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Blame Pro-Market PAP For Changing Societal Norms

It is sad to read in the Straits Times of 29 Jan of the amount of trash left behind at the Laneway Music festival at the Gardens by the Bay.

The reasons given by audience were, it didn’t occur to me to take my trash away when I left because there was trash everywhere left by others. That they assume the organizers will hire cleaners. That the cleaning fees should be built into the price of the ticket. I can totally understand why The Prime Minister was disgusted and took the example of the Myanmar football fans picking up all their litter before they left the National Stadium. In the same article in the Straits Times it was reported that a National Environment Survey of 2012 stated that one third of the respondents will litter if they could get away with it. Why did this happen, why is our society become so uncaring, where is the social norm?

I think this problem started about 30 years ago when the Government started to increase the salary of the Ministers to be in line with top earners of different professions. The increase was rapid. The Government introduced Market Norms to their salaries and to their professions. About 20 years ago, the Government stopped building hawker centres and wet markets, they left it to private organizations to do it, again the Government introduced Market Norms to what was basically a social requirement.

There were many other instances that the Government chose market considerations over social needs.

Any zealous practice of Market Norms will unfortunately affect Social Norms. The role of any Government should be more social than market and not only has to be but also has to be seen to be. When the Government is identified as a Market Norm, the general populace will take the cue and behave and act accordingly. When society switches to Market Norms then everything is a transaction, hence the remarks by one of the audience at the Laneway Music Festival; that the cleaning fees should be built into the price of the ticket. Same applies to many antisocial behavior; like illegal parking; if caught I’ll pay. Not returning the trays after a meal at the hawker centre; the cost of collecting the trays is built into the price of the food. There are so many examples of society lacking social consciousness.

It is sad that Market Norms have taken over in our daily lives, transaction is the way of life, social norms and social consciousness have taken a back seat.

Singapore is a mixture of different races with no dominant culture and philosophy, with a dominant political party that rules Singapore for the past 50 years, their style of governance inadvertently setting the way we conduct our lives and social behavior.

Always remember, people take cues from the Government, no amount of kindness and courtesy campaigns will change people’s attitudes, it is the example set by the Government and the way they govern that will determine society’s social behavior.

It is of little use to compare ourselves with Taiwan and Japan on social consciousness, they are a homogeneous society with a dominant culture and most importantly their governments’ priorities to social and market norms is different from ours.

Pioneer Citizen

* Submitted by TRE reader.

Source: www.tremeritus.com

February 17, 2015
Be Careful Of This PRC Scamming Customers At NTUC

UPDATE:

Miss Norsiah has since updated her facebook page to explain that NTUC has confirmed that there is no 30c charge on the exchange of notes to coins but they are unable to do anything against the PRC woman involved.

They explained that their cameras aren’t good enough and they have no audio to verify what happened:

NTUC called………that staff will b closely monitored n observed only…………………….because their camera cannot zoom in & see the $1.70 (new $1 coin, new 50cents coin 20cents coin) & also no voice recorder to record conversation…that staff will b send for conversational english coz she claims she dont understand wat im saying!!!

BUT surprisingly she knows how 2 take my $2 & return me $1.70 when i ask her for coin exchange & surprisingly too, she knows how 2 use NTUC name to say NTUC now charge 4 coins exchange!!! I guess she doesnt know the meaning of “receipt” dats y when i ask her receipt for 30cents (3times) she doesnt know……so sad……….

“receipt” i think the basic she need to know if in sales line….funny…..dont understand receipt but know how to say “FORGET” to return my 30cents……..so, in conclusion, they will still keep that staff!!

So, NTUC shoppers, take note that as confirmed by NTUC, no 30cents will be charge for coins exchange.

So NTUC shoppers, beware of this desperado, money-faced china-lai woman!!

—-

Dear TRS,

Please be careful about this PRC cheat at NTUC and remind your readers to be vigilant of other, similar scams.

I saw this photo being shared online showing that a woman, apparently a PRC, was trying to scam customers at NTUC.

When one lady approached to change her $2 note for coins so she could get a trolley, the PRC staff at the customer service counter gave her $1.70 and claimed that there was a 30c charge for exchanging.

When the woman came back a short while later asking for a receipt, the PRC woman act blur and then say she ‘forgot’ to give her 30c.

How can NTUC allow such foreign staff with no integrity come here and essentially try and steal money?

Please be careful of such scams. Even though the money might be small, if this type of scam is allowed to happen we are letting our image as a safe and law abiding country go down the drain.

