MM Lee: We Need More Immigrants!

Singapore needs young immigrants to save its economy from long-term decline as a result of a falling birth rate, elder statesman Lee Kuan Yew said in remarks published Wednesday.

“At these low birth rates, we will rapidly age and shrink,” the 87-year-old Lee said in comments released to the local media after the government disclosed that the city-state’s birth rate fell to a record low in 2010.

“So we need young immigrants. Otherwise our economy will slow down, like the Japanese economy. We will have a less dynamic and less thriving Singapore. This is not the future for our children and grandchildren,” he said.

Lee’s defense of immigration came amid increasing criticism in web forums and local media directed at foreigners, who now make up more than 20% of the population of five million.

Most of the foreign workers and immigrants come from China, Southeast Asia and India, reflecting Singapore’s own ethnic mix.

Lee stepped down as prime minister in 1990 after leading the city-state since 1959, and he remains a powerful figure as an adviser to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

Lee said immigrants should be welcomed and integrated.

"The first generation will take some time to integrate, but their children will be completely Singaporean," he said.

"They will increase our population and talent pool. Singapore will be vibrant and prosperous, not declining and aging," he said.

The resident fertility rate--or number of babies born per woman--dipped to 1.16 in 2010, down from the previous record low of 1.22 in 2009, Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng, who coordinates population policy, said Monday.

The rate, which has fallen as more couples choose to have just one child and more people opt to remain single, is well below the 2.1 babies per woman needed for the population to replenish itself naturally.

Singapore rolled out the welcome mat for foreign workers during the 2004-07 economic boom.

However, after the 2008 global financial crisis, the government took a fresh look following complaints from citizens that foreigners were increasingly competing for jobs, housing, medical care and even space on metro trains.

The inflow of foreign workers has slowed, and full citizens were given more social and other benefits over foreigners.
Written by Dow Jones & Co, Inc

Gary Ng a.k.a Gary Chen - the Edison Chen of Singapore Landed in Jail

Gary Ng, the man dubbed Singapore's Edison Chen was sentenced to 50 months' jail and fined S$20,000 (RM46,400) on Wednesday for a series of offences.

Gary, whose real name is Chen Guilin, 28, had admitted to having 507 obscene films, mostly of himself having sex with other women.

Some of the women were willing parties for the filming while others were not. He had hidden a video camera in a plastic bag with a slit to film his acts and uploaded some on the Internet.

The former property agent had also pleaded guilty to four charges of forgery and one count each of housebreaking and theft, criminal breach of trust and unlawfully having another person's identity card. He committed a total of 21 offences from 2006 to June last year involving property worth S$171,770 (RM398,506).

The prosecution had earlier urged the court to impose a heavy fine and at least four years' jail in view of the severe aggravating factors.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Paul Wong said Chen was a recalcitrant offender, and that all the offences were dishonest involving pre-planning and scheming.

Chen's lawyer, Savliwala Din had told the court in mitigation that his client made no excuse for his wrongdoing.

Chen turned to crime when he could not earn enough money from his commissions as a real estate agent, his lawyer added.
---------------------------------------------
A photo of the real Gary Ng or rather, Chen Guilin.


A 28-year-old property agent (white cap) admitted on Tuesday that he had targeted the homes of some of his former clients and broke into them to steal.

Besides housebreaking, Chen Guilin - who was known among netizens as Gary Ng - also pleaded guilty to forgery and possession of obscene films.

Chen had gained notoriety by posting on the internet homemade videos of himself engaged in sex.

He originally faced 21 charges but 13 were taken into consideration.

The property agent was found to have 507 obscene films in his possession.

Nearly all of them were homemade, showing Chen having sex with different women.

The slim, bespectacled man had uploaded some of these clips onto the internet with the women's faces masked.

Chen admitted that he had dishonestly made off with more than S$170,000 worth of cash and valuables.

He had broken into the homes of some of his former clients by duplicating the keys to the units.

In one such incident, Chen broke into an apartment at Water Place Condominium at Tanjong Rhu sometime between August 13 and 30, 2009.

He made off with items including some RM2,000, two credit cards and a portable television worth around S$600.

Chen also admitted to forging the signatures of two women to withdraw cash totalling more than S$90,000 from their bank accounts.

One of his victims was a former client, while the other, a friend of an ex-girlfriend.

Chen asked passersby to encash the forged cheques on his behalf between September 4 and December 4, 2008, in exchange for rewards of S$500 each.

This is to avoid being caught should the bank officers realise that the signatures had been forged.

He will be sentenced on January 19.

For forgery, he could be jailed up to 10 years and fined for each charge.

For housebreaking, he could be jailed a maximum of 10 years.

And for possessing obscene films, Chen could be jailed up to six months.

Gary and Links.

