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by Claire Huang, 938 Live
The original Merlion statue located at One Fullerton was struck by lightning this afternoon, causing quite a commotion. The explosion, caused by the lightening, created a hole the size of a soccer ball, on the Merlion.
This sure ain't a good omen for the tourism industry.
by 邓莉蓉, 联合早报
在经济低迷时期，希望能尽快走出困境、重新过好日子的选民，不假思索地支持有能力的执政党，并不为过，而新加坡的选举结果，也不太可能出现政党轮替，但是我们也不应失去一个冷静思考该如何塑造一个更理想的政治景观的机会。也只有在每五年一次的大选时，每个选民才能通过手中的选票，向执政者发出明确的信息，以推动领导者在执政期间持续不断地鞭策自己对选民负责。
by Linda Watanabe McFerrin, San Francisco Chronicle
I've come to Singapore, after an absence of many years, to rediscover paradise - the lush, leafy heart of a nation better known for its obsessions with commercial success. I think I've found it here. But this is not the only slice of heaven in this land of sunlight, flowers and friendly people.
by Seah Chiang Nee, The Star
Living in a nanny state has made too many Singaporeans dependent on government help when things go wrong. The present crisis is no exception.
by Bangkok Post
"Investing in the long-term. Infrastructure, as I mentioned. Education. We are launching a new university. We are putting investment in research and development. We are bringing in new investment projects in Singapore because even now multi-nationals (come) which have a long-term horizon. They have started projects which take three to five years before coming to fruition. And if they have a good operation in Singapore they can build on that and enhance their Singapore capabilities. And some of them are doing it even now, despite the market conditions. And I think it's important that we look beyond the horizon and not just stay under the shelter from the storm."
by Straits Times
The Prime Minister does not rule out the possibility of Singapore's economy shrinking by as much as 8 per cent this year.
That would be a sharper contraction than the current official forecast of a decline of between 2 per cent and 5 per cent.
by Heng Ching Sheng, The Online Citizen
It took much humiliation inflicted by the Western and Japanese imperialist powers at the turn of the last century before China learnt to shed its old dependency on the scholarly class to shape its future, even though it continues to come to terms with corruption under “benevolent” leaders.
I certainly wish Singapore will not have to undergo the same tumultuous experiences before we accept that all our leaders, elite scholars or otherwise, need to be intensely scrutinized and constantly made accountable.
by Yaw Shin Leong
by Lim Swee Say, Government Whip, Straits Times
While PAP MPs are expected to be in Parliament, they are not able to stay in the Chamber for the whole seven hours. They need to leave the Chamber from time to time for lunch and breaks, to do research and revise their speeches in the library as the debate progresses, and to attend urgent calls and meetings which they are unable to reschedule. The Government Whip ensures there is sufficient quorum in the House at all times.
by David Christie, MediaCorp, Straits Times
We wish to clarify that the programme was edited for the encore telecast in accordance to the Media Development Authority (MDA) Programme Code - specifically, the relevant guidelines relating to the treatment and portrayal of homosexual themes and issues. The code explicitly disallows content that sympathises with, promotes or normalises such a lifestyle from being broadcast.
It's all MDA's fault. Don't blame us -- you guys voted for this government.
by Teh Jen Lee, New Paper
The Ministry of Finance (MOF) has acknowledged that there was a 'system error' this time and will be giving them more GST credits.
by Ray Lee, Straits Times
Will StarHub explain its 'cooling-down period' condition, which penalises users who terminate a cable service to re-subscribe at new rates?
by Loh Chee Kong, Today
If politics could be likened to a game of chess, this grand old man of Opposition politics readily concedes that he is still a novice at disguising his next moves.
Which is why Potong Pasir MP Chiam See Tong, 73, is making extra efforts to conceal the details of what he hopes would be a fitting finale to his eventful political career — even as he declared that he already has a team in place to contest for a Group Representation Constituency (GRC) in the next General Election, due by February 2012.
by John Burton, Financial Times
GIC still runs the risk of having its entire investment in Citi wiped out if the US nationalises the bank.
by 938Live
Labour chief Lim Swee Say has urged Singaporeans not to be preoccupied with forecasts of retrenchment numbers but focus instead on saving jobs.
Number one, we have no idea what the numbers will be like. Number two, how can we win election if you keep thinking of doom and gloom?
by Neil Chatterjee, Reuters
The Government of Singapore Investment Corp (GIC) said on Friday it will convert its Citigroup preferred shares into common stock in a bid to shore up the troubled U.S. lender.
by Reuters
A group of around 100 Bangladeshi migrant workers gathered outside Singapore's labour ministry on Friday, urging the government to give them work and retrieve overdue pay after they were laid off by shipping firms.
by Hetty Musfirah Abdul Khamid, Channel NewsAsia
by Eugene Yeo, The Wayang Party Club
This is Singapore’s “Asian” spectacles for you - hiding, distorting or sugarcoating the truth to serve the narrow self-serving interests of the government.
by Associated Press
Singapore tourism fell 13 percent in January as the global economic slowdown kept visitors at home, another blow to a city-state deep in recession.
by AFP
An alleged Islamic militant leader suspected of plotting to crash an airliner into Singapore's Changi airport remains at large a year after his escape from detention, the government said Friday.
by Alicia Wong, Today
The first batch of HDB flats for this year has been launched, but do they reflect homebuyers’ budgets in this downturn? And are their prices an indication of what to expect from other projects later this year?
by Waleed Hanafi, Ignorance Is Curable
To the former senior civil servant, Ngiam Tong Dow, who is so proud of his en bloc legislation, notch up another failed outcome, as buildings that were once desirable homes have been turned into empty lots and ghost buildings.
by 颜健品, 光华日报
槟岛市政局一站式图测统办小组（OSC）主要成员的杨顺兴市议员认为，槟岛应该向新加坡的城市规划模式看齐，才能跟上新加坡的城市发展，把槟岛打造成具国际水准的都市。
by Bangkok Post
Thailand has agreed to cooperate with Singapore in solving financial and economic problems facing the region, but the bilateral cooperation will be discussed in detail during Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya's visit to Singapore next month, Mr Kasit told reporters on Thursday.
by Kitty Bean yancey, USA Today
Indeed, Singapore is slinging aside its stuffy reputation. The wealthy island nation now is a destination filled with trendy clubs, chic restaurants that attract a multicultural crowd and cutting-edge boutique hotels. "Eat. Party. Chill," urges a hot-pink tourism brochure. You even can sit in a wheelchair and sip from an IV bag at the Clinic bar in the Clarke Quay nightlife area.
by Fang Zhi Yuan, The Wayang Party Club
The soul of a nation does not lie in GDP numbers, world class infrastructure or a first world government. It lies in a well-informed, socially active and politically mature citizenry which is able keep the nation together in spite of any internal or external threats.
by Gerald Giam
If you want to meet more interesting people in the real world, and your employer is not bothered by it, use your real name. If you’re happy keeping your online and offline life separate, then by all means, use a pseudonym. The issue is really not about “credibility” or lack thereof, as the government likes to put it.
by Singapore Democrats
This is because legal battles are one way through which Singaporeans can fight for their rights and work towards the rule of law, however long the process may take.
by Reuters
Singapore issued revised 2008 GDP estimates on Thursday showing the export-reliant economy contracted by 16.4 percent in the fourth quarter, and reiterated its forecast that it will shrink by 2-5 percent this year.
by Secret Political Blog!
by Blowin' In The Wind
According to the transcript of the interview kindly provided by the Straits Times, this is what the prime minister said: “I think the fact that you’ve been able to keep audiences up, readership up in Singapore shows that the mainstream media have credibility.”
“Credibility” may mean the same thing as “trusted”. But it does not mean unbiased. I couldn’t find that word in the transcript.
by 李静仪, 联合早报
圣淘沙发展集团董事局已原则上批准在圣淘沙岛上兴建新的缆车系统，它最快可在2011年建成，到时新缆车主要将取代现有的短程巴士，成为岛内的“绿色”交通工具。
by Chia Ti Lik
The time has come for Singaporeans to end the the rot of materialism. The rot brought largely by the PAP. If not, your materialism will be the end of you.
by Jocelyn Gecker, Associated Press
The prickly issue of human rights in Myanmar will take a back seat to the global financial meltdown as leaders of cash-strapped Southeast Asian countries meet this weekend for an annual summit.
by Bolaji Ojo, EE Times
Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing Ltd.'s ability to survive the ongoing economic recession and sliding demand for its services will depend largely on the willingness of parent Temasek Holding Pte Ltd. to provide financial support for the wafer foundry, according to Standard & Poor's.
by Kan Yuenyong, Asia Sentinel
The internet is the new infrastructure for society, in the same way as guilds were for the merchants in the Middle Ages, where independent freedom reigned.
This new "guild", along with the necessity for Asian economies to create a new information industry by a new generation of Asians who need more freedom, are the great challenges to the good old Asian Way. We will see if these challenges are met.
by Pamela Koh, Straits Times
Disappointed, I switched off my TV and watched the inspiring speeches on the Internet instead.
by Joseph Ong, Straits Times
We often hear and read glowing news reports about the efficiency of our award-winning airport, where passengers are cleared swiftly, without any compromise to national security. Yet such a culture does not seem to have taken root at the two Singapore-Malaysia crossings.
by Vivien Chan, New Paper
The New Paper found out that under SMRT regulations, it is an offence to conduct a business transaction over a fare gate.
by Lediati Tan, New Paper
Student Gerald Khoo, 16, was left confused and frustrated after he was allegedly asked to leave Sengkang Public Library. He was there to study.
by Just Stuff
The case is too clear to deny; too strong even to displace on a wimp and fancy; its one that even suggest if government really desire netizens to step out into the full glory of light; then they should first dedicate themselves to earning the trust and respect of the online community; start by laying down the hatchet that you once used to knock Catherine Lim, Mr Brown and countless others whose only crime was to speak their mind for the betterment of the collective good; better still beat that hatchet into a ploughshare – then and only then; do you ask people to come out into the open. Otherwise no deal - go and die lah.
by Aloysius Foo, The Online Citizen
by Chen Hwai Liang, Press Secretary To The Prime Minister, Singapore, Financial Times
Over the 20-year period up to March 31 2008, GIC earned annualised US dollar returns of 7.8 per cent, while Temasek earned 19 per cent. This is not a disreputable record.
by Mustafa Shafawi, 938 Live
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said the revision will allow access to unsecured credit to more individuals who may have occasional genuine borrowing needs but not if they have a spotty record with Credit Bureau Singapore.
by Yasmine Yahya, Channel NewsAsia
Funds included in the CPF Investment Scheme (CPFIS) lost 38 per cent of their value on average last year amid the credit crunch and a crisis in investor confidence.
by 李静仪, 联合早报
耗资4000万元重新打造乌节路的工程就快完工，旅游局希望通过提升乌节路的景致和基础设施，为这条购物街注入活力和朝气。
by AAP
Singapore could lose a total of 99,000 jobs during the current recession, with more than half of the cuts in the key manufacturing sector, an analysis by local bank DBS said.
by Rick Lim Say Kiong, Today
My solution, though drastic, is simple. From now on, I resolve to remove and discard all packets of tissue if I chance upon them at hawker stalls. Even if I do not require the seats, I will do likewise.
by The Sun Shines On Singapore
Certainly the minister was talking about online hate speech but are you positive that he was not referring to anti-PAP rhetoric as well?
by Singapore Democrats
The picture through any lens — Western or Asia — looks astonishingly negligent. But what Mr Lee really meant was not Asian spectacles, but rather the ones put in front of us by the Singapore Press Holdings.
by Must Have Been Good
Groan. The local nanny media butchered (again!) both Oscar acceptance speeches by Dustin Lance Black and Sean Penn, scriptwriter and lead actor in Milk respectively.
by Tony Sagami, The Market Oracle
In the dog-eat-dog world of business, there is almost always a beneficiary of another business' misery. That is especially true of the attack on secret Swiss bank accounts. Investing in that ‘winner' could be extremely profitable, and that winner could very possibly be Singapore.
by Fang Zhi Yuan, The Wayang Party Club
The regime has failed Singapore by turning its back on accountability and transparency to save its own skin. The state media has failed Singaporeans by keeping mum on such an important national issue. And most importantly we have failed ourselves by not rising up to the occasion.
by Rhea Tan, Straits Times
The MP's role is to represent the people. How can an MP represent us if he is not present sufficiently in Parliament?
by Lisa Tan, Straits Times
Looking at the current dire economic situation and how many of our very own local talent - mainly the PMETs - have to bear the brunt of job losses and retrenchments, it is apparent that a population size of close to five million is beyond what Singapore can cope with.
by City-State Life
In Singapore, when something goes wrong, it seems the first place people look for answers is the government.
by Goh Meng Seng
by Yaw Shin Leong
As such PM Lee has unwittedly acknowledged that the key issue here is not so much so about getting people to be comfortable with mediums. Rather the issue is that of the PAP regime trying to find its footing, in the uncomfortable position of its attempts to counter and taming the ‘wild wild west’ but had overall failed in varying degrees.
by Eugene Yeo, The Wayang Party Club
As the administrative arm of the government, the civil service should be depoliticized and allowed to function independently of partisan differences so that it can continue to serve the people well even when there is a change of government.
