The Todds still cannot accept that Shane was not murdered although evidence points to suicide by hanging. Like his depression, mood swings and research of suicide websites. My sympathy for them is diminishing day by day with their antics and conspiracy theories.  The Todds would now turn to the court of public opinion and try to convince anybody who wants to hear that their son was killed by an assassin. Lobbyists against the import of Huawei technology into the US to compete with US companies are one rich pool of Todd conspiracy theory supporters.

Right from the start before the court inquiry commenced the parents insisted that there was a cover-up by Singapore and China.  They were fixed in their minds that Shane was assassinated and nothing in the inquiry could change it. Looking back, it all seemed as if it was a show staged by the Todds.  With the Todds giving up and walking out of court, it makes a great controversial open ending for a movie or at least a documentary. Good luck to the Todds for monetising Shane’s death.

Shane Todd’s family to leave Singapore after criticising inquiry
By Jeremy Grant in Singapore

The family of a young US engineer who died in Singapore last year were preparing to leave the city-state on Wednesday as the foreign minister expressed regret they had turned their backs on a coroner’s inquiry into the case.

“We believe China and Singapore are illegally transferring technology, our technology, from the United States. We believe it’s so high up that if our son was murdered, the implications for Singapore and China are so extreme that they will go to any lengths to make it look like suicide.”

This had all the right story elements to rally US public support and a Hollywood straight-to-DVD movie – wave the US flag, show theft of US defence intellectual property, pick on a small country like Singapore, pit against a rival power like China that is partly the reason for the Asian pivot, talk about conspiracy theories of deceit and murder.

The parents of Shane could not accept that their son could commit suicide. This is natural especially when Shane claimed to them before his death that he was involved in a supposedly shady project and transfer of military technology to Huawei through his employment with a Singapore company IME. During his work, he was stressed and took anti-depressants, proof that he had anxiety over the nature of the work. On the other hand, the stress and pills were also proof that Shane’s mental health can be questioned. What parent would accept that their son is so distressed that he could commit suicide?

The Todds are so certain that it was murder from the evidence in the speaker hard drive they found but would not share with the FBI and the Singapore police. Despite FBI and the police’s reqeust for it to follow leads. An incriminating hard drive that the hypothetical killer did not take away with him. A hard drive that contained sensitive military technology Shane took from his company to work on at home, instead of keeping it under lock and key in the office.  These are also inconsistencies pointing that the Todds might be in denial.

Still, whether the Todds are right or not about their son’s death, to be fair maybe he was murdered, we have to wait for the coroner’s findings first in the end.

Nizam Ismail’s main purpose in issuing his response is to debunk the government’s assertion that he is promoting race-based politics, and that he has used Association of Muslim Professional (AMP) as a platform for self-promotion .

He goes to great length to explain that Community Forum (ComFor) was not created for the purposes of pushing a Malay agenda. He clarifies that ComFor is rather an extension of Community in Review forum (CIR) and is meant to track strategies of the AMP Convention.

Nizam has however failed to convincing explain the necessity for a new forum to track CIR. What he essentially did not say, or cannot say, is that his vision for ComFor was to push for community-based approaches to be included within the national approach adopted by CIR. ComFor would do what CIR could not officially? ComFor is a watchdog group if you like, to make sure the rights and privileges of the Malays are front and center.

Nizam is also known to have used other platforms on social media (e.g. Suara Melayu Singapura) to argue for an alternate political structure for the Malay community. This comprises a system whereby the Malay community nominates its own leaders. This is clearly a political model of racial representation to advance Malay interests, and “Collective Leadership” by another name even. Incidentally, “Collective Leadership” was frowned upon by the government years ago and made know to AMP as it was too racial in its politics.

Nizam kept saying his ideas are made on a personal capacity basis despite his positions within AMP and its subsidiary Centre for Research on Islamic and Malay Affairs (RIMA). What it means is that he is pushing for Malay affirmative action in one platform, and claim to focus on the national approach on the other. In so doing, he is merely attempting to mask race-based politics under the guise of class-based programs.

A central point to his proposed class-based programs would be whether he is championing for Malays to have priority in the receipt of state funds. As it already stands, assistance schemes and programs are dished out at the national level, and dispersed progressively based on the principle that those that are most in should receive them first.

Is Nizam therefore suggesting that Malays in need of economic assistance form an under-class of their own? How is this a national-level or fair class-based initiative as he claims to espouse?

