geraldgiam.sg

I am happy to announce the publication of my first book, Singapore version 2.0: Alternative proposals for a better Singapore.

This 384-page book includes over 90 of my best articles written over the past four years, covering a wide range of topics including politics, the economy, values, race, religion, the media and democracy. Most of them are edited and improved versions of my blog articles. I have also included some articles which have not been published on my blog before.

One objective of this book is to raise funds for my potential election campaign, if the Workers’ Party fields me as a candidate in the next election. Political fund-raising is a key task for any aspiring candidate, even in Singapore. In some countries like the US, the amount of money a candidate raises is often seen as a measure of popular support. But to be clear, the purchase of my book is a commercial transaction, not a political donation.

In addition to the above, through this book I also hope to raise Singaporeans’ awareness of political issues and alternative policy ideas that seldom get an airing outside of the Internet. In doing so, I hope to reach out to more Singaporeans who don’t read local political blogs or online forums.

My book is now on sale at my blog. You can go to geraldgiam.sg/book to place an order and it will be mailed to you within three working days. The book is also available at Popular bookstores and Select Books. For local orders, the book costs just S$21.90 online and S$23.54 at bookstores.

I appeal to you to support me by buying a copy of my book. Please consider buying a few more for your friends and family too. You may also choose to place a large order and let me give those copies to selected residents whom I meet during my constituency walkabouts.

If you’ve already bought my book and read it, do share your thoughts on the book in the comments below, and click the Share button below to spread the word on Facebook.

Thank you for your support and I hope you will enjoy reading the book. Click here to order the book today!

Yours sincerely,

Technorati Tags: book, fundraising

This is an excerpt of an interview I had with the Straits Times on 6 July 2010, shortly after I was elected to the Workers’ Party’s Central Executive Council. The other new WP CEC members interviewed were Dr John Yam, Muhammad Faisal and Frieda Chan.

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Technorati Tags: interviews, Straits Times, Workers' Party

This is a video interview I had with Yahoo! Singapore on their news feature Fit to Post, published on 14 and 16 July 2010. I shared about why I joined the Workers’ Party and what I think the key issues affecting Singaporeans are. The write-ups can be found here and here.

Technorati Tags: interviews, Yahoo

Workers’ Party chairman Sylvia Lim asked several questions in Parliament yesterday, two of which touched on issues which have hit a raw nerve of many Singaporeans, namely the frequent flooding across Singapore and the security lapse at the MRT depot.

Ms Lim posed a question to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs about what role the Government plays in ensuring that security on public transport is not compromised. In response, Second Minister for Home Affairs K Shanmugam claimed that the role of the police is to only provide an ‘additional’ layer of security, when needed. He said that the primary responsibility for the day-to-day operational security of depots, stations and vehicles is that of transport operators SMRT and SBS Transit. Implicit in his statement was that his ministry is clearly not to be held accountable for the recent security breach at the MRT depot in Changi.

Ms Lim also asked the Environment and Water Resources Minister to clarify the ‘confusing statements’ in the media about the role of the barrage in the floods. The Minister said that because the barrage receives water from a large 10,000 ha network of canals and drains, areas located more centrally or further north could still be vulnerable to floods if the drains there do not have the capacity to contain water during an intense downpour.

I will be on my first duty as a CEC member at the Workers’ Party Open House.

Date: Monday, 19 July 2010

Time: 8 – 9.30pm

Venue: 216G Syed Alwi Road #02-03 (click for map)

All are welcome  to drop by to find out more about the Workers’ Party or just for a chat. Hope to see you there!

THIRTEEN to 15 per cent. That is the government’s latest projection of GDP growth rate for 2010. To the casual observer, this looks like fantastic news. It makes for a great pre-election fodder.

However, just like fodder, it may turn out to be inedible to humans. This kind of growth rate is not natural, not least for a supposedly developed economy like Singapore. Even China, with all the talk about its economy overheating, is not expected to have more than 10 per cent growth this year. The reality may bite for ordinary Singaporeans in a few months time: Inflation is likely to shoot up; the prices of everything, from utilities to food to transport will continue on their dramatic upward trend. Yet a recruiting firm managing director interviewed by TODAY warned that those who expect a much higher salary from their current job may be disappointed, because many hiring managers still peg their salary figures against last year’s rates. PM Lee himself said that “you don’t want it to happen too suddenly. You have to manage it (wage increases).”.

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Technorati Tags: bonuses, GDP

The Straits Times carried a commentary by one of its journalists today criticizing the Government’s handling of the Town Council Management Report (TCMR). The journalist gave the Government “at best an E -” grade for “effort”. In other words, the Government failed miserably. (In the ‘O’ levels, a ‘D’ is already a failing grade.)

My 13 June blog post, Underwhelmed by town council report, was quoted in the ST article:

Workers’ Party member Gerald Giam wrote on his blog: ‘Why does the MND suddenly feel the urge to tell residents what they should think of their town councils, and by extension, their MPs?

‘Residents are personally affected by their town council’s performance. If they feel that their MPs are not performing, they would have voted them out long ago.’

– “Perception of bias dents report’s credibility”, Straits Times, 3 July 2010.

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Technorati Tags: Town Councils

As I was doing some house cleaning this afternoon in preparation for the delivery of my books tomorrow, I chanced upon one of my university admission letters dated 14 March 1994. It was from one of the universities in California which I didn’t end up enrolling in. What struck me, which I had never noticed before, was this paragraph:

“From your first week on campus, you will also have the opportunity to apply your talents in areas outside the classroom. You may wish to get involved in student government, service and political organizations, academic clubs, support groups and more.”

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The Workers’ Party’s Eastern Area Committee (EAC) conducted our house visits in Bedok South yesterday evening. As always, we had an enriching time chatting with residents and understanding their concerns about life in Singapore. Residents we met expressed appreciation for our visit.

The EAC was formed in 2005 to expand the WP’s operational capabilities into the eastern part of Singapore. The current team, led by Eric Tan Heng Chong, the party treasurer, has been conducting house visits every week since early last year.

Technorati Tags: Bedok, EAC, house visits, Workers' Party

A reader forwarded me this press release from Contact Singapore, announcing that Economic Development Board and the Ministry of Manpower are hiring 250 China engineers this Saturday in Shanghai. Here’s the catch: If don’t read Chinese, too bad for you–the press release is written only in Chinese with no English translation. It is quite obvious that the ad is targeted only at China engineers, and not at Singaporeans.

My reader wondered why priority was not given to Singaporeans. I think it is a valid question to ask. Can EDB and MOM confirm that no effort was spared in recruiting locally before going to China to recruit?

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Technorati Tags: careers, engineering, jobs