What is the Prime Minister’s vision for bilingual education in 10 to 20 years? Is he confident of reaching this vision?
- Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong believes the bilingual environment will change in 10 to 20 years
- Everybody may not be reading Chinese books
- But they may be surfing Chinese websites, posting in Chinese on Facebook or sending Chinese Chinese SMS, with the emergence of different types of strange abbreviations
- In this circumstances, PM Lee hopes that Singaporeans have a good mother tongue foundation which will enable them to listen and speak the language clearly, hava a certain level of reading ability, and be able to write simple short messages or postings if necessary
- If there is a business or strike out by himself in China, then he has a good foundation
- We have to reform and improve our teaching materials, the system, if we want to achieve this vision
* Mother tongue is very important! One such like Chinese is also growing increasingly important as China is becoming more and more influential. In order to conduct or invest in China, we must first have a strong grasp of their language ^^
THE STRAITS TIMES SATURDAY, MAY 15 2010
- The 2008 Financial Crisis may be over, but new challenge is looming: rising wage bills
- From June, employers will no longer enjoy any wage subsidy from the Jobs Credit Scheme
- From July, employers will have to fork out a higher levy for foreign workers, or pay more to hire local workers due to a slow in foreigners
- From September, they will have to put in higher contribution to their workers’ Central Provident Fund (CPF) accounts
- For years, companies have creamed off a larger share of economic gains
- Workers’ wages account for less than half of Singapore’s GDP
- In contrast, wages take up more than half of GDP in other developes countries
- Singapore may have achieved one of the highest per capita GDPs- at $51,656 last year, but the superlative (highest degree) showing may not reflect the wealth of workers
- Some analyst wonder if Singapore is a First World economy closer to a Third World wage structure
- Economist Manu Bhaskaran from Centennial Asia Advisors notes ” The problem is not our wage levels, which are reasonably high, but whether they are commensurate (proportionate) with our per capita GDP level.”
- GDP split in 3 ways: 1 share paid out in wages, another to companies as profits, lastly to government as taxes
- In 2000, Singapore’s wage share was42%, lower than the U.S. (58%), Japan’s (57%) and France’s (52%) according to the paper by the Statistics Department
- Singapore’s profit share is at 44.9% as of 2008
- On a list of 73 cities, Singapore is the 24th most expensive city
- But when it came to wage levels, Singapore slipped two notches to 40th position
- With prices rising more than wages, Singapore workers cannot afford to buy as much as people in many other cities
- Purchasing power in Singapore declined 10 spots to 50th place behind Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, Johanesburg in South Africa
- Some observers question the accuracy of such comparative studies, one inescapable conclusion is that wage increases have not been on par with economic growth
- Success of Singapore being able to attract foreign investment meant that foreign investors also earned returns to capital in Singapore (reflected by growth in disposable in comes from which households could finance their consumption was lower than GDP growth in Singapore
- 2 reasons for low wage share
=> dominance of foreign multinationals, which are likely to repatriate a large proportion of their profit rather than distribute it back to workers as wages
=> An increase in the no. of lower skilled jobs, many which are filled by foreign workers
- Mr Bhaskaran puts it ” So of the rise in GDP is increasingly going to companies rather than individuals and most of the profits go to foreign companies, the welfare improvement from economic growth in Singapore is not as great as it mght have been.”
- Singapore Management University Professor puts it ” Even if the wage share is comparatively small, workers as a whole can still benefit enormously from growth because the size of the national pie is growing strong.”
- Widening income gap between occupations at the top (managers) and bottom (cleaners and labourers)
- Those at top earned four times more than those at the bottom in 1998; this grew to 5.12 times in 2008
- This means that low-skilled workers have a less than equal share in the fruits of rapid economic growth
- Singapore has made increasing the productivity a key priority
- Singapore Government has promised to pay special attention to low-wage workers as it aims for inclusive growth by enhancing Workfare Income Supplement (WIS) payments
- It would go some way towards increasing workers’ wages, but whether pay packages will be commensurate with growth figures depends on how Singapore innovates and transforms its economy
- Mr Bhaskaran concludes ” Do we really have the inherent (essential constituent) capacity to create, innovate, produce and drive our economic destiny that smaller, developed countries such as Sweden, Finland or the Netherlands have? When we have that inherent capacity, then we can say we are First World.”
