New citizens: a new support base for the PAP
From our Correspondent
Much has been written on the economic impact of the uncontrolled influx of foreigners into Singapore. Little is known about the underlying political implications.
While no studies have been conducted on the voting patterns of immigrants, it is likely that a majority of them will be pro-government, given that it is the government which gives them the opportunity to succeed in Singapore.
To a Chinese or Indian immigrant family completely clueless about Singapore’s political baggage or history, the PAP represents a sort of “savior” to them without which they will not be allowed to start life afresh here.
Furthermore, the PAP-controlled grassroots organizations have been actively reaching out to the new citizens through hosting a variety of activities to help them “integrate” into the community to the extent of giving them positions in the Residents Committees’.
With the number of new citizens arriving on Singapore’s shores increasing at a frentic rate, they will form an influential voting bloc in future elections and the PAP is well aware of it.
Besides the vote in their hands, new citizens also help to styme the development of the citizenry’s political awareness indirectly.
By keeping the median wages of the Singapore worker down and posing a constant threat to their livelihoods, it creates a siege mentality in Singaporeans that they will lose out in the rat race unless they continue working hard to earn a living.
With their attention and energies focused completely on economic survival, they will be apathetic towards current affairs and local politics.
There lies the ingenuity of the PAP. No matter how tough life is, it will ensure that nobody goes hungry in Singapore. Prices of foodstuff and living necessities are kept low to ensure that even the destitute and homeless get one basic meal a day.
The middle class, with their endless fixation on the materialistic pursuits in life, will have little motivation to join politics to create “trouble” for the government which explains why most Singaporeans are generally averse to politics.
A nonchalant and ignorant citizenry is a key to the continued hegemony of the PAP as recent events have shown. Despite widespread public disaffect towards the lossess suffered by Temasek and GIC, they are never really threatened.
Political dissatisfaction is limited chiefly to cyberspace where it exerts a negligible impact on the rest of the enslaved population which is still unaware of its inherent political rights.
All kinds of repressive laws were put in place to prevent the public expression of political dissent as it will have serious ramifications on the popularity and legitimacy of the regime.
A new aristocracy is emerging with the new citizens becoming increasingly part of the PAP’s core support base. In fact, some of them have already been co-opted into the regime and appointed as Members of Parliament.
With no foreseeable opposition in sight, the system which is specifically designed to perpetuate one-party rule, will continue to keep the PAP in power for a long time to come, elections being a 5 yearly necessary “nuisance” in order to keep its democratic pretensions alive.
Singaporeans can continue to complain for all they like. The power of their vote is being eroded gradually with each passing day as more and more foreigners take up Singapore citizenship.
Either they toe the official line or ship out altogether. As the feebled opposition continues its ignonimous journey into oblivion, the PAP is quietly rebuilding its power base, slowly but steadily.
With the new citizens firmly integrated into the PAP’s system followed by years of indoctrination by the state propaganda machinery, we will see another generation of brainwashed citizens who are eternally “grateful” to the PAP.
Japan’s opposition DPJ take power, tough challenges loom
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s next leader, Yukio Hatoyama, fresh from a historic election win, faced the task on Monday of forming a government to tackle challenges such as reviving the economy and steering a new course with close ally Washington.
Sunday’s victory by the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) ends half a century of almost unbroken rule by the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and breaks a deadlock in parliament, ushering in a government that has promised to focus spending on consumers, cut wasteful budget outlays and reduce the power of bureaucrats.
“It’s taken a long time, but we have at last reached the starting line,” Hatoyama told a news conference at his home in Tokyo on Monday. “This is by no means the destination. At long last we are able to move politics, to create a new kind of politics that will fulfill the expectations of the people.”
Financial markets welcomed the end to a political deadlock that has stymied policies as Japan struggled with its worst recession since World War Two. The Democratic Party and its small allies won control of the upper house in 2007.
Media forecasts show the Democrats with about 308 seats in the 480-seat lower house, compared with only 119 for the LDP.
The Nikkei share average hit jumped to its highest in nearly 11 months before easing back, while the yen rose to a 7-week high.
The yen was boosted by the end of electoral uncertainty, though the cabinet line-up may not be decided for weeks.
SPENDING WORRIES
The untested Democrats, who will face an upper house election in less than a year, will have to move quickly to keep support among voters worried about a record jobless rate and a rapidly aging society that is inflating social security costs.
Hatoyama is to set up a transition team to organize the change of government, but has said he will not announce his cabinet until he is officially elected prime minister by a special session of parliament, probably in about two weeks.
Analysts say the decade-old Democrats’ spending plans might give a short-term lift to the economy, just now emerging from recession, but worry that its programs will boost a public debt already equal to about 170 percent of GDP.
Sliding retail sales show the weakness of the economy, although industrial production has begun recovering from a slide last year in the midst of the global financial crisis.
