There has been a long time since I last blogged... even though I tried to find time and tell myself to do something to my blog layout, I was busy with my internship programme at SIM for the past few weeks. Now I have completed my internship and started my new semester for my communication degree... I am also keeping a look out for jobs that I may be interested to embark in (eg. public service sector). This is because I will be graduating soon this year in May 2009.
Interestingly, there has been great policies spearheaded by the Singapore government to revitalize and salvage the current and local economic situation during the bad times. Unemployment, staff retrenchment, pay cut, fewer bonus and low entry salary have become common ever since the US financial crisis hits the world due to globalization. People lost their jobs, government trying their best to minimize the impact and losses, corporations are struggling to survive and consumers are keeping their wallets tied turn out to be the facets of life and underlying "trends" now. If we have known this would happen, there should have been fewer people losing their investments, and better plans to reverse the paddle.
Nonetheless, it seems like not many have come out to speak about how this has happened and why some countries are less affected by the economic downturn. Following the Lehman Brothers and many other major banks which has faced bankruptcy in the United States, states everywhere around the globe suffered tremendously huge sum of capital, funds and investments. It seemed like we can "blame" the financial structure of the US which caused the gigantic "ship" (ie. world's economic) to overturn, but some countries (like Singapore) faced the tides well while keeping their minds optimistic about the situation. Whether or not the future lies a better global economic structure or not, we have learnt that a country may be affected by globalization but if the governance is good and people (especially political leaders) are versatile in handling bad times, we can still fight our way through the tough battle.
Nation upgrading, community bonding, social development, public welfare and economic workforce are the keys aspects to turn the flaps along the tides (realize I didnt say "against the tides"). Why? Because for one basic fundamental in business - "Crisis equals opportunity." For lower-income people, this is a great time to "work even harder" (that's the fact, face it!) and seize any chances to upgrade your skills, qualifications and knowledge. For middle-income entrepueneurs, professionals or business owners, this is your golden opportunity to devise a better way of minimizing expanses (do not focus on profit for now, seriously), expanding your relations with the stakeholders, and opening yourself to new bloods (employees) or ideas (strategic planning). If you still think of working for big bucks rather than on your people now, think twice! For the high-income flyers, good luck! That's all I can say. Although you might be the ones who have the most to lose but if you know how to adjust your profits margins and widen your scope of investments or business venture, you may also be able to take advantage of the situation rather than losing millions in a day or a week. We all have our parts to play, and I hope that my words can inspire those who are pessimistic about their lives ahead. Everyone, cut down your liabilities for now! This is the prime time to build your network! =)
As for me... I know I am not a guru in business, neither am I a high-flyer who earn bigs bucks a day. I am just an optimistic undergrad who wish to seek a great employer who trust my capabilities and can offer me a fantastic career that engages my potential and wits when I graduate in three months time. Public service may also be a good choice for me as I believe very strongly in serving the nation and protecting the community. Since we have the number one governance in the world, close networks with other nations, and the best geographical location, why fear? This is just a time when we have to learn to be responsible for ourselves so that others can count on us!
Showing posts with label government. Show all posts
Showing posts with label government. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Crisis? People or Finance?
Abreast the US economy "U-turns", banks are losing their gold mines and submerging in huge waves that spread mercilously across the globe. Even the huge and uprising Dragon (China) is in its impact and busy putting off the Milk Scare trauma, Singapore is no exception either. Economic crisis management is on the roll, businesses, investors and huge organizations are in the same boat altogether. The question is: while the business and economic giants are "mending" their path to cover the pitfall, what can Singapore do to secure public confidence and take this opportunity to address issues that will help in the long-run abreast the current, and failing global economies?