* This supports the argument that a high GDP is not necessarily reflective of economic growth of an economy such as here, in Singapore. This is because wage differentials were not justified, hence lowering standard of living as people can no longer afford to pay for certain commodity! XD
Taken from thesundaytimes May 9, 2010
Chinese Tourists
=> loud & demanding, speak little English & like items which scream “expensive” all over
=>Singapore’s top tourist spenders
=> tend to be very loud, more demanding, and can sometimes be very rude
=> want to see everything and make their picks from there
=> go for less expensive products such as polo shirts but buy in bulk- 10 to 20 pieces at a go
=> the “bling-er” the better: “Chinese tourists usually go for designs that have lots of diamonds, or the piece must have its brand prominently displayed so that others can immediately tell it’s expensive.”
Indonesian Tourists
=> soft-spoken and easier to communicate with as they speak English
=> more fashionable (often requests for exclusive or limited-edition designs)
=> “Indonesians come in the knowing what they want”
=> the big-ticket spenders, buying suits, shirts and jeans
=> spent $2.1 billion in Singapore last year, $702 million more than tourists from China
=> Interested in the latest designs and are more tasteful
* From here, it can be noted there are different consumption patterns between countries. By observing and understanding these patterns, Singapore will be better able to cater to the different groups of taste and preference and continue to boost Singapore’s tourism industry! This is crucial for economic growth in Singapore ^^
Working together to sustain growth
Posted on: May 3, 2010
Article from The Sundays Times Sunday, May 2 2010
- Singapore’s focus on saving jobs paid off
- GDP went up 13% year-on-year in the first quarter
- Government has raised growth forecast for the entire year to between 7% and 9%
- This quarterly growth figure reflects the volatility of our small, open economy
- The jump represents a transient rebound from the sharp dip last year, and is not a sustainable long-term growth rate
- We can continue to achieve our target of 3% to 5% annual growth over the next decade and conntinue to improve wages and lives of all Singaporeans
- Firms need to restructure their own organisations by cutting waste, streamline processes and automate routine work
- Firms have to constantly innovate and invent new products, fight for market share and strike out into new, unfamiliar territories
- Businesses can be done cheaper, better and faster only when the firm is in the right business and is operating efficiently
- Hence workers will be able to work productively
- To support this, workers need to update and improve their skills, pick up new abilities and achieve greater mastery at their jobs
- Singapore is building a first-class Continuing Education and Training system
- Singapore is also raising foreign worke levies to encourage businesses to improve their productivity and not rely excessively on cheaper foreign workers
- Some companies are awarding bonuses and increments (strenghtens trusts between workers and employers)
- The Workfare Income Supplement has raised its income limit from $1,500 to $1,700
- The new Workfare Training Scheme will encourage employers to send workers for retraining and workers to complete their training programmes
- Singapore’s track record of tripartism is a key competitive advantage
- We have to work together, uphold tripartism, focus on productivity and give special attention to low wage workers
- Then can we improve workers’ lives and sustain inclusive growth for all over the long term
* Singapore’s workforce has been ranked the best by Washington-based Business Environment Risk Intelligence (Beri) for many years^^
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Article from The Straits Times Saturday, May 1 2010
- Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that Singapore’s economy has emerged strong from the recession in a strong position and will end the year on a good footing
- New jobs continue to come onstream in the first quarter and the jobless rate held steady at a low 2.2 per cent.
- PM Lee cautions that the spectacular growth figures of the first 3 months of this year are not sustainable
- Compared to 2009, Singapore’s economy grew by 13.1%; the biggest gain in 16 years
- The government revised its growth forecast to between 7% and 9% up from between 4.5% and 6.5%
- This quarterly growth reflects the volatility of Singapore’s small and open economy eg. Some sectors like electronics & biomedical sciences expanded sharply, but others have not done quite as well
- PM Lee says ” We must make the most of this opportunity to push forward our longer-term plans, transforming the economy, upgrading our workforce and raising our productivity”
- He called on companies to focus on quality instead of quantity and for workers to upgrade their skills
- The resident jobless rate hit a two-year low of 3.2% in March, a dip from 3.3% in December
- The overall rate, which includes foreigners, was 2.2% in March
- Training of workers will place both employers and employees in a better position to capitalise on the opportunities that come with the recovery,” said Mr Gan Kim Yong
This article is taken from the The Sunday Times Sunday, May 2 2010
The discovery that virtually every Singaporean family has a maid at their beck and call at least 6 days a week comes as a bit of a shock to newly arrived Western expats. This is because no one, with the exception of millionaires, royalty or foreign diplomats can afford them in the West.
