TR EMERITUS

More than a week has passed and there are still no updates from PAP Minister of Community Development, Youth and Sports Dr Vivian Balakrishnan on the YOG fracas. After hogging the limelight for two entire weeks, it appears that Dr Vivian has gone into "hiding" this week after the conclusion of the much maligned YOG which was plagued by several controversies and screws-up. From ticketing glitches, collapsing roof canvases, shoddy merchandise, mistreatment of volunteers to the mass food poisoning scandal, Dr Vivian has not accounted to Singaporeans on what happened exactly. The mass food poisoning outbreak involving 21 YOG volunteers took place on 15 August 2010. While Dr Vivian promised that he would get to the bottom of things, there are no updates on the case so far. Dr Vivian also did not bother to explain how he managed to burst the budget for YOG by more than three times to a shocking $387 million dollars except that he is "confident" that Singapore will "recoup" its investments. In his last public appearance at a dialogue with young Singaporeans last week, Dr Vivian claimed that the PAP is "trying to build a honest political system." Dr Vivian should practice what he preaches by revealing the account books for the YOG and the number of local SMEs (excluding government-linked companies) which benefitted directly from the YOG. Fortunately for him, there is no opposition to ask him difficult and embarrassing questions in Parliament. Under the unique PAP system of governance, everything is based on "trust" and nothing else.     Related articles: >> Vivian and Ser Luck put up "smoke-screen" >> Jacques Rogge: There will be more media attention for next YOG >> No public statement of support for Vivian from other PAP ministers >> Exposing the hypocrises of Vivian Balakrishnan >>Singapore schools forced to pay for YOG tickets >> Thomas Bach: High cost of YOG a concern >> Jacques Rogge: YOG is perfect promotion for Singapore >> Countering Straits Times ‘hogwash that YOG has caugh the “eyes” of the international media >> Jacques Rogge: YOG is a resounding success >> YOG volunteer: not much improvement in food >> Dr Vivian: YOG glitches unavoidable >> Petition demanding Dr Vivian to apologize >> YOG food poisoning scandal: Open letter to Dr Vivian >> Live maggot found in YOG food >> Ng Ser Miang: YOG gets positive reviews >> Kuo Chuan Primary School principal admits to blackmailing students >> Parents should pull children out of YOG >> No apology from Dr Vivian on YOG food poisoning scandal >> Massive outcry over screw-ups in YOG ticketing >> Why Ng Ser Miang should resign as Chairman of SYOGOC >> Dr Vivian: probe into YOG food poisoning scandal will take time >> PRC photographer fell down from temporary platform at YOG venue >> Cover-up of YOG food poisoning scandal? >> NEA, MOH to probe YOG mass food poisoning outbreak  >> Singaporeans “enslaved” by YOG organizing commitee >> Kuo Chuan Primary School students forced to pay $5 to attend YOG >> Singapore students forced to welcome YOG torch rally >> Mass food poisoning outbreak at YOG venue yesterday? >> YOG! What YOG? >> Canvas roof at YOG fell apart >> Zaqy Mohd defends MCYS >> Singapore students “invited” to attend YOG event >> Singapore volunteers forced to work long hours without rest for YOG >> PM Lee caught napping at YOG opening ceremony? >> Disaster at YOG opening ceremony >> 8 reasons why I am disappointed with YOG opening ceremony >> Netizens lampooned YOG opening ceremony >> No news of YOG opening ceremony in rest of the world >> MOE teacher: How students can stay out of YOG >> YOG Webcast server crashed >> SFI promises to improve “DOG” food for volunteers >> Primary school students stand in the rain to welcome YOG torch >> Plight of Singapore volunteers at Youth Olympic Village >> JC students forced to attend YOG events >> Dr Vivian: Singaporeans are proud of YOG >> PM Lee: YOG has struck a “chord” with our people >> Dr Vivian: YOG venues will not become “white elephants” >> Online pressure forced SFI to provide better food for YOG volunteers >> Improved “DOG” food on 14 August 2010 >> PAP provides three daily buffet meals to YOG athletes and officials >> YOG volunteers complain about being given “DOG” food >> Civil Service Club offering free YOG tickets >> Journey of YOG flame costs Singaporeans $7 million dollars >> Corny YOG propaganda in Straits Times >> Tharman: YOG enthusiasm is real >> Polytechnic student: I don’t care about YOG >> JC students being “volunteered” for YOG >> YOG: What the HELL is that? >> PAP provides YOG athletes and officials three daily buffets >> YOG students being given “dog food” >> Singapore students forced to volunteer for YOG >> Poor ticket sales forced closure of YOG gallery section >> PM Lee calls on Singaporeans to support YOG >> Young