Newsflash: Gopalan Nair, who yesterday claimed that he had received information that MM Lee Kuan Yew had suffered a heart attack, has now admitted on his blog that “the hoax was deliberately written by me” and “(i)n fact I don’t know anything” and that “I made up everything I said about Dear Leader about his heart attack, and none of it is true”. TOC has since secured independent clarification on MM Lee’s health which confirms that he is fine and well at the Istana today. Readers are advised to treat the source of this rumour as deliberate misinformation.
________________________________________________________________
By Callan Tham
Only in Singapore do we elect Members of Parliament who seem more occupied with addressing the needs of foreigners rather than our own.
Marine Parade GRC MP Seah Kian Peng said more needs to be done to help new immigrants ‘work with the old team and feel a part of us’. “First, we need to make sure that they are called new Singaporeans rather than new migrants. They are not even new migrants – they are an old hand at migrating, and want a new life. They want to settle down and to make Singapore a new home,” said Mr Seah in his speech during the debate on the 2010 Budget Statement on Wednesday.
Mr Seah also suggested that ‘men who become new citizens should be called up for NSmen duties‘:
This could be in the form of a short 30-day induction to Basic Military Training in the Singapore Armed Forces, he said. “We teach them to use rifles, fire weapons, basic physical fitness, or we put them into civil defence training where they could learn rescue techniques. Civil defence, too, is part of total defence and provides a vital part of Singapore’s interior strength.”
Let me be clear: I am not disputing the policies he suggested, merely the fact that he is showing less concern for the constituents who elected him. I have actually been thinking about the policy for integrating foreigners, but that will be discussed in another post. This perhaps is one of the bigger issues surrounding the elections of GRCs; allowing a weak candidate to be elected on the strength of a popular former Prime Minister in this case.
But Mr Seah can’t hold a candle to Mr Ong Ah Heng, who is the MP for Nee Soon Central, a single-seat constituency.
“I know of one family who complain the cleaners in their precinct are lazy and too old. They don’t want local workers who are old, they want young foreign workers. To satisfy the demand, I changed the local workers to foreign workers. Foreign workers are not a burden to us. Their presence here is not negative. Without foreign workers, things will be worse,” he said.
Is Mr Ong implying that local older workers are the burden instead? This goes far beyond inarticulate speech or political incorrectness. This is an insult to the elderly who have built this nation on the back of their hard work. This reflects the hubris that Mr Ong, a 66-year old himself, has uncoyingly betrayed. In one broad stroke, he painted the elderly as lazy and unproductive and patted himself on the back for his display of ruthlessness. He is proud of it.
Neither Mr Ong nor Mr Seah deserve a seat in Parliament, and yet we put them there either because we don’t have a choice or because we did not care. A case could be made for Mr Seah, as the policies he suggested merit further discussion, although in their current forms they are half-hearted measures that appear to be aimed at populist sentiments. And until he is reassigned to another ward, I expect Mr Goh Chok Tong’s popularity will keep him in his seat.
There is no case to be made for Mr Ong. If we go by his logic, he should be the first one to be replaced. All 14,211 of you who voted for this clown should be ashamed, and you should be forewarned: he’ll fire you without batting an eyelid. That is how much he cares.
_________________________________
This article was first published on Tapper’s Swamp blog
Headline image courtesy of Is That Humor Or Sarcasm blog
___________________________________________________
HELP keep the voice of TOC alive!
If you like this article, please consider a small donation to help theonlinecitizen.com stay alive. Please note that we can only accept donations from Singaporeans. Thank you for your assistance.Do you have a flair for writing? Volunteer with us. Email us your full name and contact details to theonlinecitizen@gmail.com
@pancake Mar 8, 2010 20:41
Anyone read comments by NParks about watering the plants? To save money, they will not be watering them. Did they weigh this against the costs of re-potting? It’s sad to see greenery wither.
Oh, THAT explains it! Near my workplace in the west, straddling the AYE is an overhead bridge which I cross every morning. On both sides of the bridge are some lovely vine-like plants. They were still green and vibrant back in early January. I remember some Banglas(?) periodically watering and trimming those plants every morning as recent as late last year(2009).
