TR EMERITUS

From our Correspondent The ongoing debate on the benefits of being a PR versus a citizen in ST discussion board has turned ugly with one netizen digging out Sweta Agarwal's Facebook account: http://www.facebook.com/people/Sweta-Agarwal/788752441 And that of her husband website: http://www.asagarwal.com/ Most netizens are appalled at the arrogance and impetulance displayed by Ms Agarwal in her second letter in which she insisted on her right as a PR for being given equal benefits in education as citizens. The anger of netizens were compounded by comments posted by a moniker "Sweta Agarwal" though her identity cannot be independently verified. She wrote: "To all those who ask me to go back to India, my answer is SORRY NO. Why should i go back? . My husband is a computer engineer and singapore needs such foreign talents. He guides and teaches his inferiors in office who are singaporeans. I insist I want best education for my daughter. In the fast develoing world, to talk about citizeh, PR etc is non-sense. These are talk of losers and incompetent people. I will go back to India when singapore becomes rotten in future. So we wont take citizenship here. We have the support of Mr. Lee Kwan Yew, who is a visionary and stateman." Racial slurs are also being uttered by netizens contemptuous of Ms Agarwal's perceived callousness. Wrote Regina: "I totally agree with both of you, these North India Hindis are big big time Pariahs , their nose is always in the air and will always take advantages and abuses the privileges accorded to them especially in US, Canada and UK. Not much our locals can do about it and have to live with it, our gahmen is aware of it and are happy to have more such FT like Sweta Agarwal." Bangali added: "Stupid stupid Mrs Agarwal. Dun understand logic? You stay Singapore or India now? You want good and cheap education for your daughter and want the govt to give your precious daughter the best school and want cheap some more, where to get? Sg govt aredi good enuf, give ur husband good job, now you want to snatch place for your precious daughter! Shame on you! I guess you better wipe your backside now and retreat back to your own homeland! You are a disgrace to India!!!!!! You want cheap, you want good, what else? If your husband so capable ask him send your precious daughter to international school la! So STUPID." Others castigated her for wanting to enjoy the same rights as citizens. Wrote yiplaiyee: "Dear Mrs Agarwal, If I were a PR in India and I have a kid and, you are a citizen there, but my kid get priority over your kid in getting a place in the primary school in India, how would you feel? It's this feeling that my fellow citizens and myself are feeling that makes our blood boil, understand? It's not about us being demanding lot. It's just the opposite. Every citizen in any country in the world would expect priority over the PR, is that too much to ask for? I can understand your concern over your child's education. Who doesn't want their child to have the best education in the world, right? Same goes for the citizens here. But if every other PR also gets priority over the citizen in getting a place in the school, where do we draw the line? There's no end in sight. So I hope you understand that the govt should give priority to its citizens over PRs in certain areas like places for primary schools and so on and so forth. You as a citizen of India would also expect your own govt to do the same, isn't it?" Added Doublecrossed: "Mrs Agarwal, I totally agree with you that OUR children should have the best education that they can get. so like every else, on the notion that no differences between CITIZENs and PRs. Would it not be the case as "LIKE EVERYONE ELSE" we all go through the same process?. I am BAFFLED by your insistence that your child SHOULD be the 1st in line for the better schools over others. This being the case, why "LIKE EVERYONE ELSE". Also, you have an option that we sgreans don't get. That is you can enrol your child into the INTERNATIONAL SCHOOLS, that are in abundance here in SG, unless you admit that you can't afford. If so, than you or your husband would be at BEST the "so, so FT only". So this being the case, why don't you just SHUT UP and join the Q. If not then PACKED UP and be on your way. WHO's STOPPING YOU ?" karaokeking simply asked her to get lost: "To those who challenge the beech to be take up citizenship: We need foreign trash like her to get lost, not stay on as citizens! If she could afford it, her kid would be in an international school, not fighting for a place in local schools, so we know at what class of "talent" she really is. It's our govt's fault putting the "talent" concept into their big heads. Who wants to have babies when the competition with foreign trash starts at five!" Judging from the massive outpouring of grievances by Singaporeans against foreigners, it appears that the issue of foreign workers is becoming a sore point among many citizens, which is not detected by a government becoming out of touch with the real sentiments on the ground.   Selected comments taken from: ST Discussion Board  Read More →

