PAP Govt got $150b approval from PAP dominated Parliament

Atobe SG

21-OCT-2008 15:36

SINGAPORE, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Singapore's parliament voted on Tuesday to amend the city-state's constitution to allow the government more access to the country's reserves to cope with a faltering economy, local media reported.

The changes to the constitution will allow the government to draw on more returns from investing the reserves, so that its income can keep pace with rising expenditure, reported the pro-government newspaper The Straits Times on its website.

Official flash estimates showed this month that Singapore's economy contracted at an annualised rate of 6.3 percent in the third quarter after seasonal adjustments, pushing the export dependent economy into recession for the first time since 2002.

'We have the resources to do this and we have the resilience to see ourselves through,' Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong was quoted by The Straits Times as telling parliament.

Lee also said that the government was preparing measures to help businesses, families and workers cope with the downturn.

State broadcaster ChannelNewsAsia reported that the extra funds would be spent on research and development projects and medical care for the aged.

CIMB economist Song Seng Wun said the move gave the government more options to deal with a gloomy economic outlook.

'It will give them the flexibility to use the funds for a rainy day and I think a rainy day may be upon us,' Song said.

The global financial crisis has led Singapore to announce last week it will guarantee all local and foreign currency deposits in banks, finance companies and investment banks operating in the city-state with immediate effect, backed by S$150 billion ($101.5 billion) government reserves.

Economies across Asia are set to slow this year as the financial crisis threatens to push developed nations into recession, depressing demand for Asian exports.

(Reporting by Melanie Lee; Editing by Alex Richardson)

Since Singapore became independent in 1965 - after being evicted from Malaysia - the country was under the leadership of PAP's LKY for more then 20 over years, followed by the annointed PAP's GCT.

Throughout the 40 odd years of PAP rule, and through the economic downturn of 1987, as well as 1997 - and even 2002 - there was sufficient annual Government surplusses under the guidance of Finance Ministers : Dr Goh Keng Swee, Lim Kim San, Hon Hsui Sen, and Dr Richard Hu - to help tide Singapore over those critical periods.

Why is it critical now that this Government had to dip into the Reserves to face the current economic downturn ?

Why were questions not asked concerning the whereabouts of all the accumulated annual Goverment Budgetary Surplusses since the 1970s and transferred to the GIC and Temasek ?

Has the investments made by the GIC and Temasek resulted in losses so severe that the Reserves must be drawn now - even with all the verbal assurances given by PM LHL that the approval is made now even though the chance of drawing is slim ?

Poh Ah Pak SG

How can they suka suka amend constitution without asking Singapore public opinion?

Bullshit is bullshit.

Go to hell lah fucking PAP regime.

youyayu SG

can give that 150billion to singaporeans to give them a better life?

Poh Ah Pak SG

can give that 150billion to singaporeans to give them a better life?

And pigs can also fly in the sky.

youyayu SG

And pigs can also fly in the sky.

don't say pig can fly.. elephant also can ar

Poh Ah Pak SG

I can also fly to the moon and meet chang er.

noahnoah SG

give 150 billion can

why not

ERP increase to 40 bucks

lor

Then increase interest rate

increase elec bill 40 percent more

increase schools fee by 30 pecent ,,

hmm ok thats all at the moment

more to come

Atobe SG

Despite the experience as an Officer in the Kempetai during WW-2, and as the Chief of Singapore's ISD for the better part of 20 years, our dear President-Elect has little experience to watch over our Financial Reserves.

Not only has he no experience, but also has little power after the more experienced LKY - who survived the war as a Japanese Interpreter - had redrafted his original plans to have an Elected Presidency given sufficient powers to block any raid into our Reserves.

The late President-Elect Ong Teng Cheong had tested the powers given to the Elected President's office by simply asking for the full accounting of the Reserves that his Elected Office was supposed to keep watch.

