28 Feb 2006

SINGAPORE FORUM ON POLITICS 2006

SINGAPORE FORUM ON POLITICS 2006: THE (IN)SIGNIFICANCE OF POLITICAL ELECTIONS IN SINGAPORE
Dr Gillian Koh
Senior Research Fellow, Institute of Policy Studies

James Gomez
Assistant Secretary-General (2nd), Workers' Party

Viswa Sadasivan
Chairman, The Right Angle Group

Chandra Mohan
Advocate & Solicitor, Tan Rajah & Cheah and former Nominated Member of Parliament

Dr Geh Min
Nominated Member of Parliament and President of Nature Society Singapore)

Prof Kirpal Singh
Associate Professor of Literature & Creative Thinking, Singapore Management University
Saturday, 25 February 2006 08:30:00 AM


Lecture Theatre 8, NUS


Go here and click on the gif link at the bottom.

The Singapore Pornosphere?

What the hell is going on...

Last 20 Searchengine Queries Unique Visitors

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Will everyone just get back to work please. Oh and the lady in question is rumoured to be under 18 years of age and in some countries downloading child pornography will result in a visit from the authorities and a cosy stay in a secure prison.

Arrested Singaporeans had triad connections

This is probably the first time I have ever heard of Singaporeans having triad connections since the time I moved to Singapore in 1999. Just how deep are these connections and what is the size of the black economy in Singapore, surely a few economists out there could take a well educated guess.
FADHAL ILAHI ABD GHANI
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 28


The two Singaporeans arrested on Saturday in a pre-dawn police raid were not hired killers but triad society members.

One of them, identified as Tan Chor Jin, is believed to be the leader of triad society, ‘Ang Soon Tong’ or ‘21 Gang’ in the republic.

The 39-year-old bespectacled Tan who goes by the alias Tony Kia, is also nicknamed ‘One- Eyed Dragon’ because he is blind in the right eye.

In underworld circles, he was known to be a bookie collecting bets for illegal horse racing and football at a Balestier coffee shop in Singapore.

Despite his criminal connections, Tan’s favourite pastime was playing Chinese chess.

The Malay Mail learnt that while serving five years at Changi Prison in the 1980s for gang-related activities, including rioting and fighting, he spent most of his time studying.

"During his time in prison, Tan kept mostly to himself and chose to study, instead of carrying out chores.

"It is uncertain whether he eventually sat for any examination," a source told The Malay Mail, adding that there was speculation that Tan was blinded in the right eye following a fight.

Tan is allegedly linked to the murder of Lim Hock Soon, the owner of the Las Vegas Nightclub in Haveclock Road, Singapore on Feb 15, after what is believed to have been a fallout between the business partners.

It is learnt that Tan had accused Lim of cheating him of his share of bets placed in illegal horse-racing and football, and in the week that followed, the duo became bitter enemies.

Kuala Lumpur police chief Datuk Mustafa Abdullah said three police officers from the republic were in the city to assist in investigations.

"We are trying to determine whether the two suspects were involved in crimes in Malaysia.

"After our investigations, we will refer the matter to the Attorney-General for action."

The source said that in the past one year in Singapore, Tan moved from one place to another to avoid police detection, having resided in Punggol, Clementi, Yishun, Ang Mo Kio and Hougang.

His last-known address was a three-room flat in Hougang Avenue 3.

Tan is married to a Malaysian who does not live with him.

27 Feb 2006

Ex-political detainees break silence at forum

Said's experience as victim reaffirms however that the indomitable human spirit can rise above tragedy to reclaim a fundamental, human dignity and integrity

Tan Jing Hwee
Introduction to Dark Clouds At Dawn
A Political Memoir.


Though Said Zahari, a famous ex political detainee for 17 years, and supposedly one of the panelist was absent from the forum due to his health condition, the event attracted more than 100 participants, amongst them journalists, students, young and old Singaporeans.

The facilitator of the forum, Tan Chong Kee, mapped out the structure of the talk by explaining its aims, which includes providing a brief history of the tumultuous 50s and 60s and revealing the personal struggles and reflections of the detainees and their immediate families.

The first speaker, Tan Jing Hwee related his story by describing vividly the night of the arrest. He had just arrived home from a rally with the other election candidates when they noticed the commotion from the police vehicles outside their home. They would be taken away in this second wave of arrest on October 1963. Prior to that, Operation Cold Store in February 1963, had already crippled the opposition significantly by removing a proportion of the left wing leadership.

He went on to describe the fundamental differences between a criminal offender and a political detainee. The latter has no recourse to a fair trial, date of release and underwent a period of solitary confinement followed by “normal” detention. He described the small cell in which he underwent his confinement - a mattress with a light bulb in the centre of the room and the horrid living conditions.

Michael Fernandez who was born in India and arrested in 1964 was an activist heavily involved with the Naval Base Labour Union. He believed the government's objective of the arrests were to “isolate active life and break us down mentally and physically, through long periods of solitary confinement, depriving us of reading materials, food and communications with the outside world, depriving us of our legal counsel.”

He also described the hunger strike in the Mooncrescent Centre in 1970s in which food supplies were not only reduced, but detainees were also forced into manual labour. Though about 200 detainees went on strike for about 135 days, they were force fed with either milk or thin porridge.

Playwright Robert Yeo read an excerpt of Changi, the last of a trilogy, that was loosely based on Fernandez' detention. He was inspired to write his political plays stemming from a desire to depict the lives of the political detainees. He talked about the censorship hurdles he faced while submitting his plays for production.

When asked by the audience if the detainees have undergone “healing”, Fernandez replied that political healing has yet to take place as the politicians who have inflicted these wounds have yet to be accounted for.

Jing Hwee opined that he had no personal grudges but that there is a need to “demarginalize” the generation that has been politically detained; and of whom could have contributed to the progress of democracy in the country. He believed that Singapore history has to accommodate the complex social and political factors of the 50s and 60s rather than the current version which is written solely from the views of the “victors”.

---

Read an interview of Salamah bte Abdul Wahab, wife of political detainee Said Zahari, on how she struggled to raise her family, in the absence of her husband and father of her four children, for 17 years.

26 Feb 2006

Democrats chase ghosts in S’pore

The Nation, Thailand from Singapore WindowFebruary 14, 2006
Thailand

THE paper company set up by Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in 1999, Ample Rich Investments Ltd, has not only been involved in questionable stock transactions, its address in Singapore is also a source of mystery.

Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva and fellow MP Sirichoke Sopha flew to Singapore over the weekend to visit the address of Ample Rich. They suspected that there could be two firms named Ample Rich, one incorporated in the British Virgin Islands, a tax haven, and another described in Thai documents as having an “English” identity.

However, the opposition MPs could find no sign of either Ample Rich at their declared Singapore addresses.

At a news conference yesterday, Sirichoke displayed pictures of the building supposed to house Ample Rich at 185A Goldhill Centre at 51 Thomson Road in Singapore.

The address is occupied by a firm called Kimberly Global and its staff knew nothing about Ample Rich, he said.

“The Commerce Ministry must investigate why Ample Rich has failed to use a real address,” the Democrat executive committee member said.

“Now it is clear that 185A Goldhill Centre is not the address of Ample Rich. Let me ask the prime minister: What have you been doing? Does this company really exist? Or it is just an address submitted to the Commerce Ministry?

“This is something the Commerce Ministry must investigate because Ample Rich might not exist in Singapore. Is this another attempt to conceal the stocks [of Shin Corp]?”

On January 23, Karnjanapha Honghern, a secretary of the premier’s wife Khunying Pojaman Shinawatra, submitted a 246-2 form to the Securities and Exchange Commission on behalf of Ample Rich informing the watchdog of the company’s intention to sell 329.2 million shares (about 10 per cent) of Shin Corp.

She gave Ample Rich’s address as 185A Goldhill Centre, 51 Thomson Road, Singapore 307629. (The Nation’s correspondent in Singapore also failed to find any sign of Ample Rich at this address.)

At the same time Karnjanapha was acting on behalf of Ample Rich she notified authorities that two of the premier’s children would acquire 329.2 million shares of Shin Corp at Bt1 apiece. On that same day, Thaksin’s son Panthongtae and daughter Pinthongta sold the Shin shares for Bt49.25 apiece to Temasek Holdings as part of the Singaporean firm’s Bt73-billion takeover of the conglomerate.

The transactions shocked Thailand and sparked an investigation of Ample Rich by the opposition Democrats.

Ample Rich, owned by Panthongtae and Pinthongta, held 10 per cent of the shares of Shin Corp on the foreign board of the Stock Exchange of Thailand. The Shinawatra and Damapong families held a combined 39 per cent of Shin’s shares on the main board. Together, they held about 1.4 billion shares, or almost 50 per cent of Shin Corp before the sell-off.

Korbsak Sabhavasu, a former Democrat MP, has found evidence that suggests there were two firms named Ample Rich, one incorporated in the British Virgin Islands and another described as having an “English” identity in Thai documents.

He displays a document on his website, www.korbsak.com, showing that as of April 30, 2001, the Ample Rich incorporated in the British Virgin Islands held 22.92 million shares of Shin Corp (before a share split). Its address is listed as 57 Ubi Avenue 1 #07-03, Singapore 408936.

The Ample Rich referred to as “English” in a Thai document held 10 million Shin shares (before the share split) and was located at 185A Goldhill Centre, 51 Thomson Road, Singapore 307629.

The firm incorporated in the British Virgin Islands reduced its stake by 10 million shares, or 100 million after the share split. Ample Rich (“English”) traded the Shin stock for a profit then disappeared without a trace.

On April 23 last year, the firm incorporated in the British Virgin Islands reported that it held 229.2 million Shin shares, Korbsak said.

But as of August 26, 2005, UBS AG, Singapore Branch held 329.2 million Shin shares in an account for Ample Rich.

The amount is equal to what Thaksin moved from the main board to the foreign board in 1999.

Korbsak asked whether Ample Rich had been involved in insider trading because it bought 100 million Shin shares to rebuild its portfolio to the original 329.2 million shares about five months before the Temasek deal.

However, Suvarn Valaisathien, the lawyer representing the Shinawatra family, had insisted there was only one Ample Rich, incorporated in the British Virgin Islands, and that this company never traded its Shin stocks.

Thaksin, in his weekly radio address on Saturday, also denied he had set up twin Ample Riches. There is only one and it was incorporated in the British Virgin Islands, he insisted.

He transferred ownership of Ample Rich to Panthongtae in 2000 and his son has relied on professional fund managers to look after the company since them, Thaksin said.

Sirichoke said he also visited the second address given for Ample Rich. But no one in the neighbourhood of 57 Ubi Avenue 1 had heard of the firm, but because it was a holiday he could not verify whether or not an Ample Rich was located there.

“If I have time I’ll go to Singapore again to conduct another investigation,” he said.

Abhisit had been invited to Singapore to speak to the media there about the city-state’s image in Thailand following Temasek’s takeover of Shin Corp.

He also met Lee Hsien Yang, CEO of Singapore Telecommunications, which holds a 20-per-cent stake in Shin subsidiary Advanced Info Service
.

The shift intensifies

Population

Only 45,000 more Singaporean voters in last 5 years, lowest rise in modern history, thanks to globalisation. By Seah Chiang Nee.
Feb 26, 2006

The newly released registration of voters, in advance of the coming general election, has revealed the significant extent of Singapore's demographic shift.

It shows the number of new registered voters in the past five years has increased by a paltry 45,000 - or just 9,000 a year - despite a rising population.

The new voters are people who had reached 21 years old as well as foreigners who got citizenship during the period.

This is surprisingly low considering Singapore's birthrate two decades ago when this cohort of voters was born was around 45,000 to 50,000 a year.

By extension - all else being equal - the increase in new voters should have been around 220,000 (subtracting deaths) - not just 45,000 - over the past five years, so where are the missing Singaporeans?

At the peak, the number of new voters rose from 1.192 million in the 1976 election to 1.424 million in 1980, a four-year increase of 231,900.

This was a rise of 58,000 a year - six times more than at present.

Since then, the statistics had been mixed, some years better than others, but generally the trend had been downward.

The current rise of 9,000 new voters a year is about the lowest in modern history.

Since 1998, the number of new voters had been growing by less than 10,000 a year, a pale comparison of the past pre-global years.

The table (official statistics) shows the general decline between elections since 1968, when independent Singapore held its first election.

This figure is not new but it merely reflects a trend that dates back about 10 years, especially since Asia's financial crisis in 1997.

It also means the growth in new voters has been dropping even as the population is rising.

The reasons? Broadly speaking, it is due to more Singaporeans migrating or moving overseas to work, study or do business, some bringing along their families.

With the exception of some 800 people, they are non-voters.

(Voting is compulsory, and anyone who doesn't do so has to re-register by proving they were out of the country. The lower figure could also include some people who have failed to re-register.)

At the same time, some 30,000 foreigners are taking up PR - permanent residency - a year, inflating the population but who are not eligible to vote.

The real reason, however, lies in economic globalisation and China's opening up. They eliminate jobs in some countries, while creating new opportunities in others.

This has resulted in a great trans-national movement of business and talent worldwide as skilled workers move freely in search of opportunities.

It has affected Singapore more because of its small size.

The exact number of Singaporeans who are living abroad is not known, but various official sources have put it at between 100,000 and 150,000.

A head count is hard to do. The future intention of many overseas Singaporeans remains uncertain.

An increasing number of better-educated citizens take up PR, but not citizenship, in their host countries. This indicates they still keep one foot at home for a possible return.

Those who emigrated in the past decade generally found Singapore too small or restrictive and have opted for a more relaxed lifestyle in larger countries like Australia, the United States, Canada and Britain.

Some may decide to settle down in their new homes, while others will eventually return when opportunities improve.

Numbering thousands every year, the exodus has long caused heartache to Singaporean leaders who have worked for decades building up the republic from a Third to a First World state.

Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew once shed tears over the exodus of professionals, and Goh Chok Tong, the Senior Minister, called the emigrants "quitters".


The current Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong also emotionally recalled the tough qualities of older Singaporeans, who stood in the heavy rains to celebrate National Day in 1968.

Since then, however, the leadership has accepted the inevitable.

As more tertiary-trained youths leave to work abroad, it encourages them to explore opportunities overseas but maintain their links with home.

Singapore is likened to a capital without a country, so the current strategy is to regard the world as its hinterland.

It has been investing in strategic businesses throughout the region, requiring more citizens to work overseas.

As a result, the country is undergoing vast demographic changes, as shown by the declining number of new voters.

Its own birth rates are in sharp decline. Last year only 37,600 babies were born, one of the world's lowest. The future lies in inward immigration.

This has been stepped up drastically in the past decade, steadily pushing up the population. In fact, the influx of foreign PRs has outweighed the outflow of citizens by several times.

They are believed to be more than the number of babies born, which would lead to a long-term dilution of the local content of the population.

The population rose from 4.24 million in 2004 to 4.35 million last year, an increase of about 111,000, some 80% of which were said to be foreign immigrants.

Only some 30% of PRs eventually take up citizenship.

The blueprint is for a population of six to seven million by 2020. Many locals are angry about losing jobs to foreigners but officials say the end result will be a more vibrant global city.

(This article was published in The Sunday Star on Feb 26, 2006)

25 Feb 2006

Integrated Queeresorts

This is a duplicate article of the one posted in blog.sayoni.com

What would happen if our beloved government one day decided to legalise gay marriage? Pleinelune, the resident satirist, takes a hike through her imaginatio
n.

In 20 years, we would have exhausted every hub possibility we can think of: life science lah, tourism lah, arts lah… we are losing our edge! There is nothing we are “superior” to other countries in! Our economy is in grave danger!

Then, someone would suggest that we legalise gay marriage. We can be the new gay Hub in Asia! Which would bring in lots of money in tourism, as clearly, gay people are rich brats rolling around in money, just waiting to blow it on their wedding.

Which would of course, cause a huge hue and cry. There would be a heated parliamentary debate about this. The liberals would keep stressing how much money we would gain, how many jobs it would create… and the conservatives would respond with how gay marriages are going to destabilise society and bring in “undesirable” elements. It would cause an erosion of morals!

Then the debate embroils the whole country. People are discussing it everywhere: online discussion boards, schools, at the water-coolers… it is a hot topic! Stickers would be created which go “Gay? No!”. The country is essentially divided on the issue.

Then, just at the convenient time, a scandal would erupt, concerning someone on the death row, diverting everyone’s attention, during which, the final proposals for legalising gay marriage would be submitted to the parliament. After taking a not-so-random poll, the government would declare that majority of the country is okay with it, and having considered the benefits, it was going to go ahead and build not one, but TWO Registries of Marriage exclusively for gay people, complete with saunas, pubs and clubs. They would not be called gay marriage bureaus, but Integrated Queeresorts.

Over the next few months, several articles would appear in the newspaper about how much benefit the Integrated Queeresorts (IQ) would be to the economy. Then the government would announce several “preventive measures” to stop ordinary citizens from falling prey to the evils of gay marriage. For example, queer citizens would have to pay $100 extra for the services provided at the IQ. Also, people would be advised to report their relatives to the IQ, if they suspect that they are addicted to homosexuality, so that the IQ can refuse them entry. “Inspiring” articles would appear in the newspaper about people who recovered from their addiction to homosexuality. The IQ is for rich ang mohs: ordinary citizens better get married to a person of the opposite sex.

And don’t forget, make exactly 2.1 babies.

24 Feb 2006

Embarrassing for Who?

From Global Voices...

All over the Singapore blogosphere are commentaries on an unfortunate high school cheerleader, nicknamed “Tammy NYP,” whose cellphone was allegedly stolen by a jealous classmate and whose sex video recorded on that phone is now spreading across the Internet. A post by Book of Aletheia on the topic now has over 150 comments. Tinker, Tailor has a few words on the scorn heaped on the poor girl but not on her male partner. Xialanxue has been following the story, communicating with the victim, trying to persuade a blogger to remove pictures posted from the video, and reflecting on the ethics of the traditional media’s reporting on a deeply embarrassing story.

Singapore Govt angry over air route decision

I have temporarily disabled the anonymous comment facility for a few days - if you don't know why don't ask.

Handbags at Ten Paces...

Transcript
This is a transcript from PM. The program is broadcast around Australia at 5:10pm on Radio National and 6:10pm on ABC Local Radio.

You can also listen to the story in REAL AUDIO and WINDOWS MEDIA and MP3 formats.

PM - Wednesday, 22 February , 2006 18:36:00

Reporter: Catherine McGrath
MARK COLVIN: The Australian Government's decision to lock Singapore Airlines out of the trans-Pacific air route has brought an angry response from the Singapore Government.

Singapore's Transport Minister Yeo Cheow Tong has accused Australia of taking the business relationship and the warmth of bilateral ties for granted.

Mr Yeo said protracted discussions had continued for 10 years, and during that time Singapore had been more than generous in helping Qantas fly through and beyond Singapore.

The Foreign Minister Alexander Downer says he wants to sit down face to face with the Singapore Government and talk the issue through.

Catherine McGrath reports.

