TR EMERITUS

Written by Our Correspondent A visibly upset Foyce Le Xuan had hit out at Jack Neo for denying that he had ever made sexual advances towards her during her stint with his entertainment company. Foyce was the first woman to step forward in support of Wendy Chong after the latter leaked her affair with Jack Neo to the press. She said she decided to come forth with her story to show the public what kind of person Jack really is. According to Foyce, Jack had made numerous sexual advances towards her including inviting her to a hotel room to share "personal" and "quiet" moments with him. She also claimed that she was gradually dropped from acting assignments and projects because she had rejected all sexual overtures from Jack. Jack Neo has since denied the allegations. In an interview with The New Paper yesterday, Jack said that he had only one affair with Wendy Chong and questioned the motives of other women who had told the press of their involvement with him including a 16 year girl and a transsexual masseur, Lai Meiqi. “As for the others who have surfaced to make all kinds of claims, I wonder what their motives are. Is it because they think I am down-and-out now that they can join in to cast stones at me?” he told TNP in an agitated tone. Speaking to Lianhe Wanbao, Foyce said she had kept the SMSes Jack had sent her as evidence. "It makes no sense that so many women besides me have accused him of sexual harrassment too. Jack's denial shows that he still has not realized his mistake and remain unrepentant," she added. She insisted that she was quite traumatized by the recent turn of events and almost had a "mental breakdown" when she received phone calls from strangers warning her to "keep off" Jack Neo. When told about Jack's denial, Ms Lai who had earlier claimed that Jack got "special service" from her during a massage session in 1988 said: "I know what I am saying. Only he and I know the truth." After keeping away from the limelight for a week since the scandal erupted, Jack finally broke his silence and spoke to the media, but it appeared no more than a publicity stunt win sympathy and to limit the damage done.  Read More →

OPINION Speaking in Parliament two days ago, Minister of Communication, Information and Arts Rear-Admiral Lui Tuck Yew praised the online community for "self-regulating" itself and being skeptical about a blog post by dissident blogger and lawyer Gopalan Nair on Lee Kuan Yew suffering a heart attack. With due respect to Mr Lui, his use of the term "self-regulate" is highly inappropriate and misleading. "Regulate", be it self or otherwise implies there is a body, group or authority which is in charge of monitoring, scrutinizing and giving its mark of approval to the content produced, found or shared in cyberspace. There is nothing special or commendable about netizens expressing their skepticism against Gopalan Nair's audacious claims which is simply part of a human natural reaction to unverified rumors and hearsays. The key reason in netizens being skeptical about Gopalan's claims lied not in the identity of the writer nor the type of medium which carried the news, but in the fact that he was unable to quote a source or substantiate his claims with irrefutable proof, e.g. medical records of Lee in SGH. Had the mainstream media published the same story without quoting any sources as well, not many readers will be convinced too. It is disingenuous of Mr Lui to link two entirely different matters - Gopalan's post and the ability of the new media to "regulate" itself together. The new media is not owned by any individual or organization. It is a free marketplace of ideas where everybody is able to participate and contribute on an equal footing. Nobody has the monopoly on wisdom and none is wiser than the other. While blatant lies, hoaxes and myths may stir a storm temporarily, they will eventually be demolished completely when the truth comes to light. That is exactly how the New Media works - there is absolutely no need for it to "self-regulate" itself or for bloggers to take the moral high ground and condemn others for failing to obey the rules set by the PAP. Mr Lui added that while he reaffirmed the Government's position on approaching new media with a light touch, it was not a sign of weakness: "It's worthwhile to remember that a relaxed grip is a sign of a strong hand," he was quoted as saying in the Straits Times. He also sent a stark warning to netizens to the repressive laws of the PAP extend to cyberspace too: "They take courage from the cloak of anonymity in cyberspace and sometimes that can have repercussions beyond what they imagine it to be." It is unsure if Mr Lui is making use of the Gopalan Nair saga to illustrate its "light touch" approach to the new media. In any case, there is no action the PAP or Lee himself can take against him. There are no laws anywhere in the world which criminalize cursing somebody to suffer from a heart attack on the internet unless they want to make a fool out of themselves again. As the arrest of the three Chinese youths by the police for posting racist remarks on Facebook has demonstrated, Singaporeans are irked by the heavy use of the law to regulate and control online speech and behavior. Unless one sprouts nonsense which may threaten national or social security, there is no reason for the authorities to be involved in every single "transgression" offending their sensitivities. While the PAP can always arrest a few netizens who cross the OB markers to teach the rest a lesson, such unpopular, irrational and harsh reactions are likely to cost it politically and further alienate it from the younger IT-savvy generation whose votes are crucial in future elections. For an obsessive, insecure and paranoid Stalinist regime bent on all forms of control, its "light touch" approach to the new media stems more from the inability to regulate the New Media rather than out of natural goodwill as Mr Lui would like us to believe. Still, it doesn't stop Mr Lui from promoting the state media now and then as a "trusted" source of news and junior leaders like Zaqy Mohamad for casting doubts on the credibility of the New Media. Frustrated and worried at the increasing readership of some alternative news sites which are beginning to threaten the monopoly of information enjoyed by the state  media for decades, the PAP is resorting to a "divide and conquer" strategy by endorsing some blogs and promoting them as "credible" sites for others to follow. Bloggers should not fall into the trap set by the PAP or the Singapore media and end up being made use of by them eventually to serve their own agenda. There is no free lunch in this world. The state media will not give bloggers free publicity for nothing. We should only engage them on our own turfs and not play according to the rules set by them.  Read More →

