Attention to all OTHER Opposition Parties :
BE WARNED!
Wherever WP is, DO NOT, even contemplate of putting your teeny weeny toe in (Yes, that means for Hougang too)
“Workers Party is a BIGGGGG Party, you HAVE to GIVE UP!” - (so says their supporter)
Source :Anything & Whatever ~~ Workers Party is a BIG Party, so GIVE UP!
The many definitions of what a Hero really is… Lest we discount the truly selfless, loyal and faithful.
Share from the net
“I believe that maturity arises from humility and patience, both of which seem largely acquired traits although there is an in-born influence too that appears so inescapable in every aspect of our personality.
The real enemies of maturity are ego (lack of humility) and ambition (lack of patience) both of which receive various hits and setbacks as we grow in age and experience, which is perhaps why maturity develops generally with age and experience.
In support of my view are the facts that those who have undergone distress and setbacks at an early age seem to mature before time whereas those who have had comfortable and smooth life seem to take almost an eternity to mature.
There are a few exceptions of course, but they are probably due to an extra strong influence of genetic make up.
It is also relevant to note that an overdose of maturity does no good… it makes one dull.. less exciting as well as less excitable… sort of lacking in spark and enthusiasm… reason why ego and ambition to an extent seem necessary for an impressive personality.” – Small
~~ Share from the net
The above comment was made in response to an article on The Online Citizen entitled “Hong Kong government smarter than million-dollar PAP” The commentator seems to be ignorant of the fact that in Singapore, the Prime Minister has be democratically elected as an MP in a General Election while Hong Kongers cannot get to choose their Chief Executive, who is selected by a committee of 1,200 people comprising prominent Hong Kongers. And allowing people to march in the thousands is no guarantor of good governance.
Shared from Singapura Pundit (blog)
Disclaimer: Given that I currently work for NUS and that what I’m going to be writing about in this note concerns NUS, it is perhaps appropriate for me to start with a disclaimer that all opinions expressed herewith are mine and do not in any way represent those of my employer. In other words, I’m just being a big kay poh and that’s that.
This is really a response to my student Orry who alerted me to this notehttp://kentridgecommon.com/?p=14416, which ostensibly defends Sun Xu, who has been accused, charged and essentially “convicted” of insulting Singaporeans.
It turns out that I once spent two years of my life meting out punishment for the Singapore Civil Service. Can’t recall the numbers exactly, but probably saw at least 200 to 300 cases and sacked a couple of dozen people. I also worked with lawyers and read judgments for fun just to better understand what I was doing. Suffices to say that I suspect that I am rather familar with offences and punishments. Hence, the first thing that came to mind when I read about the case was: was the case handled correctly?
Sorry, this is called ex-occupational hazard. 
First,when there is an offence, the charges must be framed correctly and clearly and the accused must be given the right of reply. That part is not the problem. Quite sure Sun Xu is guilty as charged. So, that’s all cool. Check.
Next, after someone is found guilty, we have to decide exactly what punishment is appropriate for the “crime”. There are these things called the Principles of Natural Justice. I am not a lawyer and I don’t want to embarress myself by trying to explan this, and it suffices to say that one of key elements is that the “punishment must fit the crime”.
Think Goldilocks. Cannot be too light. Cannot be too heavy. Quite common sense really.
And it is on this point where I’m somewhat confused by the outcome of the whole business.
Before I continue, let me just say that for all intents and purposes, the case is closed.The case was “judged” and a punishment was decided on and Sun Xu was given the chance to appeal. He has given up his right to appeal. So the case is open and shut. It is also not my intention to ask for the case to be re-opened. I am merely excercising my right of free speech and being a big kay poh.
According to reports, Sun Xu was fined $3,000, asked to pay back S$8,200 for his current semester’s scholarship benefits and also made to do three months of community service before he can be allowed to graduate. In terms of monetary penalty, he slapped with essentially a financial penalty of $11,200.
Let’s ignore the community service part for a moment. I am curious to know what crimes, and I mean *real* crimes under our Penal system, would attract a fine of more than $10K?
I am also a little confused about the victim. Who exactly was the victim? Who died? Who was maimed? Who suffered financial loss, and how much?
