TR EMERITUS

By Amanda Lian This forum by the Reform Party was held at the RELC Hotel on the 5 December 2009, Saturday, at the Napier Room on Level 5. Temasek Review dodged the gloomy, rainy weather and attended this forum to gain some insight and to allow our readers to know about the economic policy proposals that were being brought up and discussed. Leading the seminar was the Secretary-General of the Reform Party, Kenneth Jeyaretnam. Other speakers included the Reform Party CEC (Central Executive Committee) member, Mr. Tony Tan, financial consultant, Mr. Leong Sze Hian and the moderator of the forum, Miss Jeanette. Upon reaching the fifth level, there were a handful of people waiting to proceed into the function room. When the forum started, Mr. Kenneth Jeyaretnam started with the discussion of starting a minimum wage policy. He said that real earnings for less-skilled workers are falling because of competition from foreign workers. Several pressing questions were asked during the discussion from the floor including “what is the rational for workers who are exempted?” and “why are older workers being exempted rather than having a lower minimum wage?” The seminar was followed closely by the next speaker, Mr. Leong Sze Hian, who touched upon the issues of productivity, housing policies, CPF and healthcare. He mentioned that the poor productivity record has been falling since 2007. He also continued with a humorous speech saying why every year, the government says that people are not buying the smaller HDB flats. Because more than 230,000 households could not even afford to buy flats! From the household expenditure records which were recently released, 40 percent of households in Singapore have no increase in income. Out of these households, statistics state that their expenditure had increased simply put, if you earn $700 per month, how can you have spent $1000? So the figures are quite ridiculous. The Reform Party will examine why the HDB programme has slowed right down since 2000 and the effect this had and also, how the failure to build cheaper units is going to affect in pushing up property prices at the lower end, including how much does it cost to build a HDB flat since the last published breakdown of costs back in 1984. They will also push for privatisation of CPF after part has been used to fund a genuine public health insurance scheme and to fund a basic pension for all Singaporeans who have contributed to CPF for a specific number of years. Mr. Tony Tan embarked on his part of the seminar on education and training. He proposes to provide students with a buffet of choices on what to study, quoting Steve Jobs on learning Calligraphy so that he is equipped with skills to design fonts other than his engineering modules. Kenneth Jeyaretnam added that foreign students should not be rejected in Singapore’s education but provided that they pay the full cost of their education without any subsidy, just like us if we choose to head overseas for further education. We should also have compulsory and free primary and secondary education, and only then, we can head and work towards a top ranked country in the world. By expanding tertiary opportunities, we should head in that direction and strive at making our Polytechnics into Universities in itself. Do we have the resources and can we afford to? The Reform Party says “it is not a question of whether we are able to afford but whether why we are not able to afford?” About immigration and foreign workers, they attempt to level the playing ground by providing them with a CPF scheme. Singapore should not give ad hoc assistance to foreign workers because they are definitely on higher ground than locals as they will save on National Service leave, Maternity leave, they have no CPF, no reservist and employers do not have to pay extra tax! Other issues being discussed were liberal tax and investment regime, increasing domestic consumption and privatization of SWFs. There was also talk of finding a middle ground for people who finds that the minimum wage is still too low.  Read More →

According to a report in Channel News Asia, the government will assess the situation before deciding whether to increase the number of occupants at controversial Serangoon Gardens dormitory. The first group of foreign workers had just moved in two days ago on Friday. It caused a ruckus among residents of the rustic Serangoon Gardens estate when the plan was announced suddenly last year. There were understandably concerns about the safety and privacy of the estate as well as if the value of the residential properties will drop as a result of the presence of a foreign worker dormitory in the vicinity. The MP for the area Lim Hwee Hua had to attend a meeting called by the residents in order to allay their anxieties. The residents were not consulted before the plan was implemented by the National Development Ministry which still leaves a bitter after-taste in some of them even today. A resident Goh Bock Seng said: "Singaporeans are used to living in a community. If the workers are educated and they know (how) to behave themselves, I think it's fine. We've finally accepted the fact, but we just want to say that we should have been consulted." Serangoon Gardens is a private residential area consisting of low-rise terrace and semi-detached houses as well as bungalows.  Its inhabitants are largely middle to upper class Singaporeans though it is becoming increasingly popular with expatriates due to its proximity to the city. During the 2006 election, the ruling PAP won only 56.3 per cents of the votes in Aljunied GRC which Serangoon Gardens belongs to. It is not known if the fiasco over the foreign worker dormitory will have any impact on the next general election due by 2011. As the electoral boundaries are not announced yet, there is always the chance that residents of Serangoon Gardens may find themselves in another GRC by the time the election is held. The Electoral Boundaries Committee which is in charge of drawing the electoral boundaries is under the purview of the Prime Minister's Office. Though Singapore holds regular elections every four to five years, it is not considered as an "electoral democracy" by U.S. NGO Freedom House.  Read More →

