Ad : Buy beautiful things at Home-tique
MyAppleMenu | Tomorrow | Reader | Singapore | SushiReader
You are here in the archive: SingaporeSurf > 2010 > December
Heng-Cheong Leong, MyAppleMenu
Here's a little fireworks video I've shot to usher in the new year.
Gaurav Raghuvanshi And P.R. Venkat, Wall Street Journal
Wong Wee Nam, Sgpolitics.net
Imelda Saad, Channel NewsAsia
In his New Year's Message, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong described the growth as "a dramatic rebound from negative growth last year".
But he also tempered expectations, saying the results are because of "special circumstances" and are "unlikely to be repeated soon".
AFP
James Gomez, Singaporeans For Democracy
This new racial classification will have no impact on current racially based policies surrounding mother tongue education, self-help groups, public housing and general elections (GRC minority candidate).
The changing racial demographics and rise in inter-ethnic marriages clearly point to the need to remove “race” classification altogether and mover to a Singaporean Singapore where policy making is not race based.
My Paper
A recent survey conducted by the Ministry of Manpower found that 35 per cent of establishments offered at least one form of work-life arrangement to their employees this year, up from 25 per cent in 2007.
Part-time work was the most common offered this year, with close to three in 10 establishments offering it. Less common were options for staggered hours, flexi-time, tele-working, working at home and job sharing.
Lim Chin Joo, Straits Times
My brother had sued the paper for libel and the lawyer for Straits Times Press (Malaya) had acknowledged that 'there is in fact no truth' in the allegations made against my brother in the report .
As a key custodian of published national history, the National Library Board owes members of the public a duty not to let falsehoods be perpetuated as part of history.
Leong Wee Keat, Today
Accused persons who are unrepresented and serving sentence will continue to enjoy the fee's waiver. Pro bono cases will also continue to enjoy the waiver.
When asked about the increase, a Subordinate Courts spokesperson told MediaCorp that they are "mindful of maintaining our court fees at an affordable rate". "The current fee of $5 is also disproportionately low, in this day and age ... The proposed $50 fee is a reasonable one but does not serve to recover full costs. However, it should not be an impediment for those who genuinely wish to appeal," the spokesperson said.
Shamim Adam And Jay Wang, Bloomberg
Singapore’s economy probably returned to growth this quarter as manufacturing rebounded, putting the nation on course to surpass Malaysia’s output with the world’s second-fastest growth rate this year.
Singapore Democrat Party
Hard, historical facts are the greatest antidote to fear mongering by the state and to the use of national security as a bogey to suppress freedom and democracy.
Seet Sok Hwee, Channel NewsAsia
Angela Lim, Yahoo!
As merrymakers in Singapore were busy celebrating Christmas Eve and Christmas Day over the festive period, another spate of violent attacks took place across the island.
Bernard Fook Weng Loo, Eurasia Review
Eco-Business.com
When it comes to good, clean air, Singapore trumps many of its South-east Asian neighbours, but its air quality still falls short of world standards.
Thian Tai Chew, Today
It is a vicious cycle and as long as we continue to attract more foreigners into Singapore, the only outcome for such a formula is that the property tax would go higher and higher.
As an owner-occupied property owner who does not partake of the rental market, I do not see why I should be taxed based on the actions of other people who are renting out their property.
AsiaOne
14 employment agencies have been warned by the Manpower Ministry (MOM) for flouting the rule and bringing in underage maids to work in Singapore. Four of the agencies were also issued demerit points, which put them at risk of losing their licence.
Mustafa Shafawi, Channel NewsAsia
From Saturday, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) will implement the registration of double-barrelled race options for Singaporean children born to parents of different races.
It gives parents who are of different races further flexibility and choice to decide how their child's race should be recorded.
Mustafa Shafawi, Channel NewsAsia
After falling this quarter, electricity tariffs for households will go up by 3.3 per cent for the first three months of next year.
Nopporn Wong-Anan, Reuters
Singapore's Marina Bay Sands will open the world's first ArtScience museum in February, the latest attraction at its $5.5 billion gambling complex built by U.S. casino giant Las Vegas Sands.
The Shenton Times
If our workers are being forced to scrimp and save for more rainy days ahead, will we end up seeing slower economic growth in the coming year?
CIPE
History shows that such good “managers” are hard to find when given unchecked political power – it’s much more likely that unchecked power will lead to corruption, cronyism, and economic stagnation rather than economic growth and development. The more relevant story to watch from China and Singapore is that economic liberalization and a high level of integration with the world economy can be catalysts for broader change.
Xavier Lur, Yahoo!
On paper, they advertise maximum broadband speeds. But in reality, we are getting half of that — at best. And when the government recently suggested that ISPs come clean about true average download speeds, they chose not to scrap their original way of advertising broadband speeds.
Food Fuels Me To Talk...
联合早报
建屋局批准昇菘的要求，将巴西立伊莱雅购物中心建成冷气湿巴刹，这也将是本地首个冷气巴刹。
建屋局产业与土地部门处长骆润东说，只要昇菘以湿巴刹的形式经营，让各摊主自行定价，装冷气并不是问题。骆润东指出，安装冷气会造成成本增加，昇菘必须考虑到湿巴刹的持续经营，如果租户因租金调高而撤离，当局也不会允许湿巴刹转为超市。
Xinhua
Local herbs wholesalers contribute the price increase to the stronger Chinese currency and herbus supply shortages, local English daily the Straits Times reported on Tuesday.
韩宝镇, 联合早报
刚在上星期五入禀高庭起诉政府的迈克·费南迪（Michael Fernandez），昨天召开记者会反驳内政部致函《海峡时报》指他是共产党统一阵线成员的说法。
他说：“他们必须证明我是所谓共产党统一阵线的成员……政府为什么不在公开法庭提控我？他们为什么不这么做？理由很简单，因为政府知道我不是共产党统一阵线的成员。”
另一方面，费南迪的代表律师M拉维也就新加坡宪法并没有禁止“非人道和残忍的惩罚”的课题，邀请内政部长兼律政部长尚穆根跟他进行公开辩论。
Kai Fong, Yahoo!
It seems to be getting harder these days for one to enjoy a decently priced meal of hawker food. From $13 for a plate of nasi padang to $17 for a bowl of laksa, food courts in shopping malls have seen an invasion of hawker food at restaurant prices.
Choo Ai Zhia, Straits Times
Joshua Chiang, The Online Citizen
At the press conference, Fernandez also denied that he was a member of the Communist United Front. Calling the government’s accusation a ‘smokescreen’, he said that the fact that the government didn’t prosecute him in open court showed that it knew he was not a member of the CUF.
Fernandez also said that the fact that the MHA statement didn’t address his main complaint of torture and inhumane treatment during his detention shows that the government apparently condoned the act. “Can they say they didn’t torture me?” he asked.
My Singapore News
A big contradiction in this quest for the best to serve the country and people is to have part time MPs but with a pay that is not part time.
Mark Metherell, Sydney Morning Herald
Two-thirds of Australians oppose the Singapore Stock Exchange's proposed takeover of the Australian Stock Exchange. Coalition supporters are even more against the move than Labor voters.
The emphatic result is likely to cast deeper doubt over the chances of the federal Parliament giving the approval required if the government does seek the necessary regulatory change to lift the 15 per cent ownership cap on the ASX.
Vanessa Jalleh, Straits Times
Leong Sze Hian, The Online Citizen
Increasing the MRA now to $27,500 ($20,000 in 2003 dollars adjusted for inflation), means that the inflation adjustment for the last seven years is 37.5 per cent or 4.7 per cent per annum.
According to the Department of Statistics, inflation for the last seven years until November 2010, is about 17 per cent or about 2.3 per cent per annum.
Neo Chai Chin, Today
Thrice he topped up his card with $20 each time. And thrice the money was deducted from his bank account but was not transferred to his ez-link card. This despite the Add Value Machine showing the transactions to be successful.
It is not known how prevalent this problem is as Transitlink, which maintains the machines, declined to reveal figures on such failed transactions.
Temasek Review
Dr Lim’s remarks sparked a massive outcry in cyberspace with netizens from both TR and its Facebook criticizing him for his cavalier attitude towards public monies.
Temasek Review
In contrast, Singapore ministers are never expected to take responsibility for their mistakes, let alone apologize to Singaporeans.
Leong Sze Hian, The Online Citizen
Statistics that are narrated by describing one family, may be quite misleading. Because, clearly, there can’t be many getting the entire list of benefits.
Mortgage FAQ
HDB really did lose money subsidizing the citizens. But the government on a whole made from selling land.
Seah Chiang Nee, The Star
The biggest blow is struck against Singapore’s collective image, making it appear as an arrogant, insensitive society so different from the polite Indonesians and sweet-talking Thais.
“It smacks of national arrogance,” said a businessman. “Our leaders and citizens should be more humble and less cocky to countries which have done less well than us.”
郑锦祥, 联合早报
Yap Neng Jye, Ministry Of Home Affairs, Straits Times
Contrary to Mr Fernandez's claims that he was merely a trade unionist championing workers' rights, he was part of the CUF, which was an appendage of the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM), a violent underground organisation that waged a protracted insurgency for several decades to overthrow the constitutionally elected governments of Singapore and Malaysia.
After Mr Fernandez was released in 1973, he covertly re-involved himself in the CUF with the aim of rebuilding the CUF network to support the then still ongoing CPM insurgency. He was re- arrested in February 1977 but was released after he quickly renounced communism.
Mr Fernandez's portrayal of himself now as a nationalist who had merely struggled for 'democratic rights and justice', and his allegations of being detained without cause and mistreated, have been rejected before and are rejected again here.
AsiaOne
A recent reader's letter to the Straits Times forum which highlighted banks' policies of rejecting credit card applications of those over the age of 55 has brought this issue to the fore.
