Tag: PAP

Andrew Loh: Are Actions On AHPETC Really Not Political?

If you haven’t been following the AHPETC vs MND court case, it is like this, in a nutshell:

MND wanted to appoint an independent accountant to oversee AHPETC’s spending of S&C grants. MND laid out some terms. AHPETC agreed to all the terms, except one – that PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC) not be the accountant, which is what the MND wants.

AHPETC explained that this is because PwC was also the auditor engaged by the AGO to go through AHPETC’s account during the AGO audit.

A potential for bias, AHPETC said. This is indeed a reasonable concern. AHPETC suggested having a retired judge or a senior counsel appoint the independent accountant instead.

AHPETC made all these suggestions in a letter to the MND on 29 April.

But MND refused, and preferred to take AHPETC to court.

I think you can judge for yourself if all this is not political and a waste of everyone’s time.

Source: Andrew Loh

May 6, 2015
Is PAP The Only Viable Option In Singapore?
Mr PM, please consider this.

Many times, we have been repeatedly told that PAP is the only and viable option? Question is how believable is this today??

In order to put this question to rest, an objective approach substantiated by hard facts and plain and transparent logic may help the good citizens to decide for themselves.

Let us score PAP’s performance against the fundamentals that concern all Singaporeans.

1 Integrity and Meritocracy are sacred principles in Singapore never to be compromised. This is the branding of Singapore.

Integrity – IDA fake degree, Witchhunt on Aljunied TC vs PAP TCs – Aimgate, Jurong TC where PAP grassroots leader is TC GM is supplier GM, Lehman Brothers in PAP TCs, Sengkang saga with HDB and MND, Nee Soon MP company is TC supplier, lawyer MP overcharging by 1M….

Meritocracy – this is easiest to debunk. SMRT!!!!, Youth Olympics, MP Intan endorsing cheat Yang Yin, IDA employing fake degree person, Jurong TC just cannot keep rats and bugs away, Tanjong Pagar visit by MP once in 5 years according to a TP resident, family, relatives and crony network ….

2 The application of the Rule of Law is to be administered equally to all in Singapore, no exceptions and discretion.

SPF, AGC on RN, HHH, Ravi, Amos Yee, LTA parking violation exception, Ello, the twins of PAP Jasons…..

3 The job market available to Singaporeans must be fair in terms of total cost to employ, no unfair hiring practices, need for credible qualifications and adequate labor protection for all.

Government opening doors even wider to all Asean citizens, of which 80% indicated they want to work in Singapore. 80% of the working population of Asean population!!!! If you think today is bad, just wait till 2016 when this horror is unleashed on Singaporeans by the our government.

The fake degrees and millions of third world cheap labor will descend like swarms to attack our jobs, your families, destroy our Society. Then, even our 70 year old senior citizens will have competition in cleaning tables at hawker centers and selling tissues. Already happening today!

4 CPF / Medishield… is our money and for our retirement use at age 55.

No need to say more. You must be blind if you do not know whats happening here. This is the greatest perversion of trust.

5 Accessibility to affordable, efficient and effective Healthcare, Education, Social Welfare, Transportation are basic requirements to be made available to citizens.

What do you think of our glorious SMRT? What the hospital availability? What about the numerous obstacles to getting welfare aid. How about the millions of dollars of scholarships given to foreigners whilst our children are struggling with education loans.

6 Accountability and transparency of Government to the people.

CPF, GIC, Temasek, Healthcare, SMRT, Grassroots organization and PA….

Now that we have reviewed the performance of PAP, then do scoring.
1. Scoring the card will produce some rather obvious conclusions.
2. Then you will ask yourself, ‘If we do not vote PAP, then vote for who?’
3. Then the obvious question dawn on you. ‘What is the contribution of these people in government so far. Nothing or worse, negatives? Why do we have to pay million dollars for this kind of results??????”
4. The next obvious question, ‘You mean NOBODY can do better than this???????????????’
5. Suddenly incredulous enlightenment happens. ‘Actually anybody can do better than this’
6. Further light shines brighter. ‘ And Cheaper too’
I exaggerate you not here. The conclusion is made simple and straightforward because the current government, infested with half dimwit under talents whose only talents is sucking up, has made it so easy to flush their flaws and misdeeds for all to see.

