REACH 537 - What are your views on the 18 Government fees to be refunded? How can Singaporeans be better informed on Government services that are regulatory in nature and therefore not to be charged GST?
(SK)
15 Feb 2024 (10am - 7pm)
REACH
15/2/24, 10:00 am - +REACH: *Dear Contributors,*
Welcome back! π
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Megan π
15/2/24, 10:01 am - +REACH: *π’ Topic π’*
On Feb 14, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) issued a press release following the conclusion of an internal review of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) treatment on Government fees and charges.
MOF's review found that 18 fees across six agencies were wrongly charged with GST. MOF and the six agencies have apologised for the erroneous charging of GST and all agencies have stopped charging GST on the relevant fees as of Feb 14. MOF also announced that the Government will start making refunds, with an interest of 5.5% per year, based on available records over the past five years.
*π¬ What are your views on the 18 Government fees to be refunded? How can Singaporeans be better informed on Government services that are regulatory in nature and therefore not to be charged GST?*
*π On the 18 fees*
The 18 fees apply to both individuals and businesses. The agencies involved are the Housing and Development Board (HDB), Land Transport Authority (LTA), Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), Singapore Food Agency (SFA), Office of the Public Guardian, and the Council for Estate Agencies (CEA).
*π Refund Process*
The refund process will start from March 2024
1. The agencies will reach out to the affected taxpayers and refund, with interest, the GST that had been paid based on available records. The agencies will have a record of the taxpayers who transacted within the last five years (i.e. since 1 January 2019).
*π Approach to impose GST*
In general, GST would be charged on services rendered by Government agencies, for example, fees for the use of public sports facilities or rental fees for hawker stalls and exhibition spaces. However, GST should not be charged on services which are regulatory in nature. MOF has plans to introduce legislative amendments to the GST Act to clarify the treatment of GST for such fees, and to prescribe a list of regulatory fees where GST should not be charged.
ππ» 18 fees with GST wrongly charged and agency information
https://www.mof.gov.sg/docs/default-source/default-document-library/news-and-publications/press-releases/2024/annex-a.pdf
ππ» What are the government fees wrongly charged with GST and who’s affected?
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/what-are-government-fees-wrongly-charged-gst-and-whos-affected-4122306
ππ» Govt to refund $7.5m in GST wrongly collected by 6 agencies over 5 years
https://str.sg/7qqZ
15/2/24, 10:02 am - ~ REACH Singapore changed the group description
15/2/24, 10:02 am - ~ REACH Singapore changed this group's settings to allow all members to send messages to this group
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15/2/24, 10:16 am - +Kenneth Lee WM: I think it’s great that the gov discovered this and are taking steps to correct it.
An area that needs special focus are flats rented out by individuals and have since passed away the last 5 yrs. it is going to be difficult to track these down and the executors probably won’t know what the procedures are. They would also consider it too much of a trouble for a $50 reimbursement.
The onus should be how the government can communicate policies and check that they are being executed properly by the civil service before putting those into production.
Getting the public to check on the gov after the fact is very costly in terms of human effort which adds no value to our lives.
15/2/24, 10:32 am - +Rama: How did this go unnoticed!?
15/2/24, 10:40 am - +Jimmy Chew: the result of ownself check ownself?
15/2/24, 10:46 am - +Smiley face: ...in search of Perfection...
15/2/24, 10:51 am - +Rama: Exactly!
15/2/24, 11:01 am - +Smiley face: Continuation: Part 6/9 (1 - )
(The Digital Civilisation: Accelerating Performances & Pitfalls: Karl, Smith, Jung, Maslow, Da Vinci, Deming, Einstein, Galileo, Moore, Newton, Ricardo and more?)
Rise & Fall & Rise?
"The right Place, the right Time and the right Size! "
- - anonymity
15/2/24, 11:03 am - +Frankie Wee: Govt agencies human error
15/2/24, 11:03 am - +Frankie Wee: Make mistake and refund to pay them with 5.5% interest
15/2/24, 11:03 am - +Frankie Wee: What if Ai 100% no error
15/2/24, 11:05 am - +Smiley face: Yes, aka datang hypothesis...
15/2/24, 11:05 am - +Kenneth Lee WM: there will be lots of unemployment
15/2/24, 11:06 am - +Frankie Wee: Assist human only will be get pay job
15/2/24, 11:06 am - +Frankie Wee: No mean jobless
15/2/24, 11:06 am - +Smiley face: Reployment, an old strategy of war....
