“What? Farming? You can’t be serious!” was my initial reaction 6 months ago, when told that AVA wanted to work with us and that I was to take on the Agriculture and Fisheries portfolio. I could just imagine trying to convince stubborn old farmers who only spoke Mandarin or some dialect of the need to embark on productivity. How to survive with my half-past-six mandarin?

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There have been a series of articles written on the pros and cons of Minimum Wage in Singapore – many have weighed in with their views. With the looming election, I am sure that some will argue for a Minimum Wage System to be implemented. With the widening income inequality, the call for Minimum Wage is indeed alluring… Statutory minimum wages were first proposed as a way to control the proliferations of sweat shops in manufacturing industries. This is to ensure that these workers are paid a decent (read minimum) wage. Over time, it evolves into helping workers become more self sufficient – to achieve a minimum subsistence wage

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I visited an SME called Walburg today. It is a local, family business, employing about 50 staff. Their business involves installing vending machines at various locations in Singapore. Their service team will move around the island every day, stocking up and maintaining the vending machines, collecting the proceeds and bringing them back to HQ at Loyang.

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