If it looks, walks and quacks like a duck, then it's a duck, as goes the old axiom.
And as effigies of Singapore's leaders burning in the streets of Bangkok suggest, millions of grumpy Thais haven't needed a zoology degree to work out that Singapore's Temasek Holdings is a government-owned duck.
Temasek's $3 billion deal to buy Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra out of his family business, Shin Corp, has precipitated Thailand's most serious political crisis in more than a decade.
Thais have poured into the streets demanding "Asia's Berlusconi" resign his five-year rule and pay taxes from the deal on his way out. Thailand's baht wobbles - its collapse prompted Asia's 1997 financial crisis - and worries economists, while deals are put off. The twitchy Thai military stays in the barracks, for now, while Thaksin toughs out this high-stakes game of brinkmanship versus the people.
But what of Temasek, Singapore's self-styled paragon of transparency whose opaque deal making has precipitated South-East Asia's latest economic crisis?
One of the world's most powerful investors, boasting an $US80 billion ($110 billion) portfolio, its Thai adventure is looking increasingly like a spectacular misjudgement for its boss, Madame Ho Ching. She's the wife of Singapore's Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong, whose family's authoritarian 50-year rule of Singapore inspired the inner autocrat in Thaksin that could now prove his undoing.
Temasek's tactic is to effect an air of "Crisis? What crisis?" and deny it has anything to do with Official Singapore. Indeed, its descent to duckdom is never more absurdly displayed as when its army of immaculately groomed spinners demand the world's press and market analysts stop referring to it as "Singapore government-owned" and call it instead an "Asian investment company".
But Thais simply join the dots: Temasek is 100 per cent owned by Singapore's Ministry of Finance. Singapore's Finance Minister is its Prime Minister, Mr Lee, and his wife is Temasek's chief executive.
Thais would probably be furious with whoever did such a backroom deal with Thaksin. But every insistence by either Singapore side that they have nothing to do with the other simply further ignites the Thai touchpaper.
"Come on," says Professor Thitinan Pongsudhirak of Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University. "We Thais aren't idiots."
Indeed, as Asia moves to wind back government involvement in the private sector, Thais view with alarm what they see as Thaksin's sell-out to the Singapore Government of their economy: hotels, banks, airlines, property and, now, the main telephone company, a strategic communications satellite and a popular television station. Notes one columnist in the Thailand's The Nation newspaper, "Singapore might change Bangkok's Sathorn Road into Orchard Road and declare it a bubble-gum-free zone".
Sometimes Temasek is its own worst enemy. As Thais raged, a placatory Temasek presented its "managing director, investments," Mr S Iswaran, as the go-to guy to explain the Shin deal.
As a veteran Singapore civil servant, Iswaran was once responsible for Singapore's negotiations at the World Trade Organisation and APEC. He is also the Parliament's deputy speaker and a loyal lieutenant of the Lee family-led People's Action Party. A more faithful flack of the ruling clique would be hard to find.
Singaporeans aren't Thais but they know a good deal when they see one, and many would like to see Temasek out of Singapore's economy too, where government companies control as much as 60 per cent of the action.
They privately question what in fact it was that Ho brought to Temasek in 2001, apart from a powerful husband they already knew. She was hired in 2001 to enliven Temasek's sluggish returns but, in Bangkok at least, the value she purchased for Singapore disappears by the day as protesters vote with their pockets by cancelling subscriptions to Shin's main asset, Thailand's leading mobile phone company, AIS.
Shin shares have fallen 25 per cent since Ho's deal. Her stewardship of Temasek since she became CEO - an appointment her spinners insisted was on merit - has been unremarkable, with some big misses offsetting a handful of medium successes.
Many of Temasek's deals have a strong whiff of national interest about them and Temasek's forays abroad come as Singapore's political leaders worry their developed but tiny economy is maturing, exhorting its business community to secure the city-state's future offshore.
In Jakarta, influential politicians want the Singapore Government to exit its two-year-old investment in one of Ho's better deals, the communications giant Indosat, particularly as another Temasek company, Singapore Telecom - owner of Australia's Optus - already has half of Indosat's competitor Telkomsel. That's too much strategic telecommunications in Singapore hands for their taste and Jakarta has offered Temasek $1.2 billion to buy back the Indosat stake.
But as dissent simmers with the threat of political sanction hanging over it, Temasek has so far refused to sell.
