Shameless Blatant Glorification of Japanese Invasion and Occupation by PAP

Yaccoob said the name Syonan wasn't used to glorify Japanese Invasion and Occupation. Does he really understand what Syonan means in the full context in the first place?

There is a slight mis-translation in lingo context. Most English translation puts it as "Light of the South" but this is not the wholesome context. In Chinese and Japanese context, "Light" means "Pride"... for example, if a person had won the Olympic Medal and he comes from a school, then the school will say "我校之光", simple English translation means "the light of my school" but in essence, in this context, it basically means he is "the pride of my school"! Look at it in the wholesome context, he has brought SHINE to our school.

Thus, Syonan is basically a term used by the Japan to mean This the the Glorious Pride of Japanese Empire! So how can Yaccoob comes to the conclusion that by using this name for the Memorial, he is not GLORIFYING the Japanese Invasion and Occupation?

Secondly, I get even more FUMED by the photo below:

It says "Syonan Gallery : War and its LEGACIES"

Now, WHOSE LEGACIES are we talking about here? Syonan, the Japanese Glorious Legacies? Atrocities like raping, torture, sufferings, massacred and killings... all these are "LEGACIES"? Isn't this glorifying the Japanese Glorious Victorious Invasion and Occupation?

Goh Meng Seng

People's Power Party SG's Message

Secretary General's Message

I had a dream when I first joined opposition politics way back in 2001, a Democratic Dream. No matter where I venture politically, this Dream has never left me. Democracy is a very large word indeed and many have different views on what Democracy really is. Checks and balances are important aspects in a Democracy but most as it seems, only stop at the parliamentary level.

Many of the problems with the policies we face right now are partly, or wholly, due to the lack of necessary Democratic system in the governance of our country. From the deliberate inflation of HDB prices, the signing of Free Trade Agreement which affect Singaporeans to the unchecked opening of floodgate to excessive foreign labour, all these done with absolutely no systematic and analytical checks nor consultation.

I believe Real Democracy is built upon a good system of governance which institutionalizes the necessary Separation of Powers within the establishment. It is not just only about having more opposition MPs in parliament but devising a system that would prevent the over concentration of powers into the hands of a few ruling elites.

There is no doubt we have at this point, a system where power play is highly concentrated amongst the PAP ruling elites. It might have worked during LKY’s era but at this time and age since his departure, nobody can be certain that such high concentration of powers will not lead to corruption or the abuses of power in the management of our country’s affairs. We have already seen in the recent AGO report on the government that there had been numerous lapses which were mostly attributed to the mishandling in not averting conflict of interests within the system.

Singapore has gone through more than 5 decades of one-party rule and our development path is a totally skewed one. PAP’s obsession in maintaining its one party rule together with its mindless pursuit of Economic Growth at all cost, has resulted in a total blockage of Democratic development and cultivation. We have also neglected our country’s Social and Cultural Development for far too long, despite its diverse population possessing richness in heritage.

With a new Post-LKY era dawning on us, Singaporeans should no longer take good governance for granted. We should rethink on what kind of system of governance we want for Singapore in order for us to prosper and sustain a quality government that could be inherited over generations. We need to make this happen for our future generations to come. We should demand a better and balanced development for our country, in all the Four Pillars of our Nation; Politics, Economics, Social and Cultural development. We should reject the continuation of the present system of high concentration of powers in governance.

The High Concentration of Powers and Imbalance of Nation building are as important as the bread and butter issues like healthcare, housing, over population, unchecked influx of foreign labour that cheapens our mid tier work force, Free Trade Agreement, high cost of living, public transport, CPF, etc. The People’s Power Party is formed to address the two issues of the High Concentration of Powers and Imbalance of Nation Development. We will provide a Vision for Singapore on how we should strive and prosper in this Post-LKY Era.

Goh Meng Seng

New Era of Political "Ground Work"

The Birth of New China was pushed by a Medical Doctor, Sun Yat Sen. Why would a Medical Doctor give up his medical practice and went into revolution? Dr Sun said, as a Medical Doctor, he could only heal the physical body of the people, but not the sufferings of people of China and the weakness of China. Thus he gave up his medical practice and turned into revolutionist who was determined to overthrow the Qing Dynasty to form the Republic, so to revolutionize China into a modern country.

However after his success of overthrowing the Qing Dynasty, he realized that the mindset of the general public was still stuck with the feudalistic system. Simple example like people still calling "万岁" (wishing 10000 years to the Emperor) and treating him like an Emperor. In fact, President Yuan wanted to revert back to Monarchy rule and declared himself as Emperor not long after Dr Sun stepped down to allow Yuan to succeed him as the President in compromise for setting up the Republic!

This is the historical lesson we should learn from the past. Revolutions or change of government will not be sustainable if the mindset of the general public has not changed. For any political contest, the tactical moves made to win seats is just a mere means to the bigger vision. You can swing public sentiments to support your party to win seats into parliament but without a strong fundamental foundation of mindset change, such victory will be short live.

Spreading of the ideas and ideals of Republic was slow and difficult in the early years of Dr Sun's success due to the lack of information infrastructure. But in this new era, social media and internet have revolutionalized political engagement and as opposition with little resources, we should make full use of such cheap, effective and efficient media to effect change of mindsets and political landscape.

Some people look down on the work of "keyboard warriors" but it is the combination of these "keyboard warriors" which has caused a rapid change of political landscapes in many countries, including Singapore.

There are people who accused politicians like me of "not doing ground work" as in physical knocking doors but little do they know that evangelism of political ideas through social media and internet is becoming more important to effect strong, fundamental change in voters' mindset. For example, the campaign on HDB prices would not be so effective if it is not for internet and social media.

"Political ground work" has a fundamental change from just a Public Relations and Visibility exercise like shaking hands and kissing babies on the ground to more time consuming political dialogues, intellectual engagement and political evangelism on the social media and internet.

This will become more important in the years to come whereby newbies will have to prove themselves by providing more convincing political views, debates and policy deliberation on the New media as voters are getting more educated and intellectually sophisticated.

Yes, there are still a substantial group of voters, mainly elderly voters, who will not log on to internet but their children and grand children with access to information from the internet will have great influence on them. The HDB debate was the greatest example in showing the enormous influence of social media.

Social media may be easily accessible, cheap, effective and efficient but it is still very time consuming. So please don't look down on the political work people do on social media in this era. The study which shows that Social Media has become equally influential as Main Stream Media has a lot implication on such political work on internet.

