Saturday, April 28, 2007

the Run.Out.Date

Limpeh finally R.O.D. loh!!!!!!!!! Since that fateful day in Dec 1994 till now in 2007. I have finally completed paid back my debt to the Govt... My mom always said "this one is we owe the govt one and since she had 2 sons so she owe them a total of 5 years."

2.5 years years of youth wasted plus every 2 weeks once a year for 10 years. It was both bitter and sweet on the last day that I received my certificate. Bitter that the friends and buddies no longer had a chance to gather and talk cock at the expenses of the govt (where and what else in the world are you give so much time having nothing to do but sitting around waiting for things to happen?). Sweet that I no longer have to serve the NS reservist that is both disruptive and non-productve bloody waste of time.

Now is the final wait till 40 years old to completely rid of the stupid NS liability.

R.O.D. LOH!!!

Monday, October 02, 2006

the pot calling the kettle black

Following the mini-saga (as portrayed by the nation builder press) or big-saga (as reported by non-nation builder presses) caused by our dear founder of Singapore, the no integrity journalism has an ENLIGHTENING article on it last Saturday.

I read and read, and read and read again... where I found the world most ironical sentences in the article "Non-bumi rights crop up once again" by Reme Ahmad on 30 September 2006, The Straits Times.
And this paragraph I termed it as "the pot calling the kettle black"

"The mainstream pro-government English-language papers - the New Straits Times and The Star - remained comparatively muted in their coverage. They reported the news and did not editorialise. "

Wow! COMPARATIVELY MUTED...

And since I didn't really understand the meaning of editorialise so I went to check the online dictionary and it is defined as "1. to set forth one's position or opinion on some subject in, or as if in, an editorial. 2. to inject personal interpretations or opinions into an otherwise factual account."

Both are as black as the Reporters without borders Press Freedom Index has suggested, if not blacker.

Friday, September 29, 2006

the more you say, the more mistakes you made

Last time, asked you nicely to retire early, you don't want. Die-die want to hold on to it until the last breadth... See what happen now?

the more you say, the more mistakes you made

On another note, the gahmen has been promoting people to work past their official retirement age - 62 years old to:

1) increase workforce pupulation (abeit in the low-end jobs)
2) old people can earn their keeps and stay active hence less burden on the gahmen on social and medical handouts
3) delay in the full-blown effects of the fast increasing greying population

So good, right?

WRONG.

Who the hell is gonna help take care of my young children when both me and wife have to work in order to barely survive in Singapore Swiss Standards of Living? Throw them to the infant-care and child care? A fucking infant-care costs us at least $800 - $1,000 monthly and that's after the pathetic gahmen subsidies! Child care centres charge at least $400 - $600 per month after the pathetic gahmen subsidies. If I were to heed government advice and have at least 2 or 3 kids, you multiply that by 2 or 3! So that alone would set us back by $1,000 - $2,000 monthly!!!

And the gahmen encourages the grandparents to not stop working for $800.

Go figure...

Thursday, September 14, 2006

the advantage of being a Singapore Permanent Resident = the disadvantage of being a Singapore Citizen

I have long lament that being a Singapore PR is better than being a Singapore Citizen.

The only little advantages we, the citizens of Singapore, have are:

1) Subsidized housing - And its only for the 1st & 2nd time purchases of HDB flats, after that you have to pay the same amount as everyone else.

2) Subsidized education - Not much difference in the rates plus the fact that many stat boards and companies accept PRs for their bursary and scholarships.

3) Voting right - This is the best of all, as seen in recent General Elections (GE), not more than 50% get to vote as majority of the GRCs were walkover. Many many Singapore Citizens have not get the chance to vote for decades.

4) Red passport - The only real advantage of being a Singapore Citizen as the red passport is pretty much well-received all over the world due to the "Police State".

The many advantages of being a Singapore Permanent Resident:

1) Everything that a Singapore Citizen get to enjoy minus the 4 listed above and for male, the most important one below

2) No need to serve National Service - 2 full years of disruption that will haunt male citizens for the rest of your life plus 10 years of Reservist In-Camp-Training to further disrupt your career and family life.

