TR EMERITUS

Just A Face In The Crowd Many netizens, especially the anti-establishment ones, hold the flawed belief that the reading public patronise the social media as regularly and as religiously as they do the mainstream media. Not true! This is where votes are lost. Such ignoramuses are living in a world of make-believe. Do they know that there are hundreds of thousands of middle-aged and elderly citizens, especially those in the civil service, who are completely oblivious of the social media -- the kind we patronise, like TR Emeritus, Independent Singapore, TOC, etc? And I haven't even included Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. yet. These "diehard dreamers" still cling on to every word and headline propagandised by the MSM, especially government civil servants, probably because of the fear of reprisals if caught supporting the opposing view. And many of them are well-educated people, mind you. Lawmakers, professionals, like engineers, doctors, teachers, principals, etc. "Did you read the papers?" is the common refrain we hear in the office, don't we? How often do you get someone saying: "Did you read TRE?" If ever you did, the response most likely would be: "What's that?" It's easy to find out when we engage these dreamers in conversation, say, about local matters. Listen to their views first about, say, government official statements, and what their own views are before offering your own opposing views. Then, watch their reaction. Do they accept your views? If they don't, are they prepared to offer reasons to substantiate their disagreement? In other words, do they dare to debate? Or do they quickly jump to their own conclusions and close the subject? If you ever named your source of information that led you to those dissenting views, what was their reaction? Did they know the social media named? Had they ever browsed these  websites/blogs before? I bet you 80% wouldn't know. Because they don't browse the internet much, let alone the social media blogs. The other 20% would just want to "play safe" and vote the same way they had been doing for half a century. So they would most likely keep mum. Just yesterday, I asked a colleague (a professional) for his reaction to the story about the grafitti on the roof of a block in Toa Payoh. His response: What story? No, I don't know. He was not even prepared to debate or discuss. How about the (intended) Singapore government loan of $4 billion to the IMF? Response: No, I don't know anything about it. Question: Is it that he didn't know or preferred not to discuss it -- again, for fear of reprisals? I've had the same response from many others, including those who know about the social media but are unfazed, or again, would approach it with a 10-foot pole. And so, my plea to all social media is this: Make yourselves heard as loud as thunder! And, if possible, make yourselves clearly visible and known to the public as much as possible, probably through protest rallies, etc. To the point that every Ah Beng, Ahmad, Johnny and Samy start talking about you. Be that little boy who revealed to everyone the Emperor's "New Clothes". And got everyone noticing it and laughing to the point that the Emperor felt so ashamed that he fled the scene. Never to return. Only then will you be able to match the mighty juggernaut, the MSM. Only then will you and we, your faithful supporters, have achieved our goals, which is to allow the populace the chance to be more discerning, and to separate the wheat from the chaff, and know who is worthy to be elected in our soon-to-be-called General Election. Otherwise, be prepared for the status quo. Another 5 years of hegemony, suppression and oppression, acrimony, frustration, financial and mental distress, close to suicide. Remember: Today, you are just a face in the crowd. Not everyone knows you. So make yourself be heard and be seen. The ball is in your court. Frankiezain Poh Editor's note: It has been suggested that those who visit websites like TRE regularly are either jobless or poor, thus having all the time in the world to "cry father cry mother". On the other hand, the 60% "diehard dreamers" are likely better educated, well-off and well-connected, hence they are contented with the status quo and/or simply cannot be bothered as long as they can afford a US$30,000 cooking holiday. As such, with limited funding (since its readers are supposedly poor), these websites are unable to "grow" as much as they would like to.  Read More →

