TR EMERITUS

[Letter first appeared in transitioning.org an unemployed support site run by Gilbert Goh.] Singaporean PMET working in Citibank fears displacement by Indian superior Hi Gilbert, Thanks for your swift reply. I will provide more details. I am currently working in CitiBank. During the earlier years, we have a good blend of local and foreign talent from India, Philippines and Malaysia. However, it all changed 2 years ago. This was due to restructuring and cost cutting. They only allow certain vendors to provide resource when hiring manager, including yours truly. I have 6 people reporting to me and all are from India since I have no other alternative to hire resource. The worst happened when my boss was asked to leave last year as management refresh alignment and they hired a new guy from India. This person has high self esteem and never take his subordinates feedback into consideration. What’s more, he treats people whom are below his rank with no respect. Now, he is targeting me as I’m the only local and non-Indian in the organization chart. He speaks and jokes loudly during meeting using only Indian language. He’s oblivious to others. He shouts and uses abusive language when he wants work done by me and my team. Latest update, he wanted to remove me claiming that I do not come up to his expectations. All of my records with Citibank has always been beyond average. He has escalated to HR on the out-going process and I am now at mercy of this manager. I have 2 babies to feed. I have a 2 month old baby and 2 year old toddler. How could I quit in impulse? Regards, Larry [Transition Editor’s note: We have verified the writer’s employment with Citibank.]  Read More →

LG Ng Chee Meng Speaking to the media yesterday (1 Jul), Chief of Defence Force Lieutenant-General (LG) Ng Chee Meng said Singapore's 3rd generation military is progressing well, and is at an "advanced stage". LG Ng said SAF is now in a position of strength. "Today, we can bring lethal firepower at a very short time to hit moving targets - one shot, one kill,” said LG Ng. “This is a capability that few armed forces in the world possess, and we have the capabilities to ensure that we fulfil our mission to protect Singapore.” The SAF attempts to use technology as "force multipliers". It also tries to enable its various units to fight in an integrated manner. The Army, Air Force and Navy are linked via advanced data-links and networks to enable coordinated attacks and support for various units and forces. Technology is said to be an important element in the SAF's transformation into a 3rd Generation Fighting Force. Having consistently had one of the largest defence budgets in the Asia-Pacific region, Singapore has focused on maintaining its spending on sophisticated and superior weaponry. One of the expensive and sophisticated weapon that Singapore has committed to buy is the F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter plane. Each plane is expected to cost at least US$160 million a piece [Link]. In an interview transcript released by the Defense Writers Group, conducted in July last year, US Air Force General Herbert Carlisle disclosed that LG Ng had told him that Singapore would procure the F-35B [Link]. “I know that’s a decision that’s been made and that’s why they’re part of the program, but I don’t know where they’re at in putting that in the budget,” said General Carlisle, commander of Pacific Air Forces. LG Ng said work on the next generation of soldiers has already begun. “We are looking at new opportunities on the horizon, and beyond, and also the challenges,” said LG Ng. “It is clear that our country faces demographic challenges, and the SAF will have to look at how to harness new technologies, automation, robotics and unmanned technologies to incorporate them more into our fighting systems so that we can create even more potent fighting capabilities with leaner resources." The defence chief hopes to forge a "tribe" identity in the SAF within five to 10 years by growing a shared sense of pride and purpose. Who is Ng Chee Meng? Ng graduated with a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering from the United States Air Force Academy in 1991. He also attended the Singapore Command and Staff College and graduated in 1999. In 2002, he obtained a Master of Arts in international relations from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy in Tufts University. Ng joined the SAF in December 1986 and was a fighter pilot in the Air Force. Throughout his military career, he has held various appointments, including: Commanding Officer, 144 Squadron; Commander, Changi Air Base; Deputy Head, Joint Communications and Information Systems Department; Head, Air Plans; Director, Joint Operations; Deputy Chief of Air Force. He was also the Military Private Secretary to the Minister of Defence from December 1995 to July 1996. Ng succeeded his elder brother, Ng Chee Khern, as the Chief of Air Force on 10 December 2009. In March 2013, he succeeded Neo Kian Hong to become the 8th Chief of Defence Force (CDF), relinquishing his position as the Chief of Air Force to Hoo Cher Mou. Ng was promoted from the rank of Major-General to Lieutenant-General on 27 June 2013. Ng is the second air force general in Singapore's military history to be appointed as the CDF, after Bey Soo Khiang in 1995. Ng's 2 other brothers are all in SAF. His elder brother, Ng Chee Khern, was the Chief of Air Force from 2006–2009 and currently serves as the Director of the Security and Intelligence Division. His younger brother, Ng Chee Peng, has been serving as the Chief of Navy since 2011. $12.6 Billion Defence Budget MINDEF was allocated $12.6 billion in this year’s Budget, up 3.2% from $12.3 billion last year. It is more than a fifth of total government expenditure for this financial year. In comparison, the government will only be spending about $430 million a year to subsidise premiums in the recently announced MediShield Life ('Ng wants a bigger warship to carry more helicopters'). Martin Luther King, Jr. once said: "A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom."    Read More →