--------------------------------------------------------
Girlfriend turns him in after he cheats her

By Vivien Chan

HE was so proud of his sexual conquests that he posted the videos online, using the moniker Gary Ng. In a media interview, he said he chose the name because the letters stand for Girls Always Remember You.

Ng, whose real name is Chen Guilin, will now be remembered for the wrong reasons. The 28-year-old was caught with 507 obscene films in his computer, almost all of them of him having sex with different women.

It is not known how many women were involved. Some of them did not even know that they had been caught on video.

Chen, who has been dubbed Singapore's Edison Chen, had secretly filmed their encounters by concealing his video camera in a plastic bag with a slit.

On Tuesday, he pleaded guilty to one charge of possessing obscene films and seven other charges including housebreaking, forgery, criminal breach of trust and unlawfully possessing another person's identity card.

Thirteen similar charges will be taken into consideration when he is sentenced on Jan 19. Ironically, it was a woman- his own girlfriend - who did him in.

Ms Yang Baoling, 27, reported to the police last year that he had cheated her of money. The police's investigations uncovered his offences. Ms Yang had lent Chen thousands of dollars on many occasions.

When she did not have enough money, she took cash advances from her credit card for him. She also used her credit card to buy items, which Chen sold off.

When she became less willing to lend him money, he cheated her. On March 2 last year, Chen handed her a fake Franck Muller watch, claiming that it was genuine and worth $4,000.

Ms Yang lent him $3,500 after taking the watch as mortgage. Chen, a former property agent, also broke into two condominium apartments to steal after duplicating the owners' keys.

Once, he even took a woman to one of the apartments and had sex with her there. The apartment owner, Ms Yao Xiao Li, 31, went home to find her bedsheets stained and rubbish strewn all over the place.

Chen made away with valuables and cheque books from the two apartments. He later forged the owners' signatures on the cheques to dupe banks. During his four-year crime spree, Chen gained about $171,770 by stealing or cheating.

It was revealed in court that he has returned only $1,500 so far. The New Paper reported in March 2009 that Ng started posting his sex videos online in September 2008.

While he took care to mask out the faces of his partners and himself, he titled his videos based on the women's occupations.

They included "Gary Ng vs Beer Promo Auntie", "Gary Ng vs Friend's Niece" and "Gary Ng vs Chua Chu Kang girl".

He even claimed to have had sex with a mother and her daughter on two different occasions. His other conquests ranged from waitresses and housewives to tertiary students and bank executives, he said.

Most of the videos began with him clad in office wear before he undressed.

Bragged

Chen also gave media interviews where he bragged about his sexual conquests. Netizens gave him the nickname "Singapore's Edison Chen" - a reference to the Hong Kong actor whose sex pictures with various stars were stolen from his computer and widely circulated.

Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Paul Wong said that of the 507 obscene films found in Chen's possession, fewer than 20 were not of Chen.

"The accused, being proud of his sexual escapades, uploaded some of his videos on the Internet," said DPP Wong.

It was earlier reported that 33 of his videos were posted online. In court on Tuesday, Chen was accompanied by five friends. He looked solemn as he stood in the dock, clad in a short-sleeved grey vest over a white shirt and jeans.

His lawyer said in his mitigation on Tuesday that Chen, who left school when he was about 16, was "relatively young, immature and unable to fully realise that one should live within his means" and not succumb to crime to maintain a lifestyle.

Chen turned to crime when he could not earn enough from his commissions as a property agent, he said.

Urging the court to impose a sentence that is "not crushing" and one that "fits his record and prospects", his lawyer said that Chen, a first-time offender, had "cooperated fully" in investigations and was "forthright in admitting his guilt".

However, DPP Wong told the court that Chen did not cooperate with police.

"(Chen) only admitted to his wrongdoing when he was confronted by all the evidence gathered from investigations," he said.

DPP Wong added that Chen should not be treated as a first-time offender "in light of his many offences and persistence towards crime over a substantial course of four years".

Arguing that "no leniency" should be granted to Chen and pressing for a jail term of "four years or more", DPP Wong told the court how Chen lived off his crime spree and cheated his victims to pay off his own debts and loans, despite their trust in him.

For possessing the obscene films, Chen faces up to six months' jail and a $20,000 fine.

For each charge of forgery, housebreaking and unlawfully possessing someone else's identity card, Chen faces up to 10 years' jail and a fine.

For criminal breach of trust, he faces up to seven years' jail and a fine.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Edison Chen of Singapore is Gary Chen
By Vivien Chan and Kwan Hui Xian

AMONG netizens who have seen his home-made sex videos, he was known as "Gary Ng".

But his former colleagues knew Chen Guilin, 28, as Gary Chen.

And yesterday, after The New Paper published a picture of him, his co-workers finally realised that they were the same man.

One of them, who wanted to be known only as Steve, said he could not believe it.

He said: "I found out only when I saw the papers in the morning. The picture is the same one that's on his name card.