The Democrats have vowed not to raise the 5 percent sales tax for four years while it focuses on cutting wasteful spending.
“The problem is how much the Democrats can truly deliver in the first 100 days. If they can come up with a cabinet line-up swiftly, that will ease market concerns over their ability to govern,” said Koichi Haji, chief economist at NLI Research Institute.
The Democratic Party victory ended the “iron triangle” — a three-way partnership between the LDP, big business and bureaucrats that turned Japan into an economic juggernaut after the country’s defeat in World War Two.
Support for the LDP, which has ruled for all but 10 months since its founding in 1955, has been on a downtrend for years, but charismatic leader Junichiro Koizumi managed to lead the party to a huge election win in 2005 with promises of market-friendly reforms.
Those reforms came under fire even within the LDP for worsening social and income gaps and were further attacked after the global financial crisis tipped Japan into recession.
In an essay published this month in the New York Times, Hatoyama railed at what he called the “unrestrained market fundamentalism” of U.S.-led globalization but at his news conference sought to allay any concerns raised by those comments.
“We are not saying that the (free) market principles are all bad … But the current economic situation is one where there need to be corrections in areas where reform went too far,” Hatoyama said.
A series of scandals, policy flip-flops and a perceived inability to address deep-rooted problems such as creaking pension and health care systems eroded the LDP mandate.
Voters, having taken a gamble on change, will want to see proof quickly that the Democrats can do a better job.
“It’s going to be crucial how they spend the first year in office, so in that sense they have to get focused very quickly to get things accomplished,” said Sophia University professor Koichi Nakano. “Otherwise, the goodwill may dissipate very quickly and they may face a hostile upper house within a year.”
FOREIGN POLICY
Hatoyama will want to have his cabinet up and running in time to attend a U.N. General Assembly meeting and a G20 leaders summit in Pittsburgh in September.
The Democrats want to forge a diplomatic stance more independent of the United States, raising fears about possible friction in the alliance. They have also vowed to improve ties with Asian neighbors, often frayed by bitter wartime memories.
“(Hatoyama) is basically articulating the idea that the U.S.-led Pax Americana era has come* to an end,” said Sheila Smith at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York.
“My sense of the DPJ is that they have wanted a little distance between Tokyo and Washington.”
Budgetary matters will claim much of the government’s attention in its early days. Party leaders have said they might freeze or redirect some of the 14 trillion yen ($149.5 billion) in stimulus spending planned for the year to March 31, 2010.
They may have to craft an extra budget for the current fiscal year to cover an expected tax revenue shortfall, and Japanese media said the party wants to have an outline of the budget for 2010/2011 by sometime in October.
Source: Reuters
Malaysian PM makes plea for unity on National Day
KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia’s premier made a plea for unity in the multicultural nation Monday, as celebrations to mark its independence anniversary were marred by fresh racial and religious rows.
Najib Razak called on Malaysians to “repair the bridges and tear down the divisive walls” that exist between the races here even 52 years after nationhood and the end of colonial rule.
“Bear in mind that what we have now will not necessarily become better. On the contrary, we can lose it all if we are not careful,” he said in his first National Day address since coming to power in April.
Najib has launched a “One Malaysia” campaign to address barriers between the nation’s ethnic groups — Muslim Malays who dominate the population, and ethnic Chinese and Indian minorities.
The new premier is working to win back support from Malaysia’s minorities, who swung towards the opposition in national elections last year that handed the ruling coalition its worst ever results.
Racial and religious rows continue to erupt, including an incident on Friday when Muslim protesters trampled on a severed cow’s head in protest at the building of a Hindu temple.
Politicians from all sides condemned the explosive action, and police said they would launch an investigation over whether the act constituted sedition — an extremely serious charge.
However, the organisers were defiant, refusing to apologise and rejecting responsibility for the incident.
Veteran opposition lawmaker Lim Kit Siang said that racial politics had only increased in recent times, and that the “One Malaysia” campaign had failed to unite the country.
“There is a further polarization of race and religion, with the hardening of intolerant attitudes and stances, creating situations unseen or unheard of in the previous history of the nation,” he said.
“Let all patriotic Malaysians of goodwill recognise the danger signals to our plural society.”
Last month, the dramatic case of a Muslim model who was sentenced to be caned for drinking beer also highlighted concerns that the nation’s secular status is under threat as Islamic law becomes more influential.
Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno, 32, was arrested at a hotel nightclub and sentenced to six strokes of the cane, in a rare prosecution using religious laws that ban alcohol for Malaysia’s majority Muslim Malays.
As concerns mounted that Malaysia’s reputation as a moderate country was under threat, the authorities abruptly announced the case was to be reviewed and put the punishment on hold indefinitely.
