Home » Archive for October, 2007
Archive for October, 2007
Co-ordinated, carrot-and-stick approach needed for Burma
Oct. 31 | BREAKING NEWS: Monks return to the streets of Burma. (BBC) No one party will be able to bring about lasting change for the better in Burma on its own. By Gerald Giam The shooting appears to have stopped, but the sufferings of the 47 million people of...
Zen and the art of maintaining silence
Oct. 29 | By Kamal Mamat My father, who passed away last month at the start of Ramadan, was a member of the Singapore branch of UMNO back in the early 60s. Later, when Singapore achieved independence, it dissolved and re-emerged as PKMS, an opposition party which...
NMP’s views at odds with AIDS relief research paper
Oct. 27 | By Jinesh Lalwani and Choo Zheng Xi Safe sex awareness pamphlets censored as pornography. Information booths closed down for distributing “illegal” content. Awareness outreach funding stifled by choking off of charity fundraisers by homosexual groups. The...
Government using hyperbole to justify public protests ban
Oct. 26 | By Gerald Giam The Singapore Government has once again employed the use of hyperbole to justify its near-total ban on public demonstrations, whether peaceful or not. In his letter to the Straits Times and TODAY, the deputy director at the Ministry of...
A brief encounter with a Chinese woman
Oct. 25 | By Eddie Choo This evening I had quite a conversation with an elderly day nurse. She’s from China and she was asking me for directions. I don’t know her name, never asked for it, for convenience lets just call her Xiaomin. I first noticed...
Deconstructing the Majority
Oct. 24 | By Benjamin Cheah The ‘silent majority’ has finally spoken. Its representative is ‘The Majority’, a group that intends to prevent the repeal of Section 377A. The Majority argues that the retention of Section 377A is necessary, to preserve moral...
Further questions about Myanmar and t-shirts
Oct. 24 | By Leong Sze Hian I refer to the articles “Singapore’s arms sales to Myanmar not substantial : No deals in recent years ; weapons sold not suited to counter civilian unrest ; economic links limited, says George Yeo”...
Section 377A is inconsistent : PAP MP Hri Kumar
Oct. 23 | Transcript of the Parliamentary speech by PAP MP Hri Kumar on the debate over Section 377A. I rise to support the Bill. A major overhaul of the Penal Code was timely and the Ministry of Home Affairs has obviously put in much effort and thought to the...
377A serves public morality : NMP Thio Li-Ann
Oct. 23 | Below is the full transcript of NMP Professor Thio Li-Ann’s speech in Parliament. Two camps championing two distinct criminal law philosophies are polarised over whether to retain or repeal s377A which criminalizes public or private acts of gross...
Repeal 377a press conference: public health and families at stake too
Oct. 23 | By Teng Kie Zin Scott & Rachel Lim The repeal of the law against gay sex is not only about gays, as AIDS prevention programs and families of homosexual men are affected too, said the organizers of the group petitioning to repeal Section 377A of the...
NMP Siew Kum Hong: Turn our backs on prejudice, discrimination, intolerance and hatred
Oct. 23 | Below is the full transcript of NMP Siew Kum Hong‘s speech in Parliament on the amendments to the Penal Code. TOC would like to thank Mr Siew for providing us with the transcript. Mr Speaker Sir, I rise to speak on the Penal Code (Amendment) Bill,...
Send Penal Code amendments to Select Committee: NCMP Sylvia Lim
Oct. 22 | This is the transcript of the speech by NCMP and Workers’ Party chairman Sylvia Lim in Parliament on the Penal Code amendments. (The video is here on CNA’s website.) TOC would like to thank Ms Lim for providing us with the transcript. Read...
TOC Feature: participating in the IBA
Oct. 22 | By Jeth Lee Thanks to the kind sponsorship of TOC, I was able to attend the much talked about Rule of Law Symposium organised by the International Bar Association last Friday despite it being priced at a restrictively high 60 Sterling pounds (citizen...
Ang Mo Kio fire: Shouldn’t the Town Council do more?
Oct. 22 | By Leong Sze Hian The entire wet market and food centre at Block 628A, Ang Mo Kio Street 61, was destroyed in a fire on 16 October 2007. (link) The affected stallholders are being asked to pay an estimated $8,000 to $10,000 to build a temporary market. With...
Questions to be asked in Parliament by MPs
Oct. 20 | Parliament will sit on the 22nd of October 2007, Monday. Below is a sample of the questions which MPs have tabled to ask. The full list of questions can be found here, in Parliament’s Order Paper. On Burma (Myanmar) Dr Lily Neo: To ask the Minister...
Outdoor demonstration planned outside St Andrew’s Cathedral
Oct. 20 | By Andrew Loh On the blog titled Enshrine 377A, the blogger, whose identity is unknown to us, calls for the public to participate in a “Walk For Jesus Action” in support of retaining section 377A of the Penal Code which criminalizes sex between...
