Tag: Ravi Philemon

Deepavali vs Diwali Debate Explains Singaporean Tamils’ Unhappiness With Foreigner Influx

A Channel NewsAsia’s Deepavali special got my attention today for two reasons. One the news presenter said: “Deepavali also known as Diwali”, and secondly because the presenter also referred to Deepavali as a “Hindu New Year”.

(You can view the entire segment here: http://bit.ly/2e3oc2T)

Just like a friend who commented on my Facebook post on the topic, I too have an issue with our national broadcaster needing to translate Deepavali (as it is said in Tamil) into Diwali.

My friend said: “Tamil is one of our National Languages. I would rather they stick to Deepavali. I am not Tamil myself but grew up with it. I know many don’t see it the way we do and that is their right, But i would like the media to stick with Deepavali.”

I think my friend is absolutely right when she added: “I don’t think the sudden use of Diwali has anything to do with the considerations of the Singapore bred North Indians…It has to do with the new citizens from North India who have come here.”

Responding to my post, another friend asked if it was offensive to say ‘seng jia jiu yi’ instead of ‘xing nian kwai le’ (Happy Chinese New Year). I think it is different.
Yet another friend chimed in and said that CNA did mention ‘Deepavali’ as well as ‘Diwali’ and so it is ok. He said that if an organisation totally replaces ‘Deepavali’ with ‘Diwali’ it would be wrong and that Jurong Point Shopping Centre has done precisely that.

Considering that Jurong has Tharman Shanmugaratnam as its anchor-Minister for the constituency, I am surprised that Jurong Point Shopping Centre has done that.

Some in the Singaporean Tamil community have felt unhappy and sidelined by the non-inclusion of Tamil in certain prominent spaces (like the Changi Airport), which has also made international news. CNA’s production has got to be called out at least for that – because if we keep quiet then it may be accepted as a norm.

My friend Gangasudhan writing on the same topic last year said that he felt like a second class citizen in his own country.

“In recent days, many in the Tamil community have had their panties in a bunch because some shopping centres and even Changi Airport have started putting up Christmas decor even though Deepavali is right around the corner – in other words, not a single F was given for this festive occasion. While there is good reason to feel marginalised by this callous attitude in multiracial Singapore that champions racial harmony – complete with a special day each year to wear ‘costumes’ and ‘celebrate’, I am surprised that anyone is surprised by this.”

The larger issue of course is how uninformed the majority in Singapore is despite 50-years of the Government promoting multi-racialism and multiculturalism. If the national broadcaster can be confused if Deepavali is a Hindu New Year, is it any wonder that local websites like The Smart Local will try and tease a laughter out of its audience by comparing laddoo (a popular Indian sweet) to diarrhoea?

Yes CNA, Even if the Marwari, Gujarati, and Nepali of the Indian community celebrate their new year around Deepavali they are not the majority even in India.

Deepavali is not a Hindu New year.

Source: http://theindependent.sg

October 30, 2016
Ravi Philemon: Only Political Decision Will Disqualify Dr Tan Cheng Bock From Presidential Race

The Report by the Constitutional Commission to review the Elected Presidency was released by the Government earlier today. By all accounts, it is a very comprehensive report which had considered the submissions and views of several different people and organisations.

After reading the Report, what stood out for me was the Commission’s determination to clearly demarcate Constitutional and Political ambits of the Elected Presidency.

For example, the Commission reported that “one pair of contributors submitted that after the experience of the last 25 years, the Elected Presidency should be abolished and Singapore should return to a system where the President is appointed by Parliament.” The Commission noted that this submission is “a matter that falls clearly beyond the Terms of Reference (of the Commission). The choice of constitutional design and arrangements to achieve particular ends are quintessentially political questions. They should be left to the Legislature or, in extreme circumstances, the electorate voting in a referendum.”

Throughout the Report there are several such references which clearly specify that the Office of the Elected President is as much a political construct, as it is a constitutional one.

The Report, for instance, referred to some contributors suggestion to defer “the implementation of any proposed changes to the qualification criteria so as to prevent candidates who might previously have qualified to contest the Presidential office from being excluded from contesting the 2017 Presidential elections.” I was one of the contributors who made that submission.

