I asked the hotel staff in Jeddah about the population of the city. They did not know. Most of them were "foreign talents". One told me a figure of 3 million, which seemed rather high.
I checked Google and found the answer here. It is one and a half million. It is the second largest city after Riyadh. Jeddah is on the coast of the Red Sea which separates Arabia from Africa.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
The free market in Singapore
I was given a cake on a low cost flight to Jakarta. The airline probably paid less than $0.50 for this cake. To get the business, the confectionery shop probably had to sell the cake based on the cost of ingredients, labour, rental and (hopefully) a small margin of profit. It must be a lot of effort to make a profit of $0.05 on a cake.
My bank wants to charge me $40 to remit some money to another country. Their real cost is probably $2. The rest is profit for the bank. This is why the bank is able to make a profit of $2 billion a year.
This is the "free market" as is operated in Singapore.
My bank wants to charge me $40 to remit some money to another country. Their real cost is probably $2. The rest is profit for the bank. This is why the bank is able to make a profit of $2 billion a year.
This is the "free market" as is operated in Singapore.
Defamatory messages
One person continues to post defamatory and insulting messages against the agents and current CEO of NTUC Income in this blog. I have blocked a few dozen of these messages, but might have allowed some to go through by mistake. I like to ask this person to stop posting these messages, as it is a burden on me to moderate them.
In the process of rejecting these messages, I have made a mistake in rejecting a few unrelated messages that were intended to be passed. I apologise to their writers for this mistake.
In the process of rejecting these messages, I have made a mistake in rejecting a few unrelated messages that were intended to be passed. I apologise to their writers for this mistake.
Really, who is highfalutin?
Someone used the word "highfalutin" to describe a speech by Mr. Viswa Sadasivan. I have never come across this word before, so I checked the dictionary. It means "pompous or bombastic".
I found nothing bombastic about the speech by Mr. Sadasivan. Guess who is "highfalutin" in choosing to use this unfamiliar word?
I found nothing bombastic about the speech by Mr. Sadasivan. Guess who is "highfalutin" in choosing to use this unfamiliar word?
Monday, August 31, 2009
Running the country
Someone criticized me for not providing an alternative solution to the current practice of relying on scholars to run our nation.
I like the system adopted in America. The citizens elect the President based on the platform of policies presented by the candidate to the people. After taking office, the President appoints suitable people to manage the various departments and agencies of the government. These appointees have to be approved by the Congress – whose members were also elected by the people.
This system allows the Present to choose the most suitable candidates from the political, business, community and academic establishments. There is no shortage of talents. The appointees are people who share the President’s visions and strategies, which were also chosen by the people. Most of them are leaders in their own right and are likely to have wide knowledge and experience of their fields.
Critics may argue that the American system does not produce the economic success that is achieved by other models, such as Singapore or China. These critics overlook the fact that economic performance is not the only factor, although it is an important factor, that determines the election of the leaders. This factor has to be balanced against other factors, such as the social policies, quality of life and America’s role in providing security and leadership to the world.
The democratic nature of the American system gets the right balance of policies, that are suitable for the challenges of the time. They are even able to elect an African American to be the President!
A negative factor for the American system is the power of the business lobby. It has led to the wide gap in income and wealth – a factor shared by the Singapore system. I hope that under President Obama and the Democratic control of both houses of Congress, the situation will be changed over the next few years – for the better of America and the world.
The lament of the shortage of talents in Singapore is a product of our Singapore model. We reap what we sow.
There is a workable alternative to the Singapore model of using scholars to run the nation. We should examine if the American system can be adopted here. The small size of Singapore actually makes it easier for the country to be managed. We only need to have an open mind and explore other models.
Tan Kin Lian
I like the system adopted in America. The citizens elect the President based on the platform of policies presented by the candidate to the people. After taking office, the President appoints suitable people to manage the various departments and agencies of the government. These appointees have to be approved by the Congress – whose members were also elected by the people.
This system allows the Present to choose the most suitable candidates from the political, business, community and academic establishments. There is no shortage of talents. The appointees are people who share the President’s visions and strategies, which were also chosen by the people. Most of them are leaders in their own right and are likely to have wide knowledge and experience of their fields.
Critics may argue that the American system does not produce the economic success that is achieved by other models, such as Singapore or China. These critics overlook the fact that economic performance is not the only factor, although it is an important factor, that determines the election of the leaders. This factor has to be balanced against other factors, such as the social policies, quality of life and America’s role in providing security and leadership to the world.
The democratic nature of the American system gets the right balance of policies, that are suitable for the challenges of the time. They are even able to elect an African American to be the President!
A negative factor for the American system is the power of the business lobby. It has led to the wide gap in income and wealth – a factor shared by the Singapore system. I hope that under President Obama and the Democratic control of both houses of Congress, the situation will be changed over the next few years – for the better of America and the world.
The lament of the shortage of talents in Singapore is a product of our Singapore model. We reap what we sow.
There is a workable alternative to the Singapore model of using scholars to run the nation. We should examine if the American system can be adopted here. The small size of Singapore actually makes it easier for the country to be managed. We only need to have an open mind and explore other models.
Tan Kin Lian
Incidents at Changi Airport
I shared two stories about the security clearance at Changi Airport. The multi-million dollar automated system failed this morning. Read here.
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