Now, the first week of March has passed. No Banglas, plants have shrivelled, have turned yellow and dying. It’s sad, because those long vines would bend inwards from both sides – it’s like they greeted you ‘good morning’ as you crossed the bridge every morning.
Makes me wonder:
1) How deep in trouble the govt, once perceived to be affluent and invulnerable, must be in to scrimp and save in such ways.
2) What other ‘cost cutting measures’ have they stealthily sneaked in? Public transport maintenance, lift maintenance, street lighting etc? Won’t be surprised.
Colossal failed investments and a consecutive budget deficit. Desperationis in the air.
Come on people, leave Hansen be. He has already posted about a dozen times and they are nothing more than just repetitions of the same rant against the older folks. That’s just about all he can contribute so please spare the rest of us and not provoke him to repeat the same lines over and over again, ok?
I want to wish Hansen well. He needs it. If not the day will come (and he needn’t be old, mind you) when he lies on his sick bed with no control over his bodily functions and with no old and uneducated cleaners to clean after him, to feed him, to turn him over and do the many small tasks that a sick person requires. I pray that this day does not come to him but if it does, I hope he can reflect back on this moment of his life when he speaks with such arrogance and certainty that he will always be in this lofty position that he now finds himself in.
I truly wish him well because I feel that the old, uneducated cleaners and attendants would be put to better use serving another who is appreciative and grateful rather than one who sees no value in them.
For the rest of us, we can do well to remember the boast of the greatest man of all, Muhammad Ali. He was so sure that he was the greatest. He floated like a butterfly and stung like a bee. He was untouchable! Look at him now and what would his life be without the lowdown old, grey and uneducated people who help him through each day?
What about Christopher Reeves as an added example.
I know of a friend who was so sporty and outgoing until that one fateful jump into the swimming pool. He had been paralyzed for more than ten years now. So Hansen, I hope life continues to shine on you and not bring you any untoward event that might change its course for you.
You may go ahead and repeat your rant. One, two three: Go……good boy……
Singapore will score another first:
First country in the world to let PRs cast vote. Don’t believe wait and see :D
if u are “old & lazy” then u are old and lazy, what is wrong with it?! u write the post as if to support the old & lazy and sound so caring, zealous to protect the rice bowl, whether or not Ong Ah Heng is old surely he is not lazy! u want to critizize Gopalan, yet u write one sided view to gain support, how can, typical Singaporeans! & yes, firstly, u ought to be booted out first and like any othe new immigrants, u r the first needed to be inducted into the New Singapore! Get a life and stop complaining…! come next election, things will surely be for this govt, and as for u, still writing the same old complaint!
Why wish Hansen well? I’m all out to ruin people with his attitude if I know them. I’m not praying for the safety of a scum back who probably earns alot lesser than me, and probably just as much as a few many here.
I shall look down on people like him every chance I get, where ever they are, and whatever moniker they use. Because when someone disrespect people in such a way that he thinks he’s less trash than others, it’s always good to remind them there’s superior trash everywhere.
I’m no devil, nor saint. I’m just a pure rotten piece of trash capable of surviving nicely in this trashy world. But Hansen? He’s stuck there, happy with his own small dustbin. Do ignore him everyone. He’s bitter towards uneducated people, that’s all.
@ Panache:
You’re making a guess or you’ve got news on that. Because if that’s true that’s very interesting news.
the article on the coming of age of MBT is the latest attempt to smoke people.
MBT is not a nice person with no intention to serve S’poreans.
After he took over, he has only serve the interests of PAP and LKY.
Remember that.
gemami @ Mar 9, 2010 7:48
Agreed
Hansen,
Rading through your comments, of course your sentiments differ with the majority here for one reason or another. I am not sure if your really meant all those comments, including what you said about your parents and how wonderfully you have repaid them or how singapore has developed due to the educated.
We always hear of how singapore was a slum, struggling until the men in white @ PAP came is shining armour and saved it from hell; rather it seems white men conributed more and had this nation in the right direction way before some of our men in white had even finished school..check out these video from you tube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvvhY6DtfZs . I wonder why we don’t see this video clip in the run up to the elections?
