CSJ and wife opening cafe at rochester mall.....

[jw5]

CSJ is concerned about the walkway at BB Ave 2.

Chee Soon Juan 徐顺全​

10 hrs ·
In September last year, some residents approached me regarding the flyover at BB Ave 1. Their concern is that the walkway on the sides of the flyover was too narrow which made it dangerous for pedestrians especially when cyclists are also frequent users of the passage.
I brought this to the attention of the authorities on a couple of occasions. See, for example,
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10160892540343849&id=79314173848
I recently visited the flyover and am pleased to see that work is being done to widen the walkway. Good lesson in residents speaking up when it comes to their neighbourhoods and environment.

 

[jw5]

CSJ is not happy with PAP comments and attitude.

Chee Soon Juan 徐顺全​

11 hrs ·
The kerfuffle over some whispered remarks in Parliament about illiteracy and lousy schools has resurrected concern over our education system and, more broadly, the direction our society is headed.
While we may say that we are shocked that such remarks are passed – by ministers no less – we cannot say, hand on heart, that we are surprised. After all, their ilk are the same people who have engineered a system geared towards elitism.
When our ruling politicos disparage others in such a manner, especially when they think no one else is listening, it reflects a certain poverty of the mind, not to mention spirit.
When they think of themselves as “natural aristocrats” possessing “exceptional” qualities while describing those they rule over as the “lumpen masses”, democracy, equality and unity will remain mere words.
When they demand for themselves quite vulgar amounts in pay while refusing to implement a minimum wage law for workers, the country’s future cannot be anything but bleak.
These people may be well-schooled, but they are certainly not well-educated.
And when such attitudes are put into practice, the result is the concentration of elite schools in elite districts. SCGS, SJI, MGS, ACS, HCJC, NJC, RGS are all nestled in Bukit Timah whereas schools like Swiss Cottage and Whitley were herded out into the heartlands.
These people then condescendingly placate the people that “every school is a good school”. They do think we’re idiots, don’t they?
I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: If we continue on this elitist path covered by the fake cloth of meritocracy, we are going to rip our society asunder if it hasn’t already. This comes when the rest of the world, at least the enlightened parts of it, is moving in the opposite direction.
Attending an elite school but imbibing none of the values that speak to decency and compassion may make us powerful leaders. But it also produces unwise ones.
Be not proud of how much how much power and wealth you amass. Rather, be proud of how much you can do for your fellow men and women. That’s the key to success in governance and, more importantly, in life.
https://www.facebook.com/cheesoonjuan/videos/903882236642474/

 

[jw5]

CSJ and SDP have a better plan than PAP, which will be announced soon.

Chee Soon Juan 徐顺全​

11 hrs ·
Here we go again. Another surge in infections, another series of knee-jerk reactions that don’t make sense. I’ll cite just a few examples:
One, more than two persons from the same household can ride together in a taxi or PHV. But when they alight, they cannot dine-in together because restaurants are limited to two per table. They also cannot visit their relatives because households can only have up to two unique visitors per day.
Two, if the four persons are from different households, they cannot get into a single cab. But they can happily climb into a bus or MRT train.
Three, social gatherings are limited to two per group but group tours (eg. Duck Tours) can be up to 50.
Where do these people get their ideas from? Whoever is writing them need to remove their heads from their derrière.
Since we opened Orange & Teal, we’ve bounced from a no-dining-in phase to groups of two dining-in with conditions to five with more conditions, back to no-dining-in in less than a month, then back to two with modified rules to five with more modified rules and now back again to two.
This yo-yo type of policy-making is driving everyone nuts; there is no logical consistency. It certainly doesn’t inspire confidence in their ability to tackle the pandemic which is putting businesses and jobs under immense pressure.
And when it comes to events that suit their purpose eg. National Day Parade or the GE last year, they have no problems holding them.
The tragedy is that the sorry state of affairs is confusing and demoralising to an already Covid-fatigued population.
To put a stop to this mess, the SDP will announce an 8-point exit strategy to decisively tackle the pandemic. The plan drawn up by our healthcare panel led by leading infectious disease expert Prof Paul Tambyah. We will present our alternative ideas shortly and will open it for public review.

