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Bringing in the army boys
Insight Down South
By SEAH CHIANG NEE
Singapore moves to instil discipline within a transport system that is becoming too reliant on foreign workers.
SEVERAL top army officers are to help run a major transport company where 171 bus drivers from China recently staged the first strike here in 26 years.
They will be joining Singapore Mass Rapid Transit (SMRT) in the next few months to work under a chief executive, who is himself a former chief of defence force, ex-Lt-Gen Desmond Kwek.
The transfer was reported in a local newspaper on Dec 6 – four days after the foreign bus drivers staged a strike over pay and poor living conditions.
Although the workers have returned to work, the ripples of the work stoppage still linger.
(Five men were charged for instigating the illegal strike, one was sentenced to six weeks jail and 29 others were sacked and sent back to China.)
About 400 or one-third of its total driving staff were recruited on two-year contracts from China.
Only one of the newcomers was identified, Colonel Gerard Koh, who will take up the post of director of human resources, which includes handling staff matters involving the Chinese drivers.
Another was said to be taking charge of the company’s logistics.
The high dependency on such a large number of Chinese drivers remains a source of worry to commuters who fear this may not be the end of the problem.
Any prolonged strike could badly disrupt life in the Republic and harm the economy.
It is feared that some strikers may still be unhappy over pay since their demand for an increase was rejected and this could lead to further trouble.
Two objectives face the military-led SMRT management.
The first is to clean up management inefficiencies and improve living conditions for workers.
Secondly, it has to exert a firm hand when dealing with potential troublemakers.
This could explain why so many ex-senior armed forces officers are being recruited.
Former armed forces chief Kwek had himself joined SMRT only several months earlier.
In breaking the story, the Straits Times said that he was calling senior military officers in to beef up SMRT’s command and control structure.
“Don’t be surprised, he will mobilise the combat engineers the next time there is a service disruption,” a surfer commented.
The government obviously believes that a military-led management will be better placed to tackle any problems of indiscipline.
There has not been much public reaction, with commentators generally expressing reservations about it.
Indiscipline on the part of both management and workers may not be the only reason.
During the past decade, more than half a dozen senior executives were reported to have quit or retired and this has apparently weakened it.
The government and the current CEO blamed the strike partly on poor management that had failed to act on staff complaints, including the strikers’.
It is clear that Kwek not only has to maintain discipline among the strike-prone PRC drivers but also has to improve the quality of the company’s operation.
The strike has, however, focused its attention on a bigger national concern.
Recently, I wrote in this column that over-dependency on foreigners in essential servi*ces, such as transport, health-care, port, airports and food distribution, posed potential secu*rity risks.
Some government departments apparently share this concern.
One is SingHealth, which has announced that all public hospitals (including one for children) and polyclinics are reviewing contingency plans in the wake of the bus strike.
Among its 16,000 staff-members are a large, undisclosed number of foreigners, including those from mainland China and the Philippines.
It obviously wants to prevent a situation where it is overwhelmed by a sudden strike.
Some companies are reported to be reducing dependence on foreign labour.
Singapore’s strategy of importing “cheap” manpower is attracting the attention of supplier countries like China and Indonesia, which are becoming more protective of their citizens’ rights.
One critic said turning to military leaders to run public services at the first sign of trouble was not a sound idea.
There are already too many retired generals and admirals running the country and the public service, they argue.
“Being conditioned to a regimented environment for most of their careers, such military professionals are used to being obeyed and issuing orders without expecting to be questioned,” said Dr Lim Boon Hee in a letter to the press.
“From my own experience in the army, inflexibility and conformity are the order of how things are done in the military,” he added.
However, a People’s Action Party (PAP) representative said that the armed forces had long been contributing resources to the country’s leadership.
It is a long-term strategy, he added.
Most are given armed forces scholarships. The top ones are co-opted into politics.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Deputy PM Teo Chee Hean are ex-military men. So is Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew.
Other ex-officers are managing or playing major roles in the state investment company, Temasek Holding, shipping line Neptune Orient Line (NOL) as well as Public Utilities Board (PUB) and A-Star.
This dates back to the 70s when the then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew was searching for potential Members of Parliament and Cabinet ministers.
Lee paid special attention to several groups when seeking leaders, the first being university professors who could work with young people.
The next was the business community or people who have the experience to grow the state economy.
This provided the largest number of second generation leaders headed by Goh Chok Tong.
The third group was the military and this impressed him most because they were scholars, capable of planning to counter emergencies,” one PAP leader told me then.
“But more importantly, they are tough and can make hard decisions,” he added.
