Home » Archive for May, 2008
Archive for May, 2008
Chiam fulfils walkway promise made at 2006 polls
May. 31 | From the Straits Times May 31, 2008 Chiam fulfils walkway promise made at 2006 polls THE completion of a covered walkway in Potong Pasir marks the fulfillment of a promise Mr Chiam See Tong made during the 2006 General Election. On Saturday, the opposition...
‘Guest Workers’ or Modern Slavery?
May. 31 | From Worldpress.org: Jobless, desperate, homeless, and hungry, some of them tried to work illegally and were arrested, jailed, and flogged. Corporal punishment, like the death penalty, still remains a feature of modern Singapore law. To cap it off, some...
Sayoni Queer Women Survey
May. 30 | From the Sayoni website: This survey is intended to collect essential information about queer, lesbian, bisexual and transgender women living in Singapore. Women of all ages, races and nationalities are welcome to take this survey, as long as your permanent...
Help make a girl’s dream come true
May. 30 | You may, or may not, have heard about the Pick-Me-Up Book , which was first launched in January this year. The book is a collection of true stories of how people managed to overcome their dire circumstances and strife to turn their dreams into reality...
China man bashed for ‘talking too loudly’ on bus
May. 30 | From The New Paper. May 29, 2008. Mr Liu, a China national working as a waiter at the Beng Thin Hoon Kee Restaurant in OCBC Centre, had made the call to his mother in Jilin, China, after he finished work on Sunday night. Said Mr Liu, 22, in Mandarin:...
Civil servants’ inflation bonus
May. 29 | From the Straits Times, May 29, 2008 Thursday: SOME 60,000 civil servants in Singapore will get a half-month mid-year bonus in July and an inflation bonus of between $100 and $300. Officers in the lower divisions – Division III and IV – will...
Why NS didn’t make me patriotic
May. 29 | Eddie Choo Why? Because in NS, it really goes like this: I pretend to be a soldier, and you pretend to treat me like a soldier. NS has become so ritualised that serving the nation has lost its meaning. When something becomes a ritual, it loses its meaning,...
M’sian govt to engage bloggers
May. 28 | Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak on engaging bloggers: “Therefore, instead of just criticising them (the new media) or running them down, the best thing to do is to engage them. Hopefully they will understand our perspective.” Najib...
A compassionate “fine” system
May. 28 | Tan Kin Lian Someone once said that Singapore is a “fine” city. We have a fine for littering, a fine for jay-walking, a fine for late payment of taxes, a fine for traffic offences and a fine for paying a fine late. It is all right to have fines to...
Schools kill creativity
May. 27 | Why don’t we get the best out of people? Sir Ken Robinson argues that it’s because we’ve been educated to become good workers, rather than creative thinkers. Students with restless minds and bodies — far from being cultivated...
Disciplinary action taken against officers for escape
May. 27 | Deputy Prime Minister and Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng updates Parliament on the disciplinary action that has been taken against the officers responsible for Mas Selamat’s escape. May 26, 2008. Part One: Part Two:
90 days since escape… no more information?
May. 26 | Andrew Loh Mas Selamat Kastari escaped from the Whitley Road Detention Centre on February 27, 2008. It has been 90 days since. There has been total silence on what the government is doing to capture him since the debate moved into the sphere of responsibility...
Medishield – Why burden the elderly further?
May. 26 | Uniquely Singapore Leong Sze Hian In the Channel NewsAsia report, “MediShield premiums to go up from December 1”, and the Ministry of Health’s press release on 27 April, the government is increasing MediShield premiums from 1 December. The hike...
Breaking News: Superintendent of detention centre sacked over Mas Selamat’s escape (Video)
May. 26 | Read DPM Wong’s full speech and videos below. Report from Channel NewsAsia: SINGAPORE: The superintendent of the Whitley Road Detention Centre has been sacked over security lapses that led to the escape of Jemaah Islamiyah detainee Mas Selamat Kastari....
Subsidies cannot solve problems: MM Lee
May. 26 | In the Straits Times report titled, “Subsidies cannot solve problems: MM”, MM Lee Kuan was reported to have said the following about Singaporeans asking for subsidies to help with the rising cost of living: As long as we have a dynamic economy, we...
Global push for ban on cluster bombs
May. 24 | On 18th February 2008 governments, campaigners and survivors of cluster bombs from around the world will meet in New Zealand to decide what a treaty banning cluster bombs will include. It is the most significant disarmament conference the New Zealand...
