Singapore Democrats

Hello, wait I thought, I thought Singapore wants to a (Legal Hub) for Asia and the World for example infringement of copyrights

If the Chief Justice view the rule of law must be molded here, which is to say "Localization of Law"

How can Singapore stand for Internationalization for Law? When it is not benchmark to the World best practices?

What is the different between Communist North Korea & Singapore?

Aiyoh! I told all Singaporeans "uncountable" and "relentless" times already, this bunch of ungrateful million-dollar-miw only know how to copy from developed nations and than tweak and twist whatever Rules, Laws, Regulations, etc, etc, they have copied to suit their selfish political agendas to further enhance and perpetuate their already strong grip of power/status/money/etc on this tiny-black-mark, so as to proliferate and mutate the barbaric, barbarous and atrocious single-sided-jurisdiction to serve their own commercial and political interest under the guise of uniquely Singapore slogan!

Hello,

Incoming General Election
Focus Areas
1) not so much on academic qualification instead mostly to be fought on "content of his/her character"

The date should be 2010 August or 2010 December

Next Focus Areas
2) not so much of boasting who had "striaght A" candidates instead mainly on political experience, past records, candidates age, maturity of the person will be scrutinise very hard

Next Focus Areas
3) not so much on Elitism Membership Club instead on what he can do for S'pore

Conclusion
Mr Tony Tan SAF Scholar & his wife PSC Scholar must be "good enough" and "perceive as capable people & are able to contribute to the well being of S'pore" since they were invited to YPAP, surely that itself speak volume

http://thestar.com.my/columnists/story.asp?col=insightdownsouth&file=/2010/1/23/columnists/insightdownsouth/5522304&sec=Insight%20Down%20South

Singapore seeing more public demonstrations
INSIGHT DOWN SOUTH
By SEAH CHIANG NEE

Singaporeans, long conditioned to a passive existence, are getting a lesson in being pushy from new arrivals who believe that laws are not everything.

NOT usually known for speaking up, people in this legalistic society have turned a bit more aggressive in fighting for their rights in public.

This is largely due to the infusion of 1.25 million foreigners in the past five years, which has partly altered the texture of society.

The outspokenness has not come from locals but foreigners who have arrived from different parts of the world with their values.

They are beginning to show passive Singaporeans what being pushy in life means.

Some have staged illegal public demonstrations – solo or in large groups – outside government buildings, while others have gone on strike, things that are not suppose to happen in Singapore.

Most locals would not dream of doing such things even if they feel very aggrieved because of the fear of arrest. It’s also because of their upbringing.

Take these examples last week:

> A mother staged a protest for two days at the Education Ministry demanding that her child be transferred to a top primary school.

> Annoyed by “poor taxi service”, an unhappy woman commuter complained to the company, which fired the driver.

> A family of five held up a public bus for six hours, insisting on boarding it with a wheelchair (for their grandmother). Passengers were dislodged, police were called and a tedious negotiation ensued.

The saga ended only when the bus company agreed to transport the group in a nine-seat Maxi-cab – at its expense. In this case standing their ground did work.

All these were done by mainland Chinese who make up the largest – and arguably the most vocal – group of settlers here.

Others come from India, Sri Lanka and places with a tough fight-back environment.

Few have been charged under any of Singapore’s tough laws forbidding even peaceful protests or public disturbances.

As one school teacher observed, “It’s difficult to condemn someone who fights to board a bus with granny’s wheelchair. Laws are not everything!”

Many surfers have complained against double standards in applying the law in favour of foreigners. Opposition politicians, they recall, have often been prosecuted for similar illegal assemblies.

Others, however, believe the government is treating political protests more seriously than socially-caused ones, rather than enforcing the law discriminately.

Last week’s cases were not the only ones.

In the past five years, more serious and bigger demonstrations have been regularly staged by disgruntled foreigners.

In fact the grounds of the Manpower Ministry were a frequent scene of mass demonstrations by foreigners seeking help to recover wages or seek jobs promised to them.

During the construction of Marina Sands casino resort, foreign workers downed tools in one instance, one of Singapore’s rare strikes.

In another instance, more than 100 Chinese workers marched along a main busy road watched by thousands of startled citizens.

Most young Singaporeans have never witnessed a public demonstration or a strike on Singapore soil.

One young couple timed their visit to Hong Kong to coincide with a mass demonstration over the Tiananmen incident.

“We’d like to see what a real protest looks like since we’ve never seen one,” the young woman said.

The aggressiveness was aggravated by the financial crisis, which had put many firms out of business, and workers on the street. The common view was: “I’m glad they were not jailed since they were the victims.”

With foreigners forming 36% of the population, Singapore has undergone a deeper transformation than even Singaporeans can fathom.

The foreign infusion has created many fresh problems, but it has also added diversity, vibrancy and – as Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew pointed out – a new drive into an ageing society.

In a recent interview with National Geographic, Lee compared modern-day Singaporeans to the new arrivals from China and India whom he believes are hungrier and strive harder.

Singaporeans, he said, had – over time – “become less hard-driving and hard-striving”, so the fresh immigration was “a good thing”.

His was not a new theory.

Traditionally, in any migrant country, it was the first arrivals who worked the hardest, but as they prospered the generations that followed would lose – as apparently in Singapore’s case.

In comparison, Lee described the Chinese and Indian newcomers as hungry, with parents “pushing the children very hard (to perform)”.

To the anger of young people, he added, “If native Singaporeans are falling behind because the spurs are not stuck into the hide that is their problem.”

After four decades of stability, many Singaporeans today live a contented life, although globalisation and the economic crisis have erased a part of it.

Some Singaporeans believe that Lee, in his ageing years, was feeling dissatisfied with falling capabilities of the new generation of Singaporeans, both leaders and subjects.

Some economists criticise the policy of bringing in so many low-skilled foreigners to boost the economy, saying it will affect Singapore’s high-tech future.

At any rate, it has already reduced productivity rates in recent years.

Lee’s critics do not agree that Singaporeans lack drive, saying this doesn’t do justice to their hard-earned reputation as among the world’s most hard-working workers.

The Global Wages Report has just reported that Singaporeans spend the most hours at work, just below 44 hours a week, out-working people from Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

It is not only adults, but children, too, who feel life’s rising pressures here.

From young they have to struggle with one exam after another and go through streaming right up to university – including two years of national service.

One youth blogged, “I challenge anyone to name another country whose people work as hard.”