Quote:
Originally Posted by
ibanezjem555
This is how White Monkeys chut pattern. My OC so shock tax n gst increase, discuss with her sis (both White Monkeys supporter).. then kpkb..
Please lah, this is White Monkey usual tactic. Then, raise Minister’s pay, then followed by civil servants pay ministry by ministry but biggest receipients will be the Perm Sec n Upper Echeleons.
So, what LHL say is true lor.. ownself say ownself spend anyhow.. look at MRT can see aleli.. the CB CEO recruit at start so many armour officers with him go SMRT liao lui.
Many cronies retire already, drawing pension but still go back to ministry and be consultant advisor draw big pay.. one of them is HoJinx sister.. do research n see if i correct or wrong. That ministry need her advice meh ? she contribute what new initiative ? boh lah, sit there, once in a while talk cock n draw pay. LHL sister ? better check her too !
70% vote for it n everyone get it. Next is charge gst for online purchases ! Kashing kashing ! White Monkeys eyes big big.. lui lai liao lo !
How well is well-paid?
By Tan Hui Leng and Jasmie Yen, TODAY | Posted: 10 April 2007 1028
They expressed support for the need to pay top dollar for top talent in the public sector.
But Members of Parliament (MPs) who took part in yesterday’s parliamentary debate on the pay hike also spoke passionately about what many Singaporeans believe to be the heart of the issue: The benchmarking formula used to determine ministerial pay.
Ang Mo Kio MP Inderjit Singh noted that Singaporeans could not expect their leaders to serve based on altruism alone. “Are we willing to leave the future of the country to chance, that we will get good people who will give up their competence without caring about their salary?” he asked.
Some MPs, however, saw problems in benchmarking ministers’ pay to the private sector, pointing out to disparities in the risks taken by company chief executives and ministers and top civil servants.
Marine Parade MP Lim Biow Chuan said:
“I struggle to understand what a top Admin Officer aged 32 at grade SR9 has to worry about that will justify him receiving $363,000 a year … From many people’s perspectives, they take no personal risk and are at best, paid employees.”
Opposition MPs Mr Chiam See Tong (Potong Pasir) and Hougang’s Low Thia Khiang took issue with the fact that Singapore’s ministers are paid more than their counterparts in developed countries.
MPs like Bishan-Toa Payoh’s Mrs Josephine Teo, however, pointed out that ministers in other countries may make more money after their term in office ends, such as through public speaking.
Some MPs voiced concerns about the timing of announcing the pay revisions, especially with the Goods and Services Tax (GST) due to rise to 7 per cent in July.
Mr Singh said: “How do we answer the man-in-the-street when we’re told that about one-quarter to one-third of the expected revenue increase this year from the GST is going to be for the proposed ministerial and civil service salary increases, about $240 million, I was told?”
Mr Low also referred to the recent debate on increasing the amounts for public assistance. “It’s also ironic that we are consuming taxpayers’ money and … discussing how much more of a fraction of a million to pay civil servants and ministers while we haggle over additional tens of dollars to hand out to our needy and disadvantaged citizens,” he said.
Some MPs who supported the pay hike also suggested that the salary benchmarking could be finetuned, such as pegging ministers’ salaries to more realistic markers such as top men in private equity firms and top companies based on market capitalisation.
http://sg-truth.blogspot.sg/2012/08/...g-scandal.html
Just how and why did the Michael Palmer affair come to light? Was it because the woman involved, Laura Ong, was involved in a love triangle?
The Straits Times on Friday reported that the 33-year-old former grassroots director was in a “serious relationship” with a logistics manager, Andy Lim, for close to two years when she began dating Palmer.
Sources told the paper that Lim, who is in his early 30s, would have been one of the few people to have had access to the SMS and email exchanges between Ong and Palmer.
These exchanges exposing their intimate relationship had been sent to The New Paper by an anonymous source on Saturday – the same day Palmer came forward and confessed to DPM Teo Chee Hean.
One SMS read, “Hello darling… I love you loads. More than I sometimes show… Sorry. Love love”.
Another exchange read, “I hope you are having a good massage. I have some mangoes for you. I love you and miss you loads.”
Other email exchanges showed the pair met up regularly on Mondays and that Palmer had given gifts to Ong, a former constituency director with the People’s Association.
Not much is known about Lim except that he is a Anglo-Chinese School and Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) alumni. They reportedly met when he was a grassroots volunteer at Punggol South ward and as recently as two weeks ago posted Facebook photos, which have since been deleted, of a recent trip they made to Johor Bahru’s Legoland, reported The Straits Times.
On Wednesday, Palmer appeared alongside Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean to announce his resignation as both Speaker and Member of Parliament. DPM Teo said the party first found out about the matter on Saturday and that Palmer offered to resign on the same evening.
