The following is Al Jazeera’s response to Dr Vivian Balakrishnan’s remarks in Parliament on 27 April 2010. The MCYS minister had accused Al Jazeera of “[failing] to ascertain the facts” in its report on the homeless issue in Singapore.
TOC understands Al Jazeera has also sent its response to the Straits Times.
TOC will respond to the minister’s remarks later today.
I write in response to criticism of Al Jazeera English’s recent story on homelessness in Singapore.
Al Jazeera stands by the report which we feel is factually correct.
The homeless couple featured in our report were locked out of the system of state support because of bureaucratic regulation.
The fact that they were previously successful and had owned and sold homes was mentioned in the report, but was not strictly relevant.
The real point of story was to illustrate how the safety net in Singapore sometimes fails to catch those who have fallen on hard times – whatever their background – because of the rules governing access to assistance.
The Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports was twice invited to respond to the claims made in the report, but declined Al Jazeera’s request for an interview.
Nevertheless, our reporter did include a previous statement from Dr Balakrishnan defending the Singaporean government’s approach to the problem of homelessness and we would like to renew our invitation to Dr Balakrishnan to appear on the channel to discuss this issue.
Regards,
MARCUS CHEEK | EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, NEWS| ASIA
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Read also: Minister Balakrishnan scolds Al Jazeera and bloggers by Singapore Mind.
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Related posts:
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- Vivian Balakrishnan – fallen off the speeding boat?
- Vivian Balakrishnan vs Ngiam Tong Dow
- Vivian Balakrishnan attends JBJ’s wake
- An open letter to Dr Vivian Balakrishnan
Hi XiiAoGeNgEnX,
When I mentioned the example in UK, the reason is simple and obvious; I am giving you an example of a caring and empathy government. Tax the rich and assist the lower income group, the rich are getting richer in Singapore and what is wrong of taxing them to help the poor! The rich and elites are so filthy rich and don’t you agree the tax rate has to go a little higher for those high income earners; especially those earn millions a year! Not 50% tax of course, Singapore government will not do this (not even in UK) as the rich and elites will run away and I guess those opposition who advocate this will not survive in coming GE.
I’m talking of 1 working father, married and has 2 kids and earns £1,300.00, can you see this is actually the same thing in Singapore at the lower income group, a normal household earns about S$1,300 after deduction of CPF, he has about $1180 and what can he do with such pathetic pay if his wife is not working. After paying for his HDB and all bills, do you think he would have a family life, he cannot even have his ends meet and he has to pray hard that he will not get sick in Singapore! There are reasons why some people have to camp at the beach and live in the void deck, we have to sympaty towards even if they have made mistakes in the past, who don’t?
Pathetic isn’t it, homelessness in first world countries like Singapore.
You guys underestimate Vivian!
He will say that it was a mistake (by some junior person who will be fired) that he/his ministry did not respond to the original request by Al Jazeera and he will go on an interview with them and show them who is the boss!
if the rich got rich taking advantage of singaporean infrastructure paid by singapore taxpayers and defended by NSmen why shouldn’t they be taxed heavily?
don’t worry they won’t run away.
then there are others who got rich by taking advantage of the poor and no minimum wage, plus importing cheap FT labour that depress local’s standard of living. now these people, please go do business elsewhere.
Dear Folks & @ Shake Head 29 April 2010 who wrote”
“Vivian
The interview is your best chance to clarify the facts or clear the air for your PAPa and your people. I would have thought you would be asking for YOUR views to be broadcast. They served it up on the plate for you and you DECLINED! Speaks volumes. You won’t survive a day in first world countries’ Govt.
And for destroying lives, silencing them, and then telling lies, you do not deserve to be remunerated even $1.”
And TNP shows their true color:
http://imcms2.mediacorp.sg/CMSFileserver/documents/006/PDF/20100430/3004HNP008.pdf says it all as…..
“When contacted, Dr Bala–
krishnan’s press secretary, Ms Ho
Moon Shin, dismissed Al Jazeera’s
claims as “illogical”.
See this typical pappy puppies go into hiding and used their “tax paid” press secretaries to FEND for them ministers!
