Global Voices » Singapore

Singapore: Greening Initiative

Mong Palatino — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 12:33:45 +0000

Singapore Sojourn mentions the programs of the government and initiatives from the private sector to make Singapore a greener city.

Singapore: Corruption Scandal in Least Corrupt Nation

Kirsten Han — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 16:26:03 +0000

Over the Chinese New Year, the news broke that the heads of the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) and the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) are being investigated by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB), sparking plenty of conversation about corruption in a country that has been consistently ranked as one of the least corrupt in the world.

Director of the CNB, Ng Boon Gay (pictured right), was arrested on December 19, while Chief of SCDF, Peter Lim (pictured left), was arrested on 4 January 2011. Both men are currently out on bail, pending further investigations. They are being replaced by senior assistant commissioner of police Ng Ser Song and Assistant Civil Defence commissioner Eric Yap respectively.

@skyline2527: #SCDF and #CNB heads suspended and under investigation. Happy new year indeed to these two.#Singapore #SG

Occupy Singapore observes that this news has completely undermined the government's justification of high salaries:

@occupysg: The reason of paying more to prevent corruption just became irrelevant. #SCDF #CNB

It has been reported that the two are being investigated for “serious personal misconduct”, allegedly involving a married senior IT executive. However, the identity of this woman has not been established, and there have been contradictory reports, as Gwee Li Sui observes on Facebook:

How to reconcile the 联合晚报 and The Straits Times accounts: [1] There are 2 IT women. [2] While married in her 30s, the IT woman was petite, meek, and sweet. In her 40s now, she is divorced and vivacious, wearing heels that make her look tall. [3] One or both accounts are dubious.

Mike Loh urges the authorities and investigators to come clean with the public, and let everyone know what is going on:

I know what dad would say, “Rule Number One: Never treat your citizens like they are idiots. Never practice Mushroom Management.”

Huh? Mushroom Management, what the fuck is that?

“Oh,” dad would say, “it means ‘keep them in the dark and feed them bullshit.’”

Lucky Tan highlights newer and more subtle instances of corruption, which may not be as easy to investigate and regulate as straightforward bribery:

In the current case, these top officers appeared to have succumbed to lure of women and allowed a local IT supplier to circumvent standard procurement procedures. The same could have happened if an unhealthy relationship is formed, say, by the supplier routinely hiring top officers can result in influence in decision making. For the current case, it is not known who this supplier is right now but once that come to light, check its hiring record - does it routinely hire top people from govt?

The Gigamole Diaries questions the independence of the CPIB in investigations:

The most effective way to stem corruption is to have an independent, transparent and effective CPIB, and a vigilant public who is prepared to whistleblow. Our CPIB has done an excellent job so far, thankfully. But if we want our politicians to be free from corruption, then the CPIB must have the freedom to investigate all officials including the cabinet and even the Prime Minister. That the CPIB reports to the Prime Minister's Office does not give it a freehand in performing this critical function. Perhaps this line of reporting should be reviewed? Since we have an elected Presidency, should not the CPIB report to the President, rather than to the Prime Minister?

However, this has not been the only scandal that broke in Singapore recently. It has been alleged that Yaw Shin Leong, a member of the opposition Workers Party, has been having an extra-marital affair with a woman also from the Workers Party. The timely release of this report has led to some speculating that it was deliberately leaked to draw attention from investigations of corruption

Singapore: ‘Ineffective' Government Online Search

Mong Palatino — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 06:36:44 +0000

Otterman Speaks criticizes the “ineffective search tool” embedded on Singapore's government webpages

Understanding Singapore Floods

Mong Palatino — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 00:52:57 +0000

C L Cheong writes a comprehensive article about the causes and possible solutions to the persistent flooding in many parts of Singapore

Singapore: Minister's Comments Spark Internet Meme

Kirsten Han — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 05:38:08 +0000

With the following statement, Senior Minister of State for Ministry of Environment and Water Resources Grace Fu sparked off an online controversy amongst Singaporeans:

When I made the decision to join politics in 2006, pay was not a key factor. Loss of privacy, public scrutiny on myself and my family and loss of personal time were. The disruption to my career was also an important consideration. 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. So it is with this recent pay cut. If the balance is tilted further in the future, it will make it harder for any one considering political office.

Minister Grace Fu. Image from Wikipedia.

Following the recent announcement of paycuts for ministers – which many Singaporeans feel are still not enough – Ms Fu's comments angered many who felt that those who go into public service should not do so in the expectation of huge public rewards.

