TR EMERITUS

The YOG mass food poisoning scandal has dealt a severe blow to the reputation and prestige of the event and reflects very poorly on the Singapore YOG organizing committee (SYOGOC) as well which does not seem to be able to do simple things right. [Get instant updates and discussions about the YOG on our Facebook page here] 26 volunteers including the doctor on duty from two different venues - five from the Singapore Indoor Stadium and 16 from East Coast Park were down with diarrhoea after eating food provided by the SYOGOC. The incident took place last Sunday morning on 15 August 2010 and reports have been made to MOH and NEA, but for three entire days, there were no official statements from both state agencies. Neither did the English or Chinese papers publish any articles on it. There is no mention of the YOG food poisoning outbreak on the NEA website: [Source: NEA] Or the MOH's either: [Source: MOH] Are PAP ministers Yaacob Ibrahim and Khaw Boon Wan even remotely aware of what has happened? How can such a major issue or rather, scandal not make the headlines? Why is there a delay of three days? Or is there a COVER-UP to prevent the public from knowing the TRUTH? Had we not leaked the story on the morning of 18 August 2010, would Yahoo News and Straits Times reported on it? Singaporeans will still be kept in the dark as to what happened. It is utterly deplorable, despicable and disgraceful of the PAP-controlled media and the two government agencies to keep such an important matter from the public in a desperate attempt to save the face of the PAP regime. Is the PAP's "vanity fair" more important than the health and lives of our Singapore volunteers? Can Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Mr Teo Ser Luck or Mr Ng Ser Miang please explain why there is a THREE DAY DELAY in releasing news of the YOG mass food poisoning outbreak to the public? Since the YOG is supposedly to be a national event involving all Singaporeans, why are we not being informed of what has happened? Why aren't the other volunteers told of what happened so that they can keep a lookout or at least given the option of not taking food provided by the YOG caterer? Is their health jeopardized in any way by SYOGOC's blatant refusal to inform them about the mass food poisoning outbreak? The PAP regime has always boasted about its "accountability and transparency", both of which are seriously lacking in this case, reminiscent of the cover-up of the "Sanlu milk poisoning" scandal by the Henan provincial government in 2008 before the Beijing Olympics. Is this the performance we expect from a self-proclaimed first world government whose ministers are the HIGHEST PAID in the entire world? The credibility of SYOGOC and the reputation of Singapore are at stake. Mr Ng Ser Miang should call for a press conference immediately to explain the litany of comical screw-ups which have plagued the YOG from Day 1 ranging from the collapse of the roof canvas at a YOG venue yesterday to this food poisoning SCANDAL of EPIC proportions, the very first in the history of Singapore and that of the Olympic Games which will surely put Singapore on the world map, as promised by Dr Vivian himself.     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: >> 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. 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Dogged by controversies from the very first day, the inaugural Singapore Youth Olympic Games (YOG) got off to the worse possible start after a mass food poisoning outbreak erupted at a YOG venue. The rumors started circulating in cyberspace yesterday evening and was first reported by the Temasek Review this morning before Yahoo News picked up the story 8 hours later. (read article here) [Get instant updates and discussions about the YOG on our Facebook page here] According to Yahoo News, 26 Singapore YOG volunteers on duty at the triathlon competition at East Coast Park, suffered from diarrhoea after consuming their meals in the morning of August 15. The food caterer, whose identity remains a mystery, has since been suspended and its license may be revoked by the authorities. Both NEA and MOH were notified of food poisoning outbreak and are currently investigating the case. When contacted by Yahoo News, the Singapore YOG Organizing Committee (SYOGOC) said there are still "investigating" the case and will release an official statement in due course. This is the second food controversy to have hit the YOG. Last week, a massive outcry erupted among Singaporeans after we published an article on the substandard food given to Singapore volunteers in stark contrast to work was given to the foreign YOG athletes and officials: The netizen who emailed us the photo claimed that she was given the same food for the past five days for providing 10 continuous hours of “free labor” for YOG daily under the hot sun: “This is what I am eating everyday. Even my dog is fed better food!” she wrote. Singapore Food Industries (SFI), a subsidiary of the Singapore Airport Terminal