By Leong Sze Hian I refer to the Ministry of Trade and Industry’s reply “Govt’s goal to create good jobs for S’poreans” (Straits Times, May 24) to Leon Perera’s “Different spin on wheels of productivity” (Straits Times, May 21). Vibrant economy = Good jobs? It states that “The Government’s aim is to create good jobs for Singaporeans by building a competitive and vibrant economy, with productivity as a key d ...

By Leong Sze Hian I refer to the articles “More new immigrants to serve as grassroots leaders” (Channel NewsAsia, May 18) and “MP Indranee: P1 registration priority given to grassroots leaders not based along party lines” (TR Emeritus, May 13) Primary 1 priority? The latter states that “In Parliament today (13 May), NCMP Lina Chiam asked about the Primary One registration which gives priorities to “active c ...

By Ghui The recent media coverage of the unfortunate Shane Todd incident has highlighted a very real but unconscious and harmful stereotype of depression and its sufferers. As I combed through the many articles online, I noticed that while each article had differing nuggets of information, ranging from the Todd family’s expert witness having a southern drawl to Mrs Todd calling the Singapore judicial system ...

By Leong Sze Hian Low wage share is OK? I refer to the article “Lower wage share doesn’t mean wages are lower” (Straits Times, May 24). Workers in Singapore better off than South Korea, Japan, Europe? It states that “In fact, the average wage of workers between 2000 and 2009, adjusted for purchasing power across different currencies, was higher in Singapore than in South Korea, Japan and Europe, it said. Fu ...

By Leong Sze Hian In my article “AIM in Parliament: (Round 9) – Replies that don’t really answer the question?” (May 23), I gave another example of an occasional lacking in transparency in Parliament. But it seems that an occasional lacking in transparency occurs in public agencies too, although there should not be any reason whatsoever for public servants to not be totally transparent. The following is an ...

 By Leong Sze HianIn my article “AIM debate in Parliament: (Round 8) – its all about transparency?” (theonlinecitizen, May 22), I said that I would give more examples of arguably, an occasional lacking in transparency.So, here’s another example from the most recent Parliamentary sitting:I refer to the article “S$1.2b donated by Tote Board to social sector in last five years: Josephine Teo” (Channel NewsAsia ...

  By Leong Sze Hian A lot of people (what is a lot to some may be little to others – for example, I cannot understand how people who earn more than $1 million can object to paying $50 more to those earning less $1,000) have asked me – what is the AIM saga all about? Transparency and accountability? Well, in a nutshell – its all about transparency (or rather a lack of it) and accountability. The AIM sag ...

By Singapore Armchair CriticEarlier I wrote a blogpost on poverty and income inequality in Singapore, which rankled some pro-establishment netizens (read their comments). What struck me most was not their eagerness to stick up for the government – which was nothing extraordinary – but their defensiveness towards poverty.By their reaction, these netizens seemed to have taken my straight talk on poverty as a ...

By Leong Sze Hian Straits Times Editorial calls for clarity? I refer to the Editorial “Town councils: Time to clear the air” (Straits Times Editorial, May 20). It states that “Clarity on these (safeguarding of assets, disclosure of interests, tender process, restrictions on party officials being given contracts, etc) would help restore confidence in town councils”. Clap! Clap! Fully support the call for cla ...

By Leong Sze Hian Relentless attacks? As a resident of AHPETC, I was rather perturbed and annoyed by the seemingly relentless attacks on the financial management of AHPETC. To put it crudely (pardon my language) – it was like people were coming to “shit in your own backyard”. AHPETC vs HBPTC? So, I decided to go look at the annual reports of AHPETC and HBPTC. 1. For FY2011/2012, AHPETC had an accumulated su ...