I just viewed this video [Link] and I feel that as a Singaporean, I'm deprived of my freedom. I have less freedom than a Hong Konger, a SAR of Communist China.
When I go to pay my last respect to Dr Lim Hock Siew this afternoon, I hope to see many Singaporeans line up along Joo Chiat Terrace to pay their respect to Braveheart Dr Lim Hock Siew who showed us the true essence of bravery, resilience, integrity and honour.
Almost everyone is aware of September 11. Not many are aware June 4?
Please visit the following links to know what June 4 1989 is all about.
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Issues raised by Christopher Balding on our reserves
Professor Christopher Balding's blog: christopherbalding.com raises a number of issues related to our reserves. These issues are very interesting but there is insufficient information available explain the discrepancies - we were supposed to elect a president who would ask these important questions about our reserves but we elected Tony Tan...so what has he done in this area?
With hundreds of millions of our CPF money moved to the reserves and much of the heavy debt we incur to pay for HDB flats going into the reserves, the secrecy is surrounding our reserves is not longer acceptable. I hope elected representatives from the opposition raise these questions to pierce through the secrecy. Singaporeans are increasingly concerned and want answers.
Issue 1 : Temasek claims average returns of 17%...how is this possible?
[Comparing Temasek’s Performance in Two Pictures]
1. Temasek assets are mostly in the form of in a diversified portfolio of listed companies many listed in Singapore.
2. Since 1974, the annualized returns of the MSCI Singapore and other Singapore indices have performed nowhere close to the 17% return reported by Temasek.
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Xenophobic/sinophobic foreign talents
Why are people blaming Sinkies for being xenophobic? Sinkies are the most timid and useless bunch of people around. Small built, specky, inarticulate, dumb and always willing to oblige as foreigner’s punching bag.
I just read a taxi driver being beaten unconscious by a Korean passenger he was picking up. What happened to all the macho taxi drivers that think they own the roads, their grandfathers’ roads? This taxi was punched unconscious without even knowing how to hit back.
Then those angmohs that attacked another taxi driver in Suntec, and another in Orchard Road. But the most infamous foreigner must be the one at Clementi coffeeshop that beat up a Singaporean couple, including their son, and chased them all the way to the car park for wanting a second helping of chilli sauce.
How many times did anyone hear of Sinkies beating up foreigners? And don’t forget the nepalise gurkhas beating up Sinkies after ogling at the Sinkie’s girlfriend. Then the angmoh cyclist who beat up a Sinkie motorist.
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Peter Lim Sin Pang: from Big Splash carpark to Paris Hotel and why the media should leave out Paris Hotel
Details of Peter Lim Sin Pang’s sexual escapades were announced to the country (Singapore, of course) yesterday. Singaporeans now know where Peter Lim had his sexual encounters with 3 IT staff of private firms: these were at flats in Clementi, a carpark near Big Splash and a hotel in Paris.
I have long heard and it is not really a secret that the carpark near Big Splash is really a remote place which is suitable for “some activities”. Will the media’s announcement that a ex- top civil servant has also “make out” in this place caused more young couples and lovers to do the same thing there too? Will a male partner now tell his female partner “lets make out at the carpark that the ex-SCDF chief Peter did too”? Will Big Splash carpark be unofficially known as the “Peter Lim” carpark?
On the other hand, Singaporeans now also know that a hotel in Paris was another Peter Lim’s “make out” location. On this location, I thought that the media should leave this detail out. Paris is always a romantic getaway for young couples on honeymoons and where do these young couples stay: in Paris Hotels, of course!
I am afraid that the knowledge that Peter Lim had sex in a hotel in Paris will cause young couples going there for honeymoons in the future to be quite uncomfortable as they may think of this Peter Lim episode. Worse, this reporting may hurt tourism to Paris as young couples on honeymoons do not want to “do it” at where a ex-top government official on corruption did the same too
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MinCRAP: ‘Sexual corruption case is once-in-50-years event’
Benefits of high salaries to deter monetary corruption of public servants lauded.
Ex-SCDF chief, Peter Lim, is proof that high salaries prevent monetary corruption.
The high-profile sexual corruption case involving the ex-Singapore Civil Defence Force Chief, Peter Lim, serves as a timely reminder that Singapore has done very well in keeping corruption levels at a non-existent level.
