TR EMERITUS

I am not sure if I should thank this guy named Alan Shadrake or not. Because of his book, A Jolly Hangman, which I have not read, the death penalty is suddenly shoved to the forefront of public awareness, a la storm in a tea cup. After so many years in the doldrums, if you ask any Singaporean, they will tell you unequivocally that it is a non-issue and with brains and hearts, they jolly well support this tough law. A murderer deserves to be sentenced to die – an eye for an eye. The same applies to drug trafficking, firearms robbery and kidnapping. It is as straightforward as an arrow, nothing to debate or discuss about. And why do Singaporeans generally and steadfastly maintain and support this harsh law? Because it has kept the peace for all of us for so many years. This reasoning alone is sufficient enough to justify retaining this legislation because this public safety also translates to Singapore having the lowest crime rates in the world. You need only to just look around the region from Manila to Macau and you will bear witness to all sorts of atrocities and crimes happening on a daily basis; murder, kidnap, drugs, robbery, gangland fights. Innocent people die, bystanders injured, families suffer, collateral and business damages, livelihoods are affected. Yes, the death penalty may not be the ultimate answer to eradicate crimes but it has a veiled deterrent that even the most vicious convicted man fears. His premature and compulsory turn to die terrifies him into a belated and contrite state of shock and violent resistance right to the end. Reports said even that supreme tyrant Saddam Hussein had to be dragged to the gallows. So seemingly out of the blues, a British author had decided to write on a touchy subject that many Singaporeans not only have accepted since Independence but hold it dear as part of our culture and system of justice. Why then should we want to worry ourselves to death when the death penalty is meant to weed out the hardcore criminals of society and protect the majority? Why do we bother what others had to say about the cruelty of this law or it was not properly administered? Or human activists would want us to believe that it is barbaric to even kill a convict in this civilized world. No, it is not barbaric because it is the process of justice running its normal course. Are Singaporeans not civilized, intellectual and sagacious enough to differentiate between severely punishing a criminal in the interest of the country? Look, lest it is clouded in the midst of human rights agenda or in the cloak of Western liberty, let us be very clear on its purpose: the death penalty punishes the convicted and not the other way round. Hence those seeking to abolish it are indirectly telling the rest that it is wrong to punish the convicts so harshly and they should be instead be given a second chance and spared for the rest of their lives. Let’s assume if we had not hung those 400 over murderers and drugs traffickers and they are still languishing in our jails. Financially, of course it will be a massive burden to our taxpayers who will have to feed them till they die on a special prison island. Socially, their collective presence will be a source of embarrassment to our clean image and their existence will create an Alcatraz of Asia, an egregious image that we can definitely do without. Psychologically, Singapore, being a financial hub, would draw more criminals to our shores. I am baffled by all the ballyhoo and I strongly believe we are better off keeping a law that serves only to safeguard our interest. Obviously there are some people who still think differently. That is their mindset and I have no business trying to change theirs as long as they don’t change mine. Well, anyone who campaigns for a capital punishment to be abolished in the name of human rights certainly does not understand the interest of those who support it almost unanimously at heart. It is as clear-cut as day and night. Now I can work safer during day and sleep peacefully at night. Douglas Chua 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 →