Just Read!
Our diplomats are cool people, it seem. Our leaders, too will do nothing should Singapore jet fighter 'accidently' drops a bomb in Johor or firing at our fishermen.
The Wells Point
A couple things struck me as peculiarly Singaporean about some of the student’s reactions to the points I was trying to raise about the challenges involved in today’s hyper-competitive commercial photography market. First, keep in mind that Singaporeans are a notoriously pragmatic bunch.
Alicia Wong, Yahoo!
Could the sudden increase in prices over the last two COE bidding sessions be due to speculation?
周殊钦, 联合早报
当记者问他是否将亲自监督这项新五年计划的落实时，贾古玛教授脸带微笑地回答说退任与否，一切交由李显龙总理和人民行动党领导层决定。
游润恬, 联合早报
革新党秘书长肯尼思向本报透露，新加坡人民党秘书长、波东巴西区议员詹时中一度曾考虑加入革新党，以在大选时与革新党组成集选区竞选团队。
询及詹时中若加入革新党，他打算如何分享革新党领导权时，肯尼思说：“这只是个初步的想法，我们还没进一步进行讨论。”
Teo Xuanwei, Today
The rift between Potong Pasir member of Parliament Chiam See Tong and his former right-hand man Desmond Lim looks set to deepen, after the latter engaged a lawyer to defend him in disciplinary proceedings initiated against him.
Rachel Kelly, Channel NewsAsia
In the long-term, experts say, the revision is unlikely to have any impact on telco revenues. In fact, the change may provide a positive reduction in customer disputes, and the amended code could even offer opportunities.
Chris Howells, Today
Temasek is legally justified to wait for an official notification from a competent authority before paying any fine, said lawyers speaking to MediaCorp a day after Indonesia's anti-monopoly agency warned it could seize assets of the Singapore investor in the country against an outstanding fine.
Christopher Ong, Kent Ridge Common
Fernandez and other political detainees have in them an integral part of Singapore’s history which has hitherto been thoroughly neglected by official documentations and records of our past. If his case against the Government of Singapore has piqued inquisitive questions of our past from you, then he could be said to have succeeded in his quest well before the verdict is read.
联合早报
据了解，新加坡移民与关卡局已经停止发放PR邀请函给外籍大学应届毕业生。这些毕业生包括新加坡教育部奖学金得主和自费学生，在新加坡国立大学(国大)、南洋理工大学(南大)、新加坡管理大学(新大)这三所公立大学就读。
Shamim Adam, Bloomberg
Singapore’s inflation rate rose to the highest level since January 2009, an acceleration that may put pressure on the central bank to allow further currency appreciation to curb price increases.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore uses the exchange rate instead of interest rates to manage inflation, which it forecasts may quicken to about 4 percent by the end of 2010 and “stay high” in the first half of 2011.
Lester Kong, The Star
Pressed by reporters to describe the atmosphere of the Malaysia-Singapore Joint Implementation Team on the implementation details of the Points of Agreement, Kausikan said his Malaysian counterpart Datuk Mohad Radzi Rahman was an old friend.
“Radzi and I are old friends. We are both very professional,” he added.
Melissa Goh, Channel NewsAsia
Singapore's top foreign affairs official is confident that Singapore and Malaysia can meet the December 31 deadline to finalise the agreement on the implementation of the Points of Agreement agreed by the leaders of both countries in May.
Millet Enriquez, Channel NewsAsia
Data from the Department of Statistics (DOS) showed that November's Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 3.8 per cent compared to a year ago.
Singapore Democrat Party
That's the problem with Singapore, isn't it? Correction: That's the problem with a controlled press, isn't it? Passion and life in a public forum is immediately labelled with negative imagery. How do you expect the participants to feel given that the PAP continues to detain citizens without trial or sue opposition leaders into silence even as it brings in foreigners to dsiplace locals while refusing to tell the people how their reserves are being used?
Real cowboys, to borrow Mr Ng's analogy, would have run the mayor out of town for all his abuses. As it is, the participants at the forum had shown remarkable restraint given the dire political situation Singapore finds itself in. To show emotion and anger in Singapore must, it seems, be quickly slapped down by the town-crier.
Today
Wayne Chan, Today
Even as premiums for three categories of Certificates of Entitlement (COEs) surged further in the last open bidding exercise for the year, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said it is standing firm despite appeals for its intervention to adjust the COE supply.
唐燕, 联合早报
政府不应为了照顾小部分脚踏车骑士的安全，而让所有的行人的安全受到威胁。
Mustafa Shafawi, Channel NewsAsia
Nine public bus services will run more frequently or have their capacity increased during peak periods. This follows a quarterly review involving the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and the public transport operators, SBS Transit and SMRT.
Bernama
Singapore Democrat Party
Former Internal Security Act detainee, Mr Michael Fernandez, is taking legal action against the PAP Government for imprisoning him with trial for nine years.
In his writ filed today in the High Court Mr Fernandez, 69, says that he was subjected to physical and mental torture, humiliation and loss of income during the period he was incarcerated from 1964 to 1973.
Singaporeans For Democracy
Wayne Chan, Channel NewsAsia
COE prices for big cars and open category continued to surge in the latest bidding exercise that ended on Wednesday after hitting 13-year highs recently.
Mustafa Shafawi, Channel NewsAsia
The opening of the two integrated resorts has contributed to a 47 per cent increase in tourism receipts in the first nine months of this year. The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) said tourism receipts for January-September was estimated to reach S$13.7 billion.
Chua Hian Hou, Straits Times
Telcos will no longer be allowed to reel consumers in with free trials and then bill them if they forget to terminate the service after the trial period ends.
Instead, telcos will have to clearly indicate the terms of the trial, and get a consumer's 'express agreement' to continue the service once the free period ends, said the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) on Wednesday.
Lin Chunxin, The Epoch Times
Walter Jayandran, The Online Citizen
Public officials are given the trust of the public to develop and carry out policies that are in the public’s best interest. Living up to this trust has a significant impact on the national will; public confidence is essential to the exercise of national power. Thus public officials have a moral duty to act in a trustworthy manner.
Teo Xuanwei And Leong Wee Keat, Today
More cracks seem to be appearing within the Singapore People's Party (SPP), with chairman Sin Kek Tong speaking out against secretary-general and Potong Pasir Member of Parliament Chiam See Tong over the latter's monetary contributions to the party.
Mak Yuen Teen, Today
Perhaps the fact that MPs here face little risk of losing their seats explains the willingness of some to take on so many other commitments.
There is another issue with MPs serving on boards of private sector companies: It may blur the line between the Government and business, and create the perception, justified or otherwise, that regulators may then not be sufficiently independent of business.
Caroline Ng, The Style Spot
Real journalism is about reporting what the society is and not what the society should be.
ARTiculations
If what was reportedly said by you and your colleagues about my country and our leaders was in fact said by you and your colleagues, than I just have one word to say to you and your colleagues. Buzz off! (Well, they are two words actually, but I don't give a hoot!)
The truth is Mr Lee, you, your colleagues, your government and your country are not perfect. Nobody is. So please. Take your smug pimply face away and mind your own business.
Singapore Democrat Party
The PAP will go to whatever lengths and craft however silly responses just to ensure that Singaporeans do not become knowledgeable on socio-political issues and involved in activities that are initiated by civil society and the Singapore Democrats.
This is how Singapreans are dumbed down and starved of intellectual stimulation, reduced to automatons allowed only shopping and other banal recreational activities.
Janeman Latul And Saeed Azhar, Reuters
Indonesia's anti-trust agency (KPPU) is seeking ways to seize assets worth 120 billion rupiah ($13 million) from Singapore's Temasek Holdings over an outstanding fine of the same amount, a KPPU commissioner said on Tuesday.
The company said it was not officially aware of the move. "Temasek has not received official notification from the Supreme Court," said Mr Goh Yong Siang, Senior Managing Director, Strategic Relations at Temasek.
Chris Howells, Channel NewsAsia
The Indonesian Anti-Monopoly Agency said it is set to seize assets of Temasek Holdings in Indonesia, according to a report in the Koran Tempo newspaper.
The report said the Singapore investment company had failed to pay fines after being found guilty of breaching anti-competition laws in 2007.
Icarus Flew Too High
What the WP chose to do at forum reveals a few things about the party and its rivals for power.
My Singapore News
Maxwell Coopers, Free Malaysia Today
Mustafa Shafawi, Channel NewsAsia
A government agency is providing offenders opportunities to pick up office skills. Inmates will learn data-entry skills during their incarceration thanks to a partnership between the agency, Vital.org, and the Singapore Corporation of Rehabilitative Enterprises (SCORE).
Vital.org, the government back-office for shared services such as HR, payroll, finance and training services, is the first government department to partner SCORE on such an initiative.
Timothy Lin, Today
Elections fought as much on issues affecting Singaporeans as on political will or personality can only result in a better slate of leaders for Singapore, and more robust socio-economic policies that will benefit all Singaporeans.
Yours Truly Singapore
Ng Lian Cheong, Today
Residents of Singapore's first eco-precinct, Treelodge@Punggol, may soon be able to rent electric bicycles within their estate. This eco-friendly and cost-efficient way to travel is a $40,000 pilot programme by Sanyo.
联合早报
Today
Under the revised code, judges can exercise discretion to pass lighter, community-based sentences on young offenders or those who commit minor offences. Judges will no longer be bound to sentencing such offenders to jail or a fine, which could have an adverse effect on their jobs and families.
Mustafa Shafawi, Channel NewsAsia
The task force found that the key features of lemon laws, as implemented in developed economies such as Britain and the United States, were already present in Singapore's legislation. However, it recommended that express provisions for repair and replacement be added to empower consumers to seek these remedies from retailers, and to give greater latitude to the courts when considering what remedies to award to a consumer.