CATHERINE MCGRATH: With tension in the air, Alexander Downer doesn't want to add to it.

This afternoon he emphasised he wasn't going to get into a public debate with the Government of Singapore.

ALEXANDER DOWNER: Well, we look forward to sitting down with the Singapore Government at the officials level fairly soon to talk about this issue. I mean, there are things they want from Australia, there are things we want from Singapore and we'll sit down and we'll have a good talk about those things in an appropriate and a private setting.

We're not getting into a public debate with them at this stage.

CATHERINE MCGRATH: But Singapore's words are strong.

Transport Minister Yeo Cheow Tong has declined our interview request, as has Singapore's newly installed High Commissioner to Canberra, Eddie Teo.

But in a statement, the Ministry of Transport said:

EXCERPT FROM MINISTRY OF TRANSPORT STATEMENT: The Australian Government's decision is extremely disappointing.

CATHERINE MCGRATH: And:

EXCERPT FROM MINISTRY OF TRANSPORT STATEMENT: The fact that the Open Skies Agreement continues to remain outstanding is indeed sad.

The decision is also inconsistent with the many signals from Australian leaders in past rounds of discussions that the issue would be resolved within a reasonable timeframe.

ALEXANDER DOWNER: Singapore, if I may say so, does extraordinarily well out of Australia.

An enormous, there's an enormous amount of Singaporean investment here in this country which is very welcome and they make good profits in this country and we're delighted that they do. We have no problems with that.

No, Singapore is a country which benefits enormously from its good economic and political relationship with Australia and I don't see that changing.

CATHERINE MCGRATH: When he was asked about the decision, Treasurer Peter Costello denied that the execution of Australian drug trafficker, Van Nguyen, had anything to do with the Cabinet decision.

PETER COSTELLO: I can say to you that we don't link executions to aviation policy. Aviation policy stands and is considered on its merits. Our policy in relation to the death penalty stands and is considered on its merits.

CATHERINE MCGRATH: But it's also the length of time this has all taken that has angered the Singaporeans.

In his statement, Minister Yeo Cheow Tong says.

EXCERPT FROM YEO CHEOW TONG STATEMENT: I am naturally very disappointed with this decision, especially after 10 years of protracted discussions.

Singapore has also been more than generous in facilitating the growth of Australian carriers to and beyond Singapore.

It's disheartening to see that they have taken this and the warmth in our bilateral relationship for granted.

CATHERINE MCGRATH: With the Government only saying that the Singapore access issue is closed for now, there are still question marks over what the Government will do when the Canadians apply for access to the same route.

While suggestions from Transport Minister Warren Truss yesterday, that Singapore and Qantas consider merging, has been rejected by both carriers.

Labor leader Kim Beazley says the Government has failed to act.

KIM BEAZLEY: I don't think they made a decision. I think the truth is what they've decided is not to make a decision, and leave Qantas uncertain, leave Singapore Airlines uncertain.

The Commonwealth ought to make a decision on that. They ought to make it clear-cut.

MARK COLVIN: Kim Beazley, ending Catherine McGrath's report.

22 Feb 2006

Professor Noam Chomsky 22 March 2005


Professor Noam Chomsky 22 March 2005

On 22 March 2005, the renowned author, educator and linguist Professor Noam Chomsky delivered the third and final lecture of the 2004/2005 Gifford Lecture Series.

"Illegal but Legitimate: a Dubious Doctrine for the Times"

This event is available in two different video streaming formats:
[Approx: 1 hour 22 minutes]
Noam Chomsky Lecture [Windows Media]
Noam Chomsky Lecture [Real Player]
This event is also available as an audio stream for people on slower connections:

Noam Chomsky Lecture [Windows Media Audio]

Singapore Transport Min: Australia Takes Ties For Granted

Hmm... expect more aviation drama in time to come. Sounds more like a subtle warning doesn't it?
----------------------------------------------
SINGAPORE (Dow Jones)--Singapore Transport Minister Yeo Cheow Tong has attacked Australia's decision to block Singapore Airlines Ltd. (S55.SG) from the Sydney-Los Angeles route, saying Canberra is taking warm bilateral ties with the city-state for granted.

The Australian government Tuesday rejected SIA's application to fly the lucrative route between Australia and the U.S. West Coast and signaled the decision will stand for several more years. SIA has been seeking access to the route, which is dominated by Australian flag carrier Qantas Airways Ltd. (QAN.AU), for a decade.

"I have always held Australia in high regard as a close bilateral partner. Thus, I am naturally very disappointed with this decision, especially after more than 10 years of protracted discussions," Yeo said in a statement released late Tuesday evening.

"Singapore has also been more than generous in facilitating the growth of Australian carriers to and beyond Singapore.

"It is disheartening to see that they have taken this and the warmth in our bilateral relationship for granted," he said.

Echoing Yeo's comments, the Ministry of Transport said the decision is inconsistent with many signals from Australian leaders in past discussions that the issue would be resolved within a reasonable timeframe.

The ministry said Singapore has "more than fulfilled" its commitment to open skies with Australia by granting fifth freedom traffic rights to Australian carriers.

Fifth freedom rights allow an airline to take passengers to one destination where more passengers can be picked up before flying on to another location.

Granting these rights has allowed Qantas to grow its operations in Singapore to be second only to its home base, while Jetstar Asia, which is part owned by Qantas, also operates out of Singapore in competition with local carriers, the ministry said.

"It would seem these benefits which Australia is enjoying have been taken for granted."

21 Feb 2006

Maid's kin suspect foul play in Singapore death

First posted 09:18pm (Mla time) Feb 20, 2006
By
Inquirer


CAUAYAN CITY--THE DREAM OF overseas Filipino worker Haidee de la Calzada was to build a decent house for her eight brothers and sisters and to help finance their schooling.

But that's gone now.

Haidee, 28, the third youngest among nine children of Raymundo and Susana de la Calzada, returned to Marabulig Dos here in a coffin on Feb. 11 after she reportedly committed suicide by jumping from the eighth floor of her employer's condominium in Singapore.

She was only on her fourth day of her two-year contract when she died. Her parents and relatives could not believe she committed suicide.

"It is impossible that her head is intact and she has no fractures, except for bruises and contusions [apparently inflicted by somebody]," her father Raymundo said. Her uncle, Francisco Ibujo, said there were "glaring inconsistencies" in the reports on her death from the Singaporean and Philippine embassies.

He asked the National Bureau of Investigation to look into the case. A few hours before her alleged suicide, Haidee sent text messages to her relatives in Cauayan City, reporting some "suspicious acts and advances" by her male employer, it was learned.

Some of the text messages, according to her relatives, included: "I found his actions strange. He tried to give me money but I refused."

She added: "Sorry, I panicked. My employer explained his side."

"I escaped. I didn't like to go back to my employer. He had evil motives against me."

Her sister, Lenny, said Haidee had reported that her employer "used psychological, mental, physical, and emotional methods of harassing her."

She said her sister's mobile phone went off after sending the text messages. A few hours later, a call from the Philippine Embassy said Haidee committed suicide. Manuela Pe–a, regional manager of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration in Cagayan Valley, said the victim's family would be given financial help.

Canberra snubs SIA lobbyists

The irresistable Temasek jugglenaut rolls on!

Canberra blow to Singapore access

Australia has denied Singapore Airlines access to the lucrative route between Sydney and Los Angeles, despite extensive lobbying from Singapore.

Transport Minister Warren Truss said having Singapore fly the trans-Pacific route would bring only minor benefits to the Australian tourist industry.

And it could also have a negative impact on the economy, he claimed.

At present the lucrative route is flown only by the Australian national carrier Qantas and United Airlines of the US.

'National interest'

Qantas controls 75% of the market share on the Australia-US route, from which it derives around 15% of its net profit.

Singapore Airlines has been asking for 10 years for access to the route.

But Mr Truss said that while Australia viewed an "open skies" policy as a national goal, and was willing to negotiate access to the Pacific route, this would only happen "when it is in the national interest".

"In terms of the Singapore Airlines' request for access, the government has decided not to grant them access at the present time," he said.

"If access is negotiated in the future, it will be limited and it will be phased."

Ownership cap

He said a lengthy government review of aviation policy found the policy settings introduced in 1999 were appropriate.

Mr Truss added that the government would continue to offer unlimited access for airlines to all Australian airports other than the four main hubs of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth.

And he said the cap on foreign ownership of Qantas would remain at 49%.

The history of the PAP

An interesting article on the history of PAP by Thrasymachus of singaporegovt.blogspot.com

Part 1: History and Founding of PAP

No “Singapore Politics” will be complete without the historical perspectives of PAP and Singapore’s Independence. In the first part, I hope to bring some history that is outside of our textbooks (or propaganda, depends on how you see it), and shed light on why PAP is the PAP we know today. Younger Singaporeans, like me, may not know of the insights on the founding of PAP and the true leaders (aside from the much-publicized Lee Kuan Yew) that made us from a British outpost to a country. But hopefully, in understand our past; we can derive thoughts to prepare us for the future. This first part will provide some interesting look (hopefully) into the history of PAP from 1955 to 1965. This will also serve as a starter to 6 leaders of Singapore, Dr Toh Chin Chye, Dr Goh Keng Swee, Lim Chin Siong, Devan Nair, S Rajaratnam and Lim Kim San.

The Malayan Forum
The PAP’s origins can be traced to the Malayan Forum started by Dr Goh Keng Swee. The Forum comprised of a group of students who met in Malaya Hall, Bryanston Square, London. It united students from the Left and Right in the fight for independence of Malaya and Singapore. The Malacca-born Goh Keng Swee, who was at London School of Economics, was the first Chairman. He was succeeded by Toh Chin Chye, who was reading for doctorate in Physiology. Other members included John Eber, Lim Khean Chye, Tun Razak, Gazalie Shafie and Mohammad Sopiee, some of them became prominent in the independence of Malaya. However, the membership never exceeded 50. They considered themselves as socialism, a term that many confused with Communism, which purports to “benefit the people” according to Dr Toh Chin Chye.

Some of them, with the passion of Independence, took up the political cause and came back to Singapore in 1953. Later, Dr Goh, Kenny Byrne and Dr Toh formed the Council for Joint Action with Lee Kuan Yew as the legal advisor. That was how LKY got involved in union politics. During then, LKY was also the legal advisor to Samad Ismail (editor of Utusan Melayu and ex-detainee), Lim Chin Siong and Devan Nair. The newly returned graduates from Cambridge and London gathered fortnightly at the basement of LKY’s rambling Straits-Style bungalow in Oxley Road. It was coined as “The Underground”, suitably apt considering the risk of being arrested under Internal Security regulations that forbade such political meetings. The regulars in the meeting included LKY, Dr Toh, S. Rajaratnam, K. Byrne, Samad Ismail, Devan Nair, Kum Swee Yee, Goh Keng Swee, Chan Chiaw Thor and Lim Chin Siong.

With special attention from the “Special Branch” (old version of ISD), they would always be watched and risk being detained without trial. Thus Dr Toh suggested forming a political party and registering as a society to avoid such complications. That is how the “Action Party” was formed and later, they added the word “People” into it.

The New People’s Action Party
In the early years, recruitment amongst their English-speaking colleagues was not going well. Dr Goh Keng Swee introduced his chess partner, Dr Lee Siew Choh (later joined Barisan Socialis) and Dr Toh brought in Yong Nyuk Lin, who enjoyed a promising career in Overseas Assurance. Just a handful responded to the PAP’s Democratic Socialism, seen as dangerously Left-Wing. Thus it fell to Lim Chin Siong and his trade union colleagues: Fong Swee Suan, Devan Nair, James Puthucheary and Samad Ismail to bring in the masses: the trade unions, the workers and the Chinese school associations.

The Man Who Almost Became PM
It was a job which Lim Chin Siong did superbly. His rallies in Hokkien and Mandarin were masterful. His rallies were attended by some 40,000 people, each mesmerized by Lin Chin Siong’s oratory. “The British say you cannot stand on your own two feet,” he jeered. “Show them! Show them how you can stand!” And 40,000 people leapt up, shining with sweat, fist in the air, shouting “Merdeka!”

“You have to understand,” said Devan Nair, “the mood of the people at that time. There was bitter anti-colonialism. Massive unemployment. And to the masses, the Communist was the only heroes. Lim Chin Siong had the ground. Where the masses were concerned, Chinese trade union leaders and the Communist were the only leaders.”


Lim certainly had the respect of Lee Kuan Yew. David Marshall said, “Chin Siong was introduced to me by Lee Kuan Yew. Kuan Yew came to visit me in my little office underneath the stairs and said, “Meet the future Prime Minister of Singapore!” I looked at Lim Chin Siong and I laughed. LKY said, “Don’t laugh!” He is the finest Chinese orator in Singapore and he will be our next Prime Minister!”

David Marshall and Failure from Independence

David Marshall led the first Merdaka Mission to open negotiations with the British for Independence of Singapore. Constitutional discussions began in London in April 1956. On board, representing the PAP, were Lim Chin Siong and Lee Kuan Yew.

The mission returned in failure and their demands for independence were refused. The British felt that the Labour Front government was too weak and the Communist elements in Singapore too powerful. If there was to be independence, the British fears needed to be calmed. David Marshall resigned and Lim Yew Hock took over as Chief Minister. He had two objectives. Firstly, he had to prove to the British that Singapore was able to resist Communism. Secondly, he wanted to purge the trade unions, schools and political parties of pro-Communist and Left Wing Leaders who were beginning to threaten the rule of the moderate politicians such as himself and LKY. Thus began a series of arrests under the Public Security Ordinance. Lim Chin Siong, Devan Nair and Fong Swee Suan were some of the prominent politicians being detained. (This issue will be dealt with in further details under Lim Chin Siong and Devan Nair at Part III)

It was Lim Yew Hock who took both blame and credit for the waves of Internal Security arrest. But the PAP was undoubtedly the main beneficiary of his tough regime. Lim Yew Hock arrested five Left Wing PAP members, newly elected onto the party’s Central Executive Committee (CEC) in August 1957, delivering the PAP from what was effectively a Left Wing Coup. Shortly after, PAP introduced the “cadres system” (to be elaborated under Dr Toh Chin Chye section at Part II), which prevented any further Left Wing infiltration into the party’s inner core.

Independence from the British
The next Constitutional Mission to London in April 1958 was a success. Under the State of Singapore Act in August 1958, the colony became a self-governing state. Elections for the new 51 member Legislative Assembly were scheduled for May 1959. Lim Yew Hock was given a hero’s welcome on his return and a noisy motorcade from Kallang Airport.

The Dilemma and Shrewdness of LKY
In the run-up to 1959 elections, the PAP was in a dilemma. The Party was to be led into the elections by LKY and his Right Wong colleagues. But they needed the Left Wing leaders, who were in prison to attract the following of the masses.

“It was at that point that Kuan Yew played his political cards superbly,” remembers Devan Nair. “It was masterly. He is politically very, very shrewd. He came to the jail and told us, look, I’m not gong to stand for elections unless I am satisfied that you are really committed to the ideal of a free, democratic, socialist and non-communist Malaya. And you are committed to the policies of the PAP. So Chin Siong, Woodhull, Fong and so on, gave verbal assurances. We knew that if the PAP didn’t form the next government we would continue to be in the jug (aka jail). But if the PAP did win, in 1959 and if PAP formed the next government, then we would be released and we could start our union work again.”

“But Kuan Yew was too smart. He said, “No, put it down in writing.” And I (Devan Nair) told them, “Yes, if we are sincere, we ought to put it down in writing.” And the more important of which was The Ends and Means of Malayan Socialism”, said Devan. They all signed and committed themselves to the PAP. This enabled LKY to run for office on a platform which demanded their immediate release. The trade unions mobilized their mass muscles, putting the PAP into power by a landslide. The PAP formed the government with LKY as the Prime Minister.
Lim Chin Siong and his colleagues, released from jail amidst a flurry of doves, were tucked into obscurity as Political Secretaries in the Ministries.

Cracks and Split in PAP
As the PAP government settled into power, the uneasy union between the Left and Right continued. The first sign of trouble was Devan Nair’s resignation from the Education Ministry. “I went to Kuan Yew and told him, “Look, I meant every word of The Ends and Means of Malayan Socialism. But I am afraid that my friends are not sincere. I don’t want to be caught in a situation where I’ll be fighting with my friends. So I want to leave. I’m resigning.” He went to St Andrew’s School where he became a teacher there instead.

The next crack came when one of the most powerful members in PAP, Ong Eng Guan, the Minister of National Development and one of the three representatives on the Internal Security Council, published an attack on PAP. He accused the party leadership of being “undemocratic” and “dictatorial”. The Party responded by sacking him from the PAP and stripped of his seat in Hong Lim and all his other positions.

He defiantly stood as an Independent in the Hong Lim by-elections and gave the PAP candidate, Jek Yuen Thong, a sound beating. Ong was fluent in dialect and Mandarin; a rarity amongst the English educated. Despite the PAP sending the charismatic Lim Chin Siong to speak at the mass rally at Hong Lim, Ong Eng Guan still won.

This is not the end of the crisis for PAP. On June 1961, Lim Chin Siong wrote to Dr Toh, demanding the release of their Left Wing political colleagues. PAP could not agree to this with their prior agreements with the British. The beginning of the split between Left and Right was the Anson By-elections on July 1961. The Left demanded “internal democracy in the PAP” and the release of all political prisoners from detention. They were refused. The Left then threw their support to the rival candidate, David Marshall and he won.

The final split came just few days later in the Legislative Assembly. Thirteen Left Wing PAP Assemblymen abstained from voting with the party line. They were dismissed from the PAP. In August 1961, they formed a rival party, the Barisan Sosialis, led by Dr Lee Siew Choh and Lim Chin Siong. They took 35 branch committees, 19 of the 23 organizing secretaries and an estimated 80 percent of the membership. PAP under LKY was a mere shell, according to Dr Lee.

The Last Breathe of Hope for PAP
The Singapore government was on the verged of being toppled. Every session, the opposition would motion of no confidence. But across the shores, the Prime Minister of the Federation of Malaya, Tengku Abdul Rahman, watched the events and feared that Singapore was about to become a Communist State, a “second Cuba” and a danger to Malaya. Thus, this was the start of the intense and frantic, Battle for Merger.

Barisan Sosialis held sway in Singapore but it knew that in a wider Malaysia they would be crushed. On the other hand, PAP needed Malaysia to break the Barisan’s hold on the Singapore Electorate. Thus, they enlisted Malayan Tengku and the British as allies, playing on their long standing fear of Communism.

On July 1962, the Barisan Sosialis, led by David Marshall and Dr Lee Siew Choh, appealed against the merger in the United Nations in New York. The Merger Referendum, issued in 1962, was testimony to the murkiness of the Battle. It was deliberately ambiguous. It asked voters to choose what kind of merger they wanted, not whether indeed they wished for a merger. All spoilt votes were to be counted as votes in favour of merger. With this controversial tactic, the PAP won the Battle for Merger.

