On September 12th, King Charles III sat on a throne in Westminster Hall. On one side sat the House of Lords, an unelected chamber. One one side sat the elected MPs of the House of Commons.
Beneath his feet lurked a plaque reminding him that the first of his name was found guilty of treason at that spot, before being executed just down the street.
https://www.economist.com/britain/2022/09/14/the-monarchys-secret-weapon-insincerity
Indian supremacists and their Chinese friends are KPKBing about Indian start-ops depend on Chinese money
They point out that as usual Mamas are punching above their weight (like in S’pore law and politics) in the US C-suites and politically. Hello Andrew Yang juz dropped out of the presidential. The ladies with mama blood were booted out a long time ago.
OK, OK, there are 4 mamas heading US giant techs.
Mr Krishna’s recent elevation at IBM mirrors the rise of Satya Nadella at Microsoft and Shantanu Narayen at Adobe. They were Indian-born engineers who took over at prominent US tech companies that were going through a midlife crisis. Then there is Alphabet’s CEO, Sundar Pichai
Meanwhile,
Chinese engineers complain that Silicon Valley has an ethnic glass ceiling, and interviewees, many of whom are naturalised American citizens, compared their status with the relative success of Indians in large tech companies.
“In the US many Indian managers have become big company’s CEOs, but in many ways there’s still a bottleneck for Chinese people,” said Hans Tung, managing partner of GGV Capital, at a recent conference in Beijing. Turning to Eric Yuan, the founder of Zoom, he asked: “What do you think can be done?”.
Mr Yuan is Silicon Valley’s most well-known Chinese immigrant success story. His video conference app Zoom, which listed last April, is valued at almost $21bn. Mr Yuan responded that many Indian engineers were not only proficient at technical work, but also at understanding business models and management.
“It’s Chinese culture: it emphasises obedience and modesty, not confidence,” says Sophie Xu, a PayPal employee who left China for Canada and then the US 17 years ago. “There’s no wild ambition, we love book smarts.”
FT
My interpretation: Mamas suck up to ang mohs while Chinese ignore ang mohs. The latter believe that their work will show how good they are: they think of Grandpa’s Xi rise in China. Mamas not that naive: they know sucking ass matters.
The day after Dr Chee’s Coalition of the Spastics win the 2019 GE, will one Shanmugam will go tv and radio to explain why he ordered the closing of the internet?
Internet is very important, it has brought about technological convergence.
It eases communication and facilitates trade when we use it properly.
Internet is not water, internet is not air
However, if we use it as a revolution tool to incite others to kill and burn, it will be shut down not only for a week, but longer than that.
How Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed justified the government’s right to shut down the internet, saying it is done to save lives.
Related posts (Added minutes just after first publication:
Paper generals: Don’t forget social media
More on when there is a freak election result
Freak election result? No worries MM
“Freak election” training manual for SAF’s paper generals? And us 40% S’poreans too?
Bayee tells joke that upsets other Bayees.
Comedian Lilly Singh, who made the leap from YouTube to late night TV just last week, has apologised for an on-air joke that compared turbans to bath towels.
Some members of the Sikh religion, who wear turbans for spiritual reasons, were angered by her remarks on NBC.
On Twitter she apologised for the “painful” and “stupid joke”.
Ownself offend own race. LOL.
Swedish comedian Olaf Falafel won Dave’s “Funniest Joke of The Fringe” award with “I keep randomly shouting out ‘Broccoli’ and ‘Cauliflower’ – I think I might have florets”. What a moronic joke. So moronic that Tourettes Action, a charity, said the joke was about the neurological disorder, not vegetables and has asked for an apology.
Ten jokes made the 2019 shortlist. Here are the next nine, all of which are better than the above in my view. (My favourites are in blue)
“Someone stole my antidepressants. Whoever they are, I hope they’re happy” – Richard Stott
“What’s driving Brexit? From here it looks like it’s probably the Duke of Edinburgh” – Milton Jones
“A cowboy asked me if I could help him round up 18 cows. I said, ‘Yes, of course. – That’s 20 cows'” – Jake Lambert
“A thesaurus is great. There’s no other word for it” – Ross Smith
“Sleep is my favourite thing in the world. It’s the reason I get up in the morning” – Ross Smith
“I accidentally booked myself onto an escapology course; I’m really struggling to get out of it” – Adele Cliff
“After learning six hours of basic semaphore, I was flagging” – Richard Pulsford
“To be or not to be a horse rider, that is Equestrian” – Mark Simmons
“I’ve got an Eton-themed advent calendar, where all the doors are opened for me by my dad’s contacts” – Ivo Graham
Perhaps in response to Pay And Pay in action?, a covert PAP PR operative* (Cousin of Secret Squirrel or his side-kick Moroccoo Mole?) persuaded an ang moh publication that is no friend of the PAP to publish a story that implicitly argues that it’s “fake news” that S’pore is all about “Paying And Paying”?
Jokes’ aside, seriously the story is all about the free or cheap good stuff available here, that value for money S’poreans (all part of the 70%) already know, but which the cybernuts (the noisy part of the 30%) deny the existence of:
[A] wide range of free and low-cost facilities and diversions. There are free parks to explore, free concerts, free health clinics and tons of cheap places to eat. A day out need not cost a small fortune.
The 184-acre Singapore Botanic Gardens (about three-quarters the size of the New York Botanical Garden) opened in 1859, and in its early days was an important center for cultivating plants, especially the rubber tree. Free to enter, it became a Unesco World Heritage Site in 2015 and is a spotless, peaceful patch of greenery, filled with people strolling (with or without dogs), exercising and bird-watching.
Gardens by the Bay was built on reclaimed land and is a marvel of engineering and sustainable design. I like how its climate-controlled greenhouse domes, superstructure artificial trees and green expanses contrast with the nearby central business district towers. The Singapore Symphony Orchestra stages free concerts around the city (sometimes at the Botanic Gardens). Music fans can also check out the rotating schedule of free shows at Esplanade, the performing arts complex with a roof inspired by the durian fruit.
Companies like Monster Day Tours and Indie Singapore offer free walking tours of Little India and Chinatown that trace the evolution of these enclaves. ION Orchard, a shopping mall known for its high-end designer stores, has a free contemporary multimedia art gallery on its fourth level, and free art is dotted around the city. My favorite freebie, Haw Par Villa, was opened in 1937 by the Aw brothers, the inventors of Tiger Balm …
Doubtless when the PAP passes the draconian laws banning Deliberate Online Falsehoods (See the 22 recommendations put up unanimously last Thursday by the 10-member Select Committee on Deliberate Online Falsehoods: the Wankers’ Party Sec-Gen was a member of the commitee), saying that PAP stands for Pay And Pay and that S’pore is “Pay And Pay” land will be punished by hanging.
Juz kidding leh.
*He “wishes S’pore well” and is constructive, and a nation-builder.
The Overseas Born Chinese behind it are making money, having fun and being non-PC. Best of all, the OBCs are juz doing what British people from the Indian sub-continent have done: appropriate the term “Asians”.
So let’s cheer them, not jeer at them.
The KPKBing by ang moh tua kees like Kirsten Han
film does the same sort of erasure of ethnic minorities that Hollywood does with white people*
a self-professed Malay Muslim atheist (I kid u not)
“Alfian Sa’at, a prominent Singaporean author, who writes in English and Malay, said in a scathing Facebook post that the film featured “East Asian people purporting to speak for all Asians,” adding that he hoped it would “go away quietly.”
FB post
from a political scientist Ian Chong from the National University of Singapore who said the film
represents the worst of Singapore. It erases minorities, the poor and marginalized. All you get are rich, privileged ethnic Chinese.
and finally from a usually sensible Bharati Jagdish
Let’s acknowledge that a movie like Crazy Rich Asians is not and cannot be a definitive depiction of what and who we are
Read more at https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/commentary/crazy-rich-asians-single-story-cannot-complete-narrative-10621448
had me laughing my head off at the pretentiousness of these and many other S’poreans. Worse were the Pussies branch of the Tamil Tigers KPKBing about the oppression of the Tamils here: as though the judiciary and legal professions are not all Tamil affairs with token participation from Chinese etc
——————-
“Asians” means either Indians or Chinese: no one else in Asia is “Asian”
In the UK “British Asians” is another term for people from the Indian sub-continent: Chinese etc not included. They won that right by sheer weight of numbers.
Many yrs ago, a BBC radio “Play of Week” was trialed as a an Ancient Greek comedy with an all-Asian cast. There wasn’t a voice that wasn’t from the sub-continent.
And things have not changed. Recently there was a BBC online article on social attitudes of “British Asians”. All the examples cited were “Mamas”.
Now the Overseas Born Chinese (especially the ABCs) are playing the same game: only Chinese are American Asians. And our very own Tessa Wong is guilty of agreeing with the other OBCs: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-45179503
I have to say that I agree with Calvin Cheng (getting to be a habit**)
A film with the title CRAZY RICH Asians can’t really be trying to hard to be representative of whatnot.
So give the film, the marketing team, the producers, director, writer (More on him soon), actors and production team a break.
Especially as they could have made film in KL, Taipei, any mega city in China, Bangkok, any major Canadian city, San Franciso or LA, not S’pore. Instead, S’pore is getting a great tourist brochure for free: not me but NY Times film critic
More than Rom Com and Bling
[T]he film soars to life, a buoyant, glittering, thoroughly charming romantic comedy. The story of a Chinese-American economics professor who meets her boyfriend’s wealthy family in cosmopolitan Singapore does not reinvent the rom-com. But it uses that formula so gracefully that the movie feels fresh, largely thanks to its flawlessly-cast Asian, Asian-American and Anglo-Asian actors. Beneath its glamorous surface, the film is also thoughtful about ethnic identity, and the push and pull of class and culture: nouveau riche versus old money, personal fulfillment versus duty to family.
http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20180815-film-review-does-crazy-rich-asians-live-up-to-the-hype
Let’s give the OBCs behind the movie three cheers for making money, lots of money by doing stuff that is not politically correct. And for putting the noses of the local ang moh tua kees, local and foreign PC folk and local Tamil supremacists out of joint.
*Her ang moh kaki wrote
Where are the brown people? Crazy Rich Asians draws tepid response in Singapore
Critics in city where hit film is set complain that it leaves out minorities and is ‘simplistic’
**PM talked cock and When being a minister turns from a calling into a job for life
Have a good laugh
Change what? 70% have spoken as a majority preferring to be under the horrible PAP rule.
1. JB Jeyaretnam already died on 30/9/2008, almost a decade ago. He died in vain
2. Chiam See Tong is already suffering from old age; out of Parliament & Potong Pasir SMC. He fought in vain
3. Dr Chee Soon Juan is impotent – can’t even get elected to Parliament because Bukit Baton residents preferred PAP stooge, Murali. He can’t even get out of the starting gate.
4. WP is a silent party – contented with collecting $16/Mth for each MP until the next GE. Isn’t they a PAP Lite party?
5. Vocal critics like Roy Ngerng, Amos Yee, Han Hui Hui have given up fighting & left our shores. Nobody supported them but criticised them instead.
6. Since the 1990s when SDP won 3 seats, the opposition had not made much headway because the S’poreans are too “chicken schit” & too selfish to vote for change.
7. Opposition parties is too fragmented & selfish only care for their own agenda.
8. Those who can had already exited to overseas including PM LHL’s own brother LHY, those remaining are dying by the day continually trampled on by the million $ ministers.
9. The only way for change is a tumultuous event. Otherwise S’pore is an event horizon – a point of no return (ie. drifting into a void). In short, S’pore still stuck in the mud.
10. ‘Live it or leave it’ is typical of S’porean (Sinkies) mentality – you need to think out of the box but too many (70%) are simply stuck inside the box! A case of learned helplessness!
Ah Ha:
Love it or leave it because you are too chicken schit to change it!
Two US radio DJs have been taken off air after calling the nation’s first Sikh state attorney general “turban man” during a segment.
So waz so special about the land of the free, where the buffalo roam, Amos?
So different here:
Want to grow SMEs? Identify well managed SMEs
Can any how call PAPpy loved by cybernuts Turban Man.
Benzema: ‘When I score I’m French, when I don’t I’m an Arab’
Lukaku: ‘When things were going well, I was Lukaku the Belgian striker…when they weren’t going well, I was the Belgian striker of Congolese descent’
Ozil: ‘When we win, I am German. When we lose, I am an immigrant’
But in S’pore if u are a ping pong player from PRC Land, win or lose, u are not S’porean.
Here’s Chris Kuan KPKBing about Seah Kian Peng calling himself “left of centre” in this interview https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/seah-kian-peng-mp-marine-parade-ceo-ntuc-fairprice-on-the-record-10459284
He labelled himself “left of center”. Read his opinions (and his back pedaling when put on a spot by the journo) on various issues like taxes, using the reserves and solving social divide and inequality, you will realize straightaway, unless you are politically inert, that if this MP considers himself “left of center” then that is as good a reason as any that we must have a lot more opposition MPs. In other words, if the Honourable Seah Kian Peng is the best the PAP has in terms of checks and alternative / independent views or thinking on policy positions, then there is really little to no serious debates within the party, well not seriously enough to generate meaningful changes. But we do know that already, don’t we?
FB
The way Chris (and often me?) often describes the PAP (elitist, illiberal, and steals from the poor to give to the rich) makes it sound like a fascist party.
So any PAPpy that is a half way decent guy or gal (think Tharman or Liy Neo) is left of centre. So Seah is right to call himself as “left of centre”. Tomorrow I’ll give an example of his “progressive” views, views that even TRE cybernuts disagree with.
Btw, did anyone notice that
looks like this?
the flag of the British Union of Fascists in the 1930s?
And this?
Add another one
“A person would rather buy second-hand from America, instead of buying a new Chinese product,” says Nelson Mandela, a Ugandan trader
Economist
As usual Chinese sua kee.
Homesick S’poreans living in or visting the UK should visit Dawlish in Devon
The Trip Advisor review, from a person called SW stated: “There are literally dozens and dozens of them – everywhere.”
The reviewer continued in a later post: “Dawlish looks old, sad and ridiculous with so many notices. It feels oppressive for visitors.
“If you want visitors then try welcoming them! Forget the ‘Do not do this’ and the ‘Do not do that’ and start looking at the contradictions, confusion and general negativity it brings.
“I truly have never in my lifetime visited anywhere so bad in this respect.”
This response is so PAPpish
Vanessa Riley from Dawlish Chamber of Trade insisted that many of the signs were necessary: “People that have not seen the signs have let dogs off.”
She explained “quite a few” of the town’s popular black swans have been lost to dog attacks over the years.
Remember in 2013 PM said at a Zaobao Forum: “Satisfied people don’t have time to go onto the Internet. Unhappy people often go there.”*? Judging by the postings by the ratty and cheapskate cybernuts on TRE (People like Oxygen, Rabble-Rouser, Bapak and Dosh who see the 70% as the enemy within S’pore and want to see them suffer for voting PAP) he has a point about unhappy people who keep insisting that S’pore is collapsing contrary to the evidence. Yes there are serious problems, but nothing existential.
Sorry for the digression: so what can we gather from PM’s and Ho Ching’s regular posts on Facebook?
According to this, they must be sad and envious
Writing in the London Review of Books, John Lanchester cites numerous studies that suggest Facebook use goes hand in hand with envy and sadness, and quite plausibly causes them.
FT article
John Henry Lanchester (born 25 February 1962) is a British journalist and novelist … His journalism has appeared in theLondon Review of Books (where he is a Contributing Editor), Granta, The Observer, The New York Review of Books, The Guardian, the Daily Telegraph andThe New Yorker.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Lanchester
This weekend John Lanchester wrote the cover piece for The Sunday Times Magazine, in which he argued that Facebook was the biggest surveillance enterprise in history, and could destroy civilisation.
—————————————————–
They also got a lot of free time and don’t focus because FB “is also a notorious time-sink and source of distraction” the article goes on.
Btw, Ever wondered this about PM’s Facebook posts?
——————————–
*https://mothership.sg/2013/11/10-signs-prime-minister-lee-hsien-loong-dissatisfied-person/
Training? What training? Support? What support?
DBS Bank will be investing more than S$20 million over the next five years in a programme that will train its 10,000 employees in Singapore in digital banking skills and technologies.
The move is in support of Singapore’s vision to be a Smart Nation which Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong highlighted during his National Day Rally speech, it said in a press release on Monday (Aug 21)*.
Break down the $20m to a yearly figure ($4m) and divide the $4m by the number of employees (10,000), and u get $400 per employee a year. Peanuts.
What training for digital banking skills and technologies can one get for $400 per employee per year?
Training? What training? Support? What support? It seems to be more about carrying the PM’s balls, than anything else.
No wonder we not that Smart a nation.
——————-
*The article goes on: The broad-based programme will include artificial intelligence (AI)-powered e-learning. AI can make personalised course recommendations for employees and help them to collaborate and engage in mobile education at any time or place across the bank, it said.
Employees can also try experiential learning, where they will be able to go on paid sabbaticals to work on prototypes and start their own businesses. Accelerator programmes will provide mentorship and funds for intrapreneurs.
Staff can likewise apply for grants and scholarships to upskill themselves in emerging technologies like data and analytics, desiging thinking and automation, the bank said. Innovative learning spaces, like the DBS Academy and DBS Asia X, are also part of the programme, where employees have access to digital master classes, or work in collaboration with start-ups and the broader fintech community.
Read more at http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/dbs-to-invest-s-20-million-over-5-years-to-transform-employees-9143874
Leading joke is a “groaner”. I;d have voted for the Trump joke.
1. “I’m not a fan of the new pound coin, but then again, I hate all change” – Ken Cheng
2. “Trump’s nothing like Hitler. There’s no way he could write a book” – Frankie Boyle
3. “I’ve given up asking rhetorical questions. What’s the point?” – Alexei Sayle
4. “I’m looking for the girl next door type. I’m just gonna keep moving house till I find her” – Lew Fitz
5. “I like to imagine the guy who invented the umbrella was going to call it the ‘brella’. But he hesitated” – Andy Field
6. “Combine Harvesters. And you’ll have a really big restaurant” – Mark Simmons
7. “I’m rubbish with names. It’s not my fault, it’s a condition. There’s a name for it…” – Jimeoin
8. “I have two boys, 5 and 6. We’re no good at naming things in our house” – Ed Byrne
9. “I wasn’t particularly close to my dad before he died… which was lucky, because he trod on a land mine” – Olaf Falafel
10. “Whenever someone says, ‘I don’t believe in coincidences.’ I say, ‘Oh my God, me neither!”‘ – Alasdair Beckett-King
11. “A friend tricked me into going to Wimbledon by telling me it was a men’s singles event” – Angela Barnes
12. “As a vegan, I think people who sell meat are disgusting; but apparently people who sell fruit and veg are grocer” – Adele Cliff
13. “For me dying is a lot like going camping. I don’t want to do it” – Phil Wang
14. “I wonder how many chameleons snuck onto the Ark” – Adam Hess
15. “I went to a Pretenders gig. It was a tribute act” – Tim Vine
Looks like Indians have a grip on Temasek’s private equity operations juz like they have a grip on the presidency where Indian blood seems to be a must.
Read http://www.reuters.com/article/us-asia-sovereignwealth-idUSKBN1A22CU?il=0 and count the number of Indians it quotes who work for Temasek. Juz wondering? Locals or FTs?
RayWing Ng 17% is not exactly your salary. It’s your employer’s contribution to your CPF.
And yes, it is a lot of savings to help you in your retirement.
RayWing Ng XXX
Try to stay relevant.
And the rest of my comments about your comment being a whine still stands.
Don’t be like XXXX
Oppo to PAP are mainly Cina because the Gregoes, Mats and Kalengs are PAP supporters? Or only Chinese are cybernuts? Or is there racism in TRE? Or TRE believes members of its team must be in proportion to the racial balance here; 75%, 12% and 7%.
Those were my tots when I read
The team@TR Emeritus would like to wish all our Chinese readers a very Prosperous and Happy Lunar New Year. Since most on the team and our writers are Chinese, please understand that during this period, moderation and articles would be slow to process. We thank you for your kind understand and continued support. Team@TR Emeritus . . …
Wah lan!
I tot the above when I read
To tackle social and political issues, return to ‘honest politics’: DPM Tharman
CNA: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/to-tackle-social-and-political-issues-return-to-honest-politics/3420624.html
A reasonable reading of what the headline implies is that Tharman is saying that the PAP has to return to “honest politics” to “tackle social and political issues”, which in turn implies that the PAP is practising dishonest politics?
Bet u there will another “edit” like in the case of “You are not going to get angels in power all the time”.
MediaCorp, why liddat? Why so sotong?