When judges mete out punishments under the Penal Code, they often have to write judgments. In my past life, when I was the one meting out punishment on the civil servants who commit offences, we have a file for every case and we will have a detailed submission (10 or 15 pages not uncommon) explaining the facts of the case and the reasoning behind the final punishment that was dished out. There are these things call precedences which will be surfaced for comparison to make sure that the punishment is commensurate with the offence.
I would be curious to understand exactly how the NUS Disciplinary Committee came to the conclusion that $3,000 and to pay back the scholarship was “just” punishment. This might make for a good homework question for law school — “Sun Xu’s punishment was just w.r.t. the Singapore Penal Code. Discuss. ” 
The second point that I would like to make is about the issue of anonymity.
It’s good that someone spoke up, but I am really not impressed by the fact that the student who wrote the article in defence of Sun Xu had to do so under the cloak of anonymity.
Given the present Internet climate, perhaps he was justified to be worried about being lynched by the online mob, but seriously, speaking under the cloak of anonymity is not healthy and not something that we want to encourage.
Moral courage is something that we want to encourage in Singapore and among our students.
It is because many Singaporeans are chicken and do not have the courage to speak up under their real names that we have the cowboy town we see on the Internet today. I hope that our NUS graduates can do better.
On ths note, I would like to take this opportunity to commend my student Orry for expressing his opinion that the punishment for Sun Xu was excessive in his own name.
To conclude, I would like to pose a thought experiment for the reader: suppose you were walking down the street and an angry dog starts barking at you. The dog is leashed, so it cannot come bite you. Do you:
(A) Ignore the barking and go about with your business because you have better things to do with your life, i.e. you have a life.
(B) Stare at the dog. Stare some more and try to out-stare the dog. Then bark back and try to out-bark the dog.
(C) Take out a shotgun and blow its brains out
(D) Make a police report
(E) Write to Baey Yam Keng
Link : https://www.facebook.com/notes/ben-leong/on-sun-xu/10150639424937549
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Further addiiton comment from Ben Leong
One, of the biggest problems with the current situation is that our education system has failed to teach people how to determine what they actually know and what they often don’t know. We have a lot of smart alecks who think they know a lot and anyhow spout crap under the pretense of freedom of speech or academic freedom.
What they seem to fail to understand is that what statements are made, they need to be robustly defensible when challenged. In minor cases, someone will come along and show that you’re wrong and make you look stupid. In major cases, it can lead to defamation. Rights come with responsibilities. Too many do not understand this leading to the sort of chaos that we are seeing online.
Two, forget the legal positions, just pause for a moment and take a step back and take a close look at what is happening:
o Stupid kid makes a stupid comment to his group of friends (or supposed friends) that some segment of this society finds offensive and gets slapped with a $10K fine for what is essentially a private message.
o Stupid girl makes some stupid remark on Twitter and the next thing we know, someone makes a Police report and another school has to initiate disciplinary proceedings.
These people are still in school for goodness sake. Kids say stupid things from time to time. That’s EXPECTED lah. *sigh* What’s going on.
I don’t think that when Parliament passed the Sedition Act, they had any inkling that we were heading towards what we see today. The Act is actually v scary ‘cos its powers are extremely broad. The general expectation in such circumstances is that such powers should only be exercised only under v dire circumstances. We really cannot be invoking the Sedition Act on a minor like the poly girl.
To some extent, this note is less about Sun Xu, and more about posing the question: what the heck is going on with our society today? Where are we heading?
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“Phone! Phone! Game!…” the little 3-year-old darling was wailing in her pram. Mummy quickly shoved her the I-phone to avoid further stares from strangers.
“Haiz, kids nowadays, so young already demanding and addicted to I-phone,” mummy complained.
I bumped into an old friend and that was the little ‘commotion’ that occurred during our chit chat.
You see, the little one’s constant demand for the phone has become a problem for my dear friend and she was complaining to me non-stop about it and also how her elder one was so hooked onto computer games.
But, who was the one who created this problem? Wasn’t it mummy herself or perhaps it was daddy ?
………..
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to continue reading, please click the link : Anything & Whatever
http://anythingandwhatever.wordpress.com/2012/03/29/whats_there_to_complain/
Want to share this. No soft copy, so I am gonna do the old fashion way. I’m going to type out the whole article.
