tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84432682024-03-07T15:18:47.268+08:00Useless rantings of a few disgruntled S'poreans...at82http://www.blogger.com/profile/03261522614627944574noreply@blogger.comBlogger220125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8443268.post-32670249770241586412008-07-26T12:12:00.002+08:002008-07-26T12:16:01.554+08:00When a strongman leaves ...From Today:<br /><a href="http://www.todayonline.com/articles/267154.asp"><span class="title">When a strongman leaves ...</span></a><br /><span><br />IT IS not uncommon for countries that appeared after the fall of colonialism, and which started out with democratic ideals embedded in their Constitutions, to nevertheless evolve successively towards an authoritarian style of government and nation-building.<br /><br />In Malaysia’s case, this process culminated in the22-year-long period under Dr Mahathir Mohamad (picture). There was, therefore, great optimism and even greater relief in the air when this “strongman” figure, perhaps to his everlasting credit, actually retired in October 2003. Such politicians tend to stay in power until they expire.<br /><div style="visibility: hidden;">.</div>It was thus at such a historical point in history thatMr Abdullah Badawi stepped onto centre stage, and became the country’s fifth Prime Minister. The hopes of Malaysian society at that time were so high, and so desperate, that the only leader who could take full advantage of the social dynamics released byDr Mahathir’s retirement was one who promised far-reaching reforms. <div style="visibility: hidden;">.</div>There was no room for more “strongman politics”, only room for the rectification of the damage done by the foregoing authoritarianism. Despite the same party and the same coalition remaining in power,Dr Mahathir’s successor had to be one who was responsive to the citizens demands, and who realised that the alternative to Mahathirism was healthy institutions. <div style="visibility: hidden;">.</div>Mr Abdullah knew this well enough to make all the right moves in the first months of his mandate. Calling on Malaysians “to work with me”, he stopped mega-projects, began cutting down on the budget deficit, started corruption proceedings against certain individuals and founded institutions to promote “integrity”. <div style="visibility: hidden;">.</div> As a result, Mr Abdullah enjoyed the highest level of popularity in Malaysian history in 2004 and his critics kept silent, purportedly to give him a chance to show his worth. The only way for Dr Mahathir’s successor to retain legitimacy was to live up to the expectations that Mr Abdullah himself had formulated. <div style="visibility: hidden;">.</div>But in the long run, he failed to deliver. In dismal disappointment, voters decided to punish him, his party and the ruling coalition during the March 8 general elections. <div style="visibility: hidden;">.</div>Cautious comparisons to the fate of other polities may be useful. Taiwan comes to mind. Mr Chiang Ching-kuo, who governed the island for over a decade after his father Chiang Kai-shek died in 1976, decided in 1987 to dismantle the tottering system that the Kuomintang had harshly put in place in 1949. The island left authoritarianism behind and became a democracy, leading subsequently to loss of power by the dominant party. <div style="visibility: hidden;">.</div>This is one success story where the successor to a strongman politician finally realises the historical limitations of the system and the party, and “executes a coup d’etat on himself”, as it were, and allows a more dynamic system to take its place, even to the transitional detriment of the party itself. <div style="visibility: hidden;">.</div>A good example of a failed succession to a strongman politician is Yugoslavia, where Marshall Josip Broz Tito was in power from 1945 to 1980. After his death in 1980, increasing ethnic rivalry and struggles for power in the region led finally to genocide and to the bloody break-up of the republic into several smaller states. <div style="visibility: hidden;">.</div>In Malaysia’s case, the historical role of Premier Abdullah was the difficult one of honestly realising the untenability of the system, and of healing the institutions whose integrity had been badly undermined during the Mahathir years. He had to execute a coup d’etat on himself, as it were. <div style="visibility: hidden;">.</div>This he failed to do, largely because that would have meant him allowing changes that would have been transitionally detrimental to the dominant party, the United Malays National Organisation (Umno). <div style="visibility: hidden;">.</div>Mr Abdullah had not been rebuilding institutions quickly enough or seriously enough and at the same time, he was certainly not a strongman either. Not knowing what to make of this lack of direction, voters overcame their normal fear of radical change and attempted to kick his administration out. <div style="visibility: hidden;">.</div>The situation after March 8 is a much more complicated one. What Mr Abdullah had failed to do, others will now try to do in their own way. And because Umno would not allow the required changes, it is now being forced to transform itself. <div style="visibility: hidden;">.</div>Mr Abdullah’s second mandate is therefore essentially different from his first. Umno’s dominance is basically broken; the coalition that had exhibited such hubris before the elections is now in disarray and riddled with distrust; and state level politics is now pluralistic and competitive in nature. <div style="visibility: hidden;">.</div>What the federal government failed to do, the state governments under opposition parties are now committed to doing. The political contentions from now on will be about what institutions should be built or rebuilt, and the order in which this should happen. <div style="visibility: hidden;">.</div>On that front, the weakness of the alternative coalition — the Pakatan Rakyat — lies in the potential conflict between the Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) that wants a more Islamist society and the Democratic Action Party (DAP) that champions secularism. Mr Anwar Ibrahim’s Parti Keadilan Rakyat risks being caught in the middle. <div style="visibility: hidden;">.</div>Mr Abdullah and Umno’s weakness is basically their inability to change, especially while under challenge. The many years in dominance has stiffened them, there is too much face to be lost and new ways of thought have yet to permeate the party. <div style="visibility: hidden;">.</div>The wind is blowing against him and the party and the fear is that, whatever policies they may think up from here on are done for the sake of their staying in power and not for the sake of the future strength and stability of the country. <div style="visibility: hidden;">.</div> <div style="visibility: hidden;">.</div> The writer is a Fellow at the Institute of South-east Asian Studies. He is the author of Lost in Transition: Malaysia under Abdullah (SIRD and Iseas 2008). </span><div class="artCol" id="ac1"><div style="display: block; top: -270px; font-size: 11px; line-height: 18px; left: 241px; width: 225px; cursor: default;" class="artText" id="at1"><span><br /> <div> </div> <div style="visibility: hidden;">.</div><br /></span></div></div>at82http://www.blogger.com/profile/03261522614627944574noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8443268.post-77732651973876645192008-03-16T21:48:00.003+08:002008-03-16T21:54:23.849+08:00A Rallying Cry From AtheistsWritten by my atheist friends from a local Singapore Atheist Group, <span style="font-weight: bold;">Atheisthaven</span>:<br /><br /><br />Atheism is an abject failure.<br /><br />As atheists we are in a unique situation. While we are ostracized,<br />marginalized, persecuted, prosecuted, abused and generally deprived of<br />our rights by unsympathetic regimes and autocratic systems in the real<br />world, it is in cyberspace where we can express ourselves freely to<br />some substantial degree. It is in this virtual realm that we dare<br />challenge theists and other proponents of illogicality and come away<br />truly victorious.<br /><br />However, these victories, impressive as they are, cannot but feel<br />hollow. For all the reasoning and logic which made us, dare I say it,<br />ubermensch, we are unable to demonstrate our superiority where it<br />really matters. Dawkins and Hitchens might have made the world stand<br />up in recognition of the fallacies of religion, but is this<br />proliferation of truth and rationality changing the way people really<br />behave?<br /><br />Sadly, the answer is no. Superstition still holds sway. To many,<br />atheism is a passing fad. People remain attached to their cherished<br />beliefs. After all, knowing the truth does not equate its acceptance.<br />Not only do people want to believe in something, they need to feel<br />wanted. Religion provides a very strong support in satisfying this<br />emotional need, as evident by the number of support groups, cell<br />groups, social and community structures the religious have put<br />together to bind its adherents.<br /><br />It must be intoxicating knowing that `Someone' will always love you.<br />That `Someone' will look after you in every situation and never falter<br />in His efforts. To have this preposterous notion `validated' by your<br />fellow humans who actually help you in times of difficulties while the<br />`Someone' never makes an appearance must seem an affirmation to the<br />desperate. What religion does so effectively is to make each and<br />everyone of its followers feel special. Logic goes out of the window<br />in the face of this compelling emotional assault. It is an irony,<br />considering that rationality is painted over by a very real human need<br />which in turn is satisfied by an illusion instead.<br /><br />This is where atheism fails so miserably. Atheists do not help each<br />other just because they believe in the same creed. The theists,<br />however, do so because their doctrine specifically wills it. For all<br />our arguments and justifications we do not deign to help one another<br />because we take the point of `not giving a damn about God' one step<br />further to include ourselves. I see friends who are Christians support<br />each other within their own church and cell groups. What do I see when<br />I look upon my fellow atheists?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Theist : 1 Atheist : 0.</span><br /><br />Our endless debates with theists achieve little. We are wasting<br />precious time trying to convince people who do not want to be<br />convinced. People would rather live a happier life believing in a lie<br />than accept things as they really are and being less happy as a<br />result. Reading about the articles atheists post on the Internet makes<br />me think that all these well-meaning writers want are to amass as many<br />hits for their sites and to comment favorably on each other's writings<br />in the hope that the praised party, overjoyed at being appreciated,<br />would return the favor. We hide behind monikers like `infidel' and<br />`heretic', perhaps to impart some perceived quality in our cause, but<br />we do not back our words with concrete action. I have more respect for<br />the religious folk (the non-violent ones) who preach their gospel and<br />live their life accordingly than for self-proclaimed atheists who<br />cannot even be bothered to scrap their addled brains off the computer<br />screen to think: I am an atheist. What does this mean? What do I do?<br /><br />Atheism is on precarious ground in this respect. And it is time to<br />stop the rot.<br /><br />We must acknowledge that we are on our own. We have no god(s), no<br />temples, no institutions and nothing to rely upon. Social structure<br />and cultural norms, influenced to some extent by religion does not<br />give the atheist credence. In many parts of the world, atheism is<br />punishable by stoning. In more civilized climates, a priest who<br />incites violence against non-believers is at the most given a slap on<br />the wrist – he might even be lauded for his sense of justice. But an<br />atheist who gives credible reasons for his rejection of religion, and<br />quotes from reliable sources – he is making `seditious' remarks and<br />persecuted for being `anti-religion' . It is obscene. You can say that<br />people are treated equally in these modern times, but you cannot deny<br />that some are more equal than others.<br /><br />In view of the many difficulties atheists face, I propose we take care<br />of our own. And we can do this through support groups.<br /><br />A support group need not have a club-house or a fixed physical<br />location where members can convene. We can host a bulletin board<br />(forum) in cyberspace, much like what Atheisthaven is doing. However,<br />instead of `ghost members' and people who pack only rhetoric and<br />little else, such a group must consist of dedicated individuals who<br />genuinely want to make a difference. While we do not restrict the<br />membership to atheists (the non-religious, freethinkers, agnostics,<br />even Buddhists - especially those leaning towards a philosophical<br />bent may join), members must be committed. As this commitment takes<br />the form of certain obligations, we want positive individuals who<br />truly believe in improving themselves and others. Atheism by its own<br />nature, promotes self-reliance and an internal locus of control. All<br />efforts should have an egalitarian spirit in its core, mutual aid as<br />its strength, and self-actualization its ultimate goal.<br /> <br />This is strictly an informal group. No membership fee is required. We<br />only ask that members make an effort to know each other and to<br />interact, preferably face-to-face. This fosters cohesiveness which is<br />very important because people tend to help their own friends than<br />relative strangers.<br /><br />What form should this aid take? At the most basic level, information<br />exchange. People who have questions can post them on the group site,<br />and those with the answers can promptly reply. Questions can range<br />from anything – potential job openings, which university to choose,<br />even where to get the best bargains! At a deeper level, members can<br />work on some task together or maybe enjoy a little soiree.<br /><br />While we encourage members to look after each other's interests, we do<br />not look kindly to people who join for ulterior motives. This is not a<br />MLM (multi-level- marketing) scam, nor is it a dating agency. Promoting<br />any political agenda is also a no-no. In a nutshell, the group is<br />similar to a normal theist cell group, minus the praying and speaking<br />in tongues. Think of it as a secular social network, where normal<br />people (without a faith) make friends and chill out.<br /><br />We must succeed in this endeavor. If sodden theists can organize<br />themselves, it would be a crying shame if intelligent atheists cannot<br />even produce a similar response. The time has passed for talking. Let<br />us show people that we are capable of doing great things, even without<br />divine edicts… because In Humanity We Trust.<br /><br />Liu Weixian and Liang Xianghong<br />- 14/03/2008BEAST FCDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05679628160308289045noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8443268.post-54894497462899746722008-03-13T15:52:00.001+08:002008-12-09T04:54:53.516+08:00School Principal Bans Non-Halal Food In School Canteen; Students to Eat Halal Pork Instead?<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrUEmmzfgrkVhdqEy8DWPRfGc0TQb5BROlowTivwWnl6GhnQ46YOFo52sFCf8Z5nhyphenhyphen_CivlSgJt0vVhlFmvPtdoqWZgkhhjhw0P5_CCezAb7HgkSnMNtGg_ycOUxvNuPkPjEcj/s1600-h/Image152.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrUEmmzfgrkVhdqEy8DWPRfGc0TQb5BROlowTivwWnl6GhnQ46YOFo52sFCf8Z5nhyphenhyphen_CivlSgJt0vVhlFmvPtdoqWZgkhhjhw0P5_CCezAb7HgkSnMNtGg_ycOUxvNuPkPjEcj/s320/Image152.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5165317517469704914" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Food, Glorious Food: Unfortunately, Religion Loves To Bastardize It</span></span><br /></div><br />More often than not, Religion loves to enforce its culinary rules upon the secular masses: Hindus, for example, don't eat beef (Sacred cows, according to Mark Twain, do make the best burger), Muslims and Jews frown upon pork as if it is some form of a horror freak show (Quite frankly, I think pork is divine!), and Buddhists just about avoid all forms of meat altogether, preferring to adhere to a strict, miserable diet of leaves and shoots (yes, kind of like a panda bear, minus the dark rings around the eyes).<br /><br />As far as living things go, the need to feed is a definite given: We need food for sustenance, and some of us, including myself, are food connoisseurs who are not exactly biased about the food we eat, as long as it is edible, succulent and delectable. Nonetheless, I, as well as most secular people, understand that some facets of society love to apply their religious prejudices against certain food sources, and no, we are not usually inclined to debunk their myths and prejudices (Other than a snide remark here and there), unless, of course, some insipid moron decides to apply his religiously-slanted palates upon the common masses, as this addle-brained principal of a government school in Singapore surely did.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.straitstimes.com/Free/Story/STIStory_203507.html"><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"> School's 'halal zone' ruling causes stir</span></span></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Parents upset; MOE says school's decision wrong; principal reverses his position</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">By Sandra Davie, Education Correspondent<br />Feb 5, 2008<br /><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-style: italic;">A PRIMARY school in Jurong West that upset non-Muslim parents by insisting that only halal food could be eaten or taken into its canteen will now overturn its policy. </span><p style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-style: italic;"> The Ministry of Education (MOE) told The Straits Times yesterday that Boon Lay Garden Primary had made a mistake, and would let its pupils' parents know. </p><p style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-style: italic;"> In a letter to all parents last Friday, <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">principal Wan Imran Woojdy said that since the school canteen had been certified halal, children would not be allowed to bring non-halal food onto the premises.</span> </p><p style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-style: italic;"> The school security guard and discipline master had also been checking lunch boxes since last week to ensure pupils complied. </p><p style="font-style: italic;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"> About 20 per cent of the school's 1,700 pupils are Muslims.</span> </p><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-style: italic;">Halal refers to what is permissible for consumption by Muslims. A product is not halal if it contains, for example, pork or alcohol, both forbidden to Muslims.</span> <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-style: italic;"> Boon Lay Garden Primary's move to declare its canteen a halal zone left some non-Muslim parents unhappy. </span><p style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-style: italic;"> Three who spoke to The Straits Times said they did not mind that the school canteen sold only halal food, but they felt the ban on taking in non-halal food amounted to discrimination. </p><p style="font-style: italic;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"> Madam Esther Chia, 36, who has two daughters in the school, said <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">one of them resorted to hiding a pork floss bun in her pocket last week to avoid being caught for flouting the new rule.