Rilek1Corner

Tag: politics

  • Amos Yee Reportedly Robbed By Muscular Fellow Inmate

    Amos Yee Reportedly Robbed By Muscular Fellow Inmate

    Recently in prison Amos has been repeatedly robbed by a man named Emmanuel Reyes, also known as “Bubba.” Reyes is a 6’4” (1.93 m) 250 lbs (113.4 kg) muscular Black man covered in tattoos. Reyes is in prison for illegal weapons charges and for assault. Reyes was in possession of an illegal gun and he beat up his cousin after his cousin wanted to evict Reyes over constant noise complaints.

    Prisoners are allowed to purchase additional food and snacks at the prison kiosk with money sent to their commissary account by family and friends. Amos receives money on his account thanks to donations from people who care about him and is able to buy additional food.

    Reyes began targeting Amos and numerous other prisoners to intimidate and steal food from. Reyes specifically targeted Amos, Amos’s Filipino friend, Asians, and the elderly as he viewed them as easy targets. Reyes was recently placed into solitary confinement after attacking another inmate. Reyes approached a 72-year-old inmate and demanded that the man give him his chips. The 72-year-old man refused to give up his food so Reyes beat him badly.

    During Reyes’s solitary confinement, Amos requested that he be moved to a different part of the prison due to harassment. The prison honored his request. Amos’s Filipino friend, Jay, also made the same request for the same reason and was also transferred. Amos and his friend Jay are now safe after that ordeal.

     

    Source: Amos Yee

  • American Professor At LKYSPP, Huan Jing, Identified As ‘Agent Of Influence Of A Foreign Country’

    American Professor At LKYSPP, Huan Jing, Identified As ‘Agent Of Influence Of A Foreign Country’

    A senior academic from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKYSPP), Professor Huang Jing, has been identified as “an agent of influence of a foreign country,” announced the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Friday (Aug 4).

    “He knowingly interacted with intelligence organisations and agents of the foreign country, and cooperated with them to influence the Singapore Government’s foreign policy and public opinion in Singapore,” said MHA in a news release, without naming the foreign country.

    It added that Prof Huang, who is LKYSPP’s Lee Foundation Professor on US-China relations, gave what he claimed was “privileged information” about the foreign country to prominent and influential Singaporeans, with the aim of influencing their opinions in favour of that country.

    Among those who Prof Huang gave the “privileged information” to was a senior member of LKYSPP, said MHA, without naming the person. LKYSPP is a postgraduate school of the National University of Singapore.

    “The information was duly conveyed by that senior member of the LKYSPP to very senior public officials who were in a position to direct Singapore’s foreign policy. The clear intention was to use the information to cause the Singapore Government to change its foreign policy,” said MHA.

    “However, the Singapore Government declined to act on the ‘privileged information.”

    According to his profile on the school’s website, Prof Huang, who is an American citizen, has published extensively on subjects such as US-China relations, Chinese elite politics, China’s development strategy and foreign policy, Sino-Japanese relations and security issues in the Asia Pacific.

    Apart from the numerous journal articles he has written, Prof Huang, who was director of the Centre on Asia and Globalisation, also edited books on subjects like China’s Taiwan policy, the South China Sea dispute and China-India relations.

    His opinion pieces and columns have appeared in newspapers including Global Times, The Straits Times and Lianhe Zaobao. He has also appeared on Channel NewsAsia.

    “Huang used his senior position in the LKYSPP to deliberately and covertly advance the agenda of a foreign country at Singapore’s expense. He did this in collaboration with foreign intelligence agents,” said MHA. “This amounts to subversion and foreign interference in Singapore’s domestic politics.”

    According to MHA, Prof Huang recruited others to aid his operations. It added that his wife, Shirley Yang Xiuping, was aware of what he was doing.

    The Singapore Permanent Residency of Prof Huang and his wife – both US citizens – have been cancelled by Singapore authorities.

    “Huang’s continued presence in Singapore, and that of his wife, are therefore undesirable. Both will be permanently banned from re-entering Singapore,” said MHA.

     

    “MATTER OF SERIOUS CONCERN”: NUS

    The National University of Singapore (NUS) said Prof Huang has been suspended without pay with immediate effect.

    “This is a matter of serious concern,” said an NUS spokesperson. “NUS does not tolerate such acts of foreign interference, even as we continue to value and uphold the diverse and international character of our university.”

