More than respect for the rights of women

Central to human rights is the concept of equal treatment. Human rights laws are based on the premise that everyone is equal. In particular it means that no-one should be discriminated against on the basis of gender, race, religion or disability.

This International Women's Day 2007, Think Centre poses the following questions to Singaporeans:

- Is there a Fair Deal for all Women Workers?

After 42 years of independence and ratification of the CEDAW in 1995, women’s pay is still nearly 30% lower than men’s in Singapore. This persistent injustice prevents women in our society from reaching their full potential, and contributes to poverty in old age for many women who have worked hard all their lives.

It is unacceptable in a first-world country that there is a pay gap between men and women performing equivalent work. It is time for the "Equality Act" and a "Living Wage Act" so that all women are respect and are not force to work at old age. There should be no hiding places in Singapore for such blatant discrimination.

- Is Maternity Leave a right not to be bargained or subjugated with?

We should address the problem of families headed by single mothers without discrimination. It is blatant discrimination and violation of both international labour rights and CEDAW, by requiring that single mothers must marry the child's father within three months of the birth to qualify for the 12 weeks maternity leave.

All working women regardless of their marital status should have the right to 12 weeks maternity leave - why is there a criteria of marriage? In practice, single mothers are not entitled to maternity leave and only married mothers were entitled to maternity leave.

- Are conservative mind-sets and practices impairing governemnt policies?

With high divorce rate and no babies in sight - why is the government enforcing such conservative practices? For example, requiring young citizens to get married before they qualify to buy a HDB flat. This only encourages materialism and consumerism. Thus, many young couples get married to qualify for the flat but their materialistic and consumeristic lifestyle does not encourage babies.

- Is there enough respect and recognition for female foreign domestic workers?

Singapore should recognize domestic work under labour law and provide adequate protection for all domestic workers. There is pay inequality and discrimination based on nationality or country of origin. Under the labour law all workers are to be paid their salary monthly or forthnightly. But there is a loophole as domestic work is not recognized under Singapore's labour law.

As such, Think Centre calls on the tripartism of government, employers and unions to:

- ensure all women workers get fair treatment and equal pay at work

- developed an equal pay strategy to challenge pay discrimination

- ensure equal treatment for all women workers

- fair and just treatment of all single women who are supporting themselves and their child, even ageing parents

- address the need for fairness in pay schemes, provide quality part-time work and greater support for working parents

Let us remake Singapore not only into a global vibrant city, but also an open and inclusive society which is more caring towards expectant females, single mothers and aged women. Together, we can do more than respect for the rights of women!

8th March 2007
Think Centre

Posted by Charles Tan
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Ayaan Hirsi Ali

From Youtube



Ayaan Hirsi Ali Interviewed On Channel 4

Ayaan Hirsi Ali: Somali: Ayaan Xirsi Cali; born Ayaan Hirsi Magan 13 November 1969[1] in Mogadishu, Somalia) is a Dutch feminist and political writer, daughter of the Somali warlord Hirsi Magan Isse. When she was six, her family left Somalia, eventually settling in Kenya. She sought and obtained political asylum in the Netherlands in 1992 — under circumstances that later became the center of a political controversy.

She is a prominent and controversial author, film maker, atheist, and critic of Islam, and Christianity. She was a member of the Tweede Kamer (the Lower House of the States-General of the Netherlands) for the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) from January 30, 2003 until May 16, 2006. A political crisis surrounding her Dutch citizenship led to her resignation from the parliament, and indirectly to the fall of the Second Balkenende cabinet.

She has received numerous awards for her human rights work, and in 2005, was named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. She is currently a fellow at the think tank American Enterprise Institute.

[...]

