Home » Archive for February, 2011
Archive for February, 2011
Will voters buy Sitoh Yihpin’s crabs this time?
Feb. 28 | by Andrew Loh On 28 February, Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong was reported by Channel Newsasia as having said: “If there is a stall that sells chilli crab, if it is well known, no matter where the chill crab stall is located, people will flock to...
Talking Point with Parties Members on Coming GE 2011
Feb. 28 | On Sunday night’s edition of Talking Point, representatives from the ruling party and the Opposition speak to Deborah Soon and PN Balji the impact of the new electoral boundaries on their parties’ election strategies. The PAP was represented...
Room for fresh ideas on income gap
Feb. 28 | The following is an excerpt of an article published on February 28, 2011 at TODAY online. by Siew Kum Hong As I thought about last week’s Budget statement, a quote by Albert Einstein kept playing in my head. The pre-eminent genius of the 20th...
Malaysia’s “balanced growth” better than Singapore’s “higher growth”? (Part 3)
Feb. 28 | This is the third part of a review of the policy changes and statistics of the last five years or so, with reference to the ruling government, People’s Action Party’s (PAP) manifesto published in the last elections. You can read Part One here, and...
The PAP’s flawed immigration, foreign talent and foreign worker policies
Feb. 28 | By Ng E-Jay The PAP Government has acknowledged that there is a need to slow down the rate of import of foreigners and concentrate on boosting productivity, but deep flaws remain in its labour and immigration policies. Budget 2011 does not address these...
TOC – selective censorship?
Feb. 27 | A recent article on Temasek Review has raised the issue of TOC’s moderation policy again. Titled ‘TOC: The overkill censor‘ the article’s main contention was that TOC practices selective censorship especially with regards to ‘Western...
GE 2011: Singapore political parties’ positions on LGBT concerns
Feb. 27 | from People Like Us With a general election expected in the 2nd or 3rd quarter of 2011, seven members of the LGBT community in Singapore sent a joint letter to six political parties requesting a clarification of their position on selected issues of interest...
Laughing in Silence: The Story of Burma’s Greatest Comedian
Feb. 27 | by Ho Rui An Zarganar is widely considered to be Burma’s greatest living comedian. There were three groups of people at the Singapore screening of Rex Bloomstein’s documentary, The Prison Where I Live: filmmakers, activists and Burmese. This...
Breaking news: Former ISA detainee Teo Soh Lung quits RP
Feb. 27 | The Online Citizen learnt today that former ISA(Internal Security Act) detainee Teo Soh Lung had resigned from the Reform Party. Ms Teo, who joined last December, was believed to have left shortly after Tan Tee Seng, another former ISA detainee and...
Reform Party responds to new Electoral Boundaries report
Feb. 27 | The Electoral Boundaries Review Committee (EBRC) Report dated 24 February 2011 has produced no great surprises. New SMC constituencies have been formed and several other constituencies have been dissolved. This happens every four years or so, always...
Civil servants – no longer politically neutral?
Feb. 27 | by Andrew Loh photo credits: ST In a report on Saturday, 26 February, the Straits Times reported on the potential new candidates who may be fielded by the People’s Action Party (PAP). The report said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office,...
Could ASEAN Drift Apart?
Feb. 27 | The following is an excerpt of an article published on February 25, 2011 on Yale Global online. Bridgehead: China's expanding influence in Southeast Asia with construction in Cambodia (top); Wu Bangguo (left), chairman of China’s National People’s...
Election Wishlist
Feb. 27 | The following letter is sent to us by a TOC reader. by Blacktryst With the release of Budget 2011 by the government, we can safely assume that it is election year. It is on everyone’s lips at the moment, a buzz is generating. In addition, a Straits...
Census: So many worked so long for so little?
Feb. 26 | by Leong Sze Hian I refer to the Census of Populaton 2010 – Statistical Release 3, released on 24 February. Long work hours What I find rather surprising is that 228,856 worked between 50 – 54 hours, 73,761 between 55 – 59 hours, 134,716 between...
Without ISA and CLTPA, informants’ lives may be endangered – Govt report
Feb. 25 | Preventive detention without trial is necessary to protect witnesses and informants from intimidation, according to the recently released National Report to the Universal Periodic Review (UPR). Since October last year, at least eight Singaporean NGOs...
TOC Breaking News: Reform Party Chairman resigns
Feb. 25 | Mr Tan Tee Seng, sixth from left Reform Party insiders have confirmed with TOC that Reform Party Chairman Mr Tan Tee Seng has resigned today. TOC understands that more resignations are expected in the coming weeks. Mr Tan is a businessman and former ex-ISA...
The grim reaper in the PMO
Feb. 25 | Andrew Loh The Electoral Boundaries Review Committee (EBRC) released its report on Thursday, 24 February. The EBRC has made substantial changes to the electoral map of Singapore. In brief, there will be 87 seats up for grabs this time, compared to 84...
