TR EMERITUS

Embattled PAP Senior Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) Teo Ser Luck appears to have run out of luck this time over the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) debacle which may cut short his fledgling political career this time. [Get instant updates and discussions about the YOG on our Facebook page here] Together with his boss Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Teo was responsible for bringing the inaugural YOG to Singapore though Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had admitted in 2007 that Singapore is not quite ready to host the YOG. Plagued by lack of support from Singaporeans right from the beginning, the YOG is doomed to fail with the Ministry of Education (MOE) having to purchase 80,000 out of the 100,000 tickets on sale to save the PAP regime's its blushes. Despite overwhelming evidence showing that most Singaporeans are not interested in the YOG, Mr Teo continues to put up a brave front and pretend all is going well with his expensive pet project which has come under increased fire lately from Singaporeans for bursting the initial budget by more than three times to a shocking $389 million dollars. In an interview with YahooNews, Mr Teo says he is "confident" that more YOG tickets will be sold when Singapore starts to perform well at the games. “I wouldn’t say we are disappointed, I think we are quite happy with the ticket sales so far but I also hope more Singaporeans will also support the games and Team Singapore,” he was quoted as saying in Yahoo News. According to reports on the ground, Singapore students are being forced by schools to attend YOG games with one school Kuo Chuan Primary School slapping a $5 deposit on the students to ensure they turn up. The sale of YOG tickets in the open market is so bad that they have been "distributed" to government agencies, statutory boards and grassroots organizations to be given free of charge to their staff. The Civil Service Club is currently giving out 400 FREE YOG tickets to its members for the YOG Closing Ceremony. The YOG was dogged by controversies even before it was officially opened last Saturday with complaints of Singapore volunteers being fed "DOG" food and treated like "slaves" under inhumane working conditions which run contrary to the Olympian values of "excellence, respect and friendship." As expected, the YOG has struck a "chord" among all PAP ministers and MPs with many of them being "infected" by the fake "enthusiasm" on the ground generated by the state using precious public resources. Mr Teo must be quite "happy" with the good astroturfing done by MOE and other government agencies so far to generate an artificial hype about the YOG which would have put North Korea's Workers' Party to shame.     EDITORS’ NOTE: Foreign journalists, please stay tuned on our site and Facebook for the latest updates on the ground about the YOG. You can never get any authentic or accurate news from the Singapore media which is ranked a pathetic 133th in terms of press freedom by international media watchdog Reporters without Borders last year. All the papers in Singapore are owned by a single media company – Singapore Press Holdings whose Chairman is a former PAP minister Dr Tony Tan. It has little credibility among Singaporeans who are flocking to obtain uncensored news on the internet.   Related articles: >> Cover-up of YOG food poisoning scandal? >> NEA, MOH to probe YOG mass food poisoning outbreak  >> Singaporeans “enslaved” by YOG organizing commitee >> Kuo Chuan Primary School students forced to pay $5 to attend YOG >> Singapore students forced to welcome YOG torch rally >> Mass food poisoning outbreak at YOG venue yesterday? >> YOG! What YOG? >> Canvas roof at YOG fell apart >> Zaqy Mohd defends MCYS >> Singapore students “invited” to attend YOG event >> Singapore volunteers forced to work long hours without rest for YOG >> PM Lee caught napping at YOG opening ceremony? >> Disaster at YOG opening ceremony >> 8 reasons why I am disappointed with YOG opening ceremony >> Netizens lampooned YOG opening ceremony >> No news of YOG opening ceremony in rest of the world >> MOE teacher: How students can stay out of YOG >> YOG Webcast server crashed >> SFI promises to improve “DOG” food for volunteers >> Primary school students stand in the rain to welcome YOG torch >> Plight of Singapore volunteers at Youth Olympic Village >> JC students