Tengku then decided to clean out the Communism with “Operation Cold Store”. Hundreds of arrest was made and effectively decapitated the Left Wing Barisan Sosialis. A snap elections was called, under the protection of the Malaysian Security Council, produced a clear PAP victory. The Barisan, with most of their leaders in prison, garnered only 13 out of 51 seats. On September 1963, the PAP government had won its battle against the Left.

Merger and Separation of Singapore
Singapore spent 1071 days in Malaysia. Perhaps the first Singapore Leader to despair was Goh Keng Swee (more details on Part II). The integration of the economies of Malaya and Singapore was scuppered by the competitive rather than complementary nature of the two countries. Malaya refused to drop her tariff walls to admit Singapore goods and Singapore refused to abandon her free-port tax regime. Things got ugly with “mud-slinging”, a steadily rising political and racial temperature.

The independence of Singapore on the 8th August 1965 came as a total shock to most of the country. They were informed by radio and over television, by a tearful Lee Kuan Yew. He was to retire (to seek solace), in despair, to a government bungalow in Changi. Dr Toh, with his colleagues, held the fort and provided the much needed stability when LKY was no where to be seen.

Disclaimer:
The author (singaporegovt.blogspot) of this article is not a regular contributor or member of Singabloodypore. His views and opinions do not reflect that of Singabloodypore, and vice versa. The sources of this article can be obtained from Melanie Chew (1996), "Leaders of Singapore" and Lam Peng Er's "Lee's Lieutenants : Singapore Old Guard". Photos are obtained from National Archives Board Public Domain. For the other parts of "History of Singapore and Leaders", please refer to www.singaporegovt.blogspot.

20 Feb 2006

No irresponsible behaviour on part of NKF regulators

It seems like no one is at fault with the NKF saga with the exception of T.T. Durai. A "I think I apologised" comment made me wonder what Mr Khaw meant. It seems once again that heads are not rolled and there are no calls for resignation...

===

Entire society mislead by a small group of people, says Khaw Boon Wan

By Li Xueying
Straits Times
18 February 2006

THERE was no deliberate or irresponsible behaviour on the part of officials whose task it was to regulate the National Kidney Foundation (NKF), Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan said yesterday.

While acknowledging that the problems at NKF might have been discovered earlier if auditors were more alert and regulators more persistent, he added:

"When you have a chief executive officer who was determined to cover up his unusual conduct and who was supported by a captured board, it would take some time for outsiders to uncover his deeds."

He was responding to Non-Constituency MP Steve Chia who asked about "sharp comments" made by auditors KPMG about those who were regulating the NKF.

KPMG, which was brought in to look into the NKF's past, issued a report last December. It was critical of regulators - The Health Ministry, the National Council of Social Services (NCSS), and the Commissioner of CHarities - for failing to uncover questionable practicies under NKF's old management helmed by former chief executive T.T. Durai.

When the details came to light, Mr Khaw said at a press conference at the time that the government "accepts KPMG's sharp comments on the regulators".

Yesterday, Mr Chia asked Mr Khaw what he had meant by that.

"Does it entail the Government issuing a public apology to the people?" Mr Chia asked.

Mr Khaw replied:" Accepting responsibility means we acknowledge the problems as identified by KPMG. There were problems of various kinds at different levels, and let's extract lessons from there."

He added:"At the press conference that Mr Steve Chia referred to, I think I apologised."

Mr Khaw had said that the Government would "take part of the blame for allowing this to thing to drag on for longer than necessary."

Yesterday. he said the regulator accepted the criticisms but added that "it is easy to criticise such shortcomings on hindsight".

He then added:"Were the regulators responsible for the NKF problem? Remember that the NKF was, and still is, a non-government organisation, a private company. Was there gross or wilful negligence on the part of the government officers who regulated the former NKF? Did they fail to take reasonable efforts to look into the former NKF under the prevailing regulatory framework?"

The crux of the matter, he said, is that "a small group of people deliberately, through varios means, misled, in a way, the entire society, including Mr Steve Chia and myself."

Mr Khaw also went through the three areas in which KPMG commented on the regulators.

First, that they could have coordinated their duties better.

"This we would do," he said, highlighting a proposed revision that included a proposed revision that included the Commissioner of Charities and six administrators with defined roles to oversee charities.

KPMG also said the appointment of a Health Ministry representative to NKF's executive committee in 2000 had not uncovered problems.

But Mr Khaw explained this was not the representative's mission. Her role was to help influence clinical policies regarding haemodialysis. But she withdrew after she found the committee did not discuss such policy matters.

Third, KPMG felt that when the NCSS transferred supervision of NKF to the Health Ministry in 2002, NCSS officers did not throughly convey their concerns over the NKF's use of funds.

They did, said Mr Khaw. The NCSS wondered if NKF's fund-raising expenses were unduly high though these complied with the 30 percent expense ratio rule.

He said that after taking over, the Health Ministry regularly checked on the NKF's compliance with regulations , by relying on audits by Pricewaterhouse Coopers and KPMG.

Mr Khaw said regulators will tighten rules where appropriate. But they could not guarantee that no "unscrupulous" individual or groups would try to abuse the system. "However such abuses will eventually still be found out and the wrongdoers punished in accordance with the law."

Grassroots worker wants out of politics

This letter appeared in the Saturday Straits Times Forum Page on 18 February. What we see is an interesting phenomenon whereby the aforementioned implied dominant political party in Singapore *need we mention names?* is going all out to recruit more members into its organisation.

In a situation whereby grassroots platforms are sinisterly converted into "recruitment and training grounds" for "potential" politicians, drawn along partisan lines, we need to perhaps pose the question of its legality. Besides that, can we read a trace of undue pressure or unnecessary harrassement?

It is a well-known fact that the PAP government has a symbiotic relationship with NTUC. Seemingly, grassroots are not spared from its web of infiltration.

==

I REFER to the letter "Choosing grassroot advisers:Forget politics" (ST, Feb 14) and the article "Aye to apolitical GROs" (ST, Feb 10).

In Singapore, joining a grassroots organisation (GRO) seems to be a sure way for one to be involved in politics, despite the belief that GROS are supposed to be independent on politics.

I volunteered in a GRO with the intention of serving the community, especially the lower strata of society, and getting engaged in activities which I have an interest in.

After serving in the GRO for a few years up till now, I have been approached a number of times by other grassroots members requesting me to be a member of the political party.

I do not see the need to be involved politically because my main purpose is to achieve the aims I mentioned above.

Getting involved in the political party does not seem to advance these aims in any way.

Moreover, getting affliated to the political party was not something I anticipated when I first joined the GRO.

Even if I want to be part of a political party eventually, I am still not ready to do so.

I hope the ambiguous line between GROs and political parties can be better defined.

Volunteers in GROs should not be put in a difficult position to decide whether to join a political party just because they want to serve the community.

With a politically-charged system where prospective grassroots leaders are "screened" on their backgrounds, those who are viewed as "undesirable" (for example, ex-offenders) but are sincere about contributing their share for the community are deprived of the opportunities to prove their worth.

Instead, there may be people who join the GROs to work for their own vested interests through politics without any real intention of contributing to society.


I hope the grassroots organisations can be autonomous and apolitical gradually so that volunteers can concentrate on serving the community.

Yee Kai Ling (Miss)

19 Feb 2006

Ex-PM's wife asks permission to go to Singapore

Mizzima News (www.mizzima.com)
February 18, 2006
The wife of Burma's former prime minister, general Khin Nyunt, has applied for permission to have eye surgery in Singapore.

Khin Win Shwe requested permission to go to Singapore for treatment at the recommendation of her doctor, a source close to the former spy-chief said.

Military authorities are still considering the request but fear her trip may help former intelligence workers regroup and attack the government.

Khin Nyunt and his wife have been held under house arrest after a month's detention in Ye Kyi Aine special investigation camp since he was purged in October 2004.

Bloggers, podcasts online may be subject to Parliamentary Elections Act

By Farah Abdul Rahim, Channel NewsAsia
SINGAPORE : Come election time, bloggers and podcasts online may be subject to the Parliamentary Elections Act.

The Media Development Authority has reminded Internet content providers to comply with Singapore's laws, including those relating to political content.

It says changes to the law, if necessary, will be announced at an appropriate time.

In the previous election in 2001, cyberspace was smaller and less active, and so was the Internet community. Podcasts and blogs were not common terms at that time, but things have changed over the past five years.

Online political discussions have become more common, especially with the General Election due by the middle of next year.

One anonymous blogger called "SGRally" has even set up a website and asks for volunteers to record rally speeches and post them online.

"That site, whoever set it up, is trying to push the boundaries, the envelope a little bit by making people think about what these definitions are. It could present a problem, it could not. We will see how it pans out, and what type of videos that people actually end up sending in," said blogger Benjamin Lee, who is better known as 'Mr Miyagi'.

But is this blog allowed under the Parliamentary Elections Act?

"They can say that it contravenes the law in the sense that rallies are meant to persuade voters towards the speakers' cause. The aim is to influence people. So under existing regulations, it would seem as if it is covered," said Tan Tarn How, research fellow at IPS (Institute of Policy Studies, Singapore).

"There are several questions in this - first of all, whether people would really bother to put up the video tapes, transcripts of the speeches and rallies. Secondly, whether people would bother to go download the rallies and speeches."

Many also argue that while the Internet's influence is increasing, most Singaporeans will not be heading online.

"I don't think that the audience is very big for this kind of material, (though) they have been doing it for years. In the last GE, there were a lot of materials but not many went to the SDP and WP websites to download materials," said Tan.

"People are just not interested enough to put in the effort to look for information. Unless it's cast in a form that is closer to entertainment than politics."

Bloggers agree that not many out there want to listen to political podcasts.

"I'm sure there is room for listening to political podcasts. The only problem is that a lot of the stuff out there is dry and boring. So you are basically asking the man on the street, for 20 mins or half an hour of his time to tune into your programme. But if it's not interesting, I won't waste my time," said Lee.

But bloggers also point out that current laws aren't clear enough.

"Some things need to be defined, to make it clearer. There are a lot of laws covering online offline activities that didn't seem inadequate till the advent of blogging and podcasting. Right now, you have bloggers and podcasters wondering how often they will fall foul of the law," said Lee.

There are still many unanswered questions - like how to get bloggers to take responsibility for their actions especially with anonymous postings or if the website is hosted out of Singapore.

So it remains to be seen whether the law will change before the next General Election. But one thing's for sure, political watchers say it's still the heartlanders who will decide the outcome of the next election, not the online community.

- CNA /ls

General Election likely to be held in next 3 quarters: DPM Wong

Deputy Prime Minister and Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng said the General Election was likely to be held in the next 3 quarters of this year.

Mr Wong said this at a community event held in Toa Payoh North-Central precinct on Sunday.

Mr Wong said: "It will happen in the next 3 quarters. We are always ready you know, as I have said in many occasions: The moment we win an election, we prepare for the next one."

As for what to expect in the coming elections, Mr Wong said there were details that still needed to be finalised.

He added: "It's possible that we have several more women MPs. How many, we can't tell you now. We have yet to finalise the group of MPs who will retire or the candidates who will join us. But you can be assured that at every election, we need to have an infusion of new people. Because even if an MP serves for 3-4 terms, or 5 terms, you would need to have 20-25 percent of turnover."

Mr Wong noted that 2 major challenges that Singaporeans had faced since the last elections were unemployment and the ongoing terrorist threat.

While the latest unemployment figures are the lowest in 4 years, he emphasised that more work needed to be done through the Community Engagement Programme to strengthen social cohesion and resilience.

Mr Wong's team had pledged S$300 million in 2001 to upgrade his GRC.

Besides the S$24.4 million Main Upgrading Project involving 10 blocks, 130 blocks in the estate have also had lift upgrading. - CNA/ch

More Singapore blogs, but bloggers aware of responsibilities


There has been an increasing number of blogs and podcasts in Singapore and with it a growing awareness say bloggers of their responsibilities and what constitutes as defamation.

This after 3 bloggers were charged in court last year for their racist online comments.

The podcast by bloggers known as mr brown and Mr Miyagi has been making waves in cyberspace.

Their most popular podcast last year ('Zhng my car') had more than 50,000 downloads which melted down their server at one point.

And they believe that blogging (and podcasting) is poised to take off in a big way here.

Lee Kin Mun, Blogger known as "mr brown", said: "It's a very easy thing to set up and do, it will probably become a powerful alternative media as people are getting comfortable to use this platform to self publish, to self express."

Now, you can set up your own blog online in 15 minutes thanks to technology.

And bloggers expect to see a proliferation of podcasting especially with more people taking to publishing and broadcasting on their own -once technology makes it even easier to set up podcasts - and this will make podcasting a major alternative publishing and broadcasting platform.

But many say this also throws up many legal questions such as regulation.

Lee Kin Mun said: "In some form or other, there will be a need to do that. It is, at the end of the day, publishing and broadcasting. How they do it is more interesting to explore whether they take a light touch to it or whether they going to legislate it in a very strict way. It's going to be hard to ignore, as it throws up lots of interesting aspects, issues of jurisdiction, legal aspects and all."

On defamation, bloggers and podcasters will be held liable if they publish or even air a defamatory statement.

Siraj Omar, Lawyer, said: "A blogger is responsible for what he puts online, be it for defamation or any other offence. It doesn't matter someone publishes comments in the newspaper or on the Internet via blogs or bulletin boards - your liability is the same. Just because a defamatory statement is on the internet does not absolve the maker of that statement from liability."

Many bloggers say they have become more aware of their responsibilities after 2 bloggers were jailed last year for posting racist comments on their blogs.

But bloggers say it will not stop them from online discussion.

Benjamin Lee, Blogger known as "Mr Miyagi", said: "It's not as if whatever you say, someone will come knocking down your door with a sledge-hammer. It's not quite a climate of fear. At the same time, it's not a freewheeling blogosphere."

And as more people take to technology and blogging, such discussions look set to grow in the future. - CNA/ch


In other words: watch what you say. Big Brother is watching.

18 Feb 2006

PA's charm offensive


It ropes in public relations firm to fix its image among yuppies

Tor Ching Li
chingli@newstoday.com.sg


THE People's Association (PA) is pumping some $500,000 this year into a public communications effort to reconnect with its target audience — the people of Singapore.

Public relations company Burson-Marsteller has been given the task to generate greater awareness and appreciation for the 46-year-old PA and its nine-year-old counterpart, the Community Development Councils (CDCs).

This could take the form of television commercials, bus and MRT advertisements or road shows at shopping centres.

Currently, Burson-Marsteller is conducting telephone surveys to find out how people perceive the PA and its role.

By year end, the PA hopes Singaporeans will have a better understanding of its role in the community.

It also hopes to attract more youth to join the grassroots, boost staff morale and develop a common vision and a set of key performance indicators for the five CDCs.

The PA has some 300,000 members that use its facilities and participate in courses, but its chief executive director Tan Boon Huat does not think this is enough. Ideally, he said, all Singaporeans should join the PA.

Formed as a statutory board in 1960, the role of the PA has been to promote active citizenship, multiracial harmony and community bonding.

But the option of country club memberships and the pursuit of narrower recreational interests have turned some Singaporeans away from Community Club (CC) activities, said Mr Tan.

Then there is the PA's "image problem". Recounted Mr Tan: "Once in a while, when you ask a yuppie type, young graduates if they have been to a CC, they say 'Ha? CC ah?' and from their tone of reply, they see CCs as a place where you only have ah sohs, ah lians, ah bengs and that kind of thing, which is not entirely true."

He added: "While it is essential to look after those who are less well-off, for the PA to do its job properly, it also needs a balanced portfolio of programmes and clientele as well."

As for the perception that the PA is synonymous with the ruling People's Action Party, Mr Tan — the Returning Officer for the past two General Elections and Presidential Elections and former Home Affairs Ministry deputy secretary — quipped: "That's a pity but it's not the PA's fault that we have the same party in power for so many years … Singaporeans have voted in the PAP for so many years, what's wrong with that anyway?"

So does the launch of the Community Engagement Programme — a nationwide, multi-ministry drive that has roped in groups such as businesses, schools and unions to foster social integration — indicate a failing in the PA's mission?

"No, no, certainly not," said Mr Tan. "The fact that we weathered Sars and Jemaah Islamiyah in recent times shows that the PA has not failed. I think if the PA had not been around, the results would have been very different.

"When an emergency arose, we were able to gather people together to have a frank discourse with the Government. The danger is if we let this diminish."

The PA's good internal and external network would serve to complement community engagement efforts, he added.

"The challenge is to make full use of the network so that we are able to deliver what is required even better."

It ropes in public relations firm to fix its image among yuppies.


The difference between PA and the PAP? Only the letter P.

Death to the Singaporean Prime Minister

Originally posted by akikonomu, but somehow the comment facility was removed. Although I have removed the earlier post, I did not remove the comment section from the post. The post and all earlier comments follow. If you want your comment to be removed please email me.

But the questions remain, who deleted the comment section, how did they get access and why?

Written by Tim Brunero
Friday, 06 January 2006

I went to Singapore a fortnight ago and it sucked so much that I’ve decided to condemn its Prime Minister to death. Here’s why…

1) The Beatings To Death

If you import heroin into Singapore, you get hanged. But if you torture then kick to death your Indonesian maid, you only get 18 years – as happened to one poor Singaporean master in 2002.

And if you order your maid out a window to hang washing and they selfishly fall to their death, they could cost you as much as three months jail or a $150 fine.

At least 147 maids have died since 1999. At least in Australia we have the decency to lock up our desperate migrants for years in the desert.

2) The Barbarism

When you flick on the TV over breakfast, you don’t expect to see a heated debate on whether rapists should be castrated or simply jailed and whipped. But that’s what you get in Singapore. Kochie would be appalled to see such an unvacuous discussion taking place before 9am.

A phone poll of viewers found 69% favoured castration after considering the issue over their Weet-Bix, while 20% opted for the soft option of jailing and whipping.

3) The Embarrassing Patheticness

The place is a teacher’s pet’s paradise. While I was there, the government issued a new order for the police to pull over more cars. Nothing unusual about that, you might think, given what we know about the Singaporean police state. Except they were pulling people up to give them “courtesy tickets” for good road behaviour. It’s hard to imagine anything more embarrassing.

4) The Exploitation

The enormous wealth of Singapore is built on its huge pool of exploited foreign labourers. Foreign maids, for example, are specifically exempted from the Employment Act which provides minimum days off and maximum weekly hours. In fact, last month a huge debate exploded over whether maids should be entitled to one day off a month. Some maids are not even paid. But on the good side, at least we know where Howard got his latest workplace changes from.

5) The Bullying and Rudeness

The first thing you notice in Singapore is that everyone wants to order you around. I got busted surreptitously eating a nut on a train when a plain-clothes inspector stepped out from among commuters. And there are bossy signs everywhere. I decided to photograph them.

According to rumour, the Holy Grail of bossy Singaporean signs is the one that tells you the penalty for not flushing the toilet. I couldn’t find one, though because even in the cruddiest places the problem has been solved: Singaporean toilets flush themselves, and without warning – often giving your genitals a soaking. And it seems many individuals have adopted the state’s arrogance. Things are rudely put to you as a fait accompli, in much the same manner as a mandatory death sentence. If you speak to a manager, you simply cop more passive aggression where you are told exactly the same thing, but with a contemptuous grin.