"Colleagues have told me that they heard 'Gary Ng' is from my company. But I had no idea that it was the Gary I knew."

On Tuesday, Chen pleaded guilty to eight charges which included possession of obscene films, forgery and housebreaking.

Steve said Chen was a close friend whom he got to know in December 2009 when they worked on a project together at Huttons Real Estate Group.

Chen was with Huttons for just a few months before he quit last year.

Steve recalled that Chen used to get "a lot of phone calls from girls".

His first impression of Chen was that he was an "Ah Beng" but he later found that the man was friendly and good with words.

He said that he was supposed to work with Chen on another project in the middle of last year, but Chen became uncontactable.

"I went back to the office but he wasn't around and when I asked my colleagues if they knew where he was, no one knew," he said.

That was around the time Chen was arrested.

One of Chen's former supervisors at Huttons told The New Paper that he was shocked to learn of Chen's "double life".

The supervisor, who declined to be named, said Chen had submitted his resignation through an e-mail.

"He didn't seem to be very interested in working in property. Other agents told me that he was always going to discos and pubs," he said.

However, Chen appeared to be humble and soft-spoken.

The supervisor said: "He seemed the sort to keep a low profile. He's the kind who would talk to you only if you talk to him first."

As a Huttons agent, Chen had placed online advertisements to sell and rent out several Tanjong Rhu condo apartments. Some dated back to last February.

In some advertisements, he included his photograph and mobile number and called himself Gary Chen. On one website, Chen posted images of three awards he won in his career.

One was from Huttons, when he was the eighth Top Project Producer in June 2009.

Chen's former supervisor said: "That was the only month he did well. The rest of the months, he didn't close many deals."

Explaining that the award is based on how much the agent earned, he estimated that Chen probably raked in between $20,000 and $30,000 that month.

He said that agents do not have a basic salary and earn money from commissions.

"In the bad months, when (Chen) didn't do well, he could have earned as little as zero," he added.

The other two awards Chen won were from Far East Organization, where he worked as a salesman from June 2006 to December 2008.

In Far East, he was known as Chen Guilin, Gary, and this was reflected in his awards.

Chen then moved to ERA, where he started as a part-time agent in October 2007. There, he was known as Gary Chen Guilin.

Uncles and Aunties Starts Gambling In The Stock Market

More uncles and aunties are turning to the stock market, thanks to news of positive economic growth in Singapore.

Genting shares are among the most popular with heartland investors. Indeed, buoyant economic news are encouraging more HDB heartlanders to jump into the stock market.

But what should uncles and aunties look out for before putting their money in the stock market? Do they know what they're getting into, and what are the odds of getting their fingers burnt?

Condominium Project Collapsed

A amateur cameraman living nearby took this video of the concrete collapsing at Gilstead Road near the Bukit Timah area.were starting to show. And the safety manager of a condominium construction project in Bukit Timah knew something had to give - soon.

To prepare for the worst, he called in the authorities at 7.30am yesterday. Half an hour later, more than 1,000 concrete blocks - weighing 2,800 tonnes - came crashing down onto Gilstead Road, blocking traffic access.

Click here to find out more!
The impact damaged a gas valve in a nearby gas pipe, but no one was hurt. By this time, police and officers from the Singapore Civil Defence Force had already cordoned off an area about the size of two badminton courts on the two-lane road.

The incident also caused church-goers of the nearby Life Bible-Presbyterian Church to cancel or relocate their service sessions after police evacuated the premises.

Speaking to my paper, a project manager of the affected worksite explained that the concrete blocks had toppled due to "settlement of the earth", which could have been a result of recent heavy rains.

The concrete blocks, which were stacked on one side of Gilstead Road, had been visibly leaning forward, he said, declining to be named. He estimated that it would take two to three days to remove all the concrete blocks safely.

A Ministry of Manpower (MOM) spokesman said that the concrete blocks had collapsed during a pile load test.

The test determines the safe load-carrying capacity of a pile, which is a deep foundation of a building.

The condominium being constructed, Gilstead Two, is a 34-storey freehold apartment block slated for completion in 2013. Its developer, Malaysian company Chedstone Investment Holdings, could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Singapore Power PowerGrid said that repairs to the damaged gas valve was completed at about 10.30am. There was no interruption in gas supply to residents in the area.

MOM said it has instructed the worksite's contractor, Ryobi- Kiso, to work with a professional engineer to remove the concrete blocks - each weighing 2.5 tonnes - from the road safely.

The MOM spokesman added: "Meanwhile, all pile load tests on site have been stopped pending further investigations."

PAP moves to control The Online Citizen

Singapore moves to curb popular news website

Singapore plans to impose restrictions on a liberal, popular news website ahead of general elections Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong may call this year.

The Prime Minister's Office plans to designate "The Online Citizen" (www.onlinecitizen.com) as a "political association," which means the website is banned from accepting donations from abroad.