In Beijing too, bureaucrats are questioning last year's wisdom of allowing Temasek a $2.5 billion stake in the Bank of China, believing it might have got it too cheap while wondering what Singapore brings to the table apart from cash.
In New Delhi, the Indian Government recently denied Temasek approval to buy into mobile operator Idea Cellular, India's fifth largest, because SingTel already part-owns another, Bharti, the largest.
Temasek struggles too in the US. It paid $US250 million in 2003 for 62 per cent of ailing cable operator Global Crossing, believing it got a bargain for a fibre optic network that cost $15 billion to build. But the company has since been dogged by one disaster after another and Global Crossing lost $US600 million in 2004-05.
There have also been setbacks in Australia, where Canberra recently denied Temasek's 57 per cent owned Singapore Airlines access to the lucrative route between Sydney and Los Angeles.
Surgery is needed at home too. Temasek-controlled DBS Bank recently took an unexpected $700 million charge on its Hong Kong operation, the former Dao Heng Bank.
Its wafer business, Chartered Semiconductor, has been a headache on Ho's watch, accumulating losses of more than $1 billion, while its share price has fallen 90 per cent since 1999.
Temasek's own figures described shareholder returns of just 1 per cent over the five years to March 31, as against the gain in Singapore's Straits Times index of 2.7 per cent over the same period.
Still, at least Singaporeans now know what's happening to their money. Notoriously secretive, Temasek only first publicly revealed its accounts in 2004.
Says Thai academic Pongsudhirak: "This is the last straw. Temasek has underestimated the political fallout here. This deal has not been transparent, everything has not been fully accounted for. Whether they like it or not, Temasek has made itself a player in Thai politics and that puts its investment at risk."
Meanwhile, Asia looks on with a bemused combination of mild concern that Thailand's worries could again spill outside its borders as in the late 1990s but more Schadenfreude at Singapore Inc's discomfort. As many in the region tactfully like to say, wealthy Singapore is admired by its neighbours if not necessarily always loved.
Eric Ellis is Fortune magazine's South-East Asian correspondent
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http://www.smh.com.au/news/business/singapore-inc-on-the-nose/2006/03/26/1143330929676.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1
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grass roots posted on Tuesday, March 28, 2006 | 0 comments
`But in the long run the general public might become sensitised; the key is for someone or some people to interpret and simplify the issues for them` Supinya Klangnarong
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`This criticism is certainly coming from the middle class intellectuals who are likely to criticise Mr Thaksin anyway. I don't think people at the grass roots level understand the issues, or even care` Senator Jon Ungpakorn
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http://www.asiamedia.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=37821
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benefit of friendship posted on Monday, March 27, 2006 | 0 comments
Singapore's business-minded leaders say they want to be friends with everybody. That makes sense for a tiny island state of 4 million people trying to make a living in a volatile region increasingly dominated by China and India.
But as protests in Thailand against the prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, have intensified, Singapore has found itself on the receiving end of a highly unamicable barrage of insults and threats from its large neighbour to the north.
Posters of Singapore's prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong, have been burned in public; the Singaporean embassy in Bangkok has been besieged; and a boycott of the country's products has been urged. Protesters brandish placards saying: "Thailand not for sale" and "Singapore get lost".
Sondhi Limthongkul, a leader of the Thai opposition People's Alliance for Democracy, accused Singapore of "economic imperialism", and warned of serious consequences this week. "If you don't stop, should the Thaksin government change - and he will go down soon - we will make sure that your activities in Thailand go down with him," he said.
Thai anger centres on January's tax-free $1.9bn (£1bn) sale of Shin Corp, a telecoms conglomerate founded by Mr Thaksin and owned by his family, to Temasek Holdings, the Singapore government's state investment arm.
The opposition portrays the deal as a threat to Thai sovereignty and control of key national assets such as satellites. It wants the sale rescinded and allegations of insider dealing investigated as part of its wider campaign to strengthen democracy and public accountability.
But Singaporean officials say the Shin Corp row has nothing to do with them. "Temasek operates like any other company," said Angelina Fernandez of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, the country's central bank. "Even though it is government owned, it is not government directed. The ministry of finance does not tell Temasek what to do."
Lim Hng Kiang, Singapore's minister for trade and industry, said the sale had become enmeshed in domestic Thai politics but admitted the government had been caught on the hop. "Obviously we were surprised," he said. "We didn't expect it would provoke such a reaction." Mr Lim said the opposition's boycott had "not gained traction" and predicted bilateral relations would suffer no lasting harm.