Source: AFP
A question of fairness: PRs competing with citizens for Primary 1 places
By Bhaskaran Kunju, Political Correspondent
The ongoing debate over PRs balloting for places in schools with Singapore citizens seems to have once again deepened the divide between citizens and non-citizens. Readers have written in and commented online their thoughts on Mrs Sweta Agarwal’s letter which proved to be the catalyst in the debate. Most have taken offence with her insistence on PRs needing equal opportunities and questioned her intentions on not having taken up citizenship despite having been a PR for a considerable amount of time.
The incident has had me recalling my own past and I had mixed feelings over Mrs Agarwal’s predicament. I myself was once a PR and my family moved here at the start of last decade when I was just 7 years old.
Despite being born to a Singaporean father, Permanent Residency let alone Singapore Citizenship was hard to come by then. It was even more difficult to find a school to enroll in. Mind you, suitability and distance was not a factor in my parent’s consideration, getting into a school was the priority.
Unfortunately restrictions were strict and I distinctly recall being rejected by more than half a dozen schools from Yishun all the way down to Yio Chu Kang. Some wouldn’t even consider speaking to us when the term PR came up. Nevertheless, out of a random act of kindness on the part of one school Principal, we did find a school to enroll my sister and myself in, albeit more than a year later.
I have since received my citizenship, done all my years of schooling in Singapore, completed my National Service and am now enrolled in a local varsity. I can understand Mrs Agarwal point in wanting her child enrolled, as would anyone, but my sympathies end there. What Mrs Agarwal has failed to realise is that her child has not been denied the right to study and has never even come close to that situation. As someone who has come close to that, I hope, she realises how much more luckier her child is.
The predominant sentiment has been that citizens should be given a clear priority when it comes to enrolling their child in a school. The balloting process is competitive enough as it is for citizens, throwing in non-citizens into the mix only further complicates the process.
It is only fair that some amount of distinction is shown between citizens and non-citizens, be they PRs or foreigners, in every aspect of our system. It’s not discrimination but the most basic of principles that the rights, needs and wants of citizens should come before any other.
As MM Lee pointed out in his speech at the National Day Dinner for his constituency, there are sufficient places in schools for citizens and non-citizens alike, so Mrs Agarwal and other PRs should take heart that their child will not be left without a school.
The logical solution will be to include a separate round of balloting for PRs and non-citizens at the end. The onus on resolving this issue is on the Government and the Ministry of Education. Unfortunately no solution has been forthcoming, though this issue is not new, and has been brought up at least once a year for the past few years.
PM Lee focused on social cohesion in his National Day Rally and assimilating non-citizens into our population was part of it. Despite our conservative culture, I think we have been tolerant in accepting people of all races, creed and nationality. But if there is a perennial issue of citizens not feeling at home in their own country then there has to be a deeper problem that has not been addressed.
I strongly believe that despite complains of xenophobia as the reason from some quarters, the problem in fact lies in Singaporeans not being made to feel they are the priority and issues such as balloting for Primary 1 places only aggravates the problem.
I recall some comments made by Prime Minister Lee in December of 2006, some 6 months after the last elections. He said:
“While we have non-citizens here, citizens always come first. We have to treat them as the best, we have to treat visitors well too but citizens have to be treated better.”
He also added:
“Right now, PRs enjoy the same subsidies as Singaporeans for education and healthcare, and in fact in healthcare, foreign workers also receive subsidised treatment. I think we should make a clear difference – PRs should pay more than Singaporeans but less than other foreigners, there is a distinction. If you are not a PR and not a citizen, you should be given good treatment but we will not give you special privileges.”
Mr Zaqy Mohamad, MP for Hong Kah GRC agreed by saying:
“We got feedback from many Singaporeans and even from my own constituents that since everything’s equal for Singaporeans, foreigners and PRs, what’s so special about being Singaporean? To some extent, short of being nationalistic, PM’s message of ‘citizens first’ is well overdue. It’ll be much appreciated among Singaporeans who are wondering what’s in it for me holding that red passport.”
The assurance for Singaporeans is there, and in terms of payments in healthcare and education there is a difference between Singaporeans and non-citizens. Some 3 years on, the same distinction should be extended to other aspects as well.
As Mrs Agarwal pointed out, PRs pay taxes and contribute to society as well. While this is true I hope she is under no illusion that as a result Singapore or Singaporeans are somehow indebted to her. What Singapore and its population has given her in return is immeasurable.
It was a different time when my family moved to Singapore. The population was predominantly of citizens with PRs and foreigners being a small minority. What Mrs Agarwal is asking for and is already enjoying was difficult to even imagine when I was a PR. As of 2000, 7.2% of Singapore’s population was comprised of PRs and 18.8% foreigners.
In a reply to Ms Sylvia Lim’s question in Parliament in January 2007, on the number of immigrants that was expected to be added to Singapore’s population for the next 5 years, Home Affairs Minister, Mr Wong Kan Seng, provided the following figures.