Although I too would like to see a smaller civil service, I do not think that the current PAP leaders and civil service leaders deserve no credits at all.
by Irene Chan, 938 Live
More consumers in Singapore are struggling to pay their credit card bills and personal loans on time.
by Au Yaipang, Yawning Bread
The government and its media no longer have the last word.
by Goh Chin Lian, Straits Times
Two-thirds of Singapore's terrorist detainees arrested since 2001 have been released after rehabilitation, and so far they have not strayed back into terrorism. They have re-integrated well into society, said second minister for home affairs K. Shanmugam, but the authorities will continue monitoring them.
by Wayne Cheong, The Daily Texan
I love food, and not just because it keeps me alive. I love food for its taste, its texture, how it smells. I don’t eat meals, I savor them. I’ve a hearty appreciation for the chef who prepares each meal (even if it’s my microwave), the farmer who grew it, the earth that allowed plants to flourish and beasts to frolic so I could eat them. Fill me with vittles and I’m a happy camper.
by Koh Choong Yong
Enough of whether GIC loss 41%, or it was just a slip of the tongue of Mrs Lim Hwee Hua. The more important thing this episode has taught me is another thing - that the Hansard reports, contrary to popular belief, are not verbatim.
by Jason Lee, The Online Citizen
by Kelvin Tan, The Wayang Party Club
This is the same argument, after all, for a democratic society – that no one institution or political party holds monopoly, and that there is free flow of information and the freedom to debate. This competition can only benefit the end-consumer, or reader, or citizen ultimately.
by Will Wilkinson
I think our real concern ought to be limited government. But whether you think an ideally limited government is also small will depends on lots of things including your account of rights, your beliefs about the relative efficiency and reliability of state vs. market provision of various goods, your beliefs about the necessity of public spending to facilitate growth, and more.
by Andras Szanto, Artworld Salon
In every tangible respect, the visual arts in Singapore are in an enviable situation. The missing element is criticism. There is none.
by Eugene Yeo, The Wayang Party Club
Every individual netizen or socio-political blogger has an important to role to play in informing and educating their less knowledgable fellow citizen to prevent them from falling pray to the PAP’s omnipresent and overwhelming propaganda machinery.
by 王志仁, 數位時代
以前他們把軍隊送來台灣訓練，認為台灣的國防實力有一定水準，通過台灣的訓練才合格。那我們可不可以把政治人物、或有心從政的人送到新加坡訓練，通過才能從政？
by The Star
The lesson i should always learn is break the ice. Human tends to stereotype to an extent, not just Singaporeans...You too.
by Joanne Lee-Young, Canwest News Service
Even before the global credit crisis, Singapore was running out of steam, according to economist Yuwa Hedrick-Wong, who is based there. "Its so-called non-oil domestic exports plunged in early 2008, largely due to its badly managed currency policy. The Singapore dollar stayed too high for too long, sapping the competitiveness of its electronic exports, and when overseas demand collapsed, the entire sector that was weak to begin with got wiped out."
by Costas Paris and Nisha Gopalan, Wall Street Journal
A major Singaporean investor in Citigroup Inc. doesn't currently plan to convert its preferred shares into common stock as part of a potential U.S. government effort to help the ailing bank, according to people familiar with the matter.
But Government of Singapore Investment Corp., a sovereign-wealth fund that has seen the value of its initial US$6.88 billion investment in Citigroup plunge in recent months, could face a dilemma if the bank reaches an agreement with U.S. officials that includes a greater government role.
by His Food Blog...
by New Paper
If you are using the new ez-link card to take the MRT, remember, 3 is the new zero. If the balance on your card falls below $3, the turnstiles won't open for you.
LTA's mentality here is not to even lose a single cent, even if this punishes honest customers.
by Lediati Tan, New Paper
With many commuters opting to take the bus to JB, which costs less than a quarter of the price of taking a cab, the recession has affected the Malaysian cabbies badly.
by Wong Wee Nam, Sgpolitics.net
To me the formulation of policies must not just be based on cold and hard financial mathematics. There must also be a generous dose of compassion, idealism and love. A policy must come out from a good head as well as a big heart. This is more so when the policy concerns health, the poor and the elderly.
by Gerald Giam
So now that the PAP is hopping onto the social media bandwagon, they can’t afford to rubbish the entire platform as being “full of” half truths and untruths. They now need to employ a “divide and rule” strategy: continue to discredit the unruly sites, and make positive mention of the sites that they either control (like REACH) or they feel they can live with (like TOC?).
by Singapore Democrats
In what might very well be the first of its kind, prosecution witness Mohd Hassan told the court that the charge written by the Attorney-General's Chambers for the WB-IMF protest was "incorrect".
by Feed Me To The Fish
In their chase for money and pragmatism, my simple wish of being fed to the fish may not come true.
by Xinhua
Singapore prime minister Lee Hsien Loong said there is a need for news media to present objective reports and not to wear "western spectacles", local media reported on Monday.
by Lara's Singapore Blog
We don’t have cable so we get the six channels that are freely available on Singapore TV.
by Leong Sze Hian, The Online Citizen
Why can’t GIC’s losses be revealed like Temasek’s?
This government keeps too many secrets.
by Imelda Saad, Channel NewsAsia
Prime minister Lee Hsien Loong said the government is already building up some capabilities. But he added there is still a place for traditional media to be the trusted source of information.
From YouTube to Twitter to Facebook, what's there to 'build'? Oh, maybe he is talking about the MPs, who need to learn all these newfangled stuff, and are still clinging on to old and obsolete beliefs.
by 938 Live
Singapore's inflation rate eased to its slowest pace in 16 months in January as oil prices fell and a deepening economic slump hurt demand for goods and services.
by AFP
The simple sign announces "South Beach" and calls it "Singapore's New Lifestyle Quarter" but there is little sign of life at the collection of dilapidated military buildings.
The abandoned camp was to become a 1.1-billion-US-dollar luxury hotel, office, retail and residential project known as South Beach. Instead, it has become a symbol of the global economic downturn.
by The Void Deck
by Nopporn Wong-Anan, Reuters
Singapore's economy could contract by more than a government forecast of between -2 and -5 percent this year if the global economy continues to shrink, the Business Times quoted prime minister Lee Hsien Loong as saying.
by Kevin Lim, Reuters
Southeast Asia's largest developer and Singapore's biggest mall operator, will pay part of its managers' bonuses this year in shopping vouchers.
by A Lesser Mortal
Can you guys remember the advertisment of that hardcore gambler trying to con his own daughter of her little savings for her little piggy bank? “Just one more time. Trust me. I will win it all back for you!” I hope we are not in that position. If leaders are still talking like that, we seriously need the Divine to help us now, really.
by Singaporean Monologue
When the ns.sg was released, probably numerous criticisms were made, but I guess the SAF set aside two dollars for their budget to improve on their abysmal portal design, just enough to receive feedback from us and do nothing. And two dollars is probably the amount they paid those "professional web designers".
NS.sg is built by NCS.
by Clarissa Oon, Straits Times
Electricity prices will drop again in the second quarter, most likely in the region of the 25 per cent fall in the first quarter. The hint was given by both prime minister Lee Hsien Loong and trade and industry minister Lim Hng Kiang yesterday as they addressed a tripartite forum with employers and workers.
by 联合早报
新加坡《联合晚报》报道，后港基层组织顾问刘锡明今早在后港社区分派礼包给贫困家庭后，回答媒体询问时说，他在基层的工作从未间断，即使现在就举行大选，他和基层领袖已作好准备。
by RedOrbit
Chew Tai Soo, Singapore's chief climate change negotiator, said the nation was responsible for 0.3 percent of total global greenhouse emissions, but was falling under pressure to reduce its emissions simply because it is rich and had high per-capita carbon pollution.
by Ivy Tan, Straits Times
This is not an issue of market forces alone. It is about caring for our people who have contributed the best years of their lives to Singapore. It is about family bonding where children can visit their parents more often.
by Andrew Loh, The Online Citizen
by Deborah Choo, The Online Citizen
by George Tan, The Wayang Party Club
by Au Waipang, Yawning Bread
Why do Singaporeans neglect their horizontal responsibility to their peers? Is it, at source, a case of an over-controlling government creating a culture reliant only on vertical authority, such that individuals' sense of social responsibility has atrophied?
by The Online Citizen
by Eugene Yeo, The Wayang Party Club
As Singaporeans become increasingly exposed to diversity of views offered by the alternative media, the blatant one-sideness and prejudices of the state media will not be lost upon them.
by Diary Of A Singaproean Mind
The best way to deal with the internet is to make political progress and turn the Internet into a non-issue.
by Satish Cheney, Channel NewsAsia
While the government is gradually liberalising its approach towards online engagement with its citizens, community development, youth and sports minister Vivian Balakrishnan said that one has to be responsible and careful when posting their thoughts online.
by The Star
I am not saying that there are no crimes in Singapore. However, Singapore so far is one of the safest country in the world.
by Lu Cheng Yang, Today
Besides former Mindef and MHA uniformed officers, we have recruited mid-career professionals with the requisite experience for the job. We thank Mr Ang for his feedback on our website. We have amended it to reflect clearly our policy to consider anyone with the relevant experience.
So, the question that wasn't answered: why was the discriminating policy up on the web site in the first place? An apology from MOE would be nice.
by Seah Chiang Nee, The Star
by Miriam Marcus, Forbes
Cost overruns hurt casino operators' shares.
by Amy Loh, Straits Times
A child had to die before we had better seat-belt safety. Is this what it will take before cyclist and pedestrian safety arrives in Singapore?
by Karen Tan, Ministry Of Health, Straits Times
It is not just capital cost. Nursing homes are labour intensive. The wages of nurses here are more than double those in JB.
by Lau Wah Yuen, Straits Times
Let us come together to address principles, and not just interests and positions.
by Asha Popatlal and Hetty Musfirah, Channel NewsAsia
by Rachel Kelly, Channel NewsAsia
by Blowin' In The Wind
Singapore has to continue to depend on export markets for continued prosperity. In a global downturn, it is helpless.
by David Greising, Chicago Tribune
On a typical day, more than 500 ships sail in or out of the harbor here, an armada of mercantilism that makes Singapore one of the busiest ports in the world.
These days, though, Singapore stands at the terminus of a commerce parking lot.
by Translating Singlish
It's called "Crunchy Time."
by 938 Live
A day after announcements that bus and train fares will go down by 2 cents, SBS Transit and SMRT said they woudl also be cutting fares for their non-basic bus services by up to 20 cents.
by Yaw Shin Leong
by Straits Times
Singapore will not consider relaxing rules imposed to curb problem gambling, including a S$100 a day levy on citizens and permanent residents entering the casinos, even as the global slowdown reduces visitor numbers to the country, Singapore Tourism Board's CEO Aw Kah Peng told Bloomberg news in an interview on Thursday.