Hansen, I don’t for a moment believe you even belief in what you have written as you sound more like somone who is here to thrash talk to generate more comments and debate.
As for the government’s stand on foreigners, their general contemptuos conduct towards Singaporeans and their general arrogance in the manner they deliver their idotic speeches which are ridiculous at best, It gives the impression that the Government only seems to think about Singaporean when elections are around the corner. They always make it a point to show that the Opposition is untrustworthy and unreliable. How trustworthy has the government been, squandering billions of dollars, getting the highest pay in the world, and debasing the very people that elected them into office.
I think Singaporeans need to make them take more responsiblity. eg. out SM Goh Chok Tong recently claimed that Wet Markets in Singapore are a waste of space..yes right, so why do we have so many golf courses in Singapore. Can we not have something that caters to the heartlander more and less to the foreigners?
Can we have cheaper foreign Members of Parliament and may be a Senior Minister and Minister Mentor thrown in for free?
Just a thought..
Hi randomnessinmind,
If you need a reason, it is this; that when you wish someone well, you become the ultimate benficiary of such a wish. Wish it otherwise and you too will be the beneficiary.
So you see, it is not good logic to wish ill upon yourself just because someone else is ill. The choice is yours.
I’m really disappointed with our leaders and the ruling party, don’t disgrace the clowns!. Let them carry on with their suggestions, and pushing thru their agenda and what not, I think they’re digging their own grave at the next election. We’re just too tired to trying to survive and at the same time putting up with so much of crab. The trouble is they’re running this country like a business and the cracks are really showing, in the human and social factor side. If we take out the human side of running a country if will surely go down the drain. And what brings down or give birth to a government or country,is eventually the people. Look at history.
Ever consider such fellas like Hansen are from the pappies’ Internet Brigade and are only interested drawing fire away away from the masters’ glaring weaknesses?
Dont try to reason with them when they go into broken record mode. The more you do, the more they achieve their aim of disrupting/destroying your comments section.
Avoid feeding the trolls.
this useless MP just think of suggesting stupid, just wondering why he study so hard but all
rubbish generates from his pea brain
Ladies and Gentlemen,
If you have not yet heard about the exciting news, here it is :
Singapore’s top GCE “A” level student came from China (Shanghai – to be precise)!!!
May be I should also take this opportunity to refresh your memory :
Top GCE “O” level student came from Malaysia.
Top PSLE student came from China!!!
You guys still doubting the effectiveness of the government’s foreign talent policy? Still sore about the petty sum of scholarship invested on foreign scholars? The government got back every cent!
why would you think i am joking?
singapore and many countries have an aging population problem. see how governments all over the world call it a “problem” and not a “good thing”?
a third world upbringing has left many of these trash with a terrible attitude. many are rude, vile and agressive.
I just have one thing to say – hearing our very own MP say that he discarded our own citizens is very sad and disappointing.
Really.
gemami, you have to do better than wishing i get struck by lightning or suddenly become paralysed. how supertitious can you be?
i guess you must be uneducated and old eh?
the cleaners and hawkers are not serving me. please dont talk like they go to work everyday thinking of how they can contribute and make this world a better place. they are out to scrape a living that is all. many won’t even donate 50 bucks to charity when someone begs them to.
when i am old and leaking urine, i have enough money to employ a nurse. i also have insurance so dont worry about me. worry about the uneducated trash who have neither money or education.
what is wrong with looking down on the uneducated? you dont study hard in school, you have no skill, you can’t find a decent job, you live in poverty. simple.
everyone looks down on the uneducated. and old people are looked down upon as well because they are just more expired and ugly. many have no education and are slower. many are jaded and ignorant.
why do you think companies refuse to employ workers above 40,45?
randomnessinmind, who cares if you earn more than me? i doubt you earn more than me and even if u do, so what? it is not like i need money, i have enough.
you are still uneducated and you are still trash. you still have a third world mindset and attitude. i can find a job anywhere in the world easily, it doesn’t matter if i am retrenched because i am educated and skilled and young.
it wont be you putting me down. it will be me putting you down.
how do you compare a third world uneducated punk to a first world educated man? you just can’t compare and you just can’t win, can’t you see?
to all the old punks leaking urine out there, i just want you to know my arteries are not clogged and i have a head full of black shiny hair. it is a good day my friends, not for you but for me.
thank you.
