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How’s the economy doing? Watch PM’s shirt colour.
Aug. 19 | Anyone noticed the grey shirt that Prime Minister Lee wore at his National Day Rally? Last year he wore pink. Last night, he wore grey. Could it be because of the state of the economy? When the economy was doing well – “a golden era”, as MM Lee...
Have suggestions for the Govt?
Aug. 12 | The following is a tongue-in-cheek (maybe) idea from Jack Sim, founder and director of the World Toilet Organisation, on how to “facilitate innovative suggestions and avoid any misunderstanding with the Government”. Jack Sim reportedly once said:...
Our Flag, Our Anthem, Our Pledge… Our Country.
Aug. 1 | Enjoy the following short video… Our Flag, Our Anthem, Our Pledge… Our Country.
TOC hosts thank-you bbq
Jul. 6 | TOC celebrated our 1 million hits milestone by hosting a BBQ at East Coast Park for our friends and writers. More than 30 people dropped by to feast on chicken wings, sausages, beers and satay. The crowd was a great mix of individuals from across...
公路电子收费，上！新加坡梦，破灭！
Jun. 25 | ●朱正熙 一次有关公路电子收费上涨的调侃。 如果你生来迷信，一个在中央商业区足足有五米直径的地陷，应该不是工程过失那么简单吧？它就发生在有关部门宣布有5处的新闸门将在7月7日起启用，使全岛闸门的总数增加到令人咋舌的65个。 ...
Letter to TOC
Jun. 15 | Letter from a Mr Ng. My friend (who is single, unemployed and illiterate) wanted to rent out one room in her HDB flat after her retrenchment in January this year as a source of income, since being single, she stayed with her niece most of the times....
医疗费用大增，为何保健基金的支出却下降?
Jun. 2 | 梁子贤 我针对报章的《11月通膨率达4.2%，创25年新高》（海峡时报，12月25日）和新闻报道“新加坡11月份消费指数年比提高到4.2%”（亚洲新闻台，12月24日）。 比起其他的费用，医疗费用的通膨居首是6.2%，其次是交通和通讯5.6%，其余才是4.2%。 消费者物价指数——一个非核心物品和服务收费的测量——继10月份的3.6%后，又攀到4.2%的水平。 既然医疗费用的通膨是最高的，那么像保健基金这类对穷人的援助是否也水涨船高呢？
工会、新闻媒体以及人民
May. 20 | Leong Sze Hian and Choo Zheng Xi 让国人吃……洗洁剂？ 让媒体报道洗洁剂的价格，是不是凸显了一个更深沉的利益冲突，足以危害这个国家呢？ 久不久我们都能在《新报》找到智慧的珠粒。Larry Havekamp...
I knew because he told me
May. 19 | From The New Paper NEWS that Workers’ Party (WP) candidate Yaw Shin Leong voted for Dr Teo Ho Pin came as no surprise to the People’s Action Party (PAP) MP himself. Dr Teo, Mayor of the North West district, had known that WP candidate Yaw...
The Unions, the Press and the People
May. 14 | Leong Sze Hian & Choo Zheng Xi Let the people eat…detergent? Does the media’s reporting of detergent prices reveal a deeper conflict of interest that may harm the country? Once in awhile pearls of wisdom are found in The New Paper. Larry Havekamp...
Letter to ST Forum
May. 13 | The following is a letter by Ng E Jay which was published by the Straits Times, May 14, 2008. Internet should not be subject to the law over and above those that apply in real life I AM one of the 13 bloggers who submitted proposals for Internet freedom...
Does S’pore deserve its press ranking?
May. 13 | Terence Lee In a 2008 survey by Freedom House, Singapore has shown no improvement in its freedom of the press, despite the maturing of online media as a medium to air alternative views. The latest results reveal nothing new: much has already been said...
Give credit where credit is due, Andy
May. 9 | Andrew Loh A recent public forum about youth concerns raised the issue of lowering the voting age to 18. ——— Perhaps a post-1965 Member of Parliament might initiate the debate to enfranchise these trustees of our posterity. - Andy Ho,...
