As long as you are an employee, be very afraid Yes, you are an employee, in the private sector or in govt service, as long as you earn a living by working for an organisation, you must take note of the predicament you can be in. Even if you are a top civil servant or a CEO in the private sector, if you did not accumulate enough wealth for your children to live off the inheritance, think of what would happen to them when they cannot compete for a job with foreigners. Think of what would happen to them when they can’t even get a decent job to live a decent life. This is the plight of Sinkies in the coming years when the island is filled with foreigners and foreigners turned citizens. They are not going to be kind to you or your children and grandchildren if you do not stop this trend of letting the foreigners to take over your country. Your generosity is idiotic. It is critical time and time is running out if we do not put a stop to the influx while we still can. Increasing population is NOT the only way to growth and well being of a people. That is a sure way of self destruct. Everything just go up with the rise in demand. So the cleaners should be laughing and very happy that they are earning 4 figure salary. Of course you know that it is a delusion. The money is shrinking rapidly by this unsustainable formula of inflation, of inflating the price of everything with the influx of more and more people. There are other ways to provide a better life to the people than population growth. read more GOVT WANTS YOU TO WORK UNTIL YOU'RE 67
During the budget debate for the Ministry of Manpower, Dr Amy Khor said that the government is currently looking into raising the re-employment age from 65 t o 67.
This is one of the issues currently being discussed and is expected to start being rolled out after the best timing to raise the re-employment age has been determined.
Dr Khor explained that this is being explored as there was a very positive response to the re-employment regulations when they were introduced in 2012.
read more Collective Bargaining Viable for Singapore Workers? With a search for measures to mitigate poverty and manage the growing financial inequityin Singapore, collective bargaining presents a viable model and measure, rather than the minimum wage. Countries such asGermany, Sweden and Denmarkmake us of this measure. For example, in Denmark wages and conditions are negotiated between labour unions and employer associations;; Sweden determines this through annual collective bargaining contracts and Germany maintains a minimum wage for specific sectors, particularly trades and skilled labour. Creating a aminimum income thresholdfor cleaners is progress in the right direction, but still not enough. Theminimum wageis not a subject palatable to the pro-business PAP government, for political reasons. Economically, a minimum wage can potentially result inmore harms and greater coststhan any benefits, due to the: read more Yes, Go On, Take That New Job A lot of the people we talk to about job-hoppers speak about them with great contempt. These people are described as failures, dysfunctional and inherently defective. They are further dismissed as bad hires with flawed personalities, destined to live out mediocre careers of limited potential. We read a recent article onCNBCclaiming that 87% of workers in Singapore expect to have new employers within the next 12 months. We are pretty sure if you exclude those who are on work passes, this number will edge even higher. Whichever way you look at it, this is a staggering figure. However, we don’t necessarily think that this is a bad thing.Employers increasingly claim Singapore is a pampered and smothered nation, filled with lousy workers. Employees constantly complain about their bosses and their pay packets. Hence, there are more reasons than ever to have a mercenary-type mindset. read more Lim Chong Yah suggests firms raise CPF payouts to low-wage workers Emeritus Professor Lim Chong Yah at the launch of his book, "Singapore's National Wages Council - An Insider's View" Former National Wages Council (NWC) chairman Lim Chong Yah has made suggestions to the NWC to consider getting companies to increase their Central Provident Fund (CPF) payouts to low-wage workers. Instead of a national minimum wage, this could be used to raise pay across the board for low-income employees, he said. Emeritus Professor Lim was speaking to reporters at the launch of his latest book, "Singapore's National Wages Council - An Insider's View". read more FORMER PAP MINISTER CALLS FOR RETIREMENT AGE TO BE RAISED TO 70 Ex NTUC Secretary General, Lim Boon Heng, has called for the retirement age to be raised to 70. Another former labour union leader, Lim Chong Yah of the National Wages Council (NWC) also suggested raising the retirement age. Currently, the retirement age in set at 62 with re-employment options (where employees can choose to lose benefits and take a pay cut in order to stay employed) up until age 65. related:Raise retirement age to past 65: former wage council chairman Lim Chong Yah read more Looking abroad to weed out unqualified foreigners IN an unusual move, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) is turning to an overseas firm to ferret out foreigners who lie about their qualifications in work pass applications. Last month, the ministry hired Dataflow Services (India) – a firm in New Delhi – to conduct random checks on education certificates and employment history declared by Indian nationals working in Singapore. Even marriage and birth certificates are scrutinised,The Straits Timeshas learnt. When contacted, the MOM said that although it is the employer’s responsibility to ensure that the documents in work pass applications are genuine, the ministry will use “independent verification channels” like Dataflow to conduct its own random audits. related: Singapore hires Delhi-based Dataflow Services to verify documents of Indians MOM hires firm in India to verify education certificates Singapore hires Delhi firm to verify documents of Indians Singapore hires Delhi-based Dataflow Services to verify documents of Indians
read more Young local graduates in Singapore working as service crew and security guards The Malaysian Insider, 28 Dec 2013 Young Singapore graduates filling up service crew jobs, diploma holders standing in as security guards and master's degree holders taking up taxi driving – all in the name of survival and because they couldn't find viable ready employment in our high-GDP low-unemployment economy. Welcome to our new economy whereby higher education and work experience do not count any more – it's who you know now or rather what kind of passport you carry that matters. so long it is not anything associated with the pink I/C. Many of our aging experienced professionals, managers, executives and technicians also provide tuition services to our stressed-out young students ekking out a survival substenance, but it's hardly reassuring as students come and go and many have to eat grass during school holiday period. Full story
Posting to his facebook page about the recent retrenchment of over 500 workers from HGST, Tan Chuan-Jin said that retrenchments are inevitable. HGST is a subsidiary of Western Digital that recent decided to move its manufacturing from Singapore to Thailand resulting in the loss of about 500 jobs. The Minister for Manpower acknowledged that the retrenchment was "one of the larger retrenchments this year." He explained that such retrenchments are unavoidable and will occur even when the economy is doing well. This is because of restructuring that occurs in the economy. related: Almost 500 Spore jobs lost as WD moves manufacturing to Thailand read more
Job ads: What's fair and what's not
Office workers crossing Maxwell Road in the central business district (CBD) area on Aug 10, 2011. A list illustrating what is and isn't acceptable in job advertisements was put up on the website of Singapore's fair employment watchdog last week. -- ST FILE PHOTO: JOYCE FANG You can ask for only Singaporeans, but not Singaporeans and permanent residents. You can welcome older workers, but not fresh graduates. A list illustrating what is and isn't acceptable in job advertisements was put up on the website of Singapore's fair employment watchdog last week. The Tripartite Alliance for Fair Employment Practices (Tafep) said it did this to provide greater clarity to employers and help them comply with existing guidelines on fair employment. read more
Local recruitment agency blatantly flouts MOM rule by posting discriminatory ad on job portal seeking to hire exclusively Indian & Filipino F&B workers
Question: Will Acting Manpower Minister Tan Chuan-Jin direct his ministry to investigate and take action against such errant recruitment agency?
