The Elections Are Coming!

Nov 12, 2005
It's confirmed: Buangkok station opens in
Jan
By Goh Chin Lian

TRANSPORT Minister Yeo Cheow Tong yesterday confirmed that Buangkok MRT
station will finally open in January next year - 2 1/2 years after the rest of the North-East Line.

The decision, which confirms a report in Thursday's Straits Times, comes after appeals from the local MP and residents, and even a public protest.

It reverses the Land Transport Authority's recent review, which concluded that there would not be enough people living in the area to warrant opening the station until 2008.

Still, in a statement yesterday, the Transport Ministry said the LTA had recommended the station be opened early to better serve residents of recently-completed housing developments nearby.

Heheh, then look at this part:

Mr Yeo denied the Government had pressured SBS to open the station.

'We have left it to them... This has to be a commercial decision because there is no way we are going to step in to offset any losses.'

Heheh, if it is a pure commercial decision by SBS, then why is Yeo Cheow Tong, Transport Minister announcing it, instead of the CEO of SBS?

Asked if the opening of the station was a sweetener for the upcoming general election, Mr Yeo said it had more to do with tireless appeals from Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC MP Charles Chong.

The timing of the opening, he said, was a coincidence.

Aiyah, don't so shy lah. You know, I know, we all know - so shy for what?

White Elephants

So I received this interesting email from a bunch of schoolgirls and they asked me to help publicise their school project. But I see that Hui Chieh from Singapore Angle has already written about this matter, so I'll just provide you with the link.

The white elephants of Buangkok have evolved. They are now a symbol of active citizenship, of free speech and of the aspiration for a better society. Oh, they have also become T-shirts.

The girls put together an info sheet explaining the background and purpose of their school project. There is this little paragraph which I want to discuss - particularly the part that I have highlighted in bold:

"We would like to remind the public that even though the White Elephant has become our mascot and symbol for the project, we are in no way attempting to judge or condone the Buangkok MRT incident. Rather, we are using the accidental fame of the elephants to spark interest in our project; they also serve as a reminder that legal boundaries are important and should be adhered to even while expressing one's views and opinions about political issues."

If you look at the overall paragraph, well, you know what it is - just as they say in the army, it is a "cover backside" paragraph. The girls are saying, "Please ah please ah, we scared ok, don't sue us, prosecute us, fine us under the Seditious Defamatory Unlawful Assembly Public Entertainment or Whatever-Whatever Penal Code." Okay, who can blame them - this is Singapore, after all. But Mr Wang invites you to pause for a moment to think a bit more carefully about this part:

"... they also serve as a reminder that legal boundaries are important and should be adhered to even while expressing one's views and opinions about political issues."

As a lawyer, Mr Wang would like you to remember that legal boundaries are indeed important, if only because if you cross those boundaries, you run the risk of being sued or prosecuted. However, Mr Wang also wants you to remember that the legal boundaries we are talking about are not like the immutable laws of physics or the laws of God.

The legal boundaries we are talking about are man-made. They were written by a Tan Ah Seng or a Lim Ah Kow sitting in an government office somewhere drafting statutes. The Bill then goes to Parliament and a bunch of MPs talk about it in a hurry (after all, they have 256 other things in an agenda) and vote 79 to 2 in favour of it (after all, there is the party whip and all the PAP MPs have to vote the same way) and then the Bill is passed and, voila! we have a law. A law that is as imperfect as the Tan Ah Seng and the Lim Ah Kow and the MPs who talked about it in a hurry.

So that's how you get your legal boundaries.

That's if you're lucky. If on the other hand, the law in question comes from the Penal Code, chances are that after it was created by an Englishman named Stephen MacCaulay more than 100 years ago and then imposed on the colonised people of India, Malaysia and Singapore. And since then the law has probably never been changed. Yup, we're talking about laws like theft, rape, robbery, unlawful assembly, murder etc etc. We're still living with the laws from the 19th century, essentially unchanged.

