TR EMERITUS

Dear Singaporeans, An event has been created for people who failed to get tickets to the national day parade. This event aims to raise awareness about how Singapore has changed over the past 49 years and how we should make Singapore’s 50th birthday a memorable one. We’re looking for 30 concerned Singaporeans to speak about anything related to Singapore on 9 August as national day belongs to all Singaporeans. There will be 3 speakers every half an hour, check out the event page here: https://www.facebook.com/events/271583499702725 Programme for 2014 National Day: Commemorating unsung heroes and remembering broken promises 12:30 One minute of silence for Tan Lark Sye (1897 - 11 September 1972) 12:50 – 13:00 Singing of Moments of Magic One minute of silence for Tan Kah Kee (21 October 1874 – 12 August 1961) 13:30 One minute of silence for Lee Siew-Choh (1 November 1917 - 18 July 2002) 13:50 – 14:00 Singing of We Are Singapore One minute of silence for Adnan bin Saidi (1915 – 14 February 1942) 14:30 One minute of silence for Abdul Samad Ismail (18 April 1924 – 4 September 2008) 14:50 – 15:00 Singing of One People, One Nation, One Singapore One minute of silence for Lim Bo Seng (27 April 1909 – 29 June 1944) 15:30 One minute of silence for David Marshall (12 March 1908 – 12 December 1995) 15:50 – 16:00 Singing of Home One minute of silence for Ong Teng Cheong (22 January 1936 – 8 February 2002) 16:30 One minute of silence for Lim Hock Siew (21 February 1931 – 4 June 2012) 16:50 – 17:00 Singing of Stand Up for Singapore One minute of silence for Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam (5 January 1926 – 30 September 2008) 17:30 One minute of silence for Devan Nair (5 August 1923– 6 December 2005) 17:50 – 18:00 Singing of Count On Me, Singapore One minute of silence for Lim Chin Siong (28 February 1933 – 5 February 1996)  Read More →

LTA announced today (29 Jul) that it will implement 4 ERP gantries to manage traffic congestion at two stretches of the Ayer Rajah Expressway (AYE) between Jurong Town Hall Road and North Buona Vista Road during the morning and evening peak hours on weekdays: LTA said that based on the review of traffic conditions this quarter, the traffic speeds at these two locations have continued to be below the optimal speed range of 45km/h to 65km/h for expressways. Hence, it is adding gantries at these locations to deter more vehicles from using AYE there. The gantries will operate from 4 August 2014 next Monday and will follow the operation timing and rates as shown below. AYE (City) Set of 3 Gantries (After Jurong Town Hall, on Clementi Ave 6 and Clementi Ave 2 slip roads towards AYE) Time (am) ERP Rates 7:30 - 8:00 $2.00 8:00 - 8:30 $2.00 8:30 - 9:00 $2.00 Time (pm) ERP Rates 18:00 - 18:30 $1.00 18:30 - 19:00 $1.00 AYE (Tuas) Gantry after North Buona Vista Time (pm) ERP Rates 18:00 - 18:30 $1.00 18:30 - 19:00 $2.00 Meanwhile, LTA said it will lower ERP rates at four gantries along the Marina Coastal Expressway (MCE) and the East Coast Parkway (ECP) from Aug 4. Motorists who pass through two gantries along the ECP towards the city and Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway (KPE) slip road will no longer have to pay fees between 7.30am and 8am. The current fee is S$1 for each gantry. Those passing through the two gantries on the west-bound MCE before the Maxwell Road exit and on the slip road to Marina Coastal Drive will see a reduction of S$1 from 8.30am to 9am. The current fee is $3 for each gantry. LTA said it continue to review and monitor the traffic situation along AYE quarterly and "adjust the rates in accordance to the prevailing traffic condition".    Read More →

Mr Lee Kuan Yew The story will cover LKY’s early and ending part of his premiership. I will describe briefly the events that transpired during this era. Brief history before the Merge LKY worked extremely hard to win Tengku’s trust and convinced him of having one Malaysia. This was the easy part. The more difficult part was to get rid of his enemies. Finally, he managed to convince the people that Singapore was too ‘small’ to survive alone. He got the ‘referendum he wanted and Singapore was merged with Malaya (including Sabah and Sarawak) into a new country, Malaysia. Part of the reason was also to get out of British rule. After the Merge Soon, things started to happen. Indonesia wasn’t happy with this union. If you had watched ‘Days of Rage’, then you can take