What the Little Pink Camera saw Come and support the people who're doing the real "nation building". Lynn Lee. Sticking to the letter of the law Commuter fined despite explaining that she was feeling giddy and thirsty. The president, the cabinet, Ho Ching, Temasek’s Board of Directors – all got it wrong? Nobody asked Goodyear what his strategies were? Andrew Loh. Breaking News: Ho Ching to remain CEO and Executive Director of Temasek Temasek and Goodyear "mutually agree" not to proceed with CEO appointment, says Temasek statement. Are you a lawyer? Only if the minister says so The Law Ministry is proposing that the Minister now be the one with the power to approve a person as legally qualified. Today By: centurion I read western and eastern history. Both have common ground. When the Monarchy feel threaten, they will create confusion among the peasants. Let the peasants fight among themselves for resources. As long as they are too busy fighting, the monarch can step in as a middleman to comfort and rule. Divide and rule. They will. Now, you know why there are so many immigrants in Singapore? We are fighting the immigrants but I will suggest we fight the MONARCHY. By: C0rnelius That is why in my crudest mind I sometimes wish for a war to hit Singapore. Only then will we see who are the people that will take arms to protect the country they hold so dear and the FTs running away back to their homeland By: dove i agree with roy @5th july….my two cents’ worth of opinion may not matter the slightest to the gahmen, but if many of us keep this issue alive, contribute as actively as possible, we keep hammering at it, maybe the gahmen will take notice..i don’t understand why we need so many employment pass FTs in our country, surely we have just as capable singaporeans (those who were laid off in their late 40s and 50s, in top managerial posts?) who can do the job just as well? surely we are not a nation of goondus? do we really need a vibrant (the norm excuse given for employment white collared FTs) society? give me a less vibrant society, and more employment for our own people! By: Roy Personally, I believe this is the most important thread online citizen has presented in her website. This issue would greatly determine the future of Singapore and the welfare of the next generation. Therefore, I hope the moderation can keep important issues like this alive in her website so that as many online citizens can get to view it, and continue to air their opinions. Now, this thread has only a few thousand views and it is already in the archive, slowly but surely, it would be swept under the carpet and the power of information would be lost if you do not search the archives, as it continues to move from one thread to the other. I suggest important issue like this should always remain on the homepage visible for all to see and continue to keep it alive and going. Unless we believe this is not important to me, my family, my country, my children’s future, then it would die a natural cause. Otherwise, you would begin to the see the power of the internet, creating a powerful force of information and public opinions of how we want things to happen for ourselves, family, and country. If this issue really matters to us, let it grow, you never know how many more online citizens would leave their opinions. i.e 1 million? Election would not be too far away, the only way we can change the system is through our rights to vote as citizen of Singapore, and it is through website like this that would help to build up awareness of the important issues of this country, and it also acts as information and education as we head towards the next election. By: closing down sales Part II Damaged brain bargain hunters read ad wrongly thinking they can get pearls at closing down shops to resell at boss 2nd class jewelery shop. Recession lah, boss employed goondoos…or FTs/FWs… can’t even pass stupidity trait test. By: SotongBall “An economy that has a GDP growth rate of 4% and a population growth rate of 2% would have a per capita GDP growth rate of 2%. The per capita GDP growth rate is especially important because it indicates the actual increase in average income being experienced by the people of the country. If a country had a 2% GDP growth rate, but a 3% population growth rate, its per capita GDP growth rate would actually be negative, at -1%. The people would on average be getting poorer each year, even though the overall economy is growing. A more positive way of putting it is that, for people’s incomes on average to increase over time, the GDP growth rate must exceed the rate of population growth.” Why do we need so many FT/FWs? Is it because Singapore is transforming from a highly scalable manufacturing based economy to a less scalable service based economy? Less scalable means you need more people to get the same amount of output or GDP. The nett result could be that GDP grows at a snail’s pace (after this recession) but because of a bigger population, the average Singaporean is poorer. By: mice is nice hi Dove, i am not saying that all S’poreans are hostile & unfriendly lot, just that when 1 tried to approach the “culprit” in an amicable manner & has the door slammed in the face then its not your fault. sometimes, some people can be quick on the draw without, realising 1’s own shortcomings, glad you are not like that. i am sorry you have to live with such un-neighbourly folks around you. there is little 1 can do to change them, i think any of your