 

[Confuseous]

LW repeated the same crap he has been dishing out in recent days.
But kept using "strategy" to show that they know what they are doing.
Saying that you have a "strategy" is not the same as executing the
strategy.

 

[jw5]

CSJ introduces SDP's plan.

Chee Soon Juan 徐顺全​

9 hrs ·
This is the SDP’s gameplan to deal with the Covid situation. Unlike the PAP’s directionless, anyhow-hantam strategy (if you can call it a strategy), the SDP’s approach is more surgical:
Essentially, when resources are limited (HCWs have their limits, hospital space is finite, there is only so much public funds), we cannot afford to test all and sundry for the virus. It is neither practical nor desirable.
Instead, we concentrate our resources on the most vulnerable sectors of the population (eg elderly and children) who need help most.
Streamline emergency procedures to give maximum efficiency to those who need help eg. dedicated ambulance service to those who need oxygen.
Stop the on-again-off-again restrictions for businesses and social life. The virus is here to stay, we cannot eradicate it – that’s the reality. The overwhelming majority of the people will not be severely impacted by the virus even if they catch it especially when they are fully vaccinated.
I repeat, train our resources on the most vulnerable.
Don’t panic whenever infection numbers rise. Don’t make knee-jerk policies just to show the public that you’re doing something.
Instead, quarantine, isolate buildings or facilities where outbreaks emerge, but stop closing down or restricting social activities across the island whenever virus numbers rise.
All this as we continue to mask up and practice good hygiene.
Let’s not cower in fear and do things without direction. With the SDP’s plan, let’s tackle the pandemic with intelligence and go forward with life in hope and confidence.
Read the plan in full here:
https://yoursdp.org/.../sdp-introduces-a-sensible-and.../
Prof Tambyah will take your questions in this evening's segment of Ask Paul Anything.

 

[jw5]

from yoursdp.org:

SDP INTRODUCES A SENSIBLE AND FORESIGHTED PLAN TO EXIT THE COVID PANDEMIC​

September 28, 2021
Singapore Democrats

The handling of the Covid-19 pandemic by the Government’s Multi-Ministerial Task Force has been plagued with a distinct lack of coherence and direction. This has left Singaporeans confused and frustrated.
The lack of a clear strategy in dealing with the pandemic has also left businesses unable to plan ahead. The reactive nature of the MMTF’s approach in dealing with outbreaks of infections has led to stop-start, on-again/off-again policies which had impacted adversely on both employers and employees.
In light of this, the SDP has developed an 8-point plan to exit the pandemic and get Singapore out of the current mess and into a more stable and hopeful future. The paper has been drawn up by the party’s healthcare panel which also wrote our National Healthcare Plan in 2013 which was updated more recently in 2019.

1. Stop testing asymptomatic vaccinated individuals outside of contact tracing. This will help ensure that resources are concentrated on those who need them most – the elderly and vulnerable who are actually infected.

2. Ensure that those who test positive including pregnant women and children report to the nearest Public Health Preparedness Clinic (private General Practitioners or polyclinics) who can then evaluate them and decide if they need to be hospitalised or simply monitored over the week or so as we do with other infectious diseases such as urinary tract infections or food poisoning. GPs should be appropriately compensated for the care they provide.

3. Facilitate nursing homes to keep infected patients who are stable and do not need hospitalisation in their facilities but segregate them from the rest of the residents. Have GPs check on them and decide when they need hospitalisation. This will relieve the strain on hospitals and ensure that those who need hospital care are not deprived or delayed.

4. Set up a dedicated ambulance hotline similar to what was used during SARS for those who have tested positive or are identified as contacts so they can be rapidly brought to the hospital if their pulse oximeter readings show evidence of low oxygen concentrations.

