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Chen SHow MAo speech in hougang Chen SHow MAo

What you think of that thing he said in the video??

Relive the great speech of obama, 'we are no collection of red state or blue state, we are the united states of america' and then compare to what singapore PM talks about. http://sg.news.yahoo.com/blogs/singaporesc...231901-526.html 'The answer is that there has to be a distinction. Because the PAP wards supported the Government and the policies which delivered these good things' SHAME ON YOU PM LEE AND YOUR PAP!

AFP - Tuesday, October 26 SYDNEY (AFP) -

MM Lee: 4 values drive S'pore Mon, Aug 16, 2010 my paper HIGH integrity among its leaders and meritocracy are two of four basic values that laid the foundation for Singapore's success over the past 45 years, said Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew last night. "Everyone can get to the top as political leaders, MPs," he said, or through "the civil service and statutory boards". People get to where they are on merit, not through guanxi, nepotism or corruption, he added. Guanxi is Mandarin for "connections and social reputation". He was addressing more than 1,000 residents and grassroots leaders at a National Day dinner for his constituency at Tanjong Pagar Community Centre. He said: "No policy is skewed as a result of personal benefit or profits." Having a level playing field for all citizens is the third basic value. He said: "No one is advantaged by our national policies, whatever their race, language or religion." >>Too much negativity lately...this man has to come out to reassure once more!<< The fourth value is the use of English as the working language, which has made Singapore the business, banking and communications hub it is today. He went on to say that the country's problems are "not unique" and that about 70 per cent of them were faced and solved by other nations. However, he said, the Government has "studied how they have managed their problems and why some are more successful than others. Then we extracted the principles to adapt and modify them to fit our society". The nation has also harnessed innovation to find its own solutions. For instance, it implemented he Electronic Road Pricing to control city congestion and alleviated its water shortage with Newater, which reclaims water via membrane technology.Knowledge for Compliance and Control Other cities, such as those in China and the Gulf states, have in turn approached Singapore companies to tackle water recycling and waste management. Moreover, Singapore's policies are "not set in stone", MM Lee said. They are continuously re-examined and modified along with changing world circumstances. He gave the example of how the Government was against Formula One racing for many decades because the city was crowded and allowing it would encourage people to race on roads. >>Wait a minute, he meant that 10-20years ago the road was already crowded? << However, it was given the green light when the Government recognised that "the F1 has a jet-set following and could generate economic spin-offs". >>Ok Ok..from his statement am i right to say....$$$ first.....singaporean last perhaps?<< MM Lee said: "It has been a sparkling success." >>For WHO??? Who Gain?<< Most significantly, to build a vibrant country that creates jobs for all, he reiterated the need for an exceptionally strong government with "the ablest, the toughest and most dedicated" leaders". He said: "We headhunt for them and test them out in heavy responsibilities. Only such leaders can keep the economy growing and create good jobs and generate revenue to pay for the equipment and training of our 3G (third-generation) SAF." However, one area in which Singapore has done poorly is its fertility rate. MM Lee said: "We will nearly halve our population in one generation." >>HE must have forgotten his previous policy.<< As a result, the Government has had to select immigrants from Malaysia, China, India and the region. Although the first generation would take time to assimilate because of different cultures and habits, "their children will grow up Singaporeans". "We must help them to integrate into our society, not exclude them," he concluded.

Hi All, Just to share...

Does anybody know how to make my computer's lexicon record 'xue' as 'ssh-where' other than changing it's spelling or voice?

