quote:Originally posted by robertteh:
Despite all the big monies spent on biomedical researches, have we
succeeded in making a dent on our manufacturing in terms on job
creations for these period from our biomedical researches?
How many of our new graduates from universities during 1999-2004
when we were spending big bucks in these researches were absorbed
by these biopolis and the spin-offs created from such
capital-intensive investments.
During the last three recessions, we took about the longest than
Korea, Taiwan and HongKong to recover from recession. Why so if our
big biopolis was producing results? What did our minister for
manpower, and trade and industry say.
OM:-
The rapid rise in biomedical exports in the recent years has been
well publicised. Surely you are aware that exports in the
biomedical industry has grown by a startling 30%, contributing much
revenue to the economy. There are new jobs being created in the
biomedical industry, but there is a mismatch between the jobs
created the skillset of our workers. Many local workers either do
not have the required skills in the R&D labs or refuse to work
in clean rooms that are necesary in the manufacturing plants. That
is why we need to change the attitude of our workers and re-train
them for the new jobs that are available.
You are talking about recesions since 1993, way before our
biomedical indiustry has been conceived. It requires lead time to
grow this industry, given how few of our students study biology in
secondary schools and universities. The past recessions illustrate
the dangers of relying on just our IT industry to bring in the
manufacturing revenue. That is exactly why this life sciences
initiative is necessary to broaden our economic base. Singapore has
recovered from these recessions and emerged stronger than ever,
which is a testament to the leadership of the government. What has
the Opposition parties done for Singaporeans during all these
recessions?
You have asked for evidence why people and the World Bank are
saying why our biopolis has not been successful and their chances
of success is at best 50/50 and I have given you relevant evidence
in your absence of the ministers and EDB providing the data and now
you are not accepting such evidences.
The relevant apple-to-apple evidences should actually come forth
from the ministers and EDB chief and not for the people to
provide.
Nonetheless given the kind of autocratic government that we have we
have all to take what they claims as job creations with a big pinch
of salt. So far all the job creation data as questioned by Dr. Lee
Wei Ling were quite muddled probably deliberately kept that way
like in the nkf saga so as to avoid accountability. People are no
fools to believe their so-called biopolis sucecss and they probably
will have to bear with such denials as happened in NKF.
The correct approach to arrive your required evidences actually is
for the ministers and EDB to keep track of biomedical spending with
coordinated call-centre processes which people can view on weekly
basis to show progress as to whether biomedical spending has
produced returns : (1) Major discoveries like bird flu vaccines or
cure of certain cancer (2) ROI on our multi-billion investments in
this area.
Philip Yeo cannot just make claims of success based on his own
generation and he must invite all concerned including the ministers
witnessed by such reliable data to review the efforts periodically
and decide whether to continue or close down or phase out any
over-ambitious projects to avoid throwing away monies which do not
hold promise or assurances of returns.
Are our ministers and the government prepared to change their
system and make themselves more accountable on such spendings which
may not produce any returns of usefulness to our people many of
whom despite all the hghly trained skills and education are still
unemployed after recessions retrenchments.
Can we truly claim that the biopolis has been successful just by
claiming that they create some jobs. Who analyse these jobs as
value-adding jobs which were directly attributable to the biopolis?
The world bank has expressed great doubts about so-called success
of our biopolis. Like what Dr Lee Wei Ling has pointed out the
recent job creations in our various industries do not necessarily
arise from our biopolis. Many of the firms were set up here due to
our factors like our IP laws, and a more English educated work
force. Mostly if we have some creations of jobs recently it is
generally attributable to world recovery and the rise of China and
India which provide us with some opportunities finally to emerge
out of our desperate straits.
So it will have to be the ministers and and civil servants paid to
do their jobs to restructure the economy. Where they have failed to
do so during the 1990s recessions, it is for them now to reexamine
their policy mistakes and implementation shortfalls and not to
continue to push the problems back to the people - giving excuses
like their being lacking in skills. Are our early highly educated
unemployed short of skills? Something must be wrong with our
education system.
In addition, to my advice that the ministers and EDB must own up
and not give any more excuses like the NKF I have shown you
evidences from the past recessions that they have been continuously
giving excuses for their inabilities in upgrading the economy
talked about since 1970s to the value-adding model. What went
wrong? Are they not going to do something to focus on niche areas
and make better use of our highly educated work force many of whom
even with university education are becoming the newly highly
educated unemployed.