Fair employment: One big shakespearean play? Acceptable Ads? It states that “A list illustrating what is and isn’t acceptable in job advertisements was put up on the website of Singapore’s fair employment watchdog last week. The Tripartite Alliance for Fair Employment Practices (Tafep) said it did this to provide greater clarity to employers and help them comply with existing guidelines on fair employment.” When I read the above, the first thought that came to my mind was – well, fine – we now have a guide with examples of what are fair or unfair job advertisements – probably in reaction to so many unfair employment ads exposed by social media recently. related: “Job ads: What’s fair and what’s not” (Straits Times, Oct 19). GOV ENCOURAGE FOREIGN JOB SEEKERS TO COME AS ‘TOURISTS’ SINCE 2004 Top 10 “most alarming” statistics of 2013 read more HOW TO SAVE OUR MIDDLE AGED PMETS IN THE IT INDUSTRY I refer to "PAP Policies Have Caused People in IT Industry to Suffer"and "Why Companies in Singapore use Indian IT Workers" Many Singaporeans should have known that IT industry is very vulnerable. One of my 37 year old IT executive in NCS National Computer Singapore keeps complaining to me that his salary is depressed by his Pinoy counterparts and during lunch, he also has no common topic with Pinoys. He might as well put NCP National Computer Philippines as he is the minority Singaporean working there which is very shameful as NCS was first started off by the PAP Government. Recently, many government offices and stats board are on the major hiring trend to hire more security IT executives and systems analysts in the wake of online cyberhackers and The Messiah. read more IS THERE SINGAPOREAN UNEMPLOYMENT?
Singaporeans have little understanding on unemployment. Partly due to the growing economy that we have for decades, many believe Singaporeans are all employed. The official media played a major role to disemminate information to DRUM numbers without explaining. However we see the: - the poor person picking cardboard - the vagrant sleeping by the side of the road - handicap on wheel chair selling tissue paper - yet even more aunty selling tissue during lunch
Who are they? There are many ways to look at them, but some of these people wish they could find a job.
Singapore's employment rate has recorded a new high of 66.6 percent, up from the 66.1 percent last year, according to a report released by Ministry of Manpower on Friday
The ministry said the findings are based on data from the Comprehensive Labor Force Survey conducted in the middle of 2012.
According to the report, named "Singapore Workforce, 2012", the government attributed the increase to "the strong employment creation and the rise in labor force participation among women and older residents"
The stories of many Sinkies that are jobless for months or years are very depressing and make one boils down under. On the other hand, more than a million foreigners are here gainfully employed, some through foul means make things more difficult to swallow for the Sinkies.
And many foreigners are coming in forming a long queue, I hold your hand, you hold another, with jobs fixed up for them by their countrymen. This is not only not cute but disgusting, intolerable and must be put to a stop.
There is this latest letter by a Susan posted in Gilbert’s Transitioning.org blog. I reproduce a part of it here.‘I graduated from NUS in July this year, and have since been unemployed. Over the past 6 months, I have been sending out - I would say 50 or more - resumes daily via Jobsdb, Jobstreet, Jobscentral, NUS career site for their Alumni etc. You name it, I think I did it.
Singapore workers tread water on millionaires' island
Patricia and Sham: 'Knowing how rich some people are in Singapore, I think we are poor.' Photograph: Marc Nair for the Guardian
It is a balmy Saturday afternoon in the suburbs ofSingapore. Patricia, 21, and her partner Sham, 28, share their first meal of the day: a box of chicken nuggets at McDonald's. "It's getting much harder to survive in Singapore," Patricia says between bites. "I love my job, but my pay doesn't match up to the cost of living here. But what choice do I have?"
Patricia recently moved out of her parents' house to be with Sham. In Singapore, with its sky-high housing prices and conservative Asian values, most young people have no choice but to live with their parents until they get married. Singles cannot apply for public housing until they turn 35.
Patricia works full time as a nurse in a government hospital. She is undereducated by Singapore's standards, with only n-levels (below high school) and an ITE (technical college) certificate in nursing, and earns S$1,400 (£670) per month.
Singaporean workers tread water on millionaires' island - Marc Nair, The Guardian read more Half of production PMEs retrenched are SGs HGST, a Western Digital company that specialises in data storage, has retrenched 530 workers from its Singapore facility. Most of those retrenched are production managers, and about half are Singaporeans. That means the other half retrenched production managers are foreigners.
It’s not known who the decision makers were in deciding who to retrench. But if the decision makers were foreigners, it’s not known if they are attempting to protect their own kinds by deciding to retrench more Singaporeans first.