</span></span> </p><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Another parent, Mr Edward Ang, said: 'I have nothing against the school stalls selling only halal food, but they shouldn't restrict kids from eating non-halal food.' </span><p style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"> When contacted earlier yesterday, principal Imran said the rule forbidding non-halal food in the canteen had been in place since 2002, when all eight food stalls were certified halal by the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis). </p><p style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"> He said that the school decided to enforce the rule as it had a new canteen contractor and had to get recertified by Muis. </p><p style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><span style="font-style: italic;"> 'We decided to make the whole canteen halal to provide a common eating space for all our children, whatever their race,' he said.</span></p><span style="font-size:130%;"> <span style="font-weight: bold;">Enforcing Bigotry In The School Canteen</span></span><br /><br />When religious people keep whining about why us secular folks often complain and scoff against their religions, such an incident are stark reminders that if ordinary folks don't wake up and smell the coffee, all too often, religious zealots (And sadly, this time round, it is a school principal) will sneak through just about every tiny crook and cranny to impose their religious laws upon the secularity of government institutions.<br /><br />In this case, virtually every stall in this particular government school has pandered to the demands of a distinct, Muslim minority by getting their food certified as "halal". While I doubt this has anything to do with political or religious pressuring from school authorities (This, I suspect, is one of the ways stall vendors can earn more money by catering to Muslim children), the principal has nonetheless made use of this paradigm shift to enforce his Syariah-inspired diet upon all and sundry.<br /><br />And yes, like our good old parochial government, he has the temerity to enforce a ban on non-halal food, a-la "banning the chewing gum" style that has made us the butt of all American jokes: Open your bag kiddo.....holy shit, what the hell is this? Barbecued pork? Be prepared to roast in Allah's hell, kiddo! God hates pork!<br /><br />By insisting on halal-only food in a school canteen, what kind of a message is the school board sending to the kids? That we are a bigoted Islamic country, where women cannot even be seen in the public eye without a head-to-toe burkha, and crimes are punishable by stoning and amputation? Or is this yet another sinister campaign to sneak more Islamic "values" into our secular system?<br /><br />Thank goodness, then, that the parents of these kids were disgruntled enough to complain to the Ministry of Education about this errant, bigoted principal. Goodness knows what would happen if they didn't complain: The principal might insist on applying the customary "stoning the disobedient children" on disobedient students.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Halal Pork?</span></span><br /><br />If school authorities in Singapore persist on applying Syariah laws in school canteens, perhaps I might offer a brilliant suggestion for these beleaguered kids who, like me, have a penchant for good ole bacon:<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgPdkheL_55gy40QwGmwofTzXlsuOrCrlEEXEmTgKi0vPSuyTb0Bmd8h-vhRDgj1ZkWjYxIy7CPAXLvoV_M3llIPaoOwrQFRz0fXtEA6mFkwGGsckrXYyVD5Ism_GFirSIvxap/s1600-h/Image152.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgPdkheL_55gy40QwGmwofTzXlsuOrCrlEEXEmTgKi0vPSuyTb0Bmd8h-vhRDgj1ZkWjYxIy7CPAXLvoV_M3llIPaoOwrQFRz0fXtEA6mFkwGGsckrXYyVD5Ism_GFirSIvxap/s320/Image152.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5165317010663563970" border="0" /></a> <div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Goodness Me! Its Halal Pork!!!</span></span><br /></div><br />Remove those stickers from the halal food shelves that sell halal food, and stick them to their pork-filled food packages. That might just elude the nosy school disciple master, or that zanny fundie school principal, from denying the right to eat pork (As if these authorities even have the right to pry into the lunch boxes of kids in the first place!).<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR1mA26RO8zNQ8x6BTvTUW6yxYkmbnHXyPK5WcAFhjobcb1dUToTAhyphenhyphenYJus3CHIZFt1mdXCluy868nhiycE7L2Y9a2AwSb0Amlw1mJZaKvLHRHjsDd9P4L3m_elpNGpDhTlWEL/s1600-h/Image152.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR1mA26RO8zNQ8x6BTvTUW6yxYkmbnHXyPK5WcAFhjobcb1dUToTAhyphenhyphenYJus3CHIZFt1mdXCluy868nhiycE7L2Y9a2AwSb0Amlw1mJZaKvLHRHjsDd9P4L3m_elpNGpDhTlWEL/s320/Image152.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5165318226139308770" border="0" /></a><br /><i style="color: rgb(51, 51, 153);">-“Pork - no animal is more used for nourishment and none more indispensable in the kitchen; employed either fresh or salt, all is useful, even to its bristles and its blood; it is the superfluous riches of the farmer, and helps to pay the rent of the cottager.”</i> <span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 153);"><br /><br />Alexis Soyer 19th century French chef.</span><b style="color: rgb(51, 51, 153);"><br /></b>BEAST FCDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05679628160308289045noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8443268.post-6854598498612908842008-03-12T18:50:00.000+08:002008-12-09T04:54:53.858+08:00The Dreadfulness of Death & The Unhealthy Expectation of An Afterlife<span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Like any other species on this planet, human beings are ardent survivors in a challenging environment. Evolution has bestowed upon us the gift of a more exceptional brain than our primate counterparts, allowing us to break away from most of the trials and tribulations which almost every species on Earth has to contend with: Without our superior technology, Man will most likely be at the mercy of ferocious beasts (and they still do: occasionally, and sometimes quite often, stories of humans being bitten and eaten by animals remind us that without our fancy blink-blinks and weaponry, we are as vulnerable as suckling babies) in the natural environment.<br /><br /></span><div><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected"></span> </div><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected">Because of our inane sophistry, most of us live in relative safety and comfort: Our homes protect us from the savage elements of Mother Nature. City dwellers purchase their food from the supermarkets, much of it derived from agriculture and farming, hence negating the need to hunt for food. We are insulated from pretty much the worst whims of Mother Nature, and in that respect Man has more or less detached himself from Nature and her food chain.</span><br /><div><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected"></span> </div><br /><div><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected">This detachment, it seems, has become etched into our human consciousness over the sands of time: As an almost separate entity (At least we like to think of it along this superior train of thought), human beings have become obsessed with achieving a higher form of consciousness, or truth, if you will. We start to question and reason within and without, something which lower orders of animals, preoccupied with the more mundane affairs pertaining to life and death, couldn't have done. Our technologies and advancements derived from our ingenuity and civilized way of life began to give way to human ego: Since we are so god-damned special and high-strung, couldn't it be possible, that perhaps, we can completely escape the ignominous fate that hangs upon every living creature and organism, the very ominous clouds of impending doom which we call Death?</span></div><br /><div><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected"></span> </div><br /><div><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected"><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Religion, Death & The Afterlife<br /><br /></span></strong></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuAONRj5vDhpzo_OMzKH6VTgLZk2BNCsHgYKph94cpGmxPF3n70rPlrpJMwEl9p7u3t2GPwYtr9bT1lqZR-dZFkfAa4ZkaFoeiMBGA6WlahX3a_uihxL_iheDHhlGxJ6bqhyphenhypheneF/s1600-h/Image152.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuAONRj5vDhpzo_OMzKH6VTgLZk2BNCsHgYKph94cpGmxPF3n70rPlrpJMwEl9p7u3t2GPwYtr9bT1lqZR-dZFkfAa4ZkaFoeiMBGA6WlahX3a_uihxL_iheDHhlGxJ6bqhyphenhypheneF/s320/Image152.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5140087968143191394" border="0" /></a><div><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected"></span> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Death's Advocate: The Grim Reaper</span></span><br /></div><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected"><br />Death is defined as the cessation of life: Quite clearly, death is comparable to a full-stop in a single sentence. A single sentence will still resume after a comma, which represents a single pause, but a full stop spells the inevitable end. Death works the same way: When life ceases to continue, death becomes the inevitable end to life. From the tiniest of microbes to living human beings, death is an inescapable fate of living things.</span><br /><div><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected"></span> </div><br /><div><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected">And it is this end that as a species, humans seem to have trouble grasping, perhaps out of an understandable fear of death, or the implication of the human ego. As superior creatures on this Earthly domain, we like to think that we can somehow transcend death, even if it means believing in a more superior deity who shows an affable affinity and love for us. In order to vindicate this incredulous idea, we devise religions crisscrossing every culture on this planet, with their elaborate rituals and dogma, so as to give a legitimate front to the absurd idea that death is not the omega of life.</span></div><br /><div><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected">It is with this unhealthy obsession and fear of death that religion exploits to the fullest: Heaven becomes an utopia of eternal enjoyment, as contrasted by the dichotomy of hell's searing inferno.</span></div><br /><div><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected"></span> </div><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected"><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">An Unhealthy Fear of Death & The Obsession of the Afterlife</span></strong></span><br /><div><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected"><strong><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></strong></span> </div><br /><div><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected">To be brutally honest, every sane person & sane creature harbors some form of fear towards the spectra of death. An animal which is dead can no longer propagate its genes, much less enjoy the fruits of it's labor. In short, a healthy fear of death is a good sign: It simply translates into some form of awareness or defense against external threats, & it is with this in mind that fear becomes an extremely viable tool for survival.</span></div><br /><div><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected"></span> </div><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected">Yet, like almost every other genetic traits or memes, there is a downside to an overdose: The idea that death renders life finite becomes so preposterous to a mind that is closed to the possibility of death, that we begin to let our imaginations take root, instead of searching for new frontiers such as medicine to prolong life and eradicate disease instead.</span><br /><div><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected"></span> </div><br /><div><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected">Cue religion. With its army of charlatans, soothsayers and doom sayers, Religion feasts upon Gullibility, which in turn is a bastard child of Fear, the pantheons of deities begin to manifest itself, dominating our psyches with fairy tales and searing our consciousness with unhappy delusions and trepidations of an afterlife in eternal abyss, all of which are undue punishments pandered out by the respective religions to buy allegiance into their expanding flock.</span></div><br /><div><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected"></span> </div><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected">If a person becomes unduly besotted with the afterlife, then the person ceases to regard this life with due reverence: After all, why be caught up with the mundane affairs of mere mortals, when I shall be able to inherit an eternal body (or soul) which will allow me to live for an eternity? If one is to believe in the rewards of eternal bliss, the tawdriness of a mortal life seems to pale in comparison with such a wondrous utopia of eternal, heavenly bliss.</span><br /><div><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected"></span> </div><br /><div><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected"><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">The Dangers of Believing In An Afterlife</span></strong></span></div><br /><div><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected"></span> </div><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected">It is with this notion and unfounded triviality towards the only life we are supposed to expect, that terrorists and crooks who don the sacred beliefs of their respective Gods have been able to kill with almost wild abandon, with no regards to the lives they take (infidels, are, after all, unworthy of any redemption) as well as theirs.</span><br /><div><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected"></span> </div><br /><div><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected">Ask any hardcore terrorist who is about to blow himself up with a self-attached bomb in a civilian-crowded bus, albeit a Jewish one, and the expected answer will be the sight of 72, glistening hymens belonging to the God-bestowed virgins in paradise. The most abhorrent and horrendous of ideas, martyrdom is nonetheless a powerful tool for people to willingly blow themselves up, along with their enemies, into smithereens, and one can hardly be expected to carry out such acts of self-immolation without invoking some form of reward in the afterlife.<br /><br /></span></div><div><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected"></span> </div><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected"><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Accepting The Inevitable & Striving For Emancipation</span></strong></span><br /><div><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected"></span> </div><br /><div><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected">If anything else, history has shown us that most, if not all ideas borne out of fear are usually poor concepts which are detrimental to society in general.</span></div><br /><div><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected"></span> </div><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected">While death is an unpleasant fact of life, we should not expect to live beyond this ultimate threshold, anymore than a person should expect to survive a fall off the edge of the cliff and still emerge unscathed. </span><br /><div><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected"></span> </div><br /><div><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected">Rather than become transfixed with the prospect of an eternal life, medical science and technology should be harnessed to prolong life as well as enhancing the quality of life.</span></div><br /><div><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected"></span> </div><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected">With this rational realization in mind, we will be better equipped to live this life to the fullest: There is but one life, live it, and live it well. Be nice to your loved ones, and they will be nice to you. There is nothing intrinsically difficult about such ideals that we need to invoke some deity to teach us to learn such social behavior. We are, after all superior creatures, and that itself should give us the impetus to live a emancipated life without any unnecessary delusions and unfounded fears about the supernatural.<br /><br /><br /></span><div><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected"></span> </div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR-baHSvdgea7Dzio7q0_HxFrnCPyewu2rcPdGZk2ARCAGM2Z8Zwx-0gdXFzA3UuFO8EUA6enG2tpfquLq77Zf-YSFsRm2mEKBRYAWcULCz5_EW1iEOklW82V8yYomx7Zg22O5/s1600-h/Image152.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR-baHSvdgea7Dzio7q0_HxFrnCPyewu2rcPdGZk2ARCAGM2Z8Zwx-0gdXFzA3UuFO8EUA6enG2tpfquLq77Zf-YSFsRm2mEKBRYAWcULCz5_EW1iEOklW82V8yYomx7Zg22O5/s320/Image152.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5140089222273641842" border="0" /></a><div><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected"></span> </div><br /><div><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected"><a name="2"></a><em><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">"Question with boldness even the existence of God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason than that of blindfolded fear." </span></em></span></div><br /><div><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected"><em><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">-Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), in 1787 letter to his nephew</span></em></span></div>BEAST FCDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05679628160308289045noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8443268.post-48511419522981909362008-01-04T01:07:00.000+08:002008-01-04T01:11:17.739+08:00China Health Minister: Healthcare system should not be directed by the marketChange China to Singapore and this article will be a direct rebuttal to S'pore government's effort to commercialize and semi-privatize our healthcare system.<br /><br />中国卫生部长: 医疗卫生体制不应以市场为导向<br /><br />沈泽玮(整理)<p> (北京综合讯)中国的医疗业不能由市场力量来支配,因为这将导致资源分配不均、社会不公,广大贫困农村居民的福利往往被忽视。</p><p> 路透社报道,中国卫生部部长陈竺和党组书记高强在最新一期的中共党刊《求是》杂志上发表联名文章,指出医疗卫生体制不应以市场为导向。相反地,政府应该在医疗卫生领域投入更多资金,医疗卫生业的改革也应由政府主导。</p><p> 报道说,自从中国政府在30年前启动经济改革后,原本从人出生到死都照顾到的福利制度被肢解,使数以百万计未能从经济发展中获益的民众陷入巨大困境,看病或住院的费用,很多人负担不起。</p><p> 看病难加上医疗体系的腐败,形成了社会不稳定的因素。</p><p> 报道指出,世界卫生组织总干事陈冯富珍去年下半年表示,虽然收入上升,但中国部分农村居民的健康逐步恶化,商业化的医疗体系使医药费大涨,大大加重了农村居民的负担。</p><p> 陈竺和高强在《求是》杂志上发表的文章就指出,改革开放以来,中国医疗卫生事业发展取得了巨大成就,国民的健康水平显著提高,但也出现了“一些突出的矛盾和问题”。</p><p> 文章说:“这些矛盾和问题的产生与我们对于卫生事业的发展存在一些模糊认识有着密切的联系。”</p><p> 文章指出,“模糊认识”包括,“对医疗卫生事业的基础性地位认识不足,忽视了政府对于保障人人享有基本医疗卫生服务的主导作用”,“认为在社会主义市场 经济条件下,应该建立以市场为导向的医疗卫生体制,靠市场解决群众的看病就医问题,把经济体制改革的经验照搬到卫生领域”。</p><p> 文章同时指,在卫生领域实行承包、分成,不但淡化了医疗卫生事业的公益性质,也强化了追求经济利益的倾向,加重了群众的负担。</p>此外,在强调经济效益的同时,也忽视了社会效益和公平原则,导致优质卫生资源过多流向大城市和大医院,造成资源配置严重失衡。<p> 不过,路透社报道指,陈竺和高强并没有完全排除市场力量在医疗改革中所可能发挥的作用。两人在文章中表示,政府欢迎发展商业健康保险,以减轻医疗卫生体系的负担。两人也称,鼓励国内外社会资金依法创办医疗机构,不过并未说明细节。</p><p> 另据中新网报道,陈竺和高强在文章中提出,将实施“健康中国2020”战略,到2020年建立起比较完善的基本医疗卫生制度,让全民健康水平接近中等发达国家。</p><p> 报道说,“健康中国2020”战略是从现在起到2020年的卫生发展中长期规划,实现以“健康促小康”、以“小康保健康”的重要战略,实现人人享有基本医疗卫生服务的目标。</p><p> 这一战略会分三步走:第一步到2010年,初步建立覆盖城乡居民的基本医疗卫生制度框架;第二步到2015年,使中国医疗卫生服务和保健水平位于发展中国家的前列;第三步到2020年,建立起比较完善、覆盖城乡居民的基本医疗卫生制度,全民健康水平接近中等发达国家。