Tag: Singaporeans

Driving Licences – Penalising Singaporeans

I had always wanted to pen this for I had worked as a driving instructor with one of the BIG 3 centres in Singapore. And yes, there are only the 3 who monopolise the industry and of course a handful of old-timers who are private instructors. No new licence is given to private instructors. Hence, after the passing of the old timers, there will never be private classes anymore which are by all means cheaper and the best option for those hard-pressed financially.

Now, if you are a foreigner, it’s a walk in the park. Let’s say you come from India with an Indian licence. All you need to do is to pass your Basic Theory – and lo and behold – you have the much coveted prize – a Singapore Licence. Our licence is much respected the world over. For example, we are the only country from Asia which is recognised for conversion without taking a test in Australia. So they too know how tough it is to get a driving licence in Singapore. And for example countries like India, getting a licence is like going to a coffee shop. The more you are willing to give kopi money, the faster you can get your licence. (This is from the horse’s mouth for I have spoken to them before.)

When I was an instructor, there were different types of learners who sought to get a licence. Among them were those who used them to “cari makan” [Ed: seek a living]. They had to go through rigorous training spending thousands of dollars while their counterparts from overseas didn’t need to do that. So why the discrepancy? Why must we make it so hard for Singaporeans to get a licence when it’s so easy for the rest?

And all of those who had gone through testing in Singapore would know how you are treated by the testers. They are the kings. I have personally seen the trauma, the anguish, the emotional pain and suffering first hand among those who learn to take a licence. I have seen grown man cry because they failed the test. Why must we allow this to happen? Furthermore, what about those who had driven army vehicles during their NS? Are they given a full conversion? No, unless you clock a certain mileage. Isn’t this discriminating against Singaporeans when you allow foreigners to have it easy?

My point is, we are always talking about PMET’s. But we always forget about the average Joe. To be honest, the average Joe doesn’t have a voice for they are working hard to earn a living. But one thing smart about them is they, for one, have for the longest time voted for opposition unlike our PMET’s who had been retrenched. In good times it’s the man in white and in bad times they pick and choose their colour, unlike the Joe’s.

So can the opposition parties please make this a case for Singaporeans!!!!

Majullah Singapura!

Uncle Santosh

* Submitted by TRE reader.

Source: www.tremeritus.com

February 23, 2015
Martyn See Tong Min Urges Lam Pin Min To Apologise And Retract Statements On Thaipusam

OPEN LETTER TO MP DR LAM PIN MIN

A happy new year to you Dr Lam,

My name is See Tong Ming, Martyn. I am a citizen of Singapore. I hereby inform you that I will be filing a police complaint against you on the 26th of February 2015 for offences committed under the Sedition Act and Contempt of Court unless you remove and apologize for the following remark you made.

On the 5th of February 2015 at 1836 hours, you shared a link on your facebook page to an article by ‘Lovely Singapore’ entitled “What really happened at the Thaipusam scuffle?” You had captioned the report in your own words :

“An example of how alcohol intoxication can cause rowdiness and public nuisance.”

The original statement by the Singapore Police Force, posted on the 5th February two hours earlier, had stated:

“All three men were believed to have been drinking earlier as they smelt strongly of alcohol.”

As such, you have deliberately distorted an allegation by the SPF into a statement of fact. I put it to you that you have :

1. Incited enmity towards the Hindu community by stating as fact that devotees were intoxicated while participating in the holy festival of Thaipusam. May I inform you that devotees are required to undergo a strict regiment of fasting and abstinence from meat and alcohol. Members of the families of kavadi carriers are also required to undergo such a regiment, albeit for a shorter period.

2. Caused ill-will and hostility between different races and communities. The responses on your facebook page show overwhelming hostility to your remark. Yet, you have allowed your offensive post to remain online, while you continue to publicly tout Christian teachings on your personal facebook wall. As a Member of Parliament, your lopsided attitude towards the religious sensitivities of Singaporeans, particularly against the Hindu community, is vexatious.

3. Committed sub judice contempt of court by risking prejudice which may affect the final determination of the ongoing case against Ramachandra Chandramohan, Jaya Kumar Krishnasamy and Gunasegaran Rajendran, who are due to undergo trial for disorderly behaviour. The three men were charged in court on February 7th. Your facebook posting has remained online to this day. It has since been reproduced in online forums and blogs. A google search of “Thaipusam alcohol”, “Thaipusam intoxication”, ‘Thaipusam rowdiness” and ‘Thaipusam public nuisance” show up your statement as the top search result.