The PAP still need to gain some votes from the 'conservative' voters after all.
by 杜艳嫦, 联合早报
一趟车只减两分钱确实太少了……
by Singapore Democrats
Either Dr Tan knew about the developments and problems that UBS was facing and chose to ignore them, or he had no clue that trouble was brewing in and around the bank. Which is worse?
by iEat.iShoot.iPost
This little stall in the most unlikely of places is run by a Peranakan family and if you didn't know about them, you would most likely just pass by without trying the food. But then you'd be missing out on some really nice Peranakan food.
by Eugene Yeo, The Wayang Party Club
Unless Singaporeans start to make themselves heard in the public arena such as a protest at Hong Lim Park drawing the attention of the international media, the PAP will never take us seriously and all our online grouses will remain forever, in the words of one Rear-Admiral, “unhelpful comments”.
by 宋广磊, FT中文网
如果经济恢复政策失败，美国的奥巴马政府和新加坡的行动党政府都会黯然下台，但美国将会依照宪法程序，和平稳定的举行总统选举，在法制框架下实现权力交接；而新加坡则可能出现民众反抗，动摇国家的政治体制。
这个现象正验证经济学上投资收益与风险成同方向变化的规则，追求的收益越大，承担的风险也就越大。所谓一党开明专制本来就是一个过渡性质的形式，它要么走向民主，要么走向专制。一党开明专制就意味着执政党希望长久掌握权力，并通过其理想信念、经济社会发展成绩与不可替代性约束来寻求其合法性，通过向人民“赎买”而不是由人民授予的方式获得政权，这显然缺失人民的主动性和主体性，根据社会发展的趋势，这显然是需要进行改进的一种体制。
by Michael Gove, Telegraph
The success of Singapore, and other nations that top the education league tables such as South Korea and Finland, has been driven by reforms that have got the most talented people possible into teaching.
by Neel Chowdhury, Time
No writer has swallowed all of Singapore, from its stately colonial bungalows to its once opium-infested slums, with the verve and wit of the late J.G. Farrell, whose 1978 saga The Singaproe Grip remains the great Singapore novel.
by Nopporn Wong-Anan, Reuters
Singapore is reviewing financial sector regulators to reduce shocks to the system, its prime minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Thursday.
by Heng-Cheong Leong, MyAppleMenu
This argument by Miss Rhea Tan in Straits Times is yet another example that demonstrates why one really shouldn't use the slipperly slope argument. Do you really think if SGH waive the fees for one person today, we will see a flood of 'heros' asking for waiver tomorrow?
by Tham Kwok Keong, Straits Times
I find the selectio of countries by Ms Dorothy Lai of the Media Development Authority (MDA) a weak case to justify what the MDA is charging.
by Ng E-Jay, Sgpolitics.net
Historical experience reveals that there is a time lag of as much as 6 months between the publication of the polling district changes and the release of the committee’s Electoral Boundaries Report which details the number and size of single-member and group representation constituencies.
by Sufian Suderman, Today
As demand for taxi rides falls amid the economic downturn, some cabbies appear to be more willing to flout traffic rules, including the requirement that they pick up and drop off passengers only at taxi stands in the Central Business District (CBD).
by The Online Citizen
This is really no big deal. All 'mainstream media' with an ounce of brain will have something like this prepared in advance, just in case. I'm pretty sure Lee Hisen Loong does not alert MediaCorp and SPH in advance.
In fact, I'll bet you too that there are obituaries written for Lee Kuan Yew, Goh Chok Tong, and Lee Hsein Loong already written and updated regularly, and ready to be pushed out when the inevitable happens.
by Imelda Saad, Channel NewsAsia
Pirme minister Lee Hsien Loong has said Singapore's approach to free up thebanking sector has proven to be a wise move in the current global crisis. But he warned that while banks in Singapore are in good shape, there is still substantial risk in the global environment.
by This Lush Garden Within
by Laurence Tan, Reuters
Deteriorating economies and the threat of job losses are putting many Asians off the arts, forcing actors to work longer hours and theatre companies to get more creative for the show to go on.
by 938 Live
In a letter addressed to the Serangoon Gardens residents, MP of the ward Lim Hwee Hua said that the dorm could begin operations in August. However, the dorm operator will have to first fulfill the 14 conditions laid out by the residents.
by Today In Singapore
by SBS Transit, SMRT, Public Transport Council, Ministry Of Transport
The 4.6% fare reduction package comprises both a fare rebate and an increase in transfer rebate. This more than offsets the fare increases of the past three years combined.
If you read the press release carefully, you'll notice that this 2 cents fare rebates is only from 1 April 2009 to 30 June 2010. It is not a reduction of fares, but merely a fare rebate.
What this means, if I understand correctly, is that for the next round of fare adjustments, the formula will be calculated based on the higher 2008 fares, thus allowing for higher maximum allowable fares in 2010, as opposed to calculation based on the lowered 2009 fares.
by Almost Infamous
by Making History Relevant
He turns the 31 percent net loss into a 100 percent net loss, and asumes we have to build up our reserves from 0, without considering share prices will increase - again - and so the value of Temasek's investment portfolio will increase too.
by Cheng Siew Peng and Eugene Yeo, The Wayang Party Club
Temasek waited less than a year to have their “great confidence” in John Thain burst right in their face. We certainly hope that GIC doesn’t have to wait for too long for the truth.
by Ringisei
If you’re unhappy about corporate top hats getting taxpayers money, then how about corporatist fat cats like the PAP-controlled Singapore Press Holdings, ComfortDelGro/SMRT, NTUC ‘Fairprice’?
by 周圆, 重庆晚报
市民赵小姐去面包店买早餐，却惊讶地发其中一款面包有个非常震撼的名字——“大地震”!昨天，赵小姐气愤地向本报反映，解放碑一面包店出售以此命名的面包让她心里很不舒服。
by Nelson Benjamin and Suan Ong, The Star
"We expected some problems, but many of the complaints were in relation to the structures. We were not involved in designing the complex. The Immigration Department only gave input on the designs of work stations, how many lanes were needed and the facilities needed to get the job done. We were put in charge of the complex only in October last year. Nevertheless, I am doing my best to rectify as many problems as possible via the CIQ management committee."
by AFP
Madrassas are Islamic religious schools that in Pakistan, Indonesia and other Muslim states have sometimes been associated with militancy. But in multi-ethnic Singapore, madrassas — funded mainly by the minority Muslim community — stick strictly to the basics, focusing not only on religion but on academic studies as well.
by Wahyudi Soeriaatmadja, Straits Times / Associated Press / Reuters
Haze from forest fires in Indonesia's Riau islands is blowing towards Singapore, and the number of hot spots is rising although the situation is still far from the worst days of 2006.
by Tehran Times
Iranian Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani stated on Wednesday that Iran welcomes expansion of ties with regional states. "It is better for the regional countries to resolve their problems and stop the interference of foreigners."
by Singapore Democrats
Calling for early elections would signal one thing that should worry Singaporeans a lot. It shows a Government on an unsure footing and needing to resort to opportunistic holding of elections to continue its grip on power instead of one confidently going to the people to ask for a genuine mandate to tackle the country's problems head-on.
by Au Waipang, Yawning Bread
Firstly, president Nathan had no clue what was really on people's minds and therefore failed to address the key questions in his interview, and secondly, faced with even the slightest difficulty of a question, he gave a most unconvincing reply.
It's hard to have full confidence that he is up to his constitutional job of protecting the reserves.
by Valarie Tan, Channel NewsAsia
260 investors in Singapore plan to take financial institutions to court in April for selling them failed structured products like Lehman Minibonds.
by Andrew Loh, The Online Citizen
The US government, under president Barack Obama, sees its people as shareholders with a stake in how the government spends its money. The Singapore government, on the other hand, sees any query about the way it spends its money as troublesome. This is demonstrated most succintly by the recent budget debate where questions were unanswered or answered with non-answers.
Cultivating active citizenry is one of the government’s aims. It has said so several times in the past. Yet, it seems that when it matters most, and when presented with an unprecendented opportunity in this unparalleled economic crisis, the government instead has chosen to stick its head in the sand. It has gone the other way and refused any meaningful disclosures or explanations of its actions.
by Lian Cheong and Cheryl Lim, Channel NewsAsia
The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has introduced two road safety measures. They're aimed at alerting motorists of pedestrian crossings ahead.
by Nopporn Wong-Anan, Reuters
Island-state Singapore faced the largest number of bushfires in nearly a decade in January, thanks to an unusually long dry spell, the government's anti-fire agency said on Wednesday. The tropical nation saw 182 vegetation fires in January, mostly due to the dry spell, which the Singapore Civil Defence Force said was "unprecedented".
by Karamjit Kaur, Straits Times
The freefall in first and business class traffic continues to batter top-tier carriers like Singapore Airlines, with no signs of the crisis bottoming out anytime soon.
by Ng E-Jay, Sgpolitics.net
It is this mentality taken by the ruling PAP that makes president Nathan’s nebulous explanations look all the more precarious.
by S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia
A day after the announcement by the Elections Department that the Register of Voters is being revised, the government gazette published the boundaries of altered polling districts on Wednesday.
It is believed to be the precursor of the Electoral Boundaries Report, which is normally released before an election. The last general election was held on May 6, 2006.
by Singapore Democrats
Forged from the crucible of the struggle for freedom, the PAP turned around and denied that very freedom to the people when it ascended the throne.
by Edward Harrison, Credit Writedowns
I see the weak domestic market and the heavy losses as a one-two punch for sovereign wealth funds. While these funds may have continued to invest heavily in Europe and North America through 2008, I cannot foresee a similar asset allocation going forward.
by Groundnotes
Not here to judge? Shouldn’t the man responsible for giving the government our money make it a point to judge if the money will be well spent?
by Tim Mills, People's Weekly World
by Kash Cheong, Reuters
Rooftop gardens, a shiny aluminium exterior and an environmentally friendly design: this is not a new mall in Singapore, but a mosque that is trying to put a modern face on a traditional faith.
by This Lush Garden Within
To be honest, I rather have less money in our national reserves and a more compassionate government with leaders that understand citizens’ problems and can feel for us, rather than one that proclaims to understand us and yet goes about implementing a stimulus plan that don’t directly address our immediate needs as much as those of businesses and investors.
by Fang Zhi Yuan, The Wayang Party Club
Eventually, Singaporeans will become so averse to the one-sided reports carried by the mainstream media that they will be completely switched off, preferring to read only what they want to read on the internet even though its factual accuracy cannot be independently verified and that will finally send the myths of the PAP system into their death throes.
by Yaw Shin Leong
by Jason Lee, The Online Citizen
I believe an elected president can do more to protect our interests -- regardless of whether he is an executive or non-executive president.
by Fang Shihan, The Online Citizen
Is this necessarily a linear upward progression? What have we sacrificed to get to where we are today?
by Bernama
Malaysians would be the last workers to be retrenched in Singapore during the global economic slump, said the minister of human resources, Datuk Dr. S. Subramaniam. He said this was because Malaysian workers had more skills and abilities as required by Singaporean industry compared to other foreign workers in the island republic.
by Reuters
Despite the threat of job losses and the country's deepest economic recession, seven in 10 Singaporeans will continue to spend on beauty products and services, a small industry survey showed.
by Andrea Tan and Chris Peterson, Bloomberg
Government of Singapore Investment Corp., one of two sovereign wealth funds owned by the island, lost as much as S$50 billion in 2008, the Wall Street Journal said, citing two people familiar with the matter.
GIC’s losses are similar to those at Temasek Holdings Pte, the city-state’s other sovereign wealth fund, according to the Journal. “GIC does not comment on speculative reports,” Singapore-based spokeswoman Jennifer Lewis said today by phone.
by Valarie Tan, Channel NewsAsia
by S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia
Speaking in detail for the first time on Tuesday about his decision to give in-principle approval for the government to tap into past reserves, Mr Nathan said he and the Council of Presidential Advisers recognised the importance of giving full confidence and backing to the budget measures as a speedy decision was needed to stem the tide of the economic downturn.
by Hoe Yeen Nie, Channel NewsAsia
Prime minister Lee Hsien Loong has asked the Elections Department to revise the registers of electors by April 30.