高薪揽才——出了差错怎么办？
May. 6 | “如果你想有好人在政府里面，你就得付他们与私人企业界相等的薪酬。” 这是我们经常被耳提面命的——训话的包括总理、部长，行动党议员、本地媒体和一些新加坡人。 这是一个基于供需原理的辩解——人才的供应和需求。同时他们也说新加坡只有小小三四百万人口，人才往往是供不应求的。 所以公共服务领域只好撒钱来跟私人企业界竞争。 然而政府似乎没有注意到这个思维的一些盲点：就是认为私企界都是些见钱眼开的人。 其实，最近这第二轮部长加薪，比起上一轮更为凸显这个盲点。公务员，特别是部长们，个个都是在拼老命为自己抓钱。 还有谁愿意出来奉献？ 我们应该问的问题是：如果公务员都是些图利者，哪还会有谁愿意出来奉献？一个普通的新加坡人，诚实且具备才能，愿意同流合污来饱尝公众鄙视的眼光吗？他或她只要一站出来，马上就会被人评头论足，这些细声议论不只是来自陌生人，可能还包括朋友跟亲人哦！ 的确，我们只要回顾历届的大选和总统选举，找候选人实在是大难题。即使是人民行动党，具备了所有的资源和优势，还是面对有才干人士不肯挺身出来的尴尬，更何况一无所有的反对党。 纳丹总统已经是两届在毫无对手的情况下就任，为什么会搞到这样呢？难道我们真的是没有人才可以出来，还是有才干的人士不希望被公众视为“见钱眼开”呢？ 要符合总统候选人的标准有很严苛的要求，能够跻身这个水平的人需要用金钱的诱惑来吸引他们、留住他们吗？ 反效果 把当总统量化成私企界同等收入水平这个公式，肯定是具反效果的；那些具备才能的人会拂袖而去，而且把这样的计算当成极大的侮辱。 谁要做个四百万总统，然后让亲朋好友、国人看笑话，认为这个人到了人生的最后阶段仍然对钱财放不开？——更糟的是，把一生建立起来的清誉毁于一旦。 由此，我们是不是可以看清楚，很多这类诚实、能干和睿智的国人都回避公共服务，因为他们耻于成为世界第一高薪公务员。 看看这个： 总统在一届任期内总共获得2千100万元。以下是纳丹总统在他第二届六年任期的粗略所得： 2006...
Singaporean activists mark World Press Freedom Day 2008
May. 4 | To mark World Press Freedom Day 2008, a group of Singaporean independent activists held a demonstration outside the Singapore Press Holdings’ News Centre building on May 3. Below is the group’s message explaining the purpose of their demonstration. WORLD...
Demonising the Internet – and bloggers
Apr. 28 | Andrew Loh With so many shenanigans and so much bad press, is it any wonder that bloggers here are gaining a reputation as irresponsible netizens? The above quote is from Clarence Chang of The New Paper in an article titled, “Why are S’pore bloggers...
TOC Editorial: ST’s Mas Selamat coverage bad for the ST, worse for Singapore
Apr. 24 | Editorial “If it is determined there was only one weak link, at junior escort level, then the people should stop carping about why it is usually small fish that get fried.” - Straits Times, April 24, Page 23, “Were failings systemic?”. The...
To all sports fans
Mar. 25 | Lea Yi-Long This letter is written with regards to Singtel securing the broadcasting rights for the UEFA Champions League for the next three seasons. Although details are yet to be released, it is quite obvious that football fans will be forced to subscribe...
Civic participation serves to strengthen governance
Mar. 5 | This is a letter written by Tan Rong Jin Timothy, and was sent to the Straits Times. TOC thanks Timothy for allowing us to publish it here. I read the letter by Mr Chua Sheng Yang with great interest. (“Demos at Speakers’ Corner? No, they...
Lawyers petition Law Society of Singapore
Dec. 10 | Below is the letter which was delivered to the Law Society of Singapore earlier today by several local lawyers. (Watch the video at the end of the letter.) President The Law Society of Singapore 39 South Bridge Road Singapore 058673 HUMAN RIGHTS...
Uniquely Singapore, F1 or F9: “Residents willing to pay more for service and conservancy”?
Dec. 2 | By Leong Sze Hian and Andrew Loh The following article was first published here in TOC on the 2nd of Oct 2007. The Straits Times has a report titled “New rule to safeguard council funds“, December 2nd 2007, which addresses some of the issues...