Late on Wednesday, the PA also confirmed Ong had resigned from her post.
“Ms Laura Ong, constituency director of Pasir Ris West Constituency Office tendered her resignation on 10 Dec 12, citing family commitments,” said the PA statement sent to the media.
When contacted by Yahoo! Singapore, several of Ong’s colleagues at Pasir Ris Elias Community Club were not aware she had resigned. Two said she was currently on leave but expected her to be coming back to work.
Photos of Ong, who is married but separated from her husband of six years, are also spreading online after they appeared on a mystery blog that was set up on Wednesday. They showed Ong and her colleagues during a People’s Association retreat in Beijing, China.
It was not immediately clear when they were taken but when contacted by Yahoo! Singapore, Pasir Ris-Punggol MP Teo Ser Luck, who was pictured in several of the photos, confirmed they were taken during a grassroots organisation overseas retreat.
Teo, who will take over Palmer’s ward in the meantime, said he knew Ong from the time he used to be the MP/Adviser for Punggol South before the 2011 general elections. Ong was then the constituency director of Punggol South.
Local media reported that Palmer, accompanied by his wife of 15 years Diane, said his goodbyes to 30 grassroots volunteers at the PAP’s Punggol East Branch Office on Wednesday evening.
-————————————————————————————-
SINGAPORE - “My friend got a super scandal about a politician having an affair. Got proof. You interested?”
TNP immediately tried to find out more about what seemed like an explosive story. For the next hour, there was silence.
Then a couple more messages arrived five minutes before noon from a source close to the woman linked to the scandal.
At noon, four e-mails with the header “Michael Palmer” were sent to TNP.
Attached to three of them were screengrabs of SMS and e-mail exchanges allegedly between the politician and the woman. Michael Palmer. Speaker of Parliament since last year. Young, dashing politician. This was a big story indeed.
The messages, which seemed to have been sent to the woman’s smartphone, suggested an intimate relationship between the two, which included regular Monday meetings.
One message reads: “Hello darling… I love you loads. More than I sometimes show… Sorry. Love love.”
Another message says: “But you can’t judge our relationship by just what happens on Monday.”
One e-mail shows a forwarded message: “Your booking at Fairmont Singapore.” The last e-mail sent by the source contained a picture of a Dior handbag that Mr Palmer purportedly gave the woman.
Shortly after, the informant said in an SMS that the issue needed to be escalated. He declined to speak to TNP and would only communicate through SMS.
“You recall Yaw Shin Leong? We need good ministers,” he wrote.
Mr Yaw, a former member of the Workers’ Party, was the MP for Hougang before news of his alleged extramarital affairs caused his sacking earlier this year.
As TNP was trying to verify the information given by the source, somewhere else in Singapore that same day, Mr Palmer was coming clean to the People’s Action Party (PAP).
He met Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean and said that “he would resign his positions”, the media was told in a press conference chaired by the DPM on Wednesday.
When Mr Palmer apologised “for what he had done”, Mr Teo told him to look after his family and to do what he could “to make up for the hurt he had caused them”.
First, Mr Palmer’s personal Facebook account was deleted in the morning.
Then his Facebook page and Twitter accounts also disappeared. At 9.33am, the PAP invited the media to a press conference by DPM Teo at 1.15pm.
Reading from a written statement, he told the press he had resigned “to avoid further embarrassment to the PAP and to Parliament”.
He declined to take personal questions on his affair and how it had affected his family.
In his letter to the PM, also dated on Wednesday, he tendered his resignation as MP and as a PAP member with immediate effect.
He said he took full responsibility for his “grave mistake”.
“My conduct was improper and it was a serious error of judgment,” he wrote.
PM Lee accepted the resignation “with great sadness” yesterday.
He said: “It is necessary that all PAP MPs and advisers to grassroots organisations uphold the highest standards of personal conduct… and that the party be seen to hold its MPs and advisers to these standards.”
Mr Palmer also asked for his family to be spared the publicity.
“I humbly request that you be kind enough to respect my family’s privacy during this difficult period,” he said.
This appeal was repeated by both DPM Teo and PM Lee. DPM Teo told reporters that those involved “are suffering much hurt from this episode”.
“They need time and space for the healing to take place. I hope Singaporeans give them this time and space to do so, and that in time, they will rebuild their lives,” he said.
The PA identified the woman as Madam Laura Ong, constituency director of Pasir Ris West Constituency Office, in a press statement on Wednesday evening.
It said she had tendered her resignation on Monday, citing family commitments.
On Wednesday night, Mr Palmer and his wife met grassroots leaders and volunteers of the Punggol East ward.
