Singapore has an independent judiciary

The following letter by the press secretary to the Minister for Law was published in the Wall Street Journal on 23 July.

Your editorial “Judging Singapore’s Judiciary” (July 15) perpetuates the baseless allegations and errors of fact in the Report of the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute.

The IBA Human Rights Institute’s criticism of Singapore’s judiciary is contradicted by the International Bar Association itself. Last year, IBA President Fernando Pombo said publicly that Singapore “has an outstanding legal profession, an outstanding judiciary, an outstanding academical world in relation to the law.” You have suppressed this, and instead attributed the IBA Human Rights Institute’s criticisms to the IBA, when the IBA President had stated the very opposite!

You also repeat the vague allegations in the Institute’s Report that defamation suits involving the ruling party lack “impartiality and/or independence.” The decisions of the Courts in these cases are matters of public record, and anyone questioning the verdicts can analyze and examine the decisions properly. Yet the Report contains nothing to back these claims. Read more

I am a patriot

As our Day of Independence, or National Day, approaches, we reflect on the meaning and relevance of being patriots of our country.

Too often, patriotism is either dismissed as something which is abstract and irrelevant in this pragmatic and materialistic society of ours, or as something which the State defines and uses as a ploy for its own aims and goals.

Too often, here in Singapore, patriotism is defined as adherence to the law, or to the Government’s dictates. Step outside these demarcated lines and you risk being portrayed as or accused of being ‘unpatriotic’.

What is patriotism?

Who defines what patriotism is?

Does it hold any meaning for you?

Is it important to be a patriot?

Indeed, is it even necessary? Read more

The “YouTube style of politics” in S’pore?

On 4 July 2008, Channel NewsAsia reported:

Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports Vivian Balakrishnan has said the Internet will change the way politics is conducted, and the challenge now is how to engage with what he called the “YouTube generation”.

Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Community, Youth and Sports, was reported to have said:

I think we will get into the ‘YouTube’ style of politics, which means it’s multimedia. It’s no longer enough to just talk, you must have moving images, you must have sound, you must have music.

And if it makes an impact, you will get millions of hits. And if it’s true but boring, without multimedia, then no one’s going to watch it. (CNA)

What are your views on this? Is the People’s Action Party or the Government ready to allow political films or political / election campaigning involving multimedia? If so, what impact will this have on election results – for both the ruling PAP and the opposition parties?

Video excerpt of Vivian Balakrishnan’s speech (English part of speech included):

Please discuss.

Read also: “Stolen star shines an unflattering light” by Alex Au.

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Is MM Lee playing the same old record?

The army would have to be called in if there is a ‘freak election result’. Singaporeans need a ‘good dose of incompetent government’. If we had an alternative in government ‘our women will become maids in other people’s countries’. Singaporeans are ‘complacent’ for allowing an alleged terrorist to escape. Vote in the opposition and you ‘can ruin this place’. ‘There is a conspiracy to do us in’.

Is Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew trying to create fear, or anxiety, among Singaporeans? Does what he says deserve serious consideration? Or is he ‘playing the same old record’?

Without the elected president and if there is a freak result, within two or three years, the army would have to come in and stop it. (Reuters, 16 Sep 06)

You know, the cure for all this talk is really a good dose of incompetent government. You get that alternative and you’ll never put Singapore together again: Humpty Dumpty cannot be put together again…and your asset values will be in peril, your security will be at risk and our women will become maids in other people’s countries, foreign workers. (Justifying pay hikes for Singapore ministers, The Straits Times, 5 April 2007) Read more

Students’ and bloggers’ reaction to Vivian Balakrishnan’s RI Lecture

Minister for Community, Youth and Sports (MCYS), Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, gave a speech at the 7^th Raffles Institution (RI) Lecture. The following are some reactions from bloggers and students who were there at the event.

Life Is Time Consuming – The RI Lecture – Freedom of speech!

I really, really wanted to ask a question but the lady said my question wasn’t specific. Sigh, should take pen and paper to next year’s RI Lecture so that I can remember the good questions I think of. Sigh some more. Anyways, who was the lady who was screening the questions? I don’t think it was a teacher because if she is doing such an important task, she must be a “senior” teacher of sorts, and I have never seen her in school before. I guess she is Dr Balakrishnan’s secretary or something?