</p>at82http://www.blogger.com/profile/03261522614627944574noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8443268.post-38637051104629054602007-12-10T10:52:00.000+08:002007-12-10T11:11:42.235+08:00Facts on the ground more eloquent than statistics: Ngiam<a href="http://www.todayonline.com/articles/226611.asp"><span class="title">Facts on the ground more eloquent than statistics: Ngiam</span></a><br /><br />Loh Chee Kong<br />cheekong@mediacorp.com.sg<br /><br />MORE than four decades ago, former top civil servant Ngiam Tong Dow — then a young public officer in the Finance Ministry — was tagging along with former Deputy Prime Minister Dr Goh Keng Swee at a high-level United Nations meeting in Thailand.<br /><br />After dinner one day during the discussion at the Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East, the minister insisted that a bemused Mr Ngiam follow him on an evening walk through the streets of Bangkok.<br /><br />"After sweating up and down the hot and dusty pavements of the street in front of our hotel, I plucked up enough courage to ask Dr Goh what was the purpose of the exercise," said Mr Ngiam last Saturday at the National University of Singapore's Economics Alumni inaugural annual dinner. The event was attended by about 100 alumni from various years.<br /><br />As it turned out, Dr Goh — widely regarded as Singapore's economic wizard — wanted to see "whether the shops were well stocked" in order to satisfy himself with the economic statistics put forth by the Bank of Thailand.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Mr Ngiam, now 70, also recalled how Dr Albert Winsemius, Singapore's first economics adviser, got his grandson to plot the changes in the number of job advertisements in the newspaper.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The chart his grandson produced "told him far more about the state of the Singapore economy than all the economic statistics I dutifully sent him each month", said Mr Ngiam.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Mr Ngiam was underlining the pitfalls of over-reliance on economic statistics without reality checks, especially in today's age of super-computers.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Another potential trap is how Singapore's "robust brand" of economics could turn out to be myopic, said Mr Ngiam.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Questioning the Monetary Authority of Singapore's use of the exchange rate as the key monetary policy instrument — while eschewing the interest rate as a tool — Mr Ngiam said that long-term growth could only be sustained by increases in productivity.<br /><br />While wages here have skyrocketed in the last few months, economists have expressed concern over the sluggish growth in productivity.<br /><br />Describing the Republic's productivity performance as "mediocre", Mr Ngiam pointed out how Singapore's Gross Domestic Product has expanded "largely on infusions of foreign labour".<br /><br />Said Mr Ngiam: "MAS' catchphrase in its half-yearly review is that it will allow a modest appreciation of the Singapore dollar over time. Such a policy stance is realistic only if there is steady increase in our productivity growth."</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">And such shortsightedness has come back to haunt Singapore in some instances, Mr Ngiam added.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">For example, the ongoing retrofitting of lifts to stop on every floor in HDB blocks is costing the Government "much more" than the intended "marginal" savings when it decided in the early years that the lifts should stop on alternate floors.</span><br /><br />And even the top brains can sometimes be wrong — as evidenced by the "great MRT debate" of the mid-1970s, said Mr Ngiam.<br /><br />Back then, a "powerful" team of Harvard economists assembled by the Finance Ministry had argued for an all-bus transport network instead of a bus-rail mass rapid transit system.<br /><br />Dr Goh also argued that an all-bus system would be less risky than the $5 billion MRT system as the bus fleets "can expand incrementally bus by bus".<br /><br />"It was a disruptive piece of reasoning," said Mr Ngiam, who had argued for a rail-based network on the basis that it would provide access to the whole island and push up property prices.<br /><br />"The increase in the collection of property taxes would probably pay for the total cost of $5 billion to build the initial system," said Mr Ngiam, who added that the Government's final decision to build the MRT has been vindicated.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Reiterating that population issues are the most pressing concerns, cutting across the social, economic and political spheres, Mr Ngiam said he feared that "the tipping point of procreation has been reached" and falling birth rates "cannot be easily reversed".</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">While he confessed that he was "not clued up enough" to have a complete understanding of the current population policy, Mr Ngiam repeated his concern — which he first made in a People's Action Party newsletter last month — that Singapore should not be obsessed with bumping up the population for economic purposes, given the advances in technology and education standards.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Said Mr Ngiam: "The civil service is more adept at achieving quantitative than qualitative targets. Topping up our population en masse with immigrants may well create a population base larger than what our economy can sustain."</span>at82http://www.blogger.com/profile/03261522614627944574noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8443268.post-79833833263331385412007-12-06T01:32:00.000+08:002007-12-06T01:39:48.472+08:00If you are a "nobody", you "will go hungry".Check out <a href="http://disgruntledsporean.blogspot.com/2007/12/we-can-barely-stay-afloat-say-low.html">this article</a> Mr Balakrishnan, I think what you meant is that if you are a "nobody", you "will go hungry"<br /><br /><a href="http://www.todayonline.com/articles/225369.asp">Nobody will go hungry: Balakrishnan</a><br /><br />Plans for CCCs to get more funds to help the needy<br /><br />Sheralyn Tay<br />sheralyn@mediacorp.com.sg<br /> <br />MORE MONEY for the needy, whenever and wherever it is needed.<br /><br />And towards that end, the Government is considering an injection of funds into the Citizens Consultative Councils (CCCs), following a review.<br /><br />This is in a bid to ensure that no Singaporean is left behind even as the cost of living inevitably creeps upward, said Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) Dr Vivian Balakrishnan at a community dialogue session yesterday.<br /><br />The candid discussion — which followed a ministerial walkabout at Changi-Simei — saw, unsurprisingly, many residents highlighting the issue of rising costs.<br /><br />Acknowledging their concerns, Dr Balakrishnan reassured them that his ministry was monitoring the situation closely and was planning a review of community-level funding. "What we are thinking of right now is to make sure that grassroots organisations, in particular the CCCs, will have sufficient funds so that they can roll out additional assistance programmes," he said.<br /><br />This can be in the form of more outreach programmes or vouchers for food and cash, Dr Balakrishnan added, saying that "this will make sure that we can give the assurance that nobody will go hungry".<br /><br />Plans for the funding review are at "formulation stage" and more details will be shared at the next Budget session, he added.<br /><br />Dr Balakrishnan also noted that the number of appeals to Community Development Councils and CCCs have gone down overall partly due to the buoyant economy, but he also said that some segments do not benefit from the upswing.<br /><br />Currently, each of the 84 CCCs gets an average of about $42,000 a year and this is usually enough, he said, but a review would help ensure that funds are available should the need arise. This would especially be the case for CCCs with a larger pool of needy residents, such as Kreta Ayer, which has a disproportionate share of elderly and low-income residents.<br /><br />Another area of focus is to ensure that children are not denied educational opportunities because their families cannot afford it, said Dr Balakrishnan. "In that area I am prepared to be more generous and to make sure that whatever happens with inflation or the economic front, that these children have optimal social environments in which to grow up in."<br /><br />With the good economy and unemployment at a record low, Dr Balakrishnan said it was timely to ensure these social safety nets are in place so that society can withstand the pressures caused by rising costs and other challenges.<br /><br />He also said that Commcare Call — a universal helpline service announced by MCYS Minister of State Mrs Yu-Foo Yee-Shoon earlier this year — would be set up to offer assistance for those who do not know where to go for help.<br /><br />The toll-free 24-hour number, 1800-222-0000, which is now being tested, will go "live" next month and will be an integrated system — connected to all the relevant community agencies and organisations — to make sure that appropriate help is delivered in a timely and customised way, said Dr Balakrishnan.<br /><br />These moves are to signal that his ministry "can and will do more" to ensure that help is "flexible, responsive and available", he said.<br /><br />Ultimately though, he noted, it is cooperation from all sides — the Government, grassroots organisations and citizens — that will ensure that no one falls through the cracks.at82http://www.blogger.com/profile/03261522614627944574noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8443268.post-5046017185535201692007-12-04T08:05:00.000+08:002007-12-04T08:07:27.780+08:00Speakers Cornered - Complete video now unleashedBy <a href="http://singaporerebel.blogspot.com/2007/12/speakers-cornered-complete-video-now.html"><span class="post-author">Martyn See</span></a><br /><br /><object width="400" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/aY1ilenkPaM&rel=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/aY1ilenkPaM&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="400" height="355"></embed></object>at82http://www.blogger.com/profile/03261522614627944574noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8443268.post-76578856929747343402007-12-02T14:40:00.000+08:002007-12-02T15:40:06.407+08:00We can barely stay afloat, say low-income folk<a href="http://singaporemind.blogspot.com/2007/07/mm-lee-singapore-in-golden-period.html">Singapore is in Golden Age</a>, but Golden Age for Whom?<br /><br />Definitely not for Mr Sim...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.straitstimes.com/STI/STIMEDIA/image/20071201/ST_IMAGES_JECOST.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://www.straitstimes.com/STI/STIMEDIA/image/20071201/ST_IMAGES_JECOST.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><blockquote style="font-weight: bold;">LIVING ON PUBLIC ASSISTANCE, Mr Sim Boon Choon, 68, keeps his lights switched off in his one-room flat at night and has stopped eating out for all his meals to save money. But even then, he runs out of cash before the month is up. -- ST PHOTO: WANG HUI FEN</blockquote>According to Eagle2004,<br /><blockquote>The theory of Marxism considers capitalism as exploitation of the working<br />class i.e. proletariat, by the capitalists i.e. bourgeoisie, who control the means of production.<br /><br />How does this exploitation happen? The working class, have no choice except to find work to survive, since they have no ownership of the factors of production.<br /><br />The proletariat become the workers for the capitalist, slave for him & produce goods/services. Whatever they produce is the property of the capitalist, who sells them, & gets a certain amount of money in exchange.<br /><br />A part of the wealth produced is used to pay the workers' salaries, & the surplus i.e extra becomes the capitalist's profit. As such, the capitalist earns money from the work of his staff (without doing any actual work himself).<br /><br />Those who actually do the work, do not enjoy the rewards, & that is exploitation in teh eyes of the Marxists. They argue that capitalists make their money by exploiting the working classes.<br /><br />Sounds familiar? Most of us are the mere cogs in the giant machinery of S'pore Inc.<br /></blockquote><br />Dec 2, 2007<br /><br /><a href="http://www.straitstimes.com/Free/Story/STIStory_182577.html">We can barely stay afloat, say low-income folk</a><br /><br />Some MPs and social workers say pleas for financial aid from poorer residents are growing louder and more frequent with the rising cost of living<br />By Jamie Ee Wen Wei and Nur Dianah Suhaimi<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">ADMINISTRATIVE assistant Noor Zeen earns $1,350 a month and has not paid her utility bills for the past four months.</span><br /><br />Prices of everyday goods have gone up and she finds that she no longer earns enough to cover household expenses.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The 28-year-old divorcee said her monthly utility bill alone has gone up by at least $20. The breadwinner in her family, she lives in a four-room flat in Hougang with her mother, her eight-year-old son and her late aunt's two children.<br /><br />Cash-strapped and with unpaid utility bills of about $600, Madam Noor asked her MP, Madam Cynthia Phua (Aljunied GRC), for financial help last week.</span><br /><br />After the soft-spoken woman poured out her financial woes, Madam Phua put her on short-term financial assistance that will provide her with $200 for the next three months.<br /><br />The economy may be buoyant, but low-wage earners such as Madam Noor have been telling MPs and social workers that they can barely stay afloat because the cost of living has been going up.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">These workers say that their wages are not rising as fast as inflation.<br /><br />In October, inflation rose to a 16-year high of 3.6 per cent. Two months ago, prices of food staples such as bread and noodles went up by 20 per cent. Soaring oil prices have also driven up pump prices and electricity tariffs.<br /><br />Median monthly starting pay for cleaners and labourers has in fact fallen by nearly one-third, from $860 to $600, between 1996 and last year.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">=> </span></span></span><span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">And PAP still want to <a href="http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/314356/1/.html">import more so-called FTs</a> to depress their wages?!</span></span><br /></span><span><br />Twelve MPs and social workers interviewed said pleas for financial help from residents are growing louder but most could not give figures.</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span><br />In Jalan Besar GRC, MP Lily Neo said she sees about 60 hard-luck cases a week at her Meet-the-People sessions. In the past, she saw about 40 cases.<br /><br />She said: 'Each week, I find myself busier and busier, staying longer and longer, because there are so many people asking for financial help.''<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Madam Halimah Yacob, an MP for Jurong GRC, said some of the low-income residents are holding two jobs and doing overtime, yet they still ask for rations of basic items such as cooking oil and Milo because they do not earn enough to feed their families.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">=> Having job and earning a living is 2 different things, ok! Not able to survive financially while doing 2 jobs and OT shows us clearly just how well our current system is working for the locals.</span></span><br /><br />Mr Zaqy Mohamad (Hong Kah GRC) observed that those on financial aid schemes are showing up more often at Meet-the-People Sessions.<br /><br />'They used to come once every three months. Now, some come back every couple of weeks to ask for food and utility vouchers,' he said, because their cash is running out faster.<br /><br />Mr Charles Chong (Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC) said he was even told off by a retiree who had asked for financial aid.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The elderly man told the MP: 'I'm retired, in my 60s, have no job and living off my savings. But GST is up, food prices are up, inflation is up. The only thing that has not gone up is the banks' interest rates!'</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Mr Sim Boon Choon, 68, is in the same boat as the retiree. He tries to stretch every cent of the $290 in public assistance that he receives every month.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">A loaf of bread now costs 20 cents more and the price of a packet of 20 Milo sachets is up by 40 cents. Even chicken rice and kway teow soup at the hawker centre cost 50 cents more.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">To save money, he has stopped eating out for all his meals. Dinner is a simple meal of bread and Milo. To save electricity, the bachelor does not switch on the lights in his one-room Telok Blangah flat.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Even then, he finds himself running out of money before the month is up. 'I'm already very thrifty but the money is still not enough,' he said in Hokkien.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">In March, public welfare recipients such as Mr Sim had their monthly allowance raised from $260 to $290 to offset the impact of the GST hike and rising cost of living.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">But social workers said the $30 increment is not enough, given that inflation has risen so high.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">=> That is not what our Minister Vivian Balakrishnan thinks. </span><a style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);" href="http://theonlinecitizen.com/2007/04/25/parliamentary-exchange-between-lily-neo-and-mcys-minister/">Check out his exchange with Miss Lily Neo on Public Welfare.</a></span><br /><br />Ms Grace Lee, centre director of Care Corner Family Service Centre (Toa Payoh), said the centre has been receiving more requests for the monthly free food packages of rice, instant noodles and canned food.<br /><br />At least 100 packages are handed out, compared to 80 a few months back.<br /><br />Over at the Care Corner Seniors Activity Centre in Toa Payoh, programme executive Lim Siew Eng said the elderly poor who show up for free daily lunches are asking for larger portions to take home for dinner. A typical lunch consists of rice, mixed vegetables and meat.<br /><br />MP Cynthia Phua said she has been advising the elderly in her ward to rent out the rooms in their flats to generate income.<br /><br />She said: 'A can of luncheon meat used to cost $1.30. Now it's $2.50. Not everyone can afford that, especially the elderly who are not working and depending on handouts.'<br /><br />MPs said that they try not to give cash to residents seeking aid because they cannot ensure that the money is spent on food. They prefer to give food vouchers.<br /><br />While utility, service and conservancy rebates, and Workfare payouts have helped, the MPs hope that the Government would come up with schemes which help those without income cope with the rising cost of living.<br /><br />Pasir Ris-Punggol's Mr Chong said: 'The current schemes that we have, such as Workfare, help those who work. But for the elderly who are retired and sickly, we need to find new schemes for them.'<br /><br />The Government has said that it will not keep prices artificially low by controlling price increases to help people cope with the rising cost of living. Its aim is to get the basics right - housing, jobs and affordable necessities.