TR EMERITUS

I read with interest the Opinion piece, “Malaysia GE: Youth voters remain a toss up” (ST, Nov 16) Firstly, let me explore its similarity with Singapore and compare its possible “implications” or influence between Malaysia and Singapore. Obviously, in this forthcoming Malaysia’s General Election, most leaders from respective political parties would like to engage them and win their votes. It was reported that youth under 30 make up six million, or almost one in four of all eligible voters in Malaysia. It is a considerable substantial number of voters who could shift the sentiments and the outcome of the GE. Similarly in Singapore’s political landscape, the subject of younger (young) voters seems to be seriously focused and heavily placed in a significant position in GE 2020 and the subsequent general elections by various political parties. As, Today’s commentary from Ambassador-at-large Chan Heng Chee iterated that those aged between 25 and 35 formed the biggest bulgy in its population pyramid during GE2020 According to Professor Chan, “the Workers’ Party understood this and chose youthful candidates and issues for the Zoomer generation……This online digital politics is now the new retail politics - up close and personal.” In her lecture, Prof Chan reiterated: “Clearly, this age group bought the opposition message of the need for diverse voices in Parliament and the need for checks and balances.” Further, in The Straits Times report dated 18 July 2020, the Minister for National Development at then said that, “To improve its performance in future elections, the People’s Action Party has to do a better job of appealing to young voters.” However, in 2020 Singapore GE, there was no solid statistical evidence to prove that most voters in Sengkang GRC voted three Workers Party’s candidates into the parliament were belonged to younger demographic voters. Nevertheless, the Workers Party’s victory in Sengkang GRC 2020 had caught PAP by big surprise. The GE2020 results might distinctively indicate that the young people have significant diverse life aspirations, expectations and priorities, as well as a hidden trend of generational shift. In fact, many sensitive or touchy issues which still centre on and linger in the minds of vast voters prior to and aftermath of the Singapore General Elections 2020. These issues would determine the sentiments and outcome for the subsequent GE. For examples, the issues which remain to be tackled by the Government: power imbalances, “freedom” of speech and expression, soaring prices and longer waiting time of BTO flats, rising healthcare costs, persistent inflation and increase of GST- which unavoidably affect the costs of living, and uncertainty of employment prospects as well as others. If all these issues could be well addressed and dealt with by the ruling party, then, regardless of having a peculiar demographic composition of younger voters or not is immaterial/insignificant in any electoral constituencies. Hence, it is too early to predict or say PAP will face real threats or similar challenges in next general election, even though WP had won another Sengkang GRC in General Election 2020. Undeniably, Sengkang trio MPs have the amazing qualities, their hard work on grounds and the sacrifices on their community commitments which earned sizeable admiration and appreciations from most young voters and the Sengkang residents. However, it is not impossible for PAP to mobilise its powerful ground machinery and resources to persuade the voters and win back Sengkang GRC in the forthcoming General Elections. It is much dependent upon what sorts of smart campaigning tactics they would deploy. In politics, it is unpredictable as if in any changeable war. None of the shrewd politicians is able to predict exactly the outcome of any elections or reading the voters’ minds. Although to a certain extent we can assume or claim that PAP politicians today are not necessarily shrewd or better than all the rest. Perhaps, the best is yet to come from the Opposition. But, it will all depend whether any best candidates would boldly step out from the “woods”. As this might be likened to another hidden “sleeping dragon” Zhuge Liang is yet to be called upon by “mission of turbulent era at then” and by this decade. Anyway, it is very significant for WP and the opposition parties to work extra hard, not to feel complacent about what they currently possess. Preferably, PAP would consider to abandon its paternalistic approach and “combative political tactics” in order to persuade and win greater number of voters. In despite of all the above, all political parties must plough their grounds deeply (in greater latitude and in-depth) to understand, digest and grasp the vast voters’ sentiments, diverse voices, thoughts and hearts so that they can score a commendable election results either in GE2024 or GE2025.   Teo Kueh Liang (Mr)      Read More →

