Politics

Bilahari Kausikan did not renew his contract with MFA last month (‘Veteran diplomat Bilahari Kausikan to retire after 37 years of service‘). No longer holding the official position of Ambassador-at-Large, he can now safely make comments to attack any foreign powers he wants without dragging Singapore into his personal disputes with the foreign governments. In a keynote speech at a …

For once I agree with former diplomat Bilahari Kaukisan who has said at a recent conference that: “When the Chinese try to impose a Chinese identity on Singapore, we must resist, because modern Singapore is based on the idea of being a multiracial country.” In some ways, Singapore has inherited the “divide and rule” system from Colonial times. The British found …

Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen has said that “Singapore can be a place for progressive minds to contest ideas and share perspectives, and it should play this small but useful role to advance peace and humanity”. In making this statement, I wonder if Minister Ng is familiar with the phrase “charity begins at home”. While I am not suggesting that …

Lawyer and politician, Lim Tean wrote a Facebook post on Tuesday (26 June) regarding the statement by Ministry of National Development that said that elected Members of Parliament (MPs) pay S$365 for an annual permit that allows them to park at Housing & Development Board (HDB) car parks when doing constituency work and at Parliament House when on official business. He linked …

I note that Briton, Sir Andrew Witty was made an honourary citizen* of Singapore for his contributions to the pharmaceutical industry. While I am glad that individuals regardless of their race or nationality are being honoured for their contributions, I wonder if that is fair to Singaporeans who are not permitted to hold dual nationality? Witty has been conferred this …

In a Bloomberg interview published today (Jun 25), Dr Mahathir said that the water deal with Singapore is “too costly” and added that his government needs to renegotiate the agreement with Singapore. “We will sit down and talk with them (Singapore government), like civilized people,” he said in the interview. Bloomberg quoted Dr Mahathir as saying that he would be …

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Sunday (24 Jun) that the actual cost of hosting the historic summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un by Singapore is now calculated to be about S$16.3 million, less than the earlier estimate of S$20 million. Most of the money was spent on security, it said. PM …

Victor Lye Thiam Fatt (Lye), People’s Action Party (PAP) candidate for Aljunied Group Representation Constituency in the General Election of 2015 (GE2015)stated in a Facebook  post that opposition politicians had a better a deal because while the best opposition losers were given a paid seat in Parliament as a Non-Constituency Member of Parliament  (NCMP), his team who were the best losers …

by Yee Jenn Jong As a former Non-Constituency Member of Parliament, it feels kinda surreal to have a PAP politician ‘envy‘ the position and allowance of a NCMP. Perhaps more information is needed about life on the other side in case one thinks the grass is greener there… The allowance (about $2,000 monthly) is set at about 15% of a …

by Augustine Low Change is overdue! Change is coming! Change by 2020! There is the accelerated cry of change in the aftermath of the recent political tsunami in Malaysia, reinforced by festering unhappiness and resentment among a section of the population. But we ought to then ask the question: Change for what? What is the alternative for Singaporeans? In Malaysia, …