TR EMERITUS

I am taking my second booster (fourth jab). In my chat group, there was active discussion about choose the type of vaccine for the second booster. I did not follow the discussion closely. One person who did, said that he found it befuddling and confusing. I said that I will take Pfizer as the second booster. I have taken Pfizer for the earlier 3 jabs. I am still alive. I will therefore stick to Pfizer. However, if Ong YK (health minister) said that I have to move to another vaccine, I will say OK. I believe that he, and his experts, know the subject. I am not smarter than them. I have to trust their judgment. Some of my friends in the chat group argue about the merits of one vaccine and the other. I am not that smart. So, I did not follow their discussion. Do you agree with my decision?   Tan Kin Lian      Read More →

Mr Zakir Hossain was abruptly sent home Bangladeshi migrant worker, Zakir Hossain has been in the news the past few days. Some facebook comments on my postings have not been kind to him. Some claimed that he was “made use of” by activists. This accusation is often the hallmark of any investigation carried out by the ISD. It is just so silly. Can any adult be made use of by any person? Zakir Hossain has worked in Singapore for 19 years. He is a very intelligent and vocal critic of injustice. Surely he knows what he is doing! And surely he knows that his work permit may not be renewed one day as MOM (this acronym is not appropriate for this ministry as mothers are always kind) does not need to give him any reason for its decision. Nineteen years as a migrant worker in Singapore is a very long time. Singapore has benefitted much from his labour and musings. He too has benefitted from the wages he earned, his experience and the friends he made. To me, he has contributed enough to Singapore and it may be a blessing in disguise that he returns home to contribute to his homeland. I wish him well. I want to comment on the response of MOM to Zakir Hossain’s claim. It took objection to his false characterisation made in his post (which is screen grabbed) and reported in TODAY (see https://tinyurl.com/25tv3ehb): It [MOM] referred to an online post made by the worker on Oct 16, 2021, where he called migrant workers here “work slaves” and alleged that soldiers and armoured vehicles had surrounded a dormitory called Westlite Tukang. MOM said that it was a "false characterisation" of what had happened. To a migrant worker and also to me, there is no difference between armoured vehicles and riot vehicles. It is a general description of uncommon heavy vehicles used when there is trouble. Readers who have read CNA’S article of 14 Oct 2021 (see https://tinyurl.com/yaavrhnz ) can see for themselves the kind of vehicles that surrounded Westlite workers dormitory. There is no need to get excited over a description that I used in my facebook posts and quibble over what is “militarily armoured” and what is not. There is no need for some to condemn me, telling me that I am old and mentally deficient. Yet in the same breadth, they accused me of misleading the public! I didn’t doctor the CNA report. They can see for themselves what I meant in the report. So why get so excited over nothing? What is the fuss? All of us, including my accusers will one day grow old and be mentally deficient if they are not careful! As for the term “work slaves” used by Zakir Hossain, I don’t see why he cannot use such a term. A poet or writer is entitled to describe what he feels, sees and experience. Can we honestly deny that migrant workers were badly treated especially during the days of severe Covid-19? Can we deny that they were also badly treated in terms of wages and work conditions? How many have died being flung out of lorries meant for transportation goods? How many have fallen from scaffolds and stagings that gave way in shipyards and construction sites? What protection does Singapore offer them? The problems migrant workers face today are much worse than those they faced in the early 1980s when I was quite involved in workers’ issues. In those days, the Ministry of Labour was extremely pro employers. There was little or no protection for workers who were injured. Employers could terminate their contracts even though they had not fully recovered from workplace injuries. Their work permits were terminated and they were deported home even when they were pursuing claims for compensation and unpaid wages. As a lawyer, I had to ensure that before they left Singapore, a power of attorney was executed for someone to pursue their claim. There is nothing “misleading, false or deliberately provocative" in Zakir Hossain’s post of Oct 16, 2021 which I reproduce below. I find it strange that MOM has made it a point to justify its refusal to renew his work permit. When since has it ever render itself accountable for its action? Truth does hurt for once.   Teo Soh Lung      Read More →

The recent US Supreme Court's decision to outlaw abortion is indeed a bombshell for millions of American women. I ask if there are any lessons that we in Singapore can learn from it? It was a decision made by the conservative majority of the US Supreme Court (USSC). When I read that news, alarm bells in me were triggered and it has nothing to do with abortion. Anyway, abortion is legal in Singapore. That decision was made by some very senior, very respectable, very educated, very influential and even wealthy people but they were much, much divorced from the realities and needs of millions of American women. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was quoted as saying 'I have got to tell you, I think it is a big step backwards'. 'My heart goes out to the millions of American women who are now set to lose their legal rights to an abortion'- Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and 'Abortion is a fundamental right for all women. We must protect it' - French President Emmanuel Marcon. Taking a leaf from that USSC's decision, here in Singapore, we must also be ever alert, careful, never be lazy of deeper thinking and questioning about certain decisions made by similarly some very senior, very respectable, very educated, very clever talking, very influential and very handsomely paid people to see if the decisions that they make are also divorced from the realities and needs of our ordinary citizens. (Please read this paragraph again). Issues in Singapore may not be about abortion but rather growing perception of cronyism, nepotism, favouritism, greed and political mediocrity about the pap government. We will soon be celebrating our 57th National Day. It is time for our people to grow to be more politically aware, politically astute and politically mature instead of only knowing how to meekly and blissfully suck everything that come from the pap government, day in and day out, day after day. Boris Johnson, Justin Trudeau, Emmanuel Marcon and millions more of Americans didn't meekly and blissfully suck up to the US Supreme Court's decision to outlaw abortion without letting out big screams. I ask again aren't there any lessons for us Singaporeans here? Think.   Simon Lim      Read More →