Needy Disabled Students Get Vouchers

This article appeared on Channel NewsAsia on 31 January 2009:

Needy disabled students get vouchers which can be used for therapy
By Valarie Tan

SINGAPORE: Over S$30,000 worth of service vouchers were handed out to 137 disabled students on Saturday to help them tide over the difficult times.

Each student received a S$300 service card.

The Society of Physically Disabled said the additional fund would hopefully ensure that these students have access to important services like therapy, which families may otherwise forgo to cut expenses.

The same group of disabled students and some 20 others with disabled parents also received S$124,000 in bursaries.

All of them are currently enrolled in mainstream schools.

To help their teachers better integrate them in the classroom, the society also published a new handbook with tips on how to include disabled students in school.

Perm Sec's travelogue 'insensitive and ill-judged'

(From the New Paper, 21 Jan 09)

RAPPED
By Lediati Tan
21 January 2009
The New Paper

Minister says perm sec's travel report lacks sensitivity, 'ill-judged'

INSENSITIVE and ill-judged. That was how the Minister-in-charge of the Civil Service Teo Chee Hean described a senior civil servant's published travelogue on his cooking course and holiday at the famous Le Cordon Bleu in Paris.

Mr Tan Yong Soon, the permanent secretary at the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources, paid 21,150 euros ($42,000) for the five-week culinary programme at the cooking school for himself, his wife and their son in November.

The amount does not include air tickets and living expenses in France.

Mr Teo said in Parliament yesterday that while what Mr Tan does during his vacation is his 'private decision', he was 'disappointed with what he wrote in The Straits Times'.

He added: 'The article showed a lack of sensitivity and was ill-judged.

'It struck a discordant note during the current difficult economic circumstances where it is especially important to show solidarity and empathy for Singaporeans who are facing uncertainties and hardship.'

Mr Teo added that Mr Peter Ho, the head of the Singapore Civil Service, had spoken to Mr Tan about the issue and had also written to him to 'put the matter on the record'.

Earlier, in response to a question by Nominated MP Siew Kum Hong, Mr Teo revealed that the total salaries of top civil servants and ministers are expected to fall this year.

Singapore's 2008 GDP growth, estimated at 2.5 per cent in November, was lowered further following the Prime Minister's announcement in his New Year message of a worse-than-expected 2008 GDP growth of 1.5 per cent.

'At these senior levels, a significant proportion of the total annual salary depends on the individual's performance and the performance of the economy,' said Mr Teo.

20% lower

Mr Teo told the House that the total annual salary of an officer at the ministerial grade (MR4) last year was $1.92 million, including the individual performance bonus and all other bonuses.

He said that the total annual salary of an officer in this grade will fall by 20 per cent to $1.54 million this year.

Similarly, the total annual salary for an officer at the SR9 level (entry superscale grade) is expected to fall 12 per cent, from $398,000 in 2008 to $351,000 this year.

The performance bonus paid last year to an MR4 officer ranged from six to 10 months, with an average payout of 8.33 months or $455,000.

Last year, the performance bonus awarded to an SR9 officer ranged from zero to 6.5 months, with an average payout of 4.82 months or $86,000.

The 2009 salaries are projected salaries, added Mr Teo.

'As the salaries are linked to economic performance, the 2009 salaries may be subject to further adjustments, given the volatility of the economy,' said Mr Teo.

Copyright 2009, Singapore Press Holdings Limited

More Likely Mas Selamat Has Fled

The Straits Times ran this story on 16 January 2009:

More likely Mas Selamat has fled

ALMOST a year after he escaped from custody, where is terror fugitive Mas Selamat Kastari?

Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng narrowed it to either of two scenarios: one, he is in Singapore and hidden by sympathisers unknown to the authorities, or, two, he has fled the country.

Asked which was the more likely, Mr Wong told The Straits Times: 'It's very hard to say. Both scenarios are plausible. Maybe the second one is more plausible.'

Singapore's Jobless to Rise

Reuters ran this story on 16 January 2009:

S'pore's jobless to rise

SINGAPORE'S National Wages Council (NWC) said on Friday unemployment and layoffs will be 'substantially higher' this year, and recommended that firms affected by economic downturn institute a wage freeze or wage cuts to stay competitive and save jobs.

Singapore was the first Asian economy to fall into a recession in 2008 and the government has warned that the economy may shrink as much as 2 per cent this year.

Recommendations by the NWC, which comprises of representatives from government, employers and unions, are not binding on employers but are usually followed by state-linked firms such as Singapore Telecommunications and DBS Group .

The council usually meets in May but was convened four months ahead of time to set wage guidelines amid the worsening economic outlook.

Singapore's unemployment rate was steady at 2.2 per cent in the third quarter.

Two NGOS Call for More Steps Be Taken for Foreign Workers

This article appeared on Channel NewsAsia on 15 January 2009:

Two NGOS call for more steps be taken for foreign workers
By Hetty Musfirah Abdul Khamid

SINGAPORE: Two non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have urged more steps be taken for foreign workers affected by the economic crisis to be adequately compensated.

In a joint statement to the media, the Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (HOME) and Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2) said that most of the affected workers are from the marine sector.

TWC2 has met 800 workers who have not had access to work since they were brought into Singapore, abandoned by their employers and had not been paid their due salaries.

300 shipyard workers faced with the same predicament had also come to HOME complaining of poor housing, lack of food and neglect by their employers when they were ill.

Some of them received compensation for the days on which they have had no access to work, but the amount was usually said to be well below the full wages due.

Hence, the NGOs hope more can be done to assist such workers.

For example, they want affected workers to be compensated for the remaining validity period of their work permits, including the full wages due to them.

They are also calling for stiffer penalties on errant employers who fail to pay wages on time.

PM Donates $500k to Fund

This story appeared in The Straits Times on 15 January 2009:

PM donates $500k to fund
By Lee Siew Hua

PRIME Minister Lee Hsien Loong has contributed $500,000 to an endowment fund he set up last year to provide two additional awards for outstanding students.

This latest donation comes from the salary increase of $1.04 million he received last year as a result of the salary adjustments announced in April 2007. He has donated the rest of last year's increase to a range of community, grassroots, arts and welfare organisations.

Mr Lee had forgone pay rise announced in 2007, saying at the time that would be donating the increases to charity for the next five years.

One of the new awards announced on Thursday recognises students 'who have done well both academically and non-academically, and have contributed to the community in enterprising ways, whether they have studied in the Junior Colleges, Institute of Technical Education, polytechnics or universities', Mr Lee said in a statement on Thursday.

One student from each of the four clusters - junior college, ITE, polytechnics, and autonomous universities - will receive $600 for the Lee Hsien Loong Award for Outstanding All-Round Achievement.

The new second award - the Lee Hsien Loong Award for Outstanding Bicultural Students - will recognise top bicultural students who are conversant in Chinese or Malay. They are able to engage China or regional neighbours - and the West.

This $500 award is intended for two top students from the Bicultural Studies Programme (Chinese), and one from the Regional Studies Programme.

'Education is the key to success in Singapore. It gives students the opportunity to acquire the skills and knowledge to create better lives for themselves,' Mr Lee said in his statement.

