TR EMERITUS

OPINION With public anger rising over the apparent double standards in the government's differential treatment of Pastor Rony Tan and the three teenagers arrested under the Sedition Act for allegedly posting racist remarks on Facebook, the state media has been tasked again to exonerate the PAP from any blame and to limit the fallout from the fiasco. Pastor Rony Tan was hauled up by the ISD for questioning this Monday for making disparaging remarks about Buddhism and Taoism during a church session and was let off with a warning. In contrast, three Chinese teenagers studying in Singapore Polytechnic were arrested by the police almost immediately after a police report was lodged against them for the offensive remarks on Facebook. Then Commander of Bedok Police Division and Deputy Assistant Commissioner of Police Teo Chun Ching said: “Police take a very stern view of acts that could threaten the social harmony in Singapore. The Internet may be a convenient medium to express one’s views but members of the public should bear in mind that they are no less accountable for their actions online.” [Source: Straits Times, 4 February 2010] Police reports have been lodged against Pastor Tan, but its inaction is baffling given the fact that Pastor Tan is in a position of authority to influence many people and therefore his remarks carry far greater weight and impact compared to the three teenagers. When asked asked why the teenagers ended up arrested by the police, whereas the pastor was not, DPM Wong Kan Seng gave an equally vague reply: “It is a very serious matter if anyone were to be hauled up and investigated by ISD. It is not less serious than getting investigated by the police. I assure you that it is not.” One does not need to be a law professor to realize that being called up by the ISD for a “lim kopi” session is “nothing” compared to being arrested, charged and jailed as what happened to past offenders. In a lengthy article published in the Straits Times today, ST journalist Rachel Chang quoted sociologist Terence Chong of the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies as saying that it is Pastor Tan’s status in his community, not anything else, that must be considered: "A well-established Christian leader being charged under the Sedition Act would send shockwaves through the Christian community and put the community under siege." [Source: Straits Times, 12 February 2010] Any trial would cause greater agitation, Mr Chong added – precisely what the Government is keen to avoid. The PAP has never flinched from using a sledgehammer to crush those who do not toe the official line, especially when they pose a political threat to them. In this case, Rony Tan is deemed to have offended (only) the Buddhist and Taoist communities which is non-political by nature. Had Rony Tan been involved in politics, the PAP's reaction will be drastically different. Let us recall a case more than twenty years ago involving the Catholic Church of Singapore - Operation Spectrum which was launched on May 21 1987 by the ISD using its Internal Security Act to arrest and detain 22 young Roman Catholic church and social activists and professionals without trial. They were accused of being members of a dangerous Marxist conspiracy bent on subverting the PAP-ruled government by force, and replacing it with a Marxist state. Among the 16 arrested, 10 belonged directly to Catholic movements for social justice and human rights - the Commission for Justice and Peace of the Singapore archdiocese, the Young Christian Workers of the archdiocese, the Catholic Association of the students of the Polytechnic of Singapore and the Catholic Centre for foreign workers formerly called “Geylang Catholic Centre.” The ten were Vincent Cheng, Tang Lay Lee, Kenneth Tsang, Teo Soh Lung, Ng Bee Leng, Chng Suan Tze, William Yap Hon Ngian, Wong Souk Yee and Kevin De Souza and Tang Fong Har. On 22 May 1987, four priests, Fr. Joseph Ho, president of the Justice and Peace Commission, Fr. Edgar D’Souza, assistant of the editor-in-chief of the journal “Catholic News”, Fr. Patrick Goh, national chaplain of the Young Christian Workers, and Fr Guillaume Arotcarena, a priest of the Paris Foreign Missions director of the Catholic Centre for foreign workers, put together a committee to coordinate, which was to write up press releases agreeable to all and to co-ordinate the reactions of the four organisations in response to the arrests. The coordinating committee published its own communique on the very same day asking the PAP government to substantiate its allegations that the ten Catholic social activists detained under the ISA were involved in the "Marxist Conspiracy" to subvert the Singapore government. [Source: Singapore Window] It declared its conviction that the ten militants arrested were not Marxists and had not devised any plot against the Singapore government. On this occasion the four presentation notes of the Catholic movements implicated in the affair were also published in the Catholic News. On 2 June 1987, the Archbishop of the Catholic Church in Singapore Gregory Yong and a delegation of nine Catholic priests and lay persons were called to meet the Prime Minster of Singapore Lee Kuan Yew. Lee presented them with the report from the police regarding Vincent Cheng as well as his so-called “confession” in