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Passion for activism extinguished…but not for long
Oct. 1 | In support of the 16 ex-detainees call for Commission of Inquiry to investigate their detentions, TOC republishes this article which first appeared in TOC on May 18, 2009. – This is the first part of a week-long focus on The Online Citizen of the...
Curry of Neutrality without the Flavour of Fairness
Aug. 16 | - By Gangasudhan - Upon hearing the news, Rice Man badly needed a curry bath... An innocuous case of mediation recently spawned a backlash of overnight-sensation proportions. In a spicy mix (pun intended) of questionable mediation, intolerant expectations...
Hidup Rakyat – An outsider’s perspective on Bersih 2.0
Jul. 12 | by: Bhavan Jaipragas/ I spent nearly eight hours on the streets of Kuala Lumpur last Saturday, most times walking and talking to random strangers, but at times running from freshly shot tear gas canisters and cowering behind cars in alleyways hoping...
The Straits Times article which appears unavailable online
Jul. 6 | by: Ravi Philemon/ I wrote the opinion piece, “The unbearable yoke of the cornerstone called family“, after pondering quite a bit on the story “Woman arrested over death of five-year-old boy“. I had read the print verson of the...
Protecting the sacred cows behind electric fences
May. 15 | The following article was first published on 6 September 2007. With the talk of “reform” and “change” in the PAP government following the 2011 General Election, we feel it is timely to re-post this article for discussion. Andrew...
Court of Appeal: Yong Vui Kong’s case has no merit
Apr. 4 | Kirsten Han / The Court of Appeal, made up of Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong and Judges VK Rajah and Andrew Phang, have unanimously dismissed Yong Vui Kong’s appeal. Yong was appealing for a judicial review of the President’s powers in the clemency...
Which came first: Homophobia or Censorship?
Feb. 17 | by Kirsten Han This piece was first posted on funny little world on 10 October 2010. Image from ScottishActors.blogspot.com I’ve just been to see I Love You, Phillip Morris. It’s a delightful, engaging film that did a great job of balancing...
“Passion is the key” – Tay Ping Hui
Jan. 23 | by Kirsten Han For those interested in getting involved in politics, “passion is the key”, said MediaCorp artiste and Young PAP (YP) member Tay Ping Hui, when asked about the desired qualities of a politician. The talk show segment of YP Face To Face. Mr...
Pardon process has been “irreversibly tainted” – M Ravi
Jan. 18 | by Kirsten Han The pardon process has been “so irreversibly tainted”, human rights lawyer M Ravi asserted, that Yong Vui Kong should be granted an indefinite stay of execution. Mr Ravi was making his submissions on the behalf of his client before...
2010 In Review
Dec. 31 | Kirsten Han - After having studied overseas for the past three-and-a-half years, in 2010 I returned to Singapore and almost immediately began working with The Online Citizen. 2010 has been an eventful year, not just for TOC, but probably for Singapore...
Former ISA detainee seeks damages against Singapore government
Dec. 23 | - By Gangasudhan - SINGAPORE, 23 December 2010: Mr Michael J Fernandez, a former labour unionist who was arrested under the Internal Security Act (ISA) on 11th September 1964 and detained without trial until April 1973, has filed a writ of summons through...
Second Chances in the Park
Dec. 20 | On the afternoon of 19 December 2010 youth-oriented campaign We Believe in Second Chances organised Second Chances in the Park, their first big event aimed at getting Singaporean youth to come out and raise their voices in support of Yong Vui Kong, a...
Standing by my beliefs
Dec. 19 | by Kirsten Han It’s been a long day, and I am KNACKERED. I’ve been buzzing with nervous energy all day long, going over mental lists of things that I need to get together for Second Chances in the Park tomorrow. I’ve checked my email and phone...
Second Chances in the Park – Sunday!
Dec. 17 | Last night, TheOnlineCitizen organised Face To Face, the political event of the year. Thanks to the team and everyone who turned up, it was a great success and a very interesting night. But now that’s over, the next big event of this week would...
KTM Railway Land – A walk on the wild side
Dec. 1 | It cuts through the heart of Singapore – a railway line, linking us to our neighbour in the North. Now, after nearly a century, plans are afoot to relocate the train service. But questions remain over the fate of the land where the railway track...
Vignes Mourthi – seven years on
Nov. 29 | Andrew Loh - When the tears fell from her eyes, it broke my heart – and that of those who had come to pay her and her family a visit. Everyone was silent. Even I, who was interviewing her, could not bear to ask her the next question. In all four years...