'I hope that the awards will encourage students to do their best and excel, and help to foster an inclusive education system that nurtures students of all talents and abilities.'

The latest awards are slated to be given out from next year, according to the Ministry of Education. In February last year, Mr Lee set up an endowment fund for two education awards - to recognise students who have persevered and done well, and schools which have found effective ways to help these students.

He had used $300,000 from his 2007 salary increase of about $500,000 for the two awards. The balance of $200,000 from his 2007 pay increase went to a range of community, grassroots, arts and social welfare recipients.

n his statement on Thursday, Mr Lee said that the additional contribution of $500,000 into the endowment fund this year will enable the endowment to generate enough returns to fund all four awards.

'Over the next few years, I intend to make further contributions to build up the endowment,' he added.

Ex-MOM Officer Jailed

This story appeared in The Straits Times on 15 January 2009:

A FORMER Ministry of Manpower (MOM) officer was sentenced to 14 months in jail and ordered to pay a penalty of $24,500 for corruption on Thursday.

Law Boon Seng, 32, then an employment inspector, pleaded guilty to four charges of accepting $1,500 each time from subcontractor Yeo Eng Kiat to tip him off on impending raids by the ministry in 2006.

Another 17 similar charges involving $18,500 were considered during his sentencing.

Law was allowed to start sentence on Jan 29 so that he could spend Chinese New Year with his family.

His job as a group leader of MOM's Foreign Manpower (Employment Inspectorate) Department then entailed overseeing foreign workers in Singapore.

He was arrested following an operation by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau in January 2007 on an illegal labour supplying syndicate giving bribes to the department officers for helping the racket evade detection and arrest during the officers' inspections.

A district court heard that he agreed to the proposal to give tip-offs on MOM raids as he needed money for his family.

He could have been fined up to $100,000 and/or jailed for up to five years on each corruption charge.

55 Foreign Workers Get the Boot

The following article appeared in The Straits Times, 14 January 2009:

55 foreign workers get the boot
By Nicholas Yong & Samuel He

Contractor sends group of Bangladeshis home, citing delay in projects

YET another group of foreign workers has encountered problems and is going home jobless and in debt.

Yesterday, 55 Bangladeshis employed by construction sub-contractor Tunnel & Shaft began returning home, after working here for seven months or less.

The workers were briefed by staff on travel and compensation arrangements through translators on Monday. They had been given a week's notice.

The company's directors, twins Ben and David Sim, 48, said the workers were being released as there was not enough work for them.

The workers were recruited last year in anticipation of two major projects, estimated to be worth $20 million. But the projects have been delayed, due to the economic climate, and the company says it cannot afford to keep idle workers.

So it is sending them home for two months, and hopes to bring them back when the economy picks up.

Following Monday's discussions, the company worked out a deal which will give each worker a flat compensation rate of $1,000. However, if they are re-employed by the company, they must each return $500.

It is the first time in more than a decade of employing foreign workers that Tunnel & Shaft has faced such problems.

Workers whom The Straits Times spoke to were mostly concerned about their financial situation. Many of them had taken bank loans to pay their agent fees of between $7,000 and $9,000 each.

Some of the workers, who have been working here for only two months, are still in debt to the tune of over $8,000.

Mr Hosain, 23, said there was no job for him at home. Others like Mr Suman, 24, who has been here for six months, said he paid $8,000 to come here.

These workers are not the only ones out of a job.

Mr Jolovan Wham, spokesman for the Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics, said hundreds of laid-off shipyard workers have approached the organisation in recent months with payment and employment issues.

Mr Wham cited a case of 30 Bangladeshis who were due to leave this week, after being told by their employers there was no work for them. They received their salaries only after intervention by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM).

He said foreign workers here are given little real protection.

'They can complain to MOM, but this does not amount to much; once their work permits are cancelled, they must go,' he said.

NTUC assistant secretary-general Halimah Yacob said the economic downturn caught many companies by surprise, leaving them with extra foreign workers.

'This is quite unexpected but they cannot keep the workers with no work at cost to them,' she said.

But NTUC Migrant Workers' Forum chairman Yeo Guat Kwang said: 'No matter how bad times are, companies must adhere to the terms and conditions they have promised the workers.'

Falling Pipe Kills Shipyard Worker

The following article appeared in the Straits Times on 14 January 2009.

Falling pipe kills shipyard worker instantly
By Teh Joo Lin

A falling pipe hit an Indonesian worker in a shipyard near the West Coast yesterday morning, killing him.

The 38-year-old, said to be a driller employed by an oil-rig subcontractor, died on the spot at the PPL Shipyard in Pandan Road.

He was on a 72m-long oil-drilling rig when the 10m-long pipe was being lifted overhead by machinery during tests.

He was hit on the head and body when the pipe came free from its hoist. Worker and pipe then fell onto the deck of the oil rig.

By the time Singapore Civil Defence Force paramedics arrived, he was already dead, his skull and arm fractured.

The police are investigating the incident.

The death, the first reported shipyard and ship- repair death this year, casts a pall on an industry still grappling with a slew of workplace casualties in the past year.

Eleven reported deaths, including yesterday's, have been logged since June 8 last year. At least 20 other workers were injured during this period.

The accidents sparked a drive to improve safety standards in the nation's 89 shipyards. Efforts made include spot checks and an education drive.

Yesterday's incident was not the first at the PPL Shipyard, which specialises in the design and building of offshore drilling rigs.

In April 2007, a crane collapse there killed three workers. The shipyard was fined $135,000 for safety violations, though the court ruled that the breaches did not cause the trio's deaths.

Following yesterday's death, the Manpower Ministry instructed the parties involved to review and ensure safe work processes were in place before they allowed piping work to continue.

Foreign Labour: Out With the Middlemen

The following article appeared in the Straits Times on 14 January 09.

Foreign labour: Out with the middlemen
Review - Editorial

The Manpower Ministry's pending prosecution of companies for not meeting their obligations to foreign workers will not put a stop to the most unconscionable of labour abuses. The firms are being hauled up for allegedly not paying their workers their wages on time and for sending them to work in places not specified in the applications. These are contractual matters, to the extent that contracts are ever written in the menial-labour service. But mistreatment goes beyond withholding of pay - to sub-human housing provided by employers, dereliction of medical-coverage requirements and threats of cancelling work permits if workers reported violations to the ministry.

Irregularities mercifully are a small part of the scene in a labour migration process that began decades ago, when Singapore imported workers to build its infrastructure and to keep the HDB towns and streets clean. The ministry can expect many more cases of callous conduct - criminal neglect, really - to surface as poor business tips marginal businesses over. Showing violators no mercy will impress on employers that ill-treatment of defenceless people will bring on their heads the full weight of the law. Singapore cannot have its observance of the rule of law to be brought into disrepute.

But prosecutions are not enough. To erase the human degradation will require relooking the whole business, to change laws if need be and to enhance penalties. The housing issue is being tackled, with dormitory settlements planned with all the facilities and services foreign workers will need. But no real human-rights advance is possible until labour agents or middlemen here and abroad are eliminated from the process. The work-permit system should be reviewed to make all companies which need foreign workers the direct recruiters. This will weed out local agents and local affiliates of foreign agents. They are blamed for the rigmarole of men coming on permits but with no immediate work available and for giving bribes to companies to take on more workers. How can this go on?