5. Publish regular reports on test positivity and all clusters (like the dengue cluster reports) as in the recent decision to publish a map of emerging cases. This will help the public to seek medical attention if they develop symptoms after visiting those areas.

6. Do away with blanket closures and restrictions. Instead, implement interventions that are targeted like with food poisoning outbreaks or hand, foot and mouth disease outbreaks in childcare centres. Shut the physical building or facility where an outbreak occurs instead of across the whole island where outbreaks have not occurred.

7. Intensify molecular epidemiology (genetic fingerprinting) process. Every public hospital and referral lab must perform this for every positive case and the information should be fed into a database modelled on the World Health Organization’s (WHO) GISAID and the information therein made publicly available. This will make the identification of large clusters reliable.

8. Conduct rapid adaptive design randomized clinical trials on all WHO-approved vaccines so they can be brought in for the trials and studied as boosters or primary doses. These vaccines should be commissioned and funded rapidly. The same should be done for other preventative agents which have shown promise in earlier randomized trials such as povidone iodine or ivermectin. This will settle once and for all in a clear scientific manner many of the questions swirling around social media on alternatives to the current vaccination strategies.
Collectively, these measures will provide society with a more reliable and predictable way of handling the pandemic. They will build confidence as we go forward in dealing with a virus that is here to stay. Singapore must deal with the pandemic in a steady and intelligent manner that brings hope and security.

*We welcome public feedback on these measures. Please provide your comments here.

*If you have a burning question that we can answer on our APA programme this Tuesday night, ask it here.

*If you have general comments or remarks, go to our Faceback post.

 

[jw5]

from yoursdp.org:

SDP INTRODUCES A SENSIBLE AND FORESIGHTED PLAN TO EXIT THE COVID PANDEMIC​

September 28, 2021
Singapore Democrats

The handling of the Covid-19 pandemic by the Government’s Multi-Ministerial Task Force has been plagued with a distinct lack of coherence and direction. This has left Singaporeans confused and frustrated.
The lack of a clear strategy in dealing with the pandemic has also left businesses unable to plan ahead. The reactive nature of the MMTF’s approach in dealing with outbreaks of infections has led to stop-start, on-again/off-again policies which had impacted adversely on both employers and employees.
In light of this, the SDP has developed an 8-point plan to exit the pandemic and get Singapore out of the current mess and into a more stable and hopeful future. The paper has been drawn up by the party’s healthcare panel which also wrote our National Healthcare Plan in 2013 which was updated more recently in 2019.

1. Stop testing asymptomatic vaccinated individuals outside of contact tracing. This will help ensure that resources are concentrated on those who need them most – the elderly and vulnerable who are actually infected.

2. Ensure that those who test positive including pregnant women and children report to the nearest Public Health Preparedness Clinic (private General Practitioners or polyclinics) who can then evaluate them and decide if they need to be hospitalised or simply monitored over the week or so as we do with other infectious diseases such as urinary tract infections or food poisoning. GPs should be appropriately compensated for the care they provide.

3. Facilitate nursing homes to keep infected patients who are stable and do not need hospitalisation in their facilities but segregate them from the rest of the residents. Have GPs check on them and decide when they need hospitalisation. This will relieve the strain on hospitals and ensure that those who need hospital care are not deprived or delayed.

4. Set up a dedicated ambulance hotline similar to what was used during SARS for those who have tested positive or are identified as contacts so they can be rapidly brought to the hospital if their pulse oximeter readings show evidence of low oxygen concentrations.

5. Publish regular reports on test positivity and all clusters (like the dengue cluster reports) as in the recent decision to publish a map of emerging cases. This will help the public to seek medical attention if they develop symptoms after visiting those areas.

6. Do away with blanket closures and restrictions. Instead, implement interventions that are targeted like with food poisoning outbreaks or hand, foot and mouth disease outbreaks in childcare centres. Shut the physical building or facility where an outbreak occurs instead of across the whole island where outbreaks have not occurred.