The Satirist Says: New excuse to ‘hit & run’ born
Nov. 27 | 25th November 2010, Singapore – Owners of Chery QQ cars across the country were seen celebrating the ruling by the Court of Appeal in the recent case of hit-and-run, reckless driving, inconsiderate driving dubbed by some reporters (well, it’s...
Re-post: Annuities for Singaporeans, pension for ministers?
Nov. 2 | The following article was first published in 2007, amidst the debate on changes to the CPF scheme. With the current spotlight on the retirement issue and the government exhorting Singaporeans to “work longer to save for old age“, we thought...
The relentless rising cost of living in Singapore
Oct. 28 | In 2009, Mercer ranked Singapore as the 10th costliest countries in the world (see here). The following is a collated list of price increases which TOC could find – from various news reports, blogs, websites, forums, etc – since Jan 2006 to the present. If...
STB wants offices to waste electricity for F1 ‘wayang’
Sep. 25 | - By Gangasudhan - Green Drinks Singapore received a tip-off today that at least one office building in the city has been ‘encouraged’ by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) to leave their lights on during the 3 days of F1 races in order to...
SDP’s Young Democrats celebrate Liberal Solidarity Week
Sep. 24 | Kirsten Han – The International Federation of Liberal Youth (IFLRY) website states that the Singaporean government “is of a clear-cut authoritarian nature and controls its people like a modern day Big Brother.”1 Jarrod Luo, Honorary Secretary...
Sarah Cheng-De Winne – sexiest voice in Singapore
Sep. 24 | - By Gangasudhan - Sarah Cheng-De Winne: singer, songwriter, musician – and even photographer. The up and coming talented artist has recently released her solo album Let’s Pretend (left) and it looks (or sounds) like it is going to be a hit...
Minimum wage not necessary in “today’s world”?
Sep. 19 | Kirsten Han - Upon reading the ChannelNewsAsia article ‘S’pore should not set a minimum wage for low-income workers: Lim Boon Heng‘ on 16th September, I wrote the following tweet: It wasn’t meant to be much but it got re-tweeted...
The Satirist Says: Ris ‘da boomz’ Low to be questioned
Sep. 4 | Singapore, 1 September 2010 – It is widely expected that Ris Low – God’s gift to the local comedy scene, will be called up soon by the Police to clarify her definition of the word ‘boomz’. An outside source who spoke to TOC on the condition...
How about a Yellow Noose Project?
Sep. 4 | - By Gangasudhan - We have heard so much about the Yellow Ribbon Project – how it has roped in a multitude of supporters and businesses to help ex-offenders reintegrate into society. While it is a laudable initiative with many grateful beneficiaries,...
Don’t focus solely on GDP growth, NMP says
Jul. 24 | Wong Chun Han - Used under Creative Commons licence Singapore should cut its focus on economic growth and measure its progress with socio-economic indicators apart from the gross domestic product, a nominated member of parliament said Monday. “The changed...
Civic Life: The stars of Tiong Bahru
Jul. 1 | It’s a wrap! After months of dialogue and consultation, and three days of intense filming, production for Civic Life: Tiong Bahru has finally concluded. The short film marks the first time that acclaimed London-based filmmakers Christine Molloy...
World Cup 2010: What will England’s excuse be this time?
Jun. 23 | By Ganga England play Slovenia tonight in their final group stage game at World Cup 2010 and they desperately need to win in order to have any chance to qualifying to the next stage (see table below). With the USA team playing Algeria in the other...
“Marxist conspirator” Vincent Cheng to speak
May. 27 | UPDATE (27 May 2010 @4.35pm): “We have been told by the National Library Board that the event has now been put on hold. All registered participants will receive an email by tonight.” - Bernard Chen, President, NUS History Society _________________________________________________________ Vincent...
Travails of a community cat lover: the Bishan case
May. 26 | He was an orange-and-white domestic short haired (DSH) kitten, probably no more than a couple of months old. He was hiding timidly underneath a neighbourhood park bench overlooking a long canal, along a route I usually take when I walk home every...
That sound you hear is the collective jerking of knees
May. 26 | While I was writing this post I was struck by a thought: how would Singaporeans, men in particular, respond to it? The answer is in, and it is both expected and disappointing how people would so easily miss the forest for the trees in bouts of defensive...
Will we have a smaller electricity bill?
May. 24 | The price of crude oil has been dropping steadily. Since seeing the high of S$122.45 on May 3rd, crude oil has fallen to a low of S$98.78 today. Will small consumers and households benefit from this downward trend in crude oil prices by seeing a reduction...