Ms Fu has since come out to say that her statement had been misunderstood, something which I have observed to happen to the ruling People's Action Party members very often:

Teenagers, goths and emos should just step aside. People’s Action Party (PAP) members are by far the most misunderstood group of people in the world. It appears as if they can’t say or do a thing without being misunderstood. If they went to a MacDonald’s to buy a Big Mac with extra lettuce and no pickles they’d probably get Fillet o’ Fish.

Ms Fu's clarification of her statement hasn't been successful in placating irked Singaporeans, as many have observed that she is still extremely well-paid compared to the average Singaporean.

Mollymeek writes sarcastically about how Ms Fu could have been misunderstood:

Because of our inability to imagine the standard of living that would be compromised by a million-dollar salary, it is easy for us to think that she is materialistic. It is our fault. She is not materialistic. She is not demanding a higher pay. It is just that her standard of living is so inconceivably high that she may face difficulties making ends meet if she were to be paid the average salary of a minister in the developed world.

Ms Fu's comment soon turned into an Internet meme, with people posting their own versions.

Lee Kin Mun writes about his choice to become Singapore's “blogfather” mrbrown:

When I made the decision to be mrbrown in 1997, pay was not a key factor. Kena lim kopi by ISD, kena sue until tng kor by ministers and having my newspaper column suspended were. The disruption to my computer gaming time was also an important consideration. I had some ground to believe that my family would not suffer a drastic change in the standard of living but we did have to sell the car and now I ride a bicycle. I fear if the balance is tilted further in the future, I will fall off my bicycle.

Joshua Chiang on his decision to join socio-political website The Online Citizen:

When I made the decision to join TOC in 2009, pay was not a key factor (since it was non-existent). Loss of freedom vis-a-vis ISA , character assassination by the mainstream press on myself and my family and loss of my entire fortunes via defamation suits was. The disruption to my sanity was also an important consideration. I had some ground to believe that my family would have more room space at home if I were ever jailed. Especially when TOC was gazetted. If the balance is tilted further in the future, it will make it harder for any one considering citizen journalism/activism.

Even Danny the Democracy Bear, mascot of alternative political party the Singapore Democratic Party, weighed in:

When I made the decision to join the SDP, pay was not a key factor. Loss of privacy, public scrutiny on myself and my loss of personal time were. That fact that I might be the party's mascot because I'm the only bear there was an important consideration. I had solid ground to believe that my family would not suffer a drastic change in the standard of living even though the PAP always likes to sue SDP members. If the balance is tilted further and animals are prohibited to join political parties in the future, it will be harder for my fellow bears to support, let alone join the SDP.

The Tumblr blog ‘When I made the decision…‘ has now been set up to share these variations on Ms Fu's comment.

Singapore: Ministers to Take a Pay Cut

Kirsten Han — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 13:20:22 +0000

Singapore's government ministers are some of the highest paid in the world, with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong famously earning more than Barack Obama, David Cameron and Nicolas Sarkozy combined. Although the government has often defended the high salaries, saying that it attracts the best talent and prevents corruption, their pay packets have gained the resentment of many Singaporeans, further fueling accusations of the divide between the governing elite and the people.

High ministerial pay was a hot issue in the 2011 General Elections, and after the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) won with their lowest vote share in history, Prime Miniser Lee convened a committee to review ministerial salaries. The committee has recently submitted their finished report to the prime minister, and a press conference was called on 4 January, 2012, to reveal the committee's recommendations to the public.

Unlike in the General and Presidential elections where efforts were made to engage with new media, news wires, online media and bloggers were not allowed to attend the press conference. Only local media – referring to Singapore's state-owned media organisations Singapore Press Holdings and MediaCorp – were invited.

@tocsg: MICA-approved local media (SPH, MediaCorp) are already at NKF building for the press conference for unveiling the ministerial salary report.

This move by the government raised questions and suspicions of media spin:

@vinyarb: how come no news on the ministerial salary yet ah? post con meeting to agree to what to write?

President Tony Tan Keng Yam

However, reports soon came out announcing recommendations of fairly hefty cuts – a 36% pay cut for the prime minister, and a 51% pay cut for the president, among other things.

Prime Minister Lee, who used to earn S$3 million (approximately US$2.3 million), will now earn about S$2.2 million (approximately US$1.7 million). The president, who used to earn more than the prime minister, will now earn less at about S$1.54 million (approximately US$1.2 million).