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report by :- Nur Asyiqin Mohamad Salleh, TNP, 28 March 2012
“They have no sense of consequence because they’re so used to saying what they want anytime they want. But they have to learn. Watch your words or you have to watch your back.”
For those too quick with their fingers, this 72-year-old grandmother has sage advice.
Watch your words or you have to watch your back, Madam Esah Abdul Hadi said in Malay.
She added:” Young people these days have not experienced enough hardship. I lived through the Japanese Occupation, the Maria Hertogh riots, and the racial riots of 1964 and 1969.”
“They may have learnt about these in class, but they weren’t there. They don’t know how scary it was. “
“They have no sense of consequence because they’re so used to saying what they want any time they want. But they have to learn. Watch your words or you have to watch your back.”
Madam Esah has read reports of the students making racial and other derogatory comments online.
It worries her.
The last thing she wants is to live through another race riot.
Memories of what happened on July 21, 1964, still haunt her. Race riots then claimed 23 lives and left 454 people injured.
Madam Esah said :”I don’t know what exactly made the different races turn on each other. But race relations can’t be taken lightly.”
“It’s natural for there to be tension among people with different beliefs and upbringing, but even the tiniest thing can tip society into unrest.”
“We have to be careful and respectful. That’s what living as a community is about.”
The pint-sized woman was just 24 when violence erupted. She was then a mother of four and her youngest was barely a year old.
She lived in a kampung house the size of a two-room flat, near the Tanjong Pagar area.
Although it was the more populated city areas like Geylang which were hit, Madam Esah said terror struck the hearts of kampung dwellers as well.
In the ensuing weeks, families would, after dusk, lock themselves in their homes like prisoners.
They would extinguish their lamps for fear the flickering lights would draw rioters looking for trouble.
When her youngest daughter cried for milk, Madam Esah would shush her quickly.
“We lived in fear. In the end, nothing happened in my kampung, but we kept thinking we could be in trouble too, one day,” said Madam Esah.
“We were so scared, we couldn’t breathe. We put our lives on hold.”
Before the riots, Madam Esah would head alone for the markets in the surrounding Chinese kampungs every day.
She knew the stall owners by name. They usually haggled and bantered like old friends.
“We were all friends. We were living the simple, kampung life. Nobody was greedy, nobody wanted any trouble,” she recalled.
But when the riots took hold, even familiar faces could not quell her fears.
Madam Esah and the other residents from her kampung would gather early in the morning in huge groups to head to the market.
“Safety came in numbers. We came and went quickly. Even stall owners were worried, both about us and about themselves,” she said.
“They would tell us, ‘Quick, go home. It’ll be difficult if a fight breaks out. Be careful.’”
Sometimes, groups of Malay or Chinese youth from the city areas would turn up at the kampung wielding sticks and poles.
Fortunately, no one in her kampung was attacked.
One night, one of the village men called out to warn residents about a group of youth approaching the Malay kampung.
Madam Esah saw how deep fear ran that night.
A man, who had been squatting in one of the outdoor toilets, dashed out of the rickety stall.
“He was completely naked, except for a sarong he had draped over his head,” she said.
“He ran all the way back to his house with his naked bottom in the air. And he didn’t care. He was so scared.”
The first series of riots in 1964 came to an end in early August, when the islandwide curfew was lifted.
More than 3,500 people were arrested for taking part in the riots.
Another series of riots broke out in September that year, after a trishaw rider was killed in Geylang. This time, 13 people died and 106 people were injured.
“I hope such riots won’t happen again. Singapore is now so quiet and peaceful.”
“It should stay like this,” Madam Esah said.
———————- End of Article ——————
Now I leave you with a video clip of the 1964 Racial Riot.
Source : Anything & Whatever
http://anythingandwhatever.wordpress.com/2012/03/28/watch-your-words-2/
There has been a document circulating the internet on a blog called “Singapore Mind” titled “Singpore a Country of extremes”. It is no secret that this article is trying to achieve an agenda and this piece of rubbish is a good example of how a casual writer exploits difficult problems, blowing up an issue to their benefit.