7. Intensify molecular epidemiology (genetic fingerprinting) process. Every public hospital and referral lab must perform this for every positive case and the information should be fed into a database modelled on the World Health Organization’s (WHO) GISAID and the information therein made publicly available. This will make the identification of large clusters reliable.

8. Conduct rapid adaptive design randomized clinical trials on all WHO-approved vaccines so they can be brought in for the trials and studied as boosters or primary doses. These vaccines should be commissioned and funded rapidly. The same should be done for other preventative agents which have shown promise in earlier randomized trials such as povidone iodine or ivermectin. This will settle once and for all in a clear scientific manner many of the questions swirling around social media on alternatives to the current vaccination strategies.
Collectively, these measures will provide society with a more reliable and predictable way of handling the pandemic. They will build confidence as we go forward in dealing with a virus that is here to stay. Singapore must deal with the pandemic in a steady and intelligent manner that brings hope and security.

*We welcome public feedback on these measures. Please provide your comments here.

*If you have a burning question that we can answer on our APA programme this Tuesday night, ask it here.

*If you have general comments or remarks, go to our Faceback post.

It is possible that PAP will criticize SDP's plan, and later quietly adopt all the proposed measures.

 

[jw5]

Orange & Teal is 3 months old.

Chee Soon Juan 徐顺全​

10 hrs ·
Hi, everyone. Orange & Teal is 3-months old today. It’s been exciting – with a lot of hard work put in – since we started. My highlight is coming up to you and having a great chat.
In a way, O&T is a microcosm of my vision for Singapore – a place where intelligence, culture and compassion flourish.
Intelligence thrives when we have debates, book launches, talks, etc. which we look forward to conducting at the cafe. And a society cannot be gracious and cultured without the arts and music. We’ll continue to host artists and their works and, in time to come, invite musicians to perform. But, most important, a life without compassion isn’t worth living. O&T will keep our doors open for the weakest among us where warm meals and friendly arms await.
Help me build this vision and see what Singapore can become. It’s more than a place for that meal or cuppa; it’s a place of familiar comfort, a place called home.
I thank all of you who have come to the café and made this place come alive since we opened our doors. For those yet to visit, we’ll keep the plates warm for you.
I have been with the SDP for 30 years but it’s the last 3 months that have told me that Singapore’s best years still lie ahead. The more I talk to you, the more hopeful I get.
In fact, we’ve introduced Club Tapestry (I think you know why we call it that). It's an O&T membership plan. Join us for $50 and get free dishes and discounts. To sign up, click here https://orangeandteal.sg/teal-card/
See you at Rochester Mall.

 

[jw5]

from theindependent.sg:

Chee Soon Juan on new restrictions: Yo-yo type of policy-making is driving everyone nuts

Singapore — Singapore Democratic Party secretary-general Chee Soon Juan commented on Monday morning (Sept 27) on the new restrictions imposed to curb the uptick in Covid-19 cases and prevent overwhelming healthcare systems, saying he does not understand the reason behind them.

“Here we go again,” wrote Dr Chee in a Facebook post. “Another surge in infections, another series of knee-jerk reactions that don’t make sense…​

WHERE DO THESE PEOPLE GET THEIR IDEAS FROM? WHOEVER IS WRITING THEM NEED TO REMOVE THEIR HEADS FROM THEIR DERRIÈRE.”

ADVERTISING

He then went on to list some examples of regulations that do not make sense to him.

“One, more than two persons from the same household can ride together in a taxi or PHV. But when they alight, they cannot dine-in together because restaurants are limited to two per table. They also cannot visit their relatives because households can only have up to two unique visitors per day.​

Two, if the four persons are from different households, they cannot get into a single cab. But they can happily climb into a bus or MRT train.​

Three, social gatherings are limited to two per group but group tours (eg. Duck Tours) can be up to 50.”​

The SDP head, who opened a restaurant called Orange & Teal with his wife in June, went on to say that in the past few months the restaurant has gone from not allowing patrons to dine in, to allowing two people to eat together, then five—with conditions.

