On 4 Jan, PM Lee said a new centre will be set up in Ang Mo Kio Community Centre to help small and medium enterprises (SMEs). http://www.singapolitics.sg/news/new-centre-ang-mo-kio-help-smes-upgrade-pm-lee
This is strange considering that the objectives of Community Clubs (C Cs) are:
(a) to promote social, cultural, educational, sports and recreational activities for the residents in the neighbourhood of the Community Centre/Club;
(b) to disseminate information on Government policies, and to transmit to the Government information on the needs and aspirations of the residents in the neighbourhood of the Community Centre/Club; and
(c) to promote good citizenship among residents in the neighbourhood of the Community Centre/Club.link
It is not the stated aim of a C C to “help SMEs upgrade and do better amid challenging economic conditions”. Why is the government not assisting the self employed or other groups? Do our SMEs have such a strong political affiliation for the government to devote public resources to help them?
Many SMEs took a shortcut and ‘improved’ their productivity by employing cheap foreign labour. The lax immigration policies implemented by the government had encouraged many to do so and depressed the wages of locals. Since the evident failure of such a policy, the government has again intervened by providing resources to help SMEs upgrade.
The business of any government is to govern. Our pro business government has implemented too many policies favourable to businesses at the expense of Singaporeans.
Businesses must not be allowed to rely on government assistance to survive. When weak businesses are allowed to fail, strong ones will emerge to bring the economy to greater heights. The government’s role is not a businessman’s nanny.
Phillip Ang
TRS Contributor