No one can look into the Crystal Ball and predict what will
happen tomorrow, a week later, a year later, five years, a decade
or more later, or whatever length of time.
However, the Government will have to be responsible for setting a
course that they wish to take, without considering the full
dynamics of the policy action that they intend to implement.
For example, by promising a Swiss Standard of Living to
Singaporeans - who are accustomed to the Asian "Way of Life" - what
relevance has the Swiss Standard of Living to do with the Asian
"Way of Life".
By the Swiss Standard of Living, does the Government intend it to
be a Life Style statement; or something more tangible, in the form
of Quality Living Standards equal to the Swiss, or has it to do
with the Swiss Standard of Living achievable through education,
health, environment, social welfare, and housing.
A question that need to be asked is that since 1990 when GCT came
onto center stage, what has been accomplished to attain this goal ?
Health cost has gone up, Education Policy remain confused, Social
Welfare is non-existent, Housing cost is at an all time high,
Environment engineering is a luxury.
In adopting the Swiss Standard of Living, and to enable the
Citizens to afford the Swiss Quality of Life, wages have to go up
so as to allow Singaporeans to have the financial means to attain
the Swiss Standards of Living.
By increasing the wages of average Singaporeans, has the genie been
released from the Pandora's Box, resulting in the spiral upwards in
all other prices of services chasing after the increases to the
wages of Singaporeans ?
During the late 1980's and early 1990's, there was the constant
talk and chiding from the "Old and Retired PAP Warhorses" to the
"Danger of Moneytheism" or "Money Worshipping" by the younger
set.
The "money chase" had begun, and encouraged by the Government,
which culminated in the increase to the PM's salary to that made
Singapore PM's pay to be higher than the President of the
USA.
While there are external world events and factors that can affect
Singapore, there are many policy decisions that could have been
better formulated had there been more room for open and honest
debate.
Unfortunately, many decisions were thought up and pushed through
legislations to become law by the Godfather of Singapore Inc.
For better or worse, bad Government Policies will hang over
Singapore Inc for generations to come - such as the now
acknowledged mistaken Family Planning Policy of the 1960's, the
purposeful increases made to Wages and CPF paid to Singapore
Workers, the adopting of the Swiss Standard of Living as a National
Goal, the Elected President post that will probably result in a
dead-locked Government in the event an Opposition Party is elected
into Government.
Such bad Government Policies can now be avoided, if the Ruling
Party can be made to realise that they DO NOT have the Monopoly of
Talent and Ideas.
