Category: Singapuraku

11 Announcements From National Day Rally 2015

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s National Day Rally speech on Sunday was a wide-ranging one that was in equal parts a look back and a look forward.

He also announced policy changes that drew cheers from many in the audience. Here’s a recap of the 11 key ones.

HOUSING

1. The income ceiling of buyers of Build-to-Order (BTO) flats will be raised from $10,000 to $12,000, and that for executive condominiums (ECs) from $12,000 to $14,000. This means more Singaporeans at the higher end of households will be eligible for subsidised housing.

2. To make flats more affordable, the income ceiling for the existing Special Housing Grant (SHG) will be raised from $6,500 to $8,500. The maximum grant amount will also be doubled to $40,000.

With these changes, even those who earn below $1,000, but hold a stable job and contribute to CPF regularly will be able to afford a two-room flat, PM Lee said

3. Parents and married children who want to live near each other will get more help under the new Proximity Housing Grant. Children who buy a resale flat with or near their parents, or those who buy one near their married children, will get the grant. It applies to every Singaporean household, whether first-time buyers or not.

4. A new scheme will be launched called the Fresh Start Housing Scheme. It is targeted at people who have sold their HDB flats and are now living in rental units. These families will get more affordable two-room flats, but they will come with shorter leases and restrictions on resale. To help this group resolve their problems, the Government will also provide “holistic” support for these families through counselling.

FAMILIES AND BABIES

5. The Baby Bonus scheme, which helps parents defray child-raising costs, will be extended to every child instead of just the first four children. The bonus amount will also be increased, PM Lee announced without giving a specific figure.

6. Newborns will get more grants in their Medisave amount so that it’s enough to cover the new MediShield Life premiums for the child till he or she reaches 21. Currently, each newborn receives a $3,000 grant deposited in two trenches.

7. Fathers will get more paternity leave. It will be increased to two weeks from the current one. The Government will pay for the extra week. This will be implemented on a voluntary basis for now, but with the public service launching it “straightaway”.

The enhanced Baby Bonus, Medisave Grant and paternity leave changes will apply retroactively with effect from Jan 1, 2015.

EDUCATION

8. The Singapore Institute of Technology, Singapore’s fifth university, will have its campus in Punggol. It currently runs courses at satellite campuses in the five polytechnics. It will be next to a new creative industry cluster that JTC will build. These will be integrated with Punggol Downtown and HDB’s upcoming Northshore District.

9. The Government will work with Muis to strengthen the teaching of secular subjects like mathematics and science in madrasahs, or Islamic religious schools.

LABOUR

10. The re-employment age will be raised from 65 to 67 . This will be implemented by 2017. Currently, firms are required by the Retirement and Re-employment Act to offer re-employment to eligible workers when they turn 62, up to the age of 65.

ELECTION

11. PM Lee said he will call for a general election “soon”, but stopped short of giving a specific date.

Source: www.straitstimes.com

August 24, 2015
Ravi Philemon: Why I Chose To Contest

I was unveiled by the leaders at Singapore People’s Party as their candidate for Hong Kah North today. In introducing me as the candidate, Mrs Lina Chiam said, “the party has fielded a very strong candidate to contest Hong Kah North against the PAP.” I am humbled by the confidence the Party has in me.

The journey here had not been an easy one for me. I come from a disadvantaged family and went to work after completing my GCE ‘O’ Level, at the age of 16, despite qualifying for higher education. I worked as a store-hand making just $300 so that I can help my mother. With an absent father in my life, my mother was my hero, and being the eldest child, my sense of duty compelled and pushed me into the adult world.

Even then, I knew that education was the great leveller. I pushed myself and completed the GCE ‘A’ Level and other diploma courses while working. Today I hold a Bachelor of Arts (Management) from Heriot-Watt University.

The Singapore back then, the political leaders and policies back then, provided various opportunities for me and allowed me to dream. With hard work and perseverance, I rose from being a store-hand to be the Director of a welfare agency.

