By Fiona Chan
Growth in the first quarter was led by the manufacturing sector, which expanded by an eye-popping 139 per cent quarter-on-quarter. This was due to a strong rebound in global demand for semiconductor chips, as well as a bigger-than-expected surge in biomedical manufacturing output, the MTI said. -- PHOTO: ZAOBAO
SINGAPORE has raised its forecast for 2010 growth after the economy strengthened massively in the first quarter of this year.
It now expects the economy to grow by 7 to 9 per cent, significantly higher than its previous prediction of 4.5 to 6.5 per cent growth, the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said.
This comes after gross domestic product (GDP) shot up 13.1 per cent in the Jan-Mar period compared to the same time last year, the biggest year-on-year jump in 16 years.
Quarter-on-quarter, GDP surged 32.1 per cent from January to March, compared to the preceding October to December period. Economists said this was the highest rise on record.
Growth in the first quarter was led by the manufacturing sector, which expanded by an eye-popping 139 per cent quarter-on-quarter. This was due to a strong rebound in global demand for semiconductor chips, as well as a bigger-than-expected surge in biomedical manufacturing output, the MTI said.
'While downside risks remain, such as a sovereign debt crisis in Europe or a slowdown due to withdrawal of fiscal measures, these have been outweighed by stronger signs that global economic conditions are improving,' the ministry said in a statement.
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Comments
The PAP has been on the defensive throughout the whole of this year with senior PAP leaders stepping forward to clarify and explain its misguided policies to Singaporeans especially the immigration, labor and housing policies. Though it has been procrastinating holding the polls, it is unlikely that the unhappiness on the ground will dissipate soon. For all the cosmetic changes introduced by the PAP to placate voters, the foreigners are still flocking to Singapore and their presence is ubiquitous everywhere on the island. The prices of HDB flats will also not drop anytime soon and the labor market will remain tight due to the easy availability of cheap foreign workers. The next election therefore represents a wonderful opportunity for the opposition to deny the PAP’s its traditional two-thirds majority in Parliament and to establish a two-party state in Singapore like what happened to Malaysia during the political tsunami of 2008. The PAP has been given a blank cheque to govern Singapore for far too long without any accountability or transparency which will ruin our country in no time. Some pundits have poured cold water on the opposition’s chances at the next general election as a result of its perennial weakness and inability to work together. The opposition’s core support base usually consists about 20 percent of the electorate with the PAP at 30 percent. This leaves about 50 percent of undecided voters who can swing to either side depending on the quality of the opposition candidates. During the 2006 general election, the Workers’ Party managed to secure 43.7 percent of the valid votes in Aljunied GRC or 23.7 percent of the swing votes. In contrast, the Singapore Democratic Party only garnered 22 percent of the votes in Jurong GRC which corresponded roughly to the percentage of anti-PAP voters who will vote for the opposition regardless of the candidates. In order for the opposition to achieve a breakthrough in the next general election, it needs to convince at least 30 percent or more of the undecided voters to swing to its side. Singaporeans are most noted for their apathy and disinterest in politics caused partly by years of state-sponsored “brainwashing”. This group of Singaporeans generally know little about Singapore current affairs or politics and do not owe allegiance to any political party. Most are young voters born after 1965 to have any affinity to the PAP. They are also likely to be IT-savvy with the online media being their primary source of news rather than the mainstream media. Both the opposition and the PAP will need their respective core supporters to canvass for votes from the undecided voters at the grassroots level and in cyberspace as well. That is where the opposition has an edge over the PAP. As the last election had shown, the PAP was unable to get a decent attendance at its rallies despite providing free meals and transport to the hustlings. Despite its famous well-oiled grassroots machinery, the PAP is actually quite weak on the ground especially with the younger generation of voters. On the whole, the opposition supporters appear to be more motivated, committed and passionate than the PAP at least in cyberspace itself. For example, a Facebook group started by a relatively unknown young man Alex Tan at the beginning of the year has garnered more than 4,500 members so far, many of whom are teenagers and young Singaporeans in their 20s and 30s. In contrast, the membership of the PAP’s REACH Forum and its Youth Wing have stagnated in spite of their longer existence. A blog started by a group of post-65 PAP MPs in the aftermath of the last general election suffers from a lack of traffic and has become more or less defunct. The heightened visibility of anti-PAP blogs and Facebooks in Singapore’s blogosphere may suggest that its supporters are more active and motivated than the PAP to spread its message to fellow Singaporeans. As such, a small group of extremely motivated opposition supporters may have the ability to influence sufficient apathetic voters to swing the votes to the opposition in closely fought contests. Apathetic or swing voters generally have no political affiliations or convictions and hence they can be persuaded easily by their friends to vote for a particular party. Now, if each of the 4,500 members on the Vote PAP out facebook were to get 10 of their friends and relatives to vote for the opposition, this will bag the opposition 45,000 votes instantaneously which are more than suffice to influence the outcome of a contest in a single seat ward. On the other hand, it is not likely that the PAP members and supporters will have as much motivation as their peers from the opposition camp since the PAP is widely expected to win the election hands down anyway. The stakes are higher for those who clamor for a change in the status quo which will propel them to go out of the way to secure the votes for the opposition. The PAP has introduced a “Cooling off” day on the eve of polling day to neuter the influence of the New Media, but the battle for the hearts and minds of Singaporeans have long begun already. Every Singaporean who wants to see genuine changes in Singapore’s political landscape should contribute to the process right now by sharing our site and Facebook group with them as well as the Vote PAP Out Facebook group. All it takes is a small group of brave men and women to make a difference. Let us trigger the Singapore political tsunami in the next general election and teach the PAP a lesson it will never ever forget. | ||
Posted by: nowyouseeit at Wed Apr 14 15:18:14 SGT 2010 |
International Comparison of Gross Domestic Product in Europe 1996
Gross domestic product by industry for 2002.: An article from: Survey of Current Business