Confusingly, in his blog post he argues that race-based self-help groups perpetuate cultural stereotypes or myth of race-based deficiencies. This statement runs contrary to his actions as he took the advantage of AMP’s race-based machinery anyway to advance Malay interests, instead of working in a race-neutral enterprise. He is an advocate of racial politics. Clearly, he has not been misperceived.

Race-based politics is primal and populist. A winning formula for disaster in multiracial Malaysia where political power resides with the Malays and economic dominance with the Chinese. Pakatan, centrist and reformist, promises movement away from racial divides that BN used in a divide and conquer political strategy to scare voters along scary racial stereotypes.

PAS is painted as Islamic fundamentalists who would ban bars and introduce hudud laws even for non-Muslims, according to BN. This message is meant for the Chinese voters who are tired of BN’s leadership. On the other hand, DAP is painted as a Singapore puppet and that once DAP takes over, Malays in Malaysia would be subjugated just like they are in Singapore, according to BN. This message is meant for the Malay voters who are frustrated at BN’s leadership. The messages contradict each other because if PAS and DAP get into power, using BN’s Islamic fundamentalists and foreign Chinese bogeymen logic, it would mean a Muslim shariah country that is a stooge of Chinese-dominated Singapore? Preposterous and most Malaysians know that.

There is a lesson for Singapore from watching how our neighbours behave. We should not go down BN’s path of race-based politics.

The Online Citizen did a similar test this Monday on its fans, as TOC is unlikely to have made the blunder of posting old news unknowingly in Facebook without a disclaimer. TOC posted a December 2010 Youtube and Malaysiakini article after PKR icon Anwar Ibrahim was acquitted this week. In that video, Anwar challenged former PM Lee Kuan Yew. Most of the TOC fans also did not bother to watch the Youtube or read the linked article and appeared to think that the news was just this week.

Do we read carefully and think before we comment? Apparently not from the example of Lim Hwee Hua and TOC Facebook fans. There are gullible netters everywhere.

Murder accused’s tale of love and infidelity …
Chinese national recounts call out of the blue, pledge in blood and tattoo of lover
04:46 AM Nov 25, 2011
by Teo Xuanwei

SINGAPORE – Learning that she was a married woman whom he also suspected of seeing other men while they were dating did not snuff out his feelings for her.

And even after Madam Zhang Meng’s family beat him up and threatened to kill him after discovering their illicit affair, Wang Zhijian, a Chinese national, stuck with her.

Wang’s account of how his relationship with Mdm Zhang blossomed in China was heard on the third day of his trial for the murder of Mdm Zhang, 42, her daughter Feng Jianyu, 17, and their room-mate Madam Yang Jie, 36, on the night of Sept 18, 2008 at their Yishun flat. Wang is also accused of repeatedly slashing Mdm Yang’s daughter, Li Meilin, now 18. She survived.

Wang, 45, told investigators he met Mdm Zhang sometime in 1996 but that it was only eight years later that she called him out of the blue for a chat.

In May or June 2005, she called him again and asked him out to a coffee house for a chat. This was when he revealed that he was recently divorced.

Wang and Mdm Zhang would rendezvous from then on about once a week to go to coffee houses or parks, usually on Thursdays when her husband, Mr Feng Jinqiang, worked the night shift as a policeman.

Their relationship remained platonic until Mdm Zhang asked him in March 2006 if he had fallen for her. Wang admitted that he indeed had feelings for her, and they became intimate a week later.

Three months later, when Mdm Zhang finally disclosed her marriage to him, Wang said it "saddened" him. He tried to break up with her but she refused.

Wang recounted that during one of their dates later, two men telephoned Mdm Zhang and asked her out. The incident caused him to suspect that "she had some other men", Wang said. He again asked to end the relationship but Mdm Zhang pleaded with him, saying that she did not want to live if he were to leave her.

As a pledge of her love for Wang, Mdm Zhang used her blood to write on a piece of paper: "I love Wang Zhijian. I want to marry him."

In return, Wang also wrote with his blood: "I (will) love her until I (die)."

When their extra-marital affair came to light in November that year, Wang said Mdm Zhang chose to leave her husband.

Two days later, Mdm Zhang’s younger brother, her younger sister and her husband confronted Wang, beating him up and threatening to kill him but he managed to flee from them eventually.

