Tag: Singaporeans

WP To Give National Day Rally A Miss

The Workers’ Party (WP) Members of Parliament (MPs) will not be attending the National Day Rally (NDR) because of a clash in timing with a grassroots event they have been planning since last year.

This is believed to be the first time that no WP representatives will attend the yearly event since the party’s parliamentary presence increased after the 2011 General Election.

In response to TODAY’s queries, the WP confirmed that its nine MPs, including its two Non-Constituency MPs (NCMPs), would not attend the rally on Aug 23.

The WP spokesperson noted that invitations to the rally are sent to individual MPs, not to the party, and said the MPs had “informed the organising committee accordingly”.

The date of the WP’s grassroots event — an SG50 celebration dinner for residents — was decided in December, added the spokesperson.

The rally usually takes place two Sundays after National Day, with the date confirmed closer to the NDR. Opposition and Nominated MPs have been attending it since 2007.

Before that, opposition MPs had never been invited to the rally, which is a platform for Singapore’s Prime Minister to explain policy directions and priorities, as well as challenges facing the nation.

In 2004, in reply to a parliamentary question, the Prime Minister said opposition MPs could not be expected to help the Government rally the ground to support its policies.

WP NCMP Yee Jenn Jong told TODAY this would be the first time he would be absent from the Rally since entering Parliament in 2011. “By the time we received the NDR invitation, we had already planned our National Day event,” said Mr Yee, who received the invitation in June.

“I think I need to commit my time to the residents who have supported us,” added Mr Yee, who had paid for a table for supporters and friends invited to the dinner.

Nevertheless, he said he intends to catch up on the NDR speech after that.

Source: www.todayonline.com

August 14, 2015
SPF: Senior Police Officer Melvin Yong Retiring on 16 Aug

Senior police officer Melvin Yong will be retiring from the force next week, adding to speculation that he may be fielded by the People’s Action Party (PAP) as a candidate at the coming general election.

A police spokesman confirmed on Wednesday that the 43-year-old Assistant Commissioner’s (AC) last day of work is August 16.

Mr Yong declined to comment on his post-retirement plans but said Thursday that he had “the privilege of serving constituents both as a police officer, as well as a grassroots volunteer for many years and found it richly rewarding”. He added: “I plan to continue doing so even after I retire from the force.”

The Straits Times understands that the PAP will introduce him sometime next week as a candidate for Tanjong Pagar GRC alongside Labour Chief Chan Chun Sing, Senior Minister of State for Education and Law Indranee Rajah, backbencher Chia Shi-Lu and another new face, former public servant Joan Pereira.

The five-member GRC was previously helmed by former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew until he died in March this year.

If Mr Yong is indeed fielded at the upcoming polls, he may be the first police officer to trade his blue uniform for the party’s white garb since Singapore’s independence.

Former police officers who are now in politics include Education Minister Heng Swee Keat, Senior Minister of State Heng Chee How, labour MP Patrick Tay and Workers’ Party chairman Sylvia Lim.

However, unlike Mr Yong, these MPs had moved on from law enforcement to positions in government, the private sector or labour movement, before entering politics.

NTUC deputy director Desmond Choo, who was fielded in WP-held Hougang single-member constituency in 2011 and the 2012 by-election, is also an ex-cop. He is widely expected to be fielded by the PAP in Tampines GRC.

Mr Yong, who is currently director of the police’s Public Affairs Department (PAD), will leave the force after 20 years in service. He was commander of Clementi Police Division from 2010 to 2014.

He has held key appointments such as deputy director for Planning & Organisation as well as director for Administration & Finance. He was also concurrently deputy director for Operations between November 2013 and June last year.

A police spokesman said Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police Tan Hung Hooi, who is currently director for Manpower, will cover the duties of director PAD.

“The Singapore Police Force (SPF) thanks AC Melvin Yong for his leadership and many contributions during his service,” said the spokesman.

National Crime Prevention Council chairman Tan Kian Hoon, who has known Mr Yong since 2002, said Mr Yong was always able to hold “various appointments concurrently and yet do well in all of them, despite the constraint in time”.

“Apart from his clear and methodical thinking, he has the EQ to motivate and garner the support of those working with him, be they his work colleagues or fellow volunteers,” added Mr Tan.

Source: www.straitstimes.com

August 14, 2015
Yusof Ishak Chose To Stay, Thereby Convincing Other Malays

Post-Separation in August 1965, Mr Yusof Ishak’s steadfast loyalty to Singapore convinced many other Malays to stay instead of migrating across the Causeway where they would be part of the majority community.

As this fledgling nation’s first president, Mr Yusof, who was born in Malaysia, strived to build up people’s faith in Singapore as a multiracial nation.

The man and his ideals are the focus of a new 120-page monograph titled Yusof Ishak: Singapore’s First President by Iseas fellow Norshahril Saat.

“Had he left for Malaysia, like many other Malay elites at that time, many other Malays would have followed suit on seeing that their Yang di-Pertuan Negara no longer trusted the Singapore system,” wrote Dr Norshahril.

In the book, he also seeks to debunk the myth that Mr Yusof, who started Malay newspaper Utusan Melayu, was a “Malay chauvinist”.

Dr Norshahril explained that Mr Yusof “was not struggling for Malays because he was a Malay”. “He just wanted equality.”

Former president S R Nathan, who wrote the foreward, said he suggested the book be written so that young Singaporeans could learn more about their country’s history and its pioneers.

The monograph is not for sale as of now, but there are plans to distribute it to schools here.

Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Yaacob Ibrahim, who was interviewed for the book, told reporters yesterday that it could help younger generations understand how pioneers like Mr Yusof struggled to build a nation.