<br /><br />It also tops up the wages of low-income workers through Workfare and gives various cash handouts and rebates. A total of 2.4 million Singaporeans are eligible for $650 million in GST credits and senior citizens' bonuses this year.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">It is not just the low income who are feeling the pinch. Mayor for Central Singapore district, Mr Zainudin Nordin, said families living in four- and five-room flats are trying to downgrade to smaller flats because they cannot afford the cash portion of their mortgage.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">He said: 'These families find that they need that few hundred dollars for other necessities now that prices have gone up. They can't afford to put aside any cash for housing.'</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">For housewife Norliza Maidin, 40, the rising cost of living could not have come at a worse time.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Her husband was retrenched from his warehouse supervisor job last year and now earns $1,500 - $500 less than his previous pay.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The couple have two sons -- aged five and one - and Madam Norliza's elderly mother lives with them in a four-room flat in Jurong.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Madam Norliza limits the family's electricity usage to $3 a day, chooses the cheapest fish and buys the cheapest groceries.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">But she still finds herself with no savings at the end of the month. Sometimes, she has to borrow money from friends.</span><br /><br />After being out of the workforce for five years, she is back in the job market because she wants to supplement her husband's income.<br /><br />'I want to save for a rainy day. And buy better food for my children, such as salmon and not just selar,' she said.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">With inflation expected to go up to 4.5 per cent next year, MPs such as Madam Phua think that the number of financial aid requests they are receiving is only the tip of the iceberg.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">She said: 'I believe more will ask for financial help. This is just the beginning.'</span><br /><br />jamieee@sph.com.sg<br /><br />ndianah@sph.com.sgat82http://www.blogger.com/profile/03261522614627944574noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8443268.post-71582937104876951592007-12-02T01:01:00.000+08:002007-12-02T01:30:14.931+08:00Will local politics change?<a href="http://www.todayonline.com/articles/225082.asp">Will local politics change?</a><br />In the end, it is the economics that will dictate<br /><br />Loh Chee Kong<br />cheekong@mediacorp.com.sg<br /><br />THE year is 2030. Now, imagine a Singapore with no Group Representative Constituencies (GRC), no defamation suits, no one-dominant party and personality.<br /><br />This is what the young people who attended a session three weeks ago with Dr Vivian Balakrishnan seem to want. And the youngest Minister in the Cabinet seems prepared for such a scenario.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">=> Shouldn't that be the way all along?!</span></span><br /><br />"I'm not so obsessed with whether or not the PAP wins elections, what I am more interested in is the quality of candidates," said Dr Balakrishnan, Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports, dismissing the suggestion that the People's Action Party (PAP) was fixated with one-party rule.<br /><br />In fact, from a "purely national point of view", he felt that youth should even take up opposition politics if they do not want to join the PAP.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">=> Then end the media control now! We all saw just how bias the media is during the GE2006.</span></span><br /><br />Responding to a comment on how the ruling party and the opposition trip over themselves in claiming credit for improvement works in opposition wards, the Minister also urged the youth to look beyond the political "wayang".<br /><br />"The PAP plays games, the opposition plays games … while all these games go on, make sure nobody loses out.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:130%;" >=> By denying lift upgrades to Potong Pasir, one of the oldest estate in S'pore, S'poreans are already losing out. Who is Mr Balakrishnan trying to kid?</span><br /><br />"My point is not that we will not change. We will change but make sure that even as we change, that we understand the consequences … and are prepared," added Dr Balakrishnan, who reiterated that Singapore's political stability is a cornerstone of its success.<br /><br />For a party that has forged a formidable reputation for the way it crushes political opponents, Dr Balakrishnan's words would get the optimist excited.<br /><br />They would, at the very least, imply a tacit acceptance by the PAP that there is space for opposition politics.<br /><br />Not so fast, said a political analyst, who applauded Dr Balakrishnan's "good statesmanship" in answering the way he did. But that is not the way the PAP "runs or plans things", she added.<br /><br />"They play to win. If out of enlightened self-interest, the PAP changes the rules of the game then we have a whole new ball game," said the analyst.<br /><br />Sceptics could even interpret Dr Balakrishan's answers as a clear slight on the quality of the opposition and how it would stay that way. And that if Singaporeans want more opposition in Parliament and more relaxed rules on public speaking, they have to be prepared for political instability and loss of foreign investments.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:130%;" >=> This is the most nonsensical argument I ever heard. In what way having a democratic political system will undermine political stability and lead to loss of foreign investment?! Is North Korea and Mainland China more stable and richer than South Korea and Japan?!</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><br />But the giveaway was this comment by Dr Balakrishnan: "Can we afford not to change? If the change is necessary for our survival or prosperity, then we must."<br /><br />The political landscape is set for changes, if, and only if, the PAP Government sees their necessity in sustaining and promoting economic growth — not social progress.<br /><br />Never mind if it means losing a few seats to the opposition as long as it serves the economic objectives. Never mind political diversity, it's the dollars and cents that matter.<br /><br />But therein lies the conundrum. While economic and social objectives can be neatly compartmentalised in the early days of nation building, they become increasingly intertwined and untidy as a society matures.<br /><br />From the 1960s to the 1990s, most Singaporeans had little choice but to stay and build up the Republic's economy.<br /><br />Today, people uproot themselves to other countries when they disagree with Government policies or feel left out of the political process.<br /><br />Which is why Singapore's political system has few options but to progress.<br /><br />First, the playing field has to be level — a perception that is certainly lost on Singaporeans.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">While politics is a dirty game everywhere, it has to appear to be fair and just.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The security sweeps — Operation Coldstore in 1963 and Operation Spectrum in the 1987 — against alleged communist movements had set back the two strongest opposition parties, the Barisan Socialis and the Workers Party, of the respective periods, albeit if it was an unintended outcome.</span><br /><br />And while rules of the game apply equally to all, the opposition parties are still playing catch up while stuck in a vicious cycle: They cannot attract better candidates unless they make inroads into the government and vice versa.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">While the elected presidency, in principle, guards against a rogue government by holding the key to the national reserves, hurdles must be put in place to prevent inept politicians from entering Parliament in the first place.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">=> (S)elected Presidency you mean. How many time did we voted for our president since Mr Ong Teng Chong left the post?! How many times did our president Nathan report to us, Singaporean citizens, on the current status of out national reserves? ZERO! ZILCH! To be frank the president might not even know what he is guarding... Read <a href="http://www.asiaweek.com/asiaweek/magazine/2000/0310/nat.singapore.ong.html">this</a> to find out more about Mr Ong presidency.</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">But such safeguards should be in the form of an independent media, strong civil society movement and Singaporeans' own critical thinking, not artificial barriers such as election deposits, the GRC system or the threat of defamation lawsuits.</span><br /><br />While the GRC system was established with the stated intent of ensuring minority representation, it has inadvertently become an impediment not just for opposition parties but crucially, for aspiring independent politicians, who do not want to be tied down by the baggage of existing parties.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">=> BULLSHIT! Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong already tell the whole of Singapore that the <a href="http://www.yawningbread.org/arch_2006/yax-615.htm">GRC system is meant for smoothing PAP's newcomers' path into the parliament</a>.</span><br /></span><br />It has also deterred political competition by cutting off smaller political parties, while allowing larger ones to consolidate themselves.<br /><br />In the 1984 elections (the last General Election before the GRC system was introduced), candidates from nine political parties and three independent candidates contested the polls.<br /><br />In the 2006 GE, candidates contested under four party banners and there were zero independent candidates.<br /><br />Given such statistics, it is not difficult to draw a link between these artificial hurdles and why fewer young Singaporeans are willing to enter politics — when their choice is limited to joining the PAP to have a more than half chance of winning.<br /><br />By Dr Balakrishnan's own admission, "politics in 2030 cannot be politics in the 1960s".<br /><br />"In 2030, if you are the Prime Minister, do you think you would have the same authority, overarching stature of someone like our Minister Mentor Lee (Kuan Yew)?" he added.<br /><br />The days of personality-driven politics are long gone and future electoral battles would be about national policies as much as local politics. Opposition politicians banking on fiery rhetoric should be advised to back it up with sound policy alternatives.<br /><br />The implications of a "collegiate" type of leadership, as Dr Balakrishnan put it, point to a more effective consultation process both within and without the government.<br /><br />When no one person wields an inordinate amount of influence, diversity of views would flourish but it also makes it harder to push through policies — an argument that the PAP has made in support of one-party rule.<br /><br />But while efficiency could be increasingly compromised, effectiveness need not. And that can only be ensured when there is a healthy process of political debate and consensus building, where opposing voices are satisfied that they have been heard even if the final decision goes against them.<br /><br />The Government's aggressive drive for new citizens would pose political ramifications in time to come.<br /><br />While these citizens would want to preserve the state of affairs that attracted them here in the first place, they are also the ones who would not be tied down by historical baggage when the situation turns for the worse.<br /><br />In other words, in the event of a national crisis, new citizens would be the quickest to vote the government out, while Singapore-born voters bank their faith on the PAP's track record.<br /><br />Which is why the PAP may find it worth its while to lose a few seats in the future — if only to keep an increasingly sophisticated electorate happy.at82http://www.blogger.com/profile/03261522614627944574noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8443268.post-36128177182656044722007-12-02T00:56:00.000+08:002007-12-02T01:01:11.439+08:00More FTs in Singapore.Workers better enjoy the boom time now, it is not going last.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/314356/1/.html">Government eases regulations on hiring foreign workers</a><br />By Asha Popatlal, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 28 November 2007 2306 hrs<br /><br />SINGAPORE: The government is easing regulations across the board on the hiring of foreign workers, in view of a tight labour market.<br /><br />The overall unemployment rate fell to 1.7 percent in September this year – the lowest in almost a decade. The Manpower Ministry (MOM) said far more jobs are being created than locals can fill.<br /><br />Amidst this tight labour market, companies said they have been finding it increasingly difficult to employ workers, especially locals.<br /><br />That is why MOM is introducing a slew of measures to ease regulations on the hiring of foreign workers across all levels.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />With growing industry demand for mid-skilled, mid-level foreign workers, the quota of S-pass holders will be increased from 15 percent to 25 percent from January next year.<br /></span><br />To ease the manpower pressure in the booming Construction, Process and Marine sectors, MOM will raise the dependency ratio for the Construction and Process sectors from 1 local worker : 5 foreign workers, to 1 local worker : 7 foreign workers from 1 January 2008.<br /><br />It will also reduce the work experience requirement for workers in Construction from four to two years from next March, and raise the dependency ratio for the Marine sector from 1 local worker : 3 foreign workers, to 1 local worker : 5 foreign workers from 1 January.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">As the Manufacturing and Services sectors also expect to enjoy high growth, they will be allowed a higher proportion of foreign workers in their workforce as well.<br /><br />For Manufacturing, the ratio will be increased to 6.5 foreign workers for every 10 Singaporeans hired, and for Services, that figure is 5 foreign workers to 10 locals.</span><br /><br />Refinements will also be made to the Personalised Employment Pass. Launched earlier this year, this scheme helps professionals to continue working in Singapore as it is tied to an individual's merits rather than a specific employer.<br /><br />Announcing the changes at an event on Wednesday evening, Manpower Minister Ng Eng Hen explained why they were necessary.<br /><br />He said: "There isn't an inexhaustible supply of local workers and it has slowed down this year to about 2 percent. In the World Competitiveness Yearbook for 2007 released earlier this year, Singapore emerged as having the most competitive labour market.<br /><br />"One of the underlying factors is that companies here have access to the manpower that they need. Indeed, this must be a key concern for any company operating here, especially in the current tight labour market."<br /><br />Industry players welcome the moves to ease the labour market.<br /><br />Dr Robert Yap, YCH Group, said: "I'm sure this is something that's good for the industry. Our labour situation is getting very tight. With this tightness, you see job-hopping and all that, so it's affecting people like us who are entrepreneurs trying to build an organisation."<br /><br /><br />- CNA/soat82http://www.blogger.com/profile/03261522614627944574noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8443268.post-85889524018220804542007-11-24T12:17:00.000+08:002007-11-24T12:19:35.300+08:00Temasek, a reality check<a href="http://www.todayonline.com/articles/223787.asp">Temasek, a reality check</a><br /><br />ADRIAN TAN<br /> <br />TEMASEK'S ongoing investment woes over its stakes in Indonesia's two biggest mobile telcos bring to mind some simple, eternal facts of corporate life.<br /><br />First, investing abroad has always carried the risk that assets can be seized by foreign governments.<br /><br />HSBC and Jardines lost control of their Chinese assets in 1949 when communists came to power in the mainland. In the 1960s, the Australian government forced mining firms to "Australianise" their shareholdings, upsetting the then predominantly British shareholders.<br /><br />And just last year, energy companies operating in Venezuela and Bolivia had to accept new and less advantageous contracts to avoid cancellation. Shell and BP, too, have had their share of problems — in Russia.<br /><br />Second, investments in banking and telecommunications (two of Temasek's favourite sectors) have three major weaknesses. Value in these sectors can be easily destroyed by government action or inaction. Both sectors are highly regulated because most governments regard them as "strategic industries". Nationalists are also sensitive to foreigners owning big stakes in these sectors.<br /><br />The controversies surrounding Temasek's acquisition of Shin Corp — the telco once controlled by the Thaksin family — and the two investments in Indonesia's Telkomsel and Indosat, illustrate these weaknesses vividly.<br /><br />And it is difficult to exit major investments in these sectors. Whatever the law may say, any sale must have the blessing of the host government. If Temasek wants to cash in on the huge returns it has made from its 6-per-cent stake in China Construction Bank or its 5-per-cent stake in Bank of China, potential buyers would want the assurance that any sale was acceptable to the Chinese authorities.<br /><br />Third, most countries, developed and developing, have a history of economic nationalism. Who can blame Asian nations for being afraid of foreign investors?<br /><br />India, Indonesia and South Korea were colonies of Britain, the Netherlands and Japan respectively for almost half of the 20th century, and in the first two instances, the whole of the 19th century. The British and French interfered extensively in Thailand while China was bullied and occupied by the Western powers and Japan.<br /><br />And don't forget that the British and Dutch began as traders before becoming colonisers.<br /><br />Incidentally, Britain and Australia, at least on the surface, seem to be the only two countries which are not too worried about foreigners owning major stakes in "commanding heights" companies. British ports, airports, power stations, water utilities and financial institutions are owned by foreigners.<br /><br />The British appear to have adopted this attitude: If foreigners are prepared to pay huge sums for assets that cannot be moved, the locals should take the money and invest it elsewhere.<br /><br />And if the foreigners have overpaid — as some analysts believed was the case in the purchase of the British Airport Authority, where the winning consortium, which included the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation, paid £10.3 billion ($30.6 billion) — and are having operational and funding problems, that's their problem.<br /><br />So, sceptical of foreign investors in general, many people in these nationalistic countries are naturally concerned when a firm owned by a foreign government invests in their country.<br /><br />They tend to project their personal and historical experiences and prejudices onto the investing firm — and that is their governments interfere in state-owned and private businesses.