And then dining in was again not allowed, “in less than a month,” before rules were changed again to allow two diners, then five, and then, with the latest restrictions announced last Friday (Sept 24), restaurants can have two people dining together again.

He then decried “no logical consistency” in what he termed a “yo-yo type of policy-making,” which he said was “driving everyone nuts.”

Furthermore, “It certainly doesn’t inspire confidence in their ability to tackle the pandemic which is putting businesses and jobs under immense pressure,” he added.​

However, he wrote that events “that suit their purpose eg. National Day Parade or the GE last year” were allowed to take place.

“The tragedy is that the sorry state of affairs is confusing and demoralising to an already Covid-fatigued population,” wrote Dr Chee.

The SDP chief said that the party will be announcing an eight-point exit strategy to decisively tackle the pandemic, which was crafted by its healthcare panel led by infectious disease expert Prof Paul Tambyah. This strategy will be presented to the public and will open it for review, he added. /TISG

 

[jw5]

SDP will continue to push PAP to adopt their plan. .............................................. (which PAP will do quietly later)

Chee Soon Juan 徐顺全​

5 hrs ·
At a time when clear, bold leadership is needed, the PM is MIA (and not for the first time). This when the pandemic continues to highlight the inadequacies of his underlings tasked to usher us out of the mess.
In a nutshell, we have a decision to make: (a) adopt a zero-Covid strategy where lockdowns and restrictions are implemented over and over to force the number of infections down to nil or (b) treat the situation as endemic and live life as close as possible to the pre-Covid era while training resources on the most vulnerable among us.
The problem is that the MMTF is trying to do both and, in the process, achieving neither.
If it is trying to bring down the number of infections, what is the acceptable figure? Zero? This will require a complete lockdown like the one last year. If we do another lockdown, as Lawrence Wong warned a possibility, then why spend billions of dollars vaccinating the population?
But if we are trying to live with the virus endemically, then why are we testing everyone when the vast majority exhibit mild or no symptoms even if they are infected.?
The lack of strategic clarity of the govt has resulted is much angst and frustration among healthcare workers, businesses and the general public – taxing everyone to the point of near exhaustion.
Worse, the restrictions are inconsistent and serve no useful role. Take, for instance, the restrictions on F&B outlets. What evidence is there to show that reducing groups of 5 vaccinated customers to 2 helps to reduce infections?
Or as a Michelin-star chef pointedly lamented: “How would a decrease in restaurant capacity contribute actively to a slowdown in dormitory, wet market or bus interchange numbers?” (Stop slaughtering F&B as the sacrificial lamb, Business Times, 27 Sep 2021)
All this needless pain inflicted on businesses results in wages and jobs becoming casualties. It further depresses the economy and causes the people to retreat in anxiety and gloom, aggravating the already brittle state of mental health for many.
Despite the bleakness, however, there is hope. Even as our ministers meander cluelessly, the SDP has laid out a sensible plan to take Singapore out of the pandemic. We’ll continue to push the PAP to adopt it.
We have to live our lives in realistic hope, not unfounded fear.
In the meantime, come to Orange & Teal. We need your support to keep the café running in times like these. I hope to see you there. We’re open Tue-Sun.
You can also buy the O&T membership called Club Tapestry. For more info and to sign up, click here https://orangeandteal.sg/teal-card/).

 

[jw5]

CSJ is having a discussion this Saturday.