Written by Our Correspondent The PAP has launched the Singapore Citizenship Journey portal using taxpayers' monies this month as a pilot project in three GRCs - Tanjong Pagar, West Coast and Sembawang. Prospective new citizens will now have to register on the Singapore Citizenship Journey before they can become Singapore citizens as well as to attend compulsory "sharing sessions" with PAP-affiliated grassroots leaders. The portal will also have an e-learning module to help new citizens learn more about Singapore and an online module in English for them to complete. Minister of Community Development, Youth and Sports Dr Vivian Balakrishnan said in Parliament on Wednesday that "having a more structured naturalisation process will ensure that they understand and appreciate the pillars of national identity and values." It is unsure how prospective new citizens who cannot even speak a single word of English will be able to complete the online module. In a desperate attempt to reversing the damaging effect of the "Stop at Two" policy in the 1970s and to boost Singapore's declining birth rates, the PAP has opened the floodgates to foreigners in the last few years. Due to the PAP's liberal immigration and pro-foreigner policies, foreigners now make up 36 percent of Singapore's population, up from 14 percent in 1990. Of the remaining 64 percent, an increasing number are born overseas. A significant proportion of the newcomers hail from the inland provinces of mainland China, many of whom are unable to speak or comprehend English. The mainstream media carried reports of Chinese construction workers, cleaners, masseurs and even prostitutes being granted Singapore PRs and citizenships. PAP's octogenarian leader Lee Kuan Yew said in a recent interview with the National Geographic magazine that it is a "good idea" that Singapore welcomes so many Chinese immigrants as they are more "hard-driving" and "hard-striving" than locals. Though the fundamental reason behind Singapore's immigration policy is sound, it is implemented too hastily with little prior planning or foresight to anticipate problems arising in the future. Too many foreigners were allowed into Singapore within too short a period of time such that it is near impossible to integrate all of them and the fault lies solely with the PAP. For example, plans to integrate them should have been drawn up as early as 2003 and not only now when Dr Vivian unveiled a megal $10 million dollar Community Integration Fund to serve the purpose which is too little, too late. With ethnic enclaves already emerging in the HDB heartlands, it is very unlikely that the new immigrants, consisting of a motley crowd of mainland Chinese, Indians, Filipinos, Malaysians etc. will be able to mix around with one another, let alone integrate into the larger Singapore society. At the end of the day, it is ordinary Singaporeans who are paying the price of the PAP's policy mistakes and not the millionaire PAP ministers whose positions remain as secure as ever. According to a recent Wall Street Journal editorial, the relentless influx of foreigners has depressed the wages of ordinary Singapore workers, increased the cost of living, especially that of public housing, decreased labor productivity and led to an overall decline in the standards of living. Unfortunately, the PAP continues to live high up in their own ivory towers and remain oblivious to the problems currently besieging the nation. Unless Singaporeans vote out the PAP in the next general election to reclaim the ownership of their nation, they will soon be relegated to second class minorities within their country of birth with the males having to serve two years of National Service to protect the foreigners, PRs and new citizens.  Read More →