Online politicization: Singapore’s source of new activists
May. 23 | TOC thanks JamesGomez for allowing us to reproduce the following from his website, jamesgomeznews. James Gomez The post 2006 GE participation and exposure to online political expression and real world political activities has given birth to a new pool...
What happens to my feedback?
May. 23 | From TODAY, May 23, 2008: Alicia Wong alicia@mediacorp.com.sg THERE is Reach, then there is Rap. But where is the all-important Response? It was a civil servant who put that sharp question to a minister at a new media conference yesterday, wanting to...
Campaign the Singapore Government to stop producing cluster bombs
May. 23 | The following was sent to TOC by Seelan Palay The Singapore government, through its government-linked company, Singapore Technologies Kinetics Ltd (ST Kinetics), manufactures, stockpiles and publicly advertises two types of cluster ammunitions for sale...
Public Forum – 24 May, Saturday
May. 22 | “Understanding the implications of inflation on your investments and the labour market” To raise the competitiveness of our future workforce through a holistic discussion of various issues of the labour market, including investment strategies and...
Political suicide or political maturity?
May. 22 | Andrew Loh TOC interviews Workers’ Party members. When Yaw Shin Leong of the Workers’ Party (WP) revealed on his blog that he had voted for the People’s Action Party (PAP) candidate, Dr Teo Ho Pin, in the 2006 General Elections, it sparked an...
Malaysia’s defining moment and the new economic agenda
May. 21 | The Online Citizen thanks the Office of Anwar Ibrahim for its permission to reproduce the following. Anwar Ibrahim delivered a powerful speech at the CLSA Corporate Access Forum in Singapore to an overflow audience of the region’s most creative...
Link pay of leaders to happiness index
May. 21 | Out Of The Box is TOC’s new column by Kin Lian. Tan Kin Lian A few days ago, someone asked me this question, “Do you think our leaders’ performance is commensurate with their pay?” I suspect that he wanted me to comment if our leaders...
工会、新闻媒体以及人民
May. 20 | Leong Sze Hian and Choo Zheng Xi 让国人吃……洗洁剂？ 让媒体报道洗洁剂的价格，是不是凸显了一个更深沉的利益冲突，足以危害这个国家呢？ 久不久我们都能在《新报》找到智慧的珠粒。Larry Havekamp...
Crisis in Myanmar and the responsibility to protect
May. 20 | The Online Citizen would like to thank the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies for granting us the permission to reproduce this article. Hannah Ruth Chia Cyclone Nargis has killed an estimated 100,000 people in Myanmar and left some two million...
TOC sports new look, keeps same vision
May. 20 | Dear readers, The Online Citizen’s (TOC) new website was launched on 14 May 2008. The new design is a culmination of over two months of planning, discussions and coding. While we don a new look, the objectives for TOC remain unchanged: To provide...
ThinkBox forum – “Money: Women & Men” (Wed, May 21)
May. 19 | Following the success of AWARE’s inaugural ThinkBox, “Is Singapore Ready for a Hillary Clinton?”, AWARE will host a public forum on why a man is not a financial plan. Titled, “Money: Women & Men,” this forum will discuss managing your...
I knew because he told me
May. 19 | From The New Paper NEWS that Workers’ Party (WP) candidate Yaw Shin Leong voted for Dr Teo Ho Pin came as no surprise to the People’s Action Party (PAP) MP himself. Dr Teo, Mayor of the North West district, had known that WP candidate Yaw...
Burma should be suspended from Asean
May. 19 | Excerpts from Yawning Bread: The best thing Asean can do right now is to suspend Burma from the grouping. Sure, such action won’t help anyone in the Irrawaddy delta, but there is not a chance in hell that this meeting will produce help anyway. If...
The rise and fall of rice
May. 19 | Leong Sze Hian Uniquely Singapore After reading the news reports about FairPrice not allowing customers to buy more than five 10-kg bags of rice, consumers may be flocking to Fairprice, thinking that it has the cheapest rice and stocks may run out. Restricting...
ICA, MOM refuse to release Burmese statistics
May. 18 | Selene Cheng Why is labour information being hidden from citizens? Is a culture of secrecy healthy for good governance in Singapore? Getting official statistics from government agencies is next to impossible, as The Online Citizen (TOC) recently found...
Support the “Day Off” campaign for domestic workers
May. 18 | This Campaign is a joint initiative by the National Committee of UNIFEM Singapore, Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics and Transient Workers Count Too. For more information about us, please look under the section of ‘Campaign HQ’...