We, a small but strong nation that lies along the Straits of Malacca, as Singaporeans have to understand that we cannot just wait for miracles to happen or God to descend and save the economic crisis. Besides, it is vital to consolidate our achievement and prepare for the next economy rebound, and address the issues that may surface in the long-run. In order not to make this "crisis" moment go into waste, my suggestion to the government is: we should monitor closely to the global financial movements and tackle issues facing the national economy, but at the same time we can generate efforts to close up the income gap, increase nation's expertise and standards (I mean -strictly and particularly- the lower-income people), and contain the discrepancies that are currently facing the lower-paid and unemployed. I am confident that with feasible measures taken to help the lower-income and less-educated, Singapore will be at a winning position when the crisis is over.
If the government believed that a GST package can help to reduce the impact of GST rise, wouldn't a “personal upgrade” package enhance the lower-income workforce to become more efficient for the industries and improve their skills, knowledge and standards? I suggest that such package may be aimed at increasing the educational qualification of the lower-income and less skilled, through subsidies and financial assistance to satisfy their intentions to pursue a skill/knowledge “upgrade.”
With well-planned strategies in “poor” times like this, “rich” assets can be created not by economic figures (yet) but through betterment of the people who needs it more than those who are educated and employed. In fact, if we have to worry later about the growing income gap in future, why not take actions now when the time is right? Moreover, people is our most reliant resources in Singapore… I believed to help those who are less privileged, we will build a more cohesive nation that share the same voice and embrace the mission to strive hard for Singapore even during the bad tides. I sincerely hope that the government can receive my message here.
If the times are bad to do business, why not focus on the people first? Don't you agree with me?
We, a small but strong nation that lies along the Straits of Malacca, as Singaporeans have to understand that we cannot just wait for miracles to happen or God to descend and save the economic crisis. Besides, it is vital to consolidate our achievement and prepare for the next economy rebound, and address the issues that may surface in the long-run. In order not to make this "crisis" moment go into waste, my suggestion to the government is: we should monitor closely to the global financial movements and tackle issues facing the national economy, but at the same time we can generate efforts to close up the income gap, increase nation's expertise and standards (I mean -strictly and particularly- the lower-income people), and contain the discrepancies that are currently facing the lower-paid and unemployed. I am confident that with feasible measures taken to help the lower-income and less-educated, Singapore will be at a winning position when the crisis is over.
If the government believed that a GST package can help to reduce the impact of GST rise, wouldn't a “personal upgrade” package enhance the lower-income workforce to become more efficient for the industries and improve their skills, knowledge and standards? I suggest that such package may be aimed at increasing the educational qualification of the lower-income and less skilled, through subsidies and financial assistance to satisfy their intentions to pursue a skill/knowledge “upgrade.”
With well-planned strategies in “poor” times like this, “rich” assets can be created not by economic figures (yet) but through betterment of the people who needs it more than those who are educated and employed. In fact, if we have to worry later about the growing income gap in future, why not take actions now when the time is right? Moreover, people is our most reliant resources in Singapore… I believed to help those who are less privileged, we will build a more cohesive nation that share the same voice and embrace the mission to strive hard for Singapore even during the bad tides. I sincerely hope that the government can receive my message here.
If the times are bad to do business, why not focus on the people first? Don't you agree with me?
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Schemes targeted at kindergarden level not enough
(in response to "Social escalator needs oiling" p. A33, The Straits Times)
Are better opportunities for pre-primary education going to help? And have we adequately addressed the issues of education for children of the lower income families? The answer is no. In fact, I was shocked when I came to know through that "of 61 President's scholars from 1992 onwards, only five had parents who were not professionals, white collars, or engineers" and "53 per cent of the 2008 batch of Public Service Commision scholars came from private housing, up from 47 per cent in 2005." Thus, I wish to raise my views about the constraints and problems faced by children of poorer families, and highlight some of the reasons to why they weren't able to "afford" it even though there were many scholarships available in Singapore.
