Civil servants: Take better care of your Minister’s bosses

Take care of your Minister, by all means. But take better care of your Minister’s bosses: The people of Singapore who elected him, pay his salary (and yours) and can fire him (at the polls) if he performs poorly.

A blog by Straits Times correspondent Christopher Tan (“Pre-empted by the Internet”) revealed some interesting behind the scenes excitement that took place when the big announcement of the revisions to the Off-peak Car (OPC) scheme got leaked on the Net two days before the Minister for Transport could announce it.

The LTA (Land Transport Authority) gave a closed door press briefing last Friday, banning any recording devices and ordering journalists to embargo the news until Transport Minister Raymond Lim announced it in a speech at a grassroots event on Sunday. But lo and behold, the news got leaked on the Internet that very night.

With this leak, the ST wanted to run the story on Saturday, but was not given permission to by the LTA. So it got run on Sunday morning — still ahead of the Minister’s speech.

What I find disconcerting was the journalist’s description that “the authority’s (LTA) panic was palpable. After all, the leak had stolen the thunder from a Minister’s Sunday speech.”

Continue reading “Civil servants: Take better care of your Minister’s bosses”

76-year old cardboard lady in Singapore

This AFP news clip has appeared in several other blogs, but I think it’s worth re-posting it here. It’s so sad to see this. Is this the way our nation treats the people who helped build it?

To provide public assistance to all elderly Singaporeans in this situation will be but a drop in the bucket for the government. Instead the criteria for receiving public assistance is that you have to be completely destitute and without any family who can assist you.

Despite all the need out there like the old lady in the clip, there are only 3,000 people in the whole of Singapore who are receiving public assistance to the tune of $260 a month. That adds up to $780,000 a month, which is  much less than a Minister gets paid in one year.

The necessary privileges of citizenship

I was invited to be a studio guest on Channel NewsAsia’s BlogTV on 27 August 2009. This was my second time on the show. The topic for this discussion was titled, “We want more… privileges!”

This article first appeared in Hammersphere.

I was invited to be a studio guest on Channel NewsAsia’s BlogTV on 27 August 2009. This was my second time on the show. The topic for this discussion was titled, “We want more… privileges!”

Continue reading “The necessary privileges of citizenship”

Suggestions to MINDEF regarding Record V recommedations

The Fifth Committee to Recognise the Contribution of Operationally Ready National Servicemen, or Record V, has made 18 recommendations to MINDEF (Ministry of Defence). As an NSman myself, here are my reactions to them and further suggestions to MINDEF.

The Fifth Committee to Recognise the Contribution of Operationally Ready National Servicemen, or Record V, has made 18 recommendations to MINDEF (Ministry of Defence). As an NSman myself, here are my reactions to them and further suggestions to MINDEF.

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The Pledge is not an aspiration or ideology – it’s a PROMISE

This article was first published in Hammersphere.

I have been following the debate in Parliament and outside about the National Pledge and how it should be applied to Singapore’s laws and policies. The debate was sparked off by a motion and a speech by new Nominated MP Viswa Sadasivan, and amplified when MM Lee Kuan Yew stepped in to weigh in with his views.

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Reduce abortions by helping pregnant mothers financially

Medical doctor Ng Liang Wei wrote a letter to the Straits Times forum today suggesting that a fund be set up to help mothers to defray the cost of their pregnancies so as to give them less reasons to abort their babies.

I fully support this idea. I have blogged about the issue of the staggering number of abortions in Singapore before. I think for too long, the debate on abortion (at least in the US — we haven’t debated much about it in Singapore) has been centred on pro-life vs pro-choice. Pro-lifers say abortionist are killing babies, while pro-choicers say anti-abortionists are restricting the freedom of women to do what they want with their own bodies. The argument goes on and any attempt to find common ground is squashed.

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Go tie yourself to a tree, judge tells homeless man

I was saddened yet at the same time angry when I read this news report:

Straits Times, Aug 18, 2009

Jailed for living in illegal tent

By Sujin Thomas

HOMELESS and unemployed, Noor Mohammad Yassin Ismail pitched a canvas tent at East Coast Park in May, 2007, and lived there for almost a month – without a lease or licence to do so.

He was discovered on June 26 of that year, after he was apprehended by park rangers.

In court on Tuesday, Noor was asked to produce his Identity Card or passport but he said that he had lost both items.

It prompted District Judge Mr Shaiffudin Saruwan to retort in jest: ‘I suggest you use a bicycle chain to tie yourself to a tree or you may lose yourself as well.’