forced to attend YOG events >> Dr Vivian: Singaporeans are proud of YOG >> PM Lee: YOG has struck a “chord” with our people >> Dr Vivian: YOG venues will not become “white elephants” >> Online pressure forced SFI to provide better food for YOG volunteers >> Improved “DOG” food on 14 August 2010 >> PAP provides three daily buffet meals to YOG athletes and officials >> YOG volunteers complain about being given “DOG” food >> Civil Service Club offering free YOG tickets >> Journey of YOG flame costs Singaporeans $7 million dollars >> Corny YOG propaganda in Straits Times >> Tharman: YOG enthusiasm is real >> Polytechnic student: I don’t care about YOG >> JC students being “volunteered” for YOG >> YOG: What the HELL is that? >> PAP provides YOG athletes and officials three daily buffets >> YOG students being given “dog food” >> Singapore students forced to volunteer for YOG >> Poor ticket sales forced closure of YOG gallery section >> PM Lee calls on Singaporeans to support YOG >> Young Singaporeans hurl vulgarities at YOG >> Dr Vivian wants Singaporeans to celebrate YOG >> NTU students complain about YOG >> Dr Vivian: Sports is not about “petty politics” >> More than 300 Singaporeans joined “I hate YOG” Facebook >> CNA poll: 90 percent of Singaporeans “not interested” in YOG >> Slovak YOG Ambassador slams YOG venues of “school standard” only >> Two Facebook groups calling for boycott of YOG >> Free condoms for YOG officials and athletes >> Singapore helping to repair Jamaica’s stadium in return for YOG marketing >> Former stripper to choreograph opening ceremony of YOG >> Desperate PAP wants Singaporeans to get “passionate” about YOG >> PAP to Singaporeans: Give way to YOG vehicles or get fined $130 >> PM Lee wants Singaporeans to do their part for YOG >> Only six teams in YOG soccer tournament Please join our Facebook page here and invite your friends to do so to create awareness of the current affairs affecting Singaporeans. Please use our online web form to contact us.  Read More →

GhanaWeb, 18 August 2010 Four days into the maiden Youth Olympics in Singapore officials of the Ministry of Youth and Sports have commenced investigation into how two unsanctioned swimmers managed to make their way to the Olympic Village to participate under the Ghana flag. Both swimmers, Wisdom Ofosuhene (50 m back stroke) and Ralf Quaye (100 m free style) who flopped miserably in their heat events last Sunday and yesterday respectively? allegedly travelled to participate in the competition without the knowledge and approval of the National Sports Council (NSC). Read rest of article here.  Read More →

OPINION The Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games (YOG) is not only becoming the biggest "wayang" in the history of the Olympic Games, but Singapore's biggest "mobilization" exercise as well, with tens of thousands of students and full-time NS men being "called up" to provide FREE labor for the event. Singapore students are FORCED literally at gun-point by their teachers and schools to support the YOG or risk doing corrective work order or not given their testimonials at the end of the year. [Get instant updates and discussions about the YOG on our Facebook page here] There are reports of primary school students being compelled by their schools to pay a $5 deposit upfront to ensure that they turn up for YOG events without even seeking the consent of their parents. If the PAP regime wants our children to support its so-called "once in a life-time premier international sporting event", it should at least take care of them during their volunteer stint. Unfortunately, our children whom we raise up painstakingly are being treated like SLAVES. Many are forced to work for long hours without rest with some returning homes past midnight everyday on top of their hectic schedules in schools. They are also given food not fit for human consumption and are expected to stand for long hours under the sun or in the rain to generate fake support for the YOG. Our students are already stressed up in their school work. Is there really a need to heap more pressure onto them? What have they done to deserve such inhumane treatment from the Singapore YOG Organizing Committee (SYOGOC) and the PAP regime which have shown scant regard for their welfare? The recent food and safety scandals engulfing the YOG and way they are being handled is clear proof that our children will not be taken care