The Foreign Donor Bogeyman
Presumably because NMP Siew Kum Hong was vocal about gay rights and AWARE's stress on gender rather than women's rights per se, his political adversaries shrewdly capitalised on allegations that he and Maruah accepted foreign handouts from a Swede gentleman, Johan Skarendal. Allegations to which Siew Kum Hong angrily denied and strongly objected to. His adversaries were clever enough to open that front to ignite the government's relatively justifiable paranoia, and the police report made by the NMP indicated that he knew enough of the seriousness of the allegations. The Yahoo lawyer categorically denied that he was involved in any inappropriate or illegal funding from the Swede, and by inference as Maruah members were there as well, Maruah was also not implicated in dubious funding, closing the case.
The government's fear of foreign funding of local politicians and activists is not unique. The UK has the Political Parties, Elections and Referendum Act forcing all parties to be transparent about their donations and outlawed foreign funding. The reasons were to prevent corruption and mitigate public cynicism related to the integrity of political parties and donor influence over politicians. However, other countries are even wary of their NGOs accepting foreign donations. Turkey and Russia are such examples. To be fair and understanding the realist realities of the world, the anxiety over the hidden agenda of foreign donations to political parties and NGOs are not unfounded.
Some foreign public and private philanthropies are designed as catalysts of political change in supposedly less democratic states. The objective of funding is to spur on "democracy" and the US' National Endowment for Democracy, which Dr Chee Soon Juan was a fellow in 2004, is a common example of missionary democracy and the need to convert "ignorant heathens" for their own good. However, at the other extreme, sounding the nationalistic klaxon, less progressive governments typically raise the ghoul of foreign intervention as an excuse to choke and isolate local politicians and activists within their borders. Perhaps the tentative balance is that politicians cannot accept any kind of foreign funding while activists can accept foreign funding as long as it is not directly or indirectly engineered by a foreign government. Perhaps.
Regardless if the recent Swede's visit was an innocuous one or not, it paved the way for further questions on what foreign donations political parties and activists can accept without detonating ethical and legal powder kegs. Who else besides Siew Kum Hong and some Maruah activists did Johan Skarendal meet as part of his Singapore itinerary is not public information. Arguably in the interest of the development of a civil society without a paranoid government taking every chance to jump at shadows and curb the honest work of activists, hopefully other parties that met the Swede are not naive and also followed Maruah's example of financial integrity and independence.
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Tuesday, May 26, 2009
联合晚报 becomes the mouthpiece of wayangparty run by NHG's employee
联合晚报:New petition to SNOC to give special award to Liu Guodong
A new round of petition has started on the internet requesting the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) to present a special award to Liu Guodong and a petition drive will be held next Saturday at Hong Lim Park to submit the petition to Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean.
Socio-political blog Wayang Party has been collecting signatures online since yesterday to implore SNOC to recognize his contributions to the women team winning the Olympic silver medal.
The petition wrote: “None of the coaches who won the ‘Coach of the year’ award since it was inaugurated in 1970 had ever won a medal in the Olympics games. If STTA refuse to nominate Liu for the award, SNOC should give him a special award.”
The petition will be submitted to Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean who is the President of the Singapore National Olympic Council.
Wayang Party also announced on its blog that it will be organizing a petition next Saturday 6 June 2009 at Hong Lim Park and will invite Liu Guodong to grace the event if he is in Singapore.
Till this afternoon, more than 30 signatures have penned their names down on the petition.
