Category: Politik

Lim Swee Say: Degree Mills Are Fine So Long As Individuals Meet Salary And Experience Criteria

New Manpower Minister Lim Swee Say on Monday wrote an entry in his blog to explain how the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) treats forged degrees and those from degree mills in Employment Pass and S Pass applications.

His explanation included an infographic (see below) and the potential penalty for providing forged degrees.

Those who provide fraudulent educational documents will be barred for life from working in Singapore.

Those with degrees from an unaccredited institution, will be assessed based on their experience and salary criteria.

His blog post came after Non-Constituency MP Gerald Giam had submitted a Parliamentary Question on Monday about the checks that are done when processing S Pass and Employment Pass applications.

Mr Lim provided a similar answer, and said that to detect forged qualifications, his ministry conducts internal database checks, as well as external checks through third-party screening agencies, direct verifications with the issuing institutions, and by requiring the employer to show proof that they have verified that the submitted qualifications are genuine.

He added that employers have a primary responsibility to ensure the authenticity and quality of the academic qualifications of the foreigners they wish to hire.

Source: www.allsingaporestuff.com

May 12, 2015
Amos Yee Exposes Limits On Free Speech In Singapore

A government crackdown on a teen video blogger and independent news and opinion website has focused attention on free speech limits, and perhaps the next election, in this cosmopolitan but famously strict city-state.

Five days after the death in March of Singapore’s founding father, 16-year-old Amos Yee posted his latest American-accented blog to YouTube, titled “Lee Kuan Yew Is Finally Dead!” He shared it with the popular and provocative site The Real Singapore, one of several online alternatives to government-controlled TV broadcasts and newspapers.

After it went viral locally, with over a million views so far, Yee was arrested and charged with transmitting an obscene image and deliberately “wounding the religious or racial feelings of any person.” He refused bail conditions that amounted to a gag order and has been jailed for over two weeks, awaiting a court’s judgment on Tuesday. He has pleaded not guilty and faces up to three years in prison. The government’s Media Development Authority shut down TRS, as it is known, earlier this month — though officials say it was for unrelated reasons.

“These are the things that will split the whole society,” said Alvin Tan, who as artistic director of the respected theater company The Necessary Stage has tangled with censors for over three decades. “I think we’re waiting for a tipping point.” He has refused to self-censor but negotiates with government representatives, who have had a lighter touch recently with his plays.

Singapore’s government has long aggressively protected its image and authority with legal action both against domestic and international critics, but Yee’s case stands out: A floppy-haired, wryly humorous teenager targeted by prosecutors for a strongly-worded video, sent to prison and shackled in court.

Last fall the MDA banned film director Tan Pin Pin’s documentary about political exiles “To Singapore, With Love.” Lawrence Wong, Singapore’s minister for culture, community and youth, said the film “was deemed to be a real distortion of what happened in Singapore’s history, but disguised as a documentary.”

“Freedom is not unfettered freedom. There are some limits. And the limits are put out there quite clearly,” he said Wong said the government intervenes only when concerned that speech will upset “social stability.”

Standing next to his underground black box theater, Tan said the strong reaction to TRS and “famous Amos” could be due to the political landscape. “I find things tightening up because it’s just before elections,” he said.

In the eulogies that followed Lee’s death the public was repeatedly reminded of his — and the ruling party’s — achievements, which will remain fresh in most people’s minds if the next general elections are called later this year, as is expected.

But at the same time, with the passing of a stalwart who was the ruling party’s binding force, a political shift feels more possible. As Singaporeans celebrate 50 years of independence in August, they are also finding their own voices in social media, often the site for public debate on politics and social issues.

Meanwhile, the opposition has been on the rise, and could do relatively well in the next elections. It won 10 seats in the 99-seat Parliament in the 2011 elections, up from two previously. Losing even more seats to the opposition would be a huge blow for the People’s Action Party, which has ruled the country since 1959, and is now led by Lee’s oldest son, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

“The question of who is to lead the next Singapore is going to be one of the scariest questions to answer,” said Shiao-Yin Kuik, a nominated member of parliament who runs a consultancy and small chain of restaurants aimed at encouraging public dialogue about social issues. Though she dismisses Yee’s blog comments as uninformed, she’s been working to encourage political engagement among young people.

“A kid does not have it in his head that ‘I’m going to be president one day, or prime minister.’ It’s not in the narrative. And it’s not in the narrative of their parents,” she said.

