TR EMERITUS

I am a resident of Lakeholmz condominim and I am writing to express my disappointment at Boon Lay Community Club for disbursing a fund of $3,410 for a Children's Day cum Hari Raya celebration held inside my condominium on 3rd October 2009:       I felt it is not right for public funds to be used for a function held at a condominium especially during the current economic downturn which has affected many Singaporeans. Attached below is a statement of account declared by the condominium's Management Committee for the event. MP Madam Ho Geok Choo was the guest-of-honor for the evening:       Many of us, the residents of Lakeholmz , are not even aware of such a big 'open house' had occurred on this day , 3rd Oct. No notice was ever put up. A fellow resident, Margaret Tan (not her real name) wrote to the People's Association (PA) to seek clarification on 5th November. She got a reply from Mr Dennis Seah who claimed that Boon Lay CC was allowed to use its funds to host the event as it was meant to promote "community bonding" for all residents of Boon Lay followed by another reply from Boon Lay CC's Senior Manager Miss Diana Tan who revealed that more residents from the condominium attended the event (17o) than those living in HDB flats (50). During a difficult period like this, the CC should be more discreet in spending public funds on non-essential events as such. Furthermore, it was held in a condominium outside the purview of the CC and PA. The condominium management committee should pay at least part of the expenses incurred since the event was attended by more condominium than HDB residents. The condominium management committee members who organised this event, without getting consensus from all subsidary proprietors of Lakeholmz, in allowing  Boon Lay residents into Lakeholmz, should pay for all the extra expenses incurred since the event was an 'open house'. The disbursement of $3,410 public funds should be refunded, since the event was more by condominium members than attended by HDB residents.   THNG KIM SENG       Addendum: Official replies from PA and Boon Lay CC Dear Ms  Margaret Tan, Thank you for your feedback. This Hari Raya Celebration mentioned by you was jointly organised by the Boon Lay Citizens' Consultative Committee (CCC) and Lakehomlz Condominium to promote community bonding and interaction among residents.  It was open to all residents in Boon Lay, not just from the condominium. The People's Association (PA) encourages our Grassroots Organisations to organise activities cater to all and aim to bring residents of different backgrounds together.  This is to allow residents to get to know one another and build friendship.  The CCC also has many projects which cater to helping needy residents. Once again, we thank you for your feedback.  We wish to assure you that the CCC is careful with the use of its fund for the benefit of residents. If you have any other query, please do call Mr Pow Choon Ghee, Deputy Director, South West Community Development Division at 63405148. Dennis Seah Director (Quality Management Division) for Quality Service Manager People's Association 1-800-422 5572 XXX XXX XXX Dear Margaret, Thank you for your feedback. Posters for this event were placed at the Boon Lay Community Centre (CC) 's counter.  In addition, the Residents' Committees also sold tickets through their volunteers. For this event, out of the 170 participants, 50 were from the HDB estates.  The rest were residents of the condominium.  We are happy that this event has created an opportunity for residents of different background to get to know one another. We welcome you to join us in our future events.  You can enquire at the CC or look out for the notices at the RC Centres.  Please feel free to call me if you need further clarifications Regards, Miss Diana TAN Li-Lin 陈俐霖 | Senior Constituency Manager | Boon Lay Constituency Office | Boon Lay Community Centre | 10 Boon Lay Place, Singapore 649882 | TEL: 6261 9947 | FAX: 6265 0075 |  Read More →

Written by Our Correspondent Buddhist monk Ming Yi will have to remove his robes and change into prison garments when he goes to jail next year should his appeal fails. Ming Yi, the former CEO of Ren Ci Hospital was sentenced to ten months imprisonment last Saturday for misappropriating $50,000 of Ren Ci's funds. Many Singaporeans are of the view that Ming Yi should disrobe before entering prison in order not to bring Buddhism into disrepute. According to prison regulations, there are no special allowances for Buddhist monks. Ming Yi will be treated no differently as other inmates though he can request for vegetarian meals before he commences the sentence. Following the conviction of Ming Yi, many of his disciples at Fu Hai monastery have left him. Though Ming Yi's reputation is now in tatters, he still have a substantial number of followers as evidenced by a petition to appeal for a lighter sentence for him which was signed by more than 9,000 devotees from Singapore, China and Taiwan. Some even claimed that he has done nothing wrong since he did not profit from the misappropriated funds and had returned it to Ren Ci. Besides the setting up of Ren Ci Hospital, Ming Yi is also well-known for the dangerous stunts he performed on the annual Ren Ci Charity TV show to raise funds for the hospital. The TV show has since been discontinued. Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan, who is a patron of Ren Ci Hospital said that Ming Yi has to be responsible for his actions and face the law. Ming Yi has yet to apologize to Ren Ci's donors and neither has he shown any remorse for his mistake.  Read More →

作者:雷风雨 “。。老李说他的错误，是他当初以为学生们都能掌握双语，而现在他的发现是没有任何一个人能以同样的程度来掌握好两种语文。 老李的”双语“政策几时有企图做到“同样程度”呢？ 所谓的掌握双语，实质上是转变为以英语为主，华文为副。。。。” 在我看来，李光耀自以为是的“错误”根本是精心策划的“错误”，“严重破坏了本地中文母语的生态环境”也根本是精心策划的政策，如果让六十年代末七十年代初的情况维持不变，华文背景的选民太多，对以英文为主流的行动党非常不利。李光耀不可能永远像六十年代初那样把“华社”玩弄于股掌之间，因此即使他能成功压制反对党，确保行动党持续垄断政坛，也难保党内华文背景的领袖因其影响力最终威胁到他的领导地位。如果不把整个政治生态彻底转变为以英文背景的选民为主，李光耀和人民行动党永选都有后顾之忧，他老人家做梦都会梦见党内再出现一个像林清祥那样受到“华社”爱戴的领袖，晚上如何能安心入睡？ 李光耀是最纯种的政治动物，政治才是他的“终极关怀”。把草根土壤按计划翻除后，必须有安抚人心的缓冲政策，于是假双语政策。。讲华语运动。。纷纷出炉，还得在大选年不时赞扬南大精神、华校生的贡献。。。以往许多华文F的行动党领袖在群众大会还会把“很后悔以前没好好学华语”挂在嘴上。。。然后华校生的人数不再能左右大局，大势既定，就可以把华文定位为只讲不写的“方言”。在这项“社会工程”中中国崛起，否则华语能否保住“方言”地位都未可知呢。 既是一统天下、长治久安的大计，他老人家哪里有错。承诺自己当初认知有误，跟华文F的候选人用华语讲“很后悔以前没有学好华语”的出发点是一样的。 来源：大马论坛  Read More →