Although Singaporeans were pleased to hear that the government is set to accept these recommended cuts, many still noted that Singaporean leaders are still among the highest paid in the world. Netizens react using the #ministerpaycut hashtag

@mrbrown: Obama ruminates on the Singapore #ministerpaycut

@BeccaDBus: Hmm, no mention of cuts for MPs. Only ministers. Really? y'all think TPL is worth 15K monthly? really?

@qwm82: The fact that it is pegged to the top 1000 earners means that it is still seriously flawed #ministerpaycut

@RealSingaporean: After the #ministerpaycut, the easiest way to become a millionaire in Singapore, is still to join politics.

Some Singaporeans feel that on top of the pay cut, the attitude towards being in government should change.

@jiw3n: Paycut or not, you're elected by us to serve/ lead us. You don't do it for the money. You do it because you want to. #ministerpaycut

Southeast Asia in 2011: A Year of Protest

Mong Palatino — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 15:28:37 +0000

The Arab Spring and Occupy Wall Street are localized protests that still made a tremendous impact in the world in 2011. They were organized in response to place-specific issues, but their appeal and influence were immediately global. In Southeast Asia, Global Voices was able to feature several protest movements in 2011 that echoed the radical politics of Arab Spring and Occupy.

Malaysia’s Bersih (Clean) was the most outstanding protest event of 2011 in the region. The event, which was initially organized to ask for very sensible and doable electoral reforms (e.g. cleaning up of the electoral roll and the use of indelible ink), in the end became a pro-democracy action because of the massive participation of the civilian population in the streets – and the violent reaction of the state.

And like the tech-savvy Arab protesters, the Bersih marchers maximized social media to broaden the movement’s appeal among the apolitical segments of the local internet community.

Perhaps to prevent another Bersih, the Malaysian Parliament has approved the controversial Peaceful Assembly Bill which gives police and government authorities broad powers to control and even ban street assemblies and protests. Rallies were also organized to oppose the bill

Bersih rally from the FB page of Yuvanesh Prabakaran

Next to Bersih were the various Occupy protests in Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines. They didn’t succeed in sustaining big crowds, (Singapore’s Occupy flopped) but through their militant and creative actions, they were able to highlight the worsening poverty in their societies.

The Occupy protests in the Philippines were joined by students and other young people who used planking as a unique and funny way of expressing their anger over the state budget cuts on education and other social services. Early this month, the Occupy-like campout protests of students near the presidential palace were violently dispersed by the police.

Mass planking protest. Photo from participant

Perhaps the most underrated protest of the year was the rally of Cambodian villagers who dressed up like the Na'vi tribe from the 2009 science fiction film Avatar in opposition to the government’s plan to convert the Prey Lang forest into plantations and mines. Prey Lang is the largest remaining primary lowland dry evergreen forest in the region.

Prey Lang Avatar

Environmental protests actually intensified this year, and one of them succeeded in forcing Myanmar's government to cancel its hydroelectric dam project on the Irrawaddy River.

Not all those who fight for land rights, even through non-violent means, are able to freely express and organize their campaigns – a fact underscored by the experience of seven activists in Vietnam who were arrested, charged, and found guilty of overthrowing the government.

The protesters whose actions perhaps most symbolized the deep hatred and frustration of the poor against an oppressive system were Pham Thanh Son of Vietnam and Sondang Hutagalung of Indonesia. Son burned himself early this year in front of Da Nang’s municipal office to protest the confiscation of his family’s property by local authorities, while Sondang set his body on fire just a few weeks ago in front of the presidential palace to condemn the anti-poor policies of the government.

Source: http://www.facebook.com/ngochoang.qb.vn

There were no London-like urban riots in Southeast Asia this year, but the great floods that destroyed rice fields and food crops in almost all countries of the region could lead to food and rice protests next year. Delays in the rehabilitation of flooded communities could also ignite more anger and political backlash. During the Thailand flooding, residents removed flood barriers and defied authorities in protest to what they perceived as unfair government policy to ‘save’ central Bangkok from flooding at the expense of nearby towns.

Human rights advocates decried the continuing crackdown of democracy protests in West Papua and the various activities of their supporters in Indonesia.

We also recognize the SlutWalk protest in Singapore for its brave articulation of equality and sexual freedom through a rare protest assembly in the city.

Protest hashtags of the year: #bersih, #bersih2, #bersihstories, #occupydataran, #campoutph, #walk4freedom, #sawangsawa

Singapore: Is it Flooding, or Just Ponding?

Kirsten Han — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 10:45:52 +0000

On 23 December, 2011, heavy rains caused flash floods in various parts of Singapore, including around the popular shopping belt Orchard Road. This was neither a shocking or particularly unexpected occurrence, since the first time it happened was in June 2010.