EDITORS’ NOTE:
Please sign the two petitions if you haven’t done so:
1. Petition to DPM Teo Chee Hean to give special award to Liu Guodong
2. Peitition to remove Lee Bee Wah as STTA President
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Iskandar: Singaporeans make up 90% of buyers in some developments
| Living it up in Iskandar region | |
| S'poreans make up 90% of buyers in some developments | |
| THE RECESSION may have made luxury homes here out of reach for many people. | |
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| 26 May 2009 | |
THE RECESSION may have made luxury homes here out of reach for many people. But up north, at Iskandar Development Region, it's possible to get a resort-style bungalow from about RM1.4 million($580,000). A bungalow with a golf course frontage costs about RM2m at Horizon Hills, while a semi-detached unit costs around RM900,000, according to previous media reports. Horizon Hills is located in Nusajaya, a flagship zone within Iskandar Malaysia. Spanning 1,200 acres, the township comprises 13 precincts with bungalows, semi-detached, cluster and terrace homes. The eco-friendly development, Setia Eco Gardens, is also located in the Iskandar development region. Prices for its Visellia terrace units start from RM414,000. In some developments, Singaporeans make up 90 per cent of buyers. Speaking to The New Paper last week, Mr Harun Johari, CEO of the Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA), said: 'Singaporeans are stretching their dollar by buying such property in Iskandar, which is cheaper than buying it locally.' He said some Singaporeans have snapped up potential 'retirement homes' or 'holiday homes' there. Launched in November 2006 by former Malaysian premier Abdullah Badawi, the 2,217 sq km Iskandar Malaysia project is about three times the size of Singapore, and is expected to be completed in 20 years. Located in Johor, it is expected to become Southern Peninsular Malaysia's most developed region, with its own financial, medical, educational and residential hubs. But property consultant Colin Tan of Chesterton International cautioned against jumping onto the bandwagon too quickly. Mr Tan said: 'The main attraction is obviously the lower prices, but the concern is security, going by the reports of crime in Johor. 'Prices are low for a reason. Once security is enhanced, you can expect prices to rise. If you want to buy, you need to decide if these factors are relevant to you. Proceed with caution.' Mr Harun said that security in Iskandar Malaysia is being looked into, and will be enhanced. In a meeting between Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak on Friday, both leaders discussed the possibilities of developing a wellness centre and an integrated township within Iskandar Malaysia. Mr Harun said that the wellness centre is already one of the clusters in the overall masterplan of Iskandar Malaysia's economic clusters. Commenting on the idea, Mr Tan said: 'The vision is good, but investors must believe that the idea will take off before going in with money.' S'pore a top investor Mr Harun, who was in Singapore for the Cityscape Asia exhibition, said that Singapore is now in third place behind Europe and Japan in terms of investments in IRDA. As an indication, RM750 million worth of investments came from Singapore last year, making up 9.11 per cent of IRDA's total investments. The majority of the Singapore investments come from small and medium enterprises. Mr Harun said: 'They see the opportunity for their businesses to be expanded there. It makes sense because Iskandar Malaysia is so near, just across the Causeway.' Mr Harun said that the development will create between 600,000 and 800,000 jobs over the next 20 years, in the financial, educational, creative, healthcare, tourism and logistics sectors, among others. The jobs are not exclusive to Malaysians. http://forums.delphiforums.com/sunkopitiam/messages?msg=29666.1 |
We are not funding NMP
| Swedish International Liberal Centre says: | |||||
| We are not funding NMP | |||||
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| NETIZENS were abuzz over a meeting between him and Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP) Siew Kum Hong last month.
