Home » Archive for January, 2007
Archive for January, 2007
Penal Code Amendments & Freedom of Speech forums
Jan. 31 | PUBLIC FORUM ON THE PENAL CODE AMENDMENTS In Nov 2006, the government floated a draft Penal Code Amendment Bill and called for public comment. The Penal Code reflects our rights and responsibilities living in Singapore. Despite the tremendous significance...
Huh, ASEAN? Does it really matter to us?
Jan. 29 | by Gerald Giam Mention “Asean” to the man on the street, and you are likely to get a puzzled look, or a stifled yawn at best. Even for the international media, Asean — the Association of Southeast Asian Nations — evokes significantly less...
Why we ought not to have a mandatory death penalty…
Jan. 28 | Excerpted from Kitana’s blog here. My father and B are both of the opinion tt I am sometimes too emotional for my own good. I feel sadness too easily. I’d only attended one judgment for a murder trial, and during tt trial the holding had been...
Complicity in the senseless murder of a young boy
Jan. 27 | By Zyberzitizen Iwuchukwu Amara Tochi. Will we remember him – or even his name? Will it matter to us? Does it matter to us? Why should we care about a Nigerian who is convicted of trafficking drugs? Why should we care about him who is now dead –...
Bloggers question Tochi’s execution
Jan. 27 | This is a summary of what some bloggers are saying about the execution of nigerian Iwuchukwu Amara Tochi. “Tochi was only 19 years old, with not much education. Was it safe to assume that he was familiar with the ways of the world, including the...
Entrepreneurship And the Future State of Affairs – Part 2
Jan. 26 | This is part 2 of the article on entrepreneurship by Leounheort. Part 1 can be accessed here. In a conservative society, anything new is automatically treated with fear and suspicion if it contradicts current social norms. Homosexuality, for example,...
Lawmakers Plead for Convicted Nigerian in Singapore
Jan. 25 | Report from This Day President Olusegun Obasanjo has sought the “personal intervention” of the Prime Minister of Singapore, Mr. Lee Hsien Loong, in the imminent execution of a Nigerian, Mr. Iwuchukwu Amara Tochi, in Singapore. The House of...
Report on the P65 Dialogue on GST implications
Jan. 24 | Starting later than the scheduled time of 7pm, the P65 Dialogue – GST Implications took place at NTUC Centre Jan 23rd, 2007. Chaired by the post-65 PAP MPs Teo Ser Luck, Michael Palmer, and Zaqy Mohammed, the event was a rather scaled-down affair....
NSP Departure from SDA– Study the Press reports
Jan. 23 | Excerpted from Singapore Alternatives. I would highly recommend a political commentary provided by Burning Republic State although I disagree with the author’s point of view that the SDA will face problems after the NSP’s (National Solidarity Party) departure....
Singapore Swing
Jan. 22 | Excerpt from Newsweek International By Sonia Kolesnikov-Jessop Jan. 29, 2007 issue – Tiny Singapore, with its population of 4.3 million, is often lauded for the way it has embraced globalization to maximum advantage. In the last decade, the city-state...
After the spending frenzy comes the reality
Jan. 20 | At just about this time last year (2006), we were inundated with dizzying and mind-numbing headlines after headlines (like the Straits Times headlines on the right) of billion dollar handouts & hundred-million dollar “5-year” upgrading plans,...
What happened to Singapore, the land of plenty?
Jan. 19 | This article is taken from Asiaweek (For Richer Or Poorer), to allow our readers to revisit the issues of welfare, the aged, foreign workers, and wages in Singapore. It is quite troubling to note that this article was first published in Nov, 2000. The...
Sir, may I have the can please?
Jan. 17 | This excerpt is taken from Yawning Bread’s website. I was having a late lunch at a hawker centre — just some fried noodles and a canned drink. In Singapore, one usually gets a cup of ice along with the drink, and the first thing...
Shin Corp deal only a commercial one – really?
Jan. 17 | This is filed under Letters to TOC Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Lee Hsien Loong has been adamant in insisting that the Temasek-Shin Corp deal is a ‘commercial investment’ and that the govt is “not dealing with it. It’s not a government...
Entrepreneurship And the Future State of Affairs
Jan. 15 | This is part one of a 3-part essay on entrepreneurship by leounheort. Singapore needs creativity. That much is clear: we as a nation must ride along the wave of globalisation out of necessity, for we are too small, geographically and demographically,...
The heart of society
Jan. 13 | I’ve been hearing this question lately. From my mom, my friends, colleagues and even strangers whom I happen to meet. “What exactly are we striving for, working so hard for?” “Everything that we do or earn is just to pay our bills”, my mom said....
One CNA Report But Two Different Set of Numbers
Jan. 12 | Thanks to Pseudonymity for bringing up this apparent disparity in his blog here. Yesterday, CNA broadcasted/posted a report titled Middle class wage stagnation could lead to social instability. One version of the report says 123,000 jobs were created...
New northern hospital – public transport concerns
Jan. 10 | Construction of the new $400 million, 400-beds Alexandra@Yishun hospital is now underway, and is expected to be completed by march 2009 (It was first announced as an election promise by the PAP in the 2001 general elections, by the way. 8 years to build...
w w w . H e l p N a z a n i n . c o m
Jan. 10 | Go to the website here to learn how to help Nazanin. On January 3, 2006, 18-year-old Nazanin Mahabad Fatehi was sentenced to death for murder by court in Iran after she stabbed one of three men who attempted to rape her and her 16-year-old niece in a...
How Many Ministers Does It Take To Change A Lightbulb?
Jan. 10 | The People’s Authoritarian Party (PAP) recently held a closed door, secret meeting to discuss the issue of lightbulbs in Singapore. Below is the transcript of the meeting which was leaked out. Lee Hsien Loong: Gentlemen and ladies… I am very happy...
“Durai Saga” fan fiction competition launched
Jan. 10 | By The Kentang “Patter”, an online web portal affiliated to The Straits Times, has launched a “Durai Saga” fan fiction competition. According to Patter’s deputy editor, Mr Kimberly Faucet Chua, the competition will “allow...
Potential Death Traps in Ang Mo Kio Hub
Jan. 9 | By Kevin of The-Upperroom Last Tuesday (2nd Jan) evening, I decided to prepare a nice dinner for my dearie. I saw the opening banner of “NTUC Xtra” outside Ang Mo Kio Hub a few days ago and thought it will be interesting to check it out. As I drove...
2007 predicted to be world’s warmest year
Jan. 9 | This excerpt is taken from Reuters By Jeremy Lovell LONDON (Reuters) – This year is set to be the hottest on record worldwide due to global warming and the El Nino weather phenomenon, Britain’s Meteorological Office said on Thursday. The...
The perils of serving
Jan. 8 | By Marilyn Lai Hospital Tales was very much inspired by one of my favourite blogs, Waiter Rant, and i have to admit that i used to wonder if all his stories were completely true. But after working in XYZ Hospital for more than a month… *bows head...
My neighbourhood… after dark.
Jan. 5 | By zyberzitizen In the heartlands of Singapore – and away from the glamour and glossy pictures we see on promotional brochures, advertisements and postcards – lies a question. A question which will be asked at the end of this essay. I took...
More transparency! Great!
Jan. 4 | This article is filed under the new column, Letters to TOC. In a ‘full’ page ad taken out in the TODAY newspaper on 28 Dec 2006, page 7, Singapore Power announced a surprising drop in electricity surcharges. Great news to kick off...
