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The Workers' Party

[h=5]The Workers' Party Youth Wing (WPYW) shared a link.[/h]<a class="uiLinkSubtle" href="https://www.facebook.com/wpyouth/posts/10152276475088972?stream_ref=10"><abbr title="Wednesday, April 2, 2014 at 12:10pm" data-utime="1396465831">April 2</abbr>

The results for the Monthly Quiz (March) is out!

Congratulations to:

Tien Seok Giok SXXXX216G

Tien Yee Choo SXXXX326G

William SXXXX840F

We will be sending you your prizes in the mail shortly.

If you’re following our quiz, here are the answers to last month’s question:

Answers to Monthly Quiz (March 2014)

Q1. Cigarette and manufactured tobacco levies has gone up by _____, and according to the Straits Times, this increment will net the Government _____ million more a year.

Ans: 10% , $70

Q2. The mosque that was first built in 1824 by Sultan Hussain Shah has a unique dome feature. What is unique about its dome?

Ans: It is mounted on glass bottles.

Q3. Punggol East Constituency Committee has broken the Singapore Book of Records for the largest Yusheng character formed by a Chinese character, measuring _____ by _____ .

Ans: 18.0m , 36.9m

The April edition of the Monthly Quiz is also now up so what are you waiting for? Answer 3 very simple questions and you stand to win $10 worth of Kinokuniya book vouchers! Click on the link below to participate.



The WP Youth Wing | Monthly Quiz
wpyouth.sg

The Workers’ Party Youth Wing Monthly Quiz aims to educate members of the public about Singapore and the Workers’ Party.


 
[URL="https://www.facebook.com/wpyouth"]The Workers' Party Youth Wing (WPYW)

[/URL]YouthQuake 13 - Public Transport: Does the Service Justify the Price? 12 April 2014 (Sat), 2.30pm — at The Workers' Party HQ.

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[h=1]14.04.13 Paya Lebar Division Tea with Show Mao @ The Park[/h]Photo Credit: Adrian Sim
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Thanks for telling us that WP turned down the Singapore Conversation. It's a hotbed for nameless PAP activists, as shown by various netizens.

If Obama ever hold an America Conversation and invite republican , I am sure it will be turned down.

The setting of the event wasn't right for political parties to attend especially so when WP has representations in parliament. If WP joins in, then they only serve to marginalize themselves than to see themselves as equal to PAP.

If PAP is sincere in their invitation, they should organise an inter-party conversation whereby representatives of the 2 parties meet. Or maybe LHL can meet LTK in their capacity as sec.gen of their respective party.
 
[h=2]Parliament Questions for 14th April 2014 Sitting[/h]
April 14, 2014 at 10:49am
Parliament resumes with questions raised on housing, health, sports, PIC, transport, defence, education, and communications.


QUESTIONS FOR ORAL ANSWER*


*7. Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs (a) whether the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority has been checking the passports of all outbound and inbound travellers at all ports of exit and entry against Interpol's Stolen and Lost Travel Documents (SLTD) database in the last three years; (b) how many travellers have been caught using lost or stolen passports which are not their own; and (c) what punishments have been meted out for the commission of such offences.


*11. Mr Pritam Singh: To ask the Minister for Communications and Information with regard to the local pay TV rates for the FIFA World Cup 2014, whether the Ministry will consider conducting a thorough review of the regulatory framework and policies that govern the broadcast of popular soccer and sporting events in Singapore so as to better protect the interests of the viewing public.


*16. Mr Png Eng Huat: To ask the Minister for National Development in respect of the Parenthood Provisional Housing Scheme (a) what is the formula for pricing the rental rates for flats under this scheme; (b) what are the costs involved in providing these rental flats; (c) what has been the number of applications for 3-room flat types; and (d) whether the rental rates can be lowered to encourage the take-up rate for the bigger flat types.

