TR EMERITUS

Written by Our Correspondent Stung by fast rising public unhappiness and discontent against its pro-foreigner policies, the PAP has made some cosmetic changes to its policies of late to placate angry voters, but one thing remain cast on stone: new citizens will still be exempted from National Service which is compulsory for all males born in Singapore. During a "parliamentary debate" yesterday, PAP MP Michael Pamler asked if "new citizens should shoulder responsibilities that able-bodied male Singaporeans undertake." For some strange reason, it was the Second Defence Minister Dr Ng Eng Hen who answered his question and not the Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean who was caught sleeping on camera earlier. Dr Ng said that "it is not a sufficiently strong reason for the requirement to be imposed on them": "'We have specifically narrowed the scope because we know that it imposes considerable costs both to the individual and to the nation......From time to time, there have been calls to extend NS beyond this remit, to fulfil laudable social objectives. I am not in any doubt that these are laudable social goals but it is an inadequate reason for us to impose NS to go beyond the remit of a critical national security and survival need," he claimed without substantiating his statements. An increasing number of Singaporeans are getting fed up with the discriminatory policies the PAP has practised against them in favor of the immigrants. For example, the PAP gives out generous scholarships to PRC students who are given Singapore citizenships upon graduation without ever serving National Service. In contrast, Singapore males have to serve two years of National Service before entering universities at their own expenses if they did not manage to secure a scholarship. Furthermore, they are disadvantaged by their reservist obligations upon entering the labor market. Dr Ng pointed out that there are many programmes to "integrate new citizens and help them better understand the importance of national defence." For example, the People's Association organized visits for new citizens to the Army Museum while the Defence Ministry organises visits to the Pulau Tekong Basic Military Training Centre, but these one-day visits can hardly substitute for the unique 2-year NS experience which all Singapore males have gone through. The new citizens should go through at least the 3-month basic military training to prevent them from taking a "free ride" on the contributions of native Singaporeans. Otherwise, it will appear that native Singaporeans are serving NS to protect the lives and properties of these new citizens. Right now, there is a pervasive public impression that Singaporeans are being relegated to second class citizens within their own countries. The new citizens should be made to pay an additional social security tax to make up for not doing NS. With Singapore being swarmed by foreigners thanks to the PAP's liberal immigration policies, it is little wonder that there exists a common saying in the populace: "NS for Singaporeans, Jobs for foreigners"  Read More →

