TAKING IN THE SIGHTS: Mr Nathan (centre) visiting the Champa ruins in My Son in Quang Nam province, Vietnam, yesterday.
Feb 29, 2008 Fromthe Straits Time
Leaders are eager to spur growth and tackle attendant ills
By Roger Mitton
IN DANANG - THE first thing that struck President S R Nathan about Vietnam on his current visit was its sheer vibrancy, he told Singapore media yesterday. This was epitomised by the dynamic business activity and frenetic can-do spirit of its people, he said on the fourth day of his state visit.
The President, whose last visit to the country was seven years ago, was reflecting on the immense changes that have taken place since then. He said he found Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, President Nguyen Minh Triet and Communist Party leader Nong Duc Manh different from the past leadership.
'They are more focused on Vietnam's economic transformation and they spoke only about what needs to be done to develop the nation,' he said. 'They talked earnestly about how they might deal with infrastructure problems, like bottlenecks at the ports and so on, that come with fast economic progress.'
Indeed, as Vietnam spurts ahead, its leaders have grown anxious about attendant concerns such as soaring inflation and increased urbanisation, arguably the two most serious problems facing the country today.
The latest official figures released on Wednesday showed that inflation has increased yet again and that February prices rose by a whopping 15.67 per cent compared to last year's.
Mr Nathan said: 'There is tremendous enthusiasm for continued high growth, but the leaders here realise it comes at a cost and they are conscious that they must tackle inflation.'
As for urbanisation, which resulted in half a million rural folks migrating to the cities last year, the President said Vietnam's leaders had sought advice from Singapore about how to deal with this and other issues.
'There is a keenness to learn from us in areas like human resource development, although they realise that what we do in Singapore has to be adapted to local conditions.'
Mr Nathan revealed, for instance, that the Danang municipality will send a team to Singapore to study street lighting, while Singapore will continue to help train Vietnam's English-language teachers.
Mr Lee Yi Shyan, Minister of State for Trade and Industry, is accompanying President Nathan on the trip. He said: 'When I visited here five years ago, there were few English-speaking officials, but now they have lots of young ones ready to deal with potential investors.'
As for politics, Mr Nathan said it hardly came up in his talks with Vietnam's leaders, except for regional issues and the need to move forward to get the new Asean Charter implemented soon.
'They are determined to play a strong role in regional affairs and help the process of integration. Vietnam will be a great asset to Asean,' he said.
'They are determined to play a strong role in regional affairs and help the process of integration. Vietnam will be a great asset to Asean,' he said.
Yesterday, Mr Nathan, who had earlier toured the Cham Museum in Danang, also visited one of Vietnam's major cultural treasures, the Champa ruins at nearby My Son.
Today, he will visit the historic Unesco World Heritage village of Hoi An, before meeting local leaders and ending what he referred to as his 'friendship visit' to Vietnam.
Reflection Questions
1. With development comes problems. What do you think are two of the most serious problems that Vietnam will face this year?
2. What lessons do you think Vietnam can learn from Singapore?
Post your answers in the comments box.
.jpg)
.jpg)
15 comments:
Name: Vanessa (23)
Class: 4 Adventurous
Q1.
There are environmental issues that Vietnam has been dealing with for quite some time, yet remained a problem. Development on agriculture includes increased application of cheap and hazardous pesticides, resulting in a number of people poisoned from consuming crops treated with these pesticides. Industrialization pollutes the air and water. These problems are not easily solved as they require a two-side approach by raising public awareness and also by the government's efforts for environmental conservation.
Another huge problem are social problems. People from countries migrate to cities without being equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge. Many of them end up being squatters in the cities. When poverty is high, crime rate will increase and development is hindered. This is what is happening in my country, Indonesia, and the government's effort to solve it is by a transmigration programme, moving landless people from densely populated areas to less densely populated areas of the country. This is not very effective, and even leads to separatists movement by the tribes in the receiving areas as they thought the government is trying to reduce the proportion of native populations. Urbanization is never a problem easy to solve, not in Indonesia or Vietnam. Moreover, after the Vietnam War, there is a population boom, which is taking its toll on Vietnam nowadays with an increase of population from 23 million people in 1940s to more than 76 million in 1999. This results in ecological degradation, deforestation (leading to soil degradation and erosion) to make land for these people to live on and drainage of resources to provide for them.