that into considerations. Singapore became the 13rd state of Malaysia, but why were there 2 Prime Ministers? This was also a question raised by the Malaysian ministers to Tengku. Things started to fall apart; spits and spats started flying to and fro, eventually tits for tats. I took out one of the articles to simplify my story. There was an interesting part in the article so I extracted it out below: The Straits Times, 9 June 1965, Page 7 Dr. LIM AND THE PROBLEM FACING ALL THE RACES ‘Far greater benefits in Malaysians than Chinese, Indians, Malays…’ The Secretary-general of the United Democratic Part, Dr Lim Chong Eu, believes that the problem confronting all races in the country was how to consolidate themselves into a movement which could expand with a Malaysian Malaysia. This, he said, last night was better than a Malay Malaysia, or a Chinese or Indian Malaysia. “We should be able to find ways and means of telling the people that there are far greater benefits in being Malaysians than Chinese, Indians, Malays, Dyaks or Kadazans. “It is to carry forth the idea which prepare future generations for an equitable society,” he added. A question Dr Lim was speaking at a forum on “The concept and implementation of a Malaysian Malaysia” organised by Democratic Socialist Club of the University of Singapore at the campus last night. Singapore’s Minister for Culture, Mr S. Rajaratnam, posed this question: “What is wrong in Mr Lee Kuan Yew wanting to be the Prime Minister of Malaysia?” ‘The ultras’ There was nothing in the Malaysian Constitution, he said, which stipulated that only Alliance Party leaders could aspire to be the Prime Minister of Malaysia. Mr Rajaratnam said there were Malays who in their heart of hearts believed in a non-communal Malaysia, but there were extremes who did not. These extremists, he said, were the ultras who had taken over the party machine. “Therefore the moderates have to respond to the antics and manipulations of the ultras,” he added. The chairman of Party Machinda, Mr M. Buma, said his party subscribed to the concept of a Malaysian Malaysia and did not want a Chinese, Malay, Indian or Dayak Malaysia. He said: “It takes time for all of us to accept one another as brothers and sisters. “What we have to do now is to instil into everyone that we are Malaysians and belong to the same society.” http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19650609-1.2.46.aspx The battle of words soon got out of hand that Malaysian ministers wanted Tengku to arrest LKY. The battle seemed more of a battle for supremacy. Ultimately, it reached a point of no return, Tengku decided to announce the ‘Break’ while still in the UK. This gave Singapore its independence and Singapore became a Republic on August 9, 1965. Before the handing over of premiership His original plan was to hand over to GCT in 1988. So I took out a published article related to this: The Straits Times, 23 July 1988, Page 1 Raja:Lee may be elected Executive President this year Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew may be elected to the new post of Executive President within this year, a Cabinet minister said yesterday. Parliament will probably amend the Constitution this year to give the head of state wider powers to control the Republic’s reserve funds, Mr S. Rajaratnam, a Senior Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, said in an interview. Mr Rajaratnam, 73, a close associate of Mr Lee, and Law Minister E. W. Barker are the only old guard members of the ruling People’s Action Party still in the Cabinet. Greater Powers Mr Lee has said he would be ready to leave whenever his successor is ready to take over after he turns 65 in September. He has made it clear he plans to guide Singapore even after his retirement, possibly as President of the Republic with greater powers than present President Wee Kim Wee, who performs only ceremonial functions. Mr Rajaratnam said Mr Lee “could be elected as President… even before the national elections”. The Government is widely expected to call a general election this year though it need not do so until next year. Elections have traditionally been held every four years since the PAP came into power in 1959. “It could also be the other way round,” Mr Rajaratnam said. He said Mr Lee might not contest a seat in the next elections and let First Deputy Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong become Premier. “There could be a Presidential