The office said the website was not barred from supporting any political party or candidate in local elections.

"As a website that provides coverage and analysis of political issues, TOC (The Online Citizen) has the potential to influence the opinions of their readership and shape political outcomes in Singapore," said the Registry of Political Donations, which comes under the Prime Minister's Office.

"It has been gazetted to ensure that it is not funded by foreign elements or sources," the registry added.

The Online Citizen, which is run by volunteers, declined comment.

Oppositions politicians in Singapore have complained of biased coverage by the city-state's newspapers and television.

Reporters Without Borders ranks Singapore 133rd among 175 countries in its 2009 World Press Freedom Index.

An increasing number of Singaporeans, in particular the young, have been turning to websites such as The Online Citizen and Temasek Review (www.temasekreview.com) for alternative views about developments in Singapore.

The Online Citizen, for example, has lobbied against laws that discriminate against homosexuals, taking a different stance from newspapers published by Singapore Press Holdings, which generally adopt a pro-government stance.

Singapore has gazetted several groups as political associations in the past, including the Singapore arm of a regional human rights advocacy body. The action against The Online Citizen is the first against a website.

Other restrictions The Online Citizen will face once it becomes a political association include a requirement that it list the identities of its owners, editorial team and administrators.

It must also designate a president, treasurer and secretary who will be held responsible for the preparation and accuracy of reports about donations to the site.

Prime Minister Lee told members of his ruling People's Action Party (PAP) to prepare for elections during an annual meeting on Nov 28. Although elections need not be held before February 2012, some observers believe polls could take place as early as March this year.

Investors have been drawn to Singapore, a financial center and manufacturing hub, for its

stability and the PAP, founded by Lee's father Lee Kuan Yew, has ruled Singapore since independence in 1965.

The country's opposition parties currently have just two of 84 seats in Parliament but may make inroads during coming polls amid a widening income gap and unhappiness over rising property prices.
---------------------------------------------------
From TOC's website:-

Singapore's online community was abuzz with excitement after The Online Citizen (TOC), a popular group blog that discusses politics and current affairs, was told by the government it will be gazetted as a political association.

This means that they cannot accept donations from foreign sources, among other restrictions. For instance, they will also need to list the identities of its owners, editorial team and administrators.

Why being gazetted should be look on as an honor

I think TOC should feel proud about being given this honor. To be so influential that the ruling party thinks you are a potential shaper of opinions at the coming elections, and need to be gazetted, well, that's like getting a National Day Award!

Some of you might be thinking, perhaps it may be better to run a website that discusses politics anonymously in future. Or maybe the entire TOC team should just shut down the site and start a new one with secret identities.

I have some suggestions for new website names. How about:

1. The Unknown Citizen website

2. The Anonymous Citizen website

3. These Are Not The Online Citizens You Are Looking For website

And the writers and editors can give themselves pseudonyms too. Like, Chief Editor: Mr Giant Potatohead. Foreign Correspondent: Mr Suk Mai Kok. Political Desk: Miss Kant Sue Mi.

Then when the government sends them a letter to tell them to register themselves as a political association, the letter will read:

"Dear Editors of Feeling Oppressed Citizen website,

As a website that provides coverage and analysis of political issues, FOC (Feeling Oppressed Citizen) has the potential to influence the opinions of their readership and shape political outcomes in Singapore.

Hence, FOC has been gazetted to ensure that it is not funded by foreign elements or sources.

We hereby require Chief Editor Giant Potatohead, Foreign Correspondent Suk Mai Kok and Political Correspondent Kant Soo Mi to provide the identities of the site's owners, editorial team and administrators.

Mr Potatohead, Mr Kok and Miss Mi have 14 days to comply.

Yours sincerely,

The Department of Gazetting"

It's all WikiLeak's fault!

May I also point out that "gazette" should not be mistaken for the word "garrote". They sound alike but garrote is to strangle someone with a cord or wire, a great way to silently kill someone off. "Gazette" is nothing like that.

However there are some drawbacks to operating a political website anonymously. It would make it hard for the government to recognize you for your great contributions to society.

I think there has been great concern about the online media's influence lately. With the WikiLeaks saga fresh in their minds, the government has warned that anyone caught leaking any official government documents in Singapore will be "dealt with firmly."

Even if you were just leaking what someone else leaked, all leakers will be prosecuted. So we need to mindful before we take a leak.

But what about the taxi uncles?

Frankly, I think the government should extend their gazetting to other entities. Taxi drivers, for instance, provide coverage and analysis of political issues, and have the potential to influence the opinions of their passengers and shape political outcomes in Singapore.

So taxi drivers should all be gazetted as political associations.

This may complicate their ability to be paid by foreigners taking their cabs but trust me, it is for the Greater Good of Singapore. We can't have people giving their opinions about politics here willy-nilly and influencing political outcomes.