In S’pore, the ethnic Indian community (Tamils in the main) punch above their weight despite only constituting 7% of the population:
— One is DPM and he and the Minister for Pets are two out of the four closest ministers to PM;
— the AG and CJ are Indians; and
— Tharman, a DPM, is a popular choice to be PM.
—————————————
If S’pore is a meritocracy all the top jobs would be held by Indians: juz look at the judiciary and legal service.
Indian supremacists
But let’s not forget that they are S’porean Indians, not Indian Indians.
Here’s some quirky facts about the real Indians ie those born in India,
Tamils are in the minority, not the uber Indians.
Deepavali is usually known as Diwali because Hindi is the uber language, not Hindi Tamil.
A litre of cow urine is more valuable to an Indian farmer than a litre of milk
“quite normal behaviour” for Indian men to obsessively target women
Last year, a 32-year-old Indian security guard in Australia accused of stalking two women was let off by a court after he argued that Bollywood films had led him to believe that it was “quite normal behaviour” for Indian men to obsessively target women.
He was being perversely honest. In Bollywood movies, the hero will often pursue the heroine with a vengeance. He will stare at her, wolf-whistle and stalk her relentlessly. Spurned lovers will chase and harass women. A critic once wrote that the Bollywood stalker had evolved from a “nominal villain to an outright hero”.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-37426720
The airforce’s warplanes are often grounded: the highest availability rate is among the Russian-built SU-30MKIs, of around 55%. (Economist)
I’m surprised that TISG (or as it’s popularly known “The Idiots — S’pore”. To be fair, it’s had about six “idiot free” weeks broken only when a tua kee contributor was publicly annoyed with a misleading headline tp his article.), TOC (TOC only cut and paste a ST article on this death), SgDaily, Wandering Vagabond and other tua kees in the alternative media are not saying some official(s) should be held responsible for this death.
Why were they not listening to the voices of concerned, upset S’poreans and amplifying these voices? They were silent. Why liddat?
After all, the death occurred because there had been a decision to conduct a health screening and then action by public servants:
“The cow was roaming around happily. So what killed it? A health screening!”
The life of the Coney Island cow ended came to an unlucky end this week, when he failed to wake up after a routine veterinary check-up.
Officials said he had likely died of heart and lung complications while necessarily sedated.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-37640549
I mean the life of a local cow doesn’t matter isit? Or do the alternative media think it’s an FT so doesn’t matter? Yes it’s a cow from an Indian breed, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a true blue S’porean like our Tamil brothers and sisters. I mean we are OK with Tharman being a PM but not OK with an ethnic Indian cow isit, alternative media tua kees?
From FT
The above made me think that if the PAPpies are really that smart (as they say there are), and evil (as the cybernuts say they are) CPF should be restructured so that a S’porean will be allowed to live for as long as there is money in his or her account. When the annuity stops because there is no more money left in the account, the S’porean like Boxer gets send to the slaughter-house.
It’s a more sophisticated (albeit more in line with Harry’s thuggish ways of using his hatchet) version of what I’ve suggested before: that if the PAP is really pragmatic it would follow the solution in the movie Soylent Green. Us plebs are encouraged to move on and our bodies then made into food for the other plebs.
See http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070723/synopsis
Singapore’s education system, one of the best in the world, is known for its emphasis on grades and examinations.
But a video by the Ministry of Education (MOE) suggests that attitude might be changing.
The short film, based on a true story, shows Madam Pua, a geography teacher, trying her best to encourage and help her student Shirley, who keeps failing her tests.
Despite all her hard work, enthusiasm and progress, Shirley still fails her next exam, but is encouraged by Madam Pua that success isn’t about the grades but trying her best.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-37293655
Something’s not right. How can
— be true story? [Where got failures here? Juz get streamed to appropriate level.]
— Despite all her hard work, enthusiasm and progress, Shirley still fails her next exam?; and
— success isn’t about the grades but trying her best?
The official narrative is that hard work and enthusiasm is all that is needed to succeed in meritocratic S’pore. And that trying her best is not an acceptable explanation or excuse.
—————————————————-
The reality
A recent government survey shows that families in Singapore collectively spend about $1.1bn Singapore dollars ($827m; £526m) a year on private tuition, nearly double the amount from a decade ago.
…
“kids who grow up in Singapore start running the rat race from an early age” … there was always a subliminal pressure from society to get good grades.”
…
[But] parents and students often fuel the stress about grades because of a narrow definition of what success can be.”
———————————–
The video must have been meant for 1 April 2017? It was an honest mistake to release it on Teacher’s Day 2016?
“This ad is so misleading. I’ve seen teachers contacting parents if their kids don’t do well in school. Singapore’s education system is crazy,” one Facebook post read.
“This is just an ad,” said another post. “In reality, based on my own experiences, teachers like to put down students more than encourage them.”
“Try convincing the parents,” said another.
Water revelation: Fish can actually sing: Fish, just like birds, mark sunrise and sunset with a song, scientists in Western Australia suggest in a study reported in the journal Bioacoustics – Times
BBC Onlibe
Recently, I posted that Amos could crack great non vulgar jokes.
Last yr the High Court Judge in dismissing his appeal said that Amos is “obviously not a person without talent”, given his command of the English language, Justice Tay said: “I hope that Mr Yee will wean himself away from his preference for crude and rude language. Real debate and rational discussion on social issues can flourish in an environment of goodwill, reasoning and civil language.” CNA
To which I can only say “Heat, Hear”. And that the judge is spot-on on his judgment on Amos.
And there’s $ for slit-eyes doing up stand-up routines in Oz: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-37162293
Unlike Tharman, PM and other PAP ministers.
I visited Amos’ FB page on Sunday and saw three great posts juz in the last two weeks. They made me laugh. They’ll make u laugh too. Don’t worry, no foul language.
1
Amos Yee’s planned list of illegal acts in Singapore:
2015 – Criticising the Government (Done)
2016 – Criticising religion (Done)
2017 – Skipping national service
2018 – Stepping on the national flag
2019 – Grafitti
2021 – Porn
2022 – Tax Evasion
2023 – Not Paying CPF
2024- Non-violent public protest
2026 – Taking marijuana
2030 – Hacking in and revealing private government files
2036 – trafficking marijuana/ attempting to sneak firearms into Singapore
(Death Penalty)
2
Joseph Schooling info:
Left Singapore and his secondary school Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) at 14 to go to America
Lives in: America
Speaking accent: American
Secondary School: Bolles School in Florida (America)
University: University of Texas (America)
Trains swimming: In America
Swimming Coach: Eddie Reese (American)
Swimming Inspiration: Micheal Phelps (American)
Singapore shouldn’t be proud of Joseph Schooling for winning the Olympic Gold, America should
[Hey Amos, in the US one gold medal is “peanuts”: nothing to get excited about.]
3
This should be printed and distributed by SDP
I hope he realises that he can be a good stand-up comic, and use his videoing skills to highlight in the West his talent. He can make money, serious money if he’s talent-spotted.
A good satire http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-35641528
15 funniest jokes from the Edinburgh Fringe
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At the very least, he can be a good script writer for an ang moh comedy show.
Whatever, he may have got over his love of using foul language. Maybe he realises they’ve lost the power to shock people. They juz don’t ;listen.
A final tot. Maybe the ang moh tua kees who deserted him can commend him to their controllers in MI6 and the CIA, asking that MI6 and the CIA help get him a job in the comedy business?
In descending order
“My dad has suggested that I register for a donor card. He’s a man after my own heart” – Masai Graham
“Why is it old people say “there’s no place like home”, yet when you put them in one…” – Stuart Mitchell
“I’ve been happily married for four years – out of a total of 10” – Mark Watson
“Apparently 1 in 3 Britons are conceived in an IKEA bed which is mad because those places are really well lit” – Mark Smith
“I went to a pub quiz in Liverpool, had a few drinks so wasn’t much use. Just for a laugh I wrote The Beatles or Steven Gerrard for every answer… came second” – Will Duggan
“Brexit is a terrible name, sounds like cereal you eat when you are constipated” – Tiff Stevenson
“I often confuse Americans and Canadians. By using long words” – Gary Delaney
“Why is Henry’s wife covered in tooth marks? Because he’s Tudor” – Adele Cliff
“Don’t you hate it when people assume you’re rich because you sound posh and went to private school and have loads of money?” – Annie McGrath
“Is it possible to mistake schizophrenia for telepathy, I hear you ask” – Jordan Brookes
“Hillary Clinton has shown that any woman can be President, as long as your husband did it first” – Michelle Wolf
“I spotted a Marmite van on the motorway. It was heading yeastbound” – Roger Swift
“Back in the day, Instagram just meant a really efficient drug dealer” – Arthur Smith
“I’ll tell you what’s unnatural in the eyes of God. Contact lenses” – Zoe Lyons
“Elton John hates ordering Chinese food. Soya seems to be the hardest word” – Phil Nicol
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-37154550
Wee Kim Wee, not Ong Teng Cheong, was the first ‘Elected President’ of Singapore
Dr Wee Kim Wee and not Mr Ong Teng Cheong is the first Elected President of Singapore, a law don has clarified. Dr Jack Tsen-Ta Lee, Assistant Professor of Law at the Singapore Management University’s School of Law made this point in the website ‘Singapore Public Law’.
TISG
This is what Dr Jack Tsen-Ta Lee posted on Facebook
“The provision was carefully worded to avoid deeming Wee Kim Wee as having been elected, so although he exercised all the discretionary powers of an elected President, the first truly elected President was Ong Teng Cheong.” So how come the conclusion is that Wee was Singapore’s first elected President? I’m mystified!
Obviously, TISG Team, can’t understand his article written in simple English. That cock meh? Need FTs to understand?
Either that or adult supervision is desperately needed.
That’s not the only recent goof.
On Augist 22 at 5.50pm To cater to a consistently high number of readers, we are migrating to a larger server. Our website may be inaccessible for a few hours due to this. We apologise to our readers. – TISG Team
The “few hours” turned out to be at least 24 — 40hrs No articles appeared on 23 August and only late on 24 August were articles posted.
As TISG prides itself on employing only true blue S’poreans (Has no choice given its tendency towards xenophobic* articles?), maybe it got some lazy TISG-reading S’porean cybernut to do the IT migration?
As commercially minded employers know, FTs from India are the best for low-level IT jobs like migration. Cheap and good.
Two other goofs by TISG Team.
Yup, it’s two goofs a week, for two weeks in a row.
TISG positions itself as a commercial site, not a socio-political site (Er so how come so many articles from a TRE hero, and TRELand cybernuts and sane residents?). That’s good news for TISG Team. A socio-political site would have found replacements for such goofing, careless, wanking S’poreans, assuming they were either subversives working for the PAP, not for the Cause, or that they were incompetent, lazy S’poreans.
*Aiming “to promote feelings of ill-will and hostility between different races or classes of the population of Singapore”?
Warriors don’t do accounting.
Let me explain.
Here I said the “W” in WP now stood for “Warriors”, not “Wankers”.
So I tot it funny when I read about the real warriors. failure to account fpr monies spent — the battle-hardened US army led by generals who have fought in battles, not paper generals with no experience of combatm, failed financial audits
For years, the Inspector General – the Defense Department’s official auditor – has inserted a disclaimer on all military annual reports. The accounting is so unreliable that “the basic financial statements may have undetected misstatements that are both material and pervasive.”
And
The United States Army’s finances are so jumbled it had to make trillions of dollars of improper accounting adjustments to create an illusion that its books are balanced.
The Defense Department’s Inspector General, in a June report, said the Army made $2.8 trillion in wrongful adjustments to accounting entries in one quarter alone in 2015, and $6.5 trillion for the year. Yet the Army lacked receipts and invoices to support those numbers or simply made them up.
As a result, the Army’s financial statements for 2015 were “materially misstated,” the report concluded. The “forced” adjustments rendered the statements useless because “DoD and Army managers could not rely on the data in their accounting systems when making management and resource decisions.”
Disclosure of the Army’s manipulation of numbers is the latest example of the severe accounting problems plaguing the Defense Department for decades.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-audit-army-idUSKCN10U1IG
Cinderella, Pinocchio, Dumbo and The Lion King. How have these Disney characters influenced your life values since young? Let’s now take a look at some of the important life lessons that they have taught us.
Or to be more precise, why the official pussy-footing on Calvin Cheng’s call to kill children? And the silence on real atrocities?
(Not sure who did this. Saw it on Facebook. I’ll gladly attribute this if I know who did this.)
And is it not strange that this minster who has de facto responsibility for pets and their owners doesn’t speak up against vivisection?
Don’t juz talk cock sing song: walk the talk.
Writing in the Telegraph, Mr Johnson says the government was wrong to offer the EU referendum without being willing – if the public voted Leave – to “explain how this can be made to work in the interests of the UK and Europe”. BBC
Hoz this for gratitude and gall? Before the referendum result was known, he (and others) thanked the PM for calling a referendum. After his side won, he is blaming the UK govt for calling a referendum that he wanted.
Either BoJo is a joke-cracking clown like Bozo, or he is just an unprincipled and shameless rascal. Or both.
No wonder the grandees of the Tory party don’t want as leader and PM.
Whatever, he can teach Tharman and other PAP ministers how to tell good jokes.
Tharman is the Joker
Isn’t his comments on govt acting quickly on property prices, bit like his jokes on inflation, wages?
https://atans1.wordpress.com/2013/11/11/tharman-trying-to-tell-jokes-again/
But there are other wannabe jokers too:
And even PM and DPM Teo try their hand:
CoC needed on ministers telling jokes
Where is Batman when S’pore needs him?
——————————————
MoM should ban all employees from chatting about the weather, babies, holidays, or anything not wotk-related.
A rule was introduced banned staff from talking about anything not work-related. Sounds so PAPish but no,not in a S’pore co but in a UK local govt (think town council) office. Wonder if NTUC would object if a company introduced this rule?
From BBC Online
A rule introduced at the beginning of 2011 banned staff at Carlisle City Council from talking about anything not work-related.
If employees wanted to discuss the weather, holidays or babies (the three categories specified in the instructions), they were told to clock-out – so they would not be paid for time spent chatting.
An e-mail sent to 31 workers by two team leaders in the city’s benefits department also warned staff “to be aware of the reason why they are here, which is to work and not to treat the office as a day-to-day holiday camp”.
The GMB Union representative at the council, Ged Craig, said the message was “ridiculous and a disgrace – it is suggesting that if, for example, you are standing in a queue for the photocopier having a chat you should clock out.”
The e-mail went on to say that the way staff previously worked could not be sustained in the “current economic climate”.
Following the outrage of the staff and the involvement of the union, the rule was dropped.
Productivity improvement must be a KPI for NTUC leader, Kee Chui, so maybe he won’t pobject if S’porean cos implement this.
But it’s the UK, not S’pore.
The FT reports that UK bank customers may have to cover cost of fraud under new proposals. Under the plans, individuals or companies with lax online security could find themselves without banking services or even excluded from the system under which banks compensate customers whose accounts are hacked.
Bet u this will happen here first. It’s so PAPish. It’s a Hard Truth to favour big biz over the little people, is it not? Harry must be turning in his metaphorical grave.
But first did you know the ratio of milk produced to manure produced?
2,500 prolific pedigree bovines were producing 30,000 litres of milk a day, as well as a staggering 100,000 kilograms of manure.
(Economist blog)
Translated into Singlish: Want PAP, got to put up with the BS: a lot of it.
But obviously most voters think the deal worth it.
Taz also my summary of a chim, long-winded piece by a strategist for the M’sian DAP on why S’poreans vote for the PAP.
S/o JBJ is absolutely right
Kenneth J: Stop Complaining, Singaporeans, You Get the Government You Deserve
But he forgot that most S’poreans are matured. They know that there is trade-off, just like between milk and turd.
China
In China, brides who are short of bridesmaids (blame the one-child policy) can hire someone to do the job (Financial Times)
London
Romancing the Armpit will offer singletons in London a dating event with a difference. Love-seekers will sniff each other’s armpits (i)
BBC
Couldn’t Ah Loong show a photo with some other leaders on his Facebook page . The other three are the Cambodian PM, Vietnamese PM and Laotian deputy: all countries where “democracy” is a really dirty word. If the Thai PM were in the pix, it would really look bad for us and Ah Loong because I’m sure the SDP and the other anti-PAP nuts would label it the “Five Asean dictators”, which is unfair to Ah Loong and us.
US has its Donald Trump, a billionaire with a big ego,
Well we have S R Nathan, a man who in his 12 yrs as president earned S$16m++ for being Jaga in Chief and Chief Baby Ksser. His ego is bigger than that of Trump despite the Donald being richer than he is (and hence by the warped thinking of the PAP more worthy of respect).
In a recent interview [Link] which was published on 31 Jan by ST, former President S R (Sure not Donald Trump?) Nathan repeatedly refused to be drawn into commenting about the various aspects of the Elected Presidency, which the Government wants to review.
But he did say, “So I often get asked why I keep quiet when everybody is singing Majulah Singapura on National Day,” he quipped. “I reply, ‘Yes, they are singing to me. I’m standing there! This is symbolic of the country. I don’t expect to sing to myself!’”
S’poreans have in my view rightly mocked his pretentions and huge ego. Or if they tot he was telling a joke, his bad joke.
Whatever. The office of president is not the British monarch. The British are technically the monarch’s subjects. While the nuts of TRELand may think we are the subjects of Harry’s family and the PAP, no S’porean thinks that we are the subjects of the president: except perhaps Nathan?
When a lawyer who I’m told is a card carrying member of the PAP (anyway I know he believes in hanging, not helping the elderly poor, or sick: his taxes should go to ministerial salaries) wrote the u/m, you know even the PAPpies cannot really justify Nathan Trupm the Donald.
Many mock President Nathan for saying that people are singing the national anthem to him at the National Day Parade fail to grasp the sequence of events:
a. Parade commander calls parade to attention
b. President arrives and is led to dais
c. Parade commander calls parade to salute president by presenting arms
d. National anthem is played as part of the salute
e. Parade commander calls parade back to attention from present arms position
Since the national anthem is played as part of the salute to the President, it is not incorrect* to say that the national anthem is being sung to him IN THE CONTEXT OF NATIONAL DAY PARADE.
My friend the troll: Nathan failed to distinguish beteen S R Nathan the man and S R Nathan the president. The singing and respect paid is to the president (who juz happens to Nathan) not Nathan. A M’sian financier who advised successive M’sian ministers of finance in the 80s and 90s despite them belonging to rival factions, told me: “I’ ll advise a donkey so long as he holds the post of Finance Minister.”
The PAP lawyer said my friend was trying hard to find fault, which was a fair comment even if it sounded rich coming from someone trying really very hard to justify an ass of a comment.
But another PAPpy Ashok Sharma wanted to pick a fight perhaps its just you and your kind that failed to understand when the then President, SR Nathan made the comment he meant him as the President and not him as S R Nathan the man? The analogy, by the way, is most inappropriate at least, to me.
To which my friend replied
Nathan used the word “me”. That is not the correct word or term to use if he were referring to Nathan the president. He also dumb as Trump in addition to being as arrogant as the Donald isit? Sounds like it. LOL
*Why doesn’t he say “it is correct”? He doesn’t because it ain’t correct? Juz not incorrect.
**AS. Add another “s” and it becomes ASs. Delaration of interest. I’m getting a lunch at u/m place for naming and shaming the ASs.
I refer to this: http://themiddleground.sg/2016/02/12/god-save-the-key/
Middle Ground is ang moh tua kee isit?
Why can’t we just sing Majulah Kunchi (same tune and lyrics as Majulah Singapura with “Kunchi”, the Malay word for “key” for “Singapura” when the command Hormat (i.e. Salute) Presidente is given at the National Day parade?
Better still, we can use “Jaga Besar” (“Chief Watchman”) instead of “Kunchi”.
Mari kita rakyat Jaga Besar
sama-sama menuju bahagia;
Cita-cita kita yang mulia,
berjaya Jaga Besar.
Marilah kita bersatu
dengan semangat yang baru;
Semua kita berseru,
Majulah Jaga Besar,
Majulah Jaga Besar!
Marilah kita bersatu
dengan semangat yang baru;
Semua kita berseru,
Majulah Jaga Besar ,
Majulah Jaga Besar!
We can sing Majullah Singapura on other occasions.
Australian protocol is to play and sing God Saves the Queen when the Queen is present in person, followed by the national anthem. The national anthem is Advance Australia Fair and is played at other times. I think NZ has the same practice.
Tomorrow, I’ll post on why Nathan is wrong to equate himself with the Queen of the United Kingdom.
Bharati: Let us go back to the question of identity. It has been brought up even at the highest levels, by the Prime Minister, Mr Lee Hsien Loong. How would you define yours?