which he admitted his Marxist convictions and his participation in a plot to destabilise the State. The representatives of the Catholic Church learned also of the four reports drawn up by the police on the four priests of the co-ordinating committee. Lee's stance was pretty clear: the four "troublesome" priests who dared to question the PAP government must be removed or there would be open conflict between the state and the Church. Archbishop Gregory Yong was reportedly given a stern warning by Lee: “Put order into your house, otherwise the State will do it!” On leaving that meeting, the Archbishop was suddenly called back by the Prime Minister’s aides for an impromptu press conference. The state media, radios and TV stations publicized the Archbishop's "admission" that he had "accepted" the "proof" presented to him which he was unable to refute. On 4 June, the four priests from the coordinating committee decided to defuse the tension and tendered their resignations to the Archbishop which were immediately accepted. The day ended with a press release from the Archbishop who announced the resignations of the four priests and expressed his hope that the affair was now nearing its conclusion. He also said that the next issue of the Catholic News already printed was forbidden to be circulated. [Source: Straits Times, 5 June 1987] The ISD however, was not pleased with the outcome and wanted ecclesiastical sanctions to be imposed on the priests. On the evening of the 5th of June, a communique of two paragraphs from the archbishop’s residence announced curtly that “he was suspending the four priests from preaching and from having anything to do with the organisations they were once in charge of” [Source: Straits Times, 6 June 1987] To this very day, there is no evidence to prove that the 22 Catholic social activists and workers were "Marxists" plotting to overthrow the PAP government. In Singapore, regardless of race, language or religion, the only thing which matters most is your political affiliation. In 2008, Pastor Rony Tan produced a video clip widely viewed on Youtube entitled The Singapore Song expressing his "gratitude" to the PAP government: "In deep gratitude to our protective and caring government all these 43 years, The Singapore Song was written in their honor. It is also specially dedicated to Mr & Mrs Lee Kuan Yew," he wrote. That may have made the difference after all. EDITORS’ NOTE: If you encounter the “duplicate post” error when posting comments on our site, post again by clicking on the “Submit Comment” button and hold it for at least 5 seconds. We are still working to resolve the problem and we appeal for your kind understanding and patience. Related articles: 1. Is it really necessary for the ISD to deal with Pastor Rony Tan? 1. Public anger against Rony Tan fast turning to PAP 2. Rony Tan’s Facebook closed after being flooded with comments from netizens 3. Rony Tan’s views on homosexuality 4. Perceived double standards in the application of Sedition Act 5. Facebook group set up to demand punishment for Rony Tan 6. VIDEO: Pastor Rony Tan’s comments on Buddhism 7. Hardwarezone forumers up in arms over Pastor Rony Tan’s remarks 8. Pastor Rony Tan issues public apology on his remarks about Buddhism  Read More →

Written by Our Correspondent Caught off guard by the rapid sky-rocketing prices of HDB flats, a panicky HDB launches another two new projects in quick succession to allay widespread fear among Singaporeans of a public housing shortage. 1,534 BTO flats were launched yesterday, including 750 in Punggol and 784 in Woodlands followed by another 1,000 BTO flats in Sengkang and Sembawang next month. As the flats typically take 3 to 4 years to build, they are unlikely to meet present demand. Recent BTO launches are all grossly over-subscribed by more than 10 times, an indication of how severe the housing crisis has become, but in a letter published in the Straits Times Forum two days ago, HDB denied that the prices are caused by shortage of flats and blame Singaporeans for not selecting their units when given a chance. According to figures from the Ministry of Home Affairs, there are nearly 100,000 immigrants including both new citizens and PRs in the year 2008 alone, but only 3,183 new flats were built in 2008: [Source: HDB Financial Report 2008/2009] Not surprisingly, there is a direct correlation between the increase in the number of foreigners in Singapore and the rise in prices of HDB resale flats: [Source: Kojakbt, 3in1kopitiam moderator] It doesn’t take a statistician to come to the conclusion that the number of flats built were grossly inadequate to meet the demand of a rapidly increasing population. The decrease in the number of new flats built by HDB coincides with the sky-rocketing prices of resale flats as Singaporeans needing a roof over their heads are forced to purchase a more expensive flat in the resale market thereby contributing to the overall price inflation: Though HDB is now “ramping up the supply of new flats”, it is too late to meet present demand and Singaporeans will have to pay a hefty price for its lack of foresight in building more flats earlier to cater to the needs of a growing population. HDB seems to be fire-fighting all over the place which will not be necessary in the first place if it had the foresight to plan ahead and