Somehow, that seemingly reasonable and simple request had brushed the feathers on the wrong side, and was followed by the trimming of the powers to the Elected President's ablity to be in any position to block any raid into the Reserves.

The use of the Reserves was supposed to be guarded by two keys - one held by Parliament, and the other by the Elected President.

What is the use of a Second Key held by an Elected President, when his key cannot even be inserted into a keyhole that seems to be blocked by another lock - and with this new un-announced key and the First Key both being held by the Ruling Political Party dominating a Parliament ?

The farce appears to thicken.

reyes SG

i believe in the above conspiracy theory that some of GIC and temasek investment has resulted in lost and possible Debt of certain scale.

i am just curious what kind of policy are they going to implement to make sure that all spending made are made transparent to all singaporeans.

lotus999 SG

transparency? they will just say “trust us!”

Arapahoe SG

i am surprise this thread received so little attention. I called this A National Emergency..... This is the last of what SG have. I thought the only time SG govt use this fund would be "War time scenario". So I wonder why did they not choose to talk to IMF first while holding reserve parity.

Both investment house put monies everywhere so it would not be surprise that they held mortgage bonds or take in credit swap insurance....and US prime property. All source of revenue are down and negative. There is a need to fund domestics consumption.

Atobe SG

Fund domestic consumption ?

Singaporeans will be lucky if we get to see even a little drop from this $150 Billion that this Government had so cleverly manouvered out from the hands of the Elected President.

It is ingenious of PM LHL to declare that there is little chance of this amount being used, and that it will help to hold it on stand-by and not allow legislative process to delay its availability when needed.

With a PAP dominated Parliament that is controlled by the Party's Whip - can there be any Parliamentary delays when there is a need for the funds by this PAP Government ?

All the "double talk" is characteristic of the PAP Leadership, can we trust the statements that have been so cleverly designed for public consumption ?

alwaysdisturbed SG

lets see if they are going to get big fat bonuses and pay rise.

Atobe SG

lets see if they are going to get big fat bonuses and pay rise.

Even if they do not get any bonuses or pay rise at the end this year - they would all have got assured retirement packages in the form of pensions for life and all paid for by the State.

googoomuck SG

Rethink Singapore's economic growth model, says don

SINGAPORE should relook its economic growth model in an era of tighter government regulation and multilateral oversight that could evolve in the aftermath of the global financial crisis.

Professor Linda Lim from the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan, told the Singapore Economic Policy Conference yesterday that the growth model that has served Singapore may be out of place in a changed environment.

Prof Lim said the growth strategy - the 'EDB (Economic Development Board) model of give them a tax break and they will come' - has both tried to do too much and achieved too little in terms of delivering high and secure incomes and living standards.

'We've 40 years of savings and repressed consumption, so do we throw it at UBS and Citigroup and lose 60 per cent of the value, or do we use it for ourselves?' said Prof Lim, a Singaporean and a frequent contributor to The Straits Times.

Instead of letting the state make big bets on a few major, capital-intensive, projects dependent on foreign capital, labour and skills in which they have no intrinsic comparative advantage, it might be worthwhile to consider releasing capital and talent to local entrepreneurs, she said.

These people can innovate and create value in smaller but nimbler locally rooted enterprises, she added.

Prof Lim said that a national government, for example, should not use domestic savings to create employment disproportionately for foreigners simply in order to claim success in establishing a particular sector of its choosing that may not be validated by underlying market forces.

Singapore, she said, can become a 'global model' for environmentally-friendly buildings and lifestyle.

Other clusters of 'regionally integrated' economic activities might be in the creative fields of traditional and modern Asian and Western arts and culture.

Another cluster is social and health services in, for example, developing policies, systems, products and services for an ageing population, Prof Lim said.

'Don't think of yourself as an outpost of a declining empire, or a second Shanghai or a second Boston. Why not be a first Singapore?' she told the audience of economists and academics.