李光耀 - 盖棺定论 (全)

李光耀 - 盖棺定论


缘起


每一位第一次到新加坡旅游或公干的人，多多少少都会对这个弹丸小国感到惊讶。每一条道路旁都排列着整齐的遮荫树木。整洁的城市规划加上守规矩的新加坡人一定会让许多人刮目相看。尤其是，新加坡有超过八成的人都住在政府所津贴售卖的公共房屋中，而四大种族都能和谐的群居在一起。这令许多外国人都非常羡慕。这种现象多少反映了新加坡政府的管治能力。当然，这也是累积了三代领导班子的成果。


外国人一提起新加坡就会很自然即刻想起李光耀先生。无可否认，在国际政治舞台上，李光耀是一颗耀眼的明星。许多不同时代的各国政要都对这来自蕞尔小国的大人物赞不绝口。他们对他以往的政治演说和国际时事的分析，更是洗耳恭听。几乎每个政治评论员都对他能在短短几十年内能为新加坡创造经济奇迹吹捧得非常厉害。就算是中国这样的泱泱大国，都有人追捧学习李光耀治国之道。更有人夸大其词的说没有李光耀新加坡就不可能从一个“小渔村”发展成第一世界国家等等。如果仔细研究李光耀从政的一生，我们就不难发觉，就算是把新加坡街道边的一草一木，甚至说“花园城市”这个美誉都跟他划成等号，这一点都不夸张。


在这一些众多的赞誉背后，隐藏着许多对李光耀非常不客气的批评。多数的批评都围绕着他是个独裁者。他在不同时期以不同的手法残酷迫害他的政敌和异议份子。更有一些华校生会永远对李光耀在1980代关闭南洋大学和消灭华文教育的行动耿耿于怀。也有人拿他和家族在1996年购买高级私人房产时收受特别折扣来批评他。


在批评他的人当中，不乏国际媒体著名的撰稿人。而李光耀对于这一些报纸、刊物和作者都给予沉重还击。他不只控告这一些对他肆意抨击的媒体和人物诽谤，还以行政和立法权力限制这一些媒体在新加坡的销售量，更剥夺他们在新加坡发行刊物放置广告以打击他们的收益。对于国内的异议分子，除了以内安法令逮捕，没经审讯任意监禁之外，也以诽谤罪和威吓对付他们。有不少反对党分子也因此破产而失去参于国会竞选的资格。也有不少异议分子被迫流放国外。


也许多数的伟大领袖都是如此具争议性的，而李光耀也不例外。李光耀对他人的种种批评，表面上不屑一顾，但事实上，他是非常在意他这一生所留下的声誉。这可以从他在生前不断出书自传，以他的观点解说历史上许多的争议而看得出他是非常在意别人如何为他盖棺定论。


简短生平


李光耀在1923年9月16日生于一个中产土生华人（男、女俗称峇峇、娘惹。他们是早期华族移民与土生马来族或其他非华族通婚后而产生的混血后裔。他们有自己的文化特征而多数以马来语为母语。）的家庭。


李光耀是聪明绝顶的人。小时候就已经从一间普通学校转至以英语为教学语言的莱佛士书院就读。莱佛士书院是新加坡顶尖的学校而它当时只收取全马来亚150名最优秀的学生。


李光耀负笈英国剑桥留学的计划虽然因日本占领新加坡而延后了四年，但这并没阻止李光耀在菲茨威廉学院法律系以双重一等荣誉毕业。


李光耀除了聪明绝顶外，还是个务实的机会主义者。根据他自己在自传里的透露，他在日据时期，曾经在日本皇军的宣传部队“报道部”当翻译。与此同时他也在当时的黑市做买卖，甚至与朋友一起为日本皇军提供军需品和建筑工程服务。当他从所截听的盟军消息得知日军在节节败退时，他就暗地里准备逃离到马来亚的金马伦高原去避风头。但是因日军开始怀疑他而对他展开跟踪而作罢。他自述在这日据时期的经历对他政治生涯起着非常大的影响。日本人的铁腕统治让他了解到权威的重要性。他务实的态度不只让他和家人能安然的渡过艰巨的日据时期，更让他累积了一点积蓄以资助他在战争后负笈英国留学。


政治成就与过失


李光耀这种务实机会主义的人生哲学在他的政治生涯里一再展现无遗。


经历了因英国无能而战败，导致日本人残暴统治的李光耀终于领悟到新加坡必须脱离外国人统治。这促使他展开了反殖民主义的斗争。但是在1950年代的反殖民运动中，受华文教育的左派人物才是主流。务实的李光耀就联合以林清祥为首的左派成立了人民行动党。李光耀以此当上了左派工会的顾问律师，从而让他争取到巨大的政治资本。


从1950至1960年代，面对许多各地反殖民地主义的英国也被逼考虑如何在不损害自身利益的前提下，退出殖民地而让自己信任得过的人掌权自治和独立。李光耀看准了这时机，运用了高超的政治手段，一方面使英国相信在伦敦剑桥读过书的他是他们的最佳人选，而另一方面还是打着反殖民的旗帜大骂英国人“白种人”。与此同时，他利用英国人把他党内的同志，林清祥一伙人扣留起来，直到他赢得选举当了总理。


1963年，在林清祥等人脱离行动党自组社会主义阵线（社阵）后，机智的李光耀就利用与马来亚合并的契机，在马来亚首相的要求下，顺理成章的把林清祥和社阵所有的主要人物一共一百多人，全都以内部安全法令(内安法)，不经审讯的扣押起来，并且试图把责任全推到英国人和马来亚首相的身上。这时，他就把这一些人标签为“共产党恐怖分子”。


从此之后，一直到1980年代，李光耀就举着反共的旗帜，把异议分子都以“共产党恐怖分子”名义在内安法令下抓起来，任由监禁。 根据统计，在他任内总共以内安法囚禁果2600 名异议分子之多。


但是一向坚持反共的李光耀，在中国总理周恩来向他招手时，还是务实的回应了他的邀请，到中国访问了。虽然最终无法和周总理见面，但这一次破冰之旅还是为李光耀和中国历代领导层的关系展开了历史上的第一页。


在李光耀的政治生涯中，他最伟大的成就就是以务实的态度和中国建立起良好的关系而促进全东南亚的和平。他以坚定的意志，说服了邓小平副总理，中国必须停止向周边国家输出共产主义才能建设和谐的环境以便经济能共同发展起来。中国最终不止终结了对马共和泰共的资助，更在柬埔寨战争上扮演了非常重要的角色。李光耀在促成中国、东盟和美国合作，了结柬埔寨战争的事件上，起了关键性的影响力。这彻底解除了越南对东南亚地区的军事威胁，并给与东盟建立了和平稳定的有利环境。


