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Author Archive
Celebrity scandal – transgression, media circus, spectacle
Mar. 20 | By Howard Lee, Guest Contributor By now, Jack Neo’s fall from grace would stand a good chance at winning News Story of the Year. The highly-acclaimed filmmaker and actor’s multiple infidelity has been well-documented in every major newspaper...
Has Singapore a future?
Mar. 20 | By Dr Wong Wee Nam, Guest Contributor As the present now Will later be past The order is Rapidly fadin’. And the first one now Will later be last For the times they are a-changin’. - Bob Dylan - The young are the builders of tomorrow. There...
TOC Editorial: Cooling-off day may lead to heated confusion
Mar. 16 | By Ng E-Jay Three bills were tabled in Parliament last week to amend the Constitution as well as the Presidential and Parliamentary Elections Acts. The proposed changes include raising the maximum number of Non-Constituency MPs from six to nine, making...
COE: Another solution that may make more money, but may not solve the problem?
Mar. 13 | By Leong Sze Hian I refer to the report “LTA announces changes to Vehicle Quota System” (Channel News Asia, Mar 11). The report states that the number of COEs is likely to be reduced, which means car prices may go up. Will higher COE prices...
HDB: Homelessness due to policies? BTS better than BTO? 31,000 flats unsold, but nobody knows?
Mar. 12 | By Leong Sze Hian I refer to the article “Life’s a beach, but it’s no holiday: Parents’ irresponsibility, greed and policy are depriving kids of homes” (ST, Mar 9). The article begins by mentioning how a certain Mr Yusof lost his...
Should treatment of chronic and terminal illnesses in Singapore enjoy better subsidies?
Mar. 9 | By Ng E-Jay French virologist Professor Francoise Barre-Sinoussi was one of the co-discoverers of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) some 27 years ago. Today, she has taken Singapore to task for failing to provide free treatment for HIV sufferers,...
Productivity: Senior Minister, is it that simple?
Mar. 9 | By Dr Wong Wee Nam, guest contributor At a Post-Budget 2010 Feedback Session held at Marine Parade Community Club recently, Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong revealed what it takes to be a productive worker. He used two cases to make his point. First he...
TOC Editorial: Gopalan Nair’s despicable hoax
Mar. 8 | By Choo Zheng Xi / Editor-at-large On 6 March 2010, Mr Gopalan Nair asserted that sources had informed him that Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew had suffered a massive heart attack and had been warded in intensive care at the Singapore General Hospital (SGH)....
Budget debate statistics: Uniquely Singapore?
Mar. 7 | By Leong Sze Hian According to the article “Parliament: Transformation budget for future” published in My Paper on 5 March, the Finance Minister was quoted as having rebutted opposition MP Low Thia Khiang’s (Hougang) claim that the Government...
Malay homelessness – who was the quicker finger-pointer?
Mar. 6 | By Joshua Chiang Imran sold his flat for a profit. With the money, he rented a bungalow in Johor Bahru and even bought a car. Two years later, his money was spent, and he was back in Singapore, homeless. Imran could be what Senior Parliamentary Secretary...
Foreign worker contracts
Mar. 6 | By Esther Ng, TODAY columnist When I read the contracts of these foreign workers, the terms seemed so ridiculous I felt like laughing. For instance, a fine of $100 if a worker raises his voice against his boss. Failure to surrender one’s passport to...
How is allowing Medisave to be used overseas connected with GIC losing S$7.3 billion?
Mar. 5 | By Leong Sze Hian I refer to the article “Sovereign funds seen twice shy” (My Paper, Mar 3). This is what the article states: “It took the Government of Singapore Investment Corp three days in 2007 to agree to prop up UBS AG, ailing...
SDP’s Teoh Tian Jing: Ruling will go down as one that ignored common sense
Mar. 4 | By the Singapore Democrats Two days after the Singapore Democrats commemorated our 30th anniversary dinner, Mr Gandhi Ambalam, Dr Chee Soon Juan, and Ms Chee Siok Chin are being imprisoned again. They are serving a one-week imprisonment after they were...
Let’s fight free speech with free speech
Mar. 3 | By George Hwang, 28th February 2010 The recent police reports filed by 85 people against Rony Tan for his anti-gay speech right after he was rapped by the Internal Security Department bemoans the sad state of affairs in our laws on this subject. In a...
So how much did you pay your agent?