Alicia Wong, Yahoo!
From the bumpy hosting of the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) to the Orchard Road floods, confidence in the public sector may have been shaken this year, according to some political observers.
Trains and Boats and Planes
There is an obscure little corner of Singapore which many do not notice, nestled between Kampong Bahru Road and the railway yard that stretches to Keppel Road. Stepping into the area, you could quite easily forget that you are still in Singapore except for the two blocks of flats that resemble our own blocks of public housing built by the HDB in the mid 1970s, as you will be overcome by a feeling of stepping into a different world. It is a different world in many ways, being part of the land which is owned by the Malaysian State Railway, KTMB, and very much a part of the lost world within the KTM Railway Land that with the agreement between the Singapore and Malaysian Governments to redevelop the land in place, that will probably be consumed by modernity which has relentlessly swept across much of the island in the last three decades.
Malaysia Update
A rising number of Singaporeans are getting sick and tired of their leaders’ propensity to shoot off their mouths and offend their neighbors. After all, this is not the first time that Singapore was embroiled in a diplomatic spat as a direct result of a faux paus.
Ajax Copperwater, The Online Citizen
This half-hearted defence policy will doom Singapore to defeat by both internal and external threats. Singapore’s conscription is an illusion of security which does not keep us safe when the time comes. Not only it deprives Singaporeans of much needed funds for health care and other welfare, it infringes on basic human rights and puts us on par with groups like the Taliban, who utilise conscription to spread fear and genocide among its people.
Glenn Connley, CNNGo
A generation later, in Singapore, heads are still well and truly buried in the sand. It's time to wake up.
Sha Najak & Roderick Chia, The Online Citizen
The Biology Refugia
Wong Wee Nam, Sgpolitics.net
With so much in agreement and so little discernible differences, I was wondering, why no one embraced one another at the end of the evening and tell each other, “Hey we share the same views. Why don’t we meet up and see how we can work together to advance a common cause?”
Today
Wildlife-rescue group Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (ACRES) is urging Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) to "make a moral decision rather than a business-minded, profit-making one" - by aborting its plans to house dolphins as entertainers following the death of two bottlenose dolphins which were bound for RWS ' Marine Life Park.
"Our economy and tourism sector must grow, but it is time for us to ask, 'At what cost?'. We must remember that the two dolphins who died were sentient individuals who only a year ago swam freely in the vast open oceans. They died despite the team of marine experts and best care that RWS promised."
Jeffrey Law, Today
By keeping their jobs during their tenure as MPs, they can fall back on their careers if they are not re-elected ot leave the political arena later on.
Boo-n-bouquet
"This has certainly been a long journey of close to 3 years and I’m glad we never gave up trying."
Deva M Ridzam
Chong Zi Liang, Straits Times
Not only are cyclists entitled to use the roads, but the handbook for the driving final theory test also states that motorists should give 1.5m of space when passing bicycles - something most motorists do not do after collecting their licences.
But motorists say they already try to give cyclists as wide a berth as road conditions allow, and it is simply impossible to adhere to the 1.5m distance in heavy traffic.
Wong Chun Wai, The Star
韩咏梅, 联合早报
我也经常在小贩中心或咖啡馆一两个人占用一张大桌子，不喜欢陌生人搭台；在拥挤的高速公路上驾车，偶尔也会不顾其他的车子，遇到机会就转换车道。这是因为在这个生活环境不断改善的新加坡，我们感觉到自己很大，已经很习惯只顾个人的舒适和便利，很少考虑如何优雅地和别人在有限的空间里相处。
China Post
Foreigners were out in force in the property market last month, snapping up almost one in three new private homes in Singapore.
Tunku Abdul Aziz, Sin Chew Daily
It has become apparent that it is simply not worth the effort to cultivate this uncultivable bad mouthing neighbour of ours. You cannot ever be right with it because it is never wrong. Winning some and losing some is not a thing that sits well with it. Winners take all, much like Mahathir, is a strategy that appears to be well entrenched and suited to its national psyche.
Our relations with a neighbour such as Singapore, with its propensity for, and unseemly preoccupation with, scoring a debating point or two at every turn, must be circumscribed by the most formal and correct behaviour on our part. While it is clear that we cannot avoid Singapore altogether as it is a neighbour after all, we should lead separate lives, taking nothing from it that is not ours, and, in turn, give it nothing such as the KTM land that is not its due.
The Diplomat
Many Malaysian citizens might shrug at the ‘opportunist’ tag given their prime minister as many feel it’s not without some grounds. But they may be worried about the reported intercepted ‘technical intelligence’ used by the Singaporean government to conclude that Anwar is guilty as charged. They are right to demand that this matter be investigated further to establish how Singapore accessed the ‘intelligence.’
李静仪, 联合早报
年底佳节脚步逼近，加上人们对德士需求明显增强，大家都高喊越来越难截到德士，尤其是在市区，像向来供不应求的义安城德士站，晚上9时至10时这段时间平均要等上32分钟才能搭到德士。
Eco-Business.com
If Singapore were a trembling student, being graded on how sustainable it is as a city, its report card might well read: room for improvement.
Goh Meng Seng, Singapore Alternatives
Linette Lin, Straits Times
Esther Ng, Today
Two of the seven bottlenose dolphins, which were destined for Resorts World Sentosa's (RWS) Marine Life Park, have died in a holding area at Langkawi. The deaths are set to reignite opposition to RWS' plans to house the animals as entertainers.
陈渐明, 联合早报
所谓一分耕耘，一分收获，给新人多一些政治磨练，对他们的政治前途有利无弊。如果一位新人能在单选区凭自己的实力击败对手，不必靠集选区的保护，对他日后的政治前途肯定大有帮助，因为至少他从激烈的竞选过程中学会了与民沟通，了解人民所需的经验。
Ng Tze Yong, Straits Times
What’s TR’s loss will only be TOC’s gain - in credibility, audience size and influence, online and offline. It has its work cut out, but at least TOC appears to be seeing some success in an area where political parties and the mainsteam media, both local and global, are continuing to struggle.
What played out on Thursday night, while awkward to some in the audience, was a mere extension of TOC’s approach to engagement in the online space.
Gaurav Raghuvanshi, Wall Street Journal
Growth in Singapore's key non-oil exports slowed sharply in November after shipments to the city-state's most important markets declined, but analysts said the moderation was expected and points to a more sustainable pace of growth next year.
Analysts say the decline isn't too worrying, as it comes after higher-than-expected growth the previous month.
黄一鸣, 大纪元
作为南洋的一个弹丸小国，当许多新加坡人津津有味的谈论着这个国家除了官员的薪水之外还有几项指标在全世界的排行榜上名列第一的时候，却不知道新加坡已经成为中国大陆之外唯一一个迫害法轮功学员的民主国家！这11年来，被新加坡遣返出境的外籍法轮功学员，已经不下百人。遣返法轮功学员的次数与人数，新加坡排名世界第一；这11年来，新加坡共计发生了九次针对法轮功学员的诬告案，诬告法轮功学员的次数，除中国大陆之外，新加坡排名世界第一！不过这两项世界第一不是新加坡的荣誉，而是新加坡永远无法磨灭的耻辱！
Joanne Chan, Channel NewsAsia
Fewer immigrants were granted permanent residency and citizenship this year, according to the first Singapore Public Sector Outcomes Review which outlines challenges for the government.
Yawning Bread
With the Films Act, the root of the problem lies in the hegemonic impulses of the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP). Over the years, we can observe how its behaviour fits a certain pattern — that of arming itself with sweeping laws so that it will always have something at hand to bludgeon dissenters with whenever it feels a need to.
Every so often, as the current example of Amy Chua’s letter in the Straits Times indicates, arbitrariness is shown to be the order of the day. In this particular case they had a law that sought to prevent political parties from using film and video to spread its message, put in when opposition parties were contemplating doing so, but now that the ruling party itself is beginning to exploit this medium, it has become inconvenient to exercise the law. When pressed by Martyn See, Chua grants to herself the discretion when to do her job and when to ignore it. It cannot be otherwise, as it would displease her minister.
Khairulanwar Zaini, The Online Citizen
Faris, Yahoo!
Before the forum began, moderator Mr Choo Zheng Xi, 25, addressed the “elephant in the room” and said, “We did actually invite the PAP. We sent an email to the Secretary-general of the PAP, Mr Lee Hsien Loong, and reached out to an MP who said was keen to come. He asked for clearance but did not get it.”
Yahoo! SEA understands the MP in question was Mr Zaqy Mohamad, who is Vice-Chairman of the young PAP and head of the party’s media subcommittee and new media engagement.
Cheow Xin Yi, Today
Housing, income inequality, the Internal Security Act and National Service issues were the order of the day at a political forum where a number of possible opposition election candidates aired their views.
Martyn See, Only "Objective" And "Factual" Political Films Please, We're Singaporeans
Section 14 is a handy tool to use when the authorities wishes to act on films (or people) which they deem to be "against public interests". For example, they may selectively choose to conduct raids on a private screening of an anti-Lee Kuan Yew film.
Or, on occasions when the police raid a person's home for an illegal activity or possessions (such as gambling or drugs), they may also charge the owner with possession of unlicensed films.
The Online Citizen
After careful scrutiny, one can only come to the conclusion that SPH and ST do believe that being pro-Singapore and being pro-PAP are both one and the same. One can also argue that even the recent ‘fair and favourable’ reporting by ST of opposition parties is because PAP is now singing a different tune, that opposition parties have made their contribution to national debate.
Phnom Penh Post
Singapore’s founding father Lee Kuan Yew said Cambodia should not have been accepted into ASEAN due to its lack of shared values with the bloc’s founding members, according to a secret diplomatic cable released yesterday by the website WikiLeaks.