Services (Sats) had been awarded a $5.5 million catering services contract by the YOG organising committee. Its contract covers meals for up to 7,000 athletes, officials and volunteers at the Youth Olympic Village. While “DOG” food is being served to Singapore volunteers, foreign athletes and officials were given three daily buffet meals befitting of a king by SFI: [Source: Yahoo Fit to Post] The massive public backlash forced SYOGOC to change the caterer which has promised to improve the standard of food for the volunteers. It appears that instead of "DOG" food, Singapore YOG volunteers are now being fed "poisoned" food. It is completely unacceptable for such a mass food poisoning outbreak to occur during a so-called "premier" sporting event in a purportedly first world country like Singapore which is almost unheard of in the world. This is probably the first time that volunteers at an international sporting event suffer from diarrhoea after being given unclean food by the organizers. Singapore parents whose children are currently volunteering for the YOG should pull them out of it till SYOGOC can guarantee that they will not be served unhygienic food which is poorly cooked and prepared again. For all the intangible benefits that YOG may bring, this fracas has damaged Singapore's international image beyond repair. An independent commission of inquiry should be set up to investigate the case. Dr Ng Ser Miang, the Chairman of SYOGOC must step down to take responsibility for this debacle and the numerous other screw-ups which have afflicted the YOG so far. In the meanwhile, there are no news reports on this most embarrassing saga by the Singapore media so far which has lost all credibility in its rather lop-sided, unprofessional and shameful coverage of the YOG to engineer fake support for a non-event ignored and shunned by the majority of Singaporeans, as evidenced by an online poll conducted by Channel News Asia in which 88 percent of some 6,400 Singaporeans said that they are "not interested in the YOG at all." The Temasek Review, which has been bringing Singaporeans instantaneous, updated and UNCENSORED news about the YOG around the clock often hours before other news websites, has seen its readership jump by forty percent in this week alone, bringing its present readership to almost half that of Singapore's national English paper The Straits Times. We have also been receiving a deluge of letters from Singapore volunteers on their unpleasant experiences with the YOG including being forced to volunteer or attend the YOG events under the threat of losing their testimonials at the end of the year, being treated like slaves working under inhumane conditions with little rest for hours at stretch and spending on their own transport and food with little or no renumeration from the organizers. To hear the REAL voices of Singaporeans on the ground, please stay tuned to this site which will be updated 24 hours as and when the news arrive. 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.  Read More →

In a sign that the PAP regime is getting increasingly desperate to drum up flagging support for its inaugural Youth Olympic Games (YOG), not only are Singapore students being FORCED to watch the games, they are slapped with a $5 refundable deposit to ensure that they turn up for the games. Students from Kuo Chuan Presbysterian Primary School were COERCED to watch the YOG Preliminary swimming competition at the Singapore Sports School on 19 August 2010. [Get instant updates and discussions about the YOG on our Facebook page here] To ensure that they actually turn up for the event, the school even COMPELLED them to pay $5 deposit upfront which will be returned they turned up on the actual day and confiscated if they do not do so: The high-handed and arbitrary manner in which Singapore schools are forcing their students to support the YOG is peeving many Singaporeans off and degrading the Olympian values of "excellence, respect and friendship" as well. While secondary, junior college and polytechnic students are forced to volunteer for YOG under long hours and being fed DOG food, primary school students are taught how to "cheer" at the games. According to one netizen, the students were actually divided into groups and instructed to cheer for different countries to "spice up" the event. The inaugural YOG is becoming a farce with such massive astroturfing engineered by the state to generate fake grassroots support for it. The International Olympic Committee and the international media should look into this matter and take the PAP regime to task for damaging the good name of the Olympic Games after all the money spent.     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: >> Kuo Chuan Primary School students forced to pay $5 to watch YOG games >> Mass food poisoning outbreak at YOG venue yesterday? >> YOG! What YOG? >> Canvas roof at YOG fell apart >> Zaqy Mohd defends MCYS >> 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 >> 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 →