TR EMERITUS

When voting comes.. When voting comes.." A familiar quote we hear from most Singaporeans which shows that people are not pleased with the current government. It shows that they want change and that they understand they have the right to vote the PAP out. In the last election in 2006, 33% of Singaporeans voted for the opposition in contested areas. In a way, that is a good sign because we know that with  18% more on our side we can kick the PAP out. I feel that we need to take a closer look at the situation. The GRC system on which the elections are based on is a fail-safe way to ensure victory for the ruling party. The press AKA mouthpiece of the PAP, glorifies them and says almost nothing positive of the opposition. Being the political coward that it is, the PAP has removed all its strong oppositions in any way possible. Being in control of the elections department, it can call for elections as and when it wishes. It also gains the upper hand by, in PM Lee Hsien Loong's own words, “Fixing the opposition and Buying votes”. Each vote has a serial number pegged to our IC numbers, which can only be seen as a fear tactic in a country like Singapore. This clearly shows that they can find out who you vote for very easily, and is yet another fear tactic. Citizens who hold jobs in the government, or government affiliated and/or invested companies are afraid to vote against the PAP as they have this almost sure opinon that their bonuses or jobs will be affected. I’ve spoken to someone who works in the army as a regular and he said, “We must vote for the PAP. We are government servants, and if we don’t vote for them our performance grading will be affected.” And when I asked him in return about the future of the rest of the people, he said, “Don’t have time to worry about other people, we get good pay and good life can already. Why I want to spoil my own rice bowl, thinking about the rest?” For all you know, the majority of votes the PAP gets is because of people like him. Pathetic and selfish sheep who are not only queuing up to get slaughtered, but dragging us along with them as well. Now, I’m not using this guy to stereotype everyone else, but I've personally met many more civil servants with mindsets like his. We do have the chance to make a change during the elections, but that is not the only battle. The problem is bigger than just the government. The problem is staring at us in the mirror. We need to educate our less politically-aware families and friends, not by giving daily lectures, but bit by bit, through casual talk. In my opinion, the older generation are a bit too "kiasee" and the fear tactics work really well on them. Its the younger generation that doesn’t buy the government’s bullshit that easily. In a country like ours where all the mainstream media is controlled by the government, alternative information is the key to opening minds. We should start by educating a few friends and convince them to influence their families. We should also talk to our colleagues at work and forward thought provoking articles to them. Think about it, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of critical articles on websites like Temasek Review that we read and comment on, but how many of our own friends and families have read them? We've got to do our part to get this information to them, and let's start with short and easily digestable articles.  It's always the small things we do that make a big difference in the end. Let's start this small campaign of talking about issues we read about over the dinner table, forward links of TR articles to our social circles. Over time, let's see if we can band together and do something bigger. Till then, the dreaded daily grind of work and life continues. And AL will continue writing and sharing.  Read More →

Written by Our Correspondent PAP MP and Deputy Secretary-General of NTUC Halimah Yacob has sounded the alarm bells on the plight of low-wage and older workers in Singapore. With the PAP's sudden obsession with labor productivity now, Madam Halimah is concerned that these workers will be left behind. Speaking during the Budget "debate" two days ago, Madam Halimah warned that" Singapore's efforts to boost productivity can be derailed if the country does not address the foreign workers challenge." Due to the PAP's lax labor and pro-foreigner policies, foreigners now make up more than one third of Singapore's workforce. A recent Wall Street Journal editorial claimed that the relentless influx of cheap foreign workers over the years has depressed the wages of ordinary Singaporeans. The foreign worker levy will be increased from July 2010 onwards as part of a series of cosmetic measures to placate angry Singaporeans with the next election around the corner. The hike is not substantial and employers can easily pass the higher cost back to the workers or customers. Madam Halimah opined that "despite the planned increase in the foreign worker levy, companies could still employ foreign workers cheaply by paying them lower salaries or making them work very long hours or during their rest days or public holidays without paying overtime." Another direct result of Singapore's heavy dependence on foreign workers is declining labor productivity. According to a shocking press release from the U.S. Department of Labor last year, Singapore experienced the steepest  decline in productivity among 17 developed economies in the world in the years 2007 – 2008. Among the 17 countries, the Republic of Korea and the United States had the largest increases (1.2 per cent each) while Singapore had the steepest decline (-6.6 per cent): As noted in the graph below, Singapore’s labor productivity took a plunge from 2004 onwards when the inflow of foreigners started to pick up: [Source: Kojakbt, 3in1kopitiam forum moderator] This coincided with the beginning of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s tenure when he announced his ambitious plan to increase Singapore’s population to 6.5 million people by 2030 via immigration. While Madam Halimah may sound genuinely concerned about the plight of lower income workers in Singapore, her hands are tied as the major decision-makers lie in a few senior leaders within the PAP. She can only make her views known, but cannot slow down the influx of foreigners or change labor laws to favor locals. PAP MPs who seriously want to serve Singaporeans (and not the party) such as Madam Halimah and Inderjit Singh should consider either joining the opposition or split from the PAP to form a new party so that they can advocate for policy changes independently without being restrained by the Party Whip.   Related articles: 1. The root of Singapore's economic woes 2. U.S. Labor dept: Singapore has steepest productivity decline 3. How PAP screws up Singapore’s labor productivity by opening its doors to foreign workers 4. Singapore has the lowest wages and domestic spending purchasing power among the Asian Tigers 5. Moving towards a Russian standard of living 6. Why Singaporeans are paupers in a first world economy 7. The Singapore Way 8. DPM Teo Chee Hean praises Singapore government for progress made in past productivity drives 9. Pitching the case for genuine democracy in Singapore  Read More →

