Sex sells, so does Politics

A man bonkers enough to start vulgarities war with Rockson Tan

2011-01-19T21:17:00.003+08:00

Who the hell is Cheo Ming Shen? He is one of the co-founders of Nuffnang.com, an online advertising company for blogs in both Singapore and Malaysia, and also the YPAP Chairman of Toa Payoh East.

Recently, he is the one who paid $10,000 for MM Lee’s autographed book, ‘Lee Kuan Yew: Hard Truths to Keep Singapore Going’ during the pre-launch on 14 Jan. And he is also the one who started a war of vulgarities with the famous Rockson Tan.

So how did one guy who paid through his balls to carry others' balls found the balls to scold Rockson Tan? This is how it all started...

rocksontan: Cheo Ming Shen say LKY is equivalent of Nelson Mandela to Singaporeans?!! Who is this cheebyekia? http://twitpic.com/3qr7mm

bossming: @rocksontan I figure who the fuck are u is a bigger question? Oh wait nobody gives a fuck. So don’t bother answering.

rocksontan: Lawrence just told me the cheebyekia who say LKY is like Mandela is from a company call Muffnang. Sell cheebye one ah?

bossming: @rocksontan it seems there is only one person selling cheebye here. and we know thats you. time to upgrade and sell lampa, naenae, etc. Monday, January 17, 2011 12:28:45 PM via web in reply to rocksontan

bossming: @rocksontan especially since it seems your vocab is limited to hokkien vulgarities. There there, don’t cry, lets go back to your childhood.

bossming: @rocksontan aiyah since you can’t afford a shrink, i help out lah. lets start at the beginning.

bossming: @rocksontan like perhaps why hiding behind a moniker and your hokkien vulgarities actually make you feel better.

bossming: @rocksontan the only one tainting Nelson Mandela’s name is you. Freak.

rocksontan: #WaysLKYislikeMandela They both have white hair #cheomingshen

bossming: @rocksontan WOW dedicated a channel to me ah. I dedicate one to you also! Nah lovebird #rocksontanlikescheebye

bossming: @rocksontan oh wait forgot to let me beloved followers know about your channel too. #cheomingshen #rocktanlikescheebye

bossming: playing with anonymous freaks is quite invigorating. i really understand now why xiaxue enjoys doing it so much.

bossming: @xiaxue eh teach me how to play with anonymous freaks leh. your zhao pai. now i know how you feel. it feels good.

bossming: There is always this lag in the replies though. One afterall has to be careful to use their fake moniker account, and not their real one.

bossming: 1 little 2 little 3 little rocksons. 3 little 4 little 5 little rocksons.

bossming: @rocksontan http://youtu.be/O7CFQLeFuj8 my countdown song to our next correspondence love.

bossming: @rocksontan so much love i give you 2 channels lah. #WaysrocksontanisNOTlikemandela

bossming: #WaysrocksontanisNOTlikemandela one fought for the unity of a nation despite imprisonment. the other cowers behind a fake moniker

bossming: #WaysrocksontanisNOTlikemandela hoping that his expert use of hokkien vulgarities will not have a lawsuit ringing up his corner.

bossming: #WaysrocksontanisNOTlikemandela one is respected globally, the other relies on his sad humour to drum up all of 800 “followers”.

bossming: #WaysrocksontanisNOTlikemandela at the same time without realising they are probably laughing AT him, not WITH him.

bossming: #WaysrocksontanisNOTlikemandela one was running the country tirelessly, the other shows up only when singapore elections are close

bossming: #WaysrocksontanisNOTlikemandela n figures making fun of the most respected man in the country (bar his true followers), will change sumthing

bossming: #WaysrocksontanisNOTlikemandela one was and is an inspiration and hope to so many. the other a joke.

bossming: Oh @rocksontan I am but a fool, darling I love u, even tho you treat me cruel, but if you leave me, I will surely die.

bossming: http://youtu.be/7PA1FaFlT50 #playilst while waiting for my dear rockson to reply to me. @rocksontan

bossming: this one better version. http://youtu.be/8P9XorJ_vro really catchy tune. any other suggestions guys, while i wait? bored liao.

bossming: If i were a tower of strength I’d walk away, I’d look in your @rocksontan eyes, and heres what I’d say.

bossming: @rocksontab I don’t wantyou, I don’t need you, I don’t love you anymore!!! But a tower of strength is a something I’ll never be.

bossming: @rocksontan http://youtu.be/8P9XorJ_vro

bossming: Rocksonnn dunneed to google for so long to find dirt on me. Just talk dirty with me direct.

bossming: @rocksontan a little birdy told me you live in bukit batok. since you don’t want to meet me online, I will wait everyday at 5pm with a rose

bossming: @rocksontan at the mrt station. Drop your moniker boy. It brings you more trouble than you know.

rocksontan: #WaysLKYislikeMandela Mandela go jail, LKY put you in jail #cheomingshen

bossming: @rocksontan correction. LKY puts slanderous fools like you in jail #WaysLKYislikeMandela

Notice how Mr Cheo Ming Shen went on and on by himself just to get Rockson Tan to talk again?

Well, he has his wish granted. Rockson Talked back.

Nobody starts a war of vulgarities with Rockson Tan.

Singapore famous again, thanks to WikiLeaks

2010-12-16T11:20:00.007+08:00

Kim Jong Il is but a flabby old chap who prances around the stadium seeking adulation

Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew noted that the North Korean leadership has "no friends, not even Russia" and has not trusted China since the Chinese began cultivating ties with South Korea with an eye on attracting foreign investment.

Describing the North Koreans as "psychopathic types, with a 'flabby old chap' for a leader who prances around the stadium seeking adulation", Mr Lee said he had learnt from living through the Japanese Occupation that "people will obey authorities who can deny them food, clothing and medicine".

Mr Lee also said that North Korean leader Kim Jong Il's successor "may not have the gumption or the bile of his father or grandfather ... and may not be prepared to see people die like flies". China is calculating all these, said Mr Lee, who also expressed worry about the effect of North Korea on Iran.

Myanmar is too stupid to make use of their great natural resources

Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew said dealing with Myanmar's military regime was like "talking to dead people", according to a confidential US briefing on a 2007 conversation with US Ambassador Patricia Herbold and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Thomas Christensen.

In the latest leaked cable, "Lee expressed his scorn for the regime's leadership", adding that they had "mismanaged the country's great natural resources".

MM Lee said China had the most influence over Myanmar's leadership of any foreign country and that Beijing was worried the country would "blow up" and thus threaten Chinese investments there, according to the leaked cable.

Japan is that stupid big fat loser with bad leadership and lack of vision, and India is just half in half out

Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) Ambassador-at-large Tommy Koh allegedly described Japan as "the big fat loser" in the context of improving ties between China and ASEAN.

He attributed the relative decline of Japan's stature in the region to Japan's "stupidity, bad leadership, and lack of vision."

He also allegedly did not spare India and was equally merciless towards them, describing his "stupid Indian friends" as "half in, half out of ASEAN"

Mahathir has been stoning his replacement

Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) Ex-Permanent Secretary Peter Ho stated that former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has been "throwing stones" at his replacement, Abdullah Badawi.

"As for... Najib Razak, he is an opportunist. Although he has not been critical of Singapore, he will not hesitate to go in that direction if it is expedient for him to do so." the report quoted him as saying.

Malaysia is racist, Thailand is corrupted and the rest from China to India and all the way to Russia are just hopeless

Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) Ex-Permanent Secretary Bilahari Kausikan allegedly quoted telling US Deputy Secretary of Defence for East Asia David Sedney in 2008 that, "the situation in neighbouring Malaysia is confused and dangerous", fuelled by a "distinct possibility of racial conflict" that could see ethnic Chinese "flee" Malaysia and "overwhelm" Singapore.

He supposedly also said: "A lack of competent leadership is a real problem for Malaysia".

Mr Kausikan was also allegedly critical in his assessment of Singapore's other neighbour, Thailand reported the Australian press.

He had supposedly said that Thaksin Shinawatra was "corrupt" along with "everyone else, including the opposition".

He allegedly continued to add that Thaksin "made a mistake in pursuing a relationship with the crown prince by paying off the crown prince's gambling debts".

He supposedly also said that the crown prince was "very erratic, and easily subject to influence," and warned of continued instability in Thailand.

He had supposedly said that Burma's neighbours, including China and India, are "more concerned with stability than justice" and they feared the Burmese junta's demise could produce "an Asian reprise of the breakup of Yugoslavia".

Also that he would be "more comfortable with a nuclear-capable North Korea, than a nuclear-capable Iran".

The report also finally pointed out that he had apparently said that Russia's economy is "Third World", its health system a shambles and its demographic challenges almost insurmountable.

Why statboard heads should be careful when they try to arrow 500 people

2010-10-07T13:34:00.003+08:00

According to an allegedly leaked letter from someone at the lower end of the food-chain in MCYS, the spectacular sight of 500 MCYS staff lining along Thomson Road to pay their last respects to Mrs Lee Kuan Yew as her cortege passed by on its way to Mandai Crematorium, was nothing but an act directed from above.

INTERNAL MEMO TO MCYS STAFF

Subject:Urgent: Passing of Mrs Lee Kuan Yew’s cortege along Thomson Road

From: Pamela TAN to MCYS-All

The cortege of Mrs Lee Kuan Yew will leave Sri Temasek at 4 pm and it will pass by Thomson Road on its way to the Mandai Crematorium.

As a mark of respect, we would like all staff in MCYS / SLF Building to line up along Thomson Road, opposite MCYS Building (cross the overhead bridge to the side of the Polo Club). Please leave the buildings by 3.45pm.

All staff should be in place by 4pm to await the passing of the cortege.

Staff should be solemn and bow your heads as a form of respect as the cortege passes by.

Staff wearing bright coloured clothes and who wish to pay their respects should cover up with a dark jacket / sombre colours.

Thank you and please be punctual.

Pamela Tan (Ms), Assistant Director / Human Resource Division,
Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports
| DID: (65) 6354 8163 | Fax: (65) 6354 8327 | Email: pamela_tan@mcys.gov | Website: www.mcys.gov.sg

But who is surprised?

Is Singapore handcuffing down the path of Communism?

2010-08-25T19:57:00.010+08:00

In the past, reporters or even tourists used to be handcuffed by the Chinese officials just by taking pictures in certain politically sensitive places in Tibet. Then Tibet opened its door wide to welcome the same tourists in the name of money. Communism given way to Capitalism?

But not so long ago, a senior photojournalist was handcuffed for taking pictures of the latest flash flood. No, there was nothing political about the flood, it was just freak. And the police had handcuffed him in the name of "self and public safety". Nobody knows how can the act of photography endanger oneself and others. Okay, self maybe, because he could have tripped. But the public? And in order to prevent this photojournalist from hurting himself, the kind-hearted police officer was forced to handcuff the photojournalist in public. Do we handcuff people to safe ground in a democratic society?

In the past, the Chinese government actively used the subversion of state power clause to imprison those who were critical of the government. Then China opened its door wide to the world to welcome investors and the World Wide Web. They still arrest when they feel fit, but things sure have improved. Evolution of Communism to provide more freedom for the people?

Very recently, an online critic was arrested by the police for his criticisms of Dr Vivian on the “I hate YOG” Facebook page. He has posted a comment that it was time to “burn” the minister in charge and called on the public to “rally together”. Besides questioning him on the comment, it is heard that the police has also questioned him about his involvement in the Facebook group, what was his problem with the YOG, and whether he has joined any political party. Out of context if you ask me, but we know anything can be questioned and everything can be accused of in an interrogation room. Democracy does not give people the right to say everything and anything, but does it then gives the police the right to handcuff anyone who says something they should not on the Internet?

So are we really living in a democratic soceity? Why is our Democracy looking more and more like Communism's twin brother? Do we really believe ourselves when we pledge to build a democratic society based on justice and equality? Did the police read the Dummy's guide to Democracy? So what exactly is Democracy? I mean the real thing.

"People often say that, in a democracy, decisions are made by a majority of the people. Of course, that is not true. Decisions are made by a majority of those who make themselves heard and who vote - a very different thing."
- Walter H. Judd, American politician and statesman

"My definition of a free society is a society where it is safe to be unpopular."
- Adlai Stevenson, American politician

"The job of a citizen is to keep his mouth open."
- Günter Wilhelm Gras, Nobel Prize-winning German author and playwright.

"Democracy is the government of the people, by the people, for the people."
- Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States

"Democracy means not "I am as good as you are," but "You are as good as I am." "
- Theodore Parker, American Transcendentalist and reforming minister of the Unitarian churc

"While democracy must have its organization and controls, its vital breath is individual liberty."
- Charles Evans Hughes, Republican politician from the State of New York

Still don't get it? Damn our country's education!

Perhaps some serial killers could help to change Singapore?

2010-08-12T10:18:00.007+08:00

During the presidential campaign in 2008, one of Barack Obama's slogan was "Change we can believe in". After years of suffering under Communism-like governance, overcrowding of public transport and schools by influx of new immigrants, widening of gap between the rich and poor, and recent freak floods, Singaporeans are eager for a change. They too want a change they can believe in.

But when the governing party is not listening and the opposition parties are not helping, what can Singaporeans do to ensure the change does take place? Nothing. Perhaps we need some serial killers to send some wake-up call to the government. Serial killers who walk the talk, who will not be satisfied by ranting on blogs and forums where everybody listen but the people that are making policies...

Lorenzo Gilyard raped and murdered 13 women and girls from 1977 to 1993. Most, if not all of Gilyard's victims were prostitutes. All were found shoeless and dumped in secluded spots around Kansas City, Missouri. Most had cloth or paper towels stuffed into their mouths and ligature marks around their necks.

Quiet residential estate Kovan is sex hot spot

The police arrested 12 female Chinese nationals for vice-related offences in the rooms of Hotel 81 (Kovan) and Fragrance Hotel (Kovan).

According to the police, their investigations showed some of the suspects had made use of the Internet to advertise their sexual services.

This joint operation by the Criminal Investigation Department and Ang Mo Kio Police Division happened in the wake of residents in Kovan complaining to their Member of Parliament, Madam Cynthia Phua, about scantily clad women loitering near their homes.

Will a Singaporean version of Jack the Ripper help in reminding the authorities on the rising number of mainland Chinese prostitutes in Singapore? That too many work permits have been given away as freely as property fliers?

Explosions detonated by two female suicide bombers killed at least 37 people and injured 33 on two packed Moscow metro trains in the morning rush hour in March 2010.

SMRT has a plan ...

When asked if she had read the comments and blogs, SMRT chief executive Saw Phaik Hwa said with a laugh: "I'd be a very depressed person if I read every comment about me."

She went on to clarify her comments. "I never said that I didn't recognise it's crowded ... I accept it's crowded. The point is, in comparison with others, we've yet to push people into the train," she said, referring to Japan and some parts of China.

What if a psychopath decided that enough is enough and he no longer desires squeezing into a tin of sardine to get to work and back to home everyday, and bombing everybody on the train should reduce the overcrowding? Will this speed things up in improving Singapore's public transport?

Or how about someone with borderline personality disorder who lost his 10-years position to a foreign worker, and finally broke down and decided to shoot everyone in the office? Will that force the government to think twice before bringing another 100,000 extra foreign workers into the country?

Or the nightmare of all parents when a depressed mother who could not get her kid into any primary school stormed into one elite primary school to shoot every kid down?

But then again, Singaporeans are too obedient and over-protected to groom a real serial killer. Perhaps a foreign talent serial killer then?

Why are we paying our ministers obscenely high salaries again?

2010-08-04T10:09:00.004+08:00

"Few countries have implemented our philosophy and practice of benchmarking and paying public officers salaries that are pegged to the market, but this system has worked for us. Competitive wages have helped us bring in and retain able men and women in Government and in the Public Service in Singapore. This policy has served us well. We must maintain this competitive advantage - a clean, effective and efficient Public Service. We need a team of good people to develop the vision, ideas and plans, as well as to see through the execution."

-- Teo Chee Hean, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence

Auditor-General takes some ministries to task
Source: Todayonline.com

In the findings by the Auditor-General's report for the financial year 2009-2010, there are countless lapses and weaknesses in the internal controls over the management of public funds in several ministries and Government agencies.

The Ministry of Finance was cited for the misuse of Government payouts meant for patients at six nursing homes.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs had over 50 cases of overpayment of salaries, bonuses, over-time claims, medical and dental subsidies to mission staff, as well as double payment of medical expenses.

Security lapses were found in the Government accounting system - "NFS@Gov" - administered by the Accountant-General's Department. Over 640 end-user accounts were wrongly given access rights to an application designer tool. Some of the accounts allowed users to modify programs or records in the system.

There was an unauthorised testing of a computer system at the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority that saw two invoices generated with incorrect amounts.

Singapore Police Force did not collect $648,000 in revenue. Between 1997 and last year, town councils and statutory boards were not charged the $25 fee for enforcement of each warrant of arrest.

Donations of $34,907 went to the accounts of voluntary welfare organisations instead of three welfare homes.

Late refund of cash bail. As of Aug 31 last year, 46 cases amounting to $440,450 were outstanding for periods ranging from 41 days to 1,694 days (the guideline is up to 23 working days for refunds). Prior to that, 59 refunds, amounting to $571,500, were found to have been refunded 49 days to 340 days after the court cases had concluded.

Please pay $188 and help us evaluate the YOG Village

2010-07-23T12:15:00.009+08:00

This has been reported on the Straits Times...

Free YOG Village stay for 200 boys

The ’stay and play programme’ , which spans two days and one night, gives organisers a chance to test the Village’s readiness to host the world’s best young athletes during the August 14-26 inaugural Youth Olympic Games in Singapore.

Participants will tuck into the same buffet spread that will be served during the Games, spend a night in the rooms where the athletes will stay, and attend cultural and educational activities….

A $150 early-bird fee was charged for those who signed up before June 30, and $188 for those who signed up after.

Youth Olympic Village director Sheryl Lim said participants are required to pay fees to defray the costs of meals and services at the Village.

About 1,000 people have signed up for the programme.

I'll say the organiser is really doing very well in leveraging on Singapore resources, Singaporean parents in particularly.

The organiser knows they have to test the YOG Village’s readiness because just like all other International events and conferences, we must display only our very best. Regardless how far from reality the beautiful picture we have painted for our visitors really is.

So the organiser has to get their feedback before the real guests are here. Are the beds as comfortable as those found in hotels? Can the toilets be flushed? Are there enough bathrooms? And is the buffet spread good enough to invite Buffetlicious' Michelle Chai over for lunch?

And since this is the Youth Olympics Games, the best test candidates will be the local students! Till now, everything seems fair enough. But wait! Here's the bizarre part! In order to help the organiser test out the YOG Village’s readiness, the local students have to pay up to $188! Oh yeh, they have got to pay up so that they have a chance to help out! Though in the real world, we don't ask the interns to pay us to come work in our office.

The organiser may argue that somebody needs to foot the bill for the room, the buffet lunches and dinners, and not forgetting the exciting cultural and educational activities! But, really? Can't they grab some out of the S$387 million pool?

Revised Standard Operating Procedure for Handcuffing Public Taking Photographs

2010-07-19T13:47:00.002+08:00

The people were in shock knowing that a newspaper photographer has been handcuffed by the police for taking photographs of flood on the road. In rage, the public questioned why the police arrested the photographer in question when he was simply doing his job.

According to a piece of unreliable information leaked from an unrelated personnel, the police has realised the damage this handcuffing incident has done on their little reputation, and decided to revamp the Standard Operating Procedure of handcuffing the public.

Revised Standard Operating Procedure for Handcuffing Public Taking Photographs (SOPHPTP)

In all scenarios, before handcuffing subject in question, approach and ask for identity:

If subject works for the press, grant permission to carry on, render help if necessary. Handcuffing a press journalist will guarantee negative press coverage for the police for a very long time.

If subject is a blogger, leave him/her alone. Handcuffing a blogger will guarantee negative comments on blogs, Twitter, Facebook and all over the internet almost immediately.

If subject is a Stomper, confiscate camera so that the photograph will not make it to Stomp.

If subject is taking photographs purely for own collection and album, not related to anyone in the press and has no idea what is social media, handcuff him/her on the ground of causing obstruction to the police officer in the discharge of his duties and causing danger to himself and others.

Photographer handcuffed
Source: Straitstimes.com

THE flood last Saturday morning not only dampened the mood of residents who woke up surrounded by rainwater but also that of photojournalist Shafie Goh.

The 57-year-old veteran Lianhe Wanbao photojournalist was snapping shots of the flood in the Bukit Timah area when he was told by a policeman to move away. Minutes later, he was handcuffed.

What happened before the handcuffs were used is a matter of dispute: Mr Goh said he was asked to go only once and was about to leave when the police handcuffed him. The police, however, said that they had repeatedly asked Mr Goh to leave before they resorted to using force.

Speaking to The Straits Times on Sunday, Mr Goh said he was standing on a manhole trying to get a picture of some partially submerged cars when he was told by an officer to leave.

A police statement released on Sunday, however, said that officers had repeatedly asked Mr Goh to move to a safe place as he was taking photographs in a dangerous position. But the man refused to comply and continued walking along the road divider, snapping pictures.

A spokesman said: 'As he was causing obstruction to the police officer in the discharge of his duties and causing danger to himself and others, the officers decided to restrain him and move him to safe grounds, but the man resisted and put up a struggle.' The officers then had to handcuff him.

What should be taught in the Safe Cycling Clinic for foreign workers

2010-07-16T16:08:00.006+08:00

INT.OFFICE - MEETING ROOM VALOUR - AFTERNOON

Ah Tan, Ah Lim and Ali were all flipping through and reading some papers at the meeting table. Ah Tan then walked up to the whiteboard and wrote the words "Safe cycling clinic for foreign workers in Singapore".

AH TAN: Okay guys, I've called for today's meeting to brainstorm on the syllabus for the Safe Cycling Clinic that we're planning for those foreign workers. Mr Teo needs this before the parliament meeting next week, so this is high priority.
AH LIM (rubbing his chin): Why only for foreign workers? I thought locals cycle also?
AH TAN: Yes, locals cycle too, but they don't cycle as if their grandfathers own the road!

All three men chuckled.

AH TAN: Anyway, last year, foreign workers made up one third of cyclist fatalities in Singapore, and we don't want to see them making up two third this year. So the North East CDC has suggested for this Safe Cycling Clinic. Let's work on it!

All three men folded their arms and leaned back on their chairs, all deep in thoughts. Suddenly Ah Lim opened his eyes and walked up to the whiteboard to write "Do not cycle next to the bus".

AH LIM: They should learn that here buses are kings. If all cars have to give way to the buses, don't expect the buses to give space to cyclists!

Both Ah Tan and Ali nodded in agreement. Then Ah Tan walked up to write "Do not cycle on the pedestrian crossing".

AH TAN: Pedestrian crossings are... for pedestrians. We've got enough cars knocking down pedestrians at pedestrian crossings. We don't need cyclists to help bring up the number. And this as well.

Ah Tan wrote "Do not cycle side by side" on the whiteboard.
AH LIM: Wah! They think everywhere East Coast Park ah!

Then Ali walked up and wrote "Do not cycle on the expressway" and both Ah Tan and Ah Lim shouted "Wow!".

AH TAN: Seriously? Cycle on the expressway?
ALI: Tan, I've seen cyclists on the AYE, KPE and BKE okay! These burgers must have thought they can cycle at 80km/hr!
AH LIM (berating): And these burgers deserved to be knocked down! Hello? When some idiot hog the road at 80km/hr, we already tailgate him like nobody's business. Now cyclist on expressway? They're just trying to be knocked down by cars! Oh! That also reminds me!

Ah Lim walked up and wrote "Do not cycle against the traffic".

AH TAN: Seriously? Against the traffic?
AH LIM: Stupid right? And this one!

Ah Lim continued to write "Do not beat the red lights".

All three men sighed and shook their heads.

AH TAN: You know, guys, sometimes I really wonder, is this how these guys cycle in their own countries? Then why are they still alive?
ALI: Because these behaviors are norm in their countries lah!
AH TAN: Well, then either these countries have no law, or their people have no brain.
AH LIM: Hey Tan, Boss said we're going to bring in at least 100,000 more foreign workers leh! Maybe we should do this Safe Cycling Clinic at their countries before we even let them into the country, if not very luan leh!

All three men looked at each other with mouths and eyes wide opened.

Safe cycling clinic,foreign workers

Pole-dancing required to make YOG Opening Ceremony the "The Best Show on Earth in 2010"?

2010-07-14T13:05:00.004+08:00

So former Sydney stripper is hired to choreograph part of the opening ceremony for the Youth Olympic Games huh? I suppose this means the organisers are serious in making the YOG opening ceremony the "The Best Show on Earth in 2010"? Or does that only simply means the YOG opening ceremony tickets are not selling? No matter, the officials definitely have a strong enough reason for doing that. Something that we the lesser mortals could never think of, hack! We'll never imagine putting exotic pole-dancing together with sports for the young!

Now the important question is... where are the dancers coming from? I'll think it is safe to assume that most of the Singaporean men would cross their fingers that the dancers were hand-picked from Hooters, or any other pubs in Clarke Quay, and that they won't be as Ah Lian looking as those Miss Universe Singapore contestants!

Pole-dancing Bobbi to open Youth Olympic Games in Singapore
Source: Perthnow.com

A FORMER Sydney stripper has taken pole dancing out of Kings Cross and on to the world stage - having been chosen to choreograph part of the opening ceremony for the Youth Olympic Games in Singapore next month.

Bobbi, who owns Bobbi's Pole Studios, said she never imagined she could make an international career out of exotic dance.

The former stripper left home at 19 to work in a club in Japan. Now 22 years later, she teaches pole dancing to women from all walks of life, with two studios in Sydney, one in Perth and one each in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.

Bobbi said preparations had been underway for months for the opening ceremony of the World Youth Olympics in Singapore on August 14.

"It's a night of firsts," Bobbi said.

Twenty podiums and poles will be erected among the seating at the giant stadium, with the dancers performing 5m above the audience.

People can board the train, it is whether they choose to

2010-06-30T16:39:00.002+08:00

INT.OFFICE - PANTRY - EARLY MORNING

Ah Tan and Ah Lim walked in and joined Ms Saw at the pantry. She was having a cup of Starbucks while reading the newspapers.

AH LIM: Eh? Here got Starbucks meh?
MS SAW: Ah, I bought it at the mall on the way here.
AH LIM: Oh... but there is coffee in our pantry! You didn't know?
MS SAW: Er... Ah Lim, no offense, but these dark colored water aren't exactly coffee, you know?

Ah Lim stared at Ms Saw with eyes and mouth wide opened. He muttered half a "what" and stopped abruptly, then picked up his cup of pantry coffee and drink silently. Ms Saw continued to sip her Starbucks coffee.

AH TAN: So... what brings you here? I would have imagined you to be pretty busy these days with the recent security lapse incident.
AH LIM (interrupted): Yah! I thought you should be busy fixing your depot fence?

Ms Saw put down her coffee and stared at Ah Lim this time.

MS SAW: I know that was a serious security lapse in our depot, so I've already instructed my men to work on it ASAP. But this incident also reaffirms the importance of the public’s participation and support in reporting any suspicious sightings in our system. The public needs to do their work as well, you know?
AH LIM: Wah! You're the highest-grossing CEO that your company has ever employed and after receiving $1.67 million last year, you still need the public to do your job ah?

Ms Saw slammed her right palm on the table and stood up from her chair. Her face was as red as a tomato and her eyes as big as fishballs. Ah Tan immediately stood up and tapped her shoulder lightly.

AH TAN: Hey Saw, don't mind him. He has just lost lotsa money because of France, Italy and England.
AH LIM (stood up and bowed slightly to Ms Saw): Er... yah... sorry lah, didn't mean to be rude lah...

Ms Saw let out a sigh and sat down slowly.

MS SAW: I didn't get all those money for nothing you know? I have a whole transport company to take care of, I've gotta make sure my shareholders are happy with our profit, and I've got a whole country of commuters to please! It's not a very pleasant job you know?

Both men nodded in agreement obediently.

AH TAN: Anyway, is your company planning to procure any more new trains?
MS SAW: Erm... not that I heard of... why do you ask?
AH TAN: Er... because the trains are already overcapacity?
MS SAW: I don't understand.
AH LIM: He's meaning to say, the trains are already overcrowded!
MS SAW (made a "tsk" sound at Ah Lim): I can understand the word "overcapacity"! What I meant was, why do you guys, or even the whole country, have the impression that the trains are overcapacity?
AH LIM (eyes wide opened): You mean, you didn't know your trains are overcrowded?

Ms Saw shook her hand at Ah Lim, shook her head, and took a sip from her coffee before continuing.

MS SAW: Trains will be crowded during peak hours. The question is, how crowded? Have you ever seen seen the trains in Hong Kong, Taipei and Shanghai? That is what you call overcrowded. Our trains? They are not!
AH TAN: But from the pictures posted on the Internet and the letters submitted to forums, it appears that the people do feel that our trains are overcrowded. Maybe not as bad as Hong Kong, Taipei or Shanghai, but still overcrowded.
MS SAW: Look, Ah Tan, even at its most crowded, our train carries 1,400 passengers. This is not crush load! Our train is not carrying more passengers than the standing load it is designed to carry under normal circumstances! You don't find people sitting at the top of the train like India right? You don't find people squeezing themselves into the train through the windows like China right? Look, people can board the train, it is whether they choose to.

Ms Saw gave a "tell me I'm right" face to the men and took another sip from her coffee.

AH LIM (rubbing his chin): But then hor... seriously, have you ever taken your train before?
MS SAW (exclaiming in shock): Are you crazy? Then what's my Merz for?

Saw Phaik Hwa,SMRT CEO,train,overcapacity

Sinha Shekhar rents out his HDB flat and complains about high property tax

2010-06-24T22:32:00.005+08:00

YPAP leader and new citizen from India Sinha Shekhar owns a private property and rents out his HDB resale flat, while complaining about the high property tax he is paying.

According to HDB, you are allowed to sublet your whole flat if you have occupied your:

Non-subsidised flat (flat purchased from the open market without a CPF housing grant) for at least 3 years, or

Subsidised flat (flat purchased directly from HDB or from the open market with a CPF housing grant) for at least 5 years

Which means to say that, even if Sinha Shekhar is rich enough to own a private property, it does not mean he can just rent out his whole flat. Well, unless of course, he has actually stayed in that flat for the required years.

While Ms Neo Saw Kian, the Executive Estates Officer from HDB, promised that HDB will look into the matters, a Facebook page has been set up by furious locals.

Do drop by the page We want HDB to COMPULSORILY ACQUIRE Sinha Shekhar's flat! to see the members number climbing up.

We need a safer way to transport foreign workers? Wait for another 2 years!

2010-06-23T14:45:00.005+08:00

In August 2009, we heard the news of a foreign worker who fell off a lorry. It was quite a news at that time, partly because he was compensated $50k, but mostly because the people finally felt that enough was enough. We were dropping too many foreign workers off the road. Literally.

Foreign worker who fell off lorry gets $50k
Source: Asiaone.com

A FOREIGN worker, who fell off the back of a lorry two years ago when it went over a road hump, will receive $50,000 in a settlement with his former employer.

Mr Mohd Showket Ali Abul Hossain Moral, 38, filed a claim against the company and the lorry driver in the civil courts after the fall. He needed two weeks' stay in hospital and more than a month of medical leave.

Yesterday, in a hearing in chambers, the parties agreed to settle.