Chee Soon Juan 徐顺全​

3 hrs ·
Hi, everybody, we’re having a discussion at Orange & Teal this Saturday, 9 Oct, on the topic “The Pandemic: Where Do We Go From Here?” 2:30 pm to 4 pm.
My party mates Paul Tambyah, Bryan Lim and Alfred Tan will be here to talk about the various aspects of the subject.
For example, what lies ahead in the medical field as far as fighting Covid is concerned and what does it mean for Singapore moving ahead? How are other countries dealing with the pandemic and what can we learn from their experiences? And how are businesses and workers being affected by current policies and what can we do to help improve the situation?
Also, where does the PAP see Singapore vis-à-vis the pandemic six months from now and how does it plan to take us there? The govt needs to articulate a clear strategy in dealing with the virus. Its failure to chart a clear direction has left the masses confused and demoralised.
These are some of the questions and issues that we’ll be discussing, and I invite you to join us then. Please note that all Covid rules regarding dining in apply. Looking forward to seeing you then.

 

[jw5]

from theindependent.sg:

Chee Soon Juan: Singapore’s best years still lie ahead

Singapore — Longtime opposition leader and now restauranteur Dr Chee Soon Juan struck an optimistic note in a Sept 30 Facebook post, writing that he believes “Singapore’s best years still lie ahead.”

Dr Chee, the secretary-general of the Singapore Democratic Party, launched Orange & Teal, a café in Rochester Mall, in June, along with his wife Huang Chi-Mei, with different members of their family helping out.

The opposition leader called Orange & Teal a “long-term dream” when he announced its launch on June 22, but has found it to be a “grueling endeavor” as well, especially due to ever-changing pandemic restrictions.

THANKING EVERYONE WHO HAS COME TO THE CAFÉ, HE WROTE, “I HAVE BEEN WITH THE SDP FOR 30 YEARS BUT IT’S THE LAST 3 MONTHS THAT HAVE TOLD ME THAT SINGAPORE’S BEST YEARS STILL LIE AHEAD. THE MORE I TALK TO YOU, THE MORE HOPEFUL I GET.”

On Thursday, when Orange & Teal turned 3-months old, Dr Chee found a reason to celebrate.


“Hi, everyone. Orange & Teal is 3-months old today. It’s been exciting – with a lot of hard work put in – since we started. My highlight is coming up to you and having a great chat,” he wrote.

Photo: FB screengrab/cheesoonjuan

He called the café a “microcosm of my vision for Singapore – a place where intelligence, culture and compassion flourish.”

Dr Chee added, “Intelligence thrives when we have debates, book launches, talks, etc. which we look forward to conducting at the cafe. And a society cannot be gracious and cultured without the arts and music. ​

We’ll continue to host artists and their works and, in time to come, invite musicians to perform. ​

But, most important, a life without compassion isn’t worth living. O&T will keep our doors open for the weakest among us where warm meals and friendly arms await.”​

Indeed, the SDP leader has opened Orange & Teal to workers and the elderly poor, saying everyone is welcome, “from millionaires to cardboard collectors.”

He then appealed to the public to “help me build this vision and see what Singapore can become. It’s more than a place for that meal or cuppa; it’s a place of familiar comfort, a place called home,” and thanked those who have “come to the café and made this place come alive since we opened our doors.”

Dr Chee also announced Club Tapestry, a membership plan at the café.


Membership costs $50, and comes with free dishes and discounts, he added. Those who would like to join may click here https://orangeandteal.sg/teal-card

 

[jw5]

CSJ pays tribute to Chris Ho.

Chee Soon Juan 徐顺全​

11 hrs ·
My belated condolences to the family and loved ones of Chris Ho. I first heard Chris on radio when he introduced then pop-sensation Air Supply with their hit Lost In Love. By the way, Chris mentioned Singaporean Rex Goh as one of the band members of Air Supply whenever he could.
I met Chris a few times at McDonald's at BB. He was concerned about where Singapore was headed and always, in his own way, championed the cause of freedom in this country. A good man, a patriot whom I've had the privilege to know. Thanks, Chris, for all the memories.

 

[jw5]

CSJ cancels discussion on Saturday.