What is wrong ? We are paying our ministers million-dollar salaries
only to hear more excuses and they have the cheek to ask people to
give them solutions ever so often.
Don't make our ministers who are supposed to be talented
world-class leaders the laughing stock of the world
community.
People are not fools to take what they say about job creations at
face value. They seem to be only interested in their own GDP or
surpluses which hardly help to solve problems faced by the
majority.
All that happened during recessions is that people kept hearing
excuses like the government could not do anything about some
so-called globalisation phenomenon known as structural
unemployments.
When the world economy finally recovers they were so quick to claim
that their biopolis is now working wonderfully without any reliable
and verified figures to back up their claims. It is like the nkf
saying what they like for years and when exposed in a proper
scrutiny, all the worms will be crawling out of the cans.
There were misfits between the government ERC plans obviously as
you have now admitted that jobs that were created in some factories
are unable to be taken up by our citizens. Who causes these poor
implementations of the ER plans.
Citizens are not paid to give ideas or help in implementation of
these ER plans since 1993 when the economy was floundering due to
lack of efforts by EDB in upgrading to the value-adding model to
catch up with the Koreans and Taiwanese whose IT, biomedical and
technologies are producing international brand names.
Has the ministers succeeded in upgrading the economy since the
1990s? If they have why do we still have to retired all the young
scholars and highly educated graduates in the early 40s.
Obviously the leaders have failed in their past 3 economic
restructuring plan and are now at the instance of the world
recovery tried to make claims that their biomedical R&D
researches are doing well.
Just go and look back on our economic performance, for how many
quarters of 2006 have these industries connected to the biopolis
been making advances in the form of breakthrough and job creations
and using the GDP or other close-door statistics which hardly
convince any one.
quote:Originally posted by robertteh:
That is why our economy was still not restructured as intended
since the 1970s when Goh Keng Swee was already planning to upgrade
it to some value-adding technology-driven model.
Why, we took so long and there was still all the talking about
R&D and more R& D to no end?
Because too many Singaporeans are just sitting on their backsides
and ranting like you instead of acquiring the skillsets that are
needed for new growth industries. When students from China are
working hard and sweeping all our top prizes, our students are
learning from the adults and complain all day. Burying your sand in
the sand will not make you fit to work in the biomed ndustry.
I can tell you that people are not fools to believe all the
craps about biopolis being successful. It is the responsibility of
the paid ministers and civil servants to implement the economic
restructuring plans aimed at upgrading the economy to a
value-adding technology-driven model as announced for many years.
They will not easily believe such excuses like they are at fault
for not implementing the restructuring or being too laid back on
their skill training.
quote:Originally posted by robertteh:
Many workers who lost their jobs in the 1997 recessions remained
unemployed and those who were re-employed had their wages dropping
below that of the 1980s. What do our ministers do to help these
workers - more gst and more fee increases I suppose?
The only way to help these workers is to re-train them for new jobs
that are available. There are plenty of jobs in wafer fabs but half
the workers are foreigners because our locals refuse to take them.
If our unemployed workers are so desperate, why won't they take the
jobs? Oh no! They would have to work shifts and be suited up in the
clean room...it's uncomfortable...excuses, excuses. Fact is: they
are not hungry enough for the jobs, which go to the Malaysians and
the Chinese.
Just advise the ministers and EDB not to make unsubstantiated
claims and come up with information and data to show breakthrough
researches and applications in actual implementation like a new
cure for diseases or bird flu.
If they researchers are still unable to come up with tangible
discoveries or products which are turned into manufacturing and
jobs, let us forget about any such projects and concentrate in
doing something else more worthwhile to do.
quote:Originally posted by robertteh:
They could well be wasting more valuable time when Taiwan
researchers armed with more strategic plans and implementation
skills as espoused by practical entrepreneurs like Stanley Shih is
going to discover bird flus vaccine whereas we are still waiting
and waiting for some elusive breakthrough or foreign talents to
help in breaking through.
Talk is cheap. Make the vaccone and then talk.
Yes people's talk are cheap but if our ministers and EDB talk
cheap it will be time they go and let someone else take over like
the clintons or mahathirs.