The Bangladesh national, who flew here for the case, is expected to return to his country this weekend. He now oversees crop workers on a piece of farmland.

Mr Showket was a construction worker for Nature Landscapes, according to court documents detailing how the incident happened.

On July 27, 2007, he and a co-worker loaded trash bags of dead leaves onto the cargo deck of a lorry at a condominium in Bukit Timah.

The next afternoon, they were tasked to go with the driver to Changi to dump the leaves. While his co-worker sat with the driver in the cabin, Mr Showket clambered up the rear of the lorry and sat on the trash bags.

Midway through the journey, it began to pour, drenching Mr Showket, but worse was to follow. Near their destination, along Simei Rise, the lorry went over a hump, and Mr Showket fell off the cargo deck onto the road.

He lay there unconscious. His colleagues had no idea he had fallen off.

It was only when they got down from the lorry moments later, at the gate to their destination, that they saw him lying on the road.

Mr Showket was taken to Changi General Hospital in an ambulance. He had head, neck and back injuries, according to his statement of claim.

It then took the ministry nearly 18 months of consultation and study to discover the measures to enhance the safety of workers being transported in the open back carriages of lorries. So many months were needed for meetings after meetings of brainstorming, probably because some of the elites have no idea how lorries look like. After all, the only open-top vehicles they are familiar with are the Mercedes-Benz Roadsters and BMW Convertibles.

Anyway, finally the Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Transport, Mr Teo Ser Luck, announced happily in the Parliament that revolutionary measures have been created to ensure safer rides for those who sit in the back of lorries.

And the two measures that the group took 18 months to come up with?

A worker cannot be seated any higher than 1.1m from the cargo deck. Those who breach this rule will be fined $200. A lorry cannot ferry more workers than allowed by the space on the cargo deck. Those who breach this rule will be fined $500 for the first offence.

Yes, it took them 18 months to figure out who to fine and how much.

Of course, as usual, the minister will tell you a long-term plan is in place as well. And it will be another three years for the full slate of measures — which include installing canopies and higher side railings on the back of lorries — to roll out, implemented in phases, slowly and steadily.

Fortunately, someone was not sleeping in the Parliament and asked a sensible question. Jurong MP Mdm Halimah Yacob asked, why three years.

And unfortunately the Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Transport Teo Ser Luck had a callous yet economically sensitive reason for why a three-year period is necessary.

Source: Parliament Debates Official Report

Mdm Halimah Yacob (Jurong): Sir, I thank the Senior Parliamentary Secretary for the reply. I have a number of supplementary questions to ask.

My first question is that the Senior Parliamentary Secretary said that the safety and enforcement measures currently in force are effective. I would like to ask the Senior Parliamentary Secretary whether he is aware of an accident that occurred on 2nd August this year reported in the Straits Times which talks about a lorry carrying foreign workers which crashed and 16 people were hurt. That was barely two weeks ago.

Second, the Senior Parliamentary Secretary also referred to the existence of laws to prosecute those who jeopardise the life and safety of workers by carrying them on the back of lorries. How many convictions of such employers have there been in order to ensure the safety of these workers?

Third, I would like to ask the Senior Parliamentary Secretary why does it take three years to introduce these measures? Can it not be a much shorter period? Because we are talking about the lives and limbs of people who come and work in our country. I do not see many Singaporeans being carried in this way; in fact, hardly any. If Singaporeans are carried in this way, they would probably not want to work for the company. So, why do we need three years? What are the interim measures the Ministry has in mind to prevent the occurrence of the accident which happened only two weeks ago?

Mr Teo Ser Luck: Sir, I would like to assure the Member that safety is paramount. That is our main consideration, and that of the Workgroup. And that is the objective of the measures that they are recommending.

It is a very complex issue. We have to address not only safety concerns but also the concerns of the business sector and other stakeholders, and find a point of balance, given how these measures might potentially impact the different stakeholders.

Nevertheless, they have come up with both immediate measures and measures for the medium term, after three years, eg, the canopies, the side railings, as well as not to expose the workers above the height that will increase the risk of them falling off. We are enhancing the enforcement measures as well. So, with all these measures coming in, we hope that we can continue to enhance the safety of the workers, and we will continue to monitor the situation.

For some probably political reasons, Mr Teo's reasoning was not questioned further and so it was accepted that we could wait till 2012.

Fast-forward to 2010 now, less than one year later, we see another two accidents involving throwing workers off their lorries.

Three dead as lorry overturns on PIE
Source: Todayonline.com

SINGAPORE - Three men were killed in a traffic accident after the lorry they were in overturned on the Pan-Island Expressway at the Thomson Road exit, towards Changi this morning.

Two men died on the spot while the third died in hospital.

Fourteen others who were in the same vehicle were also sent to the hospital.

Of the 14, eight have been discharged while the remaining six were warded for minor trauma injuries.

All 17 men are believed to be China nationals from Crec Construction. A representative from the company said most of the men are from Jiangsu province.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force said they rushed five ambulances, a fire engine and a Red Rhino to the scene soon after receiving a call at around 7.39am.

The accident caused a massive rush-hour traffic jam on the PIE.

Police are investigating the cause of the accident. It is not known if the lorry was carrying more workers than what is allowed.

Truck with 35 hits tree
Source: Straitstimes.com

A 24-footer truck carrying 35 workers crashed into a tree along Jurong Port Road on Wednesday morning, a day after three Chinese nationals were killed when the lorry they were riding in skidded and overturned just off the Pan-Island Expressway (PIE).

Fourteen others were injured in Tuesday's horrific accident.

In the latest Jurong Port accident, there were no serious casualties, according to the company's boss Simon Subra.

Two of the 35 workers from Fining Engineers and Contractors were sent to the National University Hospital for head injuries and treated as outpatients. Another four escaped with scrapes and bruises and have since been discharged.

So what's next? About time for someone to come out and tell these foreign workers "Just bear with another 2 more years of accidents, and you will be safe!"!

How Singapore can be in the next World Cup

2010-06-16T16:30:00.005+08:00

In his 1998 National Day Rally speech, PM Goh was so inspired by the French victory in World Cup 1996 with a group of players led by Zinedine Zidane who is of Algerian extraction, said:

“Last year I told you Singapore would never have a chance in the World Cup, because the rules require all players to be citizens. But after watching the French victory, I have changed my mind. Maybe if we change our immigration criteria to bring in top football talent and make them citizens, then one day we too can get into the finals. In fact we intend to do just this, to bring in sports talent.”

Of course, by now in 2010, we all know that we did get a world championship, just that of a smaller ball called ping pong. Perhaps it is not as easy to attract Brazilians/French/Italians/Spanish/Argentinians soccer players into the country as it has been for the Chinese table tennis players. Perhaps we are not paying enough.

However not all hope is lost. It might actually be possible for Singapore to be participating in the next World Cup! And thanks to China again, for their great ideas!

In the World Cup 2010 held in South Africa this year, we have seen a match of Brazil vs North Korea. Hundreds of North Korean fans were in the stadium to cheer for their country, dressed in red and white, and waving their DPRK flags ever so proudly.

But hang on... since when are the North Koreans so filthy rich, and free? No they are not. And this explains all...

Chinese 'volunteer army' arrive to back North Korea
Source: Reuters Africa

PRETORIA (Reuters) - Hundreds of Chinese soccer fans, including artists and well known singers, have arrived in South Africa to lend their support to North Korea in their opening World Cup match against Brazil on Tuesday.

Dubbed the 'fans volunteer army' back home, many stayed in Pretoria overnight and will meet up with fellow Chinese supporters in Johannesburg to back isolated North Korea in their mouthwatering first game at Ellis Park (1830 GMT).

The North Korean sports ministry authorised a Chinese sports PR agency to sell tickets for the game as few North Koreans could afford the journey or receive visas to leave the country.

"When it comes to support in worldwide competitions, Chinese fans will stand for the Asia teams," Bi Fujian, one of the most popular television anchors in China, told Reuters TV before leaving for the trip.

"Not to mention that 60 years ago, China's military forces valiantly crossed the Yalu River to fight alongside the North Koreans against their enemies.

"Sixty years on, we cheer for their football team and hope they will go far."

I hope all the elites reading this post are still with me so far, because here comes my suggestion. The Lion team might still not be good enough for the next World Cup, hell they might not even be good enough for the next Asean games. But wait! The Lion fans can be in the next World Cup!

It might sound silly to send loads of Singaporeans to the World Cup 2014 in Brazil when the Lion team is not there, but the Lion fans can cheer for another country! Yes! They can pick one of the country's favorite ally, dressed up in their country colors, pretend to be their countrymen and cheer for them! I'm sure our allies do not mind more fans turning up to cheer for their teams! In that way, we are sending Singaporeans to the World Cup! Literally!

What we have are foreign talented hookers, not sex trafficking victims!

2010-06-16T09:28:00.008+08:00

INT.OFFICE - MEETING ROOM VIGILANCE - MORNING

Mr Teo entered the room holding an opened notebook in his right hand. Ah Tan, Ah Lim and Ali stood up to greet him. Mr Teo signaled all to be seated.

AH TAN: Er... Sir, you're holding a... notebook?
MR TEO (grinning): Yes! From now on, I'll come into meetings with my notebook instead of the usual email printouts! We need to move together with time, you know? Even Khaw is meeting his people on Skype!

The three men nodded to show agreement and support.

MR TEO (turned his notebook to face the men): Gentlemen, the boorish America has done something terrible to us! They placed us on the Tier Two Watch List in their 2010 Trafficking in Persons Report! Alongside those third world countries like Bangladesh, China and India!
ALI: This is bad, man...
MR TEO (heatedly): This is not bad! This is outrageous!
AH TAN (reading from the notebook screen): There were no labour trafficking prosecutions or convictions during the reporting period. The Singapore Government showed an inadequate response to the sex trafficking problem in Singapore...
AH LIM: Oh... so it's because of sex trafficking?

The three men looked at each other in silent. Mr Teo turned the notebook back to face him then closed it.

MR TEO (sternly): Yes. I was puzzled when I read the report for the first time, I mean... how can Singapore be even be suspected of trafficking? Then like you, Lim, I realised that they are making the accusation because of sex trafficking. They are blaming us that women from China, the Philippines and Thailand had been tricked into coming to Singapore with promises of legitimate employment and coerced into the sex trade.
AH LIM: Oh... so the US officials have been to Geylang?

Mr Teo slammed his right palm on the table hard and stood up, while staring at Ah Lim irately.

MR TEO (berating): That is not the point! The point is, who are they to accuse us? Who are they to rank us so low? Singapore is always number one! This is an insult to us! And in the first place, can the US rank itself in Tier One when it is well known that the US has been unable to stem a flood of illegal workers, many of whom are trafficked by organised criminal gangs? They have not been able to cope adequately with this problem and that is among the reasons why immigration is such a hot political issue in the US! Maybe they should examine its own record more carefully before presuming to pronounce on other countries!

The three men nodded in agreement anxiously and waited for Mr Teo to calm down.

MR TEO: I tell you, this is more of a political ritual than an objective study. The whole report is a joke!
AH TAN: Actually I too think that the report is incorrect. If a woman entered Singapore legally but was abused, we will classify her as an immigration offender, nothing to do with sex trafficking.
MR TEO: Exactly!
AH LIM: Mmm... so the US officials have not been to Geylang...

All turned to look at Ah Lim stunningly.

ALI: Ah Lim, really, what has the report got to do with Geylang?
AH LIM: You see... first of all, those women from China, the Philippines and Thailand did not enter the country illegally. We give them work permits and invited them to come into the country as foreign talents! Yes we're giving away work permits freely, but that is not considered trafficking right?
MR TEO (rubbing his chin): You can say that...

Ah Lim grinned with satisfaction at Mr Teo's agreement with him. He then cleared his throat and continued.

AH LIM: Yes, we have more prostitutes than we used to have, but this is unavoidable right? As the population grows, these so-called low class jobs are shunned by the locals, so we have to bring in more foreign prostitutes! And then, these women are not abused what! Just take a stroll down the alleys in Geylang and you can see how happy they look! Just by sleeping with the generous Singaporean men, they earn so much more than what they make in their countries! They love us okay! Where got abuse?
ALI: Er... Ah Lim, you seems to know a lot about those women at Geylang...

Ah Lim froze in his seat and suddenly, blood rushed to his face.

2010 Trafficking in Persons Report,Hillary Clinton,Tier Two Watch List,Ministry of Foreign Affairs,MFA,human trafficking,sex trafficking

New Creation Church pastor makes fun of Taoist rituals

2010-06-15T17:25:00.003+08:00

New Creation Church pastor Mark Ng, who heads the church's Chinese ministry, joked about Chinese rituals and compared praying to Taoist deities to 'seeking protection from secret society gangsters'.

"You know, the police, they like to worship which idol? Guan-Gong! You know, the beard one and the face very red red one and the Guan-do very big big one? The police force Hong Kong worship, then everytime they go out har to catch the thief or robbers they always pray first. But do you know that the gangsters, the secret societies, they also pray to the same Guan-Gong!"

Church pastor apologises
Source: Straitstimes.com

THE Internal Security Department (ISD) has looked into an incident involving the New Creation Church over a 2008 sermon being circulated online that mocks Taoist beliefs.

The 10-minute audio clip was posted on YouTube last Friday. In it, a church pastor, Mr Mark Ng, can be heard joking with the congregation about Chinese rituals; in one instance, he compared praying to Taoist deities to 'seeking protection from secret society gangsters'.

The Ministry of Home Affairs said yesterday in a response to queries from The Straits Times that the church had, on its own accord, contacted YouTube to remove the clip. It has also apologised.

'We are aware of the case. ISD has looked into it and taken up the matter with the New Creation Church.'

In a six-paragraph letter posted on its website on Sunday, New Creation said that Mr Ng, who heads the church's Chinese ministry, did not intend for his comments to be disrespectful to other faiths.

It added that earlier this year, the church had reviewed its archive of sermons and had stopped reproducing that particular sermon and other insensitive content that had been previously sold in the church bookstore.

School tracks down a student just to ask her to remove her vulgar tweet

2010-06-10T11:27:00.005+08:00

Just when you thought those old-fashioned discipline masters in your schools have no idea what is Twitter...

School tracks down student's vulgar tweet, tells her to remove it
Source: Todayonline.com

SINGAPORE - Unhappy with her school's dress code, she whipped out her mobile phone, logged into her Twitter account, and tweeted a furious message, containing a vulgarity, criticising her school.

A few weeks later, the 20-something student got a call from her school. They had tracked her down and told her to remove the vulgar tweet.

MediaCorp is not naming the school at her request.

The student said she was shocked and impressed they actually bothered to track her down. Her Twitter account does not have her full name, so she thinks the school may have scrolled through previous tweets where she had talked about the course she was taking. And uncovered her identity.

Social media specialist Paul Charles, chief operating officer of Lewis PR, said a school going to such lengths to locate a student is saying: "We're not prepared to accept such criticism on social media".

Just like Paul Charles, I'm impressed and amazed by the length the school actually went to track down a teenager's tweets.

Apparently, though Twitter is not banned in Singapore (though I'm very sure the gahmen is very envious of China's Great Firewall, and very tempted), one does not have the freedom of just tweeting anything and everything. Now we know that besides the gahmen and statboards, you can't bad-mouth schools in this country as well.

So you might ask, if we're not allowed to rant even on the Internet, where else is safe? No, not the Speakers' Corner, you silly! Did you count the number of CCTVs installed there? These are the safe places where no elites, MPs and school discipline masters will step their precious foot on...

Adults (40s and above): non-airconditioned kopitiams

Adults (below 40s): clubs

Teenagers: fastfood restaurants

See! You do can use vulgarities after all! And with the vast number of kopitiams, clubs and fastfood restaurants in the country, who dare say there is no freedom of speech in Singapore! As long as you don't do it on the Social Media!

We believe you have someone in your country who belongs to us

2010-06-09T13:18:00.005+08:00

INT.OFFICE - PANTRY - EARLY MORNING

Ah Tan and Ah Lim found George having coffee and frowning on a piece of paper as they walked into the pantry. Both walked over to join the lonely George.

AH LIM: Wah George, what bad news are you reading early in the morning?
GEORGE (looked up and stared blankly at both men): Oh Lim! Tan! You guys here for coffee break already?
AH TAN: Yap, had a morning conf call and had to skip breakfast, so decided to have an early coffee break. What are you reading anyway?
GEORGE: Oh, I'm drafting a letter.

George smiled and nodded, then got back to his reading.

GEORGE (mumbling to himself): Dear Sir, we believe you have someone in your country who belongs to us...
AH LIM: You writing to Romania again to ask for that hit-and-run driver ah?

George stopped reading abruptly, looked up and frowned at Ah Lim.

GEORGE: No, I'm not writing to Romania again.
AH LIM (stared at George in shock): Har? So we're going to let that Romanian guy go? Got people dead leh!
AH TAN (interrupted): Lim! Aiyo, didn't you read the newspapers? That guy is already in the custody of Romanian authorities and they'll look into the case!
AH LIM (frowning): Sure or not? They're all Romanians leh! Scali the judge and that ex-diplomat kawan kawan then how?
GEORGE: Lim, don't worry. We'll keep track of the progress.

George smiled and got back to his reading again.

GEORGE (mumbling to himself): Dear Sir, we believe you have someone in your country who belongs to us...
AH LIM: Oh I know! You're writing to Malaysia to ask them for that Selamat guy!

George stopped reading abruptly again, looked up and stared at Ah Lim, amazed.

GEORGE: No, I'm not writing to Malaysia... and why will we want to have that Selamat back?
AH LIM (stared at George in shock): Har? You don't want him back meh? After all the effort we took to locate him?!
GEORGE: Precisely! What if after we've got him back, we lose him again?
AH TAN: That's true, Lim. We used to lose him and had to bother Indonesia to return him to us, then now it's Malaysia. If we don't own him, then we won't have the danger of losing him again right?
AH LIM (scratching his head): That sounds kind of right...
GEORGE (patting Lim on his shoulder): Lim, don't worry. We'll keep track of him.

George sat up, adjusted his glasses and got back to his reading again.

GEORGE (mumbling to himself): Dear Sir, we believe you have someone in your country who belongs to us...
AH LIM: Oh I get it already lah! This time my guess sure correct one! You're writing to Hong Kong to ask them for that Briton guy who drew all that graffiti on the MRT train with another Swiss guy!

George stopped reading abruptly again. This time, he put down the paper and sighed.

GEORGE: Lim, no! I'm writing to China to ask them for that table tennis woman who came here to play for us but now resigned and gone back to China!

Silviu Ionescu,Mas Selamat,Lloyd Dane Alexander,Li Jiawei

Didn't you read the memo on the new train ad?

2010-06-09T08:51:00.007+08:00

On the platform...

Staff A: Hey, what's that drawing on the train?
Staff B: Is that some new ad?
Staff A: Did you read any memo?
Staff B: Was there a memo?
Staff A: Damn! Think it's time to clear my emails!

At the depot...

Staff C: Hey, is that a hole?
Staff D: Must be wear and tear.
Staff C: Do you think we should report it?
Staff D: Nah, someone must have already reported it. Must be waiting for the vendor to come and repair.
Staff C: Yah, those vendors are usually quite slow. So what's for lunch today?

And finally when it was all over the newspapers...

Mr Choy: The public must have seen it right? But we didn't receive any report! Come'on! The public should have more initiative!

And so folks, in future, please report any and all weird things to SMRT. If not, they won't know.

Train blast, derailment kills at least 65 in Singapore

2010-06-07T20:58:00.007+08:00

Bomb derailed a MRT train on a busy Monday morning in Singapore, triggering a crash onto Paya Lebar station platform that killed at least 65 people and injured 200 more, officials said.

Yes, this sounds horrific and also yes, I lied. I must apologise for making you believe this horrible lie for a moment, but it is a disaster that could have happened. On May 17 to be precise.

By now most of you must have heard of the famous duo, the Swiss and the British, who have cut through the fence of the SMRT Changi depot (opposite the Singapore Expo) and spray-painted graffiti on one side of a train. That happened on May 16. For the next two days, the train was business as usual with its new graffiti till someone reported the mischief.

One month later now, the news of this redecorated train is reported extensively over major newspapers, with headlines like: Swiss national charged for vandalising SMRT train, Briton may have left for HK, Swiss man charged with vandalising train released on bail. Apparently these two foreigners are at fault. But are they the only one at fault? What happened to the headline "What happened to our security?"? We have heard enough about these two guys. Isn't it about time that we hear from SMRT?

Why is it so easy to sneak into a SMRT depot?
The duo is believed to have cut through the fences topped with barbed wire. Is that all there is to stop trespassers into the SMRT depot? I am not expecting the SMRT to install touch-and-be-electrocuted kind of fences (though sometimes it does feel that way, our gahmen is still not as bad as the Nazis). Nor am I expecting SMRT to have the kind of budget to install pressure sensitive floors and security laser beams. But shouldn't there be more barriers before they reach the SMRT trains, like some gates with locks?

Where were the security guards?
I do like to assume that SMRT did employ some security guards to look after those empty trains. So where were they when the duo took their own sweet time to redecorate the train? If the duos are stupid enough to be doing graffiti in a country where vandalism is punishable by caning, just like rapists, I do not think that they are smart enough to monitor the security guards' work shift for months before planning their "attack". So what were the security guards doing then? Having coffee breaks? Sleeping on their jobs? Or were they busy making rounds at other areas of the depot because only two poor security guards were left to petrol the whole depot after restructuring to cut cost?

Why didn't any SMRT employee notice the graffiti?
The drivers were not aware because they are not required to check the trains before driving them out of the depot, and their role and responsibility is just to drive from station A to station Z? All staff on the platforms were not aware because they are not required to check the trains coming into their stations, and their role and responsibility is just to keep an eye on suspicious terrorist-look-alikes and to ensure that passengers stand behind the yellow line? All staff in the station controls did not see the graffiti because their security monitors are in black and white?

And why are we not seeing these questions raised on any of the newspapers? No matter how good looking the Swiss guy is, sooner or later the readers will get sick of his photograph (which by the way looks oddly well-taken unlike the usual criminal photos because that photograph comes from his Facebook profile, thanks to Mr Wang's observation). So when are the newspapers going to interview the spokesperson for SMRT on the security gap?

Oh, no, I'm not going to question why didn't the public notice or report the graffiti until two days later. They might have mistaken that as SMRT's Marketing gimmicks, just like how SingPost vandalised their own postboxes to promote YOG.

The Young PAP with its highly successful Facebook fan page of less than 3,400 fans

2010-05-30T13:37:00.008+08:00

In his interview with the Chinese newspapers, Young PAP Chairman, Comrade Teo Ser Luck made an interesting comment about how Young PAP has managed to network with the people using their Facebook page, and how successful they are, regardless of the traffic. Yes, apparently the fan page traffic is not important to them.

大选临近蓄势待发　政党及论政网站争夺网友“眼球”
Source: Lianhe Zaobao

张思乐指出，他并不以加入的人数多寡来衡量行青团Facebook 的成效，成功与否的关键在于网站上提出的课题是否能掀起讨论，而这些讨论又是否具有建设性。他对于行青团的Facebook 至今所取得的成绩感到满意，觉得支持者之间的互动性很强，也经常看到一些具建设性的看法，而行青团也会把这些意见向上传达给决策者参考。

Translation in English, thanks to a friend of mine:

"Teo Ser Luck pointed out that it is not the number of fans for the Young PAP Facebook fan page that is used to measure the effectiveness of the page. The success of the Young PAP Facebook fan page is measured by whether the topics posted on the page have arouse discussions, and whether these discussions are constructive. He is very satisfied with the successful result of the Young PAP Facebook fan page, and feels that there is much interaction between the supporters, and he sees some constructive comments, which the Young PAP will convey to the policies makers."

While in social media, we learned that it is all about statistics, so much so that you can even add Google Analytics to your Facebook fan page to track your traffic, like how you track the traffic to your websites. We thought that it is important to measure our fan page conversion rate, to know our ROI in order to understand how effective our strategy is and where we should make improvements.

This is the very first time that I know of somebody who is satisfied with a Facebook fan page "liked" by less than 3,400 fans and thinks that this is just the amount of interaction that is necessary. But hey, even Subway Singapore has eight thousands over fans!

Mr Teo also feels that there is much interaction between the supporters, and he sees some constructive comments. With that in mind, I took a look at the latest discussions on the page and some of the comments...

Post: Comrade Yi Shyan Lee (Chai Chee): "The National Wages Council’s recent announcement made the same call: there is a pressing need to raise productivity to ensure that wage gains are sustainable. In this respect, wage increase should lag productivity gains in the long term."

Sinha Shekhar: Is productivity related to education? Don' think so. But it makes a good research topic.

CK Tom: What population sample are you looking at? Does this include your maid?

Annie How: obviously Russell Teo, the de facto roti-prata man here, who is an expert in twisting his words & misleading ppl, can really speak many tongues, including 'gay' as a language...No wunder robox & him can click!!!

Sinha Shekhar: Am sorry I can't comment on the companies misusing the immigration policy. But the thing is that "We are talking about thousands and thousands of people coming to Singapore. There are black sheeps in every industry. They may misuse the trust bestowed upon them by the government. As a citizen, its our duty to inform the authorities about such misdeeds. I always believed in "Top dollars for top dogs". If not we may not get the right person forthe right job. For Singaore so much is at stake.

Nilesh Sahita: Sinha - are you saying that as a taxpayers we are paying million dollars to our beloved ministers and is it my job to monitor and report misuses? Are you telling that immigration department should not have comprehensive surveillance / audit department for this?

Hmm... not sure if these are the constructive comments that will channel all the way up.

Anyway, the number of "like"s and quality of discussion on the page aside, I suppose the fans for the Young PAP Facebook fan page has a more crucial question in their minds: Will this fan page be closed? As record has proven that once the going gets tough, the not-so-tough gets closed.

YP to close 2 Facebook pages
Source: Asiaone.com

THE youth wing of the People's Action Party (PAP) is consolidating its online presence in a bid for better control over its new media message.

The move by Young PAP (YP) comes two months after a spate of high-profile spats between YP members and netizens.

Tomorrow, two of its Facebook pages - YP Network and YP Community - will be closed. Only the main Young PAP Facebook page will remain up.

All kinds of valid reasons for all kinds of major audit lapses

2010-05-27T09:03:00.003+08:00

INT.OFFICE - MEETING ROOM VIGILANCE - MORNING

Mr Teo and the Audit Officer entered the room, both with stern and straight faces. Ah Tan, Lui and Chinnam stood up to greet the two men. Mr Teo just nodded and signaled them to be seated.

MR TEO: Guys, the Officer here has already completed his analysis on the audit findings, and I must assure you that I'm very unhappy with what he has found out.

Lui and Chinnam suddenly felt a drip of cold sweat flowing down their spine.

MR TEO: You may disclose the findings to them.

The Audit Officer took a few pieces of papers out from his thick document file and cleared his throat before addressing the men.

OFFICER: The committee is gravely concerned with a large number of lapses that reflect poorly on the overall internal controls of your department.

The Audit Officer made a dramatic pause to glance at the bloodless faces of Lui and Chinnam.

OFFICER (continued to read from the papers): We found laxity in procurement and contract management, lack of rigour in scrutiny by the approving authorities and too light a touch in ministry-statutory board dealings.

Chinnam made a sudden strong gasp which was clearly audible in the graveyard quiet room.

MR TEO (interrupted sternly): Guys, I'm very concerned. These lapses taken together reflect poorly on the overall internal controls of your department. Officer, please continue.
OFFICER: The committee noted that you had entered into a two-year contract valued at $933,312 to outsource some of your enforcement functions. But before the start of the contract, it was already discovered that some of the functions could not be outsourced due to legal reasons. But still, your department did not seek a reduction in the contract price for the reduced scope of work.
CHINNAM (interrupted): I can explain that!

All men at the table turned to look at Chinnam.

CHINNAM: Yes, the scope of work has been reduced, but since the vendor had committed to deploy the same level of manpower for the reduced work scope, we decided not to reduce the price but to redeploy the surplus manpower instead. I mean, since we've already budgeted for it right?
LUI (whispering to himself): And if we don't spend our budget, it will be reduced next year...
MR TEO (turned to Lui): Did you say something?
LUI (shocked): No Sir, sorry...

Ah Tan kicked Lui slightly under the table. He then gave Lui a nobody-talks-about-fight-club look. Lui returned a oops-sorry look.

MR TEO: So where were the surplus manpower deployed to then?
CHINNAM (fidgeting in his seat): Er... they helped out in the office... for admin stuff like to deliver internal mails, photocopying and... printing out and documenting all the policies and... tidying up the storeroom...

MR TEO shook his head and signalled the Audit Officer to continue.

OFFICER: We also found undue delay in refunding $6.06 million in radio and television licence fees, the committee noted that at the time of the audit in November 2008, the department was still processing refunds called for back in 2005.
CHINNAM (interrupted): Wait wait! This has been resolved!

All men at the table turned to look at Chinnam again.

CHINNAM: Since last October, two automated processes have been put in place to increase the efficiency of refunds and we have since completed making the refunds! So this issue should be closed!
OFFICER: But you took one whole year to put in place the automated processes and which means in total you took four years to refund the fees!
LUI (whispering to himself): Four years okay what...

Mr Teo turned to look at Lui, who then stared back blankly. Ah Tan kicked Lui slightly under the table. He then gave Lui another nobody-talks-about-fight-club look. Lui returned a oops-sorry look once again.

MR TEO: Chinnam, why did it take so long to implement the automated processes?
CHINNAM (fidgeting in his seat): Sir, the refund process is very complicated. Very complicated. It is not as easy as it sounds. It is a very complicated process to refund the right amount of money to the right people. This is essential to ensure that we do not make a single mistake, because this concerns money. So we had to employ a very sophisticated IT company to have their very sophisticated engineers work on a very sophisticated database. Very sophisticated. Mr Teo, I assure you, the database is a state-of-art and we should not have this refund problem moving forward.

Mr Teo nodded silently.

OFFICER: We also found under-collection of broadcasting licence fees amounting to $0.84 million. This occurred after your department did not apply the normal non-concessionary rate for two broadcasting licences even after the concessionary period had ended.

Mr Teo looked at Chinnam and waited for an answer.

CHINNAM: Er... we have since instituted a procedure to track and ensure compliance with licence conditions.
MR TEO: And you are confident that this procedure works?
CHINNAM (nodding): Don't worry, Sir, we have another checkpoint procedure to ensure that this procedure works, and another procedure to review the checkpoint procedure periodically, and one last procedure to internally audit the review procedure.

AH TAN (whispering to himself): And I'm already feeling giddy from the swirl created by all your procedures...

Media Development Authority,MDA,Public Accounts Committee report,Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts,Mica

Hitler will watch World Cup matches at one of the 16 CCs

2010-05-22T13:35:00.002+08:00

Hitler: Boycott Starhub and Singtel Overpriced World Cup Package
Video by Cloudywind

Seriously? Just because the World Cup is once in every four years, they think that we will just pay the price obediently thinking that it's a "once in a while" expense?

Singtel, Starhub face revolt
Source: Straitstimes.com

SINGAPORE Telecommunications and StarHub, Singapore's two cable-TV providers, face a protest from more than 20,000 soccer fans after raising fees to watch next month's World Cup sevenfold to the highest in Asia, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday.

The increase from the previous tournament four years ago, announced May 7, prompted local resident John Chua to rally disaffected fans on a Facebook page, including Kelvin Chan, who plans a public demonstration next month.

