ESM Goh compared Singapore's situation to mid-life saying that changes need to be made to avoid a mid-life crisis. 

He said that Singapore is at an inflection point and that a new social compact would need to be formed between the people and the government. 

"I dare say that Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his Cabinet are having a tougher time governing Singapore than Mr Lee Kuan Yew and I had. And it is not going to get easier," said Mr Goh.

That's because today's external environment is more complex and uncertain.

He cited the domestic problems that Singapore is facing including rising costs of living, slower economic growth, an ageing population and a better educated younger generation with higher expectations.

He said that in order to prevent Singapore from going downhill, major changes and policy reviews would be needed. He also explained that the government is already reviewing and improving some key policies that affect Singaporeans. 

Talking about jobs, ESM Goh elaborated that "To help low-wage workers, the government has widened the coverage of Workfare this year. As we restructure our economy to be less reliant on foreign workers and to ensure sustainable growth, the government has promised to find ways to help affected workers, including PMETs, as well as the SMEs."

He also made promises about making HDB flats and healthcare affordable. 

He notes that all these subjects are reflected in the themes that arose from the Our Singapore Conversation (OSC) process.

Mr Goh also added that PM Lee's national day speech would address all these points and put out a plan on how to tackle the problems. 

"But we must not pile unrealistic demands on the government. It is not in the country's long-term interests if the government does not have the time and political space to plan and think strategically and long-term for Singapore," said Mr Goh.

"Singapore had managed to do well in the first few decades of our independence primarily because of our ability to think ahead, and put in place long-term policies that benefited the country, even when it meant some short-term pain.

"We must not lose this edge, especially at a time when the world around us is changing rapidly. We will all be worse off if the government of the day is chased from pillar to post, forced to apply band-aid solutions to complex problems or to flip-flop policies to stave off populist pressures."

Mr Goh's call to Singaporeans: Support the government in areas that will ensure the country's long-term success, even if it involves certain sacrifices sometimes.

In Part 1 of my piece, I talked about how protests served the interests of the people in that they allowed us to hold the government accountable. Skeptics, however, say that curtailing of our fundamental freedoms will not lead to anything serious. 

It may not be apparent but these fundamental freedoms have a significant role to play in the overall development of both the individual and the nation. Moreover, these freedoms are also closely related to economic freedoms.

Freedom of speech is perhaps the most fundamental and sacred of all the freedoms. Singapore is a democracy, which means the citizens of this country have an active role to play in its development. Free speech allows the people’s views on national policy to be heard and debated upon, with the aim of incorporating the best suggestions into policy- and law-making. This forms the basis of sound, democratic governance.

At the individual level, allowing the young to speak freely without fear fosters critical thinking and self-confidence. In institutions and corporations, freedom of expression stimulates intellectual inquiry, creativity and innovation.

We don’t want a national conversation only when things go wrong: free speech has to be an ongoing process. If we had truly practised freedom of speech, we would today be enjoying press and media pluralism, and Singapore would not be ranked 149th in the World Press Freedom Index.

The freedom to assemble peacefully is another fundamental human right and civil liberty which is protected by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the European and American conventions on human rights. It allows us to collectively express, promote and defend common interests and is instrumental in uniting the nation when Governments turn tyrannical.

Not surprisingly, freedom of assembly is unconditionally upheld in the constitutions of most modern democracies like France, India, Taiwan and the United States. It would therefore be in Singapore’s best interests to do the same to enjoy reciprocal economic benefits with these nations.

Related to freedom of assembly is the freedom of association, which is the right to join groups of one’s choosing. This is usually manifested through the right to join a labour movement, which is pivotal to securing workers’ rights and improving their working conditions.

Unfortunately in Singapore, if one wished to join a labour union, it would be one affiliated to the National Trades Union Congress, which is chaired by a Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office. Conflicts of interest abound in the unique tripartite alliance comprising the Government, unions and employers’ federations, and wage negotiations often come to a dead end.

It is telling that the Government has yet to implement minimum wage despite the fact that Singapore has the developed world's highest income inequality.

In brief, the freedoms of speech, assembly and association, far from being destructive, actually promote a culture of creativity and innovation, support democratic governance by allowing citizens to express themselves freely, and ensure that our workers work under fair conditions for decent wages in a sustainable economic environment.

Okay. Got it. So where do we start?

The first step to realizing our fundamental civil liberties is to increase awareness of the fact that while these liberties are enshrined in the Constitution, it is the power of a de facto one-party Parliament to enact laws restricting these rights that prevents us from enjoying them. You might want to share the salient points of this article with your friends and family. Or you may want to use social media to share this and other similar articles.

Once enough awareness is generated, and people can relate our current social and economic predicament to the curtailment of our civil liberties, action naturally follows. Petitions, campaigns and rallies in permitted areas can then be harnessed to pressure the Government to repeal article 14(2) of our Constitution.

The SDP activists and other patriotic Singaporeans have sacrificed much over the years for exercising their fundamental freedoms of speech, assembly and movement. Let us ensure that henceforth no Singaporean need suffer their fate just because he or she wants to speak, assemble and associate freely.

Jagwinder Singh is a member of The Young Democrats (SDP)

DPM Teo Chee Hean said Singapore is not ready to have dual citizenship yet.

He had elaborated that allowing citizens to hold dual citizenships would not strengthen Singapore as a nation. 

Mr Teo was concerned that allowing Singaporeans to hold dual citizenships would actually dilute the Singapore identity. 

He was speaking in response to a parliamentary question by NMP Eugene Tan on the necessary pre-conditions before Singapore could allow dual citizenships. 

The question was in line with the increasing trend of Singaporeans marrying foreigners. Mr Tan had suggested that allowing dual citizenship would allow children of such marriages to keep a connection with Singapore. 

Mr Teo agreed that while Singapore is not prepared at the moment, "we should always keep an open mind".

In Parliament on Monday, DPM Tharman said that the government is putting more emphasis on the supervision and oversight of procurement procedures in the public service.

