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Cotton Comes from Sheep at it Again! Doing live broadcast interviews is a tricky undertaking especially if you are not prepared, not quick on your feet or trying to evade ‘sensitive’ and controversial issues.
Singapore’s media are extremely tame by regional and international standards. The Indian media on the other hand are known to decimate interviewees usually with little mercy. Especially if you are a politician.
I was surprised to see Minister Chan Chun Sing on Channel 5’s TV news last night talking at length on the India-Singapore CECA. It started off well enough but later when he started giving figures, he walked on thin ice.
He initially said since signing the agreement, more than 650 companies have invested in India, employing more than 100,000 Singaporeans and PRs in Singapore to manage their investments.
But followed up in the next sentence and said that it gave more than 100,000 Singaporeans a stake in these companies to do well.
So, which is which Mr Chan – is it 100,000 Singaporeans or 100,000 Singaporeans and PRs? These two figures give two different implications. 100,000 Singaporeans and PRs could be 70,000 Singaporeans and 30, 000 PRs.
So why aren’t you being more specific to help quell any misinterpretations or false conclusions?
What surprised me was that by giving figures, it meant he had the figures at hand. Yet he couldn’t be specific when the CNA journalist Michelle Teo asked for the specifics of the Singapore-India CECA.
She asked: “For intra-corporate transferees, I understand they are allowed to stay in Singapore for a total term of eight years. But during that time, how many have applied to become PRs and how many have then gone on to be citizens?”
This is where Chan Chun Sing fell through the ice by replying: “I don’t have the number offhand, but what we do know from the records of National NPTD (i.e. National Population and Talent Division) the proportions of Chinese, Indians, Malays in Singapore have remained relatively stable over the years.”
When you have ministers giving such non-answers, it is no secret why Singaporeans don’t have complete trust in them. It was obvious that he had the figures with him as he rattled off numbers earlier i.e., 650 companies, 100,000 Singaporeans & PRs and later changing it to 100,000 Singaporeans.
But when asked a simple question on how many Indian nationals have gone on to be PRs and later citizens, he doesn’t have the numbers. Worse still he came out with some babble about the proportions of Chinese, Indians and Malays in Singapore remaining stable as though it was meant to assure us all is well.
Come on Minister Chan, if you want to take on an interview, you’ll have to be better than that. Because if you carry on doing this, nobody is going to take you seriously or worse still, nobody will want to listen to you in future – and that could spell the end of your political career.
— G Ong
Cotton chan said: 650 companies invested in india & which is which: they create 100000 jobs for sporeans/prs or 100000 sporeans to have a share in these 650 companies. He thinks we are fools- how can these companies operating in india can create 100000 jobs for sporeans. If he meant 100000 shareholders of course they are if u count keppel, singtel as investors in india u will have more than 100000 sg investors thro sgx. I am shareholders of both
Singapore’s media are extremely tame by regional and international standards. The Indian media on the other hand are known to decimate interviewees usually with little mercy. Especially if you are a politician.
I was surprised to see Minister Chan Chun Sing on Channel 5’s TV news last night talking at length on the India-Singapore CECA. It started off well enough but later when he started giving figures, he walked on thin ice.
He initially said since signing the agreement, more than 650 companies have invested in India, employing more than 100,000 Singaporeans and PRs in Singapore to manage their investments.
But followed up in the next sentence and said that it gave more than 100,000 Singaporeans a stake in these companies to do well.
So, which is which Mr Chan – is it 100,000 Singaporeans or 100,000 Singaporeans and PRs? These two figures give two different implications. 100,000 Singaporeans and PRs could be 70,000 Singaporeans and 30, 000 PRs.
So why aren’t you being more specific to help quell any misinterpretations or false conclusions?
What surprised me was that by giving figures, it meant he had the figures at hand. Yet he couldn’t be specific when the CNA journalist Michelle Teo asked for the specifics of the Singapore-India CECA.
She asked: “For intra-corporate transferees, I understand they are allowed to stay in Singapore for a total term of eight years. But during that time, how many have applied to become PRs and how many have then gone on to be citizens?”
This is where Chan Chun Sing fell through the ice by replying: “I don’t have the number offhand, but what we do know from the records of National NPTD (i.e. National Population and Talent Division) the proportions of Chinese, Indians, Malays in Singapore have remained relatively stable over the years.”
When you have ministers giving such non-answers, it is no secret why Singaporeans don’t have complete trust in them. It was obvious that he had the figures with him as he rattled off numbers earlier i.e., 650 companies, 100,000 Singaporeans & PRs and later changing it to 100,000 Singaporeans.
But when asked a simple question on how many Indian nationals have gone on to be PRs and later citizens, he doesn’t have the numbers. Worse still he came out with some babble about the proportions of Chinese, Indians and Malays in Singapore remaining stable as though it was meant to assure us all is well.
Come on Minister Chan, if you want to take on an interview, you’ll have to be better than that. Because if you carry on doing this, nobody is going to take you seriously or worse still, nobody will want to listen to you in future – and that could spell the end of your political career.
— G Ong
Cotton chan said: 650 companies invested in india & which is which: they create 100000 jobs for sporeans/prs or 100000 sporeans to have a share in these 650 companies. He thinks we are fools- how can these companies operating in india can create 100000 jobs for sporeans. If he meant 100000 shareholders of course they are if u count keppel, singtel as investors in india u will have more than 100000 sg investors thro sgx. I am shareholders of both