Toh: Oh, my goodness. I never go there, because it would mean I have an identity crisis, and I do not ….
Bharati: But, that is your identity. What about the national Singaporean identity?
Toh: All this harping on identity is to underline and underscore that we do not have one. It is to bury it if you keep on digging at it.
And more tots from Sylvia Toh of Goondu fame including Singlish and where teachers fail
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/i-find-singaporeans-a/2511038.html
Highly commended
A CNA story* on Sunday said that StanChart will be cutting jobs here in Technology and Operations. Now this is an area dominated in StanChart by FTs from India like two-timing New Citizen Raj**
That brings to mind the following:
FT reported that India is so impt to StanChart that it’s planning to set up a subsidiary so that it can expand its branch network there. A wag commented: “In Singapore there is an area known as “Little India” (I had lunch in the area yesterday). Go into the offices of StanChart’s regional office here and any S’porean would think that “Little India” has expanded into the Marina Bay area.”
Marina Bay’s Little India, will be no more? This will be the last Deepavali in StanChart’s Marina Bay office? Next yr will be the first Chinese New Year there?
——————————-
*Following Standard Chartered’s announcement that it will axe 15,000 jobs globally, the bank has declined to reveal how many of these job losses will come from Singapore.
However, recent high-profile departures are said to include the bank’s global head of FX research Callum Henderson and global head of aviation finance Simon Perkins.
A source familiar with the Asia-focused British lender told Channel NewsAsia on condition of anonymity that Technology and Operations is an area in Singapore targeted for cuts.
When contacted by Channel NewsAsia on Friday (Nov 6), a StanChart spokesperson said a large number of the total headcount reductions will be through attrition. The spokesperson said the bank was unable to provide further details at this point in time.
Standard Chartered currently employs around 7,000 people in Singapore.
The bank on Tuesday said it will cut 15,000 of 86,000 jobs around the world, meaning that nearly one in five employees will lose their jobs.
**I understand that New Citizen Raj works in StanChart.
Other people’s money: A financier’s plaything. “The goose that lays golden eggs has been considered a most valuable possession. But even more profitable is the privilege of taking the golden eggs laid by somebody else’s goose. The investment bankers and their associates now enjoy that privilege. They control the people through the people’s own money.” (Louis Brandeis, U.S. Supreme Court justice.)
[Err Substitute the words “PAP administration” for A financier’s plaything and The investment bankers and their associates and you see that the young hooligans of “Free Our CPF” are onto something.
Pension plan: A collection of unpayable corporate promises backed by inadequate funds and managed on the assumption of unrealistic returns.
http://blogs.reuters.com/breakingviews/2015/10/16/the-devils-dictionary-of-post-crisis-finance-2/
Apparently TRE cybernuts and Jason Chua and his pro PAP cybernuts have better sex lives than normal S’poreans.
The UK’s Daily Star (think Stomp! and New Paper), reports a study by a sex therapist who says he has found that less intelligent people have a better love life as they are less likely to worry about “performance” or “how satisfied their lover is”.
“The findings that dumb people have better sex will be welcome news to hordes of everyday Brits, as well as numerous celebrities,” the paper adds.
BBC Online
A little light entertainment with a nasty dig at the NSP and its president.
Must skim MSM, cannot rely on New Media
Reading only TOC and other anti-PAP new media outlets can make an otherwise intelligent person look silly.
Mrs Chong-Aruldoss (I know her) representing the Chiams’ Party (Yip it’s her blood, and that of P Ravi,that the Chiams are feasting on to keep alive) questioned why the findings of the AGO’s annual audit on public agencies were “met with muted responses” from the Government.
Huh? The constructive, nation-building media* were full of reports. And from personal experience, I know, govt bodies work themselves into a frenzy whenever the AGO criticises them, unlike the WP who are as yaya papayas as Amos Yee, when the AGO ticks it off; saying it accepts that the AGO is professional and independent. but then gives it the finger by ignoring it. In govt departments and agencies, not being mentioned by the AGO is an impt KPI for senior officers.
Ms Sim from the PAP rightly pointed out that the agencies’ reactions have been swift after the report was released. They have owned up to lapses and cases of non-compliance, and have taken action to rectify the lapses. All the monies were accounted for and no public funds were lost.
(CNA)
*Here’s a story about that parachutist extraordinaire (Three GEs, three GRCS, three different parties): A few yrs ago he criticised the mainstream media for biased news reporting of a non-political story. I emailed him, saying that actually the ST carried a very fair report, it was MediaCorp that didn’t. He emailed back saying he only read the free stuff. And blogged on that basis.
I lost all respect for his views after that.
Later today, we’ll know if he will really be standing in GE 2015.
When I read that M Ravi was in the RP’s line-up for AMK, I couldn’t help but think that he joined the wrong party. Given the flip flops (think the decision to stand in Fortress Kate Spade and the strange issue of rowing over a permit http://www.theonlinecitizen.com/2015/03/nsps-back-track-on-presidential-appeal-in-need-of-reason/) of the No Subtance Party, he’d be really suitable to be a candidate for the National Stupid Party whose president claims that it was the fault of his lawyer and banker that he once a upon pleaded guilty to charges of corruption.
However as a young man with no legal experience, I took the professional advice of both my lawyer and bankers, who explained that as this was a technical breach of the law, it was far simpler to plead guilty, pay the fine and move on with life.
I remember clearly the urge to stand up and clear my name in court, as the charges not only frightened me but also went against every grain of what I stood and stand for morally. However, I deferred to the advice of my legal and financial advisors. In hindsight, I wish I had not done so.
Sorry for the digression. Back to M Ravi. Earlier on 12 August M Ravi had said he wasn’t standing as a RP candidate in AMK*.
And earlier this year, Ravi announced that he planned to stand in AMK, fielding a team of independents including New Citizen Han Hui Hui.
He then said he had allocated $1m to fund the campaign, will this money be available for RP’s fight in AMK?
In February this year M Ravi, publicly said ” he has set aside $1 million, saved over the years, for his campaign” – See more at:http://news.asiaone.com/news/singapore/opposition-veteran-lawyer-take-polls-position#sthash.ox58eIpv.dpuf. He planned to take on the PM in AMK GRC in the next GE, if the s/o JBJ’s party didn’t contest AMK.
Let’s put this $1m fighting fund into perspective:
— The 170 candidates who took part in the General Election 2011 spent some $5.5 million on the polls: so Ravi is planning to spend 18% of that amount in just one GRC;
— PM’s AMK team team spent $340,905 in that yr (second highest*), so Ravi is planning to spend 3 times more than PM’s team (he has to be careful not to run run foul of the $4.00 per voter that any party is allowed to spend); and
–. surely his relatives will vote for him? “He said he picked the six-MP constituency because 25 per cent of its residents are his relatives, saying he has Chinese and Indian roots. The GRC had about 179,000 voters in the last polls. – See more at:http://news.asiaone.com/news/singapore/opposition-veteran-lawyer-take-polls-position#sthash.ox58eIpv.dpuf It seems Ravi has a low opinion of his many AMK relatives seeing that he plans to spend so much money. Surely, they’ll vote for “kaki lang”, “countryman” for free?
https://atans1.wordpress.com/2015/02/09/analysing-ravis-1m-amk-election-fund/
*Statement on Candidacy
Following my presence in a recent walkabout in AMK GRC with the Reform Party (RP) and a short interview I gave, speculation has been rife that I will run as a candidate for the RP.
I knew Mr J B Jeyaretnam, the founder of the RP, both as a friend and a colleague at the Bar. He was a man who always fought for the common man and dedicated a life of service to his fellow man. I am indeed honoured to have worked with him. He set up the Reform Party before his passing and it’s indeed wonderful to see his work and vision carried on by Kenneth in trying circumstances.
I am grateful that Kenneth allowed me to volunteer my services in some small way. I have seen his dedication and commitment to the people of AMK GRC. I see the same spirit in Roy Ngerng in wanting to serve the people and being the voice for the under-privileged in society.
I have been a lawyer for 18 years and I have always tried to serve my clients to the best of my ability. It’s a calling I take very seriously.
These few days, I have given considerable thought as to what my role and service to society must be. It is to the calling of service to the legal and judicial system but most of all a calling of service to my clients who depend on me to fight for them.
It is therefore prudent and crucial that I continue to maintain my focus on this and serve my clients diligently when I resume my legal practice shortly. It is here that my focus and service must lie.
Accordingly I have decided that my service now is best rendered in this role.
I thank the Reform Party for allowing me to witness its work and outreach up close.
I wish them, and Roy Ngerng, well in their service to the public.
Thank You,
As you know, I think Roy Ngerng talks rubbish: but he’s got an interesting insight into three GRCs, Jurong, Tampines and West Coast GRCs – the PAP has consolidated these areas and largely left them intact, which means they will likely field who they consider to be their strong candidates in these areas. Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam currently helms the Jurong GRC.
… the PAP already has development plans in mind and have redrawn the boundaries to allow it (it hopes) to hold on to certain constituencies so that it can fully develop these areas according to its wants. In that sense, the PAP has parcelled out Singapore into areas it considers important to keep for its growth-at-all-cost model, and those which it considers less important.
And if you understand what it means when the PAP wants to develop these areas, it means that the PAP wants to build more shopping malls, increase rents, increase prices, increase revenue for themselves and allow themselves to get rich. So, you want to let them?
Well looking at these three areas, not as a cybernut hero but as a rational investor, residents in these areas would be daft to vote Oppo. They should vote for the PAP in overwhelming numbers to make sure the candidates of s/o JBJ (West coast), and No Substance Party (Jurong and Tampines lose their deposits.
The MIW should be so grateful and make living in these places even better.
Whatever it is, the PAP will not lose these three areas: even Goh Meng Seng, cybernut personified, realises this. Hence he is not contesting in Tampines despite the fact that in 2011 Meng Seng’s brother gave his life in the fight for Tampines. The brother had a heart attack while campaigning for Meng Seng.
So go check out properties in these three GRCs.
In TRE la-la land home of the cybernuts, like dancer and singer over children’s graves, Oxygen, there is always the gleeful complain that the PAP administration doesn’t listen to feedback. Actually, it’s a common refrain (albeit not gleefully) among S’poreans.
Could this refusal to listen be because Ah Loong and his dad before him, and the rest of the PAP tot of themselves as aristocrats? Natural ones by merit, of course, not hereditary ones
The Daily Mail’s then owner Vere Harmsworth was asked why did he not just survey readers, ask what they wanted and give it to them? This would not produce a good paper, Harmsworth replied: “Getting someone else’s newspaper is like stepping into their bath after they have just left.”
He was an aristocrat by birth. He was the 3rd Viscount Rothermere. The 1st Viscount Rothermere, when he was a peasant, founded the UK’s Daily Mail. But Vere Harmsworth would also would have been a “natural” aristocrat. He was a good newspaper proprietor, knowing what the public wanted before they knew it, and then selling it to them. Bit like Steve Jobs and our dear Harry. He was also a shrewd investor. The Mail group still has an interest in a North Sea oilfield (almost deleted), whichhe bought when the North Sea oil projects were in their infancy.
When TRE republished https://atans1.wordpress.com/2015/07/13/what-amos-and-meng-seng-have-in-common/, it added this photo
Trying to imitate this?
They both trying to audition for the next Planet of the Apes movie? I hear there’s a role for a clowning chimp that takes on the gorillas and gets beaten up for his efforts. Amos would have a hard start on GMS for this role, given his recent spell in remand and our very own Arkham. https://atans1.wordpress.com/2015/06/23/arkham-awaits-amos-autism-isnt-mental-illness-but/, https://atans1.wordpress.com/2015/06/29/mother-mary-why-fantastic-is-in-block-7/
Goh Meng Seng for all his blustering braggadocio hasn’t suffered at the hands of the PAP administration, unlike Amos. In fact, GMS helped ensure the victory of the PAP’s preferred presidential candidate by advising, helping Tan Kin Lian run a clownish election campaign. Incidentally, he had been encouraging, flattering TKL to run since 2008.
Seriously GMS was taking part in a “protest” in support of Amos, the boy fantastic. He jetted in from HK for a flying visit. He got his own private set?
Btw, notice that GMS was using a pink polo shirt. Is he courting the LGBT vote, imitating Pinkie or signalling his intention to the president of the No Substance Party that he’s still available. Yes, I know the NSP’s official polo shirt is orange, but using an orange polo shirt is too obvious, a signal.
It stands for “Prosperity”?
I tot of this when I read
The owners of a high-end jewellery shop nearby strike gold when a customer buys not one but two sparkling necklaces.
Nicole Kharma, 48, is visiting from Singapore and arrived in Greece prepared, carrying a wad of 50 euro notes. As she counts out her hundreds, jewellery dealer Stavros Metaxas explains: “The foreign customers are very important. The Greeks are waiting to see what happens with the crisis and do not want to spend money.”
…
And shops need cash rather than credit cards to pay their suppliers.
“If they do not get their money, the suppliers have starting taking back their stock,” says Mr Metaxas.
Ms Kharma has been able to withdraw 500 euros a day using her foreign bank card and spend the money in local businesses. But it is “heartbreaking” to watch what is going on around her, she says.
“Leaving the cash machine with a stack of 50s – for 500 euros – when everybody is queuing and getting only 50 euros, it’s very sad.”
(BBC report on Greece)
If she had asked for discount our Harry really would have been proud.
As it is, let’s remember that the prosperity (no not thinking of you cybernuts) that many of us enjoy is in part due to the actions of the administration of Prosperity Action Party.
United Kingdom-based fitness chain Fitness First recently announced that it would be launching a “first-of-its-kind globally” gym in Singapore. It will be a “private and intimate” place, catering to chief executives who “do not want to be down there in the gym with a lowly clerk”.
Sounds like the place for JosTeo, GraceF and other PAP ministers like VivianB who sneered at the elderly poor, would like to hang out too.
Called Gravity, the gym is targeted at C-suite and senior executives in the CBD. To join, one has to be invited and pay S$3,000, on top of monthly fees of about S$600 — almost five times more than average monthly membership fees at gyms here.
The new 17,000 sq ft gym will be located on the 38th floor of CapitaGreen tower on Market Street. It will boast services such as on-site wellness consultations, one-to-one personal coaching, and a smartphone application that members can use to track their fitness progress as well as network with one another.
The gym also has a lounge, work stations and meeting rooms. A 6,500 sq ft restaurant is scheduled to open in October, which can be patronised by the public during lunch and dinner hours. Breakfast will be specially catered for members and their invited guests.
…
In Asia, Fitness First operates gyms in Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand.
Mr Simon Flint, who heads the company’s Asia business, said Singapore was chosen as the location for its first “private members’ club” because the Republic was “a thriving international business hub with a large population of business executives who are concerned about their health and well-being”. Today
And millionaire ministers who don’t like to mix with lesser mortals?
Vanessa Ho, a coordinator with Project X shared that a Singaporean male cheated three sex workers by paying them with fake currency last Friday.
She wrote that $25 was cheated out of one worker, while the other two were cheated of $50 each. One worker even gave the man $20 change in real cash.
As the transaction was conducted in a dimly lit area, the sex workers were unable to tell that the note was a fake currency.
The workers were able to identify the man in a red shirt on Friday as the same person who paid them with a fake $50 note.
One of the workers identified him as one of her regular customers. According to her, the man is a Singaporean Chinese, who is around 20 years old odd, and works as a chef.
http://www.theonlinecitizen.com/2015/05/sex-workers-cheated-with-fake-50-notes-for-their-services/
Could he be a regular poster on TRE, one of the cheapskates who praises TRE but who never contributes to keeping TRE alive. Richard Wan, Andrew and the other members of TeamTRE not only provide their services for free, they even fund TRE. It has raised only half of its required funding of USD50,000 for this year.
Taz dedication. The cheapskates are relations of JosTeo, GraceF and other PAP ministers? and of this ACS mum? TRE posters came out in support of her cheapshateness when TRE republished my piece. Nothing wrong in being cheapshate or scrounging off the efforts of others.
…
As a matter of fact, CI has been taking potshots at and calling opposition figures and TRE readers derogatory names since years back.
Here is a sampling which I gathered and compiled :
Dr Chee : Mad Dog Chee, Dr Chee and gang
Goh Meng Seng : wayang kung fu artiste extraordinaire
Dr Chee & Goh Meng Seng : Two chatter-boxes, two noisy S’poreans
Svlvia Lim & Pritam Singh : Auntie and her Singh
Kenneth Jeyaratnam : s/o JBJ and self-styled and self-appointed keeper of JBJ’s flame, KJ’s low EQ, up-bringing and manners [You mean KJ not s/o JBJ? He fake son isit? Like he fake Saints as many old boys of St andrews claim?]
Catherine Lim: Msian Cina New Citizen Pussy Lim, Damaged CD & Broken Record
Ng Kok Lim : a rat …
Roy Ngerng & Han Hui Hui : hooligans
Roy Ngerng : loose cannon
Han Hui Hui : trash
Amos Yee & his mother : a dysfunctional wife and son, Mummy’s Pet
M. Ravi : sick as a parrot, went “bananas” a few yrs back
TOC : a leading Ravi cheerleader
TRE readers and anti-PAP netizens : cybernuts, whining cyber warriors, born losers, paper ranters, rabble, talk cock, sing song free-loading cheap-skates, Roy’s ultra supporters
oxygen : loser
Tham Weng Kay & Bapak : looney ones
Pretty accurate but I don’t remember the last one and the citation Rotten posted in clarification really isn’t from me.
And Rotten left out: Andrew Loh, Maruah, Kirsten Han, Lynn Lee, that wind-bag JBJ and many others. And the PAPpies I slime. But then Rotten’s a cybernut.
Seriously think about the people I don’t slime regularly: Alex Au, WP Low, Chen Show Mao, P(olitician) Ravi, the Chiams (OK except for turning SPP into a zombie), TeamTRE, Terry Xu of TOC etc. I don’t slime serious, competent people wanting to do good. I slime clowns (think Goh Meng Seng, JBJ, Roy, and M Ravi) and talk cock, sing song whiners esp if they are ang moh tua kees (Lynn Lee, Kirsten Han, s’o JBJ.)
And who are the people I admire? LKY, Lee Siew Choh, Dr Goh, Toh Chin Chye etc: All serious men who wanted to do good for other S’poreans, though the “good” is loosely defined. Waz good by LKY’s definition may not be good by Lee’s definition and vice-versa.
Have a good long weekend.
TRE and its anti-PAP cybernut posters are cheerfully running down SIA because it is ranked 29 in safety terms below even Chinese air;ines
Why always running down S’porean co and seeing Chinese cos no ak?
Given its safety record (when was last time anybody died in SIA crash?) It may have found the sweet spot between costs, safety and efficiency?
And btw, since when have TRE posters (Chris K excepted) been able to afford to fly. Going by their comments about public tpt fares, they can’t even afford to travel by bus.
Cynical Investor:
Why always running down S’poreanco and seeing Chinese cos no ak?Given is safety record (when was last time anybody died in SIA crash?) It may have found the sweet spot between costs, safety and efficiency?
Really? If that is so, how come No.1 ranked Cathay Pacific is more profitable than SIA? Me thinks the disgraceful way SIA treats its frequent flyers is the reason it is falling behind. Have now gone with One World (Cathay and BA) – ended my 15 year Gold membership at SIA recently.
(Update on 11 Februaey at 4.30 am
The Law Society of Singapore has ordered Human Rights lawyer, M Ravi to stop his legal practice until he goes for a medical examination.
“The Council of the Law Society has received information relating to Mr M Ravi’s impaired fitness to practise and has issued a direction that Mr Ravi stop his legal practice pending a medical examination pursuant to Section 25C(7) of the Legal Profession Act (Cap 161, 2009 Ed),” said the Law Society in response to media queries on Tuesday regarding the order to stop Mr Ravi from his legal practice. (TOC 10 February 2015))
—————————————–
M Ravi tells us ” he has set aside $1 million, saved over the years, for his campaign” – See more at: http://news.asiaone.com/news/singapore/opposition-veteran-lawyer-take-polls-position#sthash.ox58eIpv.dpuf. He wants to take on the PM in AMK GRC in the next GE, if the s/o JBJ’s motley crew of dead-beats doesn’t contest AMK.
Let’s put this $1m fighting fund into perspective:
— The 170 candidates who took part in the General Election 2011 spent some $5.5 million on the polls: so Ravi is planning to spend 18% of that amount in just one GRC;
— PM’s AMK team team spent $340,905 in that yr (second highest*), so Ravi is planning to spend 3 times more than PM’s team; and
–. surely his relatives will vote for him? “He said he picked the six-MP constituency because 25 per cent of its residents are his relatives, saying he has Chinese and Indian roots. The GRC had about 179,000 voters in the last polls. – See more at: http://news.asiaone.com/news/singapore/opposition-veteran-lawyer-take-polls-position#sthash.ox58eIpv.dpuf It seems Ravi has a low opinion of his many AMK relatives seeing that he plans to spend so much money. Surely, they’ll vote for “kaki lang”, “countryman” for free?