Now, permanent secretaries and heads of government agencies must actively oversee procurements and conduct internal audits. They must also report to the Ministry of Finance each year regarding the audits.

Tharman talked about how procurements are likely to grow and diversify further in the future and reiterated the importance of creating proper plans to avoid weakness in the future. 

He said that the system of checks and balances worked as a whole and it was not only about having proper rules for procurement but also about having regular audits. 

The need to met out disciplinary action for lapses is also important in keeping the integrity of the procurement process.

Tharman's statements are particularly important as a series of financial lapses have recently come to light in the public sector.

This includes the high-profile case of Edwin Yeo Seow Hiong misappropriating more than $1.7million from the CPIB accounts as well as the Auditor-General Office's report highlighting procurement lapses in many government agencies.

Talking further about the AGO report, Tharman insisted that the lapses were not due to gaps in the rules, but were rather due to a lack of compliance with the rules. 

He also highlighted that most of the lapses were found to have occurred before the government enforced stricter rules last year. 

Tharman said that Singapore's system as a whole is working, citing factors such as our international recognition for having one of the most 'clean and efficient' systems of government. 

However, Tharman also explained that the rules are still regularly reviewed and top management must set the right tone. 

[Speech by Dr Ang Yong Guan at the 2013 National Day Celebration Event in Hong Lim Park on 9 August 2013.]

1. Fellow Singaporeans, thank you for coming to Hong Lim Park to celebrate our nation’s birthday. Happy Birthday, Singapore.

2. Today, as we celebrate our nation’s 48th birthday, we take great pride in being Singaporeans. We have come a long way to take our place on the world stage. In terms of economic prosperity and infrastructure, we are the envy of many people in the world. We are also a safe place to live in. But without we people, such achievements will not be possible. Let us give ourselves a round of applause and a pat on our back.

3. But hardware and feeling safe alone does not make a great nation. A nation is only great when its people feel good about themselves, get along well with their fellow citizens supporting especially those who are weak and feel connected to their leaders and their nation.

4. So, are we as a people becoming emotionally more insecure? More emotionally dumbed (I don’t mean intellectually dumbed) and numbed? According to a Gallop Poll in 2012, Singaporeans are the least emotional people in the world. Singapore is also the 8th most pessimistic nation in the world in the same year. Being emotionless and pessimistic can make us vulnerable to mental problems. We are not only emotionally dumbed and numbed, some of us are also down in the dumps.

5. According to an IMH 2012 survey, 1 in 33 Singaporeans have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, which is linked to emotional insecurity. Our OCD rate is the highest in the world, we are said to be the OCD capital of the world. Life can be so stressful for some that they end up taking their own lives. 467 Singaporeans took their lives in 2012; the highest in 21 years. SOS (Samaritans of Singapore) receives about 40,000 phone calls for help per year; on an average, about 110 calls a day.

6. It is a paradox that this bleak state of affairs is happening against a backdrop of economic success. Singapore has one of the world’s highest GDP per capita, low unemployment rate of about 2%, and high life expectancy of 82. PM Lee said in his National Day message last night that our economy is expected to grow by 2.5-3.5% this year. Such traditional economic indicators alone do not, and cannot, quantify our emotional well-being.

7. While higher incomes may improve people’s emotional wellbeing, they can only do so up to a certain extent. Two economists D Kahneman and A Deaton found that after we have made SD$95,000 annually (about $8000 a month), additional income will have little meaningful effect on how we experience our lives.

8. It is clear that for our government to over-emphasize economic growth plus an obsession with building our reserves at the expense of the citizens’ emotional well-being (emotional bank account (EBA) or social capital) is no longer acceptable. We must do more to increase the emotional bank account (EBA) of Singaporeans. Just as we insist on maintaining the minimum CPF retirement account, we must insist on a healthy EBA. A healthy EBA is vital for a high self-esteem, which is the best anti-dote against unhappiness and pessimism.

9. Building this EBA depends on 3 inter-related factors: the self, the stress we face and the support we get from home, schools, work place and the nation.

10. Parents need to spend time with their children (especially the first 5 years before they enter kindergarten) for emotional bonding and depositing into the children’s EBA (emotional bank account). But if both parents have to work long hours and overtime to finance their high housing loan and to cope with the high cost of living, such emotional bonding I am afraid is not taking place optimally.

11. Once our children go to school, the school becomes another agency to build their EBA. If the school is supportive and provides a conducive environment for our children to do, learn and grow; they will continue to deposit into their EBA.

12. If schools are obsessed with academic results at the expense of personality development, then such healthy deposits into the EBA will not take place. Next, after they finish school and enter the work force, their emotional growth continues. If employers are supportive of work-life balance, then they will continue to build their EBA.

13. Finally, the nation plays a vital part too. Homes, schools and workplace operate within the nation and they take their cue from the nation’s leaders who must have clear vision, passion and the desire to help the citizens deposit into their EBAs.

14. PM Lee said again in last night’s message: “Singapore should always be our best Home, with Heart and Hope….” But unfortunately, we see our houses but don’t feel the home, we see the head but don’t seem to feel the heart and where is the hope when what we see is despair.

15. I feel strongly that we need a new narrative, a new mental model to make Singaporeans less emotionally insecure, less dumbed and numbed. But how do we do it? In this new mental model, we want to build a quality society without sacrificing economic growth. A quality society where people feel emotionally secure with healthy EBA to weather crises and emotional storms.

16. What policies need to be re-examined? Which one to fine-tune and which one to remove? Let me just give a few examples because of lack of time.

17. First, I feel that we should not equate helping the disadvantaged, the poor and the elderly as turning Singapore into a welfare state. The government’s over-emphasis on self-reliance has its limits. Cases like that of Rebecca Loh who threw her 9 year old son from the 5th floor should be identified early and not be allowed to slip through the safety net. When people know that an easily available safety net exists, they will naturally become emotionally secure.