About 1,840 workers still remain in the Singapore office – many of them are engineering and support staff. It’s not known how many of them are Singaporeans but it is expected that the proportion of Singaporeans to be lower among the engineering and support staff. HGST’s Singapore facility manufactures high-end hard drives.
read more Contract PMEs - The Woes Of 2nd Class Employees In Singapore In today's highly competitive global economy, businesses need to keep themselves agile when it comes to managing their cost. With manpower forming bulk of businesses costs these days, a shift is underway in how businesses manage their human resources. More companies are incorporating temporary and contract professionals into their overall staffing mix to gain flexibility and reduce costs. While the arrangement works great for corporations, Professionals, Managers & Executives (PMEs) in Singapore are forced to adapt to this growing trend to gain employment. It is inevitable for contract PMEs to share their woes of being 2nd class employees in Singapore. Why The Demand For Contract PMEs? Beside the private sector, many government employers are also introducing Contract PMEs into their workforce mix. Here are the common reasons behind the demand: read more Candidates prematurely rejecting job offers adds to employment woes Tech companies in Singapore are probably facing a lot of problems lately, especially in the area of talent acquisition and retention. Just six months back, recruitment firm Hudson released a report indicating thatSingapore has the highest levels of employee burnoutin the whole of Asia Pacific. This week, Hudson released another report titled "Salary & Employment Insights 2013" that seems to add to the plethora of issues bosses need to address—fickle-minded would-be employees who pull out at the last minute. According to the report, talent shortages in Singapore are putting employers at greater risk of candidate withdrawal with almost one in four candidates (23.2 percent) withdrawing from the recruitment process and a quarter (25.2 percent) willing to reject signed offers. read more Young homeowners sidelined by employment woes Young adults between the ages of 25 and 34 are still struggling in the job market, bad news for the housing industry that is relying on first-time homebuyers to bring the recovery into full fruition. According to Friday’s report from the Bureau of Labor and Employment Statistics, only 74.8% of young adults are working — the lowest number in 12 months and far below normal levels. During the recession, between 73% and 74% of young adults were employed. Consequently, the unemployment rate for young adults rose to 7.8% in August, representing the highest level since February. read more Budget 2013: The end of employment woes? The 2013 budget covers the much-debated issue of the influx of foreign workers in the country. Indeed, the debate which has opposed those that are worried about their rice bowls being taken away by foreign workers to those seeing measures such as the recent population white paper as “xenophobic” has some very high stakes and needs urgent attention. Acknowledging the fact that “foreign workers now comprise 33.6% of [the] total workforce”, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam assured Singaporeans that Singapore’s policies will remain guided by the objective of moderating the growth of the foreign workforce and only relying on it when the country has “major infrastructural projects under way,as is the case currently”. So what does that mean for Singaporeans navigating the job market? read more related: Singaporeans FIRST 新加坡人为先 Progressive Wage Vs Minimum Wage A minimum wage for Singapore?
Fault lines between racial and religious groups in Singapore have always existed, but are better now than they were in the 1960s, academics and community leaders said yesterday. Online vitriol erupted after racist remarks posted by Ms Amy Cheong, an assistant director in the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), went viral. She was fired from her job on Monday. Her Facebook posts on Sunday, which contained derogatory remarks about Malays, were so startling that five Cabinet ministers, including the Prime Minister, publicly commended her swift dismissal. In a Facebook post, Law Minister K. Shanmugam said her remarks pointed to "deep fault lines in our society" based on race and religion.
A screen grab of the post has been spreading online A racist and expletive-ridden tweet by a 19-year-old Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP) student has gone viral and is causing a furore online. The student, Shimun Lai had tweeted: "(expletive) Indians need their own form of transport or trains need to have separate cabins for humans and (expletive) dogs." It also appears as if the Singaporean student has deleted both her Facebook and Twitter accounts. read more PM Lee, ministers respond to racist comments Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has expressed his shock over the racially offensive comments posted on Facebook by former NTUC assistant director Amy Cheong On his Facebook page, he said: "Several of you wrote to me through Facebook about the person who posted offensive comments about Malay weddings on her Facebook page. I was shocked to hear about this. The comments were just wrong and totally unacceptable. "Just last week I shared a WSJ Asia [Wall Street Journal Asia] article on why people say nasty things online that they would never say face-to-face. I reminded netizens that we needed to be extra careful and watch ourselves. I did not expect to see such a dramatic example so soon. Fortunately the person has promptly apologised for her grievous mistake. But the damage has been done, and NTUC did the right thing in terminating her services. "Let us treat this incident for what it is: an isolated case that does not reflect the strength of race relations in Singapore. But it sharply reminds us how easily a few thoughtless words can cause grave offence to many, and undermine our racial and religious harmony. Let us all be more mindful of what we say, online and in person, and always uphold the mutual respect and sensitivity that holds our society together. - LHL" related:
Police report lodged over 'Halal Pork' Facebook hoax The police confirmed on Thursday that a report has been lodged against a religiously insensitive hoax that was making its rounds on social media platform Facebook recently. The image, which depicts a packet of grocery retailer FairPrice's Pasar Fresh Pork bearing a green halal sticker, was first circulated via e-mail here in 2007. The latest report comes after a call for police investigation into the case was made by Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC MP Zainal Sapari on Monday, when the supermarket chain released a statement calling the image a "mischievous hoax that is both insensitive and done in poor taste". This comes after a slew of police reports were lodged by FairPrice since the first image of the tampered packaging was circulated via an e-mail hoax in 2007. Investigations are ongoing. Police are also advising the public to refrain from circulating such images. Under Section 298A, those guilty of promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion or race and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony can face a jail term of up to three years, a fine, or both. read more Pork meat with ‘Halal’ label an old image in 2007 hoax: NTUC FairPrice
NTUC FairPrice warns the public that an image being circulated online showing packaged pork meat carrying the “Halal” label is false and harkens back to a 2007 email hoax
In a statement on Monday, Seah Kian Peng, chief executive officer of NTUC FairPrice, said the original packaging of Pasar Fresh Pork does not carry the halal sticker from the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS).
He described the image of tampered packaging of the supermarket chain’s house brand as a “mischievous hoax” that is both “insensitive” and “done in poor taste”.
“We are mindful of the serious religious implications of this matter and regard this as a willful act of mischief…,” he said, noting the image has resurfaced online in Facebook.
RICH MALAYSIAN GIRL LIVING IN SINGAPORE LAUGHING AT US POOR SINGAPOREANS It's gonna be a wall of text without images The government recently loosen the immigration criteria and has been approving more PR applications. These had caused a lot of disagreements among many Singaporeans. I am a Malaysian, Singapore PR myself. Background story: My dad is a Singaporean, my mum is a Malaysian (SG PR), and i was born in Malaysia but had been living in Singapore since a baby. And i don't see how my Malaysian mum and i had no contributions to Singapore's society for the past 20 over years. At least, our shopping taxes fed a lot of Singaporeans!
