from the sale of his publications go to him or those charities he has appointed?

People buy a memoir or invite an ex-minister to give a speech because they recognise that he/she has been a wise/great leader; therefore whatever he/she says is worth listening.

The reason that our current ministers are not paid to appear on a private functions or from the memoirs they write is because people do not think the retired minsters are wise or great. Hence there is no relation to the ministers' salaries justification.

Web said...

Many times questions were fielded in on the Forum page on Straits Times asking for justifications on ERP , LTA, HDB, Defence etc policies and governance. I notice, when the relevant bodies has no answer, somehow a "citizen" will come and speak out for them, i repeat as a citizen. I wonder... who they are.?? The subject will then be dropped. Wonder anyone noticed.
Hmmm....

WW

reflections said...

Is Ministers' pension tax-free?

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