THE GOVT MUST COME CLEAN AND BE ACCOUNTABLE FOR THE CECA
Post date:
8 Sep 2014 - 9:10pm
Below is part of a report by Business Standard on the CECA between Singapore and India. Though it was stated that the Singapore Govt was in no hurry to review the pact, the point is that the CECA is still in effect with all the unfavourable terms affecting the lives of Singaporeans. Many of the controversial and damaging terms have been highlighted and denounced by the netizens as ridiculous and stupid. It would be better for the Govt to rescind this agreement immediately and renegotiate a new agreement minus the adverse terms and conditions that are detrimental to Singapore. The existing CECA terms must be declared null and void pending a new agreement. They are politically untenable and skewed against Singapore but highly favourable to India.
The Govt must come clean and be transparent with the new terms it is going to sign with India. They must be held accountable and must obtain the consent of the people for such a sweeping agreement. It cannot sign another agreement with terms similar to the existing CECA. It would need some people with wisdom and the interest of Singaproeans at heart to negotiate the new terms. Just plain good grades in schools have been proven to be useless or dangerous if the terms of the first CECA are to be witness to the stupidity.
A rally at Hong Lim is appropriate to express the wills of the people and what the people deem unacceptable for the Govt to take note of. I almost faint when I read the CECA. Cannot believe that our super talents could agree to those stupid terms.
Phillip Ang and Leong Sze Hian and their teams must put the CECA under the microscope to remove all the offending terms to ensure that they are not in the new agreement. Being hit by the first CECA in the dark is bad enough. To repeat the same mistakes in silence is unforgiveable.
Below is the Business Standard’s report.
‘Singapore in no hurry to review economic pact with India
The second review of CECA has been pending for more than 4 years
Nayanima Basu | September 02, 2014 Last Updated at 00:52 IST, Business Standard
Singapore is in no hurry to conclude the second review of the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA), even as India is pushing for entry of its banks and professionals into the Singapore market for more than four years.
“Yes, it (the second review of CECA) has taken a bit longer. We are in no hurry. These sort of negotiations take time. The Indian government is yet to come to terms with our laws. If CECA review takes over 10 years then also it is no big deal. Life goes on,” a senior Singaporean government official told Business Standard.
India had signed its first ever CECA with Singapore in August, 2005, under which both sides have a preferential tariff arrangement for over 80 product lines. Besides, India and Singapore enjoy greater access in services and investment under CECA.
*The writer blogs at http://mysingaporenews.blogspot.com/
Post date:
8 Sep 2014 - 9:10pm
Below is part of a report by Business Standard on the CECA between Singapore and India. Though it was stated that the Singapore Govt was in no hurry to review the pact, the point is that the CECA is still in effect with all the unfavourable terms affecting the lives of Singaporeans. Many of the controversial and damaging terms have been highlighted and denounced by the netizens as ridiculous and stupid. It would be better for the Govt to rescind this agreement immediately and renegotiate a new agreement minus the adverse terms and conditions that are detrimental to Singapore. The existing CECA terms must be declared null and void pending a new agreement. They are politically untenable and skewed against Singapore but highly favourable to India.
The Govt must come clean and be transparent with the new terms it is going to sign with India. They must be held accountable and must obtain the consent of the people for such a sweeping agreement. It cannot sign another agreement with terms similar to the existing CECA. It would need some people with wisdom and the interest of Singaproeans at heart to negotiate the new terms. Just plain good grades in schools have been proven to be useless or dangerous if the terms of the first CECA are to be witness to the stupidity.
A rally at Hong Lim is appropriate to express the wills of the people and what the people deem unacceptable for the Govt to take note of. I almost faint when I read the CECA. Cannot believe that our super talents could agree to those stupid terms.
Phillip Ang and Leong Sze Hian and their teams must put the CECA under the microscope to remove all the offending terms to ensure that they are not in the new agreement. Being hit by the first CECA in the dark is bad enough. To repeat the same mistakes in silence is unforgiveable.
Below is the Business Standard’s report.
‘Singapore in no hurry to review economic pact with India
The second review of CECA has been pending for more than 4 years
Nayanima Basu | September 02, 2014 Last Updated at 00:52 IST, Business Standard
Singapore is in no hurry to conclude the second review of the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA), even as India is pushing for entry of its banks and professionals into the Singapore market for more than four years.
“Yes, it (the second review of CECA) has taken a bit longer. We are in no hurry. These sort of negotiations take time. The Indian government is yet to come to terms with our laws. If CECA review takes over 10 years then also it is no big deal. Life goes on,” a senior Singaporean government official told Business Standard.
India had signed its first ever CECA with Singapore in August, 2005, under which both sides have a preferential tariff arrangement for over 80 product lines. Besides, India and Singapore enjoy greater access in services and investment under CECA.
The CECA's second review was launched in May, 2010, but since then the review had been held up mainly on two important issues. One is allowing Indian banks to Singapore and second the free movement of Indian professionals.
India had been consistently raising this issue with Singapore at all high-level meetings. The matter was even discussed during the recent meeting between external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj and her counterpart K Shanmugam in Singapore last month.
The Singapore government, in its effort to reduce reliance on foreign workers, passed the ‘Employment Pass Framework’ in 2010 under which the foreign share of the total workforce has to be brought down to around one-third by the companies located there, while encouraging employers to invest in productivity in return for incentives in the form of tax breaks.
However, India has argued that while Singapore has done this to address its own domestic concerns, it had committed a separate provision under CECA, exempting India from such a rule. The matter has taken a political colour now….’
Chua Chin Leng AKA RedBeanIndia had been consistently raising this issue with Singapore at all high-level meetings. The matter was even discussed during the recent meeting between external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj and her counterpart K Shanmugam in Singapore last month.
The Singapore government, in its effort to reduce reliance on foreign workers, passed the ‘Employment Pass Framework’ in 2010 under which the foreign share of the total workforce has to be brought down to around one-third by the companies located there, while encouraging employers to invest in productivity in return for incentives in the form of tax breaks.
However, India has argued that while Singapore has done this to address its own domestic concerns, it had committed a separate provision under CECA, exempting India from such a rule. The matter has taken a political colour now….’
*The writer blogs at http://mysingaporenews.blogspot.com/
So i made them find out the hard way and every time they failed, i will hit back and piss them off by going against their agendas in this forum. 