Our children and their children must not lose this ability to dream. Our leaders today are telling them that they don’t need a degree, that you can be a hawker, or a crane operator – that good qualifications no longer guarantee a good job. While saying all these, they are granting S-Passes, employment passes and permanent residency to foreigners with degrees.

With this being the situation now, what is the kind of a future that awaits our children? Will there be enough opportunities for them in their own country? Or will they be subordinate to better-qualified foreigners?

The late Mr Lee Kuan Yew feared that an incompetent Government will mean that, among other things, our people will become foreign workers and maids in other people’s countries. Today our Government – while acknowledging that working overseas may not be comfortable given that pay or living environment will not be as good as in Singapore – still tells us to go overseas.

Are we losing our ability to dream?

Singapore must continue to be a land of opportunities for our own children. It is this conviction which has made me to step forward to challenge the PAP.

I am not a General who makes hundreds of thousands of dollars every year, and so may have substantial savings to fall back on in case he resigns. But still, I have paid a heavy price by resigning my job to contest in this election.

I face an uphill battle in Hong Kah North, but by taking this little step forward, I hope to inspire Singaporeans.

That together we can dream of a better Singapore.

Mr Philemon is Singapore People’s Party’s candidate for Hong Kah North SMC, he is also a former Chief editor of The Online Citizen in 2011/2.

Source: www.theonlinecitizen.com

August 23, 2015
SDP Opens New Office At Ang Mo Kio

The Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) on Saturday (Aug 22) opened its new office at Ang Mo Kio Street 62, saying that it is “good and ready to go” for the election. The political party was previously based in Jalan Gelenggeng.

The election, which is widely expected to be called in the next few weeks, will be the first time Secretary-General Chee Soon Juan will be contesting after being discharged of bankruptcy in 2012. He was barred from contesting in the previous two general elections (2006 and 2011) due to the charge.

“I cannot wait to stand,” he said, “To get up on stage and connect with Singaporeans again.” He said his message to voters was that Singapore “can be much better than we are today”.

Dr Chee said the party will be announcing its line-up “very soon”, saying that the SDP is eyeing five constituencies: Holland-Bukit Timah and Marsiling-Yew Tee, both four-member GRCs, and the single seat wards of Bukit Batok, Bukit Panjang and Yuhua. Party leaders said they have continued to walk the ground since after the 2011 election, on top of publishing alternative policy proposals on issues such as housing, healthcare and education.

Referring to the People’s Action Party (PAP) suite of infrastructural plans announced at the unveiling of its Holland-Bukit Timah slate on Saturday morning, Dr Chee said, “It just sounds very much what you would expect them to do before an election … What is lacking in every PAP-run constituency is that it’s very brick-and-mortar, steel. But where is that X-factor where we can involve the people, not just to upgrade their quality of life, their well-being? And I think all that is missing from Holland-Bukit Timah.”

On giving up Sembawang GRC to the National Solidarity Party in order to avoid a multi-party fight with the incumbent People’s Action Party, Dr Chee said it was “the most difficult decision we had to make”, and that Sembawang “is very dear to us”. He added that giving way to the NSP on the matter of Sembawang had “released some pressure” in the horse-trading discussions, and that this did not mean that the party was giving up the GRC. “We look forward to the day when we shall return”, said Dr Chee.

Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

August 23, 2015
Masagos Zulkifli: Sifat Toleransi Antara 3 Isu Yang Harus Ditekankan Pemimpin Melayu/Islam

Menteri di Pejabat Perdana Menteri merangkap Menteri Kedua Ehwal Luar dan Dalam Negeri, Masagos Zulkifli berkata beliau akan terus memberi tumpuan untuk memenuhi kepentingan budaya dan agama para penduduk.

Beliau juga yakin para penduduk Melayu/Islam akan memilih kepimpinan yang dapat menyatukan serta memajukan masyarakat dengan negara.

Semasa sidang media bagi mengumumkan barisan calon PAP untuk GRC Tampines hari ini (22 Ogos), Encik Masagos turut berkongsi tiga isu yang perlu diberi penekanan oleh para pemimpin Melayu/Islam.