Labour agents in source countries are not easy to root out. Supplier countries, Bangladesh prominent among them, must be prepared to organise labour registries to process applications without the participation of agents. Agreements have to be signed with recipient countries to regularise the process. Middlemen who extract impossible sums of money from helpless people and place them deep in debt well before they start to earn any income here are leeches to be exterminated.

MOM Officer Gets 9 Months' Jail

This article was published in The New Paper on 14 January, 2009.

Gone: Two years of her pay
By Benson Ang

THE $4,250 she earned in about two years was misappropriated by a Ministry of Manpower (MOM) officer in 2005.

Indonesian domestic worker Sugiati, 30, has still not got her money back.

Two months ago the officer, Jeffrey Lee Chee Keong, 37, was sentenced to nine months in jail for committing a criminal breach of trust by a public servant.

If he fails to make the repayment, MOM said it will explore alternative ways to help Miss Sugiati.

Miss Sugiati's story began when she came to Singapore in 2003.

She worked for a family in Bedok for two years. During that time, her employer held on to her salary with her permission.

It came up to $4,250 by 2005.

That year, however, her employer inadvertently failed to renew her work permit.

So she was moved from her employer's home.

Her employer told The New Paper that when the time came for them to pay Miss Sugiati's salary, 'Mr Lee arranged for us to pass the money to her in his presence'.

'But when we met him , Sugiati wasn't there, and Mr Lee told us to give the money to him so that he could pass it to her,' said the employer, who declined to be named.

So she gave the money to Lee, the employer added.

In April that year, Miss Sugiati was issued a special pass so that she could continue staying in Singapore despite not having a work permit.

According to Miss Sugiati, the only time she saw Lee was when he interviewed her to apply for the special pass.

Miss Sugiati said: 'I thought he was supposed to help me.'

She was later returned to her agency.

In 2006, Miss Sugiati was sent to work with a family in Bukit Panjang, mainly to take care of an elderly woman.

When the elderly woman died in 2007, Miss Sugiati told her agency she did not want to work in Singapore anymore.

She was then sent to a women's shelter run by the Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (Home), a registered charity that helps migrant workers.

Miss Sugiati has been staying there for the last two years waiting for her money so she can return home.

She said her family in Indonesia was angry and unhappy because she was unable to send money home for the past two years.

Miss Sugiati's father, a rice farmer, is in his 60s and her mother is a housewife. They live in East Java and she has not seen them for five years.

Miss Sugiati's case has been closed and she is due to return to Indonesia soon.

Small token

Home has given Miss Sugiati $500 in cash from their newly launched Peace and Justice Fund, so that she will not go home empty-handed.

When we asked Miss Sugiati how she felt about receiving the money she said: 'It's good to have some money.'

So, what is she going to do when she gets home?

'I don't know yet,' she replied.

Her first employer, who has already paid for her ticket home, said: 'Sugiati was a very good, patient, humble, tolerant girl.

'If anybody employs her as a domestic helper, they will never regret it.'

MP Seng Han Thong's Family Breaks Silence

This article appeared in THE STRAITS TIMES on 14 January 2009:

Sight is shocking
By Aaron Low and Jermyn Chow

Breaking their silence for the first time after Sunday's attack on Yio Chu Kang MP Seng Han Thong, his family on Wednesday issued a statement to the media to express their thanks and appreciation to all who have shown care and concern to him since he was hospitalised.

The statement, issued by Mrs Seng and family, also touched on how they are coping with the 'despair and extreme stress' following what they described as 'an unfortunate incident'.

Voicing their pain, the statement said: 'We are struggling with reality. The sight of our loved one, who is so full of life and now lying in great pain, unable to speak, immobilised, hooked to a respirator and an array of medical equipment, is so shocking.

'We, and especially his mother's pain, are beyond any description and imagination.'

The family expressed gratitude to the medical team at the Singapore General Hospital, where Mr Seng, 59, is recovering, for their 'dedicated attention and professional care.'

'Their support and words of encouragement have greatly assisted us to cope with the despair and extreme stress that we are all undergoing,' they added.

The family also thanked the Yio Chu Kang grassroots leaders, and others 'who continue to lend support and care tirelessly round the clock during these difficult times.'

President SR Nathan was among the latest to visit Mr Seng in hospital on Wednesday. Over the last few days, a stream of Cabinet ministers, including Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, current and former MPs, NTUC union members and members of the public have dropped in to see the MP.

According to Dr Colin Song, head of SGH's Department of Plastic Reconstrcutive and Aesthetic Surgery, Mr Seng suffered 14 per cent burns after an ex-cabby poured thinner on him and set him alight at a grassroots event at the Yio Chu Kang community club on Sunday.

Mr Seng and Mr Aw Chui Seng, the chairman of Chu Sheng Temple, 69, who also suffered burns when he tried to beat out the flames on the MP's body, both underwent skin grafting at SGH on Monday morning.

Mr Aw is in a normal ward at SGH and is recovering well, said his wife and daughter.

Dr Song told reporters on Wednesday afternoon that Mr Seng is making progress and is in a stable condition.

Labour chief Lim Swee Say, who visited Mr Seng on Monday, told reporters at an NTUC event on Wednesday that he could not recognise the injured MP when he saw him in the intensive care unit.

'I felt sad... and couldn't recognise him because he was suffering from very severe swelling and was under heavy sedation,' he said.

'It's a very cruel and senseless act. At the end of the day, we will leave it to the court of law. We are a nation ruled by law so it is not for us to make a judgement. But as far as MPs are concerned, whether we are ministers or MPs on the ground, we are here to serve members of the public.'

On why ministers and MPs would not be deterred by Sunday's incident, Mr Lim said ministers and MPs come into contact with many residents in their line of duty, and will always try their best to help them.

'In some cases, they could not get what they want but they are grateful. But in some cases, they get angry when they do not get what they want,' said Mr Lim.

'But we treat it as part of our duty. As we go through this downturn, more workers, more residents will be affected by the downturn. In fact, MPs will have to go to the ground even more, walk the ground even more, do even more Meet-the-people sessions.

'We are not going to let such as isolated incident affect us because we cannot afford to let it affect us. Because at the end of the day, we must continue to be people-centric and community-centric. So we do our best, make ourselves accessible, continue to reaching out. I think that is the only way we can ensure that Singapore can get through this downturn, hopefully, with minimal impact.'

The man who allegedly attacked Mr Seng was charged in court on Monday with two counts of causing grievous hurt.

Ong Kah Chua, 70, who is blind in the left eye, has been remanded at the Institute of Mental Health for psychiatric examination.

He is due to appear in court again on Jan 23. He can be jailed for life, if convicted.

Singapore Jobs Likely Hit

This article appeared in THE STRAITS TIMES on 14 January 2009:

S'pore Jobs Likely Hit
By Francis Chan

It said about 1,300 jobs will go at Barclays Capital, while 330 people will go at Barclays Global Investors. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
BRITISH banking giant Barclays said on Tuesday that it will cut 2,100 jobs in its investment banking and wealth management units, with some positions in Singapore at risk.

Barclays' operations in Singapore include Barclays Capital, Barclays Wealth Management and Barclays Global Investors, employing more than 2,500 bankers and back-end staff in total.