Liat Towers high-rise development, which had been previously affected, activated its flood barrier system, but the floodwaters continued to pour into the basement, reaching knee height. Businesses such as Wendy's and Starbucks were badly affected.

However, Singapore's Public Utilities Board (PUB) stated that “there was no flooding at Orchard Road”, but that water had “ponded” at Liat Towers and other low-lying locations:

Flood waters reached up to a height of 30 cm for some areas and generally subsided within 1 hour, except at Cambridge Road, Newton Circus and junction of Moulmein Road and Thomson Road in front of United Square where waters subsided by 6pm. The affected areas are mainly low-lying areas.

There was no flooding at Orchard Road. However, water ponded at the open area of Liat Towers, the underpass between Lucky Plaza and Ngee Ann City, and the basement of Lucky Plaza due to the sustained heavy downpour

The use of the word “ponded” has led to much scorn and ridicule from Singaporeans online, with many tweeting under the hashtags #sgflood (as well as the new #sgponding).

@papayagirl: @mrbrown Ponding is when you can stand in it and complain. Flooding is when you are swept away by the water pressure. #sgflood

@MeilinS: According to PUB, I can now say that my work inbox is ponded by emails vs flooded with them. Thanks for the new word! #sgflood

@jB_Ng: I wonder if I rent a pushcart stall in Liat towers selling floats, would it be profitable? I'd pray for rain daily. #SgFlood #SgPonding

@contrabandkarma: See, Liat Towers has a nice little pond now. Just add fishes!

Photo from @contrabandkarma

@mrbrown: PUB is pleased announce that Singapore didn't flood yesterday. There was merely “water ponding”. #sgflood

Image from @mrbrown

@RealSingaporean also alluded to another recent Singaporean fiasco, the breakdown of SMRT trains:

@RealSingaporean: sooner or later, #smrt train faults will no longer be called “delays”, but “strategic pitstops” #sgponding #sgflood

Southeast Asia Indie Music

Mong Palatino — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 04:55:07 +0000

Southeast Asia Indie aims “to unite and promote the great indie scenes in the Southeast Asian Region: Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.” It specializes in releasing free digital mp3 compilations and singles that include indie tracks from the region.

Singapore: Animal Lovers Rally to Save Stray Dogs

Kirsten Han — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 08:04:57 +0000

After a jogger was scratched and bitten by a pack of stray dogs on December 14, 2011, at a new park in Punggol in Singapore, the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority (AVA) has stepped up efforts to round up the stray dogs around the area. Almost 30 dogs have been caught. About four have been deemed aggressive and been put down.

Since then, animal-loving Singaporeans have rallied to the cause, setting up a Facebook page appealing to Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC Member of Parliament Ms Penny Low and the AVA to stop the culling.

There are so many ways we could meaningfully reduce the homeless animal population. Actively discouraging people from abandoning animals. Letting people give animals a home in their flats. Supporting and encouraging sterilization of animals. All of these solutions would be better than killing tens of thousands of homeless animals under the guise of ‘public safety’.

Volunteers have also begun to rescue dogs from culling, putting their photos up on the group to seek fosterers and adopters.

One of the dogs rescued and now in need of a home. (Image from Hawk Cut Weis on Facebook).

Haslinda hopes that the episode won't put people off visiting the area:

Those who are familiar with this place may have seen the stray dogs several times. I hope this news have not turned off anyone from visiting this place. Just wish to point out some locations where I had seen the dogs. So don’t be surprised if you see them loitering around. They won’t attack anyone without reason.

@jolantru blogs about her opposition to the culling of strays:

…seeing them being culled hurts. It feels like SARS all over. I adopted Meow, a kitten picked up from the streets during that fateful year, and he is with me now, a healthy and extremely affectionate tom. Cat lovers were shocked and outraged by the indiscriminate culling. Perhaps, AVA was just doing its job – but killing wasn’t the answer.

However, the AVA has cited the need to ensure the safety of Singaporeans, as well as to control and prevent the spread of rabies.

Singapore: MP Apologizes Over ‘Racist' Remark

Mong Palatino — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 17:17:10 +0000

Singapore MP Seng Han Thong issued a statement of apology after it was reported that he cited the poor English proficiency of Indian and Malay staffs for the unpreparedness of the Singapore's Mass Rapid Transport during emergency situations. Many people criticized the comment for its racist undertone.

