TR EMERITUS

Written by Our Correspondent It's good news all around in sunny Singapore, proclaimed the Straits Times today as it used an outdated survey done in 2008 to sell the PAP agenda subtlely to unsuspecting Singaporeans again. "About 94 per cent of the 8,000 respondents in the Sample Household Survey said they engage in casual conversations with their neighbours, compared with 82 per cent when the survey was conducted in 2003.The survey, conducted from April to October 2008, also showed that 98 per cent of respondents feel a sense of belonging to their estate, especially for residents of more than 10 years." [Source: Straits Times, 7 April 2010] As expected, the Straits Times wasted no time in interviewing an Indian PR to show how much the immigrants are "integrating" into Singapore. Ms Sheela Ganesh has stayed five years in Punggol North where she was able to "build" good relations with her neighbors. "It's a really nice feeling when you get stopped a few times along your way to the market by people you know," she was quoted as saying in the Straits Times. She now volunteers at the Punggol Coral Residents' Committee. The PAP has been trying desperately hard to recruit new citizens and PRs into its grassroots organizations which are effectively controlled by it via the People's Association whose chairman is none other than Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong himself. PAP strongman Lee Kuan Yew admitted to a visiting delegation of China officials last year that all "RCs, CCCs and CCMCs are part of the PAP." Besides the grassroots organizations, the PAP is also actively recruiting new citizens into its Youth Wing to anchor its propaganda machinery in cyberspace. One of them is the infamous Indian new citizen Sinha Shekhar who sparked a massive outcry in cyberspace lately by describing PAP critics as “dogs”: [Source: YPAP Facebook] To add insult to the injury, Mr Sinha was awarded given an “Outstanding Contributors’ award” by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at a REACH Forum recently for the regularity of his contributions. Mr Sinha is currently the Head of Rehabilitation of Thye Hua Kwan Hospital. With more new citizens like Mr Sinha and prospective ones like Ms Sheela Ganesh joining the electorate, the PAP will stand a good chance of retaining its power and perpetuating its political hegemony for many "good" years to come.   EDITORS’ NOTE: Please join our Facebook discussion on this article here and invite your friends to do so as well to raise awareness among fellow Singaporeans.    Read More →

Written by Our Correspondent With the prices of HDB flats at an all-time high, an increasing number of Singaporeans are selling their flats to make a quick buck. Some of them return to HDB to seek help with housing after selling their flats to pay off debts or buy luxury items. The PAP is now studying ways to discourage them from doing so, revealed National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan to the Straits Times. "There are many different options that we have to look at, one of which is to see how we can transfer some of the subsidy that is given when the flat is purchased, whether we transfer it into his CPF for retirement or medical expenses or to buy another flat...to make sure they don't take it out as cash and spend it away," he was quoted as saying in the Straits Times. Though no concrete ideas have been floated yet, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong suggested a few weeks ago to lock the profits from the sale of HDB flats into the CPF accounts of sellers. The plan, if introduced is likely to be unpopular among Singaporeans as they are unable to cash out on their HDB flats. The prices of HDB flats have sky-rocketed in recent years due to rising demand fueled by immigration in the face of limited supply of new flats. With the prices on an upward trend, it is not likely that flat sellers are able to make much profits from the sale of their flats unless they downgrade to a smaller flat or leave Singapore and live elsewhere altogether. Mr Mah, who admitted that he was "caught off-guard" by the astronomical prices of HDB flats has been put on the defensive lately by accusations from Singaporeans that he has not done enough to control the prices. The combative Mah retaliated by blaming Singaporeans for being "fussy" and showing obscure charts and figures to substantiate his claims that HDB flats remain "affordable" in Singapore. The increasingly unpopular Mah may prove to be a liability to the PAP in the next general election due by 2011. PAP strongman Lee Kuan Yew dismissed the threat to Mr Mah's position by calling Singaporeans "daft" if they dare to vote Mr Mah out of office.   Debunking official myths of HDB flats series: 1 Part 1: Singaporeans are "owners" of their HDB flats 2. Part 2: HDB flats are affordable to most Singaporeans 3. Part 3: Rising prices of HDB flats generate wealth for Singaporeans  Read More →