A Barclays spokesman in Singapore did not elaborate on possible job cuts here but The Straits Times understands that some staff were told on Wednesday morning that they are being laid off.

Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday that Barclays is making deep cuts across all its units.

It said about 1,300 jobs will go at Barclays Capital, 6 per cent of the investment banking unit's total headcount, while 330 people will go at Barclays Global Investors, 8 per cent of that division.

The remainder will be cut from Barclays' private bank while the bank said last week that 408 information technology jobs will be axed in Britain.

Reuters reported that Barclays Capital employs about 20,500 people, Barclays Wealth Management about 8,000 and Barclays Global Investors about 3,800.

A Barclays spokesman told The Straits Times on Wednesday: 'We can confirm that we have begun a process to reduce headcount across some parts of investment banking and investment management to ensure that we are appropriately sized, given market conditions.'

The cuts follow more than 3,000 job cuts Barclays instigated last year when it acquired the trading and investment banking units of the now-bankrupt United States investment bank Lehman Brothers for US$1.75 billion (S$2.6 billion).

In November last year, the bank raised 7 billion pounds (S$15 billion), mainly from the Middle East, to shore up capital reserves depleted by writedowns.

Analysts expect such downsizing to continue at financial giants like Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse and UBS, which all have investment banking units that have taken a hammering over the past 12 months.

Video Of Singaporeans Arrested for Protest in Support Of Burmese Activists

'Singapore bureaucrat's cooking trip sparks outcry'

[From Reuters, published 13 Jan 09]

Singapore bureaucrat's cooking trip sparks outcry
13 January 2009
Reuters News

SINGAPORE, Jan 13 (Reuters) - A Singaporean bureaucrat who wrote about taking his family on an expensive cooking course in France has sparked ire from locals, with some accusing him of extravagance given the city-state is in recession.

Tan Yong Soon, a senior official at Singapore's Environment Ministry, learnt to truss chicken and cut vegetables at Le Cordon Bleu cookery school in Paris with his wife and son, and wrote about it in the Straits Times newspaper earlier this month.

"Taking five weeks leave from work is not as difficult as one thinks. Most times when you are at the top, you think you are indispensable. But if you are a good leader who has built up a good team, it is possible," Tan wrote in the newspaper.

His article raised eyebrows given the five-week course for three at the prestigious French cooking school cost more than S$46,000 ($30,930).

Singapore is one of Asia's wealthiest nations but it was the first country in Asia to fall into recession last year. More job cuts are looming.

"Anyone who has any sense of empathy for the average working person struggling to survive would not be splashing his story of luxurious holidays in full spread in a national newspaper," said Andrew Loh on a Singaporean discussion website (http://theonlinecitizen.com).

Tan could not be reached for comment and he has not said anything publicly about the response to his article.

"How long does each of us take to earn even half that amount that Mr. Tan spent on his lessons? And how many of us can afford to be away for five weeks on paid vacation without getting sacked from our jobs?" said Eugene Yeo, senior writer at the political website, The Wayang Party Club of Singapore. (http://wayangparty.com)

Some online forum users said Tan could decide what to do with his money, but still felt he was being boastful.

"Agreed that what he does with his money and time is his business but to brag about it really makes me boil," said an online post from someone nicknamed Ricksw8437.

($1=1.487 Singapore Dollar)

(Reporting by Melanie Lee; Editing by Neil Chatterjee and Dean Yates)

(c) 2009 Reuters Limited

Two Arrested for Protest

AFP ran this story on 12 January 2009:

POLICE on Monday arrested two Singaporean activists for staging a protest in support of Myanmar nationals allegedly being forced to leave the city-state for involvement in political activities.

Seelan Palay and Chong Kai Xiong stood outside the Ministry of Manpower's building in the city's business district for about an hour before they were handcuffed by police without showing any resistance.

They wore red T-shirts and held a banner that read 'Stop ill-treatment of Burmese activists'.

The protest was in support of two Myanmar nationals, Moe Kyaw Thu and Win Kyaw, whose work permits have not been renewed by Singapore, effectively forcing them to leave, Palay said.

He said the two men were among 40 Myanmar nationals who took part in a protest against their country's ruling junta during a summit of Southeast Asian leaders hosted by Singapore in November 2007.

'We can't just stand by as Singaporeans, as personal friends, and watch them being expelled one by one,' he said.

Moe Kyaw Thu told AFP that he was required to leave Singapore by January 27. Win Kyaw could not be contacted for comment on Monday.

The Ministry of Home Affairs did not immediately reply to emailed queries from AFP on the case of the Myanmar nationals. A few others who took part in the same protest in 2007 have also had their work permit renewals turned down.

Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng in September defended the government's decision not to renew the visas of some Myanmar nationals working or studying in the city-state, saying they were 'undesirable' people.

Singapore has eased rules governing protests in a designated public park but it remains illegal elsewhere to hold a public gathering of five or more people without a police permit.

Singapore is home to an estimated 30,000 Myanmar nationals, many of them drawn by jobs as labourers that pay far above what they could earn in their poverty-stricken homeland.

MOM To Prosecute Tipper Corporation

This news story appeared on Channel NewsAsia on 11 January 2009:

MOM to prosecute Tipper Corporation for failing to pay salaries on time

SINGAPORE: The Manpower Ministry (MOM) will be prosecuting Tipper Corporation for failing to pay the salaries of its workers on time.

It added that similar action will be considered for Gates Offshore and Goldrich Venture once investigations have been completed.

MOM will also be prosecuting Tipper Corporation, and its two sub-contractors, S1 Engineering and UPNB, for their involvement in the illegal deployment of foreign workers hired by Tipper, to other companies.

All five companies have been barred from hiring new foreign workers.

MOM has been investigating into the salary claims and housing conditions of foreign workers of Tipper Corporation, Gates Offshore and Goldrich Venture.

MOM said the salary arrears of the 276 foreign workers from Gates Offshore and Goldrich Venture have been fully paid on Friday, while 421 foreign workers under Tipper Corporation have accepted an offer to settle their salary arrears through instalments.

Some 160 of them also received their first instalments on Friday.

The workers were told by MOM that they can choose to return home, or to be placed on a list of foreign workers available to be hired by other employers.

MOM is also investigating allegations that Gates Offshore and Goldrich Venture failed to provide medical care to workers who reported sick.

MP Hurt After Man Reportedly Threw Kerosene-Filled Bottle

This article appeared on Channel NewsAsia on 11 January 2009:

MP hurt after man reportedly threw kerosene-filled bottle
By Asha Popatlal/Cheryl Lim

SINGAPORE: Member of Parliament Seng Han Thong has been taken to hospital after he was hurt in an incident at Yio Chu Kang Community Club on Sunday morning.

According to a Channel NewsAsia hotline caller, Mr Seng and a temple chairman were hurt after a man threw a bottle filled with kerosene.

Police said they received a call around noon saying two men had received face and neck burn injuries at the community club.

The two men were taken to the Singapore General Hospital. A hospital spokesperson said the two men were admitted to the Burns Unit shortly after 1 pm - with Mr Seng suffering more than 10 per cent burns.

Only family members were allowed to see the MP, added the hospital spokesperson.

