Friday, August 8, 2014

Shades Of Honour

You know Minister for Education Heng Swee Keat makes a lousy teacher when he chose to speak on the value of honour for his speech at the launch of a new non-profit organisation, Honour (Singapore), on 5 August 2014. That word is currently a rude reminder that the present government has failed to honour the promise to return the citizens' life savings at age 55. As the late Toh Chin Chye put it, "Mr Speaker, I think fundamental principles are being breached."

Heng should read the Oxford Dictionary example of how to use the word, "I must as a matter of honour avoid any taint of dishonesty". The new organisation he was honouring hardly fits the third aspect he prescribed, "to honour one another by appreciating one another, understanding one another, and respecting differences in views as we build a common future". True, the website of Honour Singapore may profess that it “is a multi-racial, multi-religious, national initiative that seeks to promote a culture of honour and honouring in Singapore in the belief that this is an essential attribute for the continuing peace, progress, and prosperity of Singapore". But what they don't tell you honourably is that its Board of Directors is stacked with leaders from Full Gospel Business (FGB) Singapore.

The mission statements of FGB Singapore aim to, amongst other goals, “multiply disciples and enlarge our reach and spheres of influence” and "establish and advance the Kingdom of God in the marketplace, cities and nation". Something you might easily imagine as being penned by the ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria). The Executive Director of Honour Singapore, Jason Wong, is also the Chairman of Focus On The Family, a Christian group well-known for adopting an uncompromising stance toward the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community under the guise of advocating “family values”.

The same Focus On The Family people who were rooting for another group that attempted the surreptitious takeover of the Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE). In 2009, a clique of conservative bluenoses under the leadership of Josie Lau briefly took over the AWARE executive council on grounds of it allegedly promoting a pro-gay agenda, and was subsequently booted out of office unceremoniously.

The honourable thing to do here is for Jason Wong, Richard Magnus, Georgie Lee, and Khoo Oon Theam to openly declare that they are also leaders of FGB Singapore and Focus On The Family. And explain "enlarge our reach and spheres of influence". To be fair, Zaqy Mohamad (Chua Chu Kang GRC) also tested the tenuous line between state and religious affiliation when he was quoted saying, "Both politically and materially and philosophically, we have been supportive of the Palestine cause and have made that very public." Was that why a Palestinian flag was displayed from a housing board flat instead of our national colours?

34 comments:

  1. Even owners of our 99-years HDB flats can also be kicked out like the recent Queenstown's Tanglin Halt & Commonwealth Drive flats built in the 1960s! What else can be believe?

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    1. You can be kicked out because HDB owns the flat.
      You own a lease (with terms & conditions) to stay in the HDB flat.
      You don't own "your" HDB flat.

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    2. So the PAP is lying when it says 90% home ownership when in actual fact it is 90% home lease.

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    3. Actual home ownership in Singapore is likely to be around 10%.
      One of the lowest rates in the world.

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    4. To be precise, HDB owns the land on which your block of flats is built, of course they can reclaim the land. I bet few people understand what their lease entitle them to, a few hundred grand for the area in the air demarcated by 4 walls. If you have the means, break down the 4 walls and move it to another piece of land, this time better make sure you own the land, but even then, the URA can legally "compensate" you in the name of urban redevelopment - only in red dot is G=GOD absurd mathematically but true.

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    5. Once kick out, does the town council calculated the sinking fund owed to the lessor?

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    6. "Refund" to lessor kicked out?

      Answer found in answer to the question: : does teo ho pin return his fat mayor pay of half a million a year when he lost money in minibonds?

      QED

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  2. This PAP government is being dishonest when it says it does not interfere with the investment decisions of GIC despite having so many ministers inside its board of directors.

    This PAP government has dishonour its promise of helping people to retire when it keep pushing back the retirement age and keep increasing the CPF minimum sum.