MP Hri Kumar In response to the release of COI's report yesterday (30 Jun), with regard to last year's Little India riot, MP Hri Kumar commended the COI, saying that it had produced a "robust" report. Hri Kumar also said that the recommendations from COI are good. He added while it's important to boost the Home Team's capabilities to deal with public order situations, building on the soft skills of police officers and auxilliary police officers (APOs) who patrol Little India can make a difference too. "One of the things the COI pointed out was the incident escalated because of perceived unfairness in treatment, the perceived thinking that the officers were not doing their job, or at least doing their job in an unfair manner, so if you build up a trust and rapport with them, that's not the first thing that will come to their mind, particularly in difficult situations. So I think that's something we can do better in, and it takes time and effort and that's something we should strive towards," said Mr Nair. This could mean having officers who can engage the foreign workers in their Mother Tongue, he said. "That's important. You want APOs and officers who are not just there to enforce the law, but also to engage. You would hope that they would talk to foreign workers there, build a rapport, make their presence known, make it clear that they are not just there to enforce the law, but to help and to maintain order. People who they can trust, not just authority figures. And that will take time, but speaking the language I think, is one of the critical factors." Mr Nair also suggested reducing the turnover rate of migrant workers here. Those who have been here longer would be more aware of Singapore's social norms, and can better educate and guide new workers who come to Singapore. COI in its report, said that dissatisfaction among foreign workers with their jobs and living conditions in Singapore was not a cause of the riot that broke out at Little India on 8 Dec last year ('COI: FTs were happy with their jobs & living quarters'). It said that nearly every foreign worker it spoke to – including those who were involved in the riot – testified emphatically that they were “happy with their jobs and living quarters in Singapore”. “The COI’s finding is that labour issues were not involved proximately or remotely,” it added. The COI said that “attempts to frame the riot as a racial issue are completely unfounded when compared against the facts”. Racial or ethnic issues did not arise from any of the evidence gathered, or in any of the committee’s discussions with witnesses including those involved in the riot as well as non-complicit foreign workers in Singapore. COI attributed the riot to 3 causes: Misunderstandings about the accident and response Culture and psychology of the crowd Alcohol and intoxication It said that alcohol was a “major contributory factor”. COI also took the opportunity to censure Deputy Assistant Commissioner (DAC) Lu Yeow Lim for his mishandling of the riot. “The COI believes (police incident manager) Deputy Assistant Commissioner (DAC) Lu Yeow Lim should have made more effort to establish the resources available and find out more about the situation,” it said. During the riot, the police’s decision held their positions instead of engaging the mob. This gave the rioters a “free rein to do whatever they wanted” despite the presence of a sizeable number of officers. DAC Lu had earlier testified that engaging the mob with the officers he had before the SOC’s arrival could have sparked retaliation and forced the use of firearms. Disagreeing, the committee noted that two officers who charged and drove the crowd back temporarily were not overwhelmed. Other than DAC Lu, the COI didn't appear to blame anyone else. Regulating recruitment fees of agents Meanwhile, non-government Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (HOME) said greater bilateral cooperation is needed between Singapore and source countries to regulate recruitment fees as foreign workers often run into huge debts paying off recruitment agencies from their home countries. "Singapore should only approve the work permits of workers who have gone through legal recruitment channels in countries of origin. Even though hefty recruitment fees are paid in countries of origin, large amounts are often remitted to employers and recruiters based in Singapore as kickbacks. More oversight and enforcement in this area is needed in Singapore as the problem does not only reside in the country of origin," HOME said in a statement. But President of Association of Employment Agencies, K Jeyaprema, said, "We don't recruit from any one particular source; we are recruiting from so many countries. So, it would not be so easily achievable that we get all the source countries who send labour to Singapore to agree on any particular term that we are going to introduce." Another proposal in the Committee's report is for employers to give annual increments to foreign workers as their pay has been stagnant for years. Construction workers for example, are paid about $18 a day, and that has been the same for the past eight years. HOME said this is unlikely to happen. "As long as employers are losing money by paying high levies, it is very, very unlikely that they would increase the wages of their migrant workers," it said.    Read More →