In April 2007, Wang was allowed to "retire" from his job as a storekeeper in a port on medical grounds, which entitled him to a monthly pension of 2,200 yuan (S$450) until he turned 60. Wang said he chose instead to take a 310,000 yuan loan from his company and let it deduct his monthly payments as repayment. Wang said he used the money to buy branded clothes for Mdm Zhang and took her for meals at "high-class restaurants and hotels", spending 100,000 yuan after only over three months.

In May 2007, Wang tattooed a portrait of Mdm Zhang and a rose on his back as a symbol of his love. Later that month, however, Mdm Zhang’s ex-husband suffered a stroke. Wang claimed that he helped Mdm Zhang bring Mr Feng for treatment for more than 10 days. Mdm Zhang broke up with him twice after that, Wang said, but they always reconciled.

In December that year, Jianyu was accepted into an English language school in Singapore and Wang kept in contact with Mdm Zhang over the phone.

By then, he started thinking that she was trying to cheat his feelings. The court heard on Wednesday that Wang allegedly went on a rampage after he quarrelled with Mdm Zhang over her demands for a meal of crab. He had arrived in Singapore from Tianjin nine days before the day of the attacks.The trial resumes next Friday. If found guilty, Wang faces the death penalty.

It has been 21 years since the NMP was introduced. It’s time to kick them out of the house.

Public invited to submit names for NMPs
Submissions can be made at the Parliament House and the closing date for submissions will close on Dec 8.
Wed, Nov 02, 2011
AsiaOne

SINGAPORE – The Parliament of Singapore is calling for the general public to make nominations for Nomination Members of Parliament (NMP).

Potential nominees should have rendered distinguished public service or brought honour to the Republic.

They could also have distinguished themselves in the field of arts and letters, sports, culture, the sciences, business, industry, the professions, social or community service or the labour movement.

Candidates should also be citizens of Singapore, of the age of 21 years or above on the day of nomination and currently on the register of electors.

They should be residents in Singapore at the date of nomination and have been residents for not less than 10 years prior to that date.

The public should nominate people who have the capability to take an active part in the proceedings of Parliament and can speak, read and write – unless incapacitated by blindness or other physical cause – at least English, Malay, Mandarin or Tamil.

Organisations that wish to nominate members for selection should submit their names to the coordinators of the respective functional groups they fall under.

They are: Mr Tony Chew (business and industry), Mr John De Payva (labour), Professor Tan Kok Chai (professions), Ms Ang Bee Lian (social service organisations), Mr Yam Ah Mee (civic and people sector), Professor Tan Chorh Chuan (tertiary educational institutions) and Mr Edmund Cheng (media, arts and sports organisations).

Submissions can be made at the Parliament House located at 1 Parliament Place, Singapore 178880.

The closing date for submission of names is December 8, 2011 at 4.30 pm.

dassa@sph.com.sg

Following up on Chen Show Mao‘s  stress on investment in healthcare and education for Singaporeans and Singapore’s human capital, Gerald Giam on the other hand is riding in fast and hard, showing that the WP is tackling headon heartland issues as a priority – health, house and transport. However, WP’s Muhamad Faisal stumbled to talk about the economy and negative externalities, oversimplifying the casino issue. To be objective, the PAP also touched on core issues like healthcare, transport, but the curiosity and excitement centres on WP naturally as their number of MPs has increased 6-fold in parliament and there are high expectations.

Focus on those who fall through the cracks
By Gwendolyn Ng
my paper
Wednesday, Oct 19, 2011

Hot-potato topics such as housing, health care and education dominated the parliamentary debates yesterday as the House focused on the plight of Singaporeans who have fallen through the cracks.

Many MPs highlighted a nagging concern of many young home buyers – the affordability of Housing Board flats.

Mr Ang Wei Neng, an MP for Jurong GRC, called on the Government to lower flat prices and give more subsidies to first- time buyers.

He added that these could come with caveats, like raising the minimum occupancy period to 15 years from the current five years, or for housing subsidies to be paid back if the flat is sold before the minimum period.

Mr Ang said: “Many Singaporeans feel that what they need is a roof (over their heads). They do not need to encash their flat; they do not want to be slaves to their houses.”

Non-Constituency MP (NCMP) Lina Chiam of the Singapore People’s Party asked for the criteria for buying flats to be relooked, as they may no longer be appropriate.

Currently, to qualify to buy an HDB flat, one must either be married or be 35 years or older, she noted.