Is it true that 2nd generation PRs are required to serve NS. Can they dun serve and yet stay in Singapore as a PR. How? See below:
"One person account "i came to Singapore at the age of 2 from malaysia,studied from k1 to jc 1,than at the age of 17 i cancelled my pr and went to uk to study.i came back to singapore at 21 and got an employment pass.after 5 years of ep i applied for pr and got it. i dont have to serve a minute of ns.i have a letter from mindef congradulating me that i am not liable for ns(ever). so i suggest you go down to singapore immigration and change your ic from pink to blue. the only advantage for pink ic holders are a subsidized 4 rm hdb flat. what is the value of a ns exempt letter from mindef ? priceless. i rather die than convert from blue to pink. i pray that the mentor lives for another 20 years and maintain the current status quo than i can retire a rich man in malaysia. malaysia boleh !!! btw my son will be learning this hat trick from his old man me."

Another person account "Same case here with me....! i was in malaysia studying til Form 6 (singapore's JC level) ....my dad is a 1st generation PR and i got my letter to serve NS after my studies. All i did was to renounce my PR and i didnt have to serve. 3 months later, i applied for a local uni as a malaysian and got in. After my degree, i was on EP and 1month after i got my first job, the singapore government offered me PR AGAIN.......i pity you singaporean......but its a loophole indeed. BTW, i was on scholarship during my studies in singapore as well so it was absolutely free...........GREAT FEELING....!!! I LUUVVVVV SINGAPORE"

Source from: Sammyboy.com Alfresco Coffee Shop

the integrity of local media

What integrity do you still have, when millions of Singaporean heard it themselves that it was Hum (cockles) but yet you reported Hiam (chilli).

What makes you do that?

Can't a PM make a mistake in his speech?

Can't you believe that PM has said the wrong word while trying to show off his funny side?

Do you think that such a mistake if not corrected by the media, would diminish his standing and popularity?

Do you think that PM is a SAINT and hence he cannot say the wrong word?

Do you really think that Singaporeans are deaf and so naive!!!

You have just proven that you are unable to produce politically unbiased reports on Singapore politics.

Monday, May 22, 2006

the extracts

Read through the discussions and was greatly impressed by some of his reply.

One self profess "young professional who belong to the top 20% of earners" forumer asked:


"While I admire your courage, determination and leadership, I have doubts on attractiveness of "civil disobedience" as promoted by you to the electorate. I am a young professional who belong to the top 20% of earners. Within 2 years of graduation, I am able to afford a condominium and a car. Much as I disagree with the PAP's heavy-handedness in dealing with the opposition, I owe it to them for what I have today. Though I come from a middle class family, my parents are able to support me to complete a medical degree in NUS, the most expensive course. Our country is stable and strong, we have material possessions and comforts few in other countries would ever imagine and I have a bright future ahead of me. To me, the concepts of democracy, human rights and liberalism sound very abstract and foreign. How can they improve my life in anyway. In spite of all its shortcomings, the PAP government did transform Singapore from a Third word to First in 4 decades. Which other countries can boast of such a strong, stable and responsible government as ours? Look at our neighbors Thailand which now faces a constitutional crisis due to the opposition boycott of the GE, when their economy suffer, its the people who is at the losing end. Is this the democracy you and your party propose? How do you intend to convince other young professionals like me to support your party?"

And his reply was that he used to be at the top 20% earners but he now have nothing.

