anti-National Service speech by Charlie Chaplin

By Charlie Chaplin

I’m sorry but I don’t want to be an emperor. That’s not my business. I don’t want to rule or conquer anyone. I should like to help everyone if possible; Jew, Gentile, black men, white. We all want to help one another. Human beings are like that. We want to live by each others’ happiness, not by each other’s misery. We don’t want to hate and despise one another. In this world there is room for everyone. And the good earth is rich and can provide for everyone. The way of life can be free and beautiful, but we have lost the way.

Greed has poisoned men’s souls; has barricaded the world with hate; has goose-stepped us into misery and bloodshed. We have developed speed, but we have shut ourselves in. Machinery that gives abundance has left us in want. Our knowledge as made us cynical; our cleverness, hard and unkind. We think too much and feel too little. More than machinery we need humanity. More than cleverness, we need kindness and gentleness. Without these qualities, life will be violent and all will be lost. The aeroplane and the radio have brought us closer together. The very nature of these inventions cries out for the goodness in man; cries out for universal brotherhood; for the unity of us all.

Even now my voice is reaching millions throughout the world, millions of despairing men, women, and little children, victims of a system that makes men torture and imprison innocent people. To those who can hear me, I say “Do not despair.” The misery that is now upon us is but the passing of greed, the bitterness of men who fear the way of human progress. The hate of men will pass, and dictators die, and the power they took from the people will return to the people. And so long as men die, liberty will never perish.

Soldiers! Don’t give yourselves to brutes, men who despise you and enslave you; who regiment your lives, tell you what to do, what to think and what to feel! Who drill you, diet you, treat you like cattle, use you as cannon fodder! Don’t give yourselves to these unnatural men—machine men with machine minds and machine hearts! You are not machines! You are not cattle! You are men! You have a love of humanity in your hearts! You don’t hate! Only the unloved hate; the unloved and the unnatural.

Soldiers! Don’t fight for slavery! Fight for liberty! In the seventeenth chapter of St. Luke, it’s written “the kingdom of God is within man”, not one man nor a group of men, but in all men! In you! You, the people, have the power, the power to create machines, the power to create happiness! You, the people, have the power to make this life free and beautiful, to make this life a wonderful adventure. Then in the name of democracy, let us use that power.

Let us all unite. Let us fight for a new world, a decent world that will give men a chance to work, that will give youth a future and old age a security. By the promise of these things, brutes have risen to power. But they lie! They do not fulfill their promise. They never will! Dictators free themselves but they enslave the people! Now let us fight to fulfill that promise! Let us fight to free the world! To do away with national barriers! To do away with greed, with hate and intolerance! Let us fight for a world of reason, a world where science and progress will lead to all men’s happiness.

Soldiers, in the name of democracy, let us all unite!

Punggol East SMC by-election is a National Referendum

OPINION PIECE

How do you get the government to listen? Hit them where it hurts most – votes.

This is one electoral contest where the people could give the PAP government a report card of their performance since the watershed election in 2011 which sees the ruling party losing a GRC for the first time in history. The ground today after the election has been bitter and worsening each day as the PAP government failed to live up to their election promises in controlling the foreigner population and keeping reign on the HDB prices. Fresh issues like flooding and public transport breakdowns also top Singaporeans’ grouses especially with the mismanagement of the SMRT.

Despite the changeover of leaders in the Transport, Manpower and the National Development Ministries, the respective area of governance continue to see discouraging figures and news reported even by the PAP-controlled mainstream media themselves. Particularly in the limelight is Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew, who have not only advocated “cost-sharing” of the supposedly-private transport operator’s operational losses, he also initiated a fare hike on the PTOs’ behalf when the PTO has been charting consistent and growing profits since inception. Although unfortunately Minister Lui Tuck Yew’s constituency is not available for a by-election, Singaporeans living in Punggol East could use the by-election as a National Referendum to table a resistance against untimely and inconsiderate policies.