In a Facebook post, DPM Teo, who was also there with Mr Teo Ser Luck, said Mr Palmer had apologised to the grassroots members.
“There were tears in many eyes as they wished Michael and his family well,” he wrote.
Mr Palmer did not respond to TNP’s requests on Wednesay to comment on the SMS and e-mail exchanges.
Coincidentally, an American novelist named Michael Palmer released his new book this week. Its title - Political Suicide.
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https://alvinology.com/2016/03/13/in...thy-david-ong/
I just came out of the swimming pool yesterday afternoon when I heard the sudden announcement over the radio on the resignation of the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bukit Batok single member constituency (SMC) ward, David Ong due to ‘personal reasons’.
Later on, I learned that Ong had also quit as a party member of the People’s Action Party (PAP), and he apologised for his ‘personal indiscretion’ in his resignation letter addressed to the Secretary-General of the PAP and also the prime minister of Singapore, Lee Hsien Loong.
Lee went on to announce that he will be calling for a by-election for Bukit Batok SMC.
By evening, Lianhe Zaobao broke the news that David Ong allegedly had an affair with a married woman, Wendy Lim, 41, who is also a member of the PAP Bukit Batok Branch Women’s Wing and ardent supporter of Ong. Ong himself is married with three kids. It is said that Lim’s husband was the one who leaked the news about the alleged extra-marital affair.
What was my immediate reaction following this chain of news?
Not another one.
First, it was Yaw Shin Leong from the Workers’ Party (WP) in early 2012 who allegedly had an extra-marital affair with a female supporter. He eventually vacated his MP seat and resulted in a by-election being called in the Hougang SMC ward. Then there was Michael Palmer from the PAP at the end of 2012, who also had an extra-marital affair. He vacated his MP seat as well and resulted in a by-election being called in the Punggol East SMC ward.
Now, there is David Ong to add to the string of recent MPs with ‘personal indiscretion’ issues.
I want to sympathise with Ong, but found it impossible to do so.
Why?
This is because the PAP brought this whole issue about infidelity and the need to vacate a MP seat upon themselves.
Let me elaborate.
First off, infidelity is not a criminal offense. Nonetheless, it is MORALLY wrong in a monogamous society. A MP who committed adultery did not commit any crime and is not legally required to vacate his or her seat in parliament.
There are many politicians in other countries who committed adultery, but were excellent leaders whom voters continue to support. Some prominent names include Bill Clinton and Franklin D. Roosevelt, both former presidents of the United States.
If you were to ask me, it would have been better to let MPs like Yaw, Palmer and Ong run for election again and let the voters themselves decide if they can accept a MP who is morally flawed, but who is doing a very good job running and representing the respective constituency.
This is no longer possible because in 2012, the PAP chose to keep attacking the WP to account for Yaw’s infidelity. They went on and on until WP, probably in a last-ditch measure to prove they can be of a higher moral standing than the PAP, expelled Yaw from the party, vacating his parliament seat and effectively forcing a by-election.
For instance, PAP’s chairman, Khaw Boon Wan said then that WP had misled voters and urged the party, not just Yaw, to come clean about its choice of candidate in Yaw and why it took the actions it did. This statement effectively linked an individual MP’s moral grounds to also reflect that of the party he or she belongs to.
Hence when Palmer’s indiscretion surfaced, the PAP had no choice but to follow in the WP’s footsteps with regards on the actions to take thereafter – issue an apology, get the naughty MP to resign, force a by-election.
Karma is a bitch.
Then again, the PAP has a total of 86 MPs in parliament versus just 6 MPs from the WP. With all things being equal, this means that the probability of a PAP committing some ‘personal indiscretion’ is at least 16 times higher! They should have seen it coming.
By arm-twisting the WP into a corner with regards to Yaw, a precedent is set for any other MP who is going to be caught in the same situation.
An individual’s moral failing becomes the moral failing of the political party he or she belongs to. As such, there really is no other way out than to pluck out the weed to save the garden.
This is why I have no sympathy for David Ong.
He knew the consequences and has to bear it now.
With regards to the by-election, judging by the huge margins the PAP won across most of the constituencies in the last general election, the PAP will win back Bukit Batok SMC easily.
Moreover, Bukit Batok SMC is in the WEST. People in the west tend to vote more for the PAP, judging from all the past election results. Plus, the strongest opposition party in Singapore, the WP, do not usually contest in the west.
I am predicting the PAP will win back Bukit Batok SMC with 70 to 80% of all votes easily, regardless if they field a veteran or some new face.
http://www.theindependent.sg/did-kep...to-the-public/
Did Keppel management lie to the public?
