Rachel's posts with tag: sdp
A video shot and edited by a new cyber-video activist Shafie on the Tak Boleh Tahan Campaign at Toa Payoh. Import.flv (11.2 MB)
Last year's May Day was spent in celebration of my hard labour and contribution towards the early childhood industry. I slept the whole day, nursing my fatigue both mental and physical. My mum sighed and called me lazy but to me, I deserved it and it was MY DAY to rest as part of the (underpaid, overworked) labour force. It was great, and I felt great. However this year's May Day was spent in a more meaningful manner and I am glad that it wasn't spent in bed indeed. I went down to hang out at Toa Payoh for the sole reason of signing two petitions. One was the Tak Boleh Tahan petition, showing my displeasure at the raising cost of living and the disgusting increment in the salaries of our ministers and the other, a petition to call for the resignation of Wong Kan Seng. The whole campaign was organised by the Singapore Democractic Party and the party leaders and activists were there to hand out flyers, man the campaign tables and talking to passer-bys.
Although many people might think that they were wasting their time and effort and that the people who went to sign for the petition were whiners and SDP supporters but on a personal note, I thank the SDP for organising this campaign as well as trying to raise awareness among the citizens by going onto the level of civil society. Majority of us as a society have been asleep under the spell of blind patriotism for way too long to realise that things are going in a ridiculous direction. At this point of time whereby citizens from the lower income level have to count every penny, toil long hours to make ends meet (with some taking up two or more jobs), ensuring that there is enough food on the table for all to eat, the ministers have increased their salaries with the excuse of attracting talents to the public sector. Now one might say that the increase in prices of basic foodstuff and essential daily products have been due to the increasing cost of petrol (blah blah blah), and there is nothing much the government can do to control it. However my opinion is that they can actually decrease the percentage of GST that we have to pay. We do not need a one off or three time installment of monetary assistance (re: GST offset package rubbish) but we need something to ease us of our daily expenses on basic necessities such as food, water, electricity and transport (*correct me if I am wrong but SMRT has been profiting, not making any losses by the way). Increase in prices plus the percentage of GST that we are paying right now just kills some of us from the lower income group.
Another issue is the hiring of foreign "lower paid" talents. According to THE SON,
"... foreign workers are hardworking and willing to work long hours. By hiring them, coffeeshops can open late or even round the clock... with the help of foreign workers, the airport, seaport, factories, offices, hotels, restaurants and retail outlets here can offer better service and business hours..."
What makes him think that our locals are not willing to work as hard as the foreign workers? There are people around who get retrenched or who have been asked to retire for some reasons and they are willing to go for any jobs as long as they get to earn a little to help them survive. Many of our locals, especially the senior citizens, have been reduced to become illegal hawkers and can collectors just to earn a few extra dollars a day because they have not been able to get any jobs that will allow them to work legally and in comfort (well, sort of...). Do not get me wrong however, I am not xenophobic but I feel that hiring foreign workers when there are suitable and willing workers available locally is seriously not necessary. Shouldn't the thought be on the locals first before outsourcing?
The last issue is about the accountability of government officials and ministers when it comes to "honest mistakes". The COI report on Mas Selamat's escape made me laugh so much that it hurts. Yes, I have tried to move on and yes the whole thing is getting so old but I am appalled that the government has been so arrogant about it when it comes to accountability. Sure, Wong Kan Seng wasn't the one who was present at the scene of escape BUT there are a few things that just do not seem very right and one of it was his very attitude about it. From his half hearted apology to his presentation of the COI, it seemed as if he was just trying to contribute to a scripted wayang show in his uniquely bland style. I mean... why was he presenting the COI in the first place when it was termed as an INDEPENDENT inquiry? In the end he got off the issue of responsibility so easily! It is bloody ridiculous. Anyway he should seriously step down not only for the MSK issue but for many other issues one of them namely, the foreign talent issue.
By the way please take note: Mas Selamat was detained and labelled as a terrorist without any trial so we cannot call him a terrorist but an alledged terrorist. Any detention without a trial in my books, is illegal detention but of course, what do I know? (Think for yourself.)