Happy Deepavali to our Hindu friends. 1. Two recent events caused me to reflect more deeply on Singaporeans' concern on the subject of immigration: an RC Deepavali function in Marine Parade and my visit to Fujian. 2. At the Deepavali function, several young Indian children put up some dance items. They were children of PRs from India. Their fathers came from Mumbai, New Delhi and Chennai, amongst other places. They work in accounting and IT firms, like Microsoft and IBM. These children could easily pass off as Singaporeans. Their parents encourage them to mix with Singaporeans and they will grow up with Singaporean values and Singaporean friends. 3. When I was in Fujian, I visited my ancestral village, Wuling. I was able to trace my ancestry to as far back as 1403, 17 generations ago, to a remote village in mountainous Yongchun county. My father was born in China. I was born in Singapore. Though my forefathers were Chinese, all 16 generations of them, there is no doubt that I am Singaporean in my thinking and upbringing, and perceived as a Singaporean. I was warmly welcomed in my ancestral village not as a returning Chinese national but as a visiting Singaporean leader. 4. These two experiences tell me that the new immigrants to Singapore can become Singaporean in outlook and loyalty within a generation, if we make the effort to integrate them. New immigrants are PRs or new Singapore citizens. The rest of the foreigners in Singapore are mainly migrant workers. 5. In recent months, Singaporeans have expressed concern over the adverse impact of the large number of PRs and migrant workers on our way of life. This is understandable. Singapore is densely populated, so any slight difference in living habits is magnified. Singaporeans have also worked hard to achieve a high standard of living. Naturally, they fear being crowded out by the influx of foreigners - crowded out of HDB flats, choice schools and jobs. Some foreigners are also perceived to be taking advantage of the better opportunities and services in Singapore but without the obligations of giving back to the community or doing their share of National Service. 6. PAP MPs have raised these concerns in Parliament over the years. Ministers have explained why we need to top up our population with foreigners, and how Singaporeans will always have better benefits than PRs and foreigners. But despite this, many Singaporeans still feel uneasy that the government is continuing to take in more PRs and migrant workers. It has become an emotive issue. 7. To me, whether we should have more immigrants and migrant workers or not boils down to whether they help us to sustain and enrich the quality of life of Singaporeans. 8. Ideally, we want Singaporeans to have as many children as they can afford to have so that we do not depend too much on foreigners. But we have tried with baby bonus, maternity benefits, tax incentives, and child care support. They have not worked. We even tried state-sponsored matchmaking! For all our effort in encouraging marriage and procreation, our total fertility rate climbed only marginally from 1.26 in 2004 to 1.28 last year. This is still far short of the 2.1 needed to replace father and mother. In absolute terms, we need about 60,000 babies per year. Last year, we had only 32,400 citizen babies! How do we make up for the shortfall? 9. Without PRs and new citizens, Singapore will go the way of the dinosaurs. If we do not take in any more new immigrants, our population will begin to shrink in 2020. That is only 11 years away! Let me give you another statistic. In the last 10 years, the number of people aged 65 and above has grown by about 100,000 while the number of children aged below 15 had shrunk by about 50,000. This is an unsustainable demographic structure. 10. To sustain our present standard of living, we need to top up our population with immigrants, particularly those with skills, entrepreneurial drive and talent. Without them, my guess is that our growth rate would be easily 1 to 2 percentage points lower. Well, you may say, let us do without this extra boost of 1 to 2 percentage points from foreigners in future and be satisfied with our present quality of life. But it is not that simple. Without the foreign workforce, our flats and MRT will not be built, our buses will come to a standstill, our healthcare services will degrade, and many investors, including Singaporean ones, will uproot and go where talent is abundant. Instead of sacrificing just 1-2 percentage points of growth, our economy will shrink, and our quality of life decline. 11. But beyond just sustaining our quality of life, immigrants enrich our society. Immigrants inject a certain vitality and diversity to our society, adding vibrancy to our economy, and broadening our horizons in other fields like the arts, music, sports, and philanthropy. A commentary in Lianhe Zaobao last weekend observed that the influx of immigrants has already increased the vibrancy of the local arts and cultural scene and also introduced a wider range of cuisines to Singapore. 12. Opening our doors to immigrants and migrant workers is an emotive subject. It goes to the heart of what it means to be Singaporean. The government must take all views into account, and then persuade and win over Singaporeans. We will have to explain clearly and convincingly why Singapore is better off with immigrants. How do we remind Singaporeans that no more than a few generations ago, we were all immigrants? At the same time, how do we put Singaporeans first, and protect our cherished way of life? Are we bringing in too many, too quickly? As Singapore is the top choice for migrants, according to a recent Gallup Poll, can we be more selective? Is it possible to distinguish between those who are committed to Singapore and those who use Singapore as a stepping stone to other places? 13. We should also address what new immigrants can do to become more Singaporean. Conversely, what can each of us do to help the new immigrants integrate and be Singaporeans? How do we encourage the more successful immigrants to give back to Singapore society, in community service and/or donations to charity for example? 14. We will have to face up to the problems encountered by Singaporeans on the ground. Explaining in macro terms using overall statistics is not good enough. We have to deal with real situations faced by Singaporeans. 15. This immigration issue is a critical one, and we must bring Singaporeans on board to understand and support what we are doing. They must feel that they have a stake in the intake of immigrants and migrant workers, and see that these people, by bolstering our economy and demographic structure, make their lives better and not worse. Singapore is at a threshold. If we turn away immigrants, it will have dire long-term consequences for Singapore. If we have them in the right numbers and quality, it will boost our economic vitality. 16. It is not my intention tonight to open up another round of debate on this subject of immigration. Our more immediate priority is to ensure that our economy is set on the road to recovery, which is what the Economic Strategies Committee is actively deliberating. My intention is for us to quietly reflect on the critical importance of immigration to our long term future. It is a difficult issue confronting many societies. If Singapore can handle it better than others, we will have a considerable edge over the rest. 17. Finally, let me say that tonight's gathering is an example of a truly Singaporean event. It is Deepavali but we are celebrating it in a multi-racial way, with Indian, Malay and Chinese performances. 18. Have an enjoyable evening!