Hirsi Ali wrote the script and provided the voice-over for Submission,[7] a film directed by Theo van Gogh, which criticized the treatment of women in Islamic society. One woman was provocatively dressed in a semi-transparent burqa, under which texts from the Qur'an were projected on her skin. The texts referred to the subordinate role of women. Other women in the film showed signs of physical abuse. The film's release sparked much controversy, and became violent when radical Islamist Mohammed Bouyeri, a member of the Hofstad Group, murdered Van Gogh in an Amsterdam street on November 2, 2004. A letter attached to Van Gogh's body with a knife was primarily a death threat to Hirsi Ali. After this incident, the Dutch secret service raised the level of security that they provided to her.[8] Hirsi Ali has said that although she deeply regrets the murder of van Gogh, she is proud of the film and does not regret having made it. "To feel otherwise would be to deny everything I stand for." [9]

Submission by Theo van Gogh/Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Click on the link to watch the video.


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Illegal drugs can be harmless, report says

How do you scare a 'drug dealer'?

Thought the following study might have some relevance to a country that hangs drug traffickers. My own personal views aside the least it can do is start a debate about the taboo topic of 'drug-taking'. I once brought the topic of the legalisation of drugs as a policy in Singapore during a conversation, those present shall of course remain anonymous to protect the guilty, but those who argued most vehemently against such a proposal where those who had the greatest insider knowledge and investment in 'the business' - I am not refering to pharmacists.

Threaten to legalise drugs.

Press Association
Thursday March 8, 2007
Guardian Unlimited


An RSA report out today says drugs can be harmless and recommends introduction of drug injecting rooms. Photograph: PA.

Illegal drugs can be "harmless" and should no longer be "demonised", a wide-ranging two-year study concluded today.

The report said Britain's drug laws were "not fit for purpose" and should be torn up in favour of a system which recognised that drinking and smoking could cause more harm.

The RSA Commission on Illegal Drugs ,set up in January 2005, also called for the main focus of drugs education to be shifted from secondary to primary schools and recommended the introduction of so-called "shooting galleries" - rooms where users can inject drugs.

The report, compiled by a panel of academics, politicians, drugs workers, journalists and a senior police officer, also called for the Home Office to be stripped of its lead role in drugs policy.

It recommended the Misuse of Drugs Act be scrapped in favour of a wider-ranging Misuse of Substances Act, and the current ABC classification system be abandoned in favour of an "index of harms".

Current laws, the panel claimed, were been "driven by moral panic" with large amounts of money wasted on "futile" efforts to stop supply rather than going after the criminal networks behind the drugs on British streets.

At the heart of the report was a call for an end to what the panel called the "criminal justice bias" of current policy in favour of an approach that would treat addiction as a health and social problem rather than simply a cause of crime.

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Singapore: Chee writes to Chief Justice about summary judgment without presence of defence counsel

8 March 2007

Mr Chan Sek Keong
Chief Justice
Supreme Court
Singapore

Dear Sir,

I would like to draw your attention to some disturbing goings-on during a hearing regarding the lawsuit of Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (plaintiffs) versus the Singapore Democratic Party, Chee Siok Chin and yours truly (defendants).

We appeared before Judge Belinda Ang on the morning of 11 September 2006 to hear the application by the plaintiffs for summary judgement. This, as you know, was conducted in chambers without the media and the public allowed in.

Our lawyer, M Ravi was not able to be present because he was medically unfit. The plaintiffs' lawyer, Davinder Singh SC (a former PAP member of parliament), insisted, however, that this was "nothing more than another attempt to delay the Order 14 applications."

We tried to explain the situation but having little knowledge of Ravi's condition, it was difficult for us to provide details. All we knew at that time was that he was suffering from the effects of mental and physical exhaustion.

The judge gave us a few hours to produce a medical certificate (MC) for Ravi by the afternoon. We managed to get an MC from a dentist that gave our counsel rest for one day. Ravi had been complaining of a headache resulting from gum problems. It was already in the afternoon when we presented the MC to the Judge, who then adjourned the matter to the following morning of 12 September 2007.

We met Ravi on the morning of 12 September and we could see that he was in no fit state to come to court to argue our case. We informed Judge Belinda Ang of the circumstances and asked for more time for Ravi to recover.

Singh again accused us of being "devious", hatching a "new ploy" to "manipulate" the court process. We rejected these accusations and pleaded for more time.

