POLITICS

As the world moves towards universal healthcare, Singapore is being left behind. At the 66th World Health Assembly which is currently taking place in Geneva, Switzerland, the United Nations (UN) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) have called for governments to adopt universal health care policies. Health Minister Gan Kim Yong is reported to in attendance at the Assembly. The PAP Government has till now refused to make healthcare in Singapore universal, that is, available to all regardless of financial status.
 

On 17 May, after not receiving any response, I re-sent the email again to the minister. I have yet to receive any replies. It is important for the Government to state its position on the matter so that there is no ambiguity when it comes to ethnic communities being involved in politics or political events. It is useless, really, to speak of grave consequences if ethnic communities or organisations are actively involved in politics, but we keep quiet when such things actually take place before our very eyes.

Singapore's Acting Manpower Minister Tan Chuan-Jin said the government is not ruling out having anti-discrimination labour laws. At a conference on fair employment practices on Monday, he said legislation is a possible way to address prejudices. Mr Tan acknowledged calls for Singapore to outlaw labour discrimination, but noted that legislation itself is not the "silver bullet".

After a five-month-and- counting dispute between the PAP and the WP over town council management, I went away thinking that everyone had blood on their hands. And in a way, that's as it should be. What the whole time-consuming episode has shown us is that town council management is absolutely drenched with politicking. In one corner, we have the PAP, which sold its town councils' IT software to a $2 company owned by former MPs, which then leased its use back to the town councils, with a one-month termination clause should an opposition party take over.

Singapore’s Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Lim Swee Say said grassroots leaders are the "voice of the silent majority", helping to strengthen ties between the ground and the government. Mr Lim, who is also deputy chairman of the People's Association (PA), made the comments at the PA Awards Ceremony on Saturday afternoon. Mr Lim said the ongoing “Our Singapore Conversation”, which seeks to reach consensus among Singaporeans on the country's future, illustrates the role of the grassroots movement in reaching out to what he described as "the silent majority".

Sometime after the last General Election, soon after I agreed to act as the Chief Editor of The Online Citizen, a junior staff from the PAP Government asked if he could meet me in my capacity as head of TOC, as well as some other young people from TOC to discuss how disenchanted young people may be engaged. I met him soon after with some friends from TOC, and at this meeting, this person emphasised that he had taken leave and was meeting us in his personal capacity. His message to us was simple. He said that the Government was apolitical, that we should not confuse politics of a political party with policy initiatives of the Government, and that he wished that youths would see this distinction and would work with the Government in making better policies.

My response to the WP’s statement on Town Council Management as follows:- The facts are clear. Based on their own calculations, their MA unit rate for 2012 was $ 7.58, 50% higher than the MA rate of Tampines TC which is of similar size. Based on their staggered pricing, their MA rate will be even higher in the following years. In fact by 2014, their MA rate will be about $8.50 or 70% higher than Tampines TC’s rate. Why doesn’t Ms Sylvia Lim admit these facts?

During the debate in Parliament on Town Councils on 13 May 2013, National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan made several remarks about the Workers’ Party (WP), Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council (AHPETC) and AHPETC’s managing agent (MA), FM Solutions and Services Pte Ltd (FMSS). Ms Sylvia Lim (Chairman of the WP and AHPETC, MP for Aljunied GRC) and Mr Pritam Singh (Vice-chairman of AHPETC, MP for Aljunied GRC) responded in Parliament to the Minister. The following is a summary of the key clarifications raised

During the debate in Parliament on Town Councils on 13 May 2013, Parliament discussed the controversial sale of the Town Council Management System (TCMS) to Action Information Management Pte Ltd (AIM), a company wholly-owned by the PAP, allowing AIM to terminate the TCMS with one month’s notice should there be a material change in the membership of the Town Council.