Singapore least corrupt nation

Clivebenss SG

BERLIN - SINGAPORE, Denmark and New Zealand were seen as the nations least blighted by corruption, according to a survey published on Tuesday by watchdog Transparency International (TI).

The three tied for top spot, scoring 9.3 points. They were followed by Finland, Sweden, Canada and the Netherlands.

Afghanistan and Myanmar shared second last place with a score of 1.4, with Somalia coming in last with a score of 1.1.

Nearly three-quarters of the 178 countries in TI's annual survey scored worse than average on the scale, which ranges from zero (perceived to be highly corrupt) to 10 (perceived to have low levels of corruption).

'The results indicate a serious corruption problem,' the Berlin-based anti-sleaze body said. 'Allowing corruption to continue is unacceptable; too many poor and vulnerable people continue to suffer its consequences around the world,' said TI's president Huguette Labelle.

The United States was 22nd on the list, while Greece and Italy came in at 78th and 67th respectively. China was level with Greece. TI said corruption was hampering efforts to combat 'the world's most pressing problems' such as the financial crisis and climate change. -- AFP

BERLIN - THE following is a list of the top and bottom-ranked nations on corruption watchdog Transparency International's annual Corruption Perceptions Index, released on Tuesday.

The index score relates to perceptions of the degree of corruption as seen by business people and country analysts and ranges between zero, which is highly corrupt, and 10, which is very clean.

=1. Denmark 9.3
=1. New Zealand 9.3
=1. Singapore 9.3
=4. Finland 9.2
=4. Sweden 9.2
6. Canada 8.9
7. Netherlands 8.8
=8. Australia 8.7
=8. Switzerland 8.7
10. Norway 8.6
=11. Iceland 8.5
=11. Luxembourg 8.5
13. Hong Kong 8.4
14. Ireland 8.0
=15. Austria 7.9
=15. Germany 7.9
=164. Democratic Republic of Congo 2.0
=164. Guinea 2.0
=164. Kyrgyzstan 2.0
=164. Venezuela 2.0
168. Angola 1.9
168. Equatorial Guinea 1.9
170. Burundi 1.8
171. Chad 1.7
=172. Sudan 1.6
=172. Turkmenistan 1.6
=172. Uzbekistan 1.6
175. Iraq 1.5
=176. Afghanistan 1.4
=176. Myanmar 1.4
178. Somalia 1.1

-- AFP

likeyou SG

Good to attract foreign investors to set up companies here.

Thus more jobles pple will have opportunity to be employ again.

Jiani SG

of course

charlize SG

There is an inverse relationship between corruption and salary.

Really.

Asromanista2001 SG

S'pore has ''clean corruption''..............

when you make corruption legal..................you have no corruption...........

ministers making millions in salaries every single year make much much more money than corrupted ministers ever can.................

as the Godfather said...........''a lawyer can make more money than 100 robbers with guns''

MobTwo SG

I concur with Asromanista... If you legalize robbery and set the rules only certain companies can rob legally while others can't, then these special group of companies will not only face less corruption but highest profit annually... haha

Casopia-maplesea SG

in the first place, our ministers DONT make millions a year... the max earned is our PM lee who earns almost a million ayear, and thats all, the rest earn alot less than that(go ahead and check). and asromanista my fren, what 'clean corruption; r u talking abt? WHAT u mean to say are those called zaibatsus, a HUGE company like Sony that steals all the bussiness in that sector of the economy and controls it. THAT is clean corruption, where one family controls the prices and wages while the government does nothing. I dont think we have such a thing as zaibatsus in singapore, so please think it over b4 accusing us of 'clean corruption'. do u see any mega corporations in singapore? what is this "special group" of companies u speak of?

Casopia-maplesea SG

eh why nvr put indonesia and malaysia worse corrputed nations of the world? lol, look at thier EFFICIENT CRIME ENFORCEMENT

Zweiz SG

in the first place, our ministers DONT make millions a year... the max earned is our PM lee who earns almost a million ayear, and thats all, the rest earn alot less than that(go ahead and check)

welcome to reality

BadzMaro SG

How about NZ

Spend over 150 bucks of your parliamentery credit card allowance and u have to stand before the select committee to explain yourself. Why u need to purchase the CK underwear. hahaha

Another is 380 bucks for two bottles of wine for an overseas delegate.

Flying your girlfriend isntead of your wife in an overseas trip using taxpayers money, and U will get screwed too.

Contrast it with Sg ministers that have salaries of millions to begin with. lol

Casopia-maplesea SG

b4 accusing our ministers of sucking 'millions' on dollars, pls go and check up on your 'valid' claims b4 spouting bullshit. like i said, the highest earned is by our pm lee of prob 1million or less a year. the other ministers earn peanuts compared to that. and as i said b4 we're talking abt singapore here. what proof of 'clean corruption' as u call it do u have? what asromanista and mobtwo were blabbering abt is known as gigantic enterprises called "zaibatsus" in japan only, where for example, in the automobile industry, giants like honda own the stage and control prices. THAT is how japan is run, BUT not singapore, get it? asromanista's "as the godfather said..." senario occurs prob in america or japan, but has little relavance to what singapore is today. please, think and post some evidence b4 spouting nonsense :)

Casopia-maplesea SG

and abt the high tax? prob every country has it. look at USA, look at australia, where they take half of ur income. look at france as it is now.

deathmaster SG

i was laughing to myself, after i also read the article about how khaw boon wan paid only $8 for his bypass surgery.

if only it applies to ordinary folks. $8..... and when he's making millions a year.

and to talk about corruption-free.

