Singapore Media Watch

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Updates from the Editorial Team - 31 October 2006

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Ex-Rafflesians: we want to hear from you !

The recent controversy surrounding Wee Shu Min, a RJC girl has put the Rafflesian community in the spotlight. Are Rafflesians as "elitist" as Miss Wee or are they grossly misunderstood ?

We want to hear from ex-Rafflesians themselves their views on this. Share with us your school life in the old RJC campus at Ghim Moh.

Email us at: mediawatchsg@gmail.com !

Wee Shu Min: Is she devastated ?

Far from it, ex-classmate says she’s ‘laughing’ at and ‘mocking’ web responses.

"I was a top student from RJC (Raffles Junior College). Just graduated a few years ago. Most people that I know in RJC were just too full of themselves.

They thought that since they are from RJC, they are the smartest in Singapore. Unfortunately, many of my RJC friends have low EQ and common sense.

Most only know how to memorise and practice questions and possess very weak critical thinking skills."

"To follow up on what fellow Rafflesian, Gene, said above, I would like to emphasise that the majority of us from RJC are not like Shu Min.

In fact, few of us sympathise with her current "plight" (not that she is taking it badly, she was in fact laughing and mocking at the responses on various websites).

What had happened also did not surprise us because she is well known in school to have an inflated sense of superiority and low tolerance of the pedestrian and the uncultured.

But please remember that one Wee Shu Min does not make RJC. The rest of us from RJC should not be impeached because of her."

"I'm a classmate of Shu Min in RGS and RJC. Many of us don't know her well because she does move around in her own exclusive circle of the smart and well-connected.

And yes, she is conceited, overbearing and thinks that she and her clique own the world. But, I do think some of the comments here are excessive, even unreasonable.

You can fault her character and her worldview, but is there a need to descend to vulgarity?"

"As a Rafflesian, I am saddened that our good name has been smeared by the poison pen of one elitist female.

The saddest part of this episode is that she reminds me of the remark made by newbie Michael Palmer, "Before I joined the grassroots organisation, I never knew there were poor people in developed countries".

Where does the PAP find such freaks? They are no better than the Hitler Youth, and our country can only be the worse because of them."

Source: http://weikiatblog.blogspot.com/2006/10/looking-back-home.html



The Nation: Court to rule on Shin deal, PM tells Lee

Surayud rules out govt interference as Singaporean prime minister urges a solution during Asean-China meeting


Prime Minister Sura-yud Chulanont yesterday told his Singapo-rean counterpart the military-backed government would not intervene in the judicial process over the controversial Temasek Holdings takeover of Shin Corp.

This followed a bilateral meeting between the two leaders on the sidelines of the Asean-China Summit in Nanning, China. It marked Surayud's first international meeting with top regional leaders.

Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsein Loong asked Surayud how Temasek's buy-out of Shin Corp could be amicably resolved.

In a rare move, Lee sought a way out for Temasek, which is the Singapore government's investment arm. He had been quoted as saying on several occasions the takeover of Shin Corp was based on business judgement alone and had nothing to do with the Singaporean government. (Read more...)

Editorial Review: The class divide behind the Wee Shu Min saga (Part 2)

The "Elite" in Singapore schools and government: a syndrome or system?


In her blog, Miss Wee referred to herself as belonging to the "elite" and was slammed in return for her "elitist" remark. Is there a priviledged class in Singapore and who qualifies to be an "elite"?

Singapore has always pride itself to be a meritocracy where fair and equal opportunities are given to all its citizens to climb up the economic and social ladder regardless of race, religion or family background.

This is largely true in the education system where students are admitted to universities based solely on academic criteria and government agencies where stringent guidelines are in place to appraise and evaluate a civil servant's performance.

The "elite" is an anomaly borned out of the very success of Singapore's meritocracy which is based on the Darwinian principles of "natural selection" and "survival of the fittest".

Singapore students are assessed and categorized as young as 10 into different streams based on academic performance (this system was abandoned recently by the Ministry of Education and a different form of streaming based on aptitude instead will take its place in 2007).

At the end of 6 years of primary school education, students take the PSLE (Primary School Leaving Examination) which will determine the "class" they belong to in the education system for the rest of their lives.

The top of the cohort will be selected to study in the best secondary schools in the country such as Raffles Institution, Raffles Girls School, The Chinese High, Victoria High, Anglo-Chinese School and Dunman High which are usually staffed with highly qualified and motivated teachers.

These students usually proceed to do well at the GCSE "O" levels to continue their pre-tertiary education at prestigious colleges such as Raffles Junior College where Miss Wee is currently pursuing her studies.

Upon graduation from junior college, many of these academic high-flyers will be cherry-picked and awarded scholarships by major government bodies such as PSC (Public Service Commission), EDB (Economic Development Board), SAF (Singapore Armed Forces) and ASTAR (Agency for Science, Technology And Research) where they are groomed and nurtured meticulosly to become future leaders of their respective organizations.

Unless they make a major blunder, scholars are usually guaranteed a rewarding career commanding pay packages littered with attractive perks and incentives comparable to the private sector.

The performance of these scholars in public service will be subjected to strict scrutiny and some are eventually invited to join politics by contesting in the election on the ticket of the ruling PAP (People's Action Party).

Of the 18 members of Singapore's current cabinet, all of them have university degree holders and 11 of them are past President, SAF or Colombo Plan scholars. (source: http://www.parliament.gov.sg/AboutUs/Org-government.htm)

In a most ironic fashion, this unique Singapore "brand" of meritocracy so espoused and applauded by its leaders is in fact the creator and perpetuator of a class of "elite" privy to certain economic and political rights not enjoyed by the rest of the population.


A class divide between the rulers and the ruled

Though the ruling PAP, which had enjoyed absolute monopoly of power in government since 1959, has overseen the transformation of Singapore from Third to First World nation in 4 decades, there is growing vocal opposition against its style of governance especially among young Singaporeans.

One common grouse is that the ruling PAP elite, having been living in an ivory tower throughout their lives where their paths are well mapped out by the system, are unable to understand and empathize with the difficulties encountered by the "man in the street".

The critics are quick to jump onto Mr Wee Siew Kim's remarks that he agreed "with her daughter's basic points" as being arrogant, insensitive and derogatory and on the whole reflects the government's dismissive and unsympathetic stance towards those asking for more assistance from them.

The backlash was particularly evident and disturbing on the internet, where, free from any government meddling or moderation, there were loud calls for Mr Wee to step down from his MP's position as he has lost all "morality" and "credibility". The unwillingness of the mainstream media to publish these articles further add fuel to the dissent and fury of netizens.

Besides Mr Wee, other PAP leaders and MPs have chosen to stay clear from the saga, preferring to regard this as a personal affair of Mr Wee completely unrelated to the government. By pulling a wool over their ears and eyes, they hope this unfortunate isolated episode will soon fade away in Singaporeans' memory.

There is no doubt that Singaporeans will soon forget and even forgive Miss Wee's words and the controversy from which it ensures. However, the real underlying issues that prompt Singaporeans to react en masse in unison remains unanswered.

As the flames sparked off by Mr Wee and her daughter eventually die off, smothering quietly beneath the ash is an increasingly palpable anger towards the government for all woes right or wrong, fair or unfair.

Instead of dismissing them as simply trouble-makers, it is time for the government to start acknowledging and engaging its critics in order to assauge this lingering malaise before further damage is done.

Monday, October 30, 2006

Editorial Review: The class divide behind the Wee Shu Min saga (Part 1)

A recap of the saga

From anonymity to instant fame in a week. 18 year old Singapore girl "Wee Shu Min" became the third most searched name on Technorati after a blog entry by her made waves in Singapore's cyberspace and beyond.

Miss Wee was writing in her blog (her blog has been shut down, you can still read the original entry here) in response to an unpublished letter by a 35 year old Singaporean Mr Derek Wee (http://www.derekwee.blogspot.com/) on his concerns and fears about his livlihood in Singapore's competitive global job market.

Mr Derek Wee was dismissed as a "crackpot" and a "wretched, undermotivated, overassuming" leech by Miss Wee who ends off with a snide "please, get out of my elite uncaring face".

Her article soon found its way throughout Singapore's internet forums and blogs generating a huge furore amongst netizens with some writing in to the Straits Times to lambast her.

Miss Wee's father, Mr Wee Siew Kim who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ang Mo Kio GRC initially defended her in an interview with the Straits Times, but backed down under mounting pressure from the public and apolgized 2 days later to "those who are offended" by his remarks.


Undercurrent of discontent and disenchantment

For those of you who are not familar with Singapore, such vocal outpouring of public discontent against the personal views of a young lady may appear to be both unwarranted and unexpected.

After all, she is entitled to have her own opinions which are more for personal introspection than for public consumption. The fault ought to be shared by those who intruded her privacy by posting her personal details and pictures onto the internet and making a fuss out of it.

The barrage of criticism levelled at her is unfair, one might argue, since she is definitely not the only person in Singapore who harbors these thoughts and moreover, she did not intend her blog to be read by strangers other than her own inner circle of friends.

While it seems that public anger and discontent was directed at Miss Wee, much of it can be attributed to a simmering resentment against the government's policies which many do not dare to voice out. Miss Wee is just a convenient and timely punching bag for them to vent their frustrations on.

Mr Derek Wee's predicament is one that many Singaporeans can relate to and empathize with. The influx of foreign labor, both skilled and unskilled, in an increasingly competitive global economy has led to many middle-aged Singaporeans fearing and fighting for their rice bowls.

