Home » Archive for January, 2011
Archive for January, 2011
A history of worst case scenarios
Jan. 31 | If, for instance, you put in a Malay officer who’s very religious and who has family ties in Malaysia in charge of a machine gun unit, that’s a very tricky business. We’ve got to know his background. I’m saying these things because...
TOC UNCASSETTED: TOC’s strength lies in a collective heartbeat
Jan. 31 | TOC team of volunteers by Khairulanwar Zaini It is difficult to write about a party. Particularly about one that has furtively insinuated itself into being planned, catching perhaps even the editors by surprise. Over a (frantic) flurry of emails, and...
Aung Sung Suu Kyi advocates pro-human development policies
Jan. 31 | Davos 2011: Aung San Suu Kyi speech in full 28 January 2011 This audio message was played to the main hall in Davos World Economic Forum 2011. _______________________________ Source: zimbio.com Distinguished guests – heads of state, government...
WANTED FOR MERCY: SINGAPORE AND ITS MANDATORY DEATH PENALTY
Jan. 31 | The following is an excerpt of an article posted on blog Give Life A 2nd Chance. M Ravi in Second Chances in the Park Published at East Asian Law Journal, Vol. 1 No. 2 By M. Ravi, Practitioner at L.F. Violet Netto, Lawyer for Yong Vui Kong and Alan Shadrake;...
Put it in perspective? No thanks – a letter to Dr Yaacob Ibrahim
Jan. 30 | Dear Mr Yaacob, It is most heartening to know that you disagreed with the remarks made by the Minister Mentor on the issue of Muslims and their integration in Singapore society. (“Muslims can be both religious and patriotic” – The Sunday...
Record investments = Negative wage growth?
Jan. 30 | by Leong Sze Hian I refer to the report “Singapore achieved record high investment commitments last year” (Channel News Asia, Jan 24). It states that “The highest value-added expected to be generated from investments here was in 2008 with S$14.7...
Mission of public education is to facilitate social mobility
Jan. 29 | by Singaporean Sophist I refer to the article “MM Lee: Family backgrounds play important role in students’ learning environment“. Statistically, there is nothing factually wrong with saying that kids whose parents have degrees tend to fare...
Singaporeans pay less taxes than Canadians?
Jan. 29 | by Wing Lee Cheong In his 1996 National Day speech, Prime Minister Goh said, “People often want the government to assume the full burden of the cost of medical care and provide treatment free to Singaporeans. Because of the painful lessons learned...
Kampong Guru – Tay Lai Hock
Jan. 29 | By Joshua Chiang I first met Tay Lai Hock at a walk along the KTM railway. With his grey shoulder-length hair and beard, one could be forgiven for thinking that he is some sort of new-age guru. As it turned out, that’s not too far from the truth. Tay...
TOC CASSETTED: Invitations CEASED!
Jan. 28 | Dear Readers, Thank you to all who have expressed an interest in our PRIVATE party! Due to overwhelming response (and simply by the fact that we’re also limited by the spacial constraints of the venue), invitations will not be sent out anymore. We...
AMP Responds to Comments by MM Lee in his new book
Jan. 28 | This is the English version of Association of Muslim Professionals’ official response to Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew’s comments in his book – Hard Truths to Keep Singapore Going. An excerpt of this statement in Malay was published in...
TOC CASSETTED: Invitations to cease by 3 p.m today
Jan. 28 | Dear Readers, We are reaching the maximum number of people we can invite for our private party. Any more guests and we’ll bring the house down. Literally. As such we not longer be sending out any invitations after 3pm today. Please take note. And...
James Gomez speaks on SFD trio investigations
Jan. 28 | By Deborah Choo Three members of the Singaporeans For Democracy (SFD) are currently being investigated over the sale of 12 copies of the book Once A Jolly Hangman: Singapore Justice in the Dock at a film screening at the Substation on 14 November 2010. The...
“This is organised by the residents for the residents,” MP retorts
Jan. 28 | The following article is sent to us by a member of the public. In the interest of fairness, TOC will be happy to post any reply from the MP or the organizers. by Richard Seah Source: indianapublicmedia.org My block of flats was blessed, or should I say...
UPR of Burma to military regime: Halt all Human Rights Violations!
Jan. 28 | Press Release: Universal Periodic Review of Burma: Total Denial in the Face of Widespread and Systematic Human Rights Violations Burma Forum on the Universal Periodic Review (BF-UPR) Assistance Association for Political Prisoners Burma (AAPP-B), Arakan...
SFD to MDA: Ban the Jolly Hangman
Jan. 27 | SFD Media Release 27 January 2011 Singapore SFD to MDA: Ban the Jolly Hangman Singaporeans For Democracy (SFD) calls on the Media Development Authority (MDA) to ban Once A Jolly Hangman: Singapore Justice in the Dock or assign it a classification that...