Singapore's hard-nosed brand of free-wheeling, free-market capitalism, and what critics see as a concomitant lack of concern for democratic rights and civil liberties, has caused controversy before. Campaigners say significant Singaporean investment in Burma, which is run by a military junta, undermines UN-led efforts to encourage reform.
And Singapore's enthusiastic pursuit of regional free trade agreements is not wholly shared by some fellow members of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean) concerned at the social and cultural impact of too-rapid economic change. Mr Lim would like to see Asean function as a European-style common market of 500 million people. "Others don't share Singapore's sense of urgency," he said.
Majority-Chinese Singapore's be-friends-with-everybody policy is further complicated by history. The prime minister urged expanded trade with China during a recent visit to Beijing. But the former British colony remains an important western ally that affords naval facilities to the US Pacific fleet, keeps on good terms with Japan, and harbours secret sympathies for Taiwan. As Sino-American strategic competition in Asia hots up, it may eventually be forced to take sides.
Singapore's precociousness has also fuelled regional jealousies, illustrated by a bizarre row with Malaysia (from which it broke away in 1965). Malaysia wants to replace the causeway linking the countries with a bridge. Singapore has not agreed so far. It cites the high costs - but deeper concerns about its "over-bearing" neighbour are also in play.
Impatient at the delay, Malaysia has now decided to build its half of the bridge anyway, regardless of whether it actually leads anywhere. "Singapore is the most insolent neighbour in the world," one Malaysian MP said this week - showing once again that friendly bridge-building is uphill work.
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http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1738319,00.html
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benefit of conscription posted on Monday, March 27, 2006 | 0 comments
Singapore : A colonel from the Singapore Armed Forces died while participating in the Singapore Biathlon at East Coast Park on Sunday.
Colonel Bernard Tan Cheow Han, 39, collapsed and died after nearly completing the 10-kilometre run.
He was just 600 metres away from the finishing line.
The colonel had earlier finished a 1.5-kilometre swim before the run.
SAFRA which is also the organiser of the event says immediate medical attention was given to Colonel Tan at about 10am.
He was sent to Changi General Hospital and was pronounced dead at about 11am.
The cause of death is still being investigated by the police.
More than 1,700 people took part in the biathlon which included the chiefs of army and navy.
Colonel Tan was the Assistant Chief of the General Staff in charge of army personnel matters.
He was married with two young daughters aged two and seven
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http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/199996/1/.html
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benefit of seizure posted on Sunday, March 26, 2006 | 0 comments
To hasten the lift upgrading process in Housing Development Board (HDB) estates, Town Councils will soon have the power to seize and sell homeowners' moveable property or flats to recover such improvement costs from recalcitrant residents who refuse to pay up.
Sound drastic? Town Council chairmen and members of Parliament don't think so.
The amendment to the Town Council Act, which may be passed in the parliamentary session which begins today, will also allow Town Councils to use their sinking funds for lift upgrading work.
It effectively extends the Town Council's duty to include lift-upgrading work — similar to what the HDB does in its Lift Upgrading Programme (LUP), which the Government launched in 2001 and aims to complete within the next 10 years, instead of the projected 10 to 15 years. However, it does not increase the Town Council's powers to any degree, say Town Council chairmen and MPs.
Dr Amy Khor, Southwest CDC mayor and Government Parliamentary Committee chairman for National Development, said: "The existing provisions in the Act already allow Town Councils, with the prior approval of the HDB, to sell the resident's flat if he is not able to pay his service and conservancy (S&C) charges."
Hence, the amendment grants Town Councils the same powers that the HDB has in the recovery of such arrears — defined as contributions left unpaid after three months. As of last January, town councils were owed a total of $24.7 million in S&C arrears.
So, just how much more in terms of LUP arrears can Town Councils expect to chalk up and chase residents for?
The HDB told Today that it had billed three LUP precincts at the end of June after the upgrading work was completed, hence it has no outstanding LUP arrears.
But there is another issue. Unlike monthly S&C charges — which range from $18 to $80 per household for maintenance services such as grass cutting, cleaning and lift-maintenance — not everyone may be in favour of the LUP, or benefit from it. The maximum co-payment cost for the Town Council LUP will range from $263 to $714 for residents, depending on the type of unit.
At least 75 per cent of residents must vote in favour of lift upgrading work before it can proceed. So what if the remaining 25 per cent don't want to pay up or can't afford to?