6) The Conmen

Thieves, charlatans and conmen are the employees of choice in many shops. Getting their attention and even the most basic information on products is the first challenge. When you finally do, you are given an elaborate theatrical display with calculators and false ledger books. While waving a carbon copy of a receipt in my face, one guy showed me how the camera he was offering for $400 was a bargain because he’d just sold one for $1600. I didn’t believe it was real, but if I did, was I supposed to be more at ease because he’d just ripped someone else off?

And when you pull your wallet out the price suddenly starts rising – with this tax and that levy. Then, when you get fed up with the snide abuse, the pressure selling starts. One guy dropped an iPod price from $375 to $300 because I walked out of the shop – but insisted on cash. When I returned with the money, the price had suddenly leapt to $345. He’d tried to get me committed by withdrawing cash – and then couldn’t even look me in the eye.

Sure, in Australia we encounter the same kind of people when we buy a house or car – but at least you can let your guard down in Harvey Norman and Woolworths.

7) The Philistines

Singapore is a cross between a hospital, a workplace and a shopping centre. The place has no soul – it’s like Canberra, but even more sterile. There is a monied middle class, but nothing that usually goes with it in the modern world. Singapore is like medieval England with more gadgets.

There is no culture, no spontaneity, no organic grit, no sophistication, no cosmopolitanism, no body politic, and no alternative ideas. But it gave me an excellent taste of what 1950’s Australia was like.

8) The Fourth Estate

Singaporean papers never get stuck into the government. When I arrived, the front page lead story in the country’s leading newspaper, The Straits Times, was about how a disgruntled taxi patron had asked for a $10 refund. The rest of the paper was full of nonsense about crime and celebrities – in other words, a lot like the Murdoch press.

The degree of censorship is so absurd that even a book for quadriplegics called Fun In Bed was banned.

9) The State Racism?

I hate to get back to the maids. But another interesting fact is that only maids from certain countries like the Philippines, Indonesia and Sri Lanka are permitted to take those jobs. Chinese (the ethnic majority in Singapore) aren’t. It seems that only darker-skinned people are deemed worthy of this demeaning work. I’m sure they’d even get a better deal working for middle-class families here in Australia – perhaps in places like Cronulla?

So what’s the conclusion for Singapore? Well it’s clean, but morally and culturally it's filthy. The virtual dictatorship that has brainwashed and stifled the people and built the country on exploitation is to blame. And those responsible – the ruling party and their cronies – should be held accountable using methods they’ll understand. They all deserve the noose.


Earlier comments:

antipathy
you should post a link to where Tim posted his entry to, or a source so we can get back to him directly.

Thanks


Clyde
"Singapore is a paradise for teachers' pets.."

"Singapore is like medieval England but with more gadgets.."


soci
antipathy, the Title is the link to where the article was published, I have also added a link to www.timbrunero.com.


akikonomu
The fun bit is: isn't that the country where John Howard was re-elected several times?

Ahahahahah...I love this guy. Who is he? Aussie journalist??


antipathy
like the way he espouses the solution to solve the problem of our "barbarianism" where we talk about castration of rapists on National TV. He recommends the noose and condemns the PM to death.
The Australians are seemingly more and more similarly to the scarecrow in Oz. Searching for a brain.

Anyway, i didn't see the aforementioned incident on TV so don't quote me on its veracity.

And all this from a country that used to recently kidnap their "black aborogines" children and foster them becauses blacks were inferior and didn't deserve to raise kids. And they still ignore the problems they have as long as it is not on the East or West Coast.


Anonymous
hi, honestly we dun like cohooting with druggies, rapist cause we are not a penal colony like

hello, tell me how to build the world biggest reserve using only maids??? then how come the maids exporting countries are dumb enuff to let of such resources.

as for all those signs, i personally dun give a flying fuck, if you are dumb enuff to care, go ahead.

well you are rite, we hav no soul, we sold it to a guy call lee. we still dunno who got the better deal.

you are rite, The Straits Times WILL keep me sedated for a long time

as for censorship, i say only a few bks of relevance are banned.

chinese doesnt equal singaporean
we are allow to hav a chinese, malay or indian maid, but no self respecting singaporean will want to be a maid

culturally it's filthy. there is no culture, its a clean slate. blank, null nuthingness


Anonymous
hi, honestly we dun like cohooting with druggies, rapist cause we are not a penal colony like YOU, we arent decended frm criminals like YOU. ur great great great grand dad some really low life, so guess you can sympathise.

BTW u filty aussies trrops together wif you colonial brit master sold SIngapore and our souls to lee in the 60s, i should bitch more bout youy


Anonymous posted here but related
hi can i ask where is the newspaper reprt by the aussie rapist cum drug dealer


Anonymous posted here but related
hi i post 2 comment bout the australia being a land of criminals. can you tell where iit is now as i want to email it to the writer

It hurts, but we've to put up with it

From The Electric Paper.

Father of convicted killer Took Leng How on being abused by people he approaches to help save his son from the gallows...

Sign the Petition HERE.

By Dawn Chia
15 February 2006

FOR about three hours, he put up with harsh words and anger.

It's a price that Mr Took Long Lai, the father of convicted murderer Took Leng How, is willing to pay.

He's pinning his hopes of saving his som from the gallows on public support for his clemency petition to the President.

Took was sentenced to death last August for killing Huang Na, 8, in October 2004. (See report on facing page.)

Tired and weary, his father stood at the entrance of Admiralty MRT station, pleading with anyone who would listen:

'Please, my son Ah Hao is innocent. Will you please help us by signing this petition if you think that he is innocent?

'If not, then thank you very much for your time.'

More often than not, the reply was no.

Many shunned his soft pleas and cast disdainful looks in his direction.

ABUSED

Some went further. They hurled abuse at Mr Took, who was accompanied by his wife, daughter-in-law Yuli and grandson Shun Wang, yesterday afternoon.

Mr Took told The New Paper in Mandarin: 'Out of 10 people, six will scold us.

'They tell us off very rudely to stop what we're doing and a few even said we should go and die with him since he is guilty.

'It is very hurtful, but we have to put up with it. We can only cry inside.'

The 53-year-old coffee-shop owner from Penang did not want to say what other verbal abuse he got from passers-by. All he would say was that he was grateful to those who signed the petition.

He said: 'We cannot and will not scold those who hurl abuse at us. We can't force people to sign.

'All we can do is ask for the public's help and beg those who think that Ah Hao is innocent to put their names on our forms.

The family had come up with the idea together.

Mr Took declined to say how many signatures had been collected as the final tally is not in yet.

He will be in Singapore till Friday with his daughter-in-law and grandson. His wife left last night.

He is likely to continue gathering signatures until he returns to Penang.

He and his family took turns to hold out stacks of forms to the crowd.

FEW FRIENDLY FACES

When the rush-hour crowd started to pour out of the MRT station, the family perked up and looked for friendly faces whom they could approach.

All they saw were tired faces of commuters rushing home from work or school.

Not many stopped to listen to them or even cast a glance in their direction.

Those who paused to hear what Mr Took had to say quickly shook their heads and walked away.

A few were sympathetic.

They signed the forms and received grateful smiles from the family, together with warm handshakes and words of thanks.

A woman even bought the family some biscuits, which they accepted after much coaxing.

The tightly-knit family have not wavered in their belief that Took is innocent.

Whenever his family visited him in prison, Took had maintained that he did not kill Huang Na.

His adamant stance drove the family to hit the streets in what Mr Took terms 'our last desperate attempt to help our son'.

'Right now, we have nowhere else to go and no one else to turn to but the President for help.
[Madam Yuli and her son Shun Wang at Admiralty MRT station asking the public's support for the petition father, Mr Took Long Lai, kept requesting the people to sign in his soft voice despite being abused by many.]

'Our only hope is for Singaporeans to help us.'

Mr Took declined to say how much printing the petitions cost him - 'that's not important... what's important is my son's life'.
Sign the Petition HERE.
MALAYSIANS' SIGNATURES

The petition is also being circulated in Malaysia to gather more signatures to back their plea.

It is an arduous task, but Mr Took and his family had not one word of complaint.

As they looked for support, each took turns to care of 2 1/2-year-old Shun Wang, who pranced about, oblivious to his father's fate.

The lively toddler, who speaks a mixture of Mandarin and Hokkien, was able to tell us: 'Papa is in Singapore. His name is Ah Hao.

Took's great-aunt, who lives in Singapore, said Shun Wang had been asking when his father would return home.

The family arrived in Singapore at around 7am yesterday and are staying with relatives.

After a quick breakfast, Took's mother, wife and son and great-aunt spent about an hour at Changi Prison with him.

The meeting was emotional. Took's mother, who broke down after the visit, had bought a new beige Polo T-shirt with blue stripes for him.

It is her hope that he would have a chance to wear it one day. But Took himself appears to have lost hope.

His mother said: 'When we told him that we're trying to appeal for the President's clemency, he told us that it was a futile attempt.

'He seems to have fallen into despair.'

Mr Took, who visited his son without fail whenever he's in Singapore, decided to stay away yesterday.

He said: 'My heart breaks every time I see him.

'I was the one who persuaded him to give himself up when he was on the run because he has a young son and should not spend the rest of his life in hiding.

'He listened to me and now that he's sentenced to death, I regret asking him to do so.

Sign the Petition HERE.

----------------------------------

HUANG NA MURDER

MALAYSIAN vegetable-packer Took Leng How, 24, was found guilty last August of murdering Huang Na, 8, in a storeroom at the Pasir Panjang Wholesale Centre.

Huang Na went missing on 10 Oct 2004, while her mother was away in China.

Her disappearance sparked a search that eventually spread across the Causeway, when Took, who had been assisting the police, fled the country.

He eventually gave himself up to the Malaysian police on 30 Oct.

The next morning, back in Singapore, he led officers to Huang Na's body.

Took appealed against the conviction and death sentence, but it was overturned last month by the Court of Appeal.

His only chance now is for the President to grant him clemency.

S'pore to boost defence spending to about $10 billion

Weekend • February 18, 2006

Singapore will increase its defence expenditure by 8.5 per cent this year as the nation boosts its security to protect from terrorist attacks.

The Government will spend $10.05 billion, or 32.8 per cent of total expenditure, on defence in the year starting April 1, the Ministry of Finance said in a Budget report on Friday.

Singapore, which has said terrorism is the gravest threat to the security of its economy, spent $9.3 billion on defence last year.

Singapore has been modernising its defence forces amid the global threat of terrorism. On Dec 12, the Ministry of Defence signed an agreement with Boeing Company, the second-largest US military contractor, to deliver 12 F-15 fighter planes in the next three to four years. The agreement also includes an option for Singapore to buy another eight aircraft at a future date.

In July, former Deputy Prime Minister Tony Tan said Singapore was an "iconic target'" for terrorists and was "very high" on a list of potential targets. The island sits alongside shipping lanes that carry half of the world's oil and a third of global trade.

Mock terrorist attacks were conducted on the public transport system on Jan 8, its biggest civil emergency exercise ever, to test preparedness after bombs ripped through London's subway last year and Madrid trains in 2004. On Monday, the Government said such events will become a regular part of city life in order to increase readiness.

Singapore arrested suspected terrorists with ties to Jemaah Islamiyah, after the 911 attacks in the United States. — Bloomberg


Some questions that pop into my mind while reading the two articles I posted about our Budget: a) Do we really need to spend so much on defence? Is it justified and is 32.8 % of the budget a large percentage (as compared to other countries)? b) Are the new budget handouts such as the 'Progress Package', 'workfare system' and the proposed negative income tax systems really applicable/effective in Singapore? Interestingly, in the previous article that I posted, it mentioned that 45 percent of the population fall into the category of 'low wage worker' who will benefit from the handouts.

Windfall For All

Budget wows with bigger-than-expected cash handouts to older and low-wage workers
Weekend • February 18, 2006
Christie Loh
christie@newstoday.com.sg

Every Singaporean gets to dip into last year's harvest but the sweetest fruits will go to the truly needy. This was at the core of the Government's 2006 Budget statement on Friday when Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lee Hsien Loong unwrapped $3.6 billion worth of goodies for individuals and companies.

Taking centre-stage during his two-hour outline of the Budget for the fiscal year starting April 1 was a $2.6-billion "Progress Package" that included cold, hard cash for all Singaporeans and extra handouts for workers earning below $1,500 a month.

"Everyone contributed to our economic restructuring efforts and should now share in the fruits of growth. However I will weigh it more towards the lower-income groups, in line with our philosophy that we should progress together as one people," Mr Lee addressed Parliament in a speech titled "Building on our strengths, creating our best home".

So on May 1, all adult citizens will get a one-time 'Growth Dividend' of between $200 and $800 that can be instantly encashed upon allotment.

But the maximum sum will go to the low-wage worker. That is the Singaporean who, besides earning $24,000 or less annually, lives in a flat with an "annual value" of no more than $6,000 – a classification that includes 1, 2, 3 and most 4-room HDB flats. Falling under this category is 45 per cent of the population including lower-middle income earners who often "miss out on our social safety nets", said Mr Lee who expects the Growth Dividends to cost the Government $1.4 billion.

Low-wage workers aged 40 and above will also get a 'Workfare Bonus' ranging from $150 to $1,200 per person "as a reward for regular and productive work", said Mr Lee, who decided to be more generous than what a ministerial panel recommended recently. Instead of handing out cash only to those who earned no more than $1,200 a month, the Government will reach out to those with monthly incomes of up to $1,500 as long as they live in a property with an annual value not exceeding $10,000.

Up to 400,000 Singaporeans are expected to benefit from the Workfare Bonus totalling $400 million. Another $75 million will go to low-wage workers' Central Provident Fund (CPF) accounts as an extra housing grant if they wished to buy their first homes.

Mr Lee explained that this Budget was "more targeted" in sharing surpluses with needy groups compared to the broad-based approach adopted in previous years when schemes such as rental and utilities rebates were used. Such well-worn measures, however, retained their place in this year's Budget.

The Government will waive rentals for those living in 1- and 2-room HDB flats, and dish out rebates for utilities ($60 million) and Service & Conservancy Charges ($50 million).

Besides handouts, the Government adopted ministerial suggestions to help the elderly and low-wage earners stay employable by re-creating jobs and providing incentives for firms to hire older workers.

Also part of the surplus-sharing exercise were National Service men who got one-off bonuses, and Singaporeans aged 50 and above who will get CPF top-ups for their retirement and healthcare needs.

In the area of education, all schools will get a sum of money for providing more enrichment activities, with neighbourhood schools getting double the grant per capita compared to independent and autonomous schools.

But on the corporate front, companies had received less attention, said Mr Zulkifli Baharudin, chairman of Mercy Relief and former Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP).

Corporate measures were "geared towards fine-tuning the economy" and enhancing competitiveness through a $5-billion Research and Development Trust Fund and an upgraded national broadband network, said United Overseas Bank economist Ho Woei Chen who felt that specific industries including maritime, logistics and financial services were given boosters from an array of tax measures.

Overall, this is a 'people's Budget' that was more generous than expected, said Ms Ho.

Other observers noted that the so-called "sin taxes" levied on cigarettes and alcohol were not raised – unlike in previous Budgets – a move that is bound to cheer related industries and the man in the street.

Could the Government's remarkably-outstretched arm be a vote-buying tactic for the People's Action Party in the upcoming elections?

Not necessarily, said OCBC Investment Research economist Suan Teck Kin: "Even without the elections, the Government would probably still give handouts to the low-income groups because these people have been left behind. But the elections could be a catalyst for PM to be even more aggressive."

Added Mr Zulkifli: "Regardless of election talk, one thing we cannot ignore is, here could be a man who really has a heart for social issues."

Because of the Government's generosity, 2006's balance sheet is expected to see a deficit of $2.86 billion, the bulk of which would be funded by projected Net Investment Income (NII) of $2.39 billion, which comes from investing past reserves.

The rest of the deficit will be financed by funds accumulated in the Government's current term, said Prime Minister Lee.

But Mr Steve Chia, secretary-general of the National Solidarity Party, was glad to see surplus being returned to the people even though he felt that the Opposition would have to fight even harder during the elections.

"The low-income will definitely be more appreciative. That would translate into less anger against the Government and therefore their votes," he told TODAY.

Copyright MediaCorp Press Ltd. All rights reserved.

16 Feb 2006

Video: Tech giants' 'nauseating collaboration' in China

Congressman: Yahoo, Google, Cisco Systems, Microsoft are "agents of repression"
In a House subcommittee hearing for global human rights, Rep. Tom Lantos accuses four major U.S. technology companies of "complete compliance" with Chinese repression of civil rights and political dissent. Their actions are, he says, "a disgrace."



Watch the Video
8 minutes 8 seconds



Tech giants condemned by House subcommittee chair


Rep. Christopher Smith chairs the House of Representatives Subcommittee on Africa, Global Human Rights and International Operations. At a hearing in Washington, he reads a pointed indictment of Cisco Systems, Google, Microsoft and Yahoo. Smith says the tech companies aid repression by the Chinese government.



Watch the Video


12 minutes 12 seconds

Feb 15, 2006 9:44:00 AM

Google, Yahoo!, Microsoft under fire in Washington 10:40AM

America's technology giants have 'enthusiastically volunteered for China's censorship brigade'. The heated remarks came during a hearing of the US House of Representatives international relations sub-committee in which some of the US's biggest Internet companies came under fire over their dealings in China.
The major search engines Yahoo!, Google and MSN along with Internet hardware company Cisco have been asked by the Committee to explain their business practices in the People's Republic. The Committee fears that the companies have made the pursuit of profit and market share in the rapidly expanding Chinese market a priority over their commitment to human rights.

The most stinging remarks came from California congressman Tom Lantos who told the companies 'Your abhorrent activities in China are a disgrace. I simply do not understand how your corporate leadership sleeps at night'.

Campaigners have watched with dismay as companies have put aside their principles in order to do business with the Chinese authorities. Last month Google caused outrage when it emerged that the company would be censoring the results of its Google.cn subsidiary in order to operate within Chinese borders. Last year, the pressure group Reporters Without Borders revealed that Yahoo! had handed over the email records of a human rights campaigner to Chinese prosecutors. The man subsequently received a sentence of ten years in jail.

The companies say that if they operate in China, they have to comply with local law as they do anywhere else in the world. Michael Callahan, a Yahoo! senior vice president told the Committee, 'I don't think it would be appropriate for me to sit in my office in California and order a Chinese citizen in our Beijing operation not to follow a lawful command. We are very distressed about the consequences of complying with Chinese law'.

Under pressure Google said that it may consider pulling out of China if the country's human rights record did not improve.

Lantos, a Holocaust survivor, asked the companies whether they were 'ashamed' of their activities China and dismissed their pleas that they were following local law. 'IBM complied with legal orders when they cooperated with Nazi Germany,' he told the four. 'Those were legal orders under the Nazi German system. Do you think that IBM during that period had something to be ashamed of?'

