TR EMERITUS

Written by Our Correspondent PAP Minister without portfolio and NTUC Secretary-General Lim Swee Say has issued a call on his own party and government to "restore" part of employers' CPF contribution rate to workers in the aftermath of the Singapore economy's "strong" performance in the first quarter of the year. While the CPF contributions of Singapore workers have remained constant at 20 percent, the rate of employers has been cut several times, the last being in 2003 when it was reduced to 13 percent though it was subsequently raised to 14.5 percent in 2007. Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong who had earlier called on employers to restore wage cuts gave a vague and non-commital answer when contacted by the media: "The Government will consider carefully the call by the labour movement to restore the employer CPF contribution rate in view of the strong recovery and robust outlook of Singapore's economy, taking into account employers' concerns on business competitiveness," he was quoted as saying in the Straits Times today. Nominated MP Teo Siong Seng, however felt that "a restoration should wait a year or two as the external environment was still uncertain." He had previously voiced out against the government's move to raise levies for foreign workers, arguing that it may affect the SMEs. Singapore workers are always ask to "sacrifice" during economic downturns, but their wages don't seem to go up by much when the economy recovers. Despite the rosy GDP growth figures, the labor market remains tight and young Singaporeans are still struggling to start families of their own with their meager pay and astronomical prices of HDB flats. There are no independent trade unions in Singapore to fight for the interests of Singapore workers. NTUC is a pseudo-PAP organization which is always led by a PAP Minister. How can Mr Lim Swee Say claim to represent the interests of Singapore workers when he is part of the government too? Draconian laws were also put in place by the PAP to curtail the rights of Singaporeans. There is no opposition in Parliament to speak up for the common folks in the street who continue to live a life of abject slavery under PAP rule. The call by Mr Lim is just another "wayang" to show Singaporeans that NTUC is "doing something". However, with elections around the corner, one cannot discount the possibility entirely that the PAP will raise the employers' CPF rates by a token percentage to "sweeten" the ground for it.   EDITORS’ NOTE: Please join our Facebook discussion on this article here and invite your friends to do so as well to raise awareness among fellow Singaporeans.   Copyright © 2009 – 2010 The Temasek Review (If you are going to reproduce this article on your blog or forum, please provide a link back to ours)  Read More →