New Paper journalist Joanne Soh was rapped for her sexist remarks made in a recent article on 4 December entitled - "My mum is right: All men are pigs." as part of series discussing why men still cheat even when they have a beautiful wife like Tiger Wood's. Joanne began her article with a typical stereotype of men: "My mother once offered sage advice: We must always be aware of our husbands' activities, regardess of how devoted and loving they are. Her rationale? Men are born with roving eyes, een the good and the well-brought up ones." She subsequently launched a tirade against men by laying the blame for cheating on spouses solely on them. Her article brought a torrent of criticisms from readers the very next day, expectedly from men which were published in today's New Paper. Jimmy Ho felt that marriage breakdowns are sometimes contributed by women: "If men are pigs....then who are the asses that married us? The comment is at best a sexist piece. It is extremely judgmental and myopic to say the least.....Marriage breaks apart for various reaasons, the roving eye of a man is obviously one of them, but does that exclude the problems that may have been caused by the woman?" Yeh Siang Hui wrote that infidelity is not gender-specific: "What was most offensive, of course, was her declaration - "Men are pigs". This is unfair, unreasonable, unprofessional, and uncalled-for. The writer has conveniently forgotten that if men cheat, so do women. Just as there are wives with cheating husbands, there are husbands with cheating wives too. Just as there are men with roving eyes, so too, women with roving eyes." His views were shared by Lawrence Soh: "I have friends who were dumped when their wives found more lucrative relationships. Women generally worship wealth, status, good life and power, and if they cannot attain these on their own steam, they search for these through relationships, legitimate or otherwise. We see this everywhere. Unfortunately, the Women's Charter does not give men this advantage. Divorce is a very expensive affair for men." Others simply brush aside Joanne's arguments and throw brickbats at her "professionalism" as a journalist. Ambrose Sim wrote: "Your article is highly offensive and unreasonable. It seriously lacks objectivity and is unprofessional from a journalistic point of view." Javert Ong added: "Not all men are pigs, and it is extremely rude and unpleasant to call men names. Can we call women bitches, sluts, crows if they commit adultery?" Not surprisingly, the women-folk are supportive of Joanne and jumped to her defence. Karina Wong even praised Joanne's article: "Just wanted to compliment you on a well written article. Simply love it! Even if these men deny their affairs, it is a fact that they are born with roving eyes and when it comes to women, they are never rational." Christina Teo thanked Joanne for revealing the truth that men are indeed "pigs": "Men are pigs. Thanks to your columnist Joanne Soh for writing it." Judging from the wide disparity between the opinions of both sexes, it does appear that the adage - "Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus" holds some truth after all. But how does this explain the rising divorce rates in Singapore due to adultery, which is the commonest cited cause? Why are our children more likely to stray than our parents? According to a New Paper report published on the same day, one lawyer said that three out of every 10 adultery cases she sees nowadays involve the wife. A decade ago, it was only one out of 10. A private investigator said he has seen the number of adultery cases involving cheating wives rise from 30 per cent of all cases 10 years ago to 50 per cent. How does Joanne Soh feel sleeping besides a "pig"? And what are her husband's thoughts on her unwarranted outburst against men? Perhaps it is nothing more than a gimmick to attract readers to the New Paper which has been suffering from declining readership. Sensitive topics like race, religion and politics are considered taboo in Singapore. Bashing men, however, is one sure way of driving up one's readership without attracting unwanted attention from the authorities. Comments source: The New Paper, 6 December 2009 Are men "pigs" with roving eyes? Share your thoughts with our readers by posting a comment here.  Read More →