This will not be the first time I have filed a police complaint against an elected person holding political office. In 2013, I filed a police complaint against Abdul Ghani Othman, the then Johor Menteri Besar, for canvassing for votes in Singapore ahead of the Malaysian elections.

As this is the Chinese New Year season, I wish to offer you a grace period of 3 days to correct your facebook post and make a public apology to the Hindu community. Failing which, a police complaint will be filed by 12 noon on the 26th of February 2015.

If you are so hung up in equating alcohol consumption with public nuisance, I suggest you speak up against the police’s approval of the St. Patrick’s Day street parade on Boat Quay slated for March 13 and 15. In Dublin, such celebrations have been marked by incidences of teenage drinking and street violence.

See Tong Ming, Martyn

Source: Martyn See

February 23, 2015
Employment Agencies Call For FDWs To Undergo Professional Training In Singapore

Employment agencies in Singapore are calling for domestic workers to undergo professional training here so that they can become skilled workers. This comes after Indonesian President Joko Widodo said last week that the country wants to stop sending its women overseas as maids to preserve the country’s “dignity”.

Although no time frame for the stoppage has been given, the Indonesian manpower ministry has been ordered to come up with a “clear road map” on when this can take place.

According to estimates by the Indonesian Embassy, there are about 125,000 Indonesian domestic workers in Singapore. The number accounts for about half of all such workers in the Singapore, say industry players. Hence if Indonesia stops sending its women overseas as maids, employment agencies here say the impact could be bad.

The president of the Association of Employment Agencies (Singapore), Ms K Jayaprema, said that for the employers, “if we were to lose this source, then we will have a very small pool of alternative workers we are looking at now – who come from Philippines, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and India, and in the Philippines we are having our own set of problems at this point in time.”

“For the domestic workers themselves, what is going to happen is they’re going to lose whatever protection that they have been receiving from the Indonesian government and they will become undocumented workers. They will continue to come in – because there are just too many exit points which they can freely move in from – we’re looking at Jakarta, we’re looking at Batam and we’re looking at Semarang,” she added.

The employment agencies added that competing with other countries for a limited pool of domestic workers could also spell higher costs and a longer processing time for employers. The agencies also noted that traditional sources are imposing restrictions to protect their workers. For example, the Philippines plans to introduce a quota system on domestic workers coming to Singapore.

The agencies said finding alternative sources to hire domestic workers will also be a challenge. The owner of Best Home Employment Agency, Mr Tay Khoon Beng, said: “All the traditional sources of supply are thinking of how to better protect their women. At the moment, for example, Myanmar has a ban on all licensed recruiters to send domestic helpers to Singapore. The Philippines has got a quota system now for Singapore, due to unresolved placement fee issues.

“For non-traditional sources, it’s very difficult to open up a new market. For example, the Ministry of Manpower has piloted a two-year project on the Cambodian market. In the two years, we are supposed to bring in 600 Cambodian helpers.

“18 months has passed and the pilot group only managed to bring in about 400 Cambodian workers. And I was told that as high as 50 per cent of these Cambodian workers have either left Singapore or changed employers.

“So it takes time to open up a new market and employers may not adapt to the new market as well.”

To mitigate the effects of a potential supply cut, Mr Tay suggested implementing a mandatory professional course for these workers. He said: “For Indonesia specifically, they wish to train their helpers to meet the standard we require before exporting them. However, I also see at the moment, they may have difficulties to train their helpers to meet our standard.

“So instead of a bottleneck and allowing the ban to happen, why not they continue to export the unskilled helpers to us and we being an education hub will then work out with the employer to upgrade the skill of all these women so that at the end of the contract, they are fully trained, skillful and can go back to being a better skilled person.

“I think we need employers to understand that this is a new reality. Definitely there will be inconvenience caused to them, in terms of the helpers having to take time off to take courses, and at the same time they have to subsidise many of these skilled courses.”

Agencies said other issues like high placement fees also need to be addressed. Currently, the placement fee can range from zero to S$3,000 or S$4,000 – which is equivalent to about eight months of a domestic worker’s monthly pay.

Ms Jayaprema said: “We should only recognise the two-month fees that Singapore agencies are allowed to collect from the domestic workers as service fees. So we do not want to allow any of the source cost to be brought to Singapore as placement fee and allow the agencies to collect this on behalf of the foreign agencies, because that’s what makes the whole figure looks very large. This will be a better solution.”

