Source: Yahoo.com.sg

Petaling Jaya (The Star/ANN) – Singapore’s P-MET (pronounced Pee-met) – the acronym for Professionals, Managers, Executives and Technicians, a flourishing group of people who make up 51 per cent of the workforce – is under stress.

Most are, of course, university graduates or diploma holders, whose numbers and role in society had steadily increased because of strong growth and people’s determination to get higher education.

In turn, it helped to shape Singapore into what it is – a rich, middle-class society.

The first blow was struck by the demise of the industrial era here as well as the emergence of competitive giants like China and India that pushed down wages everywhere.

Factories were closed or moved overseas and mass retrenchments followed, including executives and managers.

A series of downturns and recessions added to the toll. In 2008, for example, 43.3 per cent of retrenched Singaporeans were from … Read more

Source: Huffington Post

Dear Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong,

In November of 2011, the Human Rights Foundation invited Dr. Chee Soon Juan — one of your well-known critics and one of Singapore’s most visible opposition leaders — to speak at the 2012 Oslo Freedom Forum, taking place May 7, 8, and 9 in Norway. The forum is an annual gathering for promoting democracy, human rights, and justice.

Yesterday, we learned that Dr. Chee’s application to leave Singapore to participate at the Oslo Freedom Forum was “not approved.” I enclose a copy of an April 10 missive from Lydia Loh of the Insolvency and Public Trustee’s Office — an agency of your government — denying Dr. Chee permission to exit Singapore and travel to Oslo.

Your government’s travel ban on Dr. Chee is but the latest in a series of instances where he has been penalized for criticizing Singapore authorities.

Read … Read more

Source: YourSDP.org: The SDP healthcare plan made simple

There has been much interest generated in The SDP’s Healthcare Plan since it was launched last Saturday. As a result, many questions have been raised.

This is understandable since it is the first time that a comprehensive alternative healthcare system has been drawn up. We breakdown the components of our Plan and present them in an easy-to-understand format.

We know that Singaporeans want to see our healthcare made affordable and caring. To this end we ask you to spread the message and email this article to all your family and friends.

The SDP National Healthcare Plan

SDP National Healthcare Plan Executive Summary

SDP National Healthcare Plan

The SDP National Healthcare Plan Launch

1. What is the gist of the SDP’s healthcare plan?

We propose:

• scrapping the 3M system of Medisave, Medifund and Medishield and return the Medisave money to one’s CPF

… Read more

Source: Yahoo.com.sg

Foreign domestic workers (FDW) will now enjoy at least one rest day every week, under a new law announced in Parliament on Monday.

The new ruling will require a weekly rest day for FDWs, while providing employers the flexibility to compensate their FDWs with extra pay should the worker agrees to work on their rest day, said Minister of State for Manpower and National Development Tan Chuan-jin.

For each rest day forgone, the FDW shall be compensated with at least one day’s wage on top of her monthly salary. One day’s wage is calculated by dividing the monthly wage by 26 working days.

Instead of monetary compensation, employers can also give FDWs a replacement rest day, but it should fall within the same month as the rest day forgone.

For those such as the elderly who are unable to give their FDWs frequent off days may apply for … Read more

Source: Today Online

An average of 1,200 Singaporeans renounced their citizenship every year between 2007 and 2011.

Of these, 300 were naturalised citizens.

But the renunciation rates for both naturalised citizens and Singapore born citizens were low at 0.1 per cent or less, said Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean, as he gave this update in Parliament today.

Mr Teo also explained why some give up their citizenship and assured members that every application for citizenship was carefully evaluated.

“Every application for permanent residence or Singapore citizenship is evaluated holistically on a range of criteria, including economic contributions, qualifications, age, family profile, and length of stay in Singapore,” he said. “The reasons for emigration vary. Some emigrants leave for family reasons, because of marriage or to reunite the family members overseas, while others do so for a different living environment.

“All Singapore citizens and permanent residents who own HDB flats … Read more

Source: Wall Street Journal & The Economist

Moving to Singapore? Start saving: The city-state is one of most expensive cities in the world – 42% more expensive than New York – topping London, Frankfurt and Hong Kong.

The Southeast Asian city joins Tokyo, Osaka and Kobe as one of the world’s top ten most expensive cities, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s annual cost-of-living survey, increasingly proving that Asian cities are no longer just a cheaper outpost for expats and multinationals. Though a European city – Zurich – is still the world’s most expensive, Tokyo was the runner up, with Singapore now listed as the world’s 9th most expensive city. Singapore was listed as the 6th most expensive last year, but remarkably was ranked 97th in 2001.

The survey uses prices of goods and services such as food, transportation, housing, utilities, private schools and domestic help to calculate scores for … Read more

Source: Human Rights Watch

The Singapore government should cease violating fundamental free expression rights citing self-serving historical and cultural justifications that only tarnish Singapore’s global image, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2012.

Singapore’s rights record went before the United Nations Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process in May 2011. The government either rejected outright or contested the premises of many recommendations for improvements in civil and political rights. Concerns cited included the use of preventive detention, the use of defamation suits to silence critics, restrictions on public protests, regular use of corporal punishment for a wide range of crimes, and criminalization of same-sex relations between men.

“Singapore’s claims of exemption from human rights standards are just lame excuses for abuses,” said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The people of Singapore deserve the same rights as everyone else, not more … Read more

Source: Today Online

Four days after sociopolitical website Temasek Review Emeritus (TRE) editor Richard Wan made a first public appearance at a social media forum, he was served a lawyer’s letter yesterday by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong for carrying allegedly defamatory remarks on his website.

This is the second time in the past week that a political leader has sent a legal warning to a website regarding allegedly defamatory comments.

In TRE’s case, Mr Lee’s lawyers are asking Mr Wan to retract a Feb 16 post and to publish an apology on his website within the next four days.

The five-page letter, which was sent by Drew and Napier’s Senior Counsel Davinder Singh, made reference to an excerpt of a post on TRE which questioned Madam Ho Ching’s position in Temasek Holdings.

In the letter, Mr Singh said the excerpt “alleged that Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong secured or … Read more

Source: Yahoo.com.sg

Education Minister Heng Swee Keat has come out openly to say that a lack of drive in Singaporean students is worrying.

And it is not as if he is completely wrong.

Look, I do agree. Some students lack drive. They want to be spoon fed. They want everything served on a silver platter. And they ought to be despised.

But at the very same time, it is not their fault.

It is daunting to be consistently motivated in Singapore, whether you’re a student or otherwise.

So herein lies the greatest irony of all: the very first hurdle to be overcome is our education system.

Result-Oriented Education

Anybody who has gone through 15 to 20 years of studies in Singapore will tell you the same thing. There is an overbearing focus on grades and paper qualifications are elevated to unholy heights and worshipped.

Students are taught to be risk-averse … Read more

Source: SDP and Today Online

Grace Fu’s Facebook Page no longer has her infamous quote:

I had some ground to believe that my family would not suffer a drastic change in the standard of living even though I experienced a drop in my income. … If the balance is tilted further in the future, it will make it harder for any one considering political office.

SDP: Ministers Should Repudiate Grace Fu’s Remarks

The simple, and obviously heartfelt, admission posted on her Facebook has drawn a raging backlash. And no wonder. The statement was tone-deaf, at best, and utterly contemptuous of those she’s suppose to serve, at worst.

Just how does Ms Fu figure that she and her cabinet colleagues should command such stellar salaries? According to the Minister, people of her ilk will be more reluctant to serve the country if their salaries fall below $100,000 a month. It was … Read more