15/2/24, 11:07 am - +Frankie Wee: UI or UX software smart with Ai
15/2/24, 11:07 am - +Smiley face: The saying goes like this: given; the larger a nation's geography & economics, the higher the risks in every aspect of nature and or unnatural occurrences either favourable or unfavorable, and it shall bear upon a nation and inter-natiion ! ....
15/2/24, 12:22 pm - +Frankie Wee: https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/international/thailand-pitches-us28-billion-malacca-strait-bypass-project-us
15/2/24, 12:24 pm - +Frankie Wee: Thailand multibillion investment $28B building project over bridge canel bypass
This cut short and save fuel oil.
15/2/24, 12:25 pm - +Frankie Wee: <Media omitted>
15/2/24, 12:29 pm - +Rama: More than 25 years in the making!
15/2/24, 12:37 pm - +Smiley face: It depends on multiple factors and geo positioning...
15/2/24, 12:38 pm - +Smiley face: This message was deleted
15/2/24, 12:44 pm - +Smiley face: This message was deleted
15/2/24, 12:46 pm - +Smiley face: This message was deleted
15/2/24, 12:49 pm - +Smiley face: This message was deleted
15/2/24, 12:54 pm - +Smiley face: This message was deleted
15/2/24, 1:00 pm - +Smiley face: This message was deleted
15/2/24, 1:02 pm - +Smiley face: " One big threat by Russia-Ukraine created opportunities for others... Pragmatism and the idea of who needs who most!"
- - anonymity
15/2/24, 1:07 pm - +Frankie Wee: For EV (Electric Vehicle) may not stay longer at least battery lifetime will expire keep on spent renew batteries. 25 years will see how challenging EV developing advance technologies.
UAE will run out of oil reserves late in 100 years whole world will be EV.
15/2/24, 1:10 pm - +Frankie Wee: If this make short cut bypass than Singapore trade hub at Jurong-Tuas Port ship will be less ship. Can Singapore go through idea and innovation on Geo land multiple
15/2/24, 1:21 pm - +Smiley face: It depends, Frankie.... hopefully not too much!
15/2/24, 1:22 pm - +Smiley face: Our Tuas Mega Port is one of our lifelines! We must secure it regardless of unfair trades etc ...
15/2/24, 1:24 pm - +Smiley face: This message was deleted
15/2/24, 1:25 pm - +Dan: I just read an article by rice media titled "Middle class girlfriend, 9% GST boyfriend" I laugh at the analogy but felt it apt in my life situation. For those who love a good read, https://www.ricemedia.co/middle-class-girlfriend-9-gst-boyfriend/
15/2/24, 1:28 pm - +Smiley face: This message was deleted
15/2/24, 1:29 pm - +Smiley face: "The dimension of all needs are for the common people and the dimension of many wantings are for the well-off people. How to balance the two dynamics behavior of the competitive consumptions of humankind and let's not assume this human nature to be a 80/20 ratio ?"
- - anonymity
15/2/24, 1:30 pm - +Dan: "I also knew why GST had to change, but those reasons seemed senseless, especially in the face of unstable circumstances right now."
And now it did not help to know that 7.5M of wrongly charged GST for past 5 yrs were made. I applaud the owning up of the mistake and trying to rectify it. But the error is more of an eye sore.
15/2/24, 1:36 pm - +Smiley face: What are the crucial points for Singapore? Where are the balance and imbalances? How about within ASEAN and in particular our closer neighbors Malaysia and Indonesia?
Over the past 1,000 years of historical significance (not forgetting history of Vietnam) and nearer to the recent 100 years of seen developments; where are the changes, the turning points and breaking points, and the overall dynamism from the points of migration, rise & fall of politics, leaderships, economics growth and evolving architectures and archetypes of each society and the smaller segments?
Are there common grounds like cultures, beliefs and ethos within each of these nation of ASEAN?
Let's deep dive into our closest neighbors and find the alignments and common interests to forge a longer time-line of peace and prosperity, in unison and not a win-lose relationship.
15/2/24, 1:44 pm - +Smiley face: Factor #5....
"Transfer of technology, Designs, and Talents?
In just twenty years of accelerated learnings, China is into the realm of EV and everything else become dated and fated to lose? Less the ambiguity In today's matters of consequential, the OECD and the BRICS, both has its strengths and weaknesses and the leadership of each group respectively is either US or China. Importantly, it's becoming an "either-or" membership and affiliation of nation to nation and not so on the common level of people to people relationships. Most of all, Money talks!"