“From 2001-2004, an average of 35,250 new permanent residents (PR) and 7,130 new Singapore citizens (SC) were granted per annum. In 2005, about 52,300 new PRs and 12,900 new SCs were granted. The average numbers of new PRs and SCs are 38,700 and 8,300 respectively, for the period 2001-2005. We could expect to add about 200,000 new PRs and 40,000 new SCs in the next 5 years if we get the same numbers of new PRs and SCs as in the last 5 years.”
The figures are indeed staggering and the number of PRs is fast becoming proportionately significant in comparison with citizens. Over time it might become difficult to make a distinction in terms of privileges of and treatment between citizens and non-citizens. This leads to another part of the ongoing debate. Why PRs who have shown no intention of gaining citizenship are allowed to carry on with their status quo.
In her last reply to the Straits Times, Mrs Agarwal said the matter was one of personal choice and presumably moot for discussion in public forums. While hers is, the matter in general is still debatable. In the same reply given by Mr Wong Kan Seng in 2007, he mentioned reasons for the increment in PRs and new citizens. He cited a falling birth rate among citizens and the need to augment our economy with skilled foreign immigrants as the reasons for encouraging immigration.
For the latter reason, I think it is important to distinguish between, those who are coming here for employment and those who are coming here to set their roots. In cases like Mrs Agarwal where the PR’s allegiance is with their home country and they have no intention of taking up citizenship, it is rather disheartening to note that Singapore is being used as a hostel of sorts.
A work permit with extended privileges should be sufficient. If a PR status is the best alternative then there must be restrictions in place when it comes to entitlements in healthcare and education for those who do not plan on converting to citizens. This is one reason why the issue has become such a hot topic over the past week.
If immigration is necessary, then we have to be more stringent in issuing PR or even citizenship status. Why offer PR status if their allegiance lies elsewhere. It’s difficult to define this by rule of Law, which is unfortunately how our Government has functioned. This isn’t wrong. Rule of law is needed to ensure a stable and consistent framework of governance. But as I mentioned earlier, there is a also a need to take into account matters of principles. Principles of rights, needs and wants of citizens must outweigh all other protocols wherever possible to ensure a contented society exists.
“Singapore must and will continue to welcome immigrants who can identify with our way of life and whose diverse talents can contribute to the vibrancy and viability of our country. The Government will monitor our population growth closely to ensure that the quality of life and well-being of Singaporeans will not be compromised as our population grows through careful urban planning and development.”
That was the assurance given by Mr Wong Kan Seng in 2007 and it might be time that the Government discussed this issue at length.
Related articles:
>> Sweta Agarwal proud to be Indian citizen and Singapore PR
>> PRs competing with citizens for Primary 1 places
>> MM Lee defends need for foreign talent
>> PRC student supports government’s plan for more foreign scholars
Other articles by Bhaskaran Kunju:
>> Why social cohesion is at the forefront of the Prime Minister’s National Day Rally
>> Changes in political system to allow more alternative voices
>> The untimely departure of Chip Goodyear
About the Author:
Bhaskaran Kunju is currently a political science undergraduate at the National University of Singapore
Singapore: A Model of Judgment for the United States?
By Tom Davenport from Harvard Business
We often talk about judgment with regard to individuals, but organizations and countries can have good and bad judgment as well. I was recently in Singapore for a SAS customer event. Every time I visit, it has struck me as a country with good judgment. Singapore just celebrated its forth-fourth birthday as an independent country, and it deserves to congratulate itself (although it rarely engages in self-congratulation — another aspect of good judgment). In fact, I’d argue that in many ways Singapore is a great example for the United States. Why? Here are a few reasons:
1. Singapore is a hardworking, disciplined country. It decides what it needs to do, and then does it. Every year for National Day, for example, the government publishes a list of challenges it needs to overcome. This year’s list included such bracing issues as “How to maintain high economic growth and improve living standard?” and “How to stamp out new diseases and keep health-care costs down?” There is also the lighter, but sociologically problematic challenge of “How to get younger Singaporeans to marry and have children?” The list of challenges is enormously appealing in its clarity and directness.
2. Singapore is obsessed with education — not just for children, but throughout life. Another of its declared challenges is, “How to design job-training programmes and wage supplement schemes for low-income older workers?” The country tops the ranks of educational achievement regularly. While it was once justifiably criticized for emphasizing rote learning, it has introduced programs that encourage creativity.
3. Singapore is a highly capitalist society, but its government plays a strong guiding role. Some of the country’s smartest citizens go into government. The government creates industrial policy and actively facilitates growth and capability-building in those areas. It did a masterful job emphasizing IT and building up that industry, and now it’s actively pushing biotech and services. For example, in services the government wanted to build on organizations with great service like Singapore Airlines and Raffles Hotel. So it encouraged Singapore Management University (a private university that was established by the government) to start an Institute for Service Excellence, and stimulated the development of a Singapore Customer Satisfaction Index that would be applied to all service industries.