With no independent trade unions to protect workers' interests or legislation to safeguard the jobs of Singaporeans, MNCs can retrench employees at their whims and fancies with minimal penalties.

The apparent lack of support and benefits for retrenched workers, other than re-training and skills upgrading courses provided by various agencies under the umbrella of the Ministry of Manpower, has served to foster further disenchantment with the government which was perceived rightly or unrightly as being unsympathatic and unhelpful to the plight of Singaporeans who are retrenched or facing the threat of being retrenched.

To compound matters, Miss Wee belongs to the creme la crop of young Singaporeans who is guranteed a fast-track successful career in the civil service.

It doesn't help that her father is a MP of the ruling party and hence an embodiment of the establishment and natural target for detractors.

That explains why the usually benign and forgiving Singaporeans are particularly bitter and harsh towards Miss Wee.


In Part 2 of the article, to be published tomorrow, we will analyze how Singapore's meritocracy is in fact responsible for the creation and perpetuation of a class divide of "elite" in Singapore's education and political system

Your views: Was Mr Tongnoi hired on merit?

I refer to Sunday Times "Thailand's Crown Prince rebukes official" (29 Oct 2006) and
the below article in Thailand's Nation online newspaper.

Was Mr Tongnoi, in his 70s who was earlier appointed as Temasek's advisor before being told he would not be joining Temasek after all, recruited on merit under Singpaore's so-called meritocracy system, as is expected of all GLCs/TLCs since they are handling the Singapore citizens' hard-earned reserves?

Correct me if I am wrong but the newspaper articles (including our very own Sunday Times) suggested that "Mr Tongnoi had abused power for his own benefit" as "he was
assigned to work according to his profession - which means translating and drafting English documents and occasionally writing letters". What value-added roles can his above-mentioned "profession" bring to Temasek as an "advisor" in Thailand?

Or to put it more pointedly, why does Temasek need a "translator" as advisor in running Shin Corp and its subsidiaries, basically a telecommunications group?

KAYE POH

The Nation: A question of misjudgment

Temasek's attempt to try and peddle influence in Thailand by hiring a former royal employee has backfired


The scandal involving former royal aide MR Tongnoi Tongyai, accused by HRH Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn's Personal Affairs Office of making false claims about his employment status to pursue his own business interests, is worrisome.

The idea that Tongnoi had the temerity to misrepresent himself as a former deputy principal private secretary to His Majesty the King and adviser to the Crown Prince to peddle influence has caused a damaging misunderstanding and public confusion.

On Saturday, the Prince's Personal Affairs Office issued a statement attacking Tongnoi and clarifying that he was no longer in the employ of the Royal Household. The statement described Tongnoi as "a cunning man and personally immoral".

Last Tuesday, Temasek Holdings of Singapore, which faces possible investigation for alleged improper use of nominees in a complex deal to take over Shin Corp from deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's family, announced that Tongnoi was to be appointed as chief adviser of the company's planned Thai office.

It was obvious Temasek had been seeking a connection with Tongnoi, believing his high standing and prestigious connections might be able to provide some sort of protection from current investigation by the Thai authorities.

A suit has been filed with the Supreme Administrative Court over whether the Information and Communications Ministry and the PM's Office should revoke the satellite and TV licence held by subsidiaries of Shin Corp as Temasek had breached the 49 per cent foreign ownership limit. (Read more...)

Sunday, October 29, 2006

Updates from the Editorial Team - 29 October 2006

Technical glitch in Blogger

Due to a technical glitch, we are unable to upload our articles to Blogger yesterday. We apologize to our readers who were surfing this newsblog studiously for the latest updates.


Weekly or daily updates?

We have been deliberating on whether to switch publishing on this newsblog from a daily to a weekly basis.

Publishing weekly will give us more time for the collation and writing of articles. What do you think? Feel free to give us your feedback at: mediawatchsg@gmail.com

Regional news roundup - 29 October 2006

The Nation

TEMASEK DEAL
Prince's office hits out at TongnoiEx-royal aide appointed by S'pore firm slammed as 'cunning, immoral'


The Personal Affairs Office of HRH Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn yesterday issued a strongly worded statement distancing itself from MR Tongnoi Tongyai, who was earlier named by Temasek Holdings of Singapore as its Thailand adviser.

Last Tuesday, Temasek, which has been facing sharp criticism here over its Bt140-billion acquisition of Shin Corp, was reported to have approached Tongnoi, a former royal aide, to be the chief adviser of its planned Thai office.

However, the plan was dropped two days later. According to a statement issued by Jimmy Phoon, a senior managing director of the Singaporean state investment firm, the appointment of Tongnoi had already been withdrawn. (Read more...)


Reuters

Singapore suspends human rights lawyer for a year

SINGAPORE, Oct 28 (Reuters) - Singapore has suspended a prominent opposition and human rights lawyer for a year on disciplinary grounds, according to court documents and media reports on Saturday.

M. Ravi, who has represented prominent opposition leader Chee Soon Juan of the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) on several occasions, and has defended two high-profile death penalty cases in the city-state, was suspended from practice for a year by the legal profession's top disciplinary body on Friday.

Ravi was suspended due to rude behaviour to a district judge in October, 2003, according to the local Straits Times newspaper. (Read more...)

In Focus: Objective Journalism and its role in society Part 2

In our second segment on "Objective Journalism and its role in society", we bring you an abstract of an article by Mr Robert Fulford, a prominent columnist at two U.S dailies - The National Post and The Globe and Mail.

Entitled "'Objective Journalism' There's no such thing", Mr Fulford argued passionately, drawing from his years of experience as a columnist that he has never met an objective journalist in his life and wouldn't want to.

Below is an abstract of his article:


'Objective' journalism? There's no such thing

Robert Fulford

(The National Post, 8 May 2004)

Just before retiring as publisher of the Toronto Star on Wednesday, John Honderich remarked on CBC radio that the Star's coverage of Israel is "fair and objective" -- surely an outlandish claim.

As a careful reader of his paper, and a student of the Middle East, I'm as certain as I am of anything on Earth that the Star routinely gives the benefit of the doubt to Israel's enemies and denounces every flaw it finds in Israel's policy.

Yet Honderich said he had "looked at our coverage" from this perspective and added that "I've had distinguished people like Janice Stein," a University of Toronto political science professor, also examine it. These distinguished people had agreed that the coverage is "in no way biased."

How could they say that? Aside from news stories, which in theory might be discussed on a case-by-case basis, the Star has a leading columnist, Haroon Siddiqui, who almost always expresses hostility to Israel's policies.

Were the Star interested in fairness it would require, at minimum, a columnist of similar stature coming down just as often on Israel's side. The Star has no such writer; it's not conceivable that it could have.

More important, the word "objective," coming from a publisher at this late date, indicates a serious failure of self-knowledge. The principle of objectivity was unmasked long ago as a beguiling fiction. In the U.S., the Society of Professional Journalists eliminated the word "objectivity" from its ethics code in 1996. (Read more...)

Your views: Household income - 60% of Singaporeans may be in debt

I refer to the household income from 2003 released in Sep 2005: http://www.singstat.gov.sg/ssn/feat/sep2005/pg1-7.pdf

Below is the average household income-expenditure:

Lowest 20% of households average income of S$795 per month(p.m.)average household expenditure of S$1,259.00 p.m.

Next 20% of households average income S$2,059.00 p.m.average household expenditure S$2,100.00 p.m.

Next 20% of households average income S$3,379.00 p.m.average household expenditure S$2,797.00 p.m.

Next 20% of households average income S$5,309.00 p.m.average household expenditure S$3,904.00 p.m.

Next 20% of households average income S$12,792.00 p.m.average household expenditure S$6,160.00 p.m.

Each household is occupied by 3.6 people, and taking the population at calender YE2005 of 4,351,000 citizens/residents, we have 1.2 million households. Every 20% percentile equals 240,000 households.

This means that there are potentially 720,000 families who cannot make ends meet every month (they have nothing left to save for rainy days).

Some have to resort to loans and credit spending. If we put wage cuts for CPF, and add expenditure items like mortgage repayments, GST, COE, ERP, income tax, etc. into consideration, the scenario is even grimer.

I hope the government can so something to solve this bread-and-butter issue instead of hiding it in the closet and get the media to write rosy news reports.


DeArcher

Your views: What can we do to try to prevent another Singaporean from being driven to desperation because he or she cannot pay bills?

Mr Tan Jee Suan, a 46 year-old Singaporean odd-job labourer with two young children, committed suicide by jumping on to the MRT track at Chinese Garden station on October 18.

According to media reports, he had been receiving financial assistance from South-West Community Development Council of $120 a month from September 2003 to November 2004, $375 a month from November 2004 to June 2005, and was rejected twice last year and this year applying for financial assistance, because his household monthly income was $1,400.

On his third attempt to apply for financial assistance in February, he was advised to apply for the Pay-As-You-Use (PAYU) meter to pay for utilities, but he found it too complicated and gave up.

He had a history of not having a steady job, and after being unemployed for the last four months, owed over $1,000 in utilities for more than four months, HDB payments, school fees for a year, etc.

Of late, they were having difficulty putting three meals on the table, and were surviving mostly on instant noodles. When Mr Tan was found, he had only $16 in his wallet.

His last act on the day he died was to tell his wife that he would find some money to give to her and gave nine dollars to his youngest son for the family's dinner and transport fares, and told him that he was going to work and asked him to look after his mother.