18. Our health care costs are high and that is making people feel emotionally insecure. The 3M system (Medisave, Medishield and Medifund) accounts for only 15% of our health care expenditure. What we take out from our pockets to pay for our health care expenses can be as high as 60%. The government needs to implement a universal health care insurance system. By risk pooling, we can lower the insurance premiums for every Singaporean. As a nation, we can then provide peace of mind and emotional security for all when our citizens fall sick. Once again, this is not robbing the reserves. This must be seen as an investment in our citizens’ EBA. We are only spending less than 5% of our GDP at the moment.

19. Second, review policies which make an individual feel labeled negatively. For instance, whilst MOE has done a lot in removing ranking of schools and modifying streaming, I feel strongly what they need to review and drop is the term express and normal in secondary school. We all know that express is normal and normal is abnormal. Who are we kidding? We are mature enough to remove such euphemisms.

20. Whilst being slapped with the label of normal may not affect many students, the sensitive few get affected and their self-esteem is ruined for the rest of their lives. With negative labeling, there will be no positive deposit into the EBA.

21. We know how one event in our lives can affect us for the rest of our lives. Former PM Lee Kuan Yew told the press a few years ago that he did not allow casinos when he was PM as he was emotionally and intellectually against gambling because his father he said was a pathological gambler (his father played blackjack at Chinese Swimming Club). In his memoirs, he wrote how he witnessed his father coming home to demand jewellery from his mother to pawn and gamble (page 34 Volume 1 of 2) and how his father had traumatised him when he was 4 years old (page 25).

22. Third, do away with the one-size-fits-all mentality. Civil servants need guidelines but they must create exceptions to the rule for deserving cases. For instance, Pamela Lim’s 5 children have various types of developmental problems and therefore, according to MOE guidelines, would only be suitable for special needs school. As their IQs are high, she wanted them to go to main stream schools. When MOE turned her down, she educated her children at home and abroad. All of them entered university overseas before the age of 14.

23. Fourth, remove policies that are unfair and illogical. PM Lee himself said last night: about “playing a bigger role to build a fair and just society.” To create a fair and just society, stop shifting the goal posts. For example, by adjusting electoral boundaries. Emotional security comes from a sense of belonging to a place. If one moment, you are part of Holland-Bukit Timah, the next moment, you become part of Tanjong Pagar GRC by the stroke of a pen, you feel dislocated and this can drain your EBA.

24. Illogical policies must be exposed. In GE2011, I pointed out that it was ridiculous to set the ERP timing for homebound vehicles along the CTE up to 10.30pm when we should be encouraging people to go home and bond with their family members. I am glad that soon after the GE, the timing was adjusted to 8pm.

25. Fifth, constantly reassure Singaporeans the government embraces diverse views. Stop creating a climate of fear by threatening law suits against citizens who choose not to be dumbed by daring to speak up. This climate of fear is not in keeping with PM’s call for an inclusive society. Quoting from PM Lee’s message again: “all this is only possible if we are not divided by race, social class, or political faction” Let us be mindful that when we Singaporeans speak up, it is not against the country because we also love our country; we are speaking up only against the unfair policies dished out by the ruling party.

26. Let me turn your attention to total fertility rate. Are we doing enough to bring up the TFR? Former PM Lee Kuan Yew has already admitted defeat. He said it has nothing to do with money. 23 years after stepping down, his younger successors have also failed to solve the TFR problem. Last night, PM Lee himself admitted that we need “immigrants to make up for our shortfall of babies”. Is he too, like his father, also giving up on this topic? Yes, if having a child is not about money, could one reason be the emotional insecurity many parents feel regarding bringing up a child in a highly competitive and stressful Singapore environment? It pays therefore to build the EBAs of Singapore parents so that having a baby, seeing the child grow up in a secure environment and contributing to that child’s EBA is seen as a joy and not a chore.

27. The child, because of his healthy EBA, will contribute more and better to the nation. From amongst them will spring forth our entrepreneurs and innovators and who knows, Singapore’s first Nobel Prize winner.

28. Happy Birthday, Singapore. Singaporeans, relax, have fun and enjoy your holiday. Remember to deposit into your EBA (emotional bank account)!

Dr Ang Yong Guan

Psychiatrist

The Straits Times reported the Singapore Land Authority's (SLA) Facebook comments about the SDP Young Democrats' (YD) report of Pulau Ubin's residents and their residential status but failed to do a follow-up report on the YD's response.

Titled SDP youth arm's article 'misleading': Singapore Land Authority, the ST report, published on 6 August 2013, carried much of what the SLA wrote, including the accusation that the YD report was "misleading" and "mischievous". 

The YD had pointed out that the SLA had tried to paint the picture that after it had clarified that the Government was not evicting anyone on the island, the residents were assured and that everything was okay. 

This was obviously not the case as the residents readily related their fears and anxiety - not just about the uncertainty of their future but also their having to pay rent on land that they have lived on all their lives - to the YD when we visited them. 

They showed the YD the notices from the HDB and SLA, and one of them, Madam Samiyah, even recounted her legal tussle with the Government over her land. 

What the YDs saw and heard was not the picture that the SLA is trying to paint - islanders whose future seemed serenely certain.

Read also Census survey or eviction letter - let the people judge
                 YD to SLA: Withdraw "mischievous" and "irresponsible" allegation

The Straits Times' failure to report on the YDs response to SLA has led its readers into thinking that the situation on Pulau Ubin was the way the SLA described it to be which is untrue. 

In addition, SLA's clarification that the residents were not being evicted came with qualifications such as "in the foreseeable future" and "for as long as possible". 

Again, by not reporting these facts contained in the YD's statements, the Straits Times has not given its readers a full and accurate account of the situation in Pulau Ubin. 

We hope that this will be rectified. 

Singapore Democrats

In his latest haze-control meeting to Thailand, Foreign Minister K Shanmugam made zero progress on none of the 3 objectives set by the PAP government in July [Source] to enforce haze-control measures. The trilateral meeting between Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia was arranged to work out concrete plans to prevent the yearly recurrence of the slash-and-burn method adopted by Indonesia-based companies to clear forests for the plantation season.

