Category: Politik

Indonesia Government Does Not Want Singapore To Claim Credit For Combating Haze, Rejected Earlier Offers

JAKARTA — Indonesian Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung said that Jakarta had earlier rejected Singapore’s offers of assistance to combat the transboundary haze crisis in the region because it was concerned that the city state would claim credit for solving the problem, even while the officials were worried about the rapidly deteriorating situation.

“The (Indonesian) government is not closing ourselves off to assistance. But if we are assisted, the government does not want them (Singapore) to claim the credit. It is the government that is working hard to resolve (this smog disaster) … So we do not want it to reach the point of them claiming credit for it,” Mr Anung told CNN Indonesia yesterday (Oct 7).

According to Indonesian media reports, President Joko Widodo held an unscheduled closed-door meeting yesterday to discuss the haze problem, which has worsened this week.

Jakarta today asked for help from Singapore, Russia, Malaysia and Japan to put out forest fires that have caused choking smoke to drift across South-east Asia, after having turned down several offers of foreign assistance from other countries, particularly Singapore and Malaysia, which have also been affected by haze since the crisis began last month.

Minister of Forestry and Environment Siti Nurbaya Bakar said yesterday that the government had opened up to the possibility of accepting international assistance as the situation was getting worse.

Dr Siti Nurbaya explained that as the fires spread and difficulty of putting them out increased, Indonesia would need support from abroad to provide equipment that is capable of providing water capacity and stronger volume pressure. “It seems that there is a need to receive support whether from Singapore, Russia, Austria, and others,” said the minister at the Presidential Palace Complex yesterday. She added that water bombing and artificial rain would be the most effective and in this regard, Indonesia required more aircraft at its disposal

This was despite Dr Siti Nurbaya stating earlier that Indonesia did not require any assistance from Singapore as it has more than enough aircraft.

Mr Anung stressed yesterday that while the government had not yet decided to declare the smog that is blanketing Sumatra and Kalimantan as a national disaster, it was very concerned about the problem. He said Mr Widodo was actively monitoring the situation, especially through social media, including direct view content uploaded by the community.

“Earlier we showed this (information from social media) to the President. The President knows everything, because we want the President to get information that is as complete as possible to the events that happened,” the Cabinet Secretary highlighted.

Mr Widodo planned to go to a number of areas affected by the haze but he has not been able to do so as the air quality and visibility worsened.

Source: www.todayonline.com

October 9, 2015
Amos Yee’s Appeal To Overturn Jail Term And Conviction Dismissed

Teen blogger Amos Yee had an appeal against his prior conviction and jail sentence dismissed by the High Court on Thursday (Oct 8).

Yee was expected to attend the hearing for his appeal to be heard, but did not show up. His lawyer, Mr Alfred Dodwell, who filed the notice of appeal on Jul 9, was present.

Justice Tay Yong Kwang decided to conduct the hearing without the 16-year-old, who has already finished serving his 4-week prison sentence. Following a hearing that lasted about two hours, the appeal was dismissed.

The teen was found guilty of two charges in May this year, after a two-day trial. Yee was convicted of one count of making offensive or wounding remarks against Christianity and one count of circulating obscene imagery.

Said Justice Tay: “Yee used offending words against the central figure of the Christian religion.”

The High Court judge added: “Yee’s attitude of complete disregard for others … is not commonly seen. He did not respect anyone.” Justice Tay noted that the blogger had “openly defied” court orders and made sure his “bravado” was made known.

The defence argued that Yee was exercising his constitutional right to freedom of speech and provoke “critical discussion”. Said Mr Dodwell: “Yes, Amos has been rude but were his actions a crime?”

In response, Justice Tay said: “This is not freedom of speech, this is a licence to humiliate others. It seems like Yee is throwing stones at his neighbour’s flat to force his neighbour to notice him.”

The judge also had sharp comments on the blogger’s manner of speech.

“Yee used coarse, hard-hitting words to arouse emotions … vulgar insults to deliberately provoke readers and draw them out,” he said, adding that the 16-year-old should “wean himself off his preference for crude, rude language (and engage in) real debate”, which can “flourish in an environment of goodwill, reasoning and civil language”.

CASE HISTORY

Apart from the two charges Yee was convicted of, a third charge regarding statements Yee made in a YouTube video about the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew had been withdrawn.

Yee uploaded the controversial video on Mar 27, just five days after Mr Lee’s passing, in which the teen likened Mr Lee to Jesus and criticised the founding Prime Minister.

He was arrested two days later, after several police reports were made against him, and charged in court on Mar 31. Yee was initially granted bail, set at S$20,000, with the condition that he would not post materials online while his case was before the courts.

