TR EMERITUS

I was a teacher under MOE. I can say that it is easy to get out of the situation. Just get a parent to write a letter saying that you have family issues or that your parents would not like you to participate in the event, there is no way your school can punish you as it is a decision by your parents, not you. Under 18, you are a minor and cannot be held accountable. That is the legal way out. The moral way out is to organise or participate in a charity event and then ask the school to punish you for choosing the charity event. The charity event can be as simple as giving tuition to needy students or reading to children. Ask the school to punish you for choosing a greater good. See if the school can recognise the moral point driven for it. The political way is to get everyone to boycott the event. I was once in charge of a school choir. The choir was quite good and was asked to do recording for NDP in Feb. Being teacher in charge, I requested that the recording be done latest in early Apr since the secondary 4s will be doing exams and will be exempted from all CCA after this event. But I was later told that the first recording will be in mid Apr and second will be early May which would be the week before school exams. I told CCAB that my choir would not do the second recording regardless whether there is a need for a second recording. This was because my students’ welfare came first rather than difficulties that the CCAB had. I told my HOD CCA my decision and informed my principal about it. I told them if they disagreed. they could overwrite my decision and speak with my students directly. (even if they did, I coached my students in all the the arguements they will make with the P and HOD) Good thing they supported my decision. This resulted in a DD coming down for the recording. As long as you are sure you are doing the right thing, dont bow down to other regardless of whatever power they wield. As students, you actually have greater power united than you realise.     George Tham  Read More →

The opening ceremony of the inaugural Youth Olympic Games (YOG) was billed by the Singapore media as Singapore's "BIGGEST" show ever. "Showtime! Dazzling display kicks off inaugural Youth Olympic Games," screamed the headlines of the Sunday Times today. "YOG: Inaugural Youth Olympic Games opens in spectacular ceremony," proclaimed Channel News Asia. [Get instant updates and discussions about the YOG on our Facebook page here] If the YOG opening ceremony is as "dazzling" and "spectacular" as described by the state media, surely it would have captured the attention of the audience and left them glued to their seats. Unfortunately, this was not the case. Despite the large crowd present, the clapping from the audience sounded more like a cat's meow than a thunderous applause. Some spectators were found leaving the ceremony halfway while others are caught napping on the cameras, one of them may be Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong: [Source: Sin Rak Sin] As seen from the above photo, PM Lee appeared to be napping (or in quiet meditation?) while his wife Ho Ching was "waving" the Singapore flag besides him. A foreign delegate sat behind him also dozed off, completely oblivious to the surrounding cacophony. Despite the extensive positive publicity generated by the state media on the YOG opening ceremony, there were few reports on it in the foreign papers while the majority of Singaporeans who watched the performance denounced it as an utter disgrace and disappointment. EDITORS’ NOTE: Has your life been turned upside down by the YOG? Please share your views with us. We assure you that your identity will be kept strictly CONFIDENTIAL. We will be your UNCENSORED VOICE. We will publish your letter in FULL with ZERO editing, moderating or censoring. You do not have to suffer in silence! You have the RIGHT to speak up as a citizen of this country. Remember: you are a CITIZEN of Singapore, not a SLAVE of the PAP regime. Our mailbox has been swarmed by letters from YOG volunteers for the last few days. Unless you specifically want us to publish your REAL NAME, we will use a pseudonym instead. Please understand that due to manpower constraints, we may not be able to publish your letters immediately and we will have to stagger them a few hours apart to ensure that they get maximum exposure. Please keep your feedback coming! Singapore for SINGAPOREANS! Your interests always come FIRST. Related articles: >> 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 →

I'm not directly involved in YOG since I graduated from university already, but I hope that someone will be able to put together a case and report it to the UN Human Rights council or even UNISEF since young children are involved. Here is some information that may be useful for the readers/students involved. UN Human Rights (civil society) Telephone: +41 22 917 9656 Mail: [email protected] UN Human Rights (national insituition/region) [email protected] [email protected] Complaint procedures and forms: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/petitions/index.htm http://www.bayefsky.com/unts/index.html I hope this is useful for someone. It's really despicable how the PAP is violating the olympic charter *AND* coercing all these students. It makes me ashamed of being Singaporean.   Rachel  Read More →