Impressive Vanessa. Great analysis. Like the way you organise the essay. I am sure studnets will benefit from reading your essay
FIONA ANG ;D
4Diligent
Q1. With development comes problems. What do you think are two of the most serious problems that Vietnam will face this year?
The two problems that Vietnam will face this year are namely soaring inflation and increased urbanisation.
The unfavourable impact of inflation on proverty and growth are well-knowed. Although Vietnam has a impressive economy in the recent years, it is still considered as a low-income country. Development suggests that in 2004-2005, the primary causes of inflation were food supplies and soaring oil prices, whereas now, inflation is more broad-based. The high and uncertain rates of inflation discourages private investment and thus affects the economy in Vietnam. And naturally, goverment in Vietnam aims to keep inflation under control. The method that they might consider is to increase the rate of interest in banks, and so encouraging people to save.
{http://english.vietnamnet.vn/biz/2007/02/665915/} {http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific_business/view/308206/1/.html}
The number two huge problem Vietnam faces is rapid urbanisation. People move into cities without being equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge, thinking that they can just have an odd job and survive.
Since they won't have much money, many of them live on the outskirts of cities. The chaotic mixture of architectural styles and poor planning had made cities and towns aesthetically displeasing. When many people live in slums, proverty is high and so increasing the rate of crime. It has also been reported that the rapid urbanisation of rural districts had changed the landscape in many places that used to be green fields, causing an imbalance in many cities’ natural resources.
As we can see, our enviroment is implicated. Goverment should have strategies to help with urban development and sustainable urbanisation.
{http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn/showarticle.php?num=06SOC260606}
Great Job Fiona for providing additional links for otehrs to go to . That the way to go for globalisation. Always looking ofr up to date and JIT(Just in time) information to expand our knowledge
Name: Chua Mei Yan (5)
Class: 4Formidable
Q1.
I think that the two serious problem is soaring inflation and increased urbanisation.
Despite soaring inflation and a skills shortage, Vietnam is still one of the world’s most attractive investment destination.Vietnam's inflation hit an estimated 16.4 percent in the first quarter, the highest rate in 13 years, according to government figures. Food prices were a main component of the increase, rising 21.5 percent in the January-March period compared with the same months last year.
The process of urbanisation in Vietnam has grown very rapidly. In 1990, there were only 500 large and small urban centres that have grown to 623 at present. The urban population has increased from 19% of total population in 1986, to 20% in 1990 and 23.5% in 1999. As forecasted, it will be 30 - 33% in 2010 and increasing to almost 40 - 45% by 2020.
Dear Mei Yan
Think deeper. What problems does urbanisation brings? Greta job in stating the facts and fig but what do they mean ? What kind of problems, impact do these figure have on the developmen t of Vietnam? Mamafess
Name:Teo Chong Junn(38)
Class:4A
Q1.
The two of the most serious problems that Vietnam will face this year are rising urbanisation and soaring inflation.
As Vietnam develops,the rural folk would want to migrate to urban area for a better living.Thus,the rising urbanisation affect the rural population in Vietnam to decrease.The rural population is usually the indigenous people of Vietnam who have a native culture and way of living which have a long history.With rising urbanisation,it will cause the loss of local culture which in turn cause the loss of tourist attraction and thus cause the loss of revenue in tourism.It will also be sad for Vietnamnese not being able to uphold their own culture as theirs get eroded by globalisation.
The other problem is inflation.Inflation is being encountered by all countries and usually affect the rapidly developing countries most.Inflation will cause the loss of purchasing power with the same amount of currency.This will thus cause the lower income group to suffer more as the money they earned will have the less purchasing power over time.Inflation will also encourage some Vietnamnese to spend their money more lavishly instead of having their value of money to get eroded.Thus this will cause them not saving their money for rainy days.
Name: Zheng Lijing
Class: 4A
Q1.
The two problems are decrease in rice supply and widening trade deficit.
Rising food prices has remained a problem in Vietnam for quite some time. Besides being caused by inflation, another reason is the decrease in rice production. The outbreak of pests like brown planthopper insect and viral disease like tungro have caused crop failure in some of the best rice-growing areas such as Hanoi. The decrease in rice production was not a problem until inflation comes in and Vietnam government decided to cut down rice export to help control rate of rising food prices. This method may be useful to cope with the situation especially for the poor but it leads to another problem that threatens Vietnam's economic health.
