Home » Archive for March, 2007
Archive for March, 2007
“895 HDB flats repossessed since 2003″
Mar. 29 | By Leong Sze Hian I refer to the article “895 HDB flats repossessed since 2003” (TODAY, Feb 28). It states that “seven per cent of those who took HDB mortgage loans were in arrears of at least 3 months”. As at the end of last year,...
Fake Degrees To Land Better Jobs On The Rise In Singapore
Mar. 28 | From KeralaNext.com The use of fake degrees to land better jobs and pay is on the rise in Singapore with many of the offenders coming from India and China, the Manpower Ministry said in a published report Wednesday. Data showed 374 people were found...
PAP and the people: A return of disaffection? – Revisited
Mar. 28 | Extract of Catherine Lim’s article titled “PAP and the people: A return of disaffection?” Ms Lim touched on the issue of ministerial salaries in this article. This was published in the Straits Times, Aug 26, 2000 FIVE years ago, I wrote an article...
Why’re we like that?
Mar. 27 | By Zyberzitizen It is quite depressing to hear what has been said lately – by government officials and some others – about how so many are leaving the civil service, how we must essentially seduce them with money, and how much exactly (down to the...
Ministers salaries – lets have a re-focus
Mar. 25 | A minister in the Singapore government presently receives $1.2 million in salary. This is according to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong as reported by the Straits Times on March 23, 2007 – “Top govt salaries far behind private sector’s”: “A...
The Case for Higher Salaries for Government Ministers
Mar. 23 | EXTRACT OF SPEECH BY MR LEE KUAN YEW, THEN SENIOR MINISTER, TO THE NATIONAL TRADE UNION CONGRESS AT THE SINGAPORE CONFERENCE HALL ON 19 JULY 1996. Ministers who deal with billions of dollars cannot be paid low salaries without risking a system malfunction....
Of untrue material, politicians lying and blogs which tell the truth
Mar. 23 | After reading channelnewsasia’s report about what Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said about new media, I will have to agree with Aaron that what the minister said is rather confusing. It is good that the minister reiterated what Dr Lee Boon Yang...
1.8% cap on any bus, train fare hike this year
Mar. 23 | Straits Times 1.8% cap on any bus, train fare hike this year Public Transport Council gives operators till August to apply March 23, 2007 ANY decision this year on raising bus and train fares will be known only in August at the earliest, instead of the...
Government sets rules of engagement in face of new media
Mar. 22 | From Channelnewsasia SINGAPORE: The government will continue to set political agendas and rules of engagement in the face of the new media, and will not be dictated by online petitions or polls. And while it will try to balance the diverse interests...
5th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Youth
Mar. 22 | From 23rd to 27th April 2007, Singapore will be the epicenter for youth discussion in the region. ASEAN Ministers and representatives from various youth organisations will come together in the 5th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Youth (AMMY V), establishing...
Just for laughs…
Mar. 22 | Just thought I’d share this with everyone – for a laugh. Or are our kids too stressed too? From Wind In My Head blog.
WWF lists 10 most endangered rivers globally
Mar. 21 | From MSNBC GENEVA – Hoping to raise awareness about the state of the world’s great rivers, the World Wide Fund for Nature on Tuesday released a report on what it called the 10 most endangered rivers — five of which are in Asia. The conservation...
Proud to be Singaporean?
Mar. 20 | From New Sintercom The government has been attracting foreign workers, especially the highly skilled ones, to work and settle in Singapore. It has also urged Singaporeans to accept these foreigners as one of them. The given reasons being needs these workers...
Public assistance for the elderly – where the ethics lie.
Mar. 19 | “There will always be arguments on whether a sum we’ve decided is enough or not and as I’ve said yesterday, frankly one limiting factor must be the sum that we give through public assistance cannot be so generous as to erode the work...
Singapore accused of land grab as islands disappear by boatload
Mar. 18 | Excerpts from The Times Indonesia has banned the export of sand and imposed strict controls on shipments of gravel, after fears that its islands were being loaded on to ships and carried away to Singapore. In its thirst for building materials and landfill...
Why Singapore is Superior Despite So Many Faults
Mar. 16 | From Strategy Page An article recently appeared in a professional journal (Armed Forces & Society), in which the author simultaneously praised Singapore for having the most effective, man-for-man, armed forces in Asia, and criticized some of the policies...
FT REPORT – AGE AND POPULATION: Singapore system starts to creak
Mar. 15 | By John Burton in Singapore, Financial Times Singapore would appear well-prepared to tackle the problems of an ageing population. Along with Japan and Malaysia, it is one of the few Asian countries that can claim near-universal coverage for its pension...
Web censorship spreading globally
Mar. 15 | By Richard Waters in San Francisco Internet censorship is spreading rapidly, being practised by about two dozen countries and applied to a far wider range of online information and applications, according to research by a transatlantic group of academics. The...
Singapore’s many weaknesses
Mar. 15 | By Eddie Choo Our global orientation and openness is our great strength but our greatest weaknesses as well. Despite the administration’s many attempts in minimising the weaknesses, it is inevitable that Singapore will still suffer from any global slowdown...
Global warming – going beyond stickers for refrigerators
Mar. 12 | The world has finally woken up to the reality of climate change. It is heartening to know that many now recognize and accept that this is real and has immense consequences not just for our environment but ultimately for the very existence of humankind...
LSIRC Discussion Forum 2007
Mar. 8 | By Remy Choo LSIRC DISCUSSION FORUM 2007 “OUR DEMOCRATIC PROCESSES: AN INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE” 10 MARCH 2007 (SATURDAY) VENUE: NUS FACULTY OF LAW, S-R 2-2 11 AM – 1 PM LSIRC (Law Students’ International Relations Committee) cordially invites...
A closer look at Budget 2007
Mar. 6 | By Edmund The budget statement debate concluded last Thursday. This article ponders over some issues raised as well as those which were not. How is the government financing the budget deficit? In my previous article I mentioned that given the constitutional...
