Rilek1Corner

Category: Politik

  • Netizen From Elite Schools Sincerely Apologises To K Shanmugam

    Netizen From Elite Schools Sincerely Apologises To K Shanmugam

    I have spent several days reflecting on my conduct, in putting up a commentary that was neither accurate nor honest.

    I made a FB post on 24 April which misstated Minister Shanmugam’s views. I attributed to him views the very opposite of what he held, and then criticized him in a sneering tone.

    When the Minister pointed out (through his FB), that I got my facts wrong, I sent him an apology that was a non-apology. The apology was insincere, and self-exculpatory – I tried to claim I was commenting on the headline and not his remarks, when my comments clearly showed otherwise. [When I sent the apology, to make my apology appear true, I also deleted some comments I had made in my FB, which showed that I was in fact commenting on his remarks].

    Having thought further, I have written, as below, to the Minister, to convey my unreserved apology:

    ‘Dear Minister,

    On deeper reflection, I realize my first apology was insincere. I am therefore writing now to apologize unreservedly. I had misrepresented your views in the Today article, and had presented them in a careless, thoughtless and flippant way. To make things worse, my apology was self-exculpatory. I accept that my criticism of your views was untruthful, unfair and unsubstantiated. I have let the LKY School down. But above all I’m sorry for my original post; it was impulsive and reckless.’

    Many do not know this, but when I was out of a job in 2012, it was Minister Shanmugam who spoke with me and offered his help. He then put in a good word for me with LKYSPP, and gave me a recommendation. I decided that I should come clean about someone who had in fact helped me, and I should set out the facts in public.

     

    Source: Donald Low

  • Netanyahu Tosses Hamas Policy Paper On Israel Into Waste Bin

    Netanyahu Tosses Hamas Policy Paper On Israel Into Waste Bin

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday symbolically tossed into a bin a Hamas policy paper published last week that set out an apparent softening of the Palestinian Islamist group’s stance toward Israel.

    In a document issued last Monday, Hamas said it was dropping its longstanding call for Israel’s destruction, but said it still rejected the Jewish state’s right to exist and continued to back “armed struggle” against it.

    The Israeli government has said the document aimed to deceive the world that Hamas was becoming more moderate.

    Netanyahu, in a 97-second video clip aired on social media on Sunday, said that news outlets had been taken in by “fake news”. Sitting behind his desk with tense music playing in the background, he said that in its “hateful document”, Hamas “lies to the world”. He then pulled up a waste paper bin, crumpled the document into a ball and tossed it away.

    “The new Hamas document says that Israel has no right to exist, it says every inch of our land belongs to the Palestinians, it says there is no acceptable solution other than to remove Israel… they want to use their state to destroy our state,” Netanyahu said.

    Founded in 1987 as an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, the banned Egyptian Islamist movement, Hamas has fought three wars with Israel since 2007 and has carried out hundreds of armed attacks in Israel and in Israeli-occupied territories.

    Many Western countries classify Hamas as a terrorist group over its failure to renounce violence, recognize Israel’s right to exist and accept existing interim Israeli-Palestinian peace agreements.

    Outgoing Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal said Hamas’s fight was not against Judaism as a religion but against what he called “aggressor Zionists”. Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas’s leader in the Gaza Strip, was named on Saturday to succeed Meshaal.

    Netanyahu concluded his clip by saying that “Hamas murders women and children, it’s launched tens of thousands of missiles at our homes, it brainwashes Palestinian kids in suicide kindergarten camps,” before binning the document.

     

    Source: www.reuters.com

  • High Court Accepts Application By Dr Tan Cheng Bock On Constitutionality Of Counting Late Wee Kim Wee As First EP

    High Court Accepts Application By Dr Tan Cheng Bock On Constitutionality Of Counting Late Wee Kim Wee As First EP

    COURT APPLICATION ACCEPTED

    I would like to announce that this morning, the High Court accepted my application (HC/OS 495/2017), which seeks the Court’s determination on whether a piece of legislation (section 22 Presidential Elections (Amendment) Act 6 of 2017 which counted President Wee Kim Wee as the first Elected Presidency term for the purposes of calling a Reserved Election), is consistent with our Constitution (Articles 19B(1) and 164(1) which introduced the mechanism of a Reserved Election into our Constitution).

    I am the Plaintiff and for the purposes of serving Court papers on the Government, the Defendant is the Attorney General.

    The application was filed on 5 May 2017. The Court accepted my application this morning, and has fixed a pre-trial conference on 22 May 2017.

    To recap, on 31 March 2017, I held a press conference explaining why in my layman’s opinion, starting the count from President Wee’s term appeared to be inconsistent with the spirit and purpose for reserved elections. I then invited the Government or AG to explain the legal reasons for their count.