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Jesus Camp

Below is an article by Reuters which sites a number of individuals proclaiming to be of the Islamic faith 'as a new security threat to the city-state'. The internet therefore seems to be deemed the New BattleField to protect the lives and minds of the Singaporean citizen.

The years I spent in Singapore introduced me to a large number of individuals who hailed from numerous religions. We would engage in debate and very often we found common ground. But there was always one group who wanted to know if I had 'heard the good news'. Having attended various religious schools while growing up I could always answer 'yes of course I have'. Then quickly make my exit. Those who didn't take that as a hint to stop their attempts at converting me usually left feeling a little less certain in their faith.

Singapore may face a plot from those who wish to cause physical harm but there is a deeper and more insidious danger already within its borders. The 'happy-clappers' have been fighting their own ideological battle for decades in many countries. So sighting Islam as the only religion that contains an ideology that runs counter to Singapore's safety is rather simplistic.

If nothing else the Evangelical Church are a threat to Singapore's ambition to socialise children who might one day lead the Scientific Hub that many wish to see.

Jesus Camp below should put a cold chill down your spine...

Spotted on Bad Science

Singapore cites net militia threat
Correspondents in Singapore
MARCH 05, 2007

A BREED of "self-radicalised individuals" who absorbed militant ideas through the internet have emerged as a new security threat to the city-state, Singapore's interior minister said.

Minister for Home Affairs Wong Kan Seng said the government had investigated "a few" Singaporeans who have been influenced by radical Islamic ideas they read from the internet, local media quoted him as saying in parliament.

There are about 6,000 websites in cyberspace promoting militant ideologies, a situation that is breeding a group of "self-radicalised individuals" who can pose a danger to their societies Wong, one of two deputy prime ministers, said.

"The Internal Security Department has investigated a few Singaporeans who had become attracted to terrorist and radical ideas purveyed in the mass media, particularly the internet," he said.

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Law Society of Singapore v Ravi Madasamy

[2007] SGHC 20

Suit No: OS 1361/2006, SUM 3522/2006
Decision Date: 13 Feb 2007
Court: High Court
Coram: Andrew Phang Boon Leong JA, Chan Sek Keong CJ, Judith Prakash J
Counsel: Mirza Namazie and Chua Boon Beng (Mallal & Namazie) for the applicant, The respondent in person

Judgment

13 February 2007

Chan Sek Keong CJ (delivering the grounds of decision of the court):

1 This was an application by the Law Society of Singapore (“the Law Society”) under s 98 of the Legal Profession Act (Cap 161, 2001 Rev Ed) (“the Act”) for Mr Ravi Madasamy (“the respondent”), an advocate and solicitor of seven years’ standing, to show cause why he should not be dealt with under s 83(1) of the Act.

The amended charge

2 The amended charge made against the respondent before the Law Society’s Disciplinary Committee (“DC”) (“the amended Charge”) reads as follows:

That Ravi Madasamy is guilty of such misconduct unbefitting an advocate and solicitor, as an officer of the Supreme Court, or as a member of an honourable profession within the meaning of Section 83(2)(h) of the Legal Profession Act (Chapter 161) in that on the morning of 9th October 2003 at Court 26, Subordinate Courts, Havelock Road, Ravi Madasamy failed to act with due courtesy to the District Judge Wong Choon Ning before whom he was appearing by:-

a) turning his back on the said District Judge while being addressed;

b) remaining seated while being addressed by the said District Judge;

c) speaking in loud tones to the Prosecuting Officer whilst mention cases were being carried out, thereby interfering with the court proceedings;

d) responding to the said District Judge in an unbecoming manner.

3 Having heard the submissions of the respective parties, we granted the Law Society’s application at the conclusion of the hearing and ordered that the respondent be suspended from practice for a period of one year and bear the costs of the application. We now give the reasons for our decision.

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Singapore and Thailand Situation Deteriorates

The station was once owned by Thaksin Shinawatra

Thailand TV station taken over

The Thai government has announced that it will take over the country's only main independent TV station, iTV, after it failed to pay unpaid fees.
The station was once owned by ousted PM Thaksin Shinawatra, who sold it to Singapore-based firm Temasek in 2006.