- - anonymity
15/2/24, 2:04 pm - ☸️ Danny εΏ:
1. GST is meant as a tax for goods and services sold or rendered to consumers. Hence services that are regulatory in nature - will not elicit GST.
2. This is an error, an honest mistake make by some Government Agencies - and fortunately MOF review uncover the mistake and honestly declare it, and offer to refund the 5 years collection plus interest of 5.5% per year (a very generous offer).
3. This ensure our Government integrity is intact, is transparent - and willing to admit mistakes, willing to reimburse with interest - a hallmark of a good Government with integrity.
4. No one is perfect and no system is perfect.
But once a mistake is discovered - is willing to be open about it and willing to make good - is a good person, a good system.
5. Ownself check ownself - is a good system - if a system is one with integrity and fill with good moral persons.
(Doesn't mean having oppositions can do a better job - short of raiding our reserves).
15/2/24, 2:10 pm - +REACH: *π’ Topic π’*
15/2/24, 2:12 pm - ☸️ Danny εΏ:
This tik tok is meant to alarm and short of realistic feasibility studies.
The land route is not profitable and no investors from US, China, Japan, EU and Middle East are biting.
It will be a big white elephant.
15/2/24, 2:24 pm - ☸️ Danny εΏ:
1. A big container ship can transport 24,000 containers.
2. So must prepare 24,000 lorries to unload 1 container to each lorry from 1 port to another port and then reload?
Lorries transport cost.
3. What happen if cannot do it within 1 day? Need storage spaces . Storage cost.
4. Need 2 containers to transport 24,000 TEU instead of one.
5. How many savings - 4 days.
With so many inconvenience and cost - does everyone thing the land bridge is a viable alternative maritime route?
And honestly, the 4 days is a savings or worst it may take more than 4 days to load and unload. <This message was edited>
15/2/24, 2:35 pm - +Frankie Wee: Worth $200k per days
15/2/24, 2:35 pm - +Frankie Wee: Business portfolio
15/2/24, 2:36 pm - +Frankie Wee: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evergreen_G-class_container_ship
15/2/24, 2:41 pm - +William: Suggest to raise tobacco tax (10% yearly) and alcohol tax (5%) to increase revenue. This could also discourage smoking and drinking. Healthier people.
15/2/24, 2:41 pm - +Rama: I support this!
15/2/24, 2:51 pm - ☸️ Danny εΏ:
Thailand want to pull similar feat like Suez canal - is harping on the wrong tree.
Suez canal cut short maritime route from Africa Cape of good hope by 24 days - roughly $1 million savings per container ship.
Going through Thailand land bridge save 4 days - and with all the loading and unloading thrown in - will waste more cost and less day savings.
Hence the short cut is not a short cut - but a serious impediment to global supply maritime route.
15/2/24, 2:53 pm - +Rama: Possibly miscalculation will be costly.
15/2/24, 2:57 pm - +Smiley face: Wait.....long due...
15/2/24, 2:57 pm - ☸️ Danny εΏ:
Thus never take any video content and news article at face value.
Always do clear minded analysis.
Understand why that tik tok video is made.
Who will benefit.
And is it really true what the video claim reap the benefits that it claims.
ζ²εΏ，εΎζ。 <This message was edited>
15/2/24, 3:01 pm - +Smiley face: Hopefully, this time history don't rhymes because this time no more consideration nor concession! (in Cantonese it means - nothing to talk!)...
15/2/24, 3:02 pm - +Smiley face: Andrew....
China?
"Catch 22 moments: China needs to continue to expand its industrialisation and modernisation processes and uplifting its huge middle-class and most critical of all is to feed the billion plus human! And the old saying goes like that, a hungry man is an angry man! Food, Energy, Water: that's it, that's the Catch!"
- - anonymity
The US mighty navy that sails and surveills two-ocean and seven-sea! It's obvious that China is catching up and challenging the US for the mighty navy of tomorrow. One decreasing while the other increasing its deployment of military assets into the SCS & Pacific and the Russians are securing the Arctic and the Bering Strait.
Hot Spots?