The onus of the problems facing Singaporeans is the PAP government’s incompetence to get anything done. Unlike other governments, the PAP do not face any opposition strong enough to object against policies they proposed. Policies are often bulldozed across Parliament as the ruling party gets 93% of the seats despite winning only 60.1% of the votes. Housing affordability, over-population, widening income gap, falling birthrate and rising living costs have already been on Singaporeans’ agenda for the past decade, but the PAP government failed to use its political leverage to push for solutions or even be seen trying to find a solution. Instead of solving problems, the ruling party put more effort in conducting a massive public relation exercise called the “Our Singapore Conversation” and pushing for Internet Censorship through a “code of conduct”.

It has become apparent the present PAP administration has been the dose of bad government former Mentor Minister Lee Kuan Yew has warned Singaporeans against. They are not in power to solve Singaporeans’ problems, they are in power to stay in power. While it is encouraging to see more former PAP-supporters realizing the truth and converting to support the Opposition, a large number of them are still shackled by the ruling party’s vast economical and employment influence, and often vote the ruling party to safeguard their own interests. It is time we do more than just being changed politically ourselves, it is time we reach out to engage pro-PAP supporters to better test the “Opposition notion” and hopefully have them converted into good influences for others as well.

Lets start today, if you know of any friends or family members living in Punggol East, have them talking about what they wish Singapore to be, and most often than not, they may find themselves inherently Opposition-inclined after all.

Co-editor, Wiki Temasek
Alex Tan

PM Lee Hsien Loong thinks every Singaporean wants to have a piece of land

Lee Hsien Loong – AFP

“Residents also had worries about public housing – if flats will become smaller.

Mr Lee said: “If you want everybody to have a piece of land (like a) kampung plot, I think (it is) difficult.” ~ CNA [Source]

When asked if new housing flats will become smaller during a dialogue session with residents at Ang Mo Kio, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong made a remark suggesting that every Singaporean wants to have a piece of land like a kampong plot. It is not known whether if the Prime Minister has been distastefully funny or outright sarcastic in his dismissal of the issue of smaller living space.

According to HDB CEO Dr Cheong Koon Hean, the average home size have shrunk 5 to 10 percent over the last 20 or 30 years.

In an official QnA on the HDB website [Source], it says:
“The short answer is that the typical HDB flat today is indeed smaller in size than what it was 20 or 30 years ago.”

With out-of-touch leaders like Lee Hsien Loong, it is no wonder young Singaporeans continue to be price out of affordability and retirement by the ever rising HDB price.

 

29 in 30 Punggol East Residents polled supportive of by-election

In a recent street survey conducted by Today [Source], 29 in 30 Punggol East residents are supportive of a by-election in the Single Member Constituency left voided by former PAP MP Michael Palmer who resigned when his extra-marital affair were exposed by an anonymous member of the public. 16 out of the 30 polled felt there is no rush when the by-election could be called while the rest wanted the by-election to be conducted within 3 months.

The sole decision maker of the by-election contest is Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, whose ruling party is expected to lose the ward amidst a series of national problems that have worsened since the last election. Among the bugbears is the Public Transport, where the PAP government is passing operation costs to taxpayers through a $1.1 Billion drawdown from the National Reserves and a fare hike promoted by the Transport Minister himself. Most Singaporeans except for the hardcore party supporters are unsympathetic of the increased costs faced by the 2 Public Transport Operators(PTOs) because of their consistent yearly profit where up to 60% of the profits are distributed as dividends to private shareholders [Source].

According to reliable sources from the Pasir Ris-Punggol Town Council, both Michael Palmer and Laura Ong have left Singapore respectively on their own accord. In the meantime, Punggol East SMC is temporarily managed by Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC MP Teo Ser Luck. There have been unconfirmed news that MP Teo Ser Luck was “over-intimate” with Laura Ong from the latest photos released by the media but the MP was quick to dismiss them as rumors.

Punggol East SMC is a quiet town in the East of Sengkang whose residents are largely middle class couples who bought the BTO flats in 2006. Most of them are laden with a 30 year housing debt and it is unlikely they will be supportive of any calls to lower housing prices. Unlike the General Election, a PAP loss in the by-election will not change the government of the day and it is very likely Punggol East SMC will fall upon the Opposition Workers’ Party as discontentment against the PAP government continue to compound following the worsening of the foreigner population and public transport issue.