Steve Malone

Related Content
Politicians lash out at tech firms over China
In rare briefing, China defends Internet content controls
Google fixes China search bugs
U.S. task force looks at Internet censorship in China
Yahoo grapples with online rights

15 Feb 2006

Three-to-one he dies ... or not

The Star Online > Lifefocus

Sunday February 12, 2006

Three-to-one he dies ... or not


Took Leng How

Last month, the Singapore Court of Appeal upheld the murder conviction of Malaysian Took Leng How. All that stands between him and the gallows is a president’s pardon or the hope that his father’s petition in Penang will succeed in persuading the authorities to commute the death sentence to life imprisonment. Since the Court of Appeal’s decision was not unanimous, BEN NADARAJAN examines the issues of reasonable doubt and majority decisions.

JUST when it looked like vegetable packer Took Leng How will take a straight walk to the noose, a three-judge Court of Appeal threw up a surprise.

In 30 previous appeals which Singapore’s highest court heard from 1990 till now, all the guilty verdicts passed by the trial judge were upheld, and all by unanimous decisions.

But in Took’s case, Justice Kan Ting Chiu said the prosecution had failed to prove conclusively that Took, 24, had smothered eight-year-old Huang Na to death on Oct 10, 2004.

In fact, Justice Kan, who has sat on the High Court Bench for the past 15 years, felt that the worst Took was guilty of was that of voluntarily causing hurt.

That only carries a maximum punishment of a one-year jail term and a S$1,000 (about RM2,300) fine, a far cry from the mandatory death penalty which the other two judges, Chief Justice Yong Pung How and Judge of Appeal Chao Hick Tin, thought he deserved.

Since Singapore’s judicial system works on a majority decision, Justice Kan’s views had no bearing on the eventual verdict and Took, kept his place on death row.

There is still one last recourse for Took: the President’s pardon.

His lawyer, Subhas Anandan, felt Justice Kan’s judgment will go some way in persuading the President to grant clemency, which has been given only six times since independence.

The two-to-one decision has raised questions about whether the executioner’s hand should be stayed.

Reasonable doubt

Senior Counsel K.S. Rajah certainly thinks so, arguing that even one dissenting judge is enough cause to raise a “reasonable doubt” whether the accused was really guilty.

“We’re talking about a person’s life here. Surely we should be 100% absolutely certain he was the one before we take his life,” said the former judicial commissioner.

The last time the Court of Appeal was split in a capital case was 10 years ago.

Then, a Myanmarese was acquitted by the trial judge of drug trafficking. The prosecution appealed and the Appeal Court set him free with a two-to-one majority.

Dr Myint Soe, who represented the Myanmar national then, said the issue was more clear-cut as the trial judge had already acquitted his client and two other appellate judges also reached the same verdict. “The trial judge’s verdict should hold more weight as he looks at all the facts and has a chance to judge for himself the demeanour and credibility of the witnesses.”

In criminal cases, the guilt of an accused person hinges on this simply-worded, yet extremely complex, term known as “reasonable doubt”.

It means that the State has to prove that there is no doubt that the person they charged did the deed.

The Singapore system

In a 1996 appeal case of a tutor who molested his student, CJ Yong made the point that while the prosecution had to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt, it cannot prove its case “beyond all doubts”.

Otherwise, any fanciful suggestion can be cooked up by defence lawyers to get their clients off the hook.

“In all cases, there will always remain a minutiae of doubt,” the CJ said. ‘The question in all cases is whether such doubts are real or reasonable, or whether they are merely fanciful.”

In Took’s case, Justice Kan noted that there were no marks or bruises on Huang Na’s nose, which raised doubts as to whether Took smothered her. The defence had raised the possibility that the girl had died from fits, which the prosecution was not able to counter convincingly enough for the judge.

So should his reservations be enough to save Took?

Several states in the United States which still have capital punishment require its 12-man jury to reach a unanimous verdict before an accused can be put to death. One dissenting juror would lead to a re-trial, with a new set of jurors.

Singapore did away with the jury system for capital cases in 1969, replacing them with two-judge hearings. Both judges must see eye to eye to convict someone of a capital offence, to reduce the risk of hanging the wrong guy.

It also reflects the gravity of capital cases, which carries the ultimate punishment the legal system can mete out.

But when the late CJ, Wee Chong Jin, stepped down and CJ Yong took over in 1990, the two-judge system was replaced with just one presiding trial judge.

This was to free up more judges to hear other cases, reducing the waiting time for a case to be heard by half.

The safety catch: the CJ proposed that the State provide them with two defence lawyers instead of one.

When the change to the Criminal Procedure Code was put to Parliament in 1992, Law Minister S. Jayakumar acknowledged that having two judges try a capital case was “more comforting” than just a single judge as they shared the responsibility and also combined their knowledge of the law.

But he said that CJ Yong’s suggestion was sound as there was an “ugly and unacceptable risk” that an innocent person may spend years in prison before his trial even begins as there was a serious backlog of unheard cases.

That was over a decade ago when it took four years for a trial to begin. Now, capital cases are usually ready to go within a year.

Another safety catch: Unlike those convicted of non-capital offences, a person sentenced to death has an automatic right to appeal to a higher court. He has to inform the court if he is waiving his right.

Mathematical solution

Briton John Martin, who killed a tourist and dismembered the corpse, and Adrian Lim, who murdered two children in a religious sacrifice, both chose not to appeal and were hanged. Since there was no Round Two, there is no question of their guilt.

National University of Singapore law lecturer Michael Hor offers a mathematical solution to the conundrum.

He gave this scenario: If the trial judge acquits and the Court of Appeal is split with two judges against acquittal and one for acquittal, that means that the verdict, if one goes by simple mathematics, is tied 2-2.

Assoc Prof Hor said: ‘In such a case, then the capital conviction should not stand as there are equal number of judges for and against the conviction.’

Which means really that Took should hang since the score is really three-to-one, if you include the trial judge.

Former lawyer Prem Singh, who wrote in to The Straits Times Forum page on this issue, felt that allowing a solo dissenting voice to prevail over the majority decision “makes a mockery of our majority rule”.

Prem, who was a lawyer for 12 years before retiring in 2001, said: “The majority rule is fair. The fact that there is a dissenting decision on a murder sentence should not cloud the real issue that guilt, or whatever the judgment may be, was determined by a majority decision.”

One suggestion is to go with the majority view but give the judges the discretion to impose life imprisonment instead of the death penalty in cases which are deemed appropriate.

Singapore’s laws do not allow that and one drawback is: Do we really want to put the burden of judging whether a man should live or die on the shoulders of a few individuals, however experienced and respected?

Singapore has never shied away from defending the death penalty, seeing it as a necessary aspect of upholding law and order.

But Took’s case has raised the question: How sure should the State be about a man’s guilt before taking his life?

If the answer is 100%, then Took deserves a re-trial, hang the time and the cost.

It is, after all, a matter of life and death. – ANN/The Sunday Times


Sign The Petition.

'Brokeback Mountain' to Open Uncut in Singapore, Which Bans Gay Sex

By GILLIAN WONG
Associated Press Writer
SINGAPORE


Singapore cinemas will begin screening the movie "Brokeback Mountain" on Thursday in what critics say is a sign of loosening censorship in a country that bans gay sex.

"This shows they are willing to give more scope for homosexuality to be examined as an issue in popular culture," said Russell Heng, founder of People Like Us, a gay support group. However, he said the loosening of censorship regulations has been slow.

"Brokeback Mountain," a movie about two cowboys swept up in a love affair, is the front-runner at the March 5 Academy Awards in Los Angeles with eight nominations. The movie led the Jan. 16 Golden Globes with four wins, among them best dramatic film and best director for Ang Lee.

In Singapore, Lee's uncut film will be restricted to audiences over age 21, and promotional material carries a consumer advisory saying "Mature theme, sexual scenes."

Gay sex, defined by the Southeast Asian city-state as "an act of gross indecency," is punishable by a maximum of two years in jail. There have been few prosecutions.

Amy Chua, director of media content at the state Media Development Authority, said the Board of Film Censors allowed "Brokeback Mountain" to be screened because the film did not "promote or glamorize the lifestyle."

"As the entire film focuses on and revolves round the issue of homosexuality, the Board of Film Censors decided to rate it R21," she said in a statement.

"The aim is to provide adults with more choices while ensuring that the young are not exposed to content that is not intended for them," Chua said.

Singapore has in recent years relaxed censorship regulations for films and plays in an effort to loosen up and market itself as a media and arts center. But controls remain tight.

The popular Taiwanese movie "Formula 17," about two teenage boys falling in love, was banned in 2004 after regulations had been revised. The government said the Taiwanese movie was banned because it showed homosexuality as "normal, and a natural progression of society."

Singapore's censors also have cut scenes from films, such as one depicting two women kissing in the 2002 award-winning "The Hours," which starred Nicole Kidman.

Wong Lung Hsiang, a film critic and secretary of the Singapore Film Society, said authorities were gradually loosening controls.

"I think Singapore's view is that people in the heartland don't object to showcasing films with these themes _ even if they don't necessarily accept the lifestyle," Wong said. "Also, 'Brokeback Mountain' by today's standards is not very controversial. The two characters suffer a lot, the film is very tragic, it wins sympathy from the audience."




2006-02-15 16:58
©2006 OhmyNews


Related Links:
Brokeback Mountain avoids Singapore censors : The Guardian UK

14 Feb 2006

Operational Controls over Casinos Eased

The government has decided to relax some controls over the casino operators of the two proposed integrated resorts in Singapore, like removing limits on the number of hours that a casino can operate.

On the other end, it is setting up a new statutory board called the Casino Regulatory Authority (CRA).

The CRA, to be set up 12 to 18 months before the first casino opens, will have investigative and enforcement powers and will be empowered to approve various aspects of casino operations.

Speaking in Parliament on Monday, Deputy Prime Minister and Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng said the relaxation of controls took into account feedback and suggestions from investors on matters that may interfere with their day-to-day operations.

Mr Wong believes the supervision and regulation of the casinos will not be compromised by the changes.

Parliament also debated the Casino Control Bill which seeks to provide an environment where integrated resorts can thrive while keeping Singapore's social and law and order problems at bay.

The integrated resorts may spell big money for Singapore but also signal big trouble if not enough measures are taken to mitigate the social ills that may come with the
resorts.

The Bill will provide the legislative and regulatory framework to ensure that criminal activities associated with casino operations do not take root here.

Mr Wong said: "Only suitable persons will be licensed to operate the casino or to work in positions of influence in the casino.

"The considerations of 'suitability' include whether the applicant is of good repute with regard to character, honesty and integrity, and has the ability to work in the capacity that he or she has applied for.

"For applicants who wish to operate the casino, the applicant must also demonstrate that he has a sound and stable financial background."

To ensure that casino operators are legitimate and that there are no undesirable influence over the casino's operations, shareholders taking a 5%, 12% or 20% stake in the casino operator will have to seek approval from the Home Affairs Minister.

Under the Casino Control Bill, the casino operator must also ensure that prostitution and illegal money lending activities do not take place within its premises.

Social safeguards are also put in place.

The government has decided to keep the entry levy fee at $100 per 24 hours and $2,000 per year, to send the message that gambling is an expense and not a means to get rich.

This decision follows feedback that resulted from public consultation last year.

A study conducted by the Commercial Affairs Department on prison inmates who had committed commercial crimes also revealed that they got hooked on problem gambling after experiencing the euphoric feeling when they won.

Others gambled to relieve stress.

Mr Wong, who is also the Deputy Prime Minister, said: "Based on this study, there seems to be a point beyond which some casual and recreational gamblers begin to slide down the slippery slope to become compulsive and pathological gamblers.

"It is therefore vital that those who choose to gamble are aware of the vital signs so that they can seek help before their habits get out of control."

The Casino Control Bill also seeks to limit losses, so casinos cannot extend credit to Singaporeans and PRs, unless they're premium players and already have at least a $100,000 credit balance with the operator.

Another safeguard that will be implemented is the prohibition of automated teller machines or ATMs within the casino premises.

This is to prevent patrons from having access to their savings accounts to gamble continuously or to chase their losses.

Various bodies will also be empowered to impose Exclusion Orders, to prevent vulnerable gamblers from entering the casinos.

Family members and even those with gambling problems themselves can also apply to be excluded.

Minister Wong said: "The Government decided to allow two integrated resorts with casinos to be built in Singapore because we assessed that there are significant economic and tourism benefits if the integrated resorts succeed and take off in a big way.

"We will help provide the environment to help the industry succeed. However, this must not and need not come with heavy costs to our society or the law and order situation."

Ethnic Integration Policy on Public Husing Vital for Social Stability

The Ethnic Integration Policy on public housing estates is an important pillar for social stability in Singapore.

National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan says putting a racial quota on flats may have inconvenienced some flat sellers, but it's a small sacrifice Singaporeans must make to safeguard racial harmony.

He was speaking in parliament on Monday. About 300 flat sellers and buyers are rejected each year because they don't fulfil the ethnic quota in their housing estates.

But the Minister said these numbers are small - less than 1% of total annual HDB transactions.

Since 1989, the HDB has put in place the Ethnic Integration Policy to ensure a balanced mix of races within the public housing estates.

It aims to get people of different races to interact and foster social harmony.

The policy also broke up the racial enclaves in Singapore as towns see lower concentrations of a particular racial group.

And according to the HDB, only a quarter of the 162 housing estates have hit the
ethnic quota limits, compared to nearly one third 16 years ago.

Speaking in parliament, Dr Amy Khor, MP for Hong Kah GRC, asked: "In the light of the Workers' Party manifesto, which seems to suggest that they're proposing to dismantle the ethnic integration quota because they feel that we've achieved a certain level of social integration, I would like to ask the minister in his own opinion if we ever can dismantle this ethnic quota that we can ever achieve a level of social integration where racial enclaves will not re-emerge."

In response, Mr Mah said that Workers' Party's Secretary-General Low Thia Khiang, who was absent at the time, would be a better person to answer the question.

Mr Mah also said: "Whatever the motivation is behind his manifesto, the consequences of following that path is really very dangerous and disastrous.
It's like playing with fire."

He continued: "Racial harmony is not a given for Singapore. It's not a given for any multi-racial society but certainly for Singapore, we have had our experiences of racial riots in the 60s. And if you trace the history of public housing in Singapore, (you can see) the role that public housing has played in helping to create a much more integrated, a much more tolerant Singapore."

The issue of a need for the Ethnic Integration Policy emerged when the Workers' Party launched its manifesto which among other things, proposed scrapping the policy.

Several Ministers responded, calling it a dangerous idea as the ethnic quota policy is crucial to maintaining racial harmony. - CNA/ir

13 Feb 2006

96% of Sporeans back death penalty

By Lydia Lim and Jeremy Au Yong
The Straits Times

Publication Date : 2006-02-12

Almost everyone here, both young and old and of every race and education level, supports the death penalty for heinous crimes, a survey shows.

Nine in 10 also want the hard line to be taken against any foreigner who commits a crime that carries the death penalty. He should not be spared even if his country does not give the death sentence for the crime, they said in a Sunday Times survey.

Their responses are significant because the survey was carried out three weeks after Singapore hanged Australian drug trafficker Nguyen Tuong Van amid widespread protests in Australia.

The Home Affairs Ministry said that 35 people have been hanged over the last three years, most of them for drug trafficking.

The survey, done between Dec 23 and 28, also debunks notions that the younger or more educated would be less supportive of the death penalty.

On the contrary, it shows a graduate in his 20s is as likely to back capital punishment as someone in his 50s with below secondary education.

The survey of 425 Singaporeans and permanent residents, aged 20 and older, shows 96 per cent support the death penalty. Most also want it to remain mandatory for the crimes of murder, drug trafficking and the use of firearms.

The majority also want to keep the death sentence as the maximum penalty for acts of treason and kidnapping.

More than two-thirds want the death penalty introduced as the maximum sentence for those who plan or carry out terrorist attacks.

These people, who were interviewed face-to-face at their homes, believe the death penalty is effective in three ways:

-It deters others from committing the same crimes;

-Keeps the country safe and crime-free; and

-Is just punishment for those who carry out heinous acts.

And the majority want Singapore to stand its ground on this issue, regardless of what other countries do.

Almost three quarters say Singapore should not review its stand even if more countries do away with the death penalty.

The younger people are far more open to a review if circumstances change, according to the poll done by the marketing planning and development (research) department of Singapore Press Holdings.

About half of those aged 20 to 29 want a review if more people here oppose the death penalty, compared to one third among the fortysomethings and one quarter among those aged 50 and over.

If more countries decide to abolish capital punishment, 44 per cent of the twentysomethings think Singapore should review its stand but only 22 per cent of people older than 40 would agree to it.

Law professor Michael Hor said the timing of the survey could have contributed to the extremely high levels of support for the death penalty.

"Studies elsewhere have shown, for example, that if death penalty polls are carried out soon after a sensational and well-publicised murder, the approval rates are likely to be significantly higher," he said.

The 15 people in the poll who oppose the death penalty do so for three main reasons:

-They believe people deserve a chance to repent;

-They worry that innocent people could be executed; and

-Other countries have done away with the death penalty.

Entrepreneur Jane Ang, 35, counts herself among this small minority.

"I believe in the sanctity of life. I don't think you can put a price on any person's life, no matter what they've done," she said.

Criminal lawyer Shashi Nathan, a founding member of the Association of Criminal Lawyers in Singapore, said he cannot see how the death penalty deters murders.

"Most murders, I would say 90 per cent, are crimes of passion. In the heat of the moment, you just don't think about what the penalty for your crime is," he said.

But he does acknowledge that the death penalty may act as a deterrent "to some extent for drug trafficking".

Sinapan Samydorai, president of civil rights group Think Centre, puts the overwhelming support for the death penalty to an "overall lack of human rights understanding".

"People think if you kill one to protect many, it then becomes justifiable without considering whether killing the person is morally right or wrong."

In its response to the survey findings, the Ministry of Home Affairs said Singapore does not mete out the death penalty lightly and imposes it only for the most serious of crimes.

The number hanged each year fell from 19 in 2003 to eight last year.

The ministry said: "We weigh the rights of offenders against the rights of victims and the rights of the community to live and work in safety and security." The death penalty, it added, deters would-be offenders and has contributed to making Singapore "one of the safest places in the world".

11 Feb 2006

Family Values - the big lie

This is a duplicate post of the one I've posted on http://blog.sayoni.com

The Simpsons

"Did you hear that Marge? We are supporting family values here!"

Taken from synergisedsolutions.com

***

Family values. The big fuzzy cloud where all reasoning stops functioning.

Try as I might have, I still have yet to extract a coherent argument from any family groups all these years. How do gay people undermine the family unit? After all, if I am going to be destroying some invaluable family value by kissing girls, I should at least know what that is, right? But, I decided to do them a favour, and by painstakingly combing through several family values’ sites[and incurring irreparable mental trauma as a result], I am extracting the points that aren’t clouded by religious fervour.


Jerry Falwell, I am doing you a big favour by actually bringing some coherence to the ravings of your minions.