People’s uprisings in Middle East: A true revolution or storm in the teapot
Feb. 25 | by Fahim uz Zaman Events since the beginning of this year across Middle East and North Africa have brought about the revolution across the world. These changes are not that much in terms of new political order and have less to do with change in governments...
New electoral boundaries benefits PAP, says opposition
Feb. 25 | By Deborah Choo The much-awaited new electoral boundaries have finally been released on Thursday at around 3p.m. The Online Citizen spoke to the leaders of three opposition parties – Singapore Democratic Party (SDP), the Socialist Front (SF) and...
YOG ‘Burn’ case closed
Feb. 24 | By Deborah Choo Mr Abdul Malik Mohammed Ghazali The case is closed. The Online Citizen has learnt that the police will not be pressing charges against Project Executive Abdul Malik Mohammed Ghazali, who was arrested last year for making comments that...
UPDATE ON RP EXODUS: Mohd Affendy’s Response to the Ang Pao Incident
Feb. 24 | FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Mohd Affendy’s Response to the Ang Pao Incident Singapore 24 February 2011 I refer to the press release issued by Mr Kenneth Jeyaretnam, Secretary-General of The Reform Party dated 23 February 2011. Source: about-uli.blogspot.com In...
BREAKING NEWS: Electoral Boundaries Report released
Feb. 24 | TOC BREAKING NEWS: The Electoral Boundaries Review Committee (EBRC), under the purview of the Prime Minister’s Office, released its much-awaited report on Thursday. The Government has accepted the committee’s report. The report outlines the...
The Policy of Give and Take
Feb. 24 | By Dr Wong Wee Nam The Chinese New Year of the Rabbit has just passed and Christmas is still another ten months away. However, with the Budget that the PAP government has just unveiled, the people of Singapore cannot be faulted for thinking that they...
CPI 5.5%: Defer fares decrease?
Feb. 24 | By Leong Sze Hian Inflation has hit yet another high, at 5.5 per cent, according to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released by the Department of Statistics on 23 February. Of all the component items in the CPI, transport increased the most at 18.4...
Reform Party Exodus: Two opposing views
Feb. 24 | The wound that never heals by Andrew Loh Nine members of the Reform Party walked out of the party today, leaving its chief, Kenneth Jeyaretnam, to pick up the pieces. Barely three years old, the immediate future of the party, founded by Jeyaretnam’s...
RP EXODUS – Opposition comments
Feb. 23 | TOC LATEST UPDATE: In the wake of an increasing number of members’ departure from the Reform Party, TOC contacted the opposition parties for comments pertaining to this situation. From left to right: Mr Goh Meng Seng (NSP), Mr Chia Ti Lik (SF)...
BREAKING NEWS UPDATE: TONY TAN AND HAZEL POA RESPONDS TO RP’S PRESS RELEASE
Feb. 23 | In response to the Press Release from the Secretary-General of the Reform Party, we wish to clarify the facts as follows: 1) Tony did give an “Ang Pow” to a CEC member which was meant for his children as it was Chinese New Year. He did...
BREAKING NEWS: AT LEAST 20 LEFT RP, INCLUDING NEWEST MEMBER GILBERT GOH
Feb. 23 | TOC BREAKING NEWS: Party insiders from the Reform Party has confirmed with TOC that at least 20 members have left the RP, including newly joined member Mr Gilbert Goh. Mr Gilbert Goh Reform Party recently announced on February 9, 2011 of its newest member...
BREAKING NEWS: RP Press Release on the departure of nine members
Feb. 23 | PRESS RELEASE 23/02/2011 The Reform Party www.thereformparty.net. I can confirm today the resignations as reported in the Press. I have no wish to air the Party’s internal matters in public but I have seen previously how untruths left unchallenged...
Nine members leave Reform Party
Feb. 23 | The following is an excerpt of an article from The Straits Times. Ms Hazel Poa, 41 (photo credits: ST) WHY WE QUIT ‘We left because we had differences of opinion. That is common in any organisation. We tried to work things out initially but it...
AWARE calls for data transparency in Budget 2011 amongst others
Feb. 23 | By Deborah Choo Ms Braema Mathi The government needs to provide more data transparency in the Budget reports, said Ms Braema Mathi at The Online Citizen’s Budget Forum on Saturday. She was one of the three panelists invited to speak at the forum. Ms...
IBA: Systematic repression of freedom in Singapore
Feb. 23 | The following article was first published on Wednesday, 09 February 2011at the IBA Media Law & Freedom of Expression Blog. International Bar Association A recent High Court ruling...
Do night bus fare hikes require approval?