Maybe this talk of a $1m fund is a repeat of his
— performance at Hong Lim Green when he pranced around in his shorts (great phyique btw) calling WP lawyers, “cow dung”;
— suing the Law Society and his then doctor for millions of dollars (he withdrew his suits without them paying up: when asked he said, “I’m moving on”);
— rowing in a temple;
— allegedly saying Roy “swindling the money” http://mothership.sg/2015/02/has-lawyer-m-ravi-had-enough-of-his-client-cpf-blogger-roy-ngerngs-antics/
— shouting in a mosque**?
Related post: https://atans1.wordpress.com/2013/06/02/understanding-m-ravis-bi-polar-disorder/
Yes, Yes, I know Ravi and Roy have now have publicly squabbled*** and this may help explain why he said he didn’t want Roy in his GRC team because he is “too impulsive”. At the time, I tot, “Isn’t New Citizen H3 worse?”, “Not OK to be impulsive, but OK to lie regularly like H3?” and “Pot calling the kettle black.”
—
*Highest was in Sembawang, Yishun. Looks like the PAP was concerned about Northern bit of S’pore in 2011, throwing money. The funny thing is that in both GRCs, the PAP faced really weak opponents. Shouldn’t the money be better deployed in Aljunied?
**He told the court that he hadn’t been taking his pills for his bi-polar condition.and blaming this inaction on his grief over mum’s death.
***Ngerng said he had given Mr Ravi the S$29,000 on Jan 22 and had received a receipt for it. But Mr Ravi had not processed the payment to Drew and Napier by Feb 2, and Ngerng said he was handed back the money to pay Mr Lee’s lawyers directly. He said he was unaware of the letters sent by Drew and Napier to Mr Ravi on Jan 30 and Feb 3.
But in an email to the media today, Mr Ravi claimed that the blogger had “not been at all timely” in paying Drew and Napier even after the S$29,000 had been refunded to him. Mr Ravi claimed the money was refunded to Ngerng at the latter’s request, “in the presence of many other persons”. (CNA 6th February)
No need for govt’s double talk of discouraging gambling, helping problem gamblers while having casinos and Toto. Juz embrace gambling LOL and use it to encourage less well-off S’poreans to save more in their CPF. And this allows the PAP administration, if it wants to, to screw the poor by lowering the interest rate.
Seriously, on top of the usual interest rates, offer “prizes” to less well-off S’poreans if they put additional $ into the CPF. The theoretical basis for the suggestion is as follows:
found that the presence of a prize-linked savings account increased the rate of total savings: the current consumption of respondents decreased by 7% when the option became available. In addition, they found that people reduced their use of the stand-alone lottery when they had the option of prize-linked savings. Strikingly, this effect remained even if the scheme offered a much lower average rate of return than the lottery or the fixed-interest rate options. That suggests premium bonds may well have saved the British government a lot of extra interest payments over the lifetime of the scheme.
These authors also found—confirming Macmillan’s suspicions—that these prizes were particularly attractive to those participants on low incomes or with a poor record of saving. Prize-linked savings induced individuals who reported little or no savings to increase their saving rate by an additional four percentage points compared with the average respondent.
….
The authors suggest that adding a random element to the interest rate entices people because it removes the stigma attached to gambling by packaging it with the more positive act of saving. That may explain why the concept has been so wildly successful. In Britain, they are now the most popular financial product after bank accounts; 21% of households are currently invested in them. Premium bonds have even spurred several private imitators, such as one product offered by Bank of Scotland which hands out monthly prizes to those who invest in it. Prize-linked savings accounts, it seems, have turned out to be not quite as squalid as Wilson once thought.
Top destinations for foreign direct investment in 2014 |
|
|---|---|
| SOURCE: UNCTAD | |
| China | $128bn |
| Hong Kong | $111bn |
| US | $86bn |
| Singapore | $81bn |
| Brazil | $62bn |
| UK | $61bn |
| Canada | $53bn |
| Australia | $49bn |
| Netherlands | $42bn |
| Luxembourg | $36bn |
$= USD
Money keeps on rolling in despite what the anti-PAP cyber warriors claim about mismanagement of the economy. And it’s not “hot” money but the most desirable type
And since I’m smiling while looking at my bank and CPF statements, he (and Tharman and others) must really must doing something right. I’m juz not grateful, isit? And 40% of voters are like me?
Or juz as clueless as clueless as a certain Catholic High drum-major whose band allegedly ignored him when he and they marched to a different rhythm?
These were my tots when I read PM’s comments* about the garbage at the Laneway Festival because
— I had tot it was for expats, their SPGs, and local ang moh always tua kees: true blue S’poreans from the Hearlands, not welcomed (even if there wasn’t a sign saying “Dogs and Hearlanders banned”; and
— how come no cleaners? I mean even the Pinoys employed cleaners to clean up after their 2013 do at Hong Lim Green a few yrs ago.
Sweiously, two comments on Facebook that I agree with:
Simply put, Why accuse Singaporean in the first place? They already make this country open internationally and why claim only Singaporean are the one that cause the damage? Isn’t this accusation uncalled for especially from the top man of the land? I find it shameful for such well educated man to accused without being there, what is he trying to stir?
And a very totful
On one hand, we can’t discount that the littering problem may the exacerbated by a more varied and transient demographic profile with little attachment to the place. But, this needs more targeted research and serious surveys. Nationality aside, perhaps we may have to look at more undercurrent structures that may have stifled the collective sense of public ownership and initiative in a pathologically manicured state that required a very heavy hand to keep the place clean. Although there are community efforts in cleaning up beaches and swamps, the initiatives that we see in the very ordinary efforts Japanese and Burmese in cleaning their own mess in foreign lands seem absent for Singaporeans in general. why?
And even more seriously seriously, does he want us to employ cleaners, and then not use them?
But to be fair to him, the PAP administration which he heads expects us to pay ministers and senior civil servants and senior executives govt agencies millions of dollars to make decisions like
— awarding land slated for a temple to a listco for commercial purposes; or
— raise public transport fares when oil prices have collapsed.
Maybe PM should have done us a favour and become a top mathematician or scientist http://mustsharenews.com/lee-hsien-loong-mathematician/ or master computer programmer** or anything except to be a PM whose default mode is to blame S’poreans for the Trashies he let into S’pore, or appointed to high office (with us paying them millions) and then being blamed for not cleaning up for them.
—-
*Last Saturday, the 2015 Laneway Festival was held at the Meadow at Gardens by the Bay. The left pic shows what the 13,000 festival goers left behind.
It takes continuous effort to keep Singapore clean. We need to progress from being a cleaned city to a truly clean city. All of us can play a part – picking up our own litter, educating our children and grandchildren, and reminding others to do the right thing. Visit thePublic Hygiene Council‘s page to find out how you can help.
**When he was an army officer, he programmed a HP scientific calculator to do trigonometry calculations that had to be done using pen, paper and calculator or slide-rule: . Sadly the HP calculator ,as the US army could have told him wasn’t (isn’t) rugged enough for military use, even in the paper SAF. At least he didn’t try progamning the TI scientific calculator. It’s fragile.
Not very long ST reported that a survey showed that the majority of respondents tot that proposed ban on drinking alcohol aftar 10.30 pm in public places (say at barbecue pits) was not on: so another survey was commissioned and it came out with the “right” result. S’poreans wanted it by a huge margin.
What an idiotic survey:
“Respondents were also asked if they felt public drunkenness was a serious issue that required addressing. Eight in 10 agreed the issue needed to be tackled, and a similar proportion believed the regulations would be able to clamp down on cases of public drunkenness.”
It’s like asking if people thought shoplifting was a serious issue that needed addressing; and if chopping off the hands of those caught would reduce shoplifting; then concluding that people supported such upper limb amputation.
Above appeared on Facebook from someone that the unwashed mob (think TRE ranters and other anti-PAP irrational loonies) think of as a member of the elitist class that they are entitled to be members of, but are not.
Seriously, what the survey shows is that the
— PAP administration has not changed its attitude in thinking that S’poreans can and must be manipulated; and
— the complicity of the constructive, nation-building media, and other fellow travellers…
Most importantly, the restrictions show that administration’s panic over a little riot two years ago is not over yet. Come on, get over it. No-one died and it did show that the police hadn’t a clue what to do.
I’m sure a bit of work experience in India, China would help solve the lack of practical experience. Got to prepare for the time when the young hooligans (Roy and New Citizen H3) and Mad Dog Chee decide to call street protests.
And here’s a clueless MP asking a really dumb question:
Mr Zaqy Mohamad: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs whether the Ministry will consider allowing alcohol sold in residential areas to be contained in only plastic or tin containers as a safety measure in the event of unruly behaviour or fights in the neighbourhood.
But let’s be fair to him, he’s the very same MP that had to step down from the PAP’s politburo because his CEC position conflicted with the day job’s internal rules. If he doesn’t know the job’s rules, what does he know? But let’s be fair again, he may have tot as a PAP MP, he was above mere, petty rules?
Mr Goh Chok Tong in 1993 said: ‘If we do not pay ministers adequately, we will get inadequate ministers. If you pay peanuts, you will get monkeys for your ministers …”. Apart from the the implication that other than our very own AhLoong, all the world leaders including Obama and Xi are monkeys, the assumption is that monkeys are stupid.
Well, A recent study from Yale University shows that capuchin monkeys, unlike humans, aren’t fooled into thinking that higher price automatically implies better quality (these were experimental monkeys who did have to pay for some of their food).
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-30655616
If he can get the intelligence of monkeys so very wrong, what else can he get wrong?
Btw, the following reflects badly on people like Grace Fu, Jos Teo and Hen, The study of our primate relatives may help us understand happiness. We know, for example, that sharing of food and favours takes place amongst primates and assumptions have been made that this was always about a clear exchange of one favour for another. But a recent study from the Yerkes National Primate Research Center has noted that monkeys exchange reciprocal favours without necessarily keeping track of who did what for whom.
Don’t they talk of the need for serious money to get gd ministers? Well monkeys do things for others without calculating the cost, so why can’t Jos, Grace and Fu?.They not as unselfish as monkeys?
Related post: https://atans1.wordpress.com/2014/12/30/assumption-behind-reasonable-pay-for-ministers-badly-flawed-whats-reasonable-pay-for-this-civic-service/
The rat infestation episode at Bukit Batok seems to be over – according to Star Pest Control, which carried out the extermination process. (CNA 6 Jan)
But not all the rats were killed. One managed to escape and is staying with his cousin in Aljunied. Here’s a conversation they had after it became public knowledge that AHPETC had sent lawyers’ letters to those in S&C arrears.
———————–
Bukit Batok rat: Wah see you also got problem here. Town Council cracking down on delinquent S&C accounts.
Aljunied rat: No sweat brudder. Plenty of time before people like the owner of this dump has to pay up
BB rat: What you mean? Took PAP guys less than a month after residents complained to clean us out. Surely yr town council as efficient?
A rat: This town council is WP town council. Takes time to do anything.S’preans still waiting for 2013 arrears data. Town Council had said in November 2014 that it was processing the data.
My owner has not been paying his bills since 2011. Why you think there’s so much food around. Life is gd here for us rats.
BB rat: Wah so would have been good for us rats if WP had run Bukit Batok.
A rat: Err wait a minute. [Dials his handphone] Hello, Victor, A rat here. My Bukit Batok cousin says that voting for WP is gd for us rats. Didn’t you tell us at the last PA meeting that PAP is good for us rats?
OK will wait for you to call PAP HQ to find out how to rebut my cousin’s logic.
Thanks.
—————
I’ll keep readers posted of what PAP HQ’s answer is.
Apparently, the lawyers for al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and Islamic State (who both claim they were behind the murders.of 17 people in Paris last week) have written to the publisher of Charlie Hebdo to demand a share of the profits of the sale of the “survival” special edition. This will have a print run of five million issues this week (3 miilion copies have already been sold). The normal circulation is about 60,000.
The lawyers point out that it was their clients that were responsible for the additional sales, and should therefore share in the profits, adding, “mounting these kind of operations is not cheap.”
If the publisher refuses, the lawyers say, “our clients will not be responsible for the consequences.”
LOL.
Update at 5.45 pm
In a BBC Online piece dated 24 December, the writer said that Zimbabwe’s president Mugabe and his family “[are] holidaying in Singapore this Christmas.”
Well as Mugabe doesn’t brook any checkers to his power, maybe our PM should ask him for advice since PM grumbles that too many checkers results in him and the PAP administration being unable to get things done: “You will have a lot of checkers, you have no workers… There will be gridlock, like in other countries,” he said. – See more at: http://www.straitstimes.com/news/singapore/more-singapore-stories/story/too-many-checks-will-lead-checkmate-20141208#sthash.m4oKYKQZ.dpuf
Well there is no-one to check Mugabe who has been PM since 1987. The country is a mess http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-30578027 while Robert Mugabe and his ministers in the Office of the President and Cabinet are living large despite a stubborn economic crisis at a time government revenues are dwindling due to a shrinking tax base. – See more at: http://nehandaradio.com/2014/12/28/mugabe-spends-big-amid-poverty/#sthash.FmNmxOnn.dpuf
I don’t think PM wants this outcome here. What do you think?
Recently, I met someone who gave me the best reason why PM was wrong to sue Roy Ngerng. (Btw, the guy is as anti-PAP as Dr Chee and Roy and New Citizen H3 combined, but he isn’t that mad as to believe that Roy’s research and writings bears any semblance to the truth.)
He said that in his opinion, PM sued Roy to show S’poreans that he too was a tough guy like his dad: “Don’t play play with me,” was the message PM wanted to send.
Trouble my friend says is that AhLoong looks and sound like a SuperWimp. Suing Roy to show us he as tough and nasty and mean as dad, juz shows us the difference between him and his dad. He is not the man, for gppd or ill, his dad.
And this does not reflect well on AhLoong: it makes us realise that dad’s SuperThug costume doesn’t fit AhLoong. AhLoong needs his own superhero costume but can’t seem able to afford one despite the millions he’s earned. .
What do you think should be his costume?
Update at 5.30am
Thinking further about it, the PM should have done what he did after dad went off the rails at GE 2011, threatening the Aljunied voters. LKY was seen and heard no more and PM said that things were different now. On the Roy issue, he could have ended the matter after Roy chickened out, admitting
1.On or around 15 May 2014, I, Roy Ngerng Yi Ling, published on my blog (at http://thehearttruths.com/), an article entitled “Where your CPF Money Is Going: Learning From The City Harvest Trial” (the “Article”). I also published links to the Article on my Facebook page (at https://www.facebook.com/sexiespider) and on The Heart Truths’ Facebook page (at https://www.facebook.com/pages/I-want-the-government-and-people-to-work-together-for-Singapores-future/185331834935656).
2.I recognise that the Article means and is understood to mean that Mr Lee Hsien Loong, the Prime Minister of Singapore and Chairman of GIC, is guilty of criminal misappropriation of the monies paid by Singaporeans to the Central Provident Fund.
3.I admit and acknowledge that this allegation is false and completely without foundation.
4.I unreservedly apologise to Mr Lee Hsien Loong for the distress and embarrassment caused to him by this allegation.
5.I have removed the Article and the links to the Article and undertake not to make any further allegations to the same or similar effect.
by demanding that Roy pays his legal costs, waiving his rights for damages.
This would send the message that the PM wasn’t in the business of bankrupting people fo protect his reputation, but that defaming him wasn’t cost-free publicity for wanna-be celebrities. They’d have to pay his legal fees.
TRE should be commended for telling us that Victor Lye who is really work hard for PAP in Aljunied
is the Chief Executive of Shenton Insurance Pte Ltd [Link].
He must be a very lucky CEO to be given 1.5 years leave by his company, so as to enable him to “focus on his grassroots work”.
According to information from ACRA, Shenton Insurance is owned by Parkway Holdings. In other words, it is a subsidiary of Parkway Holdings:
…
If Mr Lye were to be an opposition member, would he have been given 1.5 years leave to do “grassroots work” by Shenton Insurance too?
What do you think?
http://www.tremeritus.com/2014/12/17/paps-victor-lye-given-15-years-leave-to-do-grassroots-work/
And telling us that
While Minister of State for National Development Desmond Lee is busy trying to “fix” opposition town council AHPETC, his own Jurong Town Council appears to be clueless in stopping rats running wild in his GRC.
A Facebook user uploaded videos and photos on his page yesterday (16 Dec) of what appeared to be rats scurrying around a grass patch:
Video: https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10202327035292102
http://www.tremeritus.com/2014/12/17/while-desmond-fixes-ahpetc-rats-run-wild-in-his-grc/
Gd investigative work using Google. If only TOC would do this too rather than behaving like the WP’s version of the PAP’s ST. But then TRE’s public face is an IT scholar, and elite school-boy that does credit to Catholic High (unlike a certain blur drum major)..
1 Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong has received a “clean bill of health” from his doctor after undergoing surgery for prostate cancer, and is now back at work. (CNA)
You mean he working? Doing what? Talking cock is work?
2 Tampines GRC MP Baey Yam Keng told CNA that even though he gives people the impression that he is a very active and sociable person, he is actually an introvert.
“I think I give people the impression that I’m a very active, sociable person… doing a lot of things. But I’m actually quite an introvert. Really! It’s just that I’m active online so there are certain posts people remember and they form certain impressions about me,” said Mr Baey chuckling.
As TRE pointed out, netizens have nicknamed him “Selfie King” because of his penchant for taking photos of himself at various events and at every opportunity, posting them online. He frequently makes postings of himself on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, sometimes multiple times a day.
3 Bit rich, what coming from a M’sian publication that is in same group as NST which promote special rights for the “right” race:.
“What does this policy say to us? That Filipinos can be maids but not servers? Indians are good for being construction coolies but we don’t want to see them as hotel staff? This is why you see Mandarin-speaking servers struggling to pronounce Palak Paneer across the curry houses of Singapore.”
I was juz talking to a retired Bumi financier and he was musing that Bank Negara has never had a Chinese governor, despite many capable deputy Chinese governors.
4 In an interview, PM Lee said that his children “have not yet” expressed an interest to enter politics.
When asked if he would influence or encourage his children to join politics, Mr Lee said, “They will have to make choices.”
“Every child is different. Of course parents would wish for their children to be successful but they all have different natures. Some may be more interested in arts while others could be keen on computing or science. This is something that will have to be developed based on their preferences.” (PM Lee was interviewed by Yang Lan on Beijing Satellite TV while he was in Beijing for the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) summit last month but aired here last Sunday)
So he telling us that he trying to persuade one of his sons to go go into politics? Like the way LKY persuaded him to get into politics? To be fair to him, the rumours are that that his wife has political ambitions for one of her sons. It’s also rumoured that his bro’s wife has political ambitions for one of her sons. Rumours also say that the bros are really relaxed about their sons not wanting to S’pore.
The absence of reports on the following is
Last Saturday was another Return Our CPF gig at Hong Lim Green. The MSM didn’t report it. But neither did TOC, ot TRE or Roy and New Citizen H3. So did anyone turn up?
And still no word from the WP on the arrears issue. Mgt systems must really be lousy.
And I’m surprised Goh Meng Seng is not attacking WP on this issue. But then maybe he focuses only on of inconsequential matters, not serious issues.
Now this had me smiling: Roy says he is stopping blogging. His verbal diarrhea finally sucumbed to SingHeath’s tablets. (subsidised)?
But then Roy talks cock? Remember his research that PM stole our CPF money? Then he said he was talking rubbish and that the allegation wasn’t true?
Have a gd week.
Btw, if this post sounds familiar it’s ’cause I first posted something similar on Friday. Something went wrong and it disappeared. It ended up between two posts, days ago. So I reposted it with some amendments.
Full of fat
Seriously, nice video on Mangalica – famed as the “Kobe beef of the pork world”. It was bred for emperors. Nearly went extinctwhen the communists ruled Hungary, but made a come-back when the fat cats (or should it be Fat pigs? returned.
http://www.bbc.com/news/business-30042761
We’ve been told that COEs is the price we pay to keep our streets free of traffic jams.
So it was great interest that I read that a recent study calculated that the cost of traffic jams in the UK, USA, France and Germany was 0.8% of the GDP. http://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2014/11/economist-explains-1
Translating it into the S’pore context via back of envelope calculations and Google searches:i n 2011, S’pore.s GDP’s was S$326.1bn. 0.8% amounted to S$2.6bn. CoEs cost S’poreans around S$2bn. So the cost of CoEs seems worth it that yr to avoid jams.
