TR EMERITUS

Written by Our Correspondent Following Law Minister K Shanmugam's call for the PAP to provide "political education" for Singaporeans, the Temasek Review has decided to do our part by giving Singaporeans a different version of their country's history. According to the SPH's propagandist publication about the PAP - "Men in White", Operation Coldstore was launched in 1962 by the federal government of Malaysia to arrest the "communists" in Singapore who were plotting to take over the PAP government. Over a hundred "communists" were detained and incarcerated for lengthy periods of time without trial including key leaders of the opposition Barisan Sosialist such as the charismatic Lim Chin Siong. The wave of arrests crippled the Barisan which enabled the PAP to win the elections held soon after without which it would probably be booted out of office and the course of Singapore history changed forever. Lim Chin Siong was so popular in Singapore that then opposition leader Lee Kuan Yew once introduced him as the "future prime minister" of Singapore to the British High Commissioner. Now, a new book which was launched recently had emerged to challenge the official version of events. "The Fajar Generation: The University Socialist Club and the Politics of Postwar Malaya and Singapore" was written by former members of the University Socialist Club - Dr Poh Soo Kai, Tan Jing Quee and Koh Kay Yew, which was an influential student body in the 1950s before the PAP came to power in 1959. The Fajar Sedition trial in 1954 in which 8 students were charged for sedition by the British colonial government made an instant hero out of Lee who was representing them (though in the end, it was a British Queen's Counsel who fought the case in court). Lee's part-time role in the case was to win him crucial support from the USC and the student community with one of them becoming a co-founder of the PAP in 1954, Dr Lim Hock Siew who was detained for 19 years without trial 8 years later under "Operation Coldstore". Based partly on personal anecdotes and declassified documents from the British National Archives, "The Fajar Generation" seeks to challenge accepted and established versions of Singapore history which will radically change one's impression of Lee and the PAP forever. According to telegrams sent by the British High Commissioner in Singapore Lord Selkrik and his deputy Philip Moore to their superiors in London, the "communist" threat was “played up” by then Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew who allegedly tried to persuade Lord Selkrik and then Malayan Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman to arrest several of his former political comrades including Ong Eng Guan who do not belong to the "leftist" camp under a joint operation by the Internal Security Council to give the impression that it was the federal government in Kuala Lumpur who ordered the arrests and not the PAP. Lord Selkrik wrote to his superiors in London imploring them not to listen to Lee: “Lee is probably very much attracted to the idea of destroying his political opponents. It should be remembered that there is behind all this a very personal aspect…he claims he wishes to put back in detention the very people who were released at his insistence – people who are intimate acquaintances, who have served in his government, and with whom there is a strong sense of political rivalry which transcends ideological differences.” [Source: British National Archives] Selkirk’s deputy, Philip Moore, reviewed intelligence reports and concluded that there were no security reasons to detain Lim Chin Siong: “Lim is working very much on his own and that his primary objective is not the Communist millennium but to obtain control of the constitutional government of Singapore.” [Source: British National Archives] The Temasek Review will be publishing excerpts from the book every Sunday under our "Review" section to educate Singaporeans of this missing part of their nation's history in the official texts. We have obtained verbal permission from one of its writers Mr Tan Jing Quee to publish his article here and will also be seeking permission from Dr Poh Soo Kai in due course. The "Fajar Generation" was published by a Malaysian publishing company GB Gerakbudaya Enterprise Sdn. Bhd and is not available for sale in Singapore. We bought our copy from the book launch last month at the Alumni Medical Center which was snapped up by the audience in the matter of hours. It is a great pity that it is not made available to the larger public and we hope readers who have read its extracts posted here can forward it to your family and friends to share with them as well. Without knowing our history, we will forever be hoodwinked by the spins, propaganda, and myths perpetuated by the ruling party in order to justify its draconian and repressive rule forever. Copyright © The Temasek Review, 2009 Related articles: >> Photo Gallery: Book launch of “The Fajar Generation” >> Interview with Dr Lim Hock Siew and Dr Poh Soo Kai >> Dr Lim Hock Siew on “immorality” of the political situation in Singapore today >> VIDEO: Dr Lim Hock Siew speaks of his detention >> Book launch: The Fajar Generation   EDITORS' NOTE: "The Fajar Generation" is published by GB Gerakbudaya Enterprise Sdn. Bhd: 11 Lorong 11/4E, 46200 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia. Tel: +603-7957 8342/8343   Fax: +603-79549202 Email: [email protected] or [email protected] Website: www.gerakbudaya.com  Read More →

Dear HDB, With regards to the newly launched BTO SkyTerraces scheme, kindly explain how an extra 2meters squared in area, costs an extra $106,000 ($532k-$426k) or assuming the the price is taken off the same lowest floor, facing the same direction. Even if I take the Special 4rm high floor vs a low floor 5rm, I pay same price for the unit and get a double height space and balcony. The Special 4rm is 97sqm and comes with double height space and a balcony: The 5rm is standard 99sqm (small by current standards) and has no balcony, and no double height space: Something is wrong here... either the price is wrongly calculated, or this 5rm should not be called a "5rm" at all, because there is no premium value to justify the extra 50-100k top up just for the term "5rm". How do you answer to those who are only eligible for 5rm flats? Will they be allowed to take the Special 4rm option? It doesn't make sense at all. SkyTerraces Price range Special 4rm with balcony $426k-549k     --- 97sqm 5rm - 118 $532k-643k    -- 99sqm Kind Regards, Lee Kim Teo  Read More →

Written by Our Correspondent According to Chinese paper Shin Min Daily, the parents of Vietnamese student Nguyen Cao Minh Ngoc, who died under mysterious circumstances four days ago, have arrived in Singapore. However they were unable to claim her body as her death was classified as an unnatural death and is still under police investigation. Miss Nguyen graduated from Dalat University in Vietnam and came to Singapore to study English at MDIS only two months ago. Her body was found on Monday sitting in the cabinet of her room at Queensway hostel. She and her boyfriend was heard quarreling last week by a resident living nearby. Her younger brother told the Singapore media that she has no medical conditions and neither was she feeling stressed over her school work. The Vietnamese embassy is current assisting her family's stay in Singapore.  Read More →