Some viewers will instead tune in to free-to-air broadcasts of the games from neighbouring countries, Mr Chua said. 'It's a clear case of exploitation pricing,' he said in an e-mail. 'They have no concern for the public even under this economy crisis and think that we will pay regardless.'

No reason for an increase in crime due to IRs? Really?

2010-05-17T12:08:00.004+08:00

No matter how strongly most Singaporeans feel that the IRs would attract undesirable people and increase crime rate, our dear Law Minister Mr Shanmugam saw no reason for an increase in crime because of the IRs.

Really, Mr Minister? Seriously?

Someone please pass him a copy of today's newspapers.

RWS cashier jailed for theft

A FORMER cashier of Resorts World Sentosa was jailed for two months on Monday for theft of $10,000 at the casino.

Man arrested for 'sabotage'

A MAN has been arrested in connection with a power blackout at the Marina Bay Sands (MBS) casino last Wednesday.

He is believed to be a disgruntled engineer employed by a subcontractor of the integrated resort (IR), which was plagued by a series of blackouts over the course of a week following its opening on April 27.

Hitler's closed doors meeting on weightage of Mother Tongue in PSLE

2010-05-13T16:16:00.003+08:00

Hitler: Weightage of the Mother Tongue in PSLE will not be lowered
Video by Cloudywind

Warning: The audio is in one particular mother tongue and the subtitles in another mother tongue. Not safe for bananas.

Criticise the government some more? We'll cut your funding!

2010-05-06T10:59:00.006+08:00

INT.OFFICE - PANTRY - EARLY MORNING

Ah Tan, Ah Lim and Ali were having their morning break at the pantry when Lui joined them.

AH TAN: Hey Lui, long time no see! What were you busy with?
LUI (grunting): Ah... you have no idea how fed up I was!
AH LIM: Orh... busy with the Singapore Arts Festival har?
LUI (shaking his head): No, no... that I have left it to my men.
AH TAN: Hmm... you don't have to screen those performances before the public gets to see it?
LUI: Nah, as long as there's no gay content and naked body, they can show anything to the public. It's not as if I understand any of those performance anyway!
ALI (chuckled): Hahaha... yah man! Especially those contemporary dance! Totally no idea what are they trying to portray! Aku data wu!

All men laughed and sipped their coffee and tea.

LUI: Ali, these contemporary dances and theaters are good, you know? Though nobody understands them and some pretend to do so, these Ang Mohs are harmless. Whereas our own local theaters, these are the people we should be worried about!
AH LIM: Why leh?
LUI: These local theaters... they thought they can say anything and show anything behind closed doors, but they forgot that we've got ears everywhere! Ha!
AH LIM: What did they do?
LUI: Have you heard of this local theatre company called Wild Rice?
ALI: I only know nasi lemak and nasi goreng!

Ah Lim laughed and punched Ali lightly on his left arm.

AH TAN: Yah, I know them. In fact, I've attended a couple of their performances, like their local version of Snow White and Sleeping Beauty, damn funny!

Lui gave Ah Tan a hard stare. Like a laser ray that will burn through stones.

AH TAN (shocked): What?
LUI (frowning): How dare you find them funny!
AH TAN (frowning too): Why not?
LUI (raising his voice): These are the ungrateful clowns that put up performances that promoted alternative lifestyles, were critical of government policies and satirised political leaders!
ALI: Apa ini?

Lui turned and gave Ali a hard stare this time.

LUI: It means they have gay content in their shows!
AH LIM (softly to Ah Tan): So the Sleeping Beauty was a man?
AH TAN (softly back to Ah Lim): No lah!
LUI: Not all their shows, but most of their shows!
AH LIM: Oh... hehe... paiseh!
LUI: And they make fun of and criticise our policies, some daring one even joke about our bosses! Can you imagine that? Making fun of our Big Boss?
ALL MEN (together): Wow!
LUI (berating): They even organise a biennial festival showcasing local scripts that take on political issues in a cheeky way! How dare them!

Ah Tan, Ah Lim and Ali sipped their coffee and tea in silence.

ALI: But brudder, you can't put all of these people in jail for making fun of the government right? Our prison not so big, yeh?
LUI (shaking his head and giggling): No, no, no... I've got a better idea to punish them!

Ah Tan, Ah Lim and Ali waited for Lui to stop his evil giggle before continuing.

AH TAN: So what's your great idea of punishment?
LUI: These art people need money to do their little plays right?
AH TAN: And then?
LUI: So I'll cut their funding! I'll cut their annual grant! Let's see how are they going to perform without money! Hahaha...

Quietly, Ah Tan, Ah Lim and Ali watched Lui laughed.

AH LIM (whispering to Ah Tan): I think he's the perfect role as the evil queen of Snow White...

NAC,National Arts Council,Wild Rice

Just another Cinderella story

2010-05-05T11:35:00.003+08:00

Long long time ago, just when Cinderella was taking a nap in the kitchen, she thought she heard her stepsisters' foot steps. Immediately she picked up the broom and pretended to sweep.

STEPSISTER #1: Hey Cinderella, we're going to the palace ball tonight, so good for you, you don't have to cook dinner!
CINDERELLA: What? Since when is the palace opened to the public?
STEPSISTER #2 (shoved a pamphet onto Cinderella face and chuckled): Yo, baby sister, haven't you heard? The king feels that the palace is too big and there is not enough people in it, so he has decided to open up the gates for everyone and anyone!
CINDERELLA: Whether rich or poor?
STEPSISTER #2: Whether with a degree or illiterate, whether you come from an honorable family or a criminal one!
CINDERELLA (eyes beaming): Cool!
STEPSISTER #1: Hey Cinderella, you're not thinking of going right?
CINDERELLA (gasped): Why not? You girls are going right?
STEPSISTER #1: Yah, we're going of course. But you can't go! Look at the kind of rubbish you're wearing! The people in the palace only respect people that dress well, regardless of how they themselves wear shorts and slippers at time!
STEPSISTER #2: Unless you're an Ang Mor. Then you can wear just about anything and the royal family will still welcome you with arms wide opened.
STEPSISTER #1: But too bad you're not! Ha!

With that insult, the stepsisters walked out of the kitchen laughing. Cinderella looked down at the old and dirty dress that she was wearing and sighed. Just at that moment, a strong light embraced the whole kitchen and with a "thud", one old lady appeared in front of her.

CINDERELLA (shocked): Oui aunty, where are you from? This is private property!
FAIRY GODMOTHER (grinning): Relac lah! I'm here to help you. I heard you want to go to the palace ball?
CINDERELLA (eyes wide opened): Of course! You can help me? Really?
FAIRY GODMOTHER (chuckled): Of course dear! I can get you into the palace on any pass you want! Social pass, student pass, work permit, you name it and you'll get it! At the right price of course!
CINDERELLA (lifts left eye brow): At the right price?
FAIRY GODMOTHER: Hey girl, I've got to earn a living too yah? It's just a little commission, but for the way into a better life!
CINDERELLA: Oh well... okay, whatever... but I don't have a degree and I don't even have any skill!
FAIRY GODMOTHER (chuckled): Don't worry dear, the guards don't check for these stuff these days, all are free to enter! I just needa give you a nice piece of dress and we can get going!
CINDERELLA: Cool!

And so the fairy godmother dressed Cinderella up and shoved her to the palace. Indeed, the guards did not ask even one question and let her in. The palace was not as huge as Cinderella had imagined and the whole ballroom was crowded with people, some were from the palace itself, but even more were outsiders like her.

Cinderella walked around and saw Stepsister #1 leaning against a pillar. She was tagging any man that walked by and shouting "Cheap! Cheap! We don't have to go Geylang! Joo Chiat, Lavender, Kovan also can!"

Cinderella then caught Stepsister #2 at another corner. She was providing massage service to some rich dukes and Cinderella thought she heard her stepsister whispered "I also offer special service" to one of them.

Cinderella was so engrossed looking around the palace that she tripped on one of the outsider's dress and fell. When she tried to get back on her feet, she realised that she had twisted her ankle. It was then it happened. While Cinderella was sitting there with her twisted ankle, a duke walked past and threw a coin onto the ground in front of her. Then another lady did the same. Cinderella was stunned but thrilled.

CINDERELLA (to herself): So it is true that you can earn easy money in the palace!

And so Cinderella continued to sit on the ground to collect money thrown to her. To attract more people, she even tried to sing some oldies. Then he appeared.

PRINCE CHARMING (bending down to hold Cinderella's hand): Babe, you're beautiful! A pity that you're handicapped.
CINDERELLA: No, no! Actually I'm not!
PRINCE CHARMING (eyes blinking): Huh? You're not?
CINDERELLA (struggling to stand up): No, no! See! I can stand!
PRINCE CHARMING: Ohh... oh well, then it's good! Do you want to dance?
CINDERELLA (nodding eagerly): Yes, yes! Of course!
PRINCE CHARMING: Can you bear me some children?
CINDERELLA (still nodding eagerly): Yes, yes! Of course!
PRINCE CHARMING: Can you bear me a dozen of kids and stay at home to look after them?
CINDERELLA (still nodding eagerly): Yes, yes! Of course!
PRINCE CHARMING: Great! Let's get married then!

And so Prince Charming married Cinderella and both of them lived happily ever after, okay, at least while he had the money

Did Singapore just imported more hookers?

2010-05-04T18:14:00.005+08:00

All these in a day's news...

32 massage parlours busted
Source: Straitstimes.com

A SERIES of police raids in March netted 32 unlicensed massage parlours in Bedok, Tampines and Marine Parade - and ended with 25 operators being summoned to court.

During March 15 to 29, officers also arrested 60 female Chinese nationals for various offences, including working illegally in the massage parlours. Some of the women were said to be involved in vice activities and offered sexual services for a fee.

The cat-and-mouse game of vice crackdowns
Source: TodayOnline.com

SINGAPORE - A more intense spotlight has fallen on vice activities here in recent months.

There have been no less than 10 raids on different days reported in Today and The Straits Times, in operations carried out between January and April by law enforcement agencies. These include landmark anti-vice operations online.

In contrast, there was just one raid reported on during the same period last year.

Even as the crackdowns have taken on a higher profile this year, the number of foreign women nabbed for vice has been climbing since 2006, when 4,310 were arrested. In 2008, the figure was 5,047 and last year, it was 7,614.

Following the clean-up of Joo Chiat, the women have sprung up in other areas such as Lavender and, closer to the heartlands, Kovan.

In the past, wives only had to make sure that their husbands stay away from certain areas in Geylang, Joo Chiat, Orchard and sometimes Changi. These days, a wife has to think again when her husband said he has some business to attend to in heartlands like Bedok, Tampines, Marine Parade, Lavender, Kovan, Woodlands and Bukit Batok.

How did we manage to attract so many of such foreign talents into our land? Are we giving out social passes/work permits/student passes too eagerly? Are these the new immigrants that our government has wanted us to integrate with (well, I'm sure the men did a great job integrating well with them)?

In business, where there is demand, there is supply. With so many of them showing up around here, demand is definitely at all time high like the HDB prices. Besides local customers, we could definitely expect patrons from the foreign workers quarters as well. Oh yes, so we are back to the same old question again. Did we imported too many lonely foreign workers?

And by the way, when is the police going to check out those hanging around the tables in the two IRs? Don't forget that they have free admission so nothing is stopping them from going there everyday, unlike the locals who are deterred by the one hundred dollars.

The truth behind why MOE is reducing weightage of mother tongue in PSLE

2010-04-29T21:27:00.007+08:00

Recently, the Education Ministry said reducing the weightage for Mother Tongue in the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) can help students whose scores border between the normal and express stream. Most importantly, this can help when streaming students to secondary schools, allowing those stronger in mother tongues, but weaker in other subjects, to go into streams that are more suitable for them, like the normal stream. On the other hand, those who are strong in other subjects, but could not even complete a sentence in their mother tongue, they can go into streams that are more suitable for them as well, like the express stream.

One may wonder, why the sudden change, and who are the students that will truly benefit in this decision that will inevitably lower the standard of our younger generation's mother tongue, especially Chinese, yet again?

Well, just like what Agent Mulder will say, the truth is out there.

The following article was published on LianHe ZaoBao on 22nd January, 1999:

基础较弱学生希望华文教学更生动

就读于英华中学的郑长明、黄元恩和郭修贤，都来自讲英语的家庭，平日接触华文的机会不多，阅读的书刊也几乎全是英文书籍。郑长明和黄元恩都是中三生，而郭修贤目前在中一班。由于华文“B”课程将于2001年在中三和初院一年级开办，因此他们可能成为第一批选读华文“B”的学生。

黄元恩也表示希望看到华文教学以更生动的方式进行。他说，英文课并不注重课本内容，又不时穿插辩论、语文游戏等活动，使他能够在轻松的气氛中学习。华文课给他的感觉却是沉重的。

“每到上华文课的时间，大家都突然严肃起来。”

对他而言，华文的重要性也远比不上英文。他说：“华文不过是一个科目而已，只要我可以用华语和他人沟通就足够了。英文就不同，我觉得我有必要搞好我的英文，因为这对数学、文学等其他科目都有帮助。”

黄元恩的父亲黄永宏也对这项新安排表示支持。他在接受电话访问时说，设立华文“B”课程，能够让他的儿子把精力集中在其他科目上。

“华文一科占了元恩30至40％的学习时间，而且，尽管他这样努力，华文成绩还是不理想。现在，他至少可以把时间更好地用在那些他较能吸收的科目上。”

And thanks to a friend, this is the English translation:

Three students from Anglo-Chinese were interviewed when MOE first introduced Chinese B classes in 2001. All of them come from English-speaking families with almost no contact with Chinese and almost all their reading materials are in English.

Jonathan Ng Yuan En (黄元恩) who is in Sec Three expressed that he wishes that Chinese can be taught in a more interesting manner. To him, English is interesting because text books do not matter, and instead they have debates and words games etc. to make learning English lively and relaxing. Whereas the Chinese lessons are too stern. It is as if everybody just got serious and stern during Chinese lessons.

He also feels that Chinese can never be as important as English. It is just a subject and it does not matter as long as he can communicate with others in Mandarin. But English is different. He needs to be efficient in English because it helps in other subjects like Maths and Science.

Jonathan Ng's father Ng Eng Hen (黄永宏) is glad that Chinese B classes will allow his son to concentrate in other subjects. He laments that even when his son was spending 30-40% of his time in Chinese alone, he was not making any progress in his result at all. With the new scheme, he can now spend his time more efficiently on subjects he can understand better.

And for those who have spotted and find this Mr Ng Eng Hen sounding kind of familiar and ringing some bells in your head, oh yes, Bingo. His current job now is Minister for Education and Second Minister for Defence.

Yes, I did notice that his youngest girl should already be 16 years old by now, so is he not kind of late in implementing this weightage reduction at PSLE? Well, for a clue, turn around and look at other younger ministers in the cabinet and make a guess whether their kids speak Mandarin and write Chinese. I'm sure you do your colleagues some little favors at times right?

MOE reinvited Susan Elliott and apologised for not knowing her well enough!

2010-04-27T11:57:00.003+08:00

MOE invitation: She feels the high of the roller-coaster again
Source: TodayOnline.com

SINGAPORE - When Susan Elliott, 56, received the invitation to present at the Teachers' Conference 2010 here in September, it was "a highlight of (her) career", the Colorado State Teacher of the Year 2009 told MediaCorp.

So, when the teacher with three decades of experience had the invitation retracted by the Ministry of Education (MOE) - due to a mix-up arising from her hearing-impaired status - it was "one of the lowest lows (she had) ever felt".

It has certainly been a roller-coaster ride, she recounted of the episode, which sparked online chatter in the United States and Singapore.

Now that MOE has reinstated its invitation, the English and social studies teacher feels the "high of the roller-coaster again".

"I believe the committee sincerely would like for me to present, and I'm moving forward in good faith," she said in an email to MediaCorp.

"I have much to learn about other cultures with regard to education, and I'm trying to see the light ... I'm looking forward to turning the Singapore experience into an enriching one for all."

MOE had contacted her last week to convey its apologies about the mistake, which stemmed from a misunderstanding about the need for interpreters and her professional experience. The Ministry had apparently thought that she worked only with deaf children.

But when Mr Anthony Mullen, who pipped Ms Elliott to the National Teacher of the Year award in the United States last year, wrote about the incident on an education blog, readers sent emails to MOE, which then took remedial action.

"We should have clarified these matters before making the decision. Ms Elliott has accepted our apology and the organising committee is delighted that she will participate at the Teachers' Conference in September. We look forward to her contributions in making the Conference a success," committee secretary Sucillia Sukiman emailed in reply.

Mr Mullen updated the blog on Friday to say: "The many letters and phone calls to the Ministry of Education have made them reconsider their original position. Susan is very excited about attending the conference and advancing the cause of disabled students. Without the care and compassion of the Singapore people, this would not have happened. Your City Upon a Hill now shines brightly to all students."

MOE had a real good and solid explanation for retracting her invitation previously. They thought that she worked only with deaf children. Apparently we have all misunderstood the innocent MOE. Apparently it was not the Ministry's idea though we could see that somebody did not do their homework. Apparently MOE sincerely would like for Susan Elliott to present though they do not know her works and contribution well enough to realise that she is not only working with deaf children.

However MOE could be in the wrong for another matter. And one that is even more serious! According to the report, after Anthony Mullen blogged about the incident on an education blog, and after readers sent emails to MOE, MOE then took remedial action. Apparently in this occasion MOE was “duped” by “astroturfers” into making hasty decisions! This is outrageous and simply daft! The honorable PM Lee has warned that the government cannot make decisions simply based on the volume of emails supporting or opposing a particular situation and must also be cautious of such astroturfing campaigns. How dare MOE fall into such trap after the honorable PM Lee's warning? How dare they give in to a blog and some emails so easily?

MOE retracted invitation to a distinguished US teacher because she is deaf

2010-04-23T15:55:00.004+08:00

If this is indeed true, then well done MOE. We've just managed to make a name for Singapore in the Education world.

Singapore's City Upon a Hill
Source: Anthony Mullen

Singapore will be hosting a major education conference in September and has invited distinguished scholars and teachers from throughout the world to share ideas and presentations. One such distinguished teacher is Susan Elliot, the 2009 Colorado State Teacher of the Year and one of four finalists for the 2009 National Teacher of the Year (I may have pulled the sword from the stone but Susan will always best me as Lancelot did Arthur).

Susan Elliot has spent three decades in education and taught thousands of students. She is bright, articulate, and has a great sense of humor. She teaches social studies and history to mainstream and hearing-impaired students-all in the same classroom. Her unique ability to teach social studies and history to both "regular" and hearing-impaired students in the same classroom is a remarkable display of master teaching. Susan is the perfect educator to help represent America's teachers and deserves a key to this Asian City Upon a Hill.

Susan was excited about traveling to Singapore and sharing her ideas and experiences about methods that could develop the potential of all students to become independent, self-supporting and contributing members of society. And then came her dismissal.

Once the Singapore education officials discovered that Susan was hearing-impaired, they retracted her invitation. The so-called discovery and subsequent retraction of her invitation was an act of disingenuous statesmanship because the Singapore education officials knew all along that Susan was deaf. The official in charge of inviting and then disinviting Susan attributes the mistake to miscommunication. Wait a minute. Singapore is renowned for its academic prowess; surely the highly educated official could read a simple biography that very clearly noted Susan was hearing-impaired. The Singapore education system may be perched on a higher hill than the American system but something is not quite right.

Susan Elliot sent a few emails to Singaporean education officials, hoping the "miscommunication" was itself a miscommunication and the whole matter an innocent mistake. She had to defend her disability and remind conference officials that America's teachers and children are a diverse lot.

How did the Singapore officials respond? Susan was wished a successful future but remains persona non grata at the conference.

The Singapore system of education may be the envy of TIMSS groupies, and from a distance the city appears brightly lit in the night sky. But a peek behind the city walls reveals a flawed and ignorant culture of education.

Maybe, just maybe, Americans came in 16th place on the TIMSS because we are willing to carry a much heavier load. A weight gladly held by teachers such as Susan Elliot.

As I glance out at the cold Atlantic Ocean I think about the pilgrims huddled on a small ship, listening to John Winthrop preach about what it takes to create a City Upon a Hill. Singaporean education officials should heed Winthrop's warning, lest their country be viewed as hypocrites in "the eyes of all people."

Oh, by the way, if any teacher would like to email the education official who disinvited one of America's top teachers, please send a message to Ms. Lynn Koh.

Her email is: KOH_Lee_Leng@moe.gov.sg

Accusations that employers prefer to hire foreigners are so unfounded!

2010-04-09T08:25:00.007+08:00

INT.ITALIAN RESTAURANT - EARLY AFTERNOON

Ah Tan, Ah Lim, Ali and few other colleagues were seated in a newly opened posh Italian Restaurant. They were flipping and studying the slightly weighted posh menu seriously while the waitress stood by their table. After Ah Tan made his order, he turned to talk to Halimah who was sitting next to him.

AH TAN: Halimah, I heard that recently your panel has been investigating on some work discrimination issues?
HALIMAH: Yes, Tan, and you know what? Those accusations that employers prefer to hire foreigners over Singaporeans are so unfounded doi! Just like what we've expected!
ALI (speaking to the waitress in a slightly loud and impatient voice): What you say?

Waitress mumbled something in heavy accent.

ALI (frowning): Alamak, I don't understand you lah! Adoi!
AH TAN (shouting over to Ali): Ali! She's asking you how you want your Homestyle Roast Duck to be done!
ALI (still frowning and shouting over to Ah Tan): Brudder! This is duck not beef yah? How I know duck also got rare or not rare doi!
AH TAN (chuckled): Hahaha... so how do you want it to be done?
ALI (to the waitress): Well done, of course! Who wants to eat raw duck?

The waitress hurriedly wrote down Ali's order.

AH TAN (turned towards Halimah): Sorry, where were we?
HALIMAH: Oh... that we found out that it is so not true employers prefer to hire foreigners over Singaporeans.
AH TAN (nodding): Yah, sometimes I wonder where these folks get their ideas from!
HALIMAH: In the cases we have intercepted, employers say this is based on the qualifications of the person and not nationalities yah. If given a choice, they'll always want to hire a local yah!

Ah Tan and Halimah were again interrupted by some commotion on the other side of the table.

AH LIM (speaking to the waitress in a slightly loud and impatient voice): Har?! Can you repeat?

Waitress mumbled something in heavy accent.

AH LIM (frowning): Walau eh...

Ah Lim then spoke to the waitress in Mandarin. Delightfully, the waitress nodded and wrote down his order, then walked away.

ALI: Brudder, what she want sia?
AH LIM: Orh, she was asking me for the French Onion Soup, I want cheese on it or not lah! Walau eh, her English damn cannot make it leh!
ALI (nodding eagerly): Yah man!

HALIMAH (continued): You know, the vice-president of the National Employers Federation was saying, very often, there is some misunderstanding on why foreigners are hired over Singaporeans. In actual fact, it has got to do with the job requirements and it is never true that foreigners are chosen because they're cheaper and willing to work longer hours. Such words of wisdom right?

Ah Tan nodded in agreement.

HUA HUA (interrupted): You know, the locals must avoid developing irrational fears toward new immigrants. They ought to prepare for, rather than resist, an increased willingness among people worldwide to travel and relocate.
AH TAN (turned to Hua Hua who was seated on his other side): Yah, sometimes I don't know why are they so afraid of the foreigners!
ALI (speaking to the waitress in a slightly loud and impatient voice): Hey! I didn't order this!

Waitress mumbled something in heavy accent.

ALI (frowning): Adoi! I didn't order this sia!
AH LIM: Ali, what did you order?
ALI (frowning even harder): Brudder! I ordered grape juice but she gives me grapefruit juice sia!

AH TAN (continued): Anyway I heard that the mass recruitment at Taiwan went on pretty well!
HUA HUA (nodding and grinning): Yap! We actually started an agency to mass recruit thousands of Taiwanese PMETs in fields such as healthcare, engineering and social media to fill up vacancies here.
AH TAN: But how do you convince the Taiwanese to come all the way here to work? I suppose it's not as easy as recruiting in China or India right?
HUA HUA (shaking her head): No no, it's a totally different ball game. To bring in people from China or India is very easy and we never have problem bringing in truckloads of them. But for the Taiwanese, we need to attract them with a different strategy. We're paying them thrice the amount they'll ever get in Taiwan!
AH TAN (eyes wide opened): Wow! How can they ever resist that! So those positions cannot be filled by the locals here?
HUA HUA (with a stunned looked): Oh... that I don't know... Hmm... didn't thought of that man...

On the other side of the table, the commotion continued.

ALI (frowning and talking to Ah Lim): Brudder, this looks rare to me sia! I wanted well done! Can't they get someone who understands English to come talk to me?
AH LIM: Brudder, you can't see meh? All the waitresses here are not local lah!

Lim Hwee Hua,irrational fears toward new immigrants,Halimah Yacob,Tripartite Alliance for Fair Employment Practices,Contact Singapore

The Mystery of the Quitting Old Workers

2010-04-06T11:57:00.009+08:00

NTUC probes labour mystery
Source: Straitstimes.com

THE labour movement aims to unravel the mystery of why a relatively large number of men tend to quit the workforce in their 50s, instead of staying on until the retirement age of 62.

Official manpower figures show that the labour force participation rate for men dips after age 50.

There is no data on the reasons behind this dip, a trend which the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) intends to study in its bid to get more older men, as well as women, to work longer.

But NTUC deputy secretary-general Heng Chee How suggested on Monday that 'some men may want to take it slow after taking out their CPF at 55'.

Hence, the NTUC will start a programme in three months' time to encourage both men and women in their 50s to work beyond 62, said Mr Heng at a seminar on re-employment issues.

The 'Back to Work for Active Agers' programme will be rolled out once the NTUC determines the factors driving people out of the workforce; and works out which industries have the largest exodus of older workers.

This is indeed one great mystery in Singapore. Why are there so many jobless old men and women loitering around, or working as cleaners and fastfood chains servers? Why did they not be good and stay with their previous companies? This mystery that existed for the longest time is so exhilarating that National Geographic should make a special series out of it.

But if the union were to search carefully and thoroughly, there are actually hints on the ground, left by the companies, especially SMEs. Some of the hints that the commoners frequently tripped over are...

Workers were coerced into quitting

Workers were given the choice of quitting or getting a high percentage of pay cut (say, 50%)

Workers were given more mission-impossible tasks till they quit

Workers were bounced around in different departments (say, from Engineering department into the Storeroom) till they give up and quit

Just in case the union is puzzled over the other mystery of why would employers go through the trouble to get rid of their older staff, try thinking in the line of cheaper, younger, oh and maybe foreign workers?

We can't control the rising HDB resale prices, wet market rental hikes and another other hike

2010-04-05T08:27:00.006+08:00

EXT - CC MULTIPURPOSE HALL - EARLY MORNING

Ah Tan and Ah Lim slowly walked up to the stage as the audience stood and clapped. A couple of grinning senior RC members led the way and another handful of grinning junior members followed behind. Ah Tan and Ah Lim were shown to the seats in the middle of the stage. After they were seated, the senior RC members settled themselves on the left and right flanks. The emcee then made a short introduction to the audience.

AH LIM (leaning towards Ah Tan and whispering): Hey Tan, this is not going to take long right? I've got to go for a high-tea later leh...
AH TAN (whispering back): Don't worry lah, won't be long one.
AH LIM (still whispering): By the way hor, today's event can claim off-in-lieu or not? Sunday morning leh!
AH TAN (still whispering back): I think so bah, better check with Mr Teo.
EMCEE (finishing his introduction): And now, let's hear from our honorable Mr Tan!

The emcee handed over the microphone to Ah Tan and the audience clapped excitedly. Ah Tan recited fluently the message that his secretary has drafted for him and ended it with a smile. The audience clapped passionately again.

EMCEE: Okay, you may now ask the honorable Mr Tan questions. Who's going to start the ball rolling?

A young man in polo t-shirt walked over to the microphone in the middle of the hall.

YOUNG MAN IN POLO: Mr Tan, the HDB prices are getting higher and higher everyday and just recently a penthouse maisonette in Bishan Street 24 was sold for $900k! That is even more expensive than those private condominium! The HDB resale prices are getting out of hand and this is soon going to be another property bubble waiting to be burst! Isn't the government going to do anything about it?

The young man ended his question with a stern look and walked back to his seat.

AH LIM (nudging Ah Tan): Wow... that question again...
AH TAN (holding up the microphone): These resale prices are set by individual households who transact flats on a willing buyer, willing seller basis, and are affected by movements and sentiments in the wider economy, including the private property market. Hence, we do not have control over prices of resale flats.

A wave of murmurs grew among the audience.

EMCEE (shouting into the microphone to overcome the noise in the crowd): Okay, let's continue with another question!

A dark skinny middle-aged man walked up to the microphone.

DARK MIDDLE-AGED MAN: Sir, Sheng Siong has increased our wet market rental by a 30%! Like that very difficult to do business! I can't even earn enough to cover rental! Can government ask them don't increase so much or not?

The dark middle-aged man frowned and walked slowly back to his seat.

AH LIM (whispering to Ah Tan): Sorry, forgot to warn you about this one...
AH TAN (holding up the microphone): Well, I won't complain if I were you...

Ah Tan was interrupted with a wave of loud clamor in the audience.

EMCEE (shouting into the microphone): People! People! We can't hear Mr Tan with your noise! Can we let Mr Tan finish?

As the clamor quieted down, Ah Tan held up the microphone again to continue.

AH TAN: When Sheng Siong planned to take over six wet markets, they have wanted to convert them into supermarkets. But we told them that the wet markets have to stay because they do not meet the criteria for conversion into supermarkets. If we didn't do anything at that time, you won't even have a wet market now.

Ah Tan paused as he noticed that he was speaking louder in dismay.

AH TAN: Sheng Siong’s managing director Lim Hock Chee had already explained that he had no choice but to increase rental rates in order to recoup their $25 million purchase of the wet markets. And anyway this is a private matter between Sheng Siong and the stall owners. Hence, we do not have control over rental prices of wet market stalls.

Another wave of murmurs grew among the audience.

EMCEE (shouting into the microphone to overcome the noise in the crowd): Okay, Mr Tan has already answered you. Let's continue with another question!

A plump middle-aged woman with heavy makeup walked up to the microphone.

PLUMP WOMAN: Hello Mr Tan, the electricity bill is going up again next month. Every quarter also increase, already increased four times liao! Everytime also say because oil price increase! My monthly electricity bill already more than $100 liao, if like that sooner or later will become $200! How can the government let them anyhow increase price one?

The plump middle-aged woman sighed and walked back to her seat.

AH LIM (nudging Ah Tan): Electricity bill got increase again meh?
AH TAN (holding up the microphone): Madam, SP Services has already explained that this hike is due to a continued increase in fuel oil prices. I trust that they've done ample investigation before increasing the tariff. The Energy Market Authority has already approved the revised tariff, and furthermore, SP Services has already been privatised. Hence, we do not have control over the cost of electricity.

Yet another wave of murmurs grew among the audience.

As the emcee attempted to control the crowd again, Ah Lim took out a piece of tissue to wipe the perspire off his forehead.

AH LIM (whispering to Ah Tan): Hey, don't you find this multipurpose hall very hot?
AH TAN (whispering): I think it's because there're only a couple of fans on the stage and one of them is not working.
AH LIM (whispering): Walau... can't they do anything about it?
AH TAN (whispering): Don't worry, this multipurpose hall will have aircon soon enough.
AH LIM (whispering with eyes wide open): Wow... really ah?
AH TAN (whispering with a grin): Yap, really. Because we're going to increase the town council service and conservancy fees. That, we can control!