Article 14 – The wisdom of a 15-year-old

There is a political climate that has been carefully constructed and repeatedly reinforced that ensures that we practice self-censorship most of the time. It is not persecution but the fear of possible persecution that drives the self-imposed silence that many of us are guilty of. Once in a while, a little boy would stand up and tell the Emperor that he is not wearing any clothes. Read more

Lighter touch for new media: MICA

In response to a letter to the Straits Times by Choo Zheng Xi (see here) on the power of the Internet in engaging “new constituencies of tech-savvy voters”, the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts (MICA) said that the Government “(has) been reviewing [its] light-touch approach and [is] considering how [it] could take a lighter-touch approach.”

Choo had earlier singled out the Films Act and called it “surprisingly retrograde”.

“Section 33 bans the ‘making, distribution and exhibition’ of party political films. This blanket prohibition extends beyond the Internet to all forms of film,” he said. Read more

5 Minutes With… Leong Sze Hian on wages

TOC speaks to Leong Sze Hian and asks him for his views with regards to this report on June 30 by Channel NewsAsia, “Total wages in Singapore rise by 7-year high of 5.9% in 2007”.

CNA: Despite the fact that Singapore’s economy grew by a lower 7.7 per cent in 2007 compared to 8.2 per cent in 2006, wages grew strongly last year.

TOC: What’s the first thing that comes to your mind when you read this?

Sze Hian: The question that struck me was, what was the median wage growth in 2007? Inflation for the lower-income has always been higher than average inflation. So, if inflation for the lower-income was say 1.6 per cent or more for the last 10 years (1997 to 2007), 5 of the 8 categories of workers’ median monthly gross wage (listed in the Straits Times report “Wages rose but not for those at the bottom”, July 1, 2008), may have had no real increase in wages.

Only 3 out of the 8 categories - Sales & Service Workers, Plant & Machine Operators, and Managers, had an increase of 4, 2.4 and 1.7 per cent annualised wage change, respectively. Read more

Activists charged for protest

From the Singapore Democratic Party’s website:

The group of activists who protested outside the Parliament House on 15 Mar this year have been charged for two offences: participating in an assembly as well as a procession without a permit in a public place.

Those charged under the Miscellaneous Offences Act are Mr Gandhi Ambalam, Mr Chong Kai Xiong, Mr Chia Ti Lik, Ms Chee Siok Chin, Mr Ng E-jay, Ms Go Hui Leng, Mr Muhammad Shafi’ie, Mr Govinda Rajan, Dr Chee Soon Juan, Mr Jeffrey George, Mr Carl Lang, Mr Sylvester Lim, Mr Muhammad Jufri, Ms Suraya Bte Akbar, Mr John Tan, Mr Seelan Palay, Mr Mohamed Jufrie, Mr Yap Keng Ho and Mr Francis Yong.

Each offence carries a penalty of fine of up to $1,000.

Mr Seelan Palay said this of his charge: “This is our constitutional right that cannot be taken away. I hope that through our persistence and conviction for the cause, others will be inspired to stand up.”

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Activists also staged a protest against the recent ERP hike.

From the Singapore Democratic Party’s website:

Activists protested against the Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) by unfurling a Tak Boleh Tahan! banner underneath the ERP gantry at Bras Basah.

Protesters were also at hawker centres to protest against rising food prices. The Tak Boleh Tahan! activists call on Singaporeans to join the campaign and tell the PAP: “We can’t take it anymore!”

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5 Minutes With… Tan Kin Lian on gambling

TOC spends 5 minutes with former CEO of NTUC Income, Mr Tan Kin Lian, and asks him for his views on this Straits Times report - “Gamblers spent estimated $4.2b on 4-D” - about how more S’poreans are turning to gambling.

TOC: Do you think Singaporeans are turning to gambling because of the record-high inflation rate we are experiencing?

Tan Kin Lian: I do not consider most people who buy 4D or Toto to be gamblers. Many of them enjoy the excitement of these games of chance and are willing to set aside a certain amount each month for this fun. If they bet within their means, the games should be considered as entertainment. They could have spent the same amount of money for a concert, show, travel or vacation. If they find 4D or Toto to be more fun, let them enjoy it. Read more

Why no international recognition for S’pore’s fighters?

A question sent to us from one of our readers:

Just wondering if you would post a topic on why from US President Johnson to Bush, from UN Sec. Gen U Thant to Ban Ki Moon, Singapore has not been internationally criticised for its semi-authoritarian rule and not subjected to any sanctions.

Or why people like Aung San Suu Kyi get Congressional Awards and Nobel Prizes while none of our home grown fighters get any sort of recognition for their efforts. It is not as if people don’t know what happened to Chin Peng, Francis Seow etc etc etc.

Please share your views.

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Picture from Leo Strauss Stiftung.

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