Tag: PAP

Watergate: MIW Caught With Pants Down

PAPpies and their running dogs in the constructive, nation-building media and academia and on social media say that the price of water hasn’t been changed for years, so we shouldn’t be getting worked up about the 30% hike (peanuts, really).

But 18 months ago, Vivian B said (see below) there was no need to change the price because PUB has improvements in membrane tech and productivity and that the water tariff and WCT reflect the scarcity of water.

So what has changed in 18 months?

Either in 2015 (before GE) the PAP administration didn’t do their homework leading a minster to mislead S’poreans and parly, or in 2017 the cabinet didn’t read what the then minister said in 2015 when making the decision to raise prices.

But then maybe before GE 2015, PAP wanted to get rid of its “Pay and Pay” tag?

Kudos to whoever originally dug this up. I think it is Chen Jiaxi Bernard, a WP man. Well done.

Source: https://atans1.wordpress.com

March 2, 2017
MPs – Public Service Serving With No Heart, Compassion

Several Members of Parliament yesterday called for greater compassion from a public service that has, in Nee Soon GRC MP Louis Ng’s words, “lost its heart”, citing examples of how people have been turned away because public servants were doing things strictly by the book.

Citing a resident who was slapped with letters demanding mortgage and tax payments while struggling to provide for her late sister’s two children, Mr Ng said: “I asked the HDB (Housing and Development Board) why they did that. The answer was that they didn’t know the letter was sent as it was computer generated … Our aim seems to be to process each case as fast as possible and to follow the book as strictly as possible.”

He lamented: “In our pursuit to automate most things, we now have a system without a heart.”

Nominated MP Kuik Shiao-Yin, meanwhile, urged the Government to extend a “compassionate” helping hand to those mired in the poverty cycle.

While the slew of handouts — from education subsidies to Goods and Services Tax U-Save Vouchers — were helpful, they are but “drops in a constantly-leaking bucket” for these families, said Ms Kuik, who called for more universal support to meet needs such as eldercare, quicker access to affordable housing and respite for caregivers.

The working poor, she noted, hold full-time jobs and slog to support their families but still cannot seem to break the poverty cycle.

Not only do they feel left out, those struggling to make ends meet are left behind by the Government’s calls each year to “upskill”, “internationalise” and “innovate”.

This is neither the result of nonchalance nor laziness, but because “they’re just busy trying not to drown under wave after wave of new demands, new costs and new changes”. To this group, even the “calmest and most reasonable technocratic explanation” on why a water price hike is justifiable would feel like “salt on a wound”, said Ms Kuik.

What preoccupies them is that they “don’t have enough, I’ll never have enough and I’m not enough and you don’t care”, she added.

The disadvantaged lack the luxury of breathing space to weigh alternatives and plan for their future, and rather than brush them off with “don’t know, go talk to your MP” — as some frontline officers do — conveying available solutions compassionately is the key, she said.

Dr Lee Bee Wah (Nee Soon GRC) noted that some civil servants tend to be more concerned with the “rules of their own agency” than what might benefit Singaporeans.

And public agencies often have requirements that contradict one another, said Dr Lee, citing the example of an “incomplete” covered linkway in Khatib that was left with a gap because the HDB could not meet other agencies’ requirements to build a seamless linkway.

“These are only small projects and we meet so many obstacles … Can’t our civil servants be more result-oriented and objective-driven, instead of just guarding your own turf?” she asked.

Calling for better communication between the Government and the public, Ms Joan Pereira (Tanjong Pagar GRC) said: “Seniors used to joke that the answers to their queries at Government departments always start with ‘www’… Making adjustments to accommodate our seniors is a signature of a caring society.”

Saying that the public service defends policies rather than listen to ideas on how to make them better, Mr Ng called for greater innovation in the public service.

“A crucial player in the implementation (of the Budget) is our public service … I hope that every public servant has a heart full of grace and a soul generated by love,” he said.

Source: www.todayonline.com

March 2, 2017
PAP: DAG-Designate, Hri Kumar, No Longer Party Member

Deputy Attorney-General-designate Hri Kumar Nair is no longer a member of the People’s Action Party (PAP), the party said on Friday (Feb 17) in response to TODAY’s queries, although it declined to say when Mr Nair had resigned.

Mr Nair’s appointment, which will take effect next month, was announced on Thursday.

It marks the first time an ex-lawmaker will take on the State’s prosecutorial function.

As a lawyer, Mr Nair, 50, acted in a wide range of litigation and arbitration matters.

He was appointed Senior Counsel in 2008. He became Member of Parliament for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC in 2006 and later headed the Government Parliamentary Committees for Home Affairs and Law.

He served two terms before quitting politics just before the 2015 General Election, citing his wife’s diagnosis of lymphoma in 2012, which made him relook his priorities.

Lawyers and legal academics dismissed concerns about partisanship as insignificant.

However, lawyer Sylvia Lim, who is also chairman of the opposition Workers’ Party — which has been criticised by Mr Nair on several occasions, including over the financial management lapses by the WP-run Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council — called the appointment “not ideal”.