He later flouted these conditions on Apr 14 by publishing a post asking the public for donations. His parents refused to post bail again, and Yee was instead bailed out by family counsellor Vincent Law.

However, Yee flouted his bail conditions a second time on Apr 29 following two blog posts that touched on the terms of his bail and accusing his father of being abusive, causing Mr Law to discharge himself as bailor.

Yee, on his way to the courthouse the next day, was struck by a 49 year old man who wanted to “teach him a lesson”. Neo Gim Huah was sentenced to three weeks’ jail.

After being remanded at the Institute of Mental Health for two weeks for psychiatric assessments, Dr Cai Yiming concluded that Yee does not suffer from any mental disorder.

After Yee’s sentencing on Jul 6, Mr Dodwell had said his client was “remorseful”, but added: “Let’s not run away with the idea that just because he’s remorseful and stuff, that is in relation to the social context. Whether this was a crime or not, still remains a question we want to determine in the High Court”.

Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

October 8, 2015
Schizophrenic Convicted Of Sending Threatening Facebook Messages To Lee Hsien Loong

In what is believed to be the first case of its kind, a 33-year-old Singaporean man has been found guilty on Tuesday (Oct 6) of sending threatening messages to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong via Facebook.

Tan Yeong Hong said he became frustrated when he attended a Meet the People’s Session (MPS) in PM Lee’s Ang Mo Kio ward on Jun 24 this year, only to find that the PM would not be there.

Tan said he attended the MPS to pass the PM “an article he had typed out”. He had to settle for passing the letter to a grassroots leader instead.

In the four threatening messages he sent to the PM, Tan said: “Eh, you challenged me to visit your MPS but you are not here. I will find and stage an attack on you when I have information on your public appearances. You know who I am”.

Tan also included his NRIC number and handphone number in the messages.

A police report was lodged the next day by a Senior Manager of the Online Communications Unit of the Prime Minister’s Office, which manages the PM’s social media accounts.

HE IS ‘VIOLENT … ALWAYS ARMED WITH A KNIFE’

A team of investigating officers traced the messages to Tan, and a background check revealed that he lived at Block 108 Hougang Avenue 1, while his father lived in an old folks’ home and his mother had been admitted to hospital.

Police interviewed Tan’s parents, who informed them at their son was “a violent person … always armed himself with a knife”.

Hours later, police nabbed Tan close to his home. A hostile Tan punched a policeman on his shoulder and elbowed another in the face, but was eventually subdued and placed under arrest.

In a search of Tan’s home, police found assorted dangerous weapons including a hammer, two choppers and several knives. Police also found a list of PM’s upcoming public appearances.

Tan admitted that he had brought a hammer along to the MPS but never intended to use it.
The man also disclosed that he had been approached 10 years ago by an unnamed Chinese male, and was “instructed to pass ‘data’ to PM Lee”. He claimed he “was being prompted by someone with a hidden audio and surveillance device” planted in his house.

“The people in the audio and surveillance system told me to … throw a hammer at (PM) because he refused to take the document from me after he had asked me to prepare it”, Tan said.

When District Judge Mathew Joseph asked if Tan had seen this device, Tan said that he had not.

TAN SUFFERS FROM PARANOID SCHIZOPHRENIA

Deputy Public Prosecutor Andre Chong said that psychiatric reports show that Tan suffers from paranoid schizophrenia, which had been left untreated at the time of his offences. The illness played “a large contributory role in (his) offending behavior”, according to the report. However, Tan was not found to be of unsound mind and is still fit to plead, the report concluded.

Tan, who was unrepresented, said he is sorry for “the childish act” and asked for a light sentence because his mother has had knee surgery and is father is a stroke patient. “I was facing financial problems”, Tan said, in response to Judge Mathew’s question as to why he had sent the threats to the PM.

“I think I’m living in a unit with a secret camera”, Tan told the court, and stated again that he had no intention of carrying out the threats.

Judge Mathew, speaking to Tan directly, said this is “an extremely serious case, you are facing a stiff sentence”, and expressed concern that the accused did not realise the severity of the charges he is facing.

When he heard that the prosecution intended to seek a sentence of 18 to 23 months’ jail, Tan did an about-turn and told the judge that he did in fact wish to engage counsel.

The judge, having previously expressed his intention to refer Tan’s case to a voluntary lawyer “in the interests of justice and fairness” and “in light of the charges (Tan) is facing”, adjourned the matter until Oct 15, at which a lawyer for Tan is expected to be present.

Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

October 7, 2015
Singapore Ambassador-At-Large: Scrapping CMIO Race Categories ‘May Spark Unease Among Minorities’

Suggestions to scrap the traditional Chinese, Malay, Indian, Others (CMIO) categorisation may seem viable to young Singaporeans, but it would spark unease among the minority races even today, believes Professor Chan Heng Chee.