Many words were spoken, not much was said. Nothing specific to look forward to. The whole show end up a little like a trip down memory lane, nothing much more.

Source: Freedom of Speech The free speech rights of a married couple are under attack in Singapore. Ong Kian Cheong and his wife Dorothy Chan Hien Leng are on trial for allegedly distributing anti-Muslim tracts by comic creator Jack Chick. According to The Straits Times, Farhati Ahmad, Irwan Ariffin and Isa Raffee, all of whom are Muslim, filed police reports after receiving by mail the comic booklets The Little Brideand Who is Allah? from Chick Publications. Farhati Ahmad says she received The Little Bride through the mail March 6, 2007 and made an official complaint the same day. She claims the booklet aims to insult and confuse Muslims and perpetuate Islamaphobia. Ong Kian Cheong and Dorothy Chan Hien Leng are being tried under Singapore's Sedition Act and Undesirable Publications Act. The charges allege the comic publications promote feelings of ill-will and hostility between Christians and Muslims in Singapore. For nearly four decades professional artist Jack Chick has written and published hundreds of comic tracts in multiple languages to promote his particular brand of Christianity, with hundreds of millions of copies distributed worldwide. kHis hatred for Catholics, Jehovah

Looks good, speaks well and got seh. Looney pratically no fight next to him.

Justification on why ERP charges have been increased! 1. Government is raking in less vehicle revenue even with increase in ERP. 2. More households can afford a car with the present system.