Police have arrested the assailant.

This is not the first time Mr Seng has been attacked.

In 2006, a 74-year-old taxi driver was charged in court after he punched Mr Seng in the face during a Meet-The-People session.

The man, who had sought Mr Seng's help about a revoked taxi licence, was acquitted after he agreed to Mr Seng's undisclosed terms.

Making A Commitment 2009

As part of the U60 celebrations of the recent 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, MARUAH (Singapore Working Group on ASEAN HRM) held an event to emphasize the importance of Articles 23-25 of the UDHR, which deals with fair and just conditions for workers.

This event, Making A Commitment, was held on 13 December 2008 at Speakers’ Corner. Organized by MARUAH with support from partners such as Action for Aids, AWARE, Transient Workers Count Too, HOME and individuals, a number of speakers spoke up on the need for protection for vulnerable communities such as contract workers, the elderly, those with disabilities, migrant workers, persons living with HIV and people who are homosexuals or transgender.

Members of the public were invited to make pledge – a commitment – to affirm their stand which many did by holding up placards with a chosen slogan promoting a workplace issue. These were captured on video by volunteers, Mr Patrick Chng, Ms Stephanie Chok and Mr Joel Kang, as a New Year resolution for 2009 to treat all workers with dignity.

Not The Time to Flaunt Your Riches

This article appeared on Malaysian newspaper The Star on 10 January 2009:

Not The Time to Flaunt Your Riches

A high-ranking civil servant’s account about spending RM110,124 for him, his wife and son to learn fine French cooking has blown up in his face.

A GOVERNMENT elite has stirred ripples by talking of his expensive cooking lessons in France, revealing how hard times are deepening class differences in Singapore.

Inadvertently creating controversy was the permanent secretary at the Environment and Water Resources Ministry, one of the highest ranking civil servants.

Tan Yong Soon had related how he had spent S$46,000 (RM110,124) for himself, his wife and son for a five-day trip to learn fine French cooking.

In ordinary times, this leisurely – but rather insensitive – account would not have amounted to anything much but these days are, of course, far from normal.

Two factors invited criticism to flare.

First, he was seen as flaunting wealth, obtained from his high pay, at a time when Singapore is suffering one of its worst slumps in history.

Many thousands of workers are still losing jobs or suffering wage cuts.

And, secondly, government leaders are accused of being hugely overpaid, as a result of which some are no longer able to relate to the common people.

Tan was also accused of “boasting” about his elitist background when he wrote that his wife was “a senior investment counsellor at a bank” and his son, a soon-to-be student at America’s prestigious Brown University.

“Taking five weeks’ leave from work is not as difficult as one thinks,” Tan said.

“Most times, when you are at the top, you think you are indispensable. But if you are a good leader who has built up a good team, it is possible to go away for five weeks or even longer.”

Singaporeans were largely unimpressed. Some were angry. His fling at France’s prestigious Le Cordon Bleu in the face of rising poverty is the latest example of how out of tune some of Singapore’s well-paid elites are with heartland realities.

About 20% of affluent Singapore’s population lives in poverty with welfare payout to the poorest of the lot limited to a mere S$290 (RM694) a month.

When a government backbencher wanted to have it increased, a Cabinet minister refused, demanding: “How much do you want?”

Many Singaporeans were already unhappy with the multi-million dollar salaries paid to Cabinet ministers and top civil servants even in happier times.

(Despite a recent cut of up to 19%, the government here remains, by far, the highest paid in the world.)

The pay issue remains very controversial and contributes to the class division in society, a them-verses-us mentality that has apparently sharpened as a result of the economic crisis.

The whole episode has shown how the class – and social – divide is widening in high-tech Singapore.

The controversy over Tan’s trip has political implications for a government that is pondering over whether or not to call for a snap general election, which is not due until 2010-11.

In other developed countries from Britain to Japan, it would not have any impact since it involves a civil servant, not a political leader.

But the system is very different in Singapore, where the line separating the two hardly exists.

The Chinese characters “zeng fu” are used to describe the political leadership as well as the civil service.

Some questioned why Tan’s choice of spending his own wealth should be the public’s business – but not many are buying into it.

Established blogger Redbean articulated: “Tan is no ordinary, rich Singaporean. He is a senior civil servant ... and part of the governing elite.

“(He) should be seen as one who would be able to empathise with ordinary Singaporeans who are going through tough times ... (when) the Prime Minister is preparing the people for some belt-tightening and ‘bitter medicine’.”

Besides, if Tan had wished he should have spent his money at home to help the troubled economy rather than abroad, some believed.

Tan’s is by no means the only example of elitist snobbery, nor the worse.

A bigger controversy flared up four years ago when Wee Shu Min, the teenage daughter of a Member of Parliament, came across the blog of a Singaporean who wrote that he was worried about losing his job.

She called Derek Wee “one of many wretched, under-motivated, over-assuming leeches in our country.

“If you’re not good enough, life will kick you in the b***s ... Our society is, I quote, ‘far too survival of fittest’,” said Shu Min, who hailed from the elite Raffles Junior College.

“... Unless you are an arm-twisting commie bully, which, given your whiny, middle-class, under-educated penchant, I doubt,” she added before signing off with “please, get out of my elite uncaring face”.

The girl was flamed by hundreds of Singaporeans, but when her father Wee Siew Kim – an MP in Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s constituency – told a newspaper that “her basic point is reasonable”, the row moved well beyond blogosphere.

A news agency, in reporting this, said: “The episode highlighted a deep rift in Singapore society and was an embarrassment for the ruling People’s Action Party and PM Lee.”

Raffles JC, which has produced several state leaders, had another brush with student snobbishness.

When a student found that a Raffles girl was dating a boy from a lower-achieving neighbourhood school, he hit out at him and had a message for lower-ranking students everywhere.

“Quit trying to climb the social ladder by dating students from top schools.”

There are signs the class distinction is getting into some young minds.

A reporter recounted how her friend was shaken when her young daughter came home one day and mentioned in passing that poor people were “stupid, obviously”.

Singapore Goverment Still Fearful Of Political Films

Singaporean filmmaker Martyn See, who directed the banned-in-Singapore documentary on Dr Chee Soon Juan titled "Singapore Rebel", has responded to the recent proposals to amend the Film Act on his blog on 9 January 2009 (singaporerebel.blogspot.com):

Singapore Goverment still fearful of political films

A bulletin of what I told CNA and ST about the Government's position on the proposed amendments to the Films Act.

* That I'm standing by my original position that Section 33 and Section 35 should be repealed unconditionally, completely and immediately.

* That with the partial lifting, we're no better than where we were in 1998 when the Films Act was amended. It's one step backwards, half-step forward.

* That I rejected the proposal of an "independent advisory panel" to decide for the rest of the population what is suitable for viewing. A First World Nation who attained self-governance in 1959 should allow its people to decide for themselves. Singaporeans are mature and discerning enough.

* That when it comes to political expression, I believe in community self-moderation, not Government intervention.

* That the refusal to decriminalize "party political films" and the reluctance to disclose reasons for banning a film under Section 35 is worrying and shows up an insecure government.