She added: “It is critical that persons entrusted with vast prosecutorial discretion act in the public interest, and not for partisan political gain … Whether my concerns prove to be founded or otherwise — remains to be seen”.

Mr Nair could not be reached for comments. During his term as an MP, Mr Nair spoke on several issues and had several run-ins with the WP, including over the financial management lapses by the WP-run Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council.

Source: www.todayonline.com

February 18, 2017
Former PAP Community Foundation Principal Jailed 5 Months

54 year-old Anna Koh, alias Susie Koh, was sentenced to 5 months jail today after stealing cash totalling $79,136.30 from her then workplace at the PAP Community Foundation (PCF) at BLK 515, Jurong West Street 52. She was the principal of the center.

She began misappropriating the money in 2010. She had been entrusted with all the fees collected by the PCF center while she worked there. These included school, registration and outing fees. Pupils’ parents would pay the fees to their teachers, who would in turn hand the money to Koh.

Prosecution lawyers said: “She would deposit part of the sums that were collected from the parents and misappropriate the remainder. The accused spent the money on her personal and family expenses.”

Her offences came to light after an anonymous tip-off to the PCF on Oct 5, 2012.

An internal audit later conducted showed that Koh had received fees without banking them in and a police report was made three months later.

The court heard that she had made no restitution.

Source: www.allsingaporestuff.com

February 18, 2017
Yaacob Ibrahim: Sorry For Pain Over Naming Of Syonan Gallery

The name of an exhibition on World War II-era Singapore will be changed, out of respect for the people who suffered under the Japanese Occupation.

The exhibition, titled Syonan Gallery: War and Its Legacies, will now be called Surviving the Japanese Occupation: War and its Legacies, said Minister for Communications and Information Yaacob Ibrahim in a statement on Friday (Feb 17).

The exhibition is housed in the historic Old Ford Factory at Upper Bukit Timah, where the British formally surrendered to the Japanese 75 years ago.

Previously known as Memories at Old Ford Factory, the exhibition had been renamed Syonan Gallery: War and Its Legacies following a year-long revamp by the National Archives of Singapore.

NAME EVOKED “DEEP HURT”: YAACOB

In his statement, Dr Yaacob said that when he opened the exhibition on Wednesday, he explained that it had been designed to capture the dark days of the Japanese Occupation.

“Far from expressing approval of the Japanese Occupation, our intention was to remember what our forefathers went through, commemorate the generation of Singaporeans who experienced the Japanese Occupation, and reaffirm our collective commitment never to let this happen again.”

Workers seen dismantling the sign of the original name of the exhibition on Friday night (Feb 17). (Photo: Howard Law)

Dr Yaacob added that the name of the exhibition reflected the time in Singapore’s history when the island was forcibly renamed Syonan.

“We have used the word ‘Syonan’ before to factually describe this difficult period. For instance, in 1992, for the 50th anniversary of the fall of Singapore, we held an exhibition at the National Museum, titled When Singapore was Syonan-to.”

“But this particular exhibition name provoked a strong reaction. Over the past two days, I have read the comments made on this issue, and received many letters from Singaporeans of all races.

“While they agreed that we need to teach Singaporeans about the Japanese Occupation, they also shared that the words ‘Syonan Gallery’ had evoked deep hurt in them, as well as their parents and grandparents. This was never our intention, and I am sorry for the pain the name has caused,” Dr Yaacob said.

“I have reflected deeply on what I heard. We must honour and respect the feelings of those who suffered terribly and lost family members during the Japanese Occupation. I have therefore decided to remove the words ‘Syonan Gallery’ from the name of the exhibition, and name it Surviving the Japanese Occupation: War and its Legacies.”

The gallery features many new archival materials, which were contributed by members of the public in response to a call for contributions. To date, it has received more than 400 public donations, with items ranging from personal letters, diaries and photographs to war artefacts and maps.

Dr Yaacob added that the contents of the exhibition remain unchanged. “They capture a painful and tragic period in our history which we must never forget, and which we must educate our young about,” he said. “It is vital for us to learn the lessons of history, and reaffirm our commitment never to let this happen to Singapore again.”

Minister for Transport Khaw Boon Wan said he fully supports Dr Yaacob’s decision to drop the words ‘Syonan Gallery’ from the exhibition’s name.

In a statement, Mr Khaw said that the exhibition captured the dark days of the Japanese Occupation, when Singapore’s forefathers lost their freedom and suffered immensely.

Mr Khaw, who is a Member of Parliament for Sembawang GRC, added that he will be visiting the exhibition with his residents, some of whose parents or grandparents were killed during the Japanese Occupation.

Mr Khaw said: “My own maternal grandfather died of starvation and for lack of medical care while in hiding. These personal sufferings and losses form deep scars in us.

“That is why the initial naming of the exhibition gallery provoked such a strong reaction among a segment of the population. It does not mean that we should strike ‘Syonan’ out of our vocabulary but using it to name the gallery can unintentionally cause hurt.

“I fully support Minister Yaacob’s decision to drop it from the name.”

Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

February 18, 2017