Mrs Chiam said: “I urge the Government to reconsider these restrictions and allow Singaporeans to buy their first HDB flat… when they reach the age of 21.

“By the time a citizen reaches 35 years old (and wishes to buy) a flat, the price of the flat may have tripled and be out of that person’s reach.”

Similarly, affordability was in the spotlight on the issue of health care.

Workers’ Party NCMP Gerald Giam highlighted how Singaporeans worry about high health-care costs and suggested that the 3M health-care model could be tweaked.

The 3M model refers to Medisave’s compulsory medical savings, MediShield’s basic health insurance and Medifund’s government aid for the low income.

As an example, Mr Giam said 60 per cent of the elderly’s medical bills were paid from their children’s Medisave accounts in 2005.

This is “a departure from the principle of self-reliance”, he said, and the situation could be compounded if the patients’ children are low-income earners, which is “often the case”.

So, he argued that the Government is “asking one disadvantaged group to pay for another”.

His suggestions to address cost concerns included expanding the coverage of MediShield and providing assistance to those who cannot afford the premiums.

Dr Chia Shi-Lu, a Tanjong Pagar GRC MP, suggested giving additional rebates pegged to the patients’ age.

He pointed out that medical costs incurred tend to increase as patients age and the elderly receive the same amount of health-care subsidies as younger patients in most areas.

“I hope that further provisions can be made to help buffer the elderly and carers from health-care costs,” said Dr Chia.

In the face of an ageing population and smaller families, MP for Jurong GRC Halimah Yacob said that the pressure on caregivers will escalate.

So, she urged the Government to provide more accessible and affordable home-care services.

She pointed out that caregivers also need to be looked after, by providing them with care, because they will age, too.

On tertiary education, Mr Ang suggested extending subsidies to reputable private universities here, other than SIM University, to help more Singaporeans further their education here.

He said: “As Singapore gears itself towards a knowledge-based economy, we will probably need more graduates and not less.”

The global economy with US and Europe  pulling everything down, is uninspiring. Singapore is small and our manufacturing and export-oriented economy would be knocked around and there is nothing our overpaid ministers can do.

However, our tax structure and burden is sustainable as there is no serious aging population and immigrants here contribute to direct and indirect tax. On people-centred growth and a skilled workforce, Singapore is expensive compared to the competition and bringing foreign skilled workers might keep labour cost down. However there is ever growing resentment towards foreigners in Singapore as there is the misconception that foreigners are stealing jobs from locals left, right and centre.

The year ahead in Singapore is as uncertain and shaky as the global economy and no amount of assurance by the new government can make us feel confident.

Govt to ensure economic growth
Long-term strategic plans to ensure sustained and inclusive economic growth for Singapore. -myp
Reico Wong
Wed, Oct 12, 2011
my paper

Four government ministries and agencies unveiled their long-term strategic plans yesterday, following President Tony Tan Keng Yam’s opening address to the 12th Parliament on Monday.

At the forefront of their agenda was the common pledge to ensure sustained and inclusive economic growth for Singapore.

Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam yesterday cautioned that headwinds from slower global growth, stemming from uncertainties in developed economies, will mean slower growth in Singapore in the next few years.

“We must steer a path that enables Singapore to respond to these challenges, transform the nation’s capabilities and help our citizens achieve higher standards of living,” he said.

Monetary Authority of Singapore

To remain vigilant against a resurgence of cost pressures, even as inflation is expected to moderate towards the year’s end.

To conduct regular stress tests on Singapore’s financial sector and work with other agencies to secure and strengthen overall financial stability.

Banks will be required to maintain prudent capital buffers, in line with and in addition to Basel III minimum requirements. The risk-based capital framework for insurance companies will also be enhanced.

To impose stronger safeguards in the sale of investment products to retail investors, and to step up financial-education efforts to help them make informed decisions.

To continue to deepen the talent pool to build strong and distinctive capabilities in the finance industry, which is expected to remain a key growth engine for the Singapore economy.

National Research Foundation

In the next five years, the NRF will seek to strengthen the considerable expertise in research and development to attract talent, generate intellectual property and enhance Singapore’s competitiveness in a globalised world.

The five Research Centres of Excellence will provide opportunities for some 800 PhD students to be trained. The NRF Fellowship Programme will enhance Singapore’s intellectual capital, with top young scientists – local and foreign – undertaking research in Singapore.

The Competitive Research Programme provides research grants to local researchers from universities and the industry.

