SHOCKING pictures of a dog with its hind paw severed and its leg stripped of flesh and skin, exposing its bone were posted on citizen journalism website STOMP.

Source: ST

See the picture here.

The stray dog, who has been named Kiwi, is believed to be a victim of animal abuse. She was found by STOMPer Wendy, who works at non-profit organisation Action for Singapore Dogs.  ‘You may feel uncomfortable looking at them, but this is what really happened to our fellow local dogs in Singapore.’

It is shocking that people could actually abuse animals, even if they were strays.  Yes, it could have been due to a road accident, or a wild boar trap.  But the possibility of abuse ranks fairly high, given the numerous instances of horrid abuses against strays we read in the papers from time to time.  In this particular case, I doubt that the abuser will ever be caught.

Under the Animals and Birds Act, anyone who is found guilty of such an offence including abandonment of any animal, can be imprisoned for up to 12 months, fined up to $10,000, or both.  We urge the government to penalise all abusers to the fullest extent of the law.  Even then, perhaps the fine should be doubled. 

As residents, we also have a duty to report abuses.  If you observe an act of animal abuse, whether deliberate or unintentional, don’t just walk away. Call the SPCA and they will send an Inspector to investigate.  Help the SPCA help the animals. Express your disapproval. Animal abuse is not just socially unacceptable – it reflects a lack of respect for life itself.

• inspector@spca.org.sg
  General enquiries on animal cruelty (please call 62875355 ext. 9 to lodge a report)

THE grave of Singapore’s wartime hero Lim Bo Seng may become a national monument one day.  His family has approached the National Heritage Board to accord the grave such a status.  Said Brigadier-General Lim Teck Yin, 47, grandson of the national hero: ‘We want to make sure that someone will look after it when we are gone.’

Source: ST

In order to be gazetted, a building must have historical, traditional and architectural merit. Fifty-five buildings have been gazetted as national monuments.  Last week, a reader wrote to bilingual newspaper mypaper about the ‘deplorable’ state of the grave at MacRitchie Reservoir Park, saying it needed ‘proper maintenance’.  When The Sunday Times visited the grave, it spotted corrosion on the steps of the grave and a carving had broken off.

The Public Utilities Board maintains the area around the tombstone. The latter belongs to the family.  Such is the treatment the government gives to the nation’s war hero.  It is absolutely shameful and cold-hearted.  Who visits this tombstone?  Not just family members but members of the public, those who wish to pay respects to Singapore’s best known hero.  This is hardly a personal tombstone, but one of historic significance that concerns all Singaporeans this generation and the next.  What the government does for Lim Bo Seng’s tombstone should be no less than whatever they have planned for Lee Kwan Yew’s.

By Arthur

A certain Mr Lionel De Souza likes to make public comments. And curiously, Straits Times loves publishing his letters.

He had previously argued that people are stirring about ISA because they are jealous of Singapore’s “success.”.

Recently, he urged Singapore authority to deal with The Online Citizen for not doing their job of moderating reader’s comment.

Thanks to Alex Au, I now know that Lionel is an ex police officer. Lionel is probably, I believe, a beneficiary and therefore a strong supporter of the System.

Well Lionel, there are people who have gone through life with only one type of experience. For those type of people, to get things done, the only thing they know how to do them is to go arrest other people, and some time put guys behind bar without trials.

On the other hand, there are people like us who know that there are other far superior ways of life that we hope our children can see. Some of the things in our wish list: free, sensible public debate, transparency and accountability in political and public sectors, and less nonsenses in Straits Times forum.

MR CLINTON LIM: ‘The sabre rattling by Umno Youth leader Khairy Jamaluddin in dismissing the sale of sand to Singapore in return for the building of a third bridge is unhelpful (’Khairy rejects sand sale to S’pore’, Wednesday). In a globalised village, a country’s hinterland is the world, as Singapore fully realises and is creating. Investors take the long-term view. Billions of dollars are at stake.

Source: ST

Mr Clinton says that “the project could well remain a pipe dream if Malaysian leaders continue to bury their heads in the sand.”   I think this generalisation by Clinton is in itself unhelpful too.  Not all Malaysian leaders need to agree on the project, in fact I applaud Khairy for expressing his own opinion and stance.  Do all PAP members agree to a third bridge?  Unless they are all just a herd of sheep, I think not.  Those that do disagree – do they have the guts to speak out or to break rank?   Baaaaaa……..

The US military is tracking a North Korean ship that media reports said is heading for Singapore. The Kang Nam departed from a port in North Korea on Wednesday and is suspected of carrying weaponry, missile parts or nuclear material.

Source: CNA

This is quite an alarming development.  Singapore’s Foreign Ministry said Singapore takes seriously the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and if the allegation is true, the ministry said Singapore will act appropriately.  We hope our scholars at the helm of our military, and our highly paid Ministers of course, can make the right decisions.

