Best quote of the year - "Why am I here?"

"Why Am I Here?"
-- President SR Nathan


If you run a company and your million dollars worker asks you "Why am I here?", and upon hearing that you didn't fire him... you must be a Saint.

But seriously, since last two President elections were walkovers with absolutely nobody else in the whole country who is more suitable for the position (as you see, talent is scare in Singapore, that's why we need to bring in more new immigrants), I believe quite a number of Singaporeans are eager for the answer too.

You must pay for the quality of the person you want

"Our attitude is: you must pay for the quality of the person you want, and pay for the responsibility of the job which you want the person to do.

And what can be more responsible than running a central bank or running an economy or running an education system, where you're not only dealing with billions of dollars but where you make a mistake, the livelihoods and the futures of millions of people will be at stake.

You want the best person and you want him to be properly motivated and focused on his job and not based on a revolving door."

-- The Prime Minister, when asked about the high salaries paid to top government officials in Singapore.

Not true that employers prefer foreigners over Singaporeans though the government is hiring big time in Taiwan

Investigations by a tripartite panel that looks at work discrimination issues found that the accusations that employers prefer to hire foreigners over Singaporeans were invariably unfounded.

"In the cases we have intercepted, employers say this is based on the qualifications of the person and not nationalities."

-- Madam Halimah Yacob, MP of Jurong GRC, also co-chairman of the Tripartite Alliance for Fair Employment Practices (Tafep)


It is not easy to keep a straight and innocent face and convince the locals that employers really prefer them over foreigners, when on the same day the Taiwan press decided to report that Singapore is employing big time in Taiwan and willing to pay thrice what the Taiwanese are getting to lure them over.

Will Singapore adopt new political attitude? Yes, our teachers lacked confidence

Responding to a student who asked if Singapore would adopt a new political attitude or stick to its Asian values stance, Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean said: 'We need to be more self-confident.'

He related how when he became education minister in 1997, he was surprised to find that teachers lacked confidence in themselves, even though they were doing a great job.

'Everybody was telling them that they were doing the wrong things,' he said. 'I said: How can this be? People are coming to learn from us, see how we teach, why we are successful. Yet our teachers don't have self-confidence.'

-- Teo Chee Hean, Deputy Prime Minister


What? You don't get him? Come on! You just have to use a bit of imagination and relate very indirectly his good old lim-peh-used-to-be story to the question! Don't be daft!

Don't develop irrational fears towards those who steal your job!

Singaporeans' concern over immigration issues is understandable but they must avoid developing irrational fears toward new immigrants, Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Lim Hwee Hua said.

She said Singaporeans ought to prepare for, rather than resist, an increased willingness among people worldwide to travel and relocate.

-- Lim Hwee Hua, Second Minister for Transport


It is easy for her to say that when her job is not threatened by cheaper (and not necessary better) foreign professionals, her kids don't have to compete with other foreigners' kids just to get into schools, she doesn't have to try to out-bid the foreigners in HDB resale flats and she doesn't have to take the public transport with whole lot of other foreigners.