Singapore Also Can

Discussion in 'Chit-Chat' started by Loh, May 4, 2009.

  1. taneepak

    taneepak Regular Member

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    Please don't jump to any conclusion that there is no justice re the ex-Romanian diplomat. Any prosecution can only be handled by Romania, not Singapore. This is because under international law re diplomats immunity from any prosection by the host country is guaranteed.
    But Singapore was a bit hasty to treat the case as a domestic criminal case and then used its own interpretation of the Geneva Convention law re diplomatic immunity and concluded that the ex-diplomat is guilty and should be extradited to Singapore. Even for the most heinous crimes commited by diplomats the ultimate punishment is to regard them as personal non grata and deport them. At the height of the cold war the US and Russia kicked out, no arrest, each other's spies and political criminals.
    True to form Romania correctly rebutted Singapore's interpretation of the Geneva Convention, resulting in an about face by Singapore. The end result is Singapore now has no case against the ex-diplomat.
    However, Romania will now correctly do the proper thing and proceed with the case in Romania, using all the evidence to be provided by Singapore. I believe there will in the end be some resolution on this case and the ex-diplomat will get his just due.

    Like Lee Kwan Yew said earlier "we must act like a small country and be humble", especially when dealing with giants like the US, India, China, the EU.
    But Romania is a country where the poorest people in the EU live. It gets kicked around easily by everyone.
     
  2. taneepak

    taneepak Regular Member

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    Countries always consider their own national interest in any decisions they make re agreemnets or disputes with other countries. There are no set rules.

    Let me give an example.

    India just marched into Goa, a Portugese colony in India, and kicked out the Portugese and repossessed Goa many years ago. Now if Goa was in a place called Romania, do you think Romania would dare take on the Portugese by marching into Goa? Agreement, what agreement? India broke all the rules of international law and no one even raise a voice against them.
    The manner India took back possesion of Goa in such a display of force by to kick out colonialism was in the national interest of India-pride and dignity.

    On the other hand China had a more pragmatic approach re both Hong Kong and Macau, the former was British and the latter Portugese. China never recognized Britain's and Portugese occupation of both Hong Kong and Macau claiming they were seized properties from unequal treaties they were forced to sign.
    It is not correct to say that China took back Hong Kong after the 99 years lease. The lease applied to only the new territories and some parts of Kowloon, not all. It did not apply to Hong Kong island, the many islands around, and the parts of Kowloon south of Boundary street, which were British territories no different from say London. China almost "slapped" Britain on the face when the British pointed this out. Britain had no choice but to willingly relinquish Hong Kong island as the alternative would be a full scale war with China.
    The reason China agreed to take over all of Hong Kong after the expiration of the new territories lease was to ensure that Hong Kong would be a useful bridge to the outside world at a time of China opening up.
    Portugal even asked China long before it reverted back to China to take back Macau, but China refused becuase it did not fit their long range plans of Hong Kong first and then Macau.
    So, to repeat, China did not live up to the agreement with Britain re Hong Kong island and some parts of Kowloon-it just kicked the British out. Margaret Thatcher made a serious mistake in telling Deng Xiaoping that Hong Kong island was British territory and not subject to any talk of reversion. The retort from Deng sealed the fate of any more British hope of ever retaining Hong Kong island.
    The lease agreement was on the new territories which expired on June 30, 1997.
    Two Asian countries above, two different approaches, where the spirit of any agreement was never really adhered to but were actually used by them for their own national interests.
     
  3. Bbn

    Bbn Regular Member

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    Good. The prices agreed for the water sales are archaic and is daylight robbery by today's standards.
    wilfredlgf is offline Report Post Reply With Quote

    What a strange way of viewing things, the only thing Msia can control Singapore with is by providing cheap water to Singapore, the only bargaining point. But Singapore offers employment to the cream of Malaysia's talents and is a sizable (albeit decreasing) investor in Msia and source of tourist dollars. Singapore offers special treatment to Malaysians working in Singapore and are not subject to discrimination like other foreigners. I see it as a good deal for Malaysians ,forced to work overseas to earn foreign exchange for the country like Filipinas and continuing to prop up the economy.
    It is this type of attitude that frightens away FDIs , in the US in order to attract
    BMW to relocate there the Americans were willing to relocate and displace a whole town to accomodate BMW. We live in a global world and can no longer hold people to ransom simply because smart humans will always find alternatives, we can't expect to sit back to collect rent. There are simply too many rent-seekers around.
     
  4. taneepak

    taneepak Regular Member

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    For now Singapore casinos will be more like those in the US. If casinos do their own marketing instead of contracting out to real experts who can create the market, they will remain a small potato and will be more of a theme park/family gambling setup. For a start it is a good compromise.
     
