TR EMERITUS

YPAP is the Youth Wing of the People’s Action Party, the ruling party in Singapore. Being the Youth Wing of a political party, it is thus natural to assume that the future leaders of Singapore will be groomed from within. YPAP leaders represent the new generation of PAP leaders and will be task with the responsibility of governing Singapore if PAP remains as the dominant party in the future. As the future leaders of Singapore,  a 1st World Country as claimed by the PAP, Singaporeans should expect nothing less than the following 10 (if not all) qualities from them: 1. A leader with vision has a clear, vivid picture of where to go, as well as a firm grasp on what success looks like and how to achieve it. 2. A leader must be able to communicate his or her vision in terms that cause followers to buy into it. He or she must communicate clearly and passionately, as passion is contagious. 3. A good leader must have the discipline to work toward his or her vision single-mindedly, as well as to direct his or her actions and those of the team toward the goal. Action is the mark of a leader. A leader does not suffer “analysis paralysis” but is always doing something in pursuit of the vision, inspiring others to do the same. 4. Integrity is the integration of outward actions and inner values. A person of integrity is the same on the outside and on the inside. Such an individual can be trusted because he or she never veers from inner values, even when it might be expeditious to do so. A leader must have the trust of followers and therefore must display integrity. Honest dealings, predictable reactions, well-controlled emotions, and an absence of tantrums and harsh outbursts are all signs of integrity. A leader who is centered in integrity will be more approachable by followers. 5. Dedication means spending whatever time or energy is necessary to accomplish the task at hand. A leader inspires dedication by example, doing whatever it takes to complete the next step toward the vision. By setting an excellent example, leaders can show followers that there are no nine-to-five jobs on the team, only opportunities to achieve something great. 6. Magnanimity means giving credit where it is due. A magnanimous leader ensures that credit for successes is spread as widely as possible throughout the company. Conversely, a good leader takes personal responsibility for failures. This sort of reverse magnanimity helps other people feel good about themselves and draws the team closer together. To spread the fame and take the blame is a hallmark of effective leadership. 7. Leaders with humility recognize that they are no better or worse than other members of the team. A humble leader is not self-effacing but rather tries to elevate everyone. Leaders with humility also understand that their status does not make them a god. Mahatma Gandhi is a role model for Indian leaders, and he pursued a “follower-centric” leadership role. 8. Openness means being able to listen to new ideas, even if they do not conform to the usual way of thinking. Good leaders are able to suspend judgment while listening to others’ ideas, as well as accept new ways of doing things that someone else thought of. Openness builds mutual respect and trust between leaders and followers, and it also keeps the team well supplied with new ideas that can further its vision. 9. Fairness means dealing with others consistently and justly. A leader must check all the facts and hear everyone out before passing judgment. He or she must avoid leaping to conclusions based on incomplete evidence. When people feel they that are being treated fairly, they reward a leader with loyalty and dedication. 10. Assertiveness is not the same as aggressiveness. Rather, it is the ability to clearly state what one expects so that there will be no misunderstandings. A leader must be assertive to get the desired results. Along with assertiveness comes the responsibility to clearly understand what followers expect from their leader. However, from this writer's 'experience' with 4 of the YPAP so-called 'future leaders' on the net,  namely Sear Hock Rong,  Eric How, Sinha Shekhar and Jack Lin, Singapore would be better off without them. Arrogant, Petty, Bombastic, Ignorant and Gangster-like are not qualities Singaporeans would want in their future leaders.  With these 'leaders', if the constant floodings did not sink Singapore, these 'leaders' definitely will. YPAP is supposed to be a camp grooming future leaders of Singapore but apparently they have failed miserably because they only managed to groom Monkeys fit for display in a Zoo.   Forecaster Extraordinarie II     Please join our Facebook page here and invite your friends to do so to create awareness of the current affairs affecting Singaporeans. Please use our online web form to contact us.  Read More →

