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Category: Singapuraku

  • Financial Times Claims Singapore Better Than Malaysia Despite Authoritarian Government

    Financial Times Claims Singapore Better Than Malaysia Despite Authoritarian Government

    A hard-hitting opinion piece by international business daily Financial Times (FT) has compared Singapore’s achievements with Malaysia’s, saying that despite the city-state’s tightly controlled society, its ruling party is largely appreciated by Singaporeans due to the success of its socio-economic policies.

    In comments on Singapore’s Golden Jubilee celebrations yesterday, which marked 50 years since it separation from Malaysia, FT said the difficulties faced by Singapore “paled in comparison with those in Malaysia”.

    “Not only is Malaysia going through its worst political crisis in years after hundreds of millions of dollars found their way into the bank accounts of (Datuk Seri) Najib Razak, the prime minister,” said FT, referring to allegations surrounding Najib in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) saga.

    “More critically, Malaysia has been undergoing a long-term meltdown in which the political, religious and ethnic compact that has underpinned the country since independence groans under its own rotten contradictions,” said the paper, noting that Singapore’s per capita gross domestic product is five times that of Malaysia’s.

    FT said Malaysia could learn from Singapore, adding that its fight against corruption should start with Najib coming clean on the 1MDB affair, or stepping down.

    Drawing comparisons between PAP and Umno, the two political parties which have dominated Singapore and Malaysia respectively since independence, FT said Singaporeans still regarded PAP as “honest and competent”, despite recent inroads by opposition parties in the republic.

    On the other hand, it said the Malaysian public “senses” that Umno has long fronted a corrupt system.

    But the paper acknowledged that both countries are vastly different in terms of demography, and that Singapore’s micromanagement style might not work for Malaysia.

    “Still, both countries have potentially combustible ethnic mixes. Singapore has done better at forging a sense of fairness and national unity, through language, meritocracy and incorruptibility.

    “Malaysia, in the name of protecting Malays through positive discrimination, has by contrast created a crony capitalist state,” said FT, calling for the dismantling of religion and race-based policies.

     

    Source: www.themalaysianinsider.com

  • NDP Smashes Record For Most Number Of Tweets For One Event In Singapore

    NDP Smashes Record For Most Number Of Tweets For One Event In Singapore

    Twitter users have smashed the record for tweets related to a one-day event in Singapore, sending out more than 230,000 tweets about yesterday’s (Aug 9) National Day Parade (NDP) including those with the hashtag #NDP2015.

    Tweets also included other terms related to the Parade, such as #SG50, Majulah Singapura, and Golden Jubilee as well as Lee Kuan Yew, Lee Hsien Loong, and NDP performers Kit Chan and JJ Lin.

    This was twice the previous record held by the One Direction concert on March 11, where there were more than 100,000 tweets about the event.

    According to data released by Twitter today, there were 570 tweets sent per minute as it neared the 8.30pm mark yesterday, just as the Parade culminated in a massive fireworks display.

    Yesterday’s Golden Jubilee celebrations saw more than 26,000 people gathered at the Padang, where the first National Day Parade took place in 1966. Thousands more packed areas such as the Marina Barrage and Marina Bay.

    Here are some of the most shared tweets from Singapore’s Golden Jubilee celebrations

    Source: www.todayonline.com

  • 10-Hour Wait For Free Cable Car Rides To Sentosa And Mount Faber

    10-Hour Wait For Free Cable Car Rides To Sentosa And Mount Faber

    Snaking queues wrapped around HarbourFront Centre Tower Two for free cable car rides on Monday (10 August) in commemoration of this year’s Golden Jubilee celebrations. The free rides were available for all Singaporeans and Permanent Residents of Singapore from 9am to 9pm on both the Sentosa and Mount Faber lines.

    So popular was the demand that some lined up since 7am, said those in the queue who spoke to Channel NewsAsia at about 4pm on Monday. Waiting time by then had stretched into the 10-hour mark, according to the Singapore Cable Car on Facebook and signposts prominently displayed around the location.