Dr Teo Ho Pin, Holland-Bukit Panjang Town Council chairman, said: "All PAP Town Councils have an arrears recovery system where we work closely with our community partners such as grassroots organisations or voluntary welfare organisations to assist needy residents who face difficulty in paying their fees or charges."
The procedure, he said, starts with a notice of reminder to house visits. Then a claim is lodged with the small claims tribunal. A writ of seizure and sale of moveable property — such as television or hi-fi sets is issued. The sale of the flat is a final step, to be taken only if all efforts at recovering the arrears fail.
Mr Chew Heng Ching, East Coast Town Council chairman and coordinating chairman for PAP Town Councils, said: "This provision is basically the last resort by the Town Council for those who have defaulted on their payments for improvement contributions. The Act serves to empower the Town Council to take action against residents who can afford to pay but are not doing so."
Or, as some Town Councillors call them, chau kuan homeowners — a Hokkien phrase referring to someone with a bad attitude.
Dr Khor agreed: "As Town Councils are familiar with the profile of the flat dwellers, such a sale would only be resorted to after all other avenues have been explored and exhausted."
Some observers note that the Town Council's function, role and relationship with residents will change.
Said one: "With HDB as the landlord, Town Councils have hitherto just managed and maintain common property in HDB estates. It remains to be seen how this enlarged function will change its relationship with the residents it serves."
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todayonline
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benefits of nepotism posted on Monday, March 20, 2006 | 0 comments
Mixing business and politics was a winning strategy for Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra back in 2001.
A self-made billionaire, Thaksin called himself a new breed of politician, a "CEO prime minister" who could revitalize Thailand by running it like a company.But there were early signs of trouble. A week before the 2001 election, Thaksin was charged with concealing assets in his telecommunications empire by transferring shares to relatives, his chauffeur, maid and others. At one point, two of his domestic servants were among the top 10 shareholders on Thailand's stock exchange.
Five years and many corruption allegations later, a growing number of Thais say they're fed up with Thaksin. Thousands of protesters are demanding his ouster, saying his business ties have hurt the country.
At the center of Thaksin's problems is Shin Corp., the media conglomerate he founded. It was his transfer of Shin shares that raised eyebrows in 2001 and the sell-off of the family's controlling stake in January that triggered the current political crisis.
"It's an ironic downfall," said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political science professor at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University."
The sale of Shin Corp. was supposed to clear him of nagging conflict of interest accusations. But in the end, it was the last straw."
Thaksin's family sold its 49.6 percent stake in Shin to Singapore's state investment company, Temasek Holdings, for 73.3 billion baht (US$1.9 billion), and found loopholes to avoid paying any tax on the sale.
The 56-year-old leader, who denies any wrongdoing, indicated Wednesday for the first time that he would consider stepping aside temporarily to defuse the protests, though it remained uncertain if or when he would do so.
Critics say the Shin deal involved insider trading and tax dodges and complained that national assets - including communications satellites - were sold to a foreign government.
Thaksin rose to power on a raft of nationalist policies, winning over voters by accusing the incumbent prime minister of failing to lift Thailand out of the 1997 Asian financial crisis and of neglecting the poor.
The new prime minister's corporate management approach to government became known as "Thaksinomics" - heavy spending to promote growth and wean the country from dependence on imports and foreign loans. Critics say it's a recipe for long-term debt.
Thaksin, a former police officer, cast himself as a champion of the poor. He introduced virtually free health care, a three-year debt suspension program for farmers and low-interest loans for poor villages."He used taxpayers' money for massive handouts to the poor. What poor person wouldn't vote for that?" said Sompop Manarangsan, an economics professor with Chulalongkorn University.
The country's rural majority, which accounts for more than 80 percent of Thailand's 63 million people, propelled Thaksin to another term in 2005; his party won 377 of 500 parliamentary seats.The victory made Thaksin the first civilian prime minister to finish a full four-year term in Thailand. It was also the first time a single party had swept a majority of the legislative seats.
However, discontent has been brewing for years among the educated classes.
Since taking office, Thaksin has battled accusations of corruption and cronyism. Critics accused him of crafting national policy to benefit Shin and handing out mega-project contracts to wealthy friends.
He quickly showed an intolerance for criticism, trying to muzzle what was once Asia's freest media and blocking Shin-owned television stations from broadcasting anti-government content.
