3/07/2013

Tan Chuan Jin, the man in the mirror




Tan Chuan Jin is the man in the right place and the right time. He could come out a hero or be totally messed up by the shitty situation that has caught up with him. He is in a position that is no different from Boon Wan when he volunteered to clean the housing shit. Unfortunately the problem was too big for his half hearted measures and property prices are still running out of control with more genuine buyers sucked into the property sink hole with all their savings and future incomes. The hole is getting bigger and unplugged still.

The job market that victimizes and discriminates against Singaporeans and favouring foreigners did not happen yesterday. It was allowed to grow in strength for years, and the problem is not going to be solved by a battalion of men. It is an enormous mess of discrimination, victimization, questionable qualifications and experience, fake qualifications, phantom employees, quota bashing or cheating, etc etc. And there is a whole ging gang of players all feasting on a system that has gone haywire. How many hundreds of thousands of foreigners are now employed here and how many should not be here? How many have deprived our own citizens from having decent or good paying jobs through foul or unethical means? How many of our citizens have been cheated? How many vultures are laughing themselves crazy at the stupidity of our system or no system that allows them to do as they pleased at the expense of our own citizens who have lost their jobs?

Tan Chuan Jin has a plate full in his hand. And he needs all the help and resources to clean this mess up, not on alone, but with the support of several ministries and the cabinet. The situation did not reach this level of complexity and enormity for no reasons. Just like the housing problem, it is not easy to step out of this quagmire that was allowed to be there in the first place. How did it happen? How did the housing problem happen? Dunno leh. It just happened.

Can Tan Chuan Jin do anything to change the situation? All the eyes are on him. He is in the spotlight and the chances of him being dragged along by this tsunami are greater than he staying afloat to claim the prize at the end of this rough ride. He not only needs to undo the mess but to restore the job market to support our citizens, to favour our citizens, to strengthen the core of Singaporeans in Singapore. It is a mammoth task awaiting him. His plate is full. All the Singaporeans are looking to him as a savior of jobs and to reclaim our country from the foreigners.

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

RB, you are right. So many vested interests fighting against him. It's a tough task.

Anonymous said...

Altho me am suspicious of even people who used to wear white colors.
Me have to quote Tan Cheng Bock as advice to Tan Chuan Jin.

"Do the right thing".

And if you have to ask "what is the right thing", there is no hope for you.
You do not have the moral compass and moral fiber needed to lead Singaporeans.

Anonymous said...

I think we have to be very patient with Chuan Jin. After all, he inherited this problem. And when you consider that this problem has been allowed to fester for so very long - then it is easy to see the scale and magnitude of this problem.

It is conceivable, the nature of the problem is already systematic - that is to say, it is already in the advanced stages and all attempts to ameliorate it may even be futile.

Many people do not really know how serious our labor problems is, especially at the PMET level. This is because there is both a news blackout along with a general policy on the part of the custodians of power to avoid discussing this matter openly - whenever the subject of labor is broached, usually there is no specification as to who constitutes the middle classes or for that matter how the professional classes are affected. Both govt and the propagandist press prefer to speak about the supply and demand of labor for the PMET quadrant in general and broad terms. This I believe is the root of the problem as to why so many native PMET's continue to lose out on the prospects of carving a better tomorrow in Singapore.

To make matters worse. Chuan Jin reports to a confused boss who has his head somewhere in the clouds - who is delusional enough to subscribe to the belief it is possible to take, take and take without ever once putting something back into the biscuit tin.

I really don't relish his job at all. As for Chuan Jin to be effective in prescribing a cure he needs to converge so many innitiatives from other ministries which are currently militating against all efforts to change the working prospects for PMET's.

Yes, I understand. I understand completely. I do. Sometimes I feel it is easy to lamblast ministers when we ourselves do not really comprehend either the scale or nature of the problems that they are tasked to break through.

The problem as I see it is simply this - PAP itself is in a right mess. Most of us regard it as a monolithic hegemony. But I say look closer again! As when you really begin to trace out the nuances - then what u will begin to make out are a bunch of shambolic ministers who really have their own fiefdoms and along with private missions and visions - and since they are all have a vested interest in benefiting their respective portfolios, that simply means there is very little coordination, strategy or for that matter impetus for cooperation.

Tell me Chin Leng, where do you think Michangelo would be if he was denied fine Italian marble to work with. Given the suspect quality of the human material that Chuan Jin has to regularly deal with it - it is like restricting a great artist to only clay. In which case, he can only make exceptional flower pots.

Yes, I agree we should all be sympathetic and cut him a lot of slack.

Good day to you all Gentlemen.

I must now board a helicopter. We all have a job to do in the land to the East.

Darkness 2013



Veritas said...

If Tan Chuan Jin is able to solve this problem, his popularity will rocket for him to get earmark for next prime minister.

