Category: Singapuraku

  • This Is What Happens If You Don’t Vote In Singapore; A $50 Fee If Reason Is Not Accepted

    This Is What Happens If You Don’t Vote In Singapore; A $50 Fee If Reason Is Not Accepted

    Voting: is it a right or a privilege? The verdict’s still out on that, but in Singapore, you’d better believe it when they say voting is compulsory.

    According to the Elections Department website, “Voting at Singapore’s presidential elections or parliamentary elections is compulsory for all eligible citizens. It is part of the responsibilities of being an adult Singapore citizen.”

    So what really happens if you don’t vote?

    Well, you don’t serve time in prison, that’s for sure. But the Returning Officer (that’s Ng Wai Choong, who took over from everyone’s favourite Yam Ah Mee) will pass the list of names who didn’t vote to the Registration Officer, who will then remove your name from the list of eligible voters. This means you won’t be able to vote in future elections. It also means that you’re automatically disqualified from running as a candidate in any election.

    You can get your name back on the list of eligible voters, though, if you explain why you didn’t vote here or send in a form providing your reason for not voting. Take note that you will only be able to restore your name to the list before the Writ of Elections is issued (it’s too late now), and that only certain reasons may be accepted, such as:

    1. working overseas (including being on a business trip) at the time of the poll;
    2. studying overseas at the time of the poll;
    3. living with your spouse who is working or studying overseas;
    4. overseas vacation; and
    5. illness, or delivering a baby.

    (Source: Singapore Elections Department)

    If your reason is deemed invalid, you will have to pay a S$50 fee in order to get your name restored (no, this is not an SG50 joke).

    So to avoid having to go through the trouble of getting your name restored, cast your votes next Friday, and vote wisely, Singaporeans.

     

    Source: https://vulcanpost.com

  • Of The 3 Insults In Reserved PE For Malays, The Biggest Is That Candidates Have No Malay Written In Their NRIC

    Of The 3 Insults In Reserved PE For Malays, The Biggest Is That Candidates Have No Malay Written In Their NRIC

    After being insulted by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong by having the coming Presidential Election reserved for them, the Malay community might be further insulted with the Election Commission allowing the contests of Farid Khan and Salleh Marican – both which do not meet the financial requirements.

    The first insult came from reserving the Presidency election. The Chinese and Indians were made to feel ashamed for being “racists” for their tendency to vote for their own race in a state media survey – a guilt trap designed by the Prime Minister. Worst, Malay Singaporeans are relegated to be politically “unpopular”, and seen as not being able to win an election on their own, no thanks to the Prime Minister.

    The new Constitution written by the dictator Prime Minister stated that one must be an executive who have led a company of S$500 million shareholder equity, or having held one of the few top posts in the government. Halimah Yacob automatically qualifies without any other requirement, according to the Lee Hsien Loong-edited Constitution. However, the other two businessmen will need the Election Department to lower the standards for them to qualify – a double insult to the Malay race after the reserving of the election.

    The third insult came from the blatant disregard for the Malay race. Halimah Yacob is Indian, it says so on her NRIC identity card. Neither are the other two candidates who also have Indian fathers, have “Malay” written on their NRIC. The three as are in fact “minority” race to be precise, “Indian” by hereditary and nowhere “Malay”. Lee Hsien Loong bent the rules further by defining a Malay as “someone who is a Muslim belonging to the Malay community”. Halimah Yacob refuse to acknowledge in public that her father is Indian, implying that her heritage is something she is ashamed of. The PAP MP went all out calling herself a bona fide Malay, where the Election Department gladly accepts.

    How much more concessions, or more insults, will the Malay race need for this farce of an election to appoint a puppet president for Lee Hsien Loong?