KEKALKAN SIFAT TOLERANSI DI KALANGAN MASYARAKAT MELAYU/ISLAM

Pertama – bagaimana untuk mengekalkan sifat toleransi di kalangan masyarakat Melayu/Islam supaya tidak mudah terhasut dengan anasir yang boleh menggoyahkan perpaduan masyarakat setempat.

Menurutnya, konteks kehidupan di Singapura begitu unik di mana kepentingan kaum minoriti tidak diketepikan.

Maka itu, beliau menggesa agar sifat toleransi dan kesederhanaan terus diwujudkan dalam masyarakat Melayu/Islam supaya kepentingan bersama dapat dijaga.

“Kita harus terus mewujudkan sifat toleransi, moderat dalam menghadapi segala isu yang cuba ditimbulkan untuk menghairahkan masyarakat kita supaya menekankan lagi keistimewaan mereka dari segi agama atau bangsa. Itu baik tapi kita harus ambil kira juga bahawa kita hidup dengan warga yang lain dan perlu menjaga kepentingan negara bersama,” katanya.

Dua isu lain yang diutarakan adalah – usaha memastikan golongan Melayu/Islam yang sudah berjaya terus menyumbang kepada masyarakat, serta mengurangkan lagi kadar jenayah atau masalah dadah di kalangan masyarakat tersebut.

PENDUDUK MELAYU/ISLAM TAMPINES BERI SAMBUTAN BAIK KEPADA PAP

Bila ditanya pula oleh BERITAMediaCorp mengenai sentimen para penduduk Melayu/Islam di Tampines, yang membentuk sekitar 25% bilangan pengundi di GRC Tampines terhadap PAP, Encik Masagos menjawab, sambutan yang diterimanya setakat ini agak memberangsangkan.

“Orang Melayu, mereka selalu mesra. Kalau bertemu dengan pemimpin, siapa saja, mereka membuka pagar dan sering mengajak kami masuk untuk bukan hanya menyampaikan isu-isu perumahan, tapi kadang-kadang, hanya untuk beramah tamah,” katanya.

Mengulas pula mengenai usaha menarik sokongan para penduduk Melayu/Islam di Tampines, Encik Masagos menyuarakan keyakinan terhadap kemampuan masyarakat itu dalam menilai dan memilih barisan pemimpin mereka.

“Saya yakin orang Melayu/Islam itu, mereka tahu kepentingan mereka supaya kepimpinan yang mereka pilih itu dapat menyatukan kami terus progresif bersama negara, tidak melupakan agama dan bangsa,” kata Encik Masagos.

Source: http://berita.mediacorp.sg

August 23, 2015
NSP’S Steve Chia Withdraws From Macpherson SMC

National Solidarity Party’s member, Mr Steve Chia has announced via his personal facebook account that he would not be contesting in MacPherson Single Member Constituency (SMC) and also would not be contesting in the upcoming General Election.

While Mr Chia did not clearly attributed the reason for his withdrawal from the election, but the content of the post suggests that the negativity surrounding NSP’s flip-flopping on the withdrawal from MacPherson SMC might have affected him much.

The former non-constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) wrote in his post, “The Trolls have won”, followed with hashtags of ‪#‎MyReputationIsGone‬, ‪#‎PeopleOnlyRemembersTheBad‬,‪ #‎NotWorthIt‬.

He also attached a hyperlink to a website created that contains information of his past as a politician. He clarified that the site is not set up by him and that some of the information in it are not correctly written.

Mr Chia went on to state his personal wish that Workers’ Party would send a strong candidate and take down MacPherson SMC.

Earlier this week, former Secretary General, Hazel Poa resigned from NSP due to the party’s decision to go back on its earlier decision to contest MacPherson SMC, going into a three-corner fight with Workers’ Party and People’s Action Party. Mr Chia is said to be the candidate that the party was going to field for the SMC.

Source: www.theonlinecitizen.com

August 23, 2015