Here is a breakdown of his grouses and i’ll attempt to answer it as simply as possible:
High COE
How do you cater for both a free market and a need to reduce the number of cars? Don’t you realize no matter how expensive cars are, more people are buying? (This also points to rising incomes btw)
High electricity tariffs
It is strange that he makes reference to “the online citizen” – a well known anti-etablishment site. If you run a quick check yourself, it shows that Singapore is not even in the top 15 amongst the developed nations [link]
And by the way, unless you’re living on a mountain, you should know that oil rates are increasing around the world and prices will rise.
Low fertility rate
Low fertility rate has been disucssed and again, it is a problem of all first world countries and this has already been discussed here: [link]
Foreign influx
Population and foreigners have traditionally been exploited as a political tool in any country. People have an aversion to foreign bodies. This has already been discussed here: [link]
Working long hours
Sure, we clock in 40 hours of work a week, but is this something the Government has put into policy, or is this something that our culture brings upon itself? Study Taiwan, China and most famously Japan – it is in Asian culture not to leave before the boss does. MCYS has been trying to promote work-life balance but companies just do not want to take it up. I’ve even heard from an employee of an MNC “our company is proud that we’re hardworking and do not have the MCYS work-life family award”.
Many imported millionaires
The writer makes this statement as his own assumption. I’ll make my own observable assumption: the country is getting richer, creating more opportunities for business and rich get ultimately richer. Even the poor will get richer, albeit at a slower pace. What about all those rich families? Their offspring are now enjoying the fruits of long established business that have thrived in an economically rich Singapore.
World’s unhappiest
Again, this writer pulls reference from sites that fulfill his exploits. But here we see Singapore is the happiest in Asia and ranked at 26th in the world. [link] I mean sure, voted as very happy people is a bit extreme, but hey, if CNN wants to give us that title, there must be some merit to it right?
Lowest paid maids due to levy
On one hand, the article attacks foreign influx, and in the same article he’s crying foul over not being able to bring in cheap labour due to the levy. Well, here’s a solution, why not consider the British system of using Au Pairs?
Cabbies with degrees
This assumption is not even empirical. But let’s view this with another perspective: the education system is working so well, so many of us already have good qualifications, and at 2% unemployment, your paper is not going to be as important as other variables such as your character.
Have elderly cleaners
Again, this is a factor of society and not the Government. Do not forget that once upon a time, Singaporeans did not have access to good education and a good economical environment. There are many programs in place to help these people, but it is up to the individual to want to accept help.
To sum up
It is so easy to mislead a reader into thinking that we’re living in such a miserable environment.Ironically, the writer pulls in many references and links from SPH mediums – a medium believed to be “government controlled”.
It takes only a small handful of content makers on the internet to create the vast amount of attacks that you read everyday.
Take a step back and observe for a second: Singapore is not as bitter as the writer describes.
If you want to find faults, the faults will be there. Few medicines can deliver a cure without a side effect and i’d rather deal with a few small side effects than a full blown disease.
Source : Five Stars and A moon (blog)
http://fivestarsandamoon.blogspot.com/2012/03/singapore-country-of-extreme-thinking.html
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Shared from : Singaporeans Say
You say :
done by : Fabrications About The PAP
As predicted, SDP’s “National Healthcare Plan” involves increasing the government’s healthcare expenditure from the $8 billion this year (up from the figure of $4 billion last year) to $10.5 billion, with the projectd increase being be paid for in part by “[i]ntroducing luxury tax” and “[i]ncreasing corporate tax”. So now the rich will not only not be allowed to “buy immediate and better treatment [while] the poor have to wait months on end to receive medical care”, they will be made to pay even more for healthcare they do not consume themselves than they already do now.
You can read the details of SDP’s plan following the links on their site which I linked to above, but what it boils down to really is a $500-a-year consume-all-you-can healthcare buffet, even as SDP dismisses the existence of the “buffet syndrome” with what is effectively an “Oh, I’m sure it won’t happen”.
Now you only have to read the comments to the few posts before this one to know that it already is happening, and that it is naive to expect that the situation will in fact improve when such a plan is implemented.
Granted, we don’t all spend $500 a year on healthcare now, but eventually more than half of us will die of cancers, heart diseases and strokes, and in getting there consume many times more than $500 during each of those final year; when the “silver tsunami” hits, this great “Plan” will fall apart.