This year, the haze was exceptionally bad in Singapore with the air quality index reaching 400 PSI. The PAP government however did not implement any responsive actions like issuing a stop work order even to outdoor employees despite having the air quality hovering at dangerous level for more than a week. They have instead made a lot of promises to increase collaboration effort through talks with Indonesia. The ASEAN haze meeting was supposed to work out prevention measures to ensure there will be no repeat of air quality concerns due to forest burning in the future. The August 14 meeting also left out representatives from the 2 countries least affected – Thailand and Brunei.

The outcome of the ASEAN haze meeting [Source] is at best a fruitless meeting, ending up with appreciation of fire-fighting effort by Indonesia and implementation of existing framework. The haze meeting eventually ended quickly and focused on the ASEAN territorial disputes with China. Despite having achieved nothing from the ASEAN haze meeting, K Shanmugam claimed that the meeting was “good” and “yielded on a number of haze-related issues”. Below are the 3 objectives of which the PAP initially set prior to the meeting, of which are literally thrown out of the window:
 

1) Name-and-shame of companies
The concession maps, which when combined with satellite imagery, allow pinpointing of errant companies responsible for the forest burning. The PAP proposed the public name-and-shame method against companies which started the fire. This was however objected by Indonesia stating concerns of legal and confidential issues. A public naming of these companies can result in open economic sanctions by both the public and private sector in Singapore.
 

2) Ratification of 2002 Agreement on Trans-boundary Haze Pollution
The 2002 ASEAN haze pollution treaty formalize forest-clearing techniques that will outlaw forest-burning, a practise largely adopted by Indonesia-based companies. Indonesia has still refused to ratify the agreement immediately, and instead stated they “may” ratify the agreement by year end or early 2014.
 

3) Foreign fire-fighting help offer
Indonesia continue to refuse fire-fighting help offered by other countries. In June, Malaysia offered cloud seeding help to Indonesia, of which the latter didn’t response.

Given that no constructive measures were actually undertaken in the ASEAN meetings, the haze is expected to return in 2014 again. Companies responsible for fire-starting in 2013 have gone scot-free with not even a single company singled out for punishments.

Aside from the haze meeting issue, the Code of Conduct proposed by the PAP government to observe engagement rules with China has been totally left out of the discussion. Currently, Vietnam and Philippines are deep in territorial disputes with China over the South China Sea. Philippines has also other quarrels with Taiwan over the murdering of a Taiwanese fisherman by its naval guards, and conflicts with Hongkong over the incompetence of the Philippines Police to secure a bus hijack incident in Manila. It is unlikely other countries will go out of their way to defend Philippines, a 3rd world country infamous for corruption and inefficiency, and offend China, the Asian superpower and also the 2nd largest economy in the world.

Wiki Temasek

TRS Content Partner

According to the feedback sessions held so far, Minister for Defence Ng Eng Hen said that the public has expressed strong support for National Service (NS).

He was speaking at the MinDef Volunteers Dinner and added that many Singaporeans had asked for more opportunities to participate in Singapore’s Defence.

Earlier this year, MinDef had set up a new committee to strengthen National Service. The committee’s job was to find ways to motivate those in NS to give their best to their duties.

Dr Ng also acknowledged sentiments that more women should be able to participate. One of the suggestions was to expand the SAF’s volunteer scheme.

"I think this is a positive step which is something that we should respond to in keeping with spirit which you tonight embody in contributing to our defence and security for many years. The committee will seriously consider the suggestions to allow volunteers to play a bigger role in our defence."

It is unknown what type of feedback the Minister has been listening to in order to get the idea that there is strong public support for NS.

Perhaps he should take a look at some alternative media as well if he really wants to get a feel for the sentiments of Singaporeans.

Question: Before All his Song & Dance About His New Propaganda Book About 1 Man & World:

“Did LKY even do his Basic Duty As A Walkover MP For Tanjong Pagar GRC Residents?”

So much mainsteam media with likes of PAP party Controlled Straits Times & other media aggressively promoting free and extensive coverage of Tanjong Pagar GRC Walkover MP, Lee Kuan Yew’s new book titled “One Man’s Perspective Of The World”.

There are also numerous debates and discussion on his irrelevance and views discussed online and media from Singapore to Malaysia.

So much controversies, character assassination of opposition and Msia politicians in tow as usual from LKY’s writing and rants to date: importantly putting down & dismissing his favourite punch bag victims like Malay Muslims, islam & oppositions members who are future threats.

Most Important Question Missed Out:

From Singapore- Tanjong Pagar GRC residents:

The No. 1 Burning Question for Tanjong Pagar GRC Walkover resident due to electoral technicalities by Election Dept in GE2011:

“Is LKY doing his basic duties as a MP for Tanjong Pagar GRC as he is getting full salaries for to date?”

• LKY remains the only MP to date in Parliament other than late Balaji (during his medical crisis due to his illness before passing away) with HIGHEST ABSENTEE RECORD In all parliament seatings to date
• LKY remains the most absent and totally invisible MP who never attended any single Meet The People’s Session in Tanjong Pagar GRC by outsourcing such work to his fellow MPs
• LKY receives full salary and benefits (even more than any ordinary MP) from Taxpayers monies to date for his duty to serve the residents of Tanjong Pagar GRC
• The basic duty of any MP is to serve his or her residents first before anything including from PM to top Ministers as they are first elected Member of Parliament by residents before their political titles.
• Note: LKY is no longer the  Prime Minister, Senior Minister or Minister Mentor Of Singapore (or any other new creative title created by PAP Party).
• He publically acknowledged his retirement from Cabinet and all other main ministerial level titles.
• Now He is Only  a MP For TP GRC.
• LKY uses the Presidential Official resident & Govt office at Istana and most recently used Istana for his own new book launch while even Ex President Nathan did not for his own book releases.
• If LKY is understandably aged as LKY is , hardly able to walk or stand, even sit without the assistance of abled bodied tax payer funded public officers of special squad carrying or helping him around: He should just simply step down like any aged Member of Parliament wo much fuss.
• Yet he wants his full salary, benefits and perks above normal MP, trained Special Squard Guards to move him around at taxpayer’s costs and inconvience as he is in denial that of his condition.
• Even at the recent book launch at Istana, special instruction given to media not to photo LKY or video until he sat down to avoid printing or broadcasting his inability to walk, stand or sit down on his own. Yet in his book he arrogantly claims able to stand wo walking stick in denial –forgetting officers are holding him up.