Hen You Qian, a spokesman from the Ministry of Corruption Reduction And Prevention (MinCRAP), reiterated that obtaining sexual favours is the best proof that public servants are no longer moved by money anymore.
Hen said: “High salaries for public servants has worked and will continue to work to retain talent and prevent rampant monetary corruption.”
He added: “Sexual corruption, when it happens, is then a rare, once-in-50-years event.”
Shrugged off as a freak occurrence, the ex-SCDF commissioner was in court yesterday to face multiple charges of obtaining sexual gratification from three women in exchange for business deals.
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Alex Ong defends pushing elderly woman off SMRT bus: I am the product of the decay of morals society has on individuals like myself.
Alex Ong, the young punk who sparked a massive outcry by pushing an elderly woman off a SMRT bus has defended his actions on his Facebook.
In a Facebook note posted two hours ago, Alex explained that he was ‘provoked’ by the elderly woman into doing so after he tried to advise her against hitting the bell at the last minute:
“I was quite agitated when she just shouted back at me like this. We got into an argument, and I told her to “get off this bus”. She simply shot back, “no, I won’t.”
With emotions running high, I let loose a “I will slap you!” to her, to which she said “come!”. I reached breaking point and gave her a light push, which resulted in her falling off the steps.”
He added that anybody else in his shoes would have exploded as well:
“Now, I know I should never have done this, but if you were in my shoes, you of course could have exploded as well.”
The bus driver subsequently called for the police and ambulance who arrived and took statements from both parties.
Alex claimed he suffered from clinical depression and obsessive compulsive disorder which explained the ‘rage’ he felt.
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Samantha Lo vs. the Vandalism Act
Comic courtesy of Cartoon Press
25 year-old Samantha Lo (aka SKL0) has broken the law. It doesn’t matter that she’s brought a smile to our faces with her witty sticker and graffiti projects. If you look at the wording of the Vandalism Act of 1966, you’ll find that the legality of her actions just isn’t up for debate.
Here’s what’s forbidden in the case of private and public property (unless you’ve got prior permission):
a)… (i) writing, drawing, painting, marking or inscribing on any public property or private property any word, slogan, caricature, drawing, mark, symbol or other thing;
(ii) affixing, posting up or displaying on any public property or private property any poster, placard, advertisement, bill, notice, paper or other document; or
(iii) hanging, suspending, hoisting, affixing or displaying on or from any public property or private property any flag, bunting, standard, banner or the like with any word, slogan, caricature, drawing, mark, symbol or other thing; or
(b) stealing, destroying or damaging any public property.
This is why Lo’s getting charged even for pasting up removable stickers on traffic lights.
As you can see from a)(ii), it’s illegal even to scotch-tape an ad for your lost dog on an HDB wall.
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Online spat between Singaporeans and Filipinos turns ugly with racist remark made against the Malay community
The Temasek Times, 7 Jun 2012
In a sign that anti-foreigner sentiments are on a
rise in Singapore, a fierce exchange erupted in social media between a group of
native Singaporeans and Pinoy ‘FTs’ on a Facebook page set up to ask pinoy PMETs
to ‘f**k off’ from Singapore.
One pinoy Marie Hilario asked Singaporeans to
‘f**k off’ as they cannot do without them:
“Without Filipinos in Singapore, you are
NOTHING!”
Another pinoy Mickey Bebe boasted that Filipinos made
up about 25 percent of almost all the companies in Singapore:
“if you hate us…then ask your government not to hired
filipinos here… and im sure u can’t do without us… coz almost of the company
half or 1/4 of their employee was PINOY’s…”
Another pinoy
Marcelo Franciso jeered at unemployed Singaporeans:
“Even we are a cheap type
of labourer at least we got a job!!!hahahaha.”
One Margauz Janz Castro Gutierez even hurled
vulgarities at a Malay Singaporean:
“watch out isz julz..almost malay like u is a fucking
bastard..”
In other countries, foreigners are expected to
integrate into local society, but it seems to be the other way round in
Singapore with PAP leaders exhorting Singaporeans constantly to make the
newcomers feel accepted, welcomed and happy in Singapore.
Judging from the
responses of our precious pinoy ‘FTs’ above, Singaporeans must seriously reflect
on their own behavior and heed Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s call to
‘embrace’ them with an open heart. Link
What Political Will Achieves
When you are told to "get a room", the implication is that you should book a motel room because you're practically doing it in full view of the public. In the closing scenes of Iron Man 2, Tony Stark was asked to "get a roof" because he was getting hot and heavy with Pepper Potts.