Interesting. Maybe Roy Ngerng or Uncle Leong might want to do more research? I chose 2011 because Google searches had the data for these yrs most easily available. Maybe other yrs, more precise numbers, more precise calculations might throw up different results. Hint using GDP at 2005 prices gives a figure of $2.4bn as 0.8% of the 2011 GDP.
On the face of it, CoEs are gd for the economy and those who can afford to own motor vehicles (including motor bikes and trucks).
Private vehicle owners should be voting for the PAP to thank the govt for making travel jam free.
Update at 6.00pm
So LKY was right on CoEs and Ngiam Tong Dow was wrong. Were GCT and LHL as smart as LKY.
As the above shows, they are paid a pittance
Yet FT reports that as their pay is being cut by up to 60%, “The biggest difference between China and western countries is that we pursue the goal of getting rich together,” Fu Chengyu, head of the country’s largest refiner, told reporters. “If you want to earn big sums, you should not be an SOE executive.” (“SOE” is State Owned Enterprice i.e a GLC or TLC).
Need I say more?
“[M]oney is by far the least [important factor]” when choosing where to work. At this level it can’t be painful, right? The job we’re doing is a vocation. All of us like to be paid whatever is deemed competitive in the market, but it’s not the main driver.”” said the CEO of Switzerland’s third largest bank who has had to cut his pay by 12% because shareholders were unhappy.
Could be govt wants S’poreans to get married and then breed earlier? Finish poly or vocational training, get a job, earn money and then get handcuffed and breeding is the master plan?
How did I come to think such tots? I had read an article in BT on S’pore’s latest population report, and a piece in the Economist on how the cost of a college education is forcing young Americans into later and later marriages.
BT on 26 September reported that according to the latest Population report released on Sep 25 by the National Population and Talent Division (NPTD — the same people who came up with the population White Paper that was rubbished by scholars). the statistics show a growing number of singles in this country, and when they do marry, it’s at a much later age.
This is the bit from the Economist: the cost of college can delay the day when young people feel they can afford an engagement ring, let alone a family. A third cited their finances as the reason they were not yet hitched, compared with just 20% of those over 35. As one Eminem fan at a recent music festival in Atlanta romantically put it “I’m just trying to sort things one at a time. I’ve got a girlfriend but I’ve also got college debt.”
http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2014/09/marriage-market
With voters annoyed with the govt’s, “We love FTs, even two-timing Raj and Hui Hui”, there seems to be a mnarked slowdown in the FT intake, so The Republic’s population growth has slid to its lowest in a decade, fertility rates have fallen further, and ageing continues at a rapid pace … negative repercussions on the economy …
Latest government figures released by the National Population and Talent Division (NPTD) on Thursday show that the total population grew at its slowest pace in 10 years, expanding just 1.3 per cent to 5.47 million as of June this year.
The easing in total population growth was driven by slower expansion in the non-resident population, which now stands at 1.6 million – an increase of 2.9 per cent compared to 4 per cent a year ago. This was, in turn, a result of the government’s tight restrictions on foreign labour inflows, which saw foreign employment growth slow to 3 per cent versus 5.9 per cent the previous year.
The spin for FTs like Hui Hui. (Ever heard of QC? Though thinking about it, Hui Hui’s a natural life insurance agent, second-hand car salesperson,more of this soon,, sans her looks and voice.)
By granting 20,000 new citizens and 30,000 new permanent residents (PRs) annually in the past few years, the government has kept immigration numbers stable. This is even as the citizen population continues to age, and as Singaporeans have fewer than enough babies to replace themselves. With increasing life expectancy and low fertility rates, there are more citizens in the older age groups today. The proportion of citizens aged 65 years and above rose to 12.4 per cent in 2014 from 11.7 per cent a year ago, while the median age of Singaporeans increased to 40.4 years from 40 years previously. This means the old-age support ratio – which is the number of citizens in the working age band of 20 to 64 needed to support one older citizen – is shrinking rapidly.
It fell from 11.4 in 1980 to 8.4 in 2000, before sinking further to 5.2 in 2014. At the same time, the resident total fertility rate (TFR) fell to 1.19 in 2013 from 1.29 in 2012, which was a “dragon year” on the Chinese zodiac. While NPTD said that the dip from 2012 to 2013 was gentler compared to previous post-dragon years, the overall TFR of 1.19 is far below the replacement level of 2.1.
Taken on their own, the latest population statistics paint a rather grey picture of Singapore’s future. A shrivelling old-age support ratio would mean greater pressure on the working population [Tot govt claims that the great thing about CPF is that it’s not dependent on younger workers unlike ang moh pension systems] and more stress on fiscal policy – worrying trends which population experts have long flagged. (BT 26 September)
—
*And we don’t know if post next GE, the floodgates will open again.
… Hong Kong’s health authorities have warned of “pollution risks” and advise the general public to reduce time outdoors.
The South China Morning Post observes that air pollution threat “had been low due to less traffic since the demonstrations began”.
However, the Post notes that the Environmental Protection Department has changed its health risk forecast to “high” and “very high” in the city on Tuesday, due to “different sources of pollution”.
Protesters interviewed by the paper, however, insist that the poor weather will “not undermine the protesters’ determination to seek democracy”.
“I don’t think rain and bad air quality will dampen or deter protesters’ will and confidence,” one said. “We have raincoats ready to hand out. We also have big umbrellas for protesters to share.” (BBC Online)
Btw, wonder if Roy and New Citizen 3H are going to HK, joining Goh Meng Seng, in researching the protests. After all Roy and 3H went to do research in Norway. What Norway has in common with S’pore except big SWFs is beyond me.
Uniquely HK way of protesting (Updated at 4.05pm)
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-29423147
I tot of the three ministers when I read:
WSJ Wealth Advisor’s Veronica Dagher explains in an article and accompanying video that “core expenses” for a family of four in Chicago – like an $850,000 mortgage on a $1.2m house, $24,000 a year in property taxes, $25,000 in home maintenance and $30,000 in groceries – really add up.
Then there’s discretionary spending, such as $25,000 a year for two vacations, $15,000 a year for car payments, $10,000 for entertainment and $12,000 in “club dues”. (Who are we kidding? I bet that paltry amount won’t even get you a golf membership with real live caddies. What are we, savages?)
… The Daily Kos’s Weinenkel says the entreaty to “cut your spending” is the best part of the video:
“Let’s forget that the median middle-class household income peaked at $56,080 in 1999 and it stands at roughly $50,017 now. Welcome to examples of the shrinking middle class, Wall Street Journal.”
If that wasn’t a strong enough dose of wealth hubris, Dagher provides plenty of examples of six-figure families living beyond their means.
“Sylvia Flores was earning more than $200,000 a year overseeing website content for retailers and tech firms when she got into trouble,” Dagher writes. “She had a personal chef and a housekeeper, and took her husband and two children to Hawaii for frequent vacations.”
http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-echochambers-29168898
So the Hen, Jos Teo and Grace Fu shouldn’t pretend that they are public-spirited for taking less pay by becoming PAP ministers, but others are not, or may not be. Juz be silent on the issue of ministerial loot salaries: like Tharman and Shan. But then they are local Indians, the other three are local Chinese. Indians have a reputation of being more political savvy.
After tot (7 October 4.30 am)
I came across this quote while reading FT last week, “money is by far the least [important factor]” when choosing where to work. At this level it can’t be painful, right? The job we’re doing is a vocation. All of us like to be paid whatever is deemed competitive in the market, but it’s not the main driver.”” said the CEO of Switzerland’s third largest bank who has had to cut his pay by 12% because shareholders were unhappy.
Monkeys at the top and bottom of the social pecking order have physically different brains, research has found.
A particular network of brain areas was bigger in dominant animals, while other regions were bigger in subordinates.
The study suggests that primate brains, including ours, can be specialised for life at either end of the hierarchy.
The differences might reflect inherited tendencies toward leading or following, or the brain adapting to an animal’s role in life – or a little of both.
Here’s the evidence that they’re fools. Or evidence that God’s the model for the Joker , Batman’s foe.
Penny wise, pound foolish?
One thing has puzzled me about the management team’s actions.
It was obvious from the testimony so far that at least his lietenants knew that the way that Sun Ho’s carrer was being funded* could be an issue with the auditors. Hence they claimed they had disclosed everything to the auditors esp to Comrade Brother Foong Daw Ching the head of the audit firm, who they claimed knew everything and was their consultant. Daw and the auditors denied everything, but they would wouldn’t they? Their testimony reminded me of “I know nothing, nothing” German sergeant in Hogan’s Heroes (a tv comedy series in the 70s)
What puzzled me was the absence of lawyers’ advice.
Now we know that Kong and gang only sought legal advice after police questioning
“Shaken to the core” was how the founder of the City Harvest Church felt when he was told by lawyers in early June 2010 that he and his five deputies had been negligent and “had done wrong” in managing the church’s finances.
Recounting yesterday that he had met up with the other accused and two lawyers a day after he recorded his first statement to the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD), Kong Hee, 49, said he had always consulted the lawyers and auditors on the church’s plans, be it bond investments or the financing of his singer-wife Sun Ho’s debut English album in the United States.
Taking the stand for the fourth day, he said: “I was shocked because I thought that all this while, we had relied on professionals to advise us; now one of the key professionals was saying we had done wrong.” (BT 15 August)
Were Kong and his lieutenants too mean to pay for legal advice. Every little penny for Auntie Ho and her Hollywoods friends?
Or did they have a suspicion that lawyers would advice against scheme? Too clever by half then?
Trusted that Kong had line to God
Xtron** had projected album sales of S$16 million in 2011, and S$23 million in 2012. A prosectuorpointed out that given there was neither a distribution contract nor an album contract, the figures were either “false, or at very best, purely speculative”.
John Lam, one of the defendants, said it was his belief in Kong Hee’s ability to make the Crossover Project a success which led to him supporting the church’s investment into the Xtron bonds, despite knowing that Xtron was not a profitable company, and that Sun Ho’s music albums were losing money.
We we now know based on the losses Kong is suffering as a result of his Sentosa Cove penthouse, that he doesn’t have a direct line the Fock Lok Siew God of Prosperity.
Dozens of houses – complete with their own private yacht berths and multiple swimming pools – sit empty while few lights are on in the apartment blocks overlooking the marina, a few kilometres away from Sentosa’s giant casino.
Prices in the gated community, where Australian mining tycoons Gina Rinehart and Nathan Tinkler bought properties, fell around 20 per cent in the past year as lending restrictions and taxes on foreign buyers burst a bubble in the South-east Asian financial hub’s luxury real estate market.
Investors could see the value of their assets fall even further with developers and investors still struggling to sell even after the recent price falls.(BT 29 August)
Earlier article on Sentosa and Kong.
So why does the congregation still trust that he has a private line to god? Time to sacrifice him to propitiate the prosperity god? Or is CHC the ship of fools?
Not trusting CHC members
If only Khong and gang had trusted the congregation, and raised funds for Sun Ho’s Hollywood lifestyle. It’s clear from their actions: supporting “Project Crossover” after being told how it had been funded, and funding the defence of most of the defendants). Oh ye people of little faith.
To end on a different note,
The court also heard that the money spent on Ms Ho’s US album went “down the drain” when she had to return to Singapore to assist with investigations into the alleged financial irregularities within the church.
It’s obvious that the anti-PAP cyber-warriors hate those who are more well-off than them. Shouldn’t they be cursing the govt for making Kong, Ho and gang lose money, and spoiling her career? Or are the most virulent anti-PAP ranters also envious born-losers?
——
*The prosecution alleges that payments between the church and Xtron was essentially moving money from one pocket to another. Its case is that the bonds were merely a device to funnel money from the church’s building fund into Xtron to be used for the church’s Crossover Project. Fronted by Ms Ho, the project was the church’s way of evangelising through pop music.
“The idea of using Xtron bonds was so it could be presented as an investment, and hide the fact that you were using building fund monies to fund Sun’s career,” said Lead Prosecutor Mavis Chionh, adding that there were telling signs that the bond investments were not genuine. For example, the church did not carry out due diligence on Xtron before subscribing to the bonds.
Money that went to Xtron was largely used to fund the church’s Crossover Project. In cross-examining former church board member John Lam, the prosecution pointed out that there was no basis for Xtron’s huge projected sales of Ms Ho’s then-delayed US album.
…
Church monies to the tune of S$4.79 million were used to meet expenses related to Sun Ho’s music albums, and this was something the church leaders had tried to hide, said the prosecution in the trial of City Harvest Church leaders on Tuesday (Aug 5)
**One of the companies the church invested in was Xtron, Ms Ho’s artiste management firm.
A simulation by the South Korean parliamentary research service, shows the population there will decline from 50m today to 5m in 2172, 100,000 in 2379 – and total extinction before 2750. (Backgrounder: South Korea’s fertility rate of 1.3 children per woman, according to a 2012 World Bank estimate, which puts the country joint last in the birth stakes alongside nations including Singapore, Spain and Greece.)
I’m surprised that neither the population and talent unit in PMO nor the Institute of Policy Studies have done such a study in order to alarm the sheep 60% who vote for the PAP.
The population unit and IPS have been known to do some really outlandish stuff. Remember the former’s Population White Paper was criticised by several scholars (Think Donald Low, ex civil servant and now in LKY School; and Yeoh Keong Lam, the retired chief economist of GIC.) for not being sound. Likewise, IPS’ defence of the White Paper was rubbishy.
Maybe, ST should be more constructive and nation-building? Or that wannabe Onion, New Nation?
Taz what a hyper rational alien like Mr Spock can reasonably conclude from the attendance at Saturday’s “ReturnOurCPF – HDB” rally. Though I suspect he would point out that a fairer %age is 0.04% of the number of Oppo voters in GE 2011. Whatever, “peanuts”.
Roy’s and Hui Hui’s latest gig on Saturday attracted around 300 people (based on photos at their site and me being generous). So only 300 support Roy’s and Hui Hui’s proposition? Btw, TOC, TRE hasn’t yet covered the event, and based on the attendance, I expect them not to: “not newsworthy enough”. (Related article)
Remember her NatDay protest rally? It was not reported in the new media. According to Roy* 300-400 people turned up. Hui Hui had claimed 6,000 people had turned up for her previous, “Free My CPF” rally in July. Even TRE tot that only 3,000 people attended. Even earlier, around 200 people it seems turned up at the first rally she and Roy organised. Again new media didn’t report this gig. Lousy attendance not newsworthy enough? Or don’t want to double confirm that only a handful of S’poreans (0.1- 0.01%. If Oppo voters only:0.4-0,04%) are unhappy enough to exert themselves physically to show their unhappiness?
Or that at least 60% S’poreans are actually happy with the govt?**
Whatever, one can rationally conclude that the majority of S’poreans are not persuaded or impressed or taken in by Hui Hui’s or Roy’s antics, despite their vocal online support**.
What should really worry these wannabe celebrities is that not even these adoring anti-PAP cyber warriors are willing to turn up in person for their events.
Their adoring fans are: Loud Thunder, Little Rain?
If Stephanie Sun had such fans, she’d starve to death, let alone afford a Happy Meal.
To end on a constructive note, I hope someone warns Hui Hui that as a new citizen she can be deprived of her citizenship. Happened to Tan Kah Kee (millionaire and founder of Nanyang University), can happen to her.
Maybe taz why Hui Hui is attempt to portray herself as not being anti-PAP.
Juz go read it. Everything is blamed on the PAP govt. and she not ant-PAP?***
Was Home Team sleeping when they made her a citizen? But this may show the lie to the theory that the PAP creates new citizens to dilute the local anti-PAP vote. But then it could juz show Home Team is juz incompetent: it can’t select hard-working sheep, only lazy, anti-PAP loafers****, when creating new citizens. Or maybe it cunningly allows someone like Hui Hui to become a citizen to give credibility to the PAP’s denial that it encourages immigration ’cause it wants to dilute the anti-PAP vote.
Actually given her hatred of working here (going by one of herone of her posts), wonder why she opted out of her M’sian citizenship? M’sia is worse? “I’m only anti-cronyism, anti-nepotism, anti-dictatorship, anti-tyranny, anti-irresponsibility…” Hmm, she sounds like Anwar Ibrahim, that two-face (bi-sexual?) M’sian politician.
———-
*He was telling a new media website.
** We’ll know one way or the other in the next GE, as even the PAP, and the constructive, nation-building media and Institute of Policy Studies admit that these two issues, along with immigration and public transport are the issues of most concern to S’poreans.
***I’m not anti-PAP.
I’m only anti-cronyism, anti-nepotism, anti-dictatorship, anti-tyranny, anti-irresponsibility…
Is she egging the PM to sue her? So that she can assert the Derbyshire principle that she chickened out of asserting earlier? And then repented of chickening out?
****Her rants against having to go to work daily (check out her site) remind me of the joke, “I’m lazy – my childhood ambition was to be an injured footballer.”.
Based on someone who claims that he voted for the PAP (letter to TRE appended below), so spastic and moronic that he is happy to reveal his dumbness publicly
I take great personal offence at this bit: the 39.9% vocal minority should be the less successful sour grapes who prefer to spend their time as armchair generals on Internet criticizing our great Government instead of improving themselves and their careers and lives.
I’m certainly someone who has always voted Oppo (even a discharged looney guy in the days when one JBJ recruited such people and bicycle thieves to stand as MPs) because I have always felt that giving the PAP a hegemony is no good for S’pore. The mismanagement of the 2Ps (Peanuts and Pinkie) prove my point: the chickens are coming to roost e.g. on CPF, public transport, immigration. Remember that Pinkie was DPM (and responsible for economic and financial matters) when Peanuts was PM.
I’m also certainly a loud critic (often bitchy) of the PAP govt.
But as to being tarred as”less successful sour grapes” juz because I am among the 39.9% who voted Oppo, what can I say except this PAP voter is a moron. What’s his evidence that I and all 39.9% are “less successful sour grapes”?
There are are a whole bunch of other RI boys like Drs Ang Yong Guan, Paul Thamby (SDP member and full professor at NUS/ NUH) and Wong Wee Nam who I can confidently assume did not vote for the PAP (Not everyone like WP’s philandering Yaw, remember him? He voted for PAP when he stood as WP candidate. And he got promoted to Low’s Hougang seat as a reward?). Are they “less successful sour grapes”? And Siow Kum Hong is from RI too: a successful guy (got landed property, car, and share options in US tech co). He showed up the worthlessness of Auntie and Low as “co-drivers” when he was NMP.
And then there are NJC boys Show Mao and Richard Wan; and scholars Tony Tan, Gerald Giam and Hazel Poa?
They all “less successful sour grapes”? Come on.
If anybody is “less successful” think Jason Chua: he was unemployed when he founded a pro-PAP website. Or Lionel de Souza (never made police inspector despite being given “acting” rank), the PAP branch secretary at Hougang. Now taz a born loser.
I’m sure that there “less successful sour grapes” among those who vote oppo, juz as there are fruscos who become active opponents of the PAP (think Tan Kin Lian; Tan Jee Say; Andrew Loh and s/o JBJ), but juz as Jason Chua and Lionel de Souza show, such people are also found among the ranks of PAP activists.
—-
Vocal minority drowning out voices of majority on TRE
Dear TRE and readers,
I am a member of the 2011 60.1% majority voting for our world class PAP government. Once in a while, I dropped by TRE to size up the other side. While I found TRE to be highly hilarious and entertaining in the past, recently, I found the voices to be troubling, protectionist and bordering on xenophobic.
Right now, there are so many threads on TRE that are so negative on Singapore, a country that is highly rated by many international organizations, this is unfair to our country and could cause our great international reputation as a liberal, open economy, meritocratic society to be tarnished for no good reason!
While CHEAPER BETTER FASTER sounds a bit cruel, we need to bear in mind that without this, our inflation will be higher and a bowl of mee pok could be $7-8! In fact, my north India acquaintances are earning upwards of $6000 per month and using salary level as indicator of ability, it is fair to say that they are more expensive while better and faster than many locals who are less capable!
In any countries, there will always be a minority who is unable to do well due to their inherent ability, education level, IQ and EQ. With their lack of education, lower earning powers and subsequent lower social status, it is no wonder that they feel that Singapore is being unfair to them!
Actually, the MAJORITY of Born and Bred TRUE BLUE Singaporeans are doing well, grateful to our great world class PAP government and demonstrated it by voting 60.1% enmass in 2011! Most of the time, we are successful in our careers and hence do not have the time to waste on Internet forums.