Other Questions:

Can any member of parliament walk in and leave parliament as his father’s parliament wo following parliamentary protocols and procedures like all MPs before the sitting Speaker?

1.    LKY did, as he wished walked out while his own PAP MP spoke as seen from links:

Link A: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SgWDypg1Fk
Link B) http://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/eat-drink-man-woman-16/%5Bgvgt%5D-lee-kuan-yew-walks-away-tin-pei-ling-starts-speak-during-parliamentary-debate-3561012.html

Bottomline:

This is not a piece to cherry pick or have a personal agenda against an old MP, LKY here. It's simply a piece to ask is he should still be in office as an MP. 

Basically the most affected here is the Tanjong Pagar Residents who were denied their right for a election in GE2011.

So if their MP like LKY does not perform his basic duty towards them while still collecting salary and above, they should be concerned as total failed performance and needs to be replaced by PM.

Or ask LKY to resign or return back his salaries collected for being a MP of Tanjong Pagar GRC or donate it.

If needed replace him or call an election to make the change as such wrong needs to be stopped as no person is above the laws and parliamentary rules of our country and institutions as ordinary Singaporean or Men-Including MP Lee Kuan Yew.

So enough of One Man’s Perspective of the World LKY, please start to get your basic perspective as an MP to serve your residents first or resign, step down and make change if too old or unable to.

Tanjong pagar resident and mutually concerned.

References Quoted with Links:

2.    http://www.tremeritus.com/2011/05/03/lee-kuan-yew-should-had-objected-to-the-walkover-of-tanjong-pagar-grc/

3.    http://news.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne+News/Singapore/Story/A1Story20110428-276009.html

4.    http://www.tremeritus.com/2011/04/28/tanjong-pagar-walkover-candidate-disqualified-from-standing-for-being-35s-late/

5.    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGNObHk_0-M

6.    Salary of A Singapore Member Of Parliament

Link: http://www.psd.gov.sg/content/psd/en/white_paper/white_paper.html

7.    PAP Salary Cut of Ministers & MPS
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/singapore-slash-ministers-million-dollar-pay-055002881.html

8.    My Father’s Parliament: I walk out as I feel like it wo asking for Speaker’s permission
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SgWDypg1Fk
Link B) http://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/eat-drink-man-woman-16/%5Bgvgt%5D-lee-kuan-yew-walks-away-tin-pei-ling-starts-speak-during-parliamentary-debate-3561012.html

9.    MP LKY’s  Book launch in Istana: Why?
http://www.tremeritus.com/2013/08/08/istana-used-for-lky%E2%80%99s-book-launch/

10.  Daughter Lee Wei Ling claim LKY’s ‘Aggressively kind” for all his abuses, imprisoning and destroying political enemies, calling Singaporeans dafts and worst of his bullying..
Quote:”..And just as she was pushy in offering her help, he could at times almost force Singaporeans to do what is right though it may have caused them temporary pain. I would describe that as being ‘aggressively kind’ too.”
Link: http://www.tremeritus.com/2013/06/17/lee-wei-ling-my-fathers-health-is-deteriorating/

11.  LKY’s daughter’s regular  selected articles for ST, Sunday times-more propaganda stories laced with down to earth inclinations about her family, lky trying to endear the out of touch leader family fo Singaporeans

12.  Link: http://www.askmelah.com/dr-lee-wei-ling/

13.  http://www.trevvy.com/forums/topic/30313-lee-wei-lings-column/

Marky Sim
TRS Contributor

In the National Day Rally, PM Lee Hsien Loong addressed a number of issues. One of the topics he talked about was the issue of foreign workers.

On this topic, he highlighted the need to control foreign worker numbers, adding that "it will lead to serious consequences" if we do not start to act. 

Mr Lee said that "The Government understands difficulties that businesses have, and we will try our best to help."

He also put a focus on the struggles of Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs). He said that SMEs face many challenges such as trying to raise productivity, improve service, and reduce labour costs. However, due to their limited resources, these improvements often cannot be made without support.

PM Lee said that the manpower crunch is still the biggest problem facing SMEs as many businesses cannot find workers.

Particularly for SME's, foreign workers are needed but the government will do more to control the number of foreign workers. 

Talking further about support options available to SMEs, PM Lee mentioned that the government had rolled our a 3 year transition support package during budget 2013 to help businesses improve productivity. 

He also announced that Teo Ser Luck will be meeting with different business representatives to gather more feedback on how to better support them. 

Talking at the National Day Rally, PM Lee announced some major changes to Medishield. 

Medishield coverage will be expanded to include more illnesses and cover citizens for their whole life. Previously, Medishield had stopped at 90 and had excluded certain pre-existing illnesses. 

New changes will also see benefits increasing so that patients have fewer out-of pocket expenses. 

On the downside, the scheme will be compulsory and it is also likely that premiums will be higher. 

However, PM Lee also promised that the government will help those who cannot afford to pay the higher premiums. 

Giving an example, he said that for Singapore's Pioneer Generation a special 'Pioneer Generation Package' will be available to help them pay for their Medishield Life premiums. Those who fall into this category are mainly in their late 60s and are retired. 

"We must take special care of this pioneer generation in their golden years," he said.

Although PM Lee announced this scheme, he said that the details of the scheme are yet to be finalised. This will occur after the Ministry of Health has had a chance to conduct some public consultations. 

Mr Lee also added that the Community Health Assist Scheme will be expanded to allow younger Singaporeans from lower to middle-income families to have access to subsidies for treatments at private general practitioners and dentists. Previously, only those aged 40+ had access to these subsidies. 

