TR EMERITUS

In an incredible feat, blogger Roy Ngerng who is currently being sued by PM Lee for defamation has raised $72,043.91 from the public in 4 days for his legal defence fund: Writing on his blog [Link], Roy thanked everyone for their support. He said: Today is Day 4 of the fund raising and we have managed to reach the target of $70,000. I would like to thank everyone for the support and for the unity that we have shown. I had managed to speak to several Singaporeans who had passed the funds to me. They had wanted to thank me for standing up on behalf of Singaporeans to voice out. Please know that the support you give means a lot and I will continue to stay strong and stay on course with everyone. Thanks to Singaporeans, we have managed to reach the target in 4 days. Thank you everyone. Roy also said that a number of Singaporeans actually met up with him and delivered cash to him personally: Last night (1 Jun), I received 3 amounts of $70, $200 and $620 from three groups of people. This afternoon, I had also received $600. I was able to chat with two of them. With one gentleman and his friend. We sat at my void deck to discuss about the CPF. His colleagues had discussed the case and they would like to contribute to fight the case, and were supportive that someone had wanted to speak up on the CPF. Now that the $70,000 target has been reached, Roy said he will not be seeking any more funds at this point. He said, "We have reached the target of $70,000 for the legal and court fees. I will not be actively seeking for funds at this point. For the actual amount of damages, we would only be able to know after the court case is over." "I understand that funds might still be coming in. I will continue to keep a transparent records of the funds so as to be accountable and allow everyone to keep track of the funds," he added. "I am thankful that many Singaporeans have come on-board to support the cause. The CPF is an issue that affects everyone, and this episode has galvanized Singaporeans. I will continue to do my part and stand strong to fight for answers on our CPF. Thank you for your support. I will continue to speak up on the CPF to raise awareness and to advocate for CPF changes that will benefit and protect Singaporeans." On 7 June at 4pm, Roy and other activists will be organising an event at Hong Lim Park to talk about the CPF issue and make several demands [Link]: To increase CPF interest rates be pegging to what GIC and Temasek Holdings earn The right to opt-out from the CPF Minimum Sum and CPF Life schemes and be able to withdraw CPF Full reports from GIC, Temasek Holdings and MAS on how CPF is being invested To increase the CPF payout With regard to PM Lee's legal action against Roy, many feel that the PM has gone overboard. A blogger wrote ('An absurd defamation suit by Prime Minister Lee'): I can understand if the PM sues another politician; a professional of standing or a media person because that fellow is credible. But who is Roy Ngerng? To me it is laughable to suggest Roy could defame the PM with his blog posts. Far too many of us do not think he analyze the CPF issue correctly anyway. How many readers of his blog are so inane to only read him and not others including expert views before making up their own minds. We are no longer in the Middle Ages or a very undeveloped country where people believe and spread silly rumors. The PM stand to lose more by suing this nobody for defamation. And if he thinks Roy is the monkey he is out to kill as a warning to the rest of us, I think he has achieved some success. However this is not worth it because in the privacy of our votes, we will “defame” him with our choice which he cannot sue us. TRE reader Patrick Low commented ('Why is it necessary for PM Lee to sue Roy Ngerng?'): Why can’t he be a magnanimous Prime Minister and invite this erring young fellow Singaporean for a cup of tea and thrash out with him why and how he has gone wrong in his analysis? In so doing he would have earned the respect of millions of Singaporeans and thousands of bloggers in the social media who can begin to relook at his new style of governance and perhaps adopt a less hostile attitude towards his new brand of 'constructive politics'. Former presidential candidate Tan Kin Lian wrote on his blog hoping that PM Lee will be magnanimous over the incident ('Not being magnanimous could damage PM’s reputation'): There is still time for an amicable, out-of-court settlement. I hope that the prime minister will take this opportunity to show that he is magnanimous. Another former presidential candidate Dr Tan Cheng Bock wrote on his Facebook page (‘Dr Tan Cheng Bock: The CPF and beyond‘): Younger Singaporeans, better educated, and with a more enquiring mind zoomed in on how the CPF money was invested. They raised some pertinent questions like interest rates and want to know where, how and quantum of return from investments but they got same standard answers (e.g. CPF are invested in Singapore government bonds). This did not satisfy their young minds. They want to know whether GIC and Temasek holdings are also managing the funds. But apparently these questions were not well clarified. This created a suspicion of the government not being transparent and that the government was not revealing the true status of our money in the CPF. As the answers were not forth coming, more pressure was exerted through the new media and some got carried away too far with allegation of wrong doings by the authorities. So the big stick was used. Dr Tan felt that there will be more such stand-offs in future. He said: The CPF issue is but one of many such encounters that the government will have to face. It is very challenging and difficult. There will be more such standoffs. But for now, how is the government going to manage this? Will the tough action taken, strengthen the resolve of the young or a more engaging approach be a better way for such encounters in future? How hard the big stick is used will be carefully watched both by Singaporeans and Singapore watchers abroad.  Read More →