Feb. 23 | The following letter is published at The Straits Times forum. I REFER to the recent increase in fares for all seven of SMRT’s special late night bus services (“Pay more for SMRT’s late night bus services”; Feb 8). Why is it...
Don’t stigmatize people who choose to be single
Feb. 23 | by Ng E-Jay I am appalled by the insensitivity displayed by Straits Times Forum contributor Kenny Liu who, in his letter “Single? Don’t blame Govt for fewer goodies” (22 Feb 2011), took fellow contributor Yvonne Lee to task for asking for more...
Young PAP Budget Forum: Working to Win in Singapore’s Economy Ahead
Feb. 22 | In the wake of the Singapore Budget 2011, the YP Political Discussion Committee has organised the Young PAP Budget Forum: Working to Win in Singapore’s Economy Ahead. The panel will include economist Dr Tan Khee Giap, representative of the National...
The Socialist Front Press Release – Singapore 2011 Pork Barrel Budget
Feb. 22 | Source: picsdigger.com We the Socialist Front, refer to the 2011 Budget as the Pork Barrel Budget simply because it is clear it has an intention or objective to benefit the voters of Singapore only in the short-term in return for their supports in the...
Malaysia’s “balanced growth” better than Singapore’s “higher growth”? (Part 2)
Feb. 22 | This is the second part of a review of the policy changes and statistics of the last five years or so, with reference to the ruling government, People’s Action Party’s (PAP) manifesto published in the last elections. You can read Part One...
This election….reflections of a young Singaporean living abroad
Feb. 22 | The following letter is by a TOC reader. Dear Singaporeans, I am a young Singaporean living and working in Australia for the last 7 years. Like many, I was a product of the highly efficient Singapore education production line. According to our world-class...
Budget 2011: Feeling you can get there by working hard
Feb. 22 | By: Ravi Philemon There were many highlights in Budget 2011. For one, I think it was funny that the MPs almost fell over backwards cheering the abolishment of radio and TV license. It was long overdue in my opinion – at least a decade overdue. ...
Islam & Democracy in Singapore: Dialogue towards a Multicultural Society
Feb. 22 | by James Gomez & Zulfikar Mohd Shariff Dr James Gomez (left) & Mr Zulfikar Mohd Shariff (right) A plurality of voices speaking on Islam is the best way forward for building democracy and a multicultural society in Singapore. This was the main...
TOC reader weighs in on gay issue
Feb. 21 | The following is a comment posted on the article “MDA: Abnormalizing the normal?” As we have a policy of disallowing comments which are more than 500 words long, we have decided instead to publish it as an article. As this article touches...
Leong Sze Hian skewed nature of TOC – reader
Feb. 21 | The following is a letter from a TOC reader. To: The Online Citizen I used to enjoy reading TOC. Compared to say TR, TOC used to offer more balanced views and more constructive ideas. However, in recent weeks, I have become increasingly disappointed with...
Foreign Worker Policy and Casinos will “break up” society – Tan Jee Say
Feb. 20 | by Joshua Chiang The measures that the Government plan to undertake to ‘strengthen society’ will be overwhelmed by the countervailing forces of the liberal foreign worker policy and the casinos, said Mr Tan Jee Say. He was one of the three panelists...
Reform Party’s Response to Budget 2011
Feb. 20 | The following is an excerpt of RP’s take on the Budget released by the government on February 18, 2011. My Fellow Singaporeans, Don’t you get the feeling that this is a government that lurches from day to day and has no long term plan? That...
Charm defensive
Feb. 20 | The following is an excerpt of an article published on Hindustan Times on February 17, 2011. by John Lee In a recent security conference in Washington, a Chinese delegate caused an awkward silence among the congenial group at a post-event drinks session...
Budget 2011: Analysis snippets (Part 2)
Feb. 19 | by Leong Sze Hian I refer to the Budget Statement 2011. Singaporeans’ wages grew 0.44% Although the Budget statement said: “Consider what happened to low-income Singaporean workers, at the 20th percentile of incomes. Their wages grew by about...
About your landlord…
Feb. 19 | The article below is first published on Kenneth Jeyaretnam’s blog on February 17, 2011. by Kenneth Jeyaretnam Today the Department of Statistics issued a press release* stating that the median monthly income from work among resident households...
Budget 2011: Analysis snippets
Feb. 18 | by Leong Sze Hian I refer to the Budget Statement 2011 by the Finance Minister . Wages grew 0.5% “C.6. Consider what happened to low-income Singaporean workers, at the 20th percentile of incomes. Their wages grew by about 23% in the last decade,...
How about ‘Richer, Kinder, Slower’?
Feb. 18 | by Stephanie Chok I have come to my tether, and therefore I must blog (or self-combust). In a nutshell: Cause of aggravation #1: A friend told me last night of a conversation between an undergraduate at a local university here and her colleague. Her colleague...