Xinhua
Singapore banks' exposure to the property sector has doubled from 24 percent of total loans in 1991 to 51 percent as at September 2010, but banks in Singapore face low risks of default.
Mergawati Zulfakar, The Star
It is only natural to get upset if your own neighbour talks bad behind your back just when you think you are having a wonderful relation. Some quarters in Wisma Putra felt a strong and clear message ought to be sent to Singapore, thus the summon and the protest note.
Singapore, in turn, could have easily defused the situation if only Yeo had just picked up the phone and talked with his Kuala Lumpur counterpart, Datuk Seri Anifah Aman, before delivery of any protest note.
Singapore Democrat Party
We must tell the PAP enough is enough - the unbridled avarice and obsession with material wealth is hurting our society and will be our undoing. Singaporeans deserve better. They need a more equitable and egalitarian system, one where we can live in dignity and not as second-class citizens.
李喜梅, 联合早报
这是乌节路最后的杂货店，简陋小店融入浓郁旧日甘榜气息。过去人们因生活条件所限，留下的照片不多。旧时的社会面貌也只能留在记忆里。这些值得保留的老地方和故事，除了通过口传，或许也能拍摄短片，供后世追溯和记录。
Diary Of A Singaporean Mind
It takes a kind of callousness and arrogence to behave is such a manner. That the PAP govt lack respect for ordinary citizens has been widely felt....they regard the ordinary Singaporeans they lead as lacking in talent, motivation and intelligence compared with the people they want to import. They merely extended this behavior in their dealing with foreign leaders.
Amy Chua, Media Development Authority, Straits Times
The Media Development Authority (MDA) has generally taken a 'light- touch' approach with regard to the Internet and not mandated that all Internet content providers (ICPs) send their uploaded films to MDA for classification. This is also the case with Mr See, whose blog has several films that have not been submitted to MDA.
The MDA will, however, direct ICPs to submit films - for which there may be content concerns - to it for classification, if such films are raised to its attention. ICPs who are unsure should similarly submit their films to MDA.
Errol Goodenough, Today
No MP will end up in the poorhouse by choosing to switch to full-time representation.
On the contrary, working full-time will not only endear the incumbent to residents but also provide daily first-hand insight into the problems faced by town council personnel and grassroots leaders.
Ong Dai Lin, Today
The former JTC Corporation group chief financial officer said on Facebook that he was "preparing for 2011 GE as an independent candidate" and asked for comments on "what others have to say".
When contacted, though, he preferred to wait till the "fresh new year" to say more. He would only add - without saying if it could be a possible election slogan - that he wanted "Clearer Accountability, Responsibility and Equality for a better Singapore - CARE for a better Singapore".
The Star
The Government has done the right thing by protesting over the unjustified comments made against the Malaysian leadership and situation in the country, said information, communications and culture minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim.
“It is our right to express our views and disappointment over the comments made by a neighbour because to say a person is less competent is very rude,” he said.
mrbrown
It's almost as if the Soo Ee Hock in the papers is a totally different guy from the Soo Ee Hock who was a PBM-winning grassroots leader.
Channel NewsAsia
The ruling People's Action Party has released the names of those elected to its Central Executive Committee (CEC), with national development minister Mah Bow Tan being the notable absentee.
Mr Mah who was one of five members co-opted into the previous CEC two years ago, did not feature in the party's latest highest decision-making body - which was decided at a meeting on Wednesday.
Leong Wee Keat, Today
Enjoying your cup of coffee at a neighbourhood store could cost more in the coming months, with prices of some brews going up by some 15 per cent.
Raymund Koh Joo Guan, Today
Obviously, little thought has gone into the planning of this food centre, with a smoking zone marked out just to meet requirements, rather than to reflect the spirit of the law, which is to protect non-smokers from second-hand smoke.
Lee Kwok Weng, Today
Why are the transport authorities and train operators permitting what are essentially touts to operate inside MRT stations?
Focus Taiwan
Andrew Heasley, Sydney Morning Herald
The plan to base the two airliners and crew in Singapore has drawn intense criticism from the Australian and International Pilots Association and some pilots, who claim Singapore-based crew would be working on Australian-registered planes with worse pay and conditions than their Australian counterparts.
Cheow Xin Yi, Today
When contacted by MediaCorp, a police spokesperson said: "The permit applications were not approved due to law and order considerations. The police have advised the two NGOs to hold their activities within the confines of the Speakers' Corner instead."Home executive director Jolovan Wham feels that law and order is not an issue, though, especially in the case of flyer distribution, where 20 volunteers would be paired and spread out, instead of congregating in one place.
Reuters
Strait-laced Singapore, where chewing-gum sales are restricted and graffiti artists can be caned and jailed, is heading for a record year of public nudity.
Police received 105 reports of indecent exposure in the city state of 5 million in the first six months of 2010, or at least one every other day, and the numbers had been on the rise since 2007, police said on Wednesday.
Alex Kennedy, Associated Press
Singapore statesman Lee Kuan Yew called Myanmar's junta leaders "stupid" and "dense" in conversations with U.S. diplomats, according to classified documents released this week by WikiLeaks.
The Singapore leader said dealing with Myanmar's military regime was like "talking to dead people," according to a confidential U.S. briefing on a 2007 conversation between Lee and U.S. Ambassador Patricia L. Herbold and deputy assistant secretary of state Thomas Christensen released by WikiLeaks.
DPA
Singapore unemployment has fallen to the lowest level in two-and-a-half years, standing at 2.1 per cent for the third quarter of 2010, government data released Wednesday showed.
Andrea Tan, Bloomberg
Ho Yen Teck, a Singapore Land Authority contractor, pleaded guilty to conspiring to cheat the agency in the city state’s biggest public sector fraud case in 15 years.
Eight people, including two former land authority officials, were accused of cheating the public sector department of S$12.2 million ($9.3 million). The fraud has led to a review of the government’s financial procedures.
Gaurav Raghuvanshi, Dow Jones
Bridget Tan, Humanitarian Organisation For Migration Economics, John Gee, Transient Workers Count Too, The Online Citizen
In 2009, a similar worker’s rights gathering (May Day Solidarity Walk) by the tripartite partners, on a much larger scale involving thousands of people, was allowed by the police. We therefore fail to understand why our modest activity has been prohibited. Similarly, in March 2008, the Consumer Association of Singapore (CASE) held a nationwide event entitled ‘Walk with CASE’ to commemorate World Consumer Rights Day. The Minister of Health, Mr Khaw Boon Wan was the guest-of-honour at that event. It was also not prohibited.
Christopher Ong, Kent Ridge Common
In a situation like this, it is difficult for Singapore to dismiss easily that these statements are just mere cocktail talk, or the result of an American interpretation of what is being discussed. It seems that it is difficult for anyone at all to provide a plausible other interpretation of sensitive and specific statements such as those discussed above.
Chan Sue Ling, Bloomberg
Asian airlines expect cargo demand to slow as rising U.S. inventories and waning growth in Europe curbs shipments of electronics and luxury goods.
陈锦柏 何嘉伟, 联合早报
连续10年举办倒数迎新年活动的白沙乐怡度假村（Downtown East）今年突然不办了，令那里的许多商家失望。他们希望，职总俱乐部管理层能重新考虑这项决定。
职总俱乐部突然不再举办这项年终盛事，不免令人联想到是否基于保安理由，或是与两个月前发生的一起凶杀案有关。
Teoh El Sen, Free Malaysia Today
Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has challenged the Singapore government to substantiate reports that the sodomy charge against him was true.
"You have evidence, bring it to court and I will challenge it and defend myself," Anwar told a crowd of some 500 people at Taman Melati here last night.
Malaysiakini
Rebecca Thurlow, Wall Street Journal
Singapore Exchange Ltd.'s 8.4 billion Australian dollar (US$8.38 billion) bid for ASX Ltd. cleared a hurdle on Wednesday when Australia's competition regulator said it won't oppose the deal.
The Diplomat
This simply won’t do for a model modern city that’s also a global financial hub and attracts more than 11 million visitors a year. But what can be done? Singapore is an island, and even though the country has carried out successful land reclamation projects, it doesn’t have infinite space to grow, lest it bump into Malaysia or Indonesia.
Bernama
Former prime minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has advised Singapore not to make hurtful statements against its neighbours to ensure continued close bilateral relations.
Singapore, he said, should respect Malaysia's sensitivities when making statements and create a win-win situation with its neighbour.
Bernama
Singapore said the specific complaints raised by Malaysia on what its senior officials were alleged by WikiLeaks to have said did not tally with its own records.
Foreign affairs minister George Yeo said "one purported meeting did not even take place".
May Wong, Channel NewsAsia
Corporate observers said that the more information companies disclose voluntarily, the less will be the scope for any damage to reputation from information leaks.
Eric Ong, Straits Times
The National Council on Problem Gambling should perhaps tweak the application process so that a temporary exclusion order can be imposed on a gambler immediately upon receiving such a request from a family.
The temporary ban should bridge the waiting time for the council to set up a meeting with an appointed counsellor to examine the exclusion application.
Tan Chow Huat, Today
As part of their training, every architect and civic engineer should be forced to spend a week in a wheelchair, a week in crutches, and a final week pushing around a pram. Maybe then they will understand the terror they're inflicting on people like me.
Asia Sentinel
Although the newspapers speculated that the reports would raise a storm among Singapore's neighbors, Singapore's neighbors have long known of the island country's superior attitude. The quotes in the story merely ratify what is already known. It should be pointed out that Singapore, predominantly made up of ethnic Chinese, has always privately held the view that the surrounding countries have been ruled by hostile, often crooked incompetents who are mostly inferior to the technocrats who run the island republic.
Ministry Of Foreign Affairs, Singapore Government
Minister for Foreign Affairs George Yeo called Minister Anifah later in the day to clarify Singapore's policy of not commenting on leaks.