Facing the growing income gap and inequality in Singapore, Janice Heng (writer) mentioned the solution noted by our PM Lee in his rally speech in her report - "One step in the right decision is increased spending on kindergardens," which (to a certain extent) addressed part of the concerns of lower income families hoping to fight better education opportunities for their children. Evidently, "meritocracy can promote social mobility only if one's starting point does not greatly affect one's chances of academic success" but I felt the "starting point" here not only meant pre-school education, but also at the various "starting point" of deciding to pursue higher level of education. Of course, we have also "other levelling factors," such as direct assistance to poorer household, to lessen the burden of poor families providing a better education for their children. Nonetheless, I believed that the government can and will be willing to do more, so I wish to make a humble suggestion and summarize in a few paragraphs below.
"If we want poorer students to be able to climb society's ladder, perhaps we need to give them a leg up." I absolutely agree with the writer that this statement holds the KEY to helping childrens of poor families to achieve a higher education; however, directing more spending on kindergarden is not enough to solve the issue in my personal opinion. Clearly, it is just an initial step to help lower income families to at least achieve a condusive and proper pre-primary education for their kids; but, in order to help them climb the "society's ladder," they need more guidience along the way.
In the fast-paced society, I have seen many lower income families who"require" their children to come out to the society to work even though they did well in school. I can fully understand the pain, uncertainty, lack of guidience and dilemma of many outstanding but "poor" students faced when they are deciding whether or not to further on their studies after their O'Levels, Polytechnic, or even JCs. I was one of them! We knew that it is important to get a degree these days, as a higher proportion of younger generation are achieving above tertiary education compared to the past. Can the children from the poorer families keep up with the chase? Personally, I find it a hard but it can be achieved only if you find the right people to talk to (academic advisor, consultants, teachers who are willing to help) and right channels to achieve your educational goals. Thus, the key concern for these students (from lower income households, who achieved high performance in their schools) is not just about having a wide variety of scholarships, study loans, and bursaries to cater to their needs, but where to get them and how to plan for their further studies (especially when they are still willing to fight for it).
In other words, to make my point short, we need a platform for high performers from poorer families to attain proper and greater guidience easily - starting from neighbourhood secondary schools may be a good choice. Take some time to think about this: polytechnic's and university's open-houses which happened once in a year, detailed brouchures about furthering education laying on the shelves of school reception offices, and educational "advisors" who are more likely to sit in their desk and passively waiting for "interested" students to approach them for help on further education, can these measures be fully utilized if most of these students are having second thoughts about furthering education after O'Levels, A'Levels or a Diploma? I doubt so. Unless parents themselves have clear minds of where to find help for their childrens to realize their educational goals, most childrens and high scorers from poor families are going no where (especially if they cannot make up their mind on whether to further studies or go out to work).
Therefore, if neighbourhood schools can head start a programme IMMEDIATELY after students passed their O'levels (probably to be integrated during the meet-the-teachers session) to help parents and students lay a possible guideline and assistance as to how they can achieve a degree or even a masters in the future, it will broaden the opportunities for these high performers in school. Moreover, it will also allow more preparation time for parents to calculate the expenses for their children if they pursue a higher education (degree, masters or Phd) before they even start studying in polytechnic or JCs. Of course, we can devise a more holistic solution to make the programme more extensive, so that most students who opted for the programme are able to do well in their field of studies and achieve their targeted goals. For instance, apart from a one-time meeting affair with teachers or advisors, we can provide assistance and do follow-ups through communittee centres to clarify their doubts and plan their route. Similarly, it will also reach out to more scholars residing in the grassroots.
At last, if any government member happens to possibly view this section of my blog... I hope that you can take my suggestion into consideration. Thank you, and God bless!
Are better opportunities for pre-primary education going to help? And have we adequately addressed the issues of education for children of the lower income families? The answer is no. In fact, I was shocked when I came to know through that "of 61 President's scholars from 1992 onwards, only five had parents who were not professionals, white collars, or engineers" and "53 per cent of the 2008 batch of Public Service Commision scholars came from private housing, up from 47 per cent in 2005." Thus, I wish to raise my views about the constraints and problems faced by children of poorer families, and highlight some of the reasons to why they weren't able to "afford" it even though there were many scholarships available in Singapore.
