TR EMERITUS

OPINION The Singapore media has gone on a "crusade" over the last few days against embattled movie director Jack Neo by digging out whatever "dirt" he had accumulated during his lifetime from as far back as 1988 about him being provided "special service" by a transsexual masseur. Jack was embroiled in a series of sex scandals lately which has captured the attention of the entire nation after his mistress alerted the media of their affair last Saturday. Even after calling a press conference to admit his fault, the media remained unsatisfied and continue to flame Jack mercilessly, lampooning him for lacking sincerity, wasting their time and staging the entire fracas to win public sympathy. Jack Neo must be cursing his luck that he is  only a PBM. If he were a PAP MP, his "dirty linen" will probably not be aired publicly and his "sins" will all but be forgiven and covered up nicely and neatly. It smacks of utter hypocrisy of the Singapore media to pursue Jack Neo with such vigor and persistence while not applying the same "standard" to the nation's political leaders. Chinese paper Shin Min Daily conducted surveys after surveys to solicit views from the public, the latest on whether they believe Jack deserves an apology. Why not conduct a poll among its readers about their thoughts on George Yeo's pledge of support to Jack Neo or Lim Biow Chuan's lame excuse that it is sometimes "unavoidable" for successful men to have extramarital affairs? In fact, Mr Lim had publicly cast doubts on the journalistic integrity, honesty and credibility of Shin Min Daily by claiming on his Facebook and STOMP that he was "misquoted" by it. Shin Min should have published a rebuttal immediately the next day to deny Mr Lim's accusations. Did it not do so out because it really did misquote Mr Lim or because it is afraid of stepping on the toes of the PAP? Too much attention was placed on the lurid details of Jack's sexual exploits while conveniently ignoring the fact that Jack is a PAP man. There were rumors circulating in some internet chatrooms that Jack Neo was involved in grassroots activities in Aljunied GRC and may be fielded as a PAP candidate in the next general election. How closely was Jack actually associated with the PAP? Why didn't the media investigated these rumors further and write an article on it? George Yeo's open call to Singaporeans to rally around Jack Neo and Lim Biow Chuan's indiscreet comments about successful men having extramarital affairs have sparked a massive outcry in cyberspace with many netizens flaming them for it. Yet the mainstream media chose only to report the reaction of netizens to Jack Neo's press conference and not their contempt for these two men. The PAP has always boasted that its ministers and MPs are "holier than thou" angels with flawless characters and so why didn't the media take Mr Yeo and Mr Lim to task for their highly inappropriate, insensitive and callous remarks? Did George Yeo mean to say that Jack still deserves the support of Singaporeans after what he has done all these years to hurt his wife behind her back? Is Mr Lim implying that it is acceptable for successful men to have other women outside other than their wives? As leaders of the nation, they should be put on a higher pedestal than Jack Neo. Why were they let off the hook so easily without having to explain themselves? The Singapore media should spend more time and energy scrutinizing the PAP ministers and MPs and holding them accountable to their words and actions instead of the hapless Jack Neo who had been punished enough already by having his moral deficiencies exposed publicly for all to see. For example, GIC suffered a disastrous "paper loss" of nearly $10 billion dollars when its stake in Swiss bank UBS was converted to shares last Friday. It was reported by Bloomberg that GIC took only 3 days to make the decision to invest in UBS way back in 2007. The Singapore media should have pursued the case relentlessly as it is a matter of public interest that the nation had lost so much of its reserves in such a cavalier manner. Shin Min Daily could have conducted a survey to ask readers if GIC's Chairman Lee Kuan Yew should step down to take responsibility for the loss or if they agree with PAP minister Lim Hwee Hua's assertion in Parliament that it is "not realistic" for GIC to avoid losses in its investments. Instead, the matter was papered over to downplay the loss incurred by GIC. One key reason why many Singaporeans still retain blind faith in the PAP is because the Singapore media is not exposing and highlighting its follies, incompetence and ineptitude such that even some PAP leaders themselves are taken in by the propaganda. Had the media dished out the same treatment to PAP leaders as they did to Jack Neo, the PAP would have been voted out of office a long time ago. The Jack Neo saga once again demonstrated the ability of the media to shape and influence public perception. If only Singapore journalists put their talents to better use by serving the interests of Singaporeans and not the PAP.  Read More →

Do support my petition to "Employ Singaporeans First" - http://www.PetitionOnline.com/Employed/petition.html Due to the recent high influx of foreigners, many of our own  people are been sidelined  by employers. Many new graduates are also  jobless now as they have to compete with  thousands of foreigners for jobs. Our people are also not protected by any minimum wage policy here and their salaries have being pressed down by cheaper foreigner imports. Employers are kings now as they have a host of choices now whenever they advertise for positions. Many who apply  for jobs are foreigners. This petition urges all employers in Singapore to consider employing Singaporeans FIRST despite the slightly higher cost and their older age. If not, we will see ourselves being over-run by foreigners in time to come. If you support this cause, do sign on the peition so that we can rally together and bring hope to those who are jobless and struggling. Do also spread this cause to your friends for active participation! We need to send the right message out to our government! Singapore for Singaporeans! Thank you! Sincerely, Gilbert Goh  Read More →

Written by Our Correspondent Seven Singaporeans who participated in a protest march 2 years ago aginast escalating food prices were found guilty of taking part in an assembly and procession without a permit. The seven are Mr Chong Kai Xiong, Ms Go Hui Leng, Mr Muhammad Shafi'ie Syahmi, Mr Carl Lang Chin Kah, Mr Mohamed Jufrie, Mr Seelan Palay, and Mr John Tan Liang Joo, some of whom are members of the Singapore Democratic Party. They were each fined a total of $1,800 for the two charges and 12 days' imprisonment in default convicted of two charges for assembly and procession. The defendants protested in Court about the discrimination of the to target them while allowing a much larger protest organized by consumer action group CASE to take place a few days earlier. The Judge refuse to admit the defence. When asked by the Judge if they had anything to say in mitigation, the defendants made use of the opportunity to speak out on the lack of freedom and democracy in Singapore. One of them, Dr Chee Soon Juan, who is also the Secretary-General of the Singapore Democratic Party said: "I was not being facetious when I said that I was proud of the previous convictions that the DPP read out against me. I am proud of standing up for what is right, what is rightfully ours. The criminal justice system is meant to deter criminals, not defenders of democracy. In this respect the law has failed because it has failed to deter us. Instead, it has steeled our resolve to continue our fight for democracy." While there is nothing fundamentally wrong in the defendants exercising their constitutional rights and in exposing the sheer hypocrisy and double-standards of the system in the selective persecution of opponents of the ruling party, their actions are unlikely to win any support from a cowed, apathetic and ignorant citizenry.  Read More →