From AP March 12, 2010 - 8:43AM Columnists and bloggers are calling him Singapore's Tiger Woods - not for his golfing skills but for an extramarital affair that has tarnished the image of the city-state's most beloved film director. On Thursday, in a news conference reminiscent of Wood's confession on live television last month, director Jack Neo, admitted to cheating on his wife, culminating a week of revelations about a two-year relationship Neo had with a 22-year-old model. Other aspiring actresses and models, including a 16-year-old, have told local tabloids this week that Neo aggressively tried seducing them, including promising to make them stars in his movies. "It's all my fault," Neo, 50, said before covering his face with his hands and crying. "Please give us a chance." Neo's wife of 27 years, Irene, was by his side. She said she forgave her husband and would stay with him. She broke down after speaking and collapsed while walking away. She had to be carried from the stage amid a blaze of photographer's flash lights. "I've already been hurt," she said through tears. "I really need your blessings." Neo gained fame as a comedian on Singapore television in the 1990s and later directed popular Chinese and English-language movies - such as Money No Enough and I Not Stupid - that celebrated the importance of family among other topics. His latest, Being Human, opened in Singapore last week. The government has recognised Neo with public service and cultural awards and he shares a blog with Foreign Affairs Minister George Yeo, who wrote on Sunday that Singaporeans should "rally around Jack, his wife and his children". Others have been quick to distance themselves from Neo. Mitsubishi Electric Asia on Wednesday dropped Neo as a spokesman for the company's StarMex air conditioners. "It amounts to Singapore's very own version of the Tiger Woods sex scandal," said Chia Han Keong, a columnist at newspaper My Paper. "Just like Woods, his act of unfaithfulness to his wife has elicited far more reprehension than perhaps he would have expected." Woods ended three months of silence last month and confirmed he had extramaritial affairs, at a televised public statement not attended by his wife, Elin. The golf superstar lost a number of advertising sponsors and says he is taking leave from the sport while working to save his marriage. Neo's saga began Saturday when Wendy Chong, a model who had small roles in two Neo movies, told a Chinese-language tabloid she has been his girlfriend for two years and confronted Neo's wife last week. "Aw come on, that girl is young enough to be your daughter," wrote blogger Victor Koo. "Jack seems to be playing Tiger Woods." Newspapers have published allegations of more affairs and quoted actresses who say they spurned his advances. Maelle Meurzec, 21, said that after a small role in Neo's 2004 movie I Do I Do, he bombarded her with text messages and told her to meet him at hotels. She turned him down. "This guy is supposedly promoting family values but he can't even hold himself back from sending text messages to a 16-year-old," Meurzec told the New Paper. AP Source: http://www.smh.com.au/world/cheating-director-called-singapores-tiger-woods-20100312-q1zi.html Video link: http://media.smh.com.au/world/world-news/singapores-tiger-woods-confesses-1217253.html  Read More →