1. 11.11 has become a SHOPPING DAY for the Singles in China recently. It has set MANY records in terms of TOTAL Values of goods and services sold! I just wonder about the PROFIT for the sellers! And if the Buyers had really bought something they truly needs! LOL!!
2. Korean Ferry Sinking Incident - the Captain is sentenced to 36 years imprisonment when the families of the victims wanted death sentence! Most South Koreans believe they should close this chapter and move on.
3. "Clean government - not about high salaries, but 'realistic' ones: PM Lee - CNA 11 Nov 2014
SINGAPORE: Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in a half-hour interview with Yang Lan on Beijing Satellite TV that was broadcast on Monday (Nov 10), he said the world is watching China’s anti-corruption drive as it could be a tremendous boost to its development and stability, and described it as an admirable effort.
He also addressed the notion of clean government in Singapore. He said it is not about high salaries, but ones that are "realistic and correct", in order to find the right people who are “most capable”, and “most trustworthy”.
MAINTAINING INTEGRITY IN GOVERNMENT
Q: In China, particularly at the government level, the topic of Singapore's clean government is often discussed. But very often people attribute its success to high salaries for office-holders. Do you think it is that simple?
A: I think the topic of high salaries can cause a sharp reaction. In principle, we are not talking about high salaries, what we want are realistic and correct salaries. We want talent, we want morally upright people, and we want the right people for the right jobs. The most important job must be done by the most capable, the most trustworthy person. If we want the services of such capable and trustworthy people, then we must treat them fairly and equally. We must have a practical system - a realistic salary.
At the same time our requirements are strict - your performance must be good. Legally, you absolutely cannot do anything you are not supposed to do, and if that happens, you will be punished under the law, and the punishment will be severe. So this is not just a question of salaries, it is also a matter of the system, an issue of transparency, and our whole culture."
He is saying ALL the right things about the need to have capable and trust-worthy people to do the MOST IMPORTANT Jobs and treat them fairly and equally.
Lessons for me are:
1. 'High salaries' (or 'realistic' ones) IS STILL an issue with a section of the voting population regardless of how much effort and explanation the government has put into it. This is ESPECIALLY so when some of the so-called capable people did not, in some section of society, DELIVER GOOD performance! At least NOT to the liking of more than 33% of the voting public in the last General Election. e.g. reactionary responses to the 'strike' by SMRT bus drivers (due to workers' dormitories not up to standard is one of the gripes). e.g. the once in more than 40 years Little India Riot. e.g. the 'not (?) anticipated over-stretching of our public infrastructure due to unrelenting acceptance of foreign workers, etc;
2. while I can appreciate the difficulty of getting 'capable people' to join politics in Singapore due to the tremendous invasion/loss of privacy and sacrifices in terms of time and efforts on discharging official duties and responsibilities of a MP or Cabinet members, it MUST be recognized that a public servant (need NOT be a civil servant) without a genuine passion for public work for the benefits of the public CANNOT last! Also, there is a distinct possibility that the incumbents and the entrenched MAY want to keep the 'status quo' and enjoy the 'realistic salaries that are NOT subjected to realistic performance measurement' for themselves and those like them!;
3. after a certain 'realistic salaries', what more WOULD the 'capable' people expect and want from the government? Or should them be asking earnestly: what greater good can I help to create for the majority of the public I am serving without 'injuring or ignoring' too much of the minority? If it is the latter, we at least HAVE a public servant who is genuinely into helping the majority and NOT just to preserve their 'status quo'.
4. with MORE thinking, not just educated, populace, the force of one-man-one-vote will be very powerful to ensure that any government that does not truly understand how the majority of the voters want and feared will lose power - 'capable and trust-worthy people' OR NOT!! The trust-worthy people MUST be trusted and voted by the average VOTERS who need convincing IF they feel the politicians and their policies are NOT what they want or aspire to!
2. Korean Ferry Sinking Incident - the Captain is sentenced to 36 years imprisonment when the families of the victims wanted death sentence! Most South Koreans believe they should close this chapter and move on.
3. "Clean government - not about high salaries, but 'realistic' ones: PM Lee - CNA 11 Nov 2014
SINGAPORE: Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in a half-hour interview with Yang Lan on Beijing Satellite TV that was broadcast on Monday (Nov 10), he said the world is watching China’s anti-corruption drive as it could be a tremendous boost to its development and stability, and described it as an admirable effort.
He also addressed the notion of clean government in Singapore. He said it is not about high salaries, but ones that are "realistic and correct", in order to find the right people who are “most capable”, and “most trustworthy”.
MAINTAINING INTEGRITY IN GOVERNMENT
Q: In China, particularly at the government level, the topic of Singapore's clean government is often discussed. But very often people attribute its success to high salaries for office-holders. Do you think it is that simple?
A: I think the topic of high salaries can cause a sharp reaction. In principle, we are not talking about high salaries, what we want are realistic and correct salaries. We want talent, we want morally upright people, and we want the right people for the right jobs. The most important job must be done by the most capable, the most trustworthy person. If we want the services of such capable and trustworthy people, then we must treat them fairly and equally. We must have a practical system - a realistic salary.
At the same time our requirements are strict - your performance must be good. Legally, you absolutely cannot do anything you are not supposed to do, and if that happens, you will be punished under the law, and the punishment will be severe. So this is not just a question of salaries, it is also a matter of the system, an issue of transparency, and our whole culture."
He is saying ALL the right things about the need to have capable and trust-worthy people to do the MOST IMPORTANT Jobs and treat them fairly and equally.
Lessons for me are:
1. 'High salaries' (or 'realistic' ones) IS STILL an issue with a section of the voting population regardless of how much effort and explanation the government has put into it. This is ESPECIALLY so when some of the so-called capable people did not, in some section of society, DELIVER GOOD performance! At least NOT to the liking of more than 33% of the voting public in the last General Election. e.g. reactionary responses to the 'strike' by SMRT bus drivers (due to workers' dormitories not up to standard is one of the gripes). e.g. the once in more than 40 years Little India Riot. e.g. the 'not (?) anticipated over-stretching of our public infrastructure due to unrelenting acceptance of foreign workers, etc;
2. while I can appreciate the difficulty of getting 'capable people' to join politics in Singapore due to the tremendous invasion/loss of privacy and sacrifices in terms of time and efforts on discharging official duties and responsibilities of a MP or Cabinet members, it MUST be recognized that a public servant (need NOT be a civil servant) without a genuine passion for public work for the benefits of the public CANNOT last! Also, there is a distinct possibility that the incumbents and the entrenched MAY want to keep the 'status quo' and enjoy the 'realistic salaries that are NOT subjected to realistic performance measurement' for themselves and those like them!;
3. after a certain 'realistic salaries', what more WOULD the 'capable' people expect and want from the government? Or should them be asking earnestly: what greater good can I help to create for the majority of the public I am serving without 'injuring or ignoring' too much of the minority? If it is the latter, we at least HAVE a public servant who is genuinely into helping the majority and NOT just to preserve their 'status quo'.
4. with MORE thinking, not just educated, populace, the force of one-man-one-vote will be very powerful to ensure that any government that does not truly understand how the majority of the voters want and feared will lose power - 'capable and trust-worthy people' OR NOT!! The trust-worthy people MUST be trusted and voted by the average VOTERS who need convincing IF they feel the politicians and their policies are NOT what they want or aspire to!
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