Someone must have advised former chief of the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) Commissioner Peter Lim Sin Pang to "get a carpark", because he had his amorous trysts in one near Marina Bay Golf Course, one near East Coast Big Splash and one in the vicinity of the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
Apparently the sex for IT-related contracts arrangement started in May 2010, less than a year after he was appointed to the top job at SCDF, which goes to show that promotion to high office has its privileges.
Why a 52 year old would want to rut in the confines of a automobile like a horny teenager is beyond comprehension. Maybe he's too cheapskate to queue online for the expensive services of the underage whore who landed 80 men in hot soup.
The press is billing this case as the biggest corruption scandal since:
- 1992, when Commercial Affairs Department director Glenn Knight was convicted of graft involving a government vehicle loan of $65,000;
- 1995, when Public Utilities Board deputy chief Choy Hon Tim was convicted of taking nearly S$14 million in kickbacks;
- 2002, when former Economic Development Board officer Andrew Goh Keng Guan took S$380,000 in bribes from Chinese nationals to help them process their applications for permanent residency.
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M Ravi invited to consultation with UN
By Andrew Loh
Singapore lawyer, Mr M Ravi, has been invited by the United Nations to attend its consultation with experts on the various issues relating to the imposition and implementation of the death penalty.
The 2-day session, to be held at Harvard Law School, United States, on the 25 and 26 of June, will place particular emphasis on the notion of the “most serious crimes” for which the death penalty continues to be imposed.
The invitation to Mr Ravi is from the United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Mr Christof Heyns; and the United Nations Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, Mr Juan Méndez.
Others who have also been invited to the consultation include representatives from Amnesty International, the Foundation for Human Rights Initiative (Uganda), the International Harm Reduction Association, the International Commission against the Death Penalty, and the Center for International Human Rights, among others.
Three key issues will dominate the discussions:
Heaven worried about influx from Islamic party: Jibreel
With the Malaysian elections possibly around the corner, both sides of the afterworld are abuzz with activity, in preparation for a huge influx of newly-deceased residents. The Islamic party PAS has promised voters of the party a ‘ticket to heaven‘ and this is likely to cause havoc in paradise as its infrastructure is not ready to accommodate these souls.
“In the past we were able to put some of these spirits in limbo while we finished up construction of new villas, prayer centres and roads exclusively for the prized Proton Wiras. But now that they’ve been guaranteed a place in heaven, we’re going to be facing huge logistical issues,” said the Angel Jibreel, God’s spokesperson to mankind.
Jibreel says that he was not sure if they could find 72 female virgins for each of the new male members in the heavenly colony, and he could be forced to compromise by assigning boys, to the men.
Hell was equally in chaos.Speaking to New Nation while looking through the new blueprint of the various levels of the fiery kingdom, Angel Maalik expressed concern for the capacity of his lowest pit, Hawiyah, which was built for hypocrites claiming to believe in God but were not pious in truth.
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Dr. Lim Hock Siew - Unfulfiled Dream of the Fajar Generation
We are all saddened by the passing of Dr. Lim Hock Siew, a patriot who lived by his principles and held on to his ideals throughout his life.
The past few years, members of the Fajar Generation came forward to speak to the present generation to tell us of the truth behind historic events and bring to us lessons from the past. There is a string of history that connects the masses standing in the field in Hougang several weeks ago to the men and women in the Fajar Generation 50 years ago - it has been a long struggle to fulfill a dream for Singapore.
51 years ago, Dr. Lim and his colleagues broke away from the PAP to form the Barisan Socialis. Here s the editorial from the Fajar, the organ of the USC(University Socialist Club) in Aug 1961, one month before the formation of the Barisan Socialis. It outlined the difference in principles that led to the formation of the Barisan Socialis.
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Singapore’s $300m gift to Yale?
Yesterday, Jim Sleeper of the Huffington Post authored a long post criticising Yale’s partnership with NUS here. The article is very lengthy, and much of it rehashes topics such as human rights and freedom of speech. However, what caught my attention were the following paragraphs:
As Amsterdam was being denied entry into Singapore last month, I was seated at a dinner in Germany next to a very high official of a European university who’d been to Singapore a few times himself. “There’s $300 million for Yale in its deal with NUS,” he confided to me.