*I am not great at reading statistics so if I perceive the annual report wrongly or have linked it to the wrong report please do enlighten me*
Ohh and one more thing before I go to bed! Something extra. My advise of the day (actually week) is: NEVER go to Tan Tock Seng Hospital if you are in pain or dying because if you are in pain, they will only prescribe you with Panadol and if you are dying, you might just die in the observation ward because it will take 23 hours or so to get a bed. However take my mum's example. She scolded the nurses at the observation ward after about 12 hours of extreme pain in the back and boredom and suddenly got a bed! Brilliant wasn't it?
Read also:
Tak Boleh Tahan @ Toa Payoh Central
More of Tak Boleh Tahan @ Toa Payoh Central
SDP marks May Day by distributing flyers in Toa Payoh
S'pore opposition politician stages May Day protest
Why so serious?
SDP's May Day message
Tak Boleh Tahan, SDP says it again
The people drive us on
The protests and violence in Burma recently has shown not only the well known ruthlessness of the Burmese government but has also exposed governments of several countries in terms of political and economical hypocrisy. Besides that, it has also proven how blind and brainwashed some people can be and that is terrible a fact to even digest.
On the homefront in Singapore where I am now, none of the applications for a peaceful protest supporting the Burmese protestors have been approved and the Burmese over at Peninsula Plaza have been told by the police to stop wearing the pro democracy t-shirts. Responding to the situation in Burma as the ASEAN chair, the Singaporean government provided nothing but all talk. So did the Prime Minister's letter to the junta. At the same time we hear rumours from sources citing that the family members of Gen. Than Shwe are here in Singapore. Typically the general population of Singaporeans are not in the least bit concerned. They go about their lives as if Burma is in another galaxy and such violence will never be seen in Singapore. They don't care, they don't feel and that is their choice but when a particular member of the opposition political party comes up with a petition, they suddenly come alive with opinions and attacks. That is something I find totally disturbing and bizarre.
On September 30, Dr. Chee Soon Juan and some of the party members from SDP held vigil outside the Burmese embassy with two letters of protest for the public to sign. The two letters, one addressed to the ambassador Mr. U Win Myint and the other, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. The first letter to the Burmese ambassador urged the SPDC to cease all brutal actions against the protestors, release the political prisoners (Aung San Suu Kyi included), hand the political power over to the rightfully elected party of the 1990 election (NLP) and to ender into dialogue with the NLP as well as the minority ethnic groups in Burma to diffuse the explosive situation in Burma and to establish democracy. The second letter was a request for the government to declare whether it has sold amunitions in any form to the junta as well as a demand to know if the GLCs are doing business in Burma. I see nothing wrong with the two letters at all and I agree with both. There have been criticisms regarding these two letters and some are saying that Dr. Chee is explioting the situation in Burma to bring attention to his party. I find most of the criticisms totally empty of validitation. There is absolutely no proof that this petition's sole reason was to bring any form of attention to SDP and Dr. Chee. As if he hasn't had enough attention already as the media are always eager to suck up to the government by painting a bad picture of him. I guess many Singaporeans have been brainwashed to think that anything done by Dr. Chee and his party is bad and not worth supporting hence they criticise merely for the sake of doing so. They have lost their ability to think any longer and just follow what the big PAPpy says.
I wonder how many of those who stood up to criticise the petition have read the letters at all. I also wonder how many of those who criticised want blood money in our National Treasury.
Comeon people, smell the stench of the PAPpy's closet. Many skeletons are lurking in there and they are not as clean as their party uniform suggests. Use your brains and think for yourselves, don't let the government and their media do the thinking. DEMAND for your rights to know the facts that should have been transparent right from the start. We should know who and what are really governing our country. It is our very right as citizens.
Links:
Straits Times won't publish Dr. Chee's reply to M M Aung
http://www.singaporedemocrat.org/articleburmaprotest12.html
(Personal note: I see nothing wrong with the reply. Read and decide for yourselves.)
Myanmar should reject Dr. Chee's cause (M M Aung's letter to the Straits Times)
http://www.straitstimes.com/Free/Story/STIStory_163871.html
Chee Soon Juan's 'Exploitation' of the Burma Situation?
http://theonlinecitizen.com/2007/10/06/chee-soon-juans-exploitation-of-the-burma-situation/
A Protest and Petition in Singapore
http://chemgen.wordpress.com/2007/10/02/a-protest-and-petition-in-singapore/
You can read the letters here: http://www.singaporedemocrat.org/articleburmaprotest2.html
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