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From the Political Desk
The pioneers of Hougang
May. 24 | ~ By Herman Yzelman ~ I am 60 years old now and watching this by-election brings me memories of my involvement with Hougang from 1988 to 1994. I have retired from politics since and now I lead a private and quiet life. I was inspired by Mr J....
‘Marxist Conspiracy’ and the Hougang by-election
May. 23 | By Ravi Philemon - "Avenues of dissent are being blocked in Singapore as a new generation of hand-picked leaders, one of them Mr. Lee's son, Brig. Gen. Lee Hsien Loong, move into place. With general elections expected to be called within a year,...
ISA’s scar on Singaporean society
May. 21 | By Dr James Gomez - The ISA has scared Singaporean society at three fundamental levels. At the first level it has scared the individuals directly arrested and detained. Years after their release, almost all remain traumatized and psychological...
A Reprehensible History: The Internal Security Act
May. 21 | By Dr. Vincent Wijeysingha - The Emergency Regulations Ordinance, enacted in July 1948, allowed the police to arrest without evidence or warrant anybody suspected of having acted “or being likely to act” in a way that would endanger national...
The Hougang Divide
May. 18 | By Ghui - Recent events have given Singaporeans an opportunity to make up for lost time in the exercise of their democratic rights. From having virtually no opportunities to head to the polling station, Singaporeans now find themselves in the throes...
Hougang By Elections Nomination Day vBlog
May. 16 | By Terry Xu - It will be a straight fight between Desmond Choo of PAP, 34 vs Png Hng Kiat of WP, 50 in the Hougang by elections. Polling day will be on the 26th May 2012. ALSO SEE Desmond Choo & Png Eng Huat Factsheet This...
Desmond Choo & Png Eng Huat Factsheet
May. 16 | ~ By Howard Lee ~ Desmond Choo Pey Ching 朱倍庆 Png Eng Huat 方荣发 Age: 34 Age: 50 Party affiliation: People’s Action Party Party affiliation: Workers’ Party Highest education qualification: Bachelor of...
In Focus: Eric Tan
May. 15 | ~ By Kumaran Pillai ~ Mr Eric Tan, a seasoned opposition politician in Singapore. He served on the CEC of the Workers’ Party from 2001 to 2011. He left the Workers’ Party soon after the general elections in 2011 to pursue his other interests...
Discrimination alleged in WP resignation
May. 14 | Press Statement by Sajeev Kamalasanan on Resignation from The Workers’ Party May 13, 2012 With immediate effect, I regret to announce my resignation as a member of The Workers’ Party (WP). The reason for my resignation is my dissatisfaction...
Madam Vallema will have her Day in Court
May. 13 | ~ By Cheong Yaoming ~ In light of the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) response from The Straits Times article (12th May 2012, 'Bid for open court hearing withdrawn'), Madam Vellama has decided to press on with her lawsuit. This...
All eyes will be on Hougang – the lightning rod of the nation
May. 11 | ~ By Jen ~ Singaporeans living in the Tanjong Pagar GRC must be turning green with envy upon hearing that Hougang residents will get to vote again for what may seem like the umpteen time in Singapore’s arid political landscape. The sudden announcement...
WP Focuses on Upgrading Hougang, Transport and Elderly Services
May. 10 | ~By Yaoming ~ Mr Low Thia Kiang addressed the press conference with this statement in English and Mandarin: The election slogan for GE 2011 and the party philosophy has been "Working Towards a First World Parliament". Transparency and...
Hougang by-election: An occasion for opposition unity
May. 10 | Press statement issued by Tan Jee Say I welcome the Prime Minister's decision to call for a by-election in Hougang. In addition to allowing the people of Hougang to be represented in Parliament, the Hougang by-election has...
Who’s telling the truth about HDB flat sizes?
May. 10 | ~ by Ng E-Jay ~ So, who is really telling the truth about HDB flat sizes? On 26 November 2011, the Straits Times published an article, “Shrinking HDB flats due to need to maximise land and to adapt“. The article stated that according to HDB,...
The ISA – A tool of our colonial masters used against law abiding citizens
May. 8 | By the organising committee of 'That we may dream again: Remembering the 1987 'Marxist Conspiracy' The Internal Security Act or the ISA as it is notoriously known, is the most unjust and intimidating law enacted during peace...
The SPP – After Potong Pasir
May. 7 | A “GE2011 One Year On” special report ~ By Benjamin Cheah ~ In the 2011 General Elections, Chiam See Tong made his biggest gamble. The veteran politician ventured out of the traditional Singapore People’s Party (SPP) stronghold of Potong...
The PAP – facing its new mandate
May. 7 | A “GE2011 One Year On” special report ~ By Ghui ~ Pre GE 2011, the political landscape in Singapore has been virtually static since the 60s. The PAP dominated the scene and it was a forgone conclusion that they would win every election. Of...
