TR EMERITUS

Photos by Eugene Yeo Singaporeans braved the rain to listen to Mr Tan's speech     Do the Ah Peks and Ah Sohs present know what is "human rights" ?   Investors taking a copy of the UN Declaration of Human Rights   Mr Tan being mobbed by his fans before his speech   Last week, it was Steve Chia. Today it is Siew Kum Hong. When will we see Eunice Olsen ?     Never mind about Eunice, we got a Ayumi look-alike here. Where is she from ?   View the complete gallery as a slideshow of more than 60 photos at The Enquirer Gallery    Read More →

Produced by The Enquirer TV, The Singapore Enquirer PART 1 [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qe7IaHPlf9I&hl=en&fs=1]   PART 2 [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5ehRnbWiVo&hl=en&fs=1]    PART 3 [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dptN_1HtvfA&hl=en&fs=1]    Excerpts of Mr Tan Kin Lian's speech: "In those days when I was in Marine Parade, my MP was Mr Goh Chok Tong. At that time, the MPs and the people can talk to each other, quite close. Of course, it is a different environment today." "The theme of today's gathering is called 'Social justice and fairness'. When I was involved in the minibonds, highnotes, why was I involved ? First one year ago, I already find the product quite suspicious. Why were these being sold ? So I tried my best to tell people in my blog - don't buy this kind of product because what was explained to you is not very clear and the return is not very good." "Of course when we know how risky these notes are, I organize a petition to the government to ask them to check if the banks who sold these products have broken any laws. Later on, I organize a second and a third petition. All this is to be fair, how can ordinary folks be misled and lost their life-savings ? Is this fair." "I was quite surprised, quite shocked at the attitude of the government, the senior ministers, the ministers who said ' you should take your responsibility, you never open your eyes', that made me even more angry, so I say 'no we must continue to fight until there is justice' - this is called justice." "Now actually, I don't want to stand for any elections, either as President or as MP. I am 60 years old, my wife says 'what for I go and get into trouble'. Many people say, 'Mr Tan be careful, see what happened to Jeyaretnam, it will happen to you.' So why should I want to have this kind of trouble, I am quite off. But I say 'do we want Singapore to continue like this ?'" "How many people have to work 2 jobs, have to work 16 hours a day just to survive - Is this the kind of social justice. So I ask you, please read and understand, why I am willing to come out, it is not for me, I am 60 years old, but I want to encourage other people to come out." "And other people, they are not so ready to come out. I can risk because financially I am quite well off, for other people not so well off, they cannot take that kind of risk, but if I have got 100,000 signatures, other people will be willing to come out, because they know there is enough support to make some change. So I ask you to sign, not for me, but for other people to come forward." "I say it is important to have social justice. The second thing that is very important is to have MPs that represent you. When you have problems, you must see the MP and you must feel that your MP understand your problem, help as best as they can. Some people see their MP and they come back and tell me 'Mr Tan, my MP is not interested to help', then what's the point of letting this person be your MP. Take your MP as someone who is willing to act for you." "First we want to have a society that is more socially fair and we must help people who lose their jobs." "I know many people working full-time earning S$600 a month and for them to earn enough, they must hold 2 jobs. Is that the kind of society we want ? Because HDB flat is not like 30 years ago quite affordable, HDB flat is very expensive, cost of living is very expensive. We must have what other countries called a minimal wage. We must fight for that. We must also have MPs who understand the people - the hardship of the people." "I myself spoke to 2 senior lawyers, ask them to look at the prospectus, whether they can find any fault and if they find any, can we get a Queens Counsel's opinion. Why UK ? Because in Singapore, all our top lawyers already connected with the banks, so we have to get opinion from outside." "A few people told me the security film offer 30% compensation, will you take 30% ?.......I suggest like this: If they offer you 50%, you take it, if 30%, wait and listen to the legal advice first." "If the legal class action win in court, the lawyer advise me, you can get back 100%......I believe best to have negotiated settlement. I believe if you have 50%, it is okay, accept it."  Read More →

By Eugene Yeo, Senior writer, reporting on site from Hong Lim Park, 6.40pm It is a bright sunny afternoon in downtown Singapore now at GMT 1645 hours. There was a drizzle just now as evident by the wet surfaces of the benches at Hong Lim Park. Will this affect the turnout later ? Mr Tan Kin Lian will be addressing the nation later with a speech titled "Social justice and fairness: A first world country in the 21st century." Though this rally was a special occasion called in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the UN Declaration of Human Rights, Mr Tan had said last week he will update the investors on the progress of the class action suit if there were any. There were four speakers in today's rally: law undergraduate Mr Choo Zheng Xi, financial consultant Mr Leong Sze Hian, social worker Mr Ravi Philemon and Mr Tan Kin Lian. Zheng Xi used the example of the Town Councils' loss of sinking funds to illustrate the importance of having transparency and accountability in the government. Mr Leong spoke on the rising cost of HDB flats which is pricing ordinary Singaporeans out of the mass market. For those who are already servicing their HDB loans, they have to take on two or more jobs sometimes just to earn a living as a huge chunk of their take home pay goes to the loan. Mr Ravi criticized the government for not doing enough to help the poor and needy and calls for the introduction of a living wage to ensure those who are retrenched or unemployed have sufficient means for shelter and food. The last speaker of the day is Mr Tan Kin Lian. In spite of a slight drizzle, the crowd of over 200 stayed back to listen to his speech. Mr Tan spoke on the need to have social justice and fairness in Singapore so that every Singaporean can enjoy the fruits of the nation's prosperity. He reiterated that he has no plans to run for political office initially and the petition was an attempt to encourage other credible Singaporeans to step forward to join him to run for the next elections. As Mr Tan was giving the speech, his volunteers were fanning out amongst the crowd asking them to pen their particulars down to support Mr Tan's bid for public office. Mr Tan also updated the investors present on the progress in the class action suit. There were three separate separate developments: 1. A young lawyer has collected 260 signatures from the investors to press for a class action suit and he will be setting up a panel of Senior Counsels to deliberate on the next course of action. 2. The DBS highnote group has set up a committee to source for lawyers to fight their case for them. 3. Mr Tan himself has got a kind friend to sponsor the initial S$20,000 needed to seek a Queens Counsel's opinion from the United Kingdom. Mr Tan ended his speech by urging the investors present to continue the fight. However, if the banks or securities firm offer them at least a 50% compensation, he advised them to accept the offer. Also present at today's event were NMP Mr Siew Kum Hong and Singapore People Party's Chairman Mr Sin Kek Tong. EDITORS' NOTE: More photos of the events will be uploaded in a short while. The video of Mr Tan Kin Lian's speech will be uploaded by 9pm tonight. Stay tuned to the Wayangparty Club - the FASTEST news blog in Singapore.  Read More →