*21. Ms Sylvia Lim: To ask the Minister for Health what efforts are ongoing to educate the public on the effects of the compulsory donation provisions of the Human Organ Transplant Act so as to minimise distress to family members of patients who meet the criteria for compulsory harvesting of organs.


*26. Mr Yee Jenn Jong: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) what is the status of negotiations on the ASEAN Economic Community goal to free up the movement of professionals; and (b) what safeguards will be put in place to protect Singapore PMETs and to ensure national control over our immigration policies.
 
Parliament Questions for 14th April 2014 Sitting

April 14, 2014 at 10:49am
Parliament resumes with questions raised on housing, health, sports, PIC, transport, defence, education, and communications.


QUESTIONS FOR ORAL ANSWER*
*31. Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance (a) on average, what percentage of GST paid by the lowest 20% of households (by income) is offset by all forms of GST Vouchers last year; and (b) whether the Government will consider fully offsetting the GST paid by all households in the lowest quintile even in years when there are no one-off Special Payments made.


*33. Mr Png Eng Huat: To ask the Minister for National Development what is the roadmap to bring the Lift Upgrading Programme (LUP) to the 200 blocks of HDB flats that are currently without full lift access now that the main LUP is coming to an end in December 2014.


*37. Mr Yee Jenn Jong: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance (a) whether the Ministry is satisfied with the distribution of the Productivity and Innovation Credit (PIC) claims between the six different qualifying activities; and (b) what measures does the Government have to increase the usage of PIC by companies in activities more directly related to innovation.

*39. Ms Lee Li Lian: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) how does LTA implement localised traffic schemes that restrict the entry of heavy vehicles to areas around schools or that have high pedestrian activity; (b) whether monitoring is done on a regular basis to assess the effectiveness of such schemes; and (c) whether LTA requires contractors who undertake projects to build flats or commercial projects to submit route planning for their heavy vehicles to ensure the safety of school children and residents living in the vicinity.


*42. Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Minister for Defence whether the RSAF has measures in place to identify and be alerted of aircraft flying near Singapore which veer off their flight path so that they can be intercepted in time before they reach Singapore.



*44. Mr Yee Jenn Jong: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development how does the Ministry track the availability of student care places in the industry and whether it will track and publish the provision of student care places as one of its key performance indicators in the Government's Budget Book on revenue and expenditure estimates.



*45. Mr Png Eng Huat: To ask the Minister for Transport with regard to the introduction of ERP2 in 2020 (a) what is the roadmap to roll out the new islandwide GPS-based road pricing system and its value-added services; (b) what is the estimated cost of ERP2; and (c) what are the safeguards to minimise privacy issues.



*49. Ms Lee Li Lian: To ask the Minister for Education for Continuing Education and Training (CET) courses and National Institute of Technical Education Certificate (Nitec) and Higher Nitec courses (a) what are the current subsidised and full module fees for Singapore citizens; (b) since 2012, what is the trend of drop-out rates and the percentage of Singaporean students who drop out because they are charged full fees for repeating modules; and (c) whether the subsidies can be reduced instead of being withdrawn completely for repeating modules so as not to discourage learners.



*52. Mr Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap: To ask the Minister for National Development regarding HDB's Public Rental Scheme (a) what is the rationale for pegging the rental rate to market rent; (b) whether the rate should be revised given market rent inflation outpacing the income growth of low-income households; and (c) whether the rental rate can instead be pegged to the median income of targeted income groups to ensure affordability.



*57. Ms Sylvia Lim: To ask the Minister for National Development whether the Government will abolish or review the resale levy payable by persons who inherit subsidised HDB flats upon the demise of the former lessees.



QUESTIONS FOR WRITTEN ANSWER



8. Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance what percentage of the Net Investment Returns (NIR) on the net assets managed by Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC), Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and Temasek Holdings is contributed to the Government's Budget as Net Investment Returns Contribution (NIRC) for each of the last five years, given that NIRC comprises up to 50% of the NIR on the net assets managed by GIC and MAS and up to 50% of the investment income from the remaining assets (which includes those of Temasek Holdings).