4. Like the US, Singapore is a highly diverse society, with lots of citizens with Chinese, Malay, Indian, and Arab backgrounds. Yet they all seem to get along pretty well, and the country’s culture is greatly enriched by the diversity. Public housing is ethnically and religiously integrated. Other countries could probably use a version of its “Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act,” which prohibits religious rabble-rousing.
5. Singapore invests heavily in infrastructure — housing, roads, IT, airport (only one, but Changi is a very impressive facility). 83% of its citizens live in public housing, but it’s clean and well-maintained. The country is rolling out a new high-bandwidth fiber optic network. Buses and subways are clean and run on time.
6. Singapore’s economy is doing pretty well. It does anticipate a decline in GDP of about 5% this year, but there are signs of a strong recovery. Its stock market is booming. Its banks didn’t go crazy with subprime lending or bizarre derivatives. One economist told me that the Asian financial crisis of 1997 was worse than the current recession for Singapore.
Okay, it’s not a Utopian society. The government is a bit authoritarian for my tastes, but not as much as in the Lee Kuan Yew (its first prime minister from 1959 to 1990) days. The prohibitions against spitting and selling chewing gum are a little much — though I really like the clean streets. Yes, you may be caned if you misbehave, but it might be better than locking up the world’s highest proportion of citizens in jails. I feel that Singapore destroyed much of its interesting architecture in the headlong rush to modernize. And it seems to me that too many of its citizens are obsessed with luxury brands and conspicuous consumption. These are relatively minor concerns, however, compared to the country’s strengths. And many of the seemingly autocratic regulations might be justified by the ethnic diversity and high population density of the country.
Singapore is tiny compared to the United States (and most other countries, for that matter), but that doesn’t mean it can’t be a model. Barack Obama keeps saying that we need to buckle down and work hard to build an economy based on real production, not hollow financial chicanery. We need a little more social order, and a little less individualism. Singapore has already pulled off both objectives, and continues to provide a good example of good judgment for the United States and the rest of the world.
Source: Harvard Business
Emerging Asia’s middle class – a force to be reckoned with
By Finfacts Team
Asia’s middle class is one of the fastest growing population groups in the world. According to the World Bank, the middle class of South and East Asia accounted for 1.4% of the global population and 2.1% of global income in 2000. By 2030, the World Bank forecasts that this same group will account for 8.9% of the population and 7.7% of global income – - much higher than the middle class growth in other developing regions, according to Deutsche Bank Research.
There are two reasons for Asia’s better prospects. One: faster population growth in South Asia means that these countries’ middle classes are growing more quickly. Two: although the population in East Asia is growing more slowly than in other regions, its annual per capita income growth is much higher (almost twice that in Sub-Saharan Africa) so it will still increase its share of global income in that time frame. The burgeoning of Asia’s middle class makes it an important consumer market, an engine of economic growth in the region, and an important global political force.
DBR says China’s National Bureau of Statistics defines the urban middle class (2nd quintile to 4th quintile groups) as households with disposable per-capita income between RMB 8,900 ($1,300) to RMB 16,386 ($2,400). In India, according to the McKinsey Global Institute, a lower middle class household earns between $8,000 and $15,000 annually.
A growing consumer market
DBR says in its recent report, that the potential of Asian (especially Chinese) consumers to take up the mantle from the US as “world consumer of last resort,” has captured the imagination of many observers in recent months. For that to happen, the surge of the middle class would be a key ingredient. Current projections, alas, show that it will likely take a long time for emerging Asia to match the US’s consumption prowess. Nevertheless, the emergence of a large and dynamic middle class raises Asia’s profile as an attractive market destination in its own right. It heralds a rise in earnings and disposable income (defined as post-tax income available for spending and saving). The DBR economists say that studies demonstrate that as income increases, a smaller percentage of it is spent on necessities such as food and more is spent on optional items. Thus, it is evident that in comparison to lower-income households, the middle class has a greater amount of discretionary income (i.e. income available after taxes and essentials such as food and shelter are taken care of) to use and it will be more diversified in its consumption choices.
The DBR economists say that for essential purchases such as food, middle class consumers may tend to switch consumption to more expensive, better tasting foods or spend more time eating out. In addition, this demographic group will spend a larger percentage of their income on non-essential categories.
In a study of 13 developing countries (including India and Indonesia) by Banerjee and Duflo (2008) about the middle class and consumption, they found that the share of expenditure devoted to entertainment went from virtually zero for the very poor to 1-5% of total income for those in the next income group which had per capita expenditure of $6-8 per day. This trend continued at the different income levels. Similar results can also be found for consumption on alcohol, healthcare, household goods and infrastructure (such as utilities). This can help explain the boom in consumer products such as televisions and mobile phones throughout Asia. As income levels continue to rise, the middle class not only diversifies its spending but also increasingly demands more quality and innovation in the goods that it purchases. This drives competition amongst suppliers and the opportunity to target goods to specific niches of consumers.