    On 1 April 2017 the Government through MCI said I raised no new points that require a response. I responded to say the MCI missed my point. Nothing further was heard on this issue.

    Since this is a matter of national importance, I sought to find the legal answer and consulted the best constitutional lawyer I could find. He is Queen’s Counsel Lord David Pannick. I gave Lord Pannick the Commission Report, White Paper, all relevant Hansard parliamentary reports from 7 Nov 2016 to 6 February 2017, our Constitution and all related statutes on this issue. I asked him one question: whether the AG correctly advised the Government to specify President Wee’s term as the first to be counted on the basis that he was the first President to exercise elected powers.

    Lord Pannick has advised that he disagrees with the AG’s advice, and that section 22 Presidential Elections (Amendment) Act 6 of 2017 as it stands is unconstitutional. After receiving Lord Pannick’s reply, I felt I could not keep his legal opinion to myself. It would be in public interest to have the Court decide which legal view is correct – Lord Pannick or the AG.

    On 28 April 2017, I engaged M/s Tan, Rajah & Cheah to make the necessary application, and to produce in my affidavit Lord Pannick’s written opinion before the Court. I believe this question can be answered without confrontation or hostility. Both the Government and I have the nation’s best interest at heart. It is in nobody’s interest to have a Reserved Election that is unconstitutional.

    I am satisfied that I have, to the best of my ability and capacity, done my part to do what is right in the circumstances, which is to bring to this Court’s attention Lord Pannick’s opinion. Since the matter is now before the Court, it is only right that I refrain from making any further public comment until this case is decided.

     

    Source: Dr Tan Cheng Bock

  • Minister Koh Poh Koon Say Water And Other Rising Costs Set To Have Only “Small Impact” On Inflation

    Minister Koh Poh Koon Say Water And Other Rising Costs Set To Have Only “Small Impact” On Inflation

    Recent adjustments to water and carpark prices may contribute to a “temporary increase” in inflation, but any impact is expected to be “small”, said Minister of State for Trade and Industry Koh Poh Koon.

    Dr Koh said the various price adjustments will contribute around 0.2 percentage points to inflation this year. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has projected prices to be higher this year than they were last year, with the consumer price index (CPI) to come in at 0.5 to 1.5 per cent.

    Dr Koh said the main driver of the increase in prices this year is the expected increase in the price of electricity and “other energy-related components” such as petrol. This, he said, comes against a backdrop of increases in global oil prices.

    Dr Koh was asked by MP for Chua Chu Kang GRC Zaqy Mohamad if the increase in water, electricity, transport and carpark prices would impact inflation and to what extent. Mr Zaqy said his residents have voiced concern on the “slew of government announcements” of such increases.

    “Does the Ministry proactively monitor this and coordinate with agencies so that we can smoothen the impact in anticipation of some of these potential increases that we know … for example the energy prices you mentioned? Could we have smoothened some of these increases as well to make it more affordable for citizens?” Mr Zaqy asked.

    Dr Koh said the Government takes price increases seriously and wherever possible, will smooth out increases although he said it is difficult as oil and gas prices are not within the Government’s control. These will have to be adjusted when prices fluctuate.

    But he said for households receiving the GST Utilities-Save (U-Save) vouchers, the impact of inflation will be much less. That is because rebates are not included in the calculation of CPI.

     

    Rilek1Corner

    Source: http://www.channelnewsasia.com

  • Oxford Study In Malaysia: For Malays, Being Malaysian Equals Being Malay

    Oxford Study In Malaysia: For Malays, Being Malaysian Equals Being Malay

    KUALA LUMPUR, May 5 — National identity and what it means to be Malaysian hold different meanings to Malays and non-Malays, according to a research paper sponsored by the CIMB Foundation.

    The study by Oxford University found that while respondents from the three major ethnic groups (Malay, Chinese, Indian) identified more strongly with their ethnic identities rather than a national one, Malay respondents believed that there was little difference between “being Malaysian” and being Malay.

    It added that integration efforts by the government, such the 1Malaysia concept, may not be successful in its intention as different ethnic communities had varying ideas as to what being Malaysian was.

    “Speaking in terms of being Malaysian to a Malay audience may not promote integration, and could potentially hinder it. More research is necessary to replicate and further investigate the relationships between these variables,” it added.

    By associating the Malaysian identity with being “Malay”, the researchers said that this could in the long run create “negative consequences”, as non-Malays may then view their contributions to the national identity as being disregarded.

    The study added that by assuming the Malaysian identity as being Malay, there was also a risk of it being perceived as an exercise in assimilation rather than integration.

     

    In its recommendation, the study said that the government should rethink its 1Malaysia policy.

     

    Source: www.themalaymailonline.com

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