Taxi drivers who pick up passengers in future will need to ask for proof of identity. If the passenger is not a local, the taxi driver needs to reject the passenger's money. One way around it would be for the foreign passenger to give the money to a citizen, who can then pay the taxi driver directly.

Another way is for the foreign passenger to become a citizen. This will then give the passenger the right to fund the taxi driver.

However, given the current political climate and the fact that the elections are coming, I recommend that foreign passengers apply for their citizenship or permanent residence after the elections. They will stand a better chance then.

I wish to add that becoming a political association will in no way restrict taxi drivers from their current practice of disappearing from the streets just before the midnight surcharge kicks in.

Oh, by the way, those opinionated old men at coffee shops had better watch out too. They could be next to be gazetted.

CNNGo.com http://www.cnngo.com/singapore/life/say-what-mrbrown/mrbrown-if-online-citizen-should-be-gazetted-544916#ixzz1B9hse7NC

Casino Levy Collected $130 million

The Singapore Government has released figures on revenues collected from the two integrated resorts (IRs). Between April and November 2010, the net increase to the government coffers was S$420 million from betting taxes and GST. Entrance levy collected from Singaporeans and PRs entering the casinos amounted to S$130 million.

Jonal Chong - the Liar and the Cheat?

Welcome to 2011! First we have Gary Ng cheating and stealing from all the whores, and now we have a self-confessed liar and crook called Jonal Chong, using Photoshop to cheat celebrities and foolish customers who just wanted an expensive celebrity haircut.

We wonder what else is fake about this guy. I won't be surprise if his name and surname are also fake, just like our dear Gary Ng whose IC name is Chen Guilin.


Asiaone reports...
MR JONAL Chong has come clean about his claims as a hairstylist for Nicole Kidman - he has never been near the superstar's golden locks before, a report said on Saturday.

The 48-year-old managing director of Jonal Chong Hair Couture apologised to the public and also said that he would stop using the actress' name in advertisements for his Orchard Central hairdressing salon, The Straits Times reported.

He also admitted to lying about American actress Katherine Heigl and British actor Hugh Grant being his clients.

The report said Mr Chong clammed up when he was asked what was the reason for lying and whether the photo of Kidman and him standing together was doctored.

But Mr Chong asked the public to give him another chance, saying that he had not ridden on Kidman's fame to charge high prices. Haircuts at his salon start at $13.

The admission came on the heels of a my paper report on Friday which mentioned that Case would be looking into Mr Chong's Kidman claims. Case executive director told my paper that they would want to speak with Mr Chong on the concern that consumers might be misled. Case is Singapore's consumer watchdog.

To date, it seems Case would not pursue the matter further. ST reported that the watchdog would drop the matter if Mr Chong stops his misleading advertisements.
Related stories

The admission comes in the wake of a report that put two photographs of Kidman - one with Mr Chong and the other with Spanish director Alejandro Amenabar - side by side.

The pictures look almost the same, except for the faces of the two men.

The photograph of Mr Chong and Kidman is also printed on one side of all his business cards. Under his title of "managing director" on the card's reverse side are the words: "Nicole Kidman Exclusively appointed hairstylist".

When asked on Wednesday to explain the similarity between the two photographs, Mr Chong told my paper: "I don't know... I can't explain it. I don't know why Nicole's head is facing the same direction. I don't know why the background looks similar."

"Banned" Video of Dr Lim Hock Siew

By Dr Wong Wee Nam
I first met him at the wake of the late Dr Lee Siew Choh in July 2002. That was 20 years after he was released from an almost 20-year detention. I saw a friend sitting at another table and went up to say “hello” to her. He happened to be sitting at the same table and she introduced us.

That was the first time I saw how he looked like.

I had heard of him when I was a young boy. He was the son of a famous fishmonger in the market where I had lived. The father was famous because he had a clever son. Not a lot of poor people then had children who were doctors.

I also heard of him as a young boy because of his reputation as a doctor. Not only did his clinic dispense free medicine for the needy and the real indigent, he also gave them transport money to go home. This is not surprising from a doctor who believes that the most common cause of anaemia is not iron deficiency but poverty.
It was understandable I did not recognize him. After all, his pictures had never been splashed in the newspapers or over television. Nothing much was heard about him when he was incarcerated and nothing was heard about him after his release.

In spite of the news blackout and the low profile he has kept, he is still a political legend, being the second longest political detainee after Chia Thye Poh. Therefore, my reaction was one of excitement mixed with surprise and discomfort when I was introduced.

He put me totally at ease when he asked in a very soft and friendly voice if I was the same one who wrote letters to the press. I was humbled by his sincerity and modesty.

Subsequently, I met him occasionally at medical seminars and talks. We only exchanged some pleasant words and never discussed current affairs. He told me he reads my articles on the blogs but never did he once try to engage me on those topics. At this stage of his life, I suppose he has transcended all these.
Remarkably, in my encounters with him, not once did he express any hatred for anyone or any organization for having deprived him of living a normal life for 20 years.