Got this from email, it's a bit long, but worth the read....enjoy... By Adrian Tan, the author and lawyer at Drew. Life and How to Survive It I must say thank you to the faculty and staff of the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information for inviting me to give your convocation address. It's a wonderful honour and a privilege for me to speak here for ten minutes without fear of contradiction, defamation or retaliation. I say this as a Singaporean and more so as a husband. My wife is a wonderful person and perfect in every way except one. She is the editor of a magazine. She corrects people for a living. She has honed her expert skills over a quarter of a century, mostly by practising at home during conversations between her and me. On the other hand, I am a litigator. Essentially, I spend my day telling people how wrong they are. I make my living being disagreeable. Nevertheless, there is perfect harmony in our matrimonial home. That is because when an editor and a litigator have an argument, the one who triumphs is always the wife. And so I want to start by giving one piece of advice to the men: when you've already won her heart, you don't need to win every argument. Marriage is considered one milestone of life. Some of you may already be married. Some of you may never be married. Some of you will be married. Some of you will enjoy the experience so much, you will be married many, many times. Good for you. The next big milestone in your life is today: your graduation. The end of education. You're done learning. You've probably been told the big lie that "Learning is a lifelong process" and that therefore you will continue studying and taking masters' degrees and doctorates and professorships and so on. You know the sort of people who tell you that? Teachers. Don't you think there is some measure of conflict of interest? They are in the business of learning, after all. Where would they be without you? They need you to be repeat customers. The good news is that they're wrong. The bad news is that you don't need further education because your entire life is over. It is gone. That may come as a shock to some of you. You're in your teens or early twenties. People may tell you that you will live to be 70, 80, 90 years old. That is your life expectancy. I love that term: life expectancy. We all understand the term to mean the average life span of a group of people. But I'm here to talk about a bigger idea, which is what you expect from your life. You may be very happy to know that Singapore is currently ranked as the country with the third highest life expectancy. We are behind Andorra and Japan, and tied with San Marino. It seems quite clear why people in those countries, and ours, live so long. We share one thing in common: our football teams are all hopeless. There's very little danger of any of our citizens having their pulses raised by watching us play in the World Cup. Spectators are more likely to be lulled into a gentle and restful nap. Singaporeans have a life expectancy of 81.8 years. Singapore men live to an average of 79.21 years, while Singapore women live more than five years longer, probably to take into account the additional time they need to spend in the bathroom. So here you are, in your twenties, thinking that you'll have another 40 years to go. Four decades in which to live long and prosper. Bad news. Read the papers. There are people dropping dead when they're 50, 40, 30 years old. Or quite possibly just after finishing their convocation. They would be very disappointed that they didn't meet their life expectancy. I'm here to tell you this. Forget about your life expectancy. After all, it's calculated based on an average. And you never, ever want to expect being average. Revisit those expectations. You might be looking forward to working, falling in love, marrying, raising a family. You are told that, as graduates, you should expect to find a job paying so much, where your hours are so much, where your responsibilities are so much. That is what is expected of you. And if you live up to it, it will be an awful waste. If you expect that, you will be limiting yourself. You will be living your life according to boundaries set by average people. I have nothing against average people. But no one should aspire to be them. And you don't need years of education by the best minds in Singapore to prepare you to be average. What you should prepare for is mess. Life's a mess. You are not entitled to expect anything from it. Life is not fair. Everything does not balance out in the end. Life happens, and you have no control over it. Good and bad things happen to you day by day, hour by hour, moment by moment. Your degree is a poor armour against fate. Don't expect anything. Erase all life expectancies. Just live. Your life is over as of today. At this point in time, you have grown as tall as you will ever be, you are physically the fittest you will ever be in your entire life and you are probably looking the best that you will ever look. This is as good as it gets. It is all downhill from here. Or up. No one knows. What does this mean for you? It is good that your life is over. Since your life is over, you are free. Let me tell you the many wonderful things that you can do when you are free. The most important is this: do not work. Work is anything that you are compelled to do. By its very nature, it is undesirable. Work kills. The Japanese have a term "Karoshi", which means death from overwork. That's the most dramatic form of how work can kill. But it can also kill you in more subtle ways. If you work, then day by day, bit by bit, your soul is chipped away, disintegrating until there's nothing left. A rock has been ground into sand and dust. There's a common misconception that work is necessary. You will meet people working at miserable jobs. They tell you they are "making a living". No, they're not. They're dying, frittering away their fast-extinguishing lives doing things which are, at best, meaningless and, at worst, harmful. People will tell you that work ennobles you, that work lends you a certain dignity. Work makes you free. The slogan "Arbeit macht frei" was placed at the entrances to a number of Nazi concentration camps. Utter nonsense. Do not waste the vast majority of your life doing something you hate so that you can spend the small remainder sliver of your life in modest comfort. You may never reach that end anyway. Resist the temptation to get a job. Instead, play. Find something you enjoy doing. Do it. Over and over again. You will become good at it for two reasons: you like it, and you do it often. Soon, that will have value in itself. I like arguing, and I love language. So, I became a litigator. I enjoy it and I would do it for free. If I didn't do that, I would've been in some other type of work that still involved writing fiction - probably a sports journalist. So what should you do? You will find your own niche. I don't imagine you will need to look very hard. By this time in your life, you will have a very good idea of what you will want to do. In fact, I'll go further and say the ideal situation would be that you will not be able to stop yourself pursuing your passions. By this time you should know what your obsessions are. If you enjoy showing off your knowledge and feeling superior, you might become a teacher. Find that pursuit that will energise you, consume you, become an obsession. Each day, you must rise with a restless enthusiasm. If you don't, you are working. Most of you will end up in activities which involve communication. To those of you I have a second message: be wary of the truth. I'm not asking you to speak it, or write it, for there are times when it is dangerous or impossible to do those things. The truth has a great capacity to offend and injure, and you will find that the closer you are to someone, the more care you must take to disguise or even conceal the truth. Often, there is great virtue in being evasive, or equivocating. There is also great skill. Any child can blurt out the truth, without thought to the consequences. It takes great maturity to appreciate the value of silence. In order to be wary of the truth, you must first know it. That requires great frankness to yourself. Never fool the person in the mirror. I have told you that your life is over, that you should not work, and that you should avoid telling the truth. I now say this to you: be hated. It's not as easy as it sounds. Do you know anyone who hates you? Yet every great figure who has contributed to the human race has been hated, not just by one person, but often by a great many. That hatred is so strong it has caused those great figures to be shunned, abused, murdered and in one famous instance, nailed to a cross. One does not have to be evil to be hated. In fact, it's often the case that one is hated precisely because one is trying to do right by one's own convictions. It is far too easy to be liked, one merely has to be accommodating and hold no strong convictions. Then one will gravitate towards the centre and settle into the average. That cannot be your role. There are a great many bad people in the world, and if you are not offending them, you must be bad yourself. Popularity is a sure sign that you are doing something wrong. The other side of the coin is this: fall in love. I didn't say "be loved". That requires too much compromise. If one changes one's looks, personality and values, one can be loved by anyone. Rather, I exhort you to love another human being. It may seem odd for me to tell you this. You may expect it to happen naturally, without deliberation. That is false. Modern society is anti-love. We've taken a microscope to everyone to bring out their flaws and shortcomings. It far easier to find a reason not to love someone, than otherwise. Rejection requires only one reason. Love requires complete acceptance. It is hard work - the only kind of work that I find palatable. Loving someone has great benefits. There is admiration, learning, attraction and something which, for the want of a better word, we call happiness. In loving someone, we become inspired to better ourselves in every way. We learn the truth worthlessness of material things. We celebrate being human. Loving is good for the soul. Loving someone is therefore very important, and it is also important to choose the right person. Despite popular culture, love doesn't happen by chance, at first sight, across a crowded dance floor. It grows slowly, sinking roots first before branching and blossoming. It is not a silly weed, but a mighty tree that weathers every storm. You will find, that when you have someone to love, that the face is less important than the brain, and the body is less important than the heart. You will also find that it is no great tragedy if your love is not reciprocated. You are not doing it to be loved back. Its value is to inspire you. Finally, you will find that there is no half-measure when it comes to loving someone. You either don't, or you do with every cell in your body, completely and utterly, without reservation or apology. It consumes you, and you are reborn, all the better for it. Don't work. Avoid telling the truth. Be hated. Love someone. You're going to have a busy life. Thank goodness there's no life expectancy.