“We will see a breakdown of the family and family values if we decide to approve same-sex marriage, and if we decide to establish homosexuality as an acceptable alternative lifestyle with all the benefits that go with equating it with the heterosexual lifestyle.” Jerry Falwell

As an argument to make the public rally for their side, “family values” is a worthy cause, something with great moral appeal to every one no matter what their religion. It is easy to get fathers and mothers anxious over the integrity of the family to donate, by claiming they defend family values. It is even easier to get schools and the government to approve their cause, to protect the fragile state of the modern nuclear family, endangered by a menacing environment saturated with sex and violence.

And lest we forget, family values face their most dangerous adversary today: the Homosexual. The Homosexual, in all his capitalised glory, sleeps with every other person who comes his way, and injects his veins with crystal meth. Who seduces little kids from the playgrounds and recruits teenagers to become a Homosexual, like him. Who eventually dies from being whipped one too many times by his newest lover or AIDS.

Sounds familiar?

No, I didn’t think so. Because, the Homosexual in this construct is a figment of imagination at its worst, and a rarity at the best. It is a convenient lump of mashed bad eggs from the gay community, very useful in convincing the layman of their argument on the part of these “family groups”.


Okay, so we can’t go there. Let’s see what else I can dig up against gay people. Let me be rational and go point by point.

1. Gay people are paedophiles. I don’t want them molesting my children. Look at NAMBLA! Am I supposed to support such people?

Homosexuality is defined here as mutually consensual sex between two adults – paedophilia obviously doesn’t fit here. Homosexuality does not equal paedophilia. There is no conclusive link between the two, and drawing non-existent connections between the two is as good as saying global warming is causing George Bush to invade Iraq.

Statistics show that majority of child molesters are heterosexual. So, your child is more likely to be molested by a straight man rather than a gay man. Also, among those men who molest small boys, it has to be noted they often do NOT identify as gay.

NAMBLA is a pariah among the gay community, and almost 100% of us are strongly against its agenda. We do not even consider it a gay organisation – we have sisters, brothers, and even children. We do not want them to be in danger from child-molesters. Look at any gay website, and it is unlikely anyone would even list NAMBLA as a gay resource. Sex with minors is illegal, and completely wrong.

2. Granting gay marriage/rights will undermine the heterosexual marriage structure.

Let me imagine… it is the day after the government has legalised gay marriage, and all the wives and husbands wake up, and realise they are gay, and decide to divorce their spouses and marry someone of the same sex. Horrors of horrors! The family unit is gone! The human race will become extinct!


Sorry, Jerry. I simply can’t understand how this is going to happen.

I can understand, though, why family groups are concerned with the decline of the heterosexual family. Divorce rates are increasing, delinquency is turning into criminality, and dysfunctional families are on the rise. I am concerned too – but homosexuality is not the cause of this. Neither can it aggravate the situation. The reasons for the decline of the family is rooted deep in the failure of the social structure we lived with until now.

If anything, granting family rights to gay people would only help the state of the family, as gay people would have legitimised union to look forward to, raise kids etc.

To prove my point, I’d like to point to Massachusetts, which has legalised gay marriage. It has been a couple of years, and still there is no sign of the heterosexual structure breaking down.

In a nutshell: to beat back the gay community in order to save the heterosexual marriage is akin to building a dam to stop the volcano from erupting.

3. The only stable family structure is that of a man and a woman with children

This is very offensive to all the single mothers and fathers out there, who’ve slaved single-handedly to raise their children to be productive members of the society. If single parents can do it, and there is no lasting damage on the children, what is wrong with two men or two women? After all, two hands are better than one.

And I am strongly contesting the point about the heterosexual unit being the only stable one: the rising divorce rates speak for themselves.

4. Children raised by gay parents turn out gay/depressed/suicidal

I’d like to point to the study here. Clearly, the kids are all right. There is no conclusive evidence that gay parents rear gay kids, unless genetic evidence is taken into account.

Sorry, Jerry… I ran out of points. The rest were just lots of religious pronouncements, which no rational person would even consider as a valid argument.

If anything, I’d like to ask the family groups… why are you making so much of a fuss over homosexuality? Is it the last of your tenets, the last pillar left to knock over? There are certainly more important things to be concerned over than homosexuality. Rising divorce rates, for example. Why aren’t you doing something about that? Where were you when fathers were raping daughters? When fathers were hitting mothers? Instead of doing something about real social issues such as this, you choose to waste your efforts on marginalising the gay community.

Gay people are not against family. We have families of our own too. There is no rational reason why a queer would wake up in the morning and say, "I am going to destroy a family today, just for the fun of it."

In fact, these family values' groups have an adverse effect, by perpertuating homophobia, one is only helping widen the rift between millions of queer people on the planet and their immediate families, especially parents. Now THAT is how a family can be destroyed.


Oops, looks like even *I* can’t help you formulate a proper argument. You’re own your own, buddy.

Ministers right to challenge Opposition's ideas: MM

Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew has joined in the debate to debunk proposals put forth by opposition parties in its manifesto ahead of the General Election.
.
Speaking at his Tanjong Pagar constituency's Chinese New Year dinner on Friday, Mr Lee said People's Action Party (PAP) ministers were right to challenge the ideas. Otherwise, he said, some people might be misled into believing that these are possible solutions for Singapore.
.
The Workers' Party, supported by the Singapore Democratic Alliance, proposed "give-aways" in the form of subsidies to the unemployed, disadvantaged and the sick, he said.
.
And to pay for these, they want to abolish the Elected Presidency so that the country's reserves can be used. They also want to abolish Group Representation Constituencies (GRCs) and have all single constituencies, so that more opposition candidates can win. But to win the elections, Mr Lee said other parties must do what the PAP does — get good men to join them and craft better policies than the ruling party.
.
"There is no simple way to win. To win you must find good people, who will over time convince voters that they will do better or at least as well as the PAP. Then they will stand a chance," he said.
.
Turning to education, Mr Lee said the Ministry would promote Chinese as a conversational language for non-Chinese students in more schools. This comes after some Indian and Malay parents said their children wanted to learn Mandarin but not take it as an examination subject. Likewise, Malay will also be offered as a conversational language for non-Malay students.

— Channel NewsAsia

Singapore Elections blog

via Huichieh Loy,

Singapore Elections '06



The contributors at Singapore Ink, The Void Deck and From a Singapore Angle has just started a joint-venture: Sg Election '06.

See also:
Singapore Elections
Singapore Elections Watch
Singapore Rally
Singapore Government

Singapore Judiciary Unfair And Not Independent

Received via email today..

Statement of Chee Soon Juan submitted to the High Court, Singapore at the Bankruptcy Petition Hearing on 10 February 2006

Dr Chee Soon Juan, secretary-general of the Singapore Democratic Party, was sued in 2002 by former Singapore prime ministers Mr Lee Kuan Yew and Mr Goh Chok Tong for defamation. The courts awarded the case to the plaintiffs and ordered Dr Chee to pay $500,000 in damages. Messrs Lee and Goh then took legal action to declare Dr Chee bankrupt. In response Dr Chee submitted this statement at the bankruptcy hearing.

After much observation and having personally gone through the judicial process, I cannot but come to the conclusion that my case has not received the justice that it is entitled to; it has been crippled right from the beginning.

First, I was denied the services of QCs when the case commenced in 2002 because according to judge Tay Yong Kwang, the matter was not “complex enough”. This is in spite of the fact that I had made known the problem that few Singaporean lawyers would act for me because this involved politics. In this regard, it is instructive to note an AP report said criminal lawyer, Mr Subhas Anandan, was happy to represent “thieves and even terror suspects – but no dissidents, please.”

The fact that the plaintiffs, Mr Lee Kuan Yew and Mr Goh Chok Tong, had engaged Senior Counsel, Mr Davinder Singh, who is seasoned in handling PAP defamation lawsuits and the fact that I had no lawyer to argue my case for me seemed to not bother the courts at all. The US-based Lawyers Committee for Human Rights commented:

Neither at the hearing, on February 7 [2003], nor in the course of his judgment, did Justice Rubin display the least concern that Dr. Chee was unrepresented. The Lawyers Committee considers that this apparent lack of concern, coupled with the considerable latitude extended to Mr. Singh in his submissions to the Court, resulted in manifest unfairness in the course of the hearing and, specifically, the denial to Dr. Chee of a fair hearing that met the international norms to which we have referred.

Second, the case was awarded to the plaintiffs through Summary Judgment, which meant that I could not call witnesses and defend myself in open court. Again, the Lawyers Committee wrote:

The Lawyers Committee considers that there appear to be triable issues in this matter, such as whether or not the words spoken by Dr. Chee were defamatory and whether there was pressure brought to bear on Dr. Chee that should render his apology and admission void for duress.

In summary, not only did I not have legal representation but I also did not get a trial. It is well-known that Singapore has detention without trial. Now it seems that we also have defamation without trial.

To be sure my case is only the latest in several that have taken place through the years. Mr J B Jeyaretnam, one who has suffered the most under this legal tyranny, has had to endure much injustice. One case which he had appealed with Mr Wong Hong Toy to the Privy Council of London in 1988 will perhaps go down in judicial infamy. The Law Lords then had concluded that both the defendants had “suffered a grievous injustice” at the hands of the Singapore Judiciary and Law Society.

Another instance was the removal of former judge Mr Michael Khoo from the bench after he had passed a lenient sentence on Mr Jeyaretnam.

Through the years Mr Jeyaretnam has been hounded and was finally made bankrupt in 2001 which made him ineligible for the 2001 elections. He looks set to also be disqualified for this coming elections.

Then there was the case of Mr Tang Liang Hong who likewise was sued for defamation and made bankrupt in 1997. If ever there was any doubt as to the partiality of Singapore’s courts, this case and all its attendant proceedings removed it. It involved a police report that Mr Tang had made during the 1997 general elections about PAP leaders. Mr Lee Kuan Yew then got hold of the report, distributed it to the media, and then proceeded to sue Mr Tang for defamation.

The above have been but a small sample of instances showing the lack of independence and fairness of our judicial system. This has prompted international organizations to comment:

“Civil defamation suits are being misused by the Executive to intimidate and deter those Singaporeans holding dissenting views.” – Amnesty International

“[Defamation lawsuits have] done little to overcome the courts’ reputation as improperly compliant to the interests of the country’s ruling People’s Action Party.” – International Commission of Jurists

“What emerges…is a government that has been willing to decimate the rule of law for the benefit of its political interests. Lawyers have been cowed to passivity, judges are kept on a short leash, and the law has been manipulated so that gaping holes exist in the system of restraints on government action toward the individual. Singapore is not a country in which individual rights have significant meaning.” – New York City Bar Association

Our own former solicitor-general, Mr. Francis Seow said, “the judiciary…contort themselves into obscene positions to favour…the government.”

The US embassy in Singapore expressed concern over “the ruling party’s use of the court system to intimidate political opponents.”

Stuart Littlemore, QC, reporting for the International Commission of Jurists wrote: “The Singapore leadership has a long-standing record of using the high court as a mechanism for silencing its opponents – by suing them for statements that, in any comparable jurisdiction, would be seen as part of a robust political debate inseparable from democratic freedoms, and by being awarded such unconscionably high damages and costs as to bankrupt the defendants, forcing them out of parliament.”

More recently, Chief Justice Yong Pung How sued his former remisier, Mr Boon Suan Ban, for defamation when Mr Boon allegedly harassed Mr Yong over some financial matters. Mr Boon was subsequently arrested and remanded at the Institute for Mental Health at the “pleasure of the President.” The papers pertaining to the case were then sealed.

In 2005, High Court Judge Mr V K Rajah ruled that a silent protest staged by four activists calling for transparency and accountability from the Singapore Government was “incendiary” and that such protests would “improperly undermine both a hard-won national dignity and a reputable international identity.” This is in spite of the fact that the Singapore Constitution clear states that only five or more persons gathered in a public area constituted an illegal assembly.

The question of the independence of Singapore’s judiciary is also the subject of a dispute between two commercial companies that is taking place presently in Ontario, Canada. The arguments of one party can be found on: http://uy.http3.net/Corrupted_Singapore_Regime_Judiciary.pdf

Through the decades opposition politicians have been, and continue to be, hounded, persecuted, and prosecuted by the PAP through the courts. All this time no one in Singapore has dared to say anything. There comes a time, however, when one must look deep into oneself and ask how much more of the persecution one has to suffer in silence. Today I have made the decision not to remain silent any more and tell you what you don’t want to hear: That the judiciary in Singapore is, sadly, not independent especially when it comes to dealing with opposition politicians.

I wish I didn’t have to do this. I wish I could say that my country’s judicial system is independent and fair. But I can’t because that would be a lie. It would be a much easier decision for me, and more importantly for my family, to walk away from this bankruptcy hearing and accept the punishment that the court has meted out. But my conscience dictates otherwise and I must take the path that in all likelihood will lead to dire consequences.

However, making this statement is a decision that I have chosen and, having made it, to accept the consequences that it brings. I hope to make this statement a start to a campaign to pry the country’s judiciary from the clutches of the PAP Government.

I may or may not succeed in my endeavour, but I would rather live my life having spoken and fought for the truth than to share it with cowardice and deceit. In my little way, I would have stood up for Singapore, my home too.



Chee Soon Juan

10 February 2006

10 Feb 2006

Singapore opposition leader served with bankruptcy petition

Singapore opposition leader served with bankruptcy petition
By Fayen Wong

SINGAPORE, Feb 9 (Reuters) - A prominent Singaporean opposition leader said on Thursday that former prime ministers Lee Kuan Yew and Goh Chok Tong had served a bankruptcy petition on him for failing to make libel payments.

Chee Soon Juan, secretary-general of the Singapore Democratic Party, lost a three-year legal fight against defamation suits brought by Lee and Goh in January 2005, and was ordered to pay S$500,000 ($306,200) in damages for a case dating back to the 2001 parliamentary elections.

"I haven't been able to pay so they have served the bankruptcy petition. There is not much I can do now except to defend myself in court," Chee told Reuters.

Chee, a free speech proponent, has already lost his right to contest the next general election after being fined for speaking in public without a permit.

A High Court official confirmed that a bankruptcy petition was filed on Chee on Jan. 5 and that the High Court would hear the petition on Friday. Davinder Singh of law firm Drew & Napier, who represents Lee and Goh, declined to comment. He is also a PAP member of parliament.

Almost all Singapore's best-known opposition figures have faced legal action at some time by prominent members of the ruling People's Action Party (PAP).

Opposition and critics such as rights group Amnesty International say that defamation lawsuits brought by Singapore leaders are designed to cripple the opposition. But Singapore's leaders say it is necessary to safeguard their reputations.

Chee, a former university lecturer, defended himself during the trial last year as he said he was unable to get a Singapore law firm to represent him. The Singapore court rejected his requests to have foreign lawyers defending him.

Chee was found guilty in August 2002 of defaming Lee and Goh during the run-up to the 2001 election, by questioning their use of public funds.

Known for his strong criticism of the government, Chee has had several clashes with the ruling party. In 1997, he was ordered to pay S$315,000 to PAP member S. Vasoo and two other parties after Chee said that his sacking from the university was politically motivated.

The ruling PAP -- now led by Lee Kuan Yew's son, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong -- has dominated parliament since independence in 1965. It won 82 of 84 seats in November 2001 elections and has never lost more than four seats in any election. Chee's party has no seats.

Chee said it is likely that he would be made a bankrupt but that he would continue to push for democratic rights.

"I don't have to stand as a candidate to bring about democracy. I can always help others," he said.

Singapore Won't Allow Publication of Prophet Cartoons, Lee Says

Feb. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Singapore won't allow the publication of a controversial sequence of cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammad, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said late Thursday, condemning the caricatures as
insensitive.

Maintaining racial harmony is a higher priority than freedom of expression, Lee said in broad-ranging comments in a meeting with community leaders. He also warned Singapore remains a ``key target'' for terrorist attacks, according to a transcript of his remarks published in the Straits Times.

Cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, first published in a Danish newspaper in September and subsequently reprinted in newspapers around the world, have sparked protests in which more than 10 people have died. Islam, followed by about 14 percent of Singapore's population, bans the visual depiction of the prophet, and Muslims were especially angered that one of the caricatures showed him wearing a turban shaped like a bomb.

``It's wrong, it's provocative. We would not have allowed in Singapore,'' Lee said in the two-hour dialogue yesterday with 1,700 community leaders and students. ``It was wrong for the Danish newspapers to publish the pictures, it was wrong for the other European newspapers to say, in solidarity, I will republish.''

Neighboring Malaysia, where three fifths of the population follow Islam, has also condemned the caricatures. Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi suspended the permit of The Sarawak Press Sdn. after its Sarawak Tribune newspaper reprinted the cartoons, Malaysian state-owned Bernama News Agency reported late Thursday.

Furor

French Muslim leaders yesterday condemned the violence that followed the reprinting of the caricatures in France, though they will sue newspapers that carried the cartoons. The offending images were first carried in September by Jyllands- Posten in Denmark.

The Sarawak Tribune has apologized for republishing the caricatures, claiming a lone editor -- who has since resigned -- was responsible. The editor in question has said a superior cleared the offending page after he prepared it, the New Straits Times reported Wednesday.

Still, at a meeting on Thursday, ``all the Cabinet members, including non-Muslim ministers, described the reproduction as an irresponsible and insensitive act that warranted stern action,'' Bernama reported.

Satanic Verses

Singapore's Lee said that, in some circumstances, the maintenance of religious harmony is more important than freedom of expression. He cited the example of the city's ban on ``The Satanic Verses,'' the novel by Salman Rushdie that incensed many Muslims and led Iran's former spiritual leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini to sentence the author to death.

``In 1989, when Salman Rushdie wrote a book `Satanic Verses,' which many Muslims found very objectionable, we banned it,'' Lee said. ``People say, ``where is the freedom of expression?' We say maintaining harmony, peace, that's the first requirement.''

Singapore, which was expelled from a federation with Malaysia in 1965, was subject to communal violence in the 1960s and has since worked to avoid racial tensions. Unlike Southeast Asian neighbors Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand, the city has so far managed to avoid terrorist attacks by Islamist groups, though it has been the subject of several plots.

Indonesia last week deported Mas Selamat bin Kastari, known as Singapore's most-wanted man, to the city-state. The Singapore government said Mas Selamat planned to crash a plane into Singapore's Changi airport. It hasn't said whether he denies the allegations.

`Social Fabric'

Singapore has ``hardened'' potential terrorist targets such as hotels and entertainment areas, Lee said, comparing the threats with those it faced with communism and gang fights as the country became independent four decades
ago.

``Today's security problem is by far the most serious since the '50s and '60s,'' Lee said in the speech. In the event of a terrorist attack, ``it's not just the casualties and the physical damage, but the impact on our social fabric which will be severe and long-lasting.''

Religious groups in Singapore condemn caricatures of Prophet Mohammed

SINGAPORE : Three religious bodies in Singapore have released a joint statement condemning the caricatures of Prophet Mohammed that appeared in the Danish and other media.