    Queues for free cable car rides at the HarbourFront Centre have not let up despite the Singapore Cable Car’s note that the wait may take about 10 hours. http://bit.ly/1KdeGzR(Video: Loke Kok Fai)

    Posted by Channel NewsAsia Singapore on Monday, 10 August 2015

    “We will not be able to accept more guests on the cable cars today. Please do not join the queue at mount Faber, Harbourfront and Sentosa stations,” the attraction wrote in its online post at about 1.15pm.

    However, apart from some heated moments earlier in the day, queues were generally orderly and the mood on the ground was mildly upbeat. Many had good words to say about the management, while some said the demand should have been anticipated.

    Staff from Singapore Cable Car were on the ground to manage the situation. Apart from stopping new arrivals, they had also been informing whatever new arrivals of the situation. They also said that a separate queue was in place from the beginning of the day for paying customers, but they might also have been affected by the heavy demand.

    Singapore Cable Car also conducted free shuttle bus services at its Mount Faber Station, which saw sizeable numbers queueing up despite the fact that rides from that station were not free.

    A Facebook user, Ronald, who was at the Mount Faber station, had sent photos to Channel NewsAsia early on Monday, saying the queue he was in “was not moving at all”.

    Long queue for cable car rides early on Monday (Aug 10). (Photo: Ronald/Facebook)

    Merely two hours before the free rides were scheduled to end, Singapore Cable Car wrote again on its Facebook page to remind the public not to join the queues at the HarbourFront, Mount Faber and Sentosa stations as it was unable to accept anymore guests.

    “Free rides for Singaporeans and PRs for the Mount Faber line have received overwhelming response … (We) thank all who patiently waited and offer our apology to those who did not get to ride today,” it said.

    Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

  • The Opposition State Of Play: Who’s Running Where In General Elections?

    The Opposition State Of Play: Who’s Running Where In General Elections?

    A week after the Opposition first met to lay claim and discuss the constituencies they would contest at the upcoming General Election, it appears the parties have managed to strike a compromise to avoid multi-corner fights in all but one of the 29 electoral divisions.

    Following announcements on Monday (Aug 10) by Singaporeans First and the National Solidarity Party, it appears that only the single seat of Potong Pasir – the smallest constituency on the political landscape – may see a three-cornered contest – and only because of an independent candidate, who has said he would throw his hat into the ring.

    On Monday, NSP said it would no longer field candidates to contest Marine Parade GRC and MacPherson SMC – two constituencies that the Workers’ Party had staked claim to earlier. In a surprising turn of events, the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) said it would allow the NSP to run in Sembawang GRC, even though the SDP had contested the constituency in the 2011 General Election.

    Not long after, SingFirst announced that it would step aside in Ang Mo Kio GRC to allow the Reform Party to go head-to-head with the People’s Action Party team led by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

    These were the last points of contention between the established Opposition parties following their two meetings on Aug 3 and 6.

    The parties had also agreed to avoid multi-corner fights at the 13 single seats. However, former NSP Secretary-General Tan Lam Siong has said he may contest Potong Pasir as an independent candidate.

    Current Singapore People’s Party Non-Constituency Member of Parliament Lina Chiam has indicated she will contest the ward, which was helmed by her husband Chiam See Tong for 27 years. Mrs Chiam lost the 2011 ballot by just 114 votes.

    WHO’S RUNNING WHERE?

    There is no surprise that the Workers’ Party – which currently has 7 elected members in Parliament, as well as two NCMPs – is the Opposition party set to contest the most seats: 28. This is 5 more than the 23 candidates it fielded in 2011.

    Three other parties – SDP, NSP and RP – look set to field 11 candidates each.

