Tag: Singaporeans

  • 19 Year Old Student: Why I Will Vote Opposition

    19 Year Old Student: Why I Will Vote Opposition

    Dear fellow Singaporean,

    I am just a student who is 19 this year, hence I am not able to vote for this upcoming General Election. I come from a very average family and my parents do not have any diploma certificates but just O’ level certificates which you can roughly estimate how much they earn. My dad works from 6am to 6pm daily just for the family. Have got to admit that I am not political type of person and I am not well with my language too, however I do want to stand up for my friends, my families and myself. The government says that we are the future of Singapore but as a student now, I am already being stressed up with my academic and as well as my future and yet the PAP says that they care for everyone in Singapore but in truth, do they really put themselves in the shoes of a teenager as well? As a 19 year old boy, I calculate my daily expenses which is just food and on average, I spend at LEAST $15 in school every day due to 8am – 5pm class. So how much do you think I can save now? The government urge Singaporeans to have more babies to increase the population of Singapore, however, how are supposed to have babies when starting a family would be a problem for most of the average income families now? Also, we still have to at least have a degree certificate in order to survive in this society right now. With all these calculations which includes National Service, how old would we be in order to have a baby which we are capable of raising him/her up?

    My family does not own any cars but whenever I meet up with relatives, they would complain over cars expenses, work, studies etc. The government came up with policies for cars such as COE and ERP now, raising a car (for 10 years only) is near to the price of having half a HDB flat and according to the government, the reason they gave was limited area within Singapore. A place to stay is very important but transportation to destination is also important as punctuality, efficiency is affected. From what I can see, instead of making full use of the whole Singapore, I can only see houses being built everywhere every day, but traffic jam still remains everyday on my way to school. Some days on my way to and fro the interchange, I would see cars being jammed along the small road and the reason of the car jam is because of the barrier of the car gantries not able to function well at times. Sometimes, I could even see broken barriers at the side of the road, cars horning most of the time and sometimes I would even see people quarrelling just because of the gantry. (Is this your so called understanding of Singaporean?) Is the barrier of the gantries to collect money or the harmony of Singaporeans more important?

    Alcohol and Cigarettes are really bad for health, (no offends to alcoholics or smokers) but with the high taxes of it does the amount of Singaporeans stop drinking or smoking? I know E-cigarettes are harmful to health and banned in Singapore, but honestly speaking would E-cigarettes be more healthier for the surrounding people of the smoker or the normal cigaratte and does that mean that normal cigarettes is not harmful to health? (this is the point which I don’t understand as a Singaporean though I am not a smoker) Medical expenses is another problem, with the weather in Singapore, even the yearly haze and not having sufficient rest due to work, stress just leads to illness. The government came up with policies which help the pioneer generation but teenagers like us would spend an average of $40 just for an MC and a couple of types of medication in a clinic. Are the pioneer generation the only Singaporeans?

    Do you think the recent policies would help the future generation? Honestly speaking, as a student now, I myself would find that these policies does help but doesn’t remove the root of high expenses still in Singapore. I have watched these few days rally shows on television and made me realized that the PAP likes to dig out the past of opposition parties unpleasant past, as a leader of Singapore, I think winning with glory is needed. The Opposition parties pinpoint problems in Singapore, not problem with your opponents past. How do even trust our votes to you when what you doing is for Singapore, the country itself, not the Singaporeans living in Singapore.

    I am really very worry of my future and as well as the future of Singapore because this is the country which I am going to spend for the rest of my life. I had managed to convince my parents to vote for Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) for my area, I really hope that many of us would vote for the opposition party as I really think that our future generation is at stake if our expenses continues to go up.

    Opposition Seah
    A.S.S. Reader

     

    Source: www.allsingaporestuff.com

  • Elections About Singapore’s Future Not About Petty Squabbles Between Parties

    Elections About Singapore’s Future Not About Petty Squabbles Between Parties

    These few days I have seen many election posters being defaced by childish individuals, who might think that if they draw on a candidates’ face or make fun of their names they would lose them a few votes and hopefully cause them to lose the election. Such immature behavior is happening on both sides of the divide, with opposition supporters defacing many People’s Action Party (PAP) posters and PAP supporters responding in kind.

