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Andrew Loh
“Even in the cyberage, some things don’t change”
Jul. 27 | Announcement: Look out for TOC’s National Day special from August 1st. Our writers share their personal take on each sentence of the National Pledge. Andrew Loh “We will manage it [Speakers’ Corner] with a light touch. So I think there’s...
“No need for the police to get involved,” said PM Lee
Jul. 27 | Political changes introduced recently but what did our ministers say in the past?
NTU student protests against school’s censorship in graduation speech
Jul. 25 | Loo Zihan’s valedictorian speech at NTU “The original draft of my speech was composed of words like “integrity” and “breaking new boundaries” , said Mr Loo Zihan in his valedictorian speech at the Nanyang Technological University graduation...
Big Brother descends on Speakers’ Corner
Jul. 24 | Five cctvs in total have been mounted at Speakers’ Corner at Hong Lim Park. The Singapore Democratic Party first reported on this on its website here. TOC will have a report on it soon. Pictures by Andrew Loh. More pictures on TOC Facebook. Workers...
Are you angry yet?
Jul. 23 | Andrew Loh Temasek Holdings seems to be caught in a cycle of bad and inept decision making. In a country which brooks no failure, it is a wonder that despite the failings of the past few years, no one – at all – in the sovereign wealth fund has been...
The president, the cabinet, Ho Ching, Temasek’s Board of Directors – all got it wrong?
Jul. 23 | Andrew Loh Anyone expecting Temasek Holdings to shed further light on the departure of Mr Charles Goodyear will be disappointed. Don’t hold your breath. Despite calls for more transparency and openness in its dealings, the state sovereign wealth fund...
“Non-partisan” NMPs? Did we miss something?
Jul. 13 | Andrew Loh What we have now is a PAP-infested Select Committee which has picked, to be NMPs, a YPAP member, a NTUC member and 5 people who idolise MM Lee! Good grief! “Enacted in 1990, the NMP scheme provides for persons …. to contribute to the...
Celebrate National Day – but is this necessary?
Jun. 29 | Breaking News: Bernard Madoff, who was charged with defrauding thousands of investors in the US of some US$65 billion, has been handed a 150-year jail term. (BBC) Billboards and banners at various parts of S’pore last year Andrew Loh It is that...
The NCMP cat among the opposition pigeons
Jun. 6 | Andrew Loh / Khairulanwar Zaini A week after changes to the Non-Constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) scheme were announced by the Prime Minister, the opposition parties seem unsure of how to react. Most of the parties, in their public statements,...
A mockery of Parliament – appointed MPs, Loser MPs, Walkover MPs…
May. 29 | Andrew Loh In a democracy, the people elect its representatives to Parliament. That is the purpose of having elections. Any schemes which go against this principle should be rejected. Why? The idea of having citizens elect their Members of Parliament...
Political changes – what about the media?
May. 27 | Andrew Loh Singaporeans wait with bated breath the announcement of changes to the political system in Singapore. According to a Straits Times report, SM Goh mentioned three considerations before such changes will be made: “One, they must be fair to...
“Operation Spectrum was political rape”
May. 26 | The Online Citizen officially ends its “Marxist Conspiracy: Truth or Government Propaganda” Special Feature Week with this article. We thank our readers for their patience and indulgence as we took the week to highlight the events of 1987....
Let the people judge
May. 22 | Andrew Loh / With special thanks to Martyn See On 10 June 1987, Mr Tan Wah Piow released a book, which few Singaporeans would have known or know about. It was called, “Let the people judge – Confessions of the most wanted person in Singapore.” The...
Remembering the 22
May. 22 | Video by Ho Choon Hiong Andrew Loh / Pictures courtesy of Jacob George In a simple but solemn gathering at Speakers’ Corner on Thursday, about 100 people observed the 22nd anniversary of the arrest and detention of 22 social activists by the Internal...
Teo Soh Lung – In her own words (Part Two)
May. 22 | The following is an email interview with Ms Teo Soh Lung, who was arrested in 1987 and detained under the Internal Security Act for two and a half years. You can read Part One here. TOC: What motivated your involvement in social activism? How were you...
Straits Times of May ’87 – Four days of government statements on “Marxist Conspiracy”
May. 19 | Coming next on TOC: Ex-ISA detainee, Ms Teo Soh Lung, writes a personal piece for The Online Citizen. Stay tuned! Andrew Loh / With special thanks to Martyn See For four days, from 27 May to 30 May, 1987, the Straits Times carried the statements of the...