Japan's opposition Democratic Party may be headed for a landslide election victory, trouncing the conservative party that has ruled for most of the past half-century, a leading newspaper said on Thursday. The Democrats could win 300 of the 480 seats in parliament's lower house while the long-ruling Liberal Democrats may see their strength halved to around 150 seats, said the Asahi newspaper, based on a detailed survey of electoral districts ahead of the August 30 poll. But the paper also said around 30 to 40 percent of voters in its survey of electoral districts had not revealed how they would vote while 25 percent might change their minds, so results could shift significantly in the final days. Opinion polls have consistently shown the Democrats well ahead of the business-friendly Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), raising the prospect the LDP -- whose once-mighty political machine has been weakened by social and economic changes -- will lose power for only the second time in its 54-year history. Democratic Party leader Yukio Hatoyama, now looking likely to become the next prime minister, has pledged to put more money into consumers' hands to revive the economy, hold off on raising the 5 percent sales tax for four years and adopt a diplomatic stance less subservient to top security ally the United States. A solid Democratic Party victory would end a deadlock in parliament, where the party and its allies already control the less powerful upper chamber. A clear result would cheer financial markets as it would smooth policy-making as Japan shakes off a recession. "The best scenario for the stock market would be where the Democratic Party scores a landslide victory and sets up a strong government, sparking hopes that Japan might change," said Mitsushige Akino, chief fund manager at Ichiyoshi Investment Management Co Ltd. BIG SPENDING PLANS The Nikkei average climbed from Wednesday's three-week closing low, although financial markets were more focused on a rebound in Chinese shares and a surge in crude oil prices than on the election outlook. "Whether the Democrats win or the LDP wins, you're still likely to have an accommodative monetary policy and the deficit's still likely to grow due to stimulus plans," said Nagayuki Yamagishi, a strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Securities. "On the other hand, if the Democrats do win and it becomes a situation like (U.S. President Barack) Obama and Congress, it could be good in terms of getting policies passed." Some market participants worry, however, that ambitious Democrat spending plans would inflate already sky-high public debt and push up long-term interest rates. The Asahi said its survey showed the LDP, which had 300 seats ahead of the election, could be halved in strength in the powerful lower house, while its junior partner the New Komeito party was likely to stay at somewhere around 31 seats. "If this trend continues, I think the results will be close to the Asahi's prediction," said Keio University professor Yasunori Sone. "Maybe not 300 seats (for the Democrats) but around 270 ... It would be hard for the LDP to turn it around."  Experts note, however, that predictions are complicated by Japan's electoral system in which 300 lower house seats are from winner-take-all, single member districts and the rest from multiple-seat proportional representation blocks in which voters cast ballots for a party. The Asahi's prediction, based on surveys of half of the 300 single-seat districts, broadly matches opinion polls showing the LDP in deep trouble nationally. KOIZUMI RESIGNED TO CHANGE The Democrats and two small allies won control of the upper house in 2007, enabling them to stall bills and creating a policy deadlock as Japan struggles with deep-seated problems due to its shrinking, aging population and the global financial crisis. Popular former leader Junichiro Koizumi led the LDP to a huge victory in 2005 on a platform pledging market-friendly reforms. But the party's support slid as his two successors each quit after less than a year and incumbent Prime Minister Taro Aso came under fire for a series of gaffes and policy flip-flops. Koizumi admitted the LDP faced a tough fight this time. "Unless something big happens, it's possible that we'll see a change in government," Koizumi, who is retiring from parliament, was quoted by the Yomiuri newspaper as saying on Wednesday. "It's not bad to be the opposition party from time to time." Aso has been stressing the success of the LDP's economic stimulus packages in helping Japan weather the global financial crisis and attacking the Democrats as weak on security policy and irresponsible on financial issues. But analysts said news on Monday that Japan's economy returned to growth in the second quarter would probably do little to rescue the LDP, even though the figures marked the end of the country's longest recession since World War Two. Source: Reuters  Read More →

From our Correspondent The beleaguered wife of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Ho Ching, may not be generally well liked in Singapore after losing state reserves in excess of billion of dollars, but that has little bearing on her international rankings. Ho Ching has moved up the rankings in Forbes magazine's sixth annual list of the world's most powerful women. Ms Ho rose to fifth place from eighth last year, pipping a selection of high-fliers such as United States First Lady Michelle Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, both of whom did not make it to the top 30. German Chancellor Angela again topped the list of the world's 100 most powerful women for the fourth year running, with the magazine highlighting her role as leader of the huge German economy and her likely re-election in September. While the German Chancellor has to fought hard to secure her position, Ms Ho Ching was "appointed" to her post. Whoever makes the decision remains a mystery. Furthermore, she is immune to criticism in Singapore as recent events has shown. Despite her controversial performance as Temasek's CEO, its Board of Director has decided to re-appoint her to the post after the abrupt departure of CEO-designate Chip Goodyear under mysterious circumstances. Goodyear allegedly left because of "strategic differences" with the Board. However, Finance Minister Tharman refused to reveal what these differences are in Parliament as doing so will not serve any "strategic purpose". Founded in 1974, Temasek Holdings, which derived its funds from yearly budget surpluses, has grown to become one of the largest sovereign wealth funds in the world. In February 2009, Ms Ho revealed that the portfolio of Temasek has slumped by more than 31% as a result of the global financial crisis, triggering a public furore. Despite mounting public pressure for Temasek to release its accounts, Mr Tharman refused to do so on "strategic grounds" and defended its performance on the basis of its "long term" perspective. Ms Ho Ching is not only the 5th most powerful woman in the world. She is perhaps the most powerful woman in Singapore - an "untouchable".  Read More →