    This needs to stop right now.

    Singapore is a country for ALL of us. We may not always agree on the way to go forward. Some might think having zero foreigner growth is good, others might feel that a complete halt would paralyze the economy. Both are not wrong, but the question is how do we reach a suitable compromise? Do we try and force the other party to swallow our views and demoralize them by drawing on their election posters? Is that truly the way to bring peace, prosperity and progress for our nation?

    Always remember that this is our home and that fellow Singaporeans, regardless of blue, orange, yellow, or white political banner, are your countrymen. If we cannot even come together to discuss our future, I think we as a country and people are doomed.

    Gurmit
    A.S.S. Contributor

    Source: www.allsingaporestuff.com

  • Quah Kim Song Opens Up About Girlfriend, Sylvia Lim

    Quah Kim Song Opens Up About Girlfriend, Sylvia Lim

    To many, it is an unusual relationship, astonishing even.

    He is a former footballer, and she, an opposition politician.

    He prefers privacy and she cannot avoid public scrutiny.

    Quah Kim Song, a widower, is a grandfather. Sylvia Lim has never been married.

    He is 63 and she, 50.

    Both are celebrities in their own right.

    His is a household name, famous for being fleet-footed and light on his feet.

    She draws thousands as a speaker at Workers’ Party (WP) election rallies. Her speeches draw roars of approval from supporters and ridicule from detractors.

    Defending her Aljunied GRC seat against the People’s Action Party (PAP), she is in the driver’s seat of her party’s political ambitions.

    And he is her personal chauffeur.

    Who would have expected them to be an item?

    He was a bright student at Naval Base Secondary School and Raffles Institution, but he devoted his energy to football after his A levels.

    The Manchester City fan held several corporate jobs before retiring early.

    Ms Lim – politician, lawyer and academic – had her early education at CHIJ Our Lady of Good Counsel, CHIJ St Joseph’s Convent and National Junior College.

    She graduated with a law degree and was called to the Bar in Singapore in 1991. She is a senior associate with Peter Low LLC.

    Ms Lim was not a sportswoman, but she enjoys watching sport.

    And Quah, from a famous footballing family, was once one of Singapore’s biggest stars.

    It has been more than two years since they met and, as Quah says: “We are very happy just going with the flow without any preconceptions about what the future might bring.”

    Ms Lim, the WP chairman since 2003, adds: “As both of us are not spring chickens, we accept each other totally and do not change the other.”

    Quah, who had to be persuaded to grant this interview, was put in the spotlight when Ms Lim, who has been extremely busy with the hustings, revealed at a rally that Quah “will act as her driver, ferrying her to rally sites and other places”.

    Quah says he enjoys doing that, adding: “When people see us, they do come up to say ‘hello’ or take pictures with us.

    “I must say that the police at the rallies have been quite nice to me.”

    Quah’s chauffeuring job is a way for them to see each other during the election campaign period, when Ms Lim is swamped with party matters.

    The affable Quah loves watching the rallies, but prefers to be low-profile, usually standing behind the stage but inside the barricades.

    FAS ISSUE

    The talk about town is that Quah encouraged Ms Lim to raise the issue of the Football Association of Singapore being run by PAP Members of Parliament, a move she said had stifled Singapore football.

    To that, Ms Lim replies: “No, he did not alert me. I have raised the issue of Singapore soccer slipping down the Fifa rankings in Parliament before I met Kim Song.

    “In the Workers’ Party manifesto in 2011 and earlier, we had already proposed that sports associations be led by persons from the fraternity (rather) than by politicians.”

    So what is it that attracts the star footballer, who speaks with a measured, soft tone, to the steely politician who is often known for making fiery speeches?

    The answer: Common interests in music and football.

    It was in January 2013 at a WP variety concert that love between the two blossomed.

    Mutual friends had coaxed Quah to sing and his rendition of Keith Locke & The Quests’ Don’t Play That Song impressed Miss Lim.

    Later, they danced on stage. A new romance was born.

    Quah, who loves the oldies and lists American icon James Taylor as his favourite singer, says: “I practise the guitar every day to familiarise myself with the chords to widen my repertoire.

    “I also have a guitar at Sylvia’s family home. We enjoy listening to live music and occasionally sing at home over some drinks.”