Chee Soon Juan 徐顺全​

4 hrs ·
Dear all, the authorities have contacted Orange & Teal to say that the discussion titled "The Pandemic: Where Do We Go From Here?" planned for tomorrow, 9 Oct, "does not comply with the regulations." It did not elaborate on the reasons. As such, we will have to cancel the session. In the meantime, I'll try to find out the reasons why the discussion is not allowed. O&T will, however, continue to be open for business. Apologies for the inconvenience.

 

[jw5]

CSJ wants the TC to act quickly.

Chee Soon Juan 徐顺全​

8 hrs ·
A resident just sent me these two photos near Blk 244 & 246, Bukit Batok East Ave 4. The pics speak for themselves. Although they are outside BB SMC itself (I think it's in the adjoining Jurong GRC), the situation is urgent enough for the immediate attention of the town council. I haven't personally gone to the site to verify the situation but the TC might want to check it out and, if true, do whatever's necessary before someone gets hurt. Then it needs to ascertain the cause of the incident.

 

[jw5]

The roof needs repairing.

 

[jw5]

CSJ has an important point to make.

Chee Soon Juan 徐顺全​

10 hrs ·
Friends, there’s something important that I wish to talk to you about. It regards the verdict that was delivered by the Court of Appeal last Friday on the POFMA case between the MOM and SDP. I’ll keep it brief.
Essentially, the MOM declared that a post we made in 2019 about foreign PMETs taking over Singaporean jobs was false. For brevity, I won’t go into its details except to say that the Apex Court had partially awarded us victory in the matter. It wrote that just because the Minister says that a statement is false, doesn’t make it necessarily so. “The Minister may, after all, be mistaken,” the Court pointedly noted.
That was that. Or so it seemed. On the same day that the verdict was rendered, the MOM, quite unbelievably, took out another POFMA action against the SDP.
Again, without going into the details of the matter which I will do at a later point, I can say that the SDP will go back to court and take on the PAP again.
Why are we doing this? Are you not banging your head against the wall, some of you may ask? We heard a similar refrain when we contested the POFMA in the first case: Why are you wasting your time? You cannot beat them, lah.
But we believed in the rightness and imperativeness of our action and we pressed ahead. And because we did, the Court stated explicitly that “Truth and falsehood are ultimately matters to be determined by a court based on the evidence.”
This may be small consolation. But it is not insignificant. With the recent passage of FICA where the PAP has severely restricted judicial oversight over its actions, the statement is a timely one.
Indeed, we seem to be taking one step forward and two steps back as far as our struggle for freedom is concerned. But change – enduring democratic change – never comes easily or quickly. It takes perseverance, it takes grit. We mustn’t give up.
The message to the PAP must be loud as it is clear: You may have all the power for now, but we will not roll over and play dead. We will stand resolutely to protect whatever’s left of our rights and our humanity. There is a political price that you will have to pay even as you make laws to amass more and more power into your own hands.
Ultimately, the people will prevail. Take heart, my fellow Singaporeans.

 

[jw5]

CSJ says that SDP will challenge the PAP in court.