December 29, 2017
By: Vincent Low/
In the Brazilian bribery case involving Keppel Offshore & Marine, some US$55 million were reported to have been paid by a Keppel agent to Brazilian govt officials in order to secure deals for Keppel in Brazil. These “improper payments” were made over a period from 2001 to 2014, and they were carried out with the knowledge or approval of former Keppel senior executives.
Bloomberg broke the news in last Aug, reporting on how the Brazilian agent, Zwi Skornicki, testified in a Brazilian court naming 5 of the Keppel senior executives, including then Keppel Offshore & Marine CEO Chow Yew Yuen, who had authorized him to bribe the officials.
Keppel’s management at first denies bribery involvement
When Bloomberg broke the news, Keppel’s management immediately responded on the same day, denying its involvement in the bribery case. Keppel issued a public statement stating (3 Aug 2016):
“Keppel strongly denies the allegations reportedly made that Keppel executives authorised Mr Skornicki to pay bribes on its behalf. None of the individuals named in the article, including the current CEO of Keppel Offshore and Marine Mr Chow Yew Yuen, have ever authorised Mr Skornicki to make any payments as bribes.”
The public statement was also made via SGXNET, where Singapore listed companies make their corporate announcements to inform the market with regard to their corporate development and activities.
Seven months later in March this year, Keppel issued a statement saying that Keppel Offshore & Marine CEO Chow Yew Yuen would “retire” with effect from 31 March 2017.
Keppel now acknowledges its bribery involvement
Last week (23 Dec 2017), Keppel issued a new statement finally acknowledging that the corrupt payments made by their agent to Brazilian officials were “made with knowledge or approval” of former senior executives of Keppel.
“As announced in October 2016, Keppel undertook a thorough internal investigation, identified certain suspicious transactions involving Mr Skornicki, and cooperated fully and extensively with the authorities to resolve the issues arising from or in connection with those transactions,” Keppel said.
“The authorities recognise Keppel’s cooperation in the investigations and its extensive remedial measures, which involved significant enhancements to compliance and internal controls systems across the Keppel Group, and disciplinary action against individuals involved in the misconduct.”
Dr Lee Boon Yang, Keppel Chairman, apologized, “We regret and are deeply disappointed by the actions that we now know to have taken place at the Group’s offshore and marine business in Brazil from around 2001 to 2014.”
He assured the public that “such unacceptable behavior will not be repeated” in Keppel.
Mr Loh Chin Hua, CEO of Keppel Corp which is the parent company of Keppel Offshore & Marine, added, “We have zero tolerance for corruption… Given Keppel’s strong track record and capabilities, I am confident that we will emerge as a more disciplined and sustainable company, better able to pursue our growth plans.”
Both Dr Lee’s and Mr Loh’s names did not appear among the 5 names mentioned by the agent in the Brazilian court.
In any case, it appears that the statement made by Keppel’s management on 3 Aug 2016 that they didn’t authorize its agent to make bribery payments was false.
https://sg.news.yahoo.com/workers-pa...063003284.html
Workers’ Party MPs to raise Keppel corruption case in Parliament
Yahoo News Singapore
December 29, 2017
Aljunied GRC Member of Parliament Pritam Singh says the opposition party will raise questions about the Keppel Offshore & Marine corruption case at the next sitting of Parliament on 8 January.
In a Facebook note, Singh said that he and his colleagues had filed Parliamentary Questions for the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister.
For example, Hougang MP Png Eng Huat is enquiring how much more time the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) will need to complete the investigations in respect of the Singaporeans involved in the case, and how far back in time it will go.
Singh will also ask how many Singapore Government-Linked Companies (GLCs) or their subsidiaries locally or overseas have been investigated or continue to be investigated by local or overseas authorities for corrupt practices over the last 30 years.
Last Thursday, US officials said that Keppel has agreed to pay US$422 million (S$564 million) in fines to the US, Brazil and Singapore to settle bribery cases involving Brazilian contracts. Court documents also showed that former Keppel lawyer Jeffrey Chow had cut a deal to help US prosecutors in their probe.
“Amidst the shocking revelation of what must be one of the largest corruption scandals in the history of Singapore’s Government Linked Companies, I was most surprised to see the virtual absence of any substantive information on this scandal on the AGC or CPIB websites except a brief media statement on the conditional warning given to Keppel, something made even more curious in view of Keppel’s denial over a year ago that its top executives were even involved in giving out bribes for contracts,” said Singh.
He added, “This corruption scandal invites many other angles to consider too, so I was rather surprised to see no question on the matter filed by any PAP MP, suggesting that a Ministerial Statement may well be made.”
“But then again, the Speaker has the power to allow questions to be admitted after 26 Dec 2017, if he determines to allow so.”