Banned in the City Of Possibilities
Oct. 18 | “It is not our objective to increase the level of censorship in Singapore. Just maintaining the existing level of censorship is difficult enough.” - Minister for Information and the Arts, George Yeo (1998) (Reuters) Below is a list of events...
Why are we still being led by one man’s philosophy?
Oct. 16 | By Andrew Loh There is nothing unusual about MM Lee’s speech at the opening of the International Bar Association conference in Singapore on Sunday. He outlined Singapore’s progress throughout the years and the steps his government had to take to...
Uniquely Singapore, F1 or F9: Parliamentary debate, then self-rebuttal?
Oct. 15 | By Leong Sze Hian I refer to the article “S’pore has an edge in grooming leaders: MM – A robust system is in place here to groom a new generation of leaders” (ST, Oct 6). So, what has grooming the next generation of leaders got...
TOC welcomes 5 new writers
Oct. 14 | Theonlinecitizen would like to announce the inclusion of 5 new writers to the TOC team. They are Ng Sook Zhen, Joel Tan, Andrew Ong, Chong Kai Xiong and Jeffrey Leow. Welcome on board, everyone! Below is a brief background summary of who they are. Writers: Ng...
Parliamentary petition to repeal 377A: not just any other petition
Oct. 12 | By Choo Zheng Xi In the most formal challenge to Singapore’s gay sex laws yet, Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP) Siew Kum Hong will be sponsoring a petition in Parliament calling for the repeal of section 377A of the Penal Code. The petition was...
TOC Feature: 377A – To prevent what harm?
Oct. 10 | By Michael Hor Curiously, the Penal Code (Amendment) Bill of 2007, proclaimed as the result of only the second comprehensive review of Singapore’s 136 year old criminal code, is likely to be remembered more for what it did not do than for what it did....
Something is Rotten in the State of Singapore
Oct. 10 | Breaking News: Myanmar dissident dies under questioning By Benjamin Cheah On the 8th of October, five members of the Singapore Democratic Party, Mr. Gandhi Ambalan, Dr. Chee Soon Juan, Ms. Chee Siok Chin, Mr. Jeffrey George, and Mr. John Tan were...
TOC Breaking News: 4 SDP members arrested outside Istana
Oct. 8 | LATEST: The 5 SDP members (including Jeffrey George who was taping the whole event on his video camera) were released at 9.28pm on $1,000 bail each. TOC understands that they have been charged under the Prohibition of assemblies and procession – Istana...
President Star Charity – where’s the missing $840,000?
Oct. 8 | By Leong Sze Hian I refer to media reports that the President’s Star charity show raised a record $5.4 million. According to the Straits Times’ report on Oct 1, 2007: “This year’s musical extravaganza raised a record $5.46 million...
Chee Soon Juan’s ‘exploitation’ of the Burma situation?
Oct. 6 | This is a letter sent to TOC. The writer wishes to remain anonymous. Recently, a few people have complained that Chee Soon Juan was exploiting the Burmese situation to make a political point. Here’s one typical interpretation of the petition he...
International Day Of Action For A Free Burma – Oct 6
Oct. 5 | (Picture of Burmese child, above) Singapore Date & Time: 6pm on 6th Oct Venue: Burmese Buddhist Temple (Balestier Road) Subj: Mass Prayers Sessions for the people in Burma Events around the world Read also: Burma sets conditions for Suu Kyi (BBC) And:...
TOC Report: Myanmar Peace Awareness Day in university campuses
Oct. 5 | By Ng Sook Zhen Chaos may be an abstract concept for youths in Singapore, but this has not stopped students from taking material action against the current chaotic situation in Myanmar. Yesterday, at Myanmar Peace Awareness Day(MPAD) held at three local...
Worldwide advertisement in Financial Times to stop brutal crackdown on Burmese protesters
Oct. 5 | From avaaz.org Today, our petition to China and the UN Security Council to stop the brutal crackdown on peaceful Burmese protesters is being delivered to the world in a full page ad in the Financial Times worldwide — but the ad was rejected by other...
Free Burma! Give your support to this event
Oct. 2 | On October 4th, 2007, bloggers across the globe will join together in support of the brave people of Burma. The bloggers’ protest will be called “International Bloggers’ Day for Burma“ On that day, all participating blogs will...
Police rejects permit for outdoor protest by S’pore student
Oct. 2 | Andrew Teo, a student at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, had applied for a permit to hold an outdoor protest about the situation in Burma. (Reported here by TOC earlier.) His application has been rejected by the Singapore police. The following...
Candle light vigil at Burmese embassy
Oct. 2 | This is a short video of scenes at the candle light vigil at the Burmese embassy in Singapore, 1st Oct 2007. *Pictures are taken from Ko Naing’s public gallery here.