In South-East Asia: Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia all has its unique diplomatic and military relationships with the US. The challenge to China strategic energy 'life lines' are: One, the Strait of Malacca* heading to the Indian Ocean and to China and the Far East (12 million barrels of Oil per day). Two, the Pacific Ocean transit near to the Philippines, Luzon Strait** and the Barshi Channel. These are the action stations of now and tomorrow! Will there be a third in line, the so named Kra Canal happening and isn't it Derisking. Perhaps, its a choice open for discussions and debates among countries, the environmentalists and the beneficiaries?
• As early as the seventh century, the Chinese traders have found their ways to the Peninsular Malaya via Siam, Cambodia and Taiwan. And many Chinese travelers and tradesmen remained to make in Malaya and today's Malaysia, Malacca and Penang. In 1557, the Portuguese left Malacca for Macao as the next trading post.
**While the Portuguese faced intensed opposition in their Eastern trading posts, primarily the Malay and Muslims people. The city of Cebu in 1521 where Magellan touched down and baptized hundreds of natives on a single Sunday. It was not the day for the Portuguese and came the Spanish having conquered the Pacific side of the America. By 1571, the city of Manila was founded and the largest island of the Philippines archipelago was named Luconia. And it was the trade route between Asia and America; today's Luzon. (1761 a Luconia delegates to Beijing whom the Spaniards called Sangleys or in Fukien word - trade. ηζ)
15/2/24, 3:04 pm - +Smiley face: One big lesson to remember...that is DO NOT discount History!
15/2/24, 3:05 pm - +Smiley face: Perhaps, Andrew, that's your meaning of Miscalculations... thank you!
15/2/24, 3:05 pm - +Rama: Time will tell!
15/2/24, 3:07 pm - +Smiley face: Importantly, will Singapore thrive.... looking from 2050 to 2080 period!
15/2/24, 3:07 pm - +Rama: This I believe!
15/2/24, 3:07 pm - +Smiley face: Let's start preparing for the IMPERFECT STORM, AHEAD!
15/2/24, 3:08 pm - +Smiley face: In MM Lee Kuan Yew's words....it's life and death!
15/2/24, 3:09 pm - +Rama: Agree
15/2/24, 3:17 pm - +Smiley face: Factor #6....Andrew.
The concept of balance from the perspective of social, politics, economic, war, climate change and crisis; all are crucial lifelines of a civilisation or in a smaller context a society and a nation. These balancing points are crucial point of concerns, both internal and external and together they form a balance of power. Any imbalance occurs will have implications, impacts and on occasion becoming a threat or a burden and worse-off or an opportunity or some economists called it a benefit or better-off in layperson terms; all in, it can be dynamic or better, inpartial, and worse to the next nation or a group of nations.
Imbalance situations occurred often in the arenas of domestic issues and/or foreign policies and the overall structures that follow suits over a longer time; the stronger outside forces will act singly or simultaneously to balance things up & down all for the simple reasons of Balancing their points of positioning and the overall posture of the powerbase, national interests at stake and exerting control and influence all over again and so on; mirror or to plainly says, power and order!...
15/2/24, 3:19 pm - +Rama: Balance will shift continuously and indefinitely so sustainability will be periodic at most.
15/2/24, 3:21 pm - +Smiley face: Build your Strategic Advantages.... competitive advantage cannot weather any storms! Blown away?
15/2/24, 3:22 pm - +Smiley face: Andrew....
Indonesia?
Cobalt and Lithium. Nickel is one crucial ore for the transformation of battery in EV. And this ore is getting less useful as the technology of battery making has gone beyond the use of this crucial element into new found ways of building more robust and durable batteries for multi-purpose. That itself was a competitive advantage for Indonesia and now it's no longer that crucial as before to the effects of mining and industrial policies, labor policy and collaboration with foreign investors all are in the crossroad and decision to further invest into the streak of nickel extraction, processing and producing the end products. There are windows of opportunities for nickel to complement copper in the mid-stream and lower segments of the consumers electronic devices and equipment. ...
15/2/24, 3:24 pm - +Rama: Priority is for rare earth minerals currently
15/2/24, 3:49 pm - +Smiley face: The Alchemist, aka the Transformers is Vietnam. And Vietnam is #2 after China for rare earth deposits... Strategic Advantage!
15/2/24, 3:53 pm - +Rama: Already being courted!
15/2/24, 3:57 pm - +Rama: This message was deleted
15/2/24, 3:57 pm - +Rama: Decepticons approaching fast!
15/2/24, 4:00 pm - +REACH: *π’ Topic π’*
15/2/24, 4:21 pm - +Smiley face: 15 February, 2024
Fees & Fines: Overcollect, Undercollect or Uncollect?