Education was one of the topic given a heavy focus by PM Lee in his National Day Rally Speech.

Highlighting the importance of education, PM Lee said that the government will be contributing to the EduSave accounts of all children aged 7 to 16. This includes home schoolers, madrasah and those studying overseas.

Mr Lee highlighted that the school system needs to be recalibrated  to put more emphasis on actual learning rather than exam performance. In his speech about education, the PM kept emphasizing the need to have an open system: an open system which allows outstanding students to make it to the top and to open up the system to focus on more than just grades. 

He warned that we cannot have a closed group of self-perpetuating elites. 

His message was one of changing the focus of the education system, a message which was well reflected in the choice of venue for this year's rally. 

One of the major changes announced was that from next year, every primary school will reserve at least 40 places for children with no prior connections. This will give more children the chance to enter the primary school of their choice rather than the previous situation were almost all the spaces could be taken up by children of alumni. 

Changes were also announced for the publication of PSLE results. Mr Lee acknowledged the enormous stress related to the PSLE and the level of competition among students and their parents. 

Mr Lee said that often, parents ask one another what their child's T-score was. "I dont think this is healthy at age 12" said PM Lee.

To improve on the situation, PM Lee said that wider bands will be used for PSLE Grades to make them more similar to the O and A level grades. This will give more space to educate students holistically. 

He emphasized that we want to create more flexibility to nurture children's abilities and interests and that schools should also consider qualities outside of grades such as a student's character, drive and leadership.

“We must recognize people for effort, not backgrounds. Society cannot be based on guanxi (connections). If you succeed under our meritocratic system, you should feel the duty to contribute back to society.”

He also defended the current system saying that the changes being made do not mean that the current system is bad: "We are not taking these steps because our system is bad. On the contrary, we are starting from a good position. The new strategic direction will take us down a different road from the one that has brought us this far." he said. 

He’s kinda thick, isn’t he? After one whole year of feedback through the National Conversation/Our Singapore Conversation, he still doesn’t quite comprehend the complaints about affordable healthcare.

Instead of reducing medical expenses, he plans to hike the Medisave, which is basically our own hard earned money deducted to pay for ever inflating government charges. Medishield is the other horror. Most private insurance companies quote you a fixed rate for the type of policy you decide upon. And stays fixed for the duration of the contracted cover. Medishield increases your premium without your permission. No wonder many have opted out. Do we need Medishield Plus for cover beyond age 90? Not many of us fancy living like a zonked-out zombie like that character, who is 89, going on 90 in September. Whatever good ideas PM Lee floated for housing and education, it all went out the window when he announced: “There will be no more opting out for MediShield.”

We know the math about paying for a $100,000 housing development board (HDB) flat on a $1,000 per month household income. Now the new math about $170,000 3-room flats and $285,000 4-room flats. It has to do with those elusive grants – you’ll need a score card to keep track of those “subsidies”, and tick off the qualifying criteria. Why can’t they just disclose the actual building cost, and declare a profit margin or desired rate of return to keep HDB from going bankrupt? One astute commentator remarked: “PAP only likes to talk about supply, “subsidy”, “grants” and “affordablility” of public housing but does not tell Singaporeans the actual cost of building HDB flats. The greedy and corrupt PAP cannot be trusted.”

If they are tightwads with medical and housing essentials, where are they spending all the taxes collected? Another Gardens by the Bay type extravaganza, to be located where the current public carpark for Terminal One is. Needless to say, parking charges there will be taking off soon. Many have yet to visit the Two Conservatories because of the high entrance charges – as much as $28 per head – so most settle for the poor man’s $5 Outdoor Tour. Gardens was budgeted at $893 million in 2006, revised to $1.035 billion in 2009, and annual operating cost is estimated to be $53 million. We need another Gardens like we need a hole in the head.

The Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) topic apparently was too hot to handle. But what’s so difficult about implementing the clever idea of halting the disclosure of T-scores? The way they stopped releasing ranking of schools. That should take the heat off the pressure cooker of kiasu parents. Instead, they put it on the back burner, for another round of procrastinating conversations.

There’s something haunting about the expression of Dr Yeo Sze Ling on tv, the blind 4-year old who made it to A-star researcher after a life time of struggle. Maybe she knows more than we do. Many problems have been glossed over by the pretty speeches, it’s always darkest before the dawn.

Tattler
*The writer blogs at http://singaporedesk.blogspot.com

MARUAH, a Singapore-based human rights non-governmental organization (NGO), has released a position paper suggesting that the GRC system should be scrapped.

MARUAH is an NGO that advocates human rights with a focus on the right to vote and having free and fair elections.

It proposed that an alternative Ethnic Balancing Contingency System (EBCS) should be put in place instead of the current GRC system.  

MARUAH explained that while the current GRC system was put in place with the aim of improving ethnic minority representation, it also had a number of serious side effects such as creating an uneven playing field between the PAP and opposition parties and the possibility for ‘free-riding’ MPs to gain seats.

It also explained that the GRC system did not dramatically improve ethnic minority representation and it also had the effect of reducing the need to hold by-elections which the PAP is more likely to lose.

They addressed the fact that there is no proof to indicate that Singaporeans vote along ethnic lines, so there is little need to protect against such a situation.

Pointing out these flaws, MARUAH suggested that the GRC system should be scrapped, but some protections should still be in place in case the worse-case scenario occurs and there is insufficient minority representation.

It suggested that SMCs be reinstated island-wide to eliminate GRCs. However, parties contesting elections would have to ensure that they had at least a specified number of minority candidates.

Then, after fair elections are held, if it turns out that there is an under-representation of minorities, the best performing losing ethnic minority candidates should become MPs not associated with any particular wards to make up the quota.

This would ensure fairer elections without the chance of free riders, and would still have sufficient protections to ensure that minority voices are still heard. 

The SPP shares the Prime Minister’s concerns about the global challenges to Singapore in the upcoming years, which the SPP discussed in our National Day message. We support his moves on housing, health care, education – these are overdue, and we urge him to do more for Singaporeans.