Man, 22, under police probe for posting racist remarks under pseudonym ‘Heather Chua’ A 22-year-old man is under investigation by local police for a string of offensive remarks he allegedly posted under the fictitious name “Heather Chua” on Facebook. In a statement issued on Friday, police said several members of the public have filed police reports against his posts, which angered many Internet users. The first, police said, was filed on 3 January this year. Police said they determined the 22-year-old’s identity through “extensive investigations”. The man is now assisting police with their investigations. related: Man probed for making racially insensitive remarks under "Heather Chua" account Man under investigation for posting racist remarks as ‘Heather Chua’ read more Man under investigation for posting racist remarks as ‘Heather Chua’
“She” became notorious on the Internet for making derogatory comments on Facebook, taking aim at people living in Housing and Development Board flats, Institute of Technical Education (ITE) graduates and those of different races, among others. Yesterday, “Heather Chua” was revealed to be a work of fiction, and a 22-year-old man is now under investigation for allegedly making racially insensitive remarks under the moniker on Facebook. According to a police statement issued yesterday, a report was lodged by a member of the public on the remarks posted by “Heather Chua” on a Facebook account under the same name on Jan 3 — the first of several reports made by those who came across the comments online. related: Nowhere to hide, so think before you type Police report lodged over racist remarks on Twitter Man probed for making racist remarks as ‘Heather Chua’ read more Is Heather Chua for real? Yes, nefarious "Heather Chua" has hit Singapore's cyberspace again This time for an attention-grabbing Facebook post on Thursday, where she laments how her classmate from Raffles Girls' School has married an ITE graduate. She wrote: "By going with an ITE graduate, she (the schoolmate) not only shame (sic) RGS but most importantly, she make (sic) her parents lose face in front of their friends (sic)." The post was shocking enough to be posted and shared on multiple sites and forums, and made headlines in one Chinese evening daily. Previously, Chua gained notoriety for her critiques on NS men and people who live in housing board flats. Yesterday, there were new racist salvos on her account that got more people irate. related: Reach's anti-trolling move: Postings 'may dip, then rise' read more Heather Chua is really a 22 year old man If a hacker claiming to work for the Anonymous legion can get caught by the police, what makes the brainchild behind ‘Heather Chua’ think he could hide behind a fake Facebook profile? The last time someone posed as another person on FB to make disparaging remarks did so under the moniker Rachel Ann Beguia, who insulted Singaporeans as a whole. The post that triggered the hunt for ‘Heather’ was related toMuslim dietary habits, and proved to be as offensive as sharing a link to a Pig on a Kaaba image. Heather Chua may have started out as a parody account, a fictional persona of an attractive, snobbish and ridiculously wealthy elite, the kind inspired by the likes of Wee Shu Min. Citing her home as Sentosa Cove, she followed up her ITE diss by calling HDB dwellers ‘brainless low-lifes’. It’s hard to imagine that such people exist, or that locals actually LIVE on Sentosa Cove. Last year the same Heather complained about NSmen being slackers and no one seemed to suspect her of being fake despite her familiarity with the army. She also happened to be an admirer of our PM, the very same PM who’s now glad that she’s been nabbed for investigations. Thankfully, some bloggers were quick to call out Heather as a fraud, as ‘she’ turned out to be. If ‘Heather’ was conceived as an arrogant, racist bitch on the pretentious stage that is FB and her creator may be potentially arrested for sedition, what about characters in plays and movies who spew racist insults, like Adrian Pang’s porn director in Porn Masala? Would screenwriters or producers of racist scripts be called to ‘assist’ the police in investigations? read more Take a chill pill everybody, Heather Chua is NOT REAL
source I’m sure you’ve seen this floating around the internet. You can read how netizens are fiery about the hoo-haa at (here) or (here) Now, my only conclusion is that this “Heather Chua” derives satisfaction from the agony of others. This isn’t the first time that “she” has been messing around and aggravating issues on social media. read more Police investigating 'iamclarena' for making racist remarks on Twitter
The woman, who goes by the handle 'iamclarena', had recently posted a series of racist remarks against Indians with her Twitter account. Responding to queries from The Straits Times, the police confirmed on Friday night that a report had been lodged against the woman for making racially aggravating remarks on social media. The woman, who also goes by the handle 'Clarena Clanen TzeYi' on Facebook, is the second person this week to be investigated for posting racist remarks on the Internet. related: Police report lodged over racist remarks on Twitter Police report lodged over racist remarks on Twitter
In 2012, Law Minister K Shanmugam, of all people, received an email from a resident complaining about his Indian neighbours and their ‘Indian sweaty smell and unwashed bodies.’ He found the insult ‘disturbing’ and I assume he didn’t call the police immediately to investigate the matter, nor even call the racist in for a ‘chat’. If ‘Iamclarena’ had sent a direct message to the same minister’s FB page instead of blasting on Twitter, I wonder if he’d do anything about it. I wonder if he even knows what ‘CB’ means.
In 2005, a Today writer’s daughter was told by her KINDERGARTEN classmates that‘all Indians are smelly’. When his 3 year old son boarded the school bus, some boys would ‘cover their noses’. Maybe the kid really had a severe case of BO, but no scientist would want to conduct a study to see if some races emit more unpleasant odours than others, so we’ll never know. There are smelly people of any race, of course, but the Twitterverse is full of people who insist on telling us who the smelliest are. Are we going to investigate them all?
But it’s not just Indian body smells that are the butt of racist jokes, even the aroma of their curry annoys the living hell out of some people, with some attributing what theyeat to how they smell. Their hairiness is also a running joke in Russell Peters’ (himself of Indian descent) gigs, while local DJs refrain from mimicking their accent.Some would label you a racist even if you believe in ‘positive’ stereotypes, like Indians are good at computer stuff, running, or hockey. Where then, do we draw the line?