没有李光耀高超的政治外交手腕，新加坡是不可能在同一时间取得美国和中国的基本信任以至能争取到这样显著的成果。同样的道理，李光耀以他和台湾的友好关系为海峡两岸僵持不下的关系解冻。历史性的第一次汪辜会谈能成功圆满的在新加坡举行，李光耀居功至上。这更进一步缓和了整个东亚和东南亚区域的紧张局势。


李光耀虽然在区域和国际政治舞台上有着显著的重大贡献，但他以那铁一般的手腕对付新加坡国内的异议分子却是他政治上的一大败笔。虽然许多人认为在建国的首几年，李光耀的铁腕统治提供了新加坡所需要的稳定环境来发展经济，但是他把政敌在没有经过审讯的情况下长久囚禁达32年之久是非常不人道的。这摧毁了许多人的人生和家庭。


他在1987年继续以“马克思密谋者”的罪名把22名支持和帮助反对党社运分子全都以内安法关了起来。这一举动掀起了许多争议。就连他的年轻内阁同僚都觉得不妥。这是因为在那时期，中国已经开始改革开放，不再向东南亚输出共产主义，而前苏联也脱离了冷战思维，开始逐渐瓦解。用这样的借口来打压异议分子已经没有什么说服力了。自此之后，虽然李光耀不再以内安法令来对付异议分子，但却换了个方式以诽谤罪使反对党人和异议分子破产来延续他的独裁政权。


在这一系列打压异议分子的行动中，很不幸的是，法治无可避免的被严重冲击。而在民主选举方面，李光耀的政府虽然没有舞弊，但是他运用了立法权和执政权，任意的更改选举制度和干预选区的划分而保住了他集权独裁的意图。李光耀的集权举动，也无可避免的摧毁了新加坡应有的民主基石 – 权力的分立和相互的制衡。这是他政治上的最大过失。


经济


许多人都把新加坡的经济奇迹归功于李光耀，但这是有一点言过其实。新加坡只是一个比上海小9倍的城市小岛国。持有新加坡公民权的也只有3百多万人。当初独立时，我们继承了英国殖民时代所遗留下来的良好海港和基建。新加坡是英国众多殖民地中，在远东最重要的海港。优越的地理位置和海港基建是新加坡最重要的资源。相对于当时的东南亚，甚至整个东亚，新加坡的基建和城市化程度是最好的。以人均收入来看，也是居高者。以人均收入来看，它在1965年是东南亚最高的，而在整个亚洲也只屈居于日本和香港。

（以下是两个关于新加坡的电影片段，摄于1957和1958年）






所以说李光耀从英国接手的新加坡并不是如许多人所说的“落后的小渔村”。


但在那建国初期，新加坡面对了许多严峻的问题。这包括了居住环境，经济面对内部强势工会的动荡，印尼的武装威胁，而最大的挑战是英军即将撤离的问题。英军是当时单一雇佣最多员工的机构。它也是保障新加坡免受当时苏卡诺领导的印尼政府军事敌对的威胁。


幸好就在英军迁离新加坡之际，越南战争使新加坡成为了美国的重要的补给基地。这缓解了英军撤离的影响。


在1959年刚上任的李光耀总理（自治区）也只是一名三十五岁年轻律师，对经济根本一窍不通。但很幸运的，他身旁有个智多星，吴庆瑞博士。吴庆瑞是新加坡经济发展的总工程师。他说服了李光耀降低关税，把新加坡设定为自由港。然后再着手土地改革，建廉价的公共组合房屋（组屋）以把人民从恶劣的居住环境搬迁，从而释放更多土地给与城市发展。他更发展了工业园区，设法把经济从单一依赖港口贸易转型到以制造业为首的经济体。再来就是重组教育制度，好让人民能接受更多工艺和工程系的教育，使他们更能够受雇于制造业。这种种发展，配合了世界工业的转型。在1960年代，在西方和日本的大企业开始了外包和寻找代工的经营模式。他们也因本国成本的提高而开始向国外迁移厂房。


在这世界工业的新潮流中，得益的是亚洲四小龙：韩国、台湾、香港和新加坡。新加坡之所以能有如此非凡的经济起飞，其实是依靠这工业潮流的发展。新加坡在四小龙里是最小的经济体，所以很显然的，它的经济成就也比其他四小龙地区较容易突出。


新加坡的“经济奇迹”其实是结合了天时地利人和的有利因素，而李光耀先生的贡献，其实比不上吴庆瑞博士。


但是我们不能抹杀李光耀为新加坡在国际和东亚开展投资机会的巨大功劳。尤其是在对中国的经济发展趋势的解读，他更是具有独到的远见。虽然新加坡政府在苏州工业园的投资失利，但这惨痛的经历只给李光耀上了一堂中国经商和政治文化的再教育。新加坡并没有因此对中国减少投资。


社会和文化建设


李光耀对新加坡社会建设的影响是非常深远的。他以他个人的意志和务实的考量规划了社区的发展。


李光耀除了众所周知的以严刑峻法对付不雅的反社会行为（如随地吐痰，乱丢垃圾，涂鸦等等）之外，他还以行政手段推行他所想要的城市情景。比如说，他非常喜欢园林，所以在城市规划中，绿化必定是首要考量。新加坡特别设立了国家公园局来打理全国的花草树木。所以说，当你一踏入新加坡的街道时所看到的一草一木都跟李光耀有关系。这一点也不夸张的。


他也出于务实的政治考量，以法律规定每个社区里，必须以种族比例分售组屋给国民。新加坡是由四大种族形成的。在1969年时，曾经发生过种族暴动。所以李光耀特别关注国家的种族和谐。他认为各个族群集聚在各自的传统地域将不利种族和谐的发展。这将让有心人能很容易的去煽动种族敌对情绪。如果把各族群平均的分散在不同的地方，让大家都有机会学习如何和睦共处的话，这对长期各族群的磨合将会有巨大的帮助。他这务实的做法的确让许多长期受种族暴动或冲击的国家来说，真是大开眼界。


但是在某一些社会议题上，李光耀也遭到滑铁卢。他激进强施的“两个（孩子）就够了”的人口控制政策，造成了这小国在短短的时间里，面对严峻的人口老化的问题。他的精英遗传论更在1980年代引起了巨大的反弹。这使他不得不把这两项不得人心的政策给撤了。