Compared to many other minister, Tan Chuan Jin is consider above average. He seems not that stupid, compared to Lim Swee Say, Teo Chee Hean...etc.

I put him behind Tharman and Heng Swee Keat.

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

Agreed that he is one of the better and more promising new blood. The problem with this influx of foreign PMETs is, as Darkness has said, that it is now systemic. A few hundred thousand of them are already here rightly or wrongly. Not easy to unwind and he has to carry a big axe to chop of those not deserving.

Many feathers would be ruffled in the process with jokers crying foul.

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

Anyone buying me kopi? Thanks.

Anonymous said...

"I put him behind Tharman and Heng Swee Keat."

You mean to say, you consider it sensible to put a Proton and Pyeonghwa BEFORE a Mercedes?

Then I say, go buy lots of motor and personal insurance Veritas.

How smart is that?

Darkness 2013

Anonymous said...

Come, come, come Gentlemen let us all click on red beans ad.

Let's all not develop this corrosive culture of take, take and take like the PAP.

We are a community. Let us NEVER forget this.

Darkness 2013

Anonymous said...

Veritas, are you crazy on Heng Swee Keat? HSK under his MAS management let in TOXIC bonds to retail investors. (US & Europe these toxics can only be sold to institutions).
Instead of siding with investors and admit MAS mistake; retail investors got a raw deal from banks...unlike Hong Kongers.

Veritas said...

Veritas, are you crazy on Heng Swee Keat? HSK under his MAS management let in TOXIC bonds to retail investors. (US & Europe these toxics can only be sold to institutions).
Instead of siding with investors and admit MAS mistake; retail investors got a raw deal from banks...unlike Hong Kongers.


Yes yes, all these things I agree. And also Tharman being the finance minister also big time culprit.

But in PAP, can you find any honest people today? We can only choose the least ugly among rotten apples.

Tan Chuan Jin, Heng Swee keat, and Tharman are the least stupid among a bunch of psychopathic morons.

Try Grace Fu the bitch, Gan Kim Young the liar, or Lim Swee Say the fool?

Veritas said...

Veritas, are you crazy on Heng Swee Keat? HSK under his MAS management let in TOXIC bonds to retail investors. (US & Europe these toxics can only be sold to institutions).
Instead of siding with investors and admit MAS mistake; retail investors got a raw deal from banks...unlike Hong Kongers.


Yes yes, all these things I agree. And also Tharman being the finance minister also big time culprit.

But in PAP, can you find any honest people today? We can only choose the least ugly among rotten apples.

Tan Chuan Jin, Heng Swee keat, and Tharman are the least stupid among a bunch of psychopathic morons.

Try Grace Fu the bitch, Gan Kim Young the liar, or Lim Swee Say the fool?

Anonymous said...

@ Darkness 2013, March 07, 2013 10:14 am
/// I think we have to be very patient with Chuan Jin.///

Why?
Chuan Jin may be new to the job.
His boss, PM Lee, is not new to the job.
If Chuan Jin does not know what to do, he should go ask his boss.

If they both can't solve the problem fast, I say we sack both of them.

You mean as a Prime Minister, I can be forgiven for not solving a problem indefinitely ... if I keep changing my Ministers every 2 years.
On the sorry excuse that the Minister is new and we all need to exercise patience?
So every 2 years, I change Minister and get another extension for 2 years is it?

And after 10 years, PM Lee gets promoted to Senior Minister.
And then I have to exercise patience again because the next Prime Minister is new is it?

So when and where does the accountability begin?

Anonymous said...

Do you think they see this as a problem? Do you think Mah Bow Tan sees the housing problem as a problem?

If they see these as problems, they would not have let them escalated to this level.

Veritas said...

These people see Singaporeans as problem.

Anonymous said...

So long Minister Lim Swee Say remains the Labour Chief, Ag Minister Tan Chuan Jin will never be able to solve the manpower problems.
Maybe Sitoh Yih Pin is the better choice for the Manpower Post. Sitoh is definitely a better warrior than the former soldier.

Anonymous said...

How many foreigners have cashed in on the property market and left for good? When the crash comes, locals will be left holding on to the expensive fragments of bricks and mortar.

But I do not pity those for playing the game of high returns. Same with those who invested in gold with unbelievable rates of return. They played with fire, they got burned and they want help. They should blame themselves for being greedy when they know that such returns are impossible in this current economic climate.

Anonymous said...

This is capitalism - the working class buy high sell low and the ruling class becomes richer and richer. Thats why so many billionairs in this world now compare to ten years ago but also more homeless people. It is a battle between the ruling and working class and greed will destroy all of us.

Anonymous said...

Q: Why sinkies ended up this way?
A: Because we have lousy gov.
Q: Why sinky has lousy gov?
A: Because people vote PAP to be the gov.

Vote opposition to save sinkies from sinking further.

Anonymous said...

All these pap mps only good in one thing - wayang.