TR EMERITUS

Hi TR Editors, My name is Daniel Poon and if you guys remember, my company, ShowNearby was the first to take up TR's free job advertisement for companies hiring only local singaporeans and I found a job with them thanks to the Temasek Review. Anyway, just to update you guys, the job has been really great and ShowNearby is really a great company to work with. Recently our company was invested in by Global Yellow Pages for $3.5 million which we feel is quite a milestone for us. Seeing as how a small homegrown startup can get investment from an MNC, we feel this might be a very good testament to the abilities of Singaporean startup companies and the people in general. We were wondering if you guys would be able to allow us to have a short writeup about this joyous occassion for us?   Daniel Poon   Editor's Note: Mr Daniel Poon is a Singaporean who found his present job through TR's previous Free Job Advertisement offer for local Singapore businesses seeking Singaporean workers only. Following is the article reproduced verbatim at Mr Daniel Poon's request.   Global Yellow Pages acquires stakes in ShowNearby, Companedia Global Yellow Pages, the publisher of telephone directories and provider of classified directory advertising, says it has entered into investment agreements with Singapore’s leading location-based service provider, ShowNearby and COMPANEDIA, a one-stop web agency for local SMEs. Under the agreements, Global Yellow Pages will invest a sum of $3.5 million for a 53.13% interest in ShowNearby and an 80% interest in Companedia. ShowNearby and Companedia will become subsidiaries of the group on completion of the transactions. Stanley Tan, Executive Chairman and Acting Chief Executive Officer of the group, says: “I am really excited to welcome ShowNearby and Companedia to join our growing stable of businesses. These two new additions will complement our vision of growing the e-commerce business by building our digital eco-system and enabling us to expand our product offerings to enhance value for advertisers, businesses and consumers.” ShowNearby provides intuitive location-based services through its main product offerings, ShowNearby on the Web, ShowNearby on Mobile and ShowNearby Analytics, for consumers and businesses. ShowNearby on the Web allows consumers to locate nearby amenities, identify points-of-interest and accessibility information while ShowNearby on Mobile allows consumers to do the same on their favourite smart phone devices, which include Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Android. ShowNearby is currently Singapore’s top three applications on Google’s Android market, Android’s on-device app store which allows developers and users to create and buy paid applications. Similarly, ShowNearby Analytics provides a platform for business owners to evaluate both complementary and competing businesses in the vicinity while allowing home buyers to find their ideal home locations. Global Yellow Pages’s stake in Companedia is also in line with its strategy as a predominant partner for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs), which form its core clientele. With a vision to be a one-stop IT solution provider, Companedia will provide SMEs with a full suite of customised IT services, including graphic design, web design, development and hosting, internet marketing and maintenance.  Read More →

Dear Madam Ho Geok Choo, It had come to my attention from the many gigantic posters in our neighbourhood around Boon Lay and Jurong West St 52 that you are our de facto Member of Parliament (MP). This was the only contact I had with you during your tenure as our MP, apart from the many other posters that your Grassroots had placed around our lift landing. As a residents staying at West Coast GRC, in which you are one of the MPs, I would like to ask you a few questions: (a) Why is it that you had never conducted any house visits at our constituency during your tenure as our MP? This is so unlike one of your colleagues, Mr George Yeo, who had to juggle meeting with residents, going overseas for diplomatic reasons and keeping in touch with the citizens via Facebook, Twitter and other media platform. I really envy the residents in Hougang as their MP seemed to be more resident-oriented as opposed to you. Is it because West Coast GRC had been a walk-over which is why you believe that it would be a 'walk in the park' in the next election as well? (b) What have you done as our MP? Considering that we had seldom seen you in our Constituency, it would be of great interest to the resident and myself to know the contribution that you had made for the residents in Boon Lay. Apart from the lift upgrading that was mooted before the last election, and painting works that are being carried out currently - possibly in light of the impending General Elections coming up - there are no tangible contribution from yourself to our estate. Carpark woes had always been a achilies heel for residents, but what had been done for us? There are also a large number of rodents in the estate but the problem seemed to go unnotice by yourself. Taking your paycheck into consideration, I would expect a better job from you as our MP. (c) Is the workload too much for you? A check on the Internet reveals that apart from being a MP, you are also the Head for Singapore Human Resource Institute (SHRI) as well as Vice-President of the Women's Wing in PAP. Can I suggest that you are probably more pre-occupied with the latter two roles as compared to your obligations as a MP which explains why you had neglected us all this while. As a resident at your constituency, I am utterly disappointed with your work as our MP. In addition, your Grassroots consist of selfish people who thinks of their own interest. At many Grassroots events, it is not hard to see all the Grassroots members laden with freebies and spreading it amongst themselves. Blatant misuse of the Resident's Committee Office at 527 Jurong West Street 52 is also a common sight with your Grassroots members using it for their 'gossip sessions' - mocking at resident's problems and even bragging about being a PAP member in which nothing would happen to them even if they do something wrong. I assure you that if nothing changes between now and the next election, you will lose a substantial amount of votes as many of those residing in the Jurong West Street area and Boon Lay Division is utterly pissed with your leadership in the Constituency.   James Kang Resident of Jurong West Street 52   Please join our Facebook page here and invite your friends to do so to create awareness of the current affairs affecting Singaporeans. Please use our online web form to contact us.  Read More →