A Malaysian Certis CISCO officer was charged in court last Friday (9 May) for taking a $10 bribe. Kalaiarasan Muniandy, 22, said he intends to plead guilty. On 19 January 2014, Kalaiarasan was carrying out his duties at Paya Lebar MRT station when he spotted Hasna, a domestic helper, drinking water. Kalaiarasan allegedly told Hasna he would issue her a summons of $300 and took down her particulars. When the helper said she was unable to pay the fine as she had only $10 with her, Kalaiarasan allegedly took the money and told her to leave. When the helper's employer found out about the incident, she lodged a police report and the case was referred to the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB). Kalaiarasan, who had been with Certis CISCO for just 6 months prior to the incident, has since been suspended. He is liable to a fine of up to $100,000, jail for up to 5 years, or both upon conviction. He will be back in court on 16 May 2014. During a debate in Parliament on 6 March 2014, MP for Aljunied GRC Sylvia Lim raised her concerns about the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) constantly outsourcing services performed by the Home Team to private companies ('Sylvia questions MHA for outsourcing security services'): As the recent breach at Woodlands Checkpoint suggests, the secondary security check by the APO is very important and has implications on public safety. With 300,000 people and 130,000 vehicles passing Woodlands checkpoint each day, co-ordination between ICA, SPF and APOs is a huge challenge. Likewise, prison inmate escort within the prisons is not merely a security function but requires proper training to ensure the prisoner’s rehabilitation is not compromised. Furthermore, injuries or death of an inmate resulting from improper handling can be disastrous for the services. In today’s complex policing environment, every police officer requires strong situational awareness and adaptive leadership skills, and foresight in exercising discretion. Ms Lim concluded that outsourcing has its limits. “Should the focus instead be on Home Team manpower recruitment and retention, and ensuring they have the best resources on hand to protect our Home?” Ms Lim questioned MHA. With only 7 opposition MPs against 80 PAP MPs in Parliament, it is quite unlikely that DPM Teo Chee Hean, the Minister for Home Affairs, will heed Ms Lim. The PAP government seems to be very much at ease outsourcing security services to Aetos and Certis CISCO. Both entities operate as private firms under Temasek Holdings. It is no secret that many of the auxiliary police officers are hired from Malaysia. Some of them are even literally recruited off the streets in Johor which former PM Mr Lee Kuan Yew once described as “notorious for shootings, muggings and carjackings” [Link]. In any case, with the Police's Operations Director Lau Peet Meng "open" to the idea of recruiting FTs into the SPF, will Singapore see a day when its streets and citizens are police by FTs such as the accused? What do you think?  Read More →

[Letter was sent to Radin Mas MP Sam Tan on 20 April 2014. The MP did not reply, said the writer who forwarded the letter to TRE today (12 May) for publication.] Radin Mas MP Sam Tan Dear Mr Tan, Please look into the appointment of foreigners who have converted to PRs or citizens, as RC members in Radin Mas. On Good Friday, 18/4/2014 at around 8.20 p.m., I had to approach a bespectacled female dog owner in her early thirties sitting slovenly in the void deck, who had been regularly letting her dog bark noisily and endlessly on her regular evening walks. She was asked if she was a resident and advised to control her pet to keep the peace in the housing area. She replied she was staying in Blk 115, Bukit Purmei. I told her that the RC leaders staying in the block there would tell her the same thing. Immediately, she challenged me to join the RC and claimed she was a RC member who has been staying in Singapore for 15 years. Despite her claims, she further insinuated that I was ‘bias towards her because she was from China’ when in fact, she was never asked about her country of origin.  I refused to entertain her nonsense to start another issue and drew her attention to pet control. Still, she continued to insist several times, again and again on the bias towards her as a PRC (in her own words), a quarrel tactic easily identifiable with her China comrades.  I walked away to discontinue the tiresome talk. This incident leads one to wonder about her true self identity and her real sense of loyalty, which 15 years in Singapore has not managed to convert. She still identifies herself with China.  In itself, this also attests to the failure of her integration; of her respect for local etiquette and not forgetting to mention, of the policies enacted which favoured her current status. Of greater alarm is that whether such character, after being given access to official position and privileges would choose to abuse it with impunity. Evidently so, she used her RC status to throw her weight about and basically was implying that being an RC member she had the right to allow her dog to behave in any way she deemed fit. Would the PAP, which prides itself on running a tight ship, legitimize someone whose cultural background and upbringing connive rampant corruption and common abuse of official power, resort back to their hometown tricks of getting away with civil misdemeanor using the power appointed by the people to them? For the good and progress of our nation, we must not allow the ill social behaviour of corrupt societies to even take grassroots here, much less have a voice in decision making affecting the community. Andrew Editor's note: Most RC members are appointed by the PAP "adviser" (aka PAP MP) of the ward. They are not elected by the people.  Read More →