POLICE REPORT LODGED OVER RACIST TWITTER POSTS BY 'IAMCLARENA'
Police have confirmed that a police report has been lodged in relation to some racially insensitive remarks posted online by twitter account "iamclarena'.
The posts were targeted at Indians and make insensitive remarks about their appearance, smell and behaviour.
Screenshots of the offensive posts were shared widely on social media and the twitter account has since been taken down.
K-pop contest finalist Stephanie Koh clarifies her ‘I don’t feel proud to be Singaporean’ remark
YouTube personality and K-Pop Star Hunt 3 finalist Stephanie Koh caused a stir in cyberspace after she said that she didn’t feel proud to be a Singaporean. In an interview with Razor TV about her bad behaviour in the competition – she initially refused to surrender her mobile phone and threatened someone – the 21-year-old was unapologetic.
“I wouldn’t actually bother about representing this country because to be honest I don’t really feel proud to be Singaporean. Yeah, because everyone here is so small-minded, everyone here is so submissive. Everyone here don’t (sic) know how to think out of the box. No one here is creative. Everyone here just thinks the same way, follows the same rules and it’s too rigid for my taste,” she said in the video. Her remarks, which were also carried in a story in The Straits Times on Tuesday, drew mixed reactions, with some readers criticizing her attitude. related: Not proud of Singapore? Change it read more
Why is Stephanie Koh “Not Proud to be a Singaporean?”
If you’ve been following the news.. you would know that a controversy has sparked off amongst netizens, when Stephanie Koh; who participated in a k-pop hunt contest (representing Singapore), spoke about her dissatisfaction of being a Singaporean.
You can watch the video of her interview here:
In the video, she said that “Everyone here is submissive; everyone here don’t know how to think out of the box. No one here is creative. Everyone here just thinks the same way and follow the same rules. It’s too rigid for my taste.”
Read how netizens proceed to criticise her here: (source)
Well, if you’ve blindly chosen to believe exactly how the media has portrayed her to be and proceed to slam her almost immediately, you have just proven her point right- uptight, submissive (echoing along with the majority), and close-mindedness.
Wikipedia, on Human rights in Singapore: “The government has restricted freedom of speech and freedom of the press and has limited other civil and political rights. Censorship of sexual, political and racially or religiously sensitive content is extensive.”
'Not proud to be Singaporean' TV show finalist Stephanie Koh in family brawl
The 21-YEAR-OLD who made the news last month for her controversial remarks on how she is not proud to be a Singaporean, has found herself making headlines again, this time over a family dispute
Ms Stephanie Koh, finalist of a Korean reality show, was accused of hitting her aunt on the first day of the Chinese New Year last Friday. Her aunt Nicole Chong, 33, who is the sister of Ms Koh's mother, made a police report against Ms Koh for attacking her.
A teacher who shares a Housing Board home with her mother, Ms Chong told The Straits Times she had locked herself in her room last Friday, when Ms Koh and her family came for a visit.
"We got into a quarrel in December, and she said a lot of things to hurt me then. I just wanted to avoid her this Chinese New Year," said Ms Chong.
PRC = Please Return to China Recently, we all know that this PRC family in Singapore reported their Indian neighbours (local) for cooking curry. The tragedy is that the Indian neighbours can only cook curry when this immigrant family isn’t around. I am known by my friends to poke fun at Indians for their funny accent and weird smell, even those who are at the expense of my such jokes. But I love them because they make Singapore a happier and better place. In case I have never mention, my Indian friends are few of the most friendly and caring people I have ever met. The next thing I’m going to declare is how much I hate my own race. I don’t stereotype and I won’t. Hence, with the exception of local Chinese—both parents and themselves RAISED in Singapore, meaning they study here, the men serve NS, and pretty much go through the same shit we locals have to go through—I want to send a message to the people of the same race:”. read more Amy Cheong case gains international interest
WHO would have thought that a single Facebook status update would lead to one woman being talked about, not just in Singapore, but outside our borders as well? Amy Cheong's case has piqued the interest of Australian media, The Star in Malaysia and even Britain's BBC News. The current online vitriol over the Amy Cheong incident raises a pertinent question: Are Singaporeans not xenophobic and racist too? related: Watz In Amy's rant? read more Racist rant: Amy Cheong gets stern warning from police Former NTUC assistant director of membership Amy Cheong. -- PHOTO: COURTESY OF AMY CHEONG THE police have issued a stern warning to Miss Amy Cheong over her expletive-filled racist rant on Facebook last year. The 38-year-old Australian and Singapore permanent resident, who has returned to her family home in Perth, confirmed to The Straits Times that she received an e-mail from the police last week informing her of the closure of her case file. Miss Cheong, a former assistant director of membership at the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), made headlines last October after she lost her job for posting the insulting message on her Facebook page.