The Elections Department said this is a routine update, as the law requires the registers to be revised within three years of a general election.
by Eugene Yeo, The Wayang Party Club
This is where politically active netizens will play a pivotal role in influencing their peers by word of mouth: get our message out, publicize the alternative news blogs and win new converts to our side in our protracted struggle against the entire propaganda machinery of the state.
by Mr Wang Says So
So of course his family advised Riky to wait a year or two. He needs to avoid the NS liability that kicks in, when he turns eighteen.
by Desmond Wong, Channel NewsAsia
StarHub will cease all analogue transmissions on June 30 when it switches over to a fully digital service.
by Paul Kedrosky, Infectious Greed
The January 2009 container traffic data is out for the Port of Singapore, and it's about as bad as expected.
by AFP
Singapore's key exports in January fell by the largest amount on record, the government said Tuesday, releasing data showing further evidence of the city-state's deepening recession. It is the biggest fall since the government began year-on-year comparisons in 1977 and exceeds the previous record of a 30.7 percent drop in September 2001, after Al-Qaeda's attacks on the United States.
by Mr Wang Says So
by Leong Sze Hian, The Online Citizen
Instead of policies to try to dampen demand for rental or smaller flats, like the new additional eligibility criteria or the second loan for upgraders only, the HDB should re-focus on its mission to provide affordable housing for Singaporeans, especially now that Singapore is in its worse recession.
by Anand Krishnamoorthy, Bloomberg
Singapore Airlines Ltd., the world’s largest carrier by market value, slumped to a two-month low on the city-state’s stock exchange after passenger traffic tumbled the most in more than five years.
by Victoria Ho, ZDNet Asia
A group of Singapore-based mobile services providers are targeting Asia-Pacific developing markets by bridging the gap between high- and low-end devices.
by My Paper
In a recent study conducted by marketing agency OgilvyOne Asia Pacific, more than one in two Singaporeans said they trust blogs as much as newspapers or TV news bulletins.
It also helps that bloggers here are seen to have integrity.
by Neo Chai Chin, Today
One Parliamentarian thinks the cut in EZ Link card fares could be as large as 10 cents, while another is hoping for a three- to five-cent reduction.
In the days running up to formal bus and train fare adjustments by the Public Transport Council (PTC), likely by the end of this week, it is anyone’s guess how dramatic the fare cuts will be.
by Singapore Democrats
Did Citi seek its special advisor's advice before it approached the GIC for funds? If it did, what was the advise given? When the GIC received the invitation from Citi, what went into the decision to go ahead with the investment? Did Mr Lee's position in one organisation affect the decision made in the other?
The conflict of interest is too jarring to even contemplate.
by 張偉湘, 理財周報
by Mike Baker, The Guardian
How do you achieve a school system consistently in the top three in the world for maths and science, fourth for literacy, and described by experts as leading the world in teaching quality? Moreover, how do you manage to get 80% of pupils to pass five or more O-levels when they are taught in their second language in classes of 35? The answers are found in Singapore.
by Seelan Palay's Blog
by Teo Xuanwei, Channel NewsAsia
More than three weeks after a Caucasian man and a Singaporean woman were arrested for strolling around Holland Village totally nude, no charges had been filed against them yet.
by Elena Chong, Straits Times
A 48-year-old unemployed man who scribbled on the display wall of Parliament House last month ws ordered on Monday to be kept in safe custody at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) pending a minister's order. Koh Chan Meng was found to be of unsound mind at the time of the alleged offence.
by Channel NewsAsia
by Yaw Shin Leong
For total defence to be effective, it is time for Singaporeans to rise up a new political force in Singapore Parliament to hold the PAP regime accountable for all its decisions and actions.
by The Keropok
by Straits Times
Singapore Airlines will cut its capacity by 11 per cent in the 12 months starting April due to falling demand, and it has begun talks with trade unions on steps to mitigate the downturn.
It will also decommission 17 aircraft over this financial year to March 2010, instead of just four as originally planned before the global downturn hit major markets.
by Ang Kok Siang, Today
Acting manpower minister Gan Kim Yong and NTUC chief Lim Swee Say have mentioned time and again in their speeches to employers about fair employment practices and employing people based on merit.
However, the Ministry of Education (MOE), for some reason, has in place a policy of employing only ex-Mindef or Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) unifored officers for the post of school operations managers.
by Neo Chai Chin, Today
It would help the lower-income to stretch their health dollar. But is there another group — expatriate Singaporeans — who would benefit if Medisave is allowed to be used overseas?
by Nopporn Wong-Anan, Reuters
Singapore's non-oil exports in January are expected to drop by the biggest margin since September 2001 on the back of collapsing global demand for electronics, mirroring sharp declines in Taiwan and China.
Non-oil domestic exports may have tumbled 32.7 percent from a year ago, according to a median forecast from five economists. Adjusted for seasonal factors, exports were likely to be unchanged from December, the average forecast showed.
by My Life In Singapore
by 潘星华, 联合早报
南洋幼稚园今年6月从加冕路搬进京士路新校舍后，将调高学费67％。南洋中小幼董事长黄美云告诉记者，这次调高学费是因为搬进新校舍后增收学生，得多聘教师，使师资成本提高。
by Ben Bland, Telegraph
Part of the problem in Singapore, China, the UK and elsewhere is that the massive expansion of the number of university places over the last two decades has raised career expectations across the board, while also increasing competition for (an admittedly larger pool of) good jobs.
by Zazali Musa, The Star
KGV-Lambert Smith Hampton director Samuel Tan Wee Cheng said Singapore played an important part in determining the economic growth in Johor. "It is a well-known fact that both Johor and Singapore are intertwined in economic activities during good or bad times due to their close proximity," he said.
by Wai Wing Tai, Straits Times
I am disappointed that SMRT chose not to investigate or respond appropriately. Judging by what happened to me, it seems that many other passengers on the same bus were literally taken for a ride by paying more than they should have.
by Brian Miller, New Paper
For want of a better word, I'd say it's cruel. You shouldn't do that to a pet. And you don't do that to the people you love.
by The Online Citizen
Recent proceedings have laid bare the need for greater accountability.
by My Singapore News
When our reserves are near to a point of being untouchables, our investment policies must be one that matches the stringent criteria of protecting our reserves to ensure that it would not be washed out for any investing mistakes.
by Sinchew
During the recent CNY festive season, Singapore's health minister Khaw Boon Wan made a quiet and unannounced "visit" to a medical institution in Johor Bahru's Iskandar Development Zone, where he met a Singaporean who will soon build a 200-bed nursing home there.
Khaw's proposal couldn't have sounded more practical and realistic. Nevertheless, he soon came under harsh criticisms from the city-state's opposition lawmakers, who ridiculed him for recommending cheaper nursing homes in JB in a gesture that seemed to admit that medical costs were excessively high in the country.
by My Thoughts...
by Eugene Yeo, The Wayang Party Club
Instead of compelling companies to employ a minimum number of Singapore workers before they are allowed to employ foreigners, the government should consider legislating certain jobs such as those quoted above as “out of bounds” to foreigners.
by Gerald Giam
by Journalism.sg
by Aaron Ng, Hear Ye! Hear Ye!
It is indeed very interesting to me that some PAP MPs don’t seem to even understand rationale of the policies set by their own political party.
by Andrew Loh, The Online Citizen
The suggestion of such a simplistic solution is devoid of compassion. Of course, Khaw would argue that, on the contrary, it would provide Singaporeans with a piece of mind in their later years. This of course again misses the fact that life is more than just cheap healthcare and as a government which often says that it is a compassionate one, such a suggestion is akin to speaking through both sides of the mouth.
by Kelvin Teo, The Kent Ridge Common
by Johnny Neihu, Taipei Times
Do you find it strange that this Utopian Singaporean future our politicians and officials envision for Taiwan just happens to resemble our dodgy past?
by Reuters
Singapore's economic downturn may prove to be Cupid's ally as dating agencies in the city state have reported a spike up in the number of singles signing up to find partners, the Straits Times said on Saturday.
by S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia
Minister in the prime minister's office, Lim Boon Heng said on Saturday private insurers would be quite challenged to offer the same interest rates the CPF Life annuity scheme is offering.
Singaporeans were assured on Friday that the CPF interest paid by the government will not fall below the guaranteed floor rate of 3.5 per cent on the first S$60,000 of CPF balances and 2.5 per cent for amounts above that.
by 李静仪, 联合早报
在裕廊东地铁转换站增建轨道和月台的工程预料将在下月动工，当局将确保在施工期间乘客不会受到影响，列车照常运作。
by Jeremy Au Yong, Straits Times
Law minister Mr Shanmugam stated categorically that voting is a constitutional right and therefore enjoys the highest possible legal protection.
by Wall Street Journal
The hiring of a foreign CEO is a notable change, and we hope it's a signal that Temasek and Singapore's leaders understand the need for more transparency in the company's operations. The world is demanding more openness and accountability from sovereign-wealth funds, and the shareholder-voters of Singapore deserve nothing less.
by Seah Chiang Nee, The Star
The government has been reluctant to reveal much about where its money was placed even in good times, but the dramatic downturn has increased public pressure for greater openness.
by Ng E-Jay, Sgpolitics.net
To suggest that people rely solely on each others’ pocketbooks and never on the government’s surpluses for their retirement needs is mean spirited and heartless, and reduces each person to an economic digit. A country that is being run as a mere corporation loses its soul and its identity, and becomes a hotel rather than a home, a mere stepping stone for those who are able to come and go.
by Au Waipang, Yawning Bread
So, when they say prosecution is not possible, how do we, the public, know whether it was because they were too lazy or incompetent to collect evidence?
Or even maybe, the prosecution don't have a real case, and the alleged person is indeed innocent?
by Glass Castle Blog
While self-identified critical voice in Singapore may talk the language of human rights where men are concerned, therefore, I have doubts about whether that language is meant to apply (in substance, not just in form) to women.
by Aaron Low, Straits Times
The government will tighten the criteria for semi-skilled workers coming to Singapore.
by S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia
The CPF Board has decided to reduce the number of CPF LIFE plans from 12 to four. And the payouts for all the four plans will start from the age of 65.
by Channel NewsAsia
Retail sales in Singapore fell 1.6 per cent on-year in December. The largest drops came from the sales of watches & jewellery, furniture & household equipment and wearing apparel & footwear.
by Straits Times
Singapore's retailers are asking the government to lower the goods-and-services tax (GST) to help draw shoppers as the economy economy faces its worst-ever recession, the Singapore Retailers Association said.
by Goh Meng Seng
by Rina Ota, Reuters
Don't take the Singapore Spooky Tour expecting to see ghosts, but those seeking an old-fashioned thrill in this modern state are likely to get it through insights into abandoned sites and ancient practices. The tour is conducted by the Asia Paranormal Investigators who spend most of their time poring over legal texts and archives to unravel the beliefs and confusion surrounding supposedly paranormal phenomena.
by Making History Relevant
I think a social safety net is possible for these hard-luck cases. Even if we don’t implement such a social safety net, perhaps we can do means-testing, to determine if who genuinely requires help.
by Saeed Azhar, Reuters
Singapore's DBS Group, Southeast Asia's biggest bank, suffered a bigger-than-expected 40 percent drop in quaterly profit, hit by an increase in bad debt provisions.
by Nge Tuck Long, Straits Times
With 5,000 years of culture to mine, there should not be a shortage of imaginative offerings.
by Albert Tye, Straits Times
People must know that in good times, they have to save for a rainy day, rather than spend lavishly on what they can do without. If they want to enjoy during good times, can they rightfully ask for taxpayers' money at the first sign of recession?
by Ng E-Jay, Sgpolitics.net
We need honest admissions of mistakes, greater accountability and transparency in the accumulation and investment of our reserves, and concrete plans to provide substantial and immediate aid for the poor and underprivileged.
by Gerald Giam
by Channel NewsAsia
The Land Transport Authority (LTA) will spend S$43 million to design and construct dedicated cycling tracks next to pedestrian footpaths in HDB estates. The first phase of this programme will be implemented in Tampines, Yishun, Sembawang, Pasir Ris and Taman Jurong.
