Home » Archive for February, 2010
Archive for February, 2010
Going forward
Feb. 28 | We have made good progress in the past in our productivity drive and that is why we have been able to move our economy forward and have good jobs for many Singaporeans. Teo Chee Hean
The coming around of Chee Soon Juan and SDP?
Feb. 28 | The following article was first published on Martyn See’s blog, Singapore Rebel. The Online Citizen thanks Martyn See for allowing us to reproduce it here in full. By Martyn See Five years ago in the police station, I was interrogated by the police...
Youths unite in creating 169 kites of well-wishes for the 2010 YOG
Feb. 28 | Over 150 local and international youths created 169 kites – the number of days from the event date to the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games (Singapore 2010) – at the CAN! Create event yesterday. Made and designed by youths from the Mongolian community,...
A minister must fall in the process of change, says NSP sec-gen
Feb. 28 | By Fang Shihan Longtime opposition stalwart, Mr Goh Meng Seng (picture right, middle), is no stranger to Singapore’s politics. Having just been elected Secretary-General of the National Solidarity Party (NSP), the former Worker’s Party politician...
Sembawang Park homeless lady gives birth to baby girl
Feb. 28 | Breaking News: The homeless lady who was seven months pregnant when TOC first came to know of her plight in January 2010, (see articles here) has given birth to a baby girl at KK hospital. She had been camping out at Sembawang Park for four months before...
WeSearch! Seminar 2010 – “Social Action Across Divides”
Feb. 27 | Interested to find out about community research needs on the ground? Interested to conduct meaningful research while in university? Interested to conduct ground-breaking social research directly with local civil society groups?
Side-stepping the death penalty
Feb. 27 | The following article was first published on Yawning Bread in 2008 By Alex Au In the last 18 months or so, I had the growing feeling, looking at murder cases before the courts, that the prosecution has been bending over backwards to accommodate pleas...
Work-Life: The Making Of Community Forum
Feb. 27 | What makes a community? How can community celebrations help to celebrate identity and difference? Can art bring communities together? And how do artists work with communities to empower them to make their voices heard? All of these questions and more...
MFA puzzled by Romanian diplomat’s remarks
Feb. 27 | 26 February 2010 Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) spokesman’s comments in response to media queries about the comments made to the media by Dr Silviu Ionescu: We are puzzled by Dr Ionescu’s remark that the “prosecutors (in Singapore)...
Who pays for increase in foreign workers’ levy?
Feb. 27 | The hike in foreign worker levy may affect a company’s bottomline but consumers too will feel the heat. “If we are in business we can’t keep on absorbing costs without raising prices, that’s the reality.” Channelnewsasia
Malaysian economy – the worst is yet to come
Feb. 27 | February 25, 2010 Press statement from the office of Anwar Ibrahim, Malaysia’s Parliamentary Opposition Leader. The latest declaration by the Prime Minister that “the worst is over” when the country’s GDP grew at 4.5% in the last quarter of...
Is there any value in the study of genes?
Feb. 26 | By Jethro Xu While I would not necessarily claim that we are slaves to our genes, it is my firm belief that our genes affect us in very definite, and very real ways. Certain character traits, genetic diseases and even physical appearances are governed...
HDB to Goh Meng Seng:
Feb. 26 | We are unable to forward you a copy of the survey questionnaire. Research & Planning Department, HDB
Practices surrounding the death penalty for drugs troubling
Feb. 26 | The following are excerpts from “DEATH, DRUGS, MURDER AND THE CONSTITUTION” by Professor Michael Hor of the National University of Singapore’s Law Faculty. You can read the entire chapter here. Note: pictures, paragraphing and emphases are TOC’s. ...
Kim Dae-jung: Life on Death Row
Feb. 26 | The following film, by Amnesty International (Feb, 2010), explores experiences of death row and the death penalty in South Korea during the years of political upheaval before democracy. The film contains extracts from an interview with Kim Dae-jung, former...
10 reasons why PAP may lose more seats in the next elections
Feb. 26 | By Gilbert Goh of Trasitioning.org My fear is that if the ruling party calls a general election now they may lose a few more seats to the opposition based on the current environment. I have never met so many dissatisfied Singaporeans in my life. 1....