The National Framework of Innovation and Entrepreneurship will help to translate the treasure trove of knowledge from tertiary and research institutions into applications and products to benefit Singapore’s economy and society.

Ministry of Finance

To maintain a sound and sustainable fiscal system, with a resilient revenue structure to meet higher spending needs in areas such as transport infrastructure and education.

To ensure that the overall burden of tax on Singaporeans remains low by global standards.

To keep the tax system progressive and ensure that government transfer schemes provide targeted and effective aid to lower- and middle-income households in need. It will also simplify tax administration and enhance tax certainty to continue to support Singapore’s pro-business environment.

To maintain a framework that enables the Government of Singapore Investment Corp and Temasek Holdings to pursue investment strategies that generate sustainable portfolio returns.

To support and catalyse efforts to raise skills and improve quality of jobs in every sector.

To encourage co-contributions from charitable individuals and companies through significant tax deductions, and matching grants for donations.

Ministry of Trade and Industry Singapore

To focus on ensuring people-centred growth, by investing in equipping workers to take on higher-skilled jobs through training and upgrading.

To step up efforts to re-position Singapore’s economy towards value-added and more- productive sectors.

This includes expanding the range of offerings in the logistics and professional-services sector, and raising the standard of tourism offerings. Emerging clusters, such as clean technology and media, will be developed.

To review existing free-trade agreements to ensure their relevance and accessibility to small and medium-sized enterprises, and to continue to expand trade linkages with emerging markets.

To reinforce Singapore’s position as the gateway to Asia – the centre of dynamic growth now – and the best location for both the expansion and headquartering of global companies.

In the main battle of this GE,  George Yeo’s political careeer is in jeopardy as he faces a tough tight WP team. The debate has been predictable, boths sides threatening voters that Aljunied might turn into a slum if they vote WP or Aljunied would be blamed for the loss of a good opposition leader if they vote PAP.

Then Goh Chok Tong suddenly pushed Wong Kan Seng to the front. The latest twist is that the former PM  implied that Wong Kan Seng is not a core member in parliament and that he rather the former Home Affairs minister go than George Yeo. The pressure on George Yeo’s GRC would not be lessen by Goh’s observation. However, Wong Kan Seng would feel more pressure on his GRC from SPP. Rather than making things better for the PAP overall, Goh has made it worse. What the former PM has done is now open a new front in Bishan-Toa Payoh and gave SPP an extra edge.

Why did Goh say that? Probably because the PAP is a party that has internal factions, which is expected for an organisation so huge and so political. What we want to know who is standing with who within the PAP now.

George Yeo too important for Cabinet to lose: SM Goh
04:46 AM May 03, 2011
by Ian De Cotta

SINGAPORE – Foreign Minister George Yeo, who is facing a fierce challenge from the Workers’ Party in the Aljunied Group Representation Constituency (GRC), has been described as “too important a person for the Cabinet to lose” by Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong.

Singling out Mr Yeo as one of three “very important” core members in the Cabinet – the others being Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean – Mr Goh said yesterday: “There are other core members but these are the three core members who will be very important … (Finance Minister) Tharman (Shanmugaratnam) is too new but will be developed into a core member.”

Speaking after a walkabout in Marine Parade GRC, Mr Goh said a member of the Prime Minister’s core team is picked not only based on the portfolio the minister heads but also his intelligence, competence, ability to deliver results and someone whose judgment can be trusted.

“I’ve run a Government and I know you need a core team. A core team is four or five people, other ministers are important, but you need a core team,” said Mr Goh. “If you lose George Yeo, I think it is a very big loss (for the Cabinet), and to Singapore.”

Elaborating, Mr Goh said the Foreign Minister has played a critical role in the Prime Minister’s team to formulate and implement policies, and will not be easily replaced in the short term if his team loses in the Aljunied GRC.

Said Mr Goh: “If one GRC is lost, as Minister Mentor (Lee Kuan Yew) said, we can accept the result – I agree with that. Sooner or later we are going to lose one. But my view if we lose Aljunied, that is a different matter.”

With Mr Yeo in the middle of negotiating “very delicate agreements” with Indonesia and Malaysia, the loss will even be more telling for Singapore.

Summing up, Mr Goh said: “What mistake has he made? You can take a minister and criticise him for not delivering on perhaps housing and transport.

“Like Wong Kan Seng you can say he let Mas Selamat escape. George Yeo, what has he done to deserve this? And he is a core member.”