On the specific complaints raised by the Malaysians, what Singapore officials were alleged by WikiLeaks to have said did not tally with our own records. One purported meeting did not even take place.
Yawning Bread
What we need as we open up, is a shoring up of consensus among citizens (as opposed to top-down fiat) that appeals to religion should have no place in our politics, and citizens themselves have to police this social contract vigilantly. We also need to develop a comprehensive secular discourse on all matters of public interest; there should be no need to resort to religious solutions for public affairs.
Lim Mun Fah, Sin Chew Daily
The question now is not that "someone behind you is saying something about you", but rather the question is that, after making irresponsible remarks, the other party is still making sarcastic comments, saying "If you are going to get angry about this, then you will never be happy."
But as the party who has been "bullied", if Malaysia wanted to retaliate, I am afraid that it would also be in a dilemma, because, as George Yeo put it, the phenomenon of "you talk about me, I blabber about you" will continue to occur.
Benjamin Cole, Google's Man in Africa
The government is largely autocratic and yet there is remarkably little corruption, an interesting contrast to some other countries I can think of. The government is also hugely paternalistic in its regulation of "morally hazardous" behaviors.
The Star
Singapore's high commissioner to Malaysia T. Jasudasen was summoned by Wisma Putra over unjustified comments made by Singapore officials on Malaysia's leadership.
Foreign minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman summoned the Singapore diplomat Tuesday and handed him Malaysia's official protest note over comments made by senior officials of the Singapore foreign ministry concerning the leadership of Malaysia and the situation in the country.
Boo Junfeng
Faris, Yahoo!
Guanyinmiao's Musings
Vanessa Ho, The Online Citizen
Mergawati Zulfakar, The Star
The general feeling among officials is that their Singapore counterparts do have condescending traits.
As the closest neighbour with supposedly warm ties, Singapore would do well to show some kind of regret over the remarks made by its officials.
Lisa Goh, The Star
The leaked US diplomatic cable stating that opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s sodomy charge and trial “was a set-up job” and that he had “walked into it” is sub judice and a contempt of court, his lawyers said. Anwar’s counsel Karpal Singh said that it was “no doubt, contempt of court”.
吴明盛, Singapore Alternatives
Seet Sok Hwee, Today
School bus operators are expected to increase fees by between 10 and 20 per cent next year - due to the increase in oil and rubber prices, as well as insurance premiums.
Shazwan Mustafa Kamal, Malaysian Insider
Datuk Ibrahim claimed today that a WikiLeaks expose on Singapore’s damning assessment of Malaysia revealed the island republic’s “jealous” nature.
The Perkasa president said Singapore had been holding a “grudge” against Malaysia for a long time, and that the harsh remarks made by the country’s senior government officials only showed its “true colours.”
Bruce Sterling, Wired
Bernama
Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said today he believes Singapore Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew has knowledge of the activities of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. "Yes, indeed. I think he (Lee) knows but the political parties are pretending they do not know about it," he told reporters.
Loh and Behold
Wong Choon Mei, Malaysia Chronicle
Arrogant comments made by top Singapore leaders have infuriated opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim and his supporters, who have demanded an apology from the republic’s minister mentor, Lee Kuan Yew, for insinuating that the Malaysian leader had committed sodomy.
It is no secret that that the 87-year old Kuan Yew – a dictator in the same style as Malaysia’s own Mahathir Mohamad – prefers Umno to remain in power rather than the Pakatan Rakyat led by Anwar Ibrahim.
Xinhua
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) sent a circular to banks discouraging the use of hold mail except under exceptional circumstances or unless requested by clients, the Business Times reported on Monday.
Channel NewsAsia
A foreign affairs ministry spokesman said as a matter of principle, the ministry does not comment on leaks.
The spokesman added that these reports are based on American interpretations of confidential conversations that did not provide the full context and, in some cases, were from third party sources.
My Singapore News
The hallmark of Singapore is all about standing on high moral grounds. Be responsible and respectable in what we say and do. WikiLeaks destroyed all that.
The Star
Government officials, when contacted yesterday, said it would be best to wait for Singapore’s explanation before any reaction was given.
“I am sure Singapore will explain soon enough. I am sure some people are already embarrassed with the leak,” said a senior official commenting on leaked US diplomatic cables exposed by WikiLeaks.
The Star
Singapore has become the latest country to be embarrassed by the WikiLeaks’ cables expose which showed that its officials had “bad-mouthed” four Asian neighbours and also supported a conclusion by the Australian intelligence agency on the Sodomy II charges against Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
吴淑贤 王秘, 联合早报
本报昨天访问十多名组屋居民了解他们对管理报告的看法，只有约一半知道这份评估市镇会的成绩单刚出炉，而多数人更认为它并不十分重要。
DPA
Singapore sought to play down critical remarks reportedly made by some of its top diplomats on several Asian leaders, a media report said Monday.
'It's gossip, and it doesn't help,' Singapore foreign minister George Yeo told the Straits Times newspaper, adding that the comments should not have been released.
Ministry Of Foreign Affairs, Singapore Government
Well, it is American law, because if confidential information falls on your laps, then you have the freedom to spread it. This is not the case in many countries, not in Singapore, where you have the Official Secrets Act. If you are in receipt, however accidentally, of confidential information, disseminating it is a crime and you will be prosecuted. It is the case in most countries. But the US takes freedom of information to a point where you can't stop these things from happening. And it goes back to the Vietnam War, when because of the release of the Pentagon papers, a political change happened in that country, and there was a certain loss of faith in the institutions. They are quite determined to maintain that right, even though many of them know that there is a cost to be paid for maintaining that right.
Malaysiakini
Leesjuanpat World
That is the PAP of today..High , mighty, no compassion for old folks, for poor and insensitive to the peoples hardship.
Alexis Ong, CNNGo
A more accurate statement would be that Singapore is the most contented place in Asia. Content, not happy, because we’re being taken care of so well that it creates a sort of social placebo effect.
Yawning Bread
What’s worrying is that our foreign ministry officials may not be worth very much. They’re just parlaying common knowledge, open secrets or conventional wisdom. They don’t show themselves to have much by way of especial insight or conceptual boldness.
In fact, they too may know it, as seen from the way they quickly resort to hyperbole. It is precisely when one privately knows that one has no substance that one spices up the delivery.
AFP
Singaporean diplomats think the leaders of some close Asian allies including neighbouring Malaysia are corrupt, incompetent or stupid, cables from WikiLeaks revealed Sunday.
Shazwan Mustafa Kamal And Debra Chong, Malaysian Insider
Pakatan Rakyat (PR) lawmakers have demanded Singapore respond to a WikiLeaks’ revelation that regional intelligence agencies believe Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had committed sodomy, claiming that it was a “high-level conspiracy” implicating both the Malaysian and the island republic’s Special Branch police.
“With WikiLeaks’ revelation, it looks like Singapore is undermining its relationship with Malaysia. Whether or not the leaks are entirely accurate, what remains clear is that Singapore’s relationship with Malaysia remains dubious, to say the least.
“PKR will be sending an official letter to the Singapore High Commissioner tomorrow, demanding an explanation on both issues. The Anwar expose as well as Singapore leader’s remarks on Malaysia,” said PKR vice-president Chua Tian Chang.
Wayne Chan, Channel NewsAsia
Singapore foreign affairs minister George Yeo has said the confidentiality of diplomatic communication must be respected, and that any communication must not be taken out of context.
Mr Yeo said: "There will be more coming out in the future and "you said this about me and I said this about you" and it goes on. I think it is best that we respect the confidentiality of diplomatic communication."
Hindustan Times
Bernama
Readings From A Political Duo-Ble
These revelations have raised mind-boggling questions including but not limited to the Janus- face attitude of the Singapore government towards its neighbours. As the city state positions itself as a promoter of regional co-operation, these disclosures would compromise its ability to conduct foreign diplomacy. Foreign officials are more likely to develop distrust towards their Singaporean counterparts as a result of the leaks.
The hypocrisy of the Singaporean governmental officials are also extended to its claims of absolute sovereignty and a policy of non-interference from foreigners with regards to domestic politics. The leaked cables have shown that they are quite ready to provide advice to external third parties, in this case, the U.S. on the internal politics of neighbouring Malaysia.
Pressrun.net
Howard Stutz, Las Vegas Review-Journal
Analysts believe Singapore's two casinos will produce gaming revenues of more than $5 billion in the island nation's first full year of legalized gambling. That would exceed the combined annual take of the 41 casinos on the Strip.
Din Merican: The Malaysian DJ Blogger
As someone who has consistently supported better relations between Malaysia and Singapore and regards himself as a friend of Singapore, I am disappointed to note that the attitude of officials in Singapore has remained contemptuous of Malaysia. Old habits of mind are certainly difficult to change. I would have thought our two countries could move forward on the basis of mutual respect and interests with the warming of relations between the two prime ministers.
洪艺菁, 联合早报
扪心自问，崇尚“务实主义”（pragmatism）的新加坡，真的以圣贤的“至诚”或“至德”为目标吗？也许，我们（包括笔者）只不过是一群俗到不能再俗、借圣贤之言来粉饰自己的凡夫俗子？
Matthias Yao, New Asia Republic
I told him that there is no law requiring people to retire by a particular age. Of course there is, he insisted. The Retirement Age Act says that we have to do so when we reach 62.
I told my friend: “That’s not correct. Actually, the Act specifies the age below which employers are not allowed to retire their employees on account of age. It sets a lower limit, not an upper limit.”
Philip Dorling And Nick McKenzie, Sydney Morning Herald
Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim's sodomy charges are the result of a ''set- up job'' which the politician ''walked into'', according to an assessment by Australia's peak intelligence agency. A leaked US state department cable reveals that Singaporean intelligence officials told their Australian counterparts that Dr Anwar engaged in the conduct for which he is accused, a claim he has steadfastly denied.