The hard part for young people in modern Singapore is determining how much they can say, whether in politics or art, without repercussions, said 26-year-old visual artist Wong Kel Win. He wrote his university thesis on self-censorship, which is widespread in the arts community and beyond.

“The problem is that we don’t know where to draw the line. Where is the line that we get into trouble?” he asked. That leads to a culture of avoiding big issues. Wong assisted a government-sponsored community center project in which participants — young and old — were asked to create art that represented their hopes for the future of Singapore.

“They draw more trees, they draw WiFi in the MRT (subway) stations. It’s painful. It’s really painful,” he said. “The country will not grow if we continue to be like that.”

Between sips of a Hoegaarden beer in a modern hotel bar, Wong was grappling with his “love-hate relationship” with Singapore. He loves the clean streets, modern conveniences and lack of corruption that have made it a world business hub.

He respects and admires Lee’s accomplishments and considers himself politically neutral. But as for the next election: “I would love to see things get chaotic a bit.”

There’s already been a bit more chaos than usual for tamped-down Singapore in the court proceedings for Yee. A man ran up and slapped him outside court in front of the media. One of Yee’s attorneys, Alfred Dodwell, said he fears for his client’s safety if he is released.

“We’re a mature society now, a very educated society, but at the same time a very sensitive society,” he said.

Dodwell is on the board of directors for The Independent, another online news site launched two years ago. He doubts the government has lost much support from the general public over free speech issues, but also predicts change on the horizon.

“The real test is the ballot box,” he said. “It’s a very important election coming up. Fifty years have come and gone, so we’re looking at the next leg.”

Source: https://sg.news.yahoo.com

May 12, 2015
Roy Ngerng: Free Amos Yee

Thank you everyone for coming to today’s vigil.

As we gather here today, Amos sits in his cell in remand, within four walls and bright lights.

But Amos has not done anything wrong. He does not deserve this treatment. He does not deserve to be charged.

More so, he does not deserve to sit in jail. He has been inside for 17 days now. And even more so, he should not be shackled in chains and cuffs.

He is still innocent. And he is innocent.

Amos is a child. Where is the humanity when we treat Amos as a criminal when he has not even been sentenced?

Where is the humanity when even many people do not think he has done anything wrong, but he has been unfairly persecuted?

How would the PAP ministers think if it were their own children who are put behind bars and locked up in chains?

But this isn’t even a question. We know they would not let it happen to their own children.

Then why do they allow another parent’s child to suffer such a fate?

Have they thought of Amos’s parents? More importantly, have they thought of Amos?

Have they thought of the child and the state’s responsibility to the child?

Amos is a child. No matter what we think of him or what he has said, it is disproportionate to want this kind of state violence meted on him.

If we do not have the patience, kindness and compassion for a child, how then can we call ourselves a society? How then can a people govern if they lack even this most basic instinct, to love, to understand and to forgive?

Yes, Amos said some things. But he said some things.

Many among the PAP have said worse. An ex-PAP member posted a photo of a bus with Muslim children and posed the question if they are young terrorist trainees. A PAP supporter wanted to cut off Amos’s penis and put it into his mouth. A man even physically attacked Amos and smacked him in his face because he said that Amos has criticised Lee Kuan Yew.

Amos has now suffered this abuse simply because he spoke about Lee Kuan Yew.

But Lee Kuan Yew has said even worse things than Amos about the Malays and Muslims. Yet none of the PAP members and supporters have asked for him to be arrested, charged, jailed or caned as they have wanted Amos to be.

Instead, they take what Lee Kuan Yew said to be the gospel truth.

Amos said that the PAP supporters worship Lee Kuan Yew without logic. And he was punished for it.

But what Amos said is true, isn’t it? The PAP supporters do worship Lee Kuan Yew without logic, don’t they?

In fact, if they would stay silent even as Lee Kuan Yew said worse things but would want Amos persecuted, then it clearly shows that what they are really upset about Amos is not what he said about Christians, isn’t it?

Truth is, they were hurt and “wounded” because they were upset with what Amos said about Lee Kuan Yew.

It is about Lee Kuan Yew. It has always been. Nothing else.

Some people said that these PAP supporters are using religion as a front to mask their displeasure against Amos. I am inclined to agree. It is obvious.

But there are no laws in Singapore where it is illegal to criticise Lee Kuan Yew. There is no law in Singapore where one can be found to have committed a crime because of having intentionally wounded the feelings of Lee Kuan Yew supporters.

