There is an ongoing online petition calling for the PM to resign initiated by a graduate taxi driver called William Lim. And now we have graffiti on the roof top of a flat at Toa Payoh, at Block 85A in Lorong 4 yesterday morning. The message, ‘Fuck the PAP’, ‘Wake Up’ and a sign of anarchy were painted on the side of the water tank, big enough for people on the streets to have a clear view of what it was.
The graffiti was discovered early in the morning and by none it was erased leaving only some traces of redness on the wall. This is an affront to the govt and never been seen and done so boldly before. How did the person got himself to the roof top when the entrance was locked is still puzzling.
How widespread is this sense of disobedience and what is the root cause to this trend? How much has it got to do with the displeasure on the govt’s policies on the huge influx of foreigners here, or is it just an odd case of an individual of unsound mind?
The men in blue will be busy trying to find the culprit behind this graffiti.
One week after Obama made his hostile visit to Asia, signing defence
pact with the Philippines and warning China it would go to war to defend
Japan, tension has gone up several notches today. Vietnam has
challenged China for drilling in the South China and provoking China to
fire water cannon at its sea guard vessels sent to the Chinese rig. And
the Pinoys have resorted to what they knew and had done best in the past
by arresting Chinese fishing boats. It has been crying as if it was the
victim of Chinese assertiveness but has gone back to its wild and
wayward behaviour with the full support of the Americans. It is openly
challenging China. The Pinoys had killed a Taiwanese fishing boat
captain and have in many occasions arrested ships from Taiwan and China.
This time with the American navy fleet engaged in a major exercise in
the area, it found it opportune and embolden to arrest a Chinese fishing
boat and its crew. The Taiwanese and Chinese have never done such a
thing to the Pinoys.
There is no doubt that China would take these provocations lying down.
All its diplomacy and attempts to avoid a confrontation with the
Americans were in vain. The Americans have made it in no uncertain terms
that it is going into open military conflict with China. China is now
forced into a corner and must hit back. Running away from the Vietnamese
and the Pinoys is not an option. It is going to be hard knocks and the
Americans are going to show their allies that they would back them up
militarily, force with force.
With the Americans wanting to show they are still the big time gangsters
that called the shot, with the Chinese refusing to take the blows, the
situation is all set for a full blown naval and aerial showdown. Both
sides would be rushing their military hardware into the region to
bolster their forces. China would have to made careful assessment if it
is able to take on the Americans at this stage of its military build up.
Obama does not come for peace. The USA has never been for peace but
about the use of force. Both parties, China and the USA, are not going
to back down this time. The Americans have been working for this day and
China has been preparing for this day knowing that it will come, sooner
or later. They would hope it will come later, but it is not going to be
one day late. It would start with the Vietnamese and the Pinoys
attacking Chinese ships only to lure the Chinese to retaliate and the
Evil Empire will say, ‘I told you, China is aggressive and will use
force to deal with its neighbours.’ And here is Uncle Sam to the rescue.
Uncle Sam is for peace. The use of force is not acceptable. Uncle Sam
will observe International Laws to resolve dispute by the use of force.
But Uncle Sam was the one behind all these tensions and inciting and
provoking wars.
Now who is the evil one? Would China be up to it militarily to take on
the Americans, or would China play its economic clout and exert pressure
on the Americans in other areas?
William Lim’s online petition asking the PM to resign and hoping to
reach 100,000 signatures is likely to be a failure. I think the counter
is rigged. I remember that this happened to my online survey in
mysingaporenews. The first few surveys worked well. Then it happened.
Whenever the response hit a certain level it will fall back to a lower
level. It kept repeating and would not hit anywhere above this ‘blocked’
level.
Yesterday when I read about the petition I went to the site to take a
look. The number of signatures was 1329. I know as I have the number
typed into the draft of a post that I was preparing. One hour later I
went back to the site and the number was 1296. How could it be? A few
hours later I checked again and it was creeping up. So I thought it must
be a glitch but things are normal.
This morning the number was higher but nothing to crow about. It was
inching up. In the afternoon I went in to take a peep. The counter stood
at 1879 while 3 new names appeared indicating 3 more signatures. But
the counters did not move. I waited for a few minutes and nothing
happened. So I did a refresh and the number changed. From 1879, the new
number was 1835. Can you believe it?
Then, after 15 minutes, it was 1841. Something is just not right. And I
suspect there are more things that are not going right.
Something fishy is going on.
Good luck to William Lim and his petition if he can get any satisfactory numbers.