tailor the supply of flats to the expected demand. The knee-jerk reaction off HDB will create another problem in the future - the sudden increase in the number of new flats completed in 2013 - 2015 will lead to a depreciation in prices should the demand decrease. The home buyers who purchase their flats at such ridiculously high prices will be heading for a financial disaster should the prices drop drastically or crash in the future. A more appropriate response will be to introduce measures to curb the rampant speculation in the market by putting a cap on the COVs, increasing the HDB levy for sale of flats, stipulate a minimum period of residency before PRs are permitted to purchase flats and impose a hefty property tax on PRs who sold their flats after returning home to prevent them from profiteering from the transaction. EDITORS’ NOTE: If you encounter the “duplicate post” error when posting comments on our site, post again by clicking on the “submit” button and hold it for at least 5 seconds. We are still working to resolve the problem and we appeal for your kind understanding and patience. Related articles: >> Why HDB is unable to reveal break down costs of new flats now >> HDB blames Singaporeans for not selecting flats when given the chance >> Singaporeans worried about retirement after depleting CPF to pay for over-priced HDB flats >> Mah Bow Tan acknowledged that rising HDB flat prices has sparked “fresh concerns” >> PM Lee: Govt does not have control over prices of resale flats” >> COVs of resale flats shooting through the roof >> HDB resale price index hit record high in 2009 >> Singaporean wants PRs to live in rented flats instead of buying resale flats >> Singaporeans wants PRs to be banned from selling HDB flats at a profit >> Shanmugam: Singaporeans likely culprits for driving up HDB flat prices >> Mah Bow Tan: HDB flats remain affordable >> Means testing for PRs to buy resale flats >> Immigration and public housing: should the govt or people plan ahead? >> Grace Fu: hard to predict demand for housing >> Indonesian PR bought 4-room flat at $653,000 >> Mah Bow Tan asks home buyers to be realistic >> PAP MP blames young couples who cannot get a flat for not planning ahead >> Home affordability: HDB versus the public >> Demand vs supply: so many applicants, so few flats >> Number of applicants exceed number of flats >> HDB to increase supply of flats >> Mah: don’t compare with prices in the past >> ERA: 40 per cent of HDB flat buyers are PRs  Read More →

Written by Our Correspondent After two months of complete silence, Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs suddenly wants Dr Silviu Ionescu, the Romanian diplomat involved in the double hit and run accident in Bukit Panjang to return to Singapore. In the aftermath of the accident, MFA did not apply to wave Dr Silviu Ionescu's diplomatic immunity when it was pretty obvious that he is a prime suspect in the case and he was allowed to return to Romania three days later. Unlike the Romanian MFA, it did not bother to issue any single public statement of condolence to the families of the victims who were Malaysians except a laughable remark by Foreign Minister George Yeo that "what happened was very bad." When the State Coroner revealed three weeks ago that Dr Silviu was the driver of the black Audi A6 behind the accident, MFA did not take any action either. Yesterday, MFA announced that it had summoned the Romanian Ambassador to Singapore and delivered a series of diplomatic notes to him including a request for Dr Silviu to attend the coroner's inquiry into the death of Mr Tong Kok Wai, one of the vicitims from March 3 to 10 after the latter had embarrassed the Singapore government publicly a few days earlier. In an interview with Romanian TV station Antena 3, Dr Silviu maintained his innocence and counter-accused the Singapore government for framing him in the case. He also alleged that he has been under tremendous "political pressure" from the Singapore government because he had been reporting on local politics. The interview was reported widely in the Romanian press which is subsequently circulated around the European Union of which Romania is a member. MFA said the claims were 'very serious allegations against the integrity of the Singapore Government', and rejected them outright as baseless. However, it did not elaborate more on what it will do to debunk them. Since Dr Silviu's allegations have no basis at all, the Singapore government should sue Dr Silviu for defamation as what it did to the Singapore Democratic Party in 2006 separately to clear its name. It will be foolhardy to expect Dr Silviu to return to Singapore willingly after the disparaging remarks he had made about the Singapore government which he should have been grateful to for letting him leave the country so easily. There are no extradition treaties between Singapore and Romania. Even if Dr Silviu's diplomatic immunity is waived, the onus still lies on the Romanian government to extradict him. Judging from Dr Silviu's "ya-ya" attitude, it appears that he may have tacit backing from some higher authorities in Romania. The PAP has once again demonstrated its utter ineptitude, hypocrisy and ignorance to the world. Dr Silviu Ionescu is obviously a rogue and nobody should expect rogues to adhere to any code of conduct.  Read More →