In one case that had a chilling effect on freedom of speech, a prominent media critic was sued for 400 million baht (US$10.2 million; euro8.6 million) for suggesting in 2003 that Shin Corp. profited from government connections. The critic, Supinya Klangnarong of advocacy group Campaign for Popular Media Reform, was acquitted Wednesday on criminal charges, but the Shin suit is still pending.
Thaksin also came under fire for his handling of a Muslim insurgency in southern Thailand, and drew criticism for being authoritarian, arrogant and brash.His war on drugs left 2,300 people dead during a three-month period in 2003. Human rights groups complained police were turned loose to kill drug dealers and users at will. Thaksin defended the police, saying drug lords turned against each other, and he noted that drug use dropped.
When the U.S. State Department joined critics of the crackdown, Thaksin called Washington a "useless friend." And when the United Nations worried that the killings amounted to summary executions, Thaksin said the world body "isn't my father."
Critics also complained that Thaksin routinely failed to honor the reformist 1997 constitution, which was aimed at promoting democracy.
He was accused of filling independent bodies - the Election Commission, the National Counter Corruption Commission, the Constitutional Court - with allies. It was the anti-corruption commission that indicted Thaksin in 2001 for hiding assets and the court that acquitted him by an 8-to-7 decision.To defuse protests, Thaksin dissolved parliament last month and called for elections April 2. The opposition has vowed to boycott the vote.
"Thaksin hasn't yet come to realize that the boycott of the snap election is not a rejection of democracy," The Nation newspaper said in an editorial. "But, rather, a reaction to his refusal to accept fundamental democratic values like transparency, honesty and freedom of speech."
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extracted from http://www.financialexpress-bd.com/index3.asp?cnd=3/19/2006§ion_id=4&newsid=19151&spcl=no
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posted on Monday, March 20, 2006 | 0 comments
Understanding that capitalism can be 'predatory' and that globalisation may not always be fair to all parties involved does not mean that one automatically has to reject capitalism and globalisation. This is a false dichotomy. As you have said, it is not the concept of globalisation that is wrong, but the way it is being practised. Globalisation can be more than just exploitation of a poorer nation's labour or resources, it can also be tempered with regard for the needs of other nations.We, as consumers, are not helpless victims in a grand scheme that is inexorable or irreversible. We make our voice heard every time we excercise our choice and vote with our wallet. We are not 'obliged' to go for the cheapest or fastest goods or services. We can pick the ones that come from a business where workers are treated fairly, or that which harms the planet less. We may spend more, or have to put up with less efficiency, but we have a choice.What I am advocating is an awareness that efficiency do not always equate to happiness, and that profit do not always equate to good
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extracted from http://angrydr.blogspot.com/2006/03/comparative-advantage-2.html
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A Poor Decision posted on Sunday, March 19, 2006 | 0 comments
Anti-Thaksin demonstrators yesterday burned pictures of Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his wife, Ho Ching, in front of the Singapore embassy to express displeasure with the takeover by Temasek Holdings of Shin Corp. Mrs Ho is executive director and chief executive officer of Temasek, the Singaporean government's investment arm.
Nearly 1,000 demonstrators massed at the embassy again yesterday after failing to get the Singaporean government to ask Temasek to pull out of the deal when they gathered there last week.
Wearing armbands and headbands bearing words such as ''National Salvation'' and ''We Love the King'', the demonstrators marched from King Rama VI statue at Lumpini Park to the Singapore embassy on Sathorn road while chanting ''Thaksin Get Out'' and ''Temasek Get Out''.
They also burned a drawing of the Merlion, Singapore's national mascot, with its face replaced by that of caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, and models of Singapore Airlines planes.
Rosana Tositrakul, core member of the People's Alliance for Democracy, read an open letter addressed to the people of Singapore asking them to ''assist us by scrutinising the business conduct of Temasek Holdings and the rental of military bases in Thailand, as well as applying pressure on the Singapore government to adhere strictly to transparency and good governance and to abstain from interfering in other countries' internal affairs by cancelling the purchase of Shin Corporation's shares.''
The Lee Hsien Loong government, Ms Rosana said, had colluded with the government under Mr Thaksin in renting military bases in Udon Thani and Nakhon Ratchasima under 15-year leases, instead of year-by-year as in the past.
The Singaporean army has permitted the US army to share the bases and this caused concern among Thais and other countries in the region, Ms Rosana said.