complains to (TCs, police) will be brushed off as there is a nation-wide effort to welcome them. civil servants will just toe the party line…. sorry if i have made it sound like you were at fault, i was not refering to you despite me posting after you. at times like this most true blue S’poreans can only grin & bear it. the threat to ricebowls, rising stress from inconsiderate FWs/FTs, PRs & newly converted citizens… By: dove hello mice is nice..i have tried to talk in a polite friendly neighbourly way to my neighbours from china upstairs..no joy..i have no problems with foreigners living in my estate, but please do not turn our estate into dumping site! i have had door slammed in my face when i asked politely n in a friendly way if they could remove their drippy mop cos the i had laundry hanging out, my neighbour a few doors away has problems with the foreign national living above her throwing soiled napkins/tissue papers/nail clippingsonto her aircon condenser, these days she is just too afraid to have her window open! we tried to be reasonably with these foreigners, but they seem to think they have to right to throw their trash anywhere n everywhere. ..for every action, there is an equal reaction? sorree, i can’t see myself slamming my door into someone’s face! or throw dirty soiled napkins out of the window! By: mice is nice despite the stresses brought on by FTs/FWs, PRs & newly turned citizens, perhaps these are good opportunities to be forthcoming with people who may not know they are being inconsiderate. thus far living in a HDB unit, i personally have not have to put up with wet dripping mops, laundry, or loud music late into the night. i could have be the “luckier” lot. that said i believe there are truely some bad eggs among those groups. i urge all who approach those non S’poreans to be more amicable when letting them know that some of the way they do things are affecting others living in closed quarters. i have personally seen ugly S’poreans the hostile & aggressive way they approach others who have rubbed them the wrong way, intentionly or not. for every action, there is an equal reaction. By: mice is nice despite the stresses brought on by FTs/FWs, PRs & newly turned citizens, perhaps these are good opportunities to be forthcoming with people who may not know they are being inconsiderate. thus far living in a HDB unit, i personally have not have to put up with wet dripping mops, laundry, or loud music late into the night. i could have be the “luckier” lot. that said i believe there are truely some bad eggs among those groups. i urge all who approach those non S’poreans to be more amicable when letting them know that some of the way they do things are affecting others living in closed quarters. i have personally seen ugly S’poreans the hostile & aggressive way they approach others who have rubbed them the wrong way, intentionly or not. for every action, there is an equal reaction. By: dove the once clean estate i m living in is now a mini dumpsite; tissue papers, soiled napkins thrown out of the windows and landing on the aircon condenser, dirty mops hanging out the windows even after u ask them not to hang their dirty drippy mops out of the windows, they pretend they don’t understand what u are saying or politely asking.,the culprits? the china nationals living above u! half of the residents here are foreigners, mostly from india and china, the former are snobs cos they think they are better than us (high class? living in a rented hdb and they are high class? lol), the latter spits (pity the one walking behind!, i even saw one young china FT spit out of her five storey bedroom window one morning without checking to see if anyone was below!), in the wet market one market, i was waiting to be served by the vegetable stall holder, this china man walked to the stall and demanded aggressively to the old lady stallholder he wanted to be served right away..i told him to queue up, he gave me a dirty look, and walked away, i see china n india(or pakistan or bangladeshi, whatever!) nationals with the whole family in tow, FT worker, wife, young child, grand parents, just how do they all manage to get in so easily?..there is hardly enough space for us singaporeans! ..they also quarrel very loudly, the whole estate can hear their raised voices (this estate used to be quiet and peaceful..alas, all that is gone with the influx of FT living here), they congregrate in groups in the small park in our estate, then leave their litter behind, mostly beer bottles and cans, they pee in the void decks when they think no one is looking… the locals are fed up, i m fed up, my son is worried about job prospects after uni here (that is if he can get a place here, being a poly student), his peers feel the same, they are fed up n worried with so many foreign talents taking up precious few jobs here…singapore is just way too crowded for us now, i can’t walk on the streets without banging into a china or india or bangladeshi or pakistan national, not to mention the ang mohs, they are just everywhere these days! i can’t get the china lady manning the food stalls to understand i want my coffee black and strong, or that i want tau sa pow, not the chicken pow, not the char siew pow, but tau sa pow! i can’t make the china lady in the shop understand i want to pay using nets, i can’t make the india national lady understand please don’t spit in front of me while walking! when in the supermarket, if u r unfortunate enough to be queueing behind