Vietnam being the fifth-largest rice producer and number three exporter in the world earn it's income largely from exporting rice. However with the rice export cut down and US recession, Vietnam's export value is increasing at a rate much slower than import's, hence resulting in trade deficit. Import values increase dramatically mainly due to building infrastructure facilities needed for development. Large numbber of machinery and equipments as well as iron and steel are imported to meet demand of needs such as buildling roads and sea ports. If the trade gap continues to widen, there is a possibility that Vietnam may suffer from economic strain due to rapid development(money spent in building infrastructures)and low export value( money loss). Though local firms in sectors such as tourism and textiles have made tremendous effort to become famous in overseas market, their help in raising export value are insignificant due to lack of high-technology products which worth higher value.
Other than increasing export, I think Vietnam has made a excellent attempt in emphasizing tourism and service industry to reduce the trade deficit. It has made the right choice to work closely with Singapore as we have readily trained professionals to offer trainings and services in these areas.
Name:Debbie Sia
Class:3 Formidable
Q1. With development comes problems. What do you think are two of the most serious problems that Vietnam will face this year?
The two of the most serious problems vietnam will face this year are soaring inflation and increased urbanisation,
half a million rural folks migrating to the cities and due to this there will be overcrowding to the cities.
there will also be lesser people farming and there will be lesser of food export and all the cost of things that are selling outside will incresed and many people will cant affort it.
Name: Neo You Yue
Class: 4A
1. With development comes problems. What do you think are two of the most serious problems that Vietnam will face this year?
One of the problems faced is rapid urbanisation. Rapid urbanisation causes rural depopulation and there will inevitably be less farmer (rural jobs).This will lower food production and Vietnam has to turn to importing rice and other products, resulting in slower economic growth(as rice prices are increasing at a tremendous rate). Furthermore, increase in urban population might cause overpopulation in city and the building of squatter settlements will follow. There will be greater pollution such as waste thrown in canals (these people do not understand the importance of cleanliness).Thus, quality of life decreases even though there is development. This will also result in the loss of culture as people urbanise(this is not my original point).Therefore, tourism may decrease as there is less incentive for tourist to visit the country as there is an increase in squatters(yuck! Crowded and dirty!)and less culture for Western culture vultures(tourists). Hence, development has actually slows down development.
Another problem is increasing inflation. Development brings inflation about and all daily necessities has actually increased in cost, so development has actually cause the poor to get even poorer. This has led to widespread protest from workers to raise salaries (especially from foreign owned factories). This has led to the closures of many factories. Moreover, if the government concedes to this protesters, Vietnam will no longer have as cheap labour as before. This will also deter foreign investors as Vietnam does not seem stable yet.
In overall I actually realise that development slows down room for more development.
Q2.
Being one of the most prosperous and developed country,Vietnam definitely can learn a lot from Singapore,the little dot in the world map.Singapore is able to prove its worth despite encountering obstacles after its independence.Without resources and face land constraint, Singapore is seen to be unable to stand on its own.Its success today not only depends on the government and a good leadership, but also the citizens' attitude towards life.
One of the thing Vietnam can learn is security.Security in Singapore is very tight and its law is punishing as well.Several terrorist attempts to plant bombs in prominent places had been successfully prevented due to its well-informed armed forces and high awareness of its citizens.With good security, Vietnam can definitely attract more investments into their country as it shows stability around the country.A country which has low security level would not be able to attract tourists,much less investments resulting in low revenue and GNP.
Secondly, the stability of Singapore's economy is a skill to be learnt as well.Its currency is well controlled and hardly fluctuates beyond its range.Its unemployment rate is low and thus, poverty is reduced.People are able to earn a higher income and afford a higher standard of living.Almost every year we can witness a growth in economy which shows a continuous process of development.Inflation is considered low compared to countries like Vietnam and Indonesia.This is due to its government ability to keep its inflation as low as possible.Even slum ares does not exist anymore in Singapore now.There is no urbanisation going on which is in contrast to the problem Vietnam faces now.It is the government's effort to build HDB flats and keep affordable even for the poor.People in Singapore can afford to have a decent house compared to slum areas commonly found in Vietnam.