Despite being a person with a polio disability, his wife was working in a factory earning about $500 a month. She pays about $50 a month for her medical fees.

Her husband had complained of body aches, but refused to seek medical treatment because he said he could not afford to.

She did not even have the bus fare to go to see her husband’s body, and the policeman who informed her of her husband’s death gave her five dollars.

They still have 15 years' left of their housing loan to settle and Mrs Tan said that she has to pay more than $300 a month from her CPF for the three-room flat... So far, Singaporeans have donated about $500,000 to the family.

The utilities company in a letter to the media on October 25, said that it has "on many occasions, referred families in dire financial straits to the Community Development Council". Hence, Mr Tan lost his will to live, despite being referred by the utilities company to the CDC.

I would like to suggest that schools can also send an alert when a student has not been able to pay school fees for say more than six months, so that no Singaporean will ever be driven to desperation again, without anyone knowing about their plight.

According to HDB’s annual report, it gave financial assistance to 28,386 flat owners for the financial year ended March, a drop of 26 per cent from the previous year.

According to the Department of Statistics General Household Survey 2005, there were 113,646 households with monthly income below $1,500, and 106,384 households with no income from work – presumably most of which are retirees.

According to the article "Mortgage sales of HDB flats on the rise: But trend is to be expected as banks' portfolios mature, say industry watchers" by Siow Li Sen (Business Times, Oct 20), and a New Paper report on October 20, just four property auction companies have had increasing HDB bank loan foreclosures of about 38 flats a month (456 a year), which is an annual increase of about 690 per cent (456 divided by 190 divided by 3) over the 190 flats foreclosed in the first three years after bank loans started for HDB flats on January 1, 2003.

All the banks offering HDB loans declined to reveal figures on their foreclosures. After three years and nine months, the default rate of about one per cent is quite high as there are already about 700 foreclosures out of a total of about 70,000 HDB flats with bank loans.

On October 13, HDB announced a new procedure that from January 1 next year, those who want to apply for a housing loan will first need to obtain a loan eligibility letter before they can commit to buying a new flat. How many Singaporeans have to lose their homes and CPF, before we re-think the policy change of giving the first charge on property to banks?"

The utilities company in a letter to the media on October 25, said that it has "on many occasions, referred families in dire financial straits to the Community Development Council". Hence, Mr Tan lost his will to live, despite being referred by the utilities company to the CDC.

I would like to suggest that schools can also send an alert when a student has not been able to pay school fees for say more than six months, so that no Singaporean will ever be driven to desperation again, without anyone knowing about their plight.

According to HDB’s annual report, it gave financial assistance to 28,386 flat owners for the financial year ended March, a drop of 26 per cent from the previous year.

According to the Department of Statistics General Household Survey 2005, there were 113,646 households with monthly income below $1,500, and 106,384 households with no income from work – presumably most of which are retirees.

According to the article "Mortgage sales of HDB flats on the rise: But trend is to be expected as banks' portfolios mature, say industry watchers" by Siow Li Sen (Business Times, Oct 20), and a New Paper report on October 20, just four property auction companies have had increasing HDB bank loan foreclosures of about 38 flats a month (456 a year), which is an annual increase of about 690 per cent (456 divided by 190 divided by 3) over the 190 flats foreclosed in the first three years after bank loans started for HDB flats on January 1, 2003.

All the banks offering HDB loans declined to reveal figures on their foreclosures. After three years and nine months, the default rate of about one per cent is quite high as there are already about 700 foreclosures out of a total of about 70,000 HDB flats with bank loans.

On October 13, HDB announced a new procedure that from January 1 next year, those who want to apply for a housing loan will first need to obtain a loan eligibility letter before they can commit to buying a new flat.

How many Singaporeans have to lose their homes and CPF, before we re-think the policy change of giving the first charge on property to banks?

Singapore Power’s profits increased by 53 per cent last year. SBS's profit after taxation rose 5.1 and 158.6 per cent, for 2005 and 2004 respectively. SMRT's profit after taxation has risen from 56.8 million in 2002 to 103.6 million in 2006.

Now, before the expected increase in revenue and profits from the fares hike effective October 1, SMRT has reported a 13 per cent year-on-year rise in net profit to $31.5 million for the second quarter ended September 2006. I would like to suggest that there be a review of whether and to what extent basic essentials like utilities and transport should continue to be profit-making when they are in essence monopolies?

Leong Sze Hian

Saturday, October 28, 2006

Health bites: Allergic rhinitis Part 3

It can be difficult to avoid the things that cause allergic rhinitis. In fact, many people do not know the exact cause of their own allergy.

However, here are a few tips that may help:

1. Encase mattress, pillows and bolsters with special mite-proof covers. Pillows filled with Dacron or other synthetic materials that can be washed weekly are preferred. Mattress or pillow protectors should also be encased within covers and the encasings washed at least three-monthly.

2. Wash bedding frequently in hot water (above 55C). House dust mites are not killed by detergents.

3. Reduce house dust by damp dusting or mopping rather than sweeping.

4. Try to minimize the number of carpets, rugs and curtains in your house.

5. Avoid contact with animals which trigger your symptoms. Cats' fur is the most common cause of animal-related allergy.

6. Always take your medication according to your doctor's instructions.

7. Consult your doctor if you need advice or more information about your medication.


For more information, please visit www.theallergyreport.com

The writer is a Family Physician in private practice. He prefers to remain anonymous. You can ask him questions by leaving a comment here.


DISCLAIMER

The consumer health information on this website is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice or treatment for any medical conditions. You should promptly seek professional medical care if you have any concern about your health, and you should always consult your physician before starting a fitness regimen.

Friday, October 27, 2006

Regional news roundup - 27 October 2006

The Star


PM regrets Dr M didn't wait for explanation

KEPALA BATAS: Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is deeply grieved by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s renewed attacks against him, which the Prime Minister likened to “stronger doses of venom.”

Breaking his silence over their meeting last Sunday when Dr Mahathir spoke for two hours on what he thought was wrong with the present administration, Abdullah said he was saddened that the former premier had continued with his criticisms in the media.

“I feel sad because he has told me all that he wanted to say. I will need time to respond. But he repeated (his criticisms) with stronger doses of venom. (Read more...)


The Nation


Sonthi told Thaksin he would stage a coup

For the first time, general reveals the inside story of how the regime was toppled. At last, the story behind that unique part of the "first announcement" by the September 19 coup leaders - "We are sorry for the inconvenience"- can be told.

Aside from the need to pacify a stunned public, it owed as much to one of General Sonthi Boonyaratglin's personal habits. "It's in my nature to apologise to people - my tennis partners, even my subordinates - for even tiny little things," the head of the Council for National Security told Nation Group editors. (Read more...)

Your views: Sinful spending of people's hard-earned monies

Despite all the reported hype, the Innovation Exhibition at Singapore Expo to celebrate Singapore's 25 years of infocomm achievements was a most disappointing let-down.

Nothing much of substance but a maze-like display of many flat-screen TVs and large wall panels with many words to read.

I saw many students on school visits but few adults. How many "couch-potato" adult Singaporeans actually visited the 5-day exhibition? The Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) had expected a 30,000 turn-out.\

After all, Channel News Asia's documentaries have already covered these achievements in a cost-effective way and to a much wider audience.

Why then was it necessary to spend $11 million on the exhibition --- with $6 million from the IDA (i.e. taxpayers' money) and balance $5 million from industry partners?

Our taxpayer-citizens will recall the 2002 IDA "Honest Mistake" Fiasco involving non-recovery by IDA of an erroneous over-payment to SingTel of $388 million of the people's hard-earned monies. And the 2005 spending of $400,000 of public funds by the Urban Renewal Authority to "re-brand" Marina Bay as..... Marina Bay !!!

The IDA must be transparent and accountable in providing a detailed public explanation. Was the exhibition contract awarded in accordance with laid-down Government procurement procedures? If so, disclose the full list of contractors and tendered sums, with the name of the successful contractor.

The simple message to all our Government agencies --- Spend public funds prudently, whether in good or bad economic times. Return any surplus funds to the people or use them to lower your fees to the public and business community.

The simple logic --- If it does not cost so much to run our tiny island, the Government can afford to collect less taxes and dues from the people.

The people will then have more money in their pockets to, say, start their own businesses.

Or, to have more children and so alleviate our Procreation Problem.

Or, to pay for family holidays to foster closer family ties.


David See Leong Kit

Thursday, October 26, 2006

Updates from the Editorial Team - 26 October 2006

Moderation of posts by readers

We apologize to all our readers for moderating their comments from 20 October to 25 October 2006 which result in them not being posted immediately. Most of these comments are now published in their original transcripts without any editing.

We appreciate all feedback and criticism willingly and we will accept whatever you said of us even if it may not sound pleasant.

Unfortunately for the past few days, we have been receiving a few comments containing vulgar words and nicknames which may be mistaken for politicians in real life. This prompted us to monitor this blog more stridently.

We accept "impersonation" of public figures is common and aplenty in cyberspace and most netizens will not treat it seriously. There is absolutely nothing wrong if done within certain limits as it adds much fun and color into an otherwise dry and boring discussion.

However, in view of the recent incident in which Mr Perry Tong of the Workers' Party made a Police report over a forumer using the nickname "Perry_Tong" in a local forum, it is our responsibility as owners of this blog to protect our readers from being implicated in another repeat episode.

We have lifted the moderation and you can now post freely. We trust our readers to to be mature enough to post sensibly. Freedom of speech comes with greater responsibility.