read more NTUC forced to sack Assistant Director after public outcry
In a statement sent to the media, its secretary-general Lim Swee Say said the trade organisation has "terminated with immediate effect the services of Ms Amy Cheong, Assistant Director, Membership department after establishing with her that she did post offensive comments... on 7 October 2012". The National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) has sacked an assistant director from its membership division after she posted offensive comments on her personal Facebook account "Regrettably and rightly so, her comments have upset members of the public, including many union members. We are sorry that this has happened. We have counselled the staff and impressed upon her the seriousness of her action. She is remorseful and has apologised for her grave lapse of judgement," he added. Full story Related: NTUC sacks employee who made racist comment online NTUC's Assistant Director in hot soup over her racist rant against Malay weddings at HDB void deck
Another Amy Cheong? Young mother complains about noise from Malay wedding
Jacqueline Wong's (left) post online about the noise from a Malay wedding is similar to the Amy Cheong (right) incident which happened last October Another Amy Cheong in the making? A young mother has been bombarded by netizens for racial discrimination after she complained about a Malay wedding at her void deck, reported Lianhe Wanbao. One netizen even allegedly made a police report. According to the report, there was a Malay wedding at the block where 20-year-old Jacqueline Wong lives. The celebrations reportedly caused her new-born baby girl not to get any sleep, thus prompting her to rant on social media site Facebook on Thursday evening. She wrote: 'Another malay wedding under my block againnnnn! all th knocking since early morning! now thy are setting up th scene. then thy gonna make sooooooo much noises cooking till midnight. then again sooooooo much noises on th wedding day. no peace for at least 3days! god damn it. even my baby can't haf her afternoon nap. i wonder who started th "malay wedding at hdb" thing. nv see other races doing so too? inconsiderate max.' (Note: This is from her original post)
read more Jacqueline Wong: Another Amy Cheong After putting up the remark, Lianhe Wanbao said the post garnered much attention with netizens calling her disrespectful. The evening daily also said some people even reported her post to the police. In a similar case in October 2012, former NTUC Membership Partnership & Alliance assistant director Amy Cheong posted an expletive-filled racist rant on Facebook about the noise coming from a Malay wedding held at her void deck, reported local news media read more
Disgust over 'Eve and Ivy' cyber rants
According to the Chinese evening daily Shin Min, a netizen lodged a police report against Eve Tan about her racist online comments on Malays and Indians and the police have confirmed that they are looking into the matter. Internet users are calling for action to be taken against two other people who posted controversial comments on Facebook. They said the posts' authors should be dealt with in a similar way to Ms Amy Cheong, the woman fired on Monday for making racially offensive remarks about the Malay community. One of the two Facebook users, who called herself Eve Tan, also posted derogatory comments about Malays, branding them "low educated" and "lazy". read more Eve Tan calling Malays low educated and lazy
I do agree that this is a ‘fine example of complete ignorance’, because you’d have to be a complete moron to post such things on Facebook in light of how ‘netizens’ react to touchy race issues these days. In a separate post, Eve Tan gave some dubious statistics about how Malays make up the majority of prisoners and underaged smokers. Facebookers like her aren’t the only Singaporeans caught expressing the ‘hard truth’ about local Malays. There’s another more important and renown personality who knows a thing or two about the Malay psyche, and if he had a Facebook account, I wonder if he would be publicly slammed in the media or summoned by the police for ‘investigations’ as well. Last year, LKY’s Hard Truths was branded as ‘haram‘, or forbidden to Muslims, by the Malaysian government (You may still get a copy from the nearest bookstore). According to Wikileaks, he called Islam a ‘venomous’ religion. He also urged Muslims should let go of some strict religious observances and be more sociable when eating with others, a statement regretted by both his own son and Minister Yaacob who had to apologise on his behalf. The AMP (Association of Muslim Professionals) criticised him for implying that Malays are lagging behind in terms of educational levels compared to Chinese and Indians. But like Amy Cheong’s comment on Muslim marriages, perhaps we should step back and reflect before grabbing the flaming pitchfork and raze Eve and Ivy’s houses to the ground. In 2009, a 10 year report on PSLE maths reported a plunge in performance for Malays in that subject from 1999 to 2008, along with poorer results overall compared to Chinese and Indians. Teachers cited the reason for poor math as Malay students seemingly resigning to this as a ‘personal flaw’ by nature, as well as their not being able to afford tuition like the other races. Even with free tuition sponsored by Mendaki, there were ‘indifferent’ parents who did not bother sending their kids for classes. PSLE may not the most reliable marker for the success of an ethnic group, but this does highlight the complex interplay between educational level, family income, a system that has become heavily dependent on tuition and a perceived less-than-enthusiastic attitude towards academic performance. read more NUS student Sun Xu punished for 'dogs' comment
WHY IS ALVIN TAN'S PUNISHMENT CONFIDENTIAL WHEN NUS MADE CHINA SCHOLAR'S PUBLIC?
The National University of Singapore is keeping mum about the punishment meted out to sex blogger Alvin Tan Jye Yee, 24, raising the question as to why this is so when the punishment against NUS China scholar Sun Xu who insulted Singaporeans, was made public.
Alvin Tan shot to notoriety when his shared blog that showed his girlfriend, Vivian Lee, 23, and him engaging in explicit sex acts and their naked photos went viral. It was also revealed that it was the third time the law undergraduate had posted sexual content online, and had been reprimanded twice before.
An NUS spokesperson said in a statement yesterday that the university's board of discipline had concluded Mr Tan's "inappropriate conduct was detrimental to the reputation and dignity of the university".
In his e-book Sex, Pork and Persecution, Tan shares gritty insights of his one-week stint in Sungai Buloh prison. The 25-year-old Youtube personality, better known as part of sex blogger duo Alvivi (the other is Vivian Lee, 24), was sent to the maximum-security facility to await trial after being denied bail in July last year. Despite the frank and humorous tone employed throughout the chapter, titled Wonder What It's Like In A Malaysian Jail?, Tan admitted fearing for his life due to hostile treatment from the first few inmates he met. related: Malaysian Sex bloggers Alvin Tan and Vivian Lee break up
Malaysian ASEAN scholar, Alvin Tan Jye Yee, 24, gained notoriety for posting explicit photos and videos of himself and his girlfriend online. He has since been stripped of his scholarship by the National University of Singapore. read more MP: Singaporeans must learn to be respectful and gracious to FTs on the roads
Singapore Notes, 28 Oct 2013 Parliamentary Secretary for Transport and Health Dr Faishal's Facebook post about a road bully of Australian origin rings a bell: "Instead of assigning blame, it is important for us to remember that we must be gracious and respect one another on the roads." It has to be a paraphrase of Member of Parliament (Tampines GRC) Baey Yam Keng's ringing endorsement of PRC scholar Sun Xu's diatribe (“There are more dogs than people in Singapore”) directed at our senior citizens: "We need to reflect upon ourselves, are we the way they described?" It all looks so familiar: Foreigner Talents 1, Singaporeans 0. Full story read more
Blogger probed for offensive Facebook post
Police are investigating a blogger for allegedly publishing a photo that is offensive to Muslims on his Facebook (FB) page. Donaldson Tan, editor of Singapore-based current affairs commentary website New Asia Rebublic, is accused of putting up a picture of a pig superimposed on the Kaaba, a cuboid building in Mecca that is sacred in Islam. Pigs are considered unclean animals in Islam. The post was accompanied by the text: "This is a flame bait. YOU ARE WARNED" read more Police investigate NSF over text criticising Islam
A police spokesman confirmed yesterday that they are looking into an incident where a full-time national serviceman (NSF) posted on his Facebook wall a picture of text that criticises Islam. The NSF, identified as Mr Christian Eliab Ratnam, had posted a picture of text claiming that Islam is not a religion but 'an authoritarian, political doctrine which imposes itself by force', among other inflammtory things. His Facebook account has since been deactivated, but an edited screenshot was put up on the TOC website. read more Huda kindergarten’s ‘young terrorist trainees’ From ‘PAP Youth member quits over ‘racist’ online posting’, article by Rachel Chang, 18 Nov 2011, ST
A PEOPLE’S Action Party (PAP) youth wing member has resigned from the party after one of his Facebook posts sparked accusations of racism as it circulated online. Mr Jason Neo, 30, drew criticism from Malay opposition politicians and playwright Alfian Sa’at, among others. His actions were also condemned by Young PAP (YP) leaders yesterday.