This is a mistake, I feel. The tracks should be build next to roads, not pedestrian footpaths to emphasis bicycles belong to roads and not footpaths.
by Kor Kian Beng, Straits Times
Rarely is approval given because it is vital to uphold the NS system's strength and integrity, by making it universal and fair to all Singaporeans, said Dr Ng Eng Hen, second minister for defence in Parliament on Thrusday.
How is it fair that you cannot defer if you have special talents? How is it universal when different vocations brings different benefits and hardship?
by Straits Times
Foldable bicycles will be allowed on trains and public buses during off-peak hours from March 15, senior parliamentary secretary for transport Teo Ser Luck announced in Parliament on Thursday.
by Channel NewsAsia
The five stations to open are: Bartley, Serangoon, Lorong Chuan, Bishan and Marymount. The other stages of the Circle Line are expected to open from 2010 onwards.
by 梅州日报
经历过批评与磨砺，也经历过加冕与荣誉，生活中的李显龙与何晶更比常人多了份淡定与从容。有人说，走近两人时，看到的不是政界与商界的强人，而是传统的相夫教子、尊老爱幼的普通的东方人。
by Shih Tung's Wordpress Blog
As it turns out, the government really has been reviewing privacy legislation in Singapore for a v...e...r...y long time - 20 years in fact.
And still, consumers have no protection.
by Channel NewsAsia
The Ministry of Defence has decided to extend the Physical Training Phase (PTP) for National Service enlistees who fail to get NAPFA test silver.
by Eugene Yeo, The Wayang Party Club
The bitter medicine has been forced down our throats, now is the sweetener to wash away the bitter after taste.
by Koh Choong Yong
by Duncan Green, Dispatch Online
Widespread awareness of rights means that economic growth alone, while necessary, will not guarantee legitimacy, much less bring about the deep transformations that constitute real development.
by Making History Relevant
Mass discontent against the PAP government has been imagined by Wayang Party Club.
by Kelvin Chow, Today
Financial institutions across Singapore are being cautious following accusations last year of mis-selling complicated financial products, triggered by the Lehman Brothers minibonds saga.
by John Burton, Financial Times
The economic crisis is putting Singapore's political system to its severest test since independence in 1965. "Officials appear scared about the public reaction. I've never seen them so concerned before," said a Singapore-based regional political analyst.
Terence Chong, of the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore, says: "Political order and economic stability may go hand in hand, but there is increasing awareness, even within the PAP, that that may no longer work."
by Kelvin Tan, The Wayang Party Club
Temasek’s losses should be seen in a more balanced light: a combination of bad timing, inhospitable global developments, and, the likelihood that Ho Ching was simply not up to task.
This last point can either refer to Ho Ching’s ‘ability’, or her role as the PM’s wife that has become an obstacle when investing abroad. In this regard, Ho Ching’s stepping down is the first step.
by 吴俊刚, 联合早报
老有所养，就地养老；老有所终，就地终老。
by Richard Murphy, Tax Research UK
Singapore is a secrecy jurisdiction. Secrecy jurisdictions are places that intentionally create regulation for the primary benefit and use of those not resident in their geographical domain that is designed to undermine the legislation or regulation of another jurisdiction and that, in addition, create a deliberate, legally backed veil of secrecy that ensures that those from outside the jurisdiction making use of its regulation cannot be identified to be doing so.
by 李永乐, 新民周刊
政府“居高”的模式，表面看是强调政府权威，实则这并非权力的争夺，而是有其现实的意义，若政府权威不足，在 劳方资方矛盾激化之时，必然无法扮演公正有效的协调与仲裁角色。这次新加坡政府“开库放水”的做法，则已超越“协调与 仲裁”，而达到“排忧解难”的高度。
by The Associated Press
Singapore expects tourism revenue to plunge as much as 19 percent this year as a global economic slowdown undermines spending on travel.
by Ng E-Jay, Sgpolitics.net
Providing our elderly a comfortable retirement in Singapore is not just a matter of social justice, but also one of pride in ourselves.
by Channel NewsAsia
Construction of the S$140 million river-themed park, comprising boat rides and freshwater habitat displays with a strong conservation theme, will begin this year in anticipation of eventual economic and tourism recovery.
Wildlife Reserves said construction will not affect the bio-diversity of the Mandai Nature Reserve area as the River Safari will be housed within the zoo's and Night Safari's current 89-hectare compound.
by Melissa Sim, Straits Times
Needy Singaporeans can look forward to more public assistance from April. Recipients will get a raise in their monthly allowance of between $30 and $120.
by Ms Chor Lor.com
I was born in Singapore, is it lucky or unlucky? I don't know.
by Singapore Angle
by Straits Times
Assessment papers and worksheets help teachers and students to track their progress and should be contextualised with classroom teaching. As such, they should not be made available online for all to have a go at it, said senior minister of state for education Grace Fu on Wednesday.
by The Economic Times
The Singapore government, which has many of its departments among Satyam’s clients, said that it did not want to punish thousands of people working at Satyam for the action of certain individuals by withdrawing its accounts from the company.
by Eugene Yeo, The Wayang Party Club
by Robin Hicks, Future Gov
All traffic and road information will eventually be made available to citizens in real-time via mobile phone, Singapore’s Land Transport Authority (LTA) chief executive Yap Ah Mee has said.
by I'm Talking, Can't You Hear?
Sure those are options, but the typical Singaporean (aka me) would deem it an insult to ourselves as it seemed medical costs are too high here to be afforded by the middle-income group.
by Yaw Shin Leong
When times are good, the PAP regime will accredited good times to its prudent policies and its competency. When times are bad, the regime will quickly push blame aside, for example, by quickly citing worse-off MSCI indices and how else where in the world SWFs have suffered too etc.
Singaporeans have enough.
by Xinhua
The current economic downturn is taking its toll on Singapore's economy with local giants posted huge losses in their profits during the fourth quarter of 2008, bringing up more concerns over the country's economic outlook.
by 李静仪, 联合早报
星网电子付款公司（NETS）准备在今年10月前推出符合CEPAS标准的多用途现金卡，积极抢攻目前由易通卡垄断的巴士和地铁车资市场。
by 潘星华 邓莉蓉 周殊钦 陈能端 王玨琪 赵琬仪 杨雪慧 蔡慧玲 陈颖佳, 联合早报
把“莱佛士”念成“菜佛士”，刘程强（后港区议员）对汉语拼音的使用及其对汉字读写能力的影响表示担心，提出在小学教育阶段以学习汉语拼音为主的华文教学制度，是否会在若干年后使我国的学生沦为“汉字盲”的疑问。
by 游润恬, 联合早报
贴近民众的议员却经常碰到不符合申请援助条件者或得不到足够援助的有需要者向他们求助。这些落在政策的“安全网”之外的人，也许在决策者眼中仅占总人口微不足道的几个百分点。但是，对于每一个社会安全网的“漏网之鱼”以及他们的家人而言，他们所面对的困难却是100％。
by The Wayang Party Club
by Eugene Yeo, The Wayang Party Club
by 子能
感谢全体新加坡人让我感受到公共道德没有下限。
by Chee Soon Juan, Singapore Democrats
In an age where accountability has become the touchstone of good government, the PAP continues to march remorselessly forward.
by Blowin' In The Wind
the steady gains Temasek was making under Ms Ho leadership, racking up a record 18 billion Singapore dollars in profits in the financial year ended March 2008, have been wiped out by the global downturn.
But Ms Ho deserves credit for the openness she brought. Compared with Temasek, the larger Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.
by Reuters
Singapore Airlines said Tuesday that it had posted a 43 percent drop in profit for the fourth quarter, hurt by fuel-hedging losses and slowing demand for travel and cargo.
by AviationRecord.com
About 2000 Indian travel agents and online travel portals have threatened to continue their boycott of Singapore Airlines over the carrier’s stance of non-payment of 5% commission on ticket sales.
by Saudi Gazette / Agencies
by Ben Bland, Telegraph
Sim Lim was never an overly pleasant shopping experience. But, as fearful retailers try any and every tactic to make enough sales to pay the rent, it's getting a whole lot worse.
by Albert Tye, Straits Times
I hope she will not take up any other corporate post but instead stay by the side of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to assist him in the way that her mother-in-law, Madam Kwa Geok Choo assisted Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew in his political life.
by Mouthing Off On Asia's Finances
Certainly, portfolio growth is but one prong of a more thorough assessment of performance. And it would be useful to look at the other aspects too.
by Harish Pillay
The country has been waiting patiently for almost a year for Wong Kan Seng's resignation.
by Harish Pillay
And all this while the minister thought it was self-regulating?
by BBC News
The value of Singaporean sovereign wealth fund Temasek Holdings contracted last year as the economic downturn dented the value of its investments.
by Feed Me To The Fish
by The Kway Teow Man
Retrenchments are not limited to troubled companies.
by Salma Khalik, Straits Times
A suggestion by health minister that Singaporeans might want to consider staying at a nursing home across the Causeway in Johor where it is much cheaper drew flak from two opposition MPs in Parliament on Tuesday.
by The Online Citizen
by Hoe Yeen Nie, Channel NewsAsia
by Wong Siew Ying, Channel NewsAsia
Singapore's finance ministry plans to introduce a public sector annual report in 2010. This will track how various agencies work towards their strategic goals and should help to better synergise their operations.
by Robin Chan, Straits Times
The republic has low but not no tax; strong rule of law; companies with substantive business activities, and is now considering adopting an internationally-recognised standard for the exchange of tax information, said senior minister of state for finance and transport Lim Hwee Hua in Parliament on Tuesday.
by Timothy Ouyang, Channel NewsAsia
Temasek Holdings' portfolio of investments fell 31 per cent to S$127 billion as of 30 November last year, according to latest data revealed in Parliament on Tuesday.
Senior minister of state for finance and transport, Lim Hwee Hwa, said: "This is less than the corresponding declines in the MSCI Singapore Index of 44 per cent and the MSCI Asia ex-Japan of 45 per cent both in Singapore dollar terms over the same period."
by Channel NewsAsia
Deepavali is on October 17 this year, not on November 15 as announced earlier. The manpower ministry said that the Hindu Endowments Board has advised that between mid-October and mid-November, there is a rare occurrence of two "no moon" days (amavasai).
by Au Yaipang, Yawning Bread
We need to be acutely conscious of this potential bias in the justice system, and that is why the above-mentioned cases in Singapore are worth watching.
by Actionslavehero
I cannot comprehend that the judicial system has failed so miserably as to be completely incapable of finding guilt where it exists and to deliver punishment where it is due.
by Chen Shiyin, Bloomberg
Singapore is "confident" that state-owned investment companies Temasek Holdings Pte and the Government of Singapore Investment Corp. will deliver long-term returns even as stock markets tumble amid a global recession.
Lim Hwee Hua, senior minister of state with the finance ministry, also said that the government will assess whether a separate fund is needed to rescue local companies.
by Channel NewsAsia
The National Environment Agency (NEA) will be increasing the penalties for littering. From April 1, first-time offenders will be fined S$300 for minor littering - up from the existing fine of S$200.
by Channel NewsAsia
The Central Provident Fund (CPF) Board will continue to pay 2.5 per cent interest per annum for members' CPF savings in their ordinary accounts from April 1 to June 30.
by Straits Times
Singapore is standing firm on its ban on human cloning. Declaring that it is illegal, health minister Khaw Boon Wan, however, said on Tuesday that science is evolving and the law must try to keep place.
by Gillian Murdoch, Reuters
Not content with a $13.7 billion financial stimulus package, Singapore has unveiled a raft of economic recovery schemes with titles so perky they are almost "comical," the Straits Times newspaper reported on Tuesday.
by Lost In Thoughts...