"Dear Mihailov75,
First, let me congratulate you on your achievements.
Actually I think you are in the top 10 percent. You have indeed come a long way.
I, too, was in that tier of society where I was fortunate enough to do what I really loved - teaching and interacting with my students and seeing them grow intellectually. I was also doing research at NUH, Gleaneagles Hospital, and the Dept of Physiology. My wife was finishing up her doctoral dissertation and tutoring at the Dept of Social Work & Psychology. My office was serenely nestled on Kent Ridge. When I eventually applied for a credit card, I was offered three ¨C all gold. Banks started calling me up and said that they would give me a 100% housing loan. "One hundred percent??!!" my wife (fianc¨¦e then) and I exclaimed. We plumbed for a double-storey terrace house with four bedrooms, a big front porch and not little back garden. We got ourselves a brand new Mazda station wagon with plans to fit a few kids and a German Shepherd. We had arrived. (If you consider my childhood, which was distinctly not middle-class, the we-have-arrived feeling was even more delicious.)
But something stirred in me. Till today, I cannot tell you why, it just did. Seeing how the PAP treated Mr J B Jeyaretnam, the idea behind the Graduate Mothers¡¯ Scheme, the continued detention of Mr Chia Thye Poh, the bullying of the Mr Francis Seow and 1987 detainees, the absurdity of streaming our schoolchildren at nine years of age all gnawed away at me.
Most important, looking at the way working Singaporeans lived (and I know because I came from there) I found it difficult to continue living my lifestyle without lending a voice.
So I did.
And the rest, as they say, is history.
Dear Mihailov, I cannot produce numbers to convince you that justice and truth outweigh the material comforts in life that you enjoy and the prestige that comes along with it. Instead I want to tell you that the measure of society is not how well it provides for the top 20 percent of its citizens. Instead the true measure of a society is how well we take care of our weak and old and vulnerable.
In the same vein, the true measure of a man is not how much he earns or what kind of house he lives in and what of a car he drives. It is how much he cares about those around him especially those who need a hand and a voice.
I will not try to convince you that democracy will get you a bigger pay check or buy you a bigger house, for it cannot. Instead I will tell you that in life there are virtues such as justice, truth and freedom that make us whole and that breathe into us the spirit to distinguish us from the other species of animals.
It is what makes us human.
I now live in a three-room HDB flat, drive a beat-up Toyota which
doesn't even belong to me, own no credit card, my office is atop the smoky Bee Cheng Hiang in Serangoon Road, I've been to jail four times, and I am a bankrupt.

But I have my wife and three children with me, and I have overcome my fear of standing up to the PAP. I can freely speak up for my fellow citizens. And because of this I dare say I am far, far richer ¨C and happier ¨C than the richest man in Singapore. Is this enough to convince you to join our cause? God will let you know.
Thank you, dear friend.
Chee Soon JuanSingapore Democrats"

A forumer - BalancedMind asked him to think for his wife and 3 children, to stop going against the ruling party or to change his tactics. I think he sympathizes with the poor wife and children who have to suffer together with their husband and father.

"Dear Dr. Chee,
I do not intend to burden you with all the questions and points that fellow
forummers have raised in this thread of yours. Your worth and what you
have done will be judged by our decendents many years down the road. You
can take comfort that you have played and done your part in securing democratic
process for us Singaporean and to which you have my respect.
However, I think it's high time that you do think about your family, your supportive wife and children. They have supported you in what you are doing up to now taking the blunt and discomfort that you are going through but don't you think you should also now think about them as they are just as human like everyone in this forumn. I have a little girl just like your eldest daughter and to which I try my best to give her the headstart in life. When I look at the photos of your family posted by Uncle Yap I was sad that you have not been fair to your little girl. I know you will be telling me that you love not
your little girl less but you love your country more. Much I can admire you for that believe but I still think you should spare a thought for your family especially your children who needs you more than we do.
You have done your duty to our nation and have been respected for that but allow me to say that my highest respect is not for you but to your wife and children who has supported you all these while which not many men can dream of. I do hope
you will spare some thought for them as it is your duty as the head of your
household to do so. "

But his reply was that he wish to create a better future for them by giving them a conducive environment and country.

"Dear BalancedMind,
Your words are wise and I thank you for them.
I have not the slightest ntention of sacrificeing my children's interests and needs.
Like any father, there is not a single day that goes by where I don't think
about how I would like them to grow up and how I can better provide for them.
But life is such that we never know what we are going to be confronted with.
That's why I see that the best gift I can give to them is to work for an
environment that facilitates their development into thinking individuals and citizens who endeavour to improve their lot around them. As they grow and see what is happening around them they will learn the values of right and wrong, and the courage to seek out the former and speak out against the latter. Their values system is what's most important.

With such an anchor for living, no matter where life takes them in the future they will always live richly ¨C both spiritually and physically.
Chee Soon JuanSingapore Democrats"

All these you will never hear from the media, not even the gossipy TNP or Shin Min...