The broadcaster had until Tuesday to pay nearly 100bn baht ($2.9bn) in fines and unpaid fees, after losing a legal battle.

But iTV had already admitted it had no hope of finding the money required.

The station - which has no links with the British broadcasting network of the same name - will be shut down temporarily from Wednesday.

The takeover was widely expected after the government announced last week that it would terminate iTV's licence if it failed to meet Tuesday's payment deadline.

"The iTV station will be shut down from 7 March until there is clarity on legal issues," said Dhipawadee Meksawan, a minister at the prime minister's office.

Shin Corp, which was founded by Mr Thaksin and held a 53% stake in iTV, was bought last year by the Singapore-based firm Temasek.

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Panel to Study Impact of New Media

If you have a url address to the original article please post it in the comment section.
By Ong Soh Chin

AN ADVISORY panel will be set up to look into the new media's long-term impact on tech-savvy Singaporeans.

Senior Minister of State (Information, Communications and the Arts) Balaji Sadasivan announced this in Parliament on Saturday.

He noted that Singaporeans had taken well to the Internet.

But it was equally important to study the long-term social, ethical, legal and regulatory implications of the new media.

Details of the new high-level committee will be announced only later, he said.

For the present, however, a three-pronged approach to managing the new media was working well, he told MPs.

The approach comprised a light-touch regulatory framework, self-regulation by the industry, and public education.

With this approach, 'there is currently no need for a separate Internet Code of Ethics', he said.

'This light-touch regulatory approach has served us well in regulating online content, helping to facilitate the growth of the industry while allowing us to act if we find harmful content that threatens our social values, and racial and religious harmony.'

He was responding to Ms Penny Low (Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC) and Nominated MP Siew Kum Hong who queried the existing regulatory framework for policing the Internet.

Internet service providers are regulated under the Media Development Authority's (MDA) Class Licence Scheme along with an Internet Code of Practice.

The former requires service providers to block objectionable sites. Content providers that deal with politics or religion also have to register when notified to do so.

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Singapore - Scare Tactics

Today online has written that a blogger has been questioned about the posting of two videos online. The videos are of suicides in MRT stations in Singapore. The blogger was questioned but as no offence was commited - the question is why the police are questioning bloggers in the first place. Bloggers are now removing access to the videos.

The videos can still be dowloaded here.
Yishun:

http://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=download&ufid=A7208D0B338EF129

Admiralty:

http://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=download&ufid=3958008E52F40FA0



And viewed here.

Admiralty incident.mp4



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Amnesty International's Singapore update

Amnesty International
2 Mar 07

I. SUMMARY

In the midst of serious developments, there is some good news: concern and action are increasing within Singapore and among the international community - and at high levels. A still small but growing number of courageous Singaporeans refuse to remain silent and are speaking out about their right to enjoy fundamental human rights. In particular, they are actively and openly opposing continuing executions and Singapore's tight restrictions on freedom of expression.

However, several Singaporean human rights campaigners are still paying a great price, Dr Chee Soon Juan foremost amongst them, and facing imprisonment, bankruptcy and the threat of further lawsuits.

But their actions are now supported by many more in the international community, the latest being an invitation by the Italian government to prominent opposition leader Dr Chee Soon Juan to speak in Rome - an invitation he is prevented from taking up as the Singapore authorities refuse to give him a travel permit.

As the international media covers developments, foreign critics are watching the moves against the Far Eastern Economic Review, now facing a suit for defamation filed by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, following the journal's favourable article on Dr Chee Soon Juan.

The use of the judicial system against Singapore's opposition and the responsibility of judges is increasingly questioned in the international community. Francis Seow's latest book, Beyond Suspicion? The Singapore Judiciary, is published at a time when Dr Chee and his colleagues face a barrage of suits and when two more executions take place after appeals fail and questions are raised about international trial standards. The planned annual meeting in Singapore of the International Bar Association is facing very critical reactions.

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