    The spokesperson also said that Prof Huang’s employment at NUS is conditional on the necessary permits for working in Singapore. “As these permits have been cancelled, we would not be able to continue with his employment.”

    The statement added that LKYSPP is cooperating fully with MHA. “As this matter relates to national security, the university is unable to comment on the details of the case,” said the spokesperson.

    Prof Huang also sits on the board of many organisations, including Singapore’s Keppel Land. When contacted for comment, a Keppel Land spokesperson said: “We have just been alerted to this development and will be looking into the matter.”

     

    Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

  • Halimah Yacob Must Make Up Mind About Running For Presidency

    Halimah Yacob Must Make Up Mind About Running For Presidency

    This position is not for Prima Donnas.

    You do not play hard to get, dance around speculations and play games with Singaporeans.

    If you want to be our President, convince us that you want the office.

    Look at Farid Khan and Salleh Marican. Despite knowing that they do not meet the eligibility criteria of $500 million dollars of the shareholder’s equity, it did not stop them from coming forward, calling a press conference and showing conviction that they are ready to answer to the calling.

    Madam Halimah, on the other hand, is hesitant.

    One day she says she is focused on her job as a speaker and as an MP and the next, she says she is seriously considering the position.

    Even her ‘announcement’ yesterday was from a leaked source.

    Eh hello makcik. Why like that leh?

    You want or don’t want? Please don’t act coy. The Presidency is a serious business.

     

    Source: www.thoughtssg.com

  • Commentary: MPs Running TCs Is A Terrible Idea. Skill Set Of Good TC Manager Entirely Different From That Of MP

    Commentary: MPs Running TCs Is A Terrible Idea. Skill Set Of Good TC Manager Entirely Different From That Of MP

    MPs running town councils is a terrible idea that largely only serves to effectively stifle opposition politics in Singapore by raising near impossible barriers to entry.

    The skill set of a good town council manager is entirely different from that of an MP. The council manager is a real estate manager of a massive public cum private housing estate and infrastructure. This requires specialist skills and experience and is rightfully the work of a well resourced public stat board like the HDB who used to manage all estates before MPs ran town councils or mayoralties.

    Singapore HDB and housing residents deserve the expertise and economies of scale possessed by HDB and public agencies in running their precincts rather than have such management and investment in needed infrastructure improvements be held hostage to shorter term political manoevering or lack of experience or resources over electioneering cycles.

    An MPs job on the other hand is to primarily question policies and legislation in parliament on behalf of the electorate. This requires a total different skill set and the substantial time and resources needed to do this effectively.

    He or she also to see that the needs of his constituents are met efficiently and adequately by relevant agencies not to be bogged down by the Augean task of managing huge hosing estates him or herself. Especially if they have to duplicate management systems that previous incumbents refuse to share.
    Not to mention the duplication of administrative resources by different electoral precincts.

    Finally and equally importantly, the provision of estate management services and allocation infrastructure is a public good and should never be used as a political tool.

    The bulk of most citizens net worth or life savings is in their home. To have its value held hostage to voting in a powerful incumbent government that controls the agencies responsible for such activities is both a breach of citizens rights as well as a recipe for authoritarian rule.

    And to make relatively inexperienced opposition MPs financially liable for any mismanagement in spite of best intentions is to effectively raise the bar for an opposition politician that would otherwise be effective in questioning policies way too high to be of any real benefit to citizens.

    The public is thus short changed both ways in terms of optimal public housing management as well as political representation.

    Please note that all this cuts institutionally both ways. If the PAP ever found itself in minority opposition again , it may never be able to return from the political wilderness beyond the impregnable walls of their own creation.

     

    Source: Lam Keong Yeoh

  • Open Letter To Lee Wei Ling And Lee Hsien Yang From Non-PAP Voter: Enough Is Enough

    Open Letter To Lee Wei Ling And Lee Hsien Yang From Non-PAP Voter: Enough Is Enough

    Enough is enough please. This is my final posting ever on this family dispute that should have never gone public, and should either be in the court, or just private.

    Yes, you both seem to be on the Singaporeans side recently. You spoke out against the evil government, and stated your stand that you have lost confidence in your brother, and also in his capacity as the Prime Minister of Singapore.

