TR EMERITUS

In the aftermath of the SMRT fiasco which has embarrassed the PAP greatly and cast renewed doubts about the security of the nation, all the government agencies have been busy trying to "tai-chi" the responsibility to the hapless SMRT whose CEO in turn "arrowed" it back to Singaporeans. On May 17, two foreigners managed to slip into Changi depot undetected and sprayed graffiti on the carriage of a train. SMRT only lodged a police report two days later. One of the culprits has since left Singapore. The shocking security lapse has Singaporeans wondering what the outcome might be had the intruders been terrorists instead. Following a massive public outroar, SMRT was forced to issue an official statement a week later in which its CEO Saw Phaik Hwa expressed "regrets" for the security lapse, but did not offer an outright apology. She infuriated Singaporeans further by adding that it is the responsibility of commuters to ensure safety of MRT trains too. In the meantime, the Land Transport Authority was quick to distance itself from the saga on the grounds that the security of the depot is managed by SMRT. Today, the Ministry of Home Affairs issued a statement through the media urging businesses to take "ownership" of the security of their premises. "Businesses need to take a long- term view and see security costs as part and parcel of their commercial enterprises. Private sector premise owners must take proactive ownership of security in their respective domains, remaining vigilant and cultivating a security mindset. Safety and security are prerequisites of success, not products of it," MHA's spokesman was quoted as saying in the Straits Times. At the end of the day, it seems that nobody is really responsible for the security of public transport after all.   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 write with reference to the current state of P65 blog (www.p65.sg). The original P65 blog was created in 2006 by a group of 1st term ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) Members of Parliament (MPs) born after 1965. The content at that time consisted of parliamentary speeches by these young MPs and readers could reply by posting comments. The P65 blog had a fundamental problem right from the start. This was the apparent discomfort of P65 MPs in handling the continuous overwhelming dominance of the PAP since 1959. In order to win over the support of younger sceptical voters, these P65 MPs emphasized they had independent thinking skills and were not just a bunch of “yes-men” obeying the party leadership. Together with older backbencher MPs, some P65 MPs went to the extent of claiming they could function as a form of parliamentary opposition. The weakness of this approach began to manifest. Since the Asian financial crisis of 1997, more socio-economic problems had emerged. These included a rising income gap, continuous increase in the cost of living and concerns over the negative effects of a huge immigration influx. As a result, the unofficial opposition approach was contradictory. The P65 MPs had to follow the PAP central leadership and party policy. Regardless of critical public opinion, these P65s had to be prepared to defend the policies and objectives of the PAP-led government. There was a limit to expressing opinion differences within the PAP without causing factional rivalry. Within the blog, the MPs seemed only able to explain government policies in terms of macroeconomic and geopolitical terms. They also behaved as if the PAP only had an image problem of being too stern. Fanciful ways were put forward to handle the issue. These included dancing hip hop at Chingay Parade 2007 and singing at National University of Singapore Cultural Centre. In Aug 2009, the blog was handed over to an octet of PAP-friendly persons. The MPs largely withdrew. The emphasis on distancing itself from the mainstream PAP was continued. The relevant decision-makers probably hoped that this could lead to a non-partisan constructive discussion of future nation building. However the revamp seemed to put the P65 blog into permanent decline. In terms of statistics, the octet only produced 53 short articles over a period of 10 months. This was equivalent of 5 articles per month. More importantly was the strategic direction of the blog. Without the P65 MPs, the octet simply became occasional writers and wrote whatever they could think of. Vocal critics started to question the octet’s positions on the PAP government’s policies. Similar to the P65 MPs, the octet had no