The Commission said that “the question of whether and when any amendments should be introduced is a political matter for Parliament to determine.”

If the Constitutional Commission’s Report are accepted and passed as legislation by Parliament, it will mean that Dr Tan Cheng Bock who had previously qualified for the Presidential Election will now not qualify for several reasons.

For one, the commission recommended increasing the S$100 million paid-up capital threshold to S$500 million in shareholders’ equity, in absolute terms. According to Law Prof Eugene Tan, Dr Tan Cheng Bock fulfilled the elected presidency criteria in 2011 because he was the Chairman of Chuan Hup Holdings for 20 years. Prof Tan calculated that the paid-up capital of Chuan Hup was about $177 million when Dr Tan retired in 2011, exceeding the $100 million minimum.

Another reason why Dr Tan could be disqualified is because of the Commission’s proposal that “when a member from any racial group has not occupied the President’s office for 5 continuous terms, the next Presidential elections should be reserved for candidates from that group.”

Singapore has not had a Malay President for six terms, since Yusof Ishak. And has not had one from the Eurasian community since President Benjamin Sheares.

Some contributors like me had suggested to the Commission that in the event the Commission decides on changing the existing criteria of qualifications for the Elected President, it should include a ‘grandfather clause’ in the changes which would allow the candidates who qualified to contest in the 2011 Presidential Election to do so in the next Presidential Election.

The Commission has decided that such a decision should be a political one for Parliament to determine. And the People’s Action Party has a super-majority in the House to advance its political agenda.

Read the full report here: http://bit.ly/2cs9O1a.

Source: www.raviphilemon.net

September 8, 2016
Vote Ravi Philemon For Hong Kah North SMC

We first met back in 30th December 2009 when my family and i was homeless. We were spending nights camping on Sembawang beach. On that very night, he and Andrew Loh was distributing biscuits to every one and i never knew who the heck they were back then. But with their help, my family and i now have a proper brick roof over our head.

And he did not stop there.

Over the years, he has contributed significantly to my social entrepreneurial endeavors. Without even asking for it, he introduced me to those in business whom i had garner knowledge, gain so much wisdom from, motivates and inspires me on my journey now. Just imagine someone who were once homeless, just a GCE ‘O’ level holder, feeling all useless and hopeless is now embarking on a journey that could provide employment and hope to others. Ravi Philemon is one of that big contributing factor to this positive change in me.

My mother ever once said in Malay, “Ravi tu bagus ar. Dia tak pernah lupakan kau dan apape, dia akan tolong.” Which translate “Ravi is good. He never forgets you and in anything, he will help.”

It’s been a few years now, acting on the various opportunities to contribute side by side with him in voluntary works. I am grateful.

Though it’s pretty new to me as it has been just sheer few days of supporting him in his walkabouts and campaigns, yesterday particularly was different. It was a wholesome new experience and i strongly believe that it was just the beginning.

Yesterday (Saturday – 22nd August 2015), Ravi Philemon was unveiled as the candidate for Hong Kah North SMC.

I am supporting him not because he is a close friend. I am supporting him not because he have once helped me. I am supporting him not because he is in an opposition party.

I am giving him my fullest support for i have witnessed how he relentlessly help in person, on the ground (using his own pocket money everytime), raise issues which other normal Singaporeans dare not raise and go all out for the benefit of others. I believe he can be an astounding leader and be a great representative for us Singaporeans.

Someone who came from such humble beginnings, gave back to the community in so many ways and are now fighting for a seat in parliament so that he may come forward to be Singaporean’s voice. Doesn’t he deserve your vote?

‪#‎RaviForHongKahNorthSMC‬

Source: Liyana Dhamirah

August 24, 2015
Ravi Philemon: Why I Chose To Contest

I was unveiled by the leaders at Singapore People’s Party as their candidate for Hong Kah North today. In introducing me as the candidate, Mrs Lina Chiam said, “the party has fielded a very strong candidate to contest Hong Kah North against the PAP.” I am humbled by the confidence the Party has in me.