TOC party privatized!
Jan. 27 | Dear Readers, TOC Cassetted: Not A Political Party is no longer open to the public.It is now a private event for invited guests only. If you would like to attend, do write to us at toccassetted@gmail.com. We will send you an invitation via email. Please produce...
Socialist Front backs TOC and SFD
Jan. 27 | SOCIALIST FRONT PRESS RELEASE STATEMENT OF SOLIDARITY AND SUPPORT TO THE ONLINE CITIZEN & SINGAPOREANS FOR DEMOCRACY This is the Socialist Front’s Statement of Solidarity and Support issued in respect of the following 2 organisations: Singaporeans...
Possible candidates for the Presidential Election?
Jan. 27 | By Jason Lee We have six more months to persuade that eligible candidate who could shape our political future over the next six years. The mainstream media have over the past week carried commentaries on the upcoming Presidential Election. Interestingly,...
A killer blow to online media – Malaysiakini
Jan. 26 | The following article was first published in Malaysiakini on 26th Jan. by Steven Gan Many had expected Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak to be more stringent in enforcing controls a la Dr Mahathir Mohamad over the media. Few expected that he would be...
Singapore’s growth not so rosy for common folk
Jan. 26 | The following is an excerpt of an article posted on Daily Yomiuri Online. By Ayako Hirayama / Daily Yomiuri Staff Writer This is the first installment of a two-part series about issues in Southeast Asia, a region that has attracted increasing attention...
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“Singaporeans look at it [TOC] as a force,” says TOC reader
Jan. 26 | The following is a letter from a TOC reader. Hey guys, First off, I just wanted to say thanks for all the effort and dedication TOC has put into running the website – it truly is a good platform for Singaporeans of all political affiliations and...
Siew Kum Hong: Why I decided to join TOC
Jan. 26 | The following is a blog post written by Siew Kum Hong on 25 Jan 2011. Source: siewkumhong.blogspot.com Yesterday afternoon, The Online Citizen sent a letter to the Prime Minister’s Office naming four people who will be responsible for the preparation...
Ex-NUS Graduate – I’m a failed product of our meritocratic educational system”
Jan. 26 | The following letter was first sent to Mr Gilbert Goh, president of Transition.org. We reproduce it with his kind permission. Dear Mr Goh Please publish my story under the name “Chua S” if you find it appropriate for your site. I am a 35-year-old...
BREAKING NEWS: Police wants TOC to apply to party
Jan. 25 | The police wants The Online Citizen to apply for no less than three licenses for its event, “TOC Cassetted, Not a Political Party”, which has been scheduled for the 29th of January 2011. The licenses required are the Public Entertainment...
Singapore: Hocus Pocus Hides Rights Abuses
Jan. 25 | The following is an excerpt of an article published on Human Rights Watch (New York) – Singapore’s stated goal of updating its political system in time for the 2011 elections should include revamping laws, policies, and practices that fail...
Police investigate SFD members over death penalty book
Jan. 25 | Three members of Singaporeans For Democracy (SFD) are being investigated by the police over the sale of 12 copies of the book Once A Jolly Hangman: Singapore Justice in the Dock at a film screening at the Substation on 14 November 2010. Mr Seelan Palay...
Maids with ‘attitude’? Employers, look in the mirror
Jan. 25 | The following article has been published on TODAY ONLINE on Jan 24, 2011. Letter from Stephanie Chok I refer to the Voices Online letter ‘The new breed of “aggressor” maid’ (Jan 20). It is unfortunate that Ms Tan has had unpleasant...
MDA disallows performance about death penalty
Jan. 25 | by Joshua Chiang A performance on the death penalty by artist/activist Seelan Palay was disallowed just a day before it was to be staged at the Substation. Titled ‘Choices, Chances’, it was meant to be the closing piece in a series of short performances...
Issues That Matter: Uniquely Singapore – F1 or F9?
Jan. 25 | “Can you imagine walking to every HDB block and every floor that you go, every 12 flats that you count, one of them is in arrears by more than three months? And at the end of the day, if they cannot pay and they default (on their mortgage loans),...
TOC’s reply to PMO
Jan. 24 | Mr Lee Hsien Loong Prime Minister’s Office Orchard Road Istana Singapore 238823 24 January 2011 RE: PMO’s Reply To The Online Citizen Dear Prime Minister Lee, We note your office’s reply dated 18th Jan 2011. We have stated our objections and...
Come out with TOC!!!
Jan. 24 | TOC’s response to PMO’s reply Dear Readers, First of all, thank you. Thank you for all the words of encouragement, emails, phone calls and sms-es following news of the Prime Minister’s plans to gazette TOC. Thank you for sharing this information...