Along with demand for traditional consumer products, the demand for a variety of financial services increases in many countries as the middle class expands. In many Asian nations, there is evidence of an increased reliance on credit (in particular personal credit cards) to finance expenditures. In countries such as Malaysia and Singapore which already boast more than one credit card per person, this simply means additional or supplementary credit cards in a household while in other places such as India this entails capturing first time users.
There is also evidence of increased lending for personal mortgages in some countries. For instance, in India, the amount of mortgage loans outstanding grew over 25% between 2006 and 2007 and over 12% between 2007 and 2008. More sophisticated financial services, such as investment advice or trust and estates preparation, have generally been geared towards the high-net-worth segments of the population. However, this trend is also shifting and these products are being increasingly marketed to the middle class populations in the region.
Household wealth will be adversely affected by asset market corrections
DBR says that during the ongoing global financial crisis, the MSCI Emerging Asia stock index fell 66% peak-to-trough. It says there are no easily comparable statistics on equity investment by Asian households.
For instance, portfolio investment (which includes stocks and government bonds) accounted for 37% of Taiwanese households’ gross financial assets and 28% of net assets in 2006, down from 43% and 31%, respectively, in 2002. In India mutual funds accounted for 7.7% of households’ total financial assets in 2007/08, up sharply from only 1% in 2003/04. And according to a 2007 survey, 32% of Hong Kong’s adult population were stock owners and 36% were stock investors, with the average investor earning HKD 22,000 a month. Judging from local bourses’ statistics, participation of domestic retail investors is relatively high in Korea (around 50% of trading value in 2008), and somewhat lower in Malaysia (41% of total trading value as of April 2009). In the case of Thailand local retail investors accounted for 54% of total turnover at the Stock Exchange of Thailand in 2008 and estimates for China put the share of retail investors at around 50-60%.
Australia and Emerging Asia
The Australian Minister of Trade Simon Crean, said in Melbourne on Wednesday: “We are putting some key markers in place and earlier this month, I was in Singapore meeting with trade ministers from the Asian region. In Singapore, we committed to redouble our efforts to ensure that the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement comes into force on January 1, 2010. This is a region that is home to 600 million people and with a GDP of more than A$3 trillion (€1.75 trillion).
In Singapore, we also resolved to work towards further regional economic integration with senior officials examining a Free Trade Area spanning the ASEAN region – plus six other countries. That is the ten nations of ASEAN (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam) plus China, Korea, Japan, India, Australia and New Zealand. This would create a trade region with a combined GDP of A$16.5 trillion.”
Crean said Australia is a country of just 22 million people. Its landmass may be positioned on the periphery of Asia, but Asia is absolutely central to Australia’s trade and investment future.
Australia’s top three export categories are: coal, iron ore and education services.
Research by the Australian Farm Institute in 2007, examined recent trends in animal protein demand in 12 Asian nations and developed projections of likely demand trends over the period to 2020. Future demand trends are based on population growth rates, increasing consumer wealth, and trends in consumer diet preferences.
Over the period to 2020, the research projects that annual beef, pork, chicken and dairy product demand within these 12 nations will increase by between 30 and 50%. This is projected to result in increased import demand for 1.9 million tones (Mt) of beef, 1.2 Mt of pork, 1 Mt of chicken meat and 5.2 Mt of dairy products. These are very large increases compared with current volumes of international trade in these products.
The research also indicated that there will be additional demand created for between 350 and 450 Mt of feedgrains by 2020, a 20–30% increase on then global production levels.
Source: finfacts.com
From beer to banks, Singapore Inc. expands across Asia
By Bernice Han from AFP
Next time you stay in a luxury resort, buy a loaf of bread, open a bank account, sit on a massage chair, grab a sushi or sip a beer anywhere in Asia, check the company’s country of origin.
Chances are you are dealing with a brand based in Singapore, the affluent city-state that has broken beyond its compact size to become a regional economic powerhouse.
With the global economy apparently on the mend, Singapore Inc. is all set to reap the benefits of stepped-up spending by Asia’s middle and upper classes in the coming years.
Singapore Airlines has long been an iconic brand, but newer names like resort and spa operator Banyan Tree have established themselves as top-tier players in the region, and their ambitions go even further.
“From the very beginning when we created Banyan Tree, we said that we needed to be a global company,” the firm’s founder and executive chairman Ho Kwon Ping said at a recent news conference.
“If you don’t globalise… you eventually stagnate,” he added.
Conceived in Singapore and born on the territory of an abandoned tin mine on the Thai island of Phuket 15 years ago, Banyan Tree has established itself as a leading luxury hospitality chain rivaling the likes of Four Seasons.