“ILLOGICAL”????????????????????????????
What does her “shallow” fathomless word “illogical” word mean??????????????????
“FINAL” and without depth nor substance!
Dr, VB…… You are HUGE and cannot hide as you are all very visible by your TOTAL incomes and TOTAL bumbling handling of the MSM you control!!! Isn’t it an absolute shame that which such unjust controls, you all still stumble and hide so badly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Truth always has a way of showing itself at the most unexpected time yah!
hairy and his puppies never learn. Can you hie truth and facts like where does the sun rise and set? If you all can’t even appreciate these things about truth, why on earth and in Heaven are you all deserving of your indecent TOTAL INcomes???????????????????????????
Fools never learn. Fools who worship God shall remain FOOLS! Wonder how you face your church members each weekend? Yes I am getting personl for your own good with ‘The Love of God AND you too”!!! Be less of a politician and more of a Godly Minister, then you WILL see God’s power working in YOUR life FOR OUR LIVES TOO Vivian? been there yet??? I have. So change and change your hairy boss and see the power and judgment of ALMIGHTY God whom you worship! No kidding!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Am I too personal for TOC to let this through? Well why not. Haven’t pap ministers been negatively personal about us too??? It’s been too many instance and conflicting ones at that. What’s the point. We can if invited. But you won’t be asking here in TOC right? So TOC and us won’t be don’t anything wrong right! So no legal thing if no wring right! Is it a question?
LOW unemployment rates in the world??? Ho, How many Foreigners vs Singaporeans have you employed so far???
Can you print a transcript for us between the women couple & MCYS ???
How much do you earn yearly to qualify your claims on ‘highest savings in the world’ for us???
Would you spare some of your wages with us ????
Illogical derives from the logical findings of Factual Homelessness in Singapore context.
To SG in UK and other left-wing Socialists:
WOW That sounds like such an awesome government that I want to vote for that too!
Wait, then how come this awesome-sounding-super-caring government only gets 36.2% of the votes in 2005,and is only expected to get 26.8% in this elections?
http://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/
Hell, why does it look like the British people are voting in a PAP-styled, oops I mean, Conservative Government?
XiiAoGeNgEnX 30 April 2010
http://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/
Hell, why does it look like the British people are voting in a PAP-styled, oops I mean, Conservative Government?
………………………
don’t be a smartar sh here..
you never lived in britain..here you are singin songs bout the conservative party.. ever since maggie thatcher step down as leader(unliked leekuanyew..her 2 terms EXPIRED)..the conservative party loss the election to a former coalmine lowclass union leader…
XiiAoGeNgEnX
Now you see the true beauty of this Western democratic society? It is PEOPLE’S power. WE keep the Govt in check. WE fire them if they don’t get it right. Too liberal or too leftist, they are gone, too rightist, and they are also gone. NO govt stays in power forever and do whatever they want.
I was one of those who voted out the last Conservative party (saw on tv, good old John Major checked out of No.10 replaced by Tony Blair). Now I am considering voting back the Tories because Gordon has spent too much and don’t do much to reign in the bankers. It is called fine tuning. Yes, the system keeps being fine tuned or balanced. I don’t know what is good or bad Govt, but I do know what is an abusive, repressive, totalitarian system.
For me, one big difference about UK is, I have CONFIDENCE in the people (who make up the electorate and the Govt). I am convinced because of the things I see & experience here daily. These are very highly intelligent and creative people(from children to adults), they solve things. Yes, they can be too spoiled but they do wake up and come up with solutions when they realise they have to. Many of the World’s most famous people are from this tiny country. Do you think these intelligent Scientists and writers let their Govt manipulate them? Many are still here despite the higher tax on them. Why? Think again!
Well, if that’s the case, then we can only agree to disagree. There are people who prefer high taxes and high social welfare, and there are also people who prefer self reliance and live by their own labour.
All the best living in UK, cos I think it’s a great place, although only good for a holiday. :)
Firstly, I don’t pay HIGH taxes, I am not that rich! You still don’t get it but you never will because you refuse to and you don’t live here.