<br /><br />For example, China, India and Indonesia have forced banks to lend liberally to state-owned companies; while the South Korean government once directed Korean banks to lend money to privately-owned conglomerates to help them expand overseas. Profits are secondary. National, political or strategic considerations are more important.<br /><br />So, even though Brand Singapore has a reputation for straight-talking and honesty, a statement like, "all the companies in our portfolio are independently managed with responsibilities to their respective board and shareholders", would be met with a shrug or a wink — "they would say this, wouldn't they?" Anyway, governments and policies can change.<br /><br />Next, good governance — political or corporate — is rare outside the developed world. We forget this at our peril.<br /><br />Last week's Weekend Xtra on the Indosat/Telkomsel case describes the alleged skulduggery that seems to be going on in the background — of inconvenient evidence being ignored and of prejudgment of the case.<br /><br />It doesn't reflect well on Indonesia's investment climate; but to be fair to Indonesia, there are countries where worse things are alleged to have happened.<br /><br />Finally, don't expect gratitude, especially if one makes money. Temasek itself and its 56-per-cent owned subsidiary SingTel made major telecom investments in Indonesia when other investors didn't want to know about the country.<br /><br />One could be forgiven for thinking that Indonesian nationalists should be grateful that firms from an Asean neighbour bought these assets, not some insensitive investor from a Western country with a history of exploiting the "natives".<br /><br />Incidentally, Temasek's problems over Shin Corp and Indosat/Telkomsel reflect difficulties Asean could face in plans for an integrated economy.<br /><br />If Thailand and Indonesia, two of the more developed Asean economies, have problems in accepting investments in their telco sectors from a fellow founding Asean neighbour, what chance of success in other areas like aviation, financial services and logistics?<br /><br />Adrian Tan is a freelance financial writer.<br />ADRIAN TANat82http://www.blogger.com/profile/03261522614627944574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8443268.post-59013671265904311542007-11-23T22:08:00.000+08:002007-11-24T01:25:01.044+08:00Is the detention of Chee Siok Chin and John Tan lawful?Protest by Burmese against ASEAN closing its eyes on the injustices happening in Burma<br /><object height="355" width="400"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/E89tgATYJ70&rel=1"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/E89tgATYJ70&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="355" width="400"></embed></object><br /><br />Police detain Singaporeans when they are unable say which law they break (Part 1)<br /><object height="355" width="400"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Tfnyayx_7u8&rel=1"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Tfnyayx_7u8&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="355" width="400"></embed></object><br /><br />Police detain Singaporeans when they are unable say which law they break (Part 2)<br /><object height="355" width="400"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/MdXH5llsQ5c&rel=1"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/MdXH5llsQ5c&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="355" width="400"></embed></object><br /><br />Which side is right?<br /><br />The Police or Miss Chee & Mr Tan?<br /><br />Judge for yourself after watching the videos.<br /><br />===========================================================<br /><a href="http://www.singaporedemocrat.org/articleburmaprotest68.html">Chee Siok Chin writes to Wong Kan Seng</a><br />Singapore Democrats<br />21 Nov 07<br /><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:85%;">21 November 2007<br /><br />Mr. Wong Kan Seng<br />Minister for Home Affairs<br />New Phoenix Park, 28 Irrawaddy Road<br />Singapore 329560<br />wong_kan_seng@mha.gov.sg</span></span><br /><br />Dear sir,<br /><br />I would like to refer you to the incident that occurred on 20 November 2007 along Orange Grove Road when Mr John Tan and I were illegally detained by the police.<br /><br />The intent of this letter is not to inform you of the incident as I am certain you have been quite thoroughly apprised. Instead I would like to seek several clarifications from you as the Minister for Home Affairs.<br /><br />Although Mr Tan and I were told that we were in a Protected Area, at no time did the police say that we were trespassing or forbidden to be in the vicinity. None of the police officers were able to cite any law that prohibited us from going to the Shangri-la Hotel.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">What right did the police have to stop Mr Tan and I from going towards the Shangri-la Hotel after having been told that we were going there for a meal?<br /><br />When asked if we had committed any offence and if we were being arrested, we were categorically told “no” to both questions. That being the case, what right did the police have in man-handling and forcing us into a vehicle?<br /><br />If the vehicle belonged to the Singapore Police Force, why was it unmarked?<br /><br />Was it legal for the police to take us to a place against our will when we had not committed any offence?<br /><br />What right did the police have in not only harassing but manhandling Mr Tan and me?<br /><br />What right did the police have in forcefully taking us away to a place when we were not under arrest?<br /><br />In addition to this, Mr Tan was prevented from leaving the police vehicle when we were brought to Orchard Hotel? The police had restrained him and he had to physically struggle with the officers to get out of the van. Is this not a form of physical abuse?</span><br /><br />The actions of the police in the mentioned incident is a grave violation of our constitutional rights, individual liberties and personal security.<br /><br />How can it be said that the Singapore is built on the rule of law when those of us living in this country can be subjected to such arbitrary, illegitimate and physical actions by the police?<br /><br />I look forward to your clarifications.<br /><br />Sincerely,<br /><br />Chee Siok Chinat82http://www.blogger.com/profile/03261522614627944574noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8443268.post-31736518808772151972007-11-17T12:14:00.001+08:002007-11-17T13:09:40.225+08:00Cracks in society are showing<span class="title"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:130%;" >The big question is who caused it and what is done to minimize it!</span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.todayonline.com/articles/222656.asp">Cracks in society are showing</a><br />SM Goh raises concern as foreign talent stats hit new high<br /><br />Loh Chee Kong<br />cheekong@mediacorp.com.sg<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">WITH the number of new citizens and PRs expected to outstrip last year's record figure of 70,500, cracks are already appearing not just between different ethnic groups, but also within races.</span><br /><br />This sobering observation came from Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, who was speaking at the 10th anniversary of the Community Development Councils (CDCs) on Friday, as he outlined the challenges facing them.<br /><br />Mr Goh related how there are already signs of Singaporeans lowering their trust towards one another.<br /><br />At his annual reception in his Marine Parade constituency for new citizens and PRs, Mr Goh noticed how "the new residents did not mix easily with Singaporeans" and Singaporeans, in turn, "tended to leave them alone".<br /><br />And within the Chinese and Indian communities, crevices are deepening.<br /><br />Said Mr Goh: "In terms of accent, culture and habit, Chinese Singaporeans are different from their PRC counterparts. As for Indians, I have heard that the Indians from India tend to bring their caste culture with them, and that some of them sometimes come across as sikit atas (slight air of superiority) to our local Indians.<br /><br />"On the other hand, some Indian Singaporeans also display the same attitude towards the many low-skilled workers from India."<br /><br />Citing the studies of Harvard University political science dean Robert Putnam, Mr Goh said that the phenomenon of "hunkering down" takes place as a society becomes more diverse and multi-cultural. Left unchecked, it would reduce social solidarity and erode community trust. For example, people will have a lower likelihood of giving to charity or volunteering.<br /><br />And as Singapore must continue to open its doors to new immigrants to boost its population and economy, Mr Goh hopes the CDCs would "find ways to bond new Singaporeans and PRs to our people".<br /><br />He also identified two other social divides that must be bridged: That between less well-off and more successful Singaporeans, and also the gap between the elderly and the young.<br /><br />Said Mr Goh: "We must involve more successful Singaporeans in a concerted community effort to help the poor and the dysfunctional families."<br /><br />Likewise, Singaporeans have a critical role to play to help senior citizens lead active lives.<br /><br />Apart from employers, the mindset of Singaporeans towards their elderly parents must also change.<br /><br />He added: "Children sometimes discourage their own elderly parents from leading active lives … . In truth, the 60-year-old of today is very different from the 60-year-old of 20 years ago."<br /><br />Mapping out the priorities for the CDCs, Mr Goh said they must enlarge the common space which brings together Singaporeans and immigrants.<br /><br />On top of intra-group bonding within faith-based organisations or various professional and interest groups, the CDCs have to "encourage inter-mingling" between the disparate groups.<br /><br />CDCs should also engage in "preventive intervention", instead of providing "downstream pain relief".<br /><br />One positive example is the Home Ownership Plus Education programme, which helps families become self-reliant through housing and training grants, as well as education bursaries for their children to help them break out of the poverty cycle.<br /><br />Likewise, efforts to promote active ageing should begin before retirement, said Mr Goh.<br /><br />While there are existing programmes to address these social divides, Mr Goh called on the CDCs to do so "holistically".<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Otherwise, he said, Singapore's social unity would be "eroded gradually and imperceptibly but with long-term implications on the harmony of our society".</span>at82http://www.blogger.com/profile/03261522614627944574noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8443268.post-61770565027010891112007-11-14T12:14:00.000+08:002007-11-14T12:18:12.985+08:00Singapore's economic boom widens income gap<a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/inDepthNews/idUSSIN20069020071109?pageNumber=3&sp=true">Singapore's economic boom widens income gap</a><br />By Melanie Lee<br /><br />SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Carol John, 27, doesn't own a bed. Every night she sleeps on thin mattresses which she shares with her three young children. Outside her one-room flat, a smell of sewage lingers in the common corridor.<br /><br />Just a few kilometers away, on Singapore's Sentosa island, Madhupati Singhania relaxes on his $435,000 yacht berthed at the city-state's swanky One 15 Marina Club.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Income inequality is nothing new in free-market Singapore, but two years of blistering economic growth and a government policy of attracting wealthy expatriates have created a new class of super-rich, while a string of price increases for everything from bread to bus fares have made life harder for the poor.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">"I can't save anything, it's so difficult for me," John told Reuters. John, who is unemployed, relies on her husband's S$600 (US$420) monthly salary and a S$100 government handout.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">"We don't benefit at all from the economy. As far as I know, my husband's pay hasn't gone up," she said.</span><br /><br />Singapore's economy is firing on all cylinders, with a booming construction sector, record tourist arrivals and a fast-growing financial sector all contributing to a gross domestic product set to grow nearly 8 percent in 2007.<br /><br />But the rising tide is not lifting every boat.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The proportion of Singapore residents earning less than S$1,000 ($690) a month rose to 18 percent last year, from 16 percent in 2002, central bank data released late last month show.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">At the same time, the proportion of those earning S$8,000 and above rose from 4.7 percent to 6 percent in the same period.</span><br /><br />"When a country becomes richer, you tend to see a widening of income inequality. Over the last few years it has been worse," said econometrics professor Anthony Tay at SMU university.<br /><br />Despite sporting a first-world GDP per capita of $29,000 -- second only to Japan in Asia -- Singapore has an income inequality profile more in line with third-world countries.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Singapore's Gini coefficient, a measure of income inequality, has worsened from 42.5 in 1998 to 47.2 in 2006, and is now in league with the Philippines (46.1) and Guatemala (48.3), and worse than China (44.7), data from Singapore's Household Survey and the World Bank show.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Other wealthy Asian nations such as Japan, Korea and Taiwan have more European-style Ginis of 24.9, 31.6 and 32.6.</span><br /><br />FAST CARS, BIG BOATS<br /><br />CIMB-GK Research economist Song Seng Wun believes that growth itself partly explains the widening income gap.<br /><br />"In an environment where growth is huge, there are lots of opportunities for risk takers, and inevitably, you will get this widening (of the income gap)," he said, adding that those in stable jobs will also benefit, but to a lesser extent.<br /><br />Opportunity is what attracted Singhania to Singapore. He intends to buy a new 47-foot yacht for $1.3 million.<br /><br />"You've got everything you want in Singapore. You want to buy a fast car, you want to buy a big boat, you want to buy an aeroplane, whatever you need, you can get in this country."<br /><br />Singhania, who runs a business consultancy firm, was originally from Mumbai but decided to move to Singapore and become a Singapore citizen, citing its first-world comforts.<br /><br />The Asian Development Bank blames the widening income gap in Singapore and many other Asia countries partly on globalization, which it said favors the well-educated, and recommended policies to create more equal opportunities and wealth.<br /><br />Singapore's government has made the reduction of the income gap a priority, but argues welfare should not be a crutch, and rules out unemployment benefits or a minimum wage.<br /><br />While the ruling People's Action Party is in no danger of losing its stranglehold on parliament, the growing income disparity has hurt its credibility.<br /><br />"There is definitely envy, but this is not enough for civil disturbance," said sociologist Ho Kong Chong at NUS university.<br /><br />"These emotions of despair and desperation are missing in Singapore because of the government's housing policy and transfer payments," Ho said.<br /><br />Singapore's extensive housing program provides owner-financed flats in government-built blocks and the state also provides modest income supplements to those in low-income jobs, although there are no unemployment benefits.<br /><br />Carol John, who left school when she was 15, does not know much about support schemes. "In the years to come, I'll just leave it in God's hands, whatever he gives me, I'll take it."<br /><br />($1=1.448 Singapore Dollar), ($1=.6894 Euro)<br /><br />(Editing by Geert De Clercq and Jacqueline Wong)at82http://www.blogger.com/profile/03261522614627944574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8443268.post-29902529619666625082007-11-13T19:12:00.000+08:002007-11-13T19:16:26.171+08:00CPI set to hit high of 5% in first half of 2008, says Lim Hng Kiang<a href="http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporebusinessnews/view/311124/1/.html">CPI set to hit high of 5% in first half of 2008, says Lim Hng Kiang</a><br />By Hoe Yeen Nie, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 12 November 2007 2136 hrs<br /><br />SINGAPORE: Minister for Trade and Industry Lim Hng Kiang told Parliament on Monday that the <span style="font-weight:bold;">Consumer Price Index (CPI) is set to reach a high of five percent in the first half of next year</span>, though prices are likely to ease afterwards.<br /><br />He explained that prices have gone up because oil prices have doubled since the start of the year, and the one-off hike in Goods and Services Tax (GST) in July also contributed to the rising inflation.<br /><br />But the CPI, which measures inflation at the consumer level, is expected to go down to three per cent in the second half of 2008, Mr Lim said.<br /><br />Another factor driving inflation has been the disruptions in the supply of food items such as vegetables and diary products from Australia, Malaysia and Indonesia.<br /><br />Mr Lim said: "Diversifying our food supply sources is one way we can reduce our vulnerability to such supply disruptions and maintain more stable food prices.<br /><br />"AVA (Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority) will continue to step up efforts to this end. However, diversification cannot protect us against a worldwide increase in food prices, as is happening now."<br /><br />When MP Halimah Yacob asked what the government has done to ease the inflationary impact on Singaporeans, Mr Lim pointed to measures such as the GST Offset Package, which is expected to cost the government S$4 billion over five years.<br /><br />The government's exchange rate policies have also helped minimise the impact of inflation from other countries.<br /><br />But Ang Mo Kio GRC Inderjit Singh asked: "Does the minister see any impact on our competitiveness here as far as businesses are concerned?"<br /><br />Mr Lim replied: "We are tracking our competitiveness position very closely and so far we are in quite a good position for several reasons... even though (our inflation rate is) higher than what we've been experiencing, it's still lower than other countries...<br /><br />"Second, even though wages have gone up last year and particularly the first three quarters of this year... (over) the last five, six or seven years (they did not go up) so rapidly."<br /><br />Mr Lim added that the higher inflation should also be viewed against the backdrop of rapid economic growth rates since 2003, so it should not be surprising to see inflation rise above the "unusually low levels" seen over the last few years. - CNA/acat82http://www.blogger.com/profile/03261522614627944574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8443268.post-70074496922522656262007-11-12T13:04:00.000+08:002007-11-12T13:07:42.494+08:00Talent, not numbers<a href="http://www.todayonline.com/articles/221671.asp">Talent, not numbers</a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Ngiam questions need to boost S'pore's population</span><br /><br />Loh Chee Kong<br />cheekong@mediacorp.com.sg<br /> <br />IF former Permanent Secretary Ngiam Tong Dow had his way, Singapore would think twice before beefing up its population to 6.5 million people.