On a lighter side, I wonder if they are coming to Singapore to cheer on their youth football team.

Update:

To: kootk@mindef.gov.sg, indranee.rajah@drewnapier.com

Dear Associate Professor Koo Tsai Kee/ Ms Indranee Thurai Rajah

We are an online civic advocacy group and we watch with concern the direction of developments at Tiong Bahru estate.

As per the wishes of our readers, who could be your voters (please see their feedback at http://civicadvocator.net/margaret-chung-and-fellow-residents-doing-their-bit-to-preserve-tiong-bahru#IDComment24587559), we are writing you this note.

Please do not let Tiong Bahru degenerate into second Geyland.

Thank you.
Civicadvocator.net

——

We are extremely concerned that the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) has allowed Hotel 81 to operate close to the Tiong Bahru residential area. Without prejudice to the hotel, we naturally fear the exposure of our families and children to potentially negative activities, which may be linked to the availability of hourly-stay rates.
We are disappointed with the lack of response by the STB when recently queried by the media, and call on the STB to explain immediately. We similarly call on Hotel 81 to clarify their intentions to set up operations in this neighbourhood – to many of us, having this hotel adjacent to residential property is simply not acceptable.
A second concern relates to landlords and agents in the estate who operate illegal workers’ dormitories and collect thousands in rental profit without concern for the consequent noise, litter and fire hazards. We request that the Housing and Development Board, the Urban Redevelopment Authority, National Environment Agency, Singapore Civil Defence Force and other relevant agencies urgently respond to enforce the law in what is a persistent and festering problem.

Source: Today

The PAP Government puts economic interest first and believes it has the “political mandate” to do so.

We are glad that Margaret and her fellow residents have decided to do something to set things right. We are also happy that many agree with her.

Recent proposals to amend the Maintenance of Parents Act suggests an act by the government to pass the buck of caring for the elderly to their children, but this puts an inconsiderable strain especially on lower-income groups.

Source: The Online Citizen

The current Singapore government has lost tons of moral reserves. The only thing that they continue to do well is to enhance its legal whip. Our children deserve something better.

A TOTAL of 12,760 jobs were lost in the first quarter, government data showed on Monday, pushing Singapore’s overall unemployment rate to a three-year high of 3.3 per cent.

Source:  ST

A total of 95,700 residents were unemployed in March.   Amd the number of people re-employed also fell, with only 51% of those retrenched in Q4 2008 re-employed by March 2009, compared to 70% in Dec 2008 and 67% in March 2008.   Elsewhere, retail sales suffered their biggest drop since 1999 as shoppers cut back on big-ticket items such as cars and furniture amid the city-state’s worst ever recession.

These residents and their families are probably worrying about their meals and the roof over their heads.  Youth Olympics, F1, Integrated resorts, 3G Army and the like probably mean nothing to them.  And don’t be fooled by the slight ’surge’ in the PC Show crowd - many may have ended up knee-deep in credit card debt.

Singapore expects its economy to shrink up to 9% this year, which would be its worst contraction since splitting from Malaysia in 1965.  The income gap may have eased in 2008 thanks to government aid, but these unemployed residents need immediate and sustained assistance now, in 2009, and in the months ahead.

We help ourselves. Don’t expect others to help

Tom Wright painted a bleak picture of Singapore’s property sector going forward at The Wall Street Journal. His article ended with the following:
“I’m yet to see the light at the end of the tunnel [for Singapore],” says Mr. Tan, the high-end broker.
We would expect people to continue to dig the dirt and tell it to [...]



Our skin isn’t as thick as it should be

The Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) organised a seminar on March 4 to discuss Singapore’s political blogosphere.  Tan Tarn How, Senior Research Fellow and Research Assistant Tan Simin presented their paper on trends observed in the blogosphere.  As reported in the TOC, the researchers identified the following limitations:

The online-offline firewall, while somewhat alleviated by offline [...]



Singapore and Lee Kuan Yew – The answer to the African problem?

Recently, I followed a thread “Democracy and Economic Growth” which started in PoliticsForum.org.   Apparently, members there often question the role of democracy in a developing nation. “During the wave of democratization in Africa during the 90s, many people had renewed hope for the continent, immediately equating newly established democracies to economic growth. Are these democracies [...]



Tell Singapore government: Ask them a question or give a suggestion

We informed people about the “Tell Singapore Government” subsite and have received some interesting reaction at some forums.
See: 3in1 Kopitiam, Sam’s Alfresco Coffee, Singapore Kopitiam, SgForums
Our responses to some of the comments are listed below. If we are not answering some other specific questions, that is because we do not know how.
 

Petitions

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

I don’t know

Our Singapore

As seen by people

• 
  

• Purpose

To observe, analyse, present our position, and call for action. Read our articles, give your views, and learn together with us.