Public Sector Should Have Less to Worry About Investor Relations and Profitability
One fallout of the recent breakdown in train services in Singapore is that SMRT has begun to get negative reports from analysts who predict accompanying maintenance costs can cut into the operator’s profits. That’s stating the obvious. Nothing meaningful can be expected from a breed that thrives on economic gloom.
I think Government-linked companies must not be allowed to list in stock exchanges. By jostling with the corporate stack in equity markets, they get too focused on profits and cost-cutting. This results in a reluctance to upgrade infrastructure and beef up staffing. Service standards become a casualty in the process.
I do not wish to make a big issue of the breakdown as it can happen anywhere. But generally SMRT response to faults has been appalling. It takes weeks for them to fix escalators in disrepair or faulty doors in train stations.
The Singapore government has a reputation of functioning like a business entity and doing anything that will boost its coffers. Making the country economically sound with a huge reserve pile is indeed a healthy strategy. But when service standards slump and the quality of life for residents takes a hit, it becomes questionable.
Population Growth: For instance, I feel the government has been mindlessly increasing the population of the country through a steady import of people from overseas. As a result, Singapore has become a crowded, overpopulated country. This congestion has affected the quality of life as residents have to battle with massive crowds wherever they go any time of the day. There are no indications that the injection of mass is about to abate either.
The government seems to go with the “more the merrier” notion, assuming a bigger population is good for businesses that can expect strong consumption rates.
One reason why no city in China or India figures in the list of the world’s most liveable places is that the overpopulation there affects the quality of life! On the contrary, the list of the world’s best places to live in is dominated by cities in Canada and Australia that are thinly populated and that makes the governments there serve them better with good healthcare and high-quality education.
G Joslin Vethakumar