TOC Cassetted – Not A Political Party!
Jan. 24 | You are invited to the non-political of the year – the coming out party of The Online Citizen! That’s right! We are coming out! We are stepping out from standing under broad daylight to… well, standing under broad daylight! Except of course, we...
Today’s Parent: Account of a Tuition Survivor
Jan. 24 | by Dr Martha Lee I had tuition from when I was in Primary One until Secondary Four. My younger sister started from when she was Kindergarten Two. She started early because she wouldn’t leave me alone during my tuition lessons – insisting on playing...
Reprieve but living on borrowed time
Jan. 24 | This is an excerpt from an article published on Free Malaysia Today’s website. By Maxwell Coopers Convicted Sabahan Yong Vui Kong may have postponed his date with destiny but the hangman’s noose is still hovering over him as he awaits the...
Lee Kuan Yew’s (non-) legacy
Jan. 24 | by Alfian Sa’at (This was originally a comment on an FB thread, but it got longer and longer so I decided to post it up here as a note!) From a Sin Chew Jit Poh report: “I would say today, we can integrate all religions and races except Islam,”...
“Passion is the key” – Tay Ping Hui
Jan. 23 | by Kirsten Han For those interested in getting involved in politics, “passion is the key”, said MediaCorp artiste and Young PAP (YP) member Tay Ping Hui, when asked about the desired qualities of a politician. The talk show segment of YP Face To Face. Mr...
Policies contribute to poverty among women – AWARE
Jan. 23 | by Gillian Seetoh We grow up imbued with the mentality that there is equality and fairness in Singapore’s meritocratic system. Should you fall behind, you are deemed as unsuccessful, and you deserve it, because of your lack of ability and effort. Nevertheless,...
Hospitals: Class C still affordable?
Jan. 23 | (Part 5 of the Singapore Census 2010 Series) by Leong Sze Hian According to the recently released Singapore Census 2010, Singaporeans are getting older. Citizens aged between 45 and 54, now form the largest age group, compared to 2000 when it was those...
The Uproar Over Thaipusam
Jan. 21 | photos by Joshua Chiang and Terry Xu It all started when the Hindu Endowment Board (HEB) guidelines for Thaipusam celebrations were made public this year. Those planning to participate in the festival were told that they had to refrain from shouting,...
Singapore High Courts rejects Chee’s appeal for free speech
Jan. 21 | High Court Judge Steven Chong had rejected Singapore Democratic Party’s Dr Chee Soon Juan’s appeal for free speech yesterday, slapping a $20,000 fine and a 20-weeks imprisonment in default. On 20 June 2006, Chee was charged with eight counts...
A chill in the blogosphere
Jan. 21 | The following article is extracted from The Economist. In a country where the government has a pretty tight control over the traditional media—newspapers and television—Singaporeans with an appetite for alternative views have long gravitated towards...
Thaipusam 2011 – A photo story
Jan. 20 | by Joshua Chiang Sometimes, it’s best to let the pictures do the talking.
The birth rate blame game
Jan. 20 | The following article is reproduced here with permission by the author who posted this article on his blog. by Gerald Giam Just like a broken record player, that tired refrain is heard yet again: We must welcome more new immigrants otherwise our economy...
PRs : Singaporeans’ worries?
Jan. 20 | (Part 4 of the Singapore Census 2010 series) by Leong Sze Hian One aspect of the recently released Singapore Census 2010, which I think no media has talked about, is what the profile of permanent residents (PRs) may mean for Singaporeans? Whilst I must...
IHRA highlights Singapore’s mandatory death penalty
Jan. 19 | The following is an excerpt of the International Harm Reduction Association (IHRA)’s submission to the UN Universal Periodic Review regarding Human rights violation association with Singapore’s anti-drug laws: Source: IHRA Republic of Singapore Submission...
Minimum Wage Only Beneficial in Long Term
Jan. 19 | By Gordon Lee Much has been said of the minimum wage of late, and I would like to give my opinion and proposal on it. The Case for a Minimum Wage There is a strong case for minimum wage recognised by its successful implementation the world over, including,...
BTO: 32 months to build – Really?
Jan. 19 | (Part 3 of the Singapore Census 2010 series) by Leong Sze Hian Going by the volume of postings, comments and debate on the internet, the one statistic in the recently released Singapore Census 2010, that is arguably the most contentious, is that the number...
Gurls of Singapore
Jan. 19 | By Dr Martha Lee Source: TruMe Facebook page There is a new beauty pageant in Singapore. It’s named TruMe, an online transgender beauty pageant organised by Action for Aids; it will be officially launched next month. The moderator of Sggurls, a transgender...