<br /><br />In a candid interview in the People's Action Party's latest Petir newsletter, Mr Ngiam — while stressing that "my role is to give an alternative, not an opposing view, to government policies" — questions the rationale behind the new target. Singapore doesn't need numbers, it needs talent, he said.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Pointing out that managing the population is the main challenge facing Singapore, the 70-year-old said: "If we do it wrongly, it will change our economic and social system."</span><br /><br />Some 40 years ago, while serving on the Economic Development Board (EDB), he and others had studied the question of an "optimum size" for an industrial country.<br /><br />Said Mr Ngiam: "We looked at successful small countries such as Sweden, Norway and Israel. They each had a population of six million. So we said Singapore needed to have six million people."<br /><br />But given the technological advances and rising educational levels, Singapore "no longer needs numbers now but more quality", he added.<br /><br />Mr Ngiam said he was told that the number "was based on Gross Domestic Product growth of six per cent a year".<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">"A back-of-the-envelope calculation would show this comprises a 2-per-cent increase in population and 4-per-cent growth in productivity. But if we can increase our productivity by more than 4 per cent, we can still have 6-per-cent growth, but with fewer people who are highly productive."<br /><br />He stressed the need to appeal to people's hearts. "Otherwise ... Singapore will become just a six-star hotel where guests stay in good times and flee when times are bad. We will never become a nation," he said.</span><br /><br />His vision: Set up a think tank to "think strategically" on top of tactics such as dual-citizenship and a more broadly-defined concept of National Service. "For instance, a foreign Singaporean living overseas should have no voting rights and less national service obligations."<br /><br />The Government could even invite former citizens for "a month-long holiday" to advise policymakers on areas in which they have specialist knowledge. Said Mr Ngiam: "Do you know Chinese Nobel Prize winners are invited to China to teach for three months?"<br /><br />"Our population policy should be more emotional ... You don't say to Singaporeans who are no longer citizens, 'You come back, we have a job for you'. You say, 'What about contributing your knowledge to Singapore? Better still, you want a job, we give you a job'."at82http://www.blogger.com/profile/03261522614627944574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8443268.post-77459267407149982622007-11-09T20:09:00.000+08:002007-11-09T20:27:58.945+08:00Jump in number of new PRs, citizens<a href="http://www.mha.gov.sg/news_details.aspx?nid=1132">Judging from the numbers</a> the percentage of S'porean citizens out of the total population in Singapore is definitely below 70% now. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.straitstimes.com/Free/Story/STIStory_174948.html">Jump in number of new PRs, citizens</a><br />Record number likely this year; upswing will help tackle population problem<br />By Li Xueying<br /><br />THE number of foreigners becoming either Singapore citizens or permanent residents will likely hit a new record this year.<br /><br />And the upswing will go some way in tackling Singapore's population problem, a key long-term challenge.<br /><br />About 7,300 Singapore citizenships were granted in the first half of this year, Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng told The Straits Times.<br /><br />If the trend continues, Singapore will have 14,600 new citizens this year.<br /><br />The figure is about 10 per cent higher than the record 13,200 citizenships granted last year. In 2005, 12,900 citizenships were given.<br /><br />These numbers are a big jump from the typical tally of 8,000 becoming citizens annually in the previous four years.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">More foreigners are also seeking the benefits of permanent residence. Some 46,900 of them were granted PR status in the first nine months of this year, compared to 57,300 for all of last year.</span><br /><br />With falling birth rates and an ageing population, Singapore has been trying to attract foreigners to settle here.<br /><br />As chairman of the National Population Committee, Mr Wong has been tasked with tackling the problem.<br /><br />He said the new immigrants hail predominantly from South-east Asia, as well as South and East Asia, an 'understandable' pattern as they tend to share similar linguistic and cultural backgrounds with Singaporeans.<br /><br />One such new citizen is former Chinese national Wang Jie, 43, who took up citizenship this year, together with her university lecturer husband and their 17-year-old son.<br /><br />The main draw for them: Singapore's education system.<br /><br />'My son's studies have improved since we came here because the teachers are much better,' said Madam Wang.<br /><br />She is also getting a second wind in her career as a Chinese language tutor thanks to strong demand. 'I even have plans to open my own tuition centre,' she said.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">The new citizens and PRs add to a pool of Singapore residents whose number stands at 3.68 million as of June. This is out of a total population of 4.68 million.<br /></span><br />The remaining one million foreigners include 756,000 who are working. There are 110,000 here on an Employment Pass or S-Pass, and 646,000 on Work Permits.<br /><br />While the newcomers add to the much-needed population numbers, social stresses have also resulted.<br /><br />For instance, property agents have noted the formation of ethnic enclaves in certain housing estates. Singaporeans have also complained about competition for jobs.<br /><br />But Mr Wong said Singaporeans should recognise that immigrants are part of a diverse workforce that will enhance Singapore's standing in the global economy.<br /><br />'Our challenge is not the number of jobs available; it is that we do not have enough people to match the current rate of job creation,' he added, pointing to full employment numbers here.<br /><br />On whether more could be done to inculcate in foreigners the ways of Singapore, he said he believed Singaporeans generally welcomed them. 'While there is no need to pretend that there are no differences between new immigrants and native Singaporeans, we should recognise that and accept that integration takes time and effort.'<br /><br />He cited ongoing outreach efforts by schools, grassroots groups and expatriate bodies but added that there was also 'only so much the Government can do on its own'.<br /><br />'Integration is a dynamic process that requires sustained efforts across all segments of society,' he said.<br /><br />Sociologist Tan Ern Ser is sanguine about the challenges of integration. 'My sense is there is already a process of self-selection in that only those who could adapt and integrate would choose to settle down in Singapore.'at82http://www.blogger.com/profile/03261522614627944574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8443268.post-75347069563412800442007-11-04T16:01:00.000+08:002007-11-04T17:19:48.411+08:00WP 50th Anniversary Dinner SpeechesMr Low WP 50th Anniversary Dinner Speech - Chinese<br /><br /><object width="400" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/bbCRQWM7Rcc&rel=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/bbCRQWM7Rcc&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="400" height="355"></embed></object><br /><br /><br />Mr Low WP 50th Anniversary Dinner Speech - English<br /><br /><object width="400" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Tsd6XA8j0qk&rel=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Tsd6XA8j0qk&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="400" height="355"></embed></object><br /><br /><br />Ms Lim WP 50th Anniversary Dinner Speech<br /><br /><object width="400" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/3g0MjwicJcM&rel=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/3g0MjwicJcM&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="400" height="355"></embed></object><br /><br /><br />WP 50th Anniversary Dinner<br /><br /><object width="400" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/9JNRv5T-i74&rel=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/9JNRv5T-i74&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="400" height="355"></embed></object>at82http://www.blogger.com/profile/03261522614627944574noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8443268.post-22957804963497143742007-11-01T09:36:00.000+08:002007-11-01T09:52:46.139+08:00工人党50周年庆专访<a href="http://www.zaobao.com/sp/sp071031_524.html">工人党创党50周年</a><br /><br />周柏荣(摄)<br /><br />刘程强:苦干和实干更重要<br /><br />专业人才并非最佳从政人才<br /><br /> 专业人才并非最佳的从政人才,而人数的多寡,也不是决定一个政党能否壮大的关键因素。工人党注重的是责任感、使命感和党员的参与。<br /><br /> 工人党秘书长刘程强(51岁)认为从政讲求的是苦干和实干,因此心态很重要。<br /><br /> “我要做的一个基本判断是:专才肯定就是很好的政治人才吗?我们的衡量标准是这些要来参政的人,一是否有诚意;二是否肯做;三是思想是不是理智,能够中肯地看待问题,能够看到全局,看到国家的利益。”<br /><br /> 他透露工人党现有的新党员平均年龄约30岁,因此是支年轻的团队。他们来自不同阶层,都有诚意,肯苦干,个人素质和教育水平相当不错,<br /><br /> “工人党的原则是只要行动党政府的政策同人民的利益没有冲突,而我们也觉得有关的政策对国家的长远发展是有利的,都不会反对。例如我们公开支持政府所宣布的就业入息补助计划,就是一个例子。”<br /><br /> 同时,他也认为当反对党提出反对执政党的意见时,并不意味着它们也必须同时提出替代方案。<br /><br /> “基本上,如果我们能够提出解决方案,那是最好的。但是这谈何容易。行动党有全体公务员,包括顶尖的奖学金得主替它出谋划策,我们没有。我们的资源有限。”<br /><br /> 他说:“我认为提出替代政策也应该是政府的工作。他们应该提出不同的替代政策让人民选择,而不是只有一个。一个民主政府,基本上都会提供替代的选择。”<br /><br /> 刘程强指出,工人党的目标是希望成为一个受人尊重和有信誉的政党。<br /><br /> “我们眼前的目标是拓展党务,希望能够争取更多选民的支持,能在选举时取得突破,尤其是在集选区方面的突破。同时,也希望工人党能在新加坡的民主进程方面扮演一定的角色,使到新加坡的民主更具竞争性。”<br /><br /> 他说,成为替代政府是每个政党的目标,但在他担任秘书长任内,工人党不会去追求实现这个目标。<br /><br /> “我不认为工人党在近期内能达到挑战人民行动党政府的水准,而成为替代政府是个很长远的目标。每个政党都希望成为替代政党,最终争取执政,但这对我来讲,还很遥远,必须一步一步去做。(估计需要多久?)我看20年吧。”<br /><br /> 他也提到实现成为替代政府的先决条件是工人党必须能顺利发展起来,没有其他的突变干扰。<br /><br /> “要知道,反对党政治的突变性是很大的。”<br /><br /> 在现阶段,他形容工人党是在蜕变之中。<br /><br /> “自从2001年大选之后,人们对工人党的印象同以往已有很大的不同,我们基本上成功更新了领导层,党内也呈现欣欣向荣的气象。”<br /><br /> 他提到很多选民都对工人党有所期待,希望它能扮演有效制衡政府的角色。这令他和党员感到高兴,同时也感受到压力。他坦言现在是工人党的扎根期,往后需要全党上下加紧努力,使它快速壮大起来。<br /><br /> 他表示对工人党现有的发展感到满意,也注意到加入的新人的态度都很积极,肯在基层苦干,这一点令他感到鼓舞。现在一部分工人党员还自发参与志愿工作,帮忙社会较不幸的一群,而他个人也非常鼓励他们这么做。<br /><br /> “一个政党必须扎根于社会,人民参政其实是推动整个社会向上发展的动力。从亲身参与社会工作,你才真正了解一些下层民众和不幸的一群的情况,知道他们的需要。同时,这也可以强化自己对政治的责任感。”<br /><br /> 刘程强说:“政治不是长篇大论的政策演讲和大谈特谈政治理想,真正的政治需要落实于人民的生活,而一个政策的错误、一个国家方向的乖离正道,后果是人民的生活受到影响,这是个很大的责任。不是说了就算了的。”<br /><br /> 刘程强是在1981年加入工人党,跟随当时的秘书长惹耶勒南到选区走动,开始基层工作。1988年初试啼声,到中峇鲁集选区竞选,结果落选。但是他并不气馁,在1991年转战后港区,以52.8%得票率击败原议员陈原生,过后在1997年、2001年和2006年三度蝉联。尤其是在去年大选,获得约 62.7%得票率,是历年来最佳表现。<br /><br /> 他自出道以来,给人的印象有如“潮州怒汉”,有话直说,敢怒敢言。在这次访谈中,记者却发现他性情温和、想法理智,并且深思熟虑。他在政治上不仅成熟了,也展现了身为一名反对党领袖应有的务实态度和信心。<br /><br /> 他在2001年当选秘书长。工人党在他掌舵之下,领导层顺利更新,六年多来变化很大。老一辈要员愿让位给年轻人,以党的前途和团结为先,这一点也令党内外人士对这个老牌政党刮目相看。<br /><br />工人党“坚持走自己的路”<br /><br /> 工人党作为第一大反对党,向来给人“独来独往”的印象。它往后也会这么“独来独往”吗。<br /><br /> 刘程强说:“工人党从1957年存在到今天,是很不容易的,所以它本身也形成了自己的一股意志力,即使在党的生存受到威胁时,工人党都没有选择同其他政党合并求存。”<br /><br /> 他认为这就是工人党50年来所建立起来的文化,也是党内全体上下所凝聚起来的一股精神和意志力,因此是它的一大特色。<br /><br /> “我们的党员对党有股强烈的认同感,工人党多年的发展和渊源,传到今天变成了党的一种传统,也成了工人党的一种精神。”<br /><br /> 他表示这样的传统,即使在去年大选后有百多名新党员加入,也没出现改变。不过,他深信工人党坚持独立和走自己的路的特性,不会阻碍它的壮大。<br /><br /> “壮大不等于需要跟其他政党合并,党的精神并没有排他性,我们欢迎任何人加入工人党,而包容是工人党的价值观之一。所以我们欢迎不同思维、不同看法的人加入。”<br /><br /> 刘程强说,工人党目前同各政党的关系良好,向来也愿意同任何政党合作,只要能促进新加坡的民主进程,使国家更有保障,就不会排除合作的可能性。<br /><br /> 记者问他,工人党身为第一大反对党,今后将如何扮演和发挥领导或推动者的角色,协助壮大反对党的声势?他答说个别政党都有它们要走的路线,也有各自的领导方式和目标,他因此尊重各党的发展方式。<br /><br /> “至于工人党,虽然实力加强不少,但并不值得我们自我恭贺,因为比起行动党,我们的实力还很薄弱。论后勤及所能动员的人手方面,还是微不足道的。”<br /><br /> 对反对党阵营多年来处于积弱的状态,刘程强也有不少的感触。<br /><br /> 他说:“新加坡的选民都希望国家能走向世界级的民主,好像其他民主国家一样,有个制衡的制度,在竞选时也有所选择。但是很多时候,我想很多人都在心痛,因为恨子不成材,眼见反对党没有办法好好的建立起声望,能够取信于民,能够为新加坡的民主进程扮演一定的角色,以此作出贡献。”<br /><br />刘程强与工人党的未来动向<br /><br />大选是否走出后港?<br /><br /> “哈哈,大选到了你就知道了。我曾经公开表示过,我并不排除参加集选区竞选的可能性,不过是在什么时候?会不会在下届大选?到时就有揭晓,不必急着说。你(指记者)希望看到这样的局面吗?”<br /><br /> 记者问:“如果有人走出来,至少说明反对党对此是认真的。你在后港16年,詹时中在波东巴西23年了,如果资深的反对党议员讲了,却没人走出来,选民会以为你们只是说说而已。当然风险代价很高,单选区比较容易管理,走出去的风险很大,集选区竞选失败了,可能整个都没有了。你会想要走出去吗?”<br /><br /> 刘程强答:“时间到了,你就知道了。我不是卖关子,时间到了,你就知道了嘛。”<br /><br />谁是工人党接班人?<br /><br /> “工人党今年庆祝创党50周年,希望在60年党庆的时候,会有新的秘书长。”<br /><br /> 记者问:“你心目中的接班人是谁?”<br /><br /> 刘程强答:“不只是我心目中的接班人,这名接班人还必须受到党内同志的认可和支持。不是我认可就可以了。”<br /><br /> 记者问:“现任党主席林瑞莲是适合的人选吗?”<br /><br /> 他答说:“那要由党里面的同志们决定,不是由我来决定。”<br /><br />没有邀行动党出席党庆晚宴<br /><br /> 工人党庆祝成立50周年的晚宴,广邀各政党派代表出席,包括前秘书长惹耶勒南。不过,它这次却没有邀请人民行动党派人出席。<br /><br /> 对此,刘程强说:“上次庆祝40周年党庆的时候,我们有邀请行动党派人出席,不过他们回复说谢谢邀请,但无法出席。所以,我觉得还是不要为难人家,今年就没有发出邀请。”<br /><br /> 至于其他各政党,他说都有受邀。<br /><br />出版50周年纪念特刊<br /><br /> 工人党将在11月3日为创党50周年举办盛大晚宴,到时也将出版50周年纪念刊。<br /><br /> 刘程强受访时说:“我们感激过去所有在各方面给予工人党支持的选民,因为有他们的支持,工人党才能够生存到今天。这次配合党庆出版50周年特刊的原因,也就是要让人们知道工人党的发展历程。”<br /><br /> 他说,50年的历史,中间的起起落落、波涛汹涌,不是三言两语能够说得清楚的。<br /><br /> “我们希望通过发售特刊,让关心我们的支持者了解工人党,也希望这份特刊能够为新加坡政治史做点滴的记录。”<br /><br /> 这本纪念特刊共印1000本,将在党庆晚宴上发售,每本售价14元。<br /><br /> 据刘程强透露,党史的研究和资料搜集,全交给专人处理,但主要的编务工作是由党内要员负责,包括定稿部分。特刊主要谈历届大选,并记录过去工人党的参选、参政的过程和党内的风波。<br /><br />工人党的领导制度<br /><br /> “我们采取集体领导制,比如党内分别成立不同地区的委员会,有个别的主席,他们都有领导权。又比如青年团团长,他也有一定的领导权力。自从当上秘书长后,我的角色从来没有变过,我认为我的任务是推动整个党的发展,我应该扮演所谓的催化剂角色。”<br /><br />加入反对党要有怎样的态度<br /><br /> “从政是个人的意愿,是个人的一种选择。过去,从政当然有很大的压迫感和一些恐惧吧,因为整个政治文化跟今天很不一样。我们现在的政治文化还开放了不少吧,也好了不少。有的话,可能是心理的问题吧。我认为真正要从政的人,不会因为恐惧而却步,最重要的是你是否有决心、有意愿,愿意牺牲个人时间。从政很多时候是吃力不讨好的工作,你面向大众,没有办法让每个人满意,只能尽你所能、问心无愧,做自己该做的事。”<br /><br />华文华语应普及化<br /><br />也要照顾到深度<br /><br /> 刘程强出身华校,认为华文华语应该普及化,但也要照顾到语文深度的问题。<br /><br /> “我觉得在语文教育方面还必须多加注意。在开始的阶段,必须让它普遍化,让大家都能接受。所以,当局对华文的程度要求不高,使华语能普及化,能够至少扎一点根,我想这个政策没有错,但不能让这个政策如此长期下去。”<br /><br /> 他认为接下来一定要做到深化华文的程度,这样才能真正的扎根,保留华人的传统。<br /><br /> “要不然华语会变成另一种方言,你会讲,却不会阅读,而这个‘方言’不久后也会消失,因为你没有文化的根基,只有语,没有文。”<br /><br /> 所以,他说:“我们必须保留华人文化的传统和根。现在的情况是很多人也许连华文都不懂,如果这样长久下去,真的会给人讲中,印证新加坡人是banana,外面虽是黄的,里面却是白的,因为已经失去文化的传统。这是未来的隐忧。”<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.zaobao.com/sp/sp071031_525.html">工人党创党50周年 世界级的国家 不一定就有世界级政府</a><br /><br />蔡添成 游润恬<br /><br /> 1997年的亚洲金融风暴,让新加坡经历了好几个艰难的年头。类似的危机是否会重演,是工人党秘书长刘程强所担心的问题。<br /><br /> 他说:“我对新加坡的经济发展最感到担忧的是再次发生如1997年的亚洲金融危机。我认为下一次金融危机可能发生在中国,如果蔓延开来的话,会影响全球经济,新加坡将受到打击。”<br /><br /> 他如此担心,是因为看到目前金融业对经济的影响很大。<br /><br /> “新加坡非常注重金融业的发展,而中国现在是亚洲经济的龙头,世界各国都看好它,把资金投在那里。不要忘记,中国在金融和银行业方面的机制还不是很完善,而现在正开放市场,如果有问题发生了,对我们一定会有影响。”<br /><br /> 不过,他也认为新加坡的经济基础稳固,经济也走向多元化,已相当成功地分散了经济风险,不像以前过于注重制造业,当时只要相关的领域出问题,新加坡就立刻会受影响。”<br /><br /> 他觉得新加坡要在长远的将来继续保持竞争力,就需要发展新的具高增长潜能的工业,并在这些领域居于领先地位。<br /><br /> “比如瑞典的造船业、军事工业和电信业,如手机都是世界著名的,只有这样,我们的经济才有保障。”<br /><br /> 那新加坡距离这个水平还有多远呢?刘程强回答说:“我们还差得很远。我看到政府已在慢慢扩展经济的范围,加强科研的起步发展,现在包括药剂业和生命科学还只是起步阶段。我们其实可以考虑朝机器人工业、能源工业,甚至核能工业进军。”<br /><br /> 基本上,他对新加坡的前途是乐观的。<br /><br /> “我觉得新加坡能发展成一个世界级的国家,不止是在经济上,在政治和社会制度方面,我们都有这样的基础和条件。只是说我们该如何进一步加强,让每个新加坡人都同心协力地朝向这个目标前进。”<br /><br /> 他希望看到的世界级政府,是一个开放、包容,不以经济挂帅,而是能从经济原则和角度看政策,也能从感性方面看国家的发展。<br /><br /> 记者问他既然认为新加坡可成为世界级国家,却又认为新加坡没有出现世界级的政府,两者似乎自相矛盾,因为没有世界级政府,如何打造出世界级的国家?<br /><br /> 对此,他解释说:“世界级的国家不一定就会有世界级的政府,而自认为有世界级政府的国家,也不一定就是世界级的国家。一旦自称是世界级的政府出了问题,一国就可以迅速沦为无等级的国家。”<br /><br /> 刘程强对新加坡虽已独立42年,但国人的国家认同感还不深这一点也感到担心,认为这同政府的政策有很大的关系。<br /><br /> “比如最近辩论公积金问题时,就有人说‘倒不如把公积金拿出来,移民算了’。国家认同感是一种感觉,也就是说无论情况怎样,我生于斯、死于斯。我觉得新加坡还没有达到这样的一种感性,这同政府向来的政策有关。国民要培养对国家的归属感,政府的政策是一个关键性的因素。”<br /><br /> 他表示自己曾同一些外国人交谈,这些人虽然在外国工作,但都会选择回返祖国。因为他们知道回国有政府照顾,个人福利有保障,但新加坡却不是如此。<br /><br /> “这里是自己照顾自己,你死你的事,很多新加坡人就有这样的感觉。我可以理解行动党把所谓福利制度和福利国视为洪水猛兽,但我们的政策里面还是应该多注入一些人情味和体谅,使人民有归属感。这是我们可以改变的地方。”<br /><br /> 他继续说:“要不然,人们会说,a city of opportunity,有机会嘛,没机会我就不要留在这里啦。这样,新加坡还能够维持100年吗?凭这样的一种心态、一种政策的延伸,你还能继续吸引外来移民吗?按现在的这种政策的功利心态走下去,我不晓得以后会变成什么样子。”<br /><br />支持反恐政策但不愿政府权力过度扩张<br /><br /> 刘程强表示支持新加坡的国防与反恐政策,但不愿意看到政府因此而权力过度扩张。<br /><br /> 工人党在其政治纲领中说,建立国防力量和展开全面防卫是有必要的,也是保障国家安全的重要举措。他们因此支持反恐,建议政府应推行五年预算制,让武装部队能进行长期的发展策划,不过却强调在不危及国防安全的情况下,所有的国防开支都应保持透明度。<br /><br /> 他受访时说:“为了国家安全,当然需要反恐,但也不能为了反恐,而使政府拥有太大的权力。”<br /><br /> 例如最近在国会获得通过,已成为法令的两项修正法案,就引起他的关注。一是修正后的新加坡武装部队法令,允许国防部长授权执行安全任务的武装部队人员在任何武装部队设施附近的范围内行使执法权,拥有逮捕、搜寻、没收和进行交通管制的权力,包括有权截停、扣押或搜寻可疑的船只和飞机,并控制航行。不过,他们逮捕可疑分子之后,职责就算完成,交由警方接手处理对嫌犯的调查和提控程序。<br /><br /> 工人党主席、非选区议员林瑞莲当时在国会上表达了她担心法案赋予国防部长太大的权力,不仅有违宪法,也可能导致军人政变的发生。<br /><br /> 另一是今年八月在国会三读通过的私人保安业法令。它不但规定私家侦探和保安人员必须向警方申请执业执照,才能正式执业,也规定私家侦探在对政治人物、外国使节人员及面对安全威胁的场所展开任何监视行动之前,必须获得警方的批准。<br /><br /> 副总理兼内政部长黄根成当时在国会上指出,国内外的经验都显示保安人员在防范恐怖袭击和加强社会安全方面,扮演着重要的角色,政府也有必要制订完善的私人保安业管理架构,以确保这个行业的水平和素质,让它在协助反恐方面,发挥更大作用。<br /><br /> 刘程强却表示法令赋予部长太大的权力,难保不会出问题。<br /><br /> “如果落在居心不良的人手中,就有可能被滥用。虽然我们要反恐,但同时也应考虑到基本的民权不能被剥夺。你必须有一些防御性的条例来制止这种情况发生。”<br /><br />“这次的公积金改革对年长国人不公平”<br /><br /> 刘程强反对政府延迟提取公积金最低存款年龄,因为这让年长国人没有选择的余地,只有继续工作,这对他们不公平。<br /><br /> 他今年九月在国会上针对公积金改革课题发言时指出,工人党支持政府逐步提高退休年龄,却认为退休年龄和提取公积金最低存款的年龄必须“脱钩”,因此建议政府设立一个长寿基金,每个月发放生活费给年满85岁,生活有困难的老年人,以让这些长寿的国人能够安享晚年。<br /><br /> 他受访时认为这次的公积金改革,对国人很不公平。<br /><br /> “提取公积金最低存款的年龄一调高,很多人会觉得很没有意思。一些人甚至动了移民的念头,反正只要我选择移民,就可以早点把公积金拿出来。如果我整天没有办法把公积金拿出来,退休也退休得很辛苦,虽然寿命长,但总不能这样一直拼下去嘛。”<br /><br /> 他说:“我想62岁应该是让国人可以决定到底要不要退休的年龄。不然,政府整天改来改去,哪一天又可能改到70岁还是更高。这样下去,人们是没有安全感的。”<br /><br /> 他认为延长退休年龄没有问题,甚至可以定在80岁,但一定要让人们有生活的条件。<br /><br /> “政府这样做,好比在逼人家做工。而且你不要忘记,年纪大了,不是这么容易找到工作的。最近就有个选民来找我,他今年约60岁,要做工却找不到工作。他还有公积金,却担心公积金用完之后该怎么办。”<br /><br /> 记者问他:“政府目前正大力推动让年长工人重新受雇,你认为办得到吗?”<br /><br /> 他答说:“这要看经济情况,不是看政府。如果经济不好,你去办给我看啦。(你认为接下来经济会好吗?)我希望会好,不好就jiat lat(吃力)了。”<br /><br />教育制度已有很大改变<br /><br /> 刘程强曾在1982年至1986年于培道中学教书,虽然早就不执教鞭了,但他对教育课题还是很关心。<br /><br /> 他觉得我国的教育制度经过改革之后,虽已进步了许多,却还是大有改善的余地。因为现有的制度还是偏重考试和成绩,学生的课业压力还是很大。<br /><br /> 记者问他现有的教育制度具有怎样的特征?他答说:“五花八门。我觉得不是一件坏事,也就是说学生可以选择自己要走的路。虽然整体上我们还是没有办法跳出框框,还是太过注重考试和成绩。”<br /><br /> 他指出,现在教育部已经改变学校排名的方式和重点,但从教育的角度来看,这种排名制度会造成良性竞争还是恶性竞争,仍具有争议。<br /><br /> “它会不会造成一些学校在竞争之下变成失去焦点,这可就见仁见智了。我觉得应该废除排名制度,因为坏处多过好处。”<br /><br /> 回顾当年当教师和现在作为教育体系以外的旁观者来比较,他感觉到整个教育制度已有很大的改变。<br /><br /> “以前的制度非常有约束性,还有分流,现在不一定。以前从理工学院不能进入大学,现在从工艺教育学院也可以进入大学。这是个好的改变。学生能够通过不同的途径去继续升学,因此有所选择。”<br /><br /> 他说,时代已经改变,一定要给学生另一次机会。<br /><br /> “如果他这次不行的话,你不能够以他一次的考试定终身。考试成绩只代表一个人能力的一部分,并不代表一个人。”<br /><br /> 他说:“我以前教过的学生,他们现在的成就不会输给聪明的学生,甚至比他们还好。可能在学术上没有成就,但在生意上却做得不错啊。你说他们笨?你说他们是slow learner?过去的教育制度‘牺牲’了很多人,我们不应走回老路。”<br /><br />“公共住屋政策有两大问题”<br /><br /> 刘程强关注公共住屋价格上涨,认为这会造成年轻一代往后负债越来越重。他也从租赁组屋谈到下层民众的生活,认为政府在制定组屋租金方面,可以考虑按个别申请者的收入细分,以尽量减轻低收入者的金钱负担。<br /><br /> 他在访谈中表示深觉公共住屋政策有两大问题,一是把部分新组屋交给私人发展商去兴建,这样组屋的价格肯定节节上升,年轻人的负债会越来越重。如果再有一次类似九七的金融危机,问题就大了。<br /><br /> 他也担心一旦组屋价格上涨,维修费也会水涨船高,市镇理事会的杂费肯定要相应调高。<br /><br /> 最近有私人发展商设计的组屋获奖,是否说明高素质的公共住屋是物有所值的?对此,他说:“这是一种商业化的包装,我们不需要紧跟商业化或世界的潮流,应该比较切合实际,使生活的费用不要太高。如果为了表面的美观,最后变成推高价格,以后年轻一代买屋子,要负债多久?这是个问题。”<br /><br /> 那组屋价格明显上涨,资产增值不是给大家带来好处吗?他倒不这么认为。<br /><br /> “我不希望组屋价格涨得太高,因为这对大家都没有好处。当然,一般人可能觉得很不错啊,我的组屋可以卖五六十万元,但你不要忘了,你只有一间组屋而已,你卖了还不是得买,还不是一样贵?”<br /><br /> 另一个令刘程强关心的是租赁组屋问题。<br /><br /> 按照建屋局现有的规定,租金分成两种,一是按家庭收入不满800元,另一是家庭收入介于801元至1500元之间。以一房式组屋为例,第一次申请租赁组屋者,前者的每月租金是26元至33元,后者是90元至123元,最大差距达90元。对此,他就提到最近的一个个案。<br /><br /> “这名租户的薪水是830元,只是比800元的收入顶限多了区区30元,但租金却上调多了几倍。”<br /><br /> 因此,他认为当局应以渐进的方式去制定租赁组屋的租金,按收入的多少细分,然后逐步调高。<br /><br /> 他也留意到现在房地产市场一片大好,组屋的租金一直在涨。当局规定人们在卖了房地产之后,在两年半内是不能申请租政府组屋的,但是由于有些人在这段期间不容易找地方住,当局应该考虑放宽限制去协助他们。<br /><br /> “如果叫你去租私人住宅,租金很高。我觉得政府可以考虑放宽限制,根据家庭收入的多寡来制定不同数额的租金。”at82http://www.blogger.com/profile/03261522614627944574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8443268.post-45067384776974684572007-10-30T17:28:00.000+08:002007-11-01T11:59:49.340+08:00PM Lee says he want to introduce Means Testing in Singapore hospital!Singapore is all about $.<br /><br /><a href="http://disgruntledsporean.blogspot.com/2007/10/not-treating-burmese-murderous-junta-is.html">Got $ kill people also can get medical care, if no $ then should not "heedlessly prolong" their lives</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://disgruntledsporean.blogspot.com/2007/07/hospital-bills-up-10-to-30-across-all.html">I already had my say on this issue of means testing. </a><br /><br />I OPPOSE means testing for healthcare.<br /><br />I do not want Singapore's medical system turning into an American one. Look <a href="http://tomorrow.sg/archives/2007/09/26/singapore_going_the_sicko_way.html">here</a>, <a href="http://singaporemind.blogspot.com/2007/06/michael-moores-new-documentary-sicko.html">here</a> and <a href="http://singaporemind.blogspot.com/2007/11/now-means-testing-to-help-poor.html">here</a> to see what other Singaporeans have to say about how our healthcare system is being Americanized.