Like I said Hansen, I hope you remember every word you have uttered here. You may think I am being sarcastic, but let me assure you that I sincerely wish you the best – you may not know it yet, but you surely need it – so please keep my good wishes for you, for a rainy day, perhaps.
You are so wrong to think that “everyone looks down on the uneducated. and old people are looked down upon as well because they are just more expired and ugly. many have no education and are slower. many are jaded and ignorant“… but hey! who is to argue with you when you think you can do no wrong?
So take care and enjoy life while you leave old me to my uneducated and superstitious ways.
Germami - LMAO !!
No joke Joe, I mean every word I say to Hansen.
Having said that, I cannot help but noticed that there is some heightened activity coming from the pro-government camp. We get to her, apart from Snob Hansen, the other guy, My Views, who seem to have a lot of views but no view actually.
Both share the same temperament in that they are oblivious to what the others are saying to them. I can only guess one thing, that they are planted here to keep a constant drum beat that beats to the PAP tune.
The motive? Certainly not to convert you and me. You and I know that in TOCland, there are many others who are here to just read the ramblings of others and to feed themselves with alternative views. Now if this is left unchecked by the PAP, it is going to convert a whole lot of listeners which in turn is going to do the PAP a whole lot of bad.
So it is inevitable that such a popular site like TOC is now seeing the pro-government stooges, the PAP brigade, if you like, coming on board to sing the mainstream tune and to argue the government’s pov.
So there you have it, something is amiss and perhaps the PAP is now rolling out it damage control program to prevent itself from losing more votes.
Welcome to the new battlefield then.
why would i remember what i said on this forum?
crazy man.
Germami – yeah i know you are not joking. It is just your way to wishing the guy well and yet subtlety telling him watch out for consequences that i find hilarious…
I wish i can trade barbs like you..
@Hansen
Funny how you have to concept that the old, the poor, the destitute and the uneducated have not helped a single bit in building up this country years ago. Take a moment to think, is it to say that all bricklayers, construction workers and the rest of the shitty jobs done by elites? Hardly. However, it would also be prudent to understand and know that without these people, what good is a foreman or a planner that has no one can to execute their airy-fairy plans that they have laid out.
You seem to be of the opinion that these all achievements that we have today is solely credited to a group of people whom are educated. You’re only half-right and in my above paragraph, I have explained why a single group of people should not be credited with the progress of an entire society.
You are also correct that one should not compare a third world punk to a well read harvard graduate. However, you are incorrect to presume that a well read harvard graduate would outperform the third world punk on all aspects of life and in all things that they do.
Being jaded and being ignorant seldom flows in the same vein for most people. You’d have to see and experience a ton of things to become jaded and if one is still ignorant at that point in time, there’s no reason for you to be complaining about the situation you are in.
Clogged arteries or not, we all bleed the same colored blood and the only time you’re looking down on someone is when you’re extending a hand to pull them up.
Hansen,
I hope the richer and more well educated people don’t look at you and say
“Hey, u useless piece of thrash! I am a rich businessman with ***** amount of employees! You are just a peasant working an office job! I paid $10000000 dollars of taxes to Singapore. How much did you contribute? What? Only $10000? U are lower educated and less skilled than me! U are only able to speak English?! How pitiful! You should just go to some other country to rot and die because you are taking up valuable space and resources which I can put better use to it!”
How narrowminded you can be
aiya, gemani, if rudeness = bad kharma then god knows how much bad kharma your average hawker or uneducated trash has accumulated haha.
i guess it is unrealistic to expect a dog to learn to speak like humans.
we are just two very different breed.
Indeed it is Hansen. For calling you a snob, I am being rude with bad karma. Gee, I guess you now know what you can expect from your good self don’t you. Have a nice day and make sure you do not make eye contact with that poor uneducated old fellow you meet this evening – bad karma – bad karma – shoooo!