But Mr Johan Skarendal, 29, a member of the Swedish International Liberal Mr Skarendal said SILC is a foundation which assists democracy It is affiliated to the Liberal Party, one of the four political parties In recent weeks, Mr Siew has been the target of what seems like an Flamed online He has been flamed extensively on several forums and blogs, and has even Mr Skarendal told The New Paper that though he met Mr Siew during his He said: 'I met him (Mr Siew) for one hour to discuss his work in He added that SILC is one of several Swedish organisations carrying out 'All of our project proposals must pass through rigorous screening and He stressed that Mr Siew did not ask about the possibility of funding, 'The current allegations against him are clearly nothing but hot air with When contacted, Mr Siew declined comment as he has already made a police In an 18 May entry on his blog (siewkumhong.blogspot.com), Mr Siew wrote: 'The only sources of income (or funding) that I have, are my employer and He quashed online allegations of links with the Singapore Democratic Mr Siew described the latest attacks as going 'beyond anything that a He added that he would not tolerate the latest wave of 'character Mr Skarendal said his latest visit to Singapore was with Mr Henrik They met with several 'human rights defenders and civil society members', He confirmed that he had met with SDP secretary-general Chee Soon Juan |
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MAN LEAVES GERMAN SHEPHERD IN SEA & speeds away from Pulau Ubin in boat
| MAN LEAVES GERMAN SHEPHERD IN SEA & speeds away from Pulau Ubin in boat | |||||
| Pricey breeds of dogs spotted abandoned on Pulau Ubin include: | |||||
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FROM wild hornbills to flying foxes to wild boars, Pulau Ubin has always been known for its rich biodiversity and natural landscape.
But in recent years, it has also become a convenient dumping ground - for pedigree dogs. Prized, expensive dogs such as german shepherds, a siberian husky and some terriers have been found abandoned on the island, said some Ubin residents that The New Paper spoke to. The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) also received one such complaint a few years ago. It's unclear how some of these dogs were taken to the island but a Ubin resident, Mr Simon Thang, 48, witnessed a german shepherd being dumped off a speedboat about four years ago. He has been living on the island for the past 15 years. The incident happened on the northern part of the island in 2005.
Mr Thang, who was working as a security supervisor on a campsite then, said he saw the boat pull up slowly near the shallow waters. He suspected something was amiss because it was about 10pm and few boats stop in that area. 'I saw a guy on the boat gesturing for the german shepherd to jump into the water. I thought that the owner just wanted to play with the dog. 'Suddenly, the boat just sped away and left the dog in the water,' he said in Mandarin.
Luckily, the shore was just a few metres away and the dog managed to swim to safety. Mr Thang said he played with the german shepherd for a while but it ran off and was never seen again after that. It's obvious that these thoroughbreds don't belong on the island because most of the dogs on Pulau Ubin are mongrels, he added. Some of the pedigree dogs started turning up on the island about four years ago, said Mr Thang, but most of them have since disappeared. They could have been adopted by fish farm owners or killed by wild boars which roam the island, he said. There are a number of floating fish farms situated just off the island. Irresponsible
Mr Thang also encountered a siberian husky which turned up on his doorstep one evening about two years ago. 'I heard my dogs barking, I went outside and saw the husky just outside my house. It had a ribbon tied around its neck,' said Mr Thang, who lives just five minutes' walk from the jetty. He fed the dog, which slept in his house that night. But the dog scooted off in the middle of the night and never returned. Said Mr Thang: 'It was such a beautiful dog. I am sure someone took the dog and kept it.' Last year, he also saw another german shepherd outside his house. That dog also ran off soon after. Mr Thang thinks that irresponsible dog owners who abandon their pets should be taken to task. 'These dog owners probably thought that it was best to leave the dogs on this island where they can roam around,' he said, adding that the dogs are domesticated and one couldn't expect them to hunt for their own food. Mr Thang adopted a terrier, which he said someone dumped at Bishan Park three years ago. Mr Chua Hup Guang, a 72-year-old bumboat operator, said he ferried a dog owner with his dog to Pulau Ubin some two years ago. But the dog owner subsequently returned to the mainland - without the dog. Said Mr Chua in Hokkien: 'I didn't ask him about his dog because I don't want to be a busybody. But I've heard stories about dogs being dumped in Ubin.' Mr Chua - who has been plying his trade for over 40 years - said travellers who take their dogs with them over to the island are few, about once every few months. Another long-time resident, who declined to be named, said he saw some of these pedigree dogs two years ago. Said the 68-year-old in Mandarin: 'How can these dogs survive here? There are so many wild boars around here which could attack them.' In Malaysia, villagers caught more than 300 stray dogs and dumped them on Pulau Tengah, an uninhabited mangrove island off Western Selangor. The dogs were driven to cannibalism after weeks of starvation, according to an Associated Press report earlier this month. The villagers said they had not intended to be cruel and had believed the dogs could survive on the island. Mr Madhavan Kannan, head of the Agri-food and Veterinary Authority's (AVA) Centre for Animal Welfare and Control, said their officers have not seen any abandoned pedigree dogs on Pulau Ubin and they have had no reports of such dogs abandoned there. There is no good reason to abandon these animals, he added. 'In the event a person is unable to keep the animal, they can consider re-homing the pet, seek the assistance of animal welfare organisations like the SPCA to re-home the pet or surrender the pet to AVA's Centre for Animal Welfare and Control,' said Mr Kannan. The collection of unwanted animals like dogs and cats is a free service provided by AVA.