In 1963, he was arrested because he was deemed a security threat to the interests of Singapore. To have been kept in prison for 20 years, he must have had a pre-detention life that is more colourful or at least equal to that of Mas Selamat. Yet when I looked up as many books (even books written by his ex-comrades) as I could on the era, I could find very little mention of him. Surely a security threat who warrants 20 years of detention would have enough open records of his activities for any movie director to make an equal number of political thrillers. Maybe one day the archives will let us know of his clandestine or subversive activities, if any.

Recently at a launch of the book The Fajar Generation, he made a speech. Martyn See, the filmmaker, recorded the speech and put it on Youtube. The video is now banned by the Singapore authorities. [Read about the ban here.] It cannot be for security reasons that the video is banned. The speech was not fiery, there was no angry condemnation of government, no incitement to violence, no call to arms, no cry to overthrow anyone and no rousing appeal to unite and rally the audience for a cause. Indeed the speech was milder than any election rally speech by a mile.
For months after the speech was made and aired, no investors pulled out of Singapore for security concerns and in fact, the economy recovered. Yet for inexplicable reason, the video was banned and remains so.

Perhaps there is a reason. The video is in danger of changing people’s perception of Dr Lim Hock Siew. He comes off as a very calm and dignified person. There is no anger or bitterness. His intellect is intact and his mind is very clear. Beneath the frail frame is a man with strength of character. He looks so kind and fatherly that one wouldn’t see him as capable of swapping a fly or killing a mosquito, let alone hurting a fellow human being. Behind a soft-spoken exterior one can discern a man full of indomitable courage.

Watching him talk reminds me of a story written by Zhuang Zi （庄子）in his chapter “Autumn Water” （秋水）:

When Confucius was traveling in the State of Kuang, he was surrounded by the troops of Sung. Nevertheless he continued singing and playing his lute, totally unfazed. Zi Lu, his disciple, asked, “Master, why are you enjoying yourself?”
Confucius said, “For a long time, I’ve tried to stay out of hardship but failed. This is due to fate. I’ve tried to succeed but failed. This is due to times.
“During times of Yao or Shun, there is no hardship. This has nothing to do with a person’s wisdom. During the reign of King Jie and King Zhou, people do not achieve success but this is not due to lack of wisdom. It is due to time and circumstance.

“To travel across the water and not shrink from the sea serpent or the dragon is to have the courage of a fisherman. To travel on land and not be afraid of the rhinoceros or tiger is to have the courage of a hunter. To meet clashing blades and face death unflinchingly is to have the courage of a martyr.

“To understand that hardship is a matter of fate and success is a matter of times; and to able to face enormous difficulties without fear or terror is to have the courage of a sage.”

知穷之有命，知通之有时，临大难而不惧者，圣人之勇也。

Dr Lim Hock Siew may or may not be a sage but he must be a remarkable man. He was stored away for 20 years and then led a quiet life for the next 28 years. Yet when he made his speech at a book launch, he created enough anxiety for the video to be banned.

Truly remarkable!
----------------------------------------------------------------------
This is the documentary entitled "Dr Lim Hock Siew", made by Singaporean film-maker Martyn See, which has been banned in Singapore. It consists of a recording of Dr Lim Hock Siew, a local communist who was a political prisoner for 19 years and 8 months, speaking before an audience about his long imprisonment, and the torture which he suffered while in prison.

As Mr Martyn See has been compelled by the authorities in Singapore to remove this film his website, I upload this film here in the interest of the freedom of information, and both the local and international public's right to know what is going on in Singapore. Mr Martyn See's website can be found at
http://singaporerebel.blogspot.com

I am, for the record, not in any way affiliated with or endorsed by either Mr Martyn See or Dr Lim Hock Siew. My name is Vickreman Chettiar, and I can be contacted at vickreman@gmail.com

Iphone 4 Alarm Clock Not Working - Here is the fix

According to some source we came to know that the alarm clock of the iPhone is not working this morning, 1st January, 2011. As we know in November we face similar type of bug in the alarm clock of the iPhone. In that time iPhone had trouble with repeating alarms back during the change to Standard Time and single alarm failures. At the midnight, one off alarms will cease to sing out. According to a TiPB reader, You will be able to fix this bug by following the steps posted below.

There are simply too many Iphone users in Singapore not to post this.

INSTRUCTIONS

STEP 1. First you have to tap clock.

STEP 2. Then you have to tap Edit.

STEP 3. Now you have to tap your alarm.

STEP 4. Now you have to tap Repeat.

STEP 5. Now you have to set a repeat interval.

STEP 6. Now tap save.

That’s it. In this way you can fix the iPhone Alarm bug. According to 9to5mac, this alarm bug will fix itself on 3rd January 2011. According to Engadget, It is one time alarms that are causing the problem, not repeats. Don’t forget to share your views in the comment section below. As usual stay tuned with us for more updates. Wish you a very very Happy New Year.