  5. taneepak

    taneepak Regular Member

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    Romania has a population that is more than 4 times bigger than Singapore's. But poor little bugger, it has a total gdp that is smaller than Singapore's. Who says money doesn't give you bragging rights?
     
  6. Loh

    Loh Regular Member

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    Poly 'reject' off to Harvard

    The Straits Times
    May 4, 2010

    Indonesian is the first S'pore Poly student to get into the elite varsity

    By Amelia Tan

    HE WAS once rejected by Singapore Polytechnic (SP), but Indonesian student Kuriakin Zeng, 24, subsequently went on to make history at the institution, not once but twice.

    Last year, he became the first SP student to score straight distinctions for all of his 33 modules in his electronics, computer and communication engineer-ing diploma course.

    Last week, he became the first student from the polytechnic to be accepted into Harvard College, where he will do a liberal arts course - with the bonus of having a full scholarship from the Ivy League university.

    Harvard-bound Singapore Polytechnic student Kuriakin Zeng with the TR-2010 robot he designed and built with teammates. It will be one of the robots competing in the RoboCup competition next month at Suntec City. Mr Zeng, who is passionate about robotics, has clinched a full scholarship to study liberal arts at Harvard College. -- ST PHOTO: DESMOND FOO
     

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  7. Loh

    Loh Regular Member

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    Newater to meet 40% needs

    The Straits Times
    May 4, 2010

    2020 goal part of effort to be self-sufficient in water, says SM Goh

    By Cassandra Chew

    NEWATER will play a bigger role in meeting Singapore's water needs over the next decade.

    By 2020, this reclaimed water will meet 40 per cent of Singapore's water needs, up from the current 30 per cent.

    The move is in line with the Government's aim to be completely self-sufficient in water by 2061, said Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong yesterday, when he opened Singapore's fifth and largest Newater factory in Changi.

    Designed, built and operated by listed company Sembcorp Industries, the $180 million plant will supply 50 million gallons of water daily.

    To achieve the 40 per cent target, another 75 million gallons per day will have to be produced, said Mr Goh.

    Together with the supply from the four earlier plants - in Ulu Pandan, Kranji, Seletar and Bedok - Singapore's total Newater capacity in 2020 will hit 197 million gallons a day.

    The $180 million plant will supply 50 million gallons of water daily. -- PHOTO: SEMBCORP
     

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  8. Bbn

    Bbn Regular Member

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    Since you people love to convert this badminton forum into a political forum let's all contribute each more examples of breaches of agreement :

    1) Malaysia continuing the NEP after it expired in 1990.
    2) China breaking its agreement to open up coatal ports to Europeans after
    the Opium war.
    3) Hitler breaking his promise not to invade Poland etc etc.

    The list goes on and on,where are we heading? Are you all justifying people breaching agreements some performed with "Reality of Consent" in legal terms? Maybe lawyers can advise you on the difference between valid agreements and those not under free consent.
    I really don't know what this forum is for anymore, to prove that we have a lot to learn? To prove how little we know about laws?
    ?????????
     
  9. Loh

    Loh Regular Member

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    Feng Tianwei wins Sportswoman of the Year 2009 title

    Channel NewsAsia
    03 May 2010 1736 hrs

    By Dylan Loh

    SINGAPORE : Twenty-three-year-old table tennis player Feng Tianwei has been named Singapore's Sportswoman of the Year 2009, her first such honour.

    Currently ranked second in the world, Feng was honoured for finishing fourth at the Women's World Cup last year. She also did well in other international tournaments, winning gold in the singles and team events at the SEA Games in Laos last December.

    Feng, who is currently training in Taiwan, told MediaCorp she is encouraged by the award, which will boost her preparations for the big tournaments this year.

    She said: "I'm very happy to win this award, and hearing about this is definitely a surprise for me as it's my first time winning this Sportswoman of the Year award.

    "This gives me a lot of encouragement in my preparations for the big meets that I have lined up for this year - the World Team Table Tennis Championships, Commonwealth Games and Asian Games. I feel confident and I will continue to work hard."

    Quah Ting Wen was named "Most Inspiring Young Athlete" - a special mention the Singapore Sports Awards Selection Committee is giving the 17-year-old swimmer.

    Quah is currently studying in Los Angeles, US and is being honoured for her outstanding performance at last year's South-East Asia (SEA) Games in Laos and the inaugural Asian Youth Games.

    She won five golds, two silvers and one bronze at the 2009 SEA Games, where she was crowned Best Female Athlete. She also won four golds and one bronze at the Asian Youth Games in Singapore.