The Pattern Trader
The need to have and not the requirement to have has driven prices up to ridiculous levels not seen in the history of this country. Sure inflation increases as time goes by but this time, the increase is not because of inflation but mainly because people have too much easy money. And much of this easy money is not theirs to spend – its credit.
Philip Dorling And Nick McKenzie, The Age
Malaysia's ''dangerous'' decline is fuelled by incompetent politicians, Thailand is dogged by corruption and a ''very erratic'' crown prince, Japan is a ''big fat loser'' and India is ''stupid''. So say some of Singapore's highest-ranking officials, according to leaked US State Department cables that are likely to spark intense political controversy in the region.
The cables, leaked exclusively to The Sunday Age by WikiLeaks, detail the content of separate meetings between senior US officials and Singapore's foreign affairs chiefs Peter Ho, Bilahari Kausikan and Tommy Koh.
The Online Citizen
Erik Robelen, Education Week
Among the key findings: Parents in Singapore are far more likely than those in the United States and England to engage a math tutor to help their child, they're more likely to get assistance from teachers and others in how to help their child, and their children more often take part in math competitions and math/science camps.
Seah Chiang Nee, The Star
In the midst of a historical demographic change, Singapore’s hard-headed government seems less inclined nowadays to talk about national identity than it once was.
It probably seems untimely for the authorities to preach an intensification of national feelings at a time when so many foreigners – and new migrants – are settling here.
李敏雯, 联合早报
有近七成新加坡人认为自身的储蓄不够应付退休生活，但只有约四成有意愿增加现有储蓄额。
这是来自汇丰保险(HSBC)的一项半年一度的调查结果。该调查也显示，应付退休后生活是新加坡人储蓄的首要目标，也有近三分之一希望储蓄能让他们提早退休。
李静仪, 联合早报
要有绿意盎然的环境，还是要停车方便？荷兰村将在明年第四季前增添一个全新的社区公园，不过该地业者和经常到荷兰村消费的驾车者却表示宁可有更多停车位。
Ng Jing Yng, Today
Former Ministry of Education (MOE) scholar Jonathan Wong had already been arrested for possession of child pornography when he returned to teach in a secondary school here, MediaCorp has learnt.
In reply to queries, a ministry spokesman said: "His offence only came to light after he was charged in court in November."
Goh Meng Seng, Singapore Alternatives
This unsustainable and potentially damaging HDB-retirement scheme must be stopped and ceased else our future generations will suffer in vain for our inaction.
Yawning Bread
The 377A challenge was not only struck out on the basis of lack of standing, a technicality which at least may be arguable, it was also characterised as frivolous and vexatious, which is uncalled for.
Ian Verrender, Sydney Morning Herald
The Australian exchange is far bigger. It runs more efficiently and at a lower cost. It generates far greater profits. And yet, bizarrely, Singapore's exchange is more highly valued than the local operation and, as a result, comes out on top.
Singapore needs Australia more than we need Singapore. No major companies, Asian or otherwise, flock for listing on the Singapore exchange. No Australian companies rush to Singapore to raise investor funds. The real action is in north Asia, in Hong Kong and Tokyo.
And about the only possible reason the Singapore exchange is more highly valued than the ASX is because of the controlling stake held by the Singapore government, which translates to control by the Lee dynasty.
Imelda Saad, Channel NewsAsia
The Reform Party has a new chairman after the resignation of Edmund Ng, one of its founding members. In a statement on Friday, the party named Tan Tee Seng as its new chairman.
Goh Meng Seng, Singapore Alternatives
Guanyinmiao's Musings
Simply churning out sites after portals and vice versa would not be the panacea for the government’s lack of effective communication and engagement with its constituents through the Internet. If it is not serious about reviewing its failed attempts and genuinely comprehending what Singaporeans are looking for, then its future efforts would only be futile and overshadowed by individuals and groups who are more serious about empowering on-the-ground citizens with a more active and representative voice.
联合早报
戈麦斯说，他们注意到警方发言人回答报界询问时以“法律和秩序的考虑”为理由，拒绝发出准证。警方也劝请主办者在芳林公园举办这项活动。戈麦斯表示，芳林公园不是一个游行的地方。这次游行带有象征性，所选择的地点也有其意义。
他认为警方应详细和尽快说明拒绝的理由，这也能方便主办者作出相应安排，以确保游行不会带来法律与秩序方面的问题。
联合早报
对于国家发展部昨天第二次公布的市镇会管理报告，身为波东巴西市镇会主席的同区议员詹时中把它形容为执政党用以“破坏反对党信誉的政治操作”。
后港市镇会主席、同区议员及工人党秘书长刘程强则认为当局进行评估的基础，对反对党所管理的市镇会不公平，因此没有比较的意义。
联合早报
Singapore Notes
Mah's pathetic defence of his Singapore Sales strategy (mark up first, then discount down) is his "basic principle" that the HDB flat is an asset that grows in value, to be realised in the future for resale in the open market. In other words, basic accommodation is not meant to be the roof over one's head, it is just another poker chip in their grand scheme of things.
Tiong Onn Seng, OpenNet, Today
We are mindful that the majority of home-owners do not wish to incur extra costs to have the cables installed and it is cheaper to lay unconcealed cables.
Business Spectator
Questioned on the failure of Australia and Singapore to become regional financial centres, Singapore Exchange chief Magnus Böcker said his exchange was a "reasonably international" exchange, serving as a proxy for India and "Asia-lite".
Joanne Chan, Mustafa Shafawi, Channel NewsAsia
HDB estates have generally seen improvements in the areas of cleanliness, maintenance, lift performance and S&CC arrears management, according to the second Town Council Management Report (TCMR).
Bernama
Indonesian and Singaporean government delegations have completed discussions on demarcation of their western sea borders and thus ready for future talks on other segments of their common boundary, Antara news agency quoted an Indonesian official as saying.
Andrew Loh, The Online Citizen
Bea Johnson, Yahoo!
Inaugurated in 1939, The Cathay Building was a groundbreaking edifice, the first skyscraper in Singapore and at that time the tallest building in Southeast Asia. The Cathay was also the first public building in Singapore to be air-conditioned. The front facade of the building was gazetted as a national monument in 2003. The new complex features an avant garde glass façade which incorporates the original art-deco facade of the old Cathay Building.
But, says Mr. Widodo,“at night you can’t even recognize that piece of wall because it is swallowed by the glowing lights from the big glass box on top of it.” He goes on to ask: “If a National Heritage can be turned into something like that, how about the other heritages?”
Leong Sze Hian, The Online Citizen
Mr Lim Swee Say had called the solutions tried out by other countries – from a minimum wage policy and closing the door on low-skilled foreign workers to paying foreign local workers the same wages ‘easy solutions’ that do not necessarily work.
But the stark fact and reality remains that none of the solutions tried by the labour movement has worked at all.
Ravi Philemon
Maxwell Coopers, Free Malaysia Today
Kastari may be behind bars all over again, but the larger question is how “transformed” he will be when he leaves prison which, depending on the security threat one poses, can take years.
Until that question is comfortably settled, the so-called peace dividend Singapore may be enjoying may only be transient.
Ignoring Asia
The three examples are all supposedly democratic nations yet they really don’t believe in these freedoms or their political leaders do not.
NK Khoo, The Star
I suggest we impose a RM300 levy per trip on Malaysians not working and studying in Singapore who make more than one trip to Singapore in a month. Exemption can be given to transport operators as well as for those who need to visit Singapore repeatedly for specific reasons.
If the Singapore government can impose a levy on its citizens for visiting its own casinos, there is no reason why Malaysia cannot apply a modified rule on its citizens.
Kevin Brown, Financial Times
Many expatriates find that getting a job is not as difficult as they expected. Western qualifications and experience are respected and sought after, and those with the right experience often have a head start over candidates from other parts of the world.
黄慧敏, 联合早报
滨海湾花园不单是个花园，也是树木的“救星”。过去四年，它已“领养”了2000多棵差点因城市发展而被砍伐的树木，其中更有五棵来自澳大利亚。
Thoughts Of A Cynical Investor
Nature
Nobody should cry for Singapore's scientists, who don't expect sympathy. They have been living large and will continue, if they can prove themselves, to be paid generously. And having to write grant applications is not enslavement — it is the norm for most researchers around the world. The problem is not Singapore's shifting priorities, but how the government is implementing the change.
In response to a call for research proposals last month, Singapore's scientists have had to scramble to draft application-oriented proposals. They know that industrial contracts would help. But, given the shaky state of the global pharmaceutical industry, such contracts are not easy to come by. Many applications are going in with a weak note: “industrial partner to be decided”. Singapore's scientists worry that, given only weeks or months to secure deals, they will be forced into unfavourable agreements. One researcher at Singapore's Agency for Science, Technology and Research says that the policy is an attempt to turn the agency “into a contract-research organization overnight”.
Singapore Democrat Party
Without effective opposition in parliament minister for transport Mr Raymond Lim has become callous in his implementation of the ERP system. Apart from the rates, Mr Lim has been erecting ERP gantries at the strangest of places.
Christopher Tan, Straits Times
The bidding frenzy was sparked by fears that quotas would be slashed in February to a 20-year low.
Sheo S. Rai, Infocomm Development Authority Of Singapore, Straits Times
It is currently working with the mobile operators to explore additional measures to better inform the public whenever certain mobile data roaming usage levels have been reached, and other measures to address consumer concerns.
Martyn See, Straits Times
Given the Government's dim view of films and videos with political content, I would like to know what is the position of the relevant authorities with regard to the production and direct uploading of videos onto the Internet, particularly those of political parties.
Shamim Adam, Bloomberg
Singapore’s economy will probably expand in 2011 at a third of this year’s pace as manufacturing and export growth slows, a central bank survey showed.