Singaporeans hurl vulgarities at YOG >> Dr Vivian wants Singaporeans to celebrate YOG >> NTU students complain about YOG >> Dr Vivian: Sports is not about “petty politics” >> More than 300 Singaporeans joined “I hate YOG” Facebook >> CNA poll: 90 percent of Singaporeans “not interested” in YOG >> Slovak YOG Ambassador slams YOG venues of “school standard” only >> Two Facebook groups calling for boycott of YOG >> Free condoms for YOG officials and athletes >> Singapore helping to repair Jamaica’s stadium in return for YOG marketing >> Former stripper to choreograph opening ceremony of YOG >> Desperate PAP wants Singaporeans to get “passionate” about YOG >> PAP to Singaporeans: Give way to YOG vehicles or get fined $130 >> PM Lee wants Singaporeans to do their part for YOG >> Only six teams in YOG soccer tournament Please join our Facebook page here and invite your friends to do so to create awareness of the current affairs affecting Singaporeans. 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Author: Goh Meng Seng (Secretary General) We are glad to hear the Prime Minister addressing the various key problems that we have been raising for the past one year in his National Day Rally speech. However, at closer examination, we have the following key points to make: $60 billion for MRT infrastructure over 10 years 1. Where would the government get the funding of $60B from? 2. Will the PAP government increase the GST to 10% or raise other taxes to get additional funding? Will the public transport fares increase to finance this expenditure? 3. Will the PAP government keep to the promised time frame of 10 years? The PAP government has delayed various important infrastructure projects, like the building of hospitals as well as the Downtown line, which have resulted in the increased cost of construction. Will the PAP government promise to keep to the budget of $60B instead of allowing it to balloon out of control, just like what happened to the YOG budget? Measures to keep Housing Affordable 1. We are very confused by the various contradictory signals that the PAP ministers have sent within these few months: 1a. Late last year, Minister Mah Bow Tan claimed that housing was still affordable, and that the influx of immigrants was not a main factor causing the rise in resale prices. But now the Prime Minister has acknowledged that the influx of new immigrants has contributed to the rise in resale prices. 1b. When Minister Mah put up the first few measures in March 2010 to curb rising resale prices, some Singaporeans questioned the inadequacy of such measures. Minister Mah defended his ministry’s decision and said no other measures would be necessary. But just 5 months down the road, Minister Mah has introduced more drastic measures to curb property prices. 1c. In March 2010, Minister Mah claimed that the supply of flats was more than sufficient to meet any surge in demand. However it seems that his ministry must now go into overdrive to ramp up the supply of BTO flats. 1d. In March 2010, Minister Mah raised the minimum occupation period for resale flat owners who take bank loans from 1 year to 3 years. Barely a few months later, the ministry is now further pushing it up to 5 years. It seems that HDB is unable to provide any policy stability at all. 1e. On 26 June 2010, MM Lee said there probably isn’t any property bubble. But now, Minister Mah admits that a property bubble is in the making. 2. In December 2009, after admitting to being “caught off guard”, Minister Mah reassured us of the ministry’s ability to keep this problem of “unexpected” rise in property prices in check. Yet the contradictions as noted above clearly signal that his ministry continues to lose sight of the severity of the problem. 3. The latest drastic measures have caused unwarranted shocks to the whole system. Those who have based their purchases of HDB flats or private properties on the past policies will face great financial losses. The frequent policy changes will erode investor’s confidence in the government’s competency in dealing with such problems. 4. As long as there isn’t any fundamental change in the pricing mechanism of new HDB flats and the increasing demand of new migrants (Permanent Residents) is not effectively met by other means, we do not see how prices for both new and resale HDB flats can become affordable. NSP reiterates our stand that new HDB flats should be sold at cost price to citizens. HDB should also consider selling new flats to PR at market price so to ease the demand due to unusual increase in PR population. Immigration Policy 1. We do not think that the Prime Minister understands the real problems caused by the huge influx of foreign labour on the ground. 