The journey here had not been an easy one for me. I come from a disadvantaged family and went to work after completing my GCE ‘O’ Level, at the age of 16, despite qualifying for higher education. I worked as a store-hand making just $300 so that I can help my mother. With an absent father in my life, my mother was my hero, and being the eldest child, my sense of duty compelled and pushed me into the adult world.

Even then, I knew that education was the great leveller. I pushed myself and completed the GCE ‘A’ Level and other diploma courses while working. Today I hold a Bachelor of Arts (Management) from Heriot-Watt University.

The Singapore back then, the political leaders and policies back then, provided various opportunities for me and allowed me to dream. With hard work and perseverance, I rose from being a store-hand to be the Director of a welfare agency.

Our children and their children must not lose this ability to dream. Our leaders today are telling them that they don’t need a degree, that you can be a hawker, or a crane operator – that good qualifications no longer guarantee a good job. While saying all these, they are granting S-Passes, employment passes and permanent residency to foreigners with degrees.

With this being the situation now, what is the kind of a future that awaits our children? Will there be enough opportunities for them in their own country? Or will they be subordinate to better-qualified foreigners?

The late Mr Lee Kuan Yew feared that an incompetent Government will mean that, among other things, our people will become foreign workers and maids in other people’s countries. Today our Government – while acknowledging that working overseas may not be comfortable given that pay or living environment will not be as good as in Singapore – still tells us to go overseas.

Are we losing our ability to dream?

Singapore must continue to be a land of opportunities for our own children. It is this conviction which has made me to step forward to challenge the PAP.

I am not a General who makes hundreds of thousands of dollars every year, and so may have substantial savings to fall back on in case he resigns. But still, I have paid a heavy price by resigning my job to contest in this election.

I face an uphill battle in Hong Kah North, but by taking this little step forward, I hope to inspire Singaporeans.

That together we can dream of a better Singapore.

Mr Philemon is Singapore People’s Party’s candidate for Hong Kah North SMC, he is also a former Chief editor of The Online Citizen in 2011/2.

Source: www.theonlinecitizen.com

August 23, 2015
SWAMI Home Advised To Abide By Its Constitution, Do Not Allow Permises To Be Used For Political Purposes

The Sunshine Welfare Action Mission (SWAMI) Home, which hosted a People’s Action Party (PAP) press conference last Friday, has been told by the authorities to abide by its constitution, after a report was lodged with the Registrar of Societies questioning whether it had violated its constitution by hosting a political event.

SWAMI’s constitution states that it cannot take part in any political activity or allow its funds or premises to be used for political purposes.

A Ministry of Home Affairs spokesperson said SWAMI is a registered society and is obliged to adhere to its constitution. “SWAMI was advised by the Registry of Societies on 17 August 2015 to ensure strict adherence to its constitution,” the spokesperson said.

The report was lodged by Singapore People’s Party (SPP) member and blogger Ravi Philemon.

In a blog post on Saturday, Mr Philemon questioned why SWAMI Home had hosted the PAP press conference, which saw the introduction of the party’s slate for Sembawang GRC in the coming General Election by party chairman Khaw Boon Wan.

Mr Philemon said based on his experience working in volunteer welfare organisations (VWOs), most of them have constitutions that forbid them from getting involved in political activities. “The introduction of PAP candidates who will contest in Sembawang GRC in the next General Election is clearly a political activity,” he wrote.

In a statement, SWAMI Home’s president Low Chang Yee said the home had not checked its constitution when it agreed to rent its premises to the PAP. “The local MPs wanted to rent our premises for their event. We agreed as their rental of our premises on commercial terms was helpful for us,” he said in a statement.

The organisation has never used its funds to help any political party, and funds raised from the renting of its premises are used to help run the home and other charitable causes, Mr Low explained. “Now, we have been informed and are aware of this provision in our constitution,” he added.

The PAP’s Sembawang GRC team — led by Mr Khaw, who is also National Development Minister — said in a statement that it had rented the home “partly to support this VWO and partly because we felt it was an accessible place and had sufficient space to accommodate reporters”.

“We had not checked the VWO’s constitution. However, we have nothing but the highest regard for the work done by this VWO and will continue to support it in any way we can,” they said.

Source: www.todayonline.com

August 18, 2015