在教育、文化和语言政策方面，李光耀的争议性更大了。


新加坡在殖民地时代曾经是东南亚的第一个发展电影业的文化城。文化领域上，真是百花争鸣。


但在早期的政治斗争中，李光耀把许多文人和报人全都以内安法令给关了起来。这包括之后被誉为“国宝”的戏剧泰斗郭宝昆、南洋商报主笔李星可等。在李光耀的铁腕统治之下，这原本是被誉为东南亚的维也纳文化中心的土地，一时之间就变成了充满文字狱的白色恐怖国家。


加上李光耀全力打击经常批评他的华校生，导致南洋大学（南大）被逼在1980年关闭而所有华校体系的中小学都被逼转型。这是南洋一带华校生对李光耀更加敌视的原因。


这关闭南大的决定其实是与李光耀对中国的政治、经济策略有所冲突的。过了不久后，李光耀就发觉新加坡从此就非常缺乏受过华文教育的人来跟中国打交道。


与此同时，他也发现他关掉的不止是一所大学，而是消灭了整个时代海外华人的“南大精神”。南大是儒商陈六使先生发起的。他本人虽然没受过什么正统教育，但他知道民族要自强不息，就要注重教育的发展。他于是发起了建立一所以中华文化为教育重点的大学，捐出了大批土地来建设南洋第一所中文大学，南洋大学。当时马来亚的华人都纷纷响应他的号召，有钱出钱，有力出力，终于实现了建设中国海外的第一所中文大学。


这种为社群无私的奉献，就是南大精神的神髓。而也是一个对海外华人影响深远的精神。李光耀在关掉南大后，才后悔他也毁灭了这种伟大的无私精神。


很讽刺的是，李光耀过后大提以儒家思想为本的“亚洲价值观”，试图以这新论述来把自己的独裁粉饰、合理化。但是一个如此推崇儒家思想的政治家，怎么会把象征中华文化教育的南大给关了呢？


面对南大精神的毁灭，新加坡便全面的进入一个以功利主义统治和发展的时代。原本廉价的组屋的价格也逐渐被提高到与市场价格挂钩。原本享有高额津贴的医药服务，也贵得令新加坡人觉得能死不能病了。


除此之外，李光耀最失败的是摧毁了公共服务的精神。在那一些与他打天下的同僚全都退休后，他就以“高薪养廉”的理由，大肆提高新一代部长的薪金。现在新加坡的部长都享有至少新币一百多万（等于人民币5百多万）的年薪。这是世界上最高的政治薪酬，比美国总统还要高。


盖棺定论


要为李光耀先生这样具有争议性的人物作定论，的确不容易。对于一代被他迫害的左派人士，他们肯定是百感交加。


不管是他的宿敌或仰慕者，他们都不能否认他的确是个有许多缺点的伟大政治家。他在国际和东亚所做出的巨大贡献是谁也不能藐视的。但对新加坡民主基石的摧毁，也一样是铁一般的事实。


许多国家都在研究李光耀的“新加坡模式”：在独裁一党独大的统治下，也能取得巨大经济发展的模式。但是我认为，这“新加坡模式”与李光耀一样，是独一无二的。这是因为这“新加坡模式”是在独有的地缘政治和一个独有时代的世界经济发展潮流中产生的。就有如李光耀先生一样，历史上也只能只有一个李光耀。因为他是在独有的天时、地利、人和的大时代里塑造出来的杰出世纪政治领袖。


如果要真正评论李光耀，那就要看他的离世会让新加坡和国际缺少了些什么。


对于新加坡来说，它失去了一位能在国际舞台上为这小国的利益周旋的能手。李光耀在世时，是新加坡的活招牌。 因为无人不知李光耀，所以也无人不知新加坡。在这急速全球化的国际形势里，这对一个经济开放的小国是非常重要的。望眼目前新加坡国内的政治人物，没有一位能真正取代李光耀这个活招牌。


对于整个亚太地区来说，我们也失去了一位可以为各国搭起有效沟通桥梁的领袖。尤其是在两岸问题、南海争议和钓鱼台问题日益复杂，随时会擦枪走火的时局之下，这位子更显得举足轻重了。


新加坡在李光耀时代也失去了民主的基石。这是新加坡在后李时代必须严正对待的问题。李光耀所遗留下来的政治体系只能在一个相对廉洁的独裁者带领下延续运作的。后李时代会有太多变数而权力分立相互牵制的民主制度才能有效的保证这廉洁的体系可以维持下去。


在李光耀的铁腕统治下，新加坡的文化环境有太多约束而结果变成死水一潭。要使新加坡文化复兴，它就必须开放社会风气，把所有不必要的约束去除，放宽对文化活动、创作、主流媒体等等的严控。


最后，有一些在李光耀铁腕统治下所失去的东西，也许是永远都无法挽回的。他把南洋大学关闭而导致一代人所累积的南大精神能量，是永远无法重新找回的。


一个像李光耀这样杰出政治家的离世，影响的不只是本国的政治经济的前景，而也影响了整个区域的和平发展。像他这样具争议性的政治家逝世，虽然对新加坡带来了无可弥补的损失，但也带来变革的机遇。


不管我们对李光耀的功过有怎样的评价，我们都无法否认他是当代亚洲杰出的政治人物。当然，信奉民主体系的我对他的独裁以致摧毁新加坡民主基石，是无法原谅的。


吴明盛

Sengkang West Columbarium Saga - Disrespectful to Buddhism

When I first read about the Chinese Temple-Columbarium saga at Sengkang West, the first instinctive responses I had were:

1) The buyers of  BTO and residents in Sengkang West are being hoodwinked by HDB's scheming omission of critical material information on this columbarium and using "Chinese Temple" as a decoy.

2) It is totally inappropriate to allow a commercial entity to run a religious entity. I shall elaborate in this article.

3) The columbarium service is supposedly an ANCILLARY service to the Chinese Temple but in the end, it has become the main focus of the commercial entity, an Australian Public Listed company Life Corporation.

When a land is gazetted for religious use, naturally it means that it is not for commercial use. Especially in this case, when it says the land is for Chinese Temple, then in Singapore's context, a Chinese Temple is mean to be run by a registered organization or society under Registrar of Society (ROS). A religious organization like a Chinese Temple or any Churches that receive tithes are governed by the Charity Act. According to the ruling of High Court, any organization that advance religion will have to be classified as Charity.  The governing body is Commissioner of Charities.

However, according to the tender information posted on HDB website, Life Corp has won the tender via a private limited company.

If you read carefully, all other bidders of land meant for Chinese Temple are religious organizations or groups registered in Singapore ROS. Eternal Pure Land Pte Ltd. wholly owned by Life Corporation, is the only commercial entity which won the tender. Although it tries very hard to have a name that sound "Buddhist" but in essence, it is a private limited company.

