Running Out Of Smart Ideas

The Prime Minister's Office has appointed Minister for Environment and Water Resources Vivian Balakrishnan to oversee the "Smart Nation Programme Office". Not exactly the smartest of moves, given the propensity of the gutter politician to throw good money after bad, and yet to account for the overblown budget of the Youth Olympic Games. In particular, what exactly was buried under the miscellaneous charge ("Other Costs") of $78.9 million.

The haze was not as horrific as last year, no thanks to any contribution of his. Someone must have figured out he should stop sitting in the corner and twiddling his thumbs and do something useful to justify the million dollar paycheck. Something nebulous as a 3D project that defies imagination. Who needs a new 3D map for animal sightings, potential hazards for cyclists, or even the best mee pok, nasi lemak or mee siam mai hum? Google maps aside, there are apps plentiful to hunt down the discreet carpark for a surreptitious rendezvous between a senior civil servant and a compliant IT vendor. BTW, anyone with half a brain would think IT is under the auspices of the Ministry for Communications and Information. Has Yaacob gone off to fight for the ISIS?

The Executive Deputy Chairman of Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) and Co-Chair of National Infocomm Awards (NIA) 2014 trumpeted, "Singapore is committed to become the world's first Smart, and using technology and data in new ways that can improve the lives of people of all ages is the foundation of what it means to be a Smart Nation." Ouch, that must be a painful reminder that 60.1 percent of the electorate is still dumb enough to vote in the same political party.

It was the older Lee who once told the Future China Global Forum audience, "The Taiwanese are ruthless, Hong Kongers are shameless and Singaporeans are ignorant." Maybe that's why the younger Lee thinks it's about time for Singaporeans to appear intelligent.

But not too smart. As in demanding the return of their life savings at age 55 as originally promised. Or go online to highlight how one Singaporean can be outnumbered 7 to 1 by foreigners, here at home, not in downtown Manila. Tan Chuan-Jin thinks that "Unfortunately, these actions backfire as potential employers will be reluctant to take on these individuals." So the smart thing to do when threatened by an overwhelming force is to back down and keep quiet? Not exactly the advice you would expect from an ex-general. It appears that Singaporeans will need permission first to get smart.

A Difference Of Art

Like Ford's Model T, available only in black

Definitely a more colourful alternative

The first piece of "art" won her $32,500 in the UOB Painting of the Year 2014 Competition. Ms Om explained that the 100 cm by 100 cm oil on canvas is supposed to be a reflection of a starry night sky, probably marred by the haze from Indonesia. You could never guess that by the "N-PIN56L" title given to the piece, obviously bearing no clue to the 57 layers of colour applied. Don't bother to ask what camel brushes were instrumental for the creative labour of love: ""I used 6 mm tape to create the grid. Each layer is a compilation of a grid, the paint layer and the tape removed and applied again, and then add on another layer."

The second creative effort is more recognizable, spray paint being the medium of choice preferred by graffiti artists world wide. But two German nationals, Andreas Von Knorre and Elton Hinz, both 21, are likely of be rewarded with $2,000 fines, 3 years’ jail and 8 strokes of the cane each for their exuberant expressions of colour and shape.

The main difference being a sticky issue of trespassing on SMRT territory.

When a northbound train was found vandalised with graffiti and the fencing at Bishan Depot tampered with in 2011, SMRT swore that "We want to have a system that is truly comprehensive and will hold up to tests." And was willing to back it up with  security enhancements that SMRT said cost them $6 million, with maintenance alone amounting to $300,000 annually. Manpower costs for its current security team then (in 2011) were already eating up $5 million a year. Money is no object when commuters end up paying for their incompetence.

Not that it did SMRT any good. And Andreas and Elton did made them look pretty silly. Just for that, there will be hell to pay. Don't worry about the chief executive being sacked, after all, it's only the fourth instance of security breach recorded. Unless the stars fall from the sky, his handsome salary takings will never be docked.

We're Number 16

The big news is that the World Talent Report 2014 from the Institute for Management Development (IMD)  has ranked Malaysia 5th position, while Singapore trails a distant 16. The IMD World Competitiveness Center which produces the annual ranking exercise says the objective serves to assess the ability of countries to develop, attract and retain talent to sustain the talent pool available for enterprises operating in the economies.

While the ranking is structured according to 1) investment and development, 2) appeal and 3) readiness, it goes without saying those foreign talents tempted by the glossy brochures will, sooner or later, discover the truth from the myth. Like Singapore is the safest place on earth, bar none. Except for the occasional stabbing in broad daylight at Raffles Place. You can trust the lawyers here too, just remember to do a back of the envelope check when it comes to invoicing.

We don't know why Neal Copeland and Nancy Jenkins, the husband and wife team of cancer experts who left the National Cancer Institute in the United States after 20 years there to join Singapore's Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB) because of "generous funding", packed their bags again after a short 5 year stint to head back to Houston, Texas. Maybe they had a nasty experience at Sim Lim Square. Or were fleeced for seafood at Newton Circus. Not everybody has the deep pockets of a Brunei princess.

