TR EMERITUS

I helped out at Singapore Polytechnic for the JYOF Day 5. My friends and I queued up for a very long period of time for our meal. We have to exchange for our meal pack from McDonalds’ with a voucher. All we received was a big box with a Apple Pie and a McChicken that did not consist of any vegetable, mayo (purely 2 slice of bread and a thin and dry chicken patty). Everyone was shocked at the quality of the food! In the end we bought an entire meal outside to fill our stomachs. A YOG volunteer  Read More →

The Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games (YOG) is becoming increasingly dangerous for athletes, officials, volunteers and journalists alike with another near miss yesterday. According to a Lianhe Zaobao report, a photographer from China's CCTV fell down from the temporary platform set up for photographers to place their cameras and equipment at the YOG weight-lifting competition held at Toa Payoh stadium. The CCTV photographer Mr Zhu fell down from the platform accidentally and hit his head. He was sent by ambulance to Tan Tock Seng hospital and did not suffer any major head injuries. The platform is only 3 meters long and it has to bear the weight of 5 videocam recorders with only two metal pipes 1 meter in length supporter it by the side. Such an embarrassing accident should not have happened in the first place. The police officer on duty should have handcuffed and detained Mr Zhu on the spot for his own personal safety. The Zaobao journalist Liang Jiaming believes that the unfortunate mishap could have been avoided and wondered if there are other unseen danger spots and other YOG competition venues. The shocking accident was not reported in the English media which has been desperately trying to censor any negative news on the YOG and engineering artificial "hype and buzz" about it. Yesterday afternoon, a roof canvas at *SCAPE collapsed under a heavy downpour, causing a YOG basketball match to be postponed. Fortunately the few officials present at the scene were only drenched and not injured. At the rate the PAP regime is screwing up the YOG, it is only a matter of time before a major disaster happens which even the state media cannot sweep under the carpet.   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. 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 →

OPINION The Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games (YOG) was billed by both the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the PAP regime as a "premier" world sporting event, but turned out to be a FLOP of EPIC proportion with the games doomed even before it was officially opened, dogged by controversies of "DOG" food being given to volunteers who are forced to work for long hours without rest under inhumane conditions which makes a mockery of the Olympian values of "excellence, friendship and respect." The latest scandal to engulf the YOG - a mass food poisoning outbreak at two YOG venues affecting some 26 volunteers including the duty doctor must the straw which breaks the camel's back. Enough is enough. Singaporeans have witnessed enough of Mr Ng's utter incompetence in managing or rather mismanaging the YOG in the past few days which has made a dent on Singapore's international reputation. [Get instant updates and discussions about the YOG on our Facebook page here] If Mr Ng has any sense of shame left in him, he should tender his RESIGNATION from the Singapore YOG Organizing Committee (SYOGOC) with immediate effect and let somebody else take over him. There are five compelling reasons why Mr Ng's current position is no longer tenable: 1. Lack of support from Singaporeans and poor turnout at the games: Imagine playing to an almost empty stadium with no applause from the audience - that is the unfamiliar scenario which most of the YOG athletes find themselves in. Over at the Marina promontory, the live bands have been playing to a near empty crowd even on Sundays where the number of volunteers far outnumber that of spectators. Mr Ng has more than two years as the Chairman of SYOGOC to engage Singaporeans to lend their support to the YOG. How did it turn out to be this way? He spent $8.9 million dollars to put up giant YOG billboards and banners all over the island and still 88 percent of Singaporeans professed that they are not interested in the YOG at all. 2. Forcing students to generate fake enthusiasm and support for the YOG: Due to the lack of genuine interest from Singaporeans, the SYOGOC has to resort to massive astroturfing using public resources via the Ministry of Education to coerce our students to support the YOG overtly or covertly which shouldn't be the case. Many primary schools "mobilized" their students to line the roads to cheer for the YOG torch rally be  it in the rains or under the hot sun with scant regard for their personal safety and health. Does Mr Ng feel proud of such fake show of support for the YOG? When asked by Associated Press last week if Singapore students are being forced to support the YOG, Mr Ng denied it flatly: “There will always be stories flying around. Just look at the faces of the children that are there, the sparkle in their eyes and the smile on their faces. Those are not things you can force. I don’t think anyone will be forced to come to watch the torch relay or the games. So I don’t think there is any coercion,”  It is a shame that as the President of SYOGOC, Mr Ng is completely clueless about what is going on and is divorced from the reality on the ground. For this reason alone, he deserves to be sacked. 3. Mis-treating Singapore volunteers: The President of the International Olympic Committee Mr Jacques Rogge said that the fundamental principle of the YOG is to provide education to young people at an age where they are receptive. What message is SYOGOC sending out to our youth and the foreigners by treating Singapore volunteers as mere "slaves"? Many of the volunteers are not helping out at the YOG out of their own will, but are coerced to do so under the threat of corrective work order, detention or losing their testimonials should they not comply with their schools' orders. There are complaints from volunteers that they are being forced to work for long hours with little rest with some returning homes way past twelve midnights. They are given inadequate and substandard food and have to put up with the endless nagging and heckling from their supervisors. Let us not forget that they are students and they are taking precious time off their studies to volunteer for the YOG. Shouldn't they be treated with a bit of respect? Charity begins at home. It defeats the purpose of hosting the YOG by treating Singapore volunteers so shabbily while rolling out the red carpet to welcome the foreign athletes and officials. 4. Mass food poisoning scandal: The mass food poisoning scandal involving 26 Singapore volunteers at two different YOG venues after taking food provided by SYOGOC has dealt an irreversible blow to Singapore's international reputation. This shouldn't have happened. Have you heard of any such scandals in past Olympic games? To compound matters, SYOGOC did not come clean with the public and inform the other volunteers of what happened immediately on the same day. The news was only leaked out three days later after the Temasek Review wrote an article on it asking if the incident did really happen. It appears that SYOGOC cares more about the reputation of the games than the health of the volunteers who should be informed about the food poisoning outbreak and given the option of bringing their own home-cooked food to the YOG venues since the investigations into the cause are not concluded yet. What if more volunteers come down with diarrhoea after the first case? 5. Safety at YOG venues: Two near mishaps occurred on Wednesday alone which could have resulted in mass casualties. In the morning, a photographer from China's CCTV station fell down from a temporary platform when covering the YOG weight-lifting event at Toa Payoh stadium. In the afternoon, a roof canvas at *SCAPE collapsed under a heavy downpour. Fortunately, nobody was injured. Such roof canvases are commonly used in Singapore and their collapses are almost never heard of. Where does the problem arise? Again, Mr Ng did not bother to explain to an increasingly frustrated citizenry desperate for answers. For the litany of comical screw-ups which have seriously damaged Singapore's reputation and lessened the prestige of the YOG, Mr Ng should step down as the Chairman of SYOGOC. Most importantly, under Mr Ng's leadership, he has accomplished the rare feat of converting the "Youth Olympic Games" into the "Youth Arirang Games" reminiscent of the annual Arirang mass games conducted by North Korea in which hundreds of thousands of North Koreans are mobilized to participate or support the event to glorify the despotic regime under Kim Jong IL.     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: >> 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 →