    The PAP has to be removed from parliament by people's will power. We cannot let unsuitable money-faced people whose only concern is to suck more money from the people so that they can live with "dignity".

    No more blank cheque to the PAP. We cannot let it do what it wants. The PAP MPs have betrayed the people by voting to support the population white paper. PAP's only solution to our woes is to kick the can down the road by importing more people.

    Dear people, it is time to vote out this group of greedy and self-serving people. Kick them out!

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  3. More gatekeepers are necessary because the PAP's propensity for kicking own goals is very real. Magnus is everywhere keeping transport affordable, the ordinary folks from destroying themselves and their families by gambling, and selecting the right people to serve us in the Civil Service. Come one, be grateful to these overworked folks.

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    1. Former judge Richard Magnus, who replaced Gerard Ee as chairman of the Public Transport Council from May 1, is currently chairman of the Casino Regulatory Authority. He is also chairman of the Full Gospel Business Singapore? Wow, talk about a fox guarding the hen house!

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    2. Emperor's sithe lords have infiltrated the senate, where is padme amidala? Obi One, Jar Jar Binks, help...

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    3. So how do we know the goal keeper is truly unbias? and not like someone called Bruce Grobbelaar, if you r old enuf to know bruce, he was a liverpool fc legend goalkeeper later convicted of match fixing. many things up there are nothing but old networking in play, all wayang, all collusion, all illusion, say one thing, do another. Do anything they like, and when caught like that piece of waffle, call yr friends

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  4. Is the government/minister being" willingly" influenced by these religious groups or so called gatekeepers? Definitely a dangerous trend.

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    1. The danger is when Zaqy said "we have been supportive of the Palestine cause", and Sham-mugam didn't seem to mind. Maybe those who went to fight in the Gaza strip were on scholarships.

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    2. "Influenced"? think they are already converts, how could a bunch of in-competent men and women have made it this far up if they weren't?

      You can see the inexorable march towards intolerance of alternative views from the top in the C and G, slowly rearing their "beliefs", leaking it into so called correct "social norm". Can that be compatible with a free open market economy? A "left of centre cabinet", calimed the lap dog kish.

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  5. The government should remain secular ..if it is SEEN to be influenced by any one group, we can expect trouble ......... Hope they don't let their personal beliefs cloud their better judgement.

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    1. We don't want bible thumping pedagogues or neo-conservative christian "gatekeepers" to influence the government, or even to be inside the government and providing a platform to "enlarge our reach and spheres of influence", especially the Ministry of Social and Family Development, of which Jason Wong was a former Senior Director. One of the aims of this Ministry is to "future-proof" Singapore society. I guess we know what they will "future proof" against.

      Minister Heng has lost the plot. To "future-proof" ourselves, we need to VTO.

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    2. You touched a sore point. Deep fears on the ground, I suppose, is whether this red dot is really secular or run by some religious clicks hiding behind the curtain? At this rate of advance, its like wild weed colonising the school field, one phone call and books get burnt. Hope we won't see their version of Hishamuddin drawing the kris in front of international press.

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  6. Where are the Freemasons?... come on out!

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  7. The issue is not how they get to know one another. Experience tells us that it is better to start a movement by working with friends, people you've known in schools, workplaces, association, or religious organizations. In any case, many social, civic, educational, human rights, professional, and charitable organizations have roots in religious organizations.

    The key is whether they are good leaders and they live up to the mission of their charter which is honourable. I won't join anybody who wants to throw stones at them for endeavouring to do a good job for the nation.

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    Replies
    1. What happened to Meritocracy????

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    2. It has morped into Marriedtocracy according to some Singaporeans.

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  8. Do honourable people form organisation to honour one another?
    Time to have our ministers form an organisation to promote honesty and integrity in dealings among mortals.

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    1. Ha Ha.
      Good to know that other Singaporeans see this too.
      They honour one another.
      They nominate one another.
      Example:
      Guess who was "promoted" as one of Asia's great thinkers?

