The language of our forefathers - are we missing something?
February 28, 2007
By Zyberzitizen
It’s been decades since we were urged to “Speak Mandarin” by the government, instead of speaking our dialects. I’ve never agreed with this policy. This is because I find our dialects fascinating and beautiful. But more than that, my dialect reflect my ‘origin’. It’s a bridge to where my parents and my grandparents came from.
Teochew has a special place in my heart. I remember when I was just a child, Dad would tell us stories in this dialect. The many idioms and phrases and folk songs which are peculiar to the Teochews always made me smile – and even cry.
My uncles are the ones who have really ‘mastered’ the language. Mom calls theirs ‘Pure Teochew’, which to me can be quite indiscernible because they are “so cheem”. But that is why it fascinates me. There is a certain melody or flow to the language and sometimes you do not really have to understand the words to get what is being said.
It is the same with the other dialects in our country – be it Hokkien, Cantonese, Hakka, or Hainanese.
MP Ho Geok Choo & the “Politics of Envy” Revisited
February 26, 2007
Peering at the storm around Singapore recently, is it all about envy? MP Ho Geok Choo’s question in Parliament on 12.2.2007 about the “Politics of Envy” attracted reactions both domestically and in the region.
From the transcript, it appears that even Speaker of Parliament had trouble comprehending her question. Ho has since clarified that she was “in substance and intent” asking “whether unhappiness with Singapore’s ability to offer help to bigger and better-endowed neighbours was the driver behind the recent ban on sand exports by Indonesia. Therefore, would a different tactic and approach work better? Our neighbours could be feeling ‘low’ and may experience ‘loss of face’ when we talk so often about offering help.”
Global City - Reviving the Singapore Spirit
February 24, 2007
By Eddie Choo
The Integrated Resorts in Marina Bay and Sentosa, 7% GST, Baby Bonus, parades, charades, CPF adjustments, so on…
The list isn’t exhaustive, and it grows with every year, as the government implements new measures ‘to adjust to the challenges of globalisation’ - or so we’re told.
All of these sound like a desperate attempt by the government to ensure that Singapore survives in the future. Of course, it’s all nice and everything, but as much as the Singapore government has its hands full coming up with all these things, gobbling up PSC scholars for the benefit of 4 million Singaporeans, it’s still not enough. In some sense, it can never be enough. Because the future will change ceaselessly, so the policy-makers will always have to keep up in a never-ending race to stay in the ‘same place’.
Now, will they come up with a meta-strategy of sorts to make their job and our job easier?
Budget 2007 - Reviewing the GST & the WIS scheme
February 22, 2007
by Dark Matter
What is the GST Offset Package going to do for Singaporeans? To answer this question, the Ministry of Finance prepared a table to illustrate the benefits the package provides.
The table is reproduced here for public reference:
Table 1: Impact of GST Offset Package on Households
The construction of noise - Singapore de-constructed
February 20, 2007
Singapore is in upheaval – literally.
I am sure that all of you have noticed it too – the many construction sites and construction activities going on around our little city-state. Building, re-building, knocking down, piling up, digging underground, tunneling through and so on. It seems as though we are in a big hurry to make ours an even more spanky city.
The Concept Plan of 1991 (revised in 2001) spells out the master plan for Singapore’s long term physical development – “for the next 40 to 50 years” - “to meet the needs of a projected long-term population of about 5.5 million.” (The government has perhaps revised this to 6.5 million?)
The URA website also states that “every square inch of our scarce land resources is optimized to stimulate Singapore’s economic growth and to improve the quality of life for all Singaporeans.”
It also seeks to enhance “Singapore’s sense of islandness”.
There is no doubt that it is a challenging plan and one which most of us would support – the dust and noise notwithstanding, of course.
Theonlinecitizen is taking a break for Chinese New Year
February 17, 2007
Dear everyone,
Theonlinecitizen will be taking a break - for a few days - for the Chinese New Year.
We apologise for any incovenience this may cause.
TOC will resume operations in 2 or 3 days.
We would like to wish one and all good health, peace and prosperity in the new year!
Regards,
theonlinecitizen
Climate change - the other terrorism facing Singapore
February 14, 2007
By Eddie Choo
What are the chances of an act of terrorism – 9-11 style, occurring? And what are the chances of major climate change occurring? How does America prepare for the former, and how does America prepare for the latter?
The study of America is typical of the response of many other nations. Today, many nations still appropriate a certain percentage of their GDP to defence against ‘potential aggressors’ – ranging from conventional warfare to terrorist attacks, or even as a measure of paranoia against revolutionary coups and other forms of domestic strife. Governments all around the world rate defence as a high priority as a measure of their commitment for their ‘existence and sovereignty’.
All of this makes sense, given that human nature and its aggressive aspect is still very much with us, and the tendencies for megalomania and ‘war on a whim’ are still very much possible. The lessons of previous wars are still with us, and the armed forces that governments keep is a reminder of that legacy, and it is also a legacy of the violent nature inherent in all of us.
Serving Workfare Bonus to benefit workers
February 13, 2007
by Dark Matter, filed under Letters To TOC
When low-wage workers received their first ever Workfare Bonus in 2006, 10% of the Bonus went into their CPF Medisave account as stated by MOM:
Why must 10% of the bonus be credited into my Medisave Account?
“10% will be credited into your Medisave Accounts to help low wage workers build up their savings to take care of their healthcare needs. However, 90% of the bonus will be in cash to help participants meet their immediate needs.”
On Dec 23rd, a report Allocate more Workfare for Medisave, unionists wanted a bigger portion of the Workfare Bonus for low-wage workers to go into Medisave account instead of giving out to low-wage workers in cash.
Entrepreneurship And the Future State of Affairs - Part 3
February 13, 2007
By leounheort
People find thinking and examining things critically inordinately difficult, and yet it is these things that give rise to the ideas that drive culture. History has shown that the culture of a nation reflects the current philosophies of the times: Beethoven lived in the Romantic era, where emotions, feeling and senses took centre stage; consequently, his works are all expressions of his personal feelings and beliefs, and one cannot deny the contributions of his works to German culture.
Culture arises only when there is a significant Zeitgeist within a nation that propels its geniuses to express it with their creative works. So long as current Orders hinder significantly these geniuses and/or the formulation of certain ideas and philosophies, there will be no culture, and then there will be no nation. This further disadvantages a country, whose peoples are not naturally predisposed towards critical thinking and original thought. I’ve already shown that the materialist and rigid conservative mindsets hinder the creative process significantly; our artistic entrepreneurs are therefore the worst off.
Budget 2007 - Changes necessary in our fiscal policy
February 9, 2007
By Edmund
PM Lee announced in November 2006 two significant fiscal policy changes in the first parliament session after the election in May. First, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) will be increased to 7%, up from the present 5%. The GST hike by two percentage points will raise at least $1.5 billion of tax revenue per year.
Second, the definition of net investment income (NII) will be broadened to include realised capital gains. Currently, the NII recognises only interest income and dividends. The Constitution allows the government to spend, during its term, all the NII from current reserves and up to half of the NII from past reserves. The inclusion of realised capital gains could increase annual revenue by about $2 billion.
Since the announcement, the buzz has initially been focused on financing an enhanced social safety net to help the lower-income group and meet the rising social expenditure needs of an ageing population. The argument has since widen to improving Singapore’s competitiveness to foreign investors by reducing income tax for companies and the rich, and to fund infrastructural developments. In particular, SM Lee announced in January a corporate tax cut of at least 1 percentage point in the budget to be presented on Feb 15.
