Is this the time for us to find better paying jobs overseas, since
our own domestic employment situation is poor ?
The present situation in Singapore is similar to the Filippinos
during the early 1980s - and those from Indonesia and Vietnam from
early 1990s - when their economies were shattered by political
incompetency and lack of economic planning.
The warning cards were already on our table since the EARLY 1980s,
when businesses were all complaining about the high costs of doing
businesses in Singapore - such as stubborn insistence of annual
wage increases, high CPF contribution to achieve a 40 percent mark,
high land prices that resulted in high cost of developments and
subsequent rentals and property prices - that affected all down
stream costs.
The Government had claimed that THEY KNOW WHAT IS BEST FOR
SINGAPORE.
How can they NOT know everything ?
They insisted on having ALL THE AVAILABLE and LIMITED SINGAPORE
TALENTED PERSONS on their side, and every angles were supposed to
have been covered.
Still we had the experience of the 1987 crash, and had almost
recovered by 1991 - by then the Government returned to set the pace
of wage increments in the Civil Service that affected the wages
paid to Commerce and Industries.
CPF contribution was pushed back to 40 PERCENT again.
New fiscal policies were introduced with high COE prices that
affected commercial vehicles, followed with ERP being introduced;
while tax on fuel remained relentlessly high.
URA land sale prices were kept continuously high to maintain the
'false value of the bubble' that the Banking Community need, so
that past property financing plans are not jeopardised.
Some would claim that these comments are with the benefit of
hindsight. However, these were already the complaints that were
voiced by nearly all sectors of Singapore Life - from ordinary
housewife, hawkers, Small and Medium Enterprises to large
Corporations; home buyers to industrial developers; entrepreneurs
and established businessess planning new investments had begun to
pick alternative sites with lower overheads.
These were already the writings on the wall, that were
ignored.
Even the Opposition Party had written books about it, and offered
solutions that were derided - but now we see Government adopting
ideas that were already suggested more then TEN YEARS AGO.
Fortunately, those who are going overseas have found jobs based on
the HIGHLY TRAINED SKILLS of these Singaporeans - as middle or high
level managers, consultants, specialists.
We have yet to experience husbands and wives leaving the family to
seek menial jobs overseas - as laborers, maids, farm hands.
Let us not fall into the silly and cheap political cliches created
by the senior members of the Ruling Party, who had contradicted
themselves by coining this label for these Singaporeans as
QUITTERS; when at the same time these same Political Leaders had
failed in their economic planning had also encouraged Singaporeans
to 'SPREAD THEIR WINGS'
Many Singaporeans had 'spread their wings' since the late 1970s,
more during 1980s, AND even MORE during the 1990s.
Those who DARE, WINS.
So are those who 'SPREAD THEIR WINGS' now 'QUITTERS' ?