These supporters have abused the law for their own purpose.

But Singapore is not the PAP. To the PAP supporters, they think Singapore belongs to them. They will tell you to leave the country if you are not happy with the way the PAP run their country.

But they have forgotten that the reason why Singapore can succeed today is because of the hard work and effort of all Singaporeans, and people who live in our country.

It is not just because of the PAP. It is not just because of the PAP supporters.

It is because of the many Singaporeans who are willing to earn low and depressed wages to help Singapore grow, even as the PAP supporters and the rich among them take away the high profit for themselves and leave Singaporeans with too little.

But this is what Amos said in his video too. Amos spoke about the income inequality in Singapore.

He spoke about how a “great leader” is one who will take care of Singaporeans.

Amos was right. Why was he persecuted?

Amos said that Lee Kuan Yew is a “horrible” person.

But Lee Kuan Yew is. Amos spoke the truth.

From the 1960s to 1980s, Lee Kuan Yew and the PAP arrested thousands of Singaporeans and imprisoned them without trial. Some of them were jailed for more than 10, 20 or even 30 years.

Their families suffered. Tens of thousands of their families suffered. But did Lee Kuan Yew ever apologised for it? Did the PAP ever apologised for it? Instead, the PAP continues to pretend that what they did was right. The PAP continues to claim that they were trying to protect Singapore, when it has been proven that the PAP had arrested and detained these innocent Singaporeans unfairly and unjustly.

The PAP simply doesn’t have a valid reason to do so, but they did anyway.

And the PAP never stopped. Today, Amos has become another victim in the PAP’s persecution of Singaporeans, just as I was and still am.

But the PAP is not Singapore. And Singapore is not the PAP.

We have allowed the PAP to be too comfortable with abusing their power in government for too long.

I got to know Amos about a month ago. After he made his video and was charged for it, I became concerned.

With how they treated him, I saw all the hallmarks of what I went through when I was sued for defamation and I did not want to see Amos go through what I did.

Not without support.

I needed to show him support. I want to show him support.

It is a lonely journey when you believe in something and want to fight for it.

But I am glad that this is not the case for Amos. I am glad that there are friends in Singapore and around the world who cares for Amos.

For in Amos, the conscience of Singaporeans have been awoken.

Never have I, in my living memory, seen so much support and outpouring from Singaporeans who feel so aggrieved that they have sent in their photos to support Amos for the #FreeAmosYee campaign.

This is a first for a political campaign in recent times.

I asked Singaporeans to send in their photos on Saturday, on my birthday, and in 2 days, I have received more than 60 photos, from even our neighbours in Malaysia, Thailand and Myanmar, as well as from The Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Never before has there been a cause that has rallied together Singaporeans so strongly against the atrocities of the PAP.

Today, I am starting to see unity among Singaporeans.

I finally understand that Singaporeans are also feeling, enough is enough.

But Amos cannot see any of this because he is still in remand.

Tomorrow, his sentence will be passed. But what will happen to him?

We can only hope for the best, and that is why we are here today.

Amos did not do anything wrong. Amos has to be released.

#FreeAmosYee

Amos is my friend. Even though we have known each other for only a short one month, in fact, shorter since he has been spending most of the time in prison, I feel that I can understand him.

I see in him the honesty and truth that I uphold for myself.

I see in him the justice and fairness that I believe.

But Amos is more.

It is funny that a 16-year-old boy can teach you lessons, even when you are 34 – I just turned 34 on Saturday!

But Amos has. He has told me several times to be honest with myself. But Amos doesn’t just say it.

He does it.

This is why even though we know how important freedom to us is, Amos is willing to go into prison to fight for our freedom.

We do not know it but it is in his courage and his unbending spirit, that he has exposed the hypocrisy of the PAP and how it has bent the law for itself.

Amos has taught us the real value of freedom, of justice and of truth.

He is a friend and a teacher, even at 16.

I see the courage that he has put himself through, I see his determination.

I see his honesty.

I see the man for who he is.

Today, thank you for coming to this vigil. Amos cannot be here. But if he was, he would appreciate this.

But it is not just Amos that we are here for today. It is for courage, honesty and freedom.

And today, we have stepped up, stepped up to fight for him and for ourselves, because Amos stood up and he showed us the way.

And now, it is up to us to lead the way for him.

Thank you, all.