<br /><br />I also think that <a href="http://www.mrbrown.com/blog/2007/04/sick_ah_sure_ho.html">PAP are being misleading to Singaporeans during the GE2006</a>.<br /><br />I urge all S'poreans to take watch the video below by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Benn">Tony Benn</a> and register your opinion at the<a href="http://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/index.htm"> CNA's opinion poll</a> (left hand side).<br /><br /><object height="355" width="390"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/J0m9pOuLxeE&rel=1"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/J0m9pOuLxeE&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="355" width="390"></embed></object><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/308449/1/.html">PM Lee suggests hospitals implement means testing to help the poor</a><br />By S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 29 October 2007 1926 hrs<br /><br />SINGAPORE : Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has suggested that hospitals implement means testing to help the lower income group.<br /><br />This is to determine how much patients should be subsidised, based on their means.<br /><br />Mr Lee said this is a sensitive issue and the Health Ministry (MOH) will be consulting unions on this.<br /><br />He was addressing over 1,000 unionists at the NTUC Delegates conference on Monday.<br /><br />Good and affordable healthcare has been one important issue facing Singaporeans.<br /><br />While many initiatives are being rolled out to address this, PM Lee told unionists that subsidies will still be needed to help the lower income.<br /><br />To ensure that subsidies are given only to those who need them most, hospitals may need to implement means testing.<br /><br />PM Lee said: "It's not easy to do; it's a very sensitive (issue) and the Ministry of Health is studying this carefully. The idea is there, but how do we implement it fairly and simply without making hospital care unaffordable for the middle income group.<br /><br />"Once MOH has some firmer ideas, (Health Minister) Khaw Boon Wan and his team will consult the unions on what to do and how to go about doing this."<br /><br />Mr Lee assured the labour movement that the government will always keep in close touch with the unions on all major issues.<br /><br />Going forward, he said the government must now make sure that workers benefit from the growth and vitality of the economy. But the government cannot assume this would come about automatically. And in some cases, some special attention or action would be required.<br /><br />Special attention to the economy has helped it grow 7.6 percent in the first half of the year, according to Mr Lee.<br /><br />For the whole year, growth could possibly hit the top end of the government's forecast of 7-8 percent. But the current turbulence in global financial markets remains a risk factor.<br /><br />Turning to the booming property market in Singapore, both in the prime office space and residential segments, Mr Lee noted that the Urban Redevelopment Authority has withdrawn the Deferred Payment Scheme for property purchases last Friday.<br /><br />"This step will help to dampen excessive speculation and to inject some reality into the market. But more fundamental than the ups and downs of the property cycle, the government is committed to keeping housing affordable for Singaporeans," said the Prime Minister.<br /><br />Mr Lee assured them that the government will continue to monitor trends closely and take further action if necessary. The aim is to make sure that the property market stays in balance over the long term.<br /><br />Mr Lee also stressed that Singapore is successful only after difficult adjustments over the years.<br /><br />He said: "Because we have taken these steps, each one difficult but each one necessary, we have moved forward together. We have stayed competitive, stayed ahead of other countries, our neighbours and we have prospered.<br /><br />"Why have we been able to make these changes? It's not that other countries don't know they are necessary, but we have moved one step faster than others. And one major reason we have been able to do this is because of the strong support of the labour movement."<br /><br />With the government, workers and employers working together as a winning formula, Mr Lee stressed that Singapore must keep on adjusting and adapting in order to stay ahead. - CNA /lsat82http://www.blogger.com/profile/03261522614627944574noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8443268.post-39335504874566473372007-10-30T13:18:00.000+08:002007-10-30T20:21:30.990+08:00民主是一种“秩序”This article is not about Singapore, but it fully rebut people who use Taiwan as an excuse to refute the desirability of Democracy.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.zaobao.com/special/forum/pages5/forum_tw071030a.html">民主是一种“秩序”</a><br /><br /> 周柳明<br /><br /> 今年,世界各地都在为08年这个选举大年热身。而台湾,自然是最热闹的一个地方。<br /><br /> 这个充满话题的小岛,总能在不经意间聚敛起整个中国乃至全球范围的目光。这不仅仅因为它是华人世界唯一成功实践了民主政治的地区,更为重要的是,它将民主政治下的权力博弈和政党纷争肆意地推向了极点。其政治议坛的喧嚣和繁杂,无论是民主国家还是专制政权都为之感叹。<br /><br /> 我们不能否认台湾作为一个实践民主政治桥头堡的伟大意义,它为华人世界追求民主精神和民主制度树立了新的标杆。无论是它在成功导入民主机制后给政治所带来的活力和张力以及对周围地区特别是中国大陆所产生的吸引与诱惑,还是西方社会把它作为亚洲少有的民主试验田而进行的一系列小心呵护和细致观察,它带来的影响已经远远超出了我们华人圈,辐射到了世界上每一个推动民主化进程的国家和地区。<br /><br /> 然而,既然作为民主推行的一种尝试,台湾政治的感性与狂躁也把民主政治所特有的负面性展露得一览无余。政治人物操纵民粹的力量,将选举这一实践民主的工具的功能无限量放大,并将夹杂着诸多个人恩怨的政治情绪成功地移植到激进的支持者身上,利用意识形态的纷争借力打力以求达到自己独特的政治目的。这本身就是民主的硬伤,也成了敌视民主的人攻击和反对民主政治的借口。<br /><br /> 然而这绝非民主之错,更非制度之错。从任何角度去理解,民主本身所带有的负面性相对其进步性而言都是微不足道的。在我看来,民主从本质上来讲乃是一种秩序。任何国家和地区一旦被纳入民主体制的范畴,其政治体系乃至整个社会机制就会在这种秩序下正常且良好的运转。但这只是一种理想化状态,因为并不是所有的地区和文化都能顺理成章地服从这种秩序。当优化的民主体制突然被推及至一个地区,其阶段性的不适必然会通过各种形式表现出来,如对民主的曲解,对权力的滥用,对自由的模糊,对政治的迷恋等等,即一种表象的无序和混乱,一如今日之台湾。<br /><br /> 英美成熟的民主政治如金字塔般稳固地矗立在世界的两端,为无数人所仰视,它是历经了几百年的发展方有今日之成果。这种完善且成熟化的体制能把民主的秩序完全彻底地表达,无论是本质还是表象都是一种井然的秩序,一种“有序中的有序”。民众的理性和冷静,政客的良知和责任,权力的制约和平衡,对立中的妥协,沟通中的协商,少数服从多数的原则,多数尊重少数的姿态等,这应该是民主发展的方向。但这一过程尚需两个条件:一是时间的积累;二是依靠自身的张力不断进行的自我调整。<br /><br /> 台湾民主制度的真正引入不过十余年的时间,其对民主概念的接受和对民主制度的实践还远远不成熟,因此在表象上的无序和混论也就在意料之中。这不能被看作是民主失败的特例,更不能成为反对民主的借口和托词。正如前文所提到的,民主本质上是一种秩序,只是台湾现有的民主发展程度不能像英美体制那般将这种秩序完全彻底地表达,它在表象上是一种“无序和混论”。但是,这种“无序和混乱”是建立在“有序”的基础之上的,是一种“无序中的有序”。民主体制的导入和确立已经确保这种秩序的存在并将日渐成为台湾民主政治的主导。<br /><br /> 第一,选举这一法制化的工具,已经成为了全社会默认的准则。<br /><br /> 选举是民主社会一个最重要的特征,是实践民主最具体、最有效的形式。台湾是将选举这一工具运用得最彻底的地区之一,大大小小的选举不仅组合了各级的政治人物,更排列了社会的政治秩序。纵然选举的过程并不那么干净和自然,但选举这一基本模式已经没有人能够撼动。<br /><br /> 第二,司法权的相对独立,与行政权、立法权的制约和平衡依然存在。<br /><br /> 司法权在民主制度中扮演的是一个极其重要的角色。台湾政坛朝野的二元对立让本应独立于立法行政之外的司法在夹缝中遭到了诸多的非议。其实,在朝野恶斗政党纷争的大环境下,台湾的司法依旧保持了相对的独立性,只是这种独立性往往因为朝野双方的无端指责而被曲解。无论是总统因机要案险被起诉,还是国民党前主席马英九因特别费被法院判决无罪,司法的步伐并没有跟在当权者的背后亦步亦趋。当然,我们不敢奢求司法绝对的公正和公平,但是司法界所秉持的“不分颜色,只看案情”的立场还是让人对司法保留了很多的希望。<br /><br /> 第三,媒介高举“新闻自由”的旗帜,保持了高度的公信力。<br /><br /> “新闻自由”是民主社会的一个重要特征,更是“第四权力”所能够发挥最大监督作用的保障。台湾的媒体不仅数量庞多,且相对较独立,能够针对热点和焦点事件迅速作出反映,报道及时,评论大胆,特别是独立于政党派别之外的部分政治评论员更是深受民众的喜爱。台湾政坛的很多重大事件(比如轰动一时的赵建铭股票内线交易案)都是经过媒体的曝光才浮出水面的,媒体的独立和舆论的民主给了当权者莫大的压力。在台湾,媒体的力量看似社会秩序的“破坏者”,实质上是民主秩序的重建者和维护者。<br /><br /> 第四,军队在形式上的中立和对政治的不介入态度。<br /><br /> 军方不介入政治,实现军队国家化是民主制度落实的前提之一。台湾的军方在选举中的中立姿态及其对选举结果的不干涉,有效地维持和保护了来之不易的民主秩序,这是民主迈向成熟和完善的必经阶段。<br /><br /> 第五,理性的中间选民将成为决定选举结果的重要力量。<br /><br /> 按照台湾目前的选民结构分布,蓝绿的基本盘各约为选民总数的三分之一,双方力量势均力敌。而决定选举结果的就是这些没有明显政治偏向色彩的约占总数三分之一的中间选民。他们是有文化、有独立判断能力的一类人,对政坛现状日趋厌恶和不满。因此,他们将抛开传统的意识形态和政治偏好,依靠自己的思考和判断来决定自己的选择。台湾的选举将会越来越倚重理性的中间选民的投票,他们将在不知不觉中改变着这种无序的状态,用温和而理性的力量慢慢融解台北政坛的恶斗和纷争。at82http://www.blogger.com/profile/03261522614627944574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8443268.post-41458882547736596842007-10-06T01:32:00.000+08:002007-10-06T19:53:27.432+08:00Not treating Burmese murderous Junta is against Hippocratic Oath, but making sick S'poreans accept earlier death due to cost issues is not!Wow! Our PM Lee had came up with a ingenious argument to defend the govt on why they should let the Burmese Junta to come to Singapore for medical treatment.<br /><br />According to PM Lee, it is against the Hippocratic Oath to bar the murderous generals from seeking medical treatment in Singapore!<br /><br />Here is what is <a href="http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/304073/1/.html">reported by CNA</a>:<br /><span><blockquote> Mr Lee also responded to a question on whether Singapore should prevent members of the Myanmar government from coming to Singapore for medical treatment.<br /><br />He said: "I think we have to decide whether we're trying to influence the policy of a government or whether you want to do petty indignities to individuals, which is really against human nature.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">"Somebody who is sick, he wants to come to Singapore, he needs treatment and you're telling me that I shouldn't treat him because he is not a good man? It goes against the Hippocratic oath of doctors."</span> </blockquote></span>How noble PM Lee is!<br /><br />If that is the case <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osama_bin_Laden">Osama Bin Laden</a> should come to Singapore for medical treatment if he is sick, after all our govt already said that it is against the Hippocratic Oath if we don't treat him!<br /><br />But wait... What should I make of <a href="https://app-pac.mica.gov.sg/data/vddp/embargo/8482152.htm">this</a> statement by PM Lee?<br /><blockquote>The practice of medicine has its limits. It takes wisdom to know these limits and the true needs of the dying. <span style="font-weight: bold;">H</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">eedless pursuit of “pure” medicine to prolong life, without regard to cost or the wishes of the patients, cannot be sustained in the long term, not even in the wealthiest countries.</span> This is a serious problem plaguing the US healthcare system today. Alas fixing it is politically difficult. <span style="font-weight: bold;">We must not get into such a situation.</span></blockquote>PM Lee is telling the doctors that S'pore doctors that they <span style="font-weight: bold;">should NOT heedlessly prolong life</span> of Singaporeans "<span style="font-weight: bold;">without regard to cost</span>"!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Is PM Lee saying that Singaporean patients should NOT be treated when it is too costly to keep them alive?</span><br /><br />Well, at least one of his minister had made his position clear.<br /><blockquote>I regret making the decision because, in the end, the baby continued to be in intensive care, and KKH now runs up a total bill of more than $300,000</blockquote><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="postbody">- <a href="http://redbeanforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=1014&sid=4c171c2fb6c53aa4e5bb7cedae38f355">Lim Hng Kiang, regretting the decision to save a baby's life because KKH ran up a $300,000 bill </a></span><br /></div><br />How is that for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippocratic_Oath">Hippocratic Oath</a>!<br /><br />Perhaps to PM Lee this Oath only applies to the rich people, evil or not, who can afford the medical treatment.<br /><br />Singaporean patients who have problem paying for their medical bill will just have to accept their fate.<br /><br />No wonder so many Singaporeans say that one "can die but cannot be sick in Singapore."<br /><br />Uniquely Singapore indeed.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/304073/1/.html">Sanctions against Myanmar will be counter-productive: PM Lee</a><br /><span class="update">By Wong Siew Ying, Channel NewsAsia | </span> <span class="update">Posted: 05 October 2007 2045 hrs</span><br /><blockquote>SINGAPORE: Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has said that sanctions against Myanmar will be counter-productive.<br /><br />He also stressed that ASEAN alone cannot solve the problem in Myanmar, and called on the international community to weigh in as well.<br /><br />Mr Lee said this in an interview with the CNN, which was aired on Friday evening.<br /><br />He was responding to the presenter who asked if ASEAN could do more besides issuing strong statements against the unrest in Myanmar.<br /><br />ASEAN has to take a clear stand on Myanmar because what happens there affects the group's reputation, said PM Lee.<br /><br />What ASEAN wishes to see is developments that will lead progressively to a Myanmar government that has more legitimacy at home and greater acceptance internationally, added Mr Lee.<br /><br />But ASEAN, he stressed, does not have the leverage to solve the problems in Myanmar.<br /><br />Mr Lee also explained why economic sanctions against the military-ruled country may not be productive.<br /><br />He said: "First of all, this is a country which wants to isolate itself from the world, so they are not afraid of you cutting them off.<br /><br />"Secondly, if you want to have sanctions, it cannot just be Singapore or even ASEAN, but all of the countries in the world have to do that, and that includes the Western countries, investors in Myanmar and its neighbours like China with big stake in Myanmar.<br /><br />"And thirdly, if you do have sanction and it worked, I think the people who will be hurt by the sanctions will not be the regime or the SPDC (State Peace and Development Council), the government, but the people of Myanmar, so it will be counter productive."<br /><br />Mr Lee added that the United Nations will play an important role, and the recent visit to Myanmar by UN special envoy Ibrahim Gambari is the first step to improving the situation there.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Mr Lee also responded to a question on whether Singapore should prevent members of the Myanmar government from coming to Singapore for medical treatment.<br /><br />He said: "I think we have to decide whether we're trying to influence the policy of a government or whether you want to do petty indignities to individuals, which is really against human nature.<br /><br />"Somebody who is sick, he wants to come to Singapore, he needs treatment and you're telling me that I shouldn't treat him because he is not a good man? It goes against the Hippocratic oath of doctors."</span><br /><br />Separately, Mr Lee spoke on the phone with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday.<br /><br />The UN chief invited Singapore, in its capacity as the current ASEAN chair, to make a statement at a UN Security Council meeting on developments in Myanmar.<br /><br />PM Lee told Mr Ban that he has written to China, India and Japan to work together with ASEAN and the UN to help the parties in Myanmar find a way towards national reconciliation. - CNA/ir</blockquote><a href="https://app-pac.mica.gov.sg/data/vddp/embargo/8482152.htm"><br />ACCEPTANCE SPEECH BY PRIME MINISTER LEE HSIEN LOONG FOR THE CONFERMENT OF HONORARY FELLOWSHIP BY THE ACADEMY OF MEDICINE, 19 JULY 2007, 6.45PM RAFFLES CITY CONVENTION CENTRE</a><br /><blockquote>Professor Ho Lai Yun, Master of Academy of Medicine Singapore,<br /><br />Distinguished guests,<br /><br />Ladies and Gentlemen<br /><br />1. I am honoured to accept the honorary fellowship from the Academy of Medicine. I am also happy to join you tonight for your Golden Jubilee, and for the 41st Singapore-Malaysia Congress of Medicine. I understand that members of the Hong Kong Medical Academy are here as well for the Congress. To all our foreign guests, let me extend a very warm welcome to Singapore.<br /><br />2. Healthcare in Singapore has come a long way since the Academy was founded. Half a century ago, we were struggling to keep malnutrition and infectious diseases under control. Today, Singaporeans enjoy standards of healthcare equal to or exceeding the advanced countries. Internationally, Singapore healthcare stands for quality and ethical practice. The growing numbers of foreign patients who seek advanced medical treatments in Singapore each year is testimony to this.<br /><br />3. We owe this position to past generations of doctors who served with compassion, humility and high ideals. Indeed, Singapore is fortunate to have had a pioneering batch of doctors deeply steeped in the ethics and values of medicine. Professors Ransome, Sheares, Seah Cheng Siang, S S Ratnam – they, together with many others, served selflessly with the single purpose of providing the best possible care for their patients, whether rich or poor. They inspired subsequent generations to aspire to the highest standards of professional excellence.<br /><br />4. We must cherish and build on this precious legacy. This is particularly so because moving forward, our healthcare system faces some daunting challenges.<br /><br />5. One challenge is the rapidly growing demand for healthcare services. Ours is one of the fastest ageing populations in the world. On current demographic trends, the number of Singaporeans aged 65 years and above will double in 15 years. Older people are hospitalised more often, and each time stay in hospital longer on average. Our public hospitals already run at near capacity. The existing infrastructure clearly will be inadequate to meet the needs of this surge in elderly numbers, plus the steady growth of our overall population year by year.<br /><br />6. The Government is investing to expand the capacity of our healthcare system. The Khoo Teck Puat Hospital in Yishun is already under construction, and should be completed by 2010. MOH has begun planning for another hospital in the Western part of Singapore. We will also reserve several sites scattered across the island, so that new hospitals can be built when the population and patient load builds up.<br /><br />7. But building hard infrastructure is the easier part. We also need to train and recruit the people – doctors, nurses, other healthcare workers – to staff the new institutions and make them work. Without them, quality of care will be compromised, and we will fall short of the high standards that Singaporeans have rightly come to expect.<br /><br />8. The numbers involved are large. MOH, for example, projects that we will need to recruit over 2,000 more doctors by 2015. Given our small local talent pool and competing needs from other sectors in the economy, there are limits to how far we can expand the local supply. It will not be a simple matter of just investing more money to train more Singaporeans to become doctors or healthcare workers. We have been raising the intake of medical students each year, but this will not be enough. Increasingly, we will have to recruit medical talent from abroad. We must be open minded in accepting such imported talent, while maintaining medical standards and helping foreign trained doctors to adapt to conditions in Singapore.<br /><br />9. While we will invest more in healthcare, it is even more important to get the economics of healthcare right. Countries all over the world have taken different approaches. Their experience shows that more resources do not necessarily improve healthcare outcomes. The reality is that demand for healthcare is unlimited and has to be rationed. Some countries have gone for free healthcare at point of use, only to face the intractable challenges of meeting insatiable demand and curbing abuse while keeping high standards of healthcare. Problems are compounded as populations age and vast amounts of high-tech resources are marshalled to manage the last few weeks of the terminally ill, delivering poor quality of life to the patients at very high cost to society.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">10. The practice of medicine has its limits. It takes wisdom to know these limits and the true needs of the dying. Heedless pursuit of “pure” medicine to prolong life, without regard to cost or the wishes of the patients, cannot be sustained in the long term, not even in the wealthiest countries. This is a serious problem plaguing the US healthcare system today. Alas fixing it is politically difficult. We must not get into such a situation.