    The award for Coach of the Year went to 67-year-old veteran Henry Tan for bowling. A household name in the 1970s, Tan spent decades grooming Singapore's best bowlers, including 2006 World Champion Remy Ong.

    This is the second time he has won Coach of the Year award, his last in 1983. He was also Sportsman of the Year in 1970 and 1975.

    The bowling coach said: "I've always enjoyed my work very much. This award is a bonus. Whether I get this award or not I will still be enjoying my work very much. But by having this recognition it means that my federation is working very hard."

    There were no winners for Team of the Year - Team Sport, and Sportsman of the Year awards. This is the second time that no sportsman has been deemed deserving of the award.

    Chris Chan, Secretary-General, Singapore National Olympic Council, said: "The bar has been raised over the years and I think the selectors address this, and when we discussed about the nominees we felt that perhaps we should then say that there are no winners this year because the field has not measured up to the bar."

    Sailing's Darren Choy clinched the Sportsboy title, while Elizabeth Yin Yueling, also a sailor, won the Sportsgirl award.

    The national women's table tennis team won the Team of the Year award for Events.

    The winners were picked by the Singapore Sports Awards Selection Committee, chaired by the President of the Singapore National Olympic Council, Mr Teo Chee Hean. They will receive their awards on June 1.

    Feng Tianwei reacts to a winning point against her compatriot Wang Yuegu in the women's singles table tennis final at the Laos SEA Games.
     

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  10. taneepak

    taneepak Regular Member

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    This is what the world is. The strong can get away with anything. Just look at the war crimes criminals, some so labelled as such, others are heads of state of powerful countries, in which those from defeated or small 3rd world countries are brought to the Hague for trial but those from powerful countries are free as a bird.
    This is true in politics from the highest level, permanent members of the UN Security Council to military/arms where only the powerful are allowed to possess nuclear weapons of mass destruction. Smaller countries are threatened with obliteration if they so much as dare to build one or two nuclear weapons. At the lower level, say within a country, the law is respected. But between countries, this is more difficult. This is because each country has its own law.
    Extreme laws like those introduced by the first emperor of China were cruel and will stoke rebellion or a change of government.
    Agreements are not necessarily good. They can be good or very bad, the latter often used to con the less enlightened. Agreements are only good if you are prepared to go to court in case of dispute. I was myself involved in a case in which my company's customer was in breach of a major multi-million dollar contract. That customer was just too powerful to take to court because it was a big country and winning the case (battle) in a court of law would risk losing the war, so I strongly recommended we dropped the case-and we did.
    Take a look at the US congress and the laws they passed. Some of those laws take a savage bite at other countries. Do you think such US laws are to be welcome in the those targeted countries? These can range from trade disputes to trade sanctions to declaring that the Dalai Lama is the rightful president of China.;)
     
  11. Loh

    Loh Regular Member

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    I think we should not continue with this conversation which is becoming too political and not in sync with the main thread of "Singapore Also Can".

    I have faith in our law makers and their pursuit of justice in this Romanian hit-and-run "Rhapsody". And I believe we shall see the light of justice at the end of the tunnel.
     
  12. Loh

    Loh Regular Member

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    S'pore doodles for Google

    The Straits Times
    Apr 29, 2010

    By Yeo Shang Long

    USING national icons like an MRT train, the Merlion and the Singapore Flyer, Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) student James Rotanson, 17, fashioned his own version of Google's logo.

    The 17-year old's entry beat more almost 30,000 other entries, from students aged four to 19, to clinch top spot in the inaugural Doodle 4 Google competition, which was themed 'Our Singapore'.

    Entries were sent in earlier this year, and went through four stages of judging which included a public vote, an expert judging panel and a final judging by Google's original Doodler Dennis Hwang.

    In a video message screened during the awards ceremony on Thursday, Mr Hwang explained that James' entry stood out because of 'the artistic style and how it worked in harmony with the message the doodle was trying to send."

    "I loved the creative use of the Singapore MRT and the Merlion for the letter 'g'," he added. An Indonesian who came here two years ago, James said he found it hard to adjust at first but soon felt a real connection with Singapore's language and culture, which is evident in his work

    As the overall national winner, he also won a laptop and a chance to visit Google's headquarters where he will meet Mr Hwang and the rest of Google's doodle team in person. His logo will also be showcased on the Google Singapore homepage for 24 hours on National Day on Aug 9.

    "I'm really happy to be given this chance, and I hope to learn some new techniques from the doodle team," he added. The Google doodle team has been customising the Google logo in conjunction with events, anniversaries since 1999.


    PHOTO: GOOGLE SINGAPORE
     

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  13. Loh

    Loh Regular Member

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    S'pore is No.2 sports city

    The Straits Times
    Apr 29, 2010

    S'pore is No.2 sports city but needs to build up sporting culture: Teo

    By Terrence Voon

    SINGAPORE'S burgeoning reputation as a sporting capital was confirmed earlier this week when the Republic was named the world's No.2 Ultimate Sports City.

