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News.com.au, 8 February 2010 FOREIGN doctors, nurses and school teachers who speak good English and have jobs already organised will be Australia's top priority migrants under a major overhaul of immigration policy. The changes, to be unveiled by Immigration Minister Chris Evans today, are expected to target professionals with university degrees who are sponsored by employers and discourage self-nominating migrants such as cooks, hairdressers and accountants. The new policy will axe the Migration Occupations on Demand List, which lists 106 occupations in demand. Only half the migrants entering Australia with skills on the MODL actually end up employed in their field and one-third end up unemployed or in a low-skill job, Senator Evans said. It will be replaced by a new Skilled Occupations List of high-value professions and trades drawn up by Skills Australia. The Federal Government's overhaul of the skilled migration program could damage Australia's reputation abroad, the Federal Opposition has warned. Opposition immigration spokesman Scott Morrison said there would be big transition costs associated with the changes, which would hit the international education sector hard. This is because there are many foreign students already taking courses on the in-demand list, whose study may no longer improve their chances of permanent migration. "There'll be many students who'll be caught between a rock and a hard place," Mr Morrison said. "It addition ... there'll be a lot of pressure on those colleges (catering to overseas students) and I suspect many will fail. "That will obviously have impacts for jobs." Australia's reputation as a destination for skilled migration could be jeopardised as a result, he said. He urged the Government to ensure that two-thirds of Australia's migration program came from the skilled workforce. "It's important skilled migration remain the dominant component of our migration intake because it ... contributes to the economy, that pays the taxes, that pays for the hospitals and the roads and the services," he said. More than 20,000 foreigners who applied to migrate to Australia before September 2007 under outdated rules that allowed lower English skills will have their applications withdrawn and their $1500-$2000 applications fees refunded under the changes. Read rest of article Opposition immigration spokesman Scott Morrison said there would be big transition costs associated with the changes, which would hit the international education sector hard. This is because there are many foreign students already taking courses on the in-demand list, whose study may no longer improve their chances of permanent migration. "There'll be many students who'll be caught between a rock and a hard place," Mr Morrison said. "It addition ... there'll be a lot of pressure on those colleges (catering to overseas students) and I suspect many will fail. "That will obviously have impacts for jobs." Australia's reputation as a destination for skilled migration could be jeopardised as a result, he said. He urged the Government to ensure that two-thirds of Australia's migration program came from the skilled workforce. "It's important skilled migration remain the dominant component of our migration intake because it ... contributes to the economy, that pays the taxes, that pays for the hospitals and the roads and the services," he said. More than 20,000 foreigners who applied to migrate to Australia before September 2007 under outdated rules that allowed lower English skills will have their applications withdrawn and their $1500-$2000 applications fees refunded under the changes. Read rest of article Opposition immigration spokesman Scott Morrison said there would be big transition costs associated with the changes, which would hit the international education sector hard. This is because there are many foreign students already taking courses on the in-demand list, whose study may no longer improve their chances of permanent migration. "There'll be many students who'll be caught between a rock and a hard place," Mr Morrison said. "It addition ... there'll be a lot of pressure on those colleges (catering to overseas students) and I suspect many will fail. "That will obviously have impacts for jobs." Australia's reputation as a destination for skilled migration could be jeopardised as a result, he said. He urged the Government to ensure that two-thirds of Australia's migration program came from the skilled workforce. "It's important skilled migration remain the dominant component of our migration intake because it ... contributes to the economy, that pays the taxes, that pays for the hospitals and the roads and the services," he said. More than 20,000 foreigners who applied to migrate to Australia before September 2007 under outdated rules that allowed lower English skills will have their applications withdrawn and their $1500-$2000 applications fees refunded under the changes. Read rest of article here  Read More →