UBS: Singaporeans are Poorer than before

Singaporeans are becoming poorer and having less disposable income after 4 years of PAP rule, according to the latest release of the authoritative international study ‘Prices and Earnings’ conducted by UBS.

Singapore is now ranked the 11th most expensive city in the world, but Singaporeans are only ranked a pathetic 43th and 49th in domestic wages and purchasing power respectively, along the likes of developing countries like Turkey, Slovakia and Qatar and far below the capitals of other Asian Tigers – Seoul, Taipei and Hong Kong.

Even the Malaysians now have a higher domestic purchasing power than Singaporeans though their wages are lower than ours.

The mismatch between the GDP growth of the state and the relative poverty of Singaporeans is caused largely by the PAP’s immigration and labor policies which have allowed foreigners from all over the world to come and work in Singapore with little screening or control which is almost unheard of in other First World countries.

A Wall Street Journal editorial last year reported that the relentless influx of foreigners has depressed the wages of ordinary Singaporeans, increased the cost of living and led to an overall decline in the standard of living.

Latest statistics from the Manpower Ministry showed a gradual decline of the average monthly income of Singaporeans while inflation hit a record high of 3.8 percent in November 2010.

Prices of resale HDB flats have grown by 13.3 percent in 2010 and a shocking 51.3 percent since 2007, pricing many ordinary Singaporeans out of the open market.

Despite the statistics showing that Singaporeans have fared worse after 4 years of PAP rule, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong continued to harp on Singapore’s ’spectacular’ GDP growth last year which is artificially inflated by a ‘rebound’ from a low baseline in the previous year and by the massive import of cheap foreign workers which boost demand in services and decrease labor costs.

The multi-million dollar salaries of PAP ministers is pegged to GDP growth – the higher the growth, the more money they bring home though the rest of the population may not be enjoying the fruits from the growth.
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Singapore's record 14.7% growth for 2010....
By Shamim Adam

Jan. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Singapore’s economy may be supported by a “strong” Asia as growth cools in 2011 from a record pace last year, according to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

Gross domestic product rose 14.7 percent in 2010, Lee, 58, said in his New Year message released in Singapore yesterday. That compares with the government’s November forecast of a 15 percent expansion. The trade ministry predicts the economy will expand 4 percent to 6 percent this year, an estimate reiterated by Lee.

“In Asia, growth momentum is strong,” Lee said. “China and India are forging ahead, and countries in Southeast Asia are growing steadily. Hopefully Asia will continue to do well despite the weakness in developed countries, and create a favorable regional environment for Singapore.”

Asia led a global recovery last year as growth in developed markets was restrained by Europe’s sovereign credit woes and U.S. unemployment that remains above 9 percent. Singapore’s rebound has fueled inflation, prompting the central bank to allow faster currency gains and leading the government to implement measures to cool the property market.

“Inflation risks for Singapore appear to be tilted toward the upside,” Alvin Liew, a Singapore-based economist at Standard Chartered Plc, said before Lee’s message. After getting a boost from manufacturing last year, Singapore’s tourism and financial services industries will increasingly drive growth in 2011, spurred by “rising regional domestic demand from China and Southeast Asia,” he said.

Currency Appreciation

The Monetary Authority of Singapore said in October it will steepen and widen the currency’s trading band while continuing to seek a “modest and gradual appreciation,” after undertaking a one-time revaluation in April. The central bank, which uses the exchange rate rather than a benchmark interest rate as its main tool to manage inflation, guides the Singapore dollar against a basket of currencies within an undisclosed band.

The Singapore dollar climbed more than 9 percent against the U.S. currency last year, marking its biggest one-year gain since 1994 and the fourth-best performance in Asia excluding Japan. The currency, which rose 0.6 percent to S$1.2823 versus the U.S. dollar yesterday, may strengthen to S$1.24 at the end of 2011, according to a central bank survey of economists published last month.

Inflation will average between 2 percent and 3 percent this year, the central bank predicts. Consumer prices rose 3.8 percent in November, the biggest increase in 22 months.

Fastest Growing

Singapore’s estimated expansion for 2010 would make the city of 5 million people the fastest-growing economy in the world after Qatar’s, according to International Monetary Fund estimates.

“The outlook for the world economy is mixed,” Lee said. “The U.S. economy is still weak. Europe faces serious debt crises in Greece, Ireland and a few other countries.”

The economy grew 12.5 percent in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, Lee said. That compares with the 13.2 percent median estimate of 12 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.

GDP probably increased about 6.5 percent last quarter from the previous three months, based on the year-on-year number given by Lee, said Song Seng Wun, an economist at CIMB Research Pte in Singapore. Liew at Standard Chartered estimates growth of 6.3 percent. That compares with the median forecast for an annualized 9.4 percent expansion in a Bloomberg survey of eight economists.

