From: mulliner@OUVAXA.UCLS.OHIOU.EDU
Newsgroups: bit.listserv.seasia-l
Subject: SG: NEWS: #13, 12-14 Dec 92 (fwd)
Date: 16 Dec 92 14:21:24 GMT
Comments: Gated by NETNEWS@AUVM.AMERICAN.EDU


                   Ohio University Electronic Communication


   Date:  16-Dec-1992 09:21am EST

     To:  Singapore Listers                    ( _MX%"SEASIA-L@MSU.EDU" )

   From:  Kent Mulliner                              Dept:  Library
          MULLINER                                 Tel No:  614-593-2707

Subject:  SG: NEWS: #13, 12-14 Dec 92 (fwd)


Forwarded from Singapore Gopher (SIFlash) with permission

Singapore Daze
++++++++++++++
A twice weekly bulletin featuring local news snippets from
Singapore publications. Issue #13: 12 - 14 Dec 1992.

1.   >Bilveer Singh on the vote<
2.   >By-election snippets<
3.   >SM Lee speech on East Asia<
4.   >The New Entrepreneurs<
5.   >X'mas Shopping<
6.   >NOT the by-elections<

1.   >A Vote Vital to Singapore's Future<

(ST, 14 Dec) Dr Bilveer Singh, senior lecturer at the NUS, writes
about the by-elections: "What is at stake is the future of the
Republic. In the face of the uncertainties facing Singapore, what
signals do the voters in Marine Parade GRC want to send: of
support or dissent. People will have to live with their choice.
Each will come with their opportunity cost of either stability
or uncertainty...At the most, the Opposition will win four more
seats in Parliament. It will not affect the PAP's strangle hold
in Parliament. But at what cost to the nation and national
confidence? How will the investors read it? How will our
competitors benefit from this? The answers must be in the
negative. Weakening the Government in times of national crisis
represents a disservice to the nation and smacks of
irresponsibility...it is time for the electorate to signal their
priorities: stable leadership and continuity, or to plunge the
country into political uncertainties. That is the real meaning
of Dec 19".

2.   >By-election snippets<

(ST, 12 Dec) SDP candidate, Ashleigh Seow last night accused PM
Goh of exploiting the illnesses of his two deputies to keep his
premiership..he said that it was unfair of the PAP to make an
issue of the cancer suffered by the DPMs.

(BT, 12 Dec) The People's Action Party's first election rally at
Marine Parade saw the party members speaking the language of the
crowd-Hokkien. "Chucking aside the prepared text, PM Goh who
meant to speak in English and Mandarin, told the crowd gathered
at the field near the Aljunied MRT station that he decided that
he would speak Hokkien, however poorly, after seeing so many
elderly people among them".

(ST, 12 Dec) For a few seconds, both PAP and SDP contingents did
not know what to do when they crossed each other's path while
campaigning in Haig Road yesterday. The PM Goh gave his opponents
a wave and invited them into the nearby PAP branch for a drink...
PAP flags mingled with the SDP ones as the candidates and
supporters gathered in the branch and started talking about the
campaign. Although the mood was cordial during their fifteen
minute meeting, the sense of rivalry was palpable..."

3.   >Asia not Europe holds the key to revival of American
economy<

(ST, 12 Dec) SM Lee in a discussion with ex-Japanese PM Nakasone
said "If Bill Clinton wants the American economy to revive he
must look to Asia and not Europe to achieve the aim...Mr Clinton
would be best served by an economic team that understands that
recovery cannot be generated internally by fiscal stimulus.
Because its domestic savings rate is so low, America has already
reached dangerous limits of domestic borrowing...an externally
led consumer pull is better than an internally led push that
would result from further deficit spending. US exports to Europe
cannot double in the next five years because growth rates there
are too low. But they can double in East Asia where economic
growth is nearly three times that of Europe. Last year, despite
its deficit with Asia, the US exported more to Japan than to
France Germany and Italy combined..."

4.   >New Entrepreneurs needed to secure Singapore's future<

(ST, 14 Dec) Sean Seow writes, "...The unplesant truth to those
accustomed to the predictability of the Singapore way of doing
business is that business styles elsewhere in the region are
often unfamiliar to local entrepreneurs...that is also why one
of the prerequisites for Singapore survival in the 90's and
beyond is the availability of a pool of entrepreneurs who can
handle labyrinthine third world bureaucracy as deftly as they
crunch numbers. These entrepreneurs must be efficient without
being pushy..willing to play by the rules and bend them when
necessary...Singapore entrepreneurs, having grown up in an
orderly society where things are either black or white and there
are no shades of grey, seem to meet only half of the
requirements.

They generally operate best under transparent laws, excel in
objective dispassionate project feasibility studies. They have
a good reputation of business ethics... are "down to earth and
not cunning". In a less regulated and more wheeling-dealing
environment, they are often at a loss, unwilling and unprepared
to work through layers of relationships to get to the core of the
deal. They abhor palm greasing, and think that one dinner would
do the trick of swinging the deal...This has to change. Singapore
International needs for its next phase of development, a new
breed of bolder, sharper entrepreneurs who know when to go by the
book and when not to".

5.   >Upmarket stores face a blue X'mas<

(ST, 14 Dec) Mid to lower priced merchandisers and toy
distributors expect to have much to cheer about, while upmarket
retailers are likely to be in for a blue X'mas. From indications
of sales so far, most major department stores have indicated that
lower priced and promotional items are moving well compared to
their ranges of designer products...And as an indication of how
bad things have become for the designer shops, shops that have
closed down include Karl Largerfield, JPG Jr, Inscription Rykiel,
Mario Valentino amongst others. Meanwhile 13 000 Totally Hair
Barbie Doll has been sold since it was introduced this year.

6.   >Other news stories<
Other news stories that have been hogging the pages apart from
the by-elections include Prince Charles' separation, the end of
Malay rulers' immunity from criminal proceedings and the Merlion
Cup results.



Received:  16-Dec-1992 09:21am
Comments: Gated by NETNEWS@AUVM.AMERICAN.EDU