Khaw Boon Wan- cannot solve costs of living problems?- His point- be a Minister- set unfair election rules to perpetuate your rule- and earn $2M/ yr....!!!!
- From: "Cherry" <bic_cherry@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: 3 May 2006 04:25:17 -0700
Khaw Boon Wan- cannot solve costs of living problems?- His point- be a
Minister- set unfair election rules to perpetuate your rule- and earn
$2M/ yr....!!!!
Lower cost of living, lower salaries: Khaw
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/206216/1/.html
03 May 2006 0711 hrs (SST)
SINGAPORE: If Singaporeans had low salaries, the cost of living here
would be lower.
But it could also be a recipe for disaster, Health Minister Khaw Boon
Wan said on Tuesday in response to the Opposition's charge that the
cost of living was rising.
Speaking at a walkabout in Sembawang, Mr Khaw said: "If for the next
100 years, nobody complains about the cost of living anymore, it means
failure for Singapore, it means disaster. It means we have walked
backwards."
He added: "Let's cut our salaries to one-tenth, which is probably the
situation in the neighbouring countries, then you achieve a very low
cost of living. To permanently stay that way means no wage increases
for everybody - that is what low cost of living is all about. You want
low cost of living means you want low wages ... That means all of us -
you and me - let's all take pay cuts."
Griping about the cost of living - which the Opposition is doing - is
not going to solve the problem, he said.
"What is politics all about? Politics is to improve the standard of
living of people, right? To raise standard of living means to raise
their salaries. That's why we focus so much on education, skills
retraining, creating opportunities. That's how you solve cost of living
problems, not just complaining."
Wages and costs should move according to the market, said Mr Khaw, as
long as Singaporeans receive the best education "so that they can get
the highest possible income".
When asked about the Opposition's swipes at the ruling party for the
high ministerial salaries, Mr Khaw turned the tables on their motive
for wanting to enter Parliament.
"It comes back to the same point: Do you want capable people who can
earn much higher salaries outside to be leading you? Or do you want
incompetent people who cannot even earn the MP allowance? So of course
they fight very hard hoping to be MPs - that will be an improvement for
them. Their income suddenly grows! Because they have less potential, on
their own, they cannot earn these kind of salaries."
Turning to the unemployment issue, which the Opposition has also
raised, Mr Khaw said while there are anecdotal accounts of people who
cannot find work, Singaporeans should look at data at the "national
level".
Singapore's unemployment rate dropped to a low 2.6 per cent last year.
"Those are not cooked up figures. The PAP (People's Action Party)
government doesn't cook up figures ... Which society has zero
unemployment? Let's look at the macro data. What is it now, compared to
last year, to a few years ago?" said Mr Khaw.
While acknowledging that the Government cannot rest on its laurels, Mr
Khaw also took a swipe at the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP).
"We cannot hope that for the rest of our lives, everything goes on
smoothly. That only happens with afterlife - provided you do good
things in this life and end up the right way. If you do wrong things,
tell lies, defame people, create trouble, incite hatred ... then I
think you have wasted your life and I worry about your afterlife."
The man leading PAP's Sembawang GRC team also said that his team has
"never bumped" into their SDP opponents during walkabouts and house
visits.
"I don't think the SDP is making any attempts whatsoever knocking on
doors ... They spend more time talking to Americans than talking to
Singaporeans, particularly residents of Sembawang GRC."
He said the rift within the SDP is apparent even to residents he met.
"Everyone should know what kind of political party the SDP is. Look at
the news reports over the last few weeks. The internal disputes and
strife, everyone is familiar. So if you can't even be united among
yourselves, can four million Singaporeans entrust their future in such
a political party? It's very dangerous." - TODAY /dt
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