NMP’s views at odds with AIDS relief research paper
Oct. 27 | By Jinesh Lalwani and Choo Zheng Xi Safe sex awareness pamphlets censored as pornography. Information booths closed down for distributing “illegal” content. Awareness outreach funding stifled by choking off of charity fundraisers by homosexual groups. The...
Government using hyperbole to justify public protests ban
Oct. 26 | By Gerald Giam The Singapore Government has once again employed the use of hyperbole to justify its near-total ban on public demonstrations, whether peaceful or not. In his letter to the Straits Times and TODAY, the deputy director at the Ministry of...
TOC Feature: 377A – To prevent what harm?
Oct. 10 | By Michael Hor Curiously, the Penal Code (Amendment) Bill of 2007, proclaimed as the result of only the second comprehensive review of Singapore’s 136 year old criminal code, is likely to be remembered more for what it did not do than for what it did....
Chee Soon Juan’s ‘exploitation’ of the Burma situation?
Oct. 6 | This is a letter sent to TOC. The writer wishes to remain anonymous. Recently, a few people have complained that Chee Soon Juan was exploiting the Burmese situation to make a political point. Here’s one typical interpretation of the petition he...
Is compulsory Longevity Insurance necessary?
Sep. 21 | SUMMARY (in italics, by Yeo Toon Joo, Peter): Contrary to the Manpower Minister’s protestations in parliament over CPF’s poor rates of return to members and the unpopular proposed longevity insurance scheme, the Government, if it so inclines, can...
3rd World Savings, 1st World Cost of Living
Sep. 4 | This is a letter from Jason, one of our readers. It has been argued strongly that elderly Singaporeans are not saving enough, despite the CPF scheme. This is hardly surprising. The CPF was introduced in 1955 when Singapore was a Third World colony. Our...
Unanswered questions about CPF changes
Aug. 24 | By Leong Sze Hian This is in reference to media reports that the CPF Special, Retirement and Medisave accounts’ rates will be modified next year. The question that may be in every Singaporean’s mind is whether the peg to “an appropriate...
Raising retirement age
Jul. 19 | This is a letter from one of our visitors, Siew91. The Singapore government’s rationale to raise the retirement age of Singapore workers to 62 years of age is because we live longer and many of us might not have enough money to retire. While this...
Where is the basic common decency?
Jun. 12 | This is filed under Letters To TOC By Zyberzitizen It is mindboggling, at least to me, that someone can be dismissed without being treated with very basic decency and courtesy. Yes, I am referring to the MOE’s dismissal of poet/playwright Alfian Sa’at...
Myanmar regime belongs in the dog house
Jun. 6 | By Gerald Giam The extension of Myanmar’s pro-democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s imprisonment on 27 May 2007 was a widely expected move by the country’s military government which has already kept her under detention for most of...
Artificial Dynamism?
May. 7 | By Ned Stark “It’s not possible for us to be hermetically sealed and to close out to the world, and this is just a jewel box by itself because our people travel, millions of people come to Singapore, and even if you don’t travel, you’re...
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...
The First Tier of The First World: Beyond the Bottom Line
Apr. 6 | By Leong Sze Hian & Choo Zheng Xi Like a responsible board of directors, we may have been constantly keeping our eyes on the bottom line, obsessing over the most cost efficient solutions to build up the solidly reliable Singapore Brand. Perhaps, keeping...
Questionable benchmarking formula
Apr. 6 | This is filed under “Letters To TOC”. Firstly, I cannot understand or accept the PM’s and MM’s logic or rationale for the incredible pay hike for our cabinet ministers. Why do they want us to believe that our cabinet ministers are that...
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...
Homeless in our twilight years
Apr. 4 | This is a letter from lilydaam which was posted under our “Submission Policy” section. The details of the letter’s content have not been verified by theonlinecitizen. It is posted here for further discussion and not as validation of...
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...
Why’re we like that?
Mar. 27 | By Zyberzitizen It is quite depressing to hear what has been said lately – by government officials and some others – about how so many are leaving the civil service, how we must essentially seduce them with money, and how much exactly (down to the...
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,...
MP Ho Geok Choo & the “Politics of Envy” Revisited
Feb. 26 | By Singapore Kopi Tok Peering at the storm around Singapore recently, is it all about envy? MP Ho Geok Choo’s question in Parliament on 12.2.2007 about the “Politics of Envy” attracted reactions both domestically and in the region. From...