"Do your counting and don't rely solely on the computer to count for you! It's that simple, are we OVERLY dependent on machines to count our money or the machines are at fault, now and then?"
- - anonymity
Its the duties and responsibilities of the public, individuals and collecting agencies to support and nibble any errors of over collections of fees or fines. And how about uncollected fees and undecollecting fees?
15/2/24, 4:58 pm - +Frankie Wee: Accountant professional make error when this omission increased over the year keep imbalance amount in Balance sheet. Not 100% human make in machine.
15/2/24, 5:05 pm - +Smiley face: Auditors?
15/2/24, 5:05 pm - +Frankie Wee: Correct auditors
15/2/24, 5:05 pm - +Smiley face: Accountants, ok...Oh O!
15/2/24, 5:06 pm - +Smiley face: Undercollect? Uncollect?
15/2/24, 5:07 pm - +Frankie Wee: Undercollect
15/2/24, 5:10 pm - +Smiley face: Uncollect?
15/2/24, 5:11 pm - +Frankie Wee: Untouchable still imbalances when before fee to them
15/2/24, 5:11 pm - +Frankie Wee: If the machine is faulty
How human skill
15/2/24, 5:12 pm - +Frankie Wee: https://youtu.be/xuSSQP2-RCU?si=bwdtjE99e6oFc1FR
15/2/24, 5:15 pm - +Smiley face: Ask IT , system engineers and accountants.
15/2/24, 5:16 pm - +Smiley face: Digital money, fastest! Don't need to poke poke poke....lol
15/2/24, 5:16 pm - +Smiley face: Poke poke poke...
15/2/24, 5:17 pm - +Smiley face: This message was deleted
15/2/24, 5:18 pm - +Smiley face: How to not count wrongly?
Given the standing of fess, alone it should be clear and concise the actual amount due.
So how to zerolise such errors and luckily it's only in the millions and over the years.
Nothing is perfect. However, it's timely now to recalibrate at each government agency to trace and capture these counting and billing errors at the back ends. Meantime, all payers, please do your sums before you click the pay buttons! That's simple and sweet?
15/2/24, 5:19 pm - +Frankie Wee: Ask FinTech will solve the issue
15/2/24, 5:19 pm - +Smiley face: Pay, pay, pay....
15/2/24, 5:20 pm - +Frankie Wee: Then Ai smart network system
15/2/24, 5:22 pm - +Smiley face: Yes, coupled with Digitisation and digital money! No more chances for loopholes or circumventing?
15/2/24, 5:29 pm - ☸️ Danny εΏ:
So if 10 container ships dock at the port, does it means they have to prepare 240,000 lorries and jam the port until it become a gridlock?
So it don't make sense for them.
15/2/24, 5:53 pm - +Smiley face: This message was deleted
15/2/24, 5:56 pm - +Smiley face: Tuas Mega Port:
Soft - A one-stop portal for port clearances and other regulatory transactions as well as just-in-time services to enhance efficiency.
Hard - unmanned vehicles, drones, data analytics, driverless trucks for port transport, combined with digital platforms to reduce port congestion and bureaucracy.
Automated cranes and automated guided vehicles and a futuristic vessel traffic management system and digitalPORT@SGTM.
Its soft & hard infrastructures, people, skills and excellent plannings and executions of the ops of logistic. All weather and 24/7 service hub!
How about other ports?
15/2/24, 5:59 pm - +Rama: Not the ones up north!
15/2/24, 5:59 pm - ☸️ Danny εΏ:
Even China shortest path to Europe by rail - 30 to 50 containers rail - that can cut more than 10 days out of maritime - also didn't pick up.
50 containers versus 24,000 containers.
Which one is more cost effective.
90% of world trade is by ships.
Even Red Sea Houthis tension didn't make traders go via rail - rather route through Africa and incur $1 million per ship more - still cheaper than by rail.
Now by lorries woh....
,ππ€£
15/2/24, 6:00 pm - +REACH: *π’ Topic π’*
15/2/24, 6:00 pm - +Smiley face: Bye bye bunkering?
15/2/24, 6:00 pm - +Rama: Possibly
15/2/24, 6:01 pm - +Smiley face: Chinese saying ... one streak!
15/2/24, 6:02 pm - +Rama: One time wonder!?
15/2/24, 6:04 pm - +Smiley face: More containers means more financials and more economic growth and more fees to collect, aka Huat ah !
