TR EMERITUS

游润恬 　　由新加坡人民党主导的新加坡民主联盟有意在来临的大选中挑战位于本身堡垒波东巴西区隔邻的碧山—大巴窑集选区，同时也不排除由联盟主席及现任波东巴西区议员詹时中领军到那里角逐的可能性。 　　由已故反对党领袖惹耶勒南创立的革新党 (Reform Party)，也有意到这一集选区参战，并考虑加入新加坡民主联盟。党秘书长、惹耶勒南的长子肯尼思（51岁）有意与他们携手组成集选区竞选团队。 　　肯尼思昨天率领党员和詹时中所率领的新加坡民主联盟人马一起到碧山—大巴窑集选区范围内的碧山第11街商店、咖啡店和巴刹走动时，表明希望自己能跟詹时中（75岁）组成竞选团队，以并肩作战。 Read rest of article here.  Read More →

Written by Our Correspondent The Penang state government has given out RM100 to some 83,000 senior citizens living in the state under its appreciation programme. Long queues were seen outside selected banks in Penang as senior citizens came forward to collect money promised to them which will be given out on an annual basis, the Star reported yesterday. Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng was in Georgetown early in the morning fraternizing with the recipients who were obviously delighted by his presence: The richest state of Malaysia Penang was captured by the opposition coalition Pakatan Rakyat in the 2008 general election. Lim's party the Democratic Action Party won all of the seats it contested and formed the state governmen together with its allies PKR and PAS. The charismatic Lim was detained twice under Malaysia's draconian Internal Security Act and was jailed for almost two years under the Sedition Act in the 1990s for speaking up for a Malay girl who was allegedly molested by then Malacca Chief Minister Thamby Chik. Since becoming Penang's Chief Minister, Lim has won kudos for improving the administration of the state by introducing open tenures for government contracts and compelling his state executive councillors to make public their salaries and assets. While the Penang state government has no qualms spending on its senior citizens, PAP leaders from cash-flushed Singapore continue to exhort Singaporeans to postpone their retirement age and work till they drop dead and die. During a speech at NUS last week, Minister for Community, Youth and Sports Dr Vivian Balakrishnan expressed concerns that there may be increasing demands on the government to use more of its reserves to care for Singaporeans: “It always starts like this: the Government is rich; we can afford to carve out a small percentage of our gross domestic product or utilise a small percentage of our reserves. This is the beginning of a slippery slope. The moment you have a government that embarks on such a course, you better start worrying about the future. We are worried about an entitlement mentality. Today, people know that the primary responsibility to provide for their lives falls on themselves; and secondly, their families.” Though Singapore is the second richest nation in Asia after Japan in terms of GDP per capita income, Singaporeans enjoy few social welfare benefits from the PAP which has always eschewed “welfarism” in preference for “self-reliance”. While the cash-flushed state is able to lose billions of dollars of national reserves via its two sovereign wealth funds in failed overseas investments, it balks at providing more aid to needy and poor Singaporeans. When asked by MP Lily Neo in 2007 to increase the monthly Public Assistance allowance so that its recipients can have three basic meals a day, Minister for Community, Youth and Sports Dr Vivian Balakrishnan retorted: “How much do you want? Do you want three meals in a hawker centre, food court or restaurant?” He added that “one limiting factor must be the sum that we give through public assistance cannot be so generous as to erode the work ethic.” [Source: Channel News Asia, 9 March 2007] PAP leaders will surely condemn the Penang government's move as a wasteful form of "welfarism" for they are more keen to lose billions of dollars bailing out distress U.S. and European banks instead.   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 →

By Ann Tan from The Star Long queues formed outside selected banks here as senior citizens came to collect the RM100 promised to them under the state’s appreciation programme. Among them were Lim Tian Hong and his wife Ang Sek Choo who caught public attention when they arrived in a trishaw. Lim, 71, found it difficult to get down from the trishaw due to his weak legs, so two bank employees asked him to remain seated while they brought the money to him. “We have no children, so we hopped on a bus from my sister’s house in Paya Terubong and took a trishaw from Kampung Kolam,” Ang, 63, said when met at the Maybank branch in Union Street yesterday. About 83,000 senior citizens registered for the appreciation programme in which they would receive RM100 annually. Recipients are allowed to redeem their vouchers from yesterday till April 16. A few selected Maybank branches were opened from 9am to 4pm yesterday for the purpose. The banks will also be open today. At the Maybank branch in Jalan Air Itam, a 64-year-old woman fell into a drain as she tried to manoeuvre her way through the crowd. Rahimah Bee Shaik Ji, who came on a bicycle, was later helped out of the drain by Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng and a press photographer. Meanwhile, Lim challenged Barisan Nasional to give the senior citizens RM300 each. “We can even supply them the list of the 83,000 senior citizens who have registered with the state government,” he said. Lim said family members of senior citizens who were unable to collect the money within the period, could contact their assemblymen to ensure that it would be “reserved” for them. Source: The Star  Read More →