True gender equality benefits men and women
May. 24 | Corinna Lim’s assertion that “Singaporean fathers are not rising to the task of child rearing, and state support for equal parenting roles is not adequate” is an accurate description of the causes of Singapore’s woeful birth-rates. Singapore...
Thank you for doing your best – a tribute to Dr Goh Keng Swee
May. 23 | “Because I think my effectiveness depends on whether I can make a contribution in terms of analysing a problem and telling them that these are the priorities or that is the way of doing it, or whatever. If they accept it, and they find me useful,...
Death penalty declared illegal
May. 21 | The High Court yesterday declared illegal and unconstitutional the provision of awarding death sentence under the Women and Children Repression Prevention (Special) Act 1995. Section 6(2) of the act carried out the provision of awarding death sentence...
Suggestions on how to prevent deaths on MRT tracks
May. 20 | Due to the recent spate of incidences involving MRT trains being held up by people who jump onto tracks causing train delays, I’ve decided to do something civic-minded with my creativity for once. Below is a list of 5 suggestions on how we can prevent...
Criminal Procedure Code: tilting the law in their own favour
May. 20 | Some of the proposed changes to the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) make me wonder just how far this government will go to tilt the playing field in their own favour, even when it means compromising on the fundamental rights that people in many other developed...
Did Kong Hee plagiarise?
May. 19 | University students know the seriousness of it. So do journalists, whose reputation stand on their ability to tell the truth. Even literary writers, whose job is to craft fiction, understand the need to be original. So I was surprised to learn that large...
Singapore – a nation or merely a state?
May. 18 | Singapore has a nascent national identity despite being lacking the depth of culture, linguistics and history which many other nations possess, said a group of panelists representing academia, the legislature and civil society. And while this represents...
Suicide in the heartlands
May. 18 | An unidentified man in his fifties seemingly committed suicide by jumping out of his 7th floor flat in Choa Chu Kang this morning. Neighbours The Online Citizen (TOC) spoke to said that the man who lived with his mother (in her seventies) is unwell, unemployed...
The conservative renaissance – part 2
May. 17 | Ambiguous clauses and the problem of interpretation Far from providing clarity, the latest statement issued by the National Arts Council (NAC) has farther mystified the supposed guidelines that are adhered to in awarding grants, by throwing out a set...
The conservative renaissance – part 1
May. 17 | “And I think censorship takes many, many forms. It may not be as blatant as cutting your words but they certainly give you a rating, which severely limits your audience. And ratings prevent you from reaching out to a younger audience who may also need...
Pink dotted!
May. 16 | Pink Dot 2010 Hong Lim Park was awash in pink on Saturday afternoon as thousands came together for Pink Dot, a communal celebration of the freedom to love. If the inaugural event last year presented a compelling show of solidarity, this year’s Pink...
Mandatory death penalty constitutional, says court
May. 14 | The Court of Appeal today has rejected the appeal of Yong Vui Kong and declared that the mandatory death penalty is constitutional. Yong had appealed against his death sentence for drug trafficking. In a landmark ruling, Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong...
Straits Times plays along to HDB’s COV striptease
May. 12 | The Housing and Development Board can be very secretive indeed. Years of queries about flat construction costs yield only stonewalled silence. Even when statistics are released, key figures are often omitted, preventing the public from attempting alternative...
The slippery slope, the greasy pole
May. 12 | Reading Today‘s report on what Law Minister K Shanmugam said, regarding the (mandatory) death penalty, makes one rather sad. The minister, it seems, has chosen to put out a soundbite and ignored all the nuances, issues and questions which have...
Reform Party’s renewal
May. 9 | —Breaking News— The following is the latest statement by the Chairman of the Singapore Democratic Alliance, Mr Chiam See Tong: “My feelings on the meeting between Singapore Democratic Alliance and The Reform Party are that the talks are...
Why I became a sexologist
May. 3 | If there is one question I am asked almost every time I meet somebody new, it is this: “Why did you become a sexologist?” Even complete strangers on Facebook find it is their business to pose one-liner questions along the lines of: “Is your job...
NSP’s sec-gen will not take up NCMP seat
May. 2 | “The post-65 voters want a fair fight. They are no longer interested in the ‘pork-barrel’ politics as practiced by the PAP (People’s Action Party)”, says Mr Goh Meng Seng, the Secretary-General of the National Solidarity Party (NSP), in his...