Appeal for writers and webmasters

Due to increase in flow of traffic to our blog, we need more resources to maintain and keep it going.

We need writers and webmasters to update this blog daily. With more members on board, we will be able to publish more news analyses and commentaries for you.

Email us at mediawatchsg@gmail.com if you are keen to join the Editorial Team.

Regional news roundup - 26 October 2006

The Australian

New kick in the Shin for Thaksin

OF the slew of actions now afoot over the sale of Thailand's Shin Corp to Temasek Holdings, the one that could most hurt the already bruised Singaporeans is an action initiated by a junior academic at Bangkok's Rangsit University.

The Central Administrative Court has agreed to try an action by Sattra Toa-on, a 28-year-old law lecturer, against state regulators over their alleged failure to enforce rules that would have prevented then prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's family from selling control of the Shin Corp communications group for 73.2 billion baht ($2.6 billion) to the Singapore government investment company.

After initially buying 49.6 per cent of Thailand's biggest telecoms group from Thaksin's children and relatives in January, the Temasek-led consortium now owns 96 per cent of Shin Corp equity. Temasek itself claims an "economic interest" in 76 per cent of the group. (Read more...)


The Nation

Tongnoi will not be advisor of Temasek's Bangkok office

Temasek Holdings announced Thursday that MR Tongnoi Tongyai would not become the advisor for the company's local office in Thailand.

"After thorough consideration, MR Tongnoi Tongyai and Temasek Holdings unanimously agree that MR Tongnoi would not be the advisor for Temasek's office which will be established in Thailand," said Jimmy Phoon, senior managing director of the Singapore investment arm, in a press statement.

The announcement ends speculation that Temasek tried to quash criticisms on the morality of its investment in Thailand, with the appointment of Tongnoi who is a deputy principle private secretary of HRH Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn. (Read more...)

Your views: Singapore should surely but swiftly shift out of its US$ holdings in reserves and diversify

With each passing day, we are constantly reminded of the vulnerability of the US$ (the US' ballooning deficits, etc) and countries and individuals with substantial holdings of the currency may well be better off taking many experts' advice of diversifying its investment portfolio and possibly shifting out of the currency altogether before the Doomsday (the collapse of the US$) happens, if it ever happens.

With the above worst case scenario, I hope the Singapore government has taken all possible scenarios into consideration in case the worst happens as it involves the citizens' hard-earned money in the reserves which the government is entrusted with.

I sincerely hope the government will not be caught off-guard should such an eventuality occur lest citizens direct their accusations of "I told you so!".

Like MM Lee' advice to the Americans on adopting the "multi-lateral" approach to dealing with terrorism, countries intent on bringing the US down may also adopt this "multi-lateral" approach by withdrawing their US$ holdings collectively, by which time, the "herd" instinct will prevail when everyone scrambles to get out. And if Singapore waits till then to act, I'm afraid it will be too little too late.

Imagine China (with a trillion US$ in reserves), Russia (long-time foe of the US but now with new found wealth in their rich oil and gar reserves), Japan, the Middle Eastern countries and the Europeans acting in concert?? Scary thought right? Will not happen? You bet!


Rgds

KAYE POH

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Updates from Editorial Team - 25 October 2006

Thanks for your support!

The Editorial Team will like to extend our heartfelt appreciation to all our readers for their kind feedback.

Your input is highly valued and we take both your suggestions and criticism seriously.

Please continue to support our project and share this blog with your friends.

Let us work together towards building and promoting an active citizenry in Singapore.

More articles to come

We will be bringing you more review articles on objective journalism and internet regulation in the next few days to come, so stay tuned to our blog!

In focus: Objective journalism and its role in society

In a private email exchange with Mr Seah Chiang Nee, a veteran journalist and writer of the renowned Littlespeck political website, Mr Seah shared us the importance of adopting an objective, balanced line of reporting in journalism.

The objective of our blog is not to "bash" SPH or the government blindly. We understand the need to be circumspective and to give credit to the government when it is due.

It is precisely because the mainstream media is largely slanted towards the government that we see the need to provide a counter to balance things.

The media may not espouse support for the government openly and directly, but through the clever and selective use of certain words and sentences and via innuendoes, they help influence perceptions subtlely.

Most Singaporeans will simply browse through the papers with little thorough analysis. Our hectic schedules do not permit us to read carefully in between the lines and this causes us to sway under the influence of the media if we are not mindful enough.

Our aim is to correct this inherent bias by revealing the hidden meaning and agenda behind the news reports.

Take for example the report in Sunday Times on 15 October 2006 of Mr Yaacob's comments on Ms Sylvia Lim's being "opportunistic" in her call for the government to do more to solve the haze problem.

Many of our readers were initially led to believe that the Workers' Party is indeed "opportunistic" till they read our review.

Is "objective journalism" possible in reality and in Singapore? Subjectivity is an innate failing of human beings, an ubiquitous trait of human nature.

No matter how hard we try, the way we think and write is largely influenced by pre-conceived ideas, thoughts and impressions.

Objectivity can best be achieved through having a plurality of diversive views from various writers so that their inherent prejudices will cancel each other out.

Are Singaporeans ready for "objective journalism?" After years of "programming" by the state media, a majority of Singaporeans have become so accustomed to what was reported in local news that they do not question it anymore.

To them, the pro-government stance of the mainstream media is the yardstick they hold for "objectivity" and therefore any diversive views will naturally be interpreted as anti-government, biased and without an iota of truth.

A second group which is growing fast in recent years comprise mainly of young educated internet-savvy Singaporeans who no longer finds any credibility in the mainstream media. They are sceptical about whatever is reported even if it is true.

To quote an example the daily updates of PSI indexes. Most Singaporeans on internet forums believe that the actual PSI is higher than that reported by ST and CNA even though they have no proof to support their hypothesis.

These Singaporeans will always be critical of the government regardless of what you write and are unlikely to accept any pro-government news as true.

In view of the above 2 scenarios, how much an impact will "objective journalism" in providing balanced views from both sides of the story have on Singaporeans?

The objective truth may ironically be interpreted as untrue by Singaporeans with different mindsets and beliefs. What are your views on objective journalism? Which group of Singaporeans do you belong to?

Should we from the EDITORIAL TEAM be more vocal or circumspect?

Please share with us your views here.

Workers' Party netiquette comes under fire - TODAY 25 October 2006

By Tor Ching Li


Some Workers' Party members have recently become entangled in an Internet forum "brawl" with mudslinging and name-calling aplenty - to the extent of sparking a thread on the Young People's Action Party online forum entitled "WP members being complained (sic) on internet forums." This has garnered more than 80 posts since Oct 14. (Read more...)


Our review

We find it incredulous that a "respected" paper like TODAY which claimed to be ranked "No 2 in readership" in a media survey last week chose to report on such a trivial matter like internet flaming by a few anonymous forumers who are purported to be members of an opposition party.
Flaming, mudslinging and impersonation of public figures are aplenty and common in local forums found even in the highly-regulated Young PAP forum. In the wireless world of the internet under the cover of anonymity, anybody can pose as anybody in an open forum where there are few restrictions to what one can post.

While it was true that a thread was started on the Young PAP forum on the WP saga, it was not mentioned that there are at least 5 threads on the same forum dedicated to AMK MP Mr Wee Siew Kim's reply to the Straits Times yesterday on her daughter's blog which had caused a furore in internet forums, attracting widespread criticism and condemnation from netizens.

With all due respect to Mr Goh who was on the losing team in the last General Election, Mr Wee is an elected Member of Parliament which makes him a more prominent public figure than Mr Goh and therefore we are baffled by the wide discrepancy in media coverage on the backlash in internet forums towards both of them.

Internet postings by "WP members" and even the complaint letter itself can only be taken with a pinch of salt and we are surprised the writer chose to report in such a way to give the impression that the following there were strong grounds in the allegations.

1. The heading of the article: "Workers' Party netiquette comes under fire" has already come to the conclusion that WP members did indeed "misbehave" on internet forums before any thorough analysis or investigation is conducted.

2. This conjecture was further lend support and credibility by the first sentence: "Some Workers' Party members have recently become entangled in an Internet forum "brawl" with mudslinging and name-calling aplenty" from which one can draw a reasonable inference that the persona involved are indeed WP members though there is no obvious evidence to pointing to it.

3. The contents of the "complaint letter" which can be at best traced to an anonymous person whose identity remains to be confirmed contains the following words in red detrimental to Mr Goh's reputation: "...was narrow-minded to have called a forum participant "scheming" and "lacking in integrity" after "losing an argument".

He also thought Mr Goh had threatened to sue another forum participant for implying that Mr Goh visited the www.sggirls.com forum."

Readers who don't know Mr Goh in person may be led to think his character is indeed as protrayed by the writer of the letter. The hidden message within is this: If Mr Goh is not even capable of handling a few anonymous forumers on an internet forum leading to a complaint against him, how can he be expected to serve in public office in the future with greater demands and responsibilities?

4. Lastly, the writer seeks to give readers the impression that WP members are generally disliked and unwelcomed by netizens even though there is only one person making the allegations in the complaint letter: In general, WP members were accused of being "argumentative", attempting to "sow discord" between various party supporters and even of taking the guise of online "clones" — or posting replies under alternative usernames — to "influence perception".

The article gave an overall impression that WP members are petty, ungentlemanly and crude. Though Ms Sylvia Lim has clarified that WP members participate in internet forums on their accord and what they say there do not represent the Party's stance, readers will naturally draw an association between the two.

