TR EMERITUS

Written by Our Correspondent Singaporeans in their 30s and 40s will remember the series of "Save Water" campaigns launched by PUB in ther 1980s to educate Singapore students on the importance of water as a precious natural resource in Singapore. In the 1970s, water rationing exercises were a common occurrence to instill a sense of responsibility among Singaporeans on the usage of water. Being a small island with no natural resources, Singapore has to import a significant portion of its water from Malaysia. It appears that the hardships of yesterday have long been forgotten by the present batch of PAP leaders as they bend over to please the foreigners they have been bringing in to replace native Singaporeans. Coming right after the footsteps of Bukit Batok grassroots organizations which sparked a controversy lately by organizing a "Water Festival" to celebrate the New Year of the Thai, Burmese and Cambodian community in Singapore, Clementi Community Club will be organizing a "Thingyan Water Festival" specifically for the Burmese on 17 April 2010: As indicated clearly in the red box above, "free water splashing" will be included as part of the celebrations. While the Burmese community is most welcomed to organize and celebrate their cultural events in Singapore, grassroots organizations should not be wasting precious taxpayers' monies to hold such events for them. PAP MP Grace Fu remarked to a netizen's queries that the "Water Festival" was held to show foreigners how much Singaporeans "respect" them. Shouldn't it be the other way round? In other countries, immigrants are expected to integrate into local society. Over here, Singaporeans are expected to welcome and embrace the newcomers with open arms to the extent of celebrating their festivals for them! Do we see the governments of other countries organizing Singapore festivals for Singaporeans living overseas? A netizen Kojakbt has since written to several government agencies including the Attorney-General Chambers and the Singapore Police Force questioning the legality of organizing such an event. Under the Public Utilities Act (CAP 261) 50(b), any person who wastes water “shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $50,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or to both and, in the case of a continuing offence, to a further fine not exceeding $1,000 for every day or part thereof during which the offence continues after conviction.” According to an unverified rumor circulating in cyberspace, a similar “Water Festival” held in the 1980s by a group of Thai workers in the Boon Lay area was stopped by the police for wasting water under the Public Utilities Act. Both the AGC and Singapore Police had refused to comment on the matter and “directed” Kojakbt to PUB instead. A staff from PUB’s Water Supply Department has replied saying that “water splashing activity” like the “Water Festival” is similar to activities such as charity car wash events which do not require approval from PUB. Clementi CC's exhortation to the Burmese in Singapore to splash our water freely seems to contradict what was said by the Minister for Water and Environment Resources Dr Yaacob Ibrahim lately: “Singaporeans’ response to the dry spell last month was to use even more water. This is certainly not desirable should Singapore experience a prolonged dry spell. It is therefore timely to remind ourselves of the need to use water wisely,” he added. [Source: Channel News Asia, 21 March 2010] Are we using water wisely in this instance? Unlike Burma, Singapore has no fresh water resources such as lakes and rivers to speak of. It matters little for the pro-foreigner PAP or rather FAP (Foreigner Action Party) that it is selling out the interests of Singapore so long the foreigners are made to feel happy, welcomed and respected in Singapore.   EDITORS’ NOTE: Please join our Facebook page here and invite your friends to do so as well.   Related articles: >> PUB: Water Festival is similar to charity car wash events >> Unhappy Singaporean writes into ST Forum to complain about “Water Festival” >> Netizen’s queries on “Water Festival” stone-walled by Singapore Police >> PAP MP Grace Fu: organizing “Water Festival” is a way of telling foreigners we respect them >> Netizens protest against “Water Festival” organized by Bukit Batok grassroots organizations >> Singaporean unhappy at grassroots organizations hosting Water Festival for foreigners  Read More →

We all know what Globalization is. And its main characteristics beingthe flow of resources particularly human resources and monetary funds from one country to another. Governments around the world love it, so does our PAP. All theseyears, the PAP thrive on Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) and foreign talents coming in to Singapore. As we all know by now, some of these foreign talents eventually become Singapore citizens. However, there are some problems that are running deep like still water- deep into the ground. Like intelligent viruses, these problems will one day emerge to harm the body once they have gained enough momentum and strength in numbers. The day will come when the PAP is weak, not from reasons they know, but rather from reasons they are least expecting, that is when these foreign talents, FDIs and new citizens will jump right up to harm our nation. There are two main reasons why I believe this will happen: 1) Terrorism and economic sabotage Some of these foreign talents are agents sent in to Singapore merely for one purpose- to destroy our way of life and our society. And why? Because some rouge states and radical groups are jealous or are displeased about Singapore supporting US and other western nations' foreign policies. Since the PAP welcomes foreign talents and FDIs, we play right into their hands. Look at how much money we lost in our GIC investments abroad and our Lehman Brothers episode. Our dependency on energy such as natural gas and fossil fuel is also highly dependent on geopolitcal stability. 2) Inner core values All these foreign talents were brought up from different backgrounds. They don't share the same inner core values. Many of them are well-educated. Unlike our forefathers who came from India, China and elsewhere on boats that could sink easily, these foreign talents come on SIA, BA and UA flights. Our forefathers came here because they wanted to make a better livelihood and some were running away fro oppression and annihilation unlike the foreign talents these days who  are merely coming here to make a six-figure salary and to buy a condo and an SUV. The moment the PAP offends them or if they are not happy with certain policies, they would either use their powerful backups like university alumni chapters to pressurize the PAP to give way to them OR they will relocate to another city since they are well-educated, financially well-off and are thus highly mobile. Let this letter be a forewarning to the PAP. Let the PAP understand that it is not worth investing in resources for such foreign talents as they will not be loyal to our country. It is better to put their hopes in our own people and cherish our very own people- our very own Singaporeans! Thank you. Kerith Ravine  Read More →

By James Hookway from Wall Street Journal Antigovernment protesters re-established control over parts of Thailand's capital a day after 21 people were killed in the bloodiest political violence here in nearly 20 years, leaving authorities with a dilemma: Whether to crack down and risk more bloodshed, or give in to the protesters' demands for immediate elections. Complicating the impasse is a deeper debate over the role of Thailand's politically powerful military, which appears unwilling to allow another taste of power to the supporters of populist leader Thaksin Shinawatra, the man the army ousted in 2006. Both "Red Shirt" antigovernment protesters and government officials spent much of Sunday trying to calm tensions after Saturday's violence. At least 21 people were killed—17 civilians, including a Japanese cameraman for the Reuters news agency, and four soldiers—and more than 800 injured as demonstrators fought pitched battles with riot police and soldiers across the city. It wasn't clear who started some of Saturday's incidents, though most of the worst fighting occurred after authorities positioned large numbers of troops near protest encampments in downtown Bangkok, raising tensions. Government officials and army leaders said much of the damage was caused by non-military-issue weapons, and said soldiers fired live rounds into the air. A government spokesman said authorities would investigate how the conflicts Saturday got out of control, and promised to maintain order. The U.S. State Department urged both sides to show restraint. The violence spilled into the famous Khao San area of backpacker hostels and bars, and several governments issued travel advisories warning their citizens away from Bangkok. Rally leaders vowed to stay in Bangkok until Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva calls new elections. Protesters urged Thailand's ailing 82-year-old King Bhumibol Adulyadej to intervene as the havoc threatened to cast a further shadow over the badly damaged tourism sector. "There's no more negotiation. Red Shirts will never negotiate with murderers," one of the rally leaders, Jatuporn Prompan, told protesters on Sunday. Read rest of article here  Read More →