Levy hike may hurt those in nursing homes
Feb. 26 | The hike in the foreign worker levy will mean higher operating costs for nursing homes, which have a high proportion of non-local staff – with one home saying that if costs go up too high, it may have to raise fees. Today
A complacent budget
Feb. 26 | Press Release by The Reform Party on 23 February 2010 The Reform Party has already set out its response to the report by the Economic Strategies Committee in its press release dated 3rd February 2010. We said there that “there must be serious doubts...
Raising foreign worker levy will not solve problems, say critics
Feb. 26 | By Wong Chun Han Raising the foreign worker levy will not reduce Singapore’s dependence on foreign labour or raise productivity, but will increase the financial burden on workers and employers, social workers and analysts say. The levy hike – part...
Think before giving shark’s fin
Feb. 26 | Editor’s Note: This letter was originally published in The New Paper on 18 Feb 2010. We have republished it on TOC at the request of Project FIN, an out-of-the-box campaign that aims to educate and generate awareness about shark fin consumption...
The legal canon of death
Feb. 25 | The following article is Part One of a two-part report which looks at the provisions in the Misuse of Drugs Act and certain processes of law regarding the application of the mandatory death penalty. By Khairulanwar Zaini Drug trials hardly elicit any...
Electric Scooter now available in Singapore!
Feb. 25 | By Bhavani Prakash, founder of Eco Walk The Talk Zeco Systems Pte Ltd, a Singapore born and bred clean technology company, is paving the way for a quiet revolution in the way we move around. The firm launched a global rollout of its EV charging solutions...
Post Budget Day blues….
Feb. 25 | See more of Sei-Ji’s brilliant work at My Sketchbook… ___________________________________________________
Don’t worry, we have two new back-ups to sustain growth
Feb. 25 | From Singaporean Says Political Cartoon __________________________________________________
Remember the Everitt family?
Feb. 25 | “A bank wants to turn them out of their home for allegedly missing payments on a loan and is seeking a High Court order to possess the property.” Straits Times
Foreigners give back to Singapore society
Feb. 25 | By Maxie Aw Yeong and Cerelia Lim In recent months, to be a foreigner in Singapore is to subject oneself to scrutiny. Impassioned debate over the country’s immigration policies, stirred by a strong influx of foreign workers in recent years, has dominated...
The long drop and the hangman’s ritual
Feb. 24 | By Vicki Yang The sandbag. The boiled hemp rope. The lubricated knot. The white hood. These may be the things Singapore’s only hangman, Darshan Singh, lays out before the actual execution of a judicial hanging. The rituals of a judicial hanging in Singapore...
TOC Editorial – A call to suspend all executions
Feb. 24 | MORATORIUM ON MDP: The Online Citizen calls on the Singapore Government to impose a moratorium on all executions for those sentenced under the Mandatory Death Penalty (MDP). Our Special Focus Week the next 7 days or so urges the Singapore Government...
Salaries increased for political appointments?
Feb. 24 | “Salaries for political appointments – ministers, ministers of state and parliamentary secretaries – are estimated to be $58.28 million, or 8.8 per cent higher than last year.” Today
Budget does little to address main issues faced by S’poreans
Feb. 24 | The Online Citizen speaks to financial expert and TOC’s own columnist, Mr Leong Sze Hian, for his take on Budget 2010 which was unveiled by the finance minister on Monday.
mainstream media praised again by minister
Feb. 23 | “He (Minister Lui Tuck Yew) said the mainstream media is accurate, timely and balanced in their reporting.” Channelnewsasia
The Rony Tan in each of us
Feb. 23 | By Pritam Singh It grabbed one’s attention, yet sat very uneasily in the hearts of the Sikhs who read it. Slightly more than two years ago, an article titled “Why Sikhism is the best religion” was uploaded onto the Central Sikh Gurdwara Board...
Dissecting Budget 2010
Feb. 23 | Announcement: The electoral rolls for the next General Elections are now open for inspection. Please go to: http://elections.gov.sg . By Ng E-Jay Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam delivered the Budget Statement in Parliament on Monday 22 Feb. In...
