Smearing Campaign?

I am commenting on the article in Channel NewsAsia (link or read below). There are a few gaping loopholes in this article that are so alarming.

Without clarifications, it can skew a reader's understanding of the situation. Goodness can some investigative work be done before publishing?

1. Were there handover issues from DBSS that put AHPETC into a risky situation in the first place?
   - This is akin to TOP date in Singapore where the developer has certain obligations to fulfil.
   "Temporary Occupation Permit(TOP) is a temporary permit to allow owner to occupy the building when the key regulatory requirements are met as it may take some time to obtain the Certificate of Statutory Completion(CSC). However, application may be made directly for a CSC when all the requirements have been complied with."
   - Without fulfilling the agreed handover items, how can any handover-takeover even happen?
   .

Founding Father?

I don't have time to go digging through our National Archives to ascertain what Singapore was like in the 60s.

This pro-LKY supporter had claimed that LKY had turned a backward fishing village into the modern day Singapore as we know of today. He challenged me to prove otherwise and that he had read up extensively and I was well... wrong.

Basically I got lambasted for challenging the notion that LKY was Singapore's 'Founding Father'. I have been repeatedly told that I was disrespectful (and unfilial?).

Critical and critical voices - we need both

We all kinda figured out that the Singapore General Elections (GE) is near when the PAP starts:

• Dishing out goodies and freebies,
• Having widespread newspaper articles crowing about the PAP success stories,
• Threatening us that with a bad dose of government and our mums and sisters will end up as maids,
• Reminding us with knuckledusters and spurs that we will need to repent, etc.

Or come on an offensive approach to clamp down alternative or dissenting voices.

The latest victim of such 'culling' is the suspension the The Real Singapore (TRS) (link at http://therealsingapore.com/).

Update: I can no longer access the site :(

I reiterate - dissenting voices are actually both critical (fault-finding) and critical (essential) feedback to any organisation and country. Without which it will be hard for any  progress or break-away from the norm and think out-of-the-box.

Lesser of two evils

Which is of a lesser evil?

1. Employee faking an academic qualification, or
2. Employing company dissing the fake qualification as not required for hiring entry criteria

Allow me to state this clearly - I am NOT on a witch-hunt with regards to the recent degree mills saga. Neither am I 'bashing' the Foreignt Talent (FT) Immigrant Policy.

Worse of two evils

Short and sharp for today's post -

How come we are 'crucifying' and charging a school-dropout and a rebel teenager who published his 'I hate LKY' video online with no threats of death and with the public braying for his blood (Amos Yee)

vs

Attempting to understand and even showing sympathy to a scholar sponsored by taxpayers to study in Stanford University (mind you, it's Stanford!) with a predestined career to be a future CEO of a government-linked agency (Ouyang Xiangyu) but had tried to poison her schoolmates.

One no matter how many hate videos published can't make the dead come back to life; the other if poisoned successfully will make a live person dead.

One was not condonable, the other forgiveable.

One with pitchfolk mob and shouts of 'crucify him', the other 'let's understand what happened and the situation she was in'.

Hmm... Singapore, have we gone cuckoo?

It's never been about Christianity, it never did

C'mon it's never been about Christianity.

In regards to the infamous Amos Yee's insulting video about LKY and the disparaging remarks on Christianity (link), it never has been.

I am a Christian. It has never bothered me about people's criticism about Jesus or Christians.

My opinion is it is about insulting LKY and these pro-LKY and PAP supporters can't take it sitting down. Who is this young punk who dare insult our Founding Father. But please don't go chasing the rabbit trail and make a piecemeal about insults on Christians and creating religious disharmony. It never has been.

Heart-felt story shared by daughter of political detainee

Heart-felt account of the daughter of a political detainee under ISA. This is an excellent piece of sharing and kudos to her father Ong Bock Chuan for forgiving. There is so much healing in forgiveness.

My words to her:
It's not easy for all of you and I'm glad you spoke up. I have always been intrigued by the aftermath and impact of the immediate families of these 'wrongful' political detainees. There is a 'dark' side of LKY that needs to be shared and looked at objectively.

What's next, Singapore?

I had left my opinions and comments in various reads:

• "What LKY's death tells us about the culture of Singapore" in LIFT blog (link);
• Attested to similar kinship to state-controlled media propaganda (link); and
•  Writings about my stand that we need to attribute LKY's contributions and not some fishing village story (link)

After which I feel I have been on trial - lambasted by 'good-natured' friends, online readers and LKY mourners.

Like it or not, LKY had always been a person whose statements can be conflicting direct and peppered with 'contradictions'.
 

The MAN of the moment

Today all Singaporeans mourned the loss of a great leader, our first Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew. I too am saddened by his passing.

For all the disagreements I have with LKY's iron-fisted rule and putting down his opposition, he was the MAN of that moment to bring Singapore to where she is today. With his pioneering leaders to the likes of Goh Keng Swee, Devan Nair, Rajaratnam, Toh Chin Chye etc, they have transformed Singapore to the modern, blessed and prosperous island nation we love.

Transport Fares got increase or not? Make up your mind!

Seriously once I start writing it is hard to stop.

Let's  look at the title of the article and the last paragraph of this ridiculous report in Today Online (link) below.

Title -
Public transport fares may drop next year: Lui

Last Paragraph -
"But because the remaining 3.4 per cent was carried over, the fare adjustment quantum in this current exercise will be 2.8 per cent instead, he (Lui) added"

Are you confused? Is there a decrease or there isn't?

Huffington Post Responds to 'Kee Chiu' Minister

What can I say, Minister 'Kee Chiu' Chan Chun Sing?