But the elephant in the room was the Population White Paper. That has been the biggest talking point this year for Singaporeans, but the Prime Minister did not make a single mention about it. Has the government decided to downplay the White Paper, in view of widespread unhappiness from the people? What is the government’s latest vision for the future of Singapore’s population?

The major plans announced tonight to free up land in the heart of Singapore– such as moving Paya Lebar Air Base to Changi – should have been launched long ago, before the government mooted the 6.9 million population figure.

Diverse views are important for Singapore’s survival. The government should heed the people’s voices , not just during the National Conversation.

Singapore People’s Party

Source: https://www.facebook.com/SingaporePeoplesParty

Related Article: PM LEE TALKS UP CHANGI'S 'PROJECT JEWEL', NO MENTION OF COST

PROMISING BUT IMPLEMENTATION IS KEY

The Workers’ Party notes the Prime Minister’s acknowledgment at National Day Rally 2013 of the need to strengthen safety nets and boost social mobility, in the context of a globalized world and rising inequality in Singapore. The Workers’ Party has long advocated that the Government needs to move in this direction, to give Singaporeans security and peace of mind in an increasingly competitive environment where not everyone can thrive on their own. We are thus pleased to hear of the “shift” towards a nation where “we are all in this together”.

The steps to revamp healthcare financing are a recognition of the limitations of the 3M framework currently. The overhaul of the MediShield insurance scheme to cover everyone, without excluding for age or pre-existing conditions, is in line with the Workers’ Party call for a universal hospitalization insurance to cover acute hospital bills. The pending review of Medisave to facilitate its greater use for outpatient treatment is a subject close to the hearts of many Singaporeans; to this end, the Workers’ Party repeats its previous calls for Singaporeans above 75 to be allowed to withdraw their Medisave savings for medical care without restriction. The Government also needs to look into the affordability of step-down care and drugs, two major cost items in healthcare.

As regards the affordability of BTO flats, the Government has changed its gauge by taking reference to a loan period of 25 years instead of 30 years. Though this falls short of the Workers’ Party’s preference of a loan period of 20 years, the revision will be welcome to those in BTO queues.

We welcome the use of Edusave for students in madrasahs, which is something that has been advocated by the Workers’ Party in Parliament. We had also called for more holistic development of students to cultivate their love for learning rather than grooming them for high-stakes examinations. The changes announced in education represent incremental shifts in this direction.

The Workers’ Party hopes to see the realization of the Government’s promises so as to create a society where mutual care and concern is a hallmark. We await the concrete implementation of the directions announced at the National Day Rally 2013.

SYLVIA LIM
CHAIRMAN, WORKERS’ PARTY MP FOR ALJUNIED GRC

By Yee Jenn Jong 

National Day Rally (NDR) 2013 was much anticipated by many. It followed a year-long nation-wide conversation, termed as Our Singapore Conversation (OSC). OSC was announced at the previous year’s National Day Rally. Then, PM Lee Hsien Loong highlighted the need to use the exercise for the nation to ask itself “fundamental questions” and to seek Singapore’s future directions. PAP Members of Parliament and OSC committee members had joined in the call that there should be no sacred cows in the review. MP Inderjit Singh urged the government to be willing to make radical changes. He said that ”If the committee comes out with incremental changes which are not significant, we would have wasted our time with this exercise.”

The public was let in on sneak previews of what would come out in the run-up to NDR 2013. Public expectations were high. I was awaiting eagerly to hear what the impending changes to education would be. This is an area I had championed for change even before I had entered politics.

Changes to Education

Four changes were announced that night in education:

(1) Reserving 40 places for primary one admission for those with no connections to the school,

(2) Removing PSLE T-Score, with results being reported in bands like in the O and A-levels,

(3) Secondary 1 students will be allowed to take a subject at a higher level if they have done well in that subject at PSLE, and

(4) Broadening of Direct School Admission categories for selection of secondary schools.

These changes were said to be made in order to move education into a more holistic form, to move away from an over-emphasis on examinations and to put focus to learning. This is something the Workers’ Party had been calling for as well (pages 30-33 of the 2011 manifesto).

The right topics were touched on, but I had expected more. The anticipation was built up through the year-long exercise with the promise that there would be no sacred cows The steps taken in education seem incremental to me. They are nevertheless steps in the direction I wish to see.

On primary one admission, I was told 40 is about the typical number of places left in some popular schools currently after those with connections were admitted. In a way, it would check a slow decline to zero places if nothing else was done. People who could afford to would still shift house to be near to popular schools. Grassroots leaders and parent volunteers gaining priority will still exist. Some schools will still be more popular than others. The yearly rush for primary 1 places in perceived better schools will still be there. We may still hear of stories like what the Prime Minister told of the mother who shifted home four times to get her child to be in her preferred school.

PSLE remains the sacred cow. T-score is removed but will pressure drop? Will parents continue to take leave to coach students for the PSLE? Will tuition business continue to flourish? Details were scant last night. We were told that it will take several years for the changes to take place. MOE will announce more details over time. I suspect the PSLE results will still largely determine the academic stream and the type of secondary schools students go to. How much would have changed to the pressure at PSLE?

No much details were released about the DSA process. The challenge will be how we can make the implementation fair. Primary schools will need to be pushed and equipped to cultivate students with character, resilience and drive and to find ways to substantiate these values so that secondary schools can make better selection. Secondary schools must be prepared to accept students with qualities other than academic abilities and to find ways to develop them differently. How prepared will our existing top schools be to change their current practices?

I had hoped to see bolder moves. One is to have several primary to secondary through-train schools which I had called for several times in the past. Other MPs such as Laurence Lien and Denise Phua have also called for this. I think there can be scope to have several of such schools for parents who are prepared for their children to go through a 10-year holistic development at the hands of educators who also believe in this cause. We can leave out the existing top schools so that we do not allow people to shortcut the system to put their children into top secondary schools. Then only those who truly believe in having 10 years of continuous development in a single school can opt for this.