Tribute to Justice Philip Pillai

3 April 2012 – Judge Philip Pillai dismissed the attorney-general’s arguments to have the application by Vellama Marie Muthu thrown out in the Hougang By-election Case.

1 Nov 2012 – Justice Pillai denied AG’s claim for legal costs from Mdm Vellama. He ruled that no costs will be paid by either party of the Hougang by-election case.

12 Dec 2012 – Judge Philip Pillai to retire

Philip Pillai has served only just 3 years as a Judge, making him the only Judge on the shortest tender in Singapore history [Source].

Lui Tuck Yew needs to get his facts right on SMRT dividends

Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew: “The purpose of fare increases is not to boost the short term profits of PTOs. It is also not just to improve salaries of bus drivers but to improve service to commuters while keeping public transport operations commercially viable. This is why we must work with the PTOs to ensure that when granted any fare increase, they would re-invest part of this revenue to improve the PT system to benefit commuters.” [Source]

In his defense against his highly unpopular comment correlating the impending fare increase and the drivers’ salaries, PAP Minister Lui Tuck Yew revealed that the sole purpose is to keep SMRT and SBS “commercially viable” so that the 2 only government-approved transport operator will “re-invest” their revenue to improve the public transport system.

Unfortunately, in an article by the Singapore Business Review, an analyst representing DBS bank revealed that the public transport system pays out 60% of its net profit in dividends instead of “re-investing” as Minister Lui has suggested.

DBS:”60% dividend policy. SMRT has a dividend payout policy of at least 60% of net profit. In fact, in the past few years, it has paid over 70%, hence providing a reasonable yield.”[Source]

Call for a By-election in Punggol East SMC

MP for Pasir Ris Punggol GRC Michael Palmer has resigned the PAP due to an extramarital affair with a staff of the People’s Association in the Pasir Ris Punggol GRC Town Council.

Workers’ Party should send in their candidate Lee Lilian to contest for the SMC. Fellow Singaporeans please petition and strongly push for a by-election contest in Punggol East SMC.

Support the Workers’ Party

	Lee Li Lian 李丽连 lilian.lee@wp.sg Age 34
	– Deputy Webmaster, Workers’ Party Show Profile

Singaporean education system the best, yet the worst?

According to the latest studies, the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), Singaporean students remain one of the top performers in world alongside Finland, South Korea and Hongkong. However this is not the case when it comes to local university admissions where foreign students are preferred and up to 18% of the university places were specially reserved for them.

“it was also important to have international students in Singapore as they “helped expand Singapore’s cross-border networks, increasing trade and business ties in the long run, especially those to China.”~ PAP PM Lee Hsien Loong

Singapore’s local universities apparently doesn’t think very highly of Singaporean students like the studies do. Most foreign students in local universities especially those from China were admitted through their local high school diplomas which do not include the English language. Foreign students who are incompetent in English just need to attend an English-bridging course offered by the university and they will be allowed a place easily as compared to a Singaporean student who will need to have minimum a B3 grade in his GCE A Level General Paper.

The survey may have indicated that the Singapore’s education system could be one of the best, the society molded from its graduates says otherwise. Being a country churning the least number of entrepreneurs in the world, the education system inherently produces good workers no doubt, but bad leaders with any appetite for risk. The Singapore’s education system punishes failures heavily with condemnation and class relegation in the name of Meritocracy. Students who failed to clear their exams will be segregated to schools and classes with lesser funds, support and opportunities. The result-oriented approach kept students on their toes, with tests and quizzes all year round packing up schedules leaving little or no time for learning outside the curriculum.

In the workforce, Singaporeans faces retrenchments as early as in their 40s and render themselves under-employed like taxi drivers with degrees. Is an education system which discourages change, reasoning, risk-taking and innovation still the best in today’s world?

PAP Minister Teo Chee Hean claims Singaporeans have too high an expectation

“Singaporeans have very high aspirations and want higher value jobs due to higher education. That explains why there will always be a need for foreign workers to make up for the shortfall.,” ~Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean

If we could put the question in political context, when PAP candidates have very high aspirations and want a million dollar pay package, isn’t there a need for Opposition candidates to make up for the short fall? DPM Teo’s explanation couldn’t be any more simplistic, it is nothing better an excuse to justify low salaries for workers of essential services.