GABRIEL CHEN

Arapahoe SG

oh please do you seriously think they would go and fund local enterprises....all these years they refuse to acknowledge the govt sectors has crowd out local human resources and drive up wage inflation. They were so focus on building giant state own enterprises.

To most of you who read news about the US stock market that dominate the news who think economies are currently really bad.

But did you know that housing sales has pick up all time high at 5%......while price continue to fall the market is correcting itself..... if you look at the mircro level the small business are doing well.....it is the fortune 500 - 1000 that are cutting jobs.

At time of recession it is the singapore own company that hold the fort. Not MNC.

Arapahoe SG

Singapore govt are quick to point out what is going to happen.....that is a trade LKY handed down, but current ministers are lazy in deriving tangible solution. They take short cut and quick action and claim as efficient and paste gold on their face, but they never thought about fundamental problems persist.

they dominate political arena so that they can social engineer the population to achieve certain direction that would benefit the big corporates. Over the years singaporean perspectives are so rigid and limited.

And now in the mid of financial crisi they expect singaporean to create successful organization over night? while sg has been a culture of FDI.

Poh Ah Pak SG

PAP regime has suppressed political activities, grassroots from organising for 40 over years already, killed off the fighting spirit, make everyone dependent on government, submit to PAP; so want people to resolve problems by themselves, we need to start slowly, like what Tan Kin Lian is doing now.

Arapahoe SG

Fund domestic consumption ?

Singaporeans will be lucky if we get to see even a little drop from this $150 Billion that this Government had so cleverly manouvered out from the hands of the Elected President.

With a PAP dominated Parliament that is controlled by the Party's Whip - can there be any Parliamentary delays when there is a need for the funds by this PAP Government ?

All the "double talk" is characteristic of the PAP Leadership, can we trust the statements that have been so cleverly designed for public consumption ?

i presume that fiscal budget fall short state own enterprise and govt body ran out of M2.

but i think there are 2 fold thoughts.

1 ---none of the political party in the current parliamentary hold accountabilities as it's the President that Ink. So for the Record it is not LHL that sign the bill. He passes the buck to the guy sitting in the middle (Re-elect him for a reason) so he doesn't fall asleep and day dream.....

2 -- But if the President is going to Ink. One day A "President" is going to ask for more executive’s power because his name is on the line. The President will end up having his team on board thereby creating expanding branch.

What if he Veto the bill and refuse to open the gate he debates against the entire member of the parliament? He sit in the middle of the “house” squeeze his balls and sign if Uno party parliament vote for the bill. .....current parliamentary seats have no depth to shield the President. We don't have a lower house/upper house to resolve debates and differences.

Another quick fix scheme. or maybe he is moving up the ladder for himself preparing job description as he hurdle along.....ha ha ha.

Atobe SG

i presume that fiscal budget fall short state own enterprise and govt body ran out of M2.

but i think there are 2 fold thoughts.

Another quick fix scheme. or maybe he is moving up the ladder for himself preparing job description as he hurdle along.....ha ha ha.

1. Although the President may ink the final document to pass it as law, the various Members of Parliament that voted for the bill are recorded and should be held accountable.

2. For the President to be able to have his Team on board, he need them to be in place to approve his name on the list of candidates for the Elected Presidency. It is all about having the egg first and control the chick that comes out.

Current legislation - that determines the perimeters of the Office of the Elected President - has been cleverly designed by LKY to allow Parliament to over-ride any veto from the Elected President by having the proposed Bill approved by Parliament again.

The position of the Elected President was LKY's long term strategy to place his own Man at the helm to sabotage any success by the Alternative Parties in any Election to usurp power from the PAP.

Unfortunately, since LKY's own PAP is the present day Government, it is simply inconvenient for the laws allowing the Elected President to "interfere" with the Government - in the manner that the late President-Elect Ong Teng Cheong did.

For the interim period, LKY find it more expeditious to trim further the limited powers of the Elected President.