HDB resale price,Sheng Siong,wet market rental,electricity tariff,town council service and conservancy fees

Romanian diplomat Silviu Ionescu thinks Singaporeans are bullshitting?

2010-04-01T13:57:00.002+08:00

And should we be surprised by his statement? If he was "interested", he would not have run away in the very first place. Guess to Romania, we are indeed just a little red dot.

'I'm not interested'
Source: Straitstimes.com

FORMER Romanian diplomat Silviu Ionescu was defiant and dismissive of the Coroner's Court findings when told about them on Wednesday.

The 49-year-old former charge d'affaires at the Romanian embassy repeatedly said he was not surprised by the verdict, when contacted in Romania by phone.

At one point, he exclaimed: 'This is bulls***.'

Dr Ionescu scoffed at the evidence given by some of the 54 witnesses who had appeared in the Coroner's Court during the six-day hearing last month.

He accused them of lying, and said the 'scenarios' they painted in court were implausible, at best.

In particular, he referred to the account of bartender Mohamed Noor Hussain, who identified him as the driver involved in the hit-and-run accident.

Wash your car at the Bukit Batok Water Festival!

2010-03-31T15:58:00.003+08:00

Great news to car owners! Those people at Bukit Batok are organizing a Water Festival 2010, possibly as part of the $10-million dollar Make-the-foreigners-feel-welcomed-nevermind-the-locals Fund. Nevermind that water festivals in Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos have nothing to do with us, and of course, nevermind that PUB has a target to lower Singapore’s per capita domestic water consumption to 140 litres by 2030.

What's important is that there will be plenty of water to spare! So much water that participants are urged to keep their wallet, handphone etc in water proof bags! So what are you waiting for? Put this down in your calendar:

Start: 18 Apr 2010 2:00 pm
End: 18 Apr 2010 6:00 pm

Drive your dirty car over to Bukit Batok for plenty of free water, instead of paying for the few pails of water at the washing bay! Those water are meant to be wasted anyway, so why not put them to good use? Spread the news, tell your friends, together let's wash our cars and motorbikes for free at the Bukit Batok Water Festival 2010!

Lions lost because player were busy oversleeping and smoking?

2010-03-10T12:05:00.003+08:00

No wonder Lions lost
Source: Straitstimes.com

ON THE day of what was arguably one of the most important matches in Singapore's football history, two players overslept and were late boarding the team bus.

Also, at half-time, with Singapore trailing 0-1 to Jordan in the Asian Cup qualifying decider, a couple of players were smoking in the dressing room.

After a 1-2 defeat that bundled them out of the competition - the Lions needed only a draw against Jordan to secure passage to the finals of the tournament for the first time - some of the players' attitude has been called into question. Their shocking behaviour was confirmed to The Straits Times by coach Raddy Avramovic, who will submit a report to the Football Association of Singapore (FAS).

The Lions should count themselves lucky that their boss is not Mr Ong Ah Heng (Nee Soon Central MP), else they could be swiftly replaced by foreign players who are more hardworking and not a burden to us.

In fact, it is surprising that there are still so many Singaporeans in the Lions team, when the local foreign table tennis team has proven a successful shortcut to the Olympics. Perhaps in order to get Singapore nearer to the World Cup, we could start handing out pink ICs to the Japanese in Albirex Niigata Singapore FC and French in Etoile FC? After all, these foreign players are already playing in the S.League.

When lack of news, call Jack

2010-03-08T15:12:00.004+08:00

These are what Singaporeans are reading on Straitstimes.com today:

Top stories
Jack Neo will tell all 1:59 PM
Deposit cut for reserve sites 1:39 PM
Hurt Locker rules Oscars 1:20 PM

Singapore News
Witness fingers Ionescu 12:08 PM
Tried to break up 30 times 11:30 AM
We had sex in car 10:01 AM
Fans let down by Jack Neo 6:00 AM
6 SBS buses wrecked in fire 6:00 AM
Homes double as hostels 6:00 AM
Church services go online 6:00 AM
Bike crashes into bus 6:00 AM
Woman sued for bankruptcy 6:00 AM
New Pasir Ris tower opens 6:00 AM
CDAC seeks more volunteers 6:00 AM

Can't blame them really. Now that Budget 2010 is no longer news, Parliament is closed and all Ministers/MPs/NMPs back to their GRCs to rest and relax, and even the Great Pastor is not insulting anyone lately, there isn't much news in the country to go around.

As for Jack, with Alice in Wonderland (and in 3D!) and Percy Jackson & the Lightning Thief in the movies, he is just Being Human to leak out some scandals for the sake of publicity for his movie. Can't blame him too.

Great suggestions to make the country a better place... for the foreigners!

2010-03-05T08:17:00.007+08:00

INT.OFFICE - CAFETERIA - EARLY AFTERNOON

Ah Tan, Ah Lim, Ali and a few other senior executives were having lunch together at a long table.

AH LIM (chewing his chicken rice and shaking his head at the same time): Wah, that was one long meeting with Mr Teo man!
ALI (scooping a spoonful from his nasi lemak): Brudder, later still got round two sia!
AH TAN (cutting his chicken chop): But it's brainstorming session later right? Guess it shouldn't be too stressful. Khaw, I heard you're going to start the ball rolling?

While Khaw nodded, he put his spoon down on the plate of roasted duck rice and took a sip from his iced lemon tea.

KHAW: Yah, I'll be giving some suggestions to resolve the hospital bed crunch issue.
AH LIM (looked up from his chicken rice): Huh? Why? Our hospital beds not enough meh?
KHAW (nodding): Yah, especially last week during the end of the Chinese New Year. Those pantan ones who had avoided hospitalisation during the festive period suddenly made a beeline for the beds. Tan Tock Seng was overflowing, then other hospitals went to its aid and in the end that caused them to suffer a bed crunch as well.
AH TAN: Wow, that must be agonizing for the patients!
KHAW: Hmm... I won't put it that way though. Even though there wasn't enough beds, the quality of care is not compromised while patients wait for their assigned wards.
AH TAN: That's good to know. So what's your suggestion then?
KHAW (in a solemn tone): Tell the people to avoid getting sick on Mondays and Tuesday.

Suddenly, Ali chocked on his nasi lemak and everyone looked at him. As he shook his left hand to imply that he was fine, his right hand reached for his teh-C. Khaw cleared his throat and continued.

KHAW: After a few months of comprehensive and holistic analysis, my ministry has concluded that Mondays and Tuesdays are the days when bed occupancy rates are at their highest, when the number of people needing beds exceeds that available. So our suggestion is to prevent the people from getting sick on Mondays and Tuesday.
AH TAN (puzzled): And... how are you guys going to achieve that goal?
KHAW (smiling): We'll put up posters in all of our hospitals, urging people not to fall sick on these two days. We can have slogans like "Why fall sick on the busy Mondays and Tuesdays when there are five other days in the week to choose from!"
AH TAN: Erm... that's quite a mouthful for a slogan.
KHAW (chuckled): Hahaha... that's just one of those little ideas that just sprung from my head! Of course we'll outsource to a good professional design firm and leave the poster design to them!

All at the table nodded in agreement and continued with their lunch.

SEAH: We need to do more for new migrants.

All at the table looked up to find Seah suddenly talking. Seah slowly took out a piece of tissue to wipe his mouth before continuing.

SEAH: More needs to be done to help new immigrants work with the old team and feel a part of us.
AH LIM (looked up from his half-finished chicken rice): I thought we're already going to spend $10 million to integrate these people liao?
SEAH (staring at Ah Lim in dismay): What do you mean by 'these people'? They're our precious new immigrants! Heck, they shouldn't even be called new migrants! That's too rude! They should be called new Singaporeans!
AH LIM (sitting back): Hey, relax man!
SEAH: We must respect these new Singaporeans, my friend. They are definitely not new migrants - they are an old hand at migrating, and want a new life. They want to settle down and to make Singapore a new home. And we should be thankful to them for choosing Singapore!

Suddenly, Ali chocked on his nasi lemak again and everyone looked at him again. As he shook his left hand to imply that he was fine again, his right hand reached for his teh-C again. Seah frowned at Ali before continuing.

AH TAN: But Seah, we've already set aside $10 million to help them integrate, like teaching them English and organizing activities at the neighborhoods. I suppose we've already done enough.
SEAH (shaking his head): No, no, no... Did you guys even realize that no large scale survey has been done to find out what these new Singaporeans need? What they actually need? We have not done any large scale survey, we do not know their problems but we have already gone ahead and decided that the funds will go towards organizing activities. But songs, dances and performances are entertaining but do we perhaps need something more?
AH TAN (raising his left eye brow): And... what are you suggesting?
SEAH: If it is language skills, then we should subsidize language classes!
AH TAN: Like I said, we've already started quite a large number of affordable English lessons...
SEAH (ignoring Ah Tan and continuing): If it is educational information, or integration at schools, then we ought to target that! With 20,000 migrants becoming new citizens each year, we should reward such parents with some form of baby bonus when they have a new Singapore baby!
AH TAN: You mean the same kind of baby bonus that we're giving our real Singapore citizens? But that might blur the line between the citizens and these new immigrants... I mean, new Singaporeans.
SEAH (raising his voice): Hello? Didn't you hear me just now? I have made the argument for national integration with new Singaporeans on the basis that they are members of the same team. So since we're all in the same team, they should have all the privileges that the citizens have!
AH TAN: Hmm... I'm not so sure if that will please the citizens...
SEAH (scorned): Who cares about those citizens?

All at the table stared blankly at Seah for a second, then continued with their lunch.

ONG (cleared his throat): I've got a brilliant idea to move up our productivity level. I'll be suggesting that later.
AH TAN: You mean, besides all the trainings that we're going to force down the peoples' throats?

All at the table laughed.

ONG (chuckled): Hahaha... hey, my suggestion is more cost saving than those expensive trainings that might not even be useful!
AH TAN: And so your brilliant idea is?
ONG: First, create some kind of benchmark of productivity level to judge our local workers. Then the moment they fail, sack them!

Suddenly, Ali chocked on his last spoonful of nasi lemak and everyone turned to shout at him "Ali!". Ali lifted up his left hand and nodded with an apologetic smile.

AH TAN: Er... sack them?
ONG: Yah! Sack them! Let me tell you this... there was one family at my constituency who complained that the cleaners in their precinct were lazy and too old. Hey, they don’t want local workers who are old, they want young foreign workers! So to satisfy the demand, I made a quick decision and changed the local workers to foreign workers! Foreign workers are not a burden to us. Their presence here is not negative. Without foreign workers, things will be worse! If local workers cannot perform, we can't be soft and just close one eye and forgive them! So what if they're old? The foreign workers are cheaper and more hardworking! God, I'll say bring them all in!
AH LIM (swallowing his last spoonful of chicken rice): But... but I thought Boss said we're supposed to bring in less foreign workers, not more?

All at the table paused to stare at Ah Lim for a second then laughed.

Marine Parade GRC MP,Seah Kian Peng,new migrants,new immigrants,Yishun MP,Ong Ah Heng,Health Minister,Khaw Boon Wan,hospital bed crunch

Raising foreign worker levy means depending less on foreign workers?

2010-03-04T08:57:00.014+08:00

INT.OFFICE - MEETING ROOM PRODUCTIVITY - AFTERNOON

Chairing at the table was Mr Teo who was flipping through some papers in his hands. Ah Tan, Ah Lim, Ali and some other senior executives were seated at the table.

MR TEO: Ladies and gentlemen, today we're here to brainstorm on how to implement the foreign worker levy hike as a means to control their number. Boss has suggested implementing this levy increment carefully over the next three years. As you know, it is not logical to suddenly increase the levy by like a hundred dollars, thus we need to do it slow. Now we have to come up with a plan to implement it efficiently.
JESSICA: Sir, although the rise in levy is graduated over three years, there is concern expressed by some business leaders that this may impede the ability of companies to make more money as their capacity will be impacted. Currently they can sack their local workers and replace every one with three to four. With the levy, they may only be able to replace one with two.

Some others at the table nodded their heads in agreement.

MR TEO: Jessica, good point. But that is why Boss has not stressed enough on the importance of improving productivity!
JESSICA: But Sir, we can only teach the locals to be productive, and productivity improvements of local talent will not be immediate and it will take companies some time to implement longer working hours and money to buy more machines to innovate and achieve greater productivity.
MR TEO: How difficult can it be? All they need to do is to tell the locals that if they are not taking up more jobs, a foreign worker is always ready to replace them! That shall push the locals to work harder! As for the machines, just get second-hand ones!

Ah Lim put up his right hand. All looked towards his direction.

AH LIM: Er... so if we can make the locals work harder and increase their productivity levels, we don't need foreign workers anymore?
JESSICA (shaking her head): No, it doesn't work that way. Foreign workers can never be replaced by locals. It is especially difficult, in the short term at least, to change the mindset of Singaporeans to take up certain jobs in industries like construction which is seen as strenuous and dirty, and some services jobs that require long hours of standing like soliciting at Geylang.

Some men at the table nodded their heads in agreement. One of them appeared to have even whispered to the person next to him "And they're prettier too". Send put up his right hand. All looked towards his direction.

SENG: Jessica is right. We need these foreign workers. If we do not have enough manpower and other resources to take added new orders in the world markets, we may lose all our customers and business opportunities to our competitors very quickly. For example, everybody knows that a lot of those MNCs have shifted their operations to India. But if we can bring in the Indians from India, these MNCs will give us their business instead!
ALI: But I heard that those Indians are giving a lot of problems to those MNCs! They have long turn-around-time and make lots of mistake! They even openly refuse to work during the cricket season! They have low productivity! They're even more relax than us!
MR TEO (grunted): Ali, didn't you read the memo? We're only concerned with raising the productivity of the locals. Never the foreign workers! We all know how low their productivity is! Just take a look at the roadworks when you drive to work! Why are those simple roadworks taking such a long time to finish? Didn't you often see three to four workers looking at one worker working? So yes, we know they are damn slow, we know their productivity level is damn low, but they're cheap so it's okay!

Ali gave an "Oh!" apologetic look and scratched his head. A skinny man seated at the furthest corner slowly raised his right hand. Mr Teo frowned.

LOW: Sir, I'm just thinking... after we've raised the foreign worker levy, won't the businesses be inclined pass the additional cost to their customers? The F&B businesses could increase the prices of the food and drinks; the transportation businesses could increase the prices of public transport; the construction businesses could increase the cost of building our flats, and in turn to cover this cost, HDB could increase the price of our flats, making them even more unaffordable! We might be just adding this cost burden to the people!
MR TEO (raising his voice): Low, we are living in a world class city and so a high cost of living is expected! Just like we have a world class transportation, so our public transport is expensive! We are world class leaders, so our salaries are expensive! If the locals want to have lower cost of living, they can go to those filthy third world countries like Indonesia! Hey, they are the ones who complained about the influx of foreign workers, so we're now raising the foreign worker levy to slow it down!
LOW: But Sir, instead of raising the levy which still might not work, based on the reasons that I have just stated, why don't we just cut down on the number and forget about the levy? Just put up a policy that businesses must have a higher local to foreigner employment ratio, like ten to one?
JOSEPHINE (interrupting): And so how does Mr Low propose that we allocate the foreign workers quota efficiently to businesses without a levy mechanism? Would it be right for civil servants to pretend to know all about market demand and supply? Removing a levy is turning a blind eye to the social disparities they create!
LOW (frowned): What are you talking about? We are selected by the people, and our salaries are paid by their taxes to work for them! Why must we pretend to know? How can we pretend that we've done our job? If we don't know about market demand and supply, we just have to get out of our cubicles and do some homework! I'm sure a couple of meetings with the right people should do the work! I believe that we can control the foreign workers quota without a levy mechanism! Why must anything and everything in the country be controlled by levies and fines?
JOSEPHINE (snapped): Why must we impose the levy? Do you know how much we're making from these foreign worker levies? It's just like the COE and ERPs that our LTA colleagues implement! Frankly, we don't care what is the local to foreign worker ratio! I don't care whether the waitress serving my salad is a local or from China, as long as she gets my order right! The primary aim of this foreign worker levy is not to slow down the influx, but to make more money for our country! For all you know, this foreign worker levy hike might just be enough to cover our losses from GIC and Temasek!

Mr Teo slammed his right palm on the table and pointed his finger at Josephine furiously. He was in such a wrath that his finger was shaking. Josephine was stunned and stopped talking abruptly.

MR TEO (thundering): Josephine! How many times must I remind you that nobody in this office should talk about the GIC or Temasek investments?

A small stream of perspire trickled down Josephine's cheek.

Jessica Tan,MP for East Coast GRC,Teo Siong Seng,Nominated MP,Josephine Teo,MP for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC,foreign worker levy,budget debate

After the Romanian, now a Saudi Arabian attack

2010-03-03T10:20:00.007+08:00

Alleged attack by envoy
Source: Straitstimes.com

POLICE have been directed to investigate an alleged assault by a Saudi Arabian Embassy official on a condominium resident.

Mr A. Jaafar, 37, a senior executive, alleged that the Third Secretary of the Saudi Arabian Embassy here, Mr Bader I.F. Al-Balawi, attacked him when he told him not to park at a space reserved for the handicapped at Glendale Park condominium in Hillview Avenue.

He filed a Magistrate's Complaint against the embassy official, and yesterday, a magistrate ruled that the complaint was serious enough to warrant an investigation by the police.

Claudius once said in Hamlet that "When sorrows come, they come not single spies, but in battalions". I suppose this too applies neatly to crimes committed by foreign embassy officials in Singapore. Especially when the other embassies see that Dr Ionescu could hit-and-fly with a diplomatic immunity.

However, before Singaporeans get all worked up and start to cancel tour packages to Jordan/Oman/Qatar/Dubai that they grabbed at the last NATAS fair, they should remember this useful advise from our leader: "we should never do anything that is not in keeping with due legal process, nor descend into trial by media. Otherwise, we will weaken our own case". Yap, Singaporeans should just stay calm and watch the police do their job.

Yes, it is still fresh on all Singaporans' mind that recently two men attacked an ambulance driver and got away on the basis of non-seizable offence, but this might be a different case. For a start, Mr A. Jaafar is not just a little ambulance driver. He is a senior executive, maybe in some big MNC or GLC, or even the statboard. And this incident happened at Glendale Park condominium, not some public HDB car park at Bukit Batok. So we should definitely be looking at two totally different cases here.

So Singaporeans should just sit down and shut up. Oh, and cross our fingers that Mr Bader I.F. Al-Balawi is still in Singapore.

At least the first to try cheating at the table is a Singaporean!

2010-02-24T13:49:00.003+08:00

Ah... finally! Our very own casino criminal! Indonesians, Mongolians, move aside! It's Singaporeans' turn to add on to the Integrated Resorts related crime figure now!

First casino crime case
Source: Straitstimes.com

THE first man to be investigated by the Casino Crime Investigation Branch for casino-related crimes was brought to court on Wednesday.

Loo Siew Nan, 53, is accused of five offences of attempted cheating, cheating by personation, theft and giving false information to the police.

He allegedly tried to cheat a casino dealer at Resorts World Sentosa Casino's baccarat table by placing a bet of two $100 chips on the 'banker' after the result of the game had been declared.

He allegedly did this on Monday with the intention of deceiving the dealer into believing that he had a winning bet and tried to induce the dealer to give him a payout of chips worth $190.

He had allegedly earlier gained entry into the casino by posing as one Loh Siow Kok - who is his brother - by producing the latter's Singapore driving licence.

He is also charged with giving false information to a senior station inspector by giving him an original driving licence bearing Loh's name when asked for his identity at about 2.10am on Tuesday. He is said to have stolen Mr Loh's driving licence at a coffeeshop along Bedok Reservoir Road at about 6.30pm on Sunday, and four hours later, posed as Mr Loh to get into the casino.

The prosecution asked for a two-week adjournment to complete investigation. Bail of $15,000 was offered. Loo's next appearance is on March 9.

Men attacked ambulance driver at Bukit Batok

2010-02-24T12:40:00.006+08:00

Two men attacked an ambulance driver who was helping a patient to a kidney dialysis centre. Nope, this is not another story of non-civilised people living in some third world country where law is for display only. This has happened in a carpark near you, at Block 213 Bukit Batok Street 21. Oh yes, uniquely Singapore.

Road rage: Ambulance driver attacked for blocking road
Source: Asiaone Motoring

TWO minutes.

That was all it took for two men to turn violent, allegedly attacking a driver whose ambulance had blocked their car.

The attack lasted more than 20 minutes, said witnesses.

The two men allegedly rained blows on the ambulance driver's chest, kicked his groin and tore his uniform, all the while spewing vulgarities.

The ambulance was outside a carpark lot while the driver was helping a patient to a kidney dialysis centre on Saturday afternoon.

Mr Sivachandran Muragasu, 28, nurse service director of Abella Agency, an ambulance and home nursing company, had taken the patient to the kidney dialysis centre at Block 213 Bukit Batok Street 21.

He had just helped the patient settle into a chair when he heard a commotion near the back entrance of the centre.

A man, who looked to be around 50, and another, in his mid-20s, were shouting at the nurses in the dialysis centre to move the ambulance.

Mr Siva, who did not see the men in the carpark when he took the patient to the centre on a stretcher, said the ambulance had been parked there for around two minutes.

When he returned to the carpark, the men confronted him.

Mr Siva said: "The older man asked me, "What the ****, you think it's your father's road?""

When Mr Siva asked him why he used the expletive, both men turned aggressive.

Mr Siva said he fended off their punches by putting his arms in front of his face, and kept trying to move backwards.

He kept pleading with them, he said. He tried explaining that he was just doing his job.

Mr Siva said: "I'm driving an ambulance. They should understand that I'm providing a service."

But the men were not appeased.

And who the **** do these two men think they are? Well, since the police is nowhere in sight, maybe they think they are the police?

Warning to the public: Be careful where you park at Bukit Batok Street 21, and beware of this Red Subaru WRX.

Vehicle Details sourced from a certain Singapore motoring forum

Vehicle No.: SJB136xS
Vehicle Type: P10 - Passenger Motor Car
Vehicle Attachment 1: No Attachment
Vehicle Scheme: Normal
Vehicle Make: SUBARU
Vehicle Model: 2.5 WRX
Chassis No.: JF1GDGKD36G054238
Engine No.: EJ25C755154
Engine Capacity: 2457 cc
Maximum Laden Weight: 1860 kg
Unladen Weight: 1405 kg
Year Of Manufacture: 2006
Original Registration Date: 08 Jul 2006

Singapore Budget 2010 in a nutshell

2010-02-23T08:34:00.003+08:00

First, some candies that look sweet on paper...

Singapore govt unveils slew of tax reliefs for households
Source: Channelnewsasia.com

For a start, those taking care of their parents and grandparents can expect greater tax relief of up to S$7,000.

Wives who are taxpayers can also claim a spouse relief of S$2,000 - similar to the current scheme for husbands.

The income threshold for dependant-related reliefs will also go up from S$2,000 to S$4,000.

For the elderly, there will be a one-off top-up of the CPF-Medisave Accounts of older Singaporeans aged 50 and above.

The Medisave top-up will benefit about one million Singaporeans and cost the government S$310 million.

An additional S$200 million will also be set aside for Medifund - which supports needy Singaporeans - and another S$200 million for the ElderCare Fund to meet longterm healthcare needs.

For families with children, they can look forward to further top-up of the Post Secondary Education Accounts (PSEA).

And for the big P that our big bosses have been bringing up as often as Wonder Girls' "Nobody" was on radio...

Singapore to commit S$5.5b to help workers & firms raise productivity
Source: Channelnewsasia.com

To achieve the productivity growth targets, Mr Tharman laid out three plans:

1) Restructure the economy towards higher-value activities and depart from less efficient ones;

2) Upgrade individual industries and enterprises; and

3) Raise the skills and expertise of each worker.

To help companies - especially small and medium enterprises - invest in innovating their work processes, the government will introduce a Productivity and Innovation Credit scheme.

Under the scheme, companies will get significant tax deductions when they invest in a broad range of activities such as automation through technology and design, and staff training.

Businesses can deduct 250 per cent of their expenditures on each of the activities from their taxable income, up to a cap of S$300,000.

To emphasise how serious the government is in improving skills and productivity nation-wide, Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean will chair a high-level National Productivity and Continuing Education Council.

The council will come up with priority areas and programmes to tap on a new S$2 billion National Productivity Fund. For a start, the fund will have an initial sum of S$1 billion to support initiatives over the next five years.

The rich staying in houses with an annual value of about S$80,000 will see a tax increase of "slightly less than S$100" a year, while taxes for non-owner-occupied residential properties remain at 10 per cent so that there should be no impact on those who buy for investment. Guess the rich ones must be giving great sigh of relief.

A more nuanced, fairer property tax
Source: Channelnewsasia.com

From next year, if the flat or private property you live in and own has an annual value of S$65,000, you will pay up to S$240 less in property taxes.

The new progressive property tax system, announced on Monday to the surprise of many, will see owner-occupiers exempted from tax on the first S$6,000 of the annual value - that is, the estimated rent - of their homes.

The trade-off? The S$25-to-S$150 in GST rebates, which owners of properties with lower annual values have been enjoying since 1994, will be scrapped.

The more nuanced tax system for owner-occupied residential properties will benefit all Singaporeans except the ultra-rich - those living in properties with over S$77,000 annual value. They comprise only 0.4 per cent of all owner-occupied homes in Singapore, and only 3 per cent of private owner-occupied homes here, said Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam, who also noted that the change would cost the Government S$230 million initially.

With such minor increase in levies, guess the China women will still be here to steal the kopitiam jobs from aunties and the IRs can continue to employ foreign workers...

Foreign worker levies to go up from July
Source: Channelnewsasia.com

For a start, levy rates will go up between $10 to $30 for most Work Permit holders on July 1 this year. Adjustments will be made in 2011 and 2012.

In the next three years, companies can expect a gradual total increase of about $100 on average per worker in manufacturing and services.

The construction industry will see a larger increase, according to the minister.

Changes will also be made for S Pass workers, with two levy tiers instead of one. The rates for the first and second tiers will be $100 and $120 in July this year - going up from a single rate of $50 currently.

Further adjustments will be made till rates reach $150 and $250 by July 2012.

This is so that tourists can buy more and cheaper liquor to drink themselves drunk when they lose all they money at the Integrated Resorts, instead of robbing other tourists at the airport...

Wine and beer lovers can drink to this
Source: Channelnewsasia.com

In his Budget statement on Monday, Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said travellers will be able to buy an additional litre of duty-free wine or beer in place of one litre of duty-free spirits. This means that those who prefer wine or beer will be able to enjoy a duty-free allowance of two litres of wine and one litre of beer, or two litres of beer and one litre of wine.

China crook selling fake degrees from Singapore universities

2010-02-22T10:02:00.007+08:00

It is a known fact that crooks in China have been making it big by selling fake degrees, and you can easily earn yourself a MBA from Harvard in the land of the Great Wall as long as you have got the cash. But this time, things are getting a bit too close for comfort...

S'pore-based China vendor admits fake $2,800 degree printed on 70-cent paper
Source: The Electric New Paper

The New Paper on Sunday went undercover to meet up with a fake degree peddler, a 24-year-old China national who graduated from a local polytechnic.

The man said that degrees from NUS, NTU, SMU and SIM are available, and would cost $2,800 each.

He added that he required a 20 per cent deposit to confirm an order, and would issue a receipt which buyers must produce when collecting their degree in two weeks.

The degrees are printed in a factory in Malaysia, he claimed.

When confronted by The New Paper on Sunday team, the man said he had been peddling fake degrees in Singapore for about half a year, in addition to working as an agent for a company based in China.

He said he gets commission for each degree sold, and claims he makes a point to caution his customers against using their fake degrees to look for jobs, whether in Singapore or in China.

He also said the fake degrees are cheaply made and are printed on regular paper that costs about 70 cents a sheet.

So this guy who graduated from OUR polytechnic, decided to continue hanging around in OUR country selling fake degrees of OUR universities, while working as an agent for a company in CHINA. Did some big guys said that new immigrants are here to contribute to our economy and we should welcome them with open arms? Really?

Pastor Rony Tan's anti-gay stand is aligned with the Government of Singapore

2010-02-20T12:07:00.005+08:00

Sometimes some people just can't tell when to shut up and sit down. And when they realised that maybe they should play it safe by covering their backside, they drag the oh-so-mighty government into the picture. Bravo.

Pastor Rony Tan stood by his remarks against homosexuals
Source: TemasekReview.com

Two days after online portals Fridae.com and Temasek Review broke the news of 85 police reports being lodged against Pastor Rony, the Straits Times followed up with an interview with him.

“I’ve said nothing wrong, you know. Like I said, my stand is with the average person and the Government,” Pastor Rony was quoted as saying in the STraits Times.

He said he had always taught his congregation that the homosexual community should not be discriminated against.

“But, of course, you know there is a law against homosexual acts, so that’s always been my stand…"

Pastor Rony said in the video that homosexuals are not born “this way” and people end up “turning” gay either because of abuse or an absent parent when young.

He felt it is necessary to “warn” people of the pitfalls of homosexuality:

“If we don’t warn people against this, then there will be more and more homosexuals because many of these people will be harassing and seducing young boys, and they in turn will become homosexuals,” he exclaimed.

He insinuated that homosexuals are not “normal” people because they do not procreate:

“Proper sex means life — it propagates life. Lesbianism and homosexuality simply mean death and barrenness.”

Homosexual = Donkey/Monkey/Dog, according to Pastor Rony Tan

2010-02-19T17:46:00.005+08:00

What Pastor Rony Tan of Lighthouse Evangelism thinks about gays and lesbians from Kenneth Tan on Vimeo.

”If you allow [homosexuality], next time people will want to get married to monkeys. And they will want rights. They’ll want to apply for HDB [a colloquial term to mean a government subsidised flat]. With a donkey or a monkey or a dog and so on. It’s very pathetic.” -- Pastor Rony Tan

Well done, Rony! After he and his Lighthouse Evangelism church has tried bad mouthing the other religions, now it is on to the homosexual community! What a way to move on!

Apparently a total of 85 people including filmmakers Sun Koh and Royston Tan have lodged police reports over the long Chinese New Year weekend about pastor Rony Tan's offensive comments concerning gay men and lesbians in an online video. But I suppose our home team, who is now busy camping by the Sentosa Resort World, will handle this case as efficiently as how they handled the Romanian hit-and-run case.

Resorts World opened, police to get busy

2010-02-18T09:33:00.003+08:00

With the first of the two Integrated Resorts, Resorts World Sentosa, opened barely a few days, our home team is already seeing more work on their plates...

Indonesian who lost all in casino at Resorts World Sentosa, stole at airport
Source: Channelnewsasia.com

An Indonesian man who lost all the S$1,000 he had with him at the Resorts World Sentosa casino was jailed for four weeks after pleading guilty to stealing a handphone from an undergraduate at Changi Airport.

As he lost all his money gambling at the casino on Monday, the second day of its opening, he decided to steal from passengers at Changi Airport.

Overstayers and passport scammers
Source: Todayonline.com

The casino has been open for less than 72 hours and already several Singaporeans and permanent residents have tried to get in without paying the $100 levy, others who have overstayed their 24-hour entitlement and a pair of foreigners even tried to use their friends passports to get in.

Five locals were also caught trying to enter the casino without paying the levy - they were fined $1,000 each.

And on Monday, two foreigners were arrested for allegedly using their friends' passports to enter the casino, police told MediaCorp. The duo, believed to be Mongolians, were arrested on Monday evening by security officers.