Singapore: Train Disruptions Spark Debate

Mong Palatino — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 12:50:18 +0000

Train disruptions marred the operations of Singapore's Mass Rapid Transport (SMRT) this month which inconvenienced thousands of passengers and generated a heated discussion about the quality and efficiency of the country’s transportation system. Initial investigation revealed 61 faults in the rails and 13 trains were found to be defective.

From the blog of Gintai

Unbranded BreadnButter notes the decline of the SMRT which was once the world’s first listed metropolitan rail company

When it was first listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange in 2000, it prided itself as the world’s first listed metropolitan rail company that was publicly listed. More than a decade down the road, with epic disruptions during the peak shopping period, cracks are appearing on this grand experiment once lauded as a world class public transport system.

Ravi Philemon compares the rise and fall of SMRT to Singapore society

Why do I say that the story of the SMRT is the story of Singapore? Because the early leaders of the country put in place various rigorous systems for governing the nation, and the leaders who came after them assumed that these systems are fool-proof; that you only need to put in place trusted aides to maintain these systems and everything will be fine.

From 2010, there have been over 40 disruptions in train services. Vandals had broken into SMRT train depot to vandalise the trains on two occasions, raising concerns of security. SMRT has never taken responsibility for any of these failures. In fact, SMRT has tried to shift the blame to the security company when they were questioned for the security lapse in their depot.

To appease public anger, the government immediately created a committee to probe the disruptions in train service. Political Writings suggests some questions for the committee

The Committee of Inquiry is to establish the cause of the incident, ie who created the physical conditions that led to the incident. Who did not follow procedure, who did not perform the necessary maintenance, was the maintenance regime adequate and in line with manufacturers’ recommendations to begin with, were we running the system beyond it’s design load and/or design frequency, etc.

Reinventing the Rice Bowl thinks competition will be good for SMRT

While it may be impractical to have two MRT operators on the same line we can certainly have independent bus operators who compete with the train operators and are not part of the same monopoly. Hopefully they would then be able to respond much faster to the current shortfall in service on the MRT network. More competition would also be likely to lead to greater investment and a better travel experience for commuters.

Desparatebeep questions the financial priorities of the train company

Well, I'm not going to go into the financial statements of the transport opperators but what's clear is that the money which seemed to flow to the senior management and majority shareholders didn't flow into simple routine checks that could have saved people a lot of agravation and trauma.

From the blog of Gintai

My Singapore News is worried that fare hikes will be proposed soon to improve the quality of train service

The second point is equipment failure and more maintenance. More maintenance and servicing, more frequent change of equipment means more cost. You just cannot have more servicing and maintenance without having more technicians.

Whatever the outcome, commuter pockets gonna be burnt a big hole. It is going to be costly to the commuters as the profits must still go up and up.

The Blue Sweater believes that the profit-driven SMRT is not compatible with its public-oriented mission

While the profit-motive is arguably a contributing factor in the crisis, as necessary expenses (such as personnel and maintenance) are driven down with consequences, another reason could be that the profit-driven ethos of the corporation is at odds with the public-oriented mission it is supposed to serve.

I’m not calling for the re-nationalisation of our public transport, but it does raise questions about the promises of privatisation and corporatisation, and forces us to re-think the balance between private management and government regulation.

Encountering Urbanization hopes the debates will foster more dialogue between government and the people

Additionally while these disruptions are certainly inconvenient I must admit it is also refreshing to see so much discussion among friends, colleagues and across the Internet about the role of public servants and public agencies in a place that has been dubbed a “nanny state” for taking care of its citizens. Perhaps these disruptions and people’s anger can help shape the evolving dialogue in Singapore between the government and the people. After all a more resilient city needs not just resilient infrastructure but also resilient and engaged citizens that help create innovative solutions to benefit their city.

Singapore Recalcitrant criticizes the SMRT management

The frequency in the number of breakdowns in services does not convey confidence in the commuting public nor does it reflect well on the efficiency or the lack of it in the management. One or two breakdowns should have forewarned the management of possible flaws in the system and that efforts should have been made to detect these defects and rectify them. Complacency seems to be the order of the day and nothing seems to have changed the frequency of disruptions.

Singapore Memory Project

Mong Palatino — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 07:30:57 +0000

irememberSG is part of the Singapore Memory Project, a national initiative to “collect, preserve and provide access to the memories” of a nation which rose to become one of the most prosperous cities in the world.

Singapore: Person of the Year

Mong Palatino — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 07:17:27 +0000

Alvinology lists 12 individuals as possible choices for Singapore's person of the year.

Singapore's Transport Problems

Mong Palatino — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 06:03:32 +0000

Molly Meek writes about the frustration of many Singaporeans with the country's inefficient transportation system