    These sessions help Ms Lim relax from the stress that comes with politics.

    She, too, enjoys the oldies and is a big fan of US singer-songwriter Carole King.

    As for their other passion, football, Ms Lim would make it a point to attend social matches when Quah is playing. He remains a drawcard among fanatical fans.

    Recently, at a social match at the Marina Floating Platform, Ms Lim made her presence felt by cheering for Quah’s team.

    Hers is not a new craze. She watched Quah during his heyday at the National Stadium, accompanying her brother Arthur to Malaysia Cup matches.

    So what is life like away from the heat of the hustings?

    “I am a retiree, so I have more freedom with my time. Sylvia is a busy person, so we occupy different time slots,” adds the grandfather of twins Renee and Ryan, three, from his daughter Leonora, 31.

    Quah, who was married to Madam Shirley Wang, a bank manager with OCBC, also has a son, Leon, 35, who is married but has no children. Madam Wang died of cancer in 2007.

    Quah adds that Ms Lim has a special relationship with his children and siblings and “she joins social gatherings involving my children, and my brothers and sisters”.

    When he was once asked how he feels about dating one of Singapore’s most prominent women politicians, Quah replied: “I know her as Sylvia Lim, and not Sylvia Lim, chairman of Workers’ Party.”

    For him, more importantly: “We are enjoying our time together and hope to be together for a long time.”

    But no, while they are a “couple”, marriage is far from their minds.

    In a newspaper interview recently, Ms Lim said: “People do ask us when we’re getting married. But we have discussed this and he’s already a grandfather.

    “We’re enjoying our relationship as it is now, so we have no plans to get married at this point.”

     

    Source: www.tnp.sg

  • Man Killed In 3-Truck Collision

    Man Killed In 3-Truck Collision

    He was cycling along Changi Coast Road on his way to Friday prayers when he came across a tipper truck lying on its side yesterday.

    Across the road, a pickup truck was completely wrecked, with smoke coming out of it.

    With it was another tipper truck.

    “I didn’t dare go near because I was scared there would be an explosion,” Mr Imran Jene, 35, a planner at an aviation company, told The New Paper.

    Police said a 38-year-old man was killed in the accident.

    According to police, he was a mechanic and had driven the pickup truck to the accident site to repair one of the tipper trucks, which had broken down. Another tipper truck then collided with the two vehicles.

    Mr Imran, who was riding towards East Coast Park, said the overturned truck spilled sand onto the road.

    When he passed the spot again after his prayers at about 2pm, he saw that the police had cordoned off part of the road.

    They had also erected a blue tent, which made Mr Imran realise there had been a fatality.

    A police spokesman said they were alerted to the accident at about 12.30pm.

    The driver of the tipper truck, a 47-year-old man, was taken to Changi General Hospital.

    A Singapore Civil Defence Force spokesman said he was conscious and suffered multiple injuries and abrasions.

    The pickup truck driver was pronounced dead at the scene.

     

    Source: www.tnp.sg

  • Three Assisting In Police Investigations On Defaced Election Posters

    Three Assisting In Police Investigations On Defaced Election Posters

    Three men aged between 20 and 36-years-old are assisting the police investigations into cases of the defaced election posters, the police said today (Sept 6) in response to media queries.

    It is an offence for any person to alter, remove, destroy, obliterate or deface any election posters or banners under the Parliamentary Elections Act. The punishment for such an offence is a fine not exceeding S$1,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months.

    Last Wednesday, a Sengkang East resident alerted TODAY that at least six posters put up along Sengkang East Way by the People’s Action Party (PAP) were found torn. It appeared to be the first instance of mischief in this year’s General Election.

    Photos: Reader pictures from Mr Xu Rong Fu

    According to Mr Xu Rong Fu, 41, a policeman was seen at the scene that morning and the damaged posters were replaced by around noon.

    In response to TODAY’s queries, Minister of State for Trade and Industry Teo Ser Luck, who is part of the PAP team contesting in the Pasir Ris-Punggol Group Representative Constituency (GRC), confirmed earlier that the damaged posters — which were within his Punggol Central ward — had been replaced.

     

    Source: www.todayonline.com

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