Insight Down South
By SEAH CHIANG NEE
Singapore moves to instil discipline within a transport system that is becoming too reliant on foreign workers.
SEVERAL top army officers are to help run a major transport company where 171 bus drivers from China recently staged the first strike here in 26 years.
They will be joining Singapore Mass Rapid Transit (SMRT) in the next few months to work under a chief executive, who is himself a former chief of defence force, ex-Lt-Gen Desmond Kwek.
The transfer was reported in a local newspaper on Dec 6 – four days after the foreign bus drivers staged a strike over pay and poor living conditions.
Although the workers have returned to work, the ripples of the work stoppage still linger.
(Five men were charged for instigating the illegal strike, one was sentenced to six weeks jail and 29 others were sacked and sent back to China.)
About 400 or one-third of its total driving staff were recruited on two-year contracts from China.
Only one of the newcomers was identified, Colonel Gerard Koh, who will take up the post of director of human resources, which includes handling staff matters involving the Chinese drivers.
Another was said to be taking charge of the company’s logistics.
The high dependency on such a large number of Chinese drivers remains a source of worry to commuters who fear this may not be the end of the problem.
Any prolonged strike could badly disrupt life in the Republic and harm the economy.
It is feared that some strikers may still be unhappy over pay since their demand for an increase was rejected and this could lead to further trouble.
Two objectives face the military-led SMRT management.
The first is to clean up management inefficiencies and improve living conditions for workers.
Secondly, it has to exert a firm hand when dealing with potential troublemakers.
This could explain why so many ex-senior armed forces officers are being recruited.
Former armed forces chief Kwek had himself joined SMRT only several months earlier.
In breaking the story, the Straits Times said that he was calling senior military officers in to beef up SMRT’s command and control structure.
“Don’t be surprised, he will mobilise the combat engineers the next time there is a service disruption,” a surfer commented.
The government obviously believes that a military-led management will be better placed to tackle any problems of indiscipline.
There has not been much public reaction, with commentators generally expressing reservations about it.
Indiscipline on the part of both management and workers may not be the only reason.
During the past decade, more than half a dozen senior executives were reported to have quit or retired and this has apparently weakened it.
The government and the current CEO blamed the strike partly on poor management that had failed to act on staff complaints, including the strikers’.
It is clear that Kwek not only has to maintain discipline among the strike-prone PRC drivers but also has to improve the quality of the company’s operation.
The strike has, however, focused its attention on a bigger national concern.
Recently, I wrote in this column that over-dependency on foreigners in essential servi*ces, such as transport, health-care, port, airports and food distribution, posed potential secu*rity risks.
Some government departments apparently share this concern.
One is SingHealth, which has announced that all public hospitals (including one for children) and polyclinics are reviewing contingency plans in the wake of the bus strike.
Among its 16,000 staff-members are a large, undisclosed number of foreigners, including those from mainland China and the Philippines.
It obviously wants to prevent a situation where it is overwhelmed by a sudden strike.
Some companies are reported to be reducing dependence on foreign labour.
Singapore’s strategy of importing “cheap” manpower is attracting the attention of supplier countries like China and Indonesia, which are becoming more protective of their citizens’ rights.
One critic said turning to military leaders to run public services at the first sign of trouble was not a sound idea.
There are already too many retired generals and admirals running the country and the public service, they argue.
“Being conditioned to a regimented environment for most of their careers, such military professionals are used to being obeyed and issuing orders without expecting to be questioned,” said Dr Lim Boon Hee in a letter to the press.
“From my own experience in the army, inflexibility and conformity are the order of how things are done in the military,” he added.
However, a People’s Action Party (PAP) representative said that the armed forces had long been contributing resources to the country’s leadership.
It is a long-term strategy, he added.
Most are given armed forces scholarships. The top ones are co-opted into politics.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Deputy PM Teo Chee Hean are ex-military men. So is Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew.
Other ex-officers are managing or playing major roles in the state investment company, Temasek Holding, shipping line Neptune Orient Line (NOL) as well as Public Utilities Board (PUB) and A-Star.
This dates back to the 70s when the then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew was searching for potential Members of Parliament and Cabinet ministers.
Lee paid special attention to several groups when seeking leaders, the first being university professors who could work with young people.
The next was the business community or people who have the experience to grow the state economy.
This provided the largest number of second generation leaders headed by Goh Chok Tong.
The third group was the military and this impressed him most because they were scholars, capable of planning to counter emergencies,” one PAP leader told me then.
“But more importantly, they are tough and can make hard decisions,” he added.