* That the Government's claim that they are "protecting society" by reserving their right to ban films holds no water. A few hundred thousand people have seen 'Singapore Rebel' and 'Zahari's 17 Years' on the internet. I have not received a single complaint calling for the removal of these films. The only people who objected to the screening of these two films are the Government themselves. Whose interests are they really protecting? Singaporeans' or just Lee Kuan Yew's?

* That 'Singapore Rebel' was in fact inspired by a documentary shown on CNA in 2003 on the political life of Lee Kuan Yew entitled 'Success Stories'. That 'Zahari's 17 Years' presents a counter-balance to 'Riding The Tiger', a documentary made by CNA and the Government about the PAP's defeat of the "Communist Left." Both 'Success Stories' and 'Riding The Tiger' are openly available in local shops.

* That the Government has shown that it can act quickly by bailing out ailing foreign financial institutions. No reason why it can't summon the same speed in liberalising political space for its own citizens.

* That the Government has admitted that they cannot stop people from posting political videos online makes it even more imperative that Section 33 and 35 be repealed unconditionally and completely. Why bother retaining laws that cannot be enforced?

* That I'm resubmitting 'Singapore Rebel' and 'Zahari's 17 Years'. It's the only way to force the Government to define clearly what constitutes an "objective" and "factual" political film.

* That I'm embarking on a campaign to highlight other sections of the Films Act which affects and criminalizes everyone in Singapore, not just political filmmakers.

Films Act to Be Amended

This article appeared on Channel NewsAsia on 9 January 2009:

Films Act to be amended to allow factual party political films
By Valarie Tan

SINGAPORE: The Singapore government has accepted 17 out of 26 recommendations made by the Advisory Council on the Impact of New Media Society, or AIMS.

It agreed with the Council that it should take a phased approach to liberalising the Films Act, instead of repealing it immediately.

It will amend the Films Act to allow for certain types of party political films, which means that political parties and their candidates will be able to use films for internet election advertising during an election.

But party political films will have to be factual and objective and not dramatise or present a distorted picture.

In a news conference on Friday morning, Information, Communications and the Arts Minister Lee Boon Yang said that the government will move to amend the Films Act in the next month or two.

The government also agreed to set up an independent advisory panel, which will be made up of citizens of high standing and who are non-partisan.

The panel - to be chaired by a retired Senior District Judge and chairman of the Casino Regulatory Authority, Mr Richard Magnus - will determine whether films are party political films and if they can be aired.

But the Ministry for Information, Communications and the Arts (MICA) said it will retain its right to ban films, like "Zahari 17 Years", which it feels are against public interest under Section 35 of the Films Act even though they may be readily available on the Internet.

Under the law, the minister is not obliged to give reasons for the ban.

Dr Lee said: "We know that it's not possible to block everything in certain situations, but that doesn't mean we should give in, be carried along by the tide. We should still state our position."

When asked why a different law is applied for political films compared to, say, films with violence and sex, Dr Lee said: "For political films, we're protecting society, because we want to maintain the political debate as a rational objective debate, not one given to emotional outburst, not one based on distorted presentations of issues."

"There is a danger to allowing such films to be circulated publicly in Singapore. Then, you will actually degrade the level of political debate, and you could bring the debate down to a competition between films," he added.

But the ministry has agreed to relax the Films Act in phases. Responding to the news, filmmaker Martyn See said: "When the government says 'in phases', then the next thing we have to ask is: When? - next five years, next 10 years, when? The government has shown it can act very quickly. So let's act quickly to liberalise political space for Singaporeans."

Mr See also said he would re-submit his two previously banned films -"Singapore Rebel" and "Zahari 17 Years" - once the amended Films Act has been passed.

In terms of e-engagement, the government said it will devote more resources to engage Singaporeans in cyberspace. But to ensure accountability, it will not remove the requirement for political websites to be registered.

The government will also not respond to Internet criticisms outside government sites like REACH. In response to this, blogger Alex Au said: "Is the government going to say 'no, we're going to ignore them because you didn't come into my room?'

"The government has to find ways of addressing some of the issues that are raised in other parts of the Internet, even if nobody brings it up within REACH. It could be in the form of a statement within REACH itself that addresses the stuff that is being talked about outside."

Blogger Gerald Giam told Channel NewsAsia: "By and large, the bloggers who are blogging about social and political issues do want some sort of response. I mean, it's a simple analogy that if I'm talking to you and you ignore me, then how do I feel?"

Dr Amy Khor, chairman of REACH, said: "For serious-minded citizens who are interested to engage the government on various issues they are concerned (about), one of the appeals of REACH is that when he gets into the website, his views will be heard... and there is likely to be a response.

"He may be able to get interaction, especially with the relevant ministries and officers. (This could) possibly even lead to a change, with his ideas."

On the rule prohibiting civil servants from voicing their personal opinions on government policies online, MICA said there will be no change. The ministry said allowing them to do so will compromise trust within the Civil Service.

The government has also accepted almost all the Council's views on protecting minors.

More Space For Political Discourse Expected

Channel NewsAsia ran this article on 9 January 2009:

More space for political discourse expected with liberalisation of online space
By Hasnita Majid

SINGAPORE: The Advisory Council on the Impact of New Media on Society (AIMS) has said it views the government's rejection of nine of its 26 recommendations as a reflection of its caution in using new media as a platform for discourse.

Speaking to Channel NewsAsia, AIMS chairman Cheong Yip Seng, however, is optimistic that the government's decision to ease its regulation on party political films and political broadcasts online will open up more space for political discourse in cyberspace.

Mr Cheong believes this will push the mainstream media to keep pace. He said: "It is foolish of the mainstream media to ignore the discussion online because people are going online for information.

"It's a major constituency and it's important for the mainstream media not to be seen as being behind, as in being out of the conversation.

"So, in terms of coverage in mainstream media, for example, on controversial issues, I think it is for their own interest that the mainstream media will have to attack this much more vigorously because of what is happening online."

Mr Cheong said that this is especially so during the general elections.

MOM Resolves Salary Dispute

The following article appeared in TODAY on 8 January 2009:

MOM resolves salary dispute
By Leong Wee Keat

Most of the 226 Chinese workers who went to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) last week after a pay dispute with their employer have accepted a settlement.

Of these, 171 workers will continue working here while 53 will return to China. Two workers will have their claims adjudicated by the Labour Court.

MOM advised workers not to take matters into their own hands but to report such disputes or grievances to the ministry for mediation or adjudication in the Labour Court. MOM said it and the police would not hesitate to take firm action if workers violate any laws.

Meanwhile, in a joint statement yesterday, the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and Singapore National Employers Federation (Snef) urged employers to treat foreign workers — who make valuable contributions to the economy — right.

Mr Yeo Guat Kwang, chairman of the Migrant Workers’ Forum, and Mr Koh Juan Kiat, Snef’s executive director, expressed concern over recent media reports.

They reminded employers to comply with the conditions of the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act, which requires employers of work permit holders to provide adequate housing, food and medical coverage.

Employers also ought to pay their workers on time and settle outstanding salaries before repatriating them.