Finally, in Education sector, Singapore is different from most of the countries in South East Asia.It adopt the use of English and made it compulsory in the syllabus which many countries does not even include it until today.The ability to speak English is very important as it is an internationally recognised language and a lot deals and meetings is done through the use of english across the globe.Undoubtedly, Singapore can grow rapidly and stands among its neighbouring countries.Furthermore, its education follow the British examination which is the O'level and A'level.These two certificates are prestigious and widely recognised in the world when u apply for a job.This explain the growing numbers of foreign students.Currently, there are 70000-100000 foreign students residing here.This shows how highly regarded Singapore's education is.Instead of studying abroad, these foreigners could have well be contented to study in their local schools.However, the pursuit for better education and future give them a driving force to opt Singapore as their destination.Even in my class alone, there are more than 10 foreign students occupying it.
IN conclusion,in this globalised world there is a high demand for highly skilled people and that is why Vietnam can pick up some pointers from Singapore.I believe that country like Vietnam with abundant resources and known for its low production costs can definitely prosper as well if it is managed wisely.
Name: Soh Cher Yee
Class: 4F
question 2 I think that Vietnam should learn from singapore about our technology as the electricity over there have been cut short if there is a quick use of electricity with the technology of underground planting the electricity it might not cause such things to happened anymore.As of technology, Vietnam didn't have such a good one. They didn't plant underground electricity because of the war. They also thinks that with the use of technology they could get to each other easily like MRT, Traffic Lights. As I have read about things about Vietnam they had accident almost everyday and almost every accident the person might die or may die.As the heavy traffic over there we need to cross road in fear and we need to drive in fear as there are some traffic lights not more as singapore but their traffic is always being jam up.Secondly I think that vietnam should learn from singapore as to control their traffic. As Vietnamese have quite a number of motorcycles. The government is trying to control the traffic by making the cost of the vehicle expensive. I personally think that making the cost of the vehicle more expensive is not a good thing to do as they can buy and use for maybe quite a few years. They could make somethings useful such as anyhow bring bikes into the vendor is a wrong thing to do and maybe fine them a few bucks of US dollar.Lastly, I think that they should learn to kept more trees on the street as their motor vehicle could polluted the air easily making the air dirty. They shouldn't cut down so many trees as tree can be useful for alot of things.
Name:Chia Bi Luan
Class:3Formidable
1. With development comes problems. What do you think are two of the most serious problems that Vietnam will face this year?
Vietnam has two problem they will face this year one is soaring inflation and the other is increased urbanisation.
SOARING INFLATION
Vietnams inflation have increased and that could be a problem for the people because of the soaring prices and thus people don ivest as much as they want to,posing as a problem and they would naturally want to increase the banks interest so as to encourage people to save up.
INCREASED URBANISATION
Urbanisation,resulted in half a million rural folks migrating to the cities.they realise that what we do in Singapore has to be adapted to local conditions.For Example; Many did not have a job because of the little knoeledege/education which thay don have but it is required when coming for a interview for jobs in singapore.And because they don have enough education,it will be hard to find a job and hence more people becomes jobless and they will have to find means of survival in their jobless world.Eg;resorting to ceimes or drug selling.
Name:Lim yi Kai
Class:3Formidable
Q1. With development comes problems. What do you think are two of the most serious problems that Vietnam will face this year?
Vietnam has two problem they will face this year one is soaring inflation and the other is increased urbanisation.
soaring inflation : Vietnam inflation have increased and that might be a pain in the neck as the prices arre increasing and not much people want to invest.
increased urbanisation coz half a million rural people to move into the urban cities. These people who does not have much knowledge could not find jobs in the cities and thus, get into crimes of robbery drug selling and many more.
Name: Ng Wei Ming
Class: 4 Diligent
Q1.
I think that the 2 main problems that vietnam will face this year would difinitely be the soaring inflation and increased urbanisation.
As for the soaring inflation, this has caused many problems for the people of vietnam as they would need morer money, so as to be able to pay the increased inflation which could cost alot of money to many.Thus making life harder for the people in vietnam.Therefore the government is trying hard to overcome this problem, thus making it 1 main problem vietnam will be facing this year.
As for increased urbanisation,which resulted in half a million rural folks migrating to the cities, this have greatly impact the life of the people, as it takes time for people to adapt to a new environment.Some cultures may also be lost during this urbanisation, as people no longer stay in the same village, and may hav lost connections with their friends and other relative.As the folks are move to the cities, they may not be equiped with the skills needed to survive, thus making it hard to survive.
Therefore vietnam's government should try to overcome this problem as soon as possible, thus making the number of people suffering lesser.
Post a Comment