      I face palm and shake head.

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  9. http://www.therealsingapore.com/content/identical-twin-studies-prove-homosexuality-not-genetic


    https://www.facebook.com/pages/NOT-born-gay/497769016904483

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    1. So what's your point?
      Whether homosexuality is caused by genetics or lifestyle choice does not matter.
      What matters is we should all have the freedom to decide who we want to sleep with.

      Are you Minister Yacob?
      Trying to tell us we now have to sleep with the "correct" gender?

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    2. Interesting links all, but I thot its not just humans that exhibit same-sex tendencies in the animal kingdom. several species of fish it has been observed too. So if not genetics, then where from? Food? Toxins in Mcdonald burgers? Soya bean oil? Acid rain? Those "different" fishes couldn;t have read the "offending" penguingate books at the NLB? Or archie comics?

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    3. Same sex tendencies not allowed.
      But what about same family and cronyism?
      Are these allowed?

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    4. same family also cannot, except if your surname starts with a T or L or .... ok permission granted, free for all now as long as you carry the MIW card.

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  10. Yes, yes the pap and civil servants' mentality is for the bottom 80%, robbing peter to pay paul is the right way: Medishield Life isn;t abt G doing more for the nation, it is redistributing the healthcare burden from the group near the bottom of the social ladder to pay for healthcare of those right at the bottom. Honourable I suppose, until you find out that the salaries of the top fat cats in the G are paid out of the pickets of everyone else. That's robbing everyone to feed the fat cats, honourable pete?

    PM in his National Day address said:
    "Besides your flat, the CPF has helped you to save for your old age. It ensures you have a stream of income in retirement. The scheme works well for many of you, but it can be improved. "

    If HDB "policies" and Medishield Life are examples of "endeavouring to do a good job for the nation", then the promised "improvements" CPF should strike fear into your hearts, pete, unless of course you belong to the top 20%, then you shud start whistling on your way to the bank. be careful, the banks are loaded with mortgage loans.... we may end up squatting next to each other in a few years if they confiscate your fat bank account to bail out those further above you... :)

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  11. cronyism, KKN (corruption, collusion nepotism), religious sects?

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  12. OMG. Feels like a slo-mo takeover of secular@SG ala-AWARE.

    Hope it's not somebody's idea of management by divide & conquer. This is playing with a slow-burn fire that will incinerate every shred of whatever social fabric that we have weaved so far.

    HQ had better be on top of this one. KPI. Non-negotiable.

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  13. Happy PAP Day .... daft Sinkies.
    How many millions did the NDP cost?
    Where do YEW think the money comes from?

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  14. The world is being torn apart along religious line: obummer leading the west waging war against islam, israel just destroyed Gaza, not so long ago Serbian aggression against Bosnian Mulsims. What one sees in this "honour singapore" and penguingate episodes is quite disturbing because there is the same parallel but less visible (even hidden) "aggression" into a formerly secular nation state. The encroachment into pseudo state organs by men and women connected by deep religious convictions cannot be welcomed by patriots of a secular country; even if they can put aside their common values, surely "groupthink" cannot be good for the country. It is precisely the blind spots that led to recent govt policies into disgraceful breakdowns of first electricity supply, then ponding, then public transport breakdowns, tents outside hospital grounds or patients sleeping along ward corridors. The worst is there is no checks against intelligent men and women thinking alike, col=ntrolling state media, trying to justify their mistakes with hubris, backed by fawning intellectuals or opportunistic academics. That I see as the key danger facing the red dot: no true independent thought at the highest levels, no critical thinking, too much scratching each others back - "governing by compromises", as one former scholar recently wrote. If the self-proclaimed "brightest thinker's" biggest bold idea to solve the overcrowding here is to buy $50k houses up north or in batam, then you have to really worry. The future hyperpower foxes further up north would be rubbing their hands, salivating, ready to eat up this bunch of sheeple led by half-blind men and women.

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