TR EMERITUS

The fledging Reform Party which has made headlines in recent weeks with a few high-profile recruits and frequent walkabouts, has come under an orchestrated attack yet again in the state media. Last week, a Straits Times article tried to play up a purported feud between its Secretary-General Kenneth Jeyaretnam and its former... 

By Bhagyashree Garekar from Straits Times Say you are running a coffee shop and some of your customers have developed a nasty habit of harassing others peacefully enjoying their brew. Would you:A. look away and leave your customers to sort it out among themselves; B. order out the rowdy lot; C. begin demanding identity... 

From The Age RUTH WILLIAMS April 18, 2010 IN THE months before the last election in 2007, the Labor opposition promised to take the housing affordability debate in a ”new direction”. It held a housing affordability summit, released a paper and pledged to find a way to solve what was then being described as... 

Though Singapore is supposedly a democratic state, it has a political system and process of leadership selection which is similar to Communist China, as admitted tacitly by Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean. During a speech made at the Singapore-China Forum on Leadership yesterday, DPM Teo praised both Singapoe and China... 

Your VOICES page (TODAY April 13) featured two letters with opposing perspectives about sky-high HDB flat prices — the euphoric “Let’s talk about property” by Lulu See and the more sensible “How much would I have made?” by Tong Jee Cheng.  Let me now offer this balanced overall summary. Some... 

Faced with a potential voter backlash in the next election over its ill-thought immigration policies, PAP leaders have been busy doing damage control via the state media of late. During a speech made at the Indian New Year celebrations in Little India, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew claimed that the government “understands”... 

During a speech made at the National Community Engagement Programme dialogue session, Singapore Law Minister K Shanmugam stressed on the need to inculcate in the young and new citizens the importance of racial and religious harmony. “We must ensure that the community structures we build engender trust and can respond... 

Written by Our Correspondent Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had openly defended the astronomical salaries of his minister on a U.S. TV Talkshow. In response to a question posed by Mr Phil Ponce, host of Chicago Tonight if the United States should follow Singapore’s example and pay higher salaries... 

作者：《新加坡文献馆》17/04/2010 ‘新加坡《信约》呼吁全民团结一致，建设公正平等的民主社会，新加坡宪法的制定与执行都围绕这个目标服务’；这一说法并不正确，不可当真，因为新加坡的建国政治目的并非在追求一个公正平等的国家。 2009年8月19日的国会辩论上，李光耀明确表示公民《信约》的原则与精神并非绝对可以实现的境界；公平社会是不实际的政治目标，仅是新加坡在建国历程中必须长期努力去追求的一种抱负。 李光耀说：“我们明确地在宪法中列明政府有不平等地对待每一个人的义务。因为平等原则并非现实，也是不实际的。如果我们完全遵照这一原则行事，将造成严重而且无可挽回的损害。所以，这只能是我们的抱负”。 新加坡《信约》塑造了新加坡意识：一个国家，一个新加坡。然而新加坡宪法却是，诚如李光耀所言：政府有不平等地对待每一个人的义务。显而易见，宪法并没有为这个‘公正平等的民主社会’目标服务。 李光耀也认为：“信约是什么... 

作者：星洲日报17/04/2010 （美国‧华盛顿）新加坡总理李显龙说，新加坡领导人索偿，不是为了阻吓媒体写新加坡领导人搞裙带关系，而是要阻吓任何人作出没事实根据的指责。 李显龙周三（4月14日）在华盛顿接受美国PBS电视13频道著名对谈节目主持人...