According to PAP National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan, there is still an "imbalance" in the resale HDB market and it may take around a year or so before the prices "stabilize." "I think at this point in time, there's still an imbalance. I hope that with HDB pushing out a record number of flats this year, this imbalance will be redressed over the medium-term... I would expect in another year or so we should be able to stabilise everything," Mr Mah was quoted as saying in Channel News Asia. The prices of HDB flats have sky-rocketed in recent years, with the median COVs doubling in less than a year to more than $30,000 now. Mr Mah attributed the surge in prices to strong economic growth and increased demand from first-time buyers, but conveniently forgot to mention the presence of PRs in the resale market. Singapore PRs form a significant 20 percent of buyers in the resale market with some "spoiling" the market by paying higher than market prices for flats. The Straits Times reported an Indonesian PR who forked out an astonishing $653,000 for a resale 4 room flat in Queenstown last year though he could well afford a condominium. Mr Mah did not elaborate more on what he meant by "imbalance" in the resale market. He is likely to refer to the lack of supply of flats in the face of growing demand. The PAP had made known its ambitious plan to increase Singapore’s population to 6.5 million via immigration as early as 2005. However, only slightly more than 11,000 new flats were built between the years 2006 – 2008 when there were over 90,000 PRs and 20,000 new citizens alone in 2008: [Source: HDB Financial Report 2008/2009] Below is a graph illustrating how the rise in the prices of resale flats coincides with the rise in the number of foreigners in Singapore between the years 2000 and 2008, courtesy of Kojakbt, the moderator of 3in1kopitiam: The lack of foresight on the part of HDB to build more flats to house the rising number of immigrants is the chief reason behind the astronomical prices of HDB flats today which are pricing ordinary Singaporeans out of the market. Despite the evidence on the ground showing otherwise, PAP National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan continues to insist that HDB flats are “affordable” to Singaporeans and chides home buyers for being “fussy” and having “unrealistic” expectations.     Please join our Facebook discussion on this article here and invite your friends to do so as well to raise awareness among fellow Singaporeans. This page is maintained independently by a TR reader.   Copyright © 2009 – 2010 The Temasek Review  Read More →

OPINION The recent spate of floods - a total of five within 30 days has eroded public confidence in the PAP regime and dealt an irreversible blow to its aura of invincibility. The PAP has always proclaimed its leaders as the "best talents" Singapore can afford and thereby deserving of the highest salaries in the world. Naturally, Singaporeans expect nothing less than a perfect performance from their over-paid PAP ministers, but when their performance is found wanting, they are full of excuses to cover up for their incompetence and impotence. Short of apologizing to Singaporeans and coming up with concrete plans to prevent the floods from recurring, PAP ministers have been trying hard to downplay public expectations by insisting that it is "impossible to expect Singapore to be completely flood-free", a point driven home repeatedly by Environment Minister Yaacob Ibrahim and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. When the public response is less than desirable, they were quick to scurry behind the skirts of PAP strong Lee Kuan Yew who gave his characteristic condescending admonishment to "complaint-happy" Singaporeans: “How can you say the response is sufficient? But at the same time, whatever we do, when we get extraordinary rainfall like we had recently, no amount of engineering can prevent flooding. There is a limited amount of space that you can dig underground, limited amount of space that you can have run-offs for canals.” Are floods really unpreventable in Singapore? Do we have to put up with so many floods within so short a period of time? Has the PAP done its best to pre-empt such floods from happening in the first place? Despite having a "forecaster extraordinarie" who costs Singaporeans more than $3 million dollars a year, it is a shame that the PAP is unable to come up with a workable solution to resolve the acute problem plaguing Singapore which has cost us millions of dollars in damages and losses. In contrast, the Hong Kong government which costs only a fraction of the PAP regime, has adopted a proactive, instead of a reactive approach in tackling the problem of flooding since 2009. Hong Kong drainage and flood prevention projects: April 2009: - planned drainage tunnel that will run from Tai Hang to Cyberport, which will divert a third of the runoff from a downpour and reduce flooding along northern Hong Kong Island. - tightening laws to control dumping on private land. June 2009: -- removal of 300 large trees in busy areas to prevent endangering pedestrians and vehicles during heavy downpours. - setting up of eleven emergency control centers in the dpartments of Civil Engineering and Development, Architectural Services, Drainage Services, Highways and Water Supplies; more than 100 engineering and technical staff would co-ordinate emergency repairs and maintenance, and 30 works contractors would stand by during rainstorms and typhoons. - an emergency command system led by a regional project manager from the civil engineering department would be activated in case of a large emergency that involved more than one department.   July 2009: - construction of a sewage conveyance system from Aberdeen to Sai Ying Pun, on Hong Kong Island.   January 2010: - constructing a drainage tunnel in Lai Chi Kok that runs for 3.7 kilometres to divert rainwater from higher ground before it runs downstream to Lai Chi Kok, Cheung Sha Wan and Sham Shui Po and discharge it into the harbour near Stonecutters Island. Read rest of Hong Kong's flood prevention efforts here.   Conclusion Hong Kong is situated next to flood-prone Guangdong province which is hit  frequently by typhoons and flash floods. Instead of telling the Hong Kong people that "it is impossible to expect Hong Kong to be completely flood free" like the PAP regime, the Hong Kong SAR government has adopted a proactive stance in preventing the flooding from arising. Besides building more drainage canals and tunnels, the Hong Kong government has also developed a central command system to coordinate operations during heavy storms and typhoons and conducted frequent flood drills among residents in flood-prone areas. Who says floods are NOT preventable? Perhaps the PAP ministers should embark on a study trip to Hong Kong to learn how its government deal with its perennial flood problems.     Please join our Facebook page here and invite your friends to do so to create awareness of the current affairs affecting Singaporeans. Please use our online web form to contact us.  Read More →