After your 'failed' attempt to discredit Dr Chee Soon Juan via writing to Huffington Post (link here), you've gotten the whole social media's attention...

... in a very wrong way. You should have let sleeping dogs lie.

Everyone was buzz-ing with your petty thoughts on life's failures and elitism, your underhand mud-slinging through character assassination, and your low-down politicking when you threw your weight signing off as Minister for Social and Family Development in your letter to HuffPost.

Then Dr Chee did a brilliant master stroke of rebuttal (link here and here).

Singaporeans 1 PAP 1

With the 6.9 millions white paper endorsed by Parliament yesterday, I have only one sentence to say -

Singaporeans, you guys are 'screwed'!

Enjoy your sardine-packed and claustrophobic lifestyle with human bodies everywhere. I literally mean everywhere.

Imagine the social and health implications, imagine the challenges your next and next-next generations face, imagine the housing and transport woes, imagine the job opportunities given to 'outsiders'... to 6,900,000 humans on this tiny island, of which close to half of them are non-core or native-born.

Imagine. Just imagine.

Now go ahead and cringe.

Singaporeans 1 PAP 0

I gave a whooping shout of elation when I heard the results on the television last night.

First of all - congratulations to WP and their candidate Lee Lilian. Your face of a true-bred Singaporean heartlander, your 'I am just like you, struggling with current issues' identity and your 'down to earth' personality' struck a memorable chord with most of us. Kudos to you and your party's hard work!

Second - congratulations to Punggol-East residents for making a stand and choosing to voice out their discontentment through their votes. This is just a beginning.

Thirdly - This is a second straight loss by PAP since Hougang By-Election. And by some margin of votes to 'slap and wake them up'.

China 2 Singapore 0

Happy 2013 to you and your loved ones!

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This entry has been in draft for quite some time. About time I publish it.

I think China has just handed Singapore's ass to her when the SMRT bus drivers went on strike. China knows how weak our labour laws are. Like they care about our laws anyway.

SMRT bus drivers refuse to go to work
Monday, Nov 26, 2012 AFP

SINGAPORE - More than 100 mainland Chinese bus drivers in Singapore refused to work on Monday.

The drivers, disgruntled over their pay from state-linked transport firm SMRT, refused to board a shuttle that was going to ferry them from their dormitory to a nearby depot.

After talks with SMRT management with police on standby, the protesting drivers said they would report for work on Tuesday.

China 1 Singapore 0

That is one sentence that sums all of my thoughts of the bronze Olympic medal.

Why? As an individual table-tennis player, Feng Tianwei deserved every praise and 'hurray' for her skills and prowess. It is no mean feat to get an Olympic medal albeit a bronze. Well done! You deserved the SGD250,000 given to you.

As a player representing the Singapore team, I will NOT credit you anything. Zilch, kosong. If she were to say the SDG250,000 meant nothing as it is a national pride and returned the prize money, I'll call her true-blue Singaporean. It's not the money reward but she was 'bought' from the beginning. In fact she'll be in the China B-team or C-team and will never make it in her home country.

But then who will be dumb enough to reject quarter of a million? Surely not me - I'll keep every single cent.

Seriously, MP Chen's proposal a Nigerian scam?

Here is MP Chen Show Man's parliamentary speech (link here).  He was lambasted by MP Vikram Nair who called it a Nigerian scam.

Now that you have heard his speech, you tell me - is this a Nigerian scam as claimed by MP Vikram Nair?

Makes me wonder if PAP newbies are opposing for the sake of opposing, and are trying to make a mark for themselves to look good at the expense of the opposition.

Seriously Vikram, I will not label you as mute if you had just shut your gap and sit there to take your SGD$15k MP allowances plus whatever directorships you hold.

Hammered by the Hammer - MP Yaw

Latest update: MP Yaw Shin Leong got the hammer, er boot by the Workers' Party (link here).

Mixed feelings for me. Good call by WP to uphold integrity, transparency and principles. Bad call because he is a good MP.

Who says Singapore politics are boring?!!

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Something I had in mind but never blogged when the case was brought up. Thanks to Redbean's blog that I have put my thoughts in his comments. I'd share it here:

To put the matter straight, I will like to state that I do not condone infidelity. Affairs outside marriage not only affect both parties but immediate families and kids.

Anyway...

Why don't you be the first to 'kee chiu'?

I read with bemusement at what Acting Minister Chan 'Kee Chiu' Chun Sing had said (see article below and in Today).

This is my response to him:

It is so easy for you to waive away the real reasons for joining politics. You are after all on the winning side - the incumbent party that forms the majority of the government. And the grossly overpaid minister.

In case you had forgotten your status, let me remind you - you are already in a position to command the astronomical sum of salary as a minister and receiving that sum of money every month. You are probably one of those who beams with delight whenever you receive your CPF statement.

Sick joke?

I read the recent article by ChannelNewsAsia "Smaller flats do not mean lower quality of living: HDB CEO" (link here).

The first question that popped into my mind was why are we always told what is good for us?

I have always bemused - why are Singaporeans always told we are not doing enough for Singapore in spite of the sacrifices, and when will we be good enough for the country?

Whenever the PAP or some ministries want to push a policy or make a new normal, there will always be reports of how good it is.

What is your agenda, Dr Cheong, seriously?

Thanks for the memories

For the oldies and goodies, here is an article (link here) which will definitely stir up nostalgic memories... memories of a bygone era where life was simple and slower with less 'noise'. Defintely not boring though!

I recently visited a toy museum of the 60s and 70s near Arab Street. There is a small entry fee which I felt was worth every cent. I spent a good one hour there, reminiscing the past. I think it's called the Children Little Museum (link). Photos coming soon.

Address: 40 Kandahar Street Singapore 198895 (near arab street)