TR EMERITUS

Written by Our Correspondent Singapore Democratic Party's Secretary-General Dr Chee Soon Juan has replied to a posting by Lianhe Zaobao journalist Ms Yew Lun Tian on her Facebook who clarified that she did not misrepresent Dr Chee in an interview she conducted with him three weeks ago. Dr Chee alleged that Ms Yew had portrayed him as being "evasive" about his source of income during the interview with the intention of implying that he was funded by foreign agents to work against the interest of Singapore, prompting him to write a letter to the Straits Times Forum which was published last week. His reply prompted Ms Yew to post a partial transcript of her interview with Dr Chee on her Facebook to clarify herself. In his latest posting on the SDP website, Dr Chee repeated his assertion that he had been "sabotaged" by SPH again. He explained that he sounded evasive as he was hesitant to reveal details of his personal life to Ms Yew: "I had fielded several questions in the hour-long interview with her during which I was asked about the SDP's development, the schism with Mr Chiam See Tong, and the upcoming elections. While I readily answered these questions, I was less willing to talk about my personal affairs such as the kind of flat that I lived in as well as my personal income. I hesitated when Ms Yew asked me those questions not because I had something to hide but because they were intrusive (in her own words "rude"). But she chose to put the worst possible spin on my response, that is, that I was evasive." He stated clearly again that he was never funded by any foreign agent and that his main source of income is derived from his writing: "I work hard - very hard - for the little money that I earn through my writing. I chose, a long time ago, to marry my writing with my political work......To be certain, it has been a struggle financially. We live in a three-room flat. We don't go overseas for costly holidays, and we don't buy each other expensive gifts. We eat simple meals and don't dine in fine restaurants. I don't play golf or indulge in expensive hobbies, my only recreation is my morning jogs." Netizens remain divided about who to believe. While some questioned Ms Yew's intentions, others defended her. Andre laid the blame solely on Ms Yew: "I think the reporter/interviewer was at fault here. She should not jump to conclusions — she should be reporting things objectively. To say that the answers were vague and to imply that the interviewee was not answering her questions satisfactorily after many promptings — she is judging her interviewee." SDP Out felt that the problem lies with Dr Chee instead: "CSJ sense of guilt and his self-consciousness of being a traitor was the issue. There was no issue with the original article written by Ms. Yew, which to me, was in fact trying to influence readers to get out from their stereotyping of CSJ. Unfortunately, CSJ reinforced the perception and impression of him through his rebuttal!"   Related articles: >> Zaobao journalist posts clarification on her Facebook  Read More →

I am writing in on concern about the fate of our elderly workers. My mum is 57 this year. She had stated that she planned to retire when she reached 60.  However, this is by no way her choice, as she feel healthy, and is totally willing to work pass the age of 60. She was indirectly forced toward retirement   My mum works for National Health Group, and NHG have answer the government call to hire elder workers, with a twist. At the age of 60, workers are given a letter requesting them to choose between retirement or continuous employment. Here come the twist... to remain in employment... a worker will be converted to be a contract worker, with lower pay, CPF, annual leave, and lower bonus (if even entitled). My mum may not be in a management role, she may not have contribute significantly toward the growth of this company, but she did dedicated her entire working career for NHG.   The reasonings behind the deduction in pay and benefits are that the efficiency of the elder workers are lower then those in their prime. Thus they should be paid less. However, from what i know, their workload is not reduced at all. Our Government have consistantly propose company to hire older workers. they have even indicate that if they increase the retirement age to 65, we can decrease our dependency on FW. However, if older workers are being discriminated and treatted unfairly, how can we expect more older workers to stay in the workforce and contribute to the society?   As MP Ong Ah Heng of Yishun Central GRC had said "they dun want older worker because they are old and lazy". If our government discriminate older workers.... so will the rest of the chain.   Regards, Soh Jun Hong  Read More →

Reuters, 24 March 2010 The New York Times Co apologized to Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew on Wednesday and paid S$160,000 ($114,000) in damages for an article about Asian political dynasties. An apology in the opinion section of the New York Times' website said that any inference that Lee Hsien Loong "did not achieve his position through merit," was unintended. The article, entitled "All in the Family," was published on February 15 in the International Herald Tribune (IHT), the global edition of The New York Times. Lee Hsien Loong is the son of independent Singapore's first leader, Lee Kuan Yew. The New York Times also apologized to Goh Chok Tong, who succeeded the older Lee as prime minister. Davinder Singh, the lawyer acting for the leaders, told Reuters that the IHT's publisher, editor of global editions, and the article's author, Philip Bowring, also agreed to pay damages of S$60,000 to Lee Hsien Loong, and S$50,000 each to Goh Chok Tong and Lee Kuan Yew, as well as pay their legal costs. Singh said the article was "libellous" and the Singapore leaders had demanded an apology, damages and costs. He said it was in breach of an undertaking made by both the publisher of the IHT and Bowring in 1994 that they would not make further similar defamatory allegations to those made in an article by Bowring in the IHT in that year called "The Claims about Asian Values Don't Usually Bear Scrutiny," for which the IHT and Bowring also paid damages and costs to the three leaders. A spokesman for The New York Times Co declined to comment beyond the apology, while Bowring did not respond to a Reuters query for comment. Singapore's leaders have in the past sued and won damages, or out-of-court settlements, from opposition politicians and foreign media including the International Herald Tribune, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg and The Economist. Singapore, considered to have the lowest political risk among Asian nations by many risk consultancies, is a hub for manufacturers, banks and expatriates, who value its stability. The ruling People's Action Party (PAP) has governed for 50 years. Singapore was ranked 133rd among 175 countries in the World Press Freedom Index 2009 by Reporters Without Borders. - Reuters  Read More →