If only they had done this long ago rather than investing in stupid projects like announcements.
by Lim Yii Tong, The Wayang Party Club
Given the rapid pace at which internet technologies are evolving, there need to be a fundamental shift in the government’s mindset and strategy to package and communicate its intent and message in a more palatable and acceptable form to netizens who will be peeved from being talked down to as is the current mode of interaction with the officialdom.
by Making History Relevant
by Saeed Azhar and Kevin Lim, Reuters
Investors did not panic late last month when the chief executive of DBS Group, the biggest bank in Southeast Asia, was found to have cancer. That is because its chairman, Koh Boon Hwee, one of the most powerful players in Singapore boardrooms, took the reins.
by Made Andi Arsana, The Jakarta Post
The success of Indonesia and Singapore in establishing a maritime boundary through a series of negotiations is an example of a good bilateral relationship. This once again proves that countries in Southeast Asia can settle disputes peacefully.
by Bernama
Singapore authorities detained 366 people without trial under its criminal law in the past five years, its Parliament was told today.
Home affairs ministerWong Kang Seng said the act was only used as a last resort when a serious crime had been committed and a court prosecution was not possible because witnesses were not willing or afraid to testify in court.
In other words, I can't show any evidence that you are guilty, but trustme, you are factually guilty.
by RTTNews
Monday, a report by the Monetary Authority of Singapore said the official foreign reserves decreased to US$ 167 billion in January from US$ 174.2 billion in December.
by The Associated Press
CapitaLand Ltd, Southeast Asia's largest property developer, said demand for Singapore office space plummeted last year as the global financial crisis knocked the city-state into recession.
"There was a big surge in demand for offices 10 or 11 months ago ... but it suddenly stops and falls off a cliff," CapitaLand Chief Executive Liew Mun Leong said at a news conference. "We know the market is softening and volume has gone down, and prices will be softening."
by Lediati Tan, New Paper
by Jason Leow, Wall Street Journal
As an outsider, Goodyear could help reinforce Temasek’s message to foreign governments that the fund conducts it business solely with commercial considerations and without political motives.
by Mathia Lee
The message the internet-un-saavy electorate will remember is that any news from the internet is written by unkind, unjust, violent terrorists, who spout inaccurate information, with the evil underlying motive of brainwashing the good Singaporeans.
Internet political content has just acquired the same reputation as pornography and criminals.
by Feed Me To The Fish
Too many in Singapore have trusted too few for too long.
by Chee Soon Juan, Singapore Democrats
Herein lies the danger, which is that of allowing one man to call the shots and of accepting Mr Lee's propaganda that he and the people he has anointed are the only one's who have the answers to our future. This danger must be highlighted, and highlighted again and again until it drenches our national psyche.
by Mr Wang Says So
Dr Vivian seemed to suggest that if the PAP government gave more than $330, then it would somehow become a bloated, inefficient, irrational, ill-disciplined and incompetent organisation.
How exactly that would happen - I do not know. But then again, Vivian's imagination is probably much more powerful than mine.
by Nicholas Lazarus, Young PAP Blog
I don’t think the opposition have any shared goal. Theirs seems a pursuit of their own agendas to the detriment of their fellow oppositionists. A "Pakatan" indeed!
by Straits Times
The Energy Market Authority (EMA) will revise the current formula for electricity tariff to make it less volatile and more reflective of prevailing market conditions. Senior minister of state for trade and industry S Iswaran said EMA plans to use the fuel oil price data over a three month period to set the tariff, instead of the current practice of using only one month's price data.
by A Long And Arduous Road Of An Entrepreneur
We have heart, we just choose to show it appropriately.
by This Lush Garden Within
I don’t think HDB flats and neighbourhoods are anywhere near luxurious in the first place. “No frills” housing? Do those MPs really believe that HDB flats nowadays have lots of “value-added” features?
by Asia Sentinel
Whatever the performance, the skimpy nature of Temasek's published data makes independent analysis very difficult — even assuming that the major brokers, rating agencies and investment banks would ever be willing to incur official wrath by attempting to do so.
As for Goodyear, even with the help of a big capital profit on the December sale of PowerSeraya to Malaysia's YTL for S$3.8 billion, his first Annual Review as Ho Ching's successor will need some remarkable accounting contortions if it is not to look grim indeed.
by Fang Zhi Yuan and Lim Siow Kuan, The Wayang Party Club
The take home message from the panelists at the SDP Forum on the future direction of the opposition held at Orchid Copthone Hotel yesterday is unmistakable: The opposition, civil society and blogging community must work together in order to do a “Malaysia” in the next election.
by Ansley Ng, Today
It is hardly the usual call from Members of Parliament (MPs), who tend to push for upgrading in their constituencies. But two among their ranks are making the call for "no-frills" housing.
by Oldskoolmark
Obama has already shown successful use of social tools to engage Gen Y during his campaign to become president. It would be interesting to see, for the rest of his term, how he manages to carry on that engagement. It would be a lot to ask for us to move in that direction, but the idealist in me sincerely believes that the leaders we have could bring us to that same level of communications.
by Blowin' In THe Wind
So sovereign wealth funds invest billions of dollars in the same way a shopper buys Maxwell House coffee – because he or she likes that particular brand.
But who can resist the lure of brands?
by 吴新慧, 联合早报
国家的保护伞，人们总希望越大越好、功能越多越兴奋，但能自备随身携带的伞，最方便也最能灵活使用，不必等有盖人行道，不必等着开伞收伞的指示，收放自如。最重要的是，别自己有了，还想占用别人的。
by Thanong Khanthong, The Nation
Ho Ching's resignation as CEO of Temasek Holdngs would not cloud heavy losses of about 40 per cent at Singapore's sovereign wealth fund amid the global financial market meltdown.
An investment analyst in Singapore in Singapore said that he don't think the resignation has much to do with Temasek's performance. "This is Singapore, favoured people are not made to resign for performance! I think Singapore leaders are more concerned over the sovereign wealth fund issue. It becomes more difficult to defend Singapore's sovereign wealth fund as a non-state actor with no political agenda if the wife of the prime minister is running it."
by P N Baiji, Today
Having a third member of the Lee family in politics or the cabinet is not just going to be a very difficult cross to carry. The Singapore that we were when former foreign minister and one of the founding members of the PAP, Mr S Rajaratnam proposed a youthful Lee Hsien Loong for politics in 1984 is very different from the Singapore we are in today.
The population is becoming more demanding and judgemental, with a click community sometimes hijacking the debate in a digital world always looking for the next hot-button issue.
by Ian Timothy, SG Entrepreneuers
by Kevin Lim, Reuters
by The Wayang Party Club
We made a mistake in not exercising due caution and deliberation in what was published here. The offensive posts, comments and videos have since been deleted.
by Aaron Low, Straits Times
One, according to prime minister Lee Hsien Loong, the Jobs Credit Scheme reduces the cost of hiring a Singaproean by paying, on behalf of employers, part of the worker's contribution to his Central Provident Fund (CPF) savings, and two, it encourages companies to hire more Singaporeans.
In doing so, he said the scheme also deals specifically with an overriding worry of Singaporeans: whether they can keep their jobs in this downturn.
by Yum Shoen Liang, Straits Times
by Siew Kum Hong
Te employers' CPF contribution rate for most locals (excluding older locals, etc.) is 14.5%. JCS equates to a 9% point reduction in that rate. So local employees are still 5.5% more expensive than foreign employees.
by Gerald Giam
How can you have trust without transparency?
by The Kway Teow Man
The JCS makes locals about 10% cheaper to hire than foreigners. Now, it turns out that the JCS is also targetted to jobs that pay less than $2,500 per month because these are likely non-executive jobs that are most sensitive to costs.
If people think carefully about it, what the JCS is doing is not exactly stopping retrenchments, but where there are retrenchments, move Singaporeans avourably down the list. So, what we care about are the retrenchments numbers for Singaporeans.
by Eugene Yeo, The Wayang Party Club
It is unbecoming, unprofessional and unethical for a major Chinese daily to publish such fictitious hogwash without even checking on its veracity and accuracy and what’s more embarrassing is the source of the misinformation come from themselves in the first place!
by Au Waipang, Yawning Bread
When the PAP wants to spend its "own" money, of course the process has to be quick and easy. WHen a future non-PAP goernment asks to do so, it must prove extremely difficult (assuming that the president had been installed by a PAP government).
To institutionalise the process by which the president and the CPA should evaluate and decide, through the example of the current request, would be to lay down a procedure that makes things much too easy for future non-PAP governments. Better to keep it opaque.
by Singapore Life And Times
No, he wasn't the fiery speaker, never was anyway. And yes, he was often ignored, even in his heyday. But he always came across as ever sincere, earnest and honest.
by The Edge Singapore
The incoming Temasek CEO's biggest asset will e as a strong public frace for Singapore's more visible SWF. Because Ho was the unfair target of potshots for her relationship with prime minister Lee Hsien Loong, who is her husband, she had chosen to stay away from the limelight, avoiding media interviews and press conferences. That, unfortunately, denied Temasek the ability to tell its side of the story more effectively.
by Au Waipang, Yawning Bread
How does one make progress when the starting point is an illusion?
by The Online Citizen
Madam Ho's connections to the Singaore's founding Lee family were long considered to have rendered her unimpeachable, yet the timing of her impending departure would inevitably send an ambiguous message.
by Andrew Loh, The Online Citizen
The question thus remains: What were the president's reasons for approving the reserves, and what process did he go through to approve it?
by Fang Zhi Yuan, The Wayang Party Club
Nearly 100 Singaporeans filled the Aerides Room at Orchid Corpthone Hotel to attend SDP’s forum on the future of opposition politics, almost half of whom are young people.
by Au Waipang, Yawning Bread
The anatomy is very interesting, and quite typical of news stories in the mainstream media. The element that is most supportive of the government is placed first, then the factual context is explained. After that, the components are arranged roughly in descending order of support; the more dissenting, the further down the article your view is.
by Pearl Forss, Channel NewsAsia
From poking fun at political figures to tackling homosexuality and religion and even full frontal nudity, theatre companies in Singapore are increasingly pushing the boundaries.
by Pearl Forss, Channel NewsAsia
Close to 5,200 tertiary students have signed a petition for lower public transport fares.
They say it is unfair they have to pay 80 per cent more in fares compared to students in junior colleges and institutes of technical education.
by Seah Chiang Nee, The Star
Singaporeans are becoming more anxious about not knowing how much their collective savings have been lost - or tied up - in troubled investments as a result of the global market collapse.
In a few years' time the recession will blow over, almost everyone is sure. But no one can be equally sure that even when it happens Singapore can recover from its investment mistakes, even years after that.
by Fang Zhui Yuan, The Wayang Party Club
Political dissent can only be managed through effective communication and not quashed completely by adopting a hard-ball approach which will cause the relationship between the government and blogosphere to become more sour and adversarial.
by Chrstie Loh, Today
About a month ago, certain circles were abuzz with talk that Ms Ho Ching was planning to leave Temasek Holdings to join politics. Strong skepticism greeted those murmurs at the time. The talk is now back.
by 赵灵敏, 南风窗
自改革开放以来，新加坡就与中国结下了不解之缘。30年来，新加坡是唯一的中国领导人点名学习的国家。在中国 历史上，似乎还没有过心悦诚服向一个国家学习了30年、至今还方兴未艾的先例。
by Dicky Christanto, The Jakarta Post
A police officer told a Jakarta district court Thursday that terror suspect Muhammad Hasan alias Fajar Taslim, a Singaporean man arrested last year in Indonesia, was part of a terrorist cell operating within his country.
by Taiwan News
by Li Xueying, Straits Times
Senior minister of state Lui Tuck Yew yesterday stated categorically that he was not pushing for more internet regulation when he crticised netizens for not rebutting online attacks on MP Seng Han Thong.