[email protected] Eat your heart out, fellow commoner. Our editorial team tours the globe this week to find the world’s richest athletes and provide you with their stunning earning figures. Data from the Sports Preview website and correct as of the summer of 2009. _________________________________________________________________________________ 100% Statistics, based of the sportsperson’s estimated annual earnings from playing and from endorsements for the year up to August 2009. _________________________________________________________________________________ 8 ) Ronaldinho, Brazil, Football (US$34.5m per annum) Many may consider Ronaldinho as a has-been, after all, he may not even be going to the upcoming World Cup at all. However, he pay check is likely to suggest otherwise. The Brazilian has massive contracts with first Barcelona and later AC Millan. On top of that, a large chunk of his annual income comes from endorsements with Nike, Pepsi and Cadbury. 7) LeBron James, United States, Basketball (US$35.5m) For a while now, people has been calling LeBron James as the “next Michael Jordan”. On the court, he still has some way to go to reach that status, but in terms of money-making he is perhaps much closer to Jordan. He signed a $90-million contract with Nike even before he started playing professionally and that payout is still contributing significantly to his multi-million annual take home salary. 6) Kobe Bryant, United States, Basketball (US$36.2m) A rape accusation back in 2003 may have threatened to ruin his career, but Bryant had certainly bounced back. He won the NBA Champions with LA Lakers last year and was named as the Finals MVP (Most Valuable Player). Besides a multi-million contract with Nike, Bryant has lucrative contracts with Coca-Cola, Nutella and McDonald’s. He also has his own series of video games made by Nintendo. 5) Kimi Raikkonen, Finland, Formula One (US$40.7m) The unflappable Finn may no longer be a Formula One driver, but in 2009, he was the highest paid Formula One driver with Ferrari. He repaid his team justly when he won the World Drivers’ Championship in 2008 but was deemed no longer good enough for the 2010 season. Raikkonen is currently taking part in the World Rally Championship, where he is expected to be paid just a small fraction of his salary he once drew from Ferrari. 3) Phil Mickelson, United States, Golf (US$41.7m) Mickelson earned $10million in prize money in 2009 and the rest from appearance and sponsorship fees. Currently in his 18th year as a professional golfer, he has won every major title in the sport, though his achievements are somewhat overshadowed by fellow American Tiger Woods. His endorsements deals include those with Ford, Rolex and Callaway golf clubs. 3) Michael Jordan, United States, Basketball (US$41.7m) Tied at third sort is ex-Basketball player Michael Jordan. The fact that he is still drawing over US$40m a year six years after retirement is a testament to his legacy in the game. Nowadays, Jordan still works as the director of basketball operations for Charlotte Bobcats, but bulk of his annual income comes from royalties paid to him by Nike for the Nike Jordan brand. 2) David Beckham, England, Football (US$46.8m) At 35, Beckham is at the tail-end of his career, playing domestic football for both AC Milan and LA Galaxy. The MLS club reportedly pays him US$5m a year and the rest of his fortunes come from huge endorsement deals with Adidas, Motorola and Pepsi. Recently, he stated that he is interested in football franchise ownership, which should not be a problem financially. Manchester United is for sale I heard? 1) Tiger Woods, United States, Golf (US$107m) In 2009, Tiger Woods’ annual income is nearly twice more than any other sports person on the planet. He has a multi-million contract with Nike and endorses American Express, Gillet, TAG Heuer, amongst others. This is all, of course, before his scandal broke out in late 2009. His comeback tournament at the Masters suggests that he is still to be reckoned with on the golf course, but he has already lost many of his global endorsements. Still, it may not be much of a bother to Tiger, whose entire wealth is estimated to be about US$750m.  Read More →

Reuters, 16 April 2010 Tibetans mourned their dead relatives in the stricken Chinese town of Gyegu today, as the death toll from a strong earthquake earlier this week climbed to 760. Addressing residents of Gyegu in remote and windswept Yushu county high on the Tibetan plateau late yesterday, Premier Wen Jiabao clambered over rubble and pledged continued rescue efforts. Survivors of Wednesday’s tremor spent the night huddled under quilts and in tents, while doctors struggled to treat the wounded in a makeshift medical centre. At a foothill under the main monastery of Gyegu, monks had gathered to chant Tibetan Buddhist mantras in front of piles of dead. Some helped residents look for kin among what appeared to be hundreds of bodies, collected on a covered platform. “Many of the bodies you see here don’t have families or their families haven’t come looking for them, so it’s our job to take good care of them,” said Lopu, a monk clad in maroon robes. “I’d say we’ve collected a thousand or more bodies here. Some we found ourselves, some were sent to us.” Some local Tibetans said they didn’t believe the official death toll estimate of 760, saying many more had died without being officially counted. Many more bodies had already been removed by family members, Lopu said. The actual death toll is still unclear, but the damage was mainly around Gyegu, where most of Yushu county’s 100,000 people reside. Estimates by NGOs support a figure of around 1,000 dead. Some 243 people are still listed as missing, and over 1,000 as “seriously injured”. In remarks translated into Tibetan to a receptive crowd, Premier Wen pledged that rescuers would not give up hope of finding people still trapped under rubble. But temperatures well below freezing at night leave little chance of anyone still surviving under collapsed buildings. Many injured locals spent a cold night in tents or outdoors waiting for medical aid. Harried doctors said they had had almost no sleep over the past two days. Some pregnant women were transferred 1,000km to the provincial capital, Xining, after at least two babies were born in tents outside Gyegu’s damaged hospital, the official Xinhua news agency reported. Chinese President Hu Jintao cut short a summit in Brazil, and cancelled a planned trip to Venezuela and Chile in order to return early to China. Convoys carrying tents, water, food, blankets and medical equipment continued to roll into Yushu county today. Chinese volunteer organisations and state media launched fund-raising and clothing drives. — Reuters  Read More →