of by SYOGOC and are no more but mere "digits" in its "labor" force. The mass food poisoning outbreak in which 26 YOG volunteers came down with diarrhoea and abdominal pain occurred last Sunday on 15 August 2010, but SYOGOC chose to keep the matter under wraps till three days later after the news was leaked on the internet instead of informing the other YOG volunteers immediately. There was not a single word of apology from Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Mr Teo Ser Luck or Mr Ng Ser Miang. None of them even bother to pay a visit to the victims and they still carry on promoting the YOG in the media as if nothing has happened. At the very least, the other volunteers should be informed of the incident and given the option of bringing home-cooked food to the YOG venues which for some strange reasons, they are not allowed to do so. It is as if that the health of our children are less important than the good name of the YOG and their lives are dispensable. What's so great about the YOG that our poor children have to "burn" their Sundays to volunteer their services only to be fed "dirty" or "poisoned" food? Two days ago, a roof canvas at a YOG venue *SCAPE collapsed under a heavy downpour. Fortunately, there were no volunteers present at the scene. Imagine if your child is there and the canvas with its supporting metal poles were to collapse upon him or her, it would be an absolute disaster. Roof canvas have been used in Singapore for several years, especially in the HDB heartlands when they are used to provide temporary shelter for Singaporeans listening to "getais" for the annual Hungry Ghost festival. Such an accident is almost never heard of. On the same day, a temporary platform erected at Toa Payoh stadium collapsed, injuring a CCTV photographer from China in the process. What if your child is standing beneath the platform at that time of the accident? Till today, SYOGOC has blatantly refused to give the public a proper explanation to the food and safety problems plaguing the YOG and sought to downplay their significance to the extent of censoring the negative news in the press. The PAP minister in charge of YOG Dr Vivian Balakrishnan claimed that problems will inevitably arise from "massive operations" like the YOG and the investigations into the food poisoning will take "some time." With due respect to Dr Vivian, his explanation is hardly a reassurance to anxious parents who are worrying daily about their children who are volunteering at the YOG. It is completely unacceptable for such juvenile lapses in safety to occur in a supposedly international competition. Have we ever heard of such atrocious screw-ups in past Olympic Games held on a much bigger scale than the YOG? The NEA has conducted inspections at YOG kitchens before and during the Games and has found them to be "compliant with all the stringent guidelines that are set." Then what is the cause of the food poisoning? Surely the bacteria cannot appear on the food from nowhere? Since Dr Vivian needs more time to investigate the food poisoning outbreak which means that the cause is still lurking around somewhere, it is only fair and reasonable that parents pull their children out of the YOG till the investigations are completed and proper accounting is done to the public. Any parent with a modicum of self-respect will pull the children out of the YOG immediately. It is not easy to raise a child in Singapore. Every single child is precious to us. Why should we risk their lives for something which is not even compulsory? What has the YOG got to do with our children? They should be given the option of not participating in the YOG and stay focused on their studies. If the PAP regime wants our youth to partake in the YOG, then it should adhere strictly to the principles laid out under the Olympic Charter and treat them with some basic decency and respect. From what has transpired so far, it is pretty obvious that our children are being taken for granted by SYOGOC. The YOG is no more but a "vanity fair" for the PAP regime to show off its "capability" to the world so to attract foreigners to generate more revenue for the state coffers, as admitted by Dr Vivian himself in an interview with BBC News. Your children will not receive a medal or a letter of appreciation for volunteering at the YOG. Nobody will recognize their efforts and contributions and they will get blamed for all mistakes big and small. Even if the YOG succeeds which appears highly unlikely now, who do you think will get all the credit? Is it worth it to risk your child's health and well-being for the YOG? Think about it. You are a citizen of Singapore, not a slave of the PAP regime. You have every right to refuse your child to be involved in the YOG in anyway. Boycott the YOG, pull your children out of it right now before it is too late. The choice is yours.     