Most damning of all, the neutered leadership have chosen if not silence, then equally appalling moronic and twisted logic as their incriminating defense.

Spencer Goh

* Comment appeared in TRE article: PM: Next GE about forming new leaders to lead SG

Source: www.tremeritus.com
May 5, 2015
Lee Hsien Loong Gets All Clear For Prostate Cancer

Doctors have given Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong the all-clear for prostate cancer, following a blood test two weeks ago.

The test was done two months after Mr Lee underwent keyhole surgery in February for early-stage prostate cancer, which was discovered through a regular check-up. Doctors have said he has a 98 per cent chance of not dying from prostate cancer after 15 years, the Prime Minister said yesterday at the May Day Rally.

But other health issues could crop up, Mr Lee said. Ill health could also affect other members of the Cabinet, weakening the team, he said.

“Just because you are a minister does not mean you’re Superman. It doesn’t mean you won’t get ill, it doesn’t mean you don’t grow old,” he said. “If I lose any of them, my team will be weaker. Can I replace them quickly with people of the same quality and experience?”

The current Cabinet is “balanced”, with some experienced ministers and newer ones who joined after the 2011 General Election, but Mr Lee, 63, said his job is also to build a strong leadership team for the future.

“We will all grow old and we all need successors,” he said.

Source: www.todayonline.com

May 2, 2015
Baey Yam Keng: Adidas Ad Distasteful And Offensive

An ADIDAS shoe advertisement with an illustration of a rude hand gesture has become a talking point among netizens, with some slamming it as “distasteful”, “vulgar” and “offensive”.

Commenting on Facebook on Wednesday, Jacqueline Lum felt the illustration of a hand showing the middle finger was “inappropriate”. She could not see how it was linked to sports.

Netizen Kenji Peterpan said the ad was “too much”, while another user, Marcus Yeah, commented that “creativity shouldn’t be vulgar”.

A picture of the ad at Kallang Wave Mall was posted on Facebook and Instagram by Tampines GRC MP Baey Yam Keng on Wednesday morning, reported Lianhe Wanbao yesterday.

The ad covers an entire wall and features a recently released shoe, with the slogan There Will Be Haters. In the background are illustrations of various symbols, such as skulls, thunderbolts and thumbs-down signs. One of the symbols is a hand showing the middle finger.

It is unclear how many such ads there are in Singapore and when they were introduced. Adidas did not respond to My Paper queries by press time.

Interested to know what others felt about the ad, Mr Baey uploaded a picture of it to Facebook, asking netizens if they found it “acceptable in the name of creativity” or “inappropriate and offensive”.

Speaking to My Paper yesterday, he said: “So far, 60 to 70 per cent of the respondents are not in favour of it.”

He first heard about the ad from a friend on Monday, and dropped by the mall at Singapore Sports Hub to take a look a day later while out jogging.

“It may look small in the pictures. But in person, it was quite big and very obvious,” said Mr Baey, 44.

He added that he understood the concept behind the ad, which was to trump negativity.

“But that hand gesture is drawn with coarser lines, which makes it more outstanding than the others,” he said.

Mr Baey felt that the illustration was unnecessary, as the other symbols were enough to get the message across.

“Companies that sell sporting goods advocate positivity and a healthy lifestyle, so there really isn’t a need for this. Besides, the mall is near the stadium and many families come here,” he said.

But there were Facebook users who had no issue with the ad. Marcus Chen said it was fine if viewed from an “artistic point of view”.

“Art is supposed to evoke the senses. But whether it is done in good taste remains to be seen,” he wrote.