So respect your legal boundaries, because if you don't, you may get into trouble. But don't be so quick to respect the law because you assume that the law is some Great Wise Thing which was bestowed upon us by the Heavens. Nah, nothing like that. In relation to that kind of respect, just give about as much respect as you would give to a Tan Ah Seng or a Lim Ah Kow or a dead Englishman who passed away one century ago. Or three or four MPs in Parliament debating on a Bill in a hurry. You know.

Stupid Press Doesn't Understand Hyperlinking

I mean, really. What kind of journalism is this? I was reading the Straits Times online, and came across this article. Look at it yourself. See what kind of hyperlink they provide. I mean, how is this hyperlink relevant to the story? If the Straits Times doesn't know how to provide useful hyperlinks, I'd rather they don't provide hyperlinks at all.

Nov 9, 2005
Drowning a wake-up call for victim's brother
The death of Steven Sim has prompted a marked improvement in the behaviour of his identical twin Ivan, who has stopped mixing with bad company

By Tracy Sua and Benjamin Nadarajan

THE tragic drowning of Steven Sim became a wake-up call for his identical twin Ivan.

After his brother died in September, Ivan's family was afraid something would happen to him, too. So the Institute of Technical Education student, who used to get into fights, has stopped mixing with bad company and has turned over a new leaf.

Ivan used to be out about three times a week - with friends at pubs and hanging out at void decks. Often, he would not return home until after 7am.

Now he makes sure he is home by 10.30pm to spend time with the family. His outings with friends are limited to coffee or window shopping.

'I decided to spend more time at home instead of staying out late, and I think twice before doing anything,' said the 18-year-old precision engineering student. 'I just don't want to hurt my family and don't want them to be sad.'

Bad Karma ... Mr Wang's Not Baking.

My earlier post on capital punishment attracted a large number of comments. Here's a related report to think about.

ST Nov 9, 2005
Women lawyers want death for sex traffickers
Tough laws needed worldwide to end exploitation of women, they say

KUALA LUMPUR - COUNTRIES need tougher laws to prevent women and girls from falling prey to human traffickers, possibly by imposing the death penalty, female lawyers said at an international conference yesterday.

Human trafficking for the sexual exploitation of women or children had become 'a flourishing industry', mainly in developing countries, said Ms Saraswathy Devi, president of the International Federation of Women Lawyers.

'The only way to successfully end trafficking is for state parties to hold abusers accountable and to remedy the root causes of the problem', such as poverty and gender inequality, she told more than 50 lawyers and activists at the federation's annual conference in Malaysia.

'I am going to ask for the death penalty for people who traffic in women,' said Ms Devi, a Malaysian lawyer. 'I am also going to ask for men who used the services of these women to be severely punished.'

Doctor, Doctor

Nov 9, 2005
Indian 'doctor' jailed for illegally treating workers
He operated 'clinic' in Little India while on social visit pass

By K.C. Vijayan
Crime Correspondent
AN INDIAN ayurvedic practitioner was sentenced to eight months' jail last week for operating an illegal medical practice in Veerasamy Road catering mainly to foreign workers.

Natarajan Nambirajan, 52, was also fined $600 for working in Singapore without authorisation while here on a two-week social visit pass.

He practised traditional Indian ayurvedic medicine, but Western medicines were also found in the small, windowless ground-floor room where he lodged and operated.

Natarajan, who has entered Singapore several times, had been operating the 'clinic' since August, said a Ministry of Health spokesman yesterday.

Okay, I guess we all understand that the Health Ministry can't possibly allow people like Natarajan to run around loose. Still I couldn't help laughing at the next part of the Health Ministry's press statement. It's so unrealistic, it's just surreal:

The Health Ministry stressed it would not hesitate to take stern action against unqualified persons who provide medical treatment.

'Members of the public are also strongly advised against seeking medical treatment from unqualified persons.

'For foreign workers, it is also advisable for them to have medical insurance coverage to protect themselves,' it said.

Come on, lah. You expect the Indian foreign workers in Veerasamy Road to have the money to buy medical insurance? You expect the insurance agents from Prudential or AIA or NTUC Income to even approach these people and market their medical policies?

In the first place, these workers are going to Natarajan because they have no better alternative. A common cold and fever already costs this much, for treatment at a proper GP's clinic. You expect your average Bangladeshi construction worker to be able to afford that?