TR EMERITUS

PAP strongman Lee Kuan Yew's suggestion that there should not be a retirement age for Singapore workers was greeted with derision and opprobrium by the majority of Singaporeans. During a dialogue session with unionists a few days ago,  Lee called on elderly Singaporeans to be more “productive” and work as long as they can, citing himself as an example. “You work as long as you can work and you will be healthier and happier for it. If you ask me to stop working all of a sudden, I think I’ll just shrivel up, face the wall and just that,” he said. At 86 years of age, Lee is probably the oldest living MP and minister in the world. By his own admission, he is not doing much work lately, except doing “forecasting”. Lee's comments sparked a massive outroar among Singaporeans with more than 300 comments posted on the Yahoo Fit to post blog so far, many of whom expressing their desire to retire and condemning him for his "insensitivity." Administrator wrote: "MM Lee as an elder statesman, that is INSENSITIVE! I dont mean what he said has no right to it BUT…I dread the day I have to work for people from cradle to grave!" 99fire thought it is a ploy to lock up the CPF funds of Singaporeans: "The message is very clear, the government is looking for a reason to LOCK your CPF money & you can’t draw all the money when you are 55 or they will increase the minimum sum till you can draw only 5k. So, basically, when you are born in Singapore, you will not enjoy your life after a age that you think you are comfortable to retire & enjoy life as you wish. You need to work till you die & the money hold by the government for their use." Jeffy Dickey said sarcastically: "If I were getting the massive payola that the Minister Meddler is, with comparable “authority” matched to a total lack of accountability, why wouldn’t I keep “working” until a year or six after my body turns to dust?" 26passerby retorted: "Well what a sweeping statement. There are many strata of jobs. If one is a consultant, wats wrong with working till one dies…or at least till one is senile? But if one’s job is strenuous, how to expect the person to keep on going? For those privileged ones, who work little but got paid a lot (including those born with silver spoon) this would not concern them at all. So many are dabbling in shares and properties. I know of ppl who do not have to work but living off rental luxuriously. This only concerns ppl in the lower rung. Poor poor ppl, no one to voice out for them cos all the elites who do not empathise are holding high posts." Lee's public proclaimation that he cannot imagine himself not working may be a hint that he is intending to contest in the next general election and stay on as the "forecaster extraordinarie" of Singapore which is costing Singaporeans more than S$3 million dollars a year to maintain. Do you think it's time for Lee Kuan Yew to retire from politics FOREVER? Please share your views here. 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 →

Just 1 week into the new system, I have discovered some flaws or discrepancies in the distance fare system. Called up LTA and spoke to an officer about this, were told that they will look into this but till date, have not received any reply. First off, the distance indicated on the info board of bus stop and the Fare Calculator at the LTA site have discrepancy, below is the info extracted from the Fare Calculator and shown on the info board of the bus stop at Cosmic Insurance Building opposite Bras Basah Complex. Trip 1 Bus Svc 80 Stop No. 01029 Stop No. 05429 2.4km Cosmic Insurance Bldg Bef Wallich St Trip 2 Bus Svc 145 Stop No. 01029 Stop No. 05429 2.6km Cosmic Insurance Bldg Bef Wallich St Note, the boarding bus stop is the same and the alighting bus stop is also the same and they both ply along the same stretch of road. There is clear a discrepancy of 200m but how did this discrepancy came about? I believe this is not a standalone case. Another discrepancy I have discovered is the distance indicated is all rounded up to the nearest 100m, in this case, it could meant that the distance is incorrectly calculated and commuter have to pay more for the distance that they did not travel at all. This is like when you buy 1kg of rice at S$3.00, you paid S$3.00 but getting less than 1kg of rice, it is like cheating the buyer, in this case the commuters. This clearly indicated that not enough testing and checking have been done before rolling out a new system. How could Public Transport Committee make such a mistake?   Jor L  Read More →

Beleaguered YPAP leader from Joo Chiat branch and General Secretary of the Joo Chiat Community Club Youth Executive Committee has written and sent an email apology to opposition MP Mr Chiam See Tong for his defamatory remarks made on the YPAP Facebook. Mr Lin caused a massive outcry on cyberspace recently by insulting Singaporeans as "3rd class citizens":   [Source: YPAP Facebook] In the same discussion thread, Mr Lin also insinuated that Mr Chiam See Tong "bought" his "O" level certificate though the latter was a practising lawyer: [Source: YPAP Facebook] In an email reply to Kojakbt, the netizen who lodged the initial complaint against him to PAP MPs from Joo Chiat and East Coast, Mr Lin revealed that he had apologized to Mr Chiam to show his "sincerity". It is not known if Mr Chiam has replied to him or if he will take legal action against Mr Lin for damaging his reputation. Mr Lin added that he had learnt a very hard lesson from the fracas and he hope it will be "a learning point for everyone with regards to political discussion." He should have sent his reminder to fellow YPAP leaders like Sear Hock Rong, Fong Yoong Keong, Eric How, Genesis Shen, Edgar Khieu and of course the "award-winning" new citizen from India Sinha Satyabrata Sheka not to repeat their callous remarks on fellow Singaporeans again. Despite the controversy stirred by Mr Lin, the PAP MPs interviewed by the media have blatantly refused to condemn him for his statements and instead chose to obfuscate the matter, an indication that they support Mr Lin's views that Singaporeans are "3rd class citizens" tacitly. This is not the first time a YPAP leader has gotten into trouble by making disparaging and humiliating comments about Singaporeans on its official Facebook. In March this year, another YPAP leader and new citizen from India, Mr Sinha Shekhar, who was ironically awarded an “Outstanding Contributor award” by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong for his “regular” postings on REACH Facebook, caused a stir when he called Singapore NSmen “DOGS” on the YPAP Facebook. [Source: YPAP Facebook] Mr Sinha Shekhar did not serve a SINGLE day of NS. He later promised to “clarify” the matter in the media, but has yet to do so. He was not reprimanded for his comments. Singaporeans are still waiting for a public apology from Mr Sinha Shekar, if ever.     Related articles: >> PAP MP Chan Soo Sen refused to condemn Jack Lin's callous remarks on Singaporeans >> Jack Lin Xinli became the 1st YPAP leader to apologise to Singaporeans for making offensive remarks about them >> YPAP leader Jack Lin Xinli clarified his “3rd class citizen” remarks on CNA >> Massive outcry at YPAP leader Jack Lin’s remarks >> YPAP leader Jack Lin: We are free to fix the opposition >> Complaint letter on YPAP leader Jack Lin   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 →