Seems like there is an increase in the level of trolling in here these days. Kind of detracts many readers from contributing constructively.
Moderating Editor: Thanks for pointing this out. We are monitoring the situation and trying our best to filter out the disruptive elements.
To gemami Mar 9, 2010 17:02
Obviously, no point in debating a troll like Hansen. People like him take delight in being annoying to other people for the sake of getting attention. It’s probably because he didn’t get the attention he needed from his own parents. It probably explains his apparent lack of maturity.
The internet provides people with anonymity and people like him hide behind such anonymity with a false sense of bravery. And he will say whatever he wants as long as he gets the attention he craves for.
He’s just a waste of space and an oxygen leech, so don’t waste your time on him.
hansen has let out the biggest hint that he is a PAP man or maybe even a Minister – he has AN UBREAKABLE SOLID GOLD rice bowl! And also his comments are consistent with that of PAP – total lack of any common sense. No one in this world has except PAP minister or PAP yes man has these characteristics.
Now see why they have to squeeze citizens so hard? It is to feed their obsessions of wealth and arrogance, exactly like the relationship between aristocrat masters and slaves
Incredulous
You may be wrong. I don’t think hansen takes delight in annoying people, I actually think he meant every word he said here. Such is the mindset of PAP and reflected in their policies to the T.
hansen
You think you speak English? Go to England and chances are you will find that nobody understands what you are saying.
You think you are educated? You don’t even know the History of mankind! Is there a first world without a third world? Is there development where there is no undevelopment? Education is through discovery, it is not your definition of going to school, sitting in classrooms, scoring in exams and getting a paper.
Knowing where Indonesia or Malaysia is does not mean you are more educated than the old cleaner who had never been to school. S/he may win you hands down on ancestory knowledge and diets. The irony is your statements have made you more of an uneducated person than what you claim to be.
I honestly think that ‘hansen’ is a very good representation of the younger PAP brigade. It is actually good to see how this group thinks, that lead us to where we are currently (ie back to the dark ages of gladiators) and helping us understand how we got there and what needs doing urgently.
Guys the article, by Callam Tham, is about the Government’s attitude in bending over backwards for foreigners at the expense of locals. Instead of discussing our views on this at this forum, we have spent a substantial amount of time debating with a moron called “hansen”, who sounds more like a government stooge. By now its obvious that people like that are planted to divert our views, comments and use up our valuable time on worthless rebuttals. So please guys if we can stay focussed on the issues at hand, the readings here would be a fruitful one, the aritcle at hand is not about who is educated or uneducated, but about the Government’s role and responsibility towards its citizens.. Thank you
channelnewsasia reports “silver tsunami” in singapore. you guys better watch out for the silver tsunami!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WrSURWOBn4
Hansen an MIW sion perhaps?
it does seem the chasm between the us & them is wider than perceived.
hmmm, Silver Tsunami? if there is, i know which party to blame. lack of foresight to anticipant problems, lack of initiative to take action.
:P
Japan’s biggest challenge: its aging population
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59tvl6mJGrQ
well at least the older japs are still willing to work at macdonalds. in singapore, you have these arrogant and vile and uneducated old people. they wont want to work at macdonalds. and you dont want them to work at macdonalds as well because their service suck!
instead of greeting you “welcome sir” it will be “what you want?” or “quick lah, lai lai, want what?”. all done with a sour face and a yell!
Hansen,
“in singapore, you have these arrogant and vile and uneducated old people.”
i know of 1 such ol’ man, this description fits him to the T!!
^.^
Hey Mr Ong Ah Heng!
If I become lazy, can you change me into a foreign worker? That way I do not have to serve NS, and I can have better chances of getting a job in Singapore. (I still want to vote though, so can you change me after the coming elections?) Thanks!
Hi Incredulous and Shake Head,
Thanks for your advice. I wasn’t debating anything since there isn’t anything to debate over, to begin with. It was just one chap whose opinion, thankfully, is one in a hundred billion.