Source: http://mypaper.sg

April 27, 2015
Kenneth Jeyaretnam: Why A By-Election Should Be Called In Tanjong Pagar
The death of Lee Kuan Yew leaves his seat in Tanjong Pagar GRC vacant. Recently a Bloomberg journalist asked me to comment on the suggestion that Lee’s seat in Tanjong Pagar be left vacant as a mark of respect. Her resultant article can be read here. Some commentators have suggested that the Opposition should boycott any by-election, giving the PAP a walkover similar to the ones it has enjoyed ever since Lee Kuan Yew’s constituency was included as part of Tanjong Pagar GRC. In addition a lot of people have been asking me whether I think a by-election will or even must be called.

The fact that any one could even suggest that denying the democratic rights of the citizens of one ward to choose their representative is a way to show respect for the founder of our one-party authoritarian system goes a long way to explaining how far from being a democracy that system is and how far we have to go to become a developed nation in terms of our political and legal structures.

LKY’s seat had of course been effectively vacant for some time. For many years other MPs in the GRC had performed his constituency duties. Ill-health and advanced years also meant that his appearances in Parliament after his unopposed re-election in 2011 were mostly perfunctory. In a democracy an MP who was incapacitated by advanced years or ill-health would have resigned to allow a new and fitter incumbent to perform the duties that he was no longer able to.

In addition because of LKY’s deliberate creation and reinforcement of a climate of fear, and the very real measures he took to crush anyone who stood up to him, the voters of his GRC have been denied the right to choose their representatives for several decades. Even in 2011, when every other seat was contested and our aim was to see Singapore’s first non-walkover GE , a team of independents ran out of time in filing their nomination papers and were disqualified. The fact that the people of that ward have gone without choosing their representatives for so long means that there is a more urgent need to hold a by-election in his constituency now. But can the PM leave the seat vacant indefinitely in defiance of every democratic norm but as has been normal PAP practice until recently?

The short answer and the absolute legal fact is that it would be unconstitutional not to hold a by-election unless the Prime Minister decides to call a general election within the next three months or so.

The argument ( thanks to Article 14) runs like this.

Article 49 of the Constitution states:

49.

—(1) Whenever the seat of a Member, not being a non-constituency Member, has become vacant for any reason other than a dissolution of Parliament, the vacancy shall be filled by election in the manner provided by or under any law relating to Parliamentary elections for the time being in force.

It was established by the Court of Appeal decision in Vellama d/o Marie Muthu v AG (2013) that the calling of a by-election is mandatory and not discretionary and that it has to be held within a reasonable space of time, normally three months.

The Parliamentary Elections Act (PEA) seems to contradict this requirement when it states in Article 24-2(A) that:

(2A) In respect of any group representation constituency, no writ [for a by-election] shall be issued under subsection (1) for an election to fill any vacancy unless all the Members for that constituency have vacated their seats in Parliament.

However this places Article 24-(2A) of the PEA at odds with the Constitution. Where this is the case the Constitution clearly overrides any laws enacted by Parliament, as stated in Article 4 of the Constitution:
1. This Constitution is the supreme law of the Republic of Singapore and any law enacted by the Legislature after the commencement of this Constitution which is inconsistent with this Constitution shall, to the extent of the inconsistency, be void.
Article 24-(2A) of the PEA is clearly inconsistent with Article 49 of the Constitution. Therefore under Article 4 of the Constitution it is void. Therefore the Prime Minister must call a by-election for Tanjong Pagar GRC, or at least for the constituency vacated by his father’s death, within the next three months.

If the PM refuses to do so, I (and I know my Party members would join me) would support an application to the Court to declare that the PEA is inconsistent with the Constitution and that a by-election must be called. It should be easy for Lee Hsien Loong’s poodle, the Elections Department, to carve out Tanjong Pagar SMC from the GRC if the PM does not want to call a by-election for the whole GRC. However as it was uncontested in 2011 it would be right now to hold an election for the whole GRC.

In the event that the PM observes the Constitution and calls a by-election, it would be good for the Opposition parties to come together and agree to field a joint “A” team against the PAP under an umbrella with all our strongest candidates combined. This would be an important step in the process of transforming the Opposition in the eyes of the electorate into a credible force that is ready to form an alternative Government.

Source: http://sonofadud.com
April 24, 2015