Second Minister for Home Affairs and Foreign Affairs Masagos Zulkifli said Mr Yusof was “the first among many significant Malay leaders who conveyed the message that this country is a country that belongs to everyone”.

Source: www.straitstimes.com

August 13, 2015
Two Hit-And-Run Drivers Arrested

A 30-year-old man was arrested yesterday on suspicion of driving an Audi car that spun out of control in Simei Avenue on Tuesday morning – crashing into seven other vehicles and causing a 1½-hour jam along the three-lane road.

The driver, who has not been named, was seen running away from the scene after the 9.15am pile-up near the Institute of Technical Education College East campus.

A 65-year-old woman, a passenger in another car involved, suffered pain in her stomach and back after the accident and was warded at Changi General Hospital.

Police said yesterday that the accident “occurred when the driver of a silver saloon car failed to exercise proper control of his vehicle”.

The Traffic Police established his identity through “intensive investigations” and he was arrested in the vicinity of the National University Hospital. His driving licence will be suspended and police are continuing their investigations.

Witnesses said the driver had been speeding and was overtaking when his car collided with other vehicles and swerved towards the road divider. Mr Rajan Shirodkhar, 48, a vice-president of technology at OCBC Bank, said he was driving to work when the silver Audi hit the rear wheel and side of his car.

“His act yesterday (Tuesday) did not look like what any normal person would have done,” he said. “A fair trial should be held to see how we can be compensated fairly.”

Meanwhile, the police have arrested a 29-year-old man on Tuesday who was believed to have also fled on foot after causing an accident in Jurong Town Hall Road two weeks ago.

He had allegedly been driving a white Honda multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) on the afternoon of July 31, when it collided with a motorcyclist, causing him to be flung onto the road.

The MPV then crashed into the rear of another car, causing it to jerk forward, hitting the rear of a van.

The motorcylist had to be taken to hospital.

“It was established subsequently that the MPV that caused the accident was affixed with a false number plate,” the police said.

The Traffic Police managed to identify the driver and arrested him in the vicinity of Hougang Street 21 for both traffic and drug offences, in a joint operation with the Central Narcotics Bureau.

Under the law, motorists involved in an accident in which a person or animal is injured, or where another vehicle or structure is damaged, have to stop their vehicles. They must also render the necessary assistance.

If the vehicle owner is not present at the scene, the motorist should take reasonable steps to inform him of the accident, such as by leaving a note on the damaged vehicle’s windscreen.

The motorist should also lodge a police report as soon as it is practical to do so and within 24 hours, unless he is able to establish contact with the vehicle owner.

The penalty for hit-and-run accidents is a fine of up to $3,000 or up to 12 months’ jail. Repeat offenders face a fine of up to $5,000 or up to two years’ jail.

Source: www.straitstimes.com

August 13, 2015
DPP’s Chia Ser Lin: I Will Give Up My Business In China To Become Full-Time MP If Elected

A potential new Opposition candidate at the coming General Election said he will give up his corporate career, which sees him shuttling in and out of China, to be a full-time MP if elected.

Mr Chia Ser Lin, 46, was introduced by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) during a Bishan-Toa Payoh walkabout on Tuesday evening (Aug 11). He runs a chain of F&B companies in China, where he is based, and returns to Singapore once a month to his wife and two kids in Toa Payoh, where he said he has lived all his life.

“He is one of the anchor persons in our team to compete in Bishan-Toa Payoh and run the town council if we win,” said DPP secretary-general Benjamin Pwee, who described Mr Chia as someone who “feels for and understands local municipal issues in Toa Payoh very keenly”.

Mr Chia gave the example of what he said were dirty monsoon drains and possible mosquito breeding grounds – a dengue fever threat – in the neighbourhood were not attended to by the Town Council, which he said deflected queries to the National Environment Agency instead.

“There have been persistent issues like this over the last five years. You write to MPs and you don’t really get a response from them,” he said, calling it “a disconnect on the ground”.

In a separate, earlier interview with Channel NewsAsia, Mr Pwee said the DPP “has been with Bishan-Toa Payoh residents since the last GE till now, and knows the issues on the ground … that have not been dealt with by the current team”.

THE CHINESE CHALLENGE

The Bishan-Toa Payoh Group Representation Constituency is held by the People’s Action Party, which on Wednesday announced the retirement of three MPs from the current GRC Team, including former Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng. The PAP also unveiled their replacements.

This new-look PAP team will square off at the coming General Election against an Opposition partnership made up of DPP and Singapore People’s Party members in Bishan-Toa Payoh.

With DPP not laying claim to any Single Member Constituency, Mr Chia, Mr Pwee and party chairman Hamim Aliyas are in the running for this joint team, whose final five-man lineup will be jointly decided by SPP and DPP leaders by the end of the week.

When asked why he wanted to run in the GE, Mr Chia said “it felt important to stand up, take a stand and support Ben against the idea of one-party rule”.

“It’s important there are certain checks and balances in the system,” he added.

A former schoolmate and fellow scout with Mr Pwee at Raffles Institution, Mr Chia said issues such as overcrowding and the job market concerned him. Also close to heart for the China-based executive was the issue of Singapore’s prospects over the next five to 10 years, in the face of competition from the “more aggressive” China market.

“We are all too protected in many ways. I’ve worked in China for so many years, I know what they’re up to and I’m very worried,” said Mr Chia, who has managed the China-based operations of multi-national corporations including Coca-Cola, OSIM and Asia Pacific Breweries for nearly two decades.

Asked if being based overseas would prove a problem during his campaign, Mr Chia said: “If Ben decides I should join him, if he wins the GRC, then it should be a full-time thing. I don’t believe in part-time MPs drawing allowance and having a full-time job and holding meet-the-people sessions once a month. I think that’s not the way.”

Soure: www.channelnewsasia.com

August 13, 2015