TR EMERITUS

Written by Our Correspondent Twenty disgruntled customers of a defunct nail spa Wax in the City (WITC) were reported to protest outside the new spa - Silky Temptation demanding compensation for the packages they bought, the Straits Times reported today. The customers claimed that Silky Temptation's owner Monica Lee was in cahoots with WITC owner Alexis Zhuo who was rumored to be in a romantic relationship with her. The photo on the Straits Times depicted clearly that at least a dozen customers were outside the spa with a few gesticulating wildly to two police officers who were there to "defuse" the situation. For some inexplicable reasons, no arrests were made despite the public unrest. Under a new Public Orders Act (POA) introduced last year, a solo protest is illegal in Singapore and police officers have the power to ask the protestors to "move on" and arrest them on the spot. For example,  the police was quick to arrest twenty or so Singapore activists participating in the "Tak Boleh Tahan" campaign two years ago and dragged them into waiting police vehicles in full view of the public though they were only marching peacefully and did not do anything to disrupt public traffic or order. Earlier this year, a PRC family of five "hijacked" a SBS bus for 5 hours and refused to leave it despite being told that they were not allowed to bring a wheelchair up. The Singapore police did not arrest them and instead even served as their "ushers" subsequently by escorting them down the bus after SBS agreed to pay for a cab to send them home. In this instance, the crowd was obviously causing a mayhem outside the spa at a public place, but the police allowed them to continue without taking any action against them. It appeared that there is a blatant double-standard in the application of law in Singapore. Why are some cases prosecuted and others allowed to get away scot-free? Shouldn't the law apply to all Singaporeans and foreigners equally?   EDITORS’ NOTE: Please join our Facebook page here and invite your friends to do so as well.  Read More →

By Chua Yuan Kai I refer to the article “20 year old Singapore Indian feels threatened and marginalized by the rising numbers of Indian PRs and new citizens” by Mr T Rajendran which was published by the Temasek Review on 26 March 2010. Based on my existing knowledge, I would like to explain the thinking behind the policy. British rule of the Indian subcontinent and the Malayan Peninsula (including Singapore) in the 19th and early 20th centuries had a created a link between these 2 regions. Due to colonial English education, the proportion of Indians holding middle and upper level positions in the bureaucracy and related groups was much higher than the general population. The People’s Action Party (PAP) took power in Singapore in 1959. It was an alliance of English-educated intellectuals and Chinese-educated trade unionists. These pro-communist trade unionists broke away from the PAP in 1961. The non-communist and English educated trade unionists who continued to support the PAP included local Indians such as Mr P Govindasamy and Mr CV Devan Nair. The colonial precedent and the subsequent political situation meant local Indians played an important role in the building of the Republic of Singapore. The PAP grew to become a larger group to include its allies. After Prime Minister (PM) Goh Chok Tong assumed office in 1990, the PAP Group which included both the PAP its allies decided to expand the Indian connection from the Malayan Peninsula to the Indian subcontinent. In 2006, a Straits Times columnist Mr Janadas Devan mentioned foreign policy was ignored during the General Election (GE) of 2006. We may need to understand the PAP Group’s foreign policy in order to understand how it has impacted our lives. As local Indians became effective in countering Chinese-educated communism, the Indian subcontinent became important in stopping the Asian communist tide after mainland China became communist in 1949. During the Cold war (1945-1989), the United States of America (USA) cultivated a close friendship with the Republic of India while it tried various ways to bring down the Chinese communist regime. At the same time, the Indian economy grew steadily over the years while China was a largely-closed centrally planned economy between 1949 and 1978. Due to the Anglo-American tradition, the PAP Group began to see subcontinental Indians as critical to bringing Singapore to a “higher level” and to run the “next lap”. It encouraged immigration of these Indians to take up middle and upper level jobs. It was easier for the PAP Group to deal with the Indian subcontinent rather than mainland China as this would not antagonize the USA. The PAP Group was not worried about social integration. The continued use of the English Language in the Indian subcontinent led the PAP Group to think integration would come quickly. Furthermore, its globalist mentality was that social stratification was natural. During the late 1990s, PM Goh began to describe Singaporeans as belonging to two groups. They were the upper class cosmopolitans and the lower class heartlanders. The apparent superior mindset of the certain subcontinental Indians was not surprising. The PAP Group claimed these Indians were integrating well but some locals disagreed. It was easy to explain the discrepancy. These Indians had a sense of belonging to the PAP Group but not necessarily to the locals. On 28 March 2010, the pro-PAP Group Straits Times featured a subcontinental Indian with the theme of integration. This 32 year old Mr Vishal Garg worked as an assistant vice president in financial services firm Barclays. It was almost certain his monthly salary would be at least SGD 10 000. He was a clear example that locals losing out to foreigners was not just because foreigners were said to be cheaper. Earlier in May 2009, a local Indian PAP Member of Parliament (MP) Mr Hri Kumar had suggested nominating Cabinet Ministers. He could be referring to subcontinental Indians. Mr Rajendran might want to persuade people around him to vote against the PAP in the upcoming GE. Otherwise, the scenario of him paying homage to Mr Garg as an overlord is possible.   Yours truly,   (Mr) Chua Yuankai   About the Author: The writer is a long-term underemployed and marginalized local-born Singapore citizen who once aimed to become successful in Singapore. Currently he is thinking how to survive.  Read More →

Written by Our Correspondent The new political party set up by a few SDP associates lately which has set cyberspace abuzz may turn out to be an "empty shell" party after all, according to political analyst Eugene Tan from Singapore Management University. In an interview with Lianhe Zaobao yesterday, Mr Tan said he could not understand why the founders of United Singapore Democrats (USD) have chosen to keep a low profile. "For a newly set up political party to exert influence and to be seen as a credible political party in an already crowded field, it must not remain secretive," he was quoted as saying in Lianhe Zaobao. Some of USD's key leaders have been known to be associated with the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) including its President Ms Narayanasamy Gogelavany who contested in Sembawang GRC under the SDP banner during the 2006 elections and its Secretary Ms Jaslyn Go who has been actively involved in SDP activities including being its emcee for some functions. From the cosy ties USD members share with SDP, Mr Tan thought that its political ideology should be similar to that of SDP and he predicts that USD is likely to collaborate with SDP or to represent SDP in the political realm. "From the composition of the party's members and their lack of passion and plans, one can't help suspecting if USD is only an 'empty shell' party. If SDP is declared bankrupt and wound up by the court, its members can join USD immediately," he added. SDP was sued for defamation by MM Lee Kuan Yew and his son Lee Hsien Loong during the 2006 elections over an allegedly defamatory article about the Singapore government in the SDP newsletter. USD members have refused to comment further when approached by Lianhe Zaobao.   Related articles: >> SDP associates set up new political party   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 →