Clarification

In Singapore, we have this small government agency called SPRING. SPRING is an agency responsible for funding small-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Singapore with the aim of making they grow.

Most Singaporeans don’t think much of SPRING and I’m beginning to see why. SPRING Singapore chairman Philip Yeo has put his foot in his mouth by saying people who buy applications for Apple products are “gullible customers” and that they were wasting their money on “useless applications”. He then added the incredible line, “I always tell my daughter, make products and services to sell to the dummies.”

Personal, I always found Apple’s fanatical followers to be an annoyance so I do know a little of what Mr. Philip Yeo is saying, you have to admit the need to grab all thing Apple is a little gullible, but there is a huge difference between me saying this and when this is said by the chairman of SPRING! Needless to say, Apple fans are furious but to compound matters, Mr. Philip Yeo has “clarified” to the Singapore papers that he had been misunderstood. He “explained” that he used the word “dummies” to mean “laymen” and this is not meant as an insult.

I can only say, “That is a “clarification”? “Dummies” is explained as “laymen”!” That why I put funny under the Label, I find his “clarification” to be hilarious! In what world has “dummies” ever being explained as “laymen”?

I admit I’m not the biggest fan of the former chairman of EDB, but if you want to apologize, then just come out and say sorry and this whole thing will blow over. However, I’m willing to bet that Apple fans will be even angrier now after hearing Mr. Yeo’s “clarification”.

End to the UNSW saga

The University of New South Wales (UNSW) saga finally ended this week as UNSW and EDB have finally reached a settlement over the fallout of the UNSW campus in Singapore.

After a shock decision by the university to close down its UNSW Asia Campus in May 2007, which the university ran for only about two months, there has been a big dispute on whether (and how much) UNSW should reimburse Singapore on the grants UNSW received from the Singapore government. EDB had previously said it would try to reclaim S$17.3 million in grants. However there has been no details provided as to how much the settlement agreement involves.

Why not tell Singaporeans how much money has been lost on this fiasco? It's public money right? After 6 months of talk, surely Singaporeans deserved to know how much money has been recovered by the EDB? So guess what, TELL US!

EDB never review UNSW's plans

The University of New South Wales saga is still onging in Singapore. The Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) has finally reported how much Singapore lost in the venture. EDB had given S$15 million in loans and S$17.3 million in grants to the university. The S$15 million is back up by bank loans and can be retrieved, but as for the S$17.3 million, negotiations are underway with the university to come up with a feasible plan for repayment.

Good luck on that. Thing is...this isn't the exact cost spent by the Government on the UNSW Asia deal. There hasn't been any report on whether Singapore has any outstanding liabilities to third parties such as banks, construction companies etc. "Confidentiality obligations" I think the EDB are calling it. (The fact that UNSW has issued public statements on its liabilities and losses to the Australian Parliament is quite another matter to Singapore it seems.)

Now, the blame will be non-stop between the EDB and UNSW chief Fred Hilmer, but I still have some questions. Why does it takes a sitting of Parliament for the EDB to come clean (half-clean) on this? Nine MPs have tabled questions on the failed high-profile project, only then did the EDB showed us these figures. This is Singapore's public money isn't it? Why can't the EDB showed us these numbers from the get-go? Also reported was the fact that 18 private schools were shutted in the past 5 years in Singapore, but to our Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang, Singapore is "on its way to becoming an education hub". Really?

To me, the UNSW saga is NOT a minor setback and the amounts loss is VERY important. I find it amazing that the EDB never reviewed the soundness of UNSW's business plans. Mr.Lim says that the Government does not evaluate business proposals. If that is the case, then someone at EDB needs to take responsibility for this and get his head chopped off. I can understand if this is a business plan that failed, it happens. But the EDB issued a cheque to UNSW without looking at their business plans? That is just plain wrong and someone at the EDB made a huge mistake here.

Singaporean businessmen has horror stories on the mountains of paperwork they need to fill out to get even the smallest grants from Singapore agencies, and EDB issued millions to UNSW but never review their plans? If what Mr.Lim says is true, then heads must roll at the EDB.