Most multinational corporations have now mastered the art of flexibility and adaptation in the face of shifting economic conditions and supply chain issues after the global health crisis. They have incorporated digital markets, improved risk mitigation measures, alternate shipping and export providers, and creative financial solutions to adapt. Several businesses have been significantly affected in the last three years, including travel, tourism, entertainment, and restaurants, but possibilities have emerged for others. Some technology companies saw an increase in clients and revenue applications because their AR solutions offered robust virtual maintenance solutions to onsite staff. In light of that, here are five global trade trends that have dominated 2022. Many of these demonstrate how the international business community has come to terms with uncertainty as something they can and must flourish in. 1. Inflation isn't simply "temporary" All facets of international trade have clearly changed due to COVID-19. The increasing demand for work worldwide brought about by the remote-workforce economy and then slowly but surely restored industrial activity. One of the reasons why inflation has dominated most of 2022 is the war between Ukraine and Russia. This will inevitably result in a price increase for a wide range of products that use natural gas in their manufacturing. Sadly, inflation will probably last until 2023 and eventually affect foreign trade. 2. Forced dynamism Global cultural, political, and economic movements are compelled to give way to international trade. Because of the dynamic context in which it operates, global trade is a complicated subject. First, since businesses constantly push the boundaries of economic development, technology, culture, and politics, the surrounding international society and economic framework are also altered. Second, forces unrelated to international trade, such as advancements in science and IT, constantly force changes in how business is conducted. 3. The rate of digitalization is rising Lockdowns are not a reality anymore in most of the world, and more people are still choosing to work from home. Remote workers have been purchasing computers and other equipment to turn their houses into workplaces and unwind to, among others, their favorite casino games after applying the Croco casino login. Global internet traffic has increased as a consequence, and it will only continue to do so. This traffic is currently expected to exceed 3 zettabytes. Regardless of the size or industry, this presents a significant new potential for businesses to optimize their operations further. It has further increased competition in a variety of sectors, including healthcare, education, logistics, and AI. However, governments have also increased their data governance policies, going far beyond the established traditional privacy legislation, as a result of increasing digitalization. Unfortunately, these methods sometimes involve data-localization techniques, which could retard development and prevent the establishment of whole sectors. There have been initiatives taken to stop the emergence of new trade obstacles, and international agreements on digital trade will become much more frequent. 4. Cooperation between nations International organizations, treaties, and consultations are just a few ways that nations collaborate. By removing barriers to trade and laying down guidelines that clarify what businesses can and cannot do, such cooperation generally promotes the globalization of business. Cooperation between nations serves three purposes: 1. To benefit from mutual interests. 2. To address issues they cannot resolve on their own. 3. To address issues that transcend national boundaries. Nations can benefit from one another through agreements on several commercially-related activities, including trade and transportation. For instance, supranational unions have agreed to ease entry restrictions for goods and services produced outside their borders and protect foreign-owned businesses' assets. Additionally, nations work together to solve issues that they cannot resolve independently. Examples include coordinating national economic policies (including interest rates) to ensure that the global economy is not significantly disrupted and limiting imports of specific goods to protect endangered animals. Last but not least, nations establish deals on how to exploit places outside of any of their respective territories economically. 5. Diversification of Asian manufacturing Over 90% of tariffs in the 15-nation Asian bloc led by China are expected to be eliminated by RCEP, the new Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. The accord, which excludes the United States, will quicken trends brought on by supply chain concerns, trade tensions between the United States and China, and other factors. Due to this, businesses have been compelled to construct facilities in nations like Vietnam, Thailand, and Singapore. For instance, Chinese exports of cell phones, the most intricately made high-tech consumer commodity, decreased 19.7% from $20.6 billion to $16.5 billion in November. Despite the 18.8% drop a year earlier, the nation still churned out 88.7 million phones. The emergence of novel supply chains throughout Asia is the reason for the most significant increase in imports from every major region ( a 34.9% increase in Chinese purchases from ASEAN nations in November, from $28.5 to $38.5 billion.) Comparatively, shipments from the United States jumped by 22.1% to $17.8 billion, while those from the EU only went up by 6.8%, from $25.6 billion to $27.3 billion. The bottom line There will be many adjustments and changes in the remaining few days of 2022, some anticipated and others not. It is tough to foresee 2023 global trade conditions with precision. Fortunately, those who accept this reality are advancing with creativity and invention. In so doing, they are better positioned to achieve benefits and find solutions that might usher in a new era of resilience and advancement for global business.      Read More →

MAS said that FTX is not licensed to operate in Singapore. Someone told me that 40,000 Singaporeans have opened an account with FTX and that the amount deposited in FTX exceeded $1 billion. I have not been able to verify these figures. If FTX is not licensed to operate in Singapore, it would be illegal for them to market their activities and collect deposits from Singapore residents. It would also be illegal for financial advisers, introducers or influences to market the unlicensed platform to Singapore residents. If MAS was aware about these illegal activities (from FTX or the financial advisers, introducers or influencers), it would be incumbent on MAS to stop these activities and bring charges against the offenders. Why did MAS not act against the offenders. Was it possible that MAS was totally unaware about FTX? Did anybody make any enquiry with MAS about the license status of FTX? Perhaps MAS should clarify this point.   Tan Kin Lian      Read More →