MM

TRS Contributor

Source: www.therealsingapore.com

February 17, 2015
Commercial Sex Tour Organiser Did Not Have Sex With Any Minor

The first Singaporean to be convicted of organising a commercial sex tour overseas was allowed on Monday to revoke his bail pending his sentence next month.

Before he was led away from the dock to be remanded, Chan Chun Hong turned around to gesture to his parents seated in the 11public gallery that he was going in.

District Judge Siva Shanmugam will sentence Chan on March 23 on 12 of 145 charges – seven of distributing obscene materials, one of making travel plans for an undercover cop to have commercial sex outside Singapore, three of distributing information to promote conduct of commercial sex with a minor, and one of having obscene films at his Yishun Ring Road home.

The 31-year-old Nanyang Technological University civil engineering graduate was serving in the Singapore Armed Forces at the time of the distribution of obscene materials offences totalling 135 committed over a one-year period in 2011 and 2012.

He had joined a major insurance company as a financial consultant when he was nabbed at Changi Airport on March 1 last year.

Police established his identity after receiving information from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in 2013 that a male Singaporean was distributing child pornography materials worldwide.

The information had also revealed that there were e-mail exchanges between the Singaporean and other users which suggested that Chan had engaged in child sex tourism.

Chan’s lawyer Rajan Nair said in mitigation his client had a depressive episode following his late Taiwanese fiancee’s illness from womb cancer in 2009. In 2010, he took unpaid leave from the SAF to live and take care of her in Taiwan until her death that year.

Chan, he said, has always been a person of good character and held in good esteem and standing by his peers and colleagues.

Diagnosed with paedophilia, Chan intends to undergo treatment upon his release from prison, said the lawyer.

Mr Nair said it was the undercover cop “Teo Dennis” who had initiated contact with Chan and started asking him about “young girls”. Chan did not seek out persons for whom he could organised commercial sex tours.

He said Chan had never had sex with a minor. It was most likely that he would not have arranged for the trip for Teo Dennis and himself or anyone else to go overseas for commercial sex with minors if the latter had not instigated him. It was very likely that Chan would have cancelled the intended trip in April last year as he was busy with his work.

“The only silver lining in this whole episode is that Mr Chan has been forced to confront his problem and is now finally able to courageously take steps to ensure that he does not suffer a relapse,” said Mr Nair.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Yang Ziliang said Chan claims he had never had sex with a minor and that he did not have any experience with the Cambodia prostitution scene. Yet he has consistently informed other parties otherwise.

He said Chan has failed to show he is genuinely remorseful and contrite for his wrongdoing as he has tried to minimize his misconduct at every stage of the investigations and prosecution.

Source: www.straitstimes.com

February 17, 2015
Ng Eng Hen: Deployments To Sensitive Units Are Not Based On Race

A person is deployed in a sensitive unit in the Singapore Armed Forces based on his ability and beliefs to ensure that he is not a security risk, not on his race, said Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen on Monday night.

He also revealed that the SAF has started to deploy Malay servicemen onboard ships as sailors who will go out to sea. Previously, Malays in the navy were only deployed as “sea soldiers”, who primarily patrolled naval bases.

Dr Ng was speaking to a 200-strong crowd of students and academics in a forum that was organised by the National University of Singapore and the Government’s feedback arm Reach.

Responding to a question on a perceived bias against Malays in the SAF and why they have been excluded from the Navy until now, Dr Ng said it was a “practical issue” of having halal-certified kitchens onboard ships. “(This is) because in a confined space, it is hard to have a halal kitchen. If you spend months out at sea, it is difficult.”

But provisions have been made for Malay Muslims who are willing to serve, said Dr Ng. “So we made and found some accommodation and started to have Malays in the navy as well, if the person is willing.”

He also reiterated that Malays now serve in the army, navy and air force, adding that with Singapore’s small population, the SAF does not discriminate against anyone and promotes its servicemen based on their ability.

“We want to get the maximum out of each person in the SAF…we are putting the best people in the best positions.”

But for sensitive positions in the military, the SAF is not blind to the fact that “people can be blackmailed”, said Dr Ng. “We ask ourselves, can we trust this person in that position to make sure he will not be made use of, that he will not be vulnerable.”

During the 90-minute forum, the Defence minister also fielded other questions including women doing National Service and how to make it more meaningful to serve the country.

Source: www.straitstimes.com

February 17, 2015
Egypt Launches Air Strikes Against IS Militants In Libya And Called For International Intervention In The Country

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt bombed Islamic State militants in neighboring Libya on Monday and called on the United States and Europe to join an international military intervention in the chaotic North African state after extremists beheaded a group of Egyptian Christians.