Westeners have no idea really on how to manage them and certainly lack the confidence and savoir faire ( ability to say/ do the right thing)
Because…
- Westerners often find it difficult being blunt. They trip over themselves in an effort not to upset. For eg. “You are not cleaning the apartment thoroughly”, will be said like “Could you spend a bit more time on cleaning today”? Rather than saying outright that the meal was awful, they’d suggest that there was room for improvement.
- To the Westerners, management is all about negotiation rather than instruction
- Westerners are invariably ignorant of the fact that helpers come from sharply stratified cultures where they are not used to being treated like this. In countries such as the Philippines and Indonesia, emploers are direct and less afraid of hurting feelings
- Westerners are brought up in “rights” cultures, where an individual’s rights are stressed above everything else, this is something that is very difficult for them to do
- Try as the Westerners may, they cannot quite get the hang of the paternalistic approach that some Singaporeans have with their maids
* Hence from here, it can be seen that there can be vast differences between cultures which can result in different methods of handling situations and also the attitude of people with respect to situations. Westerners treat maids with mutual respect whereas Asians tend not to. This all boils down to the way we were brought up and the culture we were exposed to since young. For instance, generations of Indonesians may have picked up their straightforward way of speaking and accepted negative remarks from their parents as a norm. As a result, this will continue for generations to come. This is also similar in the Western culture, just that they speak politely and hence this way of speaking politely in passed on to future generations.
*Perhaps, we, Singaporeans can pick up a thing or two from them. Besides, Asians’ share similar intentions as our Western counterparts, just that we tend to be more tongue tied and less capable of fully grasping the ability to express ourselves in a way that sound more compassionate with an appropriate array of words ^^! Then again, mindsets are not easily changeable (something I learnt from geography) and sounding more compassionate with our words will also no longer make us Asians, Asians (our identity) XD
Job hopping? It’s Gen Why not
Posted on: May 3, 2010
An article from The Straits Times, May 1 2010
Stand: Generation Y workers are pampered and a restless group of job hoppers.
Argument: – Time for employers to move with times, to by tailoring their organisational culture, occupational roles and job responsibilties to fit Generation Y workers?
Recommendations :
- To satisfy employees’ quest for knowledge and enhance their working experience, employers could practise job rotations and assign workers to work in different departments
- Empower employees with the opportunity to innovate
- MNCs to play their part to broaden employees’ horizons by sponsoring work trips
This article setted me thinking, is our generation; generation Y, fixed on the mentality that we are to be spoon-fed?
This article may be representitive of a number of youths in our society today, where we expect to reap benefits for oursleves but not to give back, to contribute back to society. Is this what we call a selfish mentality? The fact that one is employed is to contribute to the company and not to expect to gain benefits without even demostrating ones capability and backing up ones worth to expect the company to spend so much to groom one. This is definitely not feasible and will put the company at the losing end to invest so much on someone. In my opinion ^^, job hopping is not exactly bad becasuse it is respectable if one just wants to find a job most fitting of ones calling or that one has lost interest in a particular job after many years of slogging for it and wants a change in environment.
*However, it is a different story if one gives up upon meeting a stumbling stone. Here, it is called escaping reality, because he is not going to find another job which is easier, for which job is not filled with challenges and is smooth sailing all the way? Instead, one should persevere, and take this challenge into ones stride. He should do the job to the best of his ability and learn as he progresses. This is the way to improve oneself and learn of the harsh reality of the world. It also enables one to get into the momentum and obtain the idea of real work, for they are different from books. After completing an assignment with much difficulty and he still feels that this job is not for him, when he quits, he will still feel a sense of accomplishment and that he has gained new experience and learning points to stand him in good stead for his future job! XD
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This article was taken off The Straits Times, May 1 2010.
As reported in this article, previously, whinnings by Singaporeans about Singapore was a common sight be it in blogs or via other forms of media. However, from the latest lifestyle survey conducted on 4000 people, by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), out on April 30 showed otherwise. Singaporeans and foreigners alike were growing a stronger sense of belonging for Singapore. These levels of satisfaction are indicators that efforts of grooming Singaapore are paying off (real effects at ground level).
>80% –> Singaporeans & PRs agreed that Singapore is a great place in which to live, work and play
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This is 10% up on satisfaction levels in a 2006 survey
National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan said: close to 90% of respondents said Singapore was their home and where they belonged, up 20% points from 2006 survey.