Source: www.todayonline.com

February 23, 2015
Tin Pei Ling Expecting First Child

Marine Parade GRC MP Tin Pei Ling has revealed that she is expecting her first child. But she will continue to keep up with her parliamentary duties and constituency work for as long as she is able to do so.

“This is my first baby and my hubby and I are looking forward to welcoming this new member to our family. I am excited and a bit nervous, given that it is a whole new experience for me,” the 31-year-old wrote in a Facebook post on Saturday.

She decided to make the announcement after several recent enquiries from a number of people, she explained.

“I have been blessed to have the full support of my fellow MPs in the Marine Parade GRC team and my team in MacPherson. They have both pledged to help support and cover me if and when I need to slow down.

“We will continue to put in our best efforts to serve the needs of MacPherson residents,” added Ms Tin, a first-term MP who entered politics in the 2011 General Election

She had said in recent interviews that she hoped to soon start a family with her husband – Mr Ng How Yue, who is Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Law.

On Facebook, she added: “Looking forward to meeting the little one. Hope to have your blessings too!”

Dozens of netizens congratulated her, with some encouraging her to take care and not to overwork herself.

She will be the third MP to give birth while in office. Ms Sim Ann, Minister of State for Education and Communications and Information, gave birth to her third child in 2011. Punggol East MP Lee Li Lian gave birth to her first child in July 2014.

Source: www.straitstimes.com

February 23, 2015
Budget Should Look To Future, Help Middle Class

Sandwiched between raising a family and caring for their ageing parents as the costs of living rise, the middle class could receive more attention in the Budget this year, which will be delivered by Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam this afternoon.

And while there have been predictions from some quarters of an election Budget with goodies in the offing, some observers have cautioned against focusing too much on the short term, saying the Budget should be assessed on whether it delivers a convincing long-term plan for the Republic.

Employment and income insecurity, wage stagnation and inflation, as well as anxiety about their own and their children’s financial future are some of the chief concerns of middle-income earners — who are the largest stakeholders in the country, said Institute of Policy Studies sociologist Tan Ern Ser. “If Singapore aspires to be a middle-class society … then there are good reasons to address (the middle-income group’s) concerns,” he added.

Subsidies to help people look after their elderly parents or for childcare and their children’s education would go a long way for middle-income earners, because these are their heaviest burdens, said Mr Vishnu Varathan, a Singapore-based economist at Mizuho Bank. He added that more rebates could also be expected for middle-income households, with income earners taking on skills training or further education.

Earlier this month, Mr Tharman, who is also Deputy Prime Minister, indicated that this year’s Budget would focus on building Singapore’s future in terms of addressing retirement adequacy and helping Singaporeans, both those still in school and mid-career, have good careers.

Mr Tharman chairs the 25-member SkillsFuture Council, a national panel set up last September to develop a system of education, training and progression for Singaporeans. He also said the Government was putting the final touches to the Silver Support Scheme, along with other measures to help the low-income elderly.

The needs of the “sandwiched” class must be addressed as they do not qualify for schemes that help the poor, nor do they have the financial capability of upper-income earners, said Associate Professor Eugene Tan from the Singapore Management University School of Law.

“If you talk about trying to ensure Singapore is ready for the future, it becomes critical to ensure this group is well equipped and has confidence in the future of the country. If the Budget can lift this broad middle class … who occupy the heartlands of Singapore … then the future of Singapore will become secure as well,” he said.

Associate Professor Bilveer Singh from NUS’ Department of Political Science said public expectations for this year’s Budget are high, given that it is Singapore’s Golden Jubilee and that there is talk of the elections looming. The next General Election must be held by January 2017.

“Partly, the Government created these expectations for itself … People will say, ‘Okay, what is there for me after 50 years?’” he said. “Budget is when people will see the political will from the Government — can this Government really deliver? Is the Government really caring?”

In a research note published last week, Barclays economists Leong Wai Ho and Bill Diviney pointed to previous incentives that had preceded elections, such as the S$3.2 billion Grow and Share package in 2011.

Dr Tan Ern Ser noted that, increasingly, Singaporeans expect the Government to provide support not only in weathering economic storms, but also in buffering them against risks of inflation, employment and income insecurity as well as wage stagnation. “In short, harping on self-reliance and focusing on job creation and skills training alone are not sufficient,” he said.

Assoc Prof Tan said the Government would have to show that the Budget would not be about short-term measures. “I hope we measure the worth of the Budget by looking at what it actually does to strengthen our capabilities and capacity to do even more and to do well in the years ahead,” he said.

Source: www.todayonline.com

February 23, 2015