It is working to spread its formula of Asian romance, rejuvenation and sensuality to other continents with exclusive properties costing as much as 3,300 US dollars a night to stay in.
Over the next 12 months, the chain expects to open resorts in the United Arab Emirates as well as Acapulco, Mexico.
Other Singaporean companies are enjoying similar success throughout the Asian region, establishing themselves in a diverse field of industries.
OSIM, a maker of electronic massage chairs and other lifestyle products like air purifiers, has over 1,100 outlets spread across 28 countries concentrated mainly in the region.
“Singapore is a small country with a small domestic market, therefore it is critical for us to grow an external economy with Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia and now China,” OSIM founder and chief executive Ron Sim told AFP.
“Going forward, we believe that Korea and Japan are markets we are looking forward to, and India will be key too,” he said.
Budget carrier Tiger Airways is also becoming a mainstay in the travel industry, having established a wide network across the Asia-Pacific region with flights to 19 destinations from Singapore.
“Asia remains a priority,” said Rosalynn Tay, Tiger Airways’ managing director for Singapore.
“The region has a large population base and air transport remains the most practical mode of transport.”
It is not to be mistaken for Tiger Beer, now one of the most popular beverages in Southeast Asia.
First brewed locally in 1932 when Singapore was still under British colonial rule, it has won over drinkers beyond the region thanks to aggressive marketing and expansion of brewing operations to key markets.
Bakery chain BreadTalk, which gained instant success at home with its freshly baked buns, has moved on to build a loyal base of customers in Indonesia, the Philippines, China and Hong Kong.
Sakae Sushi, a restaurant that serves affordable Japanese food on conveyor belts, now has more than 70 outlets throughout the region including the main cities of Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines and China.
Crystal Jade Culinary Concepts, a restaurant group founded here by a Hong Kong family 18 years ago, now has restaurants in Vietnam, South Korea, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand and China.
It even has branches in Hong Kong, competing with the best Cantonese restaurants on their own turf.
Singapore’s three local banks — DBS Group Holdings, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp and United Overseas Bank — are also well established with branches and affiliates spread across Asia.
Serviced apartment operator Ascott Group can lay claim to be the largest in its industry with 25,000 units in 66 cities in Asia, Europe and the Gulf region.
In China alone, Ascott runs over 5,000 serviced residence units in 12 cities, the company said.
“Having a global network of properties gives us economies of scale and the cross-selling opportunities across different regions and properties,” said chief executive Lim Ming Yan.
The company is planning to open its first property in Georgia by the end of this year and in Kazakhstan in the second-half of 2010, he said.
Source: AFP
Guan Eng and the meaning of Merdeka
From The Malaysian Insider
PETALING JAYA, Aug 30 — Penang chief minister Lim Guan Eng issued his Merdeka greeting today and took the opportunity to slam the federal government for its attacks on the opposition and for toppling the Pakatan Rakyat administration in Perak.
In his message, the DAP secretary-general also asked the government to take measures to contain the H1N1 outbreak while offering condolences to the family of the victims
“Only by returning the power to the Perak people to decide their government can the real meaning of Merdeka come alive again in Malaysia,” Guan Eng said in his statement released on the eve of Merdeka Day.
But his main message lashed out at the ruling Barisan Nasional government and its media for stoking racial sentiments.
“After more than half a century of independence, there are still quarters who play the race-card. The mainstream media owned by the ruling parties such as Utusan Malaysia, Berita Harian, New Straits Times and TV3 have played the role in efforts to incite the people to hate on racial and religious grounds,” he said.
“The action to drag an animal’s head to insult a particular race is irresponsible, uncivilised and against racial harmony and the meaning of Merdeka,” he said, adding the contemptuous act should be replaced with mutual respect, trust and genuine friendship to overcome racial problems.
Guan Eng claimed the people’s trust in the federal government has receded due the one-sided treatment by government agencies against Barisan’s political rivals, citing the corruption probe focused on DAP lawmakers, the death of DAP political aide Teoh Beng Hock, and the inaction over the RM12.5 billion PKFZ scandal involving Barisan leaders.
He also said after 52 years of Merdeka, the government is still ignoring the welfare of the people both in West and East Malaysia, noting the Penans in the Sarawak interior face food shortages and are living in a dire situation.
“What is the meaning of development and benefits of progress championed by the Barisan government if the people are near starvation?” Guan Eng asked.
He said Merdeka is based on democracy and not replacing colonisers with local leaders who do not respect freedom, justice, truth, people’s welfare and piety to God.
“Only by upholding these principles can the people enjoy the fruits of the economy, share the nation’s wealth and overcome the country’s economic problems,” he added.
Source: The Malaysian Insider
Selective news blackout on findings of UBS study by state media
From our Correspondent
The findings of the authoritative worldwide study conducted and released by UBS lately “Price and Earnings 2009″ was widely reported in the international and regional papers.