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https://www.facebook.com/pritam.euno...74792965876343
http://forums.$$$$$$$$$$$$.com.sg/current-affairs-lounge-17/gerald-giam-how-pap-uses-taxpayer-funded-grassroots-political-gain-3097742.html
http://geraldgiam.sg/2009/10/how-pap...olitical-gain/
How PAP uses taxpayer-funded grassroots for political gain
Not many Singaporeans are aware of how much the taxpayer-funded grassroots have been used by the PAP for political gain.
By Gerald Giam
10 October 2009 | 4,299 Reads | 12 Comments
Last week, Mr Eric Low and Mr Sitoh Yih Pin, the PAP MP-aspirants who lost to Workers’ Party’s Low Thia Khiang and SDA’s Chiam See Tong respectively in the last election, grabbed the limelight for themselves by announcing HDB’s decision to upgrade lifts in Potong Pasir and Hougang.
I had written an article questioning why HDB had informed the losing candidates in opposition wards of the upgrading plans.
A Straits Times forum letter writer, Mr Muhammad Yusuf Osman, said it best when he called for the mandate that the residents gave to the elected MPs to be respected.
He asked: “Under what authority did both Mr (Eric) Low and Mr Sitoh (Yih Pin) act as advisers to the grassroots organisations, given that the People’s Association is a government statutory board and should work with the elected MPs of the constituencies?”
In response, HDB and People’s Association replied that “it is the Government’s practice to implement its national programmes for residents through advisers to grassroots organisations who are appointed by the Government to gather feedback from residents.”
They forgot to mention that these “advisers” are always PAP men, whether or not they won the election.
Not many Singaporeans are aware of how much the taxpayer-funded grassroots have been used by the PAP for political gain.
Here’s a quick run down:
The People’s Association (PA), a statutory board under the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports, was set up in 1960 to counter the influence of Chinese clan associations and unions on working class Singaporeans.
Like all other stat boards, it receives a yearly grant from the government to run its programmes and cover operational costs. In FY2008, PA received $280 million from taxpayers, and another $23 million in “operating income”. It spent a total of $320 million last year.
However unlike most stat boards, whose chairmen are usually the permanent secretary of the parent ministry or some other senior civil servant, PA’s chairman is none other than the Prime Minister.
The deputy chairman and two other board members are PAP ministers, together with a PAP minister of state, two other PAP office holders and a PAP backbencher. Eight out of the 14 board members are PAP MPs.
No other public sector board in Singapore has so many “Men in White” on it.
The PA oversees all the official “grassroots organisations”, namely the Citizens’ Consultative Committees (CCC), Community Club Management Committees (CCMC), Residents’ Committees (RC), Neighbourhood Committees (NC) and the Community Development Councils (CDC).
PA also runs the National Youth Council (NYC) and the People’s Association Youth Movement (PAYM), which reach out to young people.
The de facto leader of all the CCCs, CCMCs, RCs and NCs in each constituency is known as the “adviser to the grassroots organisations (GROs)”.
This adviser is appointed by PA, presumably with the nod of its chairman, the Prime Minister.
In PAP constituencies, PA always appoints the elected MP as the adviser. But in opposition wards, PA appoints the PAP candidate who lost in the last election, not the opposition MP.
The same anomaly is repeated in the CDCs. CDCs have a whole panel of advisers, who are by default the GRO advisers. In South West CDC, where all the component constituencies are under the PAP, it is not surprising that all the advisers are PAP MPs.
But in South East CDC, there is one grinning adviser who is not an MP — Sitoh Yih Pin, the man who lost to Mr Chiam See Tong (SDA) in Potong Pasir. North East CDC also has a non-MP — Eric Low — sitting as adviser.
He lost to Mr Low Thia Khiang (WP) in the last two elections, garnering just 37% of the popular vote in 2006.
Mr Low Thia Khiang and Mr Chiam See Tong are completely excluded from the CDCs.
CDCs, Community Clubs and other GROs often organise events which involve a large number of residents. Most of the time, the guest-of-honour at such events is — you guessed it — the PAP grassroots adviser.
All this effectively denies the opposition MPs access to the whole array of grassroots resources that PAP MPs have easy access to. The opposition MP has to build up his own grassroot network from scratch, while PAP MPs simply inherit the control of the RCs, CCCs and CCMCs.
Most HDB dwellers will be familiar with the notice boards next to the lifts.
These are managed by the RCs, which ensure that residents always aware of who their PAP MPs are by featuring their names and photos prominently on the notice boards.
But in Hougang and Potong Pasir, instead of the elected MP, residents will see the losing PAP candidate’s face on the notice board every day when they go home.
