TR EMERITUS

From our Correspondent Dethroned Miss Singapore World Ris Low's problems has found herself mired in another new controversy before the saga of her credit card fraud is over. She has to retake her examination at MDIS where she is doing a seven-month diploma course in hospitality and tourism because she was found with two pieces of revision notes in her pencil box during her examination. This was revealed in a district court today when she turned up for a review of her 24-month supervised probation, Miss Low claimed she had "forgotten" to remove them. As a result of the infringement of examination rules, MDIS has given her a warning and ordered her to retake her examination. Asked by District Judge May Mesenas if Ms Low understood the seriousness of that matter and undertook not to repeat the mistake, Mr Sng Kheng Huat, her lawyer, assured the court that she was prepared to give an undertaking and would comply with the conditions in the probation order. The Judge also imposed extra conditions on her probation which includes no shopping alone and she must be accompanied by a family member at all times when she is out. Though Ris has won some public sympathy and goodwill initially over the harsh treatment the media has dished out on her, it all vanish when she accused runner-up Claire Lee of faking a back injury and leaking to the press news of her probation in public. Claire has since rebuked her unfounded allegations on her blog. (read here) The New Paper has also clarified it was not Claire who leaked the news to them. Ris's attention-seeking antics has won her few fans from the voracious netizens. Dumbdumb999 wrote: "Hopefully her family member is around when she next spouts nonsense and speaks incoherently - they can then gag her up and eject her from the scene before she causes more harm to Singaporeans and herself." Dr Lai Sio Kan did not mince his words: "Stole at primary 1. Stole credit cards and commit fraud while employed. Trying to cheat in an exam. Wow all things negative about Ris Low. Bipolar Disorder? Ris is a kleptomaniac? No, none of these. Ris is a born cheat and a dishonest person. Did she consulted a psychiatrist prior to her criminal act? Is she remorseful for causing all the shame and pain to her family and friends? The best option is stay at home and to concentrate on her studies and be good. Forget about fame and afterall Ris Low had make herself very ugly." SSIM urged Ris to treasure her second chance: "Ris Low is already being let off lightly by the Courts with only probation. For credit card fraud and with so many charges, she should been sentence to jail imprisonment and all your dreams of frame and riches will be gone...totally gone. Therefore, please treasure your second chance, dun be stupid to offend again." Whatthehay blames the media for sensationalizing the matter: "While i don't condone what she's done, and she certainly should be penalised by the relevant institutions/authorities, I think the Straits Times is taking things a little too far. I can understand the need to cover the story if she had refused to resign as Ms Singapore, but she has already done so. Her name and reputation have already been sullied. Why is there a need to report on all her misdeeds and subject her to further public shame and scorn? She is only 19. We should have enough grace within us not to want to scar her for life." Not many Singaporeans have heard of Miss Singapore World or its organizers ERM World till this episode. Unfortunately, the two weeks' worth of publicity were mostly negative so far.  Read More →

