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Citizen Speak
Energy efficiency: what is NEA’s role?
Apr. 5 | By Shawn Lim Global warming and climate change are among two of the major challenges that Singapore faces today. Many studies have shown that the higher concentration of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere, particularly carbon dioxide, is the primary...
The language divide
Mar. 6 | By Yini Chua Step into any ACS school, and you would be hard-pressed to find anyone conversing in Mandarin. As an alumnus aptly articulated, the surest way of gaining notoriety is to ‘get a loudhailer and start singing Chinese songs at the top of...
Anti-Death Penalty in Singapore
Mar. 4 | One reader reflects on the situation in Singapore. Yong Vui Kong’s appeal is going before the Court of Appeal this March. It seems that Singapore cyberspace is pretty much silent on the issue but a few interesting points in the death penalty debate...
30 minutes that changed the people’s lives
Mar. 3 | By Ajax Copperwater On 1st January 1982, Singapore celebrated the New Year 30 minutes earlier because of a decision by the PAP government to move the time in sync with Malaysia’s for political and economic reasons. Of course, the move to change...
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...
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...
Town Councils – irresponsible to continue ignoring corridor clutter
Feb. 9 | Letter to TOC: by Phillip Ang From: phillip ang Date: Mon, Feb 8, 2010 at 9:19 PM Subject: Town Councils – irresponsible to continue ignoring corridor clutter 20100208 To: mailto: mah_bow_tan@mnd.gov.sg Cc: lchertan@singnet.com.sg, Rosita_chow@prpg-tc.org.sg,...
Jobstreet – Jobs for foreigners
Feb. 4 | Letter to TOC by: Andrew Michael Teo Hi, I had just visited the Jobstreet website and I was astonished to see many of the jobs which can be performed by our very local PMETs are being DIRECTLY TO FOREIGNERS by DIRECT EMPLOYERS and Recruitment Agencies. I...
Help the singles with affordable housing
Feb. 2 | Letter to TOC by: Joseph Ang Under the existing HDB policy, singles are not allowed to buy or rent flats directly from the Housing and Development Board (HDB), unless they partner with another single person and apply under the joint-singles scheme. In...
Government should use free software
Apr. 24 | By Koh Choon Lin The Government is increasingly dependent on computer software to operate. Singaporeans access important services like SingPass via the Internet, leading the makers of software exerting substantial control over how the Government operates. Most...
Danish citizen responds to MM Lee’s “mediocre government” comment
Apr. 23 | A Danish citizen, Mr. Gregory Glen, responds to MM Lee’s remarks that Denmark, Finland and Switzerland can afford mediocrity in the remuneration of their ministers. This is an extract from the blog, This Lush Garden Within. I read with interest Mentor...
Danger when simplistic benchmarks influence the wrong behaviours
Apr. 12 | This is filed under “Letters to TOC”. From “boboshooter” I would like to add to the discussions and debates regarding the latest round of ministerial and civil service pay increases. Firstly I applaud our Prime Minister for taking...
Ministers’ Salaries – is the government losing touch?
Apr. 9 | By Leong Sze Hian I refer to the increase in ministerial pay. Before the increase, political appointment holders take home $ 46 million in total a year, which is only 0.13 per cent of total Government expenditure, or 0.022 per cent of Singapore’s Gross...
Be mindful of the affective gap
Apr. 5 | From The Straits Times, April 5th, 2007 By Catherine Lim I HAVE followed with intense interest the current debate on increasing ministerial salaries to match those of the highest earners in the private sector. And I have noted the impassioned arguments...
SMA’s guidelines withdrawal – patients now have less protection
Apr. 3 | Extracts from Dr Huang’s blog No Fear Singapore “Singapore, April 2, 2007 – The Singapore Medical Association (SMA) announced at its Annual General Meeting on April 1, 2007 that the Association is withdrawing its Guideline of Fees (GOF)...