     

    Source: https://statestimesreview.com

  • The Bitter Insult: Singapore Malay Community Would Have Been Insulted Multiple Folds When Result Of PE Comes Out

    The Bitter Insult: Singapore Malay Community Would Have Been Insulted Multiple Folds When Result Of PE Comes Out

    The Bitter Insult

    When the results of the Reserved Presidential Election are announced in the weeks to come, Singapore Malay Community would have been insulted Multiple Folds…

    1) That Malays would stand no chance of being elected in an open contest in this land of Singapura

    2) That Malays are no where near the league of qualifying for the Presidential Candidacy criteria apart from the passage of political office… Such that meticulous engineering spanning years may even be needed to ensure the minimum stint in office is achieved.

    3) That on all other official matters such as the Census, HDB flat application Ethnic Integration Clause, Primary School Application, NRIC registration, Malay Tertiary Tuition Fee Subsidy, etc… The patrelineal CMIO model is applied strictly… But in the political arena especially this Reserved Presidential Election, the highest official public office… The patrilineal CMIO model is waived thus allowing cultural affinity and acceptance or the kampung way of determining whether someone is ‘orang kita’ or ‘pendatang’.

    4) That members of the Malay community are longing to be given the chance to have a Malay President after so very long… After Yusoff Ishak… such that seeing his face on the Singapore Yusoff Ishak series notes is not enough… Such that having ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute, a premier research institution named after him is not enough, such that having a Yusoff Ishak mosque – a community center symbolic for doing good, piety and humility without desire for earthly rewards… Is NOT enough… Such that to appease a deep unawaken unrest that is threading in the hearts and minds of Malay Singaporeans, a decision of surgical precision has to be made a short few months prior to the departure of President Tan from office that Singapore Must have a ‘Malay President’… One that has an image appealling and representative to the pious modern Malay Muslim women and men.

    5) That the Malay community is very supportive of this ‘affirmative action’ although it was not a request.

    However, the most bitter insult will be when the portraits of the Reservedly Elected President and spouse are the only Malay faces to be seen in public institutions, institutions that stand on National platform for national interest and not simply an institution of private ethnic community interest that have been deemed unsuitable for Malays such as some Military Units and all Special Assistance Plan (SAP) schools… Such that regardless a Malay is smart enough, is fit enough, is capable enough and is supported enough… the faces of the Reservedly Elected President will be the only Malay faces gazing over the activities in those highly funded, highly resourced institutions of elite development.

    This to me is an insult, the most bitter insult to the face of smart, capable and quaified Malay students and youth past, present and future… Where by virtue of race, they can only have potraits of the Reservedly Elected Malay Presidential couple hanging silently as representatives of the whole communities in such institutions.

    But Malays known for being peaceful, forgiving and always optimistic for the ‘hikmah’ that is not easily comprehended to show itself.

    Thus perhaps a prayer is appropriate that given the chance to choose, we are guided with making a the right option that will soften the blow of the many insults that we are about to receive…

    May the Reservedly Elected President be someone of humble from a humble background so that we can teach our children that humility has its rewards;

    May the Reservedly Elected President be someone that is determined and have persevered through struggles of success and failures so that we may teach our students not to expect favours and shortcuts to earn your worth as a contributing member of society;

    May the Reservedly Elected President be someone that is a credible leader that not only holds titles and appointment but have demonstrated capacity to make, rational, weighted and wise decisions where it matters such that the followers are motivated and secure in good times and in situations of economic turmoil and crisis, so that we teach our children what it means to walk the talk and leading by example;

    May Reservedly Elected President be someone who is charitable yet not a celebrity of charity who yearns millions of Pahala or its equivalence, someone known to have given generous donations and have pledged to give much more so that we can teach our children that to care for those who are not as fortunate is a responsibility for social good but not personal gain… It is one of the tenets of piety such that if right hand were to give, the left hand doesn’t know;

    May the Reservedly Elected President be one that is sincere. Yet we can gauge sincerity impossible so perhaps as a proxy to sincerity, May the Reservedly Elected Malay President be someone who is self sufficient without the need to receive and rely on lucrative annual salary from public funds and if given, would return it back to the public especially those who need that extra help, so that we can teach our children, our parents, our siblings, our friends, our relatives, our neighbours, our community members, our fellow Singaporeans that fair remuneration fuels the quest to serve… Excessive remuneration fuels greed and it is possible to serve without milking dry public funds paid for by the people from the GS Tax, Income Tax, Property Tax, Fuel Tax, etc. Etc… Not forgetting the upcoming sugar tax.