Besides dismissing WP members as a bickering lot, the writer spared no efforts in lavishing generous accolades on the "foresight" of the PAP MPs in not engaging netizens directly and subtlely promoting the Young PAP forum at the expense of Sammyboy forum.

We found this comparison with Young PAP forums and the P65 blog unwarranted and irrelevant. It unwittingly gave PAP the moral high ground and a convenient excuse on why PAP MPs did not interact with citizens directly. This has been the subject of criticism by netizens for a long time and the records are now set right based on one single "fumble" by WP politicians.

Prof Ho's comments on serious blogs and forums making outlandish ones irrelevant is a jibe at Sammyboy Forum from which the controversy first began. Readers who are new to internet forums will invariably be led or misled to believe that Sammyboy lacks credibility compared to more established and regulated serious ones like Young PAP and P65. This ringing endorsement of the ruling party's cyberprojects will drive more curious netizens to embrace it.

WP is one of the more promising opposition parties to emerge after the recent GE. Its brand of moderate and constructive opposition led by a team mixed with experienced old guard and flamboyant youth won the hearts and imagination of many young Singaporeans who flock en masse to attend its rallies.

As the WP is finding renewed vigor and hope for the future, it is dealt an untimely blow to its fresh, crisp image by the media. Instead of reporting on WP's regular activities such as its walkabouts and outreach programmes found on its website (www.wp.org.sg), it is deplorable the media chose to focus on a trivial matter on internet forums which protray WP members in a negative manner.

This may have a detrimental impact on the party's recruitment drive in the near future as Singaporeans are generally averse to mudslinging and personal attacks in politics. However, with the next election still 5 years away, the party has ample time to reflect and learn from its mistakes and rebuild its reputation again.

Your views: Open letter to Ang Mo Kio MP Mr Wee Siew Kim

Dear Mr Wee,


There is no doubt in my mind that until now, both you father and daughter have no idea what the fuss is all about.

The strong language is one issue, (and that may be forgivable), but the underlying message of the blog posting and your subsequent reply shows that you simply have no concern about the struggles of the commoners, even those who're educated.

Is this your job as a MP? Is your job not suppose to speak for your people? Instead, you trash them for being unable to face the "challenges of life".

I am deeply ashamed to see someone as pretentious as you sitting on a parliament seat. Why do I say pretentious?

If this is how you daughter and father think in private with your elitism views of the society, I cannot even fathom why you should continue being an MP.

Surely, how can someone like you begin to imagine what it is like to be near bankrupt because of a business failure? How it is to be debt ridden? How it feels like to be at your prime age of 40 and yet feel insecure about holding on to your job?

Where is your compassion and understanding of the unfortunate ones who are only venting their frustruation through a virtual medium?

It sickens me to see that sort of remarks coming from a minister.You and your daughter's remarks serves to only disconnect yourselves from the people you are supposed to be serving.

This is not the kind of leadership that Singaporeans deserve, nor is what most of them want to see.

If this reflects the mindset of the people who sits together on the pedestral you have stepped on, I fear for the future of the less fortunate, less educated Singaporeans.


Regretfully,

Teoh Tian Jing

To know more about the author, please visit his blog at: http://ripperstrife.livejournal.com/

Editorial Review: More safety nets for retrenched workers

Singaporeans were shocked by the suicide of a middle-aged Chinese man on Wednesday night. Apparently, he was driven to desperation by poverty and mounting debts.

46-year-old Tan Jee Suan had died after falling off the platform at the Chinese Garden station on Tuesday.

Members of the public had been coming to Mr Tan's wake since Wednesday and many were seen offering financial assistance to Mr Tan's wife and children.

The funeral operator is also offering his services for free. Mr Tan had been an odd job labourer, while his wife works in an electronics factory earning only $500 a month.

The children's schools and the Member of Parliament of the constituency where the family lives have assured the family that they will receive whatever assistance they need.

While we applaud Singaporeans for their compassion and generosity, questions must be raised on why this tragedy is allowed to happen. Are there many other undiscovered Singaporeans in dire straits like Mr Tan out there?

According to newspaper reports, Mr Tan was retrenched a few months ago and had difficulties finding a job. He has no money to pay his household expenses, see a doctor when he is ill and has mounting utility bills amounting to SS$1000.

It is debatable if another person in Mr Tan's shoes would have done the same thing as him. Mr Tan may be suffering from depression which can cause one to harbor suicide tendencies.

Had Mr Tan seen a doctor earlier, his condition may be detected and appropriate treatment would be started which could have prevented an unnecessary death.

Globalization and the influx of foreign workers had hit the hardest at the lower-income group. Bereft of a higher education or special skills, they are in a precarious situation in an unstable job market where employers can recruit or sack any worker at will without paying any penalty.

CPF was meant to be a form of social security for Singaporeans in old age. Part of our CPF is channeled towards Medisave which we can tap on for hospitalization bills. However, none of this can be used in the event of a retrenchment and medisave cannot be utilized to pay for outpatient consultations other than chronic medical conditions like diabetes.

According to financial consultants, we need to keep a minimum of six months' salary in the bank to guard ourselves against any potentially economic disruptive events in life such as retrenchment and illness.

How many Singaporeans are aware of this? Prevention is better than cure. The government should pre-empt this by providing free financial counseling to all Singaporeans to be spearheaded by their employers.

This should include teaching them to spend within their means, to save regularly for rainy days and the avenues available for them to seek help should they be retrenched or encounter any financial difficulties.

Madam Ho Geok Choo, MP of West Coast GRC where the deceased man had lived, told reporters that the CDCs and RCs have many schemes to help those in financially distress and Mr Tan would have received some needy help had he sought these agencies earlier.

Do Singaporeans really know where to turn to for help or are they not willing to do so? The government should conduct a comprehensive study to assess public awareness and perception of their help schemes.

There are Singaporeans who are completely ignorant of the presence of government agencies where they can seek help from and there are others who are sceptical of receiving any sort of financial assistance from the government.

These misconceptions must be addressed urgently. The idea of setting up a retrenchment fund for retrenched Singaporeans was mooted previously by Mr Chiam See Tong of the Singapore Democratic Alliance.

Now that Singapore's economy has recovered and unemployment has fallen to the lowest in 5 years, the government should keep good a promise made in 2001 to restore the CPF cuts.

The current CPF contribution from the employer is 13% compared to the employee's contribution of 20%.

Instead of restoring the 7% CPF cut for all Singaporeans, this 7% can be set aside as a retrenchment fund for the low-incomed workers with equal contribution from the government and the employer. In addition, a central fund can be set up to cover any insufficiencies in the worker's own retrenchment fund.

A one-stop agency incorporating both retrenchment assistance and employment centers should be set up to serve the needs of retrenched and unemployed workers exclusively.

When a worker is retrenched, he will immediately be referred by his company to this agency. A comprehensive multi-disciplinary preliminary assessment is done on the worker's current financial status taking into account the number of dependents he have, his monthly CPF contributions to his housing mortage, and other miscellaneous expenses such as medical bills which may not be entirely taken care of by Medisave.

Based on the above, a monthly "retrenchment allowance" is calculated to help the worker tide over this difficult period for 6 months.

At the same time, the employment center will actively help to find another job for the worker. The retrenchment fund is absorbed back into the CPF when the worker finds a new job.

If the worker is still jobless after 6 months or if the worker's own retrenchment fund is used up, another review should be conducted to assess other ways the worker can be helped.

In this way, no retrenched Singaporeans will be left in the lurch to fend for themselves. It is the sacred duty of an elected government by the people to provide and care for all its citizens without any discrimination.

We believe more can be done to help the lower-income groups in our nation without breeding a dependency mentality.

As we continue to win international accolades such as the world's most globalized nation, let us not forget those Singaporeans who are left behind in process of globalization.

THE EDITORIAL TEAM

SINGAPORE MEDIA WATCH

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Updates from the Editorial Team - 24 October 2006

Appeal for writers and webmasters

Due to increase in flow of traffic to our blog, we need more resources to maintain and keep it going.

We need writers and webmasters to update this blog daily. With more members on board, we will be able to publish more news analyses and commentaries for you.

Email us at mediawatchsg@gmail.com if you are keen to join the Editorial Team.


Singapore is ranked 146th in 2006 World Press Freedom Index

Singapore has dipped 6 ranks down to 146th from 140th last year in terms of press freedom. This put us in the league of Third World countries with repressive regimes such as Iran, Burma, Uzbekistan and Nepal.

Read the full ranking here: http://www.rsf.org/rubrique.php3?id_rubrique=639


Editorial Review: More safety nets for Singaporeans

The editorial team takes a look at how we can prevent more tragedies like Mr Tan's suicide from happening tomorrow. It doesn't reflect well on a First World country like Singapore to have its citizens committing suicide due to economic hardship. Check it out at our blog tomorrow!

Forum review: What's hot and what's not

The No 1 discussion topic in Singapore forums today continues to be the furore over RJC student Wee Shu Min's comments on her blog on an unpublished ST Forum letter by Mr Derek Wee. It now boils over to the "apology" made by her MP father Mr Wee Siew Kim published on the Straits Times today.

Many forumers lambasted Mr Wee for "condoning" her daughter's "basic point" and the language he used which reflects his insensitivity and insincerity over the alleged offensive remarks.


Young PAP forum: Open letter to AMK MP Wee Siew Kim

http://www.youngpap.org.sg/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=11531


Wee Siew Kim - apology for language used

http://forums.delphiforums.com/sammyboymod/messages/?msg=121662.1

Health bites: Allergic rhinitis Part 2

Who to treat ?