Around the neighbourhood, they will also see huge banners sponsored by PA or the CCC, featuring the losing PAP candidate wishing residents during festive occasions. The Opposition is given no such banner space in PAP wards.
To round it off, the GROs are often the recruiting ground for the PAP during elections.
Many grassroots volunteers are also loyal PAP men and women, who shed their supposed neutrality to don PAP all-whites during the election campaign, serving as supporters, election agents and counting agents for the PAP candidates.
The best thing of all for the PAP is that all these grassroots resources come at zero cost to the party, since it is all paid for by taxpayers — yes including those who voted for the Opposition.
Unlike in other countries where political parties — just like the Opposition here — have to fund their own grassroots activities, the PAP can save its funds to be used during the election campaign.
With all these factors stacked against the Opposition, it is indeed commendable that Mr Chiam See Tong and Mr Low Thia Khiang have managed to hold on to their seats for the past 20 years. The residents of Potong Pasir and Hougang have proven that sincerity and pure hard work on the ground will be rewarded.
Technorati Tags: grassroots, Hougang, People’s Association, Potong Pasir
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http://www.theindependent.sg/pa-braz...-organisation/
PA brazenly advertises perks to entice residents to join grassroots organisation
March 17, 2017
Former Non Constituency Member of Parliament, Gerald Giam, shared a picture of door-hanger leaflet from the People’s Association (PA), advertising perks to entice residents to join the grassroots organisation. The advertisement from the PA’s Fengshan Crystal Residents’ Committee (RC) was targeted at residents living in Blocks 119 to 129 of Bedok North Road.
Mr Giam noted that the PA sees no need to be subtle about the perks its volunteers received.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office and the Deputy Chairman of the People’s Association revealed in October 2016 that the People’s Association (PA) Grassroots Leaders and Advisers receive the following perks for the services they render.
Apply for special parking label to park at designated car parks up to 11 pm in the constituency they serve. (Minister did not say if these labels were issued at a cost, but said that they would get this concession only if they had first purchased a a HDB season parking coupon.
Apply for P1 registration for their children under Phase 2B in schools within the constituency they reside in.
Apply for BTO flats and ECs under a HDB scheme. (source: http://$$$$$$$/2cTSbve)
The Workers’ Party Chairman Sylvia Lim had earlier last year charged that the PA was not impartial. Ms Lim cited a personal incident to ask if PA had deviated from its objectives of “fostering cohesion and bonding, and <…>promoting group participation that transcends sectional loyalties”, to advancing the ruling party politically and undermining the work of Opposition MPs. (
http://theindependent.sg/chan-chun-s...es-association
).
The opposition Member of Parliament (MP) had on one occasion, sought information from the Ministry of National Development on its plans for private-estate upgrading projects in her constituency. “The ministry referred me to the CCC (Citizens’ Consultative Committee). I then wrote several times to the CCC, but it seems that my letters do not even merit a reply,” she revealed.
The MP also pointed to the mobilisation of PA activists to campaign for the ruling People’s Action Party’s candidates during elections as another example of its partiality.
Replying to the opposition MP in Parliament, Minister Chan Chun Sing said that based on his personal experience, he has seen participants of PA activities supporting both the People’s Action Party (PAP) as well as the Opposition during the General Election.
“When I see my own residents, participants of my PA activities, supporting the Opposition, I can only ask myself: ‘How can I work harder to win them over?’” he said.
“The PA is a statutory board. It executes the directions for the Government of the day, as per any statutory board. The PA does not allow any political activity or canvassing on our premises or in our activities. And we certainly do not mobilise anyone for any political party,” Mr Chan explained.
“If Ms Lim has any such evidence of wrongdoing, you can let me know, and I guarantee you I will follow up. I will be the last person to ever allow the PA to be politicised,” Mr Chan reassured.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
NotMyPresident
You seemed to dislike the PAP government a lot .
Nothing wrong with not liking PAP. Everyone have their own reasons.
Same as why PAP supporters, Grassroots, PAP IBs, NTUC, GLCs, Civil Service, PAP MPs hate WP so much.
It goes both ways. Besides, what I posted are facts from Media and what had already happened in reality.
http://www.straitstimes.com/singapor...1-as-fees-rise
It’ll cost more to say ‘I do’ from July 1 as fees rise
Marriage registration fees will go up from Saturday. Foreigners will be the most affected by the hike, with their fees increasing by nearly three times.
The Registry of Marriages (ROM) announced on its website that couples where at least one party is a Singapore citizen or a permanent resident (PR) will have to pay $42 for registration, compared with the $26 they pay now.
Foreigners who now pay $128 on weekdays, $198 on weekends and $298 on popular days will pay a flat $380 from July 1.