election after the national election,” Mr Rajaratnam said, making it clear that work on constitutional amendments defining an Executive President’s powers had yet to be finished. He said he foresaw “no crisis” over the succession issue as junior ministers, including the Prime Minister’s son Lee Hsien Loong, had accepted Mr Goh as the next leader. The younger Lee was earlier tipped to succeed his father as Prime Minister. “As far as I know, they have decided Goh should become the next Prime Minister the moment Prime Minister Lee steps down,” Mr Rajaratnam said. The Singapore Executive President would be more like his French rather than his American counterpart, he said. Singapore’s current Westminister-style parliamentary government would be maintained under the presidential system. The new President would have the right to veto legislation to safeguard the country’s vast financial reserves, including domestic savings and pensions funds in the event “the present PAP government was overthrown or became decadent”, Mr Rajaratnam said. “The idea is to safeguard against dangers… where a rather carefree and cavalier government could raid our reserves.” The Executive President could also veto legislation that might harm Singapore’s multiracial society. On issues likely to figure in the forthcoming election, Mr Rajaratnam said the ruling party would seek a mandate on the Internal Security Act, which prescribes indefinite detention without trial. One of the cardinal planks in the campaign would be to seek a mandate on continued use of the ISA against communists and people exploiting religious and racial issues for political ends, he said. In April and May, 10 lawyers, social workers and businessmen known for their anti-establishment views were arrested under the Act for their attempts to destabilise the Government. Four of them have been released. The Government would also seek a mandate on its attitude to the foreign press. ‘Distorted’ articles “We say press freedom means freedom for our press, not necessarily as interpreted by the foreign media,” said Mr Rajaratnam, a former journalist. Singapore has so far restricted the circulation of the Far Eastern Economic Review, Time, the Asian Wall Street Journal and Asiaweek either for failing to publish official rejoinders to alleged mistakes in reporting or for publishing “distorted and mischievous” articles. Time’s circulation has been restored. – Reuter. http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Page/straitstimes19880723-1.1.1.aspx Rajaratnam clearly mentioned in the article that LKY could be elected as the Executive President. Brief summary of Elected President and how it evolved LKY first mooted this issue of Executive President in 1984 (GCT mentioned in Hansard, 3 Jan 1991). JBJ questioned LKY on this matter – Hansard, 23 July 1985. The White Paper was introduced in July 1988 (followed by debates in Parliament, CST strongly opposed). The amended second white Paper was in August 1990 (it was again debated in Parliament in 1991). The Bill was passed in 1991. So to recap, Mr S. Rajaratnam who was LKY's close associate had said: “What is wrong in Mr Lee Kuan Yew wanting to be the Prime Minister of Malaysia?” (1st article) Mr Lee “could be elected as President… even before the national elections” (2nd article) Even though he did not become the President, he became the Senior Minister in GCT's Cabinet and Minister Mentor in LHL's Cabinet. He only stepped down from the Cabinet in 2011 after PAP achieved the lowest percentage votes in the history of Singapore. Till today, he is still an MP in Parliament even though he hardly attends parliamentary sessions or MPS anymore. What does this tell you about this man? Finally, a word of caution: People in Singapore still believe ‘Ignorance is Bliss’ (to me, this may be true for the infancy stage). If you want to grow up and stand on your own two feet, then you have to know… (ignorance can be a very scary thing). Welcome to the new Internet world where the real power lies in knowledge and not in men: "Knowledge is power." - Francis Bacon "Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family." - Kofi Annan And: "The control of information is something the elite always does, particularly in a despotic form of government. Information, knowledge, is power. If you can control information, you can control people." - Tom Clancy (luckily, no one can control the Internet!)   Edmund    Read More →