Abusing maids – again
Apr. 1 | The report in the Straits Times (31 march, 2007) titled “Some maids found to be under-fed by employers” is troubling. It leaves one wondering why and how anyone could do this to a fellow human being. In the report, it says that some maids get...
PAP and the people: A return of disaffection? – Revisited
Mar. 28 | Extract of Catherine Lim’s article titled “PAP and the people: A return of disaffection?” Ms Lim touched on the issue of ministerial salaries in this article. This was published in the Straits Times, Aug 26, 2000 FIVE years ago, I wrote an article...
Proud to be Singaporean?
Mar. 20 | From New Sintercom The government has been attracting foreign workers, especially the highly skilled ones, to work and settle in Singapore. It has also urged Singaporeans to accept these foreigners as one of them. The given reasons being needs these workers...
A closer look at Budget 2007
Mar. 6 | By Edmund The budget statement debate concluded last Thursday. This article ponders over some issues raised as well as those which were not. How is the government financing the budget deficit? In my previous article I mentioned that given the constitutional...
The language of our forefathers – are we missing something?
Feb. 28 | By Zyberzitizen It’s been decades since we were urged to “Speak Mandarin” by the government, instead of speaking our dialects. I’ve never agreed with this policy. This is because I find our dialects fascinating and beautiful. But more than that,...
Global City – Reviving the Singapore Spirit
Feb. 24 | By Eddie Choo The Integrated Resorts in Marina Bay and Sentosa, 7% GST, Baby Bonus, parades, charades, CPF adjustments, so on… The list isn’t exhaustive, and it grows with every year, as the government implements new measures ‘to adjust to the challenges...
After the hanging…. some reflection….
Feb. 2 | By zyberzitizen The hanging of Nigerian Iwuchukwu Amara Tochi has, no doubt, thrown up many issues which we should be looking at. This article is not about the merits or demerits of Tochi’s hanging. Sadly, his hanging is already done and there...
Why we ought not to have a mandatory death penalty…
Jan. 28 | Excerpted from Kitana’s blog here. My father and B are both of the opinion tt I am sometimes too emotional for my own good. I feel sadness too easily. I’d only attended one judgment for a murder trial, and during tt trial the holding had been...
Complicity in the senseless murder of a young boy
Jan. 27 | By Zyberzitizen Iwuchukwu Amara Tochi. Will we remember him – or even his name? Will it matter to us? Does it matter to us? Why should we care about a Nigerian who is convicted of trafficking drugs? Why should we care about him who is now dead –...
The perils of serving
Jan. 8 | By Marilyn Lai Hospital Tales was very much inspired by one of my favourite blogs, Waiter Rant, and i have to admit that i used to wonder if all his stories were completely true. But after working in XYZ Hospital for more than a month… *bows head...
Review – GE 2006 & The Internet
Dec. 30 | By Charissa. Once again, we are at the dawn of a new year. It is that time of the year for some reflections. 2006 has been an eventful year for Singapore and us Singaporeans. So many things happened that I find it impossible to cover them all. Thus I...
Jurong Island Theft: 100kg of Jet fuel additive stolen.
Dec. 30 | By Bernard I was shocked to see this piece of news in The New Paper and in TODAY (29th December 2006). It is reported that thieves had made off with 100kg of Stadis 450, a jet fuel additive. Stadis 450 is classified as a flammable liquid and hazardous...
Self-regulation of Singapore Blogosphere- Whatever for??
Dec. 18 | By Dr Huang Shoou Chyuan Dear Friends, Although I have great admiration for people like Yadav, Bernard Leong, Aaron and Gerald, I must come out to confess that I am totally against the idea of self-regulation to our blogosphere. The blogosphere as we...
A kindness revolution
Dec. 14 | By Cobalt Paladin Monday, 27 November, 2006 During the nation building years, 41 years ago to be exact, the needs of the people were different. During the turbulent years, the people were looking for food, job, housing, social and economic stability....