Secondly, I am self reliant and live by my own labour. There are many, countless very hardworking Brits who are self reliant and live by their own labour, in the UK. How else do they have beautiful roads, homes and countrysides. Who build them and who maintain them? They hv strict immigration policy. Besides, I have people coming to repair things in the home. Go and take a look at their museums! If it is not there by hard work, you mean it is by magic wand.
How do you conclude that the two are mutually exclusive?
When I say rich, I mean not noticing a couple of million pounds are missing from my account!
re: XiiAoGeNgEnX 29 April 2010
Now now, don’t get me wrong. I watched Al Jazeera on youtube faithfully during the Iraq War. I loved their show on Comical Ali, the Iraqi Information Minister that nearly went on Oprah. Enjoy! :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s27Oq5ot0ZI
>> Your ignorance is embarrassing. That was not from any AJ show, it’s a compilation of daily press briefings that all int’l media attended.
AJ was criticised by both sides of the war (from time code 1:44)-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6t1A0IVun0&feature=related
That’s the best claim to neutrality and courage.
Muppet.
I think The MCYS Should meet AL Jazeera and thrash out thie matter of homeless singaporean faling to grant AL Jazeera an interview will send out the wrong signal
If AJ practises objective journalism, it should interview the affected couple who lived on the beach and televise them “live” and verbatim as BBC would have done in such a situation where it is rebutting a Government minister or his spokesman. To state : “Al Jazeera stands by the report which we feel is factually correct.” does not hold water. In addition AJ if you are absolutely confident that your report is factually correct, why did you couch your above statement by stating explicitly “….. which we feel is factually correct”. Objective and truthful journalism would have driven you to say in no uncertain language that “…..which is factually correct.” Period.
To the other commentators who have placed the British political system on a high pedestal by trumpeting that the system is driven by the power of the British people, I congratulate you. Sure you have the “the good fortune (sic)” of a people’s democracy but it is still a political system “that does its own thing”, for example, the recent episode articulated in your British Parliament that some of its Member(s) of Parliament were caught with their hands in the cookie jar stealing the cookies. Have you forgotten how many of them in the recent past had used their Parliamentary budget to buy things for their personal benefit. How do you explain your Prime Minister, Mr Gordon Brown calling his woman constituent, a grandmother, “the bigoted lady”? Please remember the wise proverb ” People who live in glasshouses should not throw stones”.
Singapore – The best is yet to be!
Keep pursuing our dream to be an iconic modern global society!
Die-hard Singaporean!
That is the price Gordon has to pay (out of the office with this coming election 6 May) when he passed a remark like ‘the bigoted woman’, but not only because of this remark that costs him dearly, there are other issues as well.
When ministers in SG passed remarks like daft and immortal so on and so forth, nothing has happened to them. Gordon had to apologise to that ‘woman’, bty have you seen any minister do that to any Singaporean?
Not the apology matters, it is do we have the say in Singapore political environment?
I presume all commentators in this thread love this country, Singapore, but this does not mean we have to love PAP, WP or RP etc.. On the contrary, the politicians have to love us as we have sth that they need in this coming election, the votes!
Nonetheless, with the political constraint that opposition parties and Singaporean are facing, do we have a fair say in this coming GE like UK?
Mr Balasingam,
Humans are humans, thats why it is important or vital to have a system that has checks and balances, a system where crooks cannot carry on their crooked business, despots cannot seize power permenantly. The West has the media to expose politicians and the people to vote out anyone they don’t like.
In Spore, no news is bad news. They hide the bad and always report the good, under the guise of nation building. In this way, Ministers are always seen to be doing the right thing. Do I honestly believe there is not one who have done anything wrong, not even using public money for posting private letter? Of course NOT! Will the States Times be allowed to report PAP MPs who make illicit financial claims like in the UK? Can we assume no news is good news? Can we?
To Another SG in UK,
In a debate, if you want to articulate an opinion or want to be objective and honest, describe your view with facts. Do not utter rhetoric questions. Your British Westminster Parliament is the excellent institution that champions this fundamental debating characteristic.
So Another SG in UK, stop making rhetorical questions. If you need an example, study my Comment above dated 2 May 2010.