The airstrikes bring Egypt overtly into Libya’s turmoil, a reflection of Cairo’s increasing alarm. Egypt now faces threats on two fronts — a growing stronghold of radicals on its western border and a militant insurgency of Islamic State allies on its eastern flank in the Sinai Peninsula — as well as its own internal challenges.

Islamic State group weapons caches and training camps were targeted “to avenge the bloodshed and to seek retribution from the killers,” a military statement said. “Let those far and near know that Egyptians have a shield to protect and safeguard the security of the country and a sword that cuts off terrorism.”

The announcement on state radio represents Egypt’s first public acknowledgement of military action in post-Moammar Gadhafi Libya, where there has been almost no government control.

Libya is where the Islamic State group has built up its strongest presence outside Syria and Iraq. Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi is lobbying Europe and the United States for a coordinated international response similar to the coalition air campaign in those countries.

“What is happening in Libya is a threat to international peace and security,” said El-Sissi.

El-Sissi spoke with France’s president and Italy’s prime minister Monday about Libya, and sent his foreign minister, Sameh Shukri, to New York to consult at the United Nations ahead of a terrorism conference opening Wednesday in Washington.

The bombs were dropped by U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets that left Egyptian bases for targets in the eastern Libyan city of Darna, according to Egyptian and Libyan security officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk the press.

The strikes came hours after the Islamic State group issued a grisly video of the beheadings of 21 Egyptian Christians, mainly young men from impoverished families who were kidnapped after travelling to Libya for work. The video shows them being marched onto what is purported to be a Libyan beach before masked militants with knives carve off their heads.

Thirteen of the 21 came from Egypt’s tiny Christian-majority village of el-Aour, where relatives wept in church and shouted the names of the dead on Monday.

Babawi Walham, his eyes swollen from crying and barely able to speak, said his brother Samuel, a 30-year-old plumber, was in the video his family saw on the news Sunday night.

“Our life has been turned upside down,” he told The Associated Press. “I watched the video. I saw my brother. My heart stopped beating. I felt what he felt.”

Libyan extremists loyal to the Islamic State and some 400 fighters from Yemen and Tunisia have seized control of Darna and the central city of Sirte and have built up a powerful presence in the capital, Tripoli, as well as the second-largest city, Benghazi. Libya’s internationally recognized government has been driven into the country’s far eastern corner.

Without publicly acknowledging it, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates carried out airstrikes against Islamist-allied militias last year, according to U.S. officials.

“We will not fight there on the ground on behalf of anyone, but we will not allow the danger to come any closer to us,” said one Egyptian security official, who claimed that intelligence recently gathered in Libya suggests advanced preparations by Islamic State militants to cross the border into Egypt. He did not elaborate.

For now, any foreign intervention should be limited to air strikes, with political and material support from the U.S.-led coalition staging airstrikes in Iraq and Syria, the Egyptian official said. Egypt already has been amassing intelligence on extremists in Libya in a joint effort with the Libyan armed forces and West European nations, including France.

Insurgents in Egypt’s strategic Sinai Peninsula who recently declared their allegiance to the Islamic State rely heavily on arms smuggled from Libya, which has slid into chaos since the 2011 uprising that toppled Gadhafi’s 41-year rule.

France, a lead player in the campaign to oust Gadhafi, has campaigned for months for some kind of international action in Libya, and announced a deal Monday to sell fighter jets to Egypt. French troops are already in place near Libya’s southern border in Niger as part of a counterterrorism force.

French President Francois Hollande’s office said he and al-Sissi both “stressed the importance that the Security Council meets and that the international community takes new measures to confront this danger.”

Italian Defense Minister Roberta Pinotti, meanwhile, said in an interview published Sunday in the Il Messaggero daily that her country is ready “for geographic, economic and historic reasons” to lead a coalition of European and North African countries to stop the militants’ advance in a country less than 500 miles (800 kilometers) from Italy’s southern tip.

“If in Afghanistan we sent 5,000 men, in a country like Libya which is much closer to home, and where the risk of deterioration is much more worrisome for Italy, our mission and commitment could be significant, even numerically,” she was quoted as saying.

A NATO official who spoke on condition of anonymity in keeping with NATO practice said “there is no discussion within NATO on taking military action in Libya.”

However, Allies consult regularly on security developments in North Africa and the Middle East and we follow events in the region closely,” the official said. “We also stand ready to support Libya with advice on defense and security institutions-building.”

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

February 17, 2015