    The SDP is eyeing Holland-Bukit Timah and Marsiling-Yew Tee GRCs, as well as three SMCs: Bukit Batok, Bukit Panjang and Yuhua. The NSP said it will contest Tampines and Sembawang GRCs as well as Pioneer SMC. Meanwhile, RP will look to field teams in Ang Mo Kio and West Coast GRCs as well as a candidate in Radin Mas SMC.

    SingFirst has indicated it will field 10 candidates in two five-member GRCs – Jurong and Tanjong Pagar.

    The SPP, headed by Mr Chiam See Tong, and the Democratic Progressive Party – headed by Mr Benjamin Pwee, who ran under the SPP banner in 2011 – will collectively challenge for eight seats. SPP will field candidates in Potong Pasir, Mountbatten and Hong Kah North, while a joint team will be fielded for the 5-member Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC. It is not yet known under which party banner the GRC team will be fielded.

    Helmed by Secretary-General Desmond Lim, the Singapore Democratic Alliance will again field a six-man slate in Pasir Ris-Punggol, where it took 35.21 per cent of the vote in 2011. The People’s Power Party – started by Mr Goh Meng Seng, another former NSP Secretary-General – will field the smallest team of all the Opposition parties, contesting in the 4-member Chua Chu Kang GRC.

     

    Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

  • Zulfikar Shariff: Muslims Must Let Islam, Not Political Affiliations, Be Foundation Of Decisions

    Zulfikar Shariff: Muslims Must Let Islam, Not Political Affiliations, Be Foundation Of Decisions

    Yesterday I asked how a Muslim PAP supporter will choose if weakening the PAP is beneficial to Islam. Will they support weakening their party for Islam’s sake?

    The only response from someone who rejected the question based his discussion on the minority position of Muslims in Singapore. The response was based on standing as a candidate in an SMC.

    Political action should not be restricted to standing as candidates or being in a political party. Anyone who participates in society is a political actor. Your relationship with society, with the state, your public (and at times private) interactions are political. We are political beings, whether we believe in a political system, support a party or actively participate in an election.

    To simply restrict political action to being a candidate is to ignore a large portion of our socio-political interactions.

    We need to free ourselves from the confines that LKY and GCT tried to impose on us.

    Let us look at another argument that needs to be refined.

    Muslims have over the years, argued that we are the swing votes. While we do not have the numerical ability to stand on a platform based on our religious values, the belief is that we can be kingmakers.

    But let us not deceive ourselves on our own importance. We are about 15% of the population. There are guesstimates as to how many Muslims support the PAP. Some claim the majority of Muslims will always vote for the PAP while others argue its a minority.

    For ease of discussions, let us assume it to be 50%.

    The PAP won a 60% majority in the last elections. The 30%+ who rejected them included half of the Muslim community.

    Even if we vote en bloc, the PAP nationally, will not be affected. If every Muslim in Singapore vote for opposition, the PAP would still get 50%+ of the votes. And if all of us vote for the PAP, they would still get 60%+.

    We are not kingmakers.

    But this does not fully discuss the possibilities. While we may not be kingmakers, we can have an effect in several constituencies.

    The PAP won 51% at the Joo Chiat SMC. It has now been absorbed into Marine Parade GRC (57% in 2011).

    A swing of Muslim votes in this GRC can result in a shift.

    There are several other constituencies that were won with very slim majorities (less than 5%).Similarly, the WP won Aljunied with less than 5% majority.

    If we truly want to expand our political options, look beyond party lines.

    The PAP obviously will not want Muslims to be politically effective. They would prefer our participation to be based on the system they defined. This has now been normalised such that opposition parties may similarly demand the rejection of religious values in a population’s political decisions.

    As though their religious or non-religious beliefs do not inform and dictate their own values and decisions.

    If we truly care about Islam, let us think beyond party lines. We have been indoctrinated into thinking our interests should not matter. As though Islam should have no part in our decisions on politics.

    Islam defines us. Every decision, every action, should be based on Islam.

    Let us return Islam to the forefront of all our decisions.

     

    Source: Zulfikar Shariff

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