    The biennial accolade - handed out by the London-based Sport Business Group on Tuesday - placed Singapore just behind Melbourne in terms of being the best city to host a sports event.

    Singapore's prominence on the world sports map has grown in recent times, after clinching headline events like the annual Formula One night race and the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in August.

    But to truly become an ultimate sporting destination, more needs to be done to make Singapore a city that lives and breathes sport.

    'The ranking is a recognition of the hard work and the investment we have put in over the last few years,' Senior Parliamentary Secretary (Community Development, Youth and Sports, and Transport) Teo Ser Luck told The Straits Times yesterday.

    'But becoming a sports city is not just about bringing in events. Sports has to become a way of life for all Singaporeans and we have to work hard to strengthen that culture.'

    Singapore's prominence on the world sports map has grown in recent times, after clinching headline events like the annual Formula One night race and the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in August. -- ST PHOTO: JOYCE FANG
     

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  14. Loh

    Loh Regular Member

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    Reply to UN expert

    The Straits Times
    Apr 29, 2010

    By Rachel Lin

    A UNITED Nations racism expert's call for policy fixes to allow for freer discussion of sensitive issues like race and to provide more extensive help for some in the Malay community drew a quick response from the Government yesterday.

    Special Rapporteur Githu Muigai, speaking after an eight-day mission here, said Singapore had performed well in combating racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia, but 'blind spots' remain that could undermine the preservation of racial harmony.

    Broadly put, these involved policies and programmes such as the Group Representation Constituencies (GRCs), the 'race' category on identification documents and ethnic quotas in public housing which he said reinforced, not reduced, ethnic categorisation.

    They also included the status of the Malay community here, in particular, what he saw as their relative under-performance in school and the lack of high-ranking Malay members of the army and judiciary.

    Mr Muigai also felt that Singapore society was mature and the time was ripe for the review of laws which may constrain free public debate on sensitive issues, such as race and religion.

    Saying that he found a 'very vibrant intellectual culture' here, he was of the view that restrictions such as those in the Penal Code and Sedition Act were not as useful today as they were 45 years ago when Singapore experienced violent racial tensions.

    Special Rapporteur Githu Muigai, speaking after an eight-day mission here, said Singapore had performed well in combating racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia, but 'blind spots' remain that could undermine the preservation of racial harmony. -- PHOTO: UN
     

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  15. Loh

    Loh Regular Member

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  16. Bbn

    Bbn Regular Member

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  17. Bbn

    Bbn Regular Member

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    Maybe I should make it clearer for the kids who happen to read this article:

    When we play badminton we have a set of rules and umpire and linesmen.
    But lets say we play social badminton without judges.
    Your opponent breaks all the rules and introduces new rules as the game goes, his only intention is to win at all costs.Assuming that there are many other people or places to play, would you look forward again to playing with this dirty opponent?
     
  18. Bbn

    Bbn Regular Member

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    I was wondering,and perhaps the best place to ask this question lies here, everyday I read reports about Greece and the impending EU financial crisis,the possible bursting of the bubble in China both together which practically covers half the world's wealth, what will be the economic prospects for Singapore and Malaysia in the next ten years. Probably less demand from US,EU and even China.
    That would derail many government plans to earn foreign exchange from exports or tourism. It might require more regional cooperation and less dependence for this period on the 3 great economic blocs.
    I wonder what are countries like Singapore going to do to tackle this new headache,develop new markets and regional alliances?
     
  19. taneepak

    taneepak Regular Member

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    The solution may be simpler than you think. Singapore's economic growth was driven by imported workers and employees-you can plot population and economic growth and they look like twins. When times are hard these imported workers, including non-citizens who are permanent residents, will be a burden as there is not enough jobs to go around. Just reverse the well tried solution-encourage them to leave but with a promise they will be given priority when happy times are here again.
     
  20. taneepak

    taneepak Regular Member

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    Everything about the Romanian ex-diplomat is political. If it is not in sync with the thread then why bring this up in the first place?
    Singapore law makers have absolutely no say or influence to bring this chap to heel. But they can bang tables and ask questions and the minister will reply with answers that may sound promising but that chap will not be shipped back to Singapore. Singaporeans will all get so worked up that the news media will try that chap all over again just to get it off their chest.
    The more you humiliate Romania or their ex-diplomat the more political it becomes and the more polarised the two countries position.
    Yes, justice will be done at the end of the tunnel but it must be a Romanian tunnel. This way both countries can claim victory.
     

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