On the other hand, the 39.9% vocal minority should be the less successful sour grapes who prefer to spend their time as armchair generals on Internet criticizing our great Government instead of improving themselves and their careers and lives.
Till now, I refrained from using any rude words. I hope everyone can be civil and play fair.
To my bros the 60.1% who voted for PAP in 2011: feel free to add your comments to show the 39.9% what you really think. Otherwise, the 39.9% vocal minority will just keep on saying unfair things and mislead people into thinking that many people are unhappy with PAP when facts show that 60.1% majority support the Party!
To the 39.9% in 2011: I hope you will refrain from commenting, and instead, let the 60.1% to comment for once. I am quite sure we, the 60.1%, will surprise you with our strong support for government.
Chinese are number 1. lie to friends and family about the marvellous time they had,The survey didn’t give a reason for why the Chinese exaggerate the most about their holidays, but the status of being able to afford to go abroad, ensuring you keep one step ahead of the Wangses, may be a factor. Another explanation could be that the Chinese tourist is a relatively recent phenomenon who could learn a thing or two about complaining from travel-hardened European and American holiday-makers Economist
Both reasons are likely to apply to the sheep Singaporeans too.
In Asean, Thais are ahead of us. Interestingly, Hongkies, who many locals think are BS artists don’t exaggerate that much. But then they have a reputation for being gd at complaining.
Professor Akiyoshi Kitaoka from Ritsumseikan University in Kyoto, Japan, has spent more than a decade creating his collection of moving optical illusions.
Linking to above is appropriate today. Check it out: better than watching today’s parade.
Something for the parents: packets of secretly punctured condoms.
BTW, Jap economists say immigration is the only way to tackle Japan’s old age problem.
Update at 6.20am: How parenting has changed in half a century in the US. Do watch this info-grahpic
When I saw the above photos (link below) I remembered this ST line from some yrs back, “Samantha Lo Xin Hui, dubbed the Sticker Lady for her graffiti at several public areas last year, was yesterday sentenced to serve 240 hours of community service.” There about the same time, a SunT article that reported that HDB residents were complaining of stickers put up by estate agents etc, and I remember “8551 3997” had been plastering “For Sale” signs in the Siglap area trying to flog $3m properties.
SunT quoted a smart ass lawyer who said these estate agents can get away with it because “Law does not deal with trivae”, so nothing would be done. But then isn’t her behaviour trivae, I tot, then and still do.
But to be fair to the SPF, the English authorities don’t like Sam’s English counterpart:
… insists that his anonymity is necessary because “councils don’t really have that kind of sense of humour” and “take life very seriously”.
“I really don’t want to stand up [and try] to explain to a po-faced and humourless court why I have done things which are essentially humorous and whimsical.
(And I, as Anglophile, tot England was tolerant of harmless eccentrics)
“It would feel too much like school where teachers are always pretending to be angry or disappointed by naughty behaviours which they in reality think are quite funny.”
He says his art is inspired by his belief that people are encouraged to take life seriously “despite the fact that it’s absurd and tragic”.
“We are encouraged to act responsibly, we are encouraged to go off to work every day to, by and large, do something pointless in order to sustain a meagre existence, so that we can go to work again, and are released from this cycle when all joy and spirit has been squeezed from us,” he says.
“We are encouraged to get to our grave safely and responsibly, and if possible with an insurance policy to help with ‘those funeral expenses’.
“We are encouraged to buy tat we don’t want with money we don’t have.
“What I do is not that.”
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-27884890
Related post: https://atans1.wordpress.com/2013/03/26/so-will-spf-prosecute-property-agents-and-money-lenders-for-mischief/
I’m sure you remember that Cat Lim in June repeated her broken record that the PAP is doomed (first said in the 1990s and repeated every few yrs), adding a variation that the PAP is no longer trusted by S’poreans. After a civil servant, in the course of his duties, pointedly pointed out out “Gee how come the govt keeps winning elections by huge majorities?”, she said on 16 June “I would like to point out that the mistrust is very real, even if it only involves a minority.”
(From her blog … the South China Morning Post published my Open Letter to the PM, and subsequently, a response from the Consul-General of Singapore in Hong Kong, Mr Jacky Foo. The Straits Timesreported on Mr Foo’s letter on 14 June, and published my reply to this report on the Forum page on 16 June. My reply is reproduced below.)
Gee from the PAP are doomed because the people mistrust it, she now says “only … a minority” mistrust it. Artistic licence? Or BS?
And our objective, anti-PAP bloggers glossed over her qualification. heck they are getting as bad as SPH and MediaCorp journalists and editors. At least they have the excuse of needing to toe the line to pay-off their affordable public housing mortgages. And so cannot afford to have integrity.
Actually, Ms Lim should have waited before changing her mind. Tan Jee Say had this to say a few weeks ago on FB (after Cat’s reply): [ST] chose to cite only one major indicator of the 2014 Edelman Trust Barometer , namely the survey result that showed 75% of Singaporeans trust government institutions; this, it claimed, proved that the vast majority trust the government.
But a second key indicator gave a different dimension, namely that only 26% of Singaporeans trust their government leaders to tell the truth regardless of how complex or unpopular it is. Does this 26% trust in leaders to tell the truth mean that 74% of Singaporeans cannot trust PAP government leaders to tell the truth or expect them to tell untruths or even lies? Now this is telling. If the statistics are true, it speaks volumes about the low level of trust Singaporeans have in PAP leaders. It is definitely a crisis for the PAP however hard the PAP might want to deny, ignore or gloss over it …
One, and I’m one, can disagree with TJS’s contention, that only 26% trust the PAP (pls read the survey again TJS) but his is a valid reasonable, point of view. He also RI boy.
Finally on the issue of where the majority lies, here’s something for those of us who think that the fact that the PAP got 60% of the votes in GE 2011 and two ex-PAP men (and proud of the fact they were PAP men0 got between them 70% of the votes in PE 20111, showed that the PAP had the support of the majority of voters, to think about. We could be wrong in our reasoning:
something John Oliver recently satirised on his HBO comedy show, “Last Week Tonight”. A Brit, Mr Oliver was keen to highlight a uniquely American irony: while 65% of the country notices the income gap has widened, and 60% believe the system “unfairly favours the wealthy”, 60% nevertheless insist that “most people who work hard enough can make it”—a faith that echoes the buoyant message of the junior senator from Florida.
Mr Oliver plays a little fast and loose with the math here: there’s no telling how much the two 60% blocs in the polls overlap. (It’s possible, for example, that up to two-thirds of the optimists about hard-working Americans do not believe the system favours the wealthy—remember your Venn diagrams.) And there is nothing necessarily illogical about thinking that while the economy favours those with lots of money, it also gives the lower orders a chance to improve their lot.
(From an Economist blog)
Regrettably, we had to scale down to size of the event due to lack of funding. If you would like TOC to continue holding such discussions, please do help us with funding. To note, our forums are open to sponsorship.
Finally, do remember that Dr Paul Tambyah is an active SDP member and a professor at NUS. Gone are the days when people liked him accepted invitations to join the PAP without thinking. Or when dabbling in Oppo politics was a no-no for NUS academics. They could be investigated and sacked.
S’pore is changing despite the PAP’s hegemony.
The ideas behind this TRE post had crossed my mind: that the NLB row was manufactured by the govmin to detract the sheep S’poreans from more impt issues. In other words, it was a cunning PAP plot that the anti-PAP cyber warriors fell for:
One uncle pointed out that there is a hideous hidden agenda which was ordered down from the top to divert the focus of citizenry from CPF issue which Roy seemed to garner a lot of sympathy from both Singaporeans and foreigners in that it is a rather despicable joke that a PM in a democratic country sued a citizen over defamation just because he used the available information to arrive at his conclusion and that even the 71 year old vandalised and jailed by the court got sympathy over his frustration of the Govt is not returning his hard earned CPF.
He continued to say that many horse f**t devils in many ministries were thinking hard what to create. NLB came up with the idea of destroying children books that are tainted with favouring a gay issue based on the gay problem which recently showed a majority of Singaporeans are rather uncomfortable with. NLB was right. It took the heat from CPF. NLB could continued to grip the attention of the citizenry on the gay and other even if it is distantly related to the social taboo.
http://www.tremeritus.com/2014/07/16/nlb-saga-agenda-to-divert-focus-away-from-cpf-issue/
If true, Yaacob and NLB’s CEO are not blundering fools: they are gd black ops’ operatives..
Seriously, a look at SgDaily since the NLB story broke will show that the NLB action has dominated this cowboy town. Not only are the usual suspects (LGBT activists, anti-PAP cyber warriors, though Goh Meng Seng and Gilbert Goh, are quiet), but “moderate” apolitical bloggers are not happy with NLB.
On Facebook too, there is a lot of unhappiness with NLB’s decisions.
Heck even a PAP MP expressed reservations on FB, as ST reports:
Member of Parliament Hri Kumar Nair became the first member of the ruling party to speak out against the National Library Board’s (NLB) decision to pulp three children’s books for their homosexual content.
In a Facebook post on Wednesday night, Mr Nair (Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC) said he did not think that “destroying books is akin to censorship, and that all censorship is bad”, but said that “the real question is whether homosexuality falls in that category which should be excluded”.
“I do not believe homosexuality falls in the category of issues which should be excluded,” he wrote. “In fact, neither does the NLB. It says it carries such books in the Adult section….Excluding such books, or worse, destroying them, sends an altogether different and confusing message about the role of the NLB.”
He proposed a solution of placing the books in a separate section, “which children can only access with an adult present – much like a ‘PG’ movie”.
Makes gd sense.
Member of Parliament Hri Kumar Nair became the first member of the ruling party to speak out against the National Library Board’s (NLB) decision to pulp three children’s books for their homosexual content.
In a Facebook post on Wednesday night, Mr Nair (Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC) said he did not think that “destroying books is akin to censorship, and that all censorship is bad”, but said that “the real question is whether homosexuality falls in that category which should be excluded”.
“I do not believe homosexuality falls in the category of issues which should be excluded,” he wrote. “In fact, neither does the NLB. It says it carries such books in the Adult section….Excluding such books, or worse, destroying them, sends an altogether different and confusing message about the role of the NLB.”
He proposed a solution of placing the books in a separate section, “which children can only access with an adult present – much like a ‘PG’ movie”.
Coming back to the conspiracy theory, even if there isn’t a PAP plot, the PAP is surely be happy that the LGBT and ang moh tua kee* activists are helping the PAP alat the CPF and bullying issues. I’m sure the cheques for thirty pieces of silver and invitations to an Istana function are in the post.
But I’ll end with two Voices that puts to shame not only the anti-LGBT gang and the book banners but the LGBT gang and friends. The views of the former are to be expected, but I had expected more from people who call themselves “liberal” and “tolerant”. Based on their comments on blogs and FB, too much of their tots are of the “If you are not with us, you are against us” George Bush, Taliban, Isis variety.
Tolerating a lifestyle doesn’t mean agreeing with it
I believe in not sheltering my children but raising them as well-informed young adults familiar with the practical social realities of our complex world. Others believe their children are impressionable and must be protected from practices they deem deviant.
If, however, we allow our children to step out of our respective spaces and interact with others in this shared space called society, we must accept that they will have to face and deal with views that differ from ours.
Accordingly, in this public space, no single group has the right to dictate what material should be made unavailable for our children’s collective education in our national library, which is funded with our money.
If any of us are uncomfortable with this, we can mutually agree on separate guidelines for, say, supervised or restricted access to items deemed sensitive. We do not get to ban or destroy one another’s books in this common space.
To tolerate is to disagree but to allow. For example, one may disagree with my definition of family but one allows the book And Tango Makes Three to be in our library.
I may disagree with the Bible, but I would allow a Noah’s Ark children’s book in our library. I would be just as upset if the latter were removed.
One need not support the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender movement to allow an LGBT-themed book in our library; one need only tolerate it.
[Emphasis mine]
I am puzzled as to whether the writer, by supporting a ban on an LGBT-themed book in our library, understands truly what tolerance means.
An earlier Voice (before the NLB story broke) Png Eng Keat on 23 June pointed out
Don’t conflate disapproval with discrimination
I refer to the letter “Morality should be shaped by all in Singapore” (June 21).
Firstly, as a Protestant, I am heartened to know that the Humanist Society (Singapore) (HSS) shares some of the same emphases as my religion: Reason and compassion. Without reason and compassion, there can be no common dialogue in a civilised society.
People can disapprove of acts such as sex between adults of the same sex, and sex with someone other than their marriage partner (“Religious identity stronger in Muslims, Protestants”, June 18), but that does not preclude them from “loving thy neighbour”.
Like the writers, I believe that no one group in society should have the sole right to shape morality since we live in a pluralistic secular society.
Everyone should be allowed to converse at the table with love and reason. The danger is when any one group tries to hijack the discussion, assert its superiority and push the rest out of the ship.
This has happened in the West with militant secularism squeezing religion out of the public sphere. May this never happen here in Singapore.
Admittedly, disapproval often crosses over to discrimination, but it needn’t and the distinction should be borne in mind. The failure of the LGBTs and friends to recognise this distinction is the thing that annoys me most about them.
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*Strangely, FT lovers wannabe NMP for FTs, Kirsten Han and Maruah are silent. They like GMS and GG all got sore throats? Bit unfair on GG and GMS. They most probably realise that the NLB actions are meant to distract S’poreans from matters that matter.
Congrats Germany on winning the World Cup! Argentina fought hard, but Götze’s beautiful goal was the difference. – LHL
Err thaz all from PM? And I’m glad. I’m not complaining.
I’m one of those who cringe at the memory of leaders past who used to try to use contemporaneous events to show that the PAP does things better or to disparage or lecture S’poreans. One GCT was the expert.
I couldn’t stand his attempt to use a tragedy in Japan (the tsunami in 2011) to lecture us. https://atans1.wordpress.com/2011/03/14/learn-from-japanese-set-example-leh-elites/
So I was pleasantly surprised at PM’s Facebook message: short and sweet and accurate: that goal was sublime, as was the run and cross that preceded it.
PM could have pointed out that the German win showed that when the 6th best paid mgr (think PM and his cabinet) meets the 22nd best paid mgr, the 6th wins. Argie is only paid 23% (albeit a six figure sum) of that of the German mgr’s millions.
But then maybe a certain PAP MP eye doctor will raise the issue? After all he is clear in his mind that money is the measure of a person.
Related post: https://atans1.wordpress.com/2014/04/16/why-smc-should-act-against-pap-mp/
BTW, I juz saw on FB, Goh Meng Seng’s comments on the video of his performance at “Resign PM” event.
Don’t like that leh: don’t see PM no ak
The 28th Sun Valley Conference was held in Idaho from 8 to 10 July 2010. Attendees included Rupert Murdoch of News Corporation, Tim Cook of Apple, Jeffrey Bewkes of Time Warner and Marissa Mayer of Yahoo. Technology company executives are also expected to make a strong showing. On the invite list are Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg, Intel’s Brian Krzanich, eBay’s John Donahoe and Martin Lau, the president of Tencent, a behemoth of the Chinese Internet industry. Jack Ma, the co-founder of the Chinese Internet giant Alibaba Group, is on the invitee list …
A few yrs back Lee Hsien Loong was a guest at this event.
Ang moh tua kees respect him, even if GMS doesn’t. But then GMS has strange tastes. He was adviser to to TKL who lost his deposit in PE2011. Rumour is that the dynamic duo is planning to form “The People’s Voice” to contest the next GE. OK, OK I made the rumour up.
On Monday, I said that the PAP would be cheering on any other term except the Argies because their mgr is only the 22nd best paid mgr out of the 32 teams. And we know what a PAP eye doctor MP thinks of people who are not as well paid as he is: he doesn’t respect them.
Well go read yr Sat ST front page and see what it says: PAP is predicting and rooting a German win.
So let’s cheer on the Argies. Their mgr is only paid 23% of that of the German mgr’s salary (6th in the rankings).
And if the Argies win an unlikely victory, remind the PAP at every possible opportunity that being well-paid doesn’t mean gd performance. The Russians, English and Italians crashed out in the first round despite paying the highest salaries. BTW Brazil’s mgr is the 4th best paid but he got form as a World Cup winner.
As the footie. Expect a boring game. The Germans’ thrashing of Brazil notwithstanding, the rest of Germany’s matches have been tight, quiet affairs, and Argentina survived the knockout stage by winning 1-0, 1-0, and 0-0 on penalties.
Now onto PAP MPs.
Rik Mayall died suddenly a few months back of a heart attack. He was the most original and funniest of the alternative comedians who emerged in the early 1980s and still dominate British television. They were maverick, furious and stridently political, though sometimes wonderfully imprecise in their aim. (Economist).
He played a character called B’Stard, in the uproarious political satire The New Statesman and the following lines should amuse S’poreans, esp the PM, because one can imagine a PAP MP (Lily Neo, Halimah, Denise Phua, Puthu* excepted) talking like B’Stard. Think the eye doctors and Kate Spade (remember her YPAP speech that the poor must only be helped minimally)
Alan B’Stard: We hear an awful lot of leftie whingeing about NHS [UK’s publicly funded heathcare system] waiting lists. Well the answer’s simple. Shut down the health service. Result? No more waiting lists. You see, in the good old days, you were poor, you got ill and you died. And yet these days people seem to think they’ve got some sort of God-given right to be cured. And what is the result of this sloppy socialist thinking? More poor people. In contrast, my policies would eradicate poor people, thereby eliminating poverty. And they say that we … have no heart.
Alan B’Stard: I suppose life’s just too easy for me. I mean, I’m incredibly rich, I’ve got the largest majority on the House of Commons and, if I was any better looking, I think people would suspect I was an android.
http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-27772259
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*The male PAP MPs who are medical doctors are shown up by this FT male Doc. Maybe taz why the PAP inducted him? It wanted a male Dr who could show compassion. Too bad he didn’t do NS and sneered at NSmen. But if AWARE can sneer at NSmen with impunity (their FT partners will defend them), let’s forgive Puthu. That he didn’rt do NS isn’t his fault, PAP kicked (sort of) dad out.
(Update at 6pm: My legal Morocco Mole got it almost right: http://www.theonlinecitizen.com/2014/07/lee-applies-for-summary-judgement-against-ngerng/. By going for summary judgment, PM is saying Roy’s defence in BS. MM told me that PM’s lawyer was going to strike out defence. Going for summary judgment is more aggressive.)
Here’s a constructive suggestion to PM that will make him appear magnanimous and yet deter future libelers and slanderes.
Below is my suggestion on what PM should ask Roy to do in return for accepting Roy’s published apology
I recognise that the Article means and is understood to mean that Mr Lee Hsien Loong, the Prime Minister of Singapore and Chairman of GIC, is guilty of criminal misappropriation of the monies paid by Singaporeans to the Central Provident Fund.
3.I admit and acknowledge that this allegation is false and completely without foundation.
4.I unreservedly apologise to Mr Lee Hsien Loong for the distress and embarrassment caused to him by this allegation.
and waiving damages.
PM should make Roy listen to Tharman’s CPF speech in parly on Tueday 10,000 times, continuously (with breaks for toilet and meals) in an unairconditioned room . At the end of the session, he must be able recite the speech word for word without any mistakes. If he can’t, he has to listen to the speech until he can recite it word for word.
And then he must write out the speech in longhand 100,000 times. That should be sufficient deterrent to others who want to defame PM. They might have to undergo similar treatment.
But then Maruah would object that this would amount to torture or cruel, unusual punishment. but then Maruah is the kind of organisation to object if the govt placed a middle-class activist in a cell with aircon, tv and internet access: guy must have personal toilet with a bidet.
But let’s be serious: what does a macho, man-biting talented footballer have to do with a gentle, unemployed gay S’porean star blogger with itchy fingers.
Both are celebrities. Both are braggadocios, despite their undoubted abilities (one with his footie wizardry, the other with word spinning). Both are full of self-confidence. And they enjoy changing their stories to fit their ends.
Suraez
“The truth is that my colleague Giorgio Chiellini suffered the physical result of a bite in the collision he suffered with me,” said Suarez in a statement.
Suarez has previously said he lost his balance and did not bite Chiellini.
The media reports that he changed his story after being told that Barcelona would not to buy a unrepentant Suarez.
Roy
After PM sued him for defamation, he was pretty quick to say on 23 May
I recognise that the Article means and is understood to mean that Mr Lee Hsien Loong, the Prime Minister of Singapore and Chairman of GIC, is guilty of criminal misappropriation of the monies paid by Singaporeans to the Central Provident Fund.
3.I admit and acknowledge that this allegation is false and completely without foundation.
4.I unreservedly apologise to Mr Lee Hsien Loong for the distress and embarrassment caused to him by this allegation.