The pair's friends, who were already inside the gaming hall, had allegedly managed to slip them their passports after clearing the security checks.

And meanwhile, loan sharks companies all over the country are requesting their business development managers to come out with the latest business opportunities and income forecast. Quick.

Don't you dare cast protest vote!

2010-01-29T15:39:00.009+08:00

INT.OFFICE - MEETING ROOM INTEGRITY - MORNING

Mr Teo and Mr Lee entered the room while chatting casually with each other. Ah Tan, Ah Lim, Ali and twenty over men and women stood up to greet the two men. Mr Teo signaled all to be seated.

MR TEO: Ladies and gentlemen, we're very honored to have Mr Lee here with us today. As the Chairman Mentor of the welfare committee, Mr Lee would like to talk to you about the upcoming welfare committee members election. Mr Lee, thank you.

As Mr Teo walked over to an empty seat at the front row, Mr Lee walked to the front of the crowd and adjusted his left sleeve cuff before he finally spoke.

MR LEE: Ladies and gentlemen, I'm sure you're all very excited and are anticipating some tough fights in the upcoming welfare committee members election. Though my successor Logan and his team has been doing a really good job and it really makes no sense for his team to step down, I can see that the competition is getting strong, with the recent two high flyers joining Joshua's team, and of course not forgetting that Low's team is getting themselves prepared as well.

Mr Lee stopped when he found some whisperings and elbow-nudgings among the crowd. Hastily, Mr Teo stood up and faced the crowd.

MR TEO (sternly): People, if you've got any comments or questions, do feel free to put up your hands and let Mr Lee know. You should know that when Mr Lee speaks, he expects others to just keep quiet and listen. So please, if you don't have anything to share, keep quiet.

The crowd went dead silent and all stared at Mr Lee. Satisfied, Mr Teo bowed to Mr Lee and signaled him to continue, before sitting down.

MR LEE (cleared throat): I know a lot of you are upset about the recent hike of the season parking rate. However you need to understand that Logan's team has worked hard to fight for this subsidised price, below market rate, so that you can afford a parking lot, so that you know that your car is well-parked while you work. You should not find fault with the season parking policy, and if you do, you must be damn daft.

Ah Tan put up his right hand. Mr Lee nodded at him, signaling that he may speak. Ah Tan stood up.

AH TAN: But Sir, the season parking rate is really going through the roof, especially with the new employees joining the department. In fact season parking is so expensive now that some of us here have even stopped driving to work and are taking public transport instead!

Exclamations were audible among the crowd as Ah Tan sat down.

MR LEE: Yes, I do understand that with higher demand, the bidding of season parking lots has driven the season parking rate up. But you must also understand that the department cannot survive without new employees! So it is inevitable that the season parking rate should go up! This is life and you just have to take it! But at the same time, you can be rest assured that Logan and his team will definitely monitor the situation and ensure it does not get out of hand.

Ah Tan folded his arms and sighed. Ali then raised his right hand before standing up to speak.

ALI: Sir, there is also this thing about the coffee vending machines in the pantries.
MR LEE: What about it, son?
ALI: Sir, our coffee vending machines are getting more and more expensive! We used to get free coffee from the machines, then the committee said the management complained that too many people are crowding in the pantry for coffee break, so they started to charge us thirty cents per cup, so that we don't buy coffee too often and so will not hang around the pantries. Then later it is raised to fifty cents per cup because people are not deterred by the cheap thirty cents. Then eighty cents. Now some of the machines are like one dollar for a cup of latte! And I heard that on the ninth floor, there are four new coffee machines that are selling at two dollars a cup!

Ah Tan tapped Ali's leg to warn him that he has gotten too agitated. Quickly, Ali sat down.

MR LEE: I'm sorry to hear that, but this is something that we must do. Like you said, it all started from those days when the management complained to us that too many people are crowding in the pantries for coffee break. And this policy to make you pay for coffee does work, right? I'm sure your pantries are not as crowded these days during the peak tea-break hours, right?

Somebody in the crowd whispered loudly "Still crowded what".

MR LEE (clearing his throat): Okay, I know the pantries can still be crowded at times. But think of it this way. They'll be even more crowded if the coffee is still free! Remember this! The genuine purpose of making you pay for your coffee is to stop congestion in the pantries, not for the committee to make money out of you! You can't just blame this on Logan's team and stop voting for them!

Ah Lim held up his right hand and stood up to speak.

AH LIM: But Sir, those two high flyers that joined Joshua's team look promising, you know? They're both graduated from the University of Cambridge with First Class Honours! Shouldn't we give Joshua's team a chance to prove themselves?

Mr Lee frowned slightly and stood there staring at Ah Lim for a few seconds. Feeling slightly intimidated, Ah Lim sat down and tried not to look into Mr Lee's eyes.

MR LEE (sternly and loudly): University of Cambridge? First Class Honours? Is that what you look for in a welfare committee member? A welfare committee member should be judged not by his academic ability but what he can do for you! Yes, for Joshua's team, it's a change. In fact, it is a significant development. But people! You need to look at the person, not what degrees he has, but what he is able to do for you!

Somebody in the crowd whispered loudly "And what has Logan's team done so far".

Mr Lee squinted his eyes and tried to locate the person who said that, but everybody just stared at him blankly. Quickly, Mr Teo jumped up from his chair and walked to the front.

MR TEO (to the crowd): Okay, ladies and gentlemen, I think we've reached the end of today's meeting. Mr Lee is a very busy man so I really don't want to hold him up. Should we stand up and give Mr Lee a round applause?

All men and women in the room stood up and clapped their hands mechanically while Mr Lee left the room.

Don't cast protest vote, Candidates should be judged on what they can do, Ex-civil servants join Reform

A Romanian diplomat's hit-run-hit-lie case in Singapore

2010-01-29T10:37:00.003+08:00

This Romanian diplomat killed two innocent people, lied about his car being stolen, and might still enjoy immunity...

Police investigations reveal Dr Ionescu was driver of car that hit 3 people last month
Source: Channelnewsasia.com

SINGAPORE: Police investigations have revealed that Romanian diplomat, Dr Silviu Ionescu was the driver of the car involved in a hit-and-run accident on December 15 last year.

The accident resulted in the death of 30-year-old Singapore permanent resident, Tong Kok Wai, and injured two others.

The coroner's inquiry will begin on March 3 and at least 35 witnesses will be called.

The car from the Romanian Embassy allegedly hit Tong Kok Wai and another pedestrian, 24-year old Bong Hwee Haw as they were crossing the road at the junction of Bukit Panjang and Bangkit Roads.

The court heard that instead of stopping, the car sped off.

It then hit 18-year-old Muhammad Haris Abu Talib at the next controlled junction.

Deputy Principal Senior State Counsel Prosecutor Lau Wing Yum told the Coroner's Court that in both instances, the traffic lights were in favour of the pedestrians.

Mr Lau said Dr Silviu Ionescu made a 999 call about 30 minutes after the accidents to report that the car, a black Audi had been stolen.

However, Police investigations showed the car wasn't stolen.

It was recovered at around 11am that day, locked and abandoned at 21 Sungei Kadut Avenue.

Mr Lau said the right side of the car's front windscreen was smashed. The front bonnet and the driver's door were dented.

The man allegedly behind the wheel, Dr Ionescu, left Singapore for his country on December 18.

He had said then that he was seeking treatment for health problems.

Responding to MediaCorp's queries, a Romanian embassy spokesperson, Economic Counselor Alexander Nicolae Coseru, said it's not aware of the investigation results.

He said the embassy will follow Singapore's procedures and participate in the coroner's inquiry.

It's not known if Mr Ionescu will return for the court proceedings.

Said Mr Coseru: "We have to wait and see what happens. We will follow the Singapore authorities' procedure. We will participate in the coroner's court inquiry and we will see the final results of the Singapore procedures."

The Romanian Foreign Ministry has since recalled Dr Ionescu, from his post.

All three pedestrians who were involved in the accidents were sent to the National University Hospital.

However, Mr Tong who suffered fractures to his right leg and skull, succumbed to his injuries and died on Christmas Day, 10 days after the accident.

Coroner's inquiry aside, there's another case looming now. MediaCorp understands that one of the surviving victims, Bong Hwee Haw wants to be compensated for his injuries.

His lawyer said Mr Bong had incurred hospital bills amounting to nearly S$50,000. The pre-inquiry conference for that case will be held next month.

Mr Bong has engaged a team led by N Srinivasan from Hoh Law Corporation.

Mr Srinivasan told reporters that his client has already returned to Sarawak.

The pre-inquiry conference for this case will be held on February 24.

Both Romania and Singapore are parties of the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations.

The Convention states that "a diplomatic agent shall enjoy immunity from the criminal jurisdiction of the receiving State...the immunity of a diplomatic agent from the jurisdiction of the receiving State does not exempt him from the jurisdiction of the sending State".

This means the penal investigation in a case in which a diplomat is involved in the receiving state takes place in the state whose citizen he is. - CNA/vm

While this man who killed one person and lied about his driving licence was jailed for 51 months and banned from driving for 10 years...

Jail, ban for hit-and-run man
Source: Straitstimes.com

A MAN who was involved in a hit-and-run fatal accident last June was jailed for 51 months and banned from driving for 10 years on Monday.

Chen Dewen, 24, a chef, had earlier admitted to causing the death of Mr Asotharman Kunopuram Velayuthan Bhanu, 56, by doing a rash act along Upper Serangoon Road on June 20 last year.

He also admitted to seven other charges including driving without a valid licence and insurance coverage; failing to stop after an accident and render assistance; and removing his car without police authority.

He lied to the police in May that he had lost his driving licence, and cheated a car rental company by issuing a dud cheque to pay for the rental in June.

On June 19, he went pubbing with friends and was taking them home in the early hours when he crashed into the victim while overtaking a slow-moving lorry.

He could have been jailed for up to 10 years and fined for the most serious offence of cheating.

Let's wait and see what will be Dr Silviu Ionescu's punishment on March 3. If any.

When Singaporeans work better, faster, cheaper, smarter and harder

2010-01-25T17:35:00.005+08:00

The nurse ushered Ah Beng into the main hall where all the patients were resting. Some of them were drawing on sheets of papers all over the table, some of them staring into emptiness, some of them chatting with each other while more chatting with just themselves. Ah Beng found his friend Ah Seng sitting by himself at a corner of the table, busy scribbling on a piece of paper. When Ah Beng walked forward, he could see that the paper had numbers written all over it.

AH BENG (patted Ah Seng on his shoulder): Hey Bro, how's things around here?
AH SENG (stared at Ah Beng then snorted): Hello? This is the Institute of Mental Health Hospital. How well do you think I'm doing around here? I'm surrounded by mad people, for Christ's sake!
AH BENG (gave an awkward smile): Hahaha... you're right. So... anything new happening around here then?

Nonchalantly, Ah Seng pointed to a very old lady writing non-stop on a piece of paper, just like him. The only difference was that she was frowning and her hand was shaking uncontrollably as she wrote.

AH SENG: She's new around here.
AH BENG: Oh... she looks stressed... what's her case?
AH SENG: She was working a a cleaner, then her supervisor enrolled her in some cleaning certification course so that she can clean BETTER. She went cuckoo after she failed the written exam like ten times.
AH BENG (eyes wide opened): She looks like she's already in her sixties! How can they expect her to sit for exams?
AH SENG: Eighty to be exact.

Ah Seng then pointed to another woman who was shifting invisible boxes furiously.

AH SENG: She's new here too.
AH BENG: Wow... her hands are moving faster than Superman! What is she trying to shift?
AH SENG: She was working as a factory operator, then her supervisor complained that she needed to work FASTER. She went cuckoo after they ramped the machine speed up to maximum.

While Ah Beng shook his head in dismay, Ah Seng pointed yet again to a man sitting near the window and staring into the air. He looked like he was in his forties and well dressed in shirt and pants.

AH SENG: He's also new here.
AH BENG: He looks pretty harmless and... normal, except for the part that he just sits around.
AH SENG: He has been working as an IT manager in a local firm for the past decade. Then his boss decided to employ someone else from India to take over his job, because that replacement was CHEAPER. He went cuckoo on the day that he was fired.

Ah Seng then patted Ah Beng's shoulder and smiled.

AH SENG: Hey Bro, do you remember why I ended up here?
AH BENG (looked up but could not answer Ah Seng): Erm...
AH SENG: I was a Sales Manager, remember?
AH BENG (sighed): Yes, and though you were already meeting your target every month, your boss raised the bar every month too, expecting you to work SMARTER and bring in more revenue. At the sales target of 150%, you finally broke down and went cuckoo.
AH SENG (sighed): Yes, Bro, that's exactly the story.

Ah Seng turned back to face the table and continued with his scribbling on the piece of paper. Ah Beng stood up and tapped Ah Seng on his shoulder.

AH BENG: Hey Bro, this will be the last time that I'm visiting you.
AH SENG (looked up): Why?
AH BENG: My boss has wanted me to work HARDER even though I was already working from eight to eight everyday. The faster I finished my work, the more work got piled on my desk. Eventually I worked till midnight and even on weekends, yet I could not finish all my work. My boss said I need to be more hardworking.
AH SENG (smiling): And then? You went cuckoo as well?
AH BENG (chuckled): No, Bro. My mind is still intact, but my body is in the office. Anyway, you just take care, okay?

Slowly, Ah Beng walked towards the door, then as Ah Seng watched, he walked through the door and disappeared into thin air.

The Legendary YPAP member Eric How is simply Boomz

2010-01-21T00:48:00.002+08:00

If you have not heard of the legendary YPAP member Eric How by now, it is time to get out of your cave and find a Wifi point.

It all started with this nonchalant post of his...

when Mr Eric decided it was patriotic to defend the government and teach the useless and ever complaining Singaporeans a lesson.

"Do not be bitter and go on slapping on the Government senselessly because you did not get any fruits or benefits from your forefather. You will have to blame on your karma or your forefathers for not getting all the paths right for their off springs. My folks did the right thing by getting all the stuffs ready for us and we will never ever need to nag about the Government giving jobs to foreigners instead of locals." - Eric How.

And of course, most importantly, not forgetting to mention about his precious ride. Just to make sure his message matches his facebook profile picture.

"Our folks even make sure that we guys do not need to squeeze into public transport by getting each of us a personal car." - Eric How

Now you're just dying to know who is Eric How and most importantly who is his father who has saved such good karma for him, aren't you?

According to sources on the Internet...

Mr How’s father is Mr How Jong Wan who runs a ship chandling business. The elder How is the Vice Chairman of Kampung Kembangan Community Club Management Committee under East Coast GRC. He was a recipient of The Public Service Medal and The National Day Award in 2004.

However due to some unknown and suspicious reasons, after Mr Eric's father's identity was disclosed on the source website, a complaint was lodged against the site to shut it down. It was an anonymous phone call from someone identified as "Desmond Quek" from an agency related to the Singapore government. Probably an equivalent of FBI or CIA? But I'm very sure "Desmond Quek" is not in any way related to Mr Eric. I can't imagine Mr Eric dishonoring his father not once, but twice by changing his surname?

Meanwhile, apparently Mr Eric did not expect Singaporean netizens to be offended by his casual remarks. And of course he would not have expected people to be guts enough to seek attention from his company and father about his behavior on the World Wide Web, which as the name implies, search-able and visible to all around the globe. Thus, Mr Eric is now feeling offended.

It is always good to know your family is backing you, no matter how wrong you are and what wrongs you have done. Just like how we are always telling the family members of those Yellow Ribbon guys about the importance of family support, not only while they are in the cells, but after they are out of it.

"my family are very supportive of me and I did nothing wrong by telling you guys the truth." - Eric How

And Mr Eric just loves his rides, doesn't he?

"BTW, I am changing my car again and so what? I made those money and I have the rights to spend it anyway I like. All you whiners can carry on squeezing inside the train while I am enjoying my new ride." - Eric How

For more juicy details, read up the discussion board on Facebook. Nothing interesting on TV lately anyway.

Support Google's Fight against the Great Firewall of China

2010-01-15T21:50:00.007+08:00

White House supports Google's moves in China
(Source: Yahoo! News)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The White House backs Google's decision to no longer support China's censoring of searches that happen on the Google platform, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said on Thursday.

China has defended its extensive censorship after the U.S. Internet search giant threatened to quit the country.

Asked whether the issue would cloud U.S.-China relations, Gibbs told reporters President Barack Obama had strong beliefs about the universal rights of men and women worldwide which would not be "carved out" for certain countries.

David McCandless, via Fast Company, has created this infographic illustrating what material and sites are censored by the Chinese government:

The Prevention of Lesser Mortals Congestion in the IRs (PLCIR) project

2010-01-14T15:08:00.008+08:00

INT.OFFICE - PANTRY - EARLY MORNING

Ah Tan, Ah Lim and Ali were having their morning break at the pantry when Raymond walked in. Raymond walked over to their table and took the only empty seat left.

AH TAN: Hey, here for meeting?
RAYMOND: Yah, with Mr Teo.
AH LIM: Why? Going to build some more gantries? Or time to increase the buses and trains fares?
RAYMOND (chuckled): Hahaha... you're good! Yah, it's regarding the new gantries. This is part of the PLCIR project. Prevention of Lesser Mortals Congestion on the IRs. To prevent the new IRs from getting too over-crowded.
ALI: But Brudder, I thought the more people going to the IRs the better? Why want to control the number of people going there?
RAYMOND: Well, you're right and wrong. Here's the thing. We want as many tourists and rich and famous to go to the IRs. But not the locals. At least not those at the lower levels of the hierarchy.
AH LIM: Har? Lower levels of the hierarchy?
RAYMOND: Meaning those lowly educated lesser mortals who buy 4D, Totos and gamble at Genting and cruise-to-nowhere-to-gamble cruises. We are building sophisticated high class IRs around here, and we really don't need these lesser mortals anywhere near the IRs to spoil the image.
AH LIM: But I thought we're already imposing a hundred dollars entrance fee for the locals?

Ah Tan put down the coffee that he was sipping and laughed loudly.

AH TAN: Lim, if they can pay over a hundred dollars to go all the way up to Genting, or all the way out at sea to gamble, they'll pay the bucks to gamble at the IRs!

Ah Lim was stunned by his ignorance of the obvious and all men laughed at the joke.

AH LIM: So you're going to place these new gantries at Sentosa? Or Marina Bay?
RAYMOND: No, not Sentosa. All of the four new gantries that I'm suggesting will be placed around Marina Bay. One on the exit road from the Ayer Rajah Expressway, one on the Marina Station Road near the new MRT station and two on either direction of the new three-lane dual-carriageway Bay Bridge that links the new business and entertainment hub to Raffles Avenue.
ALI: Huh? None on Sentosa?

Ah Tan rubbed his chin slowly, then smiled and nodded.

AH TAN: Hahaha... Ali, I know what's on Raymond's sleeves. You see, if he were to place a gantry on Sentosa, only people on the island get charged. But if he were to place a gantry near Marina Bay, anyone in the country get charged as long as they use the road, even if they are not going anywhere near the Marina Sands IR at all!
ALI (hit his forehead): Adioy! Tan, you're right!

All men now laughed at Ali's ignorance.

RAYMOND: And anyway, as part of the PLCIR project, those SDC people has already increased the entrance fees for cars at least three folds from two dollars to six or seven. They're also going to implement more costly time-based parking charges. So I guess there is no need to put a gantry on Sentosa. At least not for now.

Raymond winked at Ah Tan and nudged him with a smile. Ah Tan knew immediately what Raymond had on his mind and laughed.

AH TAN (chuckled): Yap, the keyword is... not for now! Guys, remember Ray is still going to build the Sentosa Gateway Tunnel in 2015?
AH LIM, ALI (together): And?
AH TAN (smiling): Remember how many gantries did he place in the short KPE tunnel?

Both Ah Lim and Ali laughed and patted Raymond on his back.

RAYMOND (smiling): So as long as the cabs are charging more surcharges, and the island's shuttle bus service is as inefficient as the country's bus services, we should be able to keep the lesser mortals' interest in going to the IRs pretty low.

LTA,Land Transport Authority,SDC,Sentosa Development Corporation,Integrated Resorts,Sentosa,Marina Sands,Marina Bay,ERP

"This is not Islamic", said Marina Mahathir

2010-01-13T13:00:00.003+08:00

And this is what Marina Mahathir has done for her country:

Source: Rantings byMM

This morning I sms'd lots and lots of people, all Muslims, to canvass them regarding condemning this terrible act. Unanimously they have all agreed that this act is unIslamic. I am trying to organise all those individual voices into a statement or petition of some kind and I hope more will sign up.

Meantime various friends and I have been encouraging people to find ways to show solidarity and support. These were some ideas:

* Some young Muslims are keen to go help clean up the mess after the fire at the church. It was not possible this morning because the area was still cordoned off but we are keeping tabs on when the churches will be ready to start clean up.

* Someone has asked for 1-3 minutes of prayer every hour on the hour to give people time to pause and reflect.

* Many of us have been tweeting what we know but also refuting some nasty rumours that are going around.

Good to know that the daughter has more sense than the father.

Mr Brown's Flood article - the Censored one

2009-12-01T15:37:00.007+08:00

What's the best way to attract attention to a taboo article? Censor it.

This article written by Mr Brown was removed from Insing upon request from an authority. Yes, Insing as in, the Insing website ONLINE. Right here, even online articles can be censored.

In response, and as a responsible writer to his readers, good old Mr Brown then re-posted the article on his personal blog. On first read, I found nothing in the article that could possibly offense the higher authorities. There is no violent, sexual, racist or even a single remotely religious comment that I could decipher from the innocent looking article.

But then I realised my mistake. Alas, how could I read the article in the shoes of a commoner! Thus I did a second reading, pretending to be one of the honorable and respected elite sitting in the ivory tower right up there at the higher authorities. And I saw it.

What audacity! How dare he implied that the Bukit Timah flood was a freak flood that was no way to prevent? How dare he implied that nobody has thought of doing anything about it when he should have known better that the authorities obviously have more important things on their agenda then to take care of a little freak flood?

In my opinion, Mr Brown has definitely crossed the line this time round. Flood is definitely not uncommon in Singapore as our grandparents have been telling us about how everywhere will be flooded on rainy days in the past. So this is just a coming back of the flood and we should not be so pampered as to be affected by it! As a good citizen, the least we could do is to pretend not to see it and let it pass quietly, instead of writing a rude article and joke about it! After all, it's just a freak flood that should not occur again in another fifty years!

mrbrown and the flood

I think we need to appoint a Minister of Freak Incidents soon.

After all, who is going to deal with the kind of incidents like the recent flooding of Bukit Timah? According to the authorities, the kind of rainfall that can cause such flooding was a 'freak' event that occurs only once in 50 years.

Environment Minister Yaacob Ibrahim even said, "We knew the diversion canal was not big enough to take this."

That was very reassuring to know. I can imagine someone saying, "You know, those canals are not going to be able to take very heavy rainfall."

And someone else in charge might have said, "We know. But what to do? We cannot make the biggest canals to accommodate the biggest rainfall possible. We can't cater to freaks. Anyway, once in a half-century only lah."

If your Ferrari happened to be submerged in a basement car park that fateful freak of a day, and your insurance does not cover "use of car as submarine", you can still find solace that the next time this kind of flooding occurs, it will be 50 years later.

So feel free to buy a new car and park it in underground car parks along Bukit Timah after this.

While this is not Katrina, the residents of District 11 do not have it good, either. They work hard, live on prime land, and their homes cost millions of dollars. Plus their area does not even have an MRT station yet. And now, poor things, their district is the new Singapore River.

I think we should see the bright side. Perhaps we can try to make the best of things. If you cannot stop the flooding, why not make Bukit Timah the Venice of Singapore? What could be more romantic and prestigious than living in Singapore's Canal District?

Instead of driving, residents can glide down Bukit Timah in gondolas and luxury boats. Why should only Punggol get the water sports fun?

The fancy schools along that stretch can have annual Boat Races there, a la Oxford and Cambridge. ACS, SCGS, Hwa Chong, NJC, St Joseph's, all competing in the annual Bukit Timah Freak Flood Inter-School Boat Race.

Schools there will no longer need their own swimming pools. Instead, we can groom a new generation of young swimmers who have been trained from young to swim to school for their exams.

It's not a flood-prone area, it's a waterfront lifestyle opportunity.

Our submarine corps need not go elsewhere for their training exercises, too. Just get those ex-Västergötland class Swedish subs into the Bukit Timah Canal District and do their drills there. It may be challenging to create parking lots for the subs but I am sure the government will find a way.

I hear they are installing some water-level sensor which will warn of rising water levels in Bukit Timah Canal. I suppose it is so that if the sensor goes off, the Traffic Police can notify nearby condominiums and residents can carry their cars upstairs to their attics or drive it to HDB multi-storey car parks nearby.

Frankly, I feel a simple sign will do. Something that says "If the water level along Bukit Timah rises above this sign, please alert the authorities".

Another initiative the government can consider is to start neighbourhood Flood Watch. All the homes in Bukit Timah will be issued with buckets and assigned flood duties. In the event of flooding, residents will pour out onto the streets to scoop up buckets of water and dump the water in the Bukit Timah Canal. Clever, right?

That is my suggestion to our leaders. Don't fight the flood, go with the flow! It is only a freak flood, Singapore.

Ah this just brings back fond memories of walking to my school along Bukit Timah Road in torrential rain, and walking right into the giant longkang near Coronation Plaza because flood waters obscured the pavement and the drain! Good times!

Right! Let's move on! Who wants to volunteer to be Singapore's first Minister of Freak Incidents and Drains? Hands up! The position offers good pay and you only need to worry about stuff once every 50 years.

mr brown,censored,Singapore flood,Bukit Timah Road

Coming up with re-interpreted local dishes fit for APEC

2009-11-11T14:49:00.007+08:00

INT.OFFICE - MEETING ROOM INTEGRATION - MORNING

Mr Teo, Ah Tan, Ah Lim and Ali were busy flipping through pieces of papers in their hands. On the white board, the words "Re-interpreted Local Favourites" was written. Mr Teo put down his stack of papers and looked up.

MR TEO: Gentlemen, shall we start? No worries about sounding ridiculous, just say out loud whatever that comes to your mind, and we can brainstorm from there. After all, we're not chefs.

All three men nodded in agreement and Mr Teo walked over to the whiteboard.

MR TEO: Okay, before we start, remember this. We want to offer local delicacies, but we don't want to look cheap. After all, those are world leaders. Plus we need to show these people that Singapore might be small, but we are rich and high class.
AH TAN: Shall we start with the starter? The chefs have suggested Rojak, but I'm rather hesitant with this choice as I know that prawn paste is not something that everybody appreciate, especially those ang mohs.
AH LIM: Hmm... maybe we should remove the prawn paste then? I know what! How about use chilli crab sauce instead? We can also add some Sri Lanka crab meat!
AH TAN: Er... Ah Lim, don't you think chilli crab sauce is kind of heavy for a starter?
AH LIM: Okay, so we forgo the sauce, just add the crab!
ALI: Why crab? I can never imagine crab and Rojak together...
AH LIM: But crab is one of the most expensive food that you can get at Clarke Quay!
MR TEO: But crab doesn't have the class.

The three men turned their head to look at Mr Teo.

MR TEO: Crab sounds too... how do I put it? Too unglam. Too rugged. I think lobster will be a better choice.
AH TAN, AH LIM (together): Oh yes! Lobster!
ALI: Lobster in a Rojak?
AH TAN: Yap, if we can have lobster salad, we can have lobster Rojak! And I suggest replacing those cucumber and tulip slices with watermelon cubes!
AH LIM, ALI (together): Watermelon?!?
AH TAN: Yes, watermelon! Firstly, it's a sweet and juicy fruit that can complement the taste of seafood, secondly it's a tropical fruit, and thirdly, it's in red and with the white lobster meat, it resembles our national colour!
MR TEO (grinning): Good idea, Tan!
AH LIM: Do we want to add some sauce to it? Like wasabi sauce?
MR TEO (shaking his finger): No, no, no... I've got a better idea. Caviar. Just a spoonful of caviar is enough to bring the whole dish up the luxury level.
AH TAN, AH LIM, ALI (together): Wow! Caviar!

Mr Teo paused a while staring at the whiteboard, then wrote "Poached lobster with watermelon and Japanese caviar".

AH LIM: And the other starter is Soto Ayam. I'll suggest changing the chicken to tiger prawns. Seafood more high class.
ALI: Er... Brudder, this is Soto Ayam and ayam means chicken you know? If we were to use tiger prawns, it'll become prawn noodles?
MR TEO: I agree with Ali. We want to change the cooking technique but retain the flavours. When you try the Soto Ayam and close your eyes, it should be exactly the flavour.
AH TAN: Maybe we could swap the chicken meat with turkey breast? Or pigeon meat? Turkeys, pigeons and chicks all belong to the same bird family, so we should be able to retain the ayam in Soto Ayam yeh?

Mr Teo rubbed his chin as he pore over what Ah Tan has just suggested.

MR TEO (shaking his head): No, Tan. I think I'll prefer the chicken to stay. Turkey sounds too... Christmas, and pigeons remind me of Hong Kong. I don't want these people to eat something here that reminds them of somewhere else.
AH LIM: So we retain the chicken but add tiger prawns?
ALI: Ah doi, you really like tiger prawns yeh?
AH LIM: Because tiger prawn is one of the most expensive food that you can get at Newton Circus!
AH TAN: I think I'll prefer scallop. Scallop is rather bland, so it will not change the taste of the soup. Plus scallop is expensive.
MR TEO: Fantastic! We should add scallop then!

Mr Teo wrote "Soto ayam with scallop mousse" on the whiteboard excitedly.

AH TAN: Sir, according to the menu, the suggested main course is braised beef short ribs. Isn't that Western food?
MR TEO: And your point?
AH TAN: There's nothing in this dish that signifies Singapore.
AH LIM: Yah, why not Bak Kut Teh or Chicken Rice instead?
MR TEO: No, guys. Though we want these visitors to have a taste of our local food, the main dish has to be Western. Only Western food is high class enough. You can't possibly serve these world leaders what the commoners eat at the hawker centers right?
AH TAN: Maybe we could add some five-spice sauce to the meat? At least make it more... exotic?
MR TEO (nodding): That's a good idea though.

On the whiteboard, Mr Teo wrote "Braised beef short ribs in five-spice sauce".

AH TAN: And last but not least, we've got Cheng Teng Jelly for dessert.
AH LIM: What's Cheng Teng jelly? It's either Cheng Teng or Grass Jelly. But Cheng Teng jelly? What are our top chefs thinking?
AH TAN: Ah Lim, this is fusion food! It's supposed to be cooked up with concoction of things that create confusion!
ALI: Just jelly? No coconut cream?
AH LIM: Yah, I agree with Ali! Like agar-agar, some coconut cream will make this whatever jelly more fragrant!
MR TEO: Coconut cream huh... hmm... but with a largely middle-aged crowd, we want the meals to be healthier, with less salt and sugar. Coconut cream is not very healthy right?
AH TAN: Panna cotta.

All heads turned to look at Ah Tan, puzzled by the words that he has just uttered.

AH TAN: We can add a panna cotta base to the jelly.
AH LIM: Er... Ah Tan, what is panna cotta? I only know Pina Colada.
AH TAN: Hahaha... Panna cotta is an Italian dessert made by simmering together cream, milk and sugar. Then this mixture is again mixed with gelatin, and let to cool till set.
ALI: Still milk what. Just that it has a fancy name.
MR TEO: But this fancy name sounds more high class! Okay, we shall have this then.