Jamiyah Singapore, Singapore Buddhist Lodge and the Hindu Endowments Board says they are "shocked by the insensitive caricatures".

The statement says publication of the caricatures has caused severe hurt to the sensitivity of Muslims all over the world.

And this act of press freedom without the attendant responsibility is deplorable.

But at the same time they described the extreme emotional reactions as "equally deplorable".

The statement says Singapore is fortunate to have a responsible press and responsible government, mindful of the sensitivities of people belonging to different races and faiths.

The three religious groups are of the strong opinion that people have no right to incite violence or pour ridicule on other people's beliefs and should be mindful of cultural sensitivities. - CNA/de

Ministry of Manpower non-reply

When bureaucrats are caught red-handed massaging figures...
"MOM refutes FT report on jobless rate" [Buried on page 5 of the Home section!]
by Leslie Koh

The Manpower Ministry (MOM) has refuted a Financial TImes report that suggested it had changed statistical methods to lower Singapore's jobless rate. The four-year low of 3.2 per cent last year was due to a record number of jobs created, it stressed, and not because of a change in how the ministry measured unemployment. The methodology was revised last year to match international standards, MOM said, adding that it had been issuing employment data using the new method since last June.

The Ministry was reacting to a Feb 1 article by writer Jim Burton, which said that Singapore's latest jobles rate "was flattered by a recent change in how the data was measured". It noted that the SIngapore Government had last year decided to include foreign workers with temporary work permits when measuring unemployment. This effectively reduces the overall jobless rate because unemployment among foreign workers is much lower than among SIngapore residents.

Utter mendacity, malevolence, incompetence, and sheer disconnection from reality!

Somehow MOM has forgotten that government mouthpieces ST and Channelnewsasia reported the unemployment rate as 2.5% - and not 3.2%.

Somehow MOM has forgotten that the 3.2 per cent figure was flattered flattened into 2.5 per cent because it included the foreign workers.

Somehow MOM tries to play a non sequitur argument, misreading that the FT took issue with the 3.3% unemployment rate was 'flattered' into a 3.2% rate.

Somehow MOM insists that the Singaporean rate of unemployment benefitted more from a 'record increase in jobs' - without showing that these jobs actually went to Singaporeans more than they went to foreign workers.

Impeach Ng Eng Hen. Impeach him now!

9 Feb 2006

Danes Not Welcome In Singapore Coffee Shop

Muslim cafe owner angry enough to bar customers; but police demand sign be removed.

By Satirat Dam-ampai of ScandAsia

After the furore over the published caricatures of the Prophet Muhammed made it to Singapore, a coffee shop there has put up a sign saying that Danish citizens were not welcome.

The sign, which said “Citizens of Denmark are not welcomed in Samar till further notice” was displayed at the entrance and also inside of the Samar café on Friday 3 February, 2006. However the sign was removed on Monday 6 after the owner of the shop was ordered by the police to do so. He has also been ordered to go to a police station for questioning.

The café supervisor Saiful Bahari told TMCNet News, "Basically we did it to express our freedom of speech because the cartoons touched on Islam and our beloved Prophet Muhammad. As a Muslim, I do feel angry with what happened as it was totally insensitive."

This cafe is located in the heavily Arab commercial area of Singapore and is owned by a Singapore citizen of Arab descent.

Last week, the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore, a governmental agency under the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports, denounced the publication of the cartoons, claiming that they were intended to incite Muslim anger unnecessarily.

However, there have been no street protests in Singapore, mainly because public protests are outlawed.

Created 2006-02-08

THAILAND: Singapore labeled unethical investor

The Singaporean government who are one of the biggest investors in Burma have been accused of buying 'tainted' assets from Thaksin. Somehow they are trying to paint the Singaporean government as unethical investors - who would believe such a claim?

South China Morning Post via Asia Media.
Thursday, February 9, 2006

By Simon Montlake

Bangkok --- The Thai press, backed by protesters, is accusing Singapore of acting unethically in its business dealings with Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Analysts warn that Singapore, whose investment arm Temasek Holdings led the $1.87 billion takeover of Mr Thaksin's family-owned Shin Corp, faces a nationalist backlash from the Thai public.

While much of the bile has been directed at Mr Thaksin, who is accused of bending tax rules to line his pocket, protesters are also taking aim at Temasek and its owner, the Singapore government.

Protesters who attended last weekend's rally in Bangkok said they objected to the sale of Shin Corp, the holding company for Thailand's biggest mobile phone company, a national broadcaster and a satellite company, to a foreign company.

Many also spoke out against continuing trade talks with the US and accused the government of selling out the country to Singapore and other foreign investors.

"Thaksin is selling our air. How can we breathe?" asked one protester. "If Thaksin really loves his country, he wouldn't do this."

Mr Thaksin has insisted the change of ownership does not end Thailand's control over telecommunications and satellite services, since Shin Corp only holds concessions from the government.

"What Temasek owns is only the right to operate those assets," he said in his weekly radio address on February 4.

But the sale to foreign owners of iTV, the broadcaster created in the early 1990s as Thailand's first independent channel with a mandate to provide in-depth news and current affairs, has raised hackles.

Questions are also being asked of Temasek's involvement in structuring the takeover, including the use of nominee companies in Thailand, so the Shinawatra family does not have to pay tax.

Some critics say Singapore is at fault for going along with the sale and may have failed to calculate the political risk of buying "tainted" assets.

Even if Singapore has broken no laws, it may have stumbled into a controversy that reflects poorly on its ethical leanings, they say.

Temasek is not a newcomer to Thailand. It already holds stakes in Thai banking, property and other industries.

Nor is it the first to take over a Thai telecom. Last year, Norway's Telenor bought out the majority Thai owner in Thailand's second-largest mobile phone company DTAC, in a deal that avoided any political backlash.

Critics argue that Temasek must be held to a higher benchmark, given the political nature of Shin Corp's rise and its ownership.

"You could say this is a normal business deal... but when it comes to companies owned by the prime minister, there are different standards," said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political scientist at Chulalongkorn University.


Date Posted: 2/9/2006

8 Feb 2006

Singaporean jailed for two weeks after maid falls to her death

From the Jakarta Post...

SINGAPORE (AP): A Singapore court jailed a woman for two weeks for negligence after she ordered her Indonesian maid onto the ledge of an eighth-floor condominium from where she fell to her death, court documents showed.

A district judge said Ngu Mei Mei, 37, who admitted one count of negligence imperiling the life of her maid, Yanti, 22, was sentenced to jail to show that the court would not excuse any thoughtless conduct by employers that placed their maids' livesin jeopardy.

"The court will not condone a disregard for the safety of domestic helpers," District Judge Thian Yee Sze wrote in her decision, delivered Tuesday.

"Many of them are very young and come from rural areas, and have never worked in urban areas and high-rise buildings. Hence, they are less aware of the potential dangers," Thian said.

"It must be remembered that to a foreign domestic helper who is often all alone in Singapore, the employer is not only her superior, whose orders she has to obey, but also her guardian and protector," the judge wrote.

Yanti, who like many Indonesians goes by a single name, fell to her death after Ngu ordered her onto the ledge of her condominium to dry laundry. Ngu could have been jailed for up to three months and fined a maximum of 250 Singapore dollars (US$153) for the offense.

Singapore's Ministry of Manpower said 18 maids fell to their deaths last year.

About 150,000 women, mostly from Indonesia, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka, work as maids in Singapore.

Critics, including U.S.-based Human Rights Watch, have accused the government of not having adequate labor laws to protect maids. Singapore says maids receive full legal protection, and that employers who abuse or exploit maids can face fines and jail terms of up to six months.

7 Feb 2006

ASEAN Must Not Allow Misunderstanding Between Muslims, Non-Muslims

SINGAPORE, Feb 7 (Bernama) -- Asean must not allow misunderstandings between Muslims and non-Muslims to surface similar to what has happen after the Western press published the caricature of Prophet Muhammad, Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo said.

He said many Muslims believed the reason for the publication and re-publication of the pictures was pure and simple spite, and not the assertion of "an abstract principle about the freedom of the press".

"They argue that if the freedom is without limit, how is it that anti-Semitic depictions are proscribed?"

"This debate will go on. Responsible leaders will try to counsel good sense but mass emotions are not so easily controlled on both sides," he said in his remark at the 4th Asia-Pacific Roundtable.

It was hard for many in the West to understand why Muslims should be so sensitive to the Holy Prophet being caricatured but he said, it was even harder for Muslims to understand how Westerners can be so insensitive.

Yeo made the remark amid a wave of protests across the globe sparked by the publication and re-publication of the caricature that had angered the Muslims around the world.

He noted that both Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had talked about the issue because their Muslim grounds had been stirred up.

Singapore was aware of religious sensitivities of certain issues and had acted based on the multi-religious make-up of the country.

"When Salman Rushdie's book "Satanic Verses" was published some years ago, Singapore banned it because we knew it will cause trouble. In contrast, we did not ban "The Last Temptation of Christ" because the Christian ground and the Muslim ground are different.

"We did not make our decision based on abstract considerations of right and wrong but upon the realities of our multi-religious make-up," he added.

Singapore warned: drop Shin takeover

[Image from themediaslut]
SHARE SALE FURORE: Singapore warned: drop Shin takeover
Published on February 07, 2006

Critics demand island state ‘must cancel’ deal as Thai anger at Temasek is threatening to boil over. Singapore was warned yesterday to stop Temasek’s purchase of Shin Corp otherwise it would face the wrath of the people of Thailand.

Leading critics and academics slammed Singapore for making no attempt to explain its intentions for Shin Corp nor reconciling with the Thai public over their fears of seeing a company that has security implications for the country being taken over by foreigners. They urged Tema-sek to pull out of the investment.

A seminar, “The Shin Corp Deal: International Dimensions” at Chulalongkorn University, urged Temasek to explain its reasons for buying Shin Corp, which has operations that relate to national security and strategic interests.

Professor Suchit Bunbongkarn, of the Institute of Security and International Studies, urged Tema-sek and Singapore to take into account public anger fuelled by an absence of business and political ethics in the deal.

“Businessmen and those in political power should have greater social responsibility. They have to raise the moral standards in their decisions,” Suchit said.

As the force of globalisation has brought business, politics and economics closer together, each factor could affect another. “We should be able to rely on ethics and morality, not legality alone,” said Suchit, a former judge of the Constitution Court.

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is under fire for allowing Temasek to acquire a 49.6 per cent stake in Shin Corp, whose subsidiaries include Advanced Info Service (AIS), iTV and Shin Sat. The Singaporean firm bought the shares from the Shinawatra and Damapong families, who were not required to pay tax on the Bt73-billion deal.

Somkiat Tangkitvanich, research director at Thailand Development Research Institute, said his main concern was not the market being forced open, but that the deal involved broadcasting and satellite businesses that are deemed national assets. iTV and Shin Sat are national assets, which have political and security implications and should not be placed in foreign hands, he said.

The critics were also sceptical of Singapore’s intentions. Temasek said in its report to the Securities and Exchange Commission that it was interested in Shin Corp and AIS and considered the other subsidiaries such as Shin Sat, Thai AirAsia and iTV as “immaterial assets”. Thus, it would launch tender offers only for Shin Corp and AIS.

Democrat MP Korn Chatikavanij urged the company and the Singapore government to come out and make the issue clear. “So far, Singapore has kept silent.”

From the beginning, Temasek Holdings indicated it only wanted to buy AIS, a lucrative mobile business. But it had not said what it planned to do with the other subsidiaries. “They should come out and say what Singapore is going to do with Shin Satellite and iTV,” Korn said.

Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political lecturer at Chulalongkorn University, said Singapore had unintentionally become involved in Thai domestic politics after buying a controlling stake in Shin Corp, even though profit and opportunism drove Temasek’s decision. Thitinan said Shin Corp’s business concessions were fraught with controversy and conflict-of-interest allegations right from the start.

Thitinan wondered whether Thailand could claim back frequencies on Shin Sat and iTV from Temasek. He was also worried about the potential for political violence if Thaksin did not step down soon or dissolve Parliament.

Kasit Bhiromya, a former Thai ambassador to Washington DC, urged the Singapore government to think about withdrawing the investment. He pointed out that Temasek is owned by the Singapore government so when it takes over a Thai company, it is not an ordinary corporate take-over. Moreover, some of the concessions were considered strategic industries. He said the deal might spark disagreement from the public, citing the recent US congress objection to the bid by China National Offshore Oil Corp to acquire Unocal, the US-based energy firm.

Suchit agreed with Kasit, saying Temasek and the Singapore government should pull out from the deal.

“People have not yet organised rallies against the Singapore government because they are still busy organising protests against the Thaksin government. But not for long. We may see people turn out against Singapore,” Korn warned.

Somkiat said the sale of Shin Corp had automatically liberalised the telecom sector. He said he was not concerned about market liberalisation, but it should only be done after the regulatory framework to safeguard public and consumer interests was put in place.

Korn promised the Democrats would launch a no-confidence motion against specific ministers in the Thaksin Cabinet. He said the Democrats could not find enough votes for a no-confidence motion against Thaksin, even though some factions in the ruling Thai Rak Thai Party might join the Democrat’s move to question Thaksin’s legitimacy.

Korn predicted conflict of interest would remain a problematic issue for Thaksin, although his family earlier said the sale of Shin Corp would negate this and enable Thaksin to continue his political career without criticism.

Wichit Chaitrong


The Nation

6 Feb 2006

On yet another note

Some may argue that all depictions of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) constitute blasphemy. Others argue that this belief only holds true in some sects of contemporary Islam. Yet others argue that it's only the caricatures that are offensive, because they depict Islam as a dangerous religion which exalts its followers to war and blow people up.

It is the final argument that I find most interesting: do such caricatures poison the well of discourse, making the trust between different groups - a trust that constitutes the foundation for civil society - impossible?

So, in deference to the sensibilities of our readers, let me just say that none of the contributors on Singabloodypore will post images depicting the Prophet. We may link to them, but we will not show them at all.

Now. This is what we can show you instead. I hope no one will be offended.









5 Feb 2006

On a purely historical note

The Cranky Professor writes:

Images of the Prophet Muhammad - a Zombie Error

So - are images of the Prophet Muhammad illicit in Islam? From what some people do and say you might think so.

Not so fast. This is a classic zombie error - a commonplace belief that will. not. die!

I am not a specialist in Islamic art, but I teach an occasional low-level survey of the field at these Colleges, where we have an excellent Visual Resources Collection for a school of our size, a collection which is unfortunately for your visual delight very observant of copyright laws, so I can't post any pictures. I popped some terms into the search engine and came up with this list of paintings of the Prophet Muhammad executed by Muslims that we happen to own slides of; this is not an exhaustive list!

So, journalists, don't tell us this is a taboo subject matter in Islam. The physical depiction of the Prophet Muhammad may be a taboo subject matter in some sects of contemporary Islam, but let's all be clear -- this is not a universal prohibition.

Here are LOTS of examples for you arranged in chronological order:

From Rashid al-Din's Jami al Tawarikh (Compendium of Chronicles) - here's a page from the Met (with pictures) explaining some history of the book.

-----Khalili Collection Ms 727, Rashid al-Din's Compendium of Chronicles, f3a: Muhammad conquers Mecca, 1314, painted Iran.

-----Edinburgh University Library MS Arab 20, Rashid al Din's Compendium of Chronicles, Scene of the Birth of Muhammad, 1315, painted Iran. The baby Muhammad has a visible face. Here's a link to an image of ONE folio, though not one showing Muhammad.

---Topkapi Sarayi Library, Istanbul, B.282 Kulliyyat-i Tarikhi of Hafiz-i Bru, folio 171A: Muhammad Conquers Mecca, 1415-1416, painted Afghanistan -- Muhammad's face is a golden wash of fire and he stands in front of a gold background. F 169A shows Ali storming a fortress.

---Topkapi Sarayi Library, Istanbul, MS Hazine 2154, F 107:Muhammad describing Jerusalem, 1400-50, painted Iran -- FULLY FACED Muhammad.

---Paris, Bib Nat, SupplTurc 190, Hari-Malik Bakhshi, Mi'rajnama, folio 34B: Muhammad and the Angel Gabriel, 1425-50, painted Afghanistan. Fully faced Muhammad, both Muhammad and Buraq encased in flames.

---Khalili Collection MSS 620, The Giant Uj* and the Prophets Moses, Jesus and Muhammad, 15th Century book, painted Iraq - click this link, choose Publications, choose Vols XXV-XXVI, scroll down - it's the image in the left margin. I can't find the folio information without going to our library and the Khalili collection doesn't allow access to pages deep in the directory. Sorry.

---London, British Museum. Mi'raj, 1497, painted Iran. The thumbnail image I can see looks like a fully-faced Muhammad, but it won't enlarge and I'm not sure.

---Worcester Art Museum, page from a Khamseh of Nizami, Mi'raj, Muhammad on Buraq, 1550, painted Iran. Here's a link to a page from the book, but like the Edinburgh link not to the correct page. It begins to make me wonder if the curators are avoiding controversy by keeping the Muhammad images off the internet?

---Freer Gallery, Washington, Jami, Haft Awrang (Seven Thrones), F 275A, Mi'raj, Muhammad on Buraq, painted Iran, 1556-65. Go here, scroll to Arts of the Islamic World, choose the last virtual exhibition -- your tax dollars at work!! Choose the first poem of the 7 - "Chain of Gold." The Ascent of Muhammad (the Mi'raj) is the 4th page in. There's a nice note on the use of the veiled prophet (anyone from St. Louis reading? That's where it comes from.).

---Topkapi Sarayi Library, Istanbul, MS.Hazine 1221, Kitab Siya-i Nabi (Life of the Prophet), multiple scenes from the life, including the Birth, Call by Gabriel, the Call to Prayer from the top of the Kaba, the Mi'raj, and the Death of the Prophet, 1594, painted Turkey.

Some other useful things

Here is a useful piece on the Night Journey of Muhammad, the Mi'raj, from Wikipedia. Perhaps its explanation of the mystical content will help you understand why this is such a common IMAGE of Muhammad.

The Wikipedia article on Buraq, the steed of Muhammad, even has a picture optimistically described as "public domain." I don't recognize it (it's not a great reproduction and, like I said, I'm not a specialist). It shows a veiled Muhammad.

*Uj is, I think, Og of Bashan in the Hebrew versions.

We can, of course, forgive MUIS for being ignorant of existing art by Muslims depicting the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

Let's not forget to forgive the very Straightened Times for being ignorant of the existence of Muslim Danes who held their own counter-protest *in favor* of the publication of the caricatures.

Guide to managing a privately owned commercial metablog for the public

I have been waiting for the editorial announcement for some time now...

Singapore blog aggregator Tomorrow.sg continues to take knocks from other bloggers, who complain about its editorial approach and integrity. Xialanxue posts a sarcastic “guide to managing a metablog” and links to several posts critiquing Tomorrow.sg’s problems. Global Voices Online




1. Publish "Quality Content".

2. Cover up your mistakes.

3. Make public promises you can't keep.

4. When confronted about it, tell everyone sarcastically that you have more important issues to address [Read: "There is nothing much we can say or do to get ourselves out of the deep hole we are in now. Even if the thirteen of us stood one on top of the shoulders of another all the way up, we won't be able to reach the light! Just mind your own business and let us carry on digging ourselves deeper will you? Maybe we will find some gold at the bottom"].