Chee Soon Juan 徐顺全​

9 hrs ·
I said in my previous post that the SDP will challenge the PAP in court over the recent issuance of the POFMA Correction Directive by MOM.
In a nutshell, the govt insists that the statement that Singaporean PMET employment has decreased is false. The MOM says that such employment had, in fact, increased between 2015 and 2019.
The problem is that the SDP’s statement did not limit the period to just 2015-2019. It was the MOM that inserted this time span and then insisted that our statement is fake.
Here's the important question: Does the PAP get to do this kind of thing under POFMA? Can it arbitrarily and unilaterally decide what its opponent is saying and then accuse it of putting out fake news? Is this what POFMA has become?
This is why the SDP is again taking the matter to court. If the opposition behaves like a doormat and allows the PAP to do as it pleases, then hope for a democratic future for Singapore goes up in smoke.
On the contrary, if the PAP takes one step to further deprive Singaporeans of their democratic rights, the opposition must take two to stand up to the bully.
In a way, this case is more than just about a POFMA action. It is really about the dangerous way the PAP behaves; the way it says one thing and then does another.
When it first introduced POFMA it told the people that the purpose was to, among other objectives, “nurture an informed public” and “reinforce social cohesion and trust”.
But by doing what it did – arbitrarily inserting time periods to suit its case (not to mention doing it a few months before the GE) – the PAP has done exactly the opposite, ie, breed the people’s even greater distrust of the govt.
Another instance: The sorry Trace Together assurance that the data captured of a person’s movements would only be used by the MOH for Covid-related cases but, in reality, was used by the police for their investigations.
There was also the nonsense that the govt was “clipping its own wings” by introducing the Elected Presidency. Years later, the twists and contortions made to get Halimah Yacob into the seat proved to be a massive trust-busting exercise of the PAP.
All these have made Singaporeans unable to accept the promises and assurances given about the recently passed FICA. And who can blame them?
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Trust is not what you say, it’s what you do.

 

[jw5]

CSJ questions PAP logic..........................again.

Chee Soon Juan 徐顺全​

10 hrs ·
In its latest salvo of Covid-restrictions saga, the MMTF insists that families from the same household still cannot dine in together in restaurants.
The Ministers realise, don't they, that people from the same household who cannot eat at the same table in public actually go home together and live under the same roof?
Mr Lawrence Wong also said that there is no sign of the number of infections falling (even though it’s no increasing as fast).
It’s been a month since the MMTF restricted dining-in to 2. If in this time the numbers are still not falling, perhaps it’s because F&B outlets are not the source of the recent explosion of infections. Why, then, continue to use eating places as the whipping boy?
On the contrary, crowded places like MRT trains seem like the type of places where infections could flourish. But the govt continues to treat buses and trains as if they are immune to the virus.
No one is calling for restrictions or, worse, outright ban on the use of our public transport system. Such a move would cripple our day-to-day living and the economy.
But this is where the discombobulation among the people boils over. Places like F&B joints where there is no evidence that they are sources of the Covid spread are routinely restricted or shutdown (and even though only vaccinated persons are allowed in) whereas public transportation is ignored (even though vaccinated and unvaccinated persons are allowed to take it).
If the govt cannot entertain the shutting down of the MRT system, which it should not, then the next best and reasonable thing to do is to rethink its strategy and adopt the SDP’s 8-point plan of safely exiting the pandemic. (https://yoursdp.org/.../sdp-introduces-a-sensible-and.../...)
What it cannot do is to suka-suka clamp down on eateries with silly notions like even 5 persons from the same household cannot dine-in together.
The leadership and decision-making by these younger ministers have come in for close scrutiny, as they should. And Singaporeans are not impressed.
In the meantime, don't let the continued restrictions drag everything down. Go out and dine in your favourite restaurant despite the stop-at-two rule. F&B joints need your support.

 

[jw5]

CSJ invites you for pancakes and cocktails.

Chee Soon Juan 徐顺全​

9 hrs ·
Fancy having a pancake with googly eyes staring back at you? Or sip on a cocktail/mocktail cast with a spell of smouldering fog?
Hi, everyone. Don’t let these difficult times weigh you down. Come in to Orange &Teal this week (26-31 Oct) for some spooky Halloween fun. We’re having new specials on the menu – Monster Munch, Spookcakes, Witch’s Cauldron and more – check out these photos.
More great stuff in store for you:
• Free Iced Lemon Tea for everyone who comes in a costume.
• The best three costumes win O&T Tapestry Membership worth $50 each.
• Popcorn and candy are waiting for you (Fri-Sun, 29-31 Oct).
• Free trick or treat candy for children (and the young-at-heart).
• We’re doing the place up in the spookiest way possible. You won’t want to miss this.
So come over and have a grand old, hair-raising time at O&T! We’ll…be…waiting…