Finally, Mr Teo wrote "Cheng Teng jelly with a panna cotta base" on the whiteboard.

Soto ayam with scallop mousse,Rendang baked lobster,chilli crab with mango chilli salsa,Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation,APEC,Apec Singapore 2009

Press Freedom Index is pure rubbish

2009-10-29T17:47:00.005+08:00

INT.OFFICE - PANTRY - EARLY MORNING

Ah Tan was nonchalantly eating his fried carrot cake and sipping his coffee at the table when Shan stormed into the pantry. Shanmugam hit the coffee dispenser buttons as though he was playing jackpot and waited impatiently for his coffee. Finally the small paper cup of coffee was ready and he snatched it from the slot, walked over to Ah Tan's table and sat down heavily.

SHAN (snarled): Damn those stupid reporters without any borders!
AH TAN (swallowing his fried carrot cake and staring at Shan): Erm... Good morning.
SHAN: Did you hear? Those insolent foreign press ranked us 133rd on their nonsensical Press Freedom Index!
AH TAN (sipping his coffee): Oh, that. Okay what. 133rd is an improvement right? I thought we were like 144th previously?

Shan took too large a gulp and choked on his coffee. He thought he might have burnt his tongue at the same time.

SHAN (raving): What are you talking about? What improvement? We're at 133rd my friend! Not third! In fact the third place is still an insult! We should be first on the top of the list! Like anything else! This stupid ranking that place Singapore so lowly on press freedom is so absurd and divorced from reality!

Meanwhile, Ah Tan put the last small piece of fried carrot cake into his mouth and closed the foam box.

AH TAN: Well, Shan, maybe we're pushed down because of those big developed countries like U.S. and Japan, you know?
SHAN: No, no, no! We are ranked even lower than some of those countries trying to progress! Bangladesh is 121st! Even Cambodia is 117th! That does not make sense! My point is not that we are in any way inherently superior to them - the question is whether a truly objective assessment will give us such a ranking!
AH TAN (eyes wide opened): Wow, even Cambodia is better than us?
SHAN: You know, Tan, I think I know why we are been ranked so low. Remember we have had tussels and won law suits against with several newspapers such as the Wall Street Journal and Far Eastern Economic Review? These stupid foreign press are not used to this anywhere else in the world and they definitely don't like it one bit. So every Law suit is met with the same reaction - we are out to silence the press. That feeling has been pervasive and has coloured the general reporting on Singapore. This is not fair, man. This is not fair.

Shan shook his head and sipped his coffee. He then put down his coffee and continued.

SHAN: Actually our approach on press reporting is very simple. The press can criticize us, our policies. We do not seek to condemn that. But we demand the right of response, to be published in the journal that published the original article. We do not accept that they can decide whether to publish our response. That's all! Is that too much to ask for?
AH TAN: Huh? You mean the press can actually criticize our policies? Can disagree with what Boss says?
SHAN: Of course they can! But of course if they publish something stupid, and we rebuke them, then it is only fair that they also publish that right?
AH TAN (rubbing his chin): Hmm... so maybe that's why the press decided to filter their own content. So that there won't be too many articles of us scolding the journalists on the newspapers...
SHAN (ignoring what Ah Tan said): Anyway, the proof of our stability can be seen by the billions of dollars invested in Singapore annually by international organizations. Our main selling point is that there will be good value added when they invest here, their investments will be protected, and that we are a stable democracy. So we definitely deserve more than a dirty 133rd place!
AH TAN: Erm... But Shan, stability and foreign investment have nothing to do with press freedom...

K. Shanmugam,Press Freedom Index,Reporters without Borders

Must make sure all questions are appropriate!

2009-10-22T13:18:00.003+08:00

INT.OFFICE - MEETING ROOM INTEGRITY - MORNING

Mr Teo walked into the room where Ah Tan, Ah Lim and Ali were already seated at the table. Sternly, he gave out stapled sheets of papers to the men. While Mr Teo made himself comfortable at the chairman seat, the three men quickly flipped through and attempted to speed read. However it appeared to be difficult as there were six sheets in each stapled set, printed on both sides.

MR TEO: Gentlemen, what you're holding now are the 180 questions that were submitted for Big Boss's ministerial forum at the university. The forum has been scheduled to be two weeks later and these questions were pre-submitted by the students. The purpose of this meeting is for you to assist me in filtering these questions.
AH TAN: Sir, let me split the work. Lim, why don't you take pages one and two, Ali, you take care of three and four, and I'll finish up five and six.

Ah Lim and Ali nodded and proceeded to read through the questions. Mr Teo stood up and walked towards the whiteboard. He began to write down a list of pointers as he spoke.

MR TEO: Okay gentlemen, as usual, these are the things to take note of. Most importantly, no political questions. Take out all questions that refer to or even remotely implying the opposition parties.
AH LIM: Sir, I've got one here that asked "Is the formation of GRCs really effective in managing the estates, or is it just a critical strategy to ensure the result of election? Will there be any regrouping of the GRCs again before the next election then?".
MR TEO (berated): That is audacious! How can a mere university student ask such question? Take it out immediately! How we group the GRCs is none of these students' or any citizens' business! It is a political strategy that they will never understand!

Ah Lim nodded and struck off the question with his pen. Ah Tan and Ali flipped through the papers and struck off some questions as well.

MR TEO: Take out those questions that present doubts on our policies. For example, all those questions on whether the Job Credits scheme really works? Take those out.
AH TAN: Sir, this one is kind of tricky. "The income gap in Singapore appears to be widening. Is the government going to do anything about narrowing it?"

Mr Teo rubbed his chin and looked up to the ceiling. A few seconds later, he walked back to the table.

MR TEO: Tan, do a research on the income gap of other developed countries. Countries like Japan, US, etc. If you can't find any other country with a income gap widening problem, take this question off. If you can, jot down the numbers for Big Boss.
AH TAN (taking down notes on the paper): Okay, will do.
MR TEO: Hmm... write this down as well. That if we set a minimum wage for the market, jobs will be cut. Employers who are forced to deal with higher staff costs would simply find ways to hire less people. This is one argument that Big Boss can use. In fact, we should even consider lowering the wages of those low income workers so that we can have a cheaper, better, faster workforce!

Ah Tan tried to scribble as fast as possible while Mr Teo continued.

MR TEO: Oh yes! And make sure you strike off all questions about Temasek's investments.

All three men hastily flipped through and struck off some questions. Mr Teo walked back to the white board to continue writing.

MR TEO: Take out those questions about why are we letting so many new immigrants into the country and why are we giving out PRs freely, blah blah blah. Boss has already told them that we'll scale down the number of new immigrants coming in, so I don't think Big Boss has to entertain any more of such questions.
ALI: Sir, I've got this question here. "With the influx of new immigrants, how does HDB plan to ensure the availability and affordability of HDB flats to Singaporeans?".

Mr Teo made a deep sigh at the question and shook his head.

MR TEO: I thought we have been through these trivial HDB issues already? I thought Mah has already chided these people not to be ridiculous about not able to get a new flat? I heard that he has even magically made it possible for HDB to suddenly release more than 7,000 flats on sale as soon as the next three months!
AH TAN: But Sir, I did an analysis on this public housing problem awhile back, and this is what I found. A new four-room flat in 2000 cost about $150,000. Today, a new four-roomer averages $265,000, based on HDB figures. The price increase is roughly 77 per cent. In comparison, the Department of Statistics put the median income for a resident household at $3,640 in 2000. Last year, this was $4,950, roughly a 36 per cent increase. So perhaps our flats are indeed getting less affordable for the people?
MR TEO: Well, that's true... but don't forget that these people are also receiving housing grants and other subsidies! Anyway, why should these students be even asking about HDB flats? It's not like they're planning to get married in the near future! Strike off those HDB questions!

The three men flipped through their papers and struck off some more questions.

MR TEO: So how many questions are we left with now?
AH TAN: I've got eight.
AH LIM: Twelve on my side.
ALI: I've ten questions here.
MR TEO: Great! Tan, compile these questions into a single sheet and hand it to me later!

Kent Ridge Ministerial Forum,Income gap,HDB Affordability

It's the branding, Chee!

2009-10-07T14:25:00.003+08:00

This is an interesting piece of writing on Chee Soon Juan, by Tan Kin Lian, ex-CEO of NTUC Income.

"I met Chee Soon Juan two years ago at a barbeque organised by The Online Citizen in East Coast Park. He brought his wife and three daughters with him. I had a friendly chat with him.

I met him on a few subsequent occasions. I gave some puzzles, quizzes and my books to him to give to his daughters. I have always wondered about how difficult life must be for his daughers in school.

I have spoken to Chee Soon Juan spoke on a few occasions and heard him speak at public meetings. He came across as being a sensible person and has some views about what is good for Singapore. I agree with his views on the need to have to promote democracy and to have a government that reflects the aspirations of the people and is accountable to the people.

The mainstream media has painted a negative picture of Chee Soon Juan. Many Singaporeans perceive him in a negative light, which I believe is a wrong perception. I hope that they will have the chance to meet him and listen to him, or read his views in this blog.

I met a friend at a coffee shop this morning. I told him about my views of Chee Soon Juan and his family. He agreed with me. He had heard a story that Soon Juan's daughter had to speak up in class and tell her classmates, "My father did not commit any crime". He was emotional; tears came down from his eyes when he said, "I wonder how any parent would feel if our own daughter had to face this kind of difficulty in the class".

I like to wish Chee Soon Juan, his wife and three daughters all the best as they face the difficulty of life in Singapore. I hope that more Singaporeans will come forward to express their support to him and his family."

It is interesting that while Chee's views on the need to promote democracy and to have a government that reflects the aspirations of the people and is accountable to the people are admirable, these views are not apparent to most of the public. Why? Because the public is too busy reading up negative news about him from the mainstream media.

So, now we know. Chee needs to work on his personal branding.

Why is branding important for a politician like Chee? Imagine that you have received two boxes of mooncakes from the last Mid-Autumn festival. One from a five-stars hotel and the other from a neighbourhood bakery. Even before biting into the mooncakes, you would have already decided that the one from the hotel is definitely going to taste better. But now, imagine this. A couple of weeks before you receive the mooncakes, friends around you have been talking about how this neighbourhood bakery bakes great mooncakes. The newspapers gave not-to-be-missed comments about those mooncakes and even food blogs blogged about them. Which one are you most likely to bite into now?

Chee could really be a good-old-honest politician who has "views about what is good for Singapore". But like what Andy Lau told Tony Leung on the rooftop in Internal Affairs, "Who knows?". He needs to stop shouting at other politicians and getting himself sued. He needs to stop demonstrating pointlessly in the public and getting himself arrested. He needs to learn to be Obama.

Chee has to get out of that negative image that the mainstream media has brainwashed us with. And quick (before the next election!).

He needs to do what the other party is doing half-heartedly. Listen and interact with the people. Stop asking where are the CPF monies (sorry Chee, that's already old news because we've already given up on our CPF even before CPF Life is launched). Instead, ask where are the affordable HDB flats? Where are the jobs if the new immigrants are not here to take them away?

He needs to embed his voice into the Internet. Forget about pathetic small scale demonstrations in the public. Instead, he should share his vision in a Facebook fan page, tweet out loud his opinions, and record his passionate speeches in Youtube videos! Social media is the way to reach out now, not standing in the middle of nowhere and blocking people going to the nearest MRT station!

He needs to get a new message to market himself. Get rid of the "Where are our money?" tagline. Get a better Marketing Message like "Hope" or "Change we can believe in". But please. Do not come up with some cheesy song like "Upturn the Downturn".

So Chee, please let us see a better branded you in the next election. And in better shirts.

National Service is exclusive for Singapore men only, new immigrants not invited

2009-10-06T15:26:00.009+08:00

INT.OFFICE - PANTRY - EARLY AFTERNOON

Ah Tan was reading newspaper while nonchalantly sipping his coffee at the corner table. Ali and Ah Lim walked into the pantry and each dispensed a cup of coffee before making their way to the table. Just when their butts barely touched their seats, Mr Teo stormed into the pantry with a tight face and even tighter fists. He sat down at the table heavily and abruptly. The other three men held their breath and stared at Mr Teo.

AH TAN (cautiously and slowly): Sir, what's wrong?
MR TEO (irately): Stupid god damn PRC bitch!

The other three men took a deep breath and dared not exhale. Suddenly, as if remembering something, their eyes scanned around the pantry.

AH TAN (even more cautiously and slowly): Er... Sir, you do remember that we're not supposed to talk bad about the new immigrants?

Mr Teo folded his arms, sat back and took a deep breath himself.

MR TEO: Thanks for the reminder, Tan. But I believe Boss could forgive me this time. Do you know that this ungrateful PRC woman actually flashed her blue IC on China national TV while declaring her undivided loyalty to China?
AH TAN, ALI and AH LIM (exclaiming together): What the hell?!
MR TEO: Yap, this unappreciative woman came to Singapore to study, got her blue IC, got a job in a MNC, and now she's back to China. After all that we had provided her.
ALI: Apa ini?
AH LIM: Wah lao! With all the knowledge and working experience she learn here, some more must have also learn English! Must be making big bucks in China lah!

Mr Teo shook his head in dismay.

AH TAN: Hang on... Mr Teo, where did you get this piece of info from? Is the public aware of this?
MR TEO (sighed): I believe so. I got it from my friend's email. It was broadcast on CCTV, but I've already warned our TV stations to ensure that they do not screen it. I've also instructed the press to bring the article down from their online website. The only problem is that, we can't stop it from spreading among the netizens.
ALI: Sir, you don't have to worry about those netizens! They're just a minority anyway!
MR TEO: Well, that's true... but guys, we need to be careful, you know? The people are becoming very edgy these days, with the latest incidents like that birdbrained electronics firm that advertised that they were looking for preferably non-Singaporean engineer, and that harebrained movie company that gave free movie tickets to China citizens only on China National Day in Singapore!
AH TAN: But Sir, seriously, I think the gap between Singaporeans and the new immigrants is getting wider, even wider than that between the greater and lesser mortals.
AH LIM: Yah loh, Sir, more and more people are complaining that there are too many foreigners here to snatch their jobs, their hawker center tables and their MRT seats!
MR TEO: Yes, guys, I know exactly what you mean. That's why it's essential for Boss to convince the people that Singaporeans have still got other privileges.

The three men nodded in agreement.

MR TEO: Oh, and on that topic, can you guys help to brainstorm on what are the benefits of being a Singaporean? I need to put together some pointers for Boss's next speech.
AH LIM: Cheaper school fees!
ALI: But foreigners are also eligible for our tuition fee loan of up to 90% of course fees in our universities like Duke-Nus Graduate Medical School.
AH LIM (cleared throat): I mean primary and secondary schools lah!

The three men sat back, tilted their heads backwards, folded their arms and went into deep thought. Suddenly, Ah Lim opened his eyes.

AH LIM: I know there's this thing that only Singaporeans have and foreigners don't have!
ALL: What?
AH LIM (grinning): NS loh! Because Boss scared NS will scare those new immigrants away mah, so even their kids also don't need to serve NS! See! NS is only exclusively for Singapore guys! Not Singaporean, don't have NS for you!

Zhang Yuanyuan,Ektronics Pte Ltd,Golden Village,National Service

10 reasons why we had no problem integrating with the Malaysians

2009-10-05T14:16:00.003+08:00

With Singapore's population grown to almost 5 million but with a quarter of that total been contributed by foreign workers, no wonder the government is spending 10 million on the big 'I' - Integration.

But why is there such a big gap between the locals and new immigrants? Singapore is definitely not new to foreigners coming into the country to join the workforce. With Singapore being the region headquarters for a large number of MNCs, from banks to electronic firms, expats have been coming into Singapore and some even settled down as Singapore citizens. Since the industralisation of Jurong, Malaysians have also been crossing the causeway to fill up job positions here.

If we had no problem integrating with the expats and Malaysians, then why are we having so much issues with the new immigrants now? Perhaps before dumping the 10 million dollars, the government could take a look at what worked with the Malaysians and learn from it?

Let us take a look at 10 reasons why we had no problem integrating with the Malaysians:

They think "I'm grateful to be working here". Not "You should be grateful that I'm working here".

They think "My country is big, but it's better here". Not "My country is bigger and better".

They take the effort to mingle with other Singaporeans. Not just with that little circle of their own countrymen.

When they do get Singapore citizenship, they genuinely settle down for good. Not keeping an eye on US or Europe while taking Singapore as a stepping stone.

They take buses and MRT trains like the rest of us. Not cycle dangerously on the roads and pavements as if they are still in their country.

They speak only as loud as us. Not loud enough to be heard a few blocks away.

They have the same hygiene standard as us. They know that toilet bowls are to be sat on, not squatted on.

We will not think of them when the word "back-stab" pops up.

They do not become newspapers headlines when a group of them receive citizenship.

They don't come into Singapore to be hookers.

What if the Foreign Talents problem is not well taken care of

2009-09-22T15:12:00.002+08:00

Some contributing factors and possible theories of why Singaoreans dislike the Foreign Talents:

While many Singaporeans remain jobless in this economic crisis, more Foreign Talents continue to be flown into the country to take up job vacancies. It does not help how easily these Foreign Talents are publicly praised and commented to be irreplaceable.

Foreign Talents will work for less due to their currency conversion advantage. The immediate obvious impact is that this makes them more attractive to employers, and therefore more likely to take up positions that could be filled by Singaporeans instead. But a more serious hidden impact is how they are actually contributing in lowering the overall average wage in the country?

Most Foreign Talents do not wish to integrate but will instead socialise in their own circles. The most profound reason could be that of the language barrier, but it could also be due to the common belief that Singapore is just a stepping stone for them before moving on to a more "advanced" country like the States.

(Source: Answers.com)
Some contributing factors and possible theories of why Hitler and his Nazis hated the Jews:

Some Jews were successful and held "visible" positions in Austria and Germany in the 1920s and 1930s. In the Great Depression. Germany was hit the hardest by the worldwide economic depression, and successful Jews were envied.

Jews became a scapegoat for Germany's economic problems. (According to this racist sentiment, "international Jewish financiers had plunged the world into a war and the Depression for their business profit.")

Antisemitism has been rife throughout European history, largely because the Jews were a distinct, identifiable group, who did not integrate. (Those who really wanted to integrate converted.) Of course, many now see pluralism as a virtue, and a variety of ethnicities and religions as a positive thing. However, in the inter war period diversity was often regarded as divisive and "disloyal".

Thio Li-Ann is back with a new weapon Singanews

2009-09-14T14:53:00.001+08:00

When Thio was struck down previously by a group of university students in some university in US, we could swear we heard her muttered "I'll be back".

In the highly anticipated new installment of the "Thio Fights Back", set in a secular public space, the woman fated to lead the Christians against the not-Christian-friendly-enough Press and the country of non-Christians. Thio must contend for righteousness in an age of lawlessness, and train her troop of die-hard Christians to become faithful watchmen who can quickly respond to political agenda driven by harmful godless philosophy, to save the human race from destruction. And this time, Thio and her army came prepared. They have built a horrifying weapon known as Singanews, a portal capable of annihilating a world of non-Christians in less than a second.

Thio Li-Ann and Singanews. What to make of it?
Source: The Secret Political Blog

One of the attendees at the recent "New Media Breakfast", a meeting attended by mainly Christian leaders, wrote a concise summary of the event (full text after article), and proceeded to email his summary to all political bloggers in Singapore. Thanks to our valiant spy who has infiltrated this particular wing of the Christian community, we know now the two goals of the Christian effort presumably led by Thio Li-Ann:

To have a stronger Christian voice in the "public debate"

[Thio Li-Ann] argued that as a Christian, it is part of one’s religious call to articulate their views in public especially on contentious such as casinos, same-sex marriage, euthanasia and stem-cell research. She warned that if Christians do not speak up, others who may hold conflicting views will speak up and forcefully occupy the secular public space. Thio paralleled Christian activism to salt and light where by salt is the preservative used to preserve the Christian goodness and light exemplifies its visibility to believers as well as non-believers.

To establish a media outlet, Singanews, of their own to achieve the above goal

This goal is however not explicity mentioned in the summary, but a little inference should prove this goal exists:

First, Thio Li-Ann gripes about how the present online media is unable to portray the Christian voice fairly:

Thio also shared on how she has been maliciously targeted online and had to “turn her cheek” many a times as a good Christian. She commented that Internet is filled with ugliness and misinformation and Christians using new media to debate in public space or proselytize must prioritize truth and remain civil, i.e. do not resort to name calling and character assassination. Depicting Christianity as a victimized religion, she warned Christians about the difficulties they face, especially on the Internet, as others would invariably paint them as oppressive, emotional and irrational. She added that while Christians are tolerant of others views, the others do not have the same toleration for Christians, which she thought was unfair.

And of course, we know how Thio Li-Ann was slammed by the mainstream media itself, after her infamous comparison of gay sex to "shoving a straw up your nose to drink" went contrary to the government's wish to have a moderate debate on 377A so as not to overly antagonize the gay community. The result is that the more fundamentalist christian views will have to find an outlet, alternative to the MSM, but not in the present online sphere which is hostile to it.... And that is where the new Singanews come in:

Next on the stage was former ST journalist Mathew Yap, who took the stage to introduce a new online news portal called Singanews... Terming it as a social enterprise, Yap said that Singanews would not be able to compete with the mainstream media but rather Singanews could add clarity to the national debate by offering alternative viewpoints and fill in the gaps left by mainstream media which sometimes fails to cover a story due to one reason or another. It did not state if it would advocate a Christian angle as argued by Thio above. Singanews, Yap added, was possible due to the cheap and readily available technology of Internet and new media such as twitter where citizens are able to “scoop” stories.

Interestingly enough, Mr Yap is coy about pointing out the (most likely) Christian nature of Singanews, in order to avoid the skepticism that will come with an explicitly Christian news outlet.

Holy!@# Singa-Spotting
Source: The Void Deck

Amidst all this sliming of new media, we see a new news portal Singanews setting up stall soon it seems; they made the announcement at the same Kum Yan thingy. The line-up looks vellie powderful , got this Balji fella, (Note: he very famous in Sammyboy last time coz some journo say he kenna ousted for being too rebel (read never support the miw); so when he left the newsroom on his final day, it was macam like Dead Poets Society when all the boys stand on the chair to hail Carpe Diem to Robin Williams like dat). Also some Teo Hwee Nak, a former editor with TODAY, think she was quite pro Opp type … but strangely the main man Matthew Yap is just ex ST sports page journo. Anyway, the line-up looks good, macam like EPL Manchester City rite?

But why oh why do I smell some holy fishiness here?

Erm first, as quite rightly pointed out by one commenter, why did Yap soft launch what he stress is a SECULAR news portal in a church of all places; when is Yap gonna go Kuan Im temple at SiBayLor and MUIS mosque to soft launch? This is quite downright an oxymoron.

Second, why is he not malu to share the stage with a thioliban? This Thioliban just whacked the new media, whack TOC and our sweet Matthew still very proud to be with her wor. She is chiobu issit? Btw we found out Matthew is also some church elder so mebbe its some crush thing within the community. I am sure Singanews will be damn popular if they hire Auntie Thioliban as an aunt agony. Sure alot of gays will go back straight, sure she will intercede with God so Singapore got no tsunami as well, she may even have the first ever column written in tongues.

Third, why must Matthew keep stressing secular and highlight WE GOT HINDUS, WE LOOKING FOR MUSLIMS TOO! Frankly, the more he stress their religion the more it seems like fellas like Balji is there as tokenism lor. Which if I am Balji, I will feel abit insulted to be paraded like some token Hindu in a church forum to a chorus of halleluais and amens when he name is read. WTF. Its like the GRC system like dat, actually the real agenda is so MIW can sneak their inepts into government but the official reason is to have racial/religious parity blah x10.

Fourth, the organisers of this 999 event ATRIA is also some parachurch thing. Their mission is macam like the church version of the infamous PAP cyber ninjas. Too bored to read their website mission out, just google atria sg or something.

Anti-gays' new online platform launched
Source: Yawning Bread

Temasek Review pointed out that in an interview with The New Paper, Matthew Yap said Singanews would come with the perspective of "mainstream family values", and by this, he meant a "generational, natural family which focuses on procreation."

This is exactly the same language as used by Focus on the Family, Church of Our Saviour and plenty of anti-gay fundamentalist Christian groups in both the United States and Singapore. This is code for saying: We are anti-gay.

Procreation is used as a test of moral fitness. "Mainstream family" is spin language to suggest that those who share their anti-gay views are "normal" and the majority, and those who don't are "abnormal" and marginal aliens.

Thio Li-Ann,Singanews,Mathew Yap,Christian,Anti-gay,Church of Our Saviour

From "Internet steals minister's thunder" to "Pre-empted by the Internet"

2009-09-02T13:14:00.007+08:00

Our press really needs to review its work flow for online publishing. Once again, straitstimes.com has published a piece of article, then decided it was not exactly politically correct and then decided to remove and replace with another "correct" article. All this while thinking that their readers could not tell the difference. Or could they?

The original article is as shown below (thanks to Google Cache) and if you so desire, you could compare it with the new article "Pre-empted by the Internet" to play the Spot-the-Difference game. Yes they changed the title as well, guess it is not very polite to say openly that something has been stolen from our minister.

However one will have to agree that the original article is much more interesting, especially the part where somebody screamed "You cannot run the story, you cannot break the embargo, you cannot do anything!".

Internet steals minister's thunder
September 01, 2009 Tuesday, 04:16 PM

Christopher Tan discusses the red faces and frayed nerves of a recent news leak

NEWS of the enhanced off-peak car (OPC) scheme is probably talk of the motoring town now.

But an unfortunate incident leading up to the announcement of the new and improved scheme – designed to persuade car owners to convert their rides to red-plates – proved to be far more exciting to the newsroom last Friday night.

It all began at a closed-door briefing for journalists held by the Land Transport Authority on Friday afternoon. It was to allow beat reporters to understand the upcoming changes to the scheme and to ask questions.

The announcement itself was to have been made public by none other than Transport Minister Raymond Lim at a ministerial visit on Sunday.

But that was not to be. Thanks to a mysterious and virulent news leak, which happened despite all precautions.

Before the LTA briefing started, reporters were instructed clearly that the news was strictly embargoed until after Minister Lim had spoken.

And that no one was supposed to call motor industry players for comments, in case they inadvertently informed them of the changes.

We were also told that we could not bring any recording devices into the briefing room. And no cameras either.

The briefing went reasonably well, and reporters returned to give a rundown to their supervisors.

But by around 8.30pm or so that same day, the entire news release detailing all the changes was online.

The Straits Times was alerted to the leak by someone who spotted it on an online car forum, which had a direct link to an LTA site.

Within an hour, the entire motor trade – as well as a large part of the car forum community – had learnt of the changes.

One senior motor trader even called up reporters to ask if they had heard of the new scheme.

The Straits Times newsroom was shocked, and everyone scrambled to find out what had happened and whether the news should then be run the next day (Saturday), as the leak had already spread far and wide.

The LTA was equally shocked. It could not explain how the news appeared on their website. Up until Tuesday, the authority says it was still investigating.

The authority's panic was palpable. After all, the leak had stolen the thunder from a Minister's Sunday speech. A mortal sin in the civil service.

A new and fairly senior LTA executive was rather curt when The Straits Times asked if the newspaper could run the story on Saturday.

"You cannot run the story, you cannot break the embargo, you cannot do anything!" she ordered a reporter over the phone.

But eventually, the LTA, together with the Ministry of Transport, decided to lift the embargo on Saturday. Which meant that the media could go out with the news on Sunday.

It also meant that Minister Lim did not have a biggish annoucement to make during his Sunday ministerial visit to Bukit Panjang.

Mr Lim was gracious enough to agree to the embargo lift. Fortunately, he had another announcement up his sleeve: an update about the Circle Line.

Many of us (at least those of us in the newsroom) can laugh about the fiasco now, but it caused real tension on Friday with just hours to go before deadline.

The episode also underscores the impact of online information – once again.

In the past, news leaks were relatively mild – one could only rely on phones and the coffeeshop. But with the Internet, a leak takes on a life of its own. Within minutes, it is literally all over town.

Unless the LTA finds out how this one happened, it runs the risk of an encore down the road.

OPC,Internet steals minister's thunder,Land Transport Authority,LTA,Transport Minister,Raymond Lim,Straits Times

Tweet Good English Movement, anyone?

2009-08-31T16:55:00.001+08:00

The Speak Good English Movement 2009 was officially launched today, marking its tenth year in encouraging Singaporeans to speak Standard English.

Mr Goh Eck Kheng, Chairman for the Movement, said, “Young people know from their engagements on the web that people all over the world communicate in one common language – English. We hope that youth will use and practice their English language to impress, inspire and intoxicate on the Internet and in the real world. By doing so they are will give themselves an advantage in our globalised world.”

Good English on the Internet? On websites and blogs, probably a good idea. On Facebook? Uncommon but still can be done if you insist. But on Twitter, where Wiki defined Microblogging as a form of multimedia blogging that allows users to send brief text updates or micromedia such as photos or audio clips and publish them? There is a good reason for Twitter to set the maximum number of characters for each tweet as 140.

Just imagine what could happen when we start to tweet in Good English...

In Good English: As usual, I am dozing off in the train, all this while knocking my head against the window. It was painful.

Actual Tweet: the usual dozing off in the train & knocking my head agst the window... argh!

In Good English: You are attending lessons on Monday and Wednesday, and I understand that you would prefer to spend time with your friends on weekends. How a...
(“bout Thursday?” will not be delivered because of the 140chars limit)

Actual Tweet: mon n wed u got lesson. I noe weekends u wana spend time wif frds. Thursday how?

In Good English: I am so annoyed. Where are the buses? Eight buses have past, with some on the same number route, yet there is no sight of number 171 and 174...
(“for the past fifteen minutes!” will not be delivered because of the 140chars limit)

Actual Tweet: Is so annoyed. Hello! Buses! There've been like 8 of the same few buses rolling past and not 1 171 or 174 in 15 mins!

In Good English: I should be receiving my Snow tomorrow. I had better backup all the files now as I could mess up tomorrow’s installation. To all who have in...
(“stalled Snow, how long did it take you?” will not be delivered because of the 140chars limit)

Actual Tweet: Sld be receiving my Snow tmr... better backup all the files now before I mess up tmr's installation. Those who installed, how long it took?

In Good English: I have one good reason to log into Facebook regularly, which is to remove unglamorous photographs that are tagged to me, before too many peo...
(“ple have seen them.” will not be delivered because of the 140chars limit)

Actual Tweet: 1 gd enuf reason 2 log in 2 FB regularly, is 2 remove unglam photo tags b4 2 many ppl see them

And I'm not even mentioning "Roll On Floor Laughing".

Speak Good English Movement

It serves no strategic purpose to tell the public why Chip left

2009-08-19T11:35:00.005+08:00

INT.OFFICE - PANTRY - LATE AFTERNOON

Ah Tan was sipping his coffee at the corner table, glancing at his watch every now and then nonchalantly. Ali and Shan walked into the pantry. While Ali dispensed a cup of tea from the coffee machine, Shan sat down at the table and made his own 3-in-1 coffee.

AH TAN: Wow, Shan, your 3-in-1 coffee sure looks new to me.
SHAN: Oh... this is the latest 3-in-1 coffee with collagen added. Friend, collagen is important to us, you know? We're using our overworked brains like 25 hours a day and if you're not careful, you'll find all the white hair and wrinkles popping up! Just look at Boss! Or even look at George! See how they've aged over the years?
AH TAN: Oh... so collagen will keep you staying young?
SHAN: Yap! It's the same thing my wife is having, so we can't be wrong! Hahaha...