5. Censor reader-recommended articles that are of interest to the public.

6. Remove more than once relevant trackbacks from xlx [The trackback happens to showcase censorship-in-action yet again, in an entry that was sparked off by censorship in the first place, making it relevant]

7. Label the relevant trackbacks as irrelevant and use this as a convenient opportunity/excuse to censor xlx. After all wasn't xlx's exposé on the wrongdoings of a certain editor the catalyst for the metablog taking so much heat now?xialanxue.blogspot.com...

Cartoon row highlights deep divisions


Cartoon row highlights deep divisions
By Magdi Abdelhadi
BBC Arab Affairs analyst


Below is an extract from the BBC...
[...]
The row over the Danish cartoons would probably have remained a local dispute between some Muslims and a Danish newspaper had it not been for three factors:

-the rise of violent political Islam
-America's war on terror
-modern transnational media.

America's war on terror is still largely perceived in the Arab world as a war on Islam - a perception reinforced by the fact that it is happening exclusively in Muslim countries, namely Iraq and Afghanistan.
Issues such as the Iraq war are seen as catalysts in the row

Parts of the Arab media describes it as a modern crusade. Many Arab columnists often speak of a campaign to distort and discredit Islam.

For them, the row over the Danish cartoons is yet another confirmation of this perception.

But long before the 11 September attacks and America's war on al-Qaeda, Islamists were aggressively promoting their world view and attacking liberal secular values, not only in the West but across the Arab and Muslim world as well.

The best-known example in the West is the row caused by Salman Rushdie's novel, The Satanic Verses, which culminated in the notorious death fatwa against its author by the late Iranian leader, Ayatollah Khomeyni.

In Egypt, the Nobel Prize winner, Naguib Mahfouz, survived a knife attack in 1994 for allegedly insulting Islam in one of his novels.

Another prominent writer, Farag Fouda, was gunned down in Cairo for alleged apostasy.

The internet and satellite broadcasting are being diligently used by Islamist activists across the world to drum up support for the doctrine of a universal Muslim nation up against an aggressive and imperialist West.

A local Danish dispute is thus quickly elevated to the level of a global conflict. [...]



The entire article.

A Related Link:
Newsnight debate Video Link

The row over the printing and reprinting of a series of cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammad has escalated.

Newsnight has looked into the row and held a debate to discuss the different sides of the issue.


FIRST BROADCAST 2 FEB 06

SEE ALSO
Watch protesters outside the Danish Embassy

Watch the BBC's Hardtalk on the cartoon controversy
Hardtalk spoke to the culture editor of the paper which first published controversial cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.

The programme also spoke to the leader of the Islamic Faith Society in Denmark, who led protests against the drawings.

I was going to post links to the cartoons and a video - but if you are IT savvy enough to be reading this then you are IT savvy enough to find the material for yourself. [Changed my mind] For coverage of the issue click here...

Workers' Party Manifesto

See the Manifesto in full...

Workers' Party thanks various Ministers for spending their time to look at issues raised in the Workers' Party Manifesto and wishes to clarify the misconception of the PAP on the issue of Multicultural society.

We wish to state unequivocally that Workers' Party is for a multiracial and multireligious society. As stated in the Introduction, Multiculturalism is one of the fundamental beliefs upon which we reviewed and formulated our proposals on government policies.

We are of the view that the ethnic quota for housing is no longer necessary as we have already achieved a certain level of integration. It also imposes hardship on people wanting to buy and sell homes. However, we also believe that we should not take racial and religious harmony for granted and hence we proposed declaring a Social Cohesion holiday to remind Singaporeans of the importance of harmonious living.

As for the Elected Presidency, Workers' Party's position has been consistent since 1988. We do not believe that the Elected Presidency is the right way to achieve the declared purpose.

The issue of Group Representation Constituencies is an old issue and we believe there are better alternatives to ensure multi-racial representation.

As for the Residents' Committees and Citizens' Consultative Committees, to say that they are the only ones who can play a role in the community and serve a useful role during crises like SARS etc, is to underestimate the community's ability to respond to crises. It seems that the government perceives Singaporeans to be a docile lot with no initiative who need to depend on RC/CCCs, which is an insult to Singaporeans.

Finally, with respect to the subsidies, we are of the view that the government must not ignore the financial difficulties of the lower income group and only address these when there are Budget surpluses.

Sylvia Lim
Chairman

January 22, 2006

2 Feb 2006

Singapore jobless rate falls to five-year low

For those of you out there worried that the government is manipulating official statistics, don't worry it's perfectly normal. Whenever you see the phrase 'official statistics' always ask how is the phenomenon in question defined and how does any change in the definition effect the result - especially a few months away from a general election.

By John Burton in Singapore
Published: February 1 2006 10:43

Singapore said on Wednesday its unemployment rate last year fell to a provisional 3.2 per cent, the lowest since 2001, although the figure was flattered by a recent change in how the data was measured.

The improving job data and a new government survey saying manufacturers were optimistic about the outlook for the first half of 2006 is expected to increase chances of the government calling a general election soon.

In the fourth quarter, the unemployment rate fell to a seasonally adjusted 2.5 per cent due to a stronger economy and increased hiring in the services sector.

However, the jobless rate among Singapore citizens and permanent residents remained higher at 3.3 per cent in the fourth quarter after peaking at 4.5 per cent in June.

The government decided last year to revise the measurement of unemployment to include foreign workers who have temporary work permits, including construction workers living on site and those who commute to Singapore from Malaysia.

"The revision has the effect of reducing the overall unemployment rate as...(the) total labour force is now larger, taking into account full coverage of the foreign workforce," said the ministry of manpower, which compiles the statistics.

Unemployment rates for foreign workers are lower since they normally lose their work permits and can no longer stay in Singapore if they become jobless.

The ministry said the revision was needed to establish a common methodology for government statistical surveys.

The jobless rate is closely watched when there is a growing debate about a widening gap between rich and poor, with elderly unskilled workers having a tougher time finding new jobs as Singapore moves towards higher-valued manufacturing.

The government also recently revised upward last year's economic growth rate to 6 per cent from 5.7 per cent after it recalculated data, as it does every five years.

Singapore's jobless rate before the 1997-98 Asian crisis was around 2 per cent, but climbed to a peak of 5.2 per cent in 2003 for residents before declining again.

A recent recovery in manufacturing and stronger growth have cut the jobless rate in the last two years. The economy is expected to expand by at least 5 per cent this year, according to private economists.

The number of new jobs increased to 110,000 last year, the strongest increase in nearly five years, due to a growing services sector and a recovery in construction.

The government wants to add service jobs by opening two casino resorts to balance an overall decline in manufacturing jobs.

Singapore's manufacturing sector employs about 18 per cent of the 2.1m workforce, down from a third in 1995, and more retrenchments are expected as companies shift production to China and Malaysia.

Employment in the electronics sector, Singapore's biggest manufacturing industry, is expected to increase slightly this year due to increased global demand, the government said in its latest survey on business confidence among manufacturers.

Offensive T-Shirts Make Headlines

Anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan wore a t-shirt that says, “ 2245 Dead. How many more?” at Capitol in the visitor's gallery during the State of the Union address and was escorted before the event started. Subsequently, charges of unlawful conduct were dropped and the police apologised.

Incidentally, the wife of a Republican House of Representative, Bill Young, Beverly, was also asked to leave for wearing a t-shirt that has an opposite message, “Support the Troops Defending Our Freedom”.

In Singapore, politically controversial t-shirts became the rage when 4 silent protestors last year wore white t-shirts with words such as , “CPF, HDB, Transparency, Accountability” on them. The shirts have been confiscated and the police have yet to offer an apology.

Not too long ago, the authorities see red again when Raffles girls students tried to sold “Save the White Elephants" t-shirts at the carnival celebrating the opening of Buangkok MRT station. This was apparently a tongue in cheek reference to the cutouts hung outside the station.

The police sent a remainder to the girls that permits are needed to sold the t-shirts; and that “wearing of T-shirts en masse may be misconstrued by some as an offence under the Miscellaneous Offences (Public & Order & Nuisance) (Assemblies & Processions) Rules”

With politically controversial t-shirts making international and local headlines, I expect creative Singaporeans to come up with their own version of offensive t-shirts that may confound our police.

In fact, I already have a few in mind, such as , “When is the next Erection in Singapore?”, “National Peanut Foundation”, “Pee Aye Pee”, “Workaholics Party” or “Sarong Demo-crappy Party”

I just hope no one will take up my idea to print and wear these t-shirts. Unlike the US police, ours don't do apologies and they may just haul you up on the street and charge you for indecent exposure. Sorry, I meant public abnormal disorder.

The logic? Singapore, unlike US of A, is a clean and green city and our citizens are expected to be orderly and law abiding. Dissent is banned, even on a crappy t-shirt with illegible handwritings.

Disclaimer: The author does not endorse politically controversial t-shirts and he is not related to anyone found owning or wearing them. Any such event is merely an act of coincidence. The only controversial t-shirt that the author owns says,”No Politically Rude T-Shirts Please, We Are Law Abiding Singaporeans”

Focus on next election: Bread & Butter

SINGAPORE : Political watchers say Singapore's next General Election will likely be fought upon bread and butter issues.

When Singaporeans went to the polls in the last General Election in 2001, unemployment was at a high; many had wanted jobs that could in turn provide better lives.

Some four years later, political watchers say such issues will still form the backbone of the upcoming contest, due by June next year.

Said Dr Gillian Koh, research fellow, at the Institute of Policy Studies, "Certainly on employment, on health care -- maybe some people will still remember the issues on transport costs. I think that last time round, there was some discussion about the education system. There is always this nagging question to which we can tweak and adjust the foreign worker policy, does that foreign worker policy mean a heavy price, a trade-off for us."

The past years saw numerous initiatives to improve the people's lives and to shore up the economy.

Last June, the ComCare Fund with an annual budget of over S$10 million was set aside to help the needy.

Soon, more measures will be announced as part of Workfare to cast a wider social safety net for the lower income families.

There are also programmes to redesign jobs and re-skill older workers so they can stay employed.

Political watchers say the PAP has a fair report card for the manner in which it tackled the recession, globalisation and SARS, among others; but it is important to see if these filter to the ground.

Going forward, some issues which need addressing include narrowing the income gap as well as promoting a freer and more inclusive society.

Said former Nominated MP Chandra Mohan, "I believe the PAP will have better mileage by being liberal. Probably by having that Singaporeans will have not just economic progress but progress in terms of the Singapore soul. That is important if you want the international community to judge us not just by economic progress, which is a given almost now. The next phase of progress is more difficult, that is the mental phase of progress".

And it isn't just some political watchers who expect the PAP to face a tougher challenge at the upcoming polls.

Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong had also commented that the ruling party
will face tougher competition this time round as the opposition parties have
been preparing for their campaign.

For now, many questions beg answers -- when is the election; what are the electoral boundaries; who are the new candidates?

More, hopefully, will be revealed after the Budget on February 17. - CNA /ct

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This probably explains why reports on the declining unemployment rate was announced. For the average person on the street (and one does not have to be a politician to know this) is employment which leads to bringing home the bacon. While we cannot verify the veracity of the published figures, we are aware of the strategic timing that has led to this reporting.

Perhaps it is a reminder of how the elected government has served its people. Perhaps it is bait for the opposition parties to act upon. Regardless of your stand, I think we all agree that all goodies/rewards announced are good.

No justification for Singapore’s mandatory death penalty

From Human Rights Documentation Center...


Singapore, though enjoying a reputation of being wealthy and progressive, falls significantly short when it comes to compliance with international human rights standards. The execution of an Australian, 25-year-old Tuong Van Nguyen, for trafficking 396 grams of heroin attracted widespread condemnation of Singapore’s notorious mandatory death penalty, and rightly so. In a statement, the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Professor Philip Alston, said that “making such a penalty mandatory – thereby eliminating the discretion of the court – makes it impossible to take into account mitigating or extenuating circumstances and eliminates any individual determination of an appropriate sentence in a particular case”.

Singapore is believed to have the highest per capita execution rate in the world and has executed more than 400 people since 1991, 70 percent of which are reportedly for drug offences.

Under the Misuse of Drugs Act (MDA), judges must administer the death penalty to any person trafficking more than 15 grams of heroin and may not consider any extenuating circumstances or mitigating factors in a particular case.

Van Nguyen’s case, it is hoped, will impress upon the international community the need to closely scrutinise Singapore’s human rights record, and critique it where necessary. Singapore’s glittering prosperity conceals a number of horrifying abuses, and it is time the international community took note of some of these concerns.

A Breach of International Law

Professor Alston echoed the concerns of many lawyers and activists when he argued that the mandatory penalty denies the judiciary the necessary discretion to sentence fairly and appropriately.

He referred to the authority of a number of international cases which have found that the mandatory penalty is in violation of the international prohibition on cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. He said that in Van Nguyen’s case, the Court of Appeal failed to make a thorough examination of prior Privy Council decisions. One case conspicuously absent from the Court’s deliberations was Boyce and Joseph v The Queen, decided in 2004, in which four of the Law Lords endorsed the statement that “[n]o international human rights tribunal anywhere in the world has ever found a mandatory death penalty regime compatible with international human rights norms.”

In Van Nguyen’s case, Singapore upheld the validity of the mandatory death penalty, relying primarily on the precedent in Ong Ah Chuan v Public Prosecutor, where the penalty was found to be not unusual according to international practice. As Alston points out, however, this decision has been superceded by subsequent cases such as Reyes v The Queen where Lord Bingham commented that “[t]he decision in [Ong Ah Chuan v Public Prosecutor] was made at a time when international jurisprudence on human rights was rudimentary.”

The Court of Appeal also insisted that “the mandatory death sentence prescribed under the MDA is sufficiently discriminating to obviate any inhumanity in its operation.” However, as Professor Alston points out, “discrimination” only occurs within the act and the courts have no capacity to discriminate in the sense referred to by the recent Privy Council decisions. The legislature has effectively usurped the judges’ legitimate role to exercise discretion in determining a just sentence.

The Constitution and the Mandatory Death Penalty

Van Nguyen’s case also illuminates the fact that Singapore’s mandatory death penalty undermines not only international principles but also domestic constitutional provisions.

Van Nguyen argued that the penalty enshrined in s 33 and the Second Schedule of the MDA breached Articles 9(1) and 93 of the Constitution which assert the fundamental liberty of the person and which assign judicial powers to the courts. The Court of Appeal, however, refused to engage in these arguments. Instead, it made reference to a Privy Council decision from Belize, where the mandatory death penalty was found to contradict Belize’s constitutional provision against “torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.” The Court of Appeal concluded that because no such provision existed in Singapore, the mandatory sentencing laws did not amount to a constitutional breach. In saying this, the court was able to avoid consideration of the constitutional validity of the mandatory death penalty. Because the Singaporean judiciary is effectively under the control of the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP), any constitutional interpretation contrary to the government’s position is virtually impossible.

Singapore Defends Mandatory Death Sentencing

A Singaporean Royal Commission investigating a proposal to permit judicial discretion in imposing the death penalty concluded that sentences should preferably be mandatory to prevent burdening judges with such a responsibility. Prominent Singaporean Senior Counsel and former deputy Public Prosecutor K.S. Rajah has argued that the judiciary is made of “sterner stuff” and can capably assign punishments as it sees fit.

The Singaporean government admits that it has “some of the toughest laws in the world such as for drug trafficking and the use of firearms” but defends these by describing the “relatively safe and crime-free environment” and the need to enhance the “attraction of Singapore to tourists and investors.” These claims, advanced to excuse the death penalty by reference to low crime rates, still cannot justify the taking of human life. Moreover, there is no supporting research for the claims. According to a report by the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics examining 74 studies into the death penalty over a 51-year period, there is no evidence that the death penalty deters potential criminals.

“Shrouded in secrecy…”

Amnesty International has described official information concerning the use of the death penalty in Singapore as “shrouded in mystery.” Precise numbers of the executed are difficult to ascertain. Some figures were provided in answer to a parliamenary question in January 2001. Additional information was released in 2003 following an embarrassing admission by Singapore’s former premier, Mr. Goh Chok Tong, during an interview with the BBC that he was unaware of the number executed because he had “more important issues to worry about.” His initial estimate placed the number of executions occuring before October 2003 at 70 or 80. His office later “corrected” this figure as being only 10.

The Singapore government works hard to prevent open discussions on the death penalty using its infamous laws which restrict the media and outlaw public speeches and “unlicensed” gatherings. The press may not give an independent opinion on the executions in Singapore and news of hangings is generally only made public after they have taken place.

In April 2005, the Singaporean government refused to grant a permit to Tim Parritt of Amnesty International to speak at a forum on the death penalty. Singapore Democratic Party leader Chee Soon Juan described the refusal as “a blatant attempt to keep the matter under wraps”, noting that Mr. Parritt had effectively been denied “the opportunity to speak and to engage Singaporeans in an open discussion on this life-and-death matter.”

The Law Society in Singapore, which includes every practicing lawyer in the country, appears similarly uncomfortable with the penalty. It has recently established a Committee to undertake an independent review of the practice. While the results of such a review may be ignored by the government, it is a clear demonstration of growing public uneasiness about the death penalty in Singapore.

1 Feb 2006

A Malayali death in Singapore; illegal kidney transplant suspected

From Newindpress.com

Is anyone aware of any reports related to this article in the Straits Jacket?

Wednesday February 1 2006 00:00 IST

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: They call it an illegal transplant. But for the family of Krishnan Nair, a native of Pathanamthitta who died in Singapore following the removal of one of his kidneys without consent, the loss is irreplaceable.

The tragic incident came to light when the Maharashtra police alerted the authorities at the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport against the deporting of the body of a Malayali whose kidney was allegedly transplanted illegally at Singapore.

According to sources at the Airport, a communication in this regard was received by the emigration authorities and the Airport Medical Officer from the Joint Commissioner of Police, Maharashtra, through the DGP.

As per the communication, Krishnan Nair, who was a resident of Maharashtraand a native of Pathanamthitta, had gone to Singapore in November along with his friend Saseendran. Krishnan Nair was subjected to illegal kidney transplantation in Singapore and he died subsequently.

His wife Saraswathy and brother-in-law Rajeev filed a complaint with the Maharashtra police stating that there was an attempt to deport Krishnan Nair's body to Thiruvananthapuram and to cover up the incident.

In view of this, any body that is deported from Singapore in suspicious circumstances should be subjected to a postmortem examination, the communication said.

Airport Medical Officer S.S.Mani, who confirmed the receipt of the communication, said that so far no such body was brought here. Krishnan Nair's wife is at present residing at Parakode in Pathanamthitta district with her two children.

Attempts to collect further details from the family members of Krishnan Nair at Pathanamthitta failed as they were away in Adoor to submit a petition to Health Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan on the issue.