Singapore’s economic expansion this year has fueled inflation, prompting the central bank to allow faster currency gains and leading the government to implement measures to cool the property market. The island has remained vulnerable to fluctuations in overseas demand for manufactured goods even after the government boosted financial services and tourism.
Tham Yuen-C, Straits Times
The government is planning to put another batch of mobile phone airwaves on the auction block, a move that will hopefully lead to clearer mobile calls and faster Internet access.
Guanyinmiao's Musings
Self-reliance is a good ideal; yet the administration also has the responsibility to not only get individuals or families back on track, but also to facilitate their rehabilitation and sustainable recovery processes.
Yawning Bread
The call to people to get themselves tested early is so obviously contraindicated by other discouragements, it is mind-boggling that the government does not see the contradictions. Is the government so stupid they cannot see them? Have they no understanding of how human rationality operates? Or do they not want to see it, instead trying to pin the blame for the spread of HIV onto private choices (avoiding test), absolving themselves of responsibility for counter-productive public policy (disincentivising early testing)?
王琨, 联合早报
对人民行动党来说，游戏规则的改变是一种策略，回应了人民对选举缺乏公平的指责，同时，让本身的候选人更直接参与实战的经验，而不是在集选区的制度下受到庇护顺利过关。
这对必须在本届大选中提高总体得票率的人民行动党来说，是另一次严峻考验，在大选日期确定之前，人民行动党还有许多的工作要做，对反对党来说，它们已在积极应战，但令人不解的是，原本应该团结所有反对党的新加坡民主联盟，却发生内部势力斗争，令许多新加坡人看傻了眼。
李顺福, 联合早报
有了较为透明的政策和清楚指导原则，有意成为湿巴刹新业主的企业，就不会对湿巴刹改变用途的潜能存了不切实际的想法，也能减少对居民造成的不便。
Joshua Chiang, The Online Citizen
Diary Of A Singaporean Mind
Sanjay Perera, Today
The HDB should also ensure that its ground staff are less laconic and more empathetic to members of the public who seek assistance. One can only imagine what other menial workers with basic education and limited command of English may be facing when making queries or seeking help.
Danny Chua, Today
What sometimes happens is that, when a bus is running late, the bus driver removes the bus service number and does not pick up new passengers to get to the bus interchange in time to line up for the next on-time departure and avoid a fine.
李静仪, 联合早报
刚在不久前公开表示降温措施已取得初步成效的国家发展部长马宝山，在接受媒体访问时说，最新的数据显示，组屋转售价有进一步放缓的迹象。
Liau Chuan Yi And Norvin Chan, Asian Correspondent
Perhaps, the prejudice that some are simply unable to study is the root problem of poor student grades in the first place, and vocational schools will not be the final answer.
黄慧敏, 联合早报
放弃日本国籍并在本地服完兵役，青年却没有正式宣誓而丢失新加坡公民权。他虽然已重新提出公民权申请，但因为拒付100元申请费，目前还是无国籍者。
李静仪, 联合早报
配合十哩广场（Ten Mile Junction）的重新发展工程，位于这购物商场三楼的十里广场轻轨站将从这个星期五起，暂时关闭约一年。
Gregory Moh, Today
OpenNet's public response to the matter - defending its actions and intentions rather than listening to the complaints and offering alternatives that homeowners and condominium management would be happy to consider - has been especially disappointing.
Noel Chia Kok Hwee, Nanyang Technological University, Today
We must acknowledge that all Singaporeans with disabilities have every fundamental right to live and participate in every way in our community. In this sense, all daily activities should be as normalised as possible to integrate both abled as well as less abled or disabled participants.
Tessa Wong, Straits Times
Police have turned down an application by the Singaporeans For Democracy (SFD) political association for a permit to stage a march on Friday to commemorate International Human Rights Day.
The association, which said it applied for the permit on Nov18, planned to hold the march from Hong Lim Park to Parliament House, less than 1km away.
Lim Mun Fah, Sin Chew Daily
Singapore prime minister Lee Hsien Loong has warned his countrymen in this manner: "Let our foreign tourists play on the gambling tables and the slot machines. This is the only way to win for sure, because whether they win or lose, they must pay the gambling tax."
Whether they are talents or gamblers, Singapore is out to grab. This is its survival strategy. If we think we can ask it to give up, then we are just dreaming.
John Davidson, CNNGo
So when you finally read the fine print in this story, you can actually understand Singapore was named best sports city in the world and the criteria for the honor was “the level of support and commitment made by a municipality in terms of funding and resource, legislation and planning as well as marketing and promotion.”
Translation: Kudos goes to the city who's government put up all the money and put on a good show in safe conditions.
Bloomberg
Temasek Holdings Pte and Government of Singapore Investment Corp. raised about US$9.9 billion ($13 billion) from international investors over the past year, selling more debt and equity than any other state investment firm.
Reform Party
The Reform Party would like to know why there is such a lack of transparency in the budgetary process and it is so difficult to get information as to the government’s true fiscal position.
Furthermore we want to know why the PAP always talks about the danger of bankrupting Singapore and no money being available to fund investment in our people when in fact the government’s net asset position is so inefficiently large.
Patwant Singh, Channel NewsAsia
Foreign affairs minister George Yeo thinks attention in the next General Election will be more spread out. That would be unlike the 2006 polls where the contest for the Aljunied GRC, where he led a 5-member PAP team against a team from the Workers' Party, became the centre of national attention.
Yawning Bread
The Online Citizen
Is ST’s latest slip-up in reporting people suffering from mental illness without verifying an ‘honest mistake’, or is reflective of something more compulsive?
Thoughts of a Cynical Investor
Michael Todd, Miller-McCune
John Kampfner, the head of the London-based Index on Censorship, discusses the threats to free expression in the world, from the dictator’s muzzle to the playwright’s pen.
Ahmad Fuad Yahya, Bernama
Deputy prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said a thorough study is needed to look at the impact arising from Malaysians gambling in Singapore casinos before any measure, including the imposition of a levy as suggested by some parties, is introduced.
"I don't want to say anything (on the proposal to impose a levy). We have to study this because we don't want Singapore to say later that we are obstructing, preventing. We are part of Asean and Asean adopts a policy of free trade, open. Even the movement of people, we cannot stop and prevent. "If they choose to gamble, what business does the government have in preventing and so on. Is the imposition of the levy a reasonable move? This we have to study deeply, or there are other initiatives that we can implement to be looked at not only from the economic aspect, but from the social, community leadership, political parties may have a role to play in this matter," he said.
Singapore 2025
In a parliamentary speech that would have had Julian Assange smiling from ear to ear, Jayakumar said, “We therefore have no choice but to set the record straight by releasing these documents for people to judge for themselves the truth of the matter.” The parliamentary reason for the unprecedented release of information was the misrepresentations made by Malaysia over the price of water, amongst others.
The then Malaysian prime minister, Mahathir’s response to Singapore’s pre-Wikileak wikileak was equally quote-worthy, “I don’t feel nice. You write a letter to your girlfriend. And your girlfriend circulates it to all her boyfriends. I don’t think I’ll get involved with that girl.”
联合早报
本地公共医院为所有住院病人提供爱之病检验服务，但超过80%病人选择退出，引起政府关注。
The Online Citizen
AFP
Australia's stock exchange chief lauded a proposed multi-billion-dollar merger with Singapore's bourse, saying the nation was "indebted" to Asia and should seek greater regional integration.
Leong Sze Hian, The Online Citizen
When CPF was first conceived, its vision was to provide a safety net for Singaporeans when they retire. However, over the years, this safety net has been slowly frivelled away.
严孟达, 联合早报
假设政府有个能够捕捉每个人从小到大有过什么行差踏错（不只犯罪的警方纪录）的系统，如小六时候偷过同学的手机，中学时调戏过女同学，大学时偷过住在同宿舍同学的拖鞋……这样的国家才够可怕。“人非圣贤，孰能无过”，一个人行为上的瑕疵，可能自己早已忘记，国家“系统”却忘不了，成为了一个人求进步的障碍，对个人对社会都没有好处。
所以，这位留英学生年少时的“偷窥”行为，老师们没有特别当作污点而阻碍他申请奖学金，这是制度的优点，国家给了他第二次机会，只能怪他没有好好把握。
Seah Chiang Nee, The Star
While the authorities pondered the potential impact of the exposure, many Singaporeans felt happy to learn that their small country was able to punch more than its own weight in global geopolitics.
The Star
The Selangor Customs managed to foil attempts to smuggle sand worth RM144,000 into Singapore by intercepting two barges and a ship.
Zul Othman, Today
Judgement has been reserved regarding the appeal by three leaders of the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) against their convictions and sentences for participating in a procession without a permit. They had walked from Speakers' Corner to Parliament House four years ago.
Yawning Bread
Even if you have no interest in human rights, you may want to go and see the film, just to find out why the hell they think human rights is unsuitable for impressionable young Singaporean minds. No, not just the young. Even 18 – 20 year-old National Servicemen, called to arms to defend the country, are not allowed to watch a film about human rights.
Pressrun.net
Singapore is more expensive than Central London, according to ECA International’s cost of living survey. The current median income in Singapore for fully employed residents (not foreigners), however, is almost half that of London last year.
Chua Lay Tin, Straits Times
I wish to categorically refute any claim that my husband had a history of mental illness. Throughout his life, he had never been referred to, consulted or confined to any mental institution. Given the report's prominence, I am extremely disturbed by the impact of this callous statement on the future image of my husband's family members, especially his children.
Noel Cheah, National University Hospital, Straits Times
The hospital did not provide information to the media related to Mr Low's personal details, medical condition or details of the incident.
When the media approached us to verify the incident, we conveyed to the reporters the family's request not to run the story. The Straits Times reporter's interview with the unnamed cleaner in the article was not arranged by the hospital, nor was the information verified with us. We also wish to verify that Mr Low did not have a history of mental illness.