The survey data will be used for the ongoing Concept Plan 2011 review, which maps out Singapore’s long-term land use strategies and directions.
* This is one of the many job prospects that a geography graduate can do upon graduation; contributing back to society, a civil servant ^^ “YAY!!!” It also shows the importance of Georg grads!
URA is planning to formulate a 5 year plan to work with stakeholders to develop the Singapore River precinct.
Mr Mah identified 3″Ps“
Planning for land use
-Fear of rapid changing physical landscapes and the lack of action to conserve them –>Many considerations need to be thought through thoroughly before making a decision for it can have direct and major impacts on Singapore’s society
-URA chairman Alan Chan said ” In our planning function, we ensure that Singapore’s physical development is able to support our population and economic growth in a sustainable manner.”
Programmes
People
* DP Architects director Tai Lee Siang added ” The key to creating a soul is ownership. Singaporeans must feel a that they can ‘own’ the urban spaces in Singapore.”
STATS
Most important to Singaporeans What Singaporeans want more of
Public transport- 70% Night-life events-60%
Food & drink establishment- 62% Events and festivals-58%
Health-care facilities-55% Health-care facilities-56%
Parks, beaches, etc- 47% Consulted on urban matters-55%
Schools, universities, etc-32% Vibrant street & public life- 55%
* Overall, this article shows that Singaporeans are begginning to nuture a sense of beloinging for Singapore after almost 45 years since independence. I agree that the main “ingredient” to feeling proud of ones own country is the ability of a country to show off its uniqueness and its one-of-a-kind flavour to its people, so as to stand out from the crowd (other countries) making a country different and irreplaceable. Nurturing a sense of belonging is important, because upon feeling satisfied with the growth of Singapore, Singaporeans may become more willing to contribute back to Singapore instead of constantly speaking ill of Singapore and dragging their feet in almost everything that they do. Thus, improvement in Singapore’s infrastructure is important in ensuring loyalty, growth and advancement of Singapore. This is of course not forgetting to take into acount the need to preserve some of Singapore’s historic infrastructures, for they are the most crucial ones which makes Singapore, Singapore in the eyes of Singaporeans and in fact everyone else out there! ^^
* The stats above also shows a high dependency rate on public transport, and Singaporeans are also becoming increasingly concerned about their health. The desire to be consulted upon to make a decision also shows that Singaporeans want to be responsible for Singapore’s growth, further increasing the proof that we are nuturing a sense of belonging for our tiny island we call home!! XD
Hello world!
Posted on: April 16, 2010
Heyo, this is my all wonderful blog (so I claim), it’s gona contain everything about Geography & Economics & some general stuff as well! Just gotta love them both yar? Me, Grace am gona take up a career which is related to either one or both Geography & Economics^^. Lemme jus give a small sneek preview on what Geog & Econs is all about!
Briefly speaking, Geography can be further disseminated into Human Georg & Physical Georg. Human Georg, simplistically speaking is man’s interaction with the physical environment, a social science which zooms in on population like Globalsiation, Urbanization & Tourism amongst many others. In short, it is things relating to people (us). Physical Georg talks about the science part of our natural Earth. It looks into lithospheric processes; ‘clockwork’ of the underground, hazards such as natural disasters and phenomenas and how management is gone about to protect lives of many. Without the study of physical geography, it will be tough to fully understand and take in the beauty of landforms like the ones one sees along the Halong River in Hanoi, Vietnam or how a rock changes it’s structure or chemical make up. It is all owing to what is known as weathering which is also covered under physical georg. There are still abundance not mentioned here so let’s slowly enjoy loads more to come yeah?!
Let’s move on to Economics… hmm what’s economics? Economics is a social science. It studies economic behaviour of man; how man organises production, distribution & consumption. Economics comprises of micro and macro economics. Microeconomics is a study of individual economic units functioning within an economy, such as an individual, a household, the government, a firm, an industry or a single market. Macroeconimics is concerned with the functioning of the entire economy, where it deals with aggregate demand (AD) and supply (AS) [generalised demand (DD) & supply (SS) of all goods and services].
“WHOOPS.. Pardon for the long windedness & hope it’s not too chim (difficult to understand)!” But watch out, cos Jociegrace’s blog is not gonna be just about the study of Georg & Econs, it will also have juicy and fun fUN FUN thingys related to them! ^^ SHOCK
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