May 1987 – A conspiracy un-proved
May. 18 | Straits Times, Front Page, 22 May 1987 Andrew Loh Read also: “Marxist plot” revisited by Singapore Window. And: Singapore is holding 12 in “Marxist Conspiracy” by The New York Times. In May 1987, the government of then-Prime...
Worker assaulted by employer outside MOM building, and possibly to be repatriated
May. 15 | Andrew Loh Note: The following report has been edited to reflect more accurately what had transpired in the case of Asmad Kadir. This is because of clarification the writer has obtained with his sources. Asmad Kadir (not his real name), who is owed some...
Where is the “unique Singapore advantage” to protect our workers?
May. 8 | Andrew Loh If one were to follow – and believe – what the Labour Chief and the Manpower Ministry say, one would be inclined to think that the unemployment situation here in Singapore is “not as bad as feared”, as one Straits Times report put it. In...
Ex-Reform Party chairman denies ouster
Apr. 30 | Andrew Loh The former chairman of the Reform Party (RP), Mr Ng Teck Siong, called for a press conference this evening at Hong Lim Park to address the recent saga within his ex-party. Mr Ng, a long-time supporter of the late Mr J B Jeyaretnam, resigned...
The man at Waterloo Street
Apr. 30 | Andrew Loh There he sits – in the warm afternoon. All alone by himself, in the courtyard at Waterloo Street. He is surrounded by several plastic bags of belongings, a cardboard which he sits on and one more which he uses to shield himself from the...
The rising son
Apr. 27 | Andrew Loh The longest period that any political party in Singapore had gone without a secretary general was from 1963, when The Barisan Socialis’ secretary general, Lim Chin Siong, was incarcerated for “subversive” activities and eventually...
Gentle under the warmth of the sun
Apr. 26 | TOC’s Special Focus Week: As Labour Day approaches on May 1st, TOC honours our elderly and senior citizens and brings you stories of them who make a living on the streets of Singapore. Andrew Loh / Deborah Choo South Bridge Road. The old man parks...
Avery Lodge – a “six-star dormitory for workers”
Apr. 18 | Andrew Loh “Very decent living. You can call it the six-star dormitory for workers,” Mr Eric Tan, our guide, told us when The Online Citizen visited the latest in dormitory living. “But for us, we’re not used to it,” Mr Tan added, as he showed...
“They gave me an umbrella and a teddy bear.”
Apr. 9 | The following is an update to the earlier story of Mr Wong Tai Phong titled, “A victim of bureaucratic red tape and inflexible policies.” Andrew Loh “Luckily you didn’t come yesterday,” Mr Wong says to me as I enter his house. “Why?” I ask....
A victim of bureaucratic red tape and inflexible policies
Apr. 8 | Andrew Loh / Deborah Choo Mr Wong Tai Phong was a secret society member in his younger days. “I was one of the Bugis Street terrors”, he tells us in his home. I can see why. He is burly, and speaks in a rather brusque manner. As a gang member,...
Engaging netizens – time to come out of comfort zones, politicians
Apr. 6 | Breaking News: Woman who was hospitalized for severe food poisoning after eating at a Geylang Serai rojak stall has died in hospital. Andrew Loh If discussions on issues of importance are to progress, both parties have to accept that perhaps it is time...
Sacked Gurkhas staged kidnapping in Nepal
Apr. 6 | Andrew Loh In June 2008, the media reported a scuffle among a group of Nepalese Gurkhas stationed in Singapore. The dispute was over wages they were receiving. The Singapore police, at that time, was reported to have said that they were investigating...
TOC Report: Workers’ Party hit by latest spate of resignations
Mar. 30 | Andrew Loh with contribution by Choo Zheng Xi Four party cadres, including two candidates from GE 2006, resigned in the past one week but renewal process is on track, says Organizing Secretary “Salim has the idealism and passion to pursue what he feels...
MOM takes action against illegal lodging for foreign workers
Mar. 26 | Andrew Loh MOM’s actions comes several weeks before minister’s visit to new “up-market” dormitory’s opening In a press release on 25 March, the Ministry of Manpower said it conducted two nationwide operations on 16 foreign workers’ dormitories...
Was Minister Lui Tuck Yew confused by AIMs’ recommendations?
Mar. 25 | Andrew Loh Senior Minister of State (Information, Communication and the Arts) Lui Tuck Yew defended the Government’s amendments to the Films Act stoutly. He even described the changes as “significant liberalisation and change, and it will widen...
An affront to Singapore’s history
Mar. 24 | Andrew Loh / with contribution from Farquhar The changes to the Films Act, announced yesterday by the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP), is a vintage example of PAP doublespeak. In introducing the amendments Senior Minister of State for Information,...