    May the Reservedly Elected Malay President be someone that will be a trustworthy person who will preside to ensure the well being of Singaporeans and growth of the nation, regardless of Race; as symbolic champion the abolition of unfair affirmative and preferential race policies, regardless of language; as a symbolic champion of honest communication guided by the language of hope, understanding and love, regardless of religion; as a symbolic champion to the free personal preference and choice of faith, believe systems and all its associated practices without denying rights to peaceful dialogue as long as principles of preserving human dignity is respected always… Such that despite being only a symbolic champion… will inspire the recovery of a Singaporean society that is harmonious and caring with a strong gotong royong and quanxi spirit that in the pirsuit of wealth, growth and excellence, No Singaporean… Be they friends, neighbours, family, schoolmate, colleagues, neighbourhood uncles, aunties, women, men, children… will ever slip and fall through the cracks due to greed and inconsiderate actions/inactions.

    May the Reservedly Elected Malay President be someone who was not one with the system that contribute to the predicament we are in and the insults we are about to receive.

    May the hikmah be clear upon us for the choice we are about to make and the future passage we are about to take.

    Rafiz Mohyi Hapipi
    Singapore Citizen,
    Parent to 3 wonderful children
    & A Malay

     

    Source: Rafiz Hapipi

  • Commentary: Don’t Always Look Down On Our Neighbours And Keep Thinking That Our System Is The Best

    Commentary: Don’t Always Look Down On Our Neighbours And Keep Thinking That Our System Is The Best

    A Singaporean friend who moved to Kuala Lumpur and sent his children to a Malaysian government school once asked me “Am I doing the right thing? Is it ok for my children to be educated in Malaysia?”

    My answer to him then was “Do you know that almost half of our pilots are from Malaysia? Why do they trust Malaysians who have been educated in Malaysia to fly our multi-million dollar planes, if their education system is so bad? And do you realise that many in our Singapore civil service, including some ministers are, or used to be Malaysians, who had their primary education in Malaysian schools?”

    Think about it…don’t always look down on our neighbours and keep thinking that our system is the best. Mainstream media carry fake news too, especially for political propaganda.

     

    Source: Facebook

  • Police Accused Of Illegally Parking To Buy Prata At River Valley

    Police Accused Of Illegally Parking To Buy Prata At River Valley

    Facebook user Cinorom Elicebmi had posted four photos and two videos of what he claimed was a police officer illegally parking near Spize restaurant, at 409 River Valley Road, on Friday night.

    In his post, which can no longer be accessed publicly, he wrote: “Share if you think Singapore Police Force is not above the laws… LTA has painted lamp posts and sign posts within closed-circuit television (CCTV) monitoring zones with bright orange vertical strips.”

    He shared pictures of a police car parked next to a parking enforcement camera, and videos of a police officer standing along the row of shophouses.

    “In tandem, ‘No Waiting’ signs at passenger pick-up points with CCTV cameras are installed to remind we motorists that we ‘commoners’ are not allowed to wait at these pick-up locations other than immediate boarding and alighting of passengers,” he wrote. “Today, this police officer blatantly (flouted) the above rule to do what? Buy roti prata!”

    Another Facebook user YJ C-Yeang shared the post to the Singapore Police Force’s page on Saturday morning.

    “This looks bad,” she wrote. “Maybe the officer was rushing and had his valid reasons. I do understand it’s a tough life in enforcement.”

    The police replied to her, saying: “Hi YJ, our officers were indeed attending to an urgent case reported at 421 River Valley Road and had to quickly reach the incident location.”

    They added that they seek the public’s understanding and urged the public “not to spread unsubstantiated information”.

    The police told The Straits Times that the officer pictured and captured on video was not there to “buy prata”.

    Instead, he was responding to a case of public nuisance and police officers attending to cases are allowed to park their vehicles where required.

     

    Source: http://www.tnp.sg