From our Correspondent A Singaporean by the name of Tony Tan has written to the Prime Minister and a few government agencies to complain about the attitude and behavior of Singapore PR Zhang Yuanyuan who sparked a furore in Singapore cyberspace by flashing her blue NRIC on the screen of a China channel CCTV 7 and proclaiming her allegiance to China! The exchanges were posted on the popular forum Sammyboy.com: 04 Oct, 2009 03:17 PM To PMO Chok Tong GOH/PMO/SINGOV@SINGOV, PMO Hsien Loong LEE/PMO/SINGOV@SINGOV, PMO Kuan Yew LEE/PMO/SINGOV@SINGOV, MFA Jayakumar S/MFA/SINGOV@SINGOV, MHA Kan Seng WONG/MHA/SINGOV@SINGOV, MINDEF Chee Hean TEO/MINDEF/SINGOV@SINGOV, PMO Boon Heng LIM/PMO/SINGOV@SINGOV, Swee Say LIM/PMO/SINGOV, MOF Hwee Hua LIM/MOF/SINGOV@SINGOV, PMO Chee How HENG/PMO/SINGOV@SINGOV cc Subject Singapore PR openly spoke about her desire to go home and proud to serve NS for her motherland Dear PM Lee and Ministers, Is this is the kind of new immigrants the Government expect born and breed Singaporeans to integrate with? I would like to ask the Minister of Home Affairs, Mr Wong, Sir, will ICA take any actions like revoke Ms Zhang Yuanyuan's PR? Ms Zhang has openly spoke in the PRC National TV that she is coming HOME to serve her motherland country and proud to participate in China's National Day parade. I'm not too sure during the 5 years in Singapore, did she study in a local university/polytechnic? If so, we have wasted the money (subsidies/scholarship) on her. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlKJg0jfJAk Thank you for your attention. Yours Faithfully Tan Keng Hong NRIC: S*******H Mr Tan's letter has received no replies from the ministers so far except from the National Population Secretariat: "Singapore PR openly spoke about her desire to go home and proud to serve NS for her motherland Monday, 5 October, 2009 6:41 PMFrom: "NPS Contact" Add sender to ContactsTo: [email protected] Dear Mr Tan, I refer to your email dated 4 October 2009. Singapore Permanent Residents (PRs) are not Singapore citizens. They hold citizenships of their countries of origin and we can expect them to retain ties with these countries. For example, we have Singapore citizens holding PRs of other countries who come back to participate in Singapore's National Day celebrations, not unlike the example you have cited in your email. Yours sincerely, Ng Xiuling Population Policy Officer, Corporate Communications National Population Secretariat The standard reply bears uncanny similarities to what was said earlier by three PAP MPs in an interview with the state media: that there is nothing wrong in Zhang Yuanyuan proclaiming her loyalty to China publicly since she is only a Singapore PR. It appears that the ministers, MPs and civil servants have missed the point altogether again which is a reflection of how disconnected they are from the real sentiments on the ground. The crux of the entire saga does not lie in Zhang Yuanyuan's public announcement of her allegiance to China, but in the liberal immigration policies of the Singapore government and the generous benefits and perks enjoyed by PRs. There is no time limit and compulsion on the part of the PR to take up citizenship. They can continue working and living as long as they wish in Singapore. With the exception of lower housing and education subsidies and CPF contributions, PRs enjoy the same rights as citizens except that they are not permitted to vote. As such, the system is open to abuse by some PRs who come to Singapore only to earn money without ever harboring the intention of taking up citizenship like Zhang Yuanyuan. To compound matters, they are allowed to purchase HDB resale flats which contributes to the record high prices we are seeing now. According to a recent ERA report, 40 per cent of the buyers of resale flats are PRs. Most Singaporeans have nothing personal against PRs and foreigners. What they are peeved with is the government's policies which are making citizens, especially those who served National Service feel short-changed, aggrieved and hurt.   Related articles: >> Singapore PRC PR proclaimed loyalty to China publicly >> PRC resident hung China flag to celebrate its National Day >> PRC student in Singapore wants more scholarships for foreigners >> PRC prostitutes solicit for customers on Singapore’s cyberspace  >> ERA: 40 per cent of resale flats buyers are PRs   EDITORS’ NOTE: If you like our work and would like to support us, please transfer your donations via paypal to our account ([email protected]). Any amount will be greatly appreciated! Alternatively, you can also help boost our advertising revenue by clicking on the ads displayed. Thank you! Join our tweet at: http://www.twitter.com/temasekreview We are looking for the editors of The Campus Observer, Kent Ridge Common and The Enquirer. We are keen to finance their student newspapers. If you know any of them in person, please ask them to contact us at the email above. Thank you.  Read More →

From our Correspondent Speaking to reporters last night at a DAP function in Selangor, Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said jokingly that all the Malaysian government needs to do to "sabotage" Singapore is to entice the Malaysians working in Singapore back to Malaysia. Lim lashed out at the Barisan government for not treasuring and utilizing the talents of Malaysians fully leading to a brain drain especially to its rival Singapore. Since Singapore separated from Malaysia in 1965, it has adopted an open door policy towards Malaysians. Many Malaysian Chinese, who faced discrimination back in their homelands, flocked to Singapore to study and work, eventually taking up Singapore citizenship. Many of the first generation leaders of Singapore are born in Malaysia, including the PAP Old guards Goh Keng Swee, Toh Chin Chye and S Rajaratnam. Lim related his experience on his recent trip to Singapore: "In some public hospitals, 40 per cent of the doctors are Malaysians, including some top specialists. Can you imagine what will happen if they were to return and work in Malaysia? Singapore will collapse almost immediately!" he said. The Malaysians form the largest percentage of Singapore's immigrants in the 1970s and 1980s. As they are culturally and linguistically close to Singaporeans, they encounter few problems in integrating into Singapore society. In a desperate bid to boost Singapore's flagging population through immigration, the government has been encouraging foreigners to work and settle in Singapore, with China and India providing a substantial proportion of the newcomers. Though the mainland Chinese are ethnically related to Singapore Chinese, they are worlds apart in terms of mindset, culture and even language. Singapore Chinese are mostly descendents of immigrants from the southern Chinese provinces of Fujian, Guangdong and Hainan while the new Chinese immigrants are from the inland provinces like Hunan, Henan, Hubei, Liaoning, Sichuan and Yunnan. They speak mandarin in a different accent and they do not understand the dialects commonly spoken in Singapore such as Hokkien, Teochew and Cantonese. While Singapore Chinese are educated in English medium schools and are exposed to western influences, the mainland Chinese are largely sino-centric in their outlook of the world. As such, they are unable to mingle around with the locals leading to the occurrence of ethnic enclaves in the HDB heartland. The Singapore government has announced a generous $10 million community fund to help the newcomers integrate including providing free language courses for them, but it will not resolve the root cause of the problem which lies in the immigrants we are attracting in the first place.  Read More →