Film on Lee Kuan Yew seized by MDA
May. 17 | Andrew Loh It was a private screening but that didn’t stop officers from the Media Development Authority (MDA) from seizing a copy of the film, “One Nation Under Lee”, at the Tulip Room in the Peninsular Excelsior Hotel. The Singapore Democratic...
WP candidate draws flak on the Internet
May. 17 | Excerpts from blog posting by Ng E Jay. Personally, I think that Yaw should not have publicly announced that he voted for the PAP, especially since he is not only a leading figure in an opposition party, but also a candidate himself. If Yaw told his supporters...
WP’s OS voted for the PAP
May. 16 | The Workers’ Party Organising Secretary, Yaw Shin Leong, revealed on his blog that he voted for the PAP candidate, Dr Teo Ho Pin, in the last General Elections. In his blog post, “A vote for the other side”, Yaw said: Actually during GE06 itself,...
Sze Hian to speak at World Investor Forum
May. 16 | TOC writer, Leong Sze Hian, will be speaking at the World Investor Forum this Saturday and Sunday, May 17 and 18, on the topic: “CPF changes: How does it affect you and your children? What decisions do you need to consider?” Venue: Suntec City, Ballroom...
Leadership lessons from a sub-contractor
May. 16 | Lim Chih Yang It is not often that one can learn leadership lessons from The New Paper. While our local tabloid is a surprisingly good resource on how to manage one’s finances, enjoy fine dining, get the latest gossip, and contains the most comprehensive...
Survey on socio-political blogs
May. 15 | TOC would like to give our support to the following and we urge our readers to do so as well. A NTU Masters student is conducting an Internet survey on ”Internet Users’ Perceptions of Socio-Political Blog Credibility in Singapore”. The survey...
The Unions, the Press and the People
May. 14 | Leong Sze Hian & Choo Zheng Xi Let the people eat…detergent? Does the media’s reporting of detergent prices reveal a deeper conflict of interest that may harm the country? Once in awhile pearls of wisdom are found in The New Paper. Larry Havekamp...
Reduce commuting time
May. 14 | Tan Kin Lian Like most big cities, Singapore is getting over-crowded. It is easy to build highrise apartments and offices for a bigger population but the challenge is in transporting these people between their homes and workplaces and back. A denser...
Letter to ST Forum
May. 13 | The following is a letter by Ng E Jay which was published by the Straits Times, May 14, 2008. Internet should not be subject to the law over and above those that apply in real life I AM one of the 13 bloggers who submitted proposals for Internet freedom...
Does S’pore deserve its press ranking?
May. 13 | Terence Lee In a 2008 survey by Freedom House, Singapore has shown no improvement in its freedom of the press, despite the maturing of online media as a medium to air alternative views. The latest results reveal nothing new: much has already been said...
CASE’s relationship with NTUC
May. 11 | Uniquely Singapore The Unions, the Press, and the People – Part II Leong Sze Hian The National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) founded the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) in 1971, and it remains an institution member today. (938 Live) (CASE’s...
Crisis of leadership in S’pore
May. 11 | Gerald Giam Mr Viswa Sadasivan, CEO of communications training and consultancy Strategic Moves and renowned social commentator, recently gave a talk where he shared his views about politics in Singapore. True to his style, Mr Viswa’s off-the-cuff...
A confused Aljunied GRC MP?
May. 10 | Andrew Loh Earlier, Leong Sze Hian and I wrote an article questioning Aljunied Town Council’s (ATC) intention to raise its Service and Conservancy charges (S&CC) to address “hardcore litterbugs” in the “dirtiest precincts”. On Sunday, Aljunied...
A psychological perspective
May. 10 | Anthony Yeo Since the news of the escape of Mas Selamat Kastari, there has been a lot of attention given to not only his escape but the need for everyone in Singapore to get involved in looking out for him. This has also generated a lot of discussion,...
Give credit where credit is due, Andy
May. 9 | Andrew Loh A recent public forum about youth concerns raised the issue of lowering the voting age to 18. ——— Perhaps a post-1965 Member of Parliament might initiate the debate to enfranchise these trustees of our posterity. - Andy Ho,...
Taking the easy way out?
May. 7 | Leong Sze Hian & Andrew Loh All 14 town councils run by the People’s Action Party (PAP) will not be increasing their Service and Conservancy (S&C) charges this year. - Channel NewsAsia, “PAP town councils to freeze S&C charges this...
Thank you for being a part of TOC
May. 7 | Dear friends, TOC began with a simple aim in mind: telling the stories about Singapore and Singaporeans that weren’t being told in the mainstream press. Now, as TOC celebrates one million page views since our creation, we can honestly say we never expected...
