A Facebook user has recently posed a few important questions for the person he called “the wise sage heading Temasek Holdings.” In response to this, other Facebook users rallied behind the pressing queries and called for transparency.
According to a recent report, government-owned Temasek Holdings has recently been the centre of attention after the LinkedIn accounts of certain Indian employees of Temasek were circulated on Facebook. The accounts questioned why Temasek was employing foreign workers instead of local workers.
In response to this, Temasek issued a statement clarifying that the holdings company has an “open door policy” with regards to its hiring process. It also reiterated its stance on how hate speech, racism, and xenophobia have “no place” in Singapore. The company also stressed that Singapore Citizens or Permanent Residents make up 90% of its 600 staff working in its Singaporean headquarters. It also stated that for the firm’s senior leadership, it is “broadly the same.” On the international level, Temasek said that its workforce is made up of around 60% Singaporeans and 40% other nationalities. This includes around 10% Singapore PRs.
Temasek’s CEO, Mdm Ho Ching, who is also the wife of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, recently shared her two cents on the matter, saying that it is “natural” for Temasek to hire from the world as it serves the world. She also stressed that in Singaporean culture, it is not considered “strange to have different races in various positions.”
Facebook user with the handle @Kamal B, however, recently came up with a set of pressing questions for the leader of Temasek.
“So according to the wise sage heading Temasek Holdings, we need to employ the brightest and best from around the world (India) to manage the country’s investment utilising its reserves,” he wrote.
His questions regarding the issue were as follows: “If you are employing the so-called best and brightest, how come Temasek’s investments have mostly gone pear shaped? Losing millions at a time? Do you really expect people to believe that our internationally renown tertiary institutions cannot churn out people who are superior to your useless lot? How is Temasek going to function well when its CEO spends more time on Facebook than paying attention to its investments? Why does the CEO talk like Temasek is a family business and not a nation’s sovereign fund?”