Continuous problems in Singapore are symptomatic of Leadership failure

The image of police cars in flames and riot police in full gear is a tragic scene that is now embossed into the horrified minds of Singaporeans. Never in 40 years has there been a riot in the secure and safe Singapore that Singaporeans are proud of. Of course, it is being argued now that the riots were caused by a minority of foreign workers and that most here are law-abiding and some were even heroes trying to stop the rioters from hurting people. The authorities have taken swift action, arrested and charged 27 men who were directly involved. A Committee of Inquiry (COI) has been set up to investigate the reason behind the riot.

There are a lot of questions being asked on the riot, why did the rioters only attacked uniformed cars and personnel? Rioters in other countries typically take the opportunity to loot shops and steal stuff ? Considering that the Police Force is the authority giving out liquor licenses, why did they give out 374 licenses in the area, and now alcohol is the culprit?

But looking at the bigger picture, the key question that begs to be answered is whether this riot has been preordained with the continuous problems in Singapore?

The most recent incident before this was the July 2013 brutal Kovan murder of a 67-year old owner of a motor workshop and his 43-year old son at their home at Hillside Drive allegedly by a Police Senior Staff Sergeant no less.  

Worthy of mention is also the Oct 2013 corruption case of a Singapore diplomat from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) by overbilling authorities by S$89,000 by overstating the amount of gift bought for official purposes. Worse still, an assistant director of the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB), anti-corruption watchdog, was charged with misappropriating S$1.7 million. Part of the money was allegedly used for gambling at the Marina Bay Sands Casino.

In May 2013, the highest ranking civil servant in recent times, the Civil Defense Force (CDF) chief was found guilty of trading contracts for sex. An associate professor of law was also found guilty of abusing his position by having sex with a student and taking gifts from her.

Related to the Little India’s foreign workers riots, there was the Nov 2012 two-days illegal strike by 170 SMRT Chinese bus drivers to protest against pay and living conditions. This was the first strike in Singapore in 25 years. As a warning to the rest, the ring leaders were jailed six-weeks and then deported back to China.

And the list can go on with the Dec 2011 major disruption in SMRT, the flooding of Orchard road in Jun 2010 and escape of the terrorist Mas Selamat.

Sure the Singapore leadership can claim that these are discrete and isolated events, but are they?

A simple benchmarking would be the period of leadership before LHL was appointed the Prime Minister in 2004. Sure there were some difficulties during GCT’s leadership, but a riot and a strike in the space of one year? At least in my mind, it is a clear failure of the current leadership.

So what are the possible causes for the failure in leadership?

1.   A group-think mentality and incestuous talent pool

Despite claims to the contrary, the group-think mentality cannot be swept under the carpet. A disproportionate number of the ministers are from the SAF, specifically the Transport Minister, the Manpower Minister, the Minister for Home Affairs & Deputy Prime Minister and even the Prime Minister himself. Several others are from the Civil Service or Government related agencies. If you surround yourself with Yes-Men and Yes-Women, you are just like the Emperor with no clothes.

2.   Complacency and money driven view of the world

The self-righteous view of the leadership is that if they provide economic growth for Singapore, the society would begrudgingly accept their money drive view of the world and fall in line. The corruption cases are partly influenced by such a value of chasing money. They obstinately import foreigners into Singapore to drive growth, making up 1.3 million of the total 5.4 million on the small island, without due consideration of the consequences of their actions.

The complacency was further demonstrated by a Population White Paper planning to squeeze 6.9 million into Singapore, which lead to a large protest at Hong Lim Park un-heard of in Singapore.
 

3.   Focusing on fixing the Opposition, rather than fixing the problems

With a bruising 2011 General Elections and 2 humiliating By-election defeats, the ruling party has spent more time and effort trying to discredit the main opposition party than focusing on solving the problems that they had caused in the first place. Un-necessary air time in Parliament and state-owned media was used to debate quarterly hawker centre ceiling cleaning, when the time should have been put to better use. It is actually ironical and also poetic that the ruling party had a convention on the same day as the riots, with plans to take the offensive against the opposition in the next General Elections. People in power are just paranoid of losing power.

 
So the final question to ask is whether the Little India riots is the final display of the leadership failure that we will see in Singapore ? I seriously doubt it. More spectacular boo-boos are just waiting to manifest, I just hope no more Singaporeans get hurt.

New Useful App: GrabTaxi

The mobile app is currently the only taxi booking app in Singapore that connects the commuter directly to the taxi driver's personal smartphone. Commuters can also include their destination when booking a taxi, which increases the possibilities of securing a successful booking, since taxi drivers would be more likely to accept booking offers if the destination is along their desired route. This is especially important during shift change periods when booking taxis is difficult unless the destination is nearby or on the way for the taxi driver.