adequate reply to these critics. The content of the articles was also questionable. The octet tended to discuss about higher philosophical thoughts on the meaning of life. They seemed to think that Singapore had achieved a very good measure of advancement and it was time to go further. Practical problems on the ground was not a priority To be fair, some of the articles did have some relevance but they were in a minority. These included Ms Khartini Khalid’s notes on certain racial issues dated 4 Aug 2009 and 4 Sep 2009. People tend to avoid such discussion as they feared causing angry reactions. In addition, Ms Shereen Williams’ wrote about her experiences on the financial problems of having children in Singapore on 10 Dec 2009. In view of the situation, I suggest the current P65 blog cease functioning and its writers to focus on Young PAP facebook. Being openly pro-PAP can make things easier for these writers. They are already viewed by the vocal critics as part of the PAP and such a viewpoint is unlikely to change anytime soon. It is impractical to defend the PAP government policies while attempting to be politically neutral simultaneously. Yours truly (Mr) Chua Yuankai  Read More →

Background Combination vaccines such as Infranrix 5 in 1 and 6 in 1 are becoming more popular among Singaporeans. They are approved for use by the Ministry of Health and are available in both polyclinics and private GP clinics. Combination vaccines have been shown to be effective and have improved acceptability and compliance for the vaccinations with greater coverage of disease with fewer injections. National Childhood Immunization from birth till 6 months National Childhood Immunization Schedule - Singapore Age Vaccine Immunization Against At Birth BCGHepatitis B (1st dose) TuberculosisHepatitis B 1 Month Hepatitis B (2nd dose) Hepatitis B 3 Months DPT/DT (1st dose)Oral Sabin (1st dose) Diphtheria, Pertussis & TetanusPoliomyelitis 4 Months DPT/DT (2nd dose)Oral Sabin (2nd dose) Diphtheria, Pertussis & TetanusPoliomyelitis 5 Months DPT/DT (3rd dose)Oral Sabin (3rd dose) Diphtheria, Pertussis & TetanusPoliomyelitis 5-6 Months Hepatitis B (3rd dose) Hepatitis B Source: http://singaporedoc.com/Singapore-Vaccination-Schedule.php    Components of Infanrix combination vaccine Infanrix 5 in 1 contains the following vaccines: Diphtheria, Pertussis, Tetanus, Polio, and Haemophilus Influenza B. Infanrix 6 in 1 contains the above plus Hepatitis B.   Which package should you take? Some clinics offer a few packages such as 3 doses of Infanrix 6 in 1 or in various combinations with Infanrix 5 in 1. If your child has taken only the hepatitis B first dose at birth, you may like to consider taking up the Infanrix 6 in 1 package which costs between $260 - $300 at selected clinics. Instead of taking separate DPT, polio and hepatitis B vaccines as outlined in the schedule above, your child will receive only one jab of Infanrix 6 in 1 at 3rd, 4th and 5th/6th months. He/she will receive an additional dose of hepatitis B which is safe. Use of Infanrix 6 in 1 in the first and second year of life have been shown to have lasting immunity against hepatitis B after primary dosing with 4 doses.   Pneumococcal disease in Singapore Pneumococcal disease is caused by the bacteria Streptococcus Pneumoniae and is a common cause of sepsis (blood infection), pneumonia (lung infection) and meningitis (infection of lining of the brain) in children. About 15 per 100,000 children less than 5 years old are infected with pneumococcal disease each year in Singapore.   Pneumococcal vaccination Though, it is not a compulsory vaccination under the National Children Immunization Schedule, it is recommended for infants from 6 weeks to children at 5 years of age. There are currently two pneumococcal vaccines available in Singapore - Prevenar and Synflorix. 1 dose of Prevenar costs $160 - $180. Medisave can be used to pay for pneumococcal vaccination for children under the age of 5.   Rotavirus vaccination The Rotarix vaccine is recommended for the active immunization of infants from the age of 6 weeks for prevention of diarrhoeal disease caused by rotavirus infection. The vaccination consists of two doses, at least 4 weeks apart and should be completed by the age of 24 weeks. Each dose of Rotarix costs between $95 - $110.     DISCLAIMER: The above information on this website is  strictly  meant to be used as an educational guide ONLY.  Parents are advised to consult their family doctor or paediatrician for  specific medical advice.  Read More →