Written by Our Correspondent Lighthouse Evangelism founder and Senior Pastor Rony Tan had received a phone call from the Internal Security Department (ISD) about his comments made about Buddhism and Taoism during a church session. It is not known if he had been called up for questioning. Pastor Tan was seen interviewing a former Buddhist monk and nun and making disparaging remarks about the central tenets of Buddhism such as reincarnation, meditation and nirvana. The sessions were video-recorded and posted on the official website of Lighthouse Evangelism which were subsequently uploaded to Youtube and other blogs and forums. It sparked an outcry on Hardwarezone forum when the videos were first posted on 3 February 2010 with many netizens lampooning Pastor Tan for his insensitive remarks which appeared to have denigrated both Buddhism and Taoism. According to a report on Channel News Asia, ISD told Pastor Tan that in "preaching or proselytising his faith, he must not run down other religions, and must be mindful of the sensitivities of other religions" The Ministry of Home Affairs gave a brief statement that Pastor Tan's comments werer highly "inappropriate and unacceptable as they trivialised and insulted the beliefs of Buddhists and Taoists" which can also "give rise to tension and conflict between the Buddhist/Taoist and Christian communities." Pastor Tan has since issued a public apology on his website and expressed his deepest apologies and remorse over the matter: "I realized that my presentation and comments were wrong and offensive. So I sincerely apologize for my insensitivity towards the Buddhists and Taoists, and solemnly promise that it will never happen again," he wrote. He gave his solemn promise that it will never happen again and has also affirmed that he will tell his members to respect other beliefs and build a harmonious Singapore. In May last year, a Senior Pastor from the Church of Our Saviour Derek Hong issued a public apology "for using the pulpit to give backing to the Association of Women for Action and Research's (AWARE) executive committee in their dispute with the group's previous leadership", but the ISD was not involved then. This incident marked the first time in many months that the ISD has made a "public appearance". The ISD is a secretive organization in Singapore whose officers are seldom seen or heard in public. Under the draconian Internal Security Act, anybody deemed a "threat" to Singapore can be detained up to two years without trial. The ISA was used in the early days to detain suspected communists, but is used sparingly now against terrorists. Despite Pastor Tan's apology, some netizens remain unsatisfied and wanted the authorities to take action against him while others continue to doubt his sincerity to "repent". Hardwarezone forumer Fulaien wrote: "I dun think its the emails that make him apologise. Its the phone call from ISD" Laopokcar didn't seem pleased with the apology either: "Far from being closed, I think the apology has sparked some discontent about him getting away with just a warning, may not be the same exact issue, but it is definitely far from being closed." EDITORS’ NOTE: The Temasek Review welcomes Pastor Rony Tan’s apology and we urge netizens to forgive him and let the matter rest. We shall respect the wishes of Pastor Tan and remove the video clips from our website. Related articles: 1. VIDEO: Pastor Rony Tan’s comments on Buddhism 2. Hardwarezone forumers up in arms over Pastor Rony Tan’s remarks 3. Pastor Rony Tan issues public apology on his remarks about Buddhism  Read More →

Written by Our Correspondent Lighthouse Evangelism Pastor Rony Tan has just issued a public apology for his remarks made about Buddhism a few weeks ago on his website: The apology was broadcast over Channel 5 news on 8 February 2010 at 2130 hours. According to a report by Channel News Asia, the Internal Security Department (ISD) has called up Pastor Rony Tan "in connection with his comments and insinuations about Buddhism and Taoism at his church sessions." It is not known if further action will be taken against Pastor Tan. Pastor Tan made the remarks a few weeks ago to his congregation and was recorded and posted on his website initially. Though it has been taken off, a netizen draven02000 managed to upload it on Youtube where it sparked an outcry in cyberspace. The two video clips were subsequently posted on Hardwarezone Forum on 3 February 2010 which drew widespread condemnation from netizens. The Temasek Review published the news on its site yesterday, prompting some angry readers to lodge a police report against Pastor Tan. Below is the full text of Pastor Rony Tan's apology: "I have received a number of emails from people who have been saddened and hurt by the testimonies of an ex-monk and an ex-nun. I realized that my presentation and comments were wrong and offensive. So I sincerely apologize for my insensitivity towards the Buddhists and Taoists, and solemnly promise that it will never happen again. When we have received those emails, we immediately removed the video clips from our website. I urge those who have posted those clips on the YouTube to remove them as well. After reading the frank views from those emails, I was also prompted to tell my members not only to continue to love souls, but also to respect other belief and not to ridicule them in any way, shape or fashion. Let's put our goal to build a harmonious Singapore a top priority." EDITORS' NOTE: The Temasek Review welcomes Pastor Rony Tan's apology and we urge netizens to forgive him and let the matter rest. We will respect the wishes of Pastor Tan and remove the video clips from our website. Related articles: 1. VIDEO: Pastor Rony Tan's comments on Buddhism 2. Hardwarezone forumers up in arms over Pastor Rony Tan's remarks  Read More →