Somsak Kosaiyasuk, another key PAD member, said Singapore's failure to intervene in the purchase of Shin Corp could cause a rift in relations between the two countries.
Nimit Tien-Udom, director of the Aids Access Foundation, appealed to Singaporean people to understand that the boycott of Singaporean products and services, especially those linked with Shin Corp, was a necessary measure to preserve Thailand's sovereignty and national assets.
''We firmly believe Singaporeans would rise up in the same way if faced with the same situation, as you did for the cause of independence in 1965,'' Mr Nimit said.
A 27-year-old woman Chinese language teacher led a chant in Chinese of ''Thaksin, Get Out'', ''Temasek, Get Out'' and ''Singapore, Get Out''. She said that she and her father had joined every rally since they started over a month ago.
Several cars and motorcycles honked and their drivers shouted in support of the demonstrators.
A group of businessmen who have launched a rally against Mr Thaksin was also met with cheers from hundreds of people from all walks of life along Bangkok streets yesterday.
Some 300 members of the Businessmen for Democracy group, led by Prasarn Maruekkapitak, drove a fleet of 100 cars from Lumpini Park to Makkhawan bridge, where they joined PAD demonstrators.
People on the streets cheered them on and shouted ''Thaksin, Get Out!''
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http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/18Mar2006_news14.php
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disabling enumeration of sid posted on Monday, March 13, 2006 | 0 comments
Open the Active Directory Users And Computers console.
Right-click the domain, and select Properties.
On Group Policy tab, click the Default Domain Policy, and select Edit.
Drill-down to Computer Configuration Windows Settings Security Settings Local Policies Security Options.
Double-click Additional Restrictions For Anonymous Connections, and select the Define This Policy option.
Select Do Not Allow Enumeration Of SAM Accounts And Shares from the drop-down list.
Click OK, and close the console.
Go to Start Run, enter cmd, and click OK.
At the command prompt, enter gpupdate, press [Enter], enter exit, and press [Enter].
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寒夜 - 宋杜耒 posted on Monday, March 13, 2006 | 0 comments
寒夜客來茶當酒
竹爐湯沸火初紅
尋常一樣窗前月
纔有梅花便不同
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benefit of roots posted on Sunday, March 12, 2006 | 0 comments
Grassroots leaders reacted strongly to the Workers' Party's recent charge that grassroots organisations are nothing more than appendages of the ruling People's Action Party. They stated emphatically that their organisations are fundamentally independent of any political party
The March 4 edition of The Straits Times provides some insight into the relationship. In the article, 'Now 'married' and a believer in self-renewal', veteran MP Tan Cheng Bock said he had 'groomed a few grassroots leaders and hoped some of them might make potential MPs'.
In the article, 'Hands-on MP' points to changes in Bt Panjang', it was stated that 'many (grassroots leaders) were excited at... the prospect of taking on the opposition at the coming general election'.
Plainly, the connection alluded to by the Workers' Party is not as tenuous and unreal as some might want us to believe.
Tham Li Jing, ST forum, March 7 2006
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penalty for subversion posted on Thursday, March 09, 2006 | 0 comments
March 8, 2006Ex-detainees took part in communist subversion
IN 'EX-POLITICAL detainees want their story told' (ST, Feb 27), The Straits Times reported that ex-ISA detainees Tan Jing Quee and Michael Fernandez claimed that they and fellow ex-detainees should be recognised as 'loyal citizens, contributing to Singapore's progress', and that their detentions were not justified.
In a subsequent article, 'Time to let dissidents' tales out of the closet' (ST, March 3), Ms Chua Mui Hoong argued that 'it is time for these other stories to come out of the closet' and only then 'can Singapore truly live up to the stirring slogan of an 'open and inclusive' society - embracing not only those with similar views but also dissidents'.
Mr Tan and Mr Fernandez were not political dissidents or opposition members engaged in the democratic process. They belonged to the Communist United Front (CUF) which supported the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM). The CPM was an underground organisation which used terror and violence to subvert the democratic process and overthrow the elected governments of Singapore and Malaysia. Many innocent lives were lost, victims of the CPM's armed struggle.
The CUF was a key part of the CPM's strategy to infiltrate, subvert and exploit legally-established organisations, such as trade unions and student associations, to create civil disorder and destabilise the country.
Together with the CPM, it was responsible for violent demonstrations, sit-ins, boycotts, illegal strikes, sabotage and riots that resulted in deaths and injuries, destruction of property, political instability and economic losses. Mr Tan and Mr Fernandez took part in this communist subversion. They were detained for threatening the security, stability and economic well-being of Singapore, and not for holding different political views or pursuing lawful, democratic political activities.