Treat Foreign Workers With Dignity

Dr Lam Pin Min, MP for Ang Mo Kio GRC, posted this entry on the P65 blog @ p65.sg on 7 January 2009:

I am totally abhorred by the recent reports of foreign workers gathering at MOM to seek redress. Not because of their mass gathering but rather at the plight they are in - the unfair treatment by their employers. Many of these foreign workers’ salaries were not paid to them on time or withheld by these unscrupulous employers. There were also reports of these workers being denied the basic healthcare when they fall ill, told only to sleep it off (for the more “fortunate” ones) and cajoled to continue working (for the less “fortunate” ones).

It is really unfortunate that such practices are happening in modern Singapore. Foreign workers, like any human beings, deserve to be treated with respect, dignity and fairness. Many of them have come to Singapore to work, incurring huge debts for the agent and travel expenses, only to be in a sorry state. They are simple people here to make a honest living, just like our forefathers. They are just like any one of us, somebody’s sons and fathers, with families to support back home.

Errant employers must be severely punished for their malpractices. Not only are the misdeeds inhumane, it will also tarnish the good reputation of our country. Foreign workers should be treated with dignity.

Singapore Flyer Files Police Report After Information Leak

This story appeared in TODAY on 8 January 2009.
By Derrick A Paulo

SINGAPORE : The Singapore Flyer management has filed a police report after an information leak resulted in a news report on Wednesday on the sudden resignation of its general manager Steven Yeo.

Following his departure this week, TODAY has learnt that a three-man executive committee, comprising former MP Chng Hee Kok, NTUC Club Investments’ ex general manager Shirley Leow and Adval Brand Group managing director Patsy Ong will take the company forward.

The developments come just before a press conference the Flyer intends to hold on Friday, where it hopes to give an indication of its targeted reopening date and its experts will present the back-up solutions it intends to implement to prevent the kind of six-hour wheel stoppage on December 23 from happening again.

But with Mr Yeo leaving immediately - at the request of Flyer’s board of directors - instead of seeing through the full recovery of the stalled wheel, fresh questions are now being asked about the company.

The spokesperson was unable to comment on the decision, out of respect for "the individual's privacy", but said that the company “has the full capabilities to move forward”.

Its new executive committee comprises individuals with strong links to NTUC Club, the leisure and entertainment unit of the labour movement, which manages, among others, two theme parks and the integrated leisure and entertainment complex at Pasir Ris, Downtown East.

Mr Chng used to be NTUC Club CEO, while Ms Ong founded her integrated marketing services company for the tourism industry over a decade ago with an initial partnership with NTUC Club.

It was their appointment, however, that appears to have sparked Mr Yeo’s departure, according to The Straits Times, which obtained a copy of his resignation letter.

The Flyer spokesperson did not want to respond to his comments in the letter, and told TODAY: “We take a very serious view of any illegal breach of confidentiality. We have consulted our lawyers and lodged a police report on the matter.”

She added: “We would like to highlight that measures to strengthen the Singapore Flyer management had already been decided on before the incident on December 23.

“The Singapore Flyer project is a complex one that spanned over two years and different phases of the project required different types of expertise.”

Crack Down On Abuse Of Foreign Workers

THE BUSINESS TIMES ran this article on 7 January 2009:

IN this recession, as in downturns past, the plight of displaced workers is foremost on the minds of policymakers, with the government having come out strongly and swiftly to declare that saving Singaporeans from job losses is top priority.

Well and good. It's reassuring that, even as retrenchment and unemployment will inevitably rise this year, much is being done to try and help businesses prevent laying off staff, and cushion the impact of the economic woes on both employers and workers. But it's high time too that another key segment of the job market gets some due attention: foreign workers who are mistreated by employers.

The incidence of this misbehaviour may appear to have picked up of late, as the business climate has worsened, but in fact instances of abuse - of workers housed in appalling conditions, not paid their wages, or cheated by unscrupulous labour contractors - have been around, if not rife, for years. Workers packed together atop the back of a pick-up truck, none of them belted up, remains a common sight on Singapore roads. Last November, a cleaning firm was merely fined $20,000 for housing five foreign workers in a disused rubbish bin centre - where they not only slept but also cooked their meals - for at least six months.

Before this, the biggest fine meted out for a similar offence was only $7,500, to another cleaning company that made four workers live in a public toilet.

Another group of foreign workers were found crammed into a bug-infested dormitory.

In all, more than 1,000 companies were caught for housing workers in substandard conditions between January and November 2008 - but the vast majority got off with just a warning letter. If the penalty is not much of a deterrent, there will almost certainly be employers with no qualms about placing foreign workers just about anywhere expediently and cheaply. Then there was, of course, the fracas involving Serangoon Gardens residents who raised a huge stink over the idea of a workers' dormitory coming up in their midst.

As with all groups, there will be some black sheep, but most foreign workers come here to earn a living, not to create trouble. But going by the vehement objections of Singaporeans to having them live nearby, foreign workers are potential thieves or rapists. The concerns go beyond personal security, though, to complaints that a workers' dorm in the vicinity would lower their property value. Their solutions? House foreign workers offshore, or at least have separate access roads for them.

The Ministry of Manpower must get tough on errant, recalcitrant employers and unscrupulous agents who exploit workers and abuse the work permit system, including by, in some cases, barring them from applying for further permits altogether. As for those Singaporeans who believe foreign workers should preferably be seen only within and around their workplaces, just have all the rubbish collectors in their neighbourhood go on strike for a week, or even just a day or two.

Singapore Flyer Breakdown Had Happened Before

The news agency AFP wrote this article on 5 January 2009.

Less than three weeks before 173 people became trapped on the world's biggest observation wheel, dozens were stuck in another incident, the attraction said Friday.

The Singapore Flyer gave AFP details of three previous stoppages at the wheel before the most serious incident on December 23 which trapped most of the 173 passengers for more than six hours.

On December 4, 74 passengers were affected during a stoppage which lasted about an hour, the Flyer said in a statement that cited extreme weather and a short circuit as the cause.

Passengers were not at risk, said the Flyer, which opened last February and is one of Singapore's major tourist attractions.

On July 11, two passengers were on board when the wheel stopped for about an hour because of a minor braking system fault, the Flyer said.

No visitors were aboard on June 18 when the wheel stopped for an hour in an electrical storm. Passengers had been evacuated earlier as a precaution because of the bad weather, the Flyer said.

The wheel has been closed since it stopped turning after a small electrical fire on December 23.

Police are investigating and the Flyer's chairman, Florian Bollen, said international experts had gathered to examine what caused that incident "and to make sure that this will never happen again".

Most passengers were stuck inside the Flyer's enclosed cabins until power was restored but 10 escaped using rescue harnesses. Two were taken to hospital.

Happy Birthday J B Jeyaretnam

A music video dedication by Seelan Palay (In Tamil with subtitles):

Singapore Prepares To Gobble Up Its Last Village

This article appeared in The New York Times on January 3, 2009.
By Seth Mydans

SINGAPORE — It is Singapore’s secret Eden, a miniature village called Kampong Buangkok that is hidden in trees among the massed apartment blocks, where a fresh breeze rustles the coconut palms and tropical birds whoop and whistle.

With just 28 houses in an area the size of three football fields, it is Singapore’s last rural hamlet, a forgotten straggler in the rush to modernize this high-rise, high-tech city-state. But apparently not for much longer. Kampong Buangkok is designated by the government for demolition and redevelopment, possibly in the near future. When it is gone, one of the world’s most extreme national makeovers will be complete.

