TR EMERITUS

I am extremely appalled that for two consecutive days, news of a 12 year-old jogging 15km with the Olympic torch made the front pages of the Straits Times. Not that I have anything against the innocent boy or his passion for the YOG, matter of fact I commend him of his determination in following the trail of the torch relay. If the event was an inter-school cross country competition, news of his accomplishment would probably be overlooked as a contender who could represent Singapore to win gold at the Youth Olympics but whom we all know would never make it. But since it was a Torch Relay of the Youth Olympics itself, the Straits Times couldn't have thought of a better idea than exaggerate his achievement and spin a Chicken Soup story, correction, Chicken Soup stories (2 news articles in 2 days, ya?) to remind Singaporeans that the Games are actually arriving really soon. As I mentioned, I have nothing against the boy nor his passion for the Torch Relay, but I could hardly find a paragraph in both Chicken Soup stories that inspires me or diffuses enthusiasm for the Games. The stories were but lame publicity, if not propaganda, for an otherwise under-concerned YOG. Here are some excerpts and my personal feelings towards them. "'Wasn't that boy present at the start?' asked a cameraman. 'I can't believe it, that boy is back again!' exclaimed someone in the relay entourage." (What difference does this series of conversations make, when compared to 'Is it a bird?' 'Is it a plane?' 'Look! It's Superman!'?) "Even the Traffic Police officers who had accompanied the relay got off their motorcycles when they spotted him and came over to do some back-slapping." (These days, back-slapping between two very unrelated Singaporeans is thought to be seen only in National Day song videos) "Mr Palmer said reading in The Straits Times about Wei Jie's feat had touched him so much that he bought the tickets as a gift." (You mean at this point in time, with days left to the Opening Ceremony, there are actually vacant seats?) and on a side note in the Thursday article... "YOG hero" (This kid must have averted a plane from crashing onto the Floating Platform at Marina Bay to earn himself this title. What's next? Someone being named 'YOG martyr' just because he jaywalked on the road, gave way to a YOG bus on the YOG bus lane, only to be knocked down by a car on the adjacent lane?) Conclusion? The Straits Times should not compromise its brand by pairing up on its front page, quality news reports with articles which would be more appropriately published in a secondary school magazine. And to the government, it's time to face it, the average Singaporean has hardly any tangible benefit from the YOG to convince him to become passionate about the Games, so stop trying. Basically, the average Singaporean would be naive to think he could walk in the footsteps of the average Beijing-er and get rich just by selling merchandises of Olympic mascots to foreigners and reap tourism income from them. Besides, Lyo and Merly are way behind the Beijing mascots in appeal factor.   Julius Poon     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. You do not have to suffer in silence and have the right to speak up.   Related articles: >> Polytechnic student: I don’t care about YOG >> JC students being “volunteered” for YOG >> YOG students being given “dog food” >> YOG: What the HELL is that >> 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 →

In a sign that PAP ministers are completely out of touch with the ground, PAP Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam made a major gaffe today when he told the state media that he could "feel" the enthusiasm for YOG from Singaporeans. "The enthusiasm is very real and it's infectious. It's still early days but everybody who has been involved in making the YOG a special experience in Singapore has shown the world what Singapore can do on a scale like this," he was quoted as saying in the Straits Times. If Mr Tharman has been reading the genuine comments posted by netizens here and in other internet chatrooms, he would have realized that most of these "supporters" are poor students coerced by their schools to line the streets to "welcome" the YOG torch. Despite the inordinate amount of resources poured in by the PAP to promote the YOG and the extensive publicity given to it by the state media, the response from Singaporeans has been lukewarm so far. In fact, the YOG has earned the wrath of Singapore students even before it began officially with an increasing number of secondary school, polytechnic, junior college and university students stepping forward to voice their displeasure. A Facebook "I hate YOG" has seen its membership tripled in less than a week with many students posting on it to vent their frustrations and anger against the YOG. Nicholas Lim: "Was rushing for a meeting near Kitchener today. Bloody Jalan Besar stadium was hoarded up and blocked off like the G8 summit is gonna be there. I thought tickets weren't being sold?? So much bloody hassle for a non-event for f**k?!" Carolyn Fah: "Nice going, PAP. Thank you for screwing around with the grades of all poly and uni students when you don't even have the facilities to run the event properly. Thanks you PAP for stealing the schools' campuses for your selfish advertising gimmick, and thank you for forcing our lecturers to blitz through the syllabus even though they themselves know it's near impossible for students to catch content THAT quickly." Benjamin See: "I'm a student in the bukit timah area. On Wednesday, there was a YOG torch relay at HCI which caused a massive jam due to the presence of auxillary police along the roads. Students unaffiliated with HCI were stuck in this jam. My 45 minute bus ride became one of about an hour plus. I was late for school, along with more than a 100 other students. (We were still booked for being late despite the obvious fact that it was not our fault.) I didn't even know there would be a torch relay at HCI." Singapore students should not bother providing feedback to the PAP ministers as according to Lim Swee Say, they are DEAF to all criticisms. It is also unlikely that they will believe your words since Lui Tuck Yew has openly proclaimed that the mainstream media is the only trustworthy and credible source of news in Singapore.       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. You do not have to suffer in silence! Tell the entire world how you have been EXPLOITED by the PAP regime for its YOG! Related articles: >> Polytechnic student: I don't care about YOG >> JC students being "volunteered" for YOG >> YOG: What the HELL is that? >> 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 →

Last Monday at about 7.15pm, I was among the commuters at Raffles Place who had to shove their way into a train going towards Yishun. Trains were arriving in four-minute intervals even though it was still peak period. The train continued to pack in more commuters at City Hall, Dhoby Ghaut and Somerset. By that time, there was barely enough standing space inside the cabins. Hence, at Orchard station, many commuters were unable to board. Apart from such woes with MRT trains, on a Friday at around 5.40pm, I had to wait for 40 minutes for SBS bus service 36 at Suntec. This is not the first time this has happened to me. I would like to get answers to the following from the LTA and Public Transport Council (PTC): - Are all train and bus service disruptions reported to the authorities? What qualifies as a service disruption warranting a report? Even if a train service gets delayed by five minutes, that adds to the overcrowding. - How do the LTA and PTC independently ensure the public transport operators report all service disruptions? How do they even monitor the daily bus delays? - SBS bus services that often see massive overcrowding and delays during peak hours (among them services 14, 16, 21, 60 and 66) seem to escape mention in quality surveys. - Commuters had been given to expect that the Circle Line would alleviate overcrowding on existing train lines. But so far, there is little evidence of that.   Bryan Ong  Read More →