Many helping hands – how can hands best help?
Feb. 22 | By Lisa Lee In March 1995, Mr Abdullah Tarmugi, then-Acting Minister for Community Development, introduced Singapore’s “Many Helping Hands Approach” at the World Summit for Social Development in Copenhagen, Denmark. He explained Singapore’s...
HDB: 95 per cent happy with their flats – really, or just half the story?
Feb. 22 | By Leong Sze Hian I refer to the article “HDB residents happy where they live – over 95% surveyed satisfied with their flats and neighbourhood” (Asiaone, 18 February). I believe the statistic for the number of foreigners staying in HDB flats...
It is involvement that creates identity
Feb. 21 | Howard Lee My personal experience was indicative of something in Australian culture that speaks of a nation’s psyche when approaching race issues, or national issues as a whole. That something, I believe, is the prevalence of honest, audacious and...
Rony sticks to his guns
Feb. 21 | He stuck to his guns, made no apology for what he said, and instead reminded gay and lesbian Singaporeans that they were criminals in the eyes of the law. Blogger Kennethism
Lee Kuan Yew the “forecaster” – but doesn’t even know what happened last year. Property prices went down last year??
Feb. 20 | “Let me tell you what happens when we slow down too much. You get the reverse spiral. Low growth, maybe even zero growth. Last year we had minus two per cent. Prices go down, property prices go down, incomes go down, you can’t refurbish your...
Recession over: Really? Time to increase fees?
Feb. 20 | By Leong Sze Hian I refer to the reports “MM Lee warns of dangers of slow growth if productivity does not increase” (CNA, Feb 18) and “S’pore income gap narrows” (ST Breaking News, Feb 19). The former article reported MM...
Singapore accused of launching ‘Sand Wars’
Feb. 19 | From The Telegraph The island city-state’s size has increased by over 20 per cent since the 1960s and demand for sand for lucrative land reclamation and development projects is higher than ever. However, recent bans on exporting sand introduced...
Growth at all cost
Feb. 19 | Let me explain what happens when we make progress. HDB prices go up, private home (prices) go up, all asset prices go up. Everybody finds he owns something more valuable in the house, his shares are worth more and he can live a good life. Of course we...
On the beat to the hustings?
Feb. 19 | By Ng E-Jay On Wednesday 17 Feb, PM Lee Hsien Loong called for the Registers of Electors to be updated, exactly one year after the Elections Department had conducted the previous revision. [1] The Registers of Electors contain the particulars of all...
More poor people helped with less money?
Feb. 19 | By Leong Sze Hian I refer to the article “$2m fund to help 24,000 needy residents” (ST, Feb 18). It states that “More than 24,000 needy residents from the North East District stand to benefit from a $2 million community partnership between the North...
Bigotry of one – faith of another
Feb. 18 | Ravi Philemon Shravasti Dhammika writing in his blog on Pastor Rony Tan’s saga says that the government sanctioned inter-religious dialogues do not work because those that really need such dialogues, “the bigots, zealots, fundamentalists and the evangelicals,...
Singapore ranked 70 in Quality of Life Index
Feb. 18 | By Gangasudhan International Living, a magazine whose business for the past 30 years has been to inform readers on the best places to live and work, released its 2010 Quality of Life Index last month. This year’s index places Singapore at Number 70...
The repression of ethnic minority activists in Myanmar
Feb. 18 | The government of Myanmar violates the human rights of ethnic minority political opponents and activists in a myriad of ways, including torture and other illtreatment; discrimination on the basis of religion and ethnicity; unlawful killings; and arbitrary...
Malay sketches
Feb. 18 | By Alfian Sa’at Jason wanted the whole works for his wedding. Hawa, his wife-to-be, was actually nervous about having the bersanding ceremony, where bride and groom would sit side by side on a dais. She thought that too much attention would be focused...
‘Tiger Show’ by Cat Welfare Society!
Feb. 17 | The Cat Welfare Society will be hosting a week-long event from 21 – 28 February 2010 provocatively titled ‘Tiger Show’. The event, held in conjunction with the birth of the Year of the Tiger, welcomes the lunar new year in celebration...