Written by Our Correspondent The pro-foreigner PAP is fast making Singapore a laughing stock in the world with its perennial obsession with "immigration" and "integration". After opening the floodgates to allow too many foreigners to enter Singapore within too short a period of time, the PAP is now desperately fire-fighting to "integrate" all of them much to the chagrin of native Singaporeans. Due to the PAP's liberal immigration and pro-foreigner policies, foreigners now make up 36 percent of Singapore's population, an astonishingly high percentage among developed countries. Of the remaining 64 percent who are citizens, an increasing number are born overseas. A mega $10 million dollar Community Integration Fund courtesy of Singapore taxpayers was unveiled last year by the PAP to make foreigners feel welcomed and accepted in Singapore. It was used to fund a new programme called the Singapore Citizenship Journey comprising "tours to historical sites, community sessions with grassroots leaders and an online quiz on Singapore history before would-be citizens get their identity cards." Now, even migrant workers will be offered a similar "workshop" to "help them integrate better into daily life here by giving them a deeper understanding of Singapore," the Straits Times reported today, which is almost unheard of anywhere else in the world. Called the "Social Integration Programme", it will run for a day and include visits to key places of interest, such as temples in Chinatown and Little India and the mosque in the Kampong Glam area, as well as mini-lectures and discussions, according to the Straits Times. It will be run by the NTUC LearningHub (LHub), the training arm of the National Trades Union Congress, and the Migrant Workers Centre (MWC). How a one-day excursion will help migrant workers "integrate" into Singapore is anybody's guess. Furthermore, these migrant workers are not prospective citizens, or is the PAP considering "converting" them to citizens as well to boost its flagging support base? In other countries, foreigners are expected to integrate into the local societies on their own, it is the other way round in Singapore. Not only are Singaporeans exhorted repeatedly by PAP leaders to welcome the foreigners, they even have to fork out money to help "integrate" them including migrant workers! Though it is supposedly a first world country, Singapore has one of the most liberal immigration policies in the world. Two out of three PR applicants are successful and there is no minimal period of residency required. The state media reported last year on one China National Zhang Yuanyuan who obtained her Singapore PR within two months of application. Unless Singaporeans reclaim the ownership of their nation in the next general election, they will surely become second-class minorities in their own country of birth being swarmed and squeezed out by the foreigners (migrant workers included) which the PAP is mass importing to perpetuating its political hegemony forever.   EDITORS’ NOTE: Please join our Facebook page here and invite your friends to do so to create awareness of the current affairs affecting Singaporeans.   The UBS Series: >> Part 1: Singapore has lowest wages and domestic purchasing power among Asian Tigers >> Part 2: Moving towards a Russian standard of living >> Part 3: Why Singaporeans are paupers in a first world economy   Related articles: >> How PAP allows foreigners into Singapore to compete with locals for jobs >> Why Singaporeans ‘fear’ of new immigrants is absolutely rational >> SM Goh reassures immigrants that they are still welcomed in Singapore >> Singaporean working in China lashed out at grouses of Singapore PRs >> Eight reasons why foreign workers will be preferred over local ones >> Declining wages of Singaporeans and the continued denial by PAP leaders >> Halimah Yacob refutes UBS study findings >> Halimah Yacob: Productivity drive will be derailed if foreign worker challenge not addressed  >> Exposing the six major flaws in the PAP’s immigration policies >> Wong Kan Seng promises to tighten immigration policies >> SM Goh: Foreign workers numbers may still rise >> Malaysian car mechanic applying for Singapore citizenship >> PAP launches Singapore Citizenship Journey to help new citizens integrate >> Compulsory for new citizens to attend “sharing sessions” with grassroots leaders >> Wong Kan Seng urged Singaporeans to be more tolerant of foreign workers >> Tharman: Foreign workers increase income of low-income families >> Sylvia Lim: Pace and influx of foreigners over last few years is wrong >> Amy Khor urges Singaporeans to welcome foreigners >> PAP MP wants more money to be spent to make new citizens feel welcomed in Singapore >> Shanmugam: Foreigners generate jobs for Singaporeans >> Vivian happy there are 4,500 new citizens serving as grassroots leaders >> Cosmetic changes made to immigration policy >> SM Goh: New immigrants needed to make up population shortfall >> PAP ministers hailed contributions of foreigners >> SM Goh expressed support for Zhang Yuanyuan >> State media: citizens have more rights over PRs >> Zhang Yuanyuan got her Singapore PR in only 2 months >> Official reply from government on the Zhang Yuanyuan fiasco >> Singapore PRC PR proclaimed loyalty to China publicly >> PRC resident hung China flag to celebrate its National Day >> PRC student in Singapore wants more scholarships for foreigners >> PRC prostitutes solicit for customers on Singapore’s cyberspace >> ERA: 40 per cent of resale flats buyers are PRs  Read More →