Ali walked over to sit down as Shan chuckled at his own joke.

ALI: Hey brudder, did you read the news today? President Ma and his senior officials apologized for not doing more and not fast enough in the typhoon emergency! They even bow to the people sia!
AH TAN: Serious? Bow to the people?
ALI (nodding): Yap, and from the photo, it looks like they bowed damn low man!
AH TAN: Wow, I think they kana influenced by the Japanese liao!
SHAN (shaking his head and frowning): Unacceptable!
AH TAN: Yah, I guess they were really too slow in deploying their troops to save the people.
ALI: Machiam Hurricane Katrina that time lah!
SHAN: Nonono, I think you've mistaken me. I'm not saying that it's unacceptable for them to react slow. I'm saying it's unacceptable for them to bow to the people.

Both Ah Tan and Ali paused from drinking and stared at Shan.

SHAN (jerking his head sideways and aloft right palm simultaneously): How can the government even apologize to its people? And to even bow? That is so wrong!
AH TAN (raising left eyebrow): Erm... and so what should they have done?
SHAN: Very simple! All they've to do is to simply say "We admit it's a mistake. Now let's move on"! That's how we would have handled it right?
AH TAN (nodding): That's true... like how we had handled the Mas Selamat case.
ALI: But even after they've apologized, I'm sure this incident will affect the peoples' impression of the government's ability to handle crisis.
SHAN: Nonono... it's not fair for the people to think this way.
ALI: Not fair?

Shan took a quick sip from his 3-in-1 coffee with collagen.

SHAN: It's like a dent on a car.
ALI (baffled): Apa?
SHAN: This flood incident. It's as if you met with a minor accident and now there's a little dent on the car body. We can't deny it is a dent in the President Ma and his government's reputation. And I agree it's a very visible dent in the fender. But there is no damage to body parts, no damage to axle, no damage to engine. You can still drive the car around and years later, you might not even notice the dent anymore!
AH TAN: So President Ma shouldn't be bothered with how he had screwed up this flood emergency rescue, just like how Temasek shouldn't be bothered with its CEO saga?
SHAN (patting Ah Tan on his shoulder): Exactly!

Ali put down his tea and nudged Shan.

ALI: Hey brudder, talk about Temasek, why exactly did that Chip left? Money no good?

Shan stared at Ali and held his breath, apparently blindsided by the unexpected question.

SHAN: Ali, you know we shouldn't be talking about this right?
ALI (giving Shan an apologetic look): Just curious lah, brudder! But didn't the people ask you? Or the press?
SHAN: Well, people do want to know, there is curiosity; it is a matter of public interest. But that is not sufficient reason to disclose information. I totally understand the interest, but it serves no strategic purpose.

Ah Tan rubbed his chin and tried to digest Shan's answer.

AH TAN: So you're saying, the people are only kaypo on why Chip left, and tell them also no use because it's not as if they can help or make the difference?
SHAN: Erm... kind of...
AH TAN: And even if you tell them, they might not understand as well, so don't waste you time?
SHAN (patting Ah Tan on his shoulder): Exactly!

All three men chuckled and drank their tea and coffee.

AH TAN: Hey Shan, so your side is not going to interfere with Temasek's CEO recruitment right?
SHAN (shaking his head): No Tan, not at all. Once we interfere in what goes on in Temasek, then we are, over time, changing the character of that relationship between us and Temasek, where it's a relationship that clearly designates Temasek as independent of us in its operations including its internal governance procedures. Internal governance should be managed by Temasek's board.
ALI (interrupting): So that when anything ever cocks up again, Temasek's board will bow and apologize but never us, right?

Tharman Shanmugaratnam,Temasek,Charles Chip Goodyear,President Ma Ying-jeou

Why is Chew Soowei leaving 987FM?

2009-08-05T09:17:00.002+08:00

Chew Soowei is leaving 987FM and this is the message she sent to fans of her radio programme "Pillowfight with Soo" on Facebook.

Dear friends,

I wish I had told it to you in person but I wasn’t given the chance to.

My final show “Pillowfight with Soo” concluded Sat July 12 at 3.00am on 987fm.

Why? I’ve had a few people message me on Facebook asking me why I am not part of the new schedule out on 987FM. Let me give you the short version of the story.

The Monday after the July 12th episode of “Pillowfight With Soo”, first day of my annual leave, I received a phone call stating that I’d been taken off air and when I do come back from my leave I was coming back to a work situation where I was basically just “Helping Out/Subbing Others” around the office. The main reason as it was given to me for being taken off was that my English Language isn’t proficient enough and my hosting is and I quote “Just like I learnt it from the Outdoor emcees in Orchard Road”.

In the last year I was in and out of the office, been constantly told that there were really bad grammatical errors with my language and yet so many times when I asked for an example and help it couldn’t be produced. One of the few times it was produced, he had to call a fellow colleague to confirm the error because he didn’t know what was really truly wrong with me saying: “If only Shan sings as well as his cousin.” Out of these times, my favorite one would be an email stating that my diction was really bad and I should listen to American Radios Jocks and learn an American accent.

If my Spoken English is bad, people wouldn’t understand me. If people cannot understand me inevitably they wouldn’t tune in.

If so, how do I explain a steady increase in my listenership (bearing in mind I started on a shift that did not exist before I went on)? Why has my public profile increased in the last year? Why do I have more clients coming to me for public shows more than ever? And lastly, if my English is so bad, why did clients sponsor “Pillowfight With Soo” over and over again in a back-to-back fashion?

I have a long way to go with my spoken language and I am far from perfect. But Radio to me has always been about connecting with people. I chat with you… you chat with me. The rest of the world listens in on our conversation in a voyeuristic fashion. I’ve always done my shows with the idea that I am speaking to only one person and if that one person gets me… we’ve connected. I am who I am. If you bumped into me in the streets I will sound like how you hear me on Radio. No pretense, No announcer-ish bravado and certainly no fake American accent. As far as Radio is concerned, if you understood me on a human level, I’ve done my job. You might hear some poetic justifications on why I was removed or maybe how loved I was in the station or how much has been done to help me out…so I’m writing this note so you will get a glimpse of the truth rather speculate the situation. I hope you don’t think that I’m just venting my bitterness. There is none looking back at the great times I had with my 987 family. So with all that said… I am taking myself out of the “Equation” and my last day will be on 4th August 2009.

In light of the situation, I’m writing you this letter to thank you for the wonderful magical times I’ve had on the show.

Staying up late was never an issue; I’m a creature of the night. Somehow, the world awakes to a different light after the stroke of midnight. It’s the conversations we had that I will miss most of all.

“Scandal anonymous”, this segment is the most fun a girl can have at night. In case, you wonder what the fuss is all about…the listeners call in with a nickname and share a deep dark secret or something embarrassing. I’m going to share some of my personal faves. By the way, the names I’m using below are merely nicknames, so as to protect the real identity of the listeners.

Sarah is a young and restless teenager working at a convenience store for some extra bucks, one day she was so bored...she started using needles to poke at condom boxes.
:P

Tim broke up with his perfect girlfriend of 10 years because he couldn’t bear the burden of the secret anymore. He couldn’t bear to lie to his parents and friends that his girlfriend used to be a man…and that they were from the same all-boys school together.

Peiling has been chatting online with this guy for the past 10 months now and the guy initiated a meeting with her. After all, they have fallen in love over the Net. The only problem is, Peiling has been lying about her physical appearance. She has been on a strict diet for the past 10 weeks and still kilos away from her virtual description.

I could go on forever about the dirty secret video tapes to foamy lovemaking sessions at Zoukout to a pregnant girl carrying her boyfriend’s best friend's child to a mischievous boy peeing into a cup and trying to make his least fave uncle think it’s chrysanthemum tea etc etc. The drama is relentless every night and I loved every moment of it.

With all that fuss, it’s just good old telephone conversations and a connection between 2 complete strangers…I may not know you now but I’m getting closer to your life with every conversation. I love chatting with you. Thanks for opening up your heart to me late into the night and talking about your pet hamsters. Your stories, I will carry them in my heart. But I also have to be honest; sometimes I do get really frustrated, when you have little words but strange noises in between. Sometimes I get really scared as well, when you put on a demonic accent and say lewd things I cannot air.

It’s been a good fight.

If you‘ve been chronicling my life from an ambitious wide eyed driver wannabe to a licensed P plate maniac on the road, I hope you’ll look back and laugh at the stories of my great inability to parallel park or try to beat my 20 min struggle to reverse in a tight spot. For those who ever turn on the stove and tried to make a meal before, there are some videos of my experimental dishes tried by the Muttons. They are currently still alive. If you’ve been part of my life somehow, going through a tough time or a celebratory moment, thank you for sharing my life. If I’ve been part of your life, going through a break up or mad study night, thank you for having my voice in your ears.

I’ll be moving to a different, perhaps, more adventurous chapter of my life and I hope you'll think of me fondly from time to time and always remember that if I ever have the chance again, I’ll pick up your call and have a good old friend’s heart to heart chat.

Till then,
Soldier on
Soo

If I'd wished to listen to someone talking in an American accent, I would turn to the podcasts in my iPod, not the local radio station.

Who is the Great One that decided that DJs in our English radio stations shall speak in a British or American accent and DJs in Chinese radio stations with a Beijing accent? That will be as faux as the American voice in my GPS pronouncing "Ang Mo Kio".

There is a reason why people smiled inadvertently at Mr Brown's "Lekuasimi" and even more baffled by "What Do You See".

Chew Soowei,987FM

That CEO appointment was too much for him to handle

2009-07-22T08:57:00.005+08:00

INT.OFFICE - NOTHISYEAR'S ROOM - LATE NIGHT

Nothisyear was flipping through files of documents, hot and flustered, then followed by typing furiously on his computer. Every few minutes, some profanities were sputtered. Meanwhile, someone knocked on his door and walked in. Nothisyear looked up and found Ah Tan.

AH TAN: Wow, pal, you look like shit!
NOTHISYEAR (signed): Damn, you're telling me! Tan, I don't think I can do this anymore! I'm walking away!
AH TAN (stumped): What? Why? I thought you were doing pretty well these few months?
NOTHISYEAR (shaking his head): Tan, you've got no idea how haphazard this place is!
AH TAN: But I thought you were already making headway saving the company? I remembered you were so ecstatic when you shared your ideas with me!
NOTHISYEAR (agitated): Tan, I don't wanna hang around staring at the demise of this institution!
AH TAN: Hey pal, you needa bolster up your morale man! Where have all your exhilaration gone?
NOTHISYEAR (sternly): Tan, you've got no idea how murkey this institution is! I thought this appointment would look pretty fancy on my resume, but boy was I wrong!

Nothisyear leaned back heavily on his chair and signed again, shaking his head again.

NOTHISYEAR: Tan, I know I had started quite a number of initiatives with the objective to strengthen the foundation of this institution. But looking at how the previous guy, I meant lady, had botched up, I would be deluding myself that this institution could see its previous long lost glory!
AH TAN (eyes wide opened): Wow, it's that bad huh?
NOTHISYEAR (leaning towards Ah Tan): You know, after I had taken over the appointment, I had to recreate all the policies, work processes and systems! Basically I'm reinventing this institution!

Ah Tan laughed gleefully at Nothisyear's last remark. Nothisyear bursted into laughter too and punched Ah Tan lightly on his shoulder.

NOTHISYEAR: Hey! Stop taunting me!
AH TAN: But things should turn out fine after your initiatives started to be implemented right?
NOTHISYEAR (hestitating): Well, should be... but there'll still be red tapes to be bucked, and I'm not sure how seriously these red tapes will encumber my ideas.
AH TAN (rubbing his chin): Oh yeah, the red tapes...
NOTHISYEAR: And besides, this institution has made so many unfathomable investments in the past that, I'm not sure how many punches I have to receive before my initiatives even started to take effect! And the worst thing is, the public might even think that I'm responsible for these investment losses! They'll say 'hey, this new guy ain't making any difference! Look! The institution is still making losses!'
AH TAN: Yah, it sucks when you've to clear the shit left behind by your predecessor!

Nothisyear slammed his palms on the table and stood up.

NOTHISYEAR: Anyway, enough is enough! I'm getting out of here, man!
AH TAN (stood up from his seat): Seriously?
NOTHISYEAR (nodding): Yap, serously! Let's go for some beer! I'll hand my letter to the board tomorrow!

Nothisyear took his coat and walked over to Tan, putting his hand around Tan's shoulder.

AH TAN: No regrets?
NOTHISYEAR (laughing): No way!

Temasek,Goodyear,Ho Ching,CEO

New NMPs in the House

2009-07-07T10:40:00.002+08:00

A brand new slate of NMPs in the House
Source: Channelnewsasia.com

SINGAPORE: It will be a slate of completely new faces in the House, all nine of them – the maximum number of Nominated Members of Parliament (NMPs) allowed by the Constitution. But you might recognise a few familiar names.

One surprise is former national swimmer and Olympian Joscelin Yeo, who makes the move from pool to politics; while ex-current affairs television presenter Viswa Sadasivan will simply be taking his long-time involvement on government panels to the next level.

On Monday evening, an email sent out by the Select Committee, tasked with whittling down the list of 46 applications, revealed the results of their deliberations.

Subject to President S R Nathan's formal approval, the nine picked to give voice to non-partisan, alternative views in Parliament comprise an entrepreneur, a decorated unionist, a top honcho at a Big Four accountancy firm, a vocal sociologist, a shipping industry leader, a communications consultant, a sportswoman, a community service veteran and an artistic director.

Former NMPs Mr Siew Kum Hong and Mr Gautam Banerjee, both of whom had sought second terms, were conspicuously absent from the list.

The newbies, who will be sworn in before Parliament sits on July 20, were selected after interviews held over three days last week.

The sportswoman, former national swimmer and Olympian Joscelin Yeo, said,"some of the things close to my heart are sports and youth."

The communications consultant, ex-current affairs television presenter Viswa Sadasivan, said,"I would like to form a loose resource panel of individuals with domain knowledge in specific areas like economics, social work, education, defence policies and so on ... so I'll be able to tap on their expertise which I might articulate (through) my views in Parliament."

The artistic director, The Substation co-artistic director Audrey Wong, said,"to develop a stronger education programme where we give young people insights into arts and culture, and how the arts and society are intertwined."

The decorated unionist, Terry Lee, said he would focus on workers' welfare and employability - especially with Singapore in recession.

The entrepreneur, Calvin Cheng, said,"At no time is having a strong, unique and proud cultural identity more important than right now, when we throw open our doors to the world."

The vocal sociologist, National University of Singapore sociologist Paulin Straughan, said,"As more Singaporeans marry foreigners and grow their families here, we must find an innovative way to help these children maintain their bi-cultural identity."

TODAY was unable to contact the top honcho at a Big Four accountancy firm, Ernst & Young Associates managing director Mildred Tan; the shipping industry leader, Teo Siong Seng; and the community service veteran, executive director of Presbyterian Community Services Laurence Wee.

Let's hope that these NMPs could really contribute, especially by putting on table topics that the government kept aloof from. And hope that they will not be as crass as some MPs hiding behind GRCs.

New immigrants are very happy to be here while Singaporeans do nothing but complain!

2009-06-16T16:20:00.006+08:00

INT.OFFICE - PANTRY - LATE AFTERNOON

Ah Tan and Ah Lim were having coffee break at the table. Ah Chong then entered the pantry. He walked towards the coffee machine to dispense his coffee, but only to take just a sip and throw the rest into the sink. He then walked over and sat down with Ah Tan and Ah Lim with an empty mug.

AH LIM: Wah, what's wrong with the kopi?
AH CHONG: What's wrong? Don't you guys find these coffee horrendous? I simply can't bring myself to drink it! Give me a latte or cappuccino anytime!
AH LIM: Horrible meh? I think okay what... I think those latte and cappuccino are the horrible ones man! So expensive but you drink milk only! At least those kopi gao from kopitiam are real kopi!
AH CHONG (sternly): What are you talking about? How can you even compare Italian coffee to kopitiam coffee? Those coffee are tor the lesser mortals!

Staring at Ah Chong angrily, Ah Lim put his mug down on the table with a "bang". Ah Tan tapped Ah Lim's shoulder and tried to calm him down.

AH CHONG (grinning and ignoring Ah Lim's stare): Hey guys, guess what? The Cricket Interest Group that I formed is getting great response from the new citizens!
AH TAN: Cricket Interest Group?
AH CHONG (grinning even wider with excitment): Yah! Don't you find this such a great idea? This great idea actually occurred to me when I noticed some migrant groups playing the sport in the empty fields across the estate! And do you know what is the main purpose of this group?
AH TAN: Er... what?
AH CHONG: For integration! Integration with the locals! You know, I was thinking, if left on their own, these new immigrants would form their own enclaves. By offering them a common group, we can try to assimilate them together, and integrate them into our society as well! Isn't that a great idea I've got here!
AH LIM (scoffs): You sure got integrate? Got so many locals play cricket meh? How many percent of the members from your that Cricket Interest Group are locals? Then now you let these Indians expatriates play crickets at the fields, then where can the locals play soccer?

Ah Chong's face winced as he stared hardly at Ah Lim.

AH TAN (coughs lightly): erm... Chong, so you've got quite a number of new immigrants at your estate huh?
AH CHONG: I'll estimate about 10 percent of the residents. I'm lucky, you know? My town is a new town, housing is cheaper compared to mature estates, and it is also close to the new industrial areas that have sprouted up in the north-east. I'm sure more new immigrants will shift to my town!
AH LIM (scoffs): Wah, you really like those new immigrants hor? You hate the locals so much ah? Is it because they didn't vote for you in the last election?

Ah Chong stopped talking and started staring at Ah Lim. Promptly, Ah Tan tapped both men's shoulder.

AH TAN (turned to look at both men respectively): Gentlemen! Chill, okay?

The men sat in silence for a moment. Ah Tan then took a sip from his coffee and cleared his throat before continuing.

AH TAN: You seems to welcome new immigrants warmly to your estate huh?
AH CHONG (staring at Ah Tan unbelievingly): Naturally! Tan, face it! Singaporeans are damn hard to please. It's like, when you ask Singaporeans for feedback, they will complain that they have to wait more than 15 minutes for the bus. But hey, when you ask new immigrants, they are happy that the bus comes in under 30 minutes!
AH LIM (scoffs): So now you can ask those buses at your estate to relax and don't need to be so punctual, ask the cleaners to relax and don't need to clean so often, then ask the locals to shift to another estate if they're not happy loh!

Ah Chong slammed his palms on the table, stood up abruptly and stared even harder at Ah Lim.

new immigrants,Punggol,Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC,Charles Chong

The residents could assess the town councils but they must keep in mind of resource and finance constraint

2009-06-12T09:36:00.002+08:00

INT.OFFICE - MEETING ROOM INTEGRITY - MORNING

Susan held the door wide open as Mr Teo together with Ah Tan and Ah Lim walked in. In the room, representative from each town council rose to each feet. Susan handed the wireless microphone over to Mr Teo as he walked to the front.

MR TEO (clearing his throat): Gentlemen, please be seated.

Discreetly and taking care not to make too much noise, the representatives sat down slowly. Ah Tan and Ah Lim took their seats at the front row.

MR TEO: I've called all of you here today to brief you on the idea of the Town Council Management Report.

The representatives stared at Mr Teo dauntingly, almost holding their breath.

MR TEO: This is a suggestion from the National Development Ministry and the aim of the report is to provide the residents a chance to compare their estates in areas like cleanliness of the estate, maintenance, and how funds are managed.

Soft disconcerting mumblings started among the representatives. One of the representatives held his hand up.

MR TEO: Yes?
REPRESENTIVE A (with his face winced): But Sir, those disgrateful residents are constantly disparaging us, always complaining about the slightest issue and unbelievably suspicious of how we are managing the funds! This report will turn them even more arrogant, and if you allow them to compare among the different estates, they will covet for more!
MR TEO: Yes, your worries are already anticipated. That's why the main aim of the report is for the residents to better understand the challenges and trade-offs involved in managing their town. To make them understand that there is a certain constraint as to how much resource or finance can be put in to manage the town, and that there must be a balance in expectations, the maintenance standards and the performance of town councils.

Representative A nodded and smiled with relief.

MR TEO: For every service we provide to residents, it's based on how much service charge we collect. So if the town council has only got peanuts, the residents cannot simply expect it to provide them elephants right? Hahaha...

The representatives tried to laugh politely at Mr Teo's peculiar metaphor.

MR TEO: Just like how you are using investments to manage the funds, town councils have to be managed like a corporation with profit and loss in mind. This is the most pragmatic and efficient way to run town councils.

All representatives nodded in agreement simultaneously.

MR TEO: This report would help identify areas where town councils are not doing well and where residents can give more constructive feedback.

Representative B held his hand up.

REPRESENTATIVE B (flustered): Sir, I understand that we are trying to give the residents more say in local estate matters and to foster a stronger community spirit. But consider that if you so much as to open a channel to these insolent people, our offices will be deluged with nonsensical complaints!
MR TEO: That's why I said "constructive feedback"! For every single complaint, they must provide a constructive feedback! This will ensure that, A, if for every complaint they make, they have to think of the solution first, they will think twice before they write in. B, every complaint will come with its own solution and all you have to do is to review and say "Yes" or "No"!
REPRESENTATIVE B (perplexed): "Yes" or "No"?
MR TEO: If the solution works, say "Yes, thank you, it is a good suggestion and we will put it in our POR". If the solution sucks, say "No, we're afraid it might not work, and thank you for feedback"! And if some time later the residents were to ask you why are their suggestions not implemented yet, tell them you have resource or finance constraints! Didn't I say this at the beginning of the meeting?

Representative B nodded satisfactorily. At the other side of the room, representative C held his hand up.

REPRESENTATIVE C: Sir, previously you said that for every service we provide to residents, it's based on how much service charge we collect. Does that mean if the residents require more services, we could provide these services and charge them?
MR TEO (grinning): Good! This is a very good question! And this shows that you've been listening to me! Like I said, you have to run your town councils like corporations. So if the customers are asking for more services outside of what you're providing, what do you do? Make them pay! If they think that the estate is not clean enough and getting a better cleaning vendor means paying more, tell them they need to pay more on top of that little Service & Conservancy Charges! But be careful though. If the residents are asking for the sky, like upgrading their mere twenty years old lifts, tell them it could not be done. You should know that you can only kick-start these kind of large projects with your mayor's blessing, when these upgrades are used as carrots during elections.

The representives scribbled down all the tips as Mr Teo continued to suggest more services which the residents must pay to get them.

AH LIM (whispering to Ah Tan): This report thingy seems like a wayang to please the residents and make them believe that the town councils are not aloof from them.
AH TAN (whispering back): Yah, after all those funds lost in the Lehmen Brothers investments and the seven months bonuses rumor, this report is a good suggestion.

Town Councils,Town Council Management Report

President Obama Speaks to the Muslim World from Egypt

2009-06-04T21:07:00.001+08:00

President Obama Speaks to the Muslim World from Cairo, Egypt

"We meet at a time of tension between the United States and Muslims around the world - tension rooted in historical forces that go beyond any current policy debate. The relationship between Islam and the West includes centuries of coexistence and cooperation, but also conflict and religious wars. More recently, tension has been fed by colonialism that denied rights and opportunities to many Muslims, and a Cold War in which Muslim-majority countries were too often treated as proxies without regard to their own aspirations. Moreover, the sweeping change brought by modernity and globalization led many Muslims to view the West as hostile to the traditions of Islam.

Violent extremists have exploited these tensions in a small but potent minority of Muslims. The attacks of September 11th, 2001 and the continued efforts of these extremists to engage in violence against civilians has led some in my country to view Islam as inevitably hostile not only to America and Western countries, but also to human rights. This has bred more fear and mistrust.

So long as our relationship is defined by our differences, we will empower those who sow hatred rather than peace, and who promote conflict rather than the cooperation that can help all of our people achieve justice and prosperity. This cycle of suspicion and discord must end."

"I do so recognizing that change cannot happen overnight. No single speech can eradicate years of mistrust, nor can I answer in the time that I have all the complex questions that brought us to this point. But I am convinced that in order to move forward, we must say openly the things we hold in our hearts, and that too often are said only behind closed doors. There must be a sustained effort to listen to each other; to learn from each other; to respect one another; and to seek common ground. As the Holy Quran tells us, Be conscious of God and speak always the truth. That is what I will try to do - to speak the truth as best I can, humbled by the task before us, and firm in my belief that the interests we share as human beings are far more powerful than the forces that drive us apart."

"So I have known Islam on three continents before coming to the region where it was first revealed. That experience guides my conviction that partnership between America and Islam must be based on what Islam is, not what it isn't. And I consider it part of my responsibility as President of the United States to fight against negative stereotypes of Islam wherever they appear.

But that same principle must apply to Muslim perceptions of America. Just as Muslims do not fit a crude stereotype, America is not the crude stereotype of a self-interested empire. The United States has been one of the greatest sources of progress that the world has ever known. We were born out of revolution against an empire. We were founded upon the ideal that all are created equal, and we have shed blood and struggled for centuries to give meaning to those words - within our borders, and around the world. We are shaped by every culture, drawn from every end of the Earth, and dedicated to a simple concept: E pluribus unum: Out of many, one."

"The situation in Afghanistan demonstrates America's goals, and our need to work together. Over seven years ago, the United States pursued al Qaida and the Taliban with broad international support. We did not go by choice, we went because of necessity. I am aware that some question or justify the events of 9/11. But let us be clear: al Qaida killed nearly 3,000 people on that day. The victims were innocent men, women and children from America and many other nations who had done nothing to harm anybody. And yet Al Qaeda chose to ruthlessly murder these people, claimed credit for the attack, and even now states their determination to kill on a massive scale. They have affiliates in many countries and are trying to expand their reach. These are not opinions to be debated; these are facts to be dealt with.

Make no mistake: we do not want to keep our troops in Afghanistan. We seek no military bases there. It is agonizing for America to lose our young men and women. It is costly and politically difficult to continue this conflict. We would gladly bring every single one of our troops home if we could be confident that there were not violent extremists in Afghanistan and Pakistan determined to kill as many Americans as they possibly can. But that is not yet the case."

"Today, America has a dual responsibility: to help Iraq forge a better future - and to leave Iraq to Iraqis. I have made it clear to the Iraqi people that we pursue no bases, and no claim on their territory or resources. Iraq's sovereignty is its own. That is why I ordered the removal of our combat brigades by next August. That is why we will honor our agreement with Iraq's democratically-elected government to remove combat troops from Iraqi cities by July, and to remove all our troops from Iraq by 2012. We will help Iraq train its Security Forces and develop its economy. But we will support a secure and united Iraq as a partner, and never as a patron.

And finally, just as America can never tolerate violence by extremists, we must never alter our principles. 9/11 was an enormous trauma to our country. The fear and anger that it provoked was understandable, but in some cases, it led us to act contrary to our ideals. We are taking concrete actions to change course. I have unequivocally prohibited the use of torture by the United States, and I have ordered the prison at Guantanamo Bay closed by early next year."

"For decades, there has been a stalemate: two peoples with legitimate aspirations, each with a painful history that makes compromise elusive. It is easy to point fingers - for Palestinians to point to the displacement brought by Israel's founding, and for Israelis to point to the constant hostility and attacks throughout its history from within its borders as well as beyond. But if we see this conflict only from one side or the other, then we will be blind to the truth: the only resolution is for the aspirations of both sides to be met through two states, where Israelis and Palestinians each live in peace and security.

That is in Israel's interest, Palestine's interest, America's interest, and the world's interest. That is why I intend to personally pursue this outcome with all the patience that the task requires. The obligations that the parties have agreed to under the Road Map are clear. For peace to come, it is time for them - and all of us - to live up to our responsibilities."

"Now is the time for Palestinians to focus on what they can build. The Palestinian Authority must develop its capacity to govern, with institutions that serve the needs of its people. Hamas does have support among some Palestinians, but they also have responsibilities. To play a role in fulfilling Palestinian aspirations, and to unify the Palestinian people, Hamas must put an end to violence, recognize past agreements, and recognize Israel's right to exist.

At the same time, Israelis must acknowledge that just as Israel's right to exist cannot be denied, neither can Palestine's. The United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements. This construction violates previous agreements and undermines efforts to achieve peace. It is time for these settlements to stop."

"Too many tears have flowed. Too much blood has been shed. All of us have a responsibility to work for the day when the mothers of Israelis and Palestinians can see their children grow up without fear; when the Holy Land of three great faiths is the place of peace that God intended it to be; when Jerusalem is a secure and lasting home for Jews and Christians and Muslims, and a place for all of the children of Abraham to mingle peacefully together."

"That does not lessen my commitment, however, to governments that reflect the will of the people. Each nation gives life to this principle in its own way, grounded in the traditions of its own people. America does not presume to know what is best for everyone, just as we would not presume to pick the outcome of a peaceful election. But I do have an unyielding belief that all people yearn for certain things: the ability to speak your mind and have a say in how you are governed; confidence in the rule of law and the equal administration of justice; government that is transparent and doesn't steal from the people; the freedom to live as you choose. Those are not just American ideas, they are human rights, and that is why we will support them everywhere."

"Freedom of religion is central to the ability of peoples to live together. We must always examine the ways in which we protect it. For instance, in the United States, rules on charitable giving have made it harder for Muslims to fulfill their religious obligation. That is why I am committed to working with American Muslims to ensure that they can fulfill zakat.

Likewise, it is important for Western countries to avoid impeding Muslim citizens from practicing religion as they see fit - for instance, by dictating what clothes a Muslim woman should wear. We cannot disguise hostility towards any religion behind the pretence of liberalism."

"Now let me be clear, issues of women's equality are by no means simply an issue for Islam. In Turkey, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, we've seen Muslim-majority countries elect a woman to lead.

Meanwhile, the struggle for women's equality continues in many aspects of American life and in countries around the world. I am convinced that our daughters can contribute just as much to society as our sons."

"Many more are simply skeptical that real change can occur. There is so much fear, so much mistrust that has built up over the years. But if we choose to be bound by the past, we will never move forward. And I want to particularly say this to young people of every faith in every country. You more than anyone have the ability to reimagine the world, the remake this world.

All of us share this world for but a brief moment in time. The question is whether we spend that time focused on what pushes us apart or whether we commit ourselves to an effort, a sustained effort to find common ground, to focus on the future we seek for our children and to respect the dignity of all human beings.

It's easier to start wars than to end them. It's easier to blame others than to look inward. It's easier to see what is different about someone than to find the things we share. But we should choose the right path, not just the easy path. There is one rule that lies at the heart of every religion, that we do unto others as we would have them do unto us."

"We have the power to make the world we seek, but only if we have the courage to make a new beginning, keeping in mind what has been written. The Holy Quran tells us, Mankind, we have created you male and a female. And we have made you into nations and tribes so that you may know one another.

The Talmud tells us, The whole of the Torah is for the purpose of promoting peace.

The Holy Bible tells us, Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God."

Read full text of President Obama's speech in Cairo

Barack Obama,Cairo University,Obama's Cairo Speech,Muslim World

The Great Firewall of China blocks Twitter

2009-06-03T14:06:00.003+08:00

When it comes to China, the word "Social Media" is equivalent to "Anarchy". No, social media definitely has nothing to do with the advancement of online Marketing and Branding. Definitely nothing to do with globalisation of businesses and news. The social media is just some tools invented by the online terrorists for brainwashing purpose, to implant evil thought into the brains of innocent people so that they oppose the country. Trust the Chinese.