2. PM Lee has raised the example of coffeeshop owners unable to find Singaporeans who are willing to work until 12a.m. and thus they need to employ foreign workers. But the truth is, to ask workers to work 14 hours or more in a day is an act of exploitation. The labour law should be applied equally on both local and foreign workers. We cannot allow employers to exploit foreign workers just because Singapore workers are unwilling to be exploited. 3. We also notice that there are firms putting up recruitment advertisement which discriminate against either Singapore citizens or races. The liberal FT policy that the PAP government has adopted is partly to be blamed for this discrimination of local Singapore citizens by businesses. This practice has to be stopped and NSP urges the government to set up Commission of Equal Opportunity and setting laws to outlaw discriminatory employment practices. 4. PM Lee has ignored the severity of the depression of wages of both middle and lower income earners due to the influx of foreign labour. There is no mention of any concrete plans to deal with this problem. 5. PM Lee may think that foreign labour will help to create jobs for Singaporeans but the reverse is also true. Many Singaporeans’ jobs have been displaced by foreign labour. The problem is so severe that engineers and managers are now becoming taxi drivers. We have invested lots of money in the education of our citizens but such displacement of jobs of foreign labour has effectively made our investment wasted. Here again, there is no mention of any concrete plans to deal with this problem by PM Lee. 6. Raising workers’ levy alone will not help much in preventing engineers and professionals being displaced by foreign labour. Raising workers’ levy will not prevent exploitation of foreign workers nor save jobs for citizens. 7. Last but not least, this liberal immigration policy has caused a serious problem of income disparity within our society. Wages of both middle and lower income earners have been depressed while some have basically lost their jobs and face underemployment or even unemployment. The widening of income gap and the diminishing of middle class are great concerns to social stability but the Prime Minister has not addressed it either. Conclusion Although we feel that the Prime Minister has put up a very good pre-election National Day Rally speech but we still find that the solutions that his government has provided are generally inadequate. We must bear in mind that all the problems and issues addressed by the Prime Minister are mostly the result of oversight by the various ministries under the charge of the respective ministers. All these problems are not new and have been raised by many people including NSP over the year. These problems could be long anticipated as it is the direct result of PAP government’s deliberate policy of opening the floodgates for foreign workers and migrants to come to Singapore. These “caught off guard” ministers should be responsible and made accountable for their deficiencies. We also note that the Prime Minister did not resort to giving out goodies or red packets to citizens as a populist tactic to win support. We would be impressed if PAP decides to abandon its past undesirable election tactic and choose to contest the elections based on its policy views, ideas and plans instead. We would be even more impressed if PAP could put up the boundary report way before the impending general elections. It will open up a new era of healthy political competition and engagement for Singapore.  Read More →

By Elaine Ee-Meyers from CNNgo.com Based in New York and Shanghai -- and now extending his reach to Singapore -- 45-year-old director and filmmaker Alec Tok surprised everyone when he was announced as a candidate for the opposition’s Reform Party earlier this year. Essentially his first foray into politics, Tok was inspired by by the Reform Party's ambition to go beyond just being the opposition. Here, he discusses how politics impacts his artistic work and the difference between a home and a country.  CNNGo: What brought you to politics and why? Alec Tok: I joined the Reform Party at the end of 2009. I’ve always been interested in Singapore politics -- it’s such an extreme situation that you have to deal with it, relate to it -- and the way I’m relating to it right now is to partake in the changing of it, as simple as that. I was really happy when the late J.B. Jeyaretnam decided to make a last bid for parliament because it cemented the need to have someone who could pursue the constitutional struggle in Singapore. Then when he passed away he left a vacuum and that was a big worry for me because it set us back quite a few years. But the vacuum is being filled, rightfully, by his heir, Kenneth [Jeyaretnam]. And I thought, you know what, if you want me, I’m prepared to stand with you.  Read more here  Read More →