Pleading for leniency, Noor, who is tanned and skinny, said that he seldom ate, only doing so if friends gave him food.

He added that his mother is paralysed and looked after by a younger sibling, while an elder sister does not care about him.

He was fined $800 but could not afford to pay the fine so he was jailed four days instead. He could have been fined up to $2,000.

Jailed for living in illegal tent
By Sujin Thomas
HOMELESS and unemployed, Noor Mohammad Yassin Ismail pitched a canvas tent at East Coast Park in May, 2007, and lived there for almost a month – without a lease or licence to do so.
He was discovered on June 26 of that year, after he was apprehended by park rangers.
In court on Tuesday, Noor was asked to produce his Identity Card or passport but he said that he had lost both items.
It prompted District Judge Mr Shaiffudin Saruwan to retort in jest: ‘I suggest you use a bicycle chain to tie yourself to a tree or you may lose yourself as well.’
Pleading for leniency, Noor, who is tanned and skinny, said that he seldom ate, only doing so if friends gave him food.
He added that his mother is paralysed and looked after by a younger sibling, while an elder sister does not care about him.
He was fined $800 but could not afford to pay the fine so he was jailed four days instead. He could have been fined up to $2,000.

It is bad enough that this poor (literally) man who doesn’t even have food to eat and a place to stay is jailed, but when I read what Judge Shaiffudin Saruwan said to him as he sentenced him, I was completely aghast! Does the judge have no compassion whatsoever? He jails a destitute man and then insults him.

What is my country coming to? A land where the powerful elites sneer at the weakest members of society instead of helping them?

I thank reporter Sujin Thomas for highlighting this case.

Insensitivity at our void decks

I was shocked to hear the story related by PM Lee in his National Day Rally speech in Mandarin about the Malay wedding and the Chinese wake. For those who didn’t tune in that early, here’s a rough translation:

A Chinese grandmother died. The family decided to hold wake at the void deck of the next block. But without waiting for approval from the town council to hold their wake there, they proceeded to set up their wake. Coincidentally, that void deck had already been booked by a Malay family for a wedding. The invitations had been sent out. Now they discovered their wedding location had been snatched by another party. The Malay family of course felt very unhappy. The town council staff attempted to resolve the matter by asking the Chinese family to relocate their wake to another void deck. But the Chinese family was unwilling to accommodate. They felt that even though the coffin had not arrived, the wake had already been set up and tearing it down will bring bad luck. So a problem arose. Obviously the party in the wrong was the Chinese family. But they were unwilling to move. Fortunately, with the intervention of the MP and town council staff, the Malay family very graciously agreed to move their wedding to another block. As a gesture of gratitude, the town council waived the rental charges, and also helped them put up signs redirecting wedding guests to the new location. This happened last year.

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We forgot about democracy, justice and equality

The Sunday Times did a survey of 100 Singaporeans asking them to recite the National Pledge. Here were the results:

  • 35 people got it exactly right.
  • 14 people could recall only some phrases.
  • 12 completely forgot the Pledge.
  • 39 others fared pretty well but missed out on a few words, especially those in the third and fourth phrases – ‘to build a democratic society based on justice and equality’.

Gasp! So this means that many Singaporeans know the importance of racial and religious harmony, and are happily pursuing prosperity and progress, but have forgotten about democracy, justice and equality?

Truly sad. Since the PAP government is not making any effort to educate Singaporeans on these values, I hope that civil society and the Opposition would, for the sake of our nation!

Anyway, for the 65% who couldn’t remember all the words of the Pledge, here they are:

We, the citizens of Singapore pledge ourselves as one united people,
regardless of race, language or religion,
to build a democratic society, based on justice and equality,
so as to achieve happiness, prosperity and progress for our nation.

Happy National Day, Singapore!

Here’s wishing all my fellow Pink NRIC holders, citizen-soldiers, workers, fathers, bloggers, political activists and all other Singaporeans (and those who call Singapore home) a very Happy 44th National Day!

I thank God for blessing our country with peace and prosperity, a diversity of cultures to enjoy, and passionate and wonderful people to share this beautiful island under the sun with!

Although I don’t usually like the manufactured patriotism of our national songs, I think this innovative medley by local band Isk, Hosni & Friends (or 20 Dischanger) simply rocks! I must have listened to it almost 20 times in the past 2 days, which is very unusual for me for any song.