Tan Jee Say: PAP has become incompetent
May. 5 | ~ By Tan Jee Say ~ I was a guest speaker at the dinner of Rotary Club Jurong Town on 24 April 2012. I shared with Club members what I thought should be the focus of Singapore politics going forward. The pre-occupation of opposition parties thus...
Media freedom – a bid for trust in policy making
May. 3 | ~ By Howard Lee ~ As Singaporeans – or perhaps only those who go online – we would be familiar with the usual lines of “the government restricts media freedom”, or “the press is controlled in Singapore”, or “the...
The uncanny wisdom of population augmentation
May. 3 | ~ By Howard Lee ~ Something felt wrong about the latest suggestion by the National Population and Talent Division, when it projected that new citizenships need to be given out at 1.4 times faster than the current rate in order to maintain "population...
In focus: Vincent Wijeysingha
May. 2 | ~ By Kumaran Pillai ~ In an exclusive interview with TOC, Dr Vincent Wijeysingha lets his hair down and speaks candidly about himself, his outlook, his beliefs and he has a message to his supporters and well-wishers. He was grinning ear to ear especially...
James Gomez: PAP is in policy inertia
May. 1 | ~ By Kumaran Pillai ~ 1st May 2012 – The Singapore Democratic Party was in general elections mode today. For the 1st time in the history of SDP and possibly a first for an opposition party, the SDP has organized an elaborate May Day Rally for Singaporean...
Malaysia: Authorities must immediately investigate police brutality at Bersih rally
May. 1 | The following is a press release from Amnesty International The Malaysian government must immediately order an independent and efficient investigation into police brutality against peaceful protestors at the Bersih 3.0 march for electoral reforms in Kuala...
May Day message from Chiam See Tong
May. 1 | MEDIA RELEASE My fellow Singaporeans, A happy May Day to all of you! I want to take this opportunity to pay tribute to all Singaporean workers – your hard work is the reason that our country has grown by leaps and bounds over the years. I want to...
SDP’s Dr Juwita Rahmat speaks about her political journey
Apr. 30 | ~ By Kumaran Pillai ~ A fresh new political talent has emerged from the ranks of the Singapore Democratic Party. Dr Juwita Rahmat, a 33 year old researcher with a local institution decides to follow the footsteps of what so many female political figures...
Show us you mean business
Apr. 29 | ~ By Siew Kum Hong ~ There's been a lot of talk about the Government's proposal for an online code of conduct, and last Thursday the Institute of Public Studies organised a closed-door discussion on the topic. It was conducted under the Chatham...
Dr. Chee should be permitted to attend the Oslo Freedom Forum
Apr. 28 | ~ By Ghui ~ The concept of human rights sits uncomfortably with Singaporeans. As a country, we have oft been accused of being economical with press freedom, freedom of speech and the like. These allegations have no doubt caused Singaporeans to become...
Another Government Investment Goes Belly Up!
Apr. 26 | ~ By Kumaran Pillai ~ Ireland's former state telecom operator eircom applied for court protection to allow it to restructure its 3.75 billion euro (US$5 billion) debt mountain. A move eircoms officials said was "necessary and unavoidable"...
The government’s knee-jerk reaction to wage proposals
Apr. 23 | ~ By Gordon Lee ~ Last week, Professor Lim Chong Yah gave a public lecture in which he proposed a 50% rise in income for workers earning under $1500 a month – 15% in each of the first two years, and 20% in the 3rd year.1 Almost automatically, members...
Chiam See Tong: Government treats CPF as a business
Apr. 22 | ~ By Kumaran Pillai ~ I had to make a quick stopover after lunch to cover the launch of SPP’s Financial Literacy Awareness Programme. I only planned to be there for 30 minutes to grab their standard press release and make a quick exit so that I...
Increased political competition raises the bar for the ruling party
Apr. 21 | ~ By Dr Chee Soon Juan ~ The SDP National Healthcare Plan has received many praises. Some of these have come from the establishment, many of whom indicated that the plan is worthy of serious consideration. Unfortunately, these folks have not come out...
Public Forum and Launch of the SPP Financial Literacy Awareness Programme
Apr. 19 | MEDIA RELEASE The Singapore People’s Party (SPP) will launch its Financial Literacy Awareness Programme at a public forum on 21 April 2012, Saturday, 3pm, at its party headquarters (1 Siang Kuang Road, Singapore 347919 [Sennett Estate]). Mr...
Understanding the people’s problems
Apr. 19 | ~ By Dr Wong Wee Nam ~ There is nothing wrong for someone to look at his Central Provident Fund (CPF) statement and feel he is rich. It only sounds a bit out of place when it is made during a time of great income disparity and where workers, without...