At least three police reports have been made against him, and the police told The Straits Times yesterday that the matter was being investigated. Mr Neo’s posting was made in February, before he joined the PAP.
It showed a picture he had taken of a school bus with Malay children from Huda Kindergarten, in Woodlands, dressed in their uniform which includes traditional Malay headwear. Mr Neo’s caption, which offended those who saw it in recent days, said: ‘Bus filled with young terrorist trainees?’
readmore Former YPAP member apologises to kindergarten over offensive post
A former Young People's Action Party (YPAP) member who posted a picture of kindergarten pupils with an offensive caption has written an apology to the school. Mr Jason Neo, 30, has also asked permission to visit the school, Huda Kindergarten, so that he can apologise in person. A copy of the letter was sent to The Straits Times yesterday. related: PAP Youth member quits over 'racist' online posting read more Pig on the Kaaba as flame bait
From ‘Blogger probed for offensive Facebook post’, 23 Nov 2011, article inAsiaone.com
Police are investigating a blogger for allegedly publishing a photo that is offensive to Muslims on his Facebook (FB) page. Donaldson Tan, editor of Singapore-based current affairs commentary website New Asia Rebublic, is accused of putting up a picture of a pig superimposed on the Kaaba, a cuboid building in Mecca that is sacred in Islam.
Pigs are considered unclean animals in Islam. The post was accompanied by the text: “This is a flame bait. YOU ARE WARNED”.
Events provoking the Muslim community have been snowballing of late, from halal sticker pranks to links to terrorism. Astonishingly, at least 4 Facebook users have been since been accused of being racist curmudgeons online and threatening to destabilise social order, whether it’s blatantly maligning the very religion itself with some profane Zionist muckraking or simply complaining about prayers being played at McDonalds. Judging from the furious reactions by uppity netizens, people like Donaldson and Christian Eliab Ratnam should, if let off the hook, stick to dismal status updates like what they’re having for lunch, though refraining from posting pictures of bratwurst sausages would probably be a good idea.
‘Rachelle Ann Beguia’ likes to bootlick MPs Despite Rachelle’s apology, it will still take a greater, gracious Singaporean to forget about this incident and, instead of fanning the flames of xenophobia and getting paranoid about our maids throwing a revolution and poisoning our food in a bid to topple their Singaporean overlords, perhaps we should reflect on how such sweeping foreigner attitudes will galvanise Singaporeans into improving our current lot and survive this alien invasion, something that ‘can’t be helped’ and have to ‘assuage’, short of slashing PRCs or splashing hot curry on their doorsteps. Thanks to Facebook, we are threatening to make the first forays into treacherous hate-crime territory out of something that started as an ‘impolite guest’ analogy. Perhaps it’s a case of security in numbers which allows people like Rachelle to risk losing her work permit and make audacious comments, believing that there’s a 2 million strong community who would rally around her at the drop of a hat. Such divisive ideas may be considered as bitter medicine by the government who take the long view of economic growth at the expense of Singaporeans gradually feeling marginalised in a society where foreigners have the luxury of slamming their hosts, foreigners who have become arrogant because they were led to believe Singapore is hopeless without their talent, something which our ministers have emphasised time and time again and even celebrate with table tennis medals. read more Wee Shu Min elitism controversy
The Wee Shu Min elitism controversy occurred in October 2006. Wee Shu Min, daughter of parliament memberWee Siew Kim and a then-eighteen year-old student on Raffles Junior College's scholarship programme, found herself in controversyafter posting on her blog what were viewed by some Singaporeans to be elitist,naïve, and insensitive statements against heartlanders Dismissing the views of Derek Wee who voiced concerns on job security and age discrimination on his blog, she shot back with a take-no-prisoners diatribe, calling Derek a "stupid crackpot", belonging to "the sadder class" and overreliant on the government. Her post also called for Derek to "get out of my elite uncaring face". Her response triggered an avalanche of criticism, as it came on the heels of the sensational suicide of an individual (said to be facing financial difficulties) at Chinese Garden MRT StationAs a result, her name topped Technorati's search terms for a week. She has since appeared to have apologisedon another blog and shut down her own. read more Female JC and university alumnus calls ITE students 'failures' who 'cannot study'
An ex-Junior College and university student made disparaging remarks about Institute of Technical Education (ITE) students online. STOMPers Koh and Kai Siang had come across her facebook postings and alerted STOMP to them. On her facebook account, she had written that ITE students 'cannot study' and hence, should not 'challenge JC students in everything'. She also compared certificates from both schools and pointed out that an 'A' Level certificate would provide more options when it comes to the choice of university courses to study. Her list includes law, medicine and pathology, she said. read more Only ACS boys worth dating, says teacher
Yet another blogger has expressed the view that boys from Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) make great boyfriends. This time, there is extra interest as the blogger herself is a relief teacher at a local primary school.
According to a netizen who stumbled upon her blog: "I came across this blog created by a relief teacher in Singapore."
"She compared boys from all-boys schools, and described boys from Chinese High and Raffles Institution as being 'ugly' and that St Andrews boys are 'imitated goods of ACS'.