Facing the growing income gap and inequality in Singapore, Janice Heng (writer) mentioned the solution noted by our PM Lee in his rally speech in her report - "One step in the right decision is increased spending on kindergardens," which (to a certain extent) addressed part of the concerns of lower income families hoping to fight better education opportunities for their children. Evidently, "meritocracy can promote social mobility only if one's starting point does not greatly affect one's chances of academic success" but I felt the "starting point" here not only meant pre-school education, but also at the various "starting point" of deciding to pursue higher level of education. Of course, we have also "other levelling factors," such as direct assistance to poorer household, to lessen the burden of poor families providing a better education for their children. Nonetheless, I believed that the government can and will be willing to do more, so I wish to make a humble suggestion and summarize in a few paragraphs below.
"If we want poorer students to be able to climb society's ladder, perhaps we need to give them a leg up." I absolutely agree with the writer that this statement holds the KEY to helping childrens of poor families to achieve a higher education; however, directing more spending on kindergarden is not enough to solve the issue in my personal opinion. Clearly, it is just an initial step to help lower income families to at least achieve a condusive and proper pre-primary education for their kids; but, in order to help them climb the "society's ladder," they need more guidience along the way.
In the fast-paced society, I have seen many lower income families who"require" their children to come out to the society to work even though they did well in school. I can fully understand the pain, uncertainty, lack of guidience and dilemma of many outstanding but "poor" students faced when they are deciding whether or not to further on their studies after their O'Levels, Polytechnic, or even JCs. I was one of them! We knew that it is important to get a degree these days, as a higher proportion of younger generation are achieving above tertiary education compared to the past. Can the children from the poorer families keep up with the chase? Personally, I find it a hard but it can be achieved only if you find the right people to talk to (academic advisor, consultants, teachers who are willing to help) and right channels to achieve your educational goals. Thus, the key concern for these students (from lower income households, who achieved high performance in their schools) is not just about having a wide variety of scholarships, study loans, and bursaries to cater to their needs, but where to get them and how to plan for their further studies (especially when they are still willing to fight for it).
In other words, to make my point short, we need a platform for high performers from poorer families to attain proper and greater guidience easily - starting from neighbourhood secondary schools may be a good choice. Take some time to think about this: polytechnic's and university's open-houses which happened once in a year, detailed brouchures about furthering education laying on the shelves of school reception offices, and educational "advisors" who are more likely to sit in their desk and passively waiting for "interested" students to approach them for help on further education, can these measures be fully utilized if most of these students are having second thoughts about furthering education after O'Levels, A'Levels or a Diploma? I doubt so. Unless parents themselves have clear minds of where to find help for their childrens to realize their educational goals, most childrens and high scorers from poor families are going no where (especially if they cannot make up their mind on whether to further studies or go out to work).
Therefore, if neighbourhood schools can head start a programme IMMEDIATELY after students passed their O'levels (probably to be integrated during the meet-the-teachers session) to help parents and students lay a possible guideline and assistance as to how they can achieve a degree or even a masters in the future, it will broaden the opportunities for these high performers in school. Moreover, it will also allow more preparation time for parents to calculate the expenses for their children if they pursue a higher education (degree, masters or Phd) before they even start studying in polytechnic or JCs. Of course, we can devise a more holistic solution to make the programme more extensive, so that most students who opted for the programme are able to do well in their field of studies and achieve their targeted goals. For instance, apart from a one-time meeting affair with teachers or advisors, we can provide assistance and do follow-ups through communittee centres to clarify their doubts and plan their route. Similarly, it will also reach out to more scholars residing in the grassroots.
At last, if any government member happens to possibly view this section of my blog... I hope that you can take my suggestion into consideration. Thank you, and God bless!
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