The modality of treatment depends on the severity and frequency of bothersome symptoms. While a family physician can manage most mild to moderate cases, severe allergic rhinitis consisting of daily intractable symptoms affecting quality of life for many years are usually referred to a ENT surgeon for further management.


Modalities of treatment

1. Allergen avoidance: avoid common allergens like dust-mites, pollen, a skin-prick test may be necessary to determine the exact allergen for recurrent symptoms.

2. Medical treatment: nasal sprays, anti-histamines.

3. Surgical treatment: radiofrequency ablation, septoplasty and inferior turbinectomy.


Skin prick test

The skin prick test is a common method of determining whether a person is sensitive to various allergens.

It can also determine the person's degree of sensitivity to the allergens. The test takes about 20 to 30 minutes to do anad the results are immediate.

The concept is to introduce small quantities of different allergens to the patient's skin (usually arm or back), to see which allergens cause swelling.

Swelling, and the degree of swelling, indicates an allergy to the substance, and gives an indication of the degree of sensitivity to the substance.

A week before the test, the patient must not take any anti-histamines (common in medicines for flu or colds), as these will bias the results.

For more information, please visit www.theallergyreport.com

The writer is a Family Physician in private practice. He prefers to remain anonymous. You can ask him questions by leaving a comment here.

DISCLAIMER

The consumer health information on this website is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice or treatment for any medical conditions. You should promptly seek professional medical care if you have any concern about your health, and you should always consult your physician before starting a fitness regimen.

Editorial Review: Into The Den Of Tigers: An Insight Into PAP Thought And Principles (Part 2)

Continued from Part 1 published yesterday:

"What do you think of the new PM (Lee Hsien Loong)?" I finally broke my silence. A slight pause. "He's bright….. very sharp and bright. But no one can ever replace Lee Kuan Yew.

In fact, we're already pondering Life After Lee Hsien Loong, and how we can ever cope once such great talents leave us!"

"Yes, I think political succession after the Lees is going to present a serious problem to you." A fellow guest added. It appeared she was on the headman's side already.

"Do you think the scholar system is still relevant today?" I went on."We have many bright, young people taking up the scholarships. But I'm telling you- they must earn their way up.

Many of them have an`entitlement mentality', thinking that everything's laid out for them regardless of effort put in."

At least we could agree on one thing, but not enough. I thought he would suggest ideas for the system's revamp, but his stance was for retention of the scheme and scholars 'personal initiative to appreciate.

"What about all those old, destitute people collecting cardboards and drink cans? Has enough been done for them?" Was my final poser. A brief, unwieldy stammer. "I….I really pity these people……But you know what?

Many of them are just doing it to pass time. There's this old lady I know why picks cardboard boxes nearby…. She lives in private property given by her children! We should be proud of these people- they exemplify the unceasing industrial spirit of this country!"

"Wow…" sighed a companion, "To continue working till old age. How admirable."After the MP was finished with his work, we assembled around him inhis office, where I gave a short debrief and some casual chat.

Under normal circumstances, appeals would be looked into. For more ludicrous cases, the standard procedure was to send the MP's appeal letteranyway, but state that the ludicrous claims were what the appellant told the MP, and urge the addressee to investigate.

My friend told me some time ago that addressees could tell if the MP's letter was serious in its appeal, based on effort put into its phrasing andlength. If it was shabbily written, everyone knew the case was not to be taken seriously and chucked.

I was also told that for half of all cases, the appellants had the means to solve their own problems, but saw the MP as an easy way out. For instance, neighbours settling their own disputes instead of cominghere.

Fundamentally, it seemed to cheapen the strength of an MP'sword- if anyone who came got an appeal letter, the leverage of an MP was diluted.

We were more familiar with the idea, owing mostly to TV dramas, that going to MPs involved truly desperate cases which needed immense support.

This dilution of bargaining power was already was already evident inthe good proportion of MP appeals turned down by the relevant parties.Yes, not everyone who appeals to the MP gets their wishes granted- myown appeal was futile. (In fact, I was actually rebuked and got into asmall argument at my own CDC for raising my issue. Unfortunately more details risk my identity, and that's just a moot point anyway.)

Thus, processing appeals became a mechanical procedure which only heldslightly more strength than making the appeal personally.This would lead us to my second apprehension.

Even on successfu lappeals, the cases were never resolved- only having their penalties stretched. For instance, if a poor man had trouble paying a fine, an MP's appeal would allow him to pay the fine in instalments- but never revoke it regardless of his circumstances.

The impoverished student might get a loan to settle his school fees, to which he must repaywhen he finally graduates. Above the myriad of cogs and wheels in this complex matrix of systems,most have overlooked the fundamental problem of mandatory assistance,like welfare or pension plans.

At present, troubled souls were aidedcase-by-case, whereby the meet-the-people system would introduce themajority of parties deserving aid. A mandatory aid system onpre-determined criteria would take a lot of load off meet-the-peoplesessions, so that only the most serious cases would be forced to seekout the MP.

Further, a case-by-case aid system allows discrimination against thosethe CDC views as troublemakers. Ie: "We can choose not to help if youvoted for the Opposition in this district."

Are votes traceable? ManyPAP critics suggest so. More importantly, some residents believed itand theoretically they would vote for the PAP in fear of rejection ofaid in bad times.Back to my account.

After the MP's debrief, a small group of usyounglings went off to supper with the MP at a nearby coffeeshop- yes,a rising Minister eating at a neighbourhood coffee shop.

It was the time for more dialogue and involvement, and us guests were offeredseats next to the VIP. I wasn't too motivated for chat at this point,but continued to hear my friend expound the virtues of membership.

"We have a big network of important people, many of them MDs and CEOsof companies. You can get a good job easily through here.""If you prove yourself, you will be picked to attend one of the manyYouth PAP forums.

These forums are vital events, because many policies are discussed here among us youth before final amendments andformalisation. And if you stand out in these forums….. you may even beinvited into politics!"

Anyone who previously believed that CDCs were none-partisan would change their minds upon this point. Even in conversation, volunteers would refer to the CDC and the local PAP branch as the same entity,using the same term `we' or `the government' to denote both under on eentity.

When supper was done and the MP left, my friend asked us about joiningagain, while insisting there was no obligation. Throughout the nightand in many days before, she would highlight the absence of membershippressure to have us observe the session. But obviously by now, mycompanions wished to continue their involvement. I gave a non-committal answer.

You may be led to believe that my companions were mindless sheep who appeared so easily enamoured by an evening of good treatment and sweetwords. They were anything but mindless automatons.

All of us were talented students who excelled in disciplines like political science,sociology and the like- Conceptually, the last type of persons to betaken in. But they believed, nonetheless. Perhaps the only thing separating me from the rest was my age and experience in real society.(I was 3-4 years their senior with some business experience) And truth be told, the allure of membership was seductive.

I was taken in for some time, and only after deep thought I was able to look upon it witha clear mind. Prospective recruits were given the impression of importance- to feel a sense of achievement by just the invitation. Remember the remarkabout this arrangement only meant for PSC Scholars? And the all-round VIP treatment, coupled with the realisation that other invitees wereall top students.

Once recruits enrolled, the new inductees usually felt a great sense of duty and importance from helping troubled residents, as if they were part of a noble cadre fighting the ills of society.

Due to the synonymous association of CDCs with the PAP, any good done by members would equate to deeds in the name of the party,thereby inculcating a sense of association with it. Add that to characters like the `headman' who, I bet, regular skipped around to dispense praise of his party and their accolades.

In sum, the casual observer would sense an omnipresent `feel-good' vibe about all volunteers- the sort you experience when you witnessreligious gatherings. In essence, the nature of their beliefs holds many parallels to faith-based groups. And as with the latter, anyone who speaks out of line, questions the greatness of their idols orreveals fallacies in their doctrines, will witness the true colours ofthese zealous tigers.

After the benefits of pause and reflection, I was convinced of permanent non-participation in all CDC activities.


The author is a guest contributor who is known by the pseudonym "Angry_One" in local forums. He prefers to remain anoynmous. Any comments to his article can be corresponded directly to him here.

Singapore ranked 146th in Press Freedom by Reporters without borders

Singapore - Annual report 2006


More than a year after coming to power, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, son of the country’s strong man, Lee Kuan Yew, had not begun any liberalisation of the media. Despite statements in support of an “open” society, the ruling party still does not brook any criticism.

Questioned by the international press about Singapore’s position in the 2005 World Press Freedom Index (140th out of 167), senior minister Goh Chok Tong called it a “subjective measure computed through the prism of western liberals”. He also defended the Singapore model for controlling the media, saying that a press that was too free was “not necessarily good for the entire country”.

Relatively independent for regional and international news, when it comes to domestic politics Singapore’s press, still controlled by associates of Lee Kuan Yew, is in the grip of a rigorous self-censorship. The government threatens journalists, foreign media and opposition with defamation suits seeking dizzying amounts in damages. (Read more...)

Your views: The tragic death of Mr Tan

I cannot believe how stupid the MP, Madam Ho Geok Choo, 50, (West Coast GRC), is. In her interview conducted by Andre Yeo of THE ELECTRIC NEWPAPER, Madam Ho talked about her own life of poverty.

We are talking about a dead man, we are not interested about Madam Ho's personal life. That in itself, is a mean-spirited attack on the family. You ask me how? I will tell u. "Oh poor me, I sufferred too, but I survived..."