23-year-old Jiang Lai threatened to kill herself and was referred to IMH. (Facebook photo) A controversial Singapore-based blogger who sparked heated debate about her dating habits has been arrested and referred to the Institute of Mental Health (IMH). According to The New Paper, 23-year-old Singapore Permanent Resident (PR) Jiang Lai was arrested after trying to check in to Fairmont Hotel along Bras Basah Road on 13 May. She reportedly got into an argument with hotel staff after she was asked to make a deposit for a week's stay. During the argument, Jiang threatened to commit suicide and began to speak incoherently. Jiang was subsequently arrested by police and referred to IMH. It's not clear why she had planned to stay at the hotel for a week when she lives with her parents in Ang Mo Kio. read more
'Awesome' racist jokes lands SIM student in trouble
The National University of Singapore (NUS), the Singapore Institute of Management (SIM) and the police are investigating a YouTube video of a drunk student making racist jokes. The first-year SIM student, Justin Wee, 24, was captured on video spewing vulgarities and passing derogatory comments on Malays and Indians, The Straits Times reported. There were also other voices in the video egging the student to tell "more Malay jokes or Indian jokes", to which the student responded: "My racist jokes damn awesome right?" related: Tension if online derogatory posts are not handled well Racial harmony camp brings teens outdoors for inter-racial bonding 'Don't let in problems from elsewhere' read more ‘Expletive online post about Indians hurtful, wrong and uncalled for’ A Nanyang Polytechnic student’s “expletive-laced (online) post about Indians” was “particularly hurtful, wrong and completely uncalled for”, said Member of Parliament (MP) for Tanjong Pagar GRC Indranee Rajah. Writing on her Facebook page on Tuesday, she said, “We may all feel frustrated and angry about certain issues at times, but we shouldn’t vent or take out our frustrations and anger in the form of racially directed comments.” Earlier this week, 19-year-old Lai Shimun drew flak from netizens after posting racist remarks on her Twitter page which went viral on Monday. read more Lai Shimun under the spotlight Since I've recently talked about Franziska Zimmermann and Sun Xu on my blog, it was inevitable that a friend would ask me to do a piece on Lai Shimun - so here it is. For those of you who are not following this story in Singapore, here is it in a nutshell. Ms Lai Shimun, a Singaporean student got into trouble when her racist tweet sparked a public outcry. A police report was lodged against her and she has seen made a groveling public apology. Her school NYP has since issued a statement to say that they have counselled Ms Lai and an MP Lim Biow Chuan has also added that since Ms Lai has apologized, “we should accept it graciously and all of us should move on.” Now Lai Shimun's case is somewhat different from the other two cases. Ms Zimmermann was interviewed specifically for the Straits Times whilst Sun Xu's comments were published on Chinese social networking site Ren Ren 人人网 - Ms Lai's tweet on the other hand was supposedly aimed only to her circle of followers but one of them, Alice (not her real name), felt so peeved off that she re-tweeted it to teach her good friend Lai Shimun a lesson. If 'Alice' hadn't retweeted Ms Lai's tweet, this wouldn't even be a story in the first place. Mind you, if I was Alice, I wouldn't have retweeted Ms Lai's offensive tweet. Instead, I would confront her one to one and tell her, "Hey Shimun, that tweet was not acceptable, it was very racist and offensive. You cannot write shit like that on Twitter or you will get into a lot of trouble." read more Shimun Lai - What's her crime? What did Shimun Lai say that has gotten so many people riled up? Indians upset over her remark; non-Indian netizens upset over it in a show of solidarity; other netizens upset that people are upset with Shimun.... Something is not right with this picture. Let's just face it. Racial stereotyping is a common feature in every society. In just about every country I've been to, racial comments, racial jokes, insensitive racial stereotyping is part of the ordinary social landscape. Singapore is no different. From the time that I was in Primary school, I can remember comments and jokes about my dark skin. Sometimes kids would shun me because the darkness of the skin equates with being dirty and I used to get those comments thrown straight at my face. I have heard people characterise Indians as slimy, fork-tongued, liars. Even as a practising lawyer, I used to get back-handed compliments about why so many Indians make good lawyers (because we are good at twisting things around). read more Racially insensitive comment by poly student Shimun Lai, a 19-year-old student allegedly pursuing the Diploma in Diagnostic Radiography at Nanyang Polytechnic, supposedly tweeted a racially insensitive comment about a minority race in Singapore, which has now gone viral in the social media. Earlier today, TOC tried to get in touch with Ms Lai to seek clarification on the issue, but she has yet to respond to our query. Ms Lai is a Singaporean and has studied in Singapore schools. HerFacebook andTwitter accounts have now been deleted, but she still has an online presence in other social networking sites. read more Can you don’t eat curry? From ‘Curry is a Singapore flavour’, 11 Aug 2011, Voices, Today
(Frances Ong Hock Lin):…I am concerned when a family (from China) who have relocated to Singapore have requested that their (Indian) neighbour stop cooking curry. They had resorted to mediation because they could not stand the smell.
“Can you please do something? Can you don’t cook curry? Can you don’t eat curry?” they implored.
Maybe it is timely for us to remember that just as we are given freedom to express our culture and religious customs, we have to co-exist in our common space, such as the air we breathe.
…I feel strongly that it is inappropriate to ask the local family to only cook curry when the neighbour is not at home. It is equivalent to asking my neighbour not to burn paper offerings when my husband is home, which is a ridiculous request.
read more “Please, get out of my elite uncaring face.”
Wee Shu Min
I am sure many people recognized this quote by Miss Wee. After all, the Wee Shun Min saga has been one of the most widely debated topics in Singapore.
The whole issue started when Derek Wee published his rejected letter to the straits times on his blog. Derek wrote in response to the “Straits Times article (dated 24 Sep) on PM Lee calling the young to be committed and make a difference to Singapore.” Basically, he pointed out the uncertainties and pressures Singaporeans are facing in Singapore.
He touched upon issues on the competitiveness in our society, ageism faced by Singaporeans in their 40s, “quitters”, the call to procreate etc. He ended off by expressing his opinion that the current PAP government is on a different platform from the people because they do not understand our insecurities. His honest letter echoed what many Singaporeans have been feeling and hence many people started pouring in comments supporting his point of view.
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