*This is a speech by Roy Ngerng at the Candleight vigil for Amos Yee

Source: http://thehearttruths.com

May 12, 2015
Chee Soon Juan: I Call Upon Lee Hsien Loong To Lead With Courage And Wisdom In Amos Yee Saga

Mr Amos Yee’s video and his prosecution has grabbed the attention of Singaporeans, evoking strong emotions among many people.

Amos’ remarks must have hurt PM Lee Hsien Loong deeply. After all, Lee Kuan Yew was the PM’s father and no one enjoys having their loved ones criticised, especially at a time when one is still grieving and in the manner in which it was done. Amos’ video was offensive and ill-advised.

But this is where we need leadership to come through. Mr Lee is not an ordinary citizen. He is the leader of the country. Difficult as it may be, he must separate his personal feelings from his public ones.

Clearly, there are laws that empower the state to prosecute the teenager. But life’s lessons impart to us that just because we can, it doesn’t mean that we should.

Amos, as it has been repeatedly pointed out, is still a teenager and as teenagers go, so goes all the emotional complexities that adolescence brings.

As parents, we must seek to influence and mould rather than proscribe and punish. Our instinct must be to coax the best out of our children whatever their talents and frailties. As leaders, should we act any differently towards our youths?

From his Facebook posts, Amos seems to be undergoing a complex time in his development. He is undoubtedly endowed with exceptional talent. We should also recognise that he is not a hardened, let alone common, criminal deserving of shackles and imprisonment. For all his precociousness, he is still a child who needs guidance.

Given the situation, the state should provide Amos and his parents assistance rather than make life more difficult for them.

In the bigger picture, how we deal with youths like Amos – and there is a rapidly growing number among the younger generation who are frustrated with the current political system – will determine how we progress as a nation.

If all we are intent on is to shut our youths up by prosecuting and imprisoning them, then we are creating a dangerous situation for ourselves. We will rue the missed opportunity to bring them into public process and harness their intellect and exuberance if we hope to progress.

It is imperative that this Government deals with the emerging situation with greater sophistication than it has demomstrated thus far. To do this, we need more discussion and nuanced conversation, not prosecution.

As for Amos’ comments on Christianity, there are many in the SDP who are Christians and we are not offended by the video. Neither do we wish to see Amos prosecuted for his views – our faiths are not so shallow as to punish a boy for criticising it.

It is, therefore, incomprehensible to see the state media mischievously suggest that it was the SDP who had influenced Amos to make his video. It is such kind of irresponsible journalism that causes national discord.

If the PAP is offended by Amos’ words, then I would like to remind it that I have been called worse things, much of it by Lee Kuan Yew himself. I choose not to harbour any grudge for a burdened heart cannot truly serve the people.

In this vein, I call on the Prime Minister to step up and lead. With courage and wisdom.

Source: Chee Soon Juan

May 11, 2015
Amos Yee: Critique Is To Spur Positive Change

16-year old blogger Amos Yee explained in court documents that his intention in critiquing Christianity and Lee Kuan Yew is to open discussions on what he saw as “problems” with the faith and Singapore.

The teenager said that he was aware his critique would lead some people to take offence, but that this promoted discussion, which, he added, “was healthy for positive change to take place in future.”

Amos Yee is being charged for remarks he made in a video on the death of the late Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore’s former prime minister.

The authorities say the video “contained remarks against Christianity, with the deliberate intention of wounding the religious feelings of Christians in general”.

He is also being charged for a caricature of Mr Lee and the late British prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, which the authorities say is an offence under Singapore’s obscenity laws.

After his video on Mr Lee was uploaded, Amos Yee said there were positive and negative comments from the public, and that he was “pleased that my video had opened up a bigger avenue to look at religion objectively, instead of mere blind faith.”

He said he had concerns about the Christian faith and that the “the only way to rectify the problem is to criticize the problems head-on.”

He explained that while he “was aware that critiquing these problems (with the Christian faith) would promote ill-will”, he saw this as “a natural consequence”, and that “promoting ill-will is a prerogative for positive change to happen in society, especially if the issue at hand were initially controversial.”

The teen said he was born into a Catholic family and was raised a Catholic.

However, in 2013, when he was about to be confirmed as a Catholic (which is a practice in the Church known as “Confirmation”), he “started to question the implications” of it.

He then began to conduct his own research into the faith by watching online videos on Youtube and reading blog posts.