As for me, I will gladly retreat to be with my old and uneducated buddies, with all the flaws of human nature and be among the common human breed rather than to be with another who seem to have arrived from outer-space.
Anyway, we do know the stupid games people play when they are desperate. Any kind of game that draws away attention to the real issues at hand is a game worth playing for these stupid people.
Just like ‘My Views’, these trolls take on ‘stage names’ to play the roles they have been assigned along with their ‘stage names’. They speak as if they are actors acting out a story. They treat the lives of other Singaporeans as if it is a game.
Back in their conscience, they think they can get away with playing such a game because ‘the world is a stage’, but I am not so sure. You do the crime, you do the time. Simple. That’s life and my fear is that these acts may come to haunt these stupidly clever folks – some day soon.
So you see, the problem is neither mine nor anyone else’s. I do not have to worry one bit and it is even better if we continue to wish them well and double our blessings. The problem remains theirs.
I’m done in this thread.
Germani and mice is nice,
I share your views and agree wholeheartedly with you.Rotten woods are only good for the furnaces.Pls don’t waste time on what to do with rotten woods.
Pls interact more with me .Though I am playful and talk nonsense sometimes especially when I forgot to take my medicine,I don’t despise on the old and poor….
More than half of the current MPs just walked into parliament through the back door. Most entered parliament via the mega GRCs (six members ward). If there are single wards, I am quite sure there will be more contests. Hence, they should do away with the mega GRCs and introduce more single wards. To ensure minority representation, a few three member GRC would suffice. No need for mega GRCs to ensure minority representation in parliament. It is just a excuse for their own selfish interests.
@My Views Mar 9, 2010 15:20
You may not have noticed that those china students who top PSLE are generally couple years older than the average 12 years old singaporean primary 6 students.. The china students should have been studying in secondary school (sec 2) instead of doing primary 6 PSLE… So much for foreign talent policy..
I remember it is the same for the president’s scholar who was from china, she too is some years older than those in her cohort..
Go figure..
@hansen Mar 10, 2010 2:34
>> nstead of greeting you “welcome sir” it will be “what you want?” or “quick lah, lai lai, want what?”. all done with a sour face and a yell!
You know hansen, have you wonder why you are always getting “bad” service? Maybe you approach the service staff with a sour face and are yelling, so tic-for-tac, they do the same to you.. Perhaps it is better to reflect on your own behaviour before pinning the faults on the elderly..
Racism in Auckland:
http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/411319/914909
Agongkia,
i find Hansen a rather entertaining dude.
^.^
mice is nice, the way a clown entertains ?
lim,
are you kidding? are you even local? if you are go sit down at coffeeshop and see what the average service is like.
if it is a young male customer, even a professional in his thirties, you will see the hawker yell this “boy ah, what you want?” and give you an arrogant face.
if female, it will be “girl ah, what you want?” with an arrogant face. the kind of face which seems to say, i am superior to you and you owe me a million bucks.
else it is the usual irritating “lai lai , lai” .
not all are like that but a good 70% of them are like that. you must be living on another planet if you think otherwise.
these old uneducated people are the rudest in the world. even a 10 yo pri sch kid has much more manners than these trash. disgusting, feral and vile human beings.
hi Joe,
no lah, i was refering to Hansen. those clowns do not make the cut to entertain.
Hansen,
dun chide those lowly paid coffee shop staff, just look at our ministers who are paid so much yet you hear words like “don’t be choosey”, “be realistic”, “choosey”, “champion complainers”, “no choice”, “poor attitude”, etc… why don’t they work in those lines for 2 months under identical working conditions, remunerations?
do you honestly think they got the service DNA in them? what is (public) service about? well, not all are like that but i think got 70% that are…
why would a million dollar minister work as a coffeeshop hawker? lol
you must be crazy.
i wouldn’t work as a coffee shop hawker in a million years. much less an oxbridge educated person with decades of professional experience.
these coffee shop jobs are for people without a brain. so they use their hands and legs to make a living. that is why there are all so uneducated, rude and vile.
for people with a brain or half a brain, we sit behind a desk and order these people without a brain to do our work for us. it is called delegation. and our salaries are a few times theirs as well.