An ROM spokesman said the increase was to keep up with rising operational costs, and to ensure that service quality is maintained.
The last review of prices was done in 2005.
When asked about the steeper price increase for foreigners, the spokesman said the priority for ROM is to ensure that marriage fees remain affordable for Singapore citizens and PRs.
Most Singaporean couples The Straits Times approached were not overly perturbed by the price increase.
Registered nurse Samantha Jacob, 26, who is set to solemnise her marriage on Sept 3, said she does not understand why the prices have risen by a significant amount, but would pay the higher price anyway.
She said: “I don’t really get why it is such a big jump, but it is not outside my budget, so I would just pay it.”
Web developer Stanley Lim, 28, whose solemnisation was in February, said the price seems reasonable, considering inflation.
He said: “My spouse and I feel that it is jus- tifiable as the cost of $26 has been like this for at least 10 years.”
Dr Mu Zheng, an assistant professor in the Department of Sociology at the National University of Singapore, said that the price increase is unlikely to have any significant long-term effect.
She said: “For people who already intend to get married, they will unlikely change their minds because of a $20 or a $100 increase in marriage fees. But it might affect the decisions of those where marriage is not a certainty. They may instead choose to co-habit or have other living arrangements.”
Marriage rates of Singaporeans have decreased since the 1990s - 41.1 females out of 1,000 unmarried female residents aged 15 to 49 got married in 2015 compared with the 59.2 in 1990, while for males, the figure went down to 44.2 from 52.2.
The ROM spokesman said it has in place measures to assist couples who have financial difficulties, and is prepared to waive fees on a case-by-case basis.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
kuasimi
Increase in GST is good news because ex-Transport Minister Raymond Lim say public transport will be free if GST is 8.5%.
Raymond Lim once proposed a way for “completely free” public transport
http://geraldgiam.sg/2010/03/raymond...lic-transport/
“The money still must come from somewhere, right? It is about 1.5 percentage point increase in your GST. So now it’s 7 (per cent), you want it to be free? You want the GST to go up to 8.5 per cent, to run a completely free bus and MRT system?”
Increase in taxes is good so that expensive civil servants like Perm Sec of Environment can boast about going expensive cooking class holidays in France while Orchard Road got flooded. Taxpayers need to feed the luxuries and expensive lifestyles of civil servants.
http://singaporemind.blogspot.sg/200...yong-soon.html
Don’t be harsh on Tan Yong Soon….
Did you notice that I don’t have a single article on our most famous French chef cum civil servant on my blog? I believe Tan Yong Soon is not to be blamed. He is after all just a product of the system.
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Singaporeans please be understanding. Tan Yong Soon and our top civil servants make about $1.54M a year (after the pay cut!). $46.5K for a vacation is merely 3% of his salary or just a fraction of the interest on his savings account. The misunderstanding is the other way round - Singaporeans should have a sense of proportion and be more understanding why Mr. Tan cannot possibly comprehend that you find his vacation so extravagant because it is not extravagant at all to him.
“…. My colleagues and I feel very bad about this episode, because it stands in contrast to the values and ethos of the service. " - Peter Ho, Head of Civil Service
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“Gee…ethos and values? Tan Yong Soon has merely exposed the truth about our civil service!”
- Lucky Tan.
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At about the same time I received my “A” Levels exam results, I received a pile of scholarship applications form from various govt bodies. I took the whole pile and threw them into the waste paper basket. I wasn’t sure what I’ve done to deserve one of these scholarships and what I’ll being signing away if I accepted them. I did pay a heavy price ….. I had to take up a loan to pay for my school fees and gave tuition on weekends to earn an allowance so that I didn’t have to burden ageing parents. So while my friends on overseas scholarships were enjoying skiing lessons on weekends, I travelled all over the island to give tuition to primary and secondary school kids.
No hard feelings…it was a decision I made and I accepted the outcome. A few months ago one of my cousins called up and told me that he had won a scholarship to study in London, he asked me if I can be his guarantor. I agreed and having supported myself through university, I thought it would be a good idea for him to have a “easier life”. I arranged to meet him at the scholarship office to sign the documents. When I got there, the walls of the office was filled with posters of smiling scholars diving, skiing, …and experiencing the good life around the world. I sat down and the public servant did an outstanding job of explaining the T&Cs of the document I was signing.
However, when it came to the bond quantum, I almost had a heart attack - the amount I was asked to guarantee was just short of 7 figures (one reason was my cousin has been with the organisation for a few years and will receive full salary while he is studying). I had a chat with my cousin afterwards and among other things make him promise not to break his bond and get me into trouble.