Now (OK 17th June) he wrote:
“You know, when I wrote the article, it was never my intention to say that the prime minister had misappropriated the money. And I have never said this.” What about the apology Roy?
And his defence is now that Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has “no cause of action” against his client based on Article 14 of the Constitution which gives Singaporeans the right to freedom of speech and expression*.
Err so why did he apologise in the first place? He now says he had no intention to libel and didn’t and anyway PM can’t sue him.
(Furthermore, his lawyer Ravi also denied allegations of malice on Ngerng’s part and also denied that the prime minister is entitled to aggravated damages.)
And given that the apology was not accepted, an apology that he could have continued using in his defence, and he has changed his defence, why hasn’t he come out to say the following is “inoperative” or “tak pakah”?
As it is
I recognise that the Article means and is understood to mean that Mr Lee Hsien Loong, the Prime Minister of Singapore and Chairman of GIC, is guilty of criminal misappropriation of the monies paid by Singaporeans to the Central Provident Fund.
3.I admit and acknowledge that this allegation is false and completely without foundation.
4.I unreservedly apologise to Mr Lee Hsien Loong for the distress and embarrassment caused to him by this allegation.
still stands and it is why PM’s press secretary is legally correct to say
I refer to the article “A butterfly on a wheel” (June 13th). You referred to an “alleged ‘serious libel’” by Roy Ngerng. This is not an allegation. Mr Ngerng has publicly admitted accusing Lee Hsien Loong, the prime minister, of criminal misappropriation of pension funds, falsely and completely without foundation …
, despite a “Marxist Conspirator” saying AG should take action against her. Although a lawyer, she is talking rot.
Saying that the apology is no longer applicable, given that PM has refused to accept it will make sense of Ravi’s comments that the case is sub judice. As it stands, M** Ravi’s comment does not make sense because, it seems that so long as Roy doesn’t withdraw his posting of 23 May, the legal position is that he has admitted that he has defamed PM and that the only issue before the courts is that of damages.
My Morocco Mole in legal circles says that the PM’s lawyer will be making an application to strike out Roy’s defence that Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has “no cause of action” based on Article 14 of the Constitution which gives Singaporeans the right to freedom of speech and expression.
One gr0und is that Roy has apologised.
On the issue of whether the suit prevents S’poreans from discussing the CPF issue, a claim Maruah makes, Roy’s sifu, Uncle Leong, has written extensively on the issue, making most of the points that Roy claims he has discovered and exposed. Actually Uncle Leong has been telling us about these “discovered” dfacts fir yrs.
Yet Uncle Leong has not been sued or lauded like Roy because he has avoided making allegations of theft. His articles are factual.
Why is Uncle Leong is sifu? Roy came into prominence in 2012 (I think) when he co-authored with Uncle Leong a series of articles on the CPF system. Before that series, Roy was a no-body.
Related posts:
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*”Derbyshire principle” that his myopic (or inability to count?) gf and sidekick chickened out of trying?
When TRE relaunched, PM’s brother sued and Ravi wanted to defend TRE on the basis of Article 14. Richard Wan (elite school boy and scholar) found another lawyer to kai seow. TRE lived to fight another day.
**No jokes pls like that the “P” in “P Ravi” stands for “Politican”. It stands for Philemon.
While all S’poreans, disgusted with million dollar salaries for ministers should be cheering for the Argies.
It’s all about the money the managers earn relative to their performance. Argie’s mgr is only 22nd in the World Cup managers” salaries ranking while the other three teams are 4th Brazil), 6th (Germany) and 8th (my favourite).
The Argie mgr is paid only 20.45% of the salary of the Brazilian manager. A certain PAP MP eye doctor would surely sneer at him if he consulted said eye doctor.
Here, I explained why the World Cup is proving the PAP wrong: there is no relation between high pay and gd performance.
In round 1, the teams managed by the three highest paid managers were eliminated. The teams were Russia, England and Italy.
The managers are paid £6.7m, £3.5m and £2.6m, respectively. (Data from UK paper, hence the £)
Other mgrs on the top 10 most well paid list that were eliminated were Spain (mgr is the 7th most highly paid at £2m) and and Japan (9th at £1.6m). For the record, Portugal’s mgr is 12th at £1.3m.
I went on to analyse the other games where less well-paid managers won. Thiink Costa Rica.
But the PAP can still say the World Cup validates the salary thesis esp if Brazil wins. So come on Argies.
Of the remaining four managers, Brazil ‘s mgr is the fourth most highly paid manager at £2.4m, Germany’s mgr is paid £2.1m (6th), Holland’s mgr (8th in the world) at £2m, and a long way away is the Argies’ mgr (22) at £0.49m.
But the stats say Germany will win. Beating Brazil in semi and Argies in final.
Not juz because Brazil is missing Neymar with a fractured bone in his spine sustained against Colombia.
Breakingviews’ updated Soccernomics calculator … which crunches economic and demographic numbers to predict the outcome of World Cup matches, has performed reasonably well during the first half of the tournament. It predicted the correct winner in 27 of the 48 matches in the group stage. Excluding drawn matches, the calculator was right 69 percent of the time. [Got Italy and Spain wrong though]
On-field form plays no direct part in Breakingviews’ predictions. The model combines the transfer value of players, the country’s population, the proportion of people who play soccer, and public engagement with the sport to come up with an overall rating. Teams with the higher rank should win.
Another reason why Argies will not win: geriatric squads don’t win the World Cup. a four-place drop in performance (see chart). In other words, if a reigning champion simply brought back its roster from four years before, its mean age would increase by four years, and it would be expected to finish a dismal 17th. http://www.economist.com/blogs/gametheory/2014/07/player-age-football
Former are under performers like certain very well-paid PAP ministers?
This World cup is proving a nightmare to the PAP’s Hard Truth that ministers will only perform well if very well paid by int’l standards.
I’ll let the facts speak:
In round 1, the teams managed by the three highest paid managers were eliminated. The teams were Russia, England and Italy.
The managers are paid £6.7m, £3.5m and £2.6m, respectively. (Data from UK paper, hence the £)
Other mgrs on the top 10 most well paid list that were eliminated were Spain (mgr is the 7th most highly paid at £2m) and and Japan (9th at £1.6m). For the record, Portugal’s mgr is 12th at £1.3m.
Then, Switzerland lost to Argies. It’s manager is paid £2.2m (5th in the world). Argies’ mgr is a lowly 22 at £0.49m,
Brazil’s manager is the 4th most highly paid at £2.4m and as we all know he juz missed two bullets. Chile’s mgr (at £1.1m) is ranked 14th, and Columbia’s is ranked 15th at £1m.
scan0001 (from ST last week)
Germany’s mgr is the kind of guy PAP would like as a poster boy. He is paid £2.1m (6th) and doing well.
Another PAP-poster boy would be Holland’s mgr (8th in the world at £2m),
They would demonise Argis’ mgr (a lowly 22 at £0.49m: how would PAP MP eye doctor respect him?) , Costa Rica’s mgr ( ranked 26th with £0.26m),and Belgium (20th at £0,52m).
More evidence (as if more was needed) to show that the PAP is talking rubbish about the link between ministerial salaries and the quality of ministers. It doesn’t work in World Cup footie. The PAP would be praying hard that Argies don’t win.
BTW, I’m hoping for an all ang moh final with Holland winning. And it’s not ’cause the German coach is paid more.
And are the Pinoys trying to stir the pot in revenge?
Or is the Pinoy embassy juz hard at work showing that it is doing its job of protecting Pinoys against hate-crime, bullying and exploitation. After complaining about a hate (no such thing, IMO: it was juvenile, offensive, dumb: anything and everything except “hateful”), it is now looking into a report that domestic workers, including Filipinos, were being put on display at malls in Singapore. Al Jazeera reported that the workers are allegedly made to sit beneath signs and posters that testify to their qualities, or advertise promo rates and discounts. [Update at 6am: No inappropriate displays of maids, say employment agencies, local media reported yesterday.]
Seems to me that ever since the 8 June fiasco when the Pinoy community were collective given a tight slap that the S’pore Police Force was not their grandfather’s police force and that “P” in SPF, PM and PMO did not stand for “Pinoy” but for “Police” and “Prime”, the embassy has become “garang”, and assertive: trying to find fault with S’poreans. Trying to repent for the embassy’s failings over that fiasco?
The undermentioned letter to Voices reflects what the Pinoys and their S’pore friends expected from what they tot was the S’pore Pinoy Force, Pinoy Minister and Pinoy Minister’s Office:
I am disappointed in the Singapore Police Force. Instead of fulfilling its duty to protect law and order, it gave in to threats by bigots towards other members of the community, the same bigots our Prime Minister condemned for their intolerance.
What is the message to foreigners who live and work in Singapore? When a police force tells the people it is supposed to protect that powers in the community are too big for it to control, it is plainly shirking responsibility.
http://www.todayonline.com/voices/what-message-was-police-sending-over-filipino-event
I think the police have better things to do than organise and help out at the Pinoys’ party. My understanding is that the Pinoys didn’t have a clue about the requirements to host a function in a crowded thoroughfare on a Saturday afternoon in S’pore’s premier shopping area. They tot all they had to do was to set up a stage, sound system and bring in the gals and the booze, and leave the rest to the S’pore Pinoy Force. When they were disabused by the police, they were not happy at the work and costs involved: marshals, medical support, cordoning off the area (see below) etc.
Not happy, pls go home (even though I like being served by Pinoy service staff: they are tops and gd at parting me from my money happily) especially as PinoyLand is the new Asian economic power house, supposedly. But then unlike home, there’s no goons with guns here: safer here for all the claims of feeling victimised, exploited* and afraid. Only got Gilbert Goh’s, Goh Meng Seng’s and friends’ hot air to irritate them: don’t see this hot air killing them.
To end, on a constructive note, here’s a gd Voice explaining a situation that would have worked on 8 June: All the Pinoys needed to do was to arrange to close the plaza for their function. It would have been expensive though. They had only themselves to blame for allowing Goh Meng Seng, Gilbert Goh and friends to whip up sentiment against the event. And among themselves, they could reasonably have expected the embassy to give them this advice in a timely manner, not a S’porean, after the event..
Venue for Philippine celebration would not have been ‘public space’
Timothy Tang
Many Singaporeans who complained online thought it would be held in a public area, which they saw as conflicting with and disrespectful to the interests of Singaporeans.
The location at Orchard Road might have been chosen simply because of convenience and familiarity to Filipinos who frequent Lucky Plaza.
Understanding the legal definition of public and non-public places can explain why Singapore Day last year, at Sydney’s Royal Botanic Gardens, was not actually held at a public space.
Although the park is normally a public place, the event venue was closed off to members of the Australian public. An event can be held outdoors and not be defined as a public event, as long as the event space is closed off from public access.http://www.todayonline.com/voices/venue-philippine-celebration-would-not-have-been-public-space
Related posts:
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*And we don’t do this here to anyone: Pinoys do this to Pinoys in PinoyLand
THE usual story of child sex-tourism goes something like this. A predator from a rich country arranges a meeting with a fixer and travels to a poor country. The fixer could be a pimp, or even a family relation of the child. If so, the predator might shower the child’s family with gifts and money in exchange for being alone with his victim. Eventually, the offender flies home and returns to his normal life as if nothing had happened.
However, the rapid spread of fast and cheap internet connections in the poor world, and particularly in South-East Asia, is adding a new twist to this nasty old story. It’s called “virtual trafficking”, where predators now meet children in video-chat rooms.
…
The problem is particularly bad in the Philippines. There, whereas 2% of its 77m people had access to the Internet in 2000, today over one-third of its 104m people do. Combined with deep poverty, this gives fixers and families both the means and the incentive to put children on the web. Fortunately, however, unlike in most countries the Philippines justice system allows for entrapment. “This facilitates prosecution in cases where the victims are unable to testify in court for whatever reasons,” says Darlene Pajarito, an assistant city prosecutor with the department of justice.
http://www.economist.com/blogs/banyan/2014/06/child-sex-tourism-south-east-asia
Or of the values of NTUC Income, PA, PAP and Hri Kumar?.
To recap, Ms Jean Ang Yee Mei Lin made fun last weekend 0f an elderly, sick S’porean. She is, it seems, an agent at NTUC Income and a very prominent and senior grass-roots activist in the Bishan area. For more details see http://www.tremeritus.com/2014/06/15/grassroots-leader-mocks-old-lady-at-cpf-dialogue/
She clearly has no time for the sick, and elderly, even though she is no spring chicken herself, and is an active, senior grass-rootsb leader in a PAP GRC. Wonder if she will explaining the details of the Pioneer Package to the elderly in Bishan? But who knows?
Next.
What does Ms Jean Ang Yee Mei Lin tell us of the values of NTUC Income, PA, PAP and Hri Kumar?
If Tan Tock Seng Hospital was right to fire Roy Ngerng* for breach of its values, err what does the continued silence and inaction of NTUC Income PA, PAP and Hri Kumar* tell us of their values when someone associated with them mocks an elderly sick lady.
Maybe she is upholding the values that NTUC Income, PA, PAP and Hri Kumar hold dear? Remember a PAP minister sneering at the elderly poor? (OK. OK. The Pioneer Package is the PAP’s way of using our money to repent for his sneers.)
Hence their silence and inaction over the appalling, sickening behaviour of an active, senior grasss-roots leader?
Many yrs ago in the Marine Parade area, a grass-root leader beat up a boy when the boy rebuked him for not following the rules. His behaviour was disowned and he was sacked. Those were the days.
But then shouldn’t they should award her a medal for her dedication to their values? Or at least defend her actions?
Seriously, I’m sure their silence and inaction is due to their being ashamed of being associated with someone like her. I mean, with people like her around, flashing her thighs, mocking signs an elderly ill lady, the PAP govt can continue throwing our money at ourselves, and still at least 10 to 25% of the voters will continue being unhappy with the PAP.
With friends like her, who needs enemies? Certainly not Income, PAP, Hri Kumar, PA or the PM. BTW, PM should be glad that he has enemies like s/o JBJ, TKL and Goh Meng Seng. He should treasure them. They make him look like a pretty decent human being who can look people in the eye while talking to them. One of those who oppose him, can’t.
Before ending, I must say I’m impressed by Hri Kumar’s behaviour at the talk. He allowed the lady to make her comments, despite the attempts of his supporters to shut her up. And he handled s/o JBJ attempt at “constructive politics” pretty well. He does not deserve TOC’s slur that by telling the public that the lady lived in a “terrace house” he was giving details of where she lived. There are quite a number of terrace houses in Bishan. (But TOC behaviours like the ST in reverse.)
I hope his behaviour teaches the grass-roots leaders something other than licking the leaders’ feet and sneering at the poor, elderly and ill. I’m thinking of Ms Jean Ang Yee Mei Lin in particular. And hope that she doesn’t have children. They would have been badly brought up. Think of her young daughters wearing cheong sams inappropriately.
I’ve not seen so much exposed thigh except in a Thai brothel or at the old Tekka meat market. She must be proud of her legs to want to flash them so much.
—
*I’m not saying TTSH was right to sack him. I think it should have given him a severe warning for his confessed misconduct. Then send him on no-pay leave for the duration of the court case. From what I’ve been told, he is no skiver unlike his new citizen M’sian Chinese gf. He is a hardworking S’porean. He needs a true-blue S’porean partner, not a M’sian Chinese gf.
Remember the Hard Truth that the SAF could intervene if there is a “freak” election result?
Could what is happening in Thailand tell us what will happen here when in the near future when the PAP (even with the help of its near clones, the People in Blue) is unable to command a parly majority? And the SAF intervenes?
The paper generals could do worse than to follow the Thai generals and give us, for starters, free World cup footie? http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-27790396 And if its not a WC yr, then free EPL*?
Thailand’s ruling junta has ordered TV regulators to ensure that football fans will not have to pay to watch any matches at the World Cup.
This will be part of what The military said it was part of its “happiness campaign”, which has seen a number of policy gimmicks, such as free haircuts and concerts. In S’pore, S’poreans would appreciate free hawker food and no PUB bills.
As the Economist reports:
One of their priorities is a push for Gross National Happiness. The day after the coup General Prayuth told diplomats that economic revival was a big priority. Returning happiness to the people is to be counted a separate issue, apparently. A week later, and state agencies have been reported to be working on a Happiness Index. The Nation, a pro-establishment newspaper that has come to read like a Thai variation on one of Vietnam’s Party-controlled papers, reported that under the generals all of the existing economic plans have been amended—in order to boost gross national happiness. Perhaps this is all an allusion to the happiness-minded people of Bhutan, also Buddhists who adore their king? Then try picturing Bhutanese marching through Bangkok in jackboots.
On June 5th the junta organised its first “Return Happiness to the Public” event. Staged at Victory Monument, which had recently been the site of small-scale protests against the coup, it featured dancers in camouflage outfits; a spicy routine by the orchestra of the Royal Thai Army; plus free food, and haircuts. A few hundred or so fans of the army showed up, and its Thai Psychological Operation team says it was pleased with the attendance.
http://www.economist.com/blogs/banyan/2014/06/thailands-military-coup
Related article: http://www.economist.com/blogs/banyan/2014/06/watching-thailand-s-coup-myanmar
The generals could learn about interrupting tv programmes: Since the coup on 22 May, TV programmes have frequently been interrupted by the army listing names of people they’re summoning for questioning. Though not of course footie games.
And making, All those detained … sign an agreement which states they will not criticise the military government.
And for us S’poreans who did not PAP in GE 2011, we can do what the Thais who are unhappy about are doing
— eat sandwiches (State-run newspapers have warned people against eating sandwiches, and a senior police chief said they’re keeping a close eye on the sandwich-eaters. Eating sandwiches is not illegal per se, he said, but if sandwich-eating is being used as a front – when the real intention is to criticise the coup – then that would be.);
— give the three-finger salute
http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-27833824
On a serious note, what the Thai coup is all about: Royalists not happy at who is the heir to the thrown http://m.afr.com/p/world/thailand_secret_story_the_battle_QcvSA6u4clBHmLTFPLFQNJ
What is not reported in the story, is that Thaksin and the crown prince are buddies.
http://www.economist.com/blogs/banyan/2014/05/future-thailands-elite
—
*After all PAP PA is showing WC and EPL matches
But this TRE poster is unhappy, he can’t bring his own food and drink:
there is a rule which says:
No outside food and drinks are allowed. Tidbits and drinks (hot/cold) are sold in the football loft.
The reader said, “I am very angry at how the PA is exploiting Singaporeans, even politicizing sports and profiteering from the World Cup!”
He said that he can understand if the place is a food court or restaurant whose primary interest is to make money and it demands that no outside food and drinks are allowed. But he cannot understand why PA disallows residents to bring their own tidbits and drinks.
“I am not allowed to bring outside food and drinks but can only buy the more expensive food and drinks directly from PA???” the reader said. “Why can’t I bring my own water from home?”
“Why this kind of small money PA also wants to make? What about the millions of dollars of budget allocated to PA every year? Not enough?” the reader wondered.
The reader was also angry that priority is not given to Singaporeans to watch the free screenings.
“It does not state if priority will be given to Singaporeans. In previous PA events in which I have attended, such as the monthly walk-a-jog sessions, a certain group of nationality will jump at every chance to hog free drinking water or other goodies after the walk-jog,” he added.
The reader then took issue with the limited seating capacity as the venue could only cater to 150 viewers.
“Is this a joke? In GE 2011, there were 27,701 voters in Hong Kah North SMC and today only 150 out of 27,701 voters can watch the matches for free???” the reader asked.
“That’s not even 1% of the residents!” he exclaimed.
He remarked sarcastically, “The PA must not underestimate that only 150 out of 27,000+ voters will go to the CC – this is not a PAP GE rally!”
“Will the PA please stop treating citizens as sheep?” he asked.
The reader concluded by saying he will not bother to write to the PA, REACH or his MP, Dr Amy Khor.
“Because I am afraid Dr Amy Khor would repeat what she has already said in parliament that ‘Singaporeans first’ policy is not good for the economy!” he said.
Gosh, he think S’pore’s his grandfather’s place is it? And he xenophobe to boot?
He should have become a pre owned car salesman. Still not too late.
“Sorry lah. Roy keeps changing his story. At first he admitted on Facebook that he’s been misusing working hours and underperforming at work. Now he says the firing is politically motivated. He can’t even get his story straight. Whatever little sympathy I had for him has now evaporated.” was posted on Facebook a few hrs after Roy first announced his “firing”.
I agree with the tots expressed.
Here’s another paper warrior (wannabe SPH jornalist at NTU propoganda school) practicing selling his soul. http://wisemental-king.sg/post/88260228060/the-many-expressions-of-blogger-roy-ngerng-i
He condemns Roy for being a demagogue: There are no plans to help people in need; people that have money in CPF but who have no means to take it out. There are no plans to do anything from the ground up. Roy’s not an activist; he’s (very sadly) a demagogue.
