TR EMERITUS

I suggest that the CPF system should be streamlined and simplified as follows: a) The rate of CPF contribution should be uniform for all workers, and should not vary according to age. For example, it should be 20% of wages for workers and employers b) Contribution for workers above age 55 should be voluntary. The current system of CPF contribution is complicated and difficult for employers and workers to plan. We should return to a uniform contribution rate that applied when the CPF system was first started.   Tan Kin Lian      Read More →

It is very, very fortunate that a 14 years old school girl survived her suicide attempt because of intense and prolong bullying and harassments that she suffered in school. It was reported that the bullying was not committed by 1 student but at least 5 boys over a one year period, both cyber and physical. She is a very brave girl and I salute her. I sincerely wish her a speedy recovery and all the best in life. She didn't suffer her situation in silence. Many others in similar situation would have done that out of either the lack of self confidence that nobody would believe her story, low self esteem or inferiority complex but not her. She repeatedly complained to her teachers and even handwritten a letter of 4 pages to that useless lee hsien loong on 10 December 2020 urging him to improve the way our schools and our Ministry of Education (MOE) handle bullying. I fully understand that many teenage boys can be boisterous and naughty and that is normal but if teachers and principals start to be defensive about the way they handle or more accurately, fail to handle the problems satisfactorily and in this case, bullying, repeatedly brought up to their attention by their affected student or worse still, fail to recognise that they have a growing problem in hand and instead give a whole plethora of excuses for not taking effective measures to address them, then their lack of actions must embolden those predatory boys even more. Those teachers including their useless principals deserve to be demoted or dismissed firmly! Short of taking a firm and no nonsense approach by MOE, standards in other schools must inevitably slip too. Will somebody kindly share my commentary with that very well-paid and well-fed Ong Ye Kung and his junior pap ministars at the MOE. Think.   Simon Lim      Read More →

When PM Lee first announced his 4G team of politicians, he was overwhelmingly confident that his handpicked 4G politicians were the best to take over from him and lead Singapore forward. Despite much concern, criticism and reservation shown by patriotic Singaporeans, he continues to dismiss them and instead chose to lavish the 4G Ministers with even more compliments. Fast forward to GE2020, when Lee decided to call for an election during the pandemic to supposedly exploit the "flight to safety" psychology of voters, he had stated that "a good result for the PAP would be an endorsement for the 4G team, the party's strategies and its renewal process." As the dust settles on GE2020, the PAP was served their most embarrassing defeat, suffering a 8.63% swing against them when only 1,524,781 (57.5%), out of the total 2,651,435 (100%) of eligible voters voted for them. This proves that earlier concerns, criticisms and reservations by patriotic Singaporeans were largely justified by the election result, which Lee chooses to ignore. It shows that the existential view of the PAP, and those of Lee, were in serious conflict with the reality on the ground. This clearly deserves greater scrutiny. Was Lee blindsided by his trusted advisors or has his 4G politicians failed him, or was the loss at GE2020 a tactical move engineered by Lee? Of the three prime ministers of Singapore, Lee has the dubious honour of having the worst election records, prompting some political analysts to question if the weak 4G team was a contingency plan to ensure that his successor would perform worse than him, and in the process, erase his dubious record. If so, then GE2020 does validates this possibility in a sense. But if this is true, then the question will be asked if Lee is putting his personal ego and pride ahead of the well-being of the country. Question is, would Lee be so self-centered and egoistic to do something this foolish and reckless? But if the 4G politicians were as good as Lee has been claiming, why then when Lee announced his new cabinet and political office holders on 25 July 2020, why is it that none of his 4G politician was deemed fit or sufficiently capable enough to helm the post of either the Law Ministry or the Home Affairs Ministry, resulting in the same old minister having to continue to hold these two portfolio on their behalf? To make matters worse, GE2020 actually saw an increase in the number of parliamentarians from 89 to 93. As such, it is indeed puzzling when one wonders if there is really no real talent among the enlarged 4G team that an old politician has to still stand in for them in these two ministries. If none of the 4G politicians can be trusted by Lee to helm either the Law or Home Affairs ministry, how then can Singaporeans be expected to trust them to lead our country? At the PAP central executive committee (CEC) elections on 8 November, Lee acknowledged that "people (Singaporeans) had already been feeling the pain from safe distancing measures and the economic fallout, losing their jobs and income, or worrying about their future. At the same time, businesses were also frustrated by the COVID-19 restrictions. The anxiety was palpable, and it cost us votes." Again, this shows that both Singapore and the PAP have been victims of individual success. Singaporeans have been too reliant and trusting of the PAP, failing to make a clear distinction between the OLD PAP, when it was helmed by our hardworking, diligent and public-spirited old guards, and the NEW PAP, helmed largely by scholars, generals and opportunists who are aloof, complacent and self-centered. Try finding desirable attributes like sincerity, dedication, resourcefulness or humility in the 4G politicians and you will know why the 4G team is so contentious and divisive to Singapore. As a city-state, every policy must address the fact that we have no hinterland where citizens and families can retreat. As such, we cannot afford becoming another New York City. Sadly, this is something that those politicians still don't understand. With more patriotic Singaporeans finding the courage to take the initiative at GE2020 and pushing for an Alternative Government to the PAP, and with more credible and capable alternative candidates stepping up to serve the country, this trajectory of change may be the critical lifeline that Singapore needs to chart our own future forward without the PAP. It may even help us to avert chaotic street protests like those in Hong Kong or Thailand, when democracy turns dysfunctional and the rights of citizens are violated by unconstitutional change. In this aspect, we need to safeguard our country and constitution against rogue politicians if we want to avert such disruptive politics from happening in our country. Even Lee Hsien Yang, the younger brother of Lee, has noted that "many of these (opposition) candidates, who are not from the ruling PAP, are caring and authentic, and have impressive qualities and qualifications''. He is also right in stating that the 4G PAP politicians, unlike the opposition, lack character, courage and the willingness to sacrifice for our country. Despite knowing well how much his late father values the PAP, he, like his father, knows well that there will come a day when the PAP will become irrelevant and Singaporeans will have no choice but to vote them out before they bring our country to its ruin. At the rate the 4G politicians are currently running the country, it is looking like that day may have already dawn upon us. Whatever the reason Lee may have to stay longer as the PM, he needs to be aware that whatever he envisages, strategize or articulate, he will still need his current 4G team to execute his plan. If their current performance can be used to extrapolate the outcome, then more Singaporeans ought to be concerned about our future. If Lee does not take drastic action and remove the deep incompetencies within the New PAP, then history may judge him harshly when it ultimately collapses like a "house of cards". Like any patriotic Singaporeans, l strongly believe that Singapore deserves better.   Joseph Nathan      Read More →