The only other exception is the land slated for Chinese Temple/Funeral Parlour at Bedok North Ave 4. Even for that, it is a bid offered by a combination of a commercial entity and a temple association. (This may become another big hoohaa for Bedok residents if it is situated right in the centre of the HDB estate but I doubt so. It should be situated near the industrial park.) To provide funeral parlour service definitely need the involvement of commercial entity.

Look at the other two bidders for the same plot of land at Sengkang West here.

They are both religious organizations registered in Singapore!  

It is highly inappropriate and most probably against the law/regulation for HDB to allow a commercial entity to bid and win the tender for land meant for religious purpose. In fact, it is utterly disrespectful for HDB to allow a commercial entity to "make money" by using the name of Buddhism here.

Throughout the decade, we have seen how Singaporeans are irked by the various scandals arising from inappropriate or mismanage of funds by the respective religious leader of both Buddhist and Christian organizations (i.e. monk Mingyi of Renci and pastors of City Harvet). Funds gather by religious entities are expected to be treated as donations for charity and use in enhancing religious and spiritual cause, other than daily operation expenses. That is why religious groups, be it temples or churches, will need to be governed by Charity Act and the Commissioner of Charities.

Especially for serious Buddhists who observe the precepts, we expect monks to be Role Model of human beings and not businessman. We call those who make use of Buddhism to make money or serve their own material desires, "Business Monks". Yes, we do not have much respect for these "Business Monks", other than the fact that they are just human beings in robes. We detest these "Business Monks" who give our belief, the teaching of Buddha, such a bad name.

For most Buddhist Temples that provide columbarium service, they provide such service to their devotees as a public service in return for a fee just for maintaining the operation cost of their temples. These are NON-Profit organizations, unlike what Life Corporation and its subsidiaries, Eternal Pure Land and SFS are thinking of. Columbarium is really just an ANCILLARY service while TEMPLE function is the main key focus.

Look at the various statements Life Corporation has filed to the Australian Stock Exchange. ALL its statements posted there were about how it will enhance its earnings by having this opportunity to enhance its PREMIUM funeral services provided by its Singapore Funeral Services Care (SFS). Example of such statement is as follows:

It is obvious and expected that Life Corporation as a public listed commercial entity will be more excited and focus in how much money the columbarium can bring it. And to understand it a bit further, SFS is a company that provides PREMIUM Funeral Services with Mercedes as their hearse!  It basically means that their services are meant for filthy rich people and I do not think they are going to provide its intended "state of the art columbarium" service to layman. It is basically a very lucrative BUSINESS to them, not the normal PUBLIC SERVICE kind of columbarium offered by traditional registered Buddhist temples.

I believe the Singapore Buddhist Federation must be extremely upset and unhappy. HDB has just allowed someone to make use of the name of Buddhism for commercial profiteering. This will ultimately make Buddhism look extremely bad! Buddhism is about the teaching of Buddha, not meant to be used as a commercial front to make money!. This is utterly disrespectful, if not blasphemy in essence. Rightfully so. No one, not staunch believer of any religion, would want their religion to be made used for making money. Religion, is after all, spiritual in nature.

I believe the tender for this land should be void and null. This land is only slated for Chinese Temple. It is not meant for commercial use. It is already a breach of the land use and LFC is profit oriented entity which cannot be classified under "Charity". If it was to be classified as "Charity", all its earnings from this Chinese Temple will have to be regarded as revenue for non-profit organization and should not be recorded as earnings for Life Corporation.

HDB and URA should do the right thing to right the wrong. It is totally disrespectful for HDB to allow a private commercial entity to make use the name of Buddhism to make money. Technically speaking, Eternal Pure Land should be disqualified for its tender because it doesn't qualify to be the rightful entity to run a religious place of worship, Chinese Temple.

It is really unfortunate that for a government statutory board like HDB, it lacks the sensitivity and strict regulation on who can and who cannot bid for land of different usage. Land slated for religious purpose alone will obviously require a more stringent qualification and criteria to make sure that whoever bid for that land, has the necessary qualification and ability to run the intended religious function meant for the land.

Coupled with the serious fault of omission of critical material information in its sales brochures, HDB has actually made two terrible mistakes in a row. Although HDB has put up a disclaimer on the brochures but HDB should not shy away from its responsibility of omission. The brochures did not specifically state "columbarium" but only "ANCILLARY" services which was not clearly defined in the brochure itself (only on URA website).

I would consider the first fault of disrespectful of Buddhism more SERIOUS than the omission of critical information to the BTO buyers. But nevertheless, HDB should be accountable for both of their mistakes. Null and void the tender to LFC, at the same time, make concessions to the BTO buyers in whatever ways possible.

Goh Meng Seng

Singaporeans, I believe.

Sometimes, it is really depressing to be Singaporeans if you are not one of the Elites within PAP or its cronies and organizations.

Singaporeans have been told by PAP that we need "Foreign Talents", as if only Foreigners are Talents while there is none among us, other than the million dollar Ministers and their PAP MPs plus cronies.

Singaporeans are told that they are basically useless and they need millions of Foreign Talents to "create jobs" for them. But in the end, many Singaporeans have found out that the so call "jobs" created for them are "taxi-drivers" and "security guards". We start to see taxi drivers with Master degree and even PHD. We start to see colonies of migrants were brought in by their own people to replace Singaporeans at work place, be it Filipino, Indians, PRCs or otherwise. We are made or forced to believe these people, from third world country, many of them with dubious and fake degrees or qualifications, are some TALENTS who are BETTER than Singaporeans.

Some people and yes, some Singaporeans as well, will start to scold me "Xenophobic" by now but I am determined to say it as it is. I am not against Foreigners or Foreign workers and in fact, I have been employing the services of foreigners in other countries and places as well, along with the Singaporeans who work with me. Whatever others or PAP may say about Singaporeans, but I believe among the regional "Third World" countries, Singaporeans are relatively more trustworthy, reliable and hardworking. The PRCs may say Singaporeans are dumb or stupid, but I see that as a compliment as compared to the many unscrupulous things PRCs will do just to make more money or even cheat.

Singaporeans are among the best co-workers I have met over time. They are efficient and quick in learning. Unlike the many "Third World countries" people whom I have worked for, they have the right attitude towards work. In fact, Singapore has provided a platform to "educate" or "cultivate" many foreigners form third world countries the correct working attitude. For example, comparing a Vietnamese in Vietnam and a Vietnamese working in Singapore, you can experience a vast difference between their attitude towards efficiency, morals and work ethics.

