Opinions

Chan Chun Sing addressed the concerns regarding the Merdeka Generation Package yesterday. He claims that the funds for rolling out the package will be funded out by the Government. He also claims that the multibillion dollar scheme will not be funded by the citizens through things like an increase in taxes such as the GST.

Now the question is, do we believe him? Many of us are already suspecting that this package is just another election gimmick, another chicken wing to dangle at Pappies to get their votes. Can we really believe that our taxes wouldn't increase and hat they have enough funds to pay for it? We can't even expect our CPF to be properly paid out to us and he expects us to believe his words now?

He also says that this package will not be a burden that would not be passed to the next or future governments. If not the governments, then the citizens? We can only wonder. I want to truly believe that his words are true and that taxes would not be raised due to this package, but what are the chances? I have had enough of paying for their gimmicks and wayang. We need a change.

Credits: Facebook

The Government has started giving out their chicken wings. Yesterday, the announcement of the removal of three ERP charges during the morning peak period was released to the joy of many commuters. The announcements on the merdeka generation package. Aren't all these just chicken wings given to us by the current ruling government? Just like how they give out GST vouchers, they then increase the our taxes to take back one whole chicken.

This always happens when we are near an election period. I feel that this is such a dishonest way of getting votes. Not to mention, they are currently also milking the bicentenary by releasing pages of them praising themselves, telling the public about all they good they've done. If they have really done so well, they would not need to resort to such tactics to get more votes. The citizens know what they have done for them first hand. Why the need to wayang?

But I hope that many of the 70% will wake up for the upcoming GE. We have to show the government that we are not sheeple and that we have to stand up for ourselves. Just because they dangle a chicken wing in front of us doesn't mean we will fall for their tricks and vote for them. #VTO

Credits: Facebook

Editors note: Are you falling for the chicken wings? Why and why not?

While cases investigated by CPIB rarely gets a public airing, netizens have been up in arms over the perceived different treatment that CPIB is giving to crematorium workers and the Keppel O&M leaders that was embroiled in the Brazil bribery scandal.

It has transpired that the CPIB is investigating over 20 crematorium workers who accepted angpows from grieving families. CPIB have called up these workers to help them in their investigations. However, netizens pointed out that no action was publicly acknowledged by CPIB against the Keppel leadership, when they only were known to face internal action when the bribery scandal came to light. Netizens also pointed out that CPIB was also quick to act against a PSA forklift operator who received only a $1 tip.

Most agreed that any kind of bribery needs to be investigated, whether they involved $1 or millions of dollars. So what makes the Keppel leadership so special that they were not hauled up by CPIB even though the sum involved were $50million?

In parliament earlier today, Ng Eng Hen, the Minister for Defence, provided a detailed update in parliament on the circumstances leading to the death of NSman, Aloysius Pang. Ng also informed that the State Coroner is unable to launch its own investigations into the death it had happened overseas and it has no jurisdiction over the matter. The Special Investigation Branch (SIB), which has jurisdiction, under military law, to investigate the incident, will do so.

In a related speech, Ng also apologised for the four recent NSmen deaths and assured that Mindef and the SAF will hold themselves accountable for all the NSmen entrusted to them.

Ng should take a look at himself in the mirror and ask himself what he has done wrong. The culture of safety is everyone's responsibility but it starts from the top. Even if the men raise safety issues, the threat or danger will not be mitigated unless the higher-ups do their due dilligence and honestly follow-up on the feedback.

It is unfortunate that the State Coroner cannot launch its own investigations but these are legalities that need to be taken into account. The State Coroner does not have any links to Mindef or the SAF, and hence, would have been seen by the public to be more independent than SIB.

Good sense must prevail and if laws allow for it to do so, then State Coroner should have sight of the findings and be able provide its own expert opinions.

The COI and SIB must do what's right and just for Singaporeans to do their jobs as independently as possible. Parents and parents-to-be in Singapore need to know that they will not lose the sons that they've sent away to serve the country.

Saravanan

Reader Contribution

The inevitable has happened. Hate to say it but Khaw Boon Wan was right. In Dec, Khaw had warned of the dangers in the waters, remarking that he doesn't “think it's a question of counting one, two, three. Our preference - in fact that's what we urged them to do - is to withdraw all the ships because it is not conducive...it's not necessary...And we continue to worry about risk because we have two ships facing each other, and who knows, accidents can happen. It may not be intended, but if something happens, it's very troublesome".