</span><br /><br />11. Singapore has opted for pricing and co-payment to bring market forces into play, minimise waste of resources, and incentivise efficient delivery of healthcare. MOH has been pushing for greater transparency, publishing information on bill sizes of hospitals and encouraging hospitals to track and publish clinical quality indicators. This will enable patients to make more informed choices and the market to function better.<br /><br />12. Our system relies on compulsory savings through Medisave and risk-pooling through MediShield, a medical insurance scheme to cover large hospital bills. Medifund provides the final safety net. This approach has helped us avoid the problems experienced elsewhere and contain national healthcare expenditure, yet with very good outcomes. But managing healthcare cost escalation requires continuous effort, particularly with the ageing population. We must keep on identifying better ways to keep Singaporeans healthy and help those with chronic diseases to manage their illness, so as to avoid future complications. We need to maintain our market-based system, while exploring new and creative approaches to improve it.<br /><br />13. This includes exploiting IT to the full. The National Healthcare Group, for example, has introduced tele-radiology at its polyclinics, where x-ray images are sent to Bangalore to be read. As a result, prices have been reduced and turnaround time has been cut dramatically from 2 – 3 days previously to an hour or less. Increased competition has also led to local radiologists charging less for x-rays and reporting the results faster. Patients benefit all round, saving money and time as they no longer need to make return trips for their results.<br /><br />14. We must press on with such initiatives. There are other applications of telemedicine, such as tele-pathology, where technology has advanced to a stage where it makes economic sense and improves the quality of care, while assuring patient safety. Complete computerisation of hospital information systems is an ideal goal which is still some way away. These changes may be unsettling for incumbent practitioners. But the response cannot be to dig-in and resist. Just like in other industries, incumbents must look for new niche areas on the value chain, where our more advanced capabilities and recognised quality standards justify our higher costs.<br /><br />15. Finally, we must not lose sight of the core values which underpin and provide the moral compass for our healthcare community. Senior members of the community must lead by example, teaching and mentoring their younger colleagues. Financial incentives play a role, and successful specialists can do very well, particularly in the private sector. There is nothing wrong in this. But values built up over many years, such as caring and compassionate service to patients and striving for the highest standards of professional excellence, must never be diluted or lost in the midst of change. Senior doctors must pass them on to the younger generation of doctors, so that they will in time produce a new generation like Gordon Ransome, Seah Cheng Siang and the other pioneers. This is perhaps the most fundamental challenge of all for the medical profession.<br /><br />16. The Academy of Medicine is committed to advancing the art and science of medicine in Singapore, and promoting and maintaining the highest professional standards of competence and ethical integrity. It plays a leadership role in keeping the profession true to its mission of providing the highest quality of patient care in Singapore. I am confident that you will draw upon the rich values that have guided your profession through the years, to guide your way forward.<br /><br />17. I congratulate you on the 50th Golden Anniversary of your Academy, and wish all participants of this Congress a fruitful and productive meeting.</blockquote>at82http://www.blogger.com/profile/03261522614627944574noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8443268.post-68861110817880615762007-10-05T05:31:00.000+08:002007-10-05T05:36:23.902+08:00Statistics show annuities' risk-pooling model may disadvantage poor old-old<a href="http://www.todayonline.com/articles/214868.asp"><span class="title">The numbers tell the story</span></a><br /><br /><span><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"><b>Statistics show annuities' risk-pooling model may disadvantage poor old-old</b></span> <div> </div><br />Letter from Dr Vincent Chia Wei Meng <div> </div><br />I refer to the compulsory annuity scheme. I would like to point out that there is good statistical evidence to support a strong correlation between socio-economic status and life expectancy in developed countries. As such, the compulsory annuity scheme should take this fact into consideration.<div style="visibility: hidden;">.</div><span style="font-weight: bold;">It is well-known among sociologists and epidemiologists that social class or socio-economic status is a prominent life expectancy indicator, and is assessed through occupation, income, housing or educational level.</span><div style="visibility: hidden;">.</div>We can begin by looking at epidemiological data from the United States. From the paper published last year by Gopal K Singh and Mohammad Siahpush in the International Journal of Epidemiology, entitled Widening Socioeconomic Inequalities in US Life Expectancy, 1980–2000, it is clear that life expectancy for less-deprived groups is notably higher than that for more-deprived groups.<div style="visibility: hidden;">.</div><span style="font-weight: bold;">An extract states: "Those in less-deprived groups experienced a longer life expectancy at each age than their counterparts in more-deprived groups. Between 1980 and 1982, the overall life expectancy at birth was 2.8 years longer for the least-deprived group than for the most-deprived group (75.8 years versus 73.0). By the 1998 to 2000 period, the absolute difference in life expectancy at birth increased to 4.5 years (79.2 years vs 74.7)."</span><div style="visibility: hidden; font-weight: bold;">.</div>Singh and Siahpush concluded that: "Between 1980 and 2000, those in higher socio-economic groups experienced larger gains in life expectancy than those in more-deprived groups, contributing to the widening gap." <div style="visibility: hidden;">.</div><span style="font-weight: bold;">Thus, there is not only a greater life expectancy for those with a higher socio- economic status but the gap in life expectancy between the higher and lower socio-economic groups is progressively widening.</span><br /><br /></span><span>Not surprisingly, we see a similar trend in the United Kingdom. A paper by its Office for National Statistics (ONS) gives figures on trends in life expectancy by social class in England and Wales between 1972 and 2001. <div style="visibility: hidden;">.</div><span style="font-weight: bold;">The data shows that while life expectancy at birth for both the higher and lower social classes have improved, it is evident that life expectancy at birth for those from a higher social class is significantly better than those from the other end of the spectrum. There is likewise an increasing gap in life expectancy between the two classes.</span><div style="visibility: hidden;">.</div><span style="font-weight: bold;">Apart from life expectancy, it is interesting to note that socio-economic status is an important determinant of disability among older Asians. The effect of socio-economic characteristics is also strongest when predicting perceived health. According to the National University of Singapore's Department of Sociology and the Asia Research Institute, sociologists have discovered that perception of income adequacy is the most important predictor of health.</span><div style="visibility: hidden;">.</div>Closer to home, The Old-Old in Singapore, a paper published by Ang Seow Long and Edmond Lee from the Singapore Department of Statistics, suggests a similar link between socio-economic status and life expectancy. <div style="visibility: hidden;">.</div><span style="font-weight: bold;">The old-old refers to those 85 years and above. If the home of an old-old Singaporean is any indication of his socio-economic status, then it is significant that in 1999, 43.5 per cent of the old-old live in HDB four-room or larger flats. In comparison, 29.1 per cent of old-old Singaporeans live in HDB three-room flats, while the remaining 11 per cent live in HDB one- or two-room flats. </span><div style="visibility: hidden; font-weight: bold;">.</div><span style="font-weight: bold;">In other words, a large proportion of those who live to 85 years and beyond do not live in one- or two-room flats. Close to half of them, in fact, live in four-room or larger flats.</span><div style="visibility: hidden; font-weight: bold;">.</div><span style="font-weight: bold;">If it is true that a majority of the old-old are from higher socio-economic groups, there might be a weakness in the compulsory annuity scheme. As it works on the principle of risk pooling, CPF members who die early may not live to see the benefits of the scheme. In fact, their premiums may go towards paying the annuity payouts of other members.</span> <div style="visibility: hidden;">.</div>We must ensure that lower socio-economic groups are not unduly burdened with the care of old-old from higher socio-economic sectors. Only then can the annuity scheme be of greater aid to those old-old Singaporeans who are truly in need of such payouts.</span>at82http://www.blogger.com/profile/03261522614627944574noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8443268.post-79082575193334347762007-09-30T19:07:00.000+08:002007-09-30T19:23:57.660+08:00S'pore and Burma: Web of cash, power and cronies<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1366/1457812486_bff90f8512.jpg?v=0"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px;" src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1366/1457812486_bff90f8512.jpg?v=0" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br />From The Age.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/web-of-cash-power-and-cronies/2007/09/28/1190486569946.html?page=fullpage"><headline><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span>Web of cash, power and cronies</headline></a> <!--articleTools Top--> <byline><br /><br />Eric Ellis</byline><br /><date>September 29, 2007</date><br /><br />SINGAPORE isn't just skilled at mandatory executions of drug traffickers, running an excellent airport and selling cameras on Orchard Road. It also does a useful trade keeping Burma's military rulers and their cronies afloat. <p>Much attention is placed on China and its coming hosting of the Olympic Games as a diplomatic pressure point on the rampant Burmese junta. But there is a group of government businessmen-technocrats in Singapore who will also be closely monitoring the brutality in Rangoon. And, were they so inclined, their influence could go a long way to limiting the misery being inflicted on Burma's 54 million people.</p> <p>Collectively known as "Singapore Inc", they gather around the $A150 billion state-owned investment house Temasek Holdings, controlled by a member of the ruling Lee family.</p> <p>With an estimated $A3 billion staked in the country (and a more than $20 billion stake in Australia), Singapore Inc companies have been some of the biggest investors in and supporters of Burma's military junta — this while its Government, on the rare times it is asked, suggests a softly-softly diplomatic approach towards the junta.</p> <p>When it comes to Burma, Singapore pockets the high morals it likes to wave at the West elsewhere. Singapore's one-time head of foreign trade once said as his country was building links with Burma in the mid-1990s: "While the other countries are ignoring it, it's a good time for us to go in … you get better deals, and you're more appreciated … Singapore's position is not to judge them and take a judgemental moral high ground."</p> <p>But by providing Burma's pariah junta with the crucial equipment mostly denied by Western sanctions, Singapore has helped keep the junta and its cronies afloat for 20 years, since the last time the generals killed the citizens they are supposed to protect.</p> <p>Withdraw that financial support and Burma's junta would be substantially weakened, perhaps even fail. But after two decades of profitable business with the trigger-happy generals and their cronies, that's about the last thing Singapore is likely to do. There's too much money to be made.</p> <p>Hotels, airlines, military materiel and training, crowd control equipment and sophisticated telecoms-monitoring devices for its secret police — Singapore is manager and supplier to the junta, and the "cronified" economy it controls.</p> <p>It's impossible to spend any time in Burma and not make the junta richer, thanks to Singapore suppliers' contracts with the tourism industry. Singapore's hospitals also keep Burma's leaders alive — 74-year-old junta leader Than Shwe has been getting his intestinal cancer treated in a Singapore government hospital, protected by Singapore security. Singapore's boutiques keep junta wives and families cloaked in Armani, and its banks help launder their money and that of Burma's crony drug lords.</p><div class="pageprint" id="contentSwap2"><a name="contentSwap2"></a> <p>Much of Singapore's activity in Burma has been documented by an analyst working in Prime Minister John Howard's direct chain of command, in the Office of National Assessments. Andrew Selth is recognised as an authority on the Burmese military. Now a research fellow at Queensland's Griffith University, Mr Selth has written extensively on how close Singapore is to the junta.</p> <p>Often writing as "William Ashton" in the authoritative <i>Jane's Intelligence Review,</i> Mr Selth has described in various articles how Singapore has sent the junta guns, rockets, armoured personnel carriers and grenade launchers, some of it trans-shipped from stocks seized by Israel from Palestinians in southern Lebanon.</p> <p>Singaporean companies have provided computers and networking equipment for Burma's defence ministry and army, while upgrading the bunkered junta's ability to network with regional commanders — so crucial as protesting monks take to the streets of 20 Burmese cities, causing major logistical headaches for the Tatmadaw, the Burmese military.</p> <p>"Singapore cares little about human rights, in particular the plight of the ethnic and religious minorities in Burma," Mr Selth writes.</p> <p>"Having developed one of the region's most advanced armed forces and defence industrial support bases, Singapore is in a good position to offer Burma a number of inducements which other ASEAN (Association of South-East Asian Nations) countries would find hard to match."</p> <p>Singapore's Foreign Minister, George Yeo, is the current chairman of ASEAN.</p> <p>Mr Selth says Singapore also provided the equipment for a "cyber war centre" to monitor dissident activity while training Burma's secret police, whose sole job seems to be ensuring pro-democracy groups are crushed.</p> <p>Monitoring dissidents is an area where Singapore has particular expertise. After almost five decades in power, the Lee family-controlled People's Action Party ranks behind only the communists of China, Cuba and North Korea in leadership longevity, skilled in neutralising opposition.</p> <p>"This centre is reported to be closely involved in the monitoring and recording of foreign and domestic telecommunications, including the satellite telephone conversations of Burmese opposition groups," Mr Selth writes.</p> <p>Singapore Government companies, such as leading arms supplier Singapore Technologies, dominate the communications and military sector in Singapore. "It is highly unlikely," Mr Selth writes, "that any of these arms shipments to Burma could have been made without the knowledge and support of the Singapore Government."</p></div><div class="pageprint" id="contentSwap3"><a name="contentSwap3"></a> <p>He notes that Singapore's ambassadors to Burma have included a former senior Singapore armed forces officer, and a past director of Singapore's defence-oriented Joint Intelligence Directorate, people with a military background rather than professional diplomats.</p> <p>He writes that after the 1988 crackdown, when the junta killed 3000 protesters, "the first country to come to the regime's rescue was in fact Singapore".</p> <p>When I interviewed Singapore Technologies chief executive Peter Seah at his office in Singapore, I asked about the scale model of an armoured personnel carrier made by his company on his office table. He said ST sold the vehicles "only to allies".</p> <p>Does that include Burma, I asked, given that Singapore controversially helped sponsor the military regime into ASEAN?</p> <p>Mr Seah was non-specific: "We only sell to allies and we make sure they are responsible." He didn't say how. ST and Temasek don't respond to questions about their activities in Burma.</p> <p>Singapore is so close to Burma that one of its diplomats there wrote a handbook for its business people there. Matthew Sim's <i>Myanmar on my Mind</i> is full of useful tips for Singaporean business people in Burma. "A little money goes a long way in greasing the wheels of productivity," he writes.</p> <p>A chapter headed "Committing Manslaughter when Driving" describes the appropriate action if a Singaporean businessman accidentally kills a Burmese pedestrian. "Firstly, the international businessman could give the family of the deceased some money as compensation and dissuade them from pressing charges. Secondly, he could pay a Myanmar citizen to take the blame by declaring that he was the driver in the fatal accident. An international businessman should not make the mistake of trying to argue his case in a court of law when it comes to a fatal accident, even if he is in the right."</p> <p>Mr Sim says many successful Myanmar businessmen have opened shell companies in Singapore "with little or no staff, used to keep funds overseas". The companies are used to keep business deals outside the control of Burma's central bank, enabling Singaporeans and others to transact with Burma in Singapore.</p> <p>He may be referring to junta cronies such as Tay Za and the drug lord Lo Hsing Han. Lo is an ethnic Chinese, from Burma's traditionally Chinese-populated and opium-rich Kokang region in the country's east, bordering China. He controls a massive heroin empire, and one of Burma's biggest companies, Asia World, which the US Drug Enforcement Agency describes as a front for his drug-trafficking. Asia World controls toll roads, industrial parks and trading companies. Singapore is the Lo family's crucial window to the world, as it controls a number of companies there. His son Steven, who has been denied a visa to the US because of his links to the drug trade, married a Singaporean, Cecilia Ng, and the two reportedly control Singapore-based trading house Kokang Singapore.</p> <p>A former assistant secretary of state for the US Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, Robert Gelbard, has said that half Singapore's investment in Burma has "been tied to the family of narco-trafficker Lo Hsing Han".</p> <p>Tay Za, who is romantically linked to a daughter of junta leader Than Shwe, is also well known in Singapore. He was prominent in the Singapore media last year, toasting the launch of his airline Air Bagan with the head of Singapore's aviation authority. Dissident groups say the trade-off for Tay Za's government business contracts in Burma is to fund junta leaders' medical trips to Singapore.</p> <p><em>Eric Ellis is an Australian journalist and correspondent in South-East Asia.</em></p> </div>at82http://www.blogger.com/profile/03261522614627944574noreply@blogger.com4