His finding, from these, and other “emotional catalysts” such as being “kicked out” of the altar boys group for swearing, resulted in him disengaging from the Church altogether in 2013, he said.

Earlier this year, he observed that “there was huge outpouring of grief online and in the mainstream media” when Mr Lee passed away.

He said this “piqued” his interest and he decided to conduct more research on Mr Lee. He visited blogger Roy Ngerng’s website, had discussions with supporters of the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP), and read Mr Lee’s book, “Lee Kuan Yew: The Man And His Ideas”, which he had borrowed from Toa Payoh library.

“After my research, I realised that he was a horrible man and that some of his policies were inane,” Amos Yee said.

Subsequently, he decided to make a video on Mr Lee’s death, in which he also drew comparisons between Mr Lee and Jesus Christ.

Amos Yee said he has been making videos since he was 12-years old.

He had also won two awards – Best Actor and Best Short Film – for one of his films, “Jan”, three years ago in The New Paper’s first film award competition, beating 160 other entries.

In the 8-minute video on Mr Lee, titled “Lee Kuan Yew is finally dead!”, where he spoke some 1,200 words, Amos Yee mentioned “Jesus Christ” once, and “Christian” twice.

Before uploading the video online, he asked two of his friends if the video would be legal, but both gave him inconclusive answers.

He then looked up the Sedition Act to see if his video would contravene the law.

“However, after reading through the Act, I remained unsure as to the legality of my video,” he said in the court documents.

Nonetheless, he said he “was aware that the contents of the video were seditious in nature” but he was unsure if his actions would land him in jail.

He decided to go ahead and upload the video after he saw how others “whose opinions were published online and promoted a lot of ill-will, continued to publish these opinions of theirs and were not charged under the Sedition Act.”

He thus did not think that his actions (in uploading the video online) would be deemed illegal.

After the video became public, the teenager said he noticed that the majority of online comments in reaction to it were “hate-filled messages”.

But he said he expected this “as the content was meant to be controversial.”

There were also, he noted, “a noticeable amount of people who agreed with my views and supported my stance.”

The video has thus far been viewed more than a million times on Youtube.

Amos Yee also revealed in his court documents that he “began receiving death threats and hate messages online and on my mobile phone.”

He said he was “not overly concerned” by these as he felt most of them were baseless and were “not steeped in logic.”

“Besides, despite the hatred and ill-will generated from my video, it opened up a larger avenue for critical discussion towards Lee Kuan Yew, thus raising awareness to the inherent problems of Singapore,” he said.

Amos Yee was assaulted outside the State Court about a week ago as he made his way to a pre-trial conference.

A 49-year old man is reported to have been arrested for the assault since, and police say investigations are ongoing.

As for the caricature of Mr Lee and Mrs Thatcher portrayed in an unflattering manner, Amos Yee said he came up with the image after learning that Mrs Thatcher had once said Mr Lee “was always right.”

The teenager felt that this was an “overgeneralisation” and “too sweeping to be objectively true.”

His intention in making the image was thus to make fun of Mrs Thatcher’s claim, and to encourage more people to “openly criticise and make fun of their political leaders.”

This, he said, “opens up a larger avenue for critical analysis and positive change in Singapore.”

Amos Yee said he refuses to remove any of the videos he has made, or the post about Mr Lee and Mrs Thatcher, “because it would not appease the public”, and also it would suggest that he was sorry for the videos and the blog post, which he is in fact not sorry for.

He explained that he was not remorseful for his actions because while he knows that they are offensive, “that is an aspect for freedom of speech and positive change to occur.”

Amos Yee had ended his video expressing hope that Singapore would see positive changes, especially with a general election expected to be called soon.

“[There] is high chance that us, citizens of Singapore, things can finally change for the better,” he said in the video. “Let’s all hope for change, for good change, for every possible kind.”

After the hearing on Wednesday, the teenager’s lawyer, Alfred Dodwell, said his client was in good spirits.

“He believes that he’s done nothing wrong, stands by what he says, and this is the very reason why he is in remand, because he refuses to be gagged,” Mr Dodwell said.

The parents of the 16-year old were in court to lend support to their son yesterday, along with friends and supporters of Amos Yee.

The two-day trial, presided by District Judge Jasvendar Kaur, continues on Friday afternoon.

Read also: “Amos Yee pleads not guilty, in good spirits”.

Source: www.theonlinecitizen.com

May 9, 2015