Media Release On 8 May 2014, the Central Provident Fund Board, a statutory board under the Ministry of Manpower, released the news that the Minimum Sum that will apply to CPF members who turn 55 between 1 July 2014 and 30 June 2015 is $155,000. In addition, the Medisave Minimum Sum will be raised to $43,500 from $40,500. A member may need to have both these amounts before any excess funds can be withdrawn. At a time when Singapore is ranked as the most expensive place to live in the world, where Singaporeans yet continue to receive the lowest wages among the high-income countries, CPF is akin to an additional tax on our income. Historically, we may have the lowest real rate of return of all national pension funds in the world. An estimated only 1 in 8 Singaporeans who reach age 55, were able to meet the CPF Minimum Sum and Medisave Minimum Sum, entirely in cash from their CPF accounts. There is no transparency and accountability towards how the government is using our CPF monies, or the returns derived from CPF funds. All these despite MPs calling for higher rates, improvements to our CPF system practically every year. It is undesirable that after working till the age of 55, Singaporeans are unable to take out their CPF and retire with many elderly resorting to collecting cardboards or selling tissues papers to sustain their daily needs. As such, this event aims to highlight the inadequate measures in place to protect the retirement needs of Singaporeans. Event details: Date                      Saturday 7 June 2014 Time                      4.00pm – 6.00pm Venue                   Hong Lim Park – Speaker’s Corner Programme: Time                                    Speaker 4.00pm – 4.15pm             Mr. Tan Kin Lian, presidential candidate 4.15pm – 4.30pm             RP's stand by Kenneth Jeyaretnam 4.30pm – 4.45pm             SDP's message by Ariffin Sha 4.45pm – 5.00pm             Mr. Leong Sze Hian 5.00pm – 5.15pm             Ms. Han Hui Hui, activist 5.15pm – 5.30pm             Mr. Roy Ngerng, blogger 5.30pm – 6.00pm             Questions & Answers To find out more about the event, you can go to the Facebook event page at: https://www.facebook.com/events/540971529345418 There will be a press conference on 4 June 2014 6 pm at artistry cafe: 17 Jalan Pinang, 199149. We would like to invite the media to this press conference.  Read More →

(2 Jun) - China is pressing for concessions to allow its workers easier-­access to Australia as part of a sweeping trade deal that could be struck within months. The request puts labour mobility on the agenda in talks in Canberra tomorrow that could add $5 billion a year to bilateral trade in food, manufactured goods, resources and services. But the Abbott government has rejected the “open slather” idea for migrant workers and will only discuss rules to bring in specialist staff on major projects. Trade Minister Andrew Robb will meet Chinese Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng tomorrow to accelerate the talks on a free-trade agreement that both sides hope to complete by November. Dairy exports are also on the agenda. Mr Robb told Australian companies and industry groups he was aiming for a substantial deal to break down Chinese barriers to milk and cheese imports. Mr Robb gave the dairy industry a personal commitment that he would seek a better outcome than New Zealand’s free-trade agreement with China several years ago, which helped trigger a dairy boom. New Zealand’s exports to China have tripled since the trade deal was struck in 2008 while Australian exports to China have grown only 14 per cent over the same period, according to New Zealand government statistics. Mr Robb’s position in tomorrow’s talks is to gain a “New Zealand Plus” agreement for the dairy industry. “China is our biggest export market and a prominent investor,” Mr Robb told The Australian. Read more: www.theaustralian.com.au/news/china-seeks-access-for-workers/story-e6frg6n6-1226939169402#  Read More →