And then there are the untold legions of local talents who have left for greener pastures abroad. Lee Kuan Yew used to insist on a report of the number of emigrants, maybe someone else is still keeping score.

Somewhere in page 8 of the report, a chart shows that Singapore used to do a better job in attracting and retaining talent. We were number 2 in 2008. The explanatory note is worth reading:

The fluctuation in the overall ranking experienced by some of the countries throughout the period may be the result of cyclical economic and socio-political issues that impact, for example, immigration policies and/or investment in education. In some cases, such policies could result in the diminishing ability of countries to attract overseas talent despite strong commitment to local talent development.

We know some of those socio-political issues only too well. The list is long and nauseating, starting with a 30 year mortgage for a public housing flat. It's bad enough to have to stomach the likes of Anton Casey and Yin Yang, the politicians ramming the Population White Paper down our throats make mockery of a welcome home for real talent. It's not sustaining if talents are not retaining.

Onward With The Fare Hikes

What's wrong with collecting more money?

Last year in November the Public Transport Council (PTC) proposed fare increases by 6.6 per cent in 2 phases - 3.2 per cent from April this year, and 3.4 per cent from next year. In plain English, it is a done deal that the public transport operators will be fleecing the commuters again. The only outstanding question is by how much.

Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew, acting to script in typical good-cop-bad-cop role play, "hopes the PTC will study whether it is possible to insulate vulnerable groups such as senior citizens from a fare increase." See, the word is increase, not decrease. The writing is already on the wall. This is the Lui that doled out $1.1 billion of taxpayers' money so the operators can buy 550 buses to collect more revenues. This is not the Lui who would contemplate subsidising the commuters by same humongous sum to spare them an extra four (bus) and six (train) cents per journey from the first installment of recommended fare hike.

A PTC spokesman reiterated that the fare review mechanism and fare adjustment formula is recommended by the Fare Review Mechanism Committee, and accepted by the Government. Lest we forget, the PTC and associated incestuous committees are staffed by government appointees who know which side of their bread is buttered.

Not a word is mentioned about how much profit has been generated by the public transport operators. In October this year, SMRT reported a $25.3 million profit for Q2 of FY2015, and a 66.5 per cent increase in operating profit from higher takings of its fare and non-fare businesses. Bus operations trimmed its operating loss of $7.4 million to a lower $1.4 million, which it said was due mainly to higher revenue collection and productivity gains. Train operations increased their operating profit by $6.6 million on the back of higher revenue and lower electricity costs. The SMRT board rewarded themselves by declaring an interim dividend of 1.5 cents per ordinary share. If the 3.2 per cent hike was so lucrative, it is unlikely their grubby little hands will let go of the 3.6 per cent hike impending. You were expecting the board to recommend a fare decrease?

Oil price, the mother of all justifications for fare hikes, has slumped by almost a third this year to below US$80 a barrel. There’s a 70 percent chance of a recession in the next 12 months, according to the median estimate of 27 economists in an October 30 survey . That’s the highest since Bloomberg started tracking the figure 2 years ago, up from 60 percent last month. That's for us mere mortals so fret about, the recession proof public transport operators never lose sleep over details like these.

Hot Money, Greased Palms

So last Friday's lunch time stabbing in broad daylight at Raffles Place was a occupational hazard, we are told. Apparently the victim was just another money courier, en route to the Arcade where bags of currencies are freely interchanged. Suhardi, a 26 year old Indonesian, was killed in August 2012, presumably for carrying one load too many for the money changers.

Another frequent Indonesian traveller of the Batam-Singapore-Batam route we met some years ago was ferrying hot money for a different purpose. His employer tasked him to meet politicians and businessmen at posh hotels, where palms are routinely greased. It was Lee Kuan Yew who highlighted the weekend visits of Indonesians who fly in for the shopping on a Saturday, and depart promptly on Sunday night. Maybe he wasn't briefed about the bagmen who might have also indulged in a bit of money laundering.

The important bit is that anyone hand-carrying $20,000 in or out of Singapore is supposed to declare the amounts to the vigilant officers at the customs checkpoints. Failure to do so is an offence under the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes Act, punishable by fine up to $50,000 or 3 years' jail. Obviously these money mules are not deterred; the proposed fine for mistreatment of a pet dog is much harsher. Makes you also wonder if the law enforcers are serious about the illicit cash flows.

The Money Changers Association of Singapore is urging its members to hire Certis Cisco guards. Paying protection money to these guys, some of whom are ex-police officers, when the real police are turning a blind eye at the borders? Interestingly, the association's secretary thinks Cisco is asking too much at $200 an hour. Perhaps Ah Loong - the alternate security from "professionals" - offers a more competitive rate. The Yakuza is pretty good at this, we may have need of their foreign expertise.