作者：美通社亚洲 世贸通开展新加坡优惠月 目前，外界一直在传新加坡投资移民会涨价，涨价幅度由之前的150万新元提高到200万新元，而且新加坡投资移民的配额不减。全国规模最大的投资顾问及移民服务的专业机构之一 — 世贸通提醒投资者：新加坡投资移民或将涨价，对新加坡投资移民感兴趣的朋友，预办从速，赶上涨价前的末班车。 本周开始，世贸通开展新加坡移民优惠月的活动，凡是在此期间办理新加坡移民业务的投资申请者，都能享受到一定的优惠幅度。并且选择世贸通办理移民，会有专业的顾问团队、律师团队和材料中心，帮助申请人在各个环节做到万无一失。 新加坡从上世纪80年代初就有投资移民政策，早期主要是吸引马来西亚、印尼、中国台湾和香港的投资者。而从1990年开始，新加坡政府批准了以投资基金方式移民新加坡的方式。在2004年，该移民计划改名为“全球企业投资计划”，由新加坡经济发展局全面负责，并开始推向中国。 从2007年开始，新加坡投资移民在国内慢慢升温，新加坡投资移民逐渐被世人熟知。新加坡投资移民已经是目前市场上较高端的移民项目。由于其拥有相对灵活的投资方式，正受到拥有高资产人士的关注和喜爱。 背景资料： 目前新加坡有2个政府部门受理海外投资移民，经济发展局（EDB）和金融管理局（MAS），所办理的投资移民分别有以下几种类别： EDB 投资移民计划 该计划的申请条件是拥有三年以上股东身份的企业家，包括：100万元新币项目、150万元新币项目以及200万元新币项目。 其中100万元新币项目是在新加坡创设新企业或投入已有企业，适合在新加坡有事业基金，有意去新加坡创业发展的商业人士。 150万元新币项目是购买政府批准的封闭式基金，适合有意获得新加坡身份，但业务重点仍在中国的商业人士。 200万元新币项目是100万元新币购买政府批准的基金，100万元新币购买房产，适合有意在新加坡置业的商业人士。 现在国内人士申请的EDB项目中，150万和200万元新币的项目选择的人比较多。这两个类别的申请人无须打理投资事宜，申请速度也较快。 MAS 投资移民计划 该计划的申请条件是申请人拥有2000万元新币净资产，包括500万元新币投资金融产品（包括银行存款、国债、基金、股票、保险等），适合无管理经验、注重资产安全的高资产人士。另外500万元新币项目为200万元新币投资新加坡房产+300万元新币投资金融产品，适合有兴趣投资新加坡房产和注重资产安全的高资产人士。 新加坡的移民申请流程和其他国家有些区别，是先向政府提出申请，通过书面审核和面试之后，再给予6个月时间让投资人来做出投资，完成投资后即可获得批复函，登陆新加坡完成报到手续。新加坡对于适龄公民有服兵役的要求。对于新加坡投资移民而言，第一代投资移民申请者有豁免权。 来源：http://www.fint.hk  Read More →

The question that is being asked frequently in the internet is:Are Singaporeans paying for monkeys? By right monkeys deserve to be paid peanuts but how come we are paying millions. The recent occurrences have not given the public the confidence of a government that holds high the concerns of the public. The golden silence of the Minister for Transport and Minister for Home Affairs on the debacle of the security lapse of the SMRT at its Changi depot is a typical example. They were either lofty in their attitude or remiss in their responsibility of the implication of the enormity of the SMRT security lapse. It was ludricuous that this could have escaped the attention of the two ministers. Next is the comical performance of the Minister for Environment in connection with the recent flood in Orchard Road. Whether the public view it as shirking responsibility but his elusive presence was not to be found in the Orchard Road flood area when it was imperative for the flood victims, especially the serious ones, to be given sympathetic succour. He was like an invisible man who appeared after the storm to utter such crass statement that such flood occurred only once in fifty years. Such flippancy can hardly give confidence to the public, especially those in the flood-prone areas, that we have a minister who could tackle the flood situation. Then there is the equally crass statement of the Prime Minister that it is impossible in Singapore to expect the place to be completely free of floods. This is the kind of talk that aims to pre-empt any public wrath to descend on the government should there be any unmanagable devastating flood befalling Singapore in future. In other words, the government is seeking an easy way out. The PUB should have by now identified the flood-prone areas and discovered the cause. In fact their officers are condifent of overcoming, if not minimising, the problem. So what is all this talk by the Prime Minister of not expecting a flood-free Singapore, if not to divert the attention of the public. The trend of ministers, including the Prime Minister, of showing indifference towards occurrences and happenings that the public view as affecting their security and welfare is disquieting, to say the least. There are very considerable criticisms by netizens on the ministers' haughty attitude. It automatically brings up the question that the astronomical salaries that the Prime Minister and his ministers get are really what they deserve and a fair charge on the taxpayers' fund. So the netizens coined the phrase: Are Singaporeans paying for monkeys? Yoong Siew Wah 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 →