However, other than a short article on Singapore overtaking Hong Kong in terms of cost living, the state media did not publish any further write-ups or analyses of the study.
The state media is well-known of giving extensive coverage of international studies and surveys which put Singapore in a good light, e.g. being the least corrupted Asian country in rankings done by Transparency International, highest GDP per capita etc.
When it comes to studies which are critical of Singapore or whose results protray Singapore in a less than flattering manner, they are usually either censored completely as in the state media’s pathetic annual rankings on the World Press Freedom Index conducted by Reporters Without Borders or given selective reporting like in the UBS study.
In some cases, the latest studies are ignored while outdated ones are used to spin a positive image of Singapore. For example, the state media used a study conducted three years ago in 2006 to give the impression that Singaporeans are a “happy lot” while the latest results released by the National Economics Foundation on the Global Happiness Index in which Singapore fared less than ideally, were completely ignored.
The UBS study revealed that Singapore has the lowest wages and domestic purchasing power among the Asian Tigers. Though Singapore is technically a first world country, most Singaporeans do not enjoy the equivalent standard of living.
An average wage earner in Zurich, Switzerland can buy an Apple iPod nano after nine hours of work. A Singapore worker will have to work three times longer to afford the same product.
The study also shows that Singapore is plagued by a high cost of living, long working hours and low relative purchasing power of wages. Our standard of living is closer to Russia than Switzerland, which was the target set by then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong in the 1990s when he promised Singaporeans a “Swiss standard” of living within a decade. The term was never heard or used again by the state media.
The mass media play a critical role in keeping citizens informed of current affairs, local developments and international trends. It appears that the Singapore media is more concerned about maintaining the “infallible” image of its political master than presenting the objective truth to Singaporeans for them to assess and judge.
Brainwashed by years of relentless government spins and propaganda, it is no surprise that many Singaporeans have high regard of the ruling party. Some have a limited world view and develop a superiority complex with the erroneous impression that Singaporeans enjoy a far higher standard of living than neighboring countries.
In fact, the upper and middle classes of some developing countries in the region like Malaysia, China and Thailand live a better quality of life than the average Singaporean. However, the state media often report negative news about these countries, e.g. robberies in Malaysia, to mislead readers.
As the UBS study has shown, Singaporeans are really not that better off than their counterparts in the region despite our economy’s impressive GDP figures. Though we may earn more than others, we have to work far longer hours and pay for a higher cost of living.
The selective censorship employed by the state media is another blatant attempt to keep the Singapore “illusion” alive for its denizens because a one-party state can only survive if the citizenry is kept perpetually contented, apathetic and ignorant.
An analysis of the UBS study by Eugene Yeo:
>> Part 1: Singapore has lowest wages and domestic purchasing power among Asian Tigers
>> Part 2: Moving towards a Russian standard of living
>> Part 3: Why Singaporeans are paupers in a first world economy
Unions’ new battle plan is to raise productivity in one sector only
From our Correspondent
Our state union are embarking a new course to curb the retrenchment problems in Singapore by increasing productivity.(Read report here).
With proven statistics that Singapore’s labour productivity dropped by 15.4 per cent in the first three months of this year compared to the same period last year, their battle plan is to prepare the country for take-off when the global economy recovers.
Labour chief Lim Swee Say had in recent weeks spelt out how companies can help raise productivity.
One way is by introducing new technologies and designing innovative products and services. Other ways are to find new markets, generate more revenue from existing markets and to get workers to go for skills training.
Mr. Lim used his football analogy and is now going on the offensive to increase productivity with an absolute objective to upgrade workers to be more competitive.
I do understand that from Mr. Lim’s notion to increase productivity is to appeal to the new markets that have the potential to invest in Singapore and upgrading workers to compete with the increasing competition from our neighbouring countries. His targets are the services sector where most locals are employed, namely- hotels, retail and food & beverage.
While he managed to point out the reducing productivity as a major flaw, it would be also great that Mr.Lim could focus on other sectors as well and not be concentrated on the service sector.
Mr. Lim had gone back to focus on the same problem which was addressed in 2005 by Minister of State for Trade and Industry Lee Yi Shyan. Go The Extra Mile for Service (Gems) drive has helped Singapore moved to 10th place last year is already starting on its second phase this year.
Surely, we would want Mr. Lim to identify other problem areas that needed attention.
We gather from forums that stories of fresh graduates taking jobs that don’t pay them well, simply because times are hard and the older work force not being able to find jobs.
Moreover, the report on the month of May stated that the second wave of layoffs triggered by the beleaguered manufacturing sector. The sector, which had a first round of mass layoffs between January and March, is ’still okay’ for the second quarter.
What is of ‘greater concern’, he said, is how it will perform in the second half of the year. At this report, he addressed the need to stay competitive and not be complacent although our employment rates are one of the lowest.
It would be better that he could seek out other problematic areas to battle the competition.
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