Readers will know that that I think Roy is full of rubbish. His only originality is in publicly accusing the govt of theft of our CPF.
But in a place where being a demagogue can carry a high price, juz ask JBJ, something that Roy is learning at first hand labeling someone a demagogue amounts to honouring him. Besides, other than words, how can one actively show dissent here? In S’pore demagoguery is feared by the state.
Here’s a piece from a friend of the previous blogger that is more objective:
And another:
I hope the sotong blogger can learn from his friend.
Someone wrote in to Voices on 4 June saying
Designate Hong Lim Park location for foreigners’ national celebrations
I feel that Hong Lim Park is currently underutilised, apart from occasional events held by civil activists. It should henceforth be designated a permanent site for any future celebrations of national or independence days by foreigners residing here.
For some reason, the organisers contemplated changing the venue this year.
http://www.todayonline.com/voices/designate-hong-lim-park-location-foreigners-national-celebrations
What will Goh Meng Seng and Gilbert Goh say or do if this suggestion was accepted by the govt? After all Hong Lim was where Tan Kin Lian (adviser one Goh Meng Seng) made his name as the “People’s Voice” speaking out on the credit notes fiasco, and where GG got out the crowd to protest about immigration, and where he got people spitting on their public tpt fare cards.
The area is, or should be, sacred space (or sovereign territory) to both of them.
A comment on Voices on the above suggestion that I’m sure GMS, GG and friends would agree with:
As their 2014 objection was not confined to the Orchard Rd venue of the party, why didn’t they protest in 2013?
Opportunism? Netizens were not worked up about a Pinoy party at Hong Lim? So no poiting trying to stir the pot or add kerosene to a fire?
Or they like PAP MPs were sleeping? They didn’t read TRE last yr when it reported the Pinoys were planning to “trespass” Hong Lim?
What do you think
Have a gd weekend.
And if in search of laughs, go see Roy and his New Citizen GF at Hong Lim telling para facts** about CPF tomorrow.
—————-
(Or “Roy Ngerng for NMP”)
Based on the last presidential election 30% of the voters, 600,000 citizens, will never ever vote for anyone who does not denounce the PAP. Surely, they deserve an NMP of their very own? If the artistic and sports communities (size unknown but surely less than 6000,000 each) can have their very own NMPs, why not these 600,000? They too are a community. But another community of pariahs, like us, heterosexual singletons? But then us, heterosexual singletons, are loners? So not having a NMP doesn’t matter.
That these 600,000 S’poreans have no NMP they can call their own shows the absurdity of appointing NMPs to represent communities. I mean even the LGBTs want an NMP to represent their interests, and I suspect are likely to get one before us singletons and the rabid, anti-PAP voters. Meanwhile NTUC will have its PAP MPs and an NMP, though one a few yrs ago went AWOL or MIA.
If as expected William Wan becomes an NMP, then the FTs will have a vocal, powerful champion. But then there are 2.1m FTs (including PRs), 39% of the total population, and since S’pore is supposed to be “FT paradise”, they surely should get more NMPs?
So all things considered, even though this blog is no friend of Roy Ngerng (even before he got sued, I blogged that he was accusing accused the govt of stealing our CPF money, despite acknowledging him as as a tua kee blogger), the PAP should be gracious to vote him in as NMP to show that the 30% of votersw who vote for any donkey except a PAP ass have a right to representation**. The light blue clones of the MIW are the closest they can get to a real representative.
Related post: https://atans1.wordpress.com/2014/05/22/roys-a-real-sporean/
——————-
*Once upon a time, there was an NMP, Siow Kum Hong, who although no anti-PAPpist, spoke out on things that resonated with this 30%, and other S’poreans.
**I’m assuming PM wouldn’t make him a bankrupt. Better not say more than that. LOL
It was reported that the recent Vietnamese rioters burnt our national flag and industrial parks because our Singapore’s flag was mistaken as the PRC’s flag. A TRE writer said that this sounded like a convenient excuse for both the authorities of Vietnam as well as Singapore. To the Vietnamese, it could claim that the fire was an honest mistake. To the Singapore Government, it could claim that the fire was not due to any failed foreign policy.
The person went on to argue that S’pore was pro-PRC, and the Viets knew this, and decided to whack us.
Well this could be right. but my take is that the Viets “know” that S’pore has so many PRC* FTs that they think S’pore is part of Greater China: so might as well burn our flag, while they are burning Taiwanese factories and killing a Chinese worker. Anyway burning our flag is a lot less worse than burning S’porean- owned factories, businesses or industrial parks, or killing S’poreans. So in my scale of things that matter, burning our flag is pretty. Lives and property matter more.
Which brings me to FDI. Japan, Taiwan, Singapore and South Korea respectively are Vietnam’s four largest investors, as measured by registered capital. China ranks between 5th and 11th, depending on how Vietnam’s official data is interpreted. A Western analyst says foreign investors are still trying to determine whether there are more serious problems afoot that may pose a potential threat to future investment, such as a bias against foreign investors, or instability in the regime.
(http://www.economist.com/blogs/banyan/2014/05/factory-riots-vietnam)
Given Sembcorp’s biz as a an industrial park developer there, it will be watching closely.
To end, since partying in Orchard Rd is a “trespass” on our sovereignty (at least to one GMS), I look forward to hearing from Goh Meng Seng supporting the govt’s stand on our flag being burnt. If not, I and you the reader can reasonably conclude that GMS is anti-Pinoy or the PAP govt (or both), rather than pro-Singapore. Or at least being pro-S’pore comes lower in his priorities than being ant-Pinoy or anti-PAP.
BTW, I would be more indulgent of GMS if he had simply said that Pinoy partying in Orchard Rd was not to his liking because it was too in S’poreans’ face. But he decided to rant about sovereignty, a technically legalistic concept.
“I don’t know what you mean by ‘glory,’ ” Alice said.
Humpty Dumpty smiled contemptuously. “Of course you don’t—till I tell you. I meant ‘there’s a nice knock-down argument for you!’ ”
“But ‘glory’ doesn’t mean ‘a nice knock-down argument’,” Alice objected.
“When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, “it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less.”
“The question is,” said Alice, “whether you can make words mean so many different things.”
“The question is,” said Humpty Dumpty, “which is to be master—that’s all.”
Alice was too much puzzled to say anything, so after a minute Humpty Dumpty began again. “They’ve a temper, some of them—particularly verbs, they’re the proudest—adjectives you can do anything with, but not verbs—however, I can manage the whole lot! Impenetrability! That’s what I say!”
(Thru the Looking-Glass)
Have a gd weekend.
—-
*Slutty looking, violent, cheating shop assistant can get PR meh? There is gd evidence that a PRC prostitute got citizenship.
I can’t stop laughing at Gilbert Goh’s assertion that downtown Orchard Rd and in particular Civil Plaza Ngee Ann City is so sovereign a place that by partying there our sovereignty is being threatened.
The Filipinos can celebrate it in the embassy ground, hotel ballroom or even in a park but doing it in downtown Orchard Road is a slap to our face and more importantly give us the feeling that our sovereignty is being threatened.
We also guard our independence zealously and would not want to share it with any other nationality.
– See more at: http://www.transitioning.org/2014/05/07/protest-against-philippines-independence-celebration-on-8-june-11am-at-civil-plaza-ngee-ann-city/#sthash.hX4eH8rC.dpuf
Somehow GG, I don’t think the Filipinos are claiming sovereignty, de jure or de facto, over sowntown Orchard Rd, even though I’m sure that if they wanted to they could claim de jure sovereignty over Filipino Lucky Plaza. But the Pinoys have two fights with the Chinese (Chinese giving pinoys the bird) over rocks in the South China Sea and are begging Uncle Sam to help them. Taz Pinoy Pride for you: always relying on white elder brudder.
I can understand (though not agree with) the call to make the Pinoy event on 8 June a private affair on embassy grounds, or a hotel ballroom. But why is it OK to hold it in a public park (last yr) but not in downtown Orchard Rd? Waz so special about downtown Orchard Rd, that a party there means our sovereignty is being threatened.
Does GG understand the meaning of “sovereignty” as it is understood in public int’l law? From those who know this topic, apparently not.
BTW, GMS in a comment here promised a thesis on how our sovereignty is violated by Pinoy partying in Civil Plaza. Still waiting lor. Suspect that by the time GMS stands in in next GE, he still wouldn’t have delivered his analysis. It’s a shame as I didn’t do public int’l law at law school and had looked forward to GMS analysis.
Maybe they are mixing up sovereignty with our national religion and our nation ideology, crass materialism? Downtown Orchard Rd is our temple of materialism, our sacred soil, our Holy of Holies. If then say so.
Oh but then maybe GG is another alien brought here in UFO Goh Meng Seng. He like PM, the police chief, Kirsten Hanand Heart Truths are aliens. In GG’s S’pore in another time and space downtown Orchard Rd is disputed sovereign territory juz like the rocks in the South Chins Sea are in this world.
Double confirm he’s an alien here via Goh Meng Seng’s UFO. He asks the Pinoys, Moreover, will you be happy if we celebrate our national day in a downtown shopping belt in Manila by the thousands openly waving our flag and signing our national anthem?
Having lived in Manila, I’m sure the Filipinos wouldn’t mind, though they would ask us to also fly the Filipino flag and sing their nation anthem. But most probably thaz not the case in GG’s Philippines in another space and time.
My serious point is that the antics of GG, Goh Meng Seng and friends make it easier for the likes of PM and his Pappies and Kirsten Han to paint tar people like me who oppose the PAP govt’s policy of “FTS all the way” as irrational.
And I resent that GG uses “We” to include me. I’ve not given him my permission to include me among his nutters.
The Filipinos can celebrate it in the embassy ground, hotel ballroom or even in a park but doing it in downtown Orchard Road is a slap to our face and more importantly give us the feeling that our sovereignty is being threatened.
We also guard our independence zealously and would not want to share it with any other nationality.
Recently PM said the problems S’pore were facing were the results of success*. Here I asked: Success what success? Real wages grew by only 0.4% while GDP grew by 5.9% . while the prices of public housing apartments went up in a recession.
Meanwhile, many new media warriors (posters on TRE; Heart Truths, near relation to Hard Truths; Han Hui Hui, an FT turned new citizen, who is proof that the Bumis in M’sia are right not to trust the local Cina: Uncle Chua etc) are always full of how hard life is for the average S’porean.
This so-called suffering doesn’t chime with what I observe in shopping malls, restaurants, or even hawkers’ centres or coffee shops, or what my friends, relations or biz connections tell me: S’poreans are feeling more confident of confident of their prospects, and hence are spending more. Note, I’m not saying that there are no S’poreans suffering, but I take issue that the majority of S’poreans are suffering.
Well a recent Nielsen survey** of 501 S’poreans seems to confirm my view: that things are OK and improving, but not as great as PM is spinning. After all he got a GE to win.
Consumer confidence in Singapore is at its highest level in 10 consecutive quarters, with people remaining upbeat about personal finances and being more willing to spend.
According to the latest consumer confidence index released by Nielsen, Singapore recorded an index score of 99 in the first quarter, up two notches from 97 in the previous quarter … but still shy of the 100 baseline, has yet to reach optimism. Consumer confidence levels above and below a baseline of 100 indicate degrees of optimism and pessimism. [If things are as great as what PM, his ministers and their trumpeters*** in the constructive, nation-building media saying, shouldn’t the score be 150 and rising?]
The head of Nielsen Financial Services in Singapore and Malaysia was quoted as saying “The positive outlook on the economy and personal financial circumstances is starting to trickle down to consumers’ spending intentions: we notice an increase in the number of Singaporeans who are willing to spend money on discretionary expenses . . . if these intentions materialise, they could act as a further stimulus to the economy.”
So am I, Nielsen and those S’poreans spending more living in the same S’pore as our PM, or the people complaining via new media? Who is more reflectively of the reality of life in S’pore? PM and Heart Truths and friends are aliens that landed here on UFO Goh Meng Seng, the scourge of Pinoy Pride here?
Jokes about aliens and GMS aside, maybe
— PM and his ministers are out of touch, what with their huge salaries? Yesterday, I wrote “Of course Mah Bow Tan http://www.tremeritus.com/2014/05/01/netizens-agog-at-mah-bow-tans-fortune/and other millionaire ministers (present and retired) are not among these ‘lesser mortals”” in a piece of EFTs that mimic the strategies of hedge funds.
— It’s these new media warriors who are the suffering underclass and they think that they are representative S’poreans? Or they are fruscos who think that they should have been talent-spotted by the PAP? They are always claiming that the suffering is always the fault of the PAP govt, never an issue of personal responsibility or sheer bad luck, so maybe they have personal grievances against the PAP? BTW, I exclude TRE’s Richard Wan as he knows he has a comfortable living, and knows it.
My serious point is that whatever new media or PAP media or anyone says about any topic, those of us who are rational have to ask ourselves,”Chime with what I observe?”. Don’t get carry away with the views of others. They could have agendas, delusions to propagate.
BTW, more details from BT (1 May) on the Nielsen survey:
— Some 54 per cent of respondents from Singapore consider their finances to be “good” or “excellent”, unchanged from the previous quarter.
— There is an uptick in Singaporeans who intend to invest in stocks and mutual funds, up six percentage points at 32 per cent … continue to be prudent with their money. Some 70 per cent would channel their spare money into savings, up six percentage points compared to the previous quarter and well above the global average of 47 per cent … more Singaporeans intend to increase their discretionary expenditure on a vacation and new clothes. Some 54 per cent intend to spend their spare cash on a holiday, while 37 per cent would spend it on new clothes, a quarterly increase of five and 11 points, respectively.
Interestingly, two of the three countries with the highest consumer confidence levels are in Asean Indonesia (124), and the Philippines (116). BTW, India (121) is in between.
—
*Singapore’s economy has fared better than expected over the last decade, but the country’s success also brought about its own set of challenges. PM Lee made this point in a wide-ranging discussion with regional newspaper editors recently.
He said the country had paid the price of this fast growth, as infrastructure wasn’t able to keep up with the rapid development.
Mr Lee was asked about Singapore’s success during his time as Prime Minister and if anything exceeded his expectations.
He said yes, the country had done economically better than expected and grown faster — attributing it to favourable conditions.
As investments poured in, the government had put in resources and brought in foreign labour needed to grow. As a result, developments at the Marina Bay area sprung up in within a decade, instead of the expected 20 to 30 years.
He said that in terms of infrastructure, the country had not been able to catch up and had paid a price, and added that the government had been working hard over the past three to four years trying to come back up to speed.
He said that if the government had been able to foresee the outcome, it would have acted sooner.
But that, he said, was with the benefit of “20-20 hindsight”.
“We succeeded more than we expected, and so in terms of the infrastructure, we were not able to catch up — our public transport, building houses,” said Mr Lee. “And we paid a price.”
“We have spent the last three, four years working hard to try and come up back to speed. I wish we had been able to foresee this outcome, and then we would have acted sooner.
“But that’s 20-20 hindsight.”
Mr Lee also emphasised that it’s important for Singaporeans to feel they have a sense of belonging to the country — and that is something that is still a work in progress.
But Mr Lee acknowledged that this growth had come with a cost.
CNA extract
**The survey, conducted from mid February to early March this year, polled more than 30,000 online consumers in 60 countries,
***These public grievances [on healthcare costs immigration, ministerial salaries] and expert doubts did appear in the media; they were not completely blacked out. But, they were always toned down and set in a context that ensured that the government’s voice remained dominant. When there was undeniable distance between public opinion and the government’s position, leaders required the press to work towards a consensus by shifting the ground rather than nudging the government.
By dampening doubts and dissent, by allowing government to operate in an echo chamber, the media gave yesterday’s policy makers an easier ride. But, today’s policy makers are paying the price. There is now more for them to undo as they move their frame of reference back to the centre-left. Furthermore, a lack of responsiveness resulted in lower levels of trust, which now make it harder for the government to persuade the public when it needs to.
The flawed media policy is behind the current government’s biggest failure – its inability to sell its Population White Paper, which by its own reckoning was a vitally important strategic blueprint for the future. Because it had been unwilling to subject its immigration policies to even the gentle probing of friendly national media in the past, it lost touch with public sentiment and lost precious political capital. Today, it is unable to carry the ground on immigration issues.
Even when it speaks sense – like when the Prime Minister chided Singaporeans for their irrational, tribal response to the upcoming Philippine Independence Day celebration – it meets a wall of cynicism and hostility.
http://www.mediaasia.info/how-singapores-media-restrictions-have-hurt-even-the-pap/
Author is hubby of ST’s editor.
Here via UFO Meng Seng?
This funny take on a recent scientific finding* http://www.tremeritus.com/2014/04/11/pap-makes-use-of-oxytocin-to-manipulate-us/ provoked the usual “PAP will be defeated in the next GE” BS.
Well after the next GE, when the PAP wins (albeit hopefully with only 51% of the popular vote, and a GRC or two falls to the SDP, and the WP retains their seats), I wonder if the same TRE posters who proclaims victory in the next GE will blame the PAP for for putting oxytocin into the water supply? They might as well start blaming VivianB now?
After all these TRE posters who say the PAP will be defeated in the next GE belong on the same planet as the PM**, police commissioner (he excluded NS men from his calculations of police to people ratio http://trulysingapore.wordpress.com/2014/04/08/inaccurate-police-force-to-resident-ratio-figure/)***, Kirsten Han (who thinks that S’poreans can have a dialogue with the govt on its pro-FT policies) and Heart Truths ****.
Their reality of S’pore is different from that of mine, and I suspect of most ordinary S’poreans (esp the 35% whose minds can be changed by rational arguments), Their reality is only slightly different; but juz enough to tell us that they are aliens from an alternate S’pore, in a different time and space, who came here on a UFO piloted by one Goh Meng Seng, assisted by his buddy Tan Kin Lian.
My serious point is that no-one group has a monopoly of saying or thinking irrational, stupid things. We are all stupid. It’s juz that are more stupid than others, and don’t realise their stupidity.
Good long weekend.
————————————————
*Members of a group are more likely to lie after they inhale the “love hormone” oxytocin, a study has found.
This hormone is known to be released during close bonding between groups, and mothers also release it during childbirth and breastfeeding.
The results suggest that individuals in closely bonded groups are more likely to lie when it benefits the group than when it only benefits the individual. http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-26771703
**Singapore’s economy has fared better than expected over the last decade, but the country’s success also brought about its own set of challenges. PM Lee made this point in a wide-ranging discussion with regional newspaper editors recently.
He said the country had paid the price of this fast growth, as infrastructure wasn’t able to keep up with the rapid development.
Mr Lee was asked about Singapore’s success during his time as Prime Minister and if anything exceeded his expectations.
He said yes, the country had done economically better than expected and grown faster — attributing it to favourable conditions.
As investments poured in, the government had put in resources and brought in foreign labour needed to grow. As a result, developments at the Marina Bay area sprung up in within a decade, instead of the expected 20 to 30 years.
He said that in terms of infrastructure, the country had not been able to catch up and had paid a price, and added that the government had been working hard over the past three to four years trying to come back up to speed.
He said that if the government had been able to foresee the outcome, it would have acted sooner.
But that, he said, was with the benefit of “20-20 hindsight”.
“We succeeded more than we expected, and so in terms of the infrastructure, we were not able to catch up — our public transport, building houses,” said Mr Lee. “And we paid a price.”
“We have spent the last three, four years working hard to try and come up back to speed. I wish we had been able to foresee this outcome, and then we would have acted sooner.
“But that’s 20-20 hindsight.”
Mr Lee also emphasised that it’s important for Singaporeans to feel they have a sense of belonging to the country — and that is something that is still a work in progress.
But Mr Lee acknowledged that this growth had come with a cost.
CNA extract
Success what success? Real wages grew by only 0.4% while GDP grew by 5.9% . while the prices of public housing apartments went up in a recession.
And belonging? What belonging? When FTs can hold events in public spaces, and S’poreans are ghettorised in Hong Lim?
***Wonder what the ratio would be like if Cisco officers are included (they still wear uniforms that look like police uniforms) are included. I tot of calculating the ratio but there doesn’t seem to be any information available via a google search.
****On govt stealing interest from CPF http://sonofadud.com/2014/04/04/cpf-and-hdb-10-real-dirty-tricks/
And on CPF contributions being a tax and CPF being theft despite this study ranking S’pore’s CPF system as the 7th best out of 20 pension systems analysed http://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/042914/top-pension-systems-world.asp?utm_source=newstouse&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=NTU-4/30/2014
Thoughts of a Cynical Investor 