A issue that was not touched on is class size. I think the current class size of 40 (30 for Primary 1 and 2) is too big. It leaves weaker students with insufficient attention from teachers. Many students felt it necessary to go for tuition to catch up. In the process to make every school a good school, MOE could work on reducing class size. For a start, that can be reduced for all primary school levels. With smaller class sizes, teachers can better handle each student and work on developing the individuals holistically, all part of being a good school.

Ultimately, all the pressure that is currently in our school system is because some schools are perceived to be better and some academic streams are desired, while some are to be avoided. We can never make all schools the same, but we can narrow the gap. More resources and autonomy could be given to neighbourhood schools to bridge the gap. The way we celebrate success as a society has to be changed too.

A shift for the betterment of Singaporeans?

The Straits Times today has an article by Ms Chua Mui Hoong entitled, “Seizing back the political initiative.” Ms Chua said that for the first time since GE2011, she had the sense that PAP is seizing back the initiative after relentless hammering by citizens on many policies. To her, the previously ‘welfare-allergic’ PAP has started a new mid-term election pledge wrapped with a lover’s promise: “You are not alone, the State (with all its resources) is by your side.”

Some of the policy changes announced such as in healthcare seem to be more radical shifts as what Ms Chua had described. If it was indeed so that the ruling party has shifted policies to the betterment of the people, it is something Singaporeans can be happy about. I joined the Workers’ Party in 2011 because I identified with its cause to champion for a more caring and inclusive Singapore. I hope to see the commitments made by the Prime Minister being realised through concrete implementations. As long as Singaporeans benefit, this can only be good for everyone.

*Article first appeared on http://yeejj.wordpress.com/2013/08/19/my-thoughts-on-national-day-rally-2013/

Picture: Daniel PS Goh, the author of this piece.

Some stuff has been going around the Net since NDR about how WP came up with some of the proposed changes announced by the PM, and a friend asked me this morning how come WP not given credit. Friend also asked me what I think of the PM adopting "your" idea of doing away with PSLE T-scores and using a wide band with more DSAs that JJ and I wrote about. Following was my answer, transcribed from a conversation that was more colorful 

No lah, first of all, it would be presumptuous and plain silly for me to claim credit for anything. I have been reading widely (MSM articles, blogs, scholarly work, etc) and thinking about the issue, so have JJ. And we both discussed and came up with an argument for it. The intellectual commons gave rise to the idea. We are merely co-creators, part of the crowd-sourcing process. Ideas don't belong to individuals; they circulate and get worked by different people. We should move away from this whole super-talent, brilliant idea rubbish. Anyone who suggest he/she is a talent, don't trust him/her. 

The real talent is someone who knows how to listen and then put things together for the benefit of everyone. PM is our PM, so it is his responsibility to be a super-talent in this respect, to pick up from the intellectual commons to make the necessary policy changes. As initially disappointed as I was with the NDR, and still am, I think he is doing a pretty decent job. The OSC could be seen as a big "listen-in", but the OSC is an occasional "listen-in" and I don't think political parties should be involved. WP is part of the parliamentary process that is the regular "listen-in" for the G. The point is not that WP, PAP, SDP, AOs or NGOs came up with the ideas; the point should be how well the G is crowd-sourcing to do the best to benefit all Singaporeans; the point is that the rest of us would do our part by joining in the debate. 

I don't know whether someone in the Civil Service picked up the idea from us and then it worked its way up to the PM. I don't care to know. If so, I am happy to have contributed to nation-building. If not, I am still in happy agreement with the tweaks. I suspect it was a good coincidence, perhaps a logical convergence. Regardless, I will still continue to make new arguments and reevaluate old ones. Ignore anyone trying to play the credit game (or the blame game of saying WP didn't do squat, which is the other side of the coin) and don't try to get me involved!

Daniel PS Goh
*Article first appeared on https://www.facebook.com/danpsgoh/posts/570528623009885

**Recap**

Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam promised during the last General Election period that there's "absolutely no reason to increase the GST rate", at least for the next five years

Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam has reiterated that the goods and services tax (GST) will not be raised for at least another five years.

Mr Tharman said there is no need to raise the GST as Singapore’s budget is in a healthy state.

The GST was last raised from 5 per cent to 7 per cent in 2007.

Mr Tharman was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a community event in Jurong on Saturday.

He said: “As Finance Minister, I have made that very clear in Parliament that at least for the next five years – it does not mean we will raise it in five years’ time – but at least for five years, there is absolutely no reason to raise the GST, because this was the whole idea – we strengthen our revenue base in time. In fact, in the good years before the crisis, it came in very handy in the crisis but it is also going to come in handy in the next five years when we build our infrastructure in health, in infrastructure and we increase our support for the poor.

“Basically, the GST and changes to the constitution have provided us a lot addition to our revenue base. Firstly, it has provided us to react very forcefully during the crisis, it wasn’t just the draw on the reserves…we were very fortunate that we made the revenue changes in time so that we could react forcefully to help Singapore through the crisis and now post-crisis, it has helped us to build up our infrastructure, education, health, including continuous education and training.

“That was the original motivation for GST, help the poor more and prepare Singaporeans for the future through investment income, two very solid sources of revenue to help us in the years to come.”

Mr Tharman also said that his team is taking the opposition seriously, whether they are well-known or otherwise.

But he said that the People’s Action Party (PAP) team has a track record in Jurong, having made many improvements for the elderly, children and low-income families in the last 10 years.

Mr Tharman added that aside from national schemes, Jurong also has its own local schemes that have benefited the residents there, and so residents already know what the PAP can do more and that they can deliver on their promises.

CNA

However, last week, PM Lee said in his National Day Rally:

"We have to be prepared to pay for measures, whether by raising taxes or cutting back on other spending. It is my responsibility to help young Singaporeans build the Singapore of their dreams. To realise these dreams, we need to do the tangible things: Build our city, improve our living environment."

It is unknown which taxes he was referring to but if Tharman was telling the truth and the budget is in a 'good' place, why would taxes have to be raised?