TR EMERITUS

From The Age Peter Martin April 2, 2010 VICTORIA has become one of the toughest places in Australia to find a job, despite creating full-time jobs at a blistering pace of more than 200 a day. The paradox is revealed in the latest job vacancy survey from the Bureau of Statistics, which found there were 33,000 positions vacant in February, but 171,000 people looking for work - equating to an average of 5.1 potential applicants for each job. Only in Tasmania were things worse for job seekers, with 6.7 competing for every vacancy. Victoria shared honours for the second toughest market with Queensland, which has five unemployed for each vacancy. New South Wales was better, with 4.3 potential applicants for each job, and Western Australia was way out in front with only 2.5 unemployed per vacancy. While the figures appear gloomy for Victorians, they could also be seen as a sign of prosperity. ''Victoria and Queensland look bad in part because people are moving there looking for jobs,'' said labour market specialist Mark Wooden, of the Melbourne Institute. ''Traditionally it's been Queensland's problem. People move there because they like the weather and opportunities. It's had strong employment growth offset by even stronger population growth. ''That's how it's becoming in Victoria. Our vibrant economy is drawing people in. You could look at it as a good problem to have. In South Australia, by contrast, people are leaving, making it easier for those who remain to find jobs.'' But with many people moving interstate for work, Professor Wooden said the figures were not straightforward. ''We will see people from Melbourne and Sydney flying to Western Australia to get mining jobs, and people from Perth flying to get mining jobs as well.'' The job vacancy survey, which the bureau has reinstated after a two-year absence, differs from other jobs survey because it samples all employers, rather than just those who advertise. Despite the resources boom, only 5000 of Australia's 107,000 job vacancies were in mining, with the biggest category being ''administrative and support services'', with 20,000 vacancies. In the past six months the number of full-time jobs in Victoria has jumped by 36,500 - more than any other state. The latest figures show Australia's unemployment rate steady at 5.3 per cent, its lowest rate in a year and well below the budget forecast of 8.5 per cent. The Reserve Bank board will meet on Tuesday to consider interest rates, with about half of 19 forecasters surveyed by Reuters expecting a quarter of a percentage point rise, which would take the cash rate to 4.25 per cent and the standard variable mortgage rate above 7 per cent. Trade figures for February, released yesterday, showed exports falling 1 per cent and imports rising 2 per cent. Source:http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/dark-side-of-the-boom-20100401-ri87.html  Read More →

Written by Our Correspondent Singapore Democratic Party Secretary-General Dr Chee Soon Juan has written another letter to the Straits Times Forum, his second in less than a month, this time to clarify that he did not "oust" Mr Chiam See Tong from the SDP. Dr Chee was writing in response to the comments made by Mr Chiam's wife, Ms Lina Loh in an interview with Lianhe Zaobao last Sunday in which she lashed out at the former for "plotting" Chiam's exit. Her stunning revelations divided the opposition camp with some questioning her motives and intelligence in going to the PAP-controlled media with her story and others throwing brickbats at Dr Chee for his "treatment" of Mr Chiam. Dr Chee clarified in his latest letter again that Mr Chiam See Tong had resigned as SDP Secretary-General in 1993 when no central executive committee (CEC) members supported a motion he proposed and that he was not forced out by anybody. On the contrary, SDP did not announce his resignation for about a month during which several CEC members including himself, had visited Mr Chiam to persuade him to change his mind but to no avail. "Mr Chiam insisted he would return as secretary-general only if we gave him sole power to appoint and dismiss CEC and cadre members.......After it was decided that the CEC could not accede to his demands and his resignation became public, Mr Chiam spoke at a Singapore Press Club gathering where he attacked his own party......It was only after Mr Chiam's serious attack in his press club speech that the CEC acted and voted overwhelmingly to expel him," Dr Chee wrote. He added that the PAP has been "capitalizing" on this controversy to hit out at him and his only wish is to record that he did not force Mr Chiam out. SDP reached its height of success during the 1991 general elections when it won an unprecedented three seats in Parliament which were all lost in the subsequent election. The party was sued by the Singapore government for defamation during the 2006 general elections over an article in its newsletter implicating it in the NKF fiasco and is in danger of being wounded up. While SDP appeared to have gain some support from the voracious online community in recent years, it will be an uphill task for it to regain the trust and confidence of the majority of the conservative electorate. Rather than clarifying matters, Dr Chee's letter may reinforce the public perception that the Singapore opposition is too weak and divided to mount a credible challenge to the PAP, let alone be entrusted to run the country.     EDITORS’ NOTE: Please join our Facebook page here and invite your friends to do so as well.    Read More →

The Malaysian Insider, 2 April 2010 Datuk Seri Najib Razak is in a stronger position today than he was 12 months ago, when he was appointed Malaysia’s sixth prime minister, a recent survey has shown. Then, his approval rating was a dismal 44 per cent; the economy was slipping into unforgiving negative territory, and he seemed vulnerable as he was pelted by bad news everywhere he turned. Today, the proportion of Malaysians satisfied with his performance as the PM stands at 68 per cent, the highest it has been since the Merdeka Center for Opinion Research began tracking his approval ratings in April 2009, the month he replaced Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in Putrajaya. Merdeka Center polled 883 registered voters in West Malaysia between March 11 and March 27, and the questions covered the direction of the country, public satisfaction with the prime minister, and perception of some of his key initiatives. A summary of the survey was obtained by The Malaysian Insider. The pollster noted that, since June 2009, satisfaction levels with Najib’s performance as premier has hovered in the 65 per cent range, plummeting sharply once to 56 per cent in September last year, in the wake of the cow head protest by mainly Umno members against the construction of a Hindu temple in Shah Alam and the death of DAP aide, Teoh Beng Hock, while in the custody of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC). In the latest survey, 68 per cent of the respondents said that they were satisfied with the prime minister’s performance. This upward trend occurred despite issues that erupted recently, such as the “Allah” controversy and subsequent attacks on places of worship. Najib’s improved numbers is also the result of a recuperating economy, along with an opposition which has been troubled by defections and infighting. Read rest of article here.  Read More →