“The majority community doesn’t feel uncomfortable. It’s (with) the minority community (where) you have to keep emphasising it’s equal language, religion, culture (and) race,” the Ambassador-at-Large at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday (Oct 4).

“Every race has the same standing. It is very important going forward.”

Speaking at the Community Leaders’ Conference, Prof Chan, who was Ambassador to the United States for 16 years, added: “There’s a supra-ethnic identity we all share — we’re CMIO Singaporeans.”

This umbrella identity is created through housing, education and National Service policies, she pointed out. Singlish, for instance, is a unifying variant of English.

Taking a question from the floor on youths growing increasingly distant from their roots, Prof Chan acknowledged that young Chinese Singaporeans, for instance, would be “far less Chinese” than their elders.

But, the CMIO categorisation remains a “signal”, offering assurance to other races that their place in society has not been threatened. A new challenge to preserving racial and religious harmony, however, comes from the inflow of foreigners, she said.

“Some people say … we’re Singaporean Chinese and they’re PRC (People’s Republic of China) Chinese, Hong Kong Chinese, Taiwanese Chinese. The rift is there,” she added.

Drawing on her experience in the US, Prof Chan pointed out that while Singaporeans complain about the accents of foreigners, the Americans do not. “The Americans don’t say, ‘You’re speaking Singlish. You’re not one of us,’” she said. “The challenge for us in Singapore is: How do we integrate the new citizens who’ve become part of our ethnic groups, and how do we make them feel Singaporean?”

Time could be a solution, she suggested. Over time, new citizens would pick up the values here, although she noted that the emergence of social media means they can also keep abreast of news and happenings in their hometown, which could impact integration.

Should they stick out as a separate community, it could lead to “new cleavages” in society, she said.

Another participant asked about the increasingly diverse slate of religions in Singapore, and if that changed the “balance” between racial and religious harmony.

Agreeing that there was increasing religiosity, Prof Chan said: “How do you make sure it does not attack another religion? … This is something that we have to watch out for.”

She added: “I’ll be quite frank here … it’s live and let live with LGBTs (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender), but it’s going to get more difficult because religious groups have attitudes. But, LGBTs are Singaporeans. How do you deal with that?”

As for the school environment, the splitting of classes according to pupils’ mother tongue could lead to a situation where students interact primarily within their own races, said Prof Chan.

“When all those who study Chinese are put in one class, so that their subjects make it easier for them to move around, you only have Chinese friends in your class … I think we could try to change some of that.”

Source: www.todayonline.com

October 5, 2015
The Singapore Government By The Numbers
Which school in Singapore has produced the most number of office-holders in the 2015 Singapore Cabinet? How many doctors and lawyers are there in the mix? How many made the jump from military service to political office? Who is the youngest and who is the oldest person in Government?

On Monday (Sept 28), Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong revealed his new Cabinet following the Sept 11 election, in which the ruling People’s Action Party won a 69.9 per cent of the votes.

He introduced a new Coordinating Minister role which will be undertaken by his two deputies – Mr Teo Chee Hean (National Security) and Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam (Economic and Social Policies) – as well as veteran minister Khaw Boon Wan, who will be Transport minister as well as co-ordinate issues related to Infrastructure.

Mr Lee also put younger faces in key posts, including first-time MPs Ng Chee Meng and Ong Ye Kung who will both be Acting Minister in the Education portfolio.

Among them are several former principal private secretaries (PPS):
- Mr Khaw Boon Wan, Minister for Transport and Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure, was PPS to former Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong (1992 to 1995).
- Mr Heng Swee Keat, Minister for Finance, was PPS to then Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew (1997 to 2000).
- Mr Lawrence Wong, Minister for National Development, was PPS to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (2005 to 2008).
- Mr Chee Hong Tat, Minister of State for Communications and Information and Health, was PPS to Mr Lee Kuan Yew (2008 to 2011).
- Mr Ong Ye Kung, Acting Minister for Education (Higher Education and Skills) and Senior Minister of State for Defence, was PPS to PM Lee Hsien Loong (2002 to 2005).
There are also several former military men:
- PM Lee was a Brigadier-General in the army.
- Mr Teo Chee Hean, Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security, was the Chief of Navy.
- Mr Chan Chun Sing, Minister in Prime Minister’s Office and Government Whip, was the Chief of Army.
- Mr Tan Chuan-Jin, Minister for Social and Family Development, was a Brigadier-General in the army.
- Mr Ng Chee Meng, Acting Minister of Education (Schools) and Senior Minister of State for Transport, was Chief of Defence Force.
Here is a look at the Singapore Government by the numbers.

Source: www.straitstimes.com
October 1, 2015