Are Singaporeans quick to condemn and slow to levy praise? For once,I would post something different. This doesnt represent my political affiliations though.haha http://www.straitstimes.com/ST%2BForum/Sto...ory_254363.html

Interesting speech. Our leaders should take a cue from Obama on how to speak to the public. Personally found it a master class in presentation.

SPEECH BY MR RAYMOND LIM, MINISTER FOR TRANSPORT AND SECOND MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS, AT THE VISIT TO KALLANG-PAYA LEBAR EXPRESSWAY WEDNESDAY, 30 JANUARY 2008, 10.15AM ENSURING SMOOTH FLOWING ROADS KPE to Open by September 2008 1. It is a pleasure to join you this morning at the Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway (KPE) Operations Control Centre for an update on KPE Phase 2. The KPE project team has worked very hard and made good progress. I am pleased to announce that the full KPE will be opened on 20 September 2008. With this new high speed access, northeast residents can expect travel time to the city to be cut by 25%. The KPE will also help relieve congestion on the Central Expressway (CTE). Building Roads for the Future 2. Beyond short-term needs, our priority is to continue investing for the future. The $2.5 billion Marina Coastal Expressway (MCE) is on track for completion by 2013. A key expressway supporting the development of the Marina Bay, the MCE is crucial for the long-term growth of Singapore. 3. Indeed, when it comes to investing for growth, we do not stand still. Following LTA

just saw this Garmin Nuvi 800 with speech recognition feature... Dunno the price yet, but certainly beyond my budget! I am probably getting Nuvi200 for time being...