The economy contracted 18.7 percent from July to September. The trade ministry will release the fourth-quarter economic report at 8 a.m. on Jan. 3.

Companies Expand

The island’s biggest companies are boosting operations or expanding overseas as the global economy recovers from a slump in 2009. DBS Group Holdings Ltd., Southeast Asia’s biggest bank, said last month it will take over Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc.’s retail and commercial banking businesses in China.

Neptune Orient Lines Ltd., owner of Asia’s second-largest container line and controlled by Singapore state-investment fund Temasek Holdings Pte, in July signed a $1.2 billion contract for as many as 12 vessels with Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co.

Singapore, the second-busiest container port globally, is located at the southern end of the 600-mile (966-kilometer) Malacca Strait, the world’s busiest sea lane. The island has remained vulnerable to fluctuations in overseas demand for manufactured goods even after the government boosted financial services and tourism.

Lure of Casinos

The country’s first casinos opened last year as part of so- called integrated resorts run by Genting Singapore Plc and Las Vegas Sands Corp., luring tourists to their gambling centers, restaurants, malls and a Universal Studios theme park.

“The tourism-related sectors continued to do well as Singapore continued to hit record tourist arrivals month after month so far in 2010, with a significant role played by the integrated resorts,” said Liew of Standard Chartered. The casino-resorts “may have added 1 percentage point to headline GDP growth in 2010, excluding the potential spillover impact to other tourism-related industries such as hotels, food and beverage and even the real estate market.”

The city state added 82,000 jobs in the nine months through September, pushing the unemployment rate to 2.1 percent, the lowest level in 2 1/2 years. Average wages before adjusting for inflation rose 5.4 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier.

“Singapore is not without challenges and problems,” Lee said. “We have to manage the inflow of foreign workers and immigrants, keep home ownership affordable to all, and help low- income Singaporeans cope with the cost of living.”
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By Topsage...
Consider the following statistics of life in Singapore:

1. Singaporeans work the most number of hours per week in the world.
2. Most Singaporeans will never own a car because COEs are limited.
3. The Average home of a Singapore has fallen from 1660 sq feet to about 1000 sq feet in the past decades.
4. Fertility rate in Singapore has fallen to below Japan among the lowest in the world.
5. Less half the Singaporeans can meet the minimum sum for CPF retirement accounts. Meaning many will never retire.
6. 17% of Singaporeans do not have medical insurance. The highest in the developed world give and take a few % compared with USA.
7. Singapore has the fastest growing foreigner population per capita in the world. Within a decade, the majority of people in Singapore will be foreign born.
8. Singapore has the highest paid political leaders in the world....
9. Singapore has the highest income gap of all developed countries.
10. More than one person kills himself/herself everyday. Yesterday a woman killing herself fell on another woman to give a death toll of 2.
11. Singaporeans have the highest savings rate in the world due to CPF but many still can't retire.
12. The Singapore parliament has the fewest opposition in terms of % of seats in the world among countries that claim to be democratic...of course we are also democratic.
13. Singapore bans chewing gum but legalise casinos. Casinos are legalised in only 2 of the 50 American states.
14. Singapore hangs the most people per capita in the world. Even more than China....don't believe as this feller called Shadrake.
15. Singapore cars are the most expensive in the world.
16. Singaporeans have the lowest purchasing power among all developed countries according the UBS...even Malaysians have higher purchasing power.
17. Singapore govt has the highest sovereign wealth fund per capita. ..and among the top few in absolute terms.
18. Singapore spends more on defense than Malaysia and Indonesia combined - so I guess we don't need too much diplomacy and or diplomats
can afford to badmouth them according to wikileaks. Now that they know, we better spend a $100M extra this year on defense.
17. Singapore has the No.1 civil service in the world according to Minister Lim Swee Say. I want to add we also have No.1 civil service in terms of pay for the top echelon. Some can afford french cooking lessons.
18. Singapore has only one news paper company called SPH that produces hoard of quality papers such as Straits Times, Sin Miin and other reading delights. We had 5 newspaper companies a few decades ago, I guess this business is in decline even as the population increases.
19. Singaporeans serve NS for 2-2.5 years, this is the longest in the world after Israel. We do it because we can afford the time. Many Singaporean workers will work their whole life without retirement anyway so what is the diff. putting aside 2 years.
20. Singapore has the world's oldest and wisest politician. His name is Lee Kuan Yew. As long as he is around, the good life for Singaporeans will continue. He will make sure of that.
21. Lee Kuan Yew's son is Lee Hsien Loong who coincidentally became PM due to his own merit. His New Year Message this year asks Singaporeans to be more RESILIENT. I guess we better be given all the points I wrote above.
22. Singapore has the most expensive public housing in the world....but according to Minister Mah, it is still affordable.