I’ll end with the words by a fellow doctor-blogger, a comment he posted on my blog when I looked at the subject of free healthcare many years ago:
I am absolutely certain that having medical care free at the point of entry leads to complacency and abuse. I have watched it with increasing horror in the NHS for 20 years.
People attend for medical consultations for the most unmitigated trivia; they demand inappropriate tests and, in particular, inappropriate medication.
I am committed to good health care for all, and I never thought I would ever want to change the “free” principle but common sense has triumphed.
As I have argued many times (and people seem to thing it is a trivial debating point – it is not) why is food not “free at the point of entry to the supermarket”?
Food is even more important than health care.
Source : http://singaporemd.blogspot.com/2012/03/all-you-can-eat.html
https://www.facebook.com/#!/notes/peggy-chen/of-gratitude-and-giving-back/10150559739496777
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Mr Tan Jong Keng was all smiles when he saw Mr Lee arriving at his doorstep. We had arranged for this special visit to thank him for his very thoughtful gesture. Two weeks ago, resident Mr Tan on his own accord visited the Kg Chai Chee branch. Besides advising Mr Lee to do deep breathing exercise to improve health, he also insisted on donating $100 to the PCF fund (which is the Charity arm of PAP). When Mr Lee suggested that he kept the money for his own use, Mr Tan replied that he wanted to do something for the community.
During the visit to his home, Mr Tan presented his calligraphy which he framed and presented to Mr Lee. In the calligraphy Mr Tan wrote that he was grateful for Mr Lee’s visit. He thanked Mr Lee for the good work done for the constituency.
By simply looking at him, you wouldn’t believe that Mr Tan is already 91 years old as he was born in 1921. In fact, he is still very fit and healthy and speaks clearly. My own mother had guessed that he is probably slightly more than 65 years old when I showed her his photo later that evening after the visit.
Mr Tan shared with me enthusiastically his life story, of how he had come to Singapore at a young age of 16 from China to fight the communists. He had merely three years of education but was eager to learn and upgrade himself through studying in night schools and self-study. When the Japanese occupied Singapore, he was working as a hawker but narrowly escaped the fate of being sent to Myanmar to build bridges. He also shared with us how he had hesitated in asking for the hand of his wife as he felt that he was too poor and had little education and would not be able to give her a good life. Of course, it all turned out well later when he was encouraged by a newspaper editor’s reply to his letter and he worked hard for his own happiness. Today, he has four children and nine grandchildren, many of whom had achieved in life in their own rights.
When asked what motivated him to come to the branch specially to make the donation and show his appreciation, he shared that he had witnessed the enormous amount of progress of Singapore from a former British colony to the present day Singapore which is in a modern advanced state. Personally, he had benefitted from the progress of the nation as someone who was very poor in the beginning to owning what he has today – he is staying in a four room HDB flat conveniently located near Bedok central with his wife. He felt that all this was made possible as a result of the good leadership of PAP in running the country all these years. He also feels very happy staying in his new flat in Linear Green these few years after being moved from Block 48 in Bedok South. He saw many good changes made to the area over the years.
As an ordinary resident, he feels contented and the need to come forward to show this appreciation and also sow a seed to give back to the community by his donation. I was very touched when I realized that Mr Tan is a very frugal man and many items in his house were unwanted items from the void deck downstairs deserted by other residents. He picked them up and re-conditioned them to be recycled in his home. The painting in his study and also the small coffee table in his living room were just a few examples. Therefore, although the $100 may seem humble compared with bigger amount donated by companies, it is nevertheless a sincere gift from Mr Tan’s heart and what he could afford to give and is therefore very significant. He has chosen to put this $100 to good use – to give it for the betterment of the PCF kindergartens in Kg Chai Chee so that it will benefit the future generations. How wonderfully meaningful is this gesture of kindness from him!
At the end of our visit, he told us that he feels that he’s still not doing enough and would want to do more in future. He also shared with us his many calligraphy pieces, his self-composed poem about the beautiful neighborhood he’s staying in and more importantly, his belief in life that to be contented and always do one’s best to help others and contribute quietly just like an earthworm. This I believe would be an important lesson to learn and emulate for younger folks like us.
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