Let me translate the idea you should be getting from hearing DPM Teo Chee Hean’s comment:

Listen up daft Singaporeans: Having high aspirations and wanting high value job is Singaporeans’ fault. It is your fault for wanting a salary that is higher than the current one the China workers are getting, and it is also your fault that a SMRT driver’s salary is not enough for you to even feed yourself. It is your fault too for wanting work-life balance, and if you protest I will throw you in jail. It is your fault you want me to listen to you, so if I need to appease you and increase the drivers’ salaries, you have to pay for it. Don’t threaten to vote the Opposition because most of you never will.

Even though DPM Teo didn’t spell it exactly, the bottomline of his rhetoric is profit margin. Profit built on cheap foreign labor is still profit, never mind the social costs and implications. The nation’s essential services are heavily dependent on cheap foreign labor that the sudden withdrawal of all foreign workers like the case of a war, could easily turn the country into chaos. There isn’t a need for soldiers to go through NS conscription when the economy is at a standstill without the foreign workers, but that is another issue for another day.

When transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew instantaneously connected the rise in drivers’ salaries to a public transport fare hike, it couldn’t be more overt that it is never about Singaporeans having too high an expectation to do any work, it is about the PAP government not wanting to pay for anything. Over here, we could clearly see that there are only 2 entities working against each other, the people versus the PAP government. The relationship is unhealthy as the government voted in do not work in the people’s interest – instead they work against the people and demand that people pay more. In a functioning democracy, the people’s resistance is either to exercise their vote when the time is right, or protest. It is no wonder governments like the Myanmar junta and the Chinese communists are looking to the PAP to find out how to have an election and not be democratic.

Lui Tuck Yew gaffes

21 April 2011
Personal account by a resident in Lui Tuck Yew’s Moulmein-Kallang GRC [Source]
“I’m now going to recount the dialogue word-for-word as it is still clearly playing itself over and over in my head:
Me: Could you please tell me why I should vote for you?
Mr Lui: You should NOT vote for the Opposition because they …
Me: The Opposition? No, I want to know about you. Please tell me why I should vote for you.
Mr Lui: You should vote for the PAP because we ….
Me: The PAP? No, no. I’m not interested in the PAP or the Opposition. I’m interested to know about you. Why should I vote for you?

At this point, Mr Lui shot me a look of pure anger, waved his hand about in the air, declaring, “We could spend all night talking about me!”, pointed to the newsletter and snapped, “It’s all in the the newsletter!” He then swung round and stormed off.”

26 April 2011
Then-MICA Minister Lui Tuck Yew rejects Freedom of Information Act in an interview with Straits Times[Source].
“Asked by reporters to comment on the Workers’ Party’s proposal in it’s manifesto released last week, to introduce a Freedom of Information Act, Mr Lui said it is not necessary. This is because the Government already puts up a lot of information on its websites, said Mr Lui”

29 April 2011
Wild mushroom and tall trees story:

28 July 2011
Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew rejects liberalization of bus services to compete with SMRT and SBS.
“Mr Lui said such a move would only lead to “cherry-picking” of the profitable routes among transport operators and might not benefit commuters.

He said: “Then the challenge would be – what happens to the non-profitable routes? And in the end, would commuters end up having to pay more overall – because they may pay less on certain routes, but overall on the longer routes, the less profitable routes, do they have to pay … more?”

18 Jan 2012
Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew rejects concessions for poly students.
“Concessions for poly students will cost transport operators $28m more”

16 April 2012
Transport Minister proposed $1.1 Billion taxpayers’ monies for SBS and SMRT[Source].
“If the government did not inject more funds, the operators will have to increase bus fares by as much as fifteen cents to cover the operating costs.”

6 December 2012
Transport Minister proposed to increase fare price.
“Any fare adjustment will allow the two operators to have more resources, in time to come, to make further salary adjustments to their drivers. We recognise that the drivers need to be paid more. (The) question is, where is that money coming from?
“So we need to see the relationship between any fare adjustment, wage increase, and any other forms of government support that we might be required to give to the operators.”