Madam Ho mentioned the ComCare fund for the needy, workfare bonus for low-wage workers, and a $2.6 billion progress package, 'We must look into how else we can reach out to these people.'-said Madam Ho.

You start with your own boss first, Madam Ho...and work upwards. There needs to be a financial aid coverage for the desperate and the poor, to get them up and going to even begin to look for a job.

You need to have a financial parachute, first... then these poor Singaporeans can get up from the ground, stand up, and begin to walk. Not wait for a job, and starve? That is what your programs are all about.

You have to help the poor feed their families first. Before anything can be done. The poor need financial bridging first and foremost. Don't let these poor Singaporeans down. You, the Singapore govt can help.

If you can help, why not pass a law that will assist the poor n needy? If it is the right thing to do, why not do it? The gratification and payback will be huge, Singapore Govt. When your own people need your help, don't turn your back on them.

Do the right thing. It is within your control, such tragedies do not have to happen. If we can save one family, we can save almost all the poor families, they just need 'a financial help' from you, Singapore Govt, to tie them over?

In addtion, my question is do these agencies really work for the poor and needy? What do the poor and needy do in the meantime with no funds in their bank to support a family? Mr Jonathan Siew, 36, counsellor from the Care Corner Counselling Centre mentioned about govt employment agencies, again, do they work?

If they do work, then this poor man died in vain, and if they don't, we sure do not hear about these programs? How many poor people know about them, and where do these people to go and get help?

Bear in mind, that many poor Singaporeans may not be educated??? Has the Singapore MP madam Ho done anything to enlighten her constituents , get to know their situations who need help, about these programs?

Are these programs known to the the general public of Singaporeans that live in the heartlands? Shame to all the govt officials who let this man die, did he slip thru' the singapore system which caters to the wealthy?

Shame on MP Ho, who should know about all of her constituents' plights n needs. What kind of JOB are you doing Madam Ho?

Shame on all of the Singapore Govt officials who DO ABSOLUTELY NOTHING for the poor of Singapore. They are all million dollar ministers, with big fat bank accounts, and have lost touch with the average Singaporean's needs.

Who is raising money for this family of two sons and a widow of 50? The Singaporeans, organized, by a kind hawker. And now the Singapore officials are bitching about the amount of money collected for the Tan Family.

Are they envious that the collection money for this family is going to be a huge amount? "Is this Singaporean tragedy going to be the new Singaporean Toto?"

I hope they collect a large amount of money, that will enable those 2 boys to go to school, get a good education, become hugely successful in their lives and careers, and any sum of money is never enough to bring back their father.

It is one thing to pass laws, and stupid programs, and another, to wait for the desperate, poor or old to die. It is also a fact that Singapore has one suicide a day.

What does that say about the government officials of Singapore who make well over US$1,000,00 a year.

The poor need financial aid first. Not more rules and programs. Their bellies need to be fed first. Shame on you lot who rule and pass the law.

May Chu Harding (A Singaporean)

Monday, October 23, 2006

Health bites: Allergic rhinitis Part 1

What is allergic rhinitis?

Your nose is blocked or runny with clear, watery mucus. You may sneeze and your eyes itch and water.


What causes it?

Allergic rhinitis is caused by an allergic reaction to airborne particles. The actual cause depends on the individual allergic response of the sufferer.

Your body produces antibodies to ward off infection and other diseases. When your immune system mis-identifies a normally harmless substance, it begins building antibodies toward that specific substance.

These antibodies in your body trigger allergic symptoms when you are re-exposed to that substance.


What triggers the symptoms?

The symptoms of allergic rhinitis are triggered when things like pollen or dust come into contact with the eyes, nose and lungs of the sufferer.

Special cells in these areas over-react to the allergens by releasing substances which cause allergic reactions such as blocked nose, sneezing, runny and itchy nose.

For more information, please visit www.theallergyreport.com


The writer is a Family Physician in private practice. He prefers to remain anonymous. You can ask him questions by leaving a comment here.


DISCLAIMER

The consumer health information on this website is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice or treatment for any medical conditions. You should promptly seek professional medical care if you have any concern about your health, and you should always consult your physician before starting a fitness regimen.

Updates from Editorial Team - 23 October 2006

Thanks for your support!

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Editorial Review

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Your views

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Lastly, we wish all our muslim readers a HAPPY HARI RAYA PUASA !

Roundup of regional news - 23 October 2006

The Star

I'm satisfied, says Mahathir

PUTRAJAYA: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said he was satisfied with the private meeting he had with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi yesterday because he was able to have his say.

Dr Mahathir said he fulfilled his intention to pour out what was in his heart over issues he had raised against Abdullah in recent months.

However, the former Prime Minister said he would continue to criticise the current administration if he felt “anything done is not good for the country.”

Dr Mahathir said he had raised various matters, including the crooked bridge, the Approved Permits issue, International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz and Proton. (Read more...)


China Daily

Blog real name system undecided

NANCHANG -- With widespread online rumor saying China will implement a blog real name system, the Internet Society of China (ISC) has clarified that so far the Ministry of Information Industry has not officially made any related policies.

However, a real name system will be an unavoidable choice if China wants to standardize and develop its blog industry, Huang Chengqing, ISC secretary general, told Xinhua on Sunday.

An official with the ISC confirmed on Thursday that the society is working on a real name system for Chinese bloggers, which attested to netizens' longtime guess about it and triggered a hot controversy. (Read more...)

Editorial Review: Into The Den Of Tigers: An Insight Into PAP Thought And Principles (Part 1)

Under the cloak of anonymity at online forum meanderings, I have always presented myself as a vigourous critic of the PAP regime.Because of my success in hiding the truth of my sentiments, I was offered a rare chance by a friend to witness a meet-the-people session, and observe how the backstage of such events operated.

Here I post my accounts. I have opted to suspend most judgements toward statements and views I heard during my jaunt, so that you can formulate your own.`Know thy enemy'- objection is pointless if you know not what youobject to.

These nuggets of wisdom compelled me to saddle forth andtry to understand the inner workings of CDCs, and ascertain their purported link to the ruling party. I agreed to my friend's invitation, fully cognizant that it was her attempt to recruit me into her district's CDC.

The PAP was always onthe lookout to herd bright, young people into its wings, and peer recruitment was one of its many channels. In accordance with its paradigm of elitism, channels tended to dilute as one moved down the education ladder- local undergraduates had frequent access, while opportunities for involvement were rarer for polytechnic/ITE students,unless the students went on to university where they'd finally be acquainted with such bodies.

As a polytechnic student who made local university, the world of youth political involvement was alien to me until my degree years. NUS had a formal Political Society (although their involvement was obviously partisan toward the PAP); and my friend, a long-time CDC volunteer, became earnestly involved in inviting ministers for talks on campus via a link between the two tributaries.

Within 1-2 years she was regarded as a de-facto link to Singapore politics and politicians, and who else but she would be on active hunt to fill the ranks of her cadres. (I don't know about the strength of politically-linked organisations with NTU and SMU) The meet-the-people sessions were conducted at night in kindergartens located at void decks, with room set aside for waiting, personal interviews and offices for volunteers.

They were conducted every Wednesday, with one Wednesday per month administered by young volunteers. Naturally, residents were more hesitant to attend sessions run by na飗e little tots, and attendance was higher at normal sessions run by veterans.

The term `meet-the-people' appears neutral and carries no unusual connotations, but anyone who's seen them once will depart with the imprint of beggary and desperation. Basically, local residentsgathered and poured their problems out to their Member of Parliament, whose job was to write letters in appeal to relevant organizations,usually for aid.

Most problems fell in the range of financial woes,neighbourly disputes, or appeals on petty legal penalties. Thus,`meeting the people' had nothing to do with small talk or asking how people are- it is all about grievances and appeals.

At this particular constituency, a very prominent up-and-coming minister held court; and according to my friend, all volunteers enjoyed working for him because of his candour and affable persona.

When I arrived, I realized that there were 3 other students from my university invited by my friend for the same purpose. Soon each of us was paired with a volunteer, and asked to sit beside him while head ministered resident grievances.

Initially, I thought that attendees would take turns to see the MP directly when their turn came, but itwas not the case. Instead, they were filtered into 3-4 separate tables where interviewers wrote down their cases on dictation. Then, they met the MP and repeated everything they'd spoken over again.

I never understood how this was efficient, compared to seeing the MP directly and having a separate person write the grievances down while the resident spoke to his MP. Later, I read critics suggest that this allowed `prank cases' to be screened, to avoid wasting the MP's timeon ridiculous appeals. So I was assigned to sit with my friend at one of the `filtering' tables, where we took our share of writing down the appeals of 5-6parties for the night.

"You guys are lucky!" remarked the friend, whowas referring to his 4 guests, "Such exposure arrangements are usually reserved for PSC Scholars to prepare them for political careers."Halfway through our work another volunteer came, with 2 cups of herbal tea, in full-embroidery china teacups with holding saucers and covers, no less.

"Ah, that's nice." I thought, "Tea for the troubled appellants? before seeing the tea laid out in front on us, the administrators! After my friend documented for the first 3 appellants, he turned andasked if I wanted a go. "I thought I was just an observer?" I asked, to which he suggested that getting involved would be a good`experience' for me.

To avoid scorning his hospitality, I obliged andtook the next case. At the end of the night I couldn't avoid feelingpity for the attendees, many of whom were wretched cases- like elderlycouples who couldn't work and were denied financial aid by private funds because there were worse cases; or single children with only one parent left, who happened to suffer from dilapidating illnesses and school fees posed problems.

