It's not the PRs who need to be managed better

The idea to "encourage" (interpret that however you will) more Permanent Residents to take up Singapore Citizenship was mooted by Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, who said that PRs who reject the offer will not get their PR status renewed. The initial estimate of 10% of the PR population who will be "encouraged" was walked back by SM Goh's press secretary, who clarified that was "not a target", but rather for "illustrative purposes".

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Great headline, too little for effect

Sometimes we have a tendency to consider things in a vacuum. Take for example a photography newbie looking to buy a camera; instead of asking "What fits my needs better than what I have now?", they will ask "What is the best camera out there that I can afford?". The same goes for anyone who wants to make a buying decision, or making any decision, really. We tend to isolate it into a simple, black-or-white, yes-or-no dichotomy that we forget that decisions should not be made without considering the scale of the solution.

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Quote of the Day II

Lucky Tan continues swinging at the homelessness issue:

[Homelessness] is not a problem the govt cannot fix. The govt has more than enough resources to do this but is limited by ideological belief that 'welfare is a dirty word' and 'subsidies are bad'.....but these subsidies are neccessitated by the huge income gap which is a function of economic policies adopted by the PAP.

His entire post is worth reading.

Quote of the Day

Paul Krugman talks about the Democrats' feelings of immigration reform:

[O]pen immigration can’t coexist with a strong social safety net; if you’re going to assure health care and a decent income to everyone, you can’t make that offer global.

This is also very relevant to Singapore politics, and explains the gulf between the PAP and those of us who oppose their policies.

In their reality, they are right by default

My second exclusive for The Online Citizen, a response to Tampines GRC MP Sin Boon Ann's article in Petir and Today, has just been published. Here's a sneak peek.

It is obvious that Mr Sin believes everything he and his PAP colleagues have decided are the correct decisions, and does not want to entertain an alternative where this reality may be challenged, even when the doubts raised are reasonable and reality-based. They get to decide what is good and right for Singaporeans, even if they have to redefine and make a different reality.

You can read the entire article here, and I hope you do! Comments and inputs are always welcome.

(h/t: Andrew Sullivan for inspiring the title of this post with his relentless coverage of Sarah Palin.)

Are hollow arguments, noise?

The lack of quality arguments from PAP MPs, and NMPs alike leads me to think that we have bigger things to worry about than increasing the number of NMPs and NCMPs in Parliament, especially if the existing system allowed the likes of Zaqy Mohamad, Ho Geok Choo, and Calvin Cheng into Parliament.

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For the record

The Online Citizen has an ongoing column where the latest insults on Singaporeans, launched by PAP MPs and Ministers, can be found. I particular enjoyed Teo Chee Hean's consistency of belief, that Singaporeans, and not their elected representatives, are to blame for the failure of policies that were enacted by the latter.

In any other developed democracy, these politicians would be torn apart by the press. But even they cannot hide the unempathetic words of the PAP for too much longer.

(h/t: Gwee Li Sui)

Another uninformed citizen

This meandering letter published on the Straits Times Forum is astounding on several levels. It starts off as a response to the Chee Soon Juan-Chiam See Tong spat, proceeds to hammer Chee for "introducing a confrontational Western-style democracy in Singapore", then betrays his lack of knowledge in the international politics, before regurgitating the main PAP talking points in a furious flurry topped with the old Deng Xiaoping quote "It doesn't matter if the cat is black or white, so long as it catches mice", ending off in full patriotic glory by invoking the national pledge. It reads like Stalinist propaganda.

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Dropped for asking the hard questions

I had mentioned this in passing, but felt that it deserves more attention than that. Dexter Lee wrote that the regional news channel will be replaced on SingTel's MioTV service by Russia Today and China's CCTV9, which are somehow considered "newer adequate choices":

According to my friend, she had received a letter from Singtel in March informing subscribers of the removal of AJE and replacement with other “newer adequate choices”. No word or reason had been given by Singtel on why they have pulled AJE from the airwaves. A check with the MioTV site does indicate that the dropped Middle East news channel has been replaced with “newer adequate choices” such as Russia Today, CCTV 9 (China) as well as Euronews.

Perhaps Al Jazeera has rattled the nerves of the ruling elite with a host of programs scrutinizing the socio-economic problems in Singapore, more so than any other news channel (including the venerable BBC World News).

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IHT apology sacrifices principles for money

Bloggers like Matt Yglesias, Ezra Klein and Will Bunch reacted with a collective "WTF?" when this apology was carried by the New York Times, as the owner of the International Herald Tribune would do. The surprise reflects the difference in the practise and perspective of journalism between the US and Singapore, and is also an indication of how suppressed the local press is.

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