Jennifer Hewett, The Australian
The island state's NBN provides an interesting comparison with our model.
Francis Zhan, Association Of Management Corporations In Singapore, Today
Fibre-optic cables is just another form of cable and could easily be treaded alongside television cable, yet OpenNet is unable to do their job without the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore issuing a threat. Is there not a communication problem here?
Howard Lee, The Online Citizen
Singaporeans recognise that strong-arm politics has served us well in the past, but it does not mean that we would trade in the current level of freedom, exasperatingly limited and fleeting as it may seem at times, as a compromise for getting things done. Warnings that we will slip into chaos unless we accept affirmative rule is not just unacceptable, but also the least fashionable thing to say.
Singapore Democrat Party
Martin Abbugao, AFP
Singapore prides itself on being a clean and green city but a booming economy and a high-consumption lifestyle have made it one of the world's biggest carbon polluters per person.
"If everyone in the world enjoyed the same level of consumption as the average Singaporean, we would need three planets to meet the demands placed on our resources," World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) spokesman Chris Chaplin said.
Peter Day, BBC
Singapore is one of those start-from-almost-nowhere countries that has gone up like a rocket, propelled by a then visionary belief that international banks and corporations needed an offshore beachhead in Asia.
Now the multinationals want to be onshore and up to their necks in China. Singapore has to find way of staying ahead of expectations. Its prosperous people will have to heed the senior minister's message of ten years ago, and start taking risks.
Just My Observation
What decent explanation has the PAP to give for swelling up GRCs whilst diluting minority representation- doesn’t this action go against the cause for which the GRC system of elections was implemented in the first place?
In my mind, the PAP govt has both effectively betrayed the minorities and successfully sidelined the opposition.
Ng Tze Yong, Straits Times
The moral of the story, at least to me, is as clear as it is sad. It is: If you don't believe in the system, you'd better get out of it. If you choose to remain, you better play along.
Yawning Bread
I got a sense that while change was in progress, much of it was still in a state of experimentation. And if some students are to be believed, things ought to go even further.
Faris, Yahoo!
Touching on the GE, Mr Goh singled out three “hot-button” issues that would dominate campaigning after Nomination Day: health care, population and foreign talent policy. In particular, he also highlighted public housing which “will no doubt be a key issue because it affects 80 per cent of the people”.
Jessica Lim And Kor Kian Beng, Straits Times
The National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) wants at least one or two young union leaders to be elected MPs at the next general election.
Its secretary-general Lim Swee Say expressed this hope on Thursday when he disclosed that the NTUC had put forward a 'handful' of potential candidates aged 35 and younger for the People's Action Party (PAP) to consider.
Richard Hartung, Today
If we're going to get people to ride the bus and like it, moving to the levels of New York or Paris could help. While the PTC does measure 11 standards, tracking others like "regularity" or "customer satisfaction" as is done in Sydney and setting higher targets such as arriving within three minutes of the scheduled time - rather than "at least 80 per cent of bus services to operate at headway (frequencies) of not more than 10 minutes during weekday (excluding public holidays) peak periods" - could lead to higher service levels.
Lynda Hong Ee Lyn, Today
The Agri-food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) had initially planned to limit the amount of trans fat in locally sold fats and oil products, such as butter, margarine, shortening and cooking oil, to no more than two per cent. But MediaCorp has learnt that this has been postponed.
When contacted, an AVA spokesperson said: "Details of the trans fat requirements are still under review and have yet to be finalised."
S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia
Singapore has avoided a massive welfare bureaucracy, thanks to its own comprehensive social safety net. The key is to encourage people to rely on their own efforts instead of handouts, says prime minister Lee Hsien Loong.
Zul Othman, Sara Grosse, Channel NewsAsia
British author Alan Shadrake has decided to remain in Singapore while appealing against his jail sentence and plans to sue Singapore both here and in Europe for malicious prosecution.
A defiant Shadrake told reporters: "I am going to fight it, I'm not backing down, not ever."
Singapore Democrat Party
Under Workfare low-wage workers are still underpaid. They may get assistance but let's be clear here: They are still undperpaid. The obvious question is why must workers, young or old, not be paid sufficiently so that they do not have to depend on grants and handouts?
It is really a simple principle: All workers working on a full-time basis must, at the very minimum, be able to meet the basic cost of living in Singapore. No one putting in a honest day's work should have to go to the Government and prove that they have met some criteria in order to get monetary assistance just so that they can make ends meet.
Self-worth is an important concept, not just in social terms but economic ones as well. A poorly paid worker is an insecure worker is an unproductive worker.
Netty Ismail, Bloomberg
Temasek Holdings Pte and Government of Singapore Investment Corp. raised about $9.9 billion from international investors over the past year, selling more debt and equity than any other state investment firm.
Patrick Kee, Sgpolitics.net
The government should impose a higher minimum salary for the maids and reduce the levy. It is not right that we as a nation should compound the problems of the poor in our neighbouring countries. The monies collected from the levy should also be used to equip the maids with skills which they can use when they return home.
Diary Of A Singaporean Mind
The rising cost of living especially the cost of public housing means that the struggle for ordinary Singapore to stay afloat becomes tougher with each passing year. For the elderly and low income Singaporeans, the pain of poverty becomes harder to bear as the cost of living spirals up. Many ordinary Singaporeans are beginning to ask...what is the selling our system? One that makes them struggle their whole life without a good retirement in Singapore to look forward to.
The Online Citizen
Mellissa Ang Siew Ling, Today
By adopting appropriate methods from the West as well as the East so as to successfully run and making those methods our own, Singapore would truly define what it takes to be a modern nation in its own right.
Chua Hian Hou, Straits Times
A small start-up offering an online service that allowed consumers to watch national broadcaster MediaCorp's programmes online will be able to resume service, after the Court of Appeal ruled in its favour.
Eugene K B Tan, Today
If the next GE is to induct the new generation of leaders, then it is important for some of the more promising rookies (and political office-bearers) to be fielded in SMCs. Former prime ministers Lee Kuan Yew and Goh Chok Tong, and current prime minister Lee Hsien Loong all fought electoral contests in their maiden elections. Would it not be deeply meaningful if our future prime ministers can walk that same path and wear the badge of honour, so to speak?
If politics is about serving the people and improving their lives, then the hustings must be an invigorating learning experience for our political representatives and leaders. There is no better initiation for a fledgling MP, especially one with the makings of a potential prime minister, than to have an electoral battle. Better still, in an SMC.
Lim Hock San, National Council On Problem Gambling, Straits Times
It is precisely because of the family tension and conflict that accompanies every single application for a family exclusion order that we had designed the workflow to start with a family conference with trained and experienced counsellors.
We will change our workflow such that all applications will be heard by NCPG while Tanjong Pagar Family Service Centre will concurrently try to encourage families to work through the often complex and difficult family issues that problem gambling would have caused.
S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia
When the Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link between Singapore and Iskandar Malaysia gets underway by 2018, commuters would need to clear immigration only once for each way of travel.
That's because the Singapore-Malaysia Joint Ministerial Committee for Iskandar Malaysia has agreed to set up a co-located Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) facility in Singapore and another in Johor.
Singapore Notes
Singapore Notes
Guanyinmiao's Musings
There is a desperate need to mould the teacher’s role into one of a moderator, rather than one of a “values dispenser”. The teacher does not insist on sharing the “right” views; instead, the message should be that people hold different moral yardsticks and standards, and that compromises can be reached through constructive negotiation.
Koh Choon Hwee,
世界博览杂志
上世纪90年代初，邓小平再次赞赏新加坡“经济秩序好，他们管得严，我们要借鉴他们的做法，而且要比他们管得更好。”应该说，新加坡的这些“好”至今依然是中国政府所想要的。
Reuters
The cargo division of Singapore Airlines agreed to plead guilty to a single felony count for its part in the cargo price-fixing conspiracy, which has now ensnared 20 airlines.
Vincent Y. Chao, Taipei Times
Senior US officials were allegedly told during a private meeting with Singaporean minister mentor Lee Kuan Yew (李光耀) that Beijing aims to bring Taiwan into its fold by forging greater economic links and that it did not matter if the process took one or even three decades.
Leong Sze Hian, The Online Citizen
Lynda Hong Ee Lyn, Today
According to a new research survey finding from mobile data service provider Acision, seven out of 10 respondents in Singapore rated mobile broadband as an important service they wanted to keep, despite free Internet access being available.
The slow speed of Wireless@SG was a common complaint from 61 per cent of the 1,000 respondents.
Imelda Saad Aziz, Today
Eugene Tan, Public Transport Council, Helen Lim, Land Transport Authority, Today
With the transition to distance fares, the Public Transport Council (PTC) has decided that for road diversions that last more than one year and are therefore more permanent in nature, the post-diversion distance will be used to calculate the fare. This is a fair approach, as road diversions can result in either a lengthening or shortening of routes.
Danny Lim, Today
If a bursary is to truly serve its purpose, surely an income cap has to be in place. If one's family income is above the cap, then chances are the bursary amount is not significant enough to be of help as compared to giving the money to a poorer student of equal talent.
胡星, 国际在线
马来西亚柔佛州议员宋乃顺呼吁马来西亚政府通过外交渠道，敦促新加坡赌场经营者停止在马来西亚进行促销活动，同时效仿新加坡政府向新加坡公民及永久居民征收入场费的做法，也向马来西亚人征收赌场入场费。
all the world's a stage
It's such a small world how I now have crossed paths with another person in the legal sector who has gone through very similar circumstances as I have. A Malaysian, formerly a Singapore Permanent Resident (PR), who went through many years in the Singapore education system, gave up PR after 'A' Levels, and then tried to return to Singapore to work after graduating from university.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.