Kampong is a local word for village and also defines a traditional rural way of life that Singapore has left behind.

“The big overhaul began in the early 1960s,” said Rodolph de Koninck, a professor of geography at the University of Montreal and one of the authors of “Singapore: An Atlas of Perpetual Territorial Transformation,” which graphically charts a half-century of change.

As the decades passed, a clamorous tropical settlement reinvented itself as a spic-and-span outpost of the developed world.

Now 90 percent of Singapore’s population has been moved into government housing, and many people have moved at least once again as the city continues to change.

“Everything is up for redevelopment,” Mr. de Koninck said. “Even downtown, things that were developed in the 1960s and 1970s are already being torn down.”

When Sng Mui Hong’s father bought the land in 1956, Kampong Buangkok was a muddy village like hundreds of others around Singapore. No one could have guessed that it would be the last.

Under the city’s master plan, at an unannounced date Kampong Buangkok will be “comprehensively developed to provide future housing, schools and other neighborhood facilities,” said Serene Tng of the Urban Redevelopment Authority in an e-mail message.

Ms. Sng, 55, is now the landowner, wheeling her bicycle among the metal-roofed, one-story homes of her tenants, who are also her friends and pay only nominal rents for their houses.

The government provides electricity, running water and trash collection, and once a day a postman comes by on his motorcycle.

Ms. Sng grew up here, and many of her neighbors were her childhood companions. Few people in Singapore of her generation can say that.

Fruits and flowers cluster in the village like endangered species in a vanishing ecosystem. There are tiny guavas and giant papayas, yams and tapioca plants, dill and edible bamboo shoots, bougainvillea and hibiscus.

Snakes and lizards scurry through the undergrowth, and tiny fish swim in a tiny stream.

Through the trees in all directions, the people of Kampong Buangkok can glimpse the government housing blocks that represent their future.

Under Singapore law, the government can buy the land at any time, at a designated price, and Ms. Sng has already prepared herself.

“If there’s a change, I won’t have my friends any more,” she said, but added: “We must not cling on to things. If the government wants to take the land, they will take it.”

There is no question that Singapore needs the land.

Its population, which was 1.6 million in 1960, has grown to 4.8 million living in an area less than 300 square miles, one of the world’s highest population densities. Planners project a growth of nearly 40 percent by midcentury, to 6.5 million.

“We will need to optimize land use, whether it is though reclamation, building upwards or using subterranean space,” Minister of National Development Mah Bow Tan said recently, in describing the plans for population growth.

To make more space, neighborhoods are razed, landmarks are sacrificed and cemeteries — an inefficient use of land — are cleared away, the buried remains cremated and placed in vaults.

In its most ambitious development project, Singapore has simply made itself bigger. In 1957 its land area was 224 square miles. Since then vast amounts of landfill, dumped into the sea, have expanded it by more than one-third, to 299 square miles.

Few people in Singapore know that one village still survives, hidden in trees 200 yards from a highway.

“Even if I want to show my children how I was brought up I can’t show them,” said Ho Why Hong, 50, a taxi driver, as he searched for Kampong Buangkok. “Everything is torn down.”

“When we were growing up we didn’t lock our doors,” he said. “That kind of trust we had. Everyone knew each other. Any stranger who came into the kampong, we knew.”

In modern Singapore, few neighbors know each other, said Sarimah Cokol, 50, who grew up in Kampong Buangkok and now lives in one of the apartments that people here call pigeonholes.

“Open door, close door,” she said in the terse speech of no-nonsense Singapore. “After work, go in. Close door.”

China Construction Workers Still At MOM

The following article appeared in the New Paper on 2 Jan 2009.

Firm's 'new wage structure' halves their pay
Tan May Ping and Shree Ann Mathavan
2 January 2009
The New Paper

JUST a day after they turned out in full force at the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), hordes of China workers were there again yesterday.

The workers claimed that their complaints about their salaries being drastically reduced had yet to be settled with their employers.

Their other bone of contention was that their employers were taking too long to pay their outstanding wages from September onwards.

More than 100 workers from Zhonghe Huaxing Development and China Nuclear Industry Huaxing Construction Co showed up yesterday and crowded the main entrance of the MOM building at Havelock Road.

Security personnel and the police gotthem to move to the side, away from theentrance.

About 200 workers had gone to the MOM on Tuesday to complain that they had not been paid for four months.

They had also objected to the many 'unfair' deductions from their salaries.

The ministry said on Tuesday that with its intervention, the issues were amicably resolved.

The employers, it said, had banked the September salaries into the workers' accounts that day and had also undertaken to pay all salary arrears by Chinese New Year.

It added that the employers had also undertaken to pay basic salaries on time going forward, and that the parties had reached an understanding on other differences.

But the workers were still unhappy yesterday.

Speaking to The New Paper yesterday, they said their average monthly salary had been reduced from $1,300 to just $700 plus a variable component that depends on their volume of work.

One construction worker in his 30s claimed they were informed of this only on Monday, when they found posters detailing the change in wage structure posted up in their various accommodations.

He said: 'We were promised before coming (to Singapore) that our pay would be $1,300, now it's completely changed.

'What do they mean by this? We should be paid our entire salary.'

He also said that as the company did not divulge how this variable component is calculated, they would be at the mercy of the company.

Like many of his colleagues, this worker who came to Singapore to work in July last year claimed to have been paid only a fraction of the wages due to him.

'$6,000 still owed'

In the six months he has been here, he claimed he has been paid only $1,000 so far.

Some $6,000 in wages are still owed to him, he claimed.

Workers we spoke to also added that the company's schedule of paying them their overdue wages was taking too long.

A construction worker in his 40s told The New Paper: 'All of us have wives, kids, ageing parents to support and many have borrowed from loan sharks to come here.

'How can they take so long? We are anxious, especially since we want to send money in time for Chinese New Year.'

This worker said that they were informed in a meeting with their employers on Tuesday that the monthly wage deduction of $550 would be discontinued.

This deduction was supposed to be returned to them in a lump sum upon completion of their two-year contract.

However, the $150 deduction for water and electricity would remain.

That is something the workers continue to be unhappy about.

Said the worker: 'We already earn so little and yet they want to deduct this and that.'

The workers hoped that by turning up once again at the doorsteps of MOM, the wage dispute could be settled once and for all.

He said: 'We are hoping for a resolution, so this is the only thing we can do.

'If we go to work or just sleep, the problem won't be settled.'

When contacted, a spokesman for the company said the workers had 'wrongly perceived' that the company's wage structure had changed.

He said the variable component of the wage structure has always been there and is necessary because it takes into account the volume of work that workers do.

'That's our right as an employer. It's not a pay cut, it depends on the work they do.'

He said: 'If workers don't work and keep going to MOM, why should we pay them?'

However, when asked about why the posters clarifying the wage structure were put up, he declined to comment further.

But he noted that the salaries stated by the workers were not listed in the companies' contracts.

He said: 'That is the agents' promise, not ours.'

An MOM spokesman said that some of the workers returned to the ministry to raise additional issues, and it is looking into the matter.

The rest of the workers returned to work yesterday, she added.