China’s Great Firewall Blocks Twitter
Source: The New York Times

Days ahead of the the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square democracy movement, the Chinese government has detained a prominent dissident, disrupted satellite news broadcasts and blocked access to popular Web sites used to post information and exchange messages, including Hotmail, Flickr and Twitter. The video-sharing site YouTube has been blocked in China since March.

The China Digital Times reports that inside China some users “have found ways to circumvent” the barriers and “are reacting to the cut-off” in Chinese and English tweets collected on threads that use obscene names to wish ill upon the “GFW,” which is what Internet users call China’s “Great Firewall.”

The China Digital Times, which is based in California, also notes that just last week a well-known Chinese blogger, whose writings were barred by the Chinese government several years ago, said that Twitter’s days as a free-speech outlet were probably numbered in China. Michael Anti, who is now studying at Harvard (and is a former employee of The New York Times), told the Web site Danwei last Wednesday:

"Twitter is a new thing in China. The censors need time to figure out what it is. So enjoy the last happy days of twittering before the fate of Youtube descends on it one day."

Mr. Anti also explained that since Chinese characters in many ways contain more information than single letters in other languages, tweets can be much more powerful in Chinese:

"By the way, I want to point out that the Chinese Twitterland is funnier than the English one, for a Chinese tweet can have three times the volume of an English tweet, thanks to the high information intensity of the Chinese language. 140 Chinese characters can make up all the full elements of a news piece with the “5 Ws” (Who, What, Where, When and How). But the joy of the Chinese Twitterland is more fragile, and I hope that it will live longer in this country."

On his own bilingual Twitter feed, Mr. Anti has pointed readers in the direction of protest tweets and apologized for his prediction.

According to a report from Reuters: “While professional and urban Chinese often use foreign Internet tools, including Twitter, Hotmail and Facebook, the vast majority of Chinese use similar domestic services that are carefully monitored for any sign of content deemed subversive.”

The Financial Times reports from Beijing and Hong Kong that China has been trying to censor any mention of Tiananmen in old as well as new media outlets:

BBC News broadcasts were blacked out in Beijing on Monday night. Last Saturday’s edition of the Financial Times, which contained an interview with Bao Tong, the most prominent Tiananmen-era dissident still residing in China, was either not delivered to subscribers or censored. Mr Bao was an aide to Zhao Ziyang, the late party general secretary purged in May 1989 for opposing the violent crackdown. Copies of the International Herald Tribune and Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post, which has dedicated extensive coverage to the anniversary, have been shredded. The government has censored Tiananmen-related stories on www.ftchinese.com, the FT’s Chinese language website.

Most of the information plaguing censors is flowing in from Hong Kong, one of only two Chinese special administrative regions where freedom of press and assembly is still respected.

In a post on the New Yorker’s Web site, Evan Osnos points out that one of the pleasures now being denied Chinese citizens is the latest updates from the official Twitter feed of the North Korean government.

So why are Twitter, Flickr, Hotmail, Live, and Bing joining YouTube, Blogspot, and WordPress.com (amongst countless others) to be blocked from internet users in China? Well, probably because of their taglines...

Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question the government do not wish to face: What are the people doing together to have their voices heard?
http://twitter.com/#search?q=tiananmen

Blogspot. Your blog. Share your thoughts, photos, and more with your friends and let the world outside the country know what is not published on the national newspapers.

Youtube. Broadcast skeletons in the government's closet.

Flickr. Share photos the government do not wish the world to see. Watch what the world wanted the people in the country to see.

Windows Live Essentials gives you instant messaging, e-mail, blogging, photos, and more that the government do not wish its people to have.

Wordpress. Express yourself and expose what the officials are hiding. Start a blog.

Great Firewall of China,Twitter

Jokes heard from the Parliament

2009-05-27T22:05:00.008+08:00

Hri Kumar Nair, Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC

Mr Hri Kumar Nair (Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC) floated a radical suggestion aimed at getting the best talent into the Cabinet - allow the Prime Minister to appoint outstanding individuals from outside the ranks of elected MPs.

The suggestion has been made several times over the last 20 years by MPs and political observers, but has never been accepted by the Government on the grounds that unelected ministers would not be accountable to the electorate.

Revisiting the issue, Mr Nair argued that 'it may sound sacrilegious in a democracy to say so, but a person who is popular on the ground may not necessarily be the best person to run a ministry, or vice versa'.

Are we missing something here? With our parliament filled with ministers and MPs from the same political party, somebody is suggesting that the Prime Minister should be given the power to introduce even more people into it? Bypassing the voting system altogether? Correct me if I'm wrong, but I won't assume that the Prime Minister will introduce somebody who is not aligned with his policies. No, it is not sounding sacrilegious. It is sacrilegious.

PM's Driver: Sir, can you bring me into the Cabinet?
PM: Ali, do you know what are you talking about?
PM's Driver: Yes Sir, I heard that you now have the authority to appoint outstanding individuals from outside the ranks of elected MPs into the Cabinet.
PM: But Ali, did you study politics in school? Or even law?
PM's Driver: No Sir, I've only got an 'O' level cert.
PM: And you think this is enough? And you think you can stand next to my elites?
PM's Driver: But Sir, I've heard all your political thoughts and decision makings all these years while driving you from point A to point B.
PM: Hmm... so you think that by picking up bits and pieces of my thoughts, you can be a politician? That flattering, but still...
PM's Driver: Yes Sir, and I've also heard all your father's political thoughts and decision making for you...
PM: Okay. Report for work tomorrow.

Indranee Rajah, Tanjong Pagar GRC
Josephine Teo, Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC

Low Thia Khiang's claim that only an elected opposition can provide effective checks and balances and ensure a clean government was rebutted by two People's Action Party (PAP) MPs on Tuesday.

Ms Indranee Rajah (Tanjong Pagar GRC) said this assumption was not only simplistic, but also plain incorrect.

For if this were true, why is it that many other countries with multi-party systems still see deep-seated and endemic corruption, she asked.

More often than not, an opposition wins against a corrupt incumbent, and then itself becomes corrupt when in government, said Mrs Josephine Teo (Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC).

Ms Rajah's counter: Going by this argument, the logical outcome is that 'every other country with an opposition should be squeaky clean and Singapore should be the most corrupt country in the world'.

This is not the case, she pointed out. In fact, Singapore today is widely regarded as having one of the least corrupt systems in the world.

This, she said, is because MPs hold their positions in trust for the people, PAP leaders expect the highest standards of integrity, and there are inherent checks and balances in the system.

Seriously, the real reason why Singapore is kinda corruption free? Because our MPs and ministers are so highly paid that some ministers are even receiving bigger cheques than the President of the United States of America.

Who needs corruption when a Permanent Secretary is paid well enough to attend cooking lesson in Paris? Who needs corruption when a MP has the power to fire the guy who won a silver medal for the nation, instead of rewarding him and recognising his efforts, scorn him further after he left, and then keep quiet and pretend that nothing has happened? Who needs corruption when a terrorist head escaped and people had food poisoning from squalid food centre that was not cleaned for years, and yet no apology is expected from the responsible ministers and they could still draw the same high pay despite their mistakes.

Sin Boon Ann, Tampines GRC

Rising to speak when Parliament resumed its session after a short break on Thursday afternoon, Mr Sin Boon Ann said: 'On reflection I thought I should have sought some confirmation from the writer of the e-mail, or separately verify the contents of the e-mail since I believe the privilege of free speech in this House imposes the higher standards of diligence on the part of its members.

'But to that extent I have fallen short of these standards. I proffer my unreserved apology to those involved.'

Mr Sin referred to excerpts of the e-mail from a Cheryl Ng when he launched a stinging attack on the media's reporting of the recent Aware saga, and took The Straits Times, in particular, to task.

Among the accusations he made in Parliament on Wednesday: The Straits Times reporter covering the saga was 'hobnobbing with the homosexual fraternity at the extraordinary general meeting'; that members of the press were jubilant at the ousting of the new guard; and that there was a media cover-up of an amendment to give men full voting rights in Aware.

Mr Sin wondered if the press could be called on to report responsibly and impartially and to present the facts neutrally and objectively 'when some of its own members feel rather passionately about the issues in the public domain'.

The accusations brought into question 'whether there should ever be an unregulated press', he added.

When the PM said that the party was on the lookout for more MPs comfortable with new media, I was not expecting one MP to get so comfortable that he decided to believe everything that was written in an email sent to him from somebody he did not know. Not even a virtual friend. Now I'm worried. Could some kind soul check whether he is still waiting for that few millions promised by a terminally ill Nigerian royalty after he had transferred a few thousands for advance fee?

Has this MP also forgotten that the PM had once stressed that traditional media will always have a place in presenting trusted, unbiased and informed opinions? How dare he now says that PM's beloved traditional media is not reporting responsibly and impartially and not presenting the facts neutrally and objectively! How dare he even suggest that his boss was wrong!

Hri Kumar Nair,Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC,Indranee Rajah,Tanjong Pagar GRC,Josephine Teo,Sin Boon Ann,Tampines GRC

Damn! Those mollycoddled are spending too little!

2009-05-27T09:22:00.002+08:00

On 21 May 2009, AC Nielsen released the report that Consumer confidence in Singapore has plummeted to a record new low. While Singaporeans are more concerned about their job security, they are spending less and saving more.

Consumer Confidence in Singapore - And Around the World- Continues its Downward Spiral: Nielsen
Source: ACNielsen.com.sg

Consumer confidence in Singapore has plummeted to a record new low in the past six months, falling a significant 12 Index points down from 92 to 80, according to the latest twice-yearly Nielsen Global Consumer Confidence Index which tracks consumer confidence, major concerns and spending habits among 25,420 internet users in 50 countries. This is Singapore’s third consecutive decline from its all time high of 114 recorded in late 2007.

...In fact, Singaporeans are now second among global consumers, after the Arabs, who are most concerned about their job security. While only a quarter (26%) of local respondents cited job security as one of their top concerns six months ago, one in two (49%) Singaporeans are now reportedly losing sleep over the prospect.

“We are currently seeing the worst decline in Singapore employment in the last six years, and since the commencement of the Nielsen Global Consumer Confidence study,” noted *Mr Richmond. “Things are definitely not looking good on the job front, not just in Singapore, but also everywhere else in the world.”

...Being the avid savers that they are, this current period of economic uncertainty is providing Singaporeans an even more compelling reason to save, and Singaporeans now make the world’s greatest savers! The intention to save is now seen in three out of four (75%) consumers here—the highest record so far. At 42 percent, holidays/vacations continue to take second priority where it comes to allocation of spare cash.

*Note: Paul Richmond, Managing Director, Consumer Group, The Nielsen Company Malaysia and Singapore.

On 25 May 2009, again we are seeing evidence that Singaporeans are indeed more prudent with their money now. They are saving more by cooking at home rather than dining out, and spending more on essential grocery items instead of treats like chocolates.

Spending on groceries rises as Singaporeans eat out less
Source: Channelnewsasia.com

SINGAPORE : A recent survey showed that Singaporeans are turning to home cooked meals and eating out less, due to economic reasons.

Households are now spending an average of 14 per cent more a month on overall expenses compared to last year, in part due to higher food prices.

So more are choosing to eat in to cut down on the high cost of dining out.

...Seven in 10 Singaporeans said that they are altering their spending habits to save more.

They are cutting down on treats like chocolates and carbonated soft drinks, and buy only essentials.

But alas, despite all the effort put into making changes to their lives, despite doing all they could to stay afloat during this economic crisis, they are still being chided. "Mollycoddled", they were called.

We're too mollycoddled
Source: Straitstimes.com

DOES a father of an eight-year- old learning to ride a bike line the streets with cushions so the child will not hurt himself if he falls?

Answering his own question, MP Sam Tan (Tanjong Pagar GRC) felt it is best for the child to take the knocks as they come.

'A boy who is mollycoddled is a very different person from the one who is physically tough and takes spills without fear and whining,' he said on Monday.

This, too, can be the approach in helping Singaporeans during tough times, he told Parliament.

Noting that Singaporeans are continuing to spend amid the recession, he said this was good as it had a multiplier effect. But what concerned him was that they may be spending out of a false sense of security.

Mr Tan also noticed that some citizens - including the elderly who in the past relied on their children - are starting to zoom in on Government help, regarding it as an entitlement:

'Today, many see Government help as an entitlement, something that they should tap on as a first port of call, rather than a last resort,' he observed.

The elderly tell him they want to spare their children the 'burden' of caring for them. But Mr Tan is astonished and dismayed, and sometimes tells the supplicants: 'You should let your children care for you, not the state... because it is the right thing to do.'

Filial piety, he said, is one of the most fundamental values of the human race.

The reality is that the Government is now practised in the craft of 'recession-cushioning', he said as he questioned the true impact of this largesse and efficiency.

Are we missing something somewhere? While AC Nielsen was reporting that Singaporeans are spending less and saving more, MP Sam Tan rebuked them for spending out of a false sense of security. Either the International marketing research company or the honourable MP is wrong. But since you get what you pay for, maybe we should trust the one who is paid more. The MP has to be right.

MP Sam Tan was especially annoyed by the elderly for putting the burden of caring for them on the nation, which is a terribly wrong thing to do especially when they are no longer contributing to the growth of the country's economy. The right thing for them to do, as advised by the MP, is to ask their children to care for them. Even if their children could be jobless and struggling themselves. And for those without a child to rely on, oh well, that's too bad. Regardless, it is not the nation's job to take care of the elderly. Apparently.

Consumer Confidence,job security,mollycoddled,Sam Tan,Tanjong Pagar GRC

Are our civil servants overly bureaucratic? Nah, these are just the minorities

2009-05-22T14:21:00.003+08:00

INT.OFFICE - MEETING ROOM IMMUTABLE- MORNING

Susan held the meeting door open as an alluring young lady walked in gently and slowly. Wearing a neat little black jacket with a tight and short black skirt, she smiled and bowed slightly as she walked towards the front of the meeting room, and stood next to Mr Teo. All the men in the meeting room were still gawking lasciviously at the young lady when Susan handed the wireless microphone over to Mr Teo.

MR TEO (clearing his throat): Gentlemen...

Mr Teo's voice pulled the men abruptly out of their daze. They then sat up straight and tried to look smart.

MR TEO (continuing): Gentlemen, we're very pleased to have Miss Keiko here with us. Miss Keiko is working for the Japan Department of Agriculture as a public relations officer. She is here today to share with us about her work and how we can foster good relationship with the public. Okay, let us give Miss Keiko a warm welcome!

Before Mr Teo could finish the word "welcome", all the men shook the room with thunderous applause. With a wild grin, Mr Teo handed the microphone towards Keiko. Sheepishly, Keiko took the microphone over from Mr Teo's open palm.

KEIKO (bowing slightly): Thank you, Teo-san. Good morning, everybody. I'm Keiko Yukari and I work for the Japan Department of Agriculture. I'm a public relations officer and my job is to talk to the public and understand their problems, so that I can help them. It's a very interesting job and I really love my job!

AH LIM (whispering to Ah Tan): Talk to public and listen to their stupid problems very interesting meh?
AH TAN (whispering back to Ah Lim): She's a Japanese what. Japanese gals can be amused by anything.

Keiko went on talking about her role and responsibility with the enthusiasm of a MLM salesperson who is selling a super water filter that can purify sewage water to a state which is fit for drinking.

ALI (whispering to Ah Tan and Ah Lim): Wah, the way she talks, machiam she loves her job so much its like a hobby like that!
AH LIM (whispering back): They must be paying her good money loh!

Keiko then paused and looked at Susan. Taking the microphone away, she muttered something to Susan, smiled and bowed slightly. Susan then walked to towards the wall and pulled down a white screen while Keiko plugged the projector's video cable onto a notebook. A few seconds later, Quicktime application appeared on the white screen. Keiko smiled and bowed slightly again to Susan to thank her.

KEIKO: I will now show you how we can improve our service quality and standards, okay?

With a few clicks on the notebook, a video was shown on the Quicktime application. It showed a woman sitting behind a desk with neatly arranged stationery. A man walked towards the desk and sat in front of her. He handed over a little piece of paper with a number on it and the woman then asked "Yes?". At that point, Keiko paused the video.

KEIKO: Ah, can anyone tell me what's wrong with the lady's response?

All the men in the room stared at her blankly, some even lasciviously.

KEIKO: She should have greeted the man, you know? Like 'Ohayou gozaimasu', or 'Good morning' for your country, oh but of course, 'Good afternoon' if it is in the afternoon! Hahaha... And after that, she must tell him 'Welcome' to her department, you know?

Keiko was nodding her head as she tried to search for any sight of acknowledgement in the crowd, where there was none.

AH LIM (whispering to Ah Tan and Ali): 'Good afternoon' still okay lah, but 'Welcome'? Serous or not? We're not some Japanese departmental store leh!

Keiko then clicked on the notebook to un-pause the video. The video continued with the man asking "I want to downgrade to a smaller flat." With which the woman answered with a question "Have you talked to any of our financial assistance staff?". The man then answered "No". "Okay, then you need to go upstairs and take a queue number. And you need to have your documentary proof of financial difficulty and monthly income of family members ready", said the woman monotonously in a single breathe. The man looked baffled but left anyway. At that point, Keiko paused the video again.

KEIKO: I'm sure now you can tell me what's wrong with the lady, right?

Again, all the men in the room stared at her blankly.

KEIKO: Oh, you can't tell? She did alot of wrong things yeh, very wrong. Firstly, she cannot answer his question with another question. That's very rude. She should first answer "Yes" to acknowledge his question, so that he knows that she understands him, yeh? And she cannot just ask him to go away, to go to another place by himself. It's very rude also. In my department, we will walk with our customers, and guide them to the correct place, so that they don't get lost.
ALI: Har? Apa ini? Still must bring them to the other department? Alamak, then we'll be too busy entertaining these people to do our work!

Keiko looked towards the direction of Ali. Ali covered his mouth and smiled at her sheepishly.

KEIKO: Yes Sir, do you have a question?
ALI: Eh... no, no. Sorry.
KEIKO (smiling): It's okay. But please feel free to ask me any question, yeh?

Ah Tan nudged Ali lightly with his elbow.

Keiko clicked on the notebook again to un-pause the video. The video continued with the same man going to the desk of another staff in another department, where he was asked some more questions before he was yet directed to another department, where his application was rejected because a piece of the required document was missing. In between, Keiko paused the video to ask more questions, only to be returned by yet more blank faces. But as polite as she could be, she would always provide the correct answer patiently with a sweet smile.

When the presentation finally ended, Mr Teo took over the microphone from Keiko, who again bowed slightly.

MR TEO: Gentlemen, I'm sure you've heard complaints that our public service's service quality is not up to standard. With such myriad of complaints deluging the various ministries, something has to be done. That's why we need to work with experts like Miss Keiko to train our customer facing staff and also continue to work with Quality Service Managers to improve the implementation of the 'No Wrong Door' policy. So gentlemen, please tell your guys not to apply for any leave for the next one month so that we could have full attendance for the trainings.

Some of the men scrambled into their pockets for their pens to take note as Mr Teo continued.

MR TEO: Another thing. Apparently some people thought that we are overly bureaucratic, but I'm very sure those they encountered are in the minority. I do not see anyone in this room who has a rigid attitude, do we?

ALL (almost together): No Sir!

MR TEO: See? These people are definitely talking without facts! Compared to how it used to be, we are now more understanding of the common people! Let's be practical. Of course officials need to follow policy guidelines, or else there will be anarchy! What is the purpose of us writing so many policies and guidelines when nobody is following?

Almost all of the men nodded in agreement, with a few still busy stealing stares at Keiko, who was standing attentively by Mr Teo's side.

MR TEO: Let me tell you what's really wrong. Those who approach government departments for help may already have in mind what kind of help they want. So when officials are unable to give these people exactly what they want, they think that these officials are inflexible! How ludicrous! So, next time someone accuse you of binding red tapes, tell them these red tapes are necessary to keep things in order!

All the men clapped to support what Mr Teo had said.

MR TEO: Okay, gentlemen, we've come to the end of today's session. Let's all give Miss Keiko one more round of applause!

All the men clapped again, with Keiko bowed slightly to the audience again. While everybody started to leave the room, Keiko walked towards Mr Teo.

KEIKO: Mr Teo, I'll be going over to the Ministry of Manpower tomorrow. Could I borrow that video to present to the staff over there?
MR TEO: Hmm... I don't think you could do just that because it's our internal video. You would need to write to MICA with a copy of this video and get their approval first. Oh, and when I said 'write', I meant with pen and paper, not email. You have to go down to MICA personally. And after that, you'll need to hand the approved video over to MOM's PR department for review. Only upon their approval, you could use the video for your next presentation.
KEIKO: Oh... I see... then I can use the video for presentation tomorrow?
MR TEO (chuckling): Hahaha... you must be kidding! You need to wait about 5 to 10 working days for MICA to approve, then another say, 3 to 5 days for MOM's PR to approve, and maybe the department you're going to present to may need another 1 to 2 days to review the video first. So that's about 12 days give and take.

Keiko stared at Mr Teo blankly.

civil servants,bureaucratic,MP,ministries,government departments

So you thought you can represent the majority of Singaporeans? Think again!

2009-05-21T10:11:00.004+08:00

When I heard that a group of self-declared representative of the conservative majority of Singaporeans, who believe that our children should be educated in accordance with the mainstream values of our society, had started a petition to command AWARE for Public Apology and Disclosure, a little voice in my head grunted "Not again! Conservative majority of Singaporeans? Who are these people to claim that they are the majority of Singaporeans?"

With the intention of making them aware (oops, the pun!) that not all Singaporeans are conservative, and they are definitely not representing the majority of Singaporeans (at least they could not represent anyone that I've known all my life so far), I started another petition. A petition against their petition. A petition to wake them up from their delusion and shout into their ears "Hey! You're not the majority! And you sure don't represent Singapore!"

I have no idea when was their petition started, but I read about it on Wayangparty.com on May 19, which was when my petition started. Considering that about 60 signatures had already been collected when my petition started from zero, I was taken by a pleasant surprise that at this present moment, my satire has gathered more signatures than them. All in 2 days' time.

"So what's your point?", some may ask.

Besides the fun and laughter? Okay, seriously, there are three.

Firstly, and the essential point, for all to see that these group of people do not truly represents Singaporeans. At least not the majority. In a nutshell, we could say there are three groups of Singaporeans:

"I've got more important things to worry about" - People who are struggling everyday to make ends meet, especially in an economic crisis as now. They could belong to the lower income group, or have been recently retrenched. To them, the money they bring back home is their top priority. Obviously.

"It doesn't really bother me and I don't care" - People who are apathetic to issues that do not affect their lives. To this group of people, the government could implement any policy as long as they are not required to make any changes in their lives. They could belong to the mid income group. To them, making more money is top priority and as long as they don't have to pay more taxes, they don't care about anything else. They might grumble a bit now and then, offline and online, or voice their alternate views on policies, but that's only for leisure.

"I'm too intelligent to have my thoughts suppressed and I want to change the world, or at least my country!" - People who typically have all the time and money in their hands. They are highly educated and so believe that their worldviews have to be the world's views. Yes, I believe that those who started that petition against AWARE belongs to this group of people.

So... at best, they could only represent a third of Singaporeans. Definitely not the majority, if my maths does not fail me.

Secondly, to prove that this particular platform for online petitioning is unreliable. Aside from duplicated entries (which could be detected and removed manually), the signatures are authenticated solely by email addresses. This means that if I've got three email addresses (perhaps office, personal and another just for fun?), I could sign three times. If somebody is real determined on amassing as many signatures as possible (say, 7200?) to prove that a petition is legitimately advocated, he/she could just get his/her friends and relatives to register multiple email addresses for the purpose of signing the petition. Time consuming? Yes. Difficult? Definitely no. Just send some emails to tell others to email. So should MOE take their petitions seriously then?

Thirdly and lastly, I'm nauseated of the term "conservative majority of Singaporeans" and would like to see how many people out there are as sick and tired as me.

No matter, I'm thrilled to have received more than a hundred signatures within two days. Even if their petition should amass more signatures than mine by May 31 (which is their petition's deadline), at this point in time, I've already proven my three points. And no, I'm not going to really send this petition to the Ministry of Home Affairs, though they are indeed planning to harrass the Ministry of Education.

Lastly, I would like to thank all who have signed and supported the petition. Thanks for joining in the fun!

conservative majority Singaporeans,petition

Two petitions from two group of people claiming to be "Majority of Singaporeans"

2009-05-19T21:21:00.003+08:00

A group that claimed to be representative of the conservative majority of Singaporeans, who believe that their children should be educated in accordance with the mainstream values of their society, has started a petition to request AWARE for Public Apology and Disclosure.

Petition AWARE for Public Apology and Disclosure

Meanwhile, another group has claimed to be the real representative of the majority of Singaporeans, who believe that their identiy has been stolen and misleadingly represented without their permission. They have created a petition against the group of people above.

Petition Fake Majority of Singaporeans for Apology

conservative majority Singaporeans,petition

Some topics raised by President Nathan at the opening of the second session of the eleventh Parliament

2009-05-19T11:19:00.003+08:00

President Nathan says govt's immediate priority is to see S'pore through crisis
Source: Channelnewsasia.com

"Opening the second session of the eleventh Parliament on Monday evening, he said the best strategy is still to help companies to stay viable and continue employing workers."

How to help companies stay viable? Give them more money like the highly-rated Job Credits scheme? Reduce their CPF contributions for their employees further? And by adding dollars to the companies they will continue employing workers instead of retrenching them?

Extract from G.M. Seeks More Imports From Low-Wage Regions
Source: The New York Times

General Motors is engaged in negotiating a reorganization that could increase vehicle imports from its plants in Mexico and Asia while closing factories and cutting the work force in the United States.

That approach drew a sharp rebuke from the United Automobile Workers union on Friday. In a letter to each member of Congress, the U.A.W., which represents G.M. factory workers, argued that to qualify for more government assistance, the auto giant should be required “to maintain the maximum number of jobs in the United States.”

The administration, however, appears to accept the proposition that to return to profitability as quickly as possible, G.M. must import a significant percentage of cars from its plants in low-wage countries, like Mexico and China, or low-cost countries, like Japan.

G.M. already imports a third of the vehicles that go to showrooms in this country. That percentage would not change in the plan that G.M. is preparing to submit to the administration to justify billions of dollars in new loans to stave off collapse. G.M. would emerge a smaller company, with fewer employees and less output in this country and abroad. But imports would rise from low-cost countries, particularly Mexico and China, and that would be offset by fewer imports from Canada and Europe.

G.M. is asking Washington for billions of dollars more in federal loans to survive, on top of the $15.4 billion already borrowed. In a presentation to Congress, the company laid out the plan for the shifts in production to lower-cost countries. In the United States, G.M. would close 16 of its remaining 47 plants and eliminate an additional 21,000 jobs. The company also announced on Friday that 1,100 dealers would be eliminated from its American network by the fall of next year.

"Singapore must also keep up the effort to up-skill and re-skill workers to become more employable and productive in a changing economy."

For these trainings to be really effective in helping our workers, I would assume these two essential prerequisites are inevitable: Firstly, the workers are still holding a job and getting paid so that they and their families do not get starved to death first. Secondly, the companies do not hire foreign workers to fill up the positions while the locals are happily receivng training. So who is there to ensure that these prerequisite are met?

"President Nathan said for lower-skilled, less-educated workers, the government will continue to help them and their families. They will be trained, while their children will get every opportunity to reach their full potential in education."

And perhaps we could start by making the Meet-the-People Session (MPS) more friendly? And if possible, at the same time, the MPs could learn to be more empathetic?

Teen arrested for violence at MP's office
Source: Asiaone.com

A YOUTH with low IQ has been arrested by police after flying into a rage at a Meet-the-People Session (MPS), upset at what he felt was his MP's cold-shoulder treatment of his mother's financial plight.

The 17-year-old boy hoisted an aluminium foldable chair over his head and slammed it against a glass door seconds after walking out of MP Cynthia Phua's Serangoon North office with his mother.

The boy, who has been released on bail, has been told to report back to the police on 12 May, where he may be charged with committing a rash act.

The offence carries a jail term of up to six months and a fine of up to $2,500.

This is the third incident in recent months involving MPs and their constituents.

The boy and his mother, 53, are familiar faces to the grassroots volunteers at the MPS.

The unwed mother with Primary 6 education gets by on a $400 monthly salary as a part-time cleaner.

He attended a special school and suffers from thalassemia, a blood disorder that renders him weak and sickly.

The mother said that things went from bad to worse in November 2004 when the boy's father disappeared and stopped paying the $300 monthly maintenance due to her.

As a result, she visited the MPS about once a month for the past few years to request for various kinds of financial aid.

January this year saw a crisis unfold in their lives, when the mother broke her wrist after falling off a chair while cleaning a fan. She hasn't worked since.

She said the HDB was then in the middle of repossessing her flat and giving her a rental unit, but she was unable to pay the $138 in rental deposit and stamp duty.
So last Monday, she went to the office at Block 125, Serangoon North Ave 1, where MP Lim Hwee Hua holds her MPS, hoping to have her sign an appeal letter for HDB.

But that day, Mrs Lim, who is also a minister in the Prime Minister's Office, was abroad. Fellow Aljunied GRC MP Cynthia Phua stood in for her.

The mother's request was granted - Madam Phua signed the letter - but mother and son left fuming, claiming that Madam Phua had put them down.

She claimed that shortly after they had entered the office, Madam Phua asked her son a series of questions:

'She asked him, 'Who are you? What are you doing? Why aren't you working?' she claimed.

The mother said she wanted to explain her son's condition, but wasn't given a chance.

'I felt like we were being scolded,' she said.

The meeting ended after two or three minutes, she said.

During the one week after the incident, the mother pondered what to do.

Two days ago, she returned to the MPS again alone and clutching a handwritten letter of apology from her son.

'Please fodgive me for what I dad I am sinelely truely I'm sorry (sic),' the teenager had written in big, neat handwriting.

The apology, however, was not acceptable to Mrs Lim, who was back chairing the MPS after returning from abroad.

'I made it very clear to (the mother) that this is unacceptable behaviour. It is not justifiable in any circumstance. There's no excuse to be violent,' Mrs Lim told The New Paper.

She also explained that she was not in a position to excuse or forgive the boy.

'I was not present and the police are investigating into the matter. I believe the police will take into consideration the mitigating factors,' said Mrs Lim.

'From what I understand, Madam Phua was being very motherly and very helpful inside the room with them.'

Mrs Lim's response surprised the mother, who had spoken fondly of her throughout the interview with The New Paper just a day before.

"Two new institutions will be created. The first will be a new institute which will partner foreign universities that offer degree courses to open more direct routes for polytechnic graduates to obtain degrees. The second will be a new university, which will be set up in close partnership with one leading university each from the US and China."

Instead of opening yet another two new institutions in addition to SMU, why not just increase the number of seats in NUS and NTU opened to polytechnic graduates? It has always baffled me on why is it so much easier for JC and Pre-U students to get into our local universities than those from the polytechnics. Even foreign students with dubious academic level are more welcomed.

And what after graduation from these two new institutions? With most statboards and GLCs still holding the bigotry that only graduates from NUS and NTU are "real" university graduates worth employing, while degrees from any other universities, even far more well-known ones in UK or Australia, are dubious, will the graduates from these two new institutes then have the guarantee of fair competition?

President Nathan,Parliament