or in front of an ang moh lady, and happen to glance at her, she gives u this haughty i m superior than u look..than how come she is shopping in ntuc fairprice supermart leh, and not jason’s, or marketplace, or cold storage, huh? i heard once this ang moh lady telling her friend (i was in the loo, they thought they were alone, or they just didn’t care whether they were heard or not) that local women are crass, no class, don’t know how to dress, have small breasts, not sure if these ang moh cats were tourists or PRs..i m just so fed up! i have been a faithful PAP supporter all these days, but if nothing is done to stem the flow of these so called FT, i fear for my son’s job prospects after uni here (that is if he can get a place, being a poly student!), i might just consider voting for the oppo next election..someone got to speak for us common people leh! please, gahmen, listen to ur people, hor, not the foreigners u let in! i don’t mind letting in some foreigners, but please not sooooo many leh! and not the whole family in tow. By: itchyears i think forums and blogs reveal a lot about the singaporean mind. kiasu and kiasi are just some of the unique traits they have inherited from their political masters. the other traits, too offensive to mention here. chop chop by these traits. By: closing down sales “If you know “A Few Good Men” out there, it will be good, etc….” This catchy marketing tagline is only good for selling fake koyok to those goondoos who need it to cure their damaged brain cells. It is like big discounts for closing down sales in shops which never close. By: theforgottongeneration @203) Homeless on July 1st, 2009 9.45 am The worst thing is for Sporeans to be apathetic. That is why I think forums & blogs are good places to exchange views. This means we should really CONVINCE ourselves, and others, that the situation needs changing. Be honest and fair in our conviction, e.g. voting in opposition may just replace a bunch of clowns with another. Then think how your VOICE (not necessarily VOTE) can be MADE to count, e.g. you have a choice to vote either ruling party, opposition, individual, no confidence, etc. If you know “A Few Good Men” out there, it will be good, etc…. This wouldn’t be easy questions for a common man-on-the street (we are not paid to think politically), but I believe when push comes to shove, people will be …. innovative! Either that, or simply jump ship to another country, lah! By: good memories “And seriously, on that cabin, I could chatter of at least 5 different languages…so you guess it they were worried of their future prospects of Singaporean and especially that of their own.” No choice lah, Certain things that have been done cannot be undone so easily – as some lives (foreign ones with their family & children) are already heavily invested here. Learn to adapt. If you need to treat this place like a market place, just do it as the whole atmosphere now is too “inviting” for anyone with some nostalgic memory left to feel this way this time round. As they do need your concurrence to implement policies that suit their super-fantastic ideas, likewise you do not need to owe them any reason of how you want to feel and treat this place. As for future of singaporeans, you jolly well learn how to take care of yourselves and exercise any of your important decision making very very carefully. By: mike #206, cost is not an issue to gahmen as long as they can keep digging from eventually FTs turned PRs or Citizenship. the prize they paid for….eventually born singaporean will be reduced or disappeared in no time. By: Wynnx Two days, I heard a Singaporean couple in their 40s on the mrt train lamenting that Singapore has changed so much in the past ten years, that it was quite unusual to see ang mo aka foreigners around Singapore and that nowadays it was so common to see them everywhere now. And seriously, on that cabin, I could chatter of at least 5 different languages…so you guess it they were worried of their future prospects of Singaporean and especially that of their own. Seriously, I could identify with them. I cannot imagine how cosmopolitan we can become? And at what cost? By: lim Agree with #204 Dumb and dumber. Use your vote to effect a change.. No use being status quo and then complain for next few years. We need more opposition MPs, so that any policies/bitter pills that are formulated had better be thought thro’ many times (viewed from multiple angles) instead of just pushed thro’ in parliament by the ruling party. Just look at the compulsory cpf-life policy, and the ever increasing minimum sum (an increase of $11000 for 2009), wonder how many of us can contribute that much in a year (just OA/SA, still need to factor in medisave).. By: Dumb and dumber 203) Homeless Vote out the “useless” MP ( if you happen to have the chance to “vote”) for a start. “Balance” the distribution of power in the political arena. Send in the message that the “people” don’t want “yes” man. By: Homeless 201) theforgottongeneration on June 30th, 2009 11.48 pm “reclaim your rights as a citizen to influence national policies” ==> What do you suggest then? By: Dumb and dumber “So, pal, the issue is not so much as thinking up rational solutions but to reclaim your rights as a citizen to influence national policies. Again, pls think! For the sake of our future generations.” #201 – theforgottongeneration. Well said. Singaporeans need to “wake up” and “realise” their social-political responsibility. The current