TR EMERITUS

New citizens and PRs are flocking to join PAP grassroots organizations to enjoy the perks associated with it. According to a Straits Times report today, they now constitute 20 percent of some 24,000 grassroots leaders in Singapore with 1,400 PRs and 4,600 new citizens. Though grassroots organizations are supposed non-partisan apolitical organizations, they are actually "part of the PAP" as admitted by PAP strongman Lee Kuan Yew himself. The Chairman of the People's Association in charge of all grassroots organizations in Singapore is none other than Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong himself. The events organized by the grassroots leaders include block parties, orientation tours and celebration of cultural festivals like the "Water festival" organized in April this year by Bukit Batok grassroots organizations which drew the wrath of netizens.  Some grassroots leaders also serve as Integration and Naturalisation Champions (INCs) to propagate the PAP propaganda about "integration" to unsuspecting Singaporeans. Due to the PAP's pro-foreigner and ultra-liberal immigration policies, foreigners now make up 36 percent of Singapore's population, up from 14 percent in 1990. Of the remaining 64 percent who are citizens, an increasing number are born overseas. The PAP has been actively courting the support of new citizens and PRs to boost its flagging support base among native Singaporeans. A massive $10 million Community Integration Fund was launched last year to make the newcomers feel accepted, welcomed and happy in Singapore. The grassroots organizations may soon become an "exclusive" club for the immigrants thereby defeating its original purpose of promoting community bonding and integration among Singaporeans.     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 →

PAP Minister without portfolio Lim Hwee Hua has urged Singapore commuters complaining about the new distance-based fare for public transport to take a "longer-term" view. Though the Land Transport Authority (LTA) claimed that two-thirds of the commuters will save 48 cents, many commuters still complained about having to pay more under the new scheme. During a dialogue session with Bukit Gombak residents yesterday, a resident complained about commuters on short journey having to pay more, prompting Mrs Lim to "reassure" them that commuters will "benefit" in due course without substantiating her statement. She explained that the new fare scheme was introduced to have a "fairer" system where commuters are not penalized for transferring to a bus or train. "Because we're building more and more rail lines and changing bus routes to better serve people, we don't want people to be constrained by the fact that they have to make transfers and therefore take longer routes to save on fares," she was quoted as saying in Straits Times. Another resident complained about MRT trains being overpacked to which Mrs Lim replied that SMRT is "trying their best" to add more train trips. The overpacked trains may be caused partly by the relentless influx of foreigners into Singapore under the PAP's pro-foreigner and ultra-liberal immigration policies. It is highly unlikely that the residents' feedback will be taken seriously by the PAP. After all, according to PAP strongman Lee Kuan Yew, Singaporeans are "champion grumblers".     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 →

Present Situation  Currently foreigners are allowed to purchase private condominium housing freely in Singapore. While there are rules to prevent the formation of racial enclaves in public housing, there are no rules on the forming of foreigners’ enclaves when units in private condominiums are sold. Recently there was suggestion to extend this rule to foreign permanent residents who are buying into resale HDB apartments. Proposal  Similar rules should thus be promulgated to prevent foreigners’ enclaves from forming when they buy into private condominiums. In each private property launch, the Government should approve a cap on the number of units to be sold to foreigners, be they permanent residents or foreign investors. Similarly, an additional condition can be added to the new rules to limit the number of foreign buyers in each existing condominium project. or precinct. In this way, we will avoid the formation of foreigners’ enclaves in private residences. Property Investment for Profit  This new ruling will also slow the flipping of housing units for a quick profit after each property launch as approval now has to be obtained before the sale can be transacted. Similarly, sale of condominium units to a local investment house should also be calibrated on an approved scale.  The current housing rules promulgated by the Singapore Government such as doing away of the deferred payment scheme and allocation of more 99-year leasehold land for housing development has not resulted in the curbing of runaway prices unlike the Chinese Government who are able to slow the runaway prices. (Perhaps Singapore officials should be sent to Beijing for training with their housing authority) Fair and Honest Government  Rules made for public housing can be similarly enforced in the private housing market so that the Government may be seen as fair and honest. It is timely for such rules to be made before the situation makes it difficult to extricate and the Singapore Government can avoid spending millions of dollars launching new campaigns on training and retraining of housing officials as well as educating the public in the purchase of new homes. Council Members for Private Condominiums  Besides new rules on the sale of housing units to foreign buyers, rules should also be drawn up to allow only Singapore citizens to hold office in residential councils or committees under the Building Maintenance and Strata Management Act 2004. As council members have influence on the running of a condominium and operation of facilities such as tennis courts, saunas, fitness room, swimming pool, karaoke rooms, barbeque pits, etc, it is important that only Singapore citizens be allowed to hold appointments in such councils.  Council members who are citizens can transmit the desired social mores and wholesome values to fellow residents in their everyday interactions. It is more likely that citizen members can lead the committee a little more vigorously during festive celebrations such as National Day Celebration, Chinese New Year, Deepavali, Hari Raya and Christmas. Is this the reason why so few Singapore flags are flown to celebrate National Day in private condominiums? Has MPs in each constituency thought deeply about the erosion of such values in our social defence which is a core value of our national defence?  Do we also get situations where councils do not allow their residents to wash their cars in the carpark because car washing is allowed only in petrol kiosk ‘back home’.  While values such as caring for one another, thrift and hard work are definitely a plus for our all-round development, certain manifestations should not be allowed to take root otherwise our people, especially the young may grow up thinking they are living in an enclave in a foreign land.   Gilbert Tan  Read More →