It was on Channel News Asia, a video clip showing the arrival of South
Korean coastguards in their powered dinghies to save passengers in the
sinking Sewol. The ferry was listing very badly, on its side, and the
ferry’s crew, including the captain, slid down the side of the ferry
into the recue boat. Other than these few people, there were no signs of
other passengers floating around or crawling around the ferry waiting
to be rescued. It was like a sinking oil tanker with only a few members
of the crew to be rescued.
What happened to the 300+ passengers, teachers and children? They were
still waiting inside their cabins as instructed by the crew, waiting to
be rescued. It was so unbelieveable. The captain and the crew should be
organizing the evacuation of the ferry but instead were disembarking
without doing anything. And the passengers in the sinking ferry, inside
their cabins waiting for their orders to evacuate. It was a non event.
There was so much time available for a full evacuation but nothing was
done. No one thought it right or opportune to get all the passengers out
of their cabin into the deck. What were in the minds of the captain and
his crew, that the passengers in the sinking ferry were safe and no
need to evacuate while they left the ship leaving them sinking with the
ferry?
And the coast guards were equally lost as they could not find anyone to
save. Didn’t the captain and his crew told them of the 300+ passengers
trapped in the ferry? There was no urgency to do anything as if there
were no passengers in the ferry? It was so unreal!
A William Lim wrote that he was interviewed by a German media on Hsien
Loong’s comment at an India New Year celebration. The controversial
statement to those present is here, “Singaporeans, new arrivals, people
who are on permanent residence here, people who are on employment pass
here, all participating in one big family…So that we feel that this is a
place which is special, which belongs to all of us and where we all
celebrate one another’s festivals and happy events together.”
William Lim is a 37 year old taxi driver with a Bachelor in Business and
Finance. He graduated in 2001 but with no ‘experience working in the
finance industry he tried applying for a job, ‘I was asking a gross
salary of only SGD$2000 per month, willing to learn from the seniors,
willing to work long hours and willing to travel if necessary.’ He
didn’t get even an interview. So he is now happily self employed as his
own boss, as a taxi driver, a job that some people said is an occupation
of choice, a preferred job for experienced and highly qualified Sinkie
PMETs that no one wants to employ.
Below are two of the several questions asked on the PAP govt and its immigration policies.
‘1) What was your reaction to Lee Hsien Loong's comment about Singapore belonging to everyone who lives here?
Ans: Disappointed, a leader of a country shouldn't be making this kind
of statement. What kind of message is he sending to the citizen of
Singapore?
Foreigners coming to Singapore to work or tourist, we Singaporean should
show them the hospitality as they are our guests in our country. To
tell us that Singapore belong to them too, It's telling us foreigners
own a part of Singapore too! It's the most absurd statement that I have
came across.
Being a male citizen of Singapore, we are required serve my national
service in the form of joining the Army, Police or Civil Defence Force.
We serve the nation is to protect our country, our family. If Singapore
do not being to Singaporean only, why should male citizens serve to
protect the country while foreigner owning a part of Singapore do not
need to protect Singapore as well? What kind of logic is this?
2) Why did you decide to start the petition?
Ans: A leader making this kind of statement is not fit to be a Prime
Minister of Singapore! Together with a number of miscalculated policies
like the 6.9M Population White Paper, the opening of floodgate for
foreigners to come to work in Singapore etc.’
One blogger by the nick ‘theonion’ in mysingaporenews.blogspot.sg
commented that it was an over reaction, that netizens are making a
mountain out of a molehill. His explanation, it was just a feeling, and
he said one must read the whole sentence in full, ‘we feel that this is a
place which is special, which belongs to all of us’. So according to
him, Hsien Loong was expressing a feeling and the part about ‘belongs to
all of us’ should be read as ‘feel this island belongs to all of us’
and nothing more to it.
I think a grammar teacher could cut and split the sentence to make
different meanings and interpretations out of it. My reply to him is not
so much as what Hsien Loong said, or what theonion chose to interpret,
but how the people, the general public read it or interpreted it.
Apparently many people chose to read it differently and felt offended by
it, rightly or wrongly. And now there is this petition in the air.
So how, theonion, what are you going to do about it? Your interpretation
may be right, perfectly right to you, but other people don’t care a
damn how you read it or explained it. Now, would Hsien Loong or his
press secretary issue an explanation to clarify what he said? Or is all
the hooha just making a mountain out of a molehill and there is nothing
to bother?
In politics it is the perception of the people that matters and not what
you said or what you think you said. Would this be a flash in the pan?
Inadvertently this has become a controversy out of the blue, another
unnecessary storm in the teacup perhaps.
For a while I thought this petition thing is so unreal. Could be a hoax?. So I went to this link, https://secure.avaaz.org/en/petition/Singapore_Prime_Minister_Lee_Resign_from_Office, and sure enough there is a petition. The last count, 1658 have signed the petition.