Singaporeans may lack certain Global exposures but I do not think that is a critical handicap at all. If given the right opportunities, I believe most Singaporeans will be a quick learner and adapt very well to new situation and environment. In fact, Singaporeans are fairly well regarded as a people for their honesty, hardworking and efficiency in many parts of the world. The REAL problem with Singaporeans is its choice of PAP as its ruling party.

No where in the world could I find a government as sadistic as PAP government which has constantly thumbing down on Singaporeans as "inferior" to their "Foreign Talents". Even Malaysian Government will come up with "Malaysia Boleh" or "Satu Malaysia" (Malaysia Number One). Even China, with a massive population of uncultured citizenry which irk so many people around the world with their barbaric and uncivilized behavior, would come up with a strong rhetoric of "China Dream", drumming up Nationalism as its core message. Even the Filipinos are whipping up their Nationalism in foreign land like Singapore!

It is no wonder, foreigners in Singapore, especially those from the "Third World Countries", are starting to snarl and mock at Singaporeans, calling them names and pride themselves in superiority over Singaporeans, citing the "FACT" that even our PAP government wanted them so much because they are "TALENTS" which Singaporeans are not!

Well, we may be angry against these rude and ungrateful people from the "Third World Countries" but they are not wrong at all. The fault lies with PAP which has repeated talked down on Singaporeans. eg. Singaporeans commit more crimes than Foreigners.

But my fellow Singaporeans, most of these so call "Foreign Talents" from the "Third World Countries" are just cheap substitutes brought in to displace you. Logically speaking, how could somebody who graduated from "Third World Countries" be more "superior" than Singaporeans who have gone through the First World education in Singapore? We should not feel any bit INFERIOR as compared to these people. We are the HOSTS of this country which provides the platform to give them jobs and money to feed their families in their Third World Countries.

Many people from first world countries have mistaken that Singaporeans are Xenophobic but we are not. Most Singaporeans are people with big heart, tolerant and well behaved. If you have met anyone from USA or European countries who talk down to you about being Xenophobic, tell them off by suggesting filling up their own countries with 40% foreigners and see whether they will be MORE or less angry and intolerant as Singaporeans.

All countries will have foreign population or migrant workers. But at most, most of the First World Countries have less than 25% of their population as foreigners. They do not understand what Singaporeans are unhappy about. Just tell them that we have 40% and PAP intends to increase to 50% or even 60% of our population to be foreigners. That is exactly what they are trying to do, else how do you think they can increase our population to 6.9million within such a short time?

The truth is, even the REAL Talents from First World Countries like US or Britain, are shocked at what PAP is doing. A friend of mine told me about a conversation which he had with a British who has worked in Singapore but leaving.

The British told him, PAP is stupid. Yes, you hear it right, a British FT telling PAP off. He said Singaporeans are actually very good people, highly intelligent, hardworking and highly competent. But PAP prefers to get people like him, to be paid 3 or 4 times more than Singaporeans to do exactly the same thing and hold the same amount of responsibility which Singaporeans could do with great proficiency! Yes, this is a FRANK comment from the British 'FT'.

PAP is stupid because it doesn't believe in its own people, Singaporeans. It doesn't believe Singaporeans can be as good as, if not better than most of the foreigners; even if they are from some First World Countries, least, Third World.

Such policy mindset will deprive Singaporeans from earning their rightful salaries but also neglect the grooming of Singaporeans by depriving them the opportunities to get exposures from the many important positions which were taken up by foreigners.

PAP is not only spending millions in scholarship to groom foreigners from Third World Countries in our colleges and universities but they are also grooming them in their working lives by allowing them to displace local Singaporeans. The irony is that, while foreigners get free education in Singapore and displace Singaporeans in important positions, many local Singaporeans who have paid a hefty price (university fees have been increasing over time) for their tertiary education, were unable to find any job!

No matter how hard Singaporeans try to upgrade their skills, qualifications etc, they eventually find themselves being displaced by foreigners at ALL LEVELS of jobs.

Singaporeans in Singapore may be talked down by PAP in all aspects, but when it comes to international job markets, Singaporeans are well sort after. Why? It is because Singaporeans are trustworthy, law abiding, intelligent and efficient.

Many people, especially those from the very Third World Countries which PAP has tried to court their "talents", regard Singaporeans as good people, trustworthy people to do business with, in comparison with their own people.

Over these few years, I have met Singaporeans working and doing business overseas. They have given me one simple impression: back in Singapore, PAP and its system, regard them as dirt, unworthy people. They have to leave Singapore to prove their worth in other countries and places like Hong Kong. They made it in their life, because they believe in themselves, not PAP's nonsense about "Foreign Talents".

(Some of you may feel that I am exaggerating and may use the Sim Lim Square lemon retailers as example of how "bad" Singaporean businessmen were. There will always be bad apples among the millions but while we make so much noise over these few bad apples, splashing over local headlines and such, but can you imagine there are many millions more of such cheats in the Third World Countries like China? It has become a NORM there and that is why you will never see headlines over such "trivial" things in these countries!)

PAP is the root of the problems Singaporeans are facing a people, as a Nation. A Nation of People who have low esteem will not do us good and PAP is the one who is constantly causing our people to become so.


Singaporeans should rebuild their own self-esteem and there is nothing Xenophobic about that. PAP Ministers and their cronies are not the only "Talents" in Singapore. The truth is, every Singaporeans can be a talent in his or her own field, in their own right. Every Singaporeans should be worth as much as their skill set and not only PAP Ministers have the rightful claim to the over-exaggerated million dollar salary. We should not allow PAP to continue thumbing us down as a people and depressing our wages and quality of life.

Singaporeans, I believe, could really be a World Class people, World Class workforce, if given the proper opportunities, grooming and recognition. Our Singapore Brand as a people, is Trustworthiness, quick learners, law abiding, no nonsense, intelligent, well educated and efficient people. Singaporeans should start to believe in themselves and reclaim what is rightfully theirs. STOP believing in PAP's nonsense about only Foreigners and their cronies, are Talents and nobody else.

While I encourage Singaporeans to walk out of Singapore into the World, but you can't be a good fighter without confidence and self esteem. I believe that Singaporeans do not need PAP's degrading rhetoric on their FT policy but what they need is to get more World exposures.

Singaporeans, I also believe, should fight and strive to retain the high standards we have set for ourselves and future generations. While our system has provided a good platform to educate those foreign workers from Third World Countries on efficiency, reliability and such, we should not allow many of these foreigners to skewed, change or lower the standards we expect from our system.