EDITORS’ NOTE: Singaporeans, please feel free to email us to share your frustrations, anger and grievances against the YOG. Your views matter alot to us. You are a citizen of Singapore and as a citizen, you have the right to speak up. Let us be your uncensored voice and fight for your rights. Foreign journalists, please stay tuned on our site and Facebook for the latest updates on the ground about the YOG. You can never get any authentic or accurate news from the Singapore media which is ranked a pathetic 133th in terms of press freedom by international media watchdog Reporters without Borders last year. All the papers in Singapore are owned by a single media company – Singapore Press Holdings whose Chairman is a former PAP minister Dr Tony Tan.    Related articles: >> Five reasons why Ng Ser Miang should resign as SYOGOC Chairman >> PRC photographer fell down from YOG platform >> PAP MP Irene Ng: Take bigger picture on YOG >> Cover-up of YOG food poisoning scandal? >> NEA, MOH to probe YOG mass food poisoning outbreak  >> Singaporeans “enslaved” by YOG organizing commitee >> Kuo Chuan Primary School students forced to pay $5 to attend YOG >> Singapore students forced to welcome YOG torch rally >> Mass food poisoning outbreak at YOG venue yesterday? >> YOG! What YOG? >> Canvas roof at YOG fell apart >> Zaqy Mohd defends MCYS >> Singapore students “invited” to attend YOG event >> Singapore volunteers forced to work long hours without rest for YOG >> PM Lee caught napping at YOG opening ceremony? >> Disaster at YOG opening ceremony >> 8 reasons why I am disappointed with YOG opening ceremony >> Netizens lampooned YOG opening ceremony >> No news of YOG opening ceremony in rest of the world >> MOE teacher: How students can stay out of YOG >> YOG Webcast server crashed >> SFI promises to improve “DOG” food for volunteers >> Primary school students stand in the rain to welcome YOG torch >> Plight of Singapore volunteers at Youth Olympic Village >> JC students forced to attend YOG events >> Dr Vivian: Singaporeans are proud of YOG >> PM Lee: YOG has struck a “chord” with our people >> Dr Vivian: YOG venues will not become “white elephants” >> Online pressure forced SFI to provide better food for YOG volunteers >> Improved “DOG” food on 14 August 2010 >> PAP provides three daily buffet meals to YOG athletes and officials >> YOG volunteers complain about being given “DOG” food >> Civil Service Club offering free YOG tickets >> Journey of YOG flame costs Singaporeans $7 million dollars >> Corny YOG propaganda in Straits Times >> Tharman: YOG enthusiasm is real >> Polytechnic student: I don’t care about YOG >> JC students being “volunteered” for YOG >> YOG: What the HELL is that? >> PAP provides YOG athletes and officials three daily buffets >> YOG students being given “dog food” >> Singapore students forced to volunteer for YOG >> Poor ticket sales forced closure of YOG gallery section >> PM Lee calls on Singaporeans to support YOG >> Young Singaporeans hurl vulgarities at YOG >> Dr Vivian wants Singaporeans to celebrate YOG >> NTU students complain about YOG >> Dr Vivian: Sports is not about “petty politics” >> More than 300 Singaporeans joined “I hate YOG” Facebook >> CNA poll: 90 percent of Singaporeans “not interested” in YOG >> Slovak YOG Ambassador slams YOG venues of “school standard” only >> Two Facebook groups calling for boycott of YOG >> Free condoms for YOG officials and athletes >> Singapore helping to repair Jamaica’s stadium in return for YOG marketing >> Former stripper to choreograph opening ceremony of YOG >> Desperate PAP wants Singaporeans to get “passionate” about YOG >> PAP to Singaporeans: Give way to YOG vehicles or get fined $130 >> PM Lee wants Singaporeans to do their part for YOG >> Only six teams in YOG soccer tournament Please join our Facebook page here and invite your friends to do so to create awareness of the current affairs affecting Singaporeans. Please use our online web form to contact us.  Read More →