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NORTH KOREA NUCLEAR TEST: North to test more missiles
May 26, 2009
NORTH KOREA NUCLEAR TEST
North to test more missiles
 |  | North Korea is preparing to test-fire short-range missiles in the Yellow Sea, one day after it staged a nuclear test. -- PHOTO: AFP |
'North Korea has declared an off-limits area for vessels in the Yellow Sea off Jungsan county in South Pyongan province,' it quoted a Seoul government source as saying.
'The North is likely to fire short-range missiles today or tomorrow.' Jungsan is about 40km west of Pyongyang.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff said it could not comment on intelligence matters.
The North on Monday staged its second underground nuclear test, with an explosive force much larger than the first in October 2006.
It also fired three short-range ground-to-air missiles from locations near its east coast, Seoul's military said.
Several times in recent years, the North has test-fired ground-to-ship or ship-to-ship missiles in either the Yellow Sea or the Sea of Japan (East Sea).
The launches are often staged to coincide with periods of regional tension.
Yonhap said the North is preparing to launch ground-to-ship missiles with a range of 160 km (100 miles), which use technology based on China's Silkworm missiles.
The South summoned an emergency meeting of top military commanders to review its defence posture, a Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesman said.
The meeting would stress the need to heighten vigilance against the North's 'militarily provocative acts,' the spokesman told AFP. -- AFP
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Temasek: Call for more transparency
May 26, 2009
Call for more transparency
| By Goh Chin Lian | ||
 | | Mr Singh (left) wants a review of how the country's reserves are managed, while Mr Zaqy believes Singaporeans deserve more accountability on how they are invested. |
THE conduct and investment practices of Temasek Holdings and the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) came under scrutiny on Monday - and they were found wanting.
The need to be more transparent in their investments for greater public scrutiny and for a review of the way they manage Singapore's reserves were issues raised by three MPs.
First to rise was Mr Michael Palmer (Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC), who criticised Temasek for keeping mum initially on the details of the sale of its entire stake in Bank of America.
News of the sale broke on May 15. Its statement explaining the sale was issued last Thursday - six days later.
Despite the statement, Mr Palmer felt there were questions still left unanswered, such as those relating to the timing of the sale and the actual sale price.
Mr Zaqy Mohamad (Hong Kah GRC) believes Singaporeans deserve more accountability on how their money is being invested. He also suggested giving people more information on the bonuses and performance of staff at Temasek and GIC.
'We ask the same of our professional investment fund managers and commercial banks. Why not those who manage our reserves?' he said during the House debate on the President's Address.
Mr Inderjit Singh (Ang Mo Kio GRC) felt the two investment companies had departed from their original investment goals and asked for a top-level review of the management of Singapore's reserves.
The MPs' comments came in the wake of reported losses by both. GIC's portfolio shrank, in US dollar terms, by about 25 per cent from the time global markets peaked in October 2007 to the end of last year. Temasek's portfolio contracted 31 per cent, from S$185 billion to S$127 billion, between March 31 and Nov 30 last year.
The sale of its 3 per cent BoA stake could have resulted in a loss of at least US$2.3 billion (S$3.3 billion), according to analyst estimates.
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