Working attitude is one important factor in determining success of an organization or even a country. I know many Singaporeans are just suffering in silence from the incompetency of their foreign counterparts but you should not be so. You should be voicing out in firm assertion to demand the best from everyone, foreign or otherwise.

I believe part of the problems we face in Singapore's MRT system is the lax working attitude of foreign engineers (from Third World Countries) which causes constant breakdowns in the system. They do not have the Singapore mindset and culture of no-nonsense when it comes to such important work. I have heard enough of retired SMRT Singaporean engineers complaining about cheapo materials being used as well as the quality of foreign engineers and technicians employed. But my dear Singaporeans, they are so, because we allow them to be so. It is because we have allowed the Third World mentality to invade our work place and replace the good work ethics we used to have in our system. We have not voiced out in firm assertion to maintain the high standards we used to uphold. We should not allow them to erode our culture, our belief in high standards and our identity as Singapore Brand.

Singaporeans, I believe, cannot depend on PAP and its cronies to do the right thing at all. They are more concerned about how much profits they can make and how much salary and bonuses they can get, rather than the more important Singapore Culture we have cultivated over the decades of Nation Building. This Singapore Culture which defines us as a Singapore Brand, is facing its greatest challenge at the largest scale ever.

Singaporeans, I believe, united as one, we can overcome all these nonsense PAP has installed in this system. We have only ourselves to depend on for the sake of our future generations. We should not allow PAP's flawed Population Policy to dictate and deteriorate our Nation to Third World standards. We should hold our future firmly in our own hands. I believe.

Goh Meng Seng

Protest Letter to Philippines Embassy in Singapore

I have sent the following protest letter to the Ambassador H.E. Minda Calaguian-Cruz to urge her to stop sponsoring PIDC's planned public celebration of Philippines Independence Day at Orchard Road.

To:

H.E. Minda Calaguian-Cruz

Philippines Ambassadress to Republic of Singapore

20 Nassim Road, Singapore 258395.

Dear Excellency,

Re: Protest Against Embassy of the Philippines Sponsorship of PIDC Independence Day Celebration

1.          I am writing to you today to register my protest against your Embassy’s sponsorship and support of PIDC (Pilipino Independence Day Council Singapore) in organizing a PUBLIC celebration of your country’s Independence Day.

2.          As you should know, it is diplomatically sensitive to hold PUBLIC celebration of one’s country’s Independence Day or National Day in foreign land. PIDC’s past and present intention of organizing a Public Celebration event for Philippines Independence Day is a blatant breach of such diplomatic protocols.

3.          On top of that, PIDC has put up insensitive posters and banners in the past, right from 2011 till now for this public celebration. Singapore is not part of Philippines and I do not understand why Singapore’s skyline and iconic landmark have been used for propagating Philippines Independence Day. Moreover, PIDC has been basically rude, insensitive and displayed inherent aggressive attitude in the following poster and banner:

4.          I believe Singaporeans at large will find extremely offended by the design of such posters and backdrop which basically depicts a “conquer” of our land. They actually reminded me of the Japanese occupation era way back in World War II.

5.          On top of that, as you should know, it is an offence in Singapore to display your National flag or emblems representing your country in public places without special consent or permission from our minister. However, as you and your staffs have attended the previous events organized by PIDC, you should realize that they have contravened our law on National Emblems (Control of Display) ACT Chapter 196. Apart from the backdrop for 2011 shown above which has prominently displayed the Philippines flag, the following are the proofs of such illegal acts carried out in previous PIDC events:

6.          Singapore Police has also issued a public statement that PIDC has not applied for any of the necessary licenses or permits for their planned public event in celebration of Philippines Independence Day. It is quite puzzling to us why PIDC has publicized the event without applying for these permits. I wonder if they have applied for the necessary permits in events held in previous years!

 

7.          It is understandable that each country like yours would want to celebrate your Sovereignty and Independence Day with your people. However, it should be done as private functions either at your Embassy compound or in hotel as most countries’ diplomatic missions or embassies have been doing all these years.

8.          It would be inevitable for such public event aimed at celebrating your country’s Independence Day to end up contravening our law as it is only human nature for your people wanting to express their patriotism by displaying the Philippines flag. However, such act will be considered as a trespassing of our sovereignty and it would not do good to the friendship established between both countries and their people.

9.          I would urge Your Excellency to reconsider your sponsorship and support for PIDC to organize such public event to celebrate Philippines Independence Day publicly in Singapore. I would also urge Your Excellency to discourage and dissuade PIDC from organizing such event now and in future as it is offensive and it has hurt Singaporeans’ feelings.

10.      Last but not least, I also suspect that You Excellency’s support of PIDC has somewhat emboldened some of the Filipino businessman in Singapore. They have also openly displayed the Philippines Flag on their shop’s signage in public places. (Photo shown a Pinoy shop at Bedok Bus Interchange) Knowingly or unknowingly, they have committed a seizable offence in Singapore as stated in our National Emblems (Control of Display) Act Chapter 196. I hope that Your Excellency’s office could provide proper advisory to these Filipinos to observe the law of our land.

11.      I hope that Your Excellency and your Embassy would do the right thing and take necessary steps to ensure that the relationship between Singapore and Philippines people would not be marred by insensitive and law breaking acts by the minority of Filipinos in Singapore.

Best Regards,

Goh Meng Seng

Prevention of Housing Bubbles - German's Model

I have mentioned on my Facebook many times that the "IDEAL" model for housing is from Germany. It manages the supply, rental as well as resale market of property in the direction to discourage property speculation and thus, formation of housing bubbles.

It may be counter intuitive to many Asians but by doing so, it prevented excessive speculation and funds being sucked into property market so that such funds can find alternative MORE PRODUCTIVE use in REAL creation of products and services. It will also cultivate a vigilant culture whereby people understand that wealth and income can only be made through pure hard work and real productivity growth, not via "rent-seeking" nor  "short cut to instant wealth".

There are many more finer details of the German's model on how they tax heavily on excessive gain from property sales and such. But let's look at the following article from Forbes.

Goh Meng Seng

When Americans travel abroad, the culture shocks tend to be unpleasant. Robert Locke’s experience was different. In buying a charming if rundown house in the picturesque German town of Goerlitz, he was surprised – very pleasantly – to find city officials second-guessing the deal. The price he had agreed was too high, they said, and in short order they forced the seller to reduce it by nearly one-third. The officials had the seller’s number because he had previously promised  to renovate the property and had failed to follow through.