Mr Tan and Mr Fernandez were arrested in October 1963 and September 1964 respectively for carrying out CUF activities in the University of Malaya (Singapore) and in trade unions.
Mr Tan was released in 1966 and Mr Fernandez in 1973. Both were re-arrested in February 1977 for joining a group and undertaking activities which aimed to rebuild the CUF to support the CPM's continuing violent struggle. They were released later that year, and both renounced communism.
With the communists having lost the battle for the hearts and minds of the people, Mr Tan and Mr Fernandez are now trying to project themselves as nationalists and democrats who also contributed to Singapore's progress. They may be hoping that a younger generation of Singaporeans with no personal memory of the past will be taken in. As they had renounced communism, the Government had let them put the past behind them, and enabled them and their families to enjoy the progress and prosperity of Singapore, like everyone else.
However, they and other ex-communists and supporters cannot be allowed to re-write history by watering down communist atrocities, subversion and other unlawful activities and glossing over the harm they caused to so many victims and the threat they posed to our country. Had the CUF and CPM succeeded, Singapore would never have achieved what we have today - a peaceful, prosperous and multi-ethnic democratic society.
Ong-Chew Peck Wan (Mrs) DirectorCorporate Communications Division for Permanent SecretaryMinistry of Home Affairs
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benefits of enlistment posted on Tuesday, March 07, 2006 | 0 comments
Time is GMT + 8 hoursPosted: 06 March 2006 2150 hrs
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No more NS deferment for pre-enlistees to pursue overseas studiesBy S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia
Mindef is going back to the basics in its policy of allowing deferments from National Service for school leavers.
Starting December last year, no more deferments are allowed for those who want to pursue an overseas degree. They will have to finish their NS before they go abroad.
Those pursuing basic qualifications like 'A' levels, polytechnic diploma or below, are still allowed to apply for deferment under certain criteria.
Male Singaporeans begin their National Service at the earliest opportunity once they turn 18 years old.
But Mindef has been granting deferments to certain categories, like those starting full-time study before 18 years old in the case of local courses and before 17-1/2 years old for overseas courses.
Deferment has also been granted for those pursuing 'A' level and polytechnic diploma courses if a person is able to start the course before he turns 19 as at January 1 of the year the course commences.
But now Mindef has decided to rationalise its deferment policy based on operational needs and the primary goal of National Service.
Second Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said: "In rationalising our policy, it is understood that NS is a sacrifice which may mean that Singaporeans would have to defer their university studies till after they have completed their National Service.
"We applied the principle of universality, equity to ensure that everyone within the same cohort receives the more or less the same treatment in allowing them to attain their educational qualifications."
Dr Ng went on to say: "Educational opportunities have expanded exponentially in the past few years. We now have a proliferation of institutions with a variety of modules in Singapore.
"New compressed integrated courses have also been introduced, so that students could theoretically start anytime within the year.
"The opportunities to study abroad and at different times of the year have also increased as Singaporeans have become more affluent. Many more Singaporeans would be able to start universities or other courses before ages 17-1/2 abroad or 18 locally. It is therefore no longer tenable to grant deferments based on past criteria."
"Therefore, Mindef will only grant deferment for pre-enlistees to gain their basic educational qualifications of 'A' levels, polytechnic diploma, or below. This is reasonable as most of our 18-year-old NS enlistees would either have completed their basic qualification programme or are about to complete it," Dr Ng said.
"As university degrees are considered higher educational qualifications, deferments for university studies will no longer be allowed. This new policy for deferments has been in place from the end of last year," he added.
As for those who would want to pursue their university education overseas, the Defence Ministry says the vast majority would not be affected by the changes to the deferment policy.
Under the old policy, less than a 100 a year were granted deferment for university studies.
Another group to benefit from the new policy are those enrolled in the Institute of Technical Education.
They can now proceed to study for their polytechnic diploma before they enlist.
This is provided they are below 20 years old as at January 1 of the year their course begins.
Mindef has also decided to allow in-service disruption for national servicemen with ITE qualifications to pursue their polytechnic diploma course - a basic educational qualification - if they meet the specified criteria.
Close to 500 NSF men are expected to benefit from this change.