Just yesterday, MV Polaris, a Malaysian government vessel from its Maritime Department had an accident with a Greek ship, in our waters. This is one of the vessels that continued to intrude into our waters at the height of the dispute. Johor's Menteri Besar, Osman Sapian, in an act of defiance, visited a sister vessel, MV Pedoman, just days after a meeting between the Foreign Ministers of Singapore, Vivian Balakrishnan, and Malaysia, Saifuddin Abdullah.

In that meeting, both parties agreed on the establishment of a working group to "study and discuss legal and operational matters relating to the maritime dispute, in order to provide a basis for further discussions and negotiations".

Now that this accident has happened, what would the outcome be?

It is very, very clear now for the watching world to witness how inept, incompetent, and helpless the Malaysian officials are. If they cannot even keep their OWN SHIPS safe, from other vessels plying the waters, they cannot be trusted to keep other ships safe. This is a very important consideration. Commercial vessels are not cheap and companies and countries invest a lot of money and resources to build up their fleets. They also carry valuable goods and cargo. Hence, safety is of paramount importance for the investors and ship-owners.

If that safety cannot be guaranteed, then confidence will be lost. Consequently, these vested parties will look for alternative routes.

Firstly, as if it's not clear enough, this happened in our waters. This fact cannot be over-emphasised. Therefore, our Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) is investigating the accident.

Secondly, it could have been much worse. For now, there have been no reports of any oil spills. The outcome could have been much worse. There could have been injuries or even deaths. Hazardous chemicals could have been released into the sea. The damage on our economy, health, and the environment could takes months, or even years to recuperate, if not be completely irreversible. Who will take responsibility and who will bear the costs of the cleanup or salvage operations?

This accident may seem like a sick joke to the Malaysian officials plying our waters. It's not. You didn't listen. You blatantly ignored international conventions. You were out of your depth. You did not recognise that you are out of your depth. You put yourselves and other people in danger. We cannot allow your incompetence to undermine the safety in our waters.

For their superiors and political masters like Osman Sapian and Dr. Mahathir, it is time to put your egos aside. We don't want to say "I told you so", but we did tell you! Are you going to claim responsibility for this accident or will you be too blinded by your own egos and blame something or someone else? You need to stop playing politics with safety and disregard human lives. If telling your officials to intrude into our waters gave you an erection, then this should, hopefully give you erectile dysfunction. Time to put your egos aside and wake up. 

At this side of the causeway, the Singapore government must move faster and stop dragging their feet. The timeline of the negotiations and discussions need to be quickened. We cannot afford to work at the pace decided by Malaysia because it gets riskier by the day. We know that, apart from cases of sabotage, we have the quality, ability, attitude, and track record to ensure safety of navigation in our waters. The government must be more assertive in ensuring the conducive political environment that will enable our officers to do their jobs to the best of their abilities.

Until these things happen, get ready for more action at the sea.

The writer, Kelvin, is fed-up.

On 8 February 2019, state media Straits Times reported that 24 pilots from Indian carrier Vistara, will be flying with Singapore Airlines (SIA) and its budge arm, scoot for about a year. They have been joining the airlines progressively from last month. This would help Singapore Airlines to meet manpower needs while providing pilots from Vistara some experience for long-haul flights.

Now comes the question, manpower needs? Ask around your family members if any of them have ever wanted to become a commercial pilot. Many would probably say yes, they have thought about it before, myself included. It is a fact that being a pilot is a highly coveted job with parents encouraging some of their children to become one in the future. However, many who tried often fail the interviews while the rest do not even try signing up due to the fear of the low acceptance rate. 

If they were having manpower problems, why not train locals for the job? Are they trying to say that Indian pilots are more reliable? A simple Google search would show you how many flight accident's they've had over the years, as well as the number of people who have died because of them. How sure are we that we can trust them?

While our local companies are constantly bringing in FTs for such highly coveted jobs, us Singaporeans have to go through things like the compulsory National Service and risk our lives with such a low ALLOWANCE (we can't even call it a pay). As if risking our lives weren't enough, if we were to pass away, how many of our ministers actually care for your death and actually attend your funerals? Just take a look at the recently passed Aloysius Pang (RIP) as compared to the billionaire's son, Ben Goi.

How is this fair for us locals?