In reference to, recent reports that the Youth Olympic Games’ (YOG) budget has ballooned from SGD$104 Million to SGD$ 387 Million. I was walking home one night and chanced upon a Mercedes Taxi adorned with the YOG stickers. Looking at the stickers, it leaves little to the imagination that it is going to be used for the YOG and we would have to give way to it on our roads. Will the driver take advantage of the fact that we have to give way when he is ferrying a ‘normal’ passenger? I do not know. But the question that brings to mind, is it really necessary to use a Mercedes Taxi, for which rental is dearer to a standard taxi model? When it comes to size and comfort the latest Hyundai taxi model is just as spacious. And I would think the rental would be cheaper then the Mercedes. I guess the ruling party seemed to prefer style over substance. This is not a one-off case. There are other reports where lanes are painted/adorned with YOG logos to give preferential treatment to vehicles involved with the YOG; or ministries and government linked organisations (such as the Ministry of Education and People’s Association) buying up the YOG tickets. Why can’t the tickets be provided free? Surely the money spent by the MOE would be better spent on other beneficial schemes for Singaporean students? Why the need to spend tax payers’ money to paint the roads when we Singaporeans have to pay monthly Service and Conservancy (S&C) charges to get our flats painted once every 5 years? And we all know, failures to pay the S&C charges could mean fines, a date with the Courts or possibly booted out of our homes. Why the need to spend so much money from public funds when our ruling party should have sourced for sponsors to cut costs? Why don’t they take a leaf from the Olympics or the recent successful World Cup by FIFA, to sell television rights so as to cover the costs of running the YOG? And I am perplexed to think that our public fund will be spent so that GLC’s (or in the case of the above picture - Comfort-Delgro) can profit from it. We have hosted a successful South East Asian games before. But, never at so much expense and the special privileges showered on the YOG athletes and their officials. Privileges, our unemployed and our destitute can only dream off. The YOG athletes and their officials will come and go, but the unemployed and the destitute remains. Probably they will be another round of ‘clean-up’ at our beaches and void decks before the YOG. Unfortunately, without transparency we will never know the true costs and benefits other than what will be reported by our local Mainstream Media. Instead of finding innovative ways to cut costs for Singapore and Singaporeans, the ruling party unfortunately will find innovative ways to spend our funds (or waste it away) and at the same time find innovative ways to squeeze more money from us. Why do we Singaporeans keep falling, for their claims that GST are ‘to help the poor’, or the recent transport fare changes is meant to be ‘fairer’. Why do we keep voting for them and reward them with million dollar salaries but yet we do not receive any tangible benefits from them other than the ones before elections? Sure, the GLC’s will probably post another healthy profit at the end of the accounting year, and the ruling party will give themselves a pat on the back with another salary increase and obscene bonuses. But, at who’s and what costs?   A Singaporean Patriot  Read More →