Mar. 2 | By Lynn Lee of Lianain Films Of late we’ve developed a strange habit. We can’t meet a Bangladeshi migrant labourer without asking him a somewhat intrusive question. How much did you pay your agent? Is it kinda rude? Maybe. Call it an occupational...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Cultural revolutions, wilting flowers
Feb. 16 | By Choo Zheng Xi (Editor-At-Large) and KJ We wonder if Rear-Admiral Lui Tuck Yew knows that our city was the subject of a Hollywood film. No, not Ivan Heng’s cameo in Luc Besson’s Fifth Element, but a full Hollywood film shot on scene in Singapore. In...
Economic Strategies Committee: Real change or just words?
Feb. 15 | By Dr Wong Wee Nam, Guest Contributor “Entrepreneurial culture is about challenging the authorities, questioning the existing ways of doing business, moving away from the routines and norms. It’s about the unconventional, rebellious and diverse.”...
Punish Pastor Tan
Feb. 13 | By Shawn Lim, Guest Writer By now, most of us would have watched the videos in which Pastor Rony Tan of Lighthouse Evangelism, an independent church, made some nasty comments on Taoism and Buddhism. He was called up by the Internal Security Department...
Take a stand for moderation, liberty, and genuine understanding
Feb. 13 | By Choo Zheng Xi, Editor-At-Large I felt deeply angry when I saw the videos of Pastor Rony Tan deriding Buddhists in his church. A place of worship was used to propagate misinformation and ignorance. A faith of love and acceptance was being used as a...
The final nail in the “HDB affordability” coffin?
Feb. 12 | By Leong Sze Hian I refer to the article “HDB resale prices: Don’t just find a scapegoat – It is not an issue of us-versus-them, but one of a rise in demand” (ST, Feb 11). It states: “But actually, what exactly is the issue? Are rising...
The anger of displacement
Feb. 11 | By Choo Zheng Xi, Editor-at-Large Why are Singaporeans unhappy, the PAP wonders. It is said that Singaporeans are a migrant stock. Coming and going, it’s in our blood. My own mother was born and raised in Hong Kong. She met my Singaporean father...
Statutory rape law – a paternalistic anachronism
Feb. 10 | By Ravi Philemon and Gangasudhan I wonder why Channel News Asia has gone for sensationalism in reporting the Singapore Police Force’s (SPF) annual crime brief. SPF’s crime statistics have more important issues such as the increase in petty theft...
Conflicting signals from Government over foreign manpower policy
Feb. 9 | By Ng E-Jay The government appears to be sending out conflicting signals over its foreign manpower policy, a possible indication that rising concerns over the liberal import of foreign workers in recent years are starting to overwhelm decision makers...
HDB replies: Waiting time for rental flat is now reduced
Feb. 8 | HDB replies to Ms Lisa Li’s letter on rental flats. (08 Feb 2010) Source: TODAY Online Letter from Kee Lay Cheng, Deputy Director (Land Administration), Housing & Development Board We refer to Ms Li Shi-En Lisa’s online letter “A...
Do upgrading skills and Workfare help low-wage workers?
Feb. 8 | By Leong Sze Hian I refer to the report “Measures to encourage low-wage workers to take up training expected during Budget” (CNA, Feb 7). It states that “Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong has hinted that issues such as making it easier...
The Sedition Act needs revision
Feb. 8 | By Edwin S Anthony “Under the Sedition Act, anyone found guilty of promoting feelings of ill-will and hostility between different races or classes of the population of Singapore can be fined up to $5,000 or jailed up to three years, or both, if...
The Straits Times thinks only businessmen are Singaporeans
Feb. 6 | By Gangasudhan and Ravi Philemon In a show of scant regard for the intellect of Singaporeans, the Straits Times splashed the authoritative headline “Highest trust level in government” for an article that starts of with “people in Singapore trust...
Polarization: The symptom, not the illness
Feb. 4 | By Choo Zheng Xi, Editor-at-Large Rachel Chang’s piece in the Straits Times “Power of the Net to polarise” (04 Feb 2010) highlighting the increasing polarization of the internet has some truth. Views are increasingly polarized as a result...
Raising the foreign worker levy is a blunt move
Feb. 3 | How will raising the foreign worker levy improve the lot of locals who are faced with stagnant wages and rising costs? By Ng E-Jay The Economic Strategies Committee (ESC) has suggested raising the foreign worker levy to discourage businesses from importing...