15/2/24, 6:05 pm - +Rama: Hope the wood dragon furnish us abundantly this year
15/2/24, 6:06 pm - +Smiley face: Wow! You got it! Starting this year....pls refer to the previous essay on the critical year of 2024....
15/2/24, 6:08 pm - +Smiley face: So how to reconcile errors of overpayment? And how to REDUCE the number of days to uncover, to recover and to appropriate the refund to payer?
15/2/24, 6:09 pm - +Smiley face: Also underpayment and unpaid fees ! What's the turnaround time or tolerance levels?
15/2/24, 6:10 pm - +Frankie Wee: This message was deleted
15/2/24, 6:44 pm - +Smiley face: Who will be authorized to refund the payments and what if mistakes in the process of refunding. It can be overpaying or underpaying or missing funds and in the worse scenario of misappropriation of funds from small amount and cumulated over a longer period of time into a larger sum of money? How to ensure a secured system of refund?
15/2/24, 6:46 pm - +REACH: *Dear Contributors,*
⏰ We will be closing the chat in *15 minutes* ⏰
Thank you very much for being part of our WhatsApp chat and participating actively.
Goodnight!
Megan π
15/2/24, 6:46 pm - +Frankie Wee: Govt pay them for mistake.
Authorized oversight error machine or calculator
15/2/24, 6:48 pm - +Frankie Wee: Auto calculators system will need to work on new digital devices
15/2/24, 6:50 pm - +Smiley face: 15 February, 2024
Fees & Fines: Overcollect, Undercollect or Uncollect?
"Do your counting and don't rely solely on the computer to count for you! It's that simple, are we OVERLY dependent on machines to count our money or the machines are at fault, now and then?"
- - anonymity
Its the duties and responsibilities of the public, individuals and collecting agencies to support and nibble any errors of over collections of fees or fines. And how about uncollected fees and undecollecting fees?
So how to reconcile errors of overpayment? And how to REDUCE the number of days it takes to detect errors, to confirm the amount, and to appropriate the refund to payer? Also underpayment and unpaid fees ! What's the turnaround time or tolerance levels? Human checks and machine checks?
Who will be authorized to refund the payments and what if mistakes in the process of refunding. It can be overpaying or underpaying or missing funds and in the worse scenario of misappropriation of funds from small amount and cumulated over a longer period of time into a larger sum of money? How to ensure a secured system of refund?
How to not count wrongly?
Given the standing of fess, alone it should be clear and concise the actual amount due.
So how to zerolise such errors and luckily it's only in the millions and over the years.
Nothing is perfect. However, it's timely now to recalibrate at each government agency to trace and capture these counting and billing errors at the back ends. Meantime, all payers, please do your sums before you click the pay buttons! That's simple and sweet?
- - in progress - -
15/2/24, 6:59 pm - +Smiley face: Continuation: Part 6/9 (1 - )
(The Digital Civilisation: Accelerating Performances & Pitfalls: Karl, Smith, Jung, Maslow, Da Vinci, Deming, Einstein, Galileo, Moore, Newton, Ricardo and more?)
"Rise & Fall & Rise?"
"The right Place, the right Time and the right Size!
The game of World Politics: You creates multiple imbalances of economic and social and policies to the point of conflicts and confronts and diplomacy is an act so as to achieve your dreams and, and benefits. Your continuous process of ratification and new possibilities for the sake of promising peace and prosperity to humankind. And that's it, it's the rule of action and reaction !"
- - anonymity
If you believes in history repeating itself, if you believes in the power of geography and humanity and if you believes in the natural path of balance; you are in a conscious state of an infinite being! The rising of a civilisation and the falling of another civilisation replaced the former with the latter is an evolution of the realm of reality regardless of ideology, individuality, cultures, history, politics, economics and environments.
The right place, the right time and the right size! All evolutions will concur and converge into a sizeable force of energy and these energized movements including people and places after which will once again diverge from the centre of attraction. That's how civilisation migrated and settled from one place to a safer haven. The magnetic effects of attract and repell mirrors the power of pull and push, act and react. How to attract and pull at the same momentum and pushing and repelling against your counterpoints as a convergence of people, power, and the values of tangibles and intangibles?