regime has “failed” quite spectacularly; and hopefully, no more “blank” cheque to any future government managing the country in the next GE. PS: Please stop asking for perceived “quality” opposition candidate, you won’t “see or hear” one till the level of competition between the political parties are at the same level. And I am finding even SDP becomes “attractive” by the day when the economic “worsen”. By: theforgottongeneration @200) Homeless on June 30th, 2009 6.32 pm There are lots of good views posted here, quite a lot echoing what you are saying. Basically, you should take a broader perspective of our policies over the years — they are geared toward pro-growth and NOT pro-citizens. My own views to your proposals: 1) The gahmen knows how Sporeans gonna feel about it, and … basically F*** care! It is widely known that they screwed up with the 2-is-enough policy years back, now the effects are here to haunt us. The gahmen definitely doesn’t apologises for past mistakes, they just expects us to “move on”. Target = 6 million people & fast. Period. 2) Why kill off companies by increasing their cost of operation? Basically if coys die, no GDP/taxes! The excuse of lack of Sporeans is a fallacy. See postings #110, #116, #181, etc.. on min. wage issue, etc… 3) Why should they appease you & me? You hostile toward FT is your problem. You probably wouldn’t get to vote in elections, yet they return to parliament. In truth, Sporeans’ welfare already sold out. You think the billions given to GIC/TH cannot be used to increase our welfare? TH lost ~$60 BILLIONS in 6 months! THey still cannot explain why so much used in investments! On 11 June, our health minister announced $25m was used to build 3 new nursing homes. Big deal! If TH’s $60b losses were used for our infrastructure, 7200 nursing homes can be built! And U wonder why he tells us to go to Johor to retire. U know how many babies can be generated if that $60b was given to Sporeans as maternity leave buy-out, baby bonuses, pro-family incentives, etc…? 4) See (1) above –> target 6 million people. Period. Unfair? Sporeans males who served 2.5yrs & 10+ yrs reservist are made to compete with these FT/Fw’s. Probably 600,000’s gone thru NS, but 1.6m foreigners here now — 6 mths, PR already. U think the gahmen is “fair”? 5) MOney is channeled to TH/GIC to gamble on investments, none left for trivials like “free education for Sporeans”. Besides, we are not a welfare society. 6) First, differentiate a FT and a FW. Again, target = 6 millions. Short-cut = import even low-grade materials. You don’t need real or fake paper qualification to generate GDP! So, pal, the issue is not so much as thinking up rational solutions but to reclaim your rights as a citizen to influence national policies. Again, pls think! For the sake of our future generations. By: Homeless @199) theforgottongeneration on June 30th, 2009 5.55 pm 1) We should at least let the gahmen understand the Singaporean’s opinions and feelings about the FT policy. We are not restricting or against the FT policy as we know that it is somewhat beneficial to the survival of Singapore in the long run, however the rate of population increase at the expenses of interest of Singaporeans should be seriously taken into consideration. 2) Gahmen should impose more tax on companies who are employing foreign workers since these companies are complaining that the main reason why they employ foreigners is mainly due to the lack of Singaporean workers. Hence, to deter companies from exploiting cheap labours and causing job losses to Singaporeans, foreign worker levies should increase to match basic salary of employing a Singaporean worker. 3) Currently, any foreigners are being taken as an FT, be it the China lady cleaner or Malaysian sales lady. To appease true Singaporean mindset and prevent further hostilities towards FT, the Gahmen should increase the welfare of true Singaporeans. 4) Increase the hurdle to transfer from a PR status to a Singaporean citizenship. Gahmen should take into account the period of stay of a PR in Singapore, and strictly ensure that the new citizens do really give up their original citizenships before granting Singapore citizenships. I do know of many new citizens who still possess their original citizenships. This is very unfair to Singaporeans who has to adher to the law. 5) Free education for Singaporeans who are born and bred in Singapore up to Tertiary level. I believe this policy will also boost birthrate as parents have one big burden off. We should learn from Australians in this case. 6) Increase the barrier of entry and accept only true FT with creditable education. If gahmen allows any foreigners with any degree or diploma from any University from any country, it will erode the overall education level for the locals who went through the Singaporean education with blood and sweat. Is it fair to local Uni & poly students if Gahmen opens it’s big door to accept any so called FT with disreputable institutes. By: theforgottongeneration @198) Homeless on June 30th, 2009 5.31 pm What do you have in mind, serious? Given the past and present policies of the gahmen? Basically, babies can’t be made overnight, it takes 18+ years to produce an employable person and we seem desperate to hit the 6 millions figure, by hook or by crook. In other words, we are screwed! By: Homeless Can all of us gather some strength and let our voices be heard rather than sit and wait for Singapore to be colonised by foreigners once again?