I was glad I played a small hand in the process of helping them out. Ah, but this was the essence of shrewd recruitment, was it not? By allowing the guests personal involvement, the CDC handed them a subtle sense of ownership and psychological stake.

Now that we guests felt good about our involvement in helping the destitute, we were more likely to return and repeat the good deed.This was all fine and well, for who would accuse charity of being criminal?

Unfortunately, my apprehensions were ignited by the matters communicated to me after the session, and the implications of joining up. Soon the 4 of us `guests' found ourselves sat in a corner, conversing with an old volunteer of the CDC. He identified himself as the head administrator of the branch, and was so experienced that he had been involved in such work since the days of the founding fathers.(1960s-70s)

The CDC had pulled out its heavy artillery to convince us of the nobility of its cause.Of course, we never had the impression of being hassled to agree toanything; and the new host was most friendly, treating us as honouredguests. Throughout our `visit' everyone was accommodating andpleasant; our only awkwardness on their disproportionately-good hospitality toward virtual strangers.

Soon the new host launched into a tirade on domestic politics, always giving his guests room to express their opinions, and perhaps silently gauging the quality of their thoughts. My companions seemed enthused about their involvement thus far, and spoke earnestly, while the jaded one adopted a listening role.

Inevitably, the `headman' didn't wait long to make his own views known. I had counterpoints tomany of his assertions, of course, but it was unwise to throw stone sat the tigers in the tigers' den."I think this government has done a fantastic job. I was around since the old days when we had nothing- look at us today! And in such a short time, too! Lee Kuan Yew is a man of remarkable vision. And GohKeng Swee was a brilliant economist.

In the beginning, Tuas only consisted of swampland; he took one look and visualized the Jurong Industrial Park.""You youngsters have no idea how lucky you are. My son- he's a liberal arts graduate who went to the West to study, and stayed overseas for awhile. He's come back, of course, and tells me often, `I've seen i tall, and I know we really have things good here.' ""I don't understand why that fellow Chee Soon Juan wants to stir up somuch trouble.

Everyone's living in peace and stability, and there he is always rocking the boat!" he continued, "What's worse, he is collaborating with foreign organisations to attack Singapore'sreputation! Why is a Singaporean doing this? That' why we have been wise to deal harshly with him.""Fighting an election is like fighting a battle. We need tactics andstrategies like in real war. For instance, I am friends with many hawkers and shopkeepers in this neighbourhood. They will inform me immediately if the Opposition drops by to hand out flyers or promote themselves."

One of my companions responded in admiration, "Wow, you guys arereally close-knit and serious about your stake in the residents.""The problem with this government is image. We deliver but don't knowhow to look good, and the international press misunderstands us. Too bad, because charisma is always a hard issue for smart people who are perpetually engrossed in real work.""Yes!" exclaimed another companion in keen concurrence, "How often do you get a government who delivers? Image is secondary, so we should beappreciative for the PAP's work instead."

The indoctrination was working only too well, but not before I fired a few cautious salvos.

Part 2 of the article to be continued tomorrow.


The author is a guest contributor who is known by the pseudonym "Angry_One" in local forums. He prefers to remain anoynmous. Any comments to his article can be corresponded directly to him here.

Sunday, October 22, 2006

Your views: The govt can proactively help the poor and unemployed

I refer to the articles in The New Paper the last few days on the tragic death of Mr Tan Jee Suan as a result of his financial condition.

Instead of waiting for such unfortunate incidents to happen before extending help to others in the same predicament, there is something the government can do proactively:

Presumably, the government has access to data on citizens who are unemployed (eg. no CPF contributions for say, 3 months?). When this happens, it can mobilise the MPs and CDCs concerned to follow up on these cases to ascertain if financial and/or employment assistance are required.

It all boils down to whether the government wants to take the proactive route or the reactive route.

The only reason the government may be reluctant to do so is the sheer size of the unemployed citizens (hundreds of thousands perhaps as this data is not publicly available), thus creating an administrative nightmare.

But then again, that's why all those grassroots organisations and personnel are there for, aren't they?


KAYE POH

Updates from the Editorial Team - 22 October 2006

Thanks for your support!

The Editorial Team will like to extend our heartfelt appreciation to all our readers for their kind feedback.

Your input is highly valued and we take both your suggestions and criticism seriously. Please continue to support our project and share this blog with your friends.

Let us work together towards building and promoting an active citizenry in Singapore.


3 daily updates at 3 different times

We will be publishing different segments of our blogs at 3 different times of the day, so do keep yourself updated on the postings here throughout the day.

Morning: news analysis and our own reviews.

Afternoon: letters from our readers.

Evening: regional news roundup, in focus and healthbites.


Appeal for writers and webmasters

Due to increase in flow of traffic to our blog, we need more resources to maintain and keep it going.

We need writers and webmasters to update this blog daily. With more members on board, we will be able to publish more news analyses and commentaries for you.

Email us at mediawatchsg@gmail.com if you are keen to join the Editorial Team.

Roundup of regional news - 22 October 2006

The Star

Stuffing the prudish image

OVER the past decade, a social change has been taking place in prim and proper Singapore – a steady loosening of sexual mores, especially among men over 50.

The younger political leaders are themselves taking a number of baby steps to move away from the old “nanny” days of strict control on what people can or cannot do with their love lives.

This is partly in response to a changed generation, which is more fun-loving and adventurous about sex, unlike their parents who regarded it as a taboo subject.

The official change is gradual and managed, but that of the people is much less so. (Read more...)


The Nation

Politicians' asset figures a big slap in the face to all Thais.

Things seem to be moving so fast, yet there have not been any fundamental changes to ensure that the country can rid itself of gutter politics.

What's more, former Thai Rak Thai Party members are talking about forming a new party to retake control of the government through elections.

These movements do not bode well for public expectations that the military coup will usher us towards a better platform for democratic development so there will not be any need for another change of government by force. (Read more...)

Your views: Increase in Transport Fares

I refer to the Ministry of Transport’s (MOT) press release on the transport operators’ earnings.

The MOT said that "SBS Transit earned $ 32 million but has $ 500 million of assets, so its return on assets (ROA) was 6.5 per cent, SMRT earned $ 100 million but has $ 1.1 billion of assets yielding a return of 9.1 per cent.

These returns are healthy but not excessive, compared to companies with similar industry structures and risk profiles".

The ROA should not be the only, or a very appropriate measure because in the case of the Singapore transport operators, a fair share of the assets were built-up from the retained earnings of ever increasing profits over the years.

Thus, in a sense, it was a self-perpetuating system under which the people of Singapore, in a way, paid for the bulk of the accumulated assets.

Other measures like the transport operators' ever increasing profits, return on equity (ROE) and dividend yield relative to other listed companies, could also be used in determining whether "returns are healthy but not excessive".

According to the PTC's web site, "It monitors affordability for the general public by tracking the percentage of monthly household income spent on public transport by a characteristic family in the second quintile (21st to 40th percentage) household income group which is considered representative of the average transport commuter as recommended by the Committee on the Fare Review Mechanism (FRMC) in 2005.

The public transport affordability indicator has been on a down-trend from 2003 (7.0%), to 2004 (6.8%) and 2005 (6.6%)".

According to the Department of Statistics' General Household Survey 2005, (GHS), household incomes for the 11th to 20th percentile and 21st to 30th percentile fell 4.3 and 0.5 per cent respectively per annum from 2000 to 2005.

The 31st to 40th percentile rose by just 0.3 per cent, and was actually negative after adjusting for inflation.

Since fares were increased in 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2005, according to PTC's web site, and the Public Transport Affordability Index (PTAI) is Monthly Expenditure on Public Transport divided by Monthly Household Income, I am somewhat puzzled as to how the PTAI can be improving over the years when income was generally declining and fares were increasing ?

I refer to media reports that SBS/SMRT will give $ 1 million of $ 20 vouchers, and NTUC will give $ 30 ez-link top-up vouchers to 20,000 low-income union members.

This means that the total from NTUC is $ 0.6 million. Between last July and June this year, the CCC ComCare Fund has helped about 12,500 cases and given out $ 1.95 million.

Therefore, the total public transport assistance for the needy is estimated to be about $ 3.55 million (SBS/SMRT + NTUC + CCC ComCare). This means that the number of needy getting $ 20 each is about 177,500 persons.

According to the PTC, "among commuters who have to make a transfer (1 in 4 commuters), most require one transfer, say from a bus to the MRT or to another trunk bus. The majority of such journeys will see a fare increase of 3 to 4 cents".

If one makes two such journeys a day, the increase per year is $ 21.90 to $ 29.20.

It the average commuter affected by the fare hikes pays five cents more a day, assuming 2 bus/MRT transfer trips a day, the increase per year is $ 18.25.

This is based on a conservative assumption that one only makes two trips a day, that is travelling from home to only one destination, without going anywhere else.

According to the GHS, there were 113,646 households with monthly income below $ 1,500, and 106,384 households with no working persons and thus no income from work.

If the average household has four persons, the total number of persons from "below $ 1,500" households is 454,584.

Similarly, the total from "no income" households is 212,768, if we assume two persons per household.

Since the $ 20 transport assistance will be given to about 177,500 persons, are the rest of the 489,857 (454,589 + 212,768 - 177,500) needy Singaporeans getting $ 20 transport vouchers too ?

The needy whose incomes are declining should be given transport vouchers as a matter of course, and not only when fares go up.


Leong Sze Hian