How long more will NTUC short-change Singaporean workers?
Apr. 18 | ~ By Tan Jee Say ~ I am glad Prof Lim has clarified that his "wage shock therapy" is intended to restore half of the wage increase that Singapore workers would have got if not for the "unlimited influx of cheap foreign labour" into...
Public Consultation – the next step in Singapore’s democracy
Apr. 16 | ~ By Eddy Blaxell ~ The biggest message of the Bukit Brown campaign has nothing to do with cemeteries, highways, heritage or development. It is about Singaporeans’ right to participate in their own political processes, to have their views heard,...
Stop the rhetoric and add real value to lower-end jobs
Apr. 15 | ~ By Martin Gabriel ~ It was a rather surprising to read the media reports of Professor Lim Chong Yah, who chaired the National Wages Council from 1972 – 2001, advocating 'shock therapy' in Singapore’s wage system ("Professor's...
NSP on the Safety of Public Transport
Apr. 14 | MEDIA RELEASE ~ National Solidarity Party’s Letter to the Ministry of Transport Regarding Recent Casualties of Public Transport ~ The National Solidarity Party (NSP) requests accountability from the Ministry of Transport over the spate of public...
Disassembling GRC system benefits PAP (Part 3 of 3)
Apr. 11 | ~ By Shiwen Yap ~ In Part 1 of this series published yesterday, I argued on the deficit of the GRC System and how the model weakens the voting power of constituents, weakens the relationship between the voter and their MP, entrenches and encourages and...
Gerald Giam: Improving the energy performance of companies will make them more competitive in the global economy
Apr. 10 | The following is Gerald Giam's parliamentary speech on the 9th April 2011. Mr Speaker, As an industrialised economy which consumes its fair share of energy, Singapore must play its part to reduce its carbon footprint and combat climate change. One...
NCMP Mrs Lina Chiam: Parliamentary speeches for second reading of bills (9 April 2012)
Apr. 9 | Energy Conservation Bill [Bill No. 8/2012] – (Minister for the Environment and Water Resources) Mr Speaker sir The Energy Conservation Bill is a good move that will enable the Government to monitor energy consumption and...
Government must adopt mindset of ‘servant leadership’
Apr. 9 | ~ By Ng E-Jay ~ A few days ago in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that his government has changed the way it engages the electorate in determining policy outcomes. Describing it as a “two-way” process in which both...
Disassembling GRC system benefits PAP (Part 1 of 3)
Apr. 9 | ~ By Shiwen Yap ~ The term GRC (Group Representation Constituency) denotes a constituency and an electoral division within Singapore, where MPs are voted in as a group, with the voters choosing on a party rather than an individual basis. The primary reasoning...
Xenophobia and hypocrisy
Apr. 8 | ~ By Gordon Lee ~ Lee Kuan Yew and the PAP he founded do not like taking lectures from others. In fact, he despises foreign “meddling” in Singapore’s politics, criticises them for doing so, curtailed the distribution of certain papers...
DPM Tharman: We took incumbency too much for granted and were bit too in-your-face
Apr. 7 | ~ By Kumaran Pillai ~ That’s right, Mr Minister! In fact, I think the words ‘too much’ should be replaced by ‘totally’ and in the past, PAP was annoyingly in-our-face. It seems that the post GE2011 period is a time of reckoning...
AGC appeals against decision in by-election case
Apr. 4 | ~ By Gangasudhan ~ The Attorney-General has just filed a Notice of Appeal against "whole of the Honourable Justice Phillip Pillai’s decision on 3 April 2012" and is also additionally seeking for the "appeal to be heard on an expedited...
Singapore Policy Approach: The search for a new sensible
Apr. 2 | ~ By Eugene Lim ~ I was decked out in my Saturday’s best and heading to the launch of the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) National Health Care Plan at Peninsula-Excelsior Hotel. As I arrived at the Orchid Room, I could not help but feel disappointed....
ASEAN Governments reluctant to embrace region’s diverse civil society
Apr. 2 | ~ By Dr James Gomez ~ Although civil society engagement with ASEAN has deepened over the years, its governments are still reluctant to fully embrace the region’s diverse people’s movement, opting for “selective” engagement. This...
Will multi-party by-election in Hougang increase choice?
Mar. 29 | ~ By Gordon Lee ~ On the face of it, having more parties appear on the ballot paper increases voter “choice” by giving voters a more varied slate of candidates to choose from. Indeed, there could be some previous PAP-voter who would like to...
Petain Road name change would open floodgates
Mar. 28 | ~ By Narayana Narayana ~ Prof Tommy Koh' posted a commentary "Should Petain Road be renamed":in the Straits Times of March 20 2012. It must seem rather ironic that the learned Prof Koh is Honorary Chairman of the National Heritage...