The concept of balance from the perspective of social, politics, economic, war, climate change and crisis; all are crucial lifelines of a civilisation or in a smaller context a society and a nation. These balancing points are crucial point of concerns, both internal and external and together they form a balance of power. Any imbalance occurs will have implications, impacts and on occasion becoming a threat or a burden and worse-off or an opportunity or some economists called it a benefit or better-off in layperson terms; all in, it can be dynamic or better, inpartial, and worse to the next nation or a group of nations.
Imbalance situations occurred often in the arenas of domestic issues and/or foreign policies and the overall structures that follow suits over a longer time; the stronger outside forces will act singly or simultaneously to balance things up & down all for the simple reasons of Balancing their points of positioning and the overall posture of the powerbase, national interests at stake and exerting control and influence all over again and so on; mirror or to plainly says, power and order!
"The dimension of all needs are for the common people and the dimension of many wantings are for the well-off people. How to balance the two dynamics behavior of the competitive consumptions of humankind and let's not assume this human nature to be a 80/20 ratio ?"
- - anonymity
What are the crucial points for Singapore? Where are the balance and imbalances? How about within ASEAN and in particular our closer neighbors Malaysia and Indonesia?
Over the past 1,000 years of historical significance (not forgetting history of Vietnam) and nearer to the recent 100 years of seen developments; where are the changes, the turning points and breaking points, and the overall dynamism from the points of migration, rise & fall of politics, leaderships, economics growth and evolving architectures and archetypes of each society and the smaller segments?
Are there common grounds like cultures, beliefs and ethos within each of these nation of ASEAN?
Let's deep dive into our closest neighbors and find the alignments and common interests to forge a longer time-line of peace and prosperity, in unison and not a win-lose relationship.
Indonesia?
Cobalt and Lithium. Nickel is one crucial ore for the transformation of battery in EV. And this ore is getting less useful as the technology of battery making has gone beyond the use of this crucial element into new found ways of building more robust and durable batteries for multi-purpose. That itself was a competitive advantage for Indonesia and now it's no longer that crucial as before to the effects of mining and industrial policies, labor policy and collaboration with foreign investors all are in the crossroad and decision to further invest into the streak of nickel extraction, processing and producing the end products. There are windows of opportunities for nickel to complement copper in the mid-stream and lower segments of the consumers electronic devices and equipment.
David Ricardo (18/4/2772 - 12/9/2823)?
So it goes back to the father of comparative advantage that is David Ricardo. That's David's theory of international trades, free trades, comparative advantage, specialisation, labor, rental, and markets efficiency. Simply, the Ricardo's theorized a producing nation exports its core produce at the lowest prices compared to the next closest competitor.
In the case of Indonesia, Nickel itself is a low price commodity and Indonesia has the largest reserves and the largest producer in the world, (Statista). It converges into unique (1:1) relationships between the big nations versus the small nations in the making of the world and half of the world transforms into new digital means. The world needs Nickel & Dimes; it's just how much it needs and it's always not enough! Don't mix up with the concept of scarcity because it's all about strategic advantage!
" One big threat by Russia-Ukraine created opportunities for others... Pragmatism and the idea of who needs who most!"
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Indonesia, an ancient Gongwanaland?
Many given natural resources and the perpetual strategic advantages!
The land of 17,500 islands, 300 ethnic groups and 162 local languages, 275 millions people and rich volcanic top soil. It's the world largest archipelagic state, the 3rd longest coastline after Peru and Canada, and the 14th largest country by area, at 1,904,569 square kilometres. On human fertity, it's TFR is well over 2.2, it procreates 5 millions babies annually and that's Singapore population!
For a start, it is a happy problem and then many existential challenges just to feed, to house, to educate, to medicate, to allocate future jobs to all these humans! As for the future of Indonesia, where will these huge resources come from just in time (just in case) for this exploding population?
Agricultural land use in Indonesia was 33.18% as of 2018. It's highest value for the past 57 years while its lowest value was 20.45% in 1984. It has more than sufficient rice to feed its population and the YTY in excess of 2 millions tons are ready for export. The country has vast resources of fishery with over 250 millions hectares for aquafarming and catchments, 23 millions hectares are under conservation and it is the world biggest seaweeds producer. Fish farming is the least polluter of all meats categories, thus the aquaculture business will be the next big thing in the next 25 years and beyond.
The visions of Indonesia is to be the world largest fish, prawn, lobster and MOCAF, an alternate to wheat flour (cassava) producers.
(Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Indonesia)
Around 43% of Indonesia's population reside in rural areas and close to 29% of the Indonesian workforce work in the agricultural sector. Primary agricultural production accounted for 13.7% of GDP in 2020. (World Bank)
Indonesia is one of the world's largest producers and exporters of agricultural products, supplying important commodities such as palm oil, natural rubber, cocoa, coffee, rice, and spices to the rest of the world. In the past decades, the agricultural industry is also the largest sector of employment in the country. (Statista)
Of external values, Indonesia has excess capacity of 2 million tons of rice ready for export yearly! For Singapore rice consumptions, this extra 2 million tons of rice means 400kg of rice per capita per year (adults).
The world's largest archipelagic has the land mass and ready agricultural workers to transform into the next world food powerhouse. According to their analytics showed that by converting 16 millions hectares of deforested land and repurpose for food cultivations, it will be sufficient to feed the entire world! (Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Indonesia).
Assessing from the entire ecosystem, it is an ambitious and attractive mega project. It will not only solve the global food supplies but also clean and bio renewables energy will be part of this food equation. The problem is foreign investments that are critical in starting these infinite mega projects. Will the advanced nations start chipping-in money, deploying exceptional expertises and commence this important game changing initiative with free minded partners from G to G and B to B and trusting one another, nations putting aside self interests and start planting and growing agricultural produces by the mega scales all for the sake of the future of hunger and feeding humanity properly?
Are these aspiring mega projects impossible, or full of obstacles or possible? Is this the moment now to seriously consider buying a few more "food bowls" from Indonesia?
For any country, one immediate task is to make food available and affordable for the next 10 years and into 2080 because this global food crisis is a highly complex business and the ecosystem itself is a dynamic system and interrelated so much so that scaling to meet demands at any given time will be even harder or impossible to accomplish moreover the entire world is facing the current headwinds of war, of expensive energy supplies and more unstable climate challenges to come.
The saying goes like this: given; the larger a nation's geography & economics, the higher the risks in every aspect of nature and or unnatural occurrences either favourable or unfavorable, and it shall bear upon a nation and inter-natiion !
Is Prabowo a seat-warmer for Jokowi’s son, or will he stamp his own mark as Indonesia’s president?
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/is-prabowo-a-seat-warmer-for-jokowi-s-son-or-will-he-stamp-his-own-mark-as-indonesia-s-president
China?
"Catch 22 moments: China needs to continue to expand its industrialisation and modernisation processes and uplifting its huge middle-class and most critical of all is to feed the billion plus human! And the old saying goes like that, a hungry man is an angry man! Food, Energy, Water: that's it, that's the Catch!"
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The US mighty navy that sails and surveills two-ocean and seven-sea! It's obvious that China is catching up and challenging the US for the mighty navy of tomorrow. One decreasing while the other increasing its deployment of military assets into the SCS & Pacific and the Russians are securing the Arctic and the Bering Strait.
Hot Spots?
In South-East Asia: Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia all has its unique diplomatic and military relationships with the US. The challenge to China strategic energy 'life lines' are: One, the Strait of Malacca* heading to the Indian Ocean and to China and the Far East (12 million barrels of Oil per day). Two, the Pacific Ocean transit near to the Philippines, Luzon Strait** and the Barshi Channel. These are the action stations of now and tomorrow! Will there be a third in line, the so named Kra Canal happening and isn't it Derisking. Perhaps, its a choice open for discussions and debates among countries, the environmentalists and the beneficiaries?
• As early as the seventh century, the Chinese traders have found their ways to the Peninsular Malaya via Siam, Cambodia and Taiwan. And many Chinese travelers and tradesmen remained to make in Malaya and today's Malaysia, Malacca and Penang. In 1557, the Portuguese left Malacca for Macao as the next trading post.
**While the Portuguese faced intensed opposition in their Eastern trading posts, primarily the Malay and Muslims people. The city of Cebu in 1521 where Magellan touched down and baptized hundreds of natives on a single Sunday. It was not the day for the Portuguese and came the Spanish having conquered the Pacific side of the America. By 1571, the city of Manila was founded and the largest island of the Philippines archipelago was named Luconia. And it was the trade route between Asia and America; today's Luzon. (1761 a Luconia delegates to Beijing whom the Spaniards called Sangleys or in Fukien word - trade. ηζ)
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15/2/24, 7:00 pm - +REACH: *Dear Contributors,*
We will be closing the chat for today.
Thank you very much for being part of our WhatsApp chat and participating actively.
Goodnight!
Megan π
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