He noted that in responding to the report by the Advisory Council on the Impact of New Media on Society, a group of bloggers proposed that community moderation replace the government's lighter-touch regulatory approach.
by Gerald Giam
by Valarie Tan, Channel NewsAsia
Singapore's minister mentor Lee Kuan Yew has said the country has over S$100 billion in reserves today, unlike the 1960s when the country first gained independence. But the republic has not relied on borrowing to fund its investments.
by Alvin Foo and Francis Chan, Straits Times
CIMB-GK economist Song Seng Wun said: "I'm taken aback by the timing. It's been a most difficult period for Temasek given their paper losses."
Mr Wong Kok Ho, APS Asset Management's chief investment officer, said: "The whole industry is surprised by the announcement. Nobody expected the timing."
by Straits Times
Around 80,000 library members have paid their fines since it was announced last month that borrowing privileges would be suspended from April 1 if fines remain unpaid.
by Jessica Cheam, Straits Times
The move will differentiate those truly deserving cases from those who actually have alternative housing options, National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan told Parliament on Friday.
by Yaw Shin Leong
by Aloysius Foo, The Online Citizen
The WP has poised itself as the leading opposition party, with anticipations of a better performance in the next election. If other parties were to stand a chance, they ought to reorganize themselves, revamp their image and offer better proposals. Unless they do so, they will head for political stagnation or worse, obliteration, no matter how much opposition unity they talk of.
by Melvin Tan K. H., A Blog Day's Work
As an organisation that touts iself to be a caregiver of workers, did these NTUC-representing PAP MPs grill the PM or the finance and manpower ministers with equal zeal, which ideally should be the case?
by S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia
Singapore's foreign minister George Yeo on Friday said Singapore's tie with Malaysia have improved considerably under prime minister Abdullah Badawi. Ties with Indonesia are also very good, said the foreign minister.
by Channel NewsAsia
Lease Buyback Scheme (LBS) is a new monetisation option to help elderly households in three-room or smaller flats unlock their housing equity to meet their retirement needs.
by Reuters
Ho Ching, wife of Singapore prime minister Lee Hsien Loong, will step down as chief executive of Temasek, ending a 5-year term which saw the state investment agency expand aggressively beyond Singapore. It was also involved in controversies around the region.
Temasek chairman S. Dhanabalan said Ho's decision to step down was not linked to performance, and it was too early to determine if investments made in the last two years would lose out in the long-term.
by Bei u and Yoolim Lee, Bloomberg
Temasek Holdings Pte said chief executive officer Ho Ching will step down after almost seven years at the helm of Singapore's $130 billion state-owned investment company.
Chip Goodyear, 51, a former CEO of BHP Billiton Ltd., will succeed Ho, wife of Singapore's prime minister Lee Hsien Loong, effective Oct. 1, Temasek chairman S. Dhanabalan said at a press conference today. Goodyear will be the first foreigner to run the sovereign wealth funds.
by Choo Zheng Xi, The Online Citizen
We agree with RADM Lui’s call for bloggers to establish norms of acceptable behavior, but disagree that anyone on the internet should 'enforce' these norms. The force of these standards must come from the moral legitimacy of community acceptance: they need to be evolved from consensus and not by fiat.
by Jeremy Au Yong, Straits Times
by Tong Hsien-Hui, Straits Times
As a first step, the government should manage its current online presence better with swifter response times, which is a fundamental trait of the online community.
The government must also understand the communication dynamics in the online world. A statement followed immediately with a strong rebuttal usually either leads to an escalation in online confrontation, or worse, the withdrawal of the contributor to some other site.
by Arul John, New Paper
On Tuesday, the father of a student at Kuo Chuan Presbyterian Primary School wrote to the Straits Times online media portal (Stomp) describing his shock at receiving a note from the school about his daughter's remedial classes from today.
by Ng E-Jay, Sgpolitics.net
by Straits Times
The public service, the biggest employer in Singapore, is hiring more older officers and also re-employing those over 62-year-old, said Mr Teo Chee Hean, minister in charge of the civil service on Thursday.
by Serene Luo, Straits Times
Singapore will be the first country in Asia to get the Google phone.
by Valarie Tan, Channel NewsAsia
Home affairs minister Wong Kan Seng said his ministry has no credible information on the whereabouts of Mas Selamat Kestari, the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) leader who escaped last year.
by Empty_Vessels
It is akin to trying to condemn the ocean for being wet. Sorry: Can't do anything about it even if we wanted to.
by Ministry Of Finance, Singapore Government
(Note: Link goes to Microsoft Word document.)
by Fiona Chan, Straits Times
When the government sells land in Singapore, the revenues collected usually go into its past reserves rather than its current savings. Finance minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam disclosed this in Parliament on Thursday in resonse to a question from Workers' Party MP Sylvia Limon how much the government has in its current reserves.
by Ragsstudio
I think we have to be moving out.
by Straits Times
The government, which is tapping its past reserves for the first time to fight Singapore's worst recession, cannot rule out a further drawdown in the event of another exceptional situation,s aid finance minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam on Thursday.
by Straits Times
Raising the $2,000 cap for personal income tax rates would benefit only a very small group of taxpayers and significantly impact on government revenues, said finance minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam in Parliament on Thursday.
by Cheryl Frois, Channel NewsAsia
Amid the global recession, some experts predict this year's advertising budgets may shrink by 15 to 20 per cent.
by Military Life: Memoirs Of A Conscript In The Lion City
I seriously question the wisdom of flinging our hard-earned tax dollars down the bureaucracy that is Mindef. What next big weapons systems is in Mindef's radar?
by Ng Baoying, Channel NewsAsia
Finance minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said the government believes keeping Singaoreans employed and helping businesses stay afloat makes more sense. He said a GST cut is unlikely to help Singaporeans or businesses as powerfully.
by Valarie Tan, Channel NewsAsia
More immigrants became Singapore citizens and Permanent Residents (PRs) in 2008. Minister-in-charge of population, Wong Kan Seng, said the increase could be due to the good economy and not because of a change in immigration policy.
by Ephraim Loy, A Writer's Blog
If I may counter his words, I had seen many encouraging statements and comments on Facebook which wished Mr Seng well. There was also a Facebook group started to rally support and wish him well. Clearly, we cannot afford to make such fallacious judgments based on one incident.
by Eugene Yeo, The Wayang Party Club
To Mr Lui and the other PAP MPs out there, please remember what your own kind has said by heart: If you do not like what netizens say, you and your minions have the right of rebuttal. Unlike your compliant, syncophantic and spineless print media, the New Media can never be regulated by any third parties.
The problem is: you are in the minority in cyberspace and you should be asking yourselves why.
by Eugene Yeo, The Wayang Party Club
Prof Koo conveniently ignored the key question posed by the editorial: Why does our consumption comprise only 40% of the GDP, much less than the average 55% of other Asian countries ?
by Aaron Ng, Hear Ye Hear Ye
Come on, PAP. Sylvia Lim is essentially suggesting aiding people who are trying to help themselves. What is there to disagree with?
by Au Yaipang, Yawning Bread
I don't think Lui understands what are the justifiable limits to free speech. Saying things hurtful to people in power is not a reason for censorship. Nor is expressing childish sentiments.
Did moderators fail in their jobs when they chose not to shield PAP members from unkind remarks? The junior minister is using a very self-serving test to make his judgement.
by Ms Chor Lor.com
by AFP
A Singapore lawmaker has a simple explanation for the city-state's lack of babies: procreation, he says, is "not our forte."
Loo Choon Yong also suggestd that because more free time did not necessarily result in more babies, people should work on Saturdays, a report in The Straits Times said.
Shouldn't the logical conclusion be that, instead of Sunday, the weekly rest day should be based on the wife's ovulation cycle? :-)
by Celluloid Reality(s)
We cannot tell individuals what to think, and it is wise not to do so. Everyone understands the bacteria analogy, that little “infections” serve to strengthen the entire corpus, and hence harmless voices and opinions, fiery or not, serve the same purpose.
How else would you know that you are being positive if there is no Other to measure this against. If you are a caring ,decent chap, your identity is strengthen in opposition to the Other, the antithesis of what you stand for personally.
by National Solidarity Party
by Au Yaipang, Yawning Bread
All ministers' pay comes from taxpayer money, so yeah, it can be compared to how government aid is used in such companies.
Secondly, the government now thinks that our economy is tanking so badly that the case for raiding the reserves is justified. THat's like seeking bailout, is it not?
by Aaron Ng, Hear Ye Hear Ye
The bottomline is that in any democratic space, there are all kinds of people with all kinds of ideas and oopinions. There will always be people on the extremes.
by Fang Zhi Yuan, The Wayang Party Club
To defend the PAP will be an unacceptable anomaly.
by The Temple Of Thoughts III
Compared to other countries, nationalistic pride keeps their streets clean. Singapore hire foreigners to clean up the streets at night.
by Benjamine Koe, The Eok .Network
I believe the online community is a great source of feedback, but it's the story of the collective that carries meaning.
by Nasu Dengaku
Something in Singapore's national cutlure allowed the country to work extremely well.
by 毛丽萍, 现代快报
近日，新加坡某巴士公司在江苏招聘200名巴士司机，月薪最高达8000多元人民币。但昨天，记者了解到应聘者并不多，报名的只有100多人，而且基本上是外市的，南京籍的很少。
巴士司机工作时间长，上早班的司机需要凌晨三四点就出门工作，夜班司机则需工作到凌晨一二点，“新加坡本地人对巴士司机这份工作都不看好，觉得太苦，巴士公司招聘也常常碰壁。”负责招聘的屠小刚经理告诉记者。
by My Paper
by Albert Teng, Holland-Bukit Panjang Town Council (On Behalf Of The 14 PAP Town Councils), Today
The Town Councils' annual reports for 2008 will be available to the public once the audited financial statement is approved by the Ministry of National Development.
by Joey Yeo, Straits Times
The rebuttals by the PAP MPs showed that they had failed to understand the nub of Mr Low's concern.
by Pam Hu, Media Development Authority, Straits Times
The TV licence fee of $110 has remained unchanged since Jan 1, 1994. It is among the lowest in the world, even as the cost of producing Public Service Broadcast programmes has risen over the years, and there are more free-to-air TV channels today for consumers to enjoy.