    Firstly, where were you both, when Singaporeans needed people of immense influence like you both? Where were you both when your own late father tried to fix the opposition figures, and did many things, which may not be as democratic as we want him to be? Now, you appear to be on the side of people who once you never even bothered (at least from the public sphere). We were told you both intended also to bring up this issue during the previous General Elections, but you both did not? Why? Didn’t you say you were on the side of the Singaporeans, and in this case, people who are against such “evil” government? Why now? It is a little too late. I cannot see, feel, or understand the sincerity or genuine concern for Singapore or Singaporeans. I only feel you are doing this for selfish reasons which got nothing to do with Singapore or Singaporeans. You felt the heat like any other who went against the government. Just because you have the luxury of being associated as LKY’s children, does not mean, you will be spared from the same treatment as any other people who are opposing the government. So, please leave the kitchen, if you can’t bear the heat.

    Secondly, how can you both do this to your elder brother? If you feel you are afraid of him, and his misuse of the state’s organs, and you really want to leave Singapore, then leave Singapore. Why bring us into this family dispute? You certainly did not do this for Singapore or Singaporeans. So you should have left Singapore, or go to a Court in Singapore, and settle this. Then, today, you brought up Mdm Ho Ching (a very respectable woman who I admire her humble ways) as someone representing the PMO. Isn’t she also the daughter-in-law of LKY and the wife of the Prime Minister of Singapore? If this is how you both younger siblings behave when you have a family dispute, I can only imagine how bad it could be to be your eldest brother for both of you to turn against him. It is so shameful for all of us Singaporeans, that now, the children of the late LKY are doing this in public and on the world stage. You both may not be politicians or statesmen, but can you think for Singapore and Singaporeans a bit? Your father chose to be the first prime minister of Singapore, and he was so successful that today, we are having these issues because of how inspiring and successful he was as our first Prime Minister. Whether, he manipulated the laws, the media, or whatever, he succeeded to make Singapore what it is today. I always feel so proud of the Singapore he and our pioneering leaders have built. Yes, I never voted for PAP, because I want the government to do more. They have the best people, and they should do even more for the people, and I simply want them to do that. It is like a teacher not wanting to give full marks to a child, because the child is not maximising his potential.

    Thirdly, do you know where your brother live? Can you pay him a visit? Have a cup of tea, play the chinese chess again, and speak to him. I do not think he is such a bad person. Yes I know he at times fixes the opposition, does all the dirty politics, but he is a politician, isn’t he? Most important thing to ask is, did he at least try to do his best for the country? Yes I think he did. His team did, but of course, nobody is perfect. I still cannot understand why the three of you all cannot just sit down in a room, and talk like you three are actually born from the same pair of parents. The most saddening part is, you three are the children of a man, not only I respect and deeply appreciate a lot, but many people around the world do too! When you take this public, for whatever reasons, you are slowly eroding the legacy left behind by your dad. It is sad for him to watch this from above – watching you both going against your eldest brother. I know, yes, PAP government can be “evil” at times. It was worst during LKY and Mr Goh Chok Tong’s tenures as PM. I would say your eldest brother is milder, and he is opening up more, and I would say, even though, this is not the best leadership we have, they have their strengths and weaknesses. For me, I only care for what’s best for Singapore and Singaporeans. The politicians can do the politics as much as they want. PAP is not the only party with undesirable politicians. I can fairly say, all political parties share the same features.

    Lastly, I would rather you both leave Singapore, than to remain in Singapore and do this to Singapore. Do you seriously believe suddenly the government of Singapore is going to change, and suddenly you no longer feel the heat? Do you not know the government of Singapore enough? They already decided everything before they bring out any issue to discuss in Singapore. Now that you are on the receiving end of this government, you want to save us from this government? Sorry. No thanks. I still prefer this government that I am opposing for issues that I think they should work on. The government is not perfect, will never be. Your brother, our Prime Minister, is not perfect, will never be. But at least, he has given his life to politics, what have you both done for Singapore lately? Posting on Facebook information which should be in the court now. Your actions have swung me more to the side of your eldest brother though. Poor him.

    Side Note: I had sent an email to the three siblings, Mr Lee Hsien Loong, Dr Lee Wee Ling and Mr Lee Hsien Yang. Only PM has responded, through the PMO staff that he had received the email. The other two siblings, did not respond. My email was sent with the intention of getting you all three to be a family again. Do you not want to deal this as a family, than this mess? I think highly of your parents’ children. They had a part to play to make this wonderful Singapore. And they I know have raised you three siblings well, and for me to witness this, is breaking my heart into pieces, simply because I am a human being who cares for harmony in a family. What more your family.

    Source: Mohammad Nizam Abdul Kadir