Junyang700 SG

Earning so much and still corrupt.. can execute them liao.

Zweiz SG

like i said, the highest earned is by our pm lee of prob 1million or less a year. the other ministers earn peanuts compared to that.

troll bait?

charlize SG

we sacrifice SG

Survey for this report done by PERC

Who is PERC?

Monday, 22 September 2008

Singapore Democrats

The Political and Economic Risk Consultancy or PERC, as it is commonly referred to, is held in high praise by Singapore's establishment.

Mr Lee Kuan Yew himself placed the organisation in the same esteemed group with global institutions like the International Bar Association (IBA). That is, until IBA criticised the Judiciary, which then made it a Western liberal NGO out to do this island in.

The Minister Mentor is not the only one, Ministers Mentee also cite the company whenever they get the chance.

The Straits Times regularly carries prominent reports written by it.

"Non-government" think-tanks like the Singapore Institute of International Affairs cannot resist citing it

Even our Supreme Court proudly refers to it.

So who or what is this group that is so admired by Singapore's establishment? Who runs this outfit and what does it do?

PERC's website tells us that it is a "consulting firm specializing in strategic business information and analysis for companies" doing business in East and Southeast Asia. It also produces a range of risk reports on the strengths and weaknesses of individual countries in the region. So far so solid.

But when it comes to information about who runs the organisation, the website is rather diffident. For example under "Senior Management", there is only one name -- a Robert Broadfoot who is described as an economics graduate “directly responsible for managing PERC's research and consulting.”

Is there a governing board? If yes, who is on it? If no, is PERC a sole-proprietorship? Does anyone else run the organisation with Mr Broadfoot?

Based in Hong Kong, PERC says it “coordinates a team of researchers and analysts” but doesn't tell us who they are, how many there are, and what their areas of expertise are. Do they work full-time for the Consultancy or on an ad hoc project basis? If part-time, what are their main occupations and what companies do they work for?

The organisation also avers its "complete independence from any vested interest groups." Several lines below, however, it says that it engages in "retainer work and specific projects" and "in-house briefings" for international business associations. Who these groups and associations are is not revealed.

Such information is important as it allows the reader a gauge of just how independent the organisation is and, by extension, how reliable its reports are. This is especially salient when the reports are cited by governments for political purposes. Simply asserting that the company is completely independent does not make it so.

For example one of its analysts, Mr Bruce Gale, is also a senior writer with the Straits Times. Whether he continues to work for PERC is unclear as the website has no information on him.

Given the nature of the state-media arrangement in Singapore, it is more than fair to ask what an employee of an organisation that is supposed to have "complete independence" is doing writing for a newspaper owned and run by a government. It is imperative that PERC makes clear the status of Mr Gale.

Ironically, Mr Gale himself notes that "most political risk assessment remains both superficial and subjective. Typically, such analysis is very informal, consisting of little more than a few brief visits to the country..."

Even the information about the surveys that PERC conducts such as the kinds of questions asked, the variables used, the sample characteristics, etc are not readily available. One assumes that they are contained in the reports which cost US$645 to subscribe annually. Analysis of the reliability and validity of such surveys is lacking. This is a problem. Yet, the results are held next to biblical truth by those who benefit from it.

The next and obvious question is: Who pays for PERC's services? One will not be surprised to find Singapore's establishment a ready customer. For example, the Nanyang Technological University and the National Institute of Education are online subscribers to the organisation's Monthly Risk reports.

And what do these reports contain? The page tells us that the topics covered are "Politics, Economics, Business." Politics? The Singapore Democrats can confirm that PERC has never attempted to seek our views on matters political in Singapore. We're unsure if the Consultancy has interviewed any other opposition party or civil society group. We could easily find out by doing a search on its website. The only problem is the website doesn't have a Search button.

Given that the organisation is so oft-quoted by the Singapore establishment, it is time that more questions are asked of PERC which must do a better job of providing background information about itself. A consultancy that assesses the political and economic risk of countries must surely understand the importance of transparency.

DailyFreeGames.com SG

our ministers DONT make millions a year...

need to clarify, i think maybe what you said is true only when taking into account just their salary?

but will it be true taking into account other hidden things like government bonus, issurance of shares, taking control of the government entities and sitting on the board, and then getting paid under those company entities, plus the company bonus and directors fee, of course they 1 person can sit on a few boards or cc so multiply their directors fee and company bonus...

if someone can say something like get out of my uncaring elite face, they must be really elite... lol

NG QIBO AARON AUBREY SG

somalia got great growth potential

Asromanista2001 SG

for your info the Police Commissioner already making over 30K a month..............u think the PM only makes a million ?

clean corruption means super high pay................no need for any dirty business.........