While the Singapore government has a policy of reducing its stake in private enterprises, a mystery document circulating in the republic appears to show government-linked firms playing a bigger role in the economy than ever before.
The document, with its explicit detailing of government-linked personnel in businesses, produces little new information, but has provoked wide debate on who the true author is, and the motivation for compiling and distributing the work.
Under the heading "Why it might be difficult for the government to withdraw from business" the paper claims a government withdrawal "could hurt the employment, income and ownership interests of people closely connected to it."
It details a long list of board positions and shareholdings held by relatives of senior government leaders, former senior government officials and military commanders, current senior officials and past and present MPs from the ruling People's Action Party.
The paper has been widely distributed to foreign journalists and businessmen in the city-state and has also been posted on at least one Singapore website.
It is said to have been written by a Tan Boon Seng, but efforts to track down a person of that name have proved unsuccessful leading to speculation about the true author.
Guesses range from a foreign power to someone well-placed within the government.
"This would have to have been compiled by someone in the government," a stock market dealer who did not wish to be identified, said.
"I think everything is in the public domain but who else would have the time to conduct such research," he said, adding "it makes interesting bedtime reading."
Government officials would not comment on whether they know who wrote the 19-page document or the motives behind it, but they have not disputed its accuracy.
As a special Economic Review Committee, under the chairmanship of Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien-oong, examines the government's role in private enterprise the suggestion has been it would recommend a more hands-off approach.
"What really matters for East Asia is a shift towards open, competitive markets, and away from the state-driven industrial policies and the collusive domestic networks that have led to low returns on investment," senior trade and industry minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said recently.
But the document also refers to a statement by Lee, expected to replace Goh Chok-tong as prime minister before the next election due in 2007, saying government-linked companies (GLCs) would continue to be "one of the thrusts forward" for the Singapore economy.
The carefully worded paper makes no allegations of any wrong doing, but observes: "That the government seems reluctant to withdraw from enterprise could be complicated by its potential effect on the interests of people closely connected to the government."
It says that as with any business, there is a tendency for managers to appoint people with whom they have shared a common past and if the government withdraws from business "a prestigious and lucrative destination for senior government officials would be taken away."
The document jibes at some appointments, wryly noting that in a country with a "perceived shortage of talent" some former military personnel now occupy posts ranging from chief executive of a resort management company to a director of corporate communications.
In 1987, a committee recommended a withdrawal from commercial activities where its role was no longer needed, and the government has since reduced its stake in several GLCs and selectively divested a few companies.
AIR DEFENSE: The Norwegian missile system has proved highly effective in Ukraine in its war against Russia, and the US has recommended it for Taiwan, an expert said The Norwegian Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS) Taiwan ordered from the US would be installed in strategically important positions in Taipei and New Taipei City to guard the region, the Ministry of National Defense said in statement yesterday. The air defense system would be deployed in Taipei’s Songshan District (松山) and New Taipei City’s Tamsui District (淡水), the ministry said, adding that the systems could be delivered as soon as the end of this year. The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency has previously said that three NASAMS would be sold to Taiwan. The weapons are part of the 17th US arms sale to
INSURRECTION: The NSB said it found evidence the CCP was seeking snipers in Taiwan to target members of the military and foreign organizations in the event of an invasion The number of Chinese spies prosecuted in Taiwan has grown threefold over a four-year period, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said in a report released yesterday. In 2021 and 2022, 16 and 10 spies were prosecuted respectively, but that number grew to 64 last year, it said, adding that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was working with gangs in Taiwan to develop a network of armed spies. Spies in Taiwan have on behalf of the CCP used a variety of channels and methods to infiltrate all sectors of the country, and recruited Taiwanese to cooperate in developing organizations and obtaining sensitive information
BREAKTHROUGH: The US is making chips on par in yield and quality with Taiwan, despite people saying that it could not happen, the official said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has begun producing advanced 4-nanometer (nm) chips for US customers in Arizona, US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said, a milestone in the semiconductor efforts of the administration of US President Joe Biden. In November last year, the commerce department finalized a US$6.6 billion grant to TSMC’s US unit for semiconductor production in Phoenix, Arizona. “For the first time ever in our country’s history, we are making leading edge 4-nanometer chips on American soil, American workers — on par in yield and quality with Taiwan,” Raimondo said, adding that production had begun in recent
Seven hundred and sixty-four foreigners were arrested last year for acting as money mules for criminals, with many entering Taiwan on a tourist visa for all-expenses-paid trips, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said on Saturday. Although from Jan. 1 to Dec. 26 last year, 26,478 people were arrested for working as money mules, the bureau said it was particularly concerned about those entering the country as tourists or migrant workers who help criminals and scammers pick up or transfer illegally obtained money. In a report, officials divided the money mules into two groups, the first of which are foreigners, mainly from Malaysia
RSS