I wonder how one can claim our TV license is among the lowest in the world, when 300 mllion people living in the United States, for one, pay $0 for their television.
by Ng Baoying, Channel NewsAsia
Members of Parliament repeated earlier calls for a cut in the Good and Service Tax (GST) during the budget debate in Parliament on Wednesday. There were also requests for more pro-active help schemes for small and medium-sized businesses.
by Ng E-Jay, Sgpolitics.net
by Mollymeek
Lui's latest comments are interesting because his criticism is based on the idea that the internet should be self-regulatory. It reveals what an ideal world, online and offline, must be to him. A self-regulated world.
by AFP
Four people held a rare protest march in tightly controlled Singapore on Wednesday to appeal for British help in ending the war in Sri Lanka, a report said.
by Business Standard
The Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) has decided to stop selling packages to Singapore and withdraw its support to the city-state as a destination.
by Ringisei
Mdm Liu Lao Lao added that coffee shop community had not done enough to rebut some of the unhelpful comments delivered by fellow patrons.
by The Kent Ridge Common
Perhaps, the scheme will tilt the balance of competitiveness between local graduates and foreigners. And perhaps, our soon-to-be graduates of 2009 may face a kinder job market.
by Angels Seeping Through
We're not even allowed to walk in whitesands after school, we are expected to walk a big round around whitesands to get to the bus interchange. What kind of crap rule is that?
by Ayasaka Kagali, NothingIsWorthIt
My whole four years in CSS, I was never caught once, tho' nearly once (if my friend didn't pull me away before I stepped into White Sands.)
by Cherian George, Journalism.sg
The amendments that have been tabled in Parliament aren't only about opening up space for free expression. The government is also taking the opportunity to tighten the noose around civil disobedience.
by mrbrown
Coffee shop uncles and netizens should all take a leaf from our responsible and balanced press and assorted local mainstream media. That is where true self-regulation and nation-building takes place.
by Wong Siew Ying, Channel NewsAsia
The Ministry of Finance said the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) has performed well over the long term. But its investment have lost value just like other institutional investors in view of the financial meltdown.
by Saeed Azhar, Reuters
Slowing loan growth, mounting losses from bad debts and falling fee income from slumping capital markets will cut quarterly earnings for banks in Singapore and Malaysia by as much as a third, with an even rougher ride expected in 2009 as the global economy worsens.
by Imelda Saad, Channel NewsAsia
Contrary to what some may feel, Singapore's senior minister of state for information, communications and the arts, Lui Tuck Yew, says the internet is not an effective self-regulated regime.
by Aaron Ng, Hear Ye Hear Ye
I think problem with Low’s argument is that he was not comparing apples with apples. It seems to me the Job Credit scheme was never designed to save jobs for companies that are on the verge of collapse. The scheme is meant to help sound companies lower their costs so that they can continue operating even when demand has dropped significantly.
by Chin Sau Ho, Ministry of Finance, Singapore Government, Wall Street Journal
Singapore will constantly review and update its economic strategies, but we have not done too badly. The economy has grown by over 5% per year on average in the decade since the Asian crisis, well above any economy with broadly comparable income levels. Unemployment rates have also been amongst the lowest in the world. This hardly suggests that Singapore is a failed model.
by Somesuperman
I mean its perfectly fine when we are with our parents! Its not like we are going to cause trouble in front of our parents. And they should really let us go in to eat. We get hungry too! school food isn't that appetising. I mean come on! We have to live with those same stall for our 4 or 5 years in coral! I predict tomorrow is going to be a longgggg assembly.
by Singaporean Skeptic
You have PAP MPs who hide behind their superiority in numbers to attack the opposition.
by 周殊钦, 联合早报
确实，公积金就如同人们的“储备金”，任何动用老本的举措，都会触动人们的敏感神经。不只是反对党议员和官委议员，就连多名执政党议员也担心政府所作出的打开国库的决定，是种理财不慎的表现，而纷纷要求财长详尽说明政府动用储备金的依据和原则。
by Bob Porras
I was speaking with folks about Singapore's Port Terminal and why so many ships at port. I was not surprised to find out that many of the ships are short term moored, since imports and exports have slowed. One individual told me that ship movements started to slow in October, then some more in November and plummeted in December. The decrease in port activity is in direct correlation with the economic slow down worldwide. Another person described the port activity as "crawling."
by Kor Kian Beng, Straits Times
The need for unity and identifying the future direction of the opposition in Singapore are among issues to be discussed at a forum on Saturday - but several key parties are giving the event a miss.
by Andrew Ross Sorkin, New York Times
Maybe the regulators, like Wall Streeters, would start thinking about the money, rather than what is right. But maybe that's exactly what Wall Street needs to slow down.
by Kevin Lim, Reuters
Singapore's central bank said late on Tuesday that it has not drawn on a $30 billion swap facility establiehed with the U.S. Federal Reserve and did not see a need to do so soon.
by Esther Fung, Today
Minister of state (defence) Koo Tsai Kee said: "If Singapore had followed WSJA's prescriptions, Singapore could well have become 'Iceland on the Straits.'"
by Sonia Kolesnikov-Jessop, New York Times
by Daniel Ling, Singapore Enquirer
by Fang Zhi Yuan and Jeremy Koh, The Wayang Party Club
by Edmund Lin, Straits Times
Most foreigners choose to stay here for utilitarian reasons, unlike the reasons why native-born Singaporeans live on this island.
by Julian Lee, New Paper
Coral Secondary School forbids any student in uniform from entering the nearby White Sands shopping mall in Pasir Ris, among other things. The rule, which was imposed several years ago, also forbids students in uniform from hanging out at the neighbouring housing estate.
One word: stupid.
by Groundnotes
All Low was did was to point out the obvious - the Job Credit scheme is no use for an employee whose employer needs to cut wage costs pronto. Instead of addressing this point, Heng in return presents a false dilemma by offering Low a stark choice between praising the Job Credit scheme and not doing anything at all.
by Diary Of A Singaporean Mind
by Singapore Democrats
by Feed Me To The Fish
The Jobs Credit Scheme is nothing more than a 'wag-the-dog' scheme to help companies and put the Government in a good light.
by Asha Popatlal, Channel NewsAsia
by Wong Kan Seng, Singapore Government
All the specific recommendations have ben fully followed up and implemented.
by Cheryl Lim, Channel NewsAsia
Recession woes have hit Singapore's shopping belt. Retailers are finding it harder to persuade consumers to part with their hard-earned cash despite the attractive post-Lunar New Year sales.
by S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia
MPs who spoke on the subject are clear about their stand - that such a decision must not be made a habit and it is important for Singaporeans to understand the full reasons behind it and the president's approval.
by 938Live
The consortium which is constructing the Kallang Sports Hub is having difficulty in raising the necessary funds to start the project, due to the ongoing financial crisis.
by Melanie Lee, Reuters
Singapore's visitor arrivals in December 2008 fell 6.9 percent rom a year earlier as the global economic downturn took a toll on the tourism sector, the Singapore Tourism Board said on Tuesday.
by Khalil Adis, Property Report Asia
If you noticed more Lamborghinis and Ferraris revving up Singapore's roads lately, it's the super rich making their mark.
by 洪铭铧, 联合早报
纵观2008年新传媒电视收视率，与前年相比，不管是戏剧或是综艺节目，都处于全面下滑的局面。而8频道娘惹、奶爸和草根题材的剧集，除了带动收看热潮，也成为收视下滑的砥柱。
by Erwida Maulia, The Jakarta Post
After almost four years of negotiations, Indonesia and Singapore have agreed on a new maritime boundary.
Departing from previous concern, foreign minister Hassan Wirajuda said, Singapore, which has been acitvely reclaiming its shoreline, finally agreed not to use its southern reclaimed shoreline as the basis to determine the border.
by Daniel Ling, Singapore Enquirer
by Joyce Teo, Straits Times
The head of a developers' association yesterday urged commercial tenants here not to expect steep rental cuts from their landlords.
Mr Simon Cheong, president of the Real Estate Developers Association of Singaproe (Redas), has asked tenants to be reasonable in their demands.
by 霜天晓角 新的希望 2009
新加坡的红灯区是全世界闻名的红灯区之一。
by Shhh! Secret Life Of A Princess
Simple pleasures of life.
by Alicia Wong, Today
Less than a month after the Bloggers Association (Singapore) was officially formed, eight founding members have stepped down, leaving president Jayne Goh and secretary Wilfrid Wong at the helm.
The sudden departures mostly stem from the negative response to the association and personal commitments, said Ms Goh, who admitted: "There are quite a lot of disagreements as well, on the way the association is run and on my conduct."
by Tony Poulos, Telecom TV
Femtocells may become a serious part of the mobile infrastructure over the next few years. We've covered the standards and the theory, but with Singapore's StarHub having launched service, we can now bring you one of the first, independent femto reviews.
by Mr Wang Says So
In Singapore, the risk-profiling process is carried out by the very same salesperson who's going to try to sell you some structured product. In other words, there's a conflict of interest.
by Gerald Giam
by Hetty Musfirah Abdul Khamid, Channel NewsAsia
Of the S$6.25m budgeted for the CCC-ComCare Fund, only S$1.57m was disbursed to the needy and low-income families in the first nine months of the current fiscal year.
by Sujadi Siswo, Channel NewsAsia
Indonesia and Singapore have settled a dispute over a maritime border that spans over 36 years. It involves the area around Indonesia's Nipah Island, in the Riau Islands, nearest to Singapore.
by Fiona Chan, Straits Times
Even as a panel hosted by audit firm Pricewaterhouse Coopers praised this year's budget statement, - announced two weeks ago and to be debated in Parliament starting today - expectations of a 'Plan B' hung in the air, in the form of more off-budget measures to come later this year.
by Serene Luo, Straits Times
The fledging Association of Bloggers (Singapore) has lost at least seven out of 10 of its founding committee members over the weekend. The Straits Times understands an eight person also intends to step down. Those who have stepped down include its two vice-presidents and treasurer.
by Roger Mitton, THe Phnom Penh Post
When I met a Singapore delegation, they told me how their ministers, even the prime minister, sue the newspapers. They said I'm too soft with journalists. But in Cambodia, we take a much more relaxed and democratic attitude. Even a foreigner can own a newspaper here. You don't even need a Cambodian partner. That's not possible in most Asian countries, even those that claim to have a free press. One of the reasons we did it is because foreigners help our own journalists develop their technical and professional abilities. And it helps foster the openness of Cambodian society because people now feel they can say things they used to think were forbidden.
by 江瑞耀, 星洲日报(馬來西亞)
一個進步的國家必需擁有些甚麼？筆者之前在新加坡工作過一段時間，有感而發，我看到了一個進步國家所必須擁有的條件。
by Ecommerce Journal
by Ven Ram, Barron's
Economists say the authority will eventually let the Singapore dollar weaken, as otherwise it risks falling behind the curve even as other central banks cut rates aggressively to prop up their economies.
by Terence Lee and Mervin Lee, The Online Citizen
One wonders if the editor of STOMP even bothered to verify the accuracy of the report, if one could even call it that.
by Gabriel Sim, Singapore Enquirer
If taxpayer money is used, there must be transparency and accountability. If companies and industries are saved because of our sacrifices and our money, then there should be some compensation and windfall due to us when everything recovers.
I believe Mr Gabriel Sim is forgetting one crucial fact: Companies pay taxes too!
by The Workers' Party
工人党认为修订分层计算电费的收费渐进制，通过平衡商业利益和消费者的利益，以免电供公司在电供私营化后以自由市场为名获得过高的盈利，长远来说，可缓和国人所面对支付高电费的生活冲击。
by Making History Relevant
People may say Singapore does not have 'free' elections, but this isn't enough to paint the government as evil.
by 叶孝忠, 联合早报
由拍摄到上画的宣传，电影人无时无刻都不以性作为宣传伎俩，由制作班底的裸泳庆功到演员们在戏中大胆的裸露情节等，处处都是性暗示，以刺激国人入场支持。新加坡人真的这样性饥渴吗？
by 陈再藩, 联合早报
新山这个城市会因为关卡移位而骤然告老，其肇因，乃因其城市体质的不平衡发展。
by Singapore Democrats
If the PAP is serous on helping the people, then it should implement these measures proposed by the Singapore Democrats. No fancy names, no complex time line, just quick and good help for the people.
But if the intent is to make the Budget sound and look impressive while evading transparency and accountability then names like Resilience Package would go a long way in aiding the wayang.
by Alvin Foo, Straits Times
The Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) is confident that it will be able to continue generating reasonable returns for the country's reserves despite a tougher global investment climate.
by The Online Citizen
The recent plight of some foreign workers throws up uneasy questions.
by Fang Zhi Yuan and Lim Siow Kuan, The Wayang Party Club
Singapore journalists have too much to lose by going against the wishes of the government.
by S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia
Singapore's senior minister Goh Chok Tong has said the country must be disciplined and not dip into the reserves at the first signs of trouble.
by Cassandra Chew, Straits Times
More foreigners are applying for PR status for fear of losing their jobs during recession.
by Aaron Chua, Wild Illusions
by Groundnotes
Singapore has just taken the erasing of history to new heights.
by Ng E-Jay, Sgpolitics.net
The government has spent most of 2008 fighting inflation rather than preparing for deflation, which is what the global economy, and in particular Singapore, is likely to experience in the months ahead.
by Alan Lander, Sunshine Coast Daily
Geoff Trotter of Fueltrac thinks it's a "cook-up" by the oil companies in Singapore, because he can't find any triggers in the currency exchange rate, refinery problems or spikes in demand to explain it otherwise.
by Sex Sells, So Does Politics
If you are holding a degree and working as a professional/senior executive/manager, pray hard that your job is here to stay!
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