“What? How do you know that?” I asked. “Yale claims it’s not getting a dime from Singapore, although Singapore is paying all the costs of constructing and staffing the college itself.”
“Oh, it’s not a direct payment,” my interlocutor explained. “It’s what you call insider trading: Yale will be cut in on prime investments that Singapore controls and restricts through its sovereign wealth fund. These will be only investments, not payments, so there’s some risk. But you’ll [see] Yale’s endowment will swell by several hundred million in consequence of its getting in on these ventures.”
Let’s be clear on one thing. As a premium Ivy League university, Yale and other Ivy Leagues are willing to establish international branch campuses abroad simply because in most cases the host country has generously agreed to reimburse all development and operating expenses of the branch campus at no cost to the foreign university.
New York University’s liberal arts campus at Abu Dhabi, for example is effectively reimbursed for all costs incurred by running the campus:
Demonising cabbies again?
(Or “How to get more taxis on the road, increasing rentals, and still screw the consumer”)
Last Saturday, MediaCorp’s freesheet carried an article that screamed
Taxis could become harder to flag down
More may obtain a taxi licence to rent cabs for personal use instead of plying the roads
It went on: more people could possibly be getting taxi licences for the wrong reasons – as suggested by Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew in a press interview … Noting how, with the exception of those owned by ComfortDelGro, taxis are hired out mostly to cabbies who drive a single shift per day, Mr Lui said the authorities “need to be even more vigilant about this … because now driving a taxi can, with high COE prices, become a substitute for owning a car”.
Right, it’s the fault of cabbies gaming the system that we can’t get a cab. Not the fault of ComfortDelgro, the govt, or SMRT.
YD writes to Balakrishnan about Lim Hock Siew and ISA
Environment Minister Dr Vivian Balakrishnan attended the wake of Dr Lim Hock Siew on 5 June 2012 and wrote in his Facebook, praising the former Barisan Sosialis leader as "a good and honourable man" and that he had consulted Dr Lim when he joined the PAP.
Young Democrat Kenneth Lin, 18, wrote to the Minster saying "merely singing Dr Lim's praises is not enough; Dr Lim wouldn't have wanted this. We must, sooner than later, address the issue of the injustices caused by a law which has no place in a just and equal society."
Dr Lim Hock Siew's funeral will take place today at 3pm at Bright Hill Crematorium, 88 Bright Hill Road, Singapore 574117.Letter to Dr Vivian Balakrishnan
Dear Dr Balakrishnan,
I am touched by your statement on how Dr Lim Hock Siew inspired and influenced you to join politics, as well as your cordial friendship with him over the past 24 years. Lim Hock Siew was a good and honourable man.
But more than that, he was a patriot. A patriot who never wavered in his belief that all men should be treated fair and equal. For his peaceful activities, however, he was incarcerated for over 20 years, missing out the prime of his life and the times he could have spent with his growing son and wife.
Agreeing to disagree is gracious behaviour expected in a democracy. Yet, one thing we must all defend in a democracy is another person's entitlement to his or her rights, even if we strongly disagreed with them.
Dr Lim's sacrifices were not brought upon him through any fault of his own. Rather, they were brought about through the abuses of the ISA, which, decade after decade in Singapore's history, has been used to silence and intimidate political opponents and dissent.
Even after all he's been through, he was still willing to forgive his oppressors and had no feeling of bitterness to them. I can especially relate to this, as a Christian, as Jesus has taught us to "love your enemies".
Indeed, here was a good and honourable man worthy of our respect. But merely singing Dr Lim's praises is not enough; Dr Lim wouldn't have wanted this. We must, sooner than later, address the issue of the injustices caused by a law which has no place in a just and equal society. We must not be silent on this grave issue, as to do so would only affirm that Dr Lim deserved all that he went through.
Regardless of whether we are in the ruling party or opposition, this is an issue which we all have to stand united on. For it isn't about partisanship or the disagreement of policies anymore, this has to do with our very own morality.
Last Saturday, I attended an event at Speakers' Corner calling for the abolishment of the ISA. Dr Lim Hock Siew wasn't the only one unjustly incarcerated, plenty of others were, too. We, as sons of this country, all have a part to play in reconciling these detainees and removing the ISA, so that we may yet dream again of a more caring and just society which respects the dignity and rights of every person for future generations to come. Thank you and God bless you.
Kenneth Lin
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