Change has come to S’pore
Mar. 23 | Andrew Loh Tekka Mall is no more. It has been renamed “The Verge”. As I stood there watching the workers remove the old name and replacing it with the new one, I was saddened that yet another part of our heritage is being consigned to the memory...
Are childcare centres exploiting govt schemes?
Mar. 22 | Andrew Loh Fees for childcare services have been in the news lately. And it is no wonder why. Operators have either increased their charges or are thinking of doing so. These centres include not only privately-run ones but also those run by the PAP Community...
Good turnout at Gilbert Goh’s book launch
Mar. 10 | Andrew Loh Mr Gilbert Goh successfully launched his book, “How To Survive Unemployment”, at the Bishan Library last Sunday, 8 March. 70 people were there to give their support to the event. Among the audience was Mr Tan Kin Lian, the Guest Of...
Getting our hands dirty in the political blogosphere
Mar. 4 | The following is the personal view of the writer. It is not a TOC opinion or position. Andrew Loh I’ve just attended the seminar at the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS). It was held at the National University of Singapore Law Faculty. Titled, “Getting...
Making ends meet
Feb. 27 | Andrew Loh Along Serangoon Road, her fragile frame bends as she reaches into the trash bin. In Little India, the tiny woman with her hunched back draws nothing more than a few nonchalant passing stares. She had earlier emerged from a crowd of pedestrians,...
Moderating the Internet – lets hold the wild horses
Feb. 22 | Andrew Loh Each time the issue of moderating the Internet surfaces, I have images of wild horses running round, trampling on and destroying all in its wake, in some mad rush fueled by some invisible and unknown fear that not doing so will jeopardize...
Your money at work and the curious disappearing acts of the prime minister
Feb. 18 | Latest: The Government Gazette has revealed that changes have been made to polling districts. Such changes are part of the steps that need to be taken ahead of a General Election. (Straits Times) Andrew Loh “This is your money. You have a right...
Deliberations of President shrouded in mystery
Feb. 7 | Andrew Loh The question of how the President approved the Government’s request to use the reserves was brought up in Parliament by Mr Low Thia Khiang, secretary-general of the Workers’ Party. Charging that the President’s second key “unlocks automatically”...
Forgotten and forsaken
Jan. 30 | Story by Andrew Loh / Pictures by Mervin Lee & Kenneth Tham On 22 January, the Straits Times carried a report headlined, “Workers move out of Tagore dormitory”. It reported that the dormitory at 468 Tagore Industrial Avenue, which housed several...
Mohamed Kamaluddin
Jan. 21 | Andrew Loh (Additional reporting by Deborah Choo) *Visit Migrants Workers Singapore for consolidated news reports and articles about migrant workers. All that most Singaporeans know about Mohamed Kamaluddin, 28, is that he is the Bangladeshi worker...
“I hope Singapore government punish them”
Jan. 13 | Story by Andrew Loh / Pictures by Damien Chng “My wife crying, my mother crying, my father crying,” Delowar said to me when I asked him if he had told his family that he was returning to Bangladesh. “Everything I lost,” he added. “I...
Sent home with S$600
Jan. 9 | TOC’s special focus on foreign workers. Starting next Monday, TOC will devote the entire week to the plight of foreign workers in Singapore. We will bring you stories of the Chinese and Bangladeshi workers and how they are being denied their salaries,...
Empathy, where?
Jan. 7 | Andrew Loh Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Friday that the current downturn Singapore is facing is nothing quite like what the country has experienced before. Speaking to the Singapore media at the end of his visit to Latin America,...
The opposition in 2009 – time to get united
Jan. 1 | Andrew Loh / Opinion First, let me say that this article is not any in-depth analysis. It is just my personal views on what may happen – and what I hope will happen – in 2009 as far as the political parties are concerned. As with many Singaporeans,...
A look back on things said in 2008 (Update: 8)
Dec. 30 | As the year comes to a close, we look back on some of the more memorable things that were said in 2008. The situation looks a lot gloomier now than when they went in but these are long-term investments. It looks under water now, but the situation...
Mainstream media going downstream: PN Balji
Dec. 22 | Andrew Loh Former Chief Executive Officer and Editor-in-Chief of the Today newspaper, said that he sometimes “shuddered looking at some of the stories that are displayed” in the Singapore papers. Comparing the local papers to the Financial Times,...
Sinking funds: From $1 billion in 2007 to $2 billion in 2008
Dec. 21 | Andrew Loh On 2 December 2007, the Straits Times reported a new rule that caps how much town councils can put into higher-risk investments. In the report, it said: This new rule… applies to more than $1 billion in sinking funds managed by the 16...
