TR EMERITUS

OPINION Once upon a time, Singaporeans are proud citizens of their own country under the leadership of the capable and charismatic Lim Chin Siong who spoke up fearlessly for the common folks in the streets. Everything were to change on a fateful day in 1962 where Lim and his colleagues from the opposition Barisan Sosialist... 

Written by Our Correspondent In yet another sign that young Singaporeans are getting increasingly impatient and frustrated with some policies of the ruling party, a PAP MP Alvin Yeo was lobbied relentlessly with tough and sensitive questions during a policy forum held at NUS on 26 January 2010. (read the field report here) Mr... 

By Alex Tan During a Q-and-A session of a recent Political Forum held on 26 January 2010 at NUS, students lobbied tough questions at a PAP MP Mr Alvin Yeo. The forum called the “Political Face-off” features Workers’ Party Chairman Sylvia Lim, PAP MP Lawyer Alvin Yeo and Dr Leong Chan Hoong (Institute of... 

Written by Our Correspondent After months of denial, National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan has finally acknowledged that “the rising HDB resale flat prices have raised fresh concerns.” The prices of resale flats has increased by 8.2 per cent in 2009 when Singapore was still mired by depression, contributed... 

作者： 云南信息报28/01/2010 新加坡政府将确保组屋价格继续保持在多数新加坡人负担得起的水平，并按照人口的增长速度增建组屋及满足人们不断提高的期望。 定价确保绝大多数人有购买力 新加坡总理李显龙 (Lee Hsien Loong) 26日晚在建屋发展局成立50周年庆祝晚宴上作出这一承诺时指出，建屋局在为新组屋定价时，都会确保约80％的绝大多数国人都有能力购买。 对于人们埋怨转售组屋价格上涨，他也希望国人明白转售组屋价格并不在政府能完全掌控范围内。 “转售组屋的价格是由屋主与买主双方在你情我愿的基础上所作的决定，并受整体经济的表现和情绪所影响，包括私人房地产价格的走势。因此，组屋转售价也会出现波动。” 然而，李显龙指出因组屋的价值与国家经济的表现紧密相连，所以长期而言，只要新加坡的经济继续保持繁荣，组屋将能保值，而拥有这一重要资产的国人也必定能从中受益。 另外，公共建屋政策也达到融合各族国民的效果。 他说：“过去半个世纪，已有两代新加坡人在组屋区成长。公共住屋塑造了新加坡独特的国家身份认同和作为公民的共同记忆。它也塑造了新加坡的社区，并为新加坡的社会稳定和经济繁荣奠定了基础。” 今年内将建造第100万间组屋 组屋作为维持社会稳定的基石之一，其重要性不言而喻。李显龙在晚宴上讲话时，回顾了建屋局过去半个世纪所扮演的角色，表扬它应付了人们在不同时代的不同需求，对国家的建设发挥了重要作用。他透露建屋局今年内将建造第100万间组屋，这标志着它过去50年的成就。 他指出，国人的期望随着环境的变化也大幅提高，因此对许多人来说，找个地方栖身已不再是迫切的需要，组屋已不仅仅被视为一个住所，而是承担了作为人们一项重要资产的角色。 据他观察，人们现在选择组屋时都有诸多考量，不只要找到自己理想的单位，还要在他们所要的地点，在落成时间和价格方面也会考虑得清清楚楚。不过，他认为人们有如此高的期望是可以理解的，尤其是对准备组织家庭的年轻男女来说，购屋是对彼此重大的承诺。 约有800人出席了26日晚的庆典，包括历任国家发展部长和历任及现任建屋局管理层。 为纪念成立50周年，建屋局职员还自创自导自演了一段45分钟的音乐剧，呈现公共建屋计划过去50年对国人生活方方面面的影响。 建屋局主席许慈祥讲话时说：“每当听说有年轻小伙子问女朋友要不要一起去申请政府组屋时，我就感到很窝心。因为所有的新加坡人和他的女友都知道他是在求婚。在2009年，建屋局很高兴让1.5万名年轻小伙子问了这个问题，并得到肯定的答案！” 来源：http://office.sh.focus.cn  Read More →

By Laura Meckller and Jonathan Weisman from Wall Street Journal President Barack Obama, seeking to recapture the promise of change that propelled him to the White House, returned to his pledge to remake Washington after a bruising first year that saw his approval ratings drop and his ambitious agenda falter. Mr. Obama spent... 

Written by Our Correspondent Senior Counsel Subhas Anandan is seeking at least S$100,000 in compensation for the family of the late Mr Tong Kok Wai, who was knocked down and killed by a vehicle belonging to the Romanian embassy. After 5 weeks of investigation, the police had finally revealed the identity of the driver who... 

Written by Our Correspondent Fearful of a backlash from voters at the coming general election, the ruling party of Singapore has introduced yet another cosmetic change to its pro-foreigner policy to appease fast rising anger from Singaporeans at being relegated to “second class citizens” in their own country. Health... 

Written by Our Correspondent Though he claimed that he is “not doing much work except forecasting”, Singapore strongman Lee Kuan Yew showed who is the real boss in Singapore by becoming the”first minister to put a time line on the Government’s pledge since last year to reduce the inflow of foreign... 

Written by Our Correspondent The Housing Development Board (HDB) is now considering “introducing a separate ethnic quota for permanent residents to prevent them from forming enclaves in public housing estates,” according to a report in the Straits Times. Under the Ethnic Integration Policy or EIP, a quota is...