By Ray Ang [email protected] What a busy few weeks it has been for English paparazzi! Firsly, news of John Terry “doing a number on” lingerie model Vanessa Perroncel (ex-girlfriend of Wayne Bridge) splashed all over major the newspapers. Days later, Ashley Cole’s infidelity resulting in his split from pop singer Cheryl Cole from Girls Aloud swiftly followed. The former led to Wayne Bridge’s decision to withdraw from the England squad selection and also brought much more hype to Manchester City’s visit to Stamford Bridge over the weekend. The match, which saw Man City thrashed Chelsea 4-2, also witnessed the much talked-about handshake snub by Bridge. Subsequently, all eyes fell on England’s midweek friendly against Egypt and whether the absence of Bridge will be missed.  England won that game 3-1 and Bridge’s replacement Leighton Baines put in a commendable performance in his place and quelled pleas from fans to get Bridge to return to the England line up. However, the big question remains on everyone’s mind. Should Bridge have behaved the way he did? Should he have "built the bridge"? Fans Reaction The response from the public to Bridge’s decision to pull out of the England squad has been mixed at best. There were many who were generally sympathetic of Bridge and argued that people should respect his decision and be supportive of him through such tough times. Bridge’s teammate Carlos Tevez was more vocal with his support of Bridge and said that such behaviour from John Terry would not have been accepted in Argentina and he could have even been killed for his actions. Others critical of Bridge however pointed to the fact that Bridge was letting his emotions get the better of him. Being a professional footballer, he should behave professionally about the whole matter and be able to separate football (which is his career) and his personal life. Some even commented that he overreacted since Terry was only sleeping with his EX-girlfriend. Professionalism Bridge - Preplexed So how exactly should a professional footballer behave then? One can argue that Bridge is an employee of Man City and gets his wages paid by the club. Hence, to be professional, Bridge will just have to give his all every time he dons the club jersey. In that aspect, his decision to pull out of the national team has no relation to his professionalism for the club. However, one can also argue that if Mancini decides to purchase Terry to shore up his backline, will Bridge have behaved in the same manner? In that instance, will he be acting as a professional then? Bridge’s decision has effectively pulled the plug on any potential moves that Mancini can make for Terry (remember that Terry was top of Man City’s shopping list last summer) without him letting Bridge go. Country over Club Even though one can argue that Bridge might not have acted unprofessionally, the bigger question might have been whether he could have put his personal differences aside and answer the call to play for his country. To be called up to play for one’s country is a matter of immense pride and this is especially so in football-mad England. Bridge might feel let down by Terry but he is letting the whole nation down by not playing and giving England a better chance of winning the much coveted World Cup trophy. It’s akin to turning down the call for national service because he couldn’t stand being with one of his section mate? This is likely to be Bridge’s last World Cup and the Three Lions’ best shot at winning the World Cup in decades, yet he is not committed to help the highly talented but grossly underachieving squad consisting of Rooney, Gerrard, Lampard and Ferdinand achieve their first win in a major competition. Acting in Self Interest Others looking  at the matter in a totally different angle say that Bridge made a shrewd move by putting himself out of the running for the squad and sparing himself the embarrassment of being dropped subsequently from the final squad by Fabio Capello. Capello, being the strict disciplinarian that he is, will not tolerate any dressing room unrest and will likely drop Bridge over Terry to achieve this. Hence, Bridge is essentially acting in his self interest and not really thinking of the bigger picture for his other national team mates or the country for that matter. Given that the World Cup is still over two months away, there is still every chance that Bridge might overturn his decision and return to the England fold. However, one might say that if Ashley Cole returns fit from his injury, then Bridge’s eventual decision will only create a ripple and not a wave since he will probably end up playing second fiddle again. In all, it is hard not to give some sympathy to poor Wayne since he is also not even first choice with his wife! As for John Terry, we all know that he likes scoring at the Bridge but he has clearly taken the matter out of hands with his travesty! ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Ray is a proud product of a local university (the one furthest westwards) and is based in London after having completed his Masters there. He currently plies his trade in a research based function for a financial institution and lists sports and current affairs amongst his many interests.  Read More →

Written by Our Correspondent A photo of Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean sleeping in Parliament during the speech made by another DPM Wong Kan Seng has been circulating around in cyberspace with many netizens questioning DPM Teo's "productivity": [Source: Hardwarezone] Hardwarezone forumers took turns to poke fun at DPM Teo with some coming up with "excuses" in defence of him. 168168 wrote cheekily: "He is only trying to be as productive as possible. attending parliament and sleeping at the same time. " abcgoodyabc added: "He is in deep thought. must close eyes to avoid distractions. millions of thoughts are running thru his brain. thoughts like how to get in more FTs." Lao_Funker implored netizens to be more "understanding": "Wah rao, u all be more understanding can, lissening to Wong Kan Seng talk can make anyone fall asleep." DPM Teo Chee Hean has just been appointed to chair the newly-formed National Productivity and Continuing Education Council and one of the first things he did was to praise his own party for the "good progress" made previously: “We have made good progress in the past in our productivity drive and that is why we have been able to move our economy forward and have good jobs for many Singaporeans. But this is a constant effort and we have to renew and re-double our efforts,” he was quoted as saying in Channel News Asia. His subordinate Minister of State for Defence Koo Tsai Kee was quick to proclaim him as the "best person" to lead the productivity drive as the SAF has been “practising productivity all this while” under DPM Teo's leadership: “The SAF, despite its manpower constraints, has been able to face up to a widening range of security threats in recent years under Defence Minister Teo….And I am not saying this because he’s my boss,” he said in Parliament lately. DPM Teo shouldn't be blamed for sleeping in Parliament. After all, it's the same old "wayang" again and again. He can well afford to have a good sleep so that he can muster enough energy to think of how to boost Singapore's "productivity" later on.  Read More →