As Locke, a retired historian, points out, the Goerlitz authorities’ attitude is a striking illustration of how differently the German economy is run. Rather than keep their noses out of the economy, German officials glory in their power to influence market outcomes. While the Goerlitz authorities are probably exceptional in the degree to which they micromanage house prices, a fundamental principle of German economics is to keep housing costs stable and affordable.

It is hard to quarrel with the results. On figures cited in 2012 by the British housing consultant Colin Wiles, one-bedroom apartments in Berlin were then selling for as little as $55,000, and four-bedroom detached houses in the Rhineland for just $80,000. Equivalent properties in New York City and Silicon Valley were selling for as much as ten times higher.

The Real Estate Crystal Ball: What's on the Horizon for 2014LearnVestContributor

Value Investor Sees Multi-Year Opportunity In HousingKen KamContributor

Goerlitz: picturesque — and tightly controlled. (Photo credit: chrisbulle)

Although conventional wisdom in the English-speaking world holds that bureaucratic intervention in prices makes for subpar outcomes, the fact is that the German economy is by any standards one of the world’s most successful. Just how successful is apparent in, for instance, international trade. At $238 billion in 2012, Germany’s current account surplus was the world’s largest. On a per-capita basis it was nearly 15 times China’s and was achieved while German workers were paid some of the world’s highest wages. Meanwhile German GDP growth has been among the highest of major economies in the last ten years and unemployment has been consistently among the lowest.

On Wiles’s figures, German house prices in 2012 represented a 10 percentdecrease in real terms compared to thirty years ago. That is a particularly astounding performance compared to the UK, where real prices rose by more than 230 percent in the same period.

A key to the story is that German municipal authorities consistently increase housing supply by releasing land for development on a regular basis. The ultimate driver is a  central government policy of providing financial support to municipalities based on an up-to-date count of the number of residents in each area.

The German system moreover is deliberately structured to encourage renting rather than owning. Tenants enjoy strong rights and, provided they pay their rent, are virtually immune from eviction and even from significant rent increases.

Meanwhile demand for owner occupation is curbed by German regulation. German banks, for instance, are rarely permitted to lend more than 80 percent of the value of a property, thus a would-be home buyer first needs to accumulate a deposit of at least 20 percent. To cap it all, ownership of a home is subject to a serious consumption tax, while landlords are encouraged by favorable tax treatment to maximize the availability of rental properties.

How does all this contribute to Germany’s economic growth? Locke, a prominent critic of America’s latter-day enthusiasm for doctrinaire free-market solutions and a professor emeritus at the University of Hawaii, notes that a key outcome is that Germany’s managed housing market helps smooth the availability of labor. And by virtually eliminating  bubbles, the German system minimizes the sort of misallocation of resources that is more or less unavoidable in the Anglo-American boom-bust cycle. That cycle is exacerbated by tax incentives which encourage citizens to view home ownership as an investment, resulting in much hoarding and underutilization of space.

In the  German system moreover,  house-builders  rarely accumulate the huge large land banks that are such a dangerous distraction for U.S. house-builders like Pulte Homes, D. R. Horton, Lennar, and Toll Brothers. German house-builders just focus on building good-quality homes cheaply, secure in the knowledge that additional land will become available at reasonable cost when needed.

Locke is the co-author, with J.C. Spender, of Confronting Managerialism: How the Business Elite and Their Schools Threw Our Lives Out of Balance, a book I highly recommend.

Software of Open Society - Learning from HK

I have been observing Hong Kong for quite a number of years due to my frequent visits there.

There are a lot of things which I do not feel good about Hong Kong but there are many things which I feel that we should learn from this vibrant city.

Hong Kong has various districts, just like Singapore with different GRCs and SMCs. Within these districts, there are also similar "community centres" but these are not controlled by any partisan organizations financed by taxpayers' money with "symbiotic relationship" with the ruling party. They don't organize "political activities" like getting people to attend political party's rallies.

These district community centres are pretty well equipped. Some have very decent concert halls or performance halls for cultural activities. This is unlike our Singapore's community centres which are filled with "multi-purpose halls" with very bad audio system and acoustic structures. These concert halls or performance halls are definitely no "white elephants". Many LOCAL cultural groups rented these halls at very low price and put up various performances, from Chinese Wayang Opera, Chinese Dance, Western Ballet Dance, Chinese Orchestra to plays and even special film shows etc.




Hong Kong is preparing to build a huge Cultural Centre at West Kowloon and it is not merely for "International Performances" like our Singapore Durian Esplanade. They will have some main Hong Kong cultural groups like Hong Kong Dance Troupe and such to be permanently stationed there. They are confident that this huge Cultural Centre will be filled with local performances because they have cultivated a substantial mass of cultural performing groups and participants.

Although there are quite a number of small district cultural centres in Hong Kong, but it seems that all halls are fully booked all year round. Even the libraries are available for rent for people to put up artistic exhibitions like calligraphy and such.

Many people have mistakenly labelled Hong Kong as "cultural desert" but I think if you look at the cultural events put up by local groups, you will think otherwise. Such booming vibrancy in the cultural setting could only happen not only with the hardware infrastructural support by the government but also depends on maintaining a truly open society with the core value of respecting the freedom of expression by the people.

Such respect of human dignity was extended to other segments of the society. The radio station of Hong Kong has various programs catered for different segment of the society. There is a weekly radio program specially catered for Prison inmates for them and their family members to write in or dedicate songs to each other. They also have a special program on Sunday morning for foreign maids for them to call in or dedicate Indonesian or Filipino songs since that is their weekly off day. Of course, they will have an Indonesian and Filipino as their co-hosts!

Cultivation of the software of an Open Society doesn't depend only on the big infrastructure investment by the Government. It also depends on the willingness of the people and government to uphold the critical core values on the freedom of expression. It depends on catering to the needs to small cultural groups, not only on the finances but also the availability of opportunities for them to put up their performances.




I have watched Drama Box performing at grassroot level in open air stages at various places in Singapore. I find it quite refreshing and but it seems that it has faced excessive censorship from MITA from time to time. Even that, they have continued their excellent work with limited resources and constrains imposed by govenrment censorship.

In Hong Kong, there are many such small local performance groups who are actively involved in putting up local performances at grassroot level. I hardly hear any censorship issues imposed on them at all.

Many people have said that Hong Kongers are very "practical people" but it seems that even under such capitalist system, there are many more people who have the passion to pursue their cultural dreams. So, what about Singapore? What has happened to Singapore which was once the Venice of SEA back in the 50s? It is really something for us to ponder about.

Goh Meng Seng