After GrabTaxi is launched, it'll automatically detect the commuter's current location using the smartphone's in-built GPS and show the number of available taxis near you. The commuter selects the desired destination and the booking request is sent to taxi drivers near you. The drivers will then bid for the job and the taxi driver nearest to the commuter will be assigned the booking. The commuter will receive a booking confirmation within one minute, together with information such as estimated time of arrival, taxi number, and the driver’s contact details. The commuter can also track the real-time location of the booked taxi.

The GrabTaxi app is available for download for iOS devices, Android devices and Windows phones.

Personally I have tried to use this GrabTaxi app and though it managed to identify a couple of Taxis near my location, but I have not successfully got them yet. I think a few more taxi drivers need to get involved and also more advertisement and marketing is needed (hence this blog post). I am supportive of it as it is disruptive and takes the power away for the Taxi Cartels and put it in the hands of customers and taxi drivers (Why PAY booking fee if you can avoid it!?) When I was in KL Malaysia recently, I noticed a lot more taxi drivers are already on the network so it was easier to catch on.

http://grabtaxi.com/singapore/

http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/third-party-taxi-booking-apps-making-their-way-singapore?page=1

Ang Mo Kio Town Council Website HACKED!

Wow it really happened! Ang Mo Kio Town Council Website HACKED!

http://www.tremeritus.com/2013/10/28/amk-town-council-falls-victim-to-the-messiah/

www.amktc.org.sg

Just shows all the unhappiness in Singapore.

Respect ! Towards a First World Singapore !

"To build a democratic society based on justice and equality"

Oxymoron - Capland

Epic Fail by the marketers of CapLand, in the same newspaper, it shows that Sky Habitat prices are the most unrealistic and highest...and they claim a down to earth price?
BRAINLESS !

I was talking to a mortgage loan officer and after the TDSR implementation, less than 50% of the applications are accepted by the banks ! BURN Capland BURN !

Property Guru says 9,000 troubled units could be released into Singapore market

Property Guru says 9,000 troubled units could be released into Singapore market.
Buy at your own risk !

http://www.propertyguru.com.sg/property-management-news/2013/7/36279/analyst-9-000-troubled-units-could-be-on-market

Up to 9,000 Singapore private property owners could be forced to sell their homes if interest rates rise in the city-state, according to an analyst report published today.

On the back of news that up to 10 percent of Singapore households may have already over-leveraged their private property purchases beyond the new 60 percent limit that was recently imposed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), wealth management firm Religare Enterprises has cautioned its clients to avoid investing in Singapore property developers.

In its ASEAN Property Pulse report released today, the research arm of the India-based firm explained that between 10 -15 percent of borrowers could be in financial trouble should interest rates rise in Singapore.

MAS has reported that between five to 10 percent of Singapore households could have over-extended themselves, fuelled by low interest rates and stretched loan tenures.  The majority of mortgage loans in Singapore are floating rate packages, according to the company, which means households will face higher monthly repayments when interest rates normalise.

Religare has predicted that a rise in interest rates could see more than 9,000 financially troubled
properties being listed on the market – assuming a figure of 10 percent of the 90,000 private homes that are scheduled to be completed between now and 2016.

The authors of the report said: "Another worrying statistic is that only 70 percent of the loans are for owner-occupied homes, meaning investor demand in private homes is running quite high."
Housing Development Board (HDB) properties and executive condominiums (ECs) have to be purchased for self-occupation, the company noted, so all property investment demand is in the private property sector.

"A little wobble in prices combined with higher interest rates might shake up a few property investors as well and add to the possible troubled units on the market," the report said.
The company has advised its clients to be cautious on the Singapore residential property market and against investing in Singapore property developer shares.
"We expect prices and rents to correct over 2014-15 on the back of completion of more than 90,000 units between 2H 2013 and 2016," it predicted.

Singapore household debt soared to 77.2% of GDP !!! Same as Asian Financial Crisis !

The last time that the Singapore Household Debt was 77 percent of GDP was just before the Asian Financial Crisis!

http://business.asiaone.com/news/unease-property-fuels-rise-household-debt

According to Moody's, Singapore’s banking system has been operating in a favorable operating environment for an extended period, with low interest rates and strong economic growth domestically and in the surrounding region.
This environment has given rise to strong credit growth and asset inflation in both the real estate and financial markets.
Here's more from Moody's:

Domestically, household debt increased to 77.2% of GDP as of March 2013 from 64.4% at end-2007.  

For the same time period, prices for private property grew 1.2 times and prices for Housing Development Board (HDB) real estate 1.7 times. Regionally, we observe similar or even more dramatic trends. 

With the potential risk of a turn in the interest rate cycle, we view strong asset inflation and credit growth trends as vulnerabilities, as this combination would likely cause credit costs to rise from their current low base. If interest rates rise, we therefore expect rising credit costs to outweigh any potential increases in lending margins. 

While it is difficult to exactly predict turning points in banking credit cycles, the increased likelihood of tightening of US monetary policy - with a higher probability of a tapering of quantitative easing during our outlook period - is a potential trigger. There will be effects for interest rates in Singapore and the surrounding region, as well as for capital flows in and out of the emerging markets where Singapore banks are active.