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You see the starting point of our top civil servants are all the same - fully paid education with generous allowance even before they put in a single day of work. After that a well paid recession proof job - they can afford a car and say goodbye to public transport the day they start their working life. If they are as successful Tan Yong Soon and climb the ladder in this elitist system all the way to the top, the pay is $1.5M….entitlements aplenty - free medical care, pension etc.
We cannot blame Tan Yong Soon for the lack of empathy because it is impossible for him to understand the struggles of ordinary Singaporeans. He cannot possibly understand what it is like to stay up at night to worry about mortgage payments or having your electricity cut off because you can’t pay for your electricity bills. Peter Ho and Teo Chee Hean are completely wrong to expect humility, the “ethos and values of the service” when the entire system breeds nothing but a oversized sense of entitlement and importance.
When the civil service pay for top civil servants was hiked to astronomical levels, we are told that they are men of rare talents and their leadership is a scarce commodity….it is only scarce because of the elitist system in place that narrows the selection of good men…with rigid beliefs about what makes a man a good public servant. What is so difficult about about the formulation of public policy? The ordinary citizen cannot understand the tradeoffs and what is good for himself?
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What will bring about the empathy, humility, ethos and values are the things the PAP govt continue to resist - the freedom for ordinary men to express their views and demands democratically. The freedom of ordinary citizens to access information….so that there will be accountability, transparency and competition of ideas. Many of us don’t understand why Tan Yong Soon deserves his $1+M salary …we also don’t understand why our leaders are paid so much higher than those of all other countries. But it is not Mr. Tan’s fault that he paid whatever he is paid, he is just part of a system ….a system that the PAP govt wants to preserve.
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.“Maybe it made lesser mortals envious and they thought maybe he was a bit boastful. Would people have taken offence if his wife (a senior investment counsellor at a bank) had paid for everything ?” - Charles Chong
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Tax increase by PAP can spin until it is Good News. Singapore Media really deserve its 154th ranking in the world. No credibility.
http://www.straitstimes.com/business...nomists-polled
Singapore poised for first GST hike in more than a decade, say economists polled
SINGAPORE (REUTERS) - Singapore, a city-state famed for the low-tax model that helped transform it from a gritty port town to an Asian Manhattan, is expected to put something unusual in this year’s government budget announcement: a tax hike.
Nine of 10 economists polled by Reuters think the authorities on Monday (Feb 19) will unveil the first rise in the goods and services tax (GST) since 2007. Policymakers have flagged the need to increase revenue to meet future social spending needs of a rapidly ageing population.
Economists say Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat might also make tweaks to taxes on e-commerce retailers such as Amazon.com. Inc, wealth and sugar when he presents the budget at 3.30pm on Monday, for the year starting April 1.
Any tax measures would come after Singapore in 2017 had its fastest economic growth in three years, estimated at 3.5 per cent.
“Strong economic growth is a good pull factor supporting the tax hike,” said Francis Tan, an economist for Singapore’s United Overseas Bank.
He expects GST to be increased by 1 percentage point this year to 8 per cent, followed by another 1 percentage point hike next year.
Tan added that there’s an “urgent need” to shift more towards indirect taxes, as the tax base for personal income tax could become smaller over the longer term given Singapore’s demographic challenge.
While the rate for Singapore’s consumption tax is one of the world’s lowest, GST is still the government’s second largest source of tax revenue, behind corporate tax.
Singapore introduced its GST in 1994, with a 3 per cent rate. This was raised to 4 per cent in 2003 and 5 per cent in 2004, then to 7 per cent in 2007.
Some economists including HSBC’s Jingyang Chen, who expects a 2 percentage point hike to be announced on Monday, said a higher GST could be accompanied by measures to ease the burden for lower-income families, such as cash transfers and vouchers.
Eight of the 10 economists polled also expect the Government to widen the net on e-commerce transactions subject to the GST.
Currently, Singapore consumers pay 7 per cent GST on their purchases from Singapore-based online retailers. In contrast, they pay no GST on goods purchased from overseas suppliers if the value of the imported goods is below S$400.
Several economists also suggested there could additional taxes on wealth, such as an increase in annual property taxes, as well as higher rates on alcohol and tobacco products or even a new tax on sugar consumption.
Michael Wan, an economist at Credit Suisse, estimates that a 2 percentage point increase to the GST would add around 0.6 per cent of GDP to net government revenues annually, after taking into account possible offsetting measures to cushion the impact on lower-income households.
Economists estimate a 2 percentage point rise in GST could boost Singapore’s headline inflation rate by 1.0-1.5 percentage points and core inflation - the measure closely watched by policymakers - by even more.
“If the MAS (Monetary Authority of Singapore) sees longer-term inflation risks after GST is implemented, then it would factor that into its policy decisions,” said HSBC’s Chen.