Besides ensuring a fighting-fit army, Mindef has also kept the SAF up-to-date with the latest technology like the pocket-sized portable, remote-controlled surveillance ball - which is equipped with cameras, microphones, sensors - and other equipment.
The surveillance ball can be rolled or tossed into target areas for information gathering without putting servicemen in physical danger.
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http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/196500/1/.html
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native advantage posted on Monday, March 06, 2006 | 0 comments
John Wanstall
AFTER listening to the media, schoolchildren and hundreds of coffeeshop patrons, it seems to me the continued effort to get Singaporeans to adopt correct English is more than an uphill struggle — against the forces of peer pressure, Singlish and SMS.
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Take the local experience of international banker Peter Havelock, a former English teacher from New Zealand who was perturbed when, four months after setting foot here, his daughter Emily "came home spouting a stream of Singlish".
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"She said all her mates at school spoke the same way, and she wished to become popular and not stand out."
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Then there's filmmaker Craig McLeod whose youngest son began talking about mixing "flah" and water.
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"He pointed out the word "flour" on his work sheet — his teacher always pronounces it as "flah"," he said.
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"My kids often come home with worksheets full of grammatical errors," Mr McLeod complained. "The poor kids do not know where they stand."
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As a frequent bus commuter, I often listen to and chat with students on my journeys into town. I was appalled at the standards of communication — that is, if they bothered to talk at all to one another.
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Many of our students are happier holding SMS conversations with the chums sitting next to them.
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I queried them on this, only to be informed — in a mixture of Singlish, Mandarin and Malay — that it was not cool to talk, SMS-ing was far more efficient.
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Today columnist Neil Humphries put his finger on the pulse of a problem some time ago, when he wrote that SMS-abbreviated English was beginning to appear in students' exercise books.
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Singlish may be acceptable for informal social communication and SMS has its uses.
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However, pidgin English — for that is what Singlish really is — has no place in our commercial environment.
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A prolonged diet of Singlish must eventually weaken the speaker's ability to speak English correctly. Hence, the SMS — because people cannot find the words to converse.
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When I spoke of such things to my old English master, Dr E V Bennett, the head of English at Hastings Grammar in the United Kingdom, he was adamant that languages can only be really taught successfully by a native speaker.
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There was always a problem in multi-lingual societies, he said, as grammar and tenses get mixed up in the direct translation of a Chinese dialect, say, into English.
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Indeed, our former French master had come from Paris; our Greek master from Athens University. And Latin was taught by our headmaster, Dr R E E Jones, who had studied Latin and French in Italy for ten years.
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Mr Bennett felt that if Singapore's English teachers spent a year in the United Kingdom, taking a crammer course in teaching the language, it would help them immensely.
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Teachers in Singapore, however, are concerned about the more urgent need to halt the SMS malaise of "short-cut English", or "lazy English", which threatens to send language standards here into a deteriorating spiral. But how do you counter a habit among the tech-savvy young that you can't outlaw, tax or fine — the typical Singaporean responses?
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Back in my old school, we would listen to hours of recordings of actors speaking in perfect English. Eventually, even the dumbest in the class was able to read out loud to our English master, and receive high marks for pronunciation.
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It may sound boring, but listening to presenters on good English radio programmes — such as the BBC World Service — is effective. If parents can get their children to spend half an hour a day listening to how English should be spoken, they might see a rapid improvement.
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What's the rush, you might ask? While we are struggling with our English, the rest of Asia is going full steam ahead in their efforts to master the language of commerce.
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If the study-English trend continues, within a decade, two billion people will be studying English, and about half the world will speak it.
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In China, non-native speakers are learning English at a younger age. Last year, primary schools in major Chinese cities began offering English in the third grade, rather than in middle school.
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Here in Singapore, former English teacher and textbook author Steve Hogan thinks necessity could actually make the unthinkable happen — Singlish could disappear, or at least fade into the backdrop, once students discover that without a good command of the English language, they are likely to be shackled to Singapore.
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"I recently ran a course for a group of Malay girls who all wanted to appear on television," he said. "Because they wanted this so badly, they learnt very rapidly to speak English with excellent grammar and pronunciation."
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The lesson? All kids need is the right motivation
http://www.todayonline.com/articles/51350.asp
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knocks & scrapes posted on Sunday, March 05, 2006 | 0 comments
"Sometimes as parents we have to let go a little. Take some risks as parents so that the child can also learn. Let them take knocks and scrapes as they grow up."
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http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/102455/1/.html
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