Thursday, May 18, 2006

the blue pill or the red pill?

Dr. Chee Soon Juan has engaged the forumers of Sammyboy.com's Alfresco Coffee Shop for a post GE 2006 feedback session to seek their views, comments & suggestions.
Dear fellow Singaporeans and forumers,

Following the 2001 GE, the SDP spent 7 days in this forum posting its views, answering questions and responding to comments/suggestions.

We are here again to do the same following the recently concluded elections. We will participate in this chat-site for the next 7 days during which we welcome questions and comments that you would like to direct at the Singapore Democrats.

While we cannot answer every post, we will endeavour to respond to as many of you and cover as wide a range of topics as humanly
possible. It is our effort to continue to spread our message and solicit input from our fellow citizens.

In order not to impose ourselves on this forum, we will confine our postings to this thread and this thread only. We would like to kick it off by posting the article below which we had written before polling day and inviting comments.

We look forward to a meaningful and stimulating discussion with all of you.

Chee Soon Juan
Secretary-General
Singapore Democratic Party




This is your chance to find out more about him.

You have a choice.

"You take the blue pill and the story ends. You wake in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe."



"You take the red pill and you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes. "



Remember -- all I am offering is the truth, nothing more.

the technicality issue

For most of the GE 2006, I ignored or skimmed through all the news reports on PAP except those where they bombard-ed the Alternative Parties. On the Friday before the Polling day, I went a jogging at Sengkang along the LRT SouthWest route starting from Cheng Lim station. Along the deserted road, there are many PAP and SDA posters hanging on the lamp posts, as they are both contesting for the Pasir Ris - Punggol GRC (I wondered how did SengKang fit into Pasir Ris - Punggol equation, but that's the UNIQUELY SINGAPORE GE thing when it comes to GRC boundaries).

So along the first few lamp-posts, the PAP posters shown was the 6-men team leaded by Teo Chee Hean. Funny why both parties bothered to hang the posters there as it is inhabited and the LRT stations are not operational too. Maybe they are targeting the joggers but I think it will most likely back-fired psychologically. How will you feel if u are panting heavily short of breath while all the candidates do is to smile at you fighting for air?

After a few hundred meters down the road, across 2 traffic junctions, I saw that the faces in the PAP posters changed upgraded from Teo Chee Hean to junior Lee?!? So SengKang is effectively split into 2 parts with 1 half under the Pasir-Ris - Punggol GRC and the other half grouping under junior Lee AMK GRC. And then I past by the construction site for the new SengKang Sports Complex, which is just beside the Sungei Punggol. And then I realized this the new SengKang Sports Complex that the Teo Chee Hean and his team members have said that "Residents in Pasir Ris and Sengkang can look forward to sports complexes" in his election speeches/interviews.

And while admiring the construction as I dream of swimming and/or jogging in the new SengKang Sports Complex, I realized that this SengKang Sports Complex is not within our Pasir-Ris Punggol GRC boundaries. IT IS TECHNICALLY LOCATED WITHIN THE AMK GRC, even though it is in called SengKang Sports Complex.

Not that I am very particular about the imaginary line drawn by the boundaries of both GRCs but hor, if it not within your GRC, please don't claimed that "It has been promised a sports hall and swimming pool in Pasir Ris, and a sports complex in Sengkang." It's a tiny weeny bit misleading, right?

Tuesday, May 09, 2006

the sore loser?

So is the best loser in the 2001 GE really going to quit politics? He has lost again in this election and said that he will only make a comeback when there is enough people who are angry with the ruling party.

It took Mr. Chiam See Tong 4 rejections (He first contested in 1972 and that makes 12 years of fighting against all odds) before he succeeded in Potong Pasir in 1984. Not only that, he went on to be the elected MP for potong pasir for 22 more years, seeing off 6 fierce contests. He is now 71 years old but he is still fighting strong to deny the ruling party a clean sweep in the government, just as he has first rallied for when he contested in 1984.


So Mr. Chia, do you see the reality of being the Opposition Party in Singapore? You are only half-way there.