10. Ms Lee Li Lian: To ask the Minister for Communications and Information whether IDA uses technologically advanced and more accurate methods to audit mobile network traffic logs besides drive and walk tests and, if so, what are these methods.



11. Ms Lee Li Lian: To ask the Minister for Communications and Information in light of drop call rates published by IDA which state that subscribers should only experience 2.7 to 4.1 dropped calls for every 1,000 phone calls that they make (a) whether this accurately reflects what subscribers are experiencing on the ground; and (b) what measures are taken to ensure that the results are in line with actual experience.


12. Ms Lee Li Lian: To ask the Minister for Communications and Information how does IDA conclude that the drop call rate is a measure of the availability of radio channels to handle and maintain established phone calls when there have been no tests done or monitored for the availability of radio channels based on IDA's Quality of Service standards and performance results.



13. Mr Pritam Singh: To ask the Minister for Communications and Information (a) since 2005, how many Singaporeans, permanent residents and foreigners respectively have more than three pre-paid SIM cards registered under their name; and (b) how many of these pre-paid SIM card users have not topped up their SIM cards at least once in the six-month window as required for their continued use.



17. Ms Sylvia Lim: To ask the Minister for Law (a) how many victim compensation orders have been granted by the courts under section 359 of the Criminal Procedure Code in 2012 and 2013 respectively; and (b) what is the range of compensation amounts awarded and for what types of offences.



18. Ms Sylvia Lim: To ask the Minister for Health in 2013, how many patients who are prescribed drugs at restructured hospitals do not collect their medication at all or do not collect the full course of their prescriptions.


19. Mr Yee Jenn Jong: To ask the Minister for Health (a) what content is covered in the language, orientation and immersion programmes for foreign healthcare professionals and what is the duration of such programmes; (b) how many foreign healthcare staff have attended these programmes each year in the last five years; and (c) what percentage of total foreign healthcare staff does this participation represent.


20. Mr Chen Show Mao: To ask the Minister for Health (a) what plans are there to expand the target medical and nursing intakes beyond the current 500 and 2,750 respectively; (b) what are the constraints to expanding the target intakes; and (c) what steps can be taken to overcome these constraints.


21. Mr Chen Show Mao: To ask the Minister for Health in respect of accident and emergency departments of public hospitals (a) in addition to the median waiting time for admissions to wards, whether the 95th percentile waiting time for admissions is tracked; (b) what waiting times for registration and consultation are tracked; (c) what an acceptable waiting time should be for registration, consultation and admission to ward; and (d) whether these waiting times can be released on a weekly basis in addition to median waiting time for admissions.


22. Mr Chen Show Mao: To ask the Minister for Health (a) what steps are being taken in implementing a nationwide programme for colonoscopy; (b) how much additional resources are needed in terms of facilities and number of specialists for such a programme; (c) whether there is a timeframe for implementing such a programme; and (d) given that screening participation rates typically take time to build up, whether the Ministry will consider running a pilot programme in the interim.



25. Mr Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) what is the breakdown of the motorcycle population in the Class 2, 2A and 2B categories for each year from 2011 to 2013; (b) what is the amount of COE revenue collected from the three categories respectively for each year from 2011 to 2013; and (c) whether the Ministry will consider abolishing COEs for motorcycles in the Class 2B category as these lower capacity motorcycles are usually used by lower-income persons for work purposes.


27. Mr Yee Jenn Jong: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) what percentage of pre-schools are currently certified under the Singapore Pre-school Accreditation Framework (SPARK); (b) what percentage of kindergartens and childcare centres are certified under SPARK respectively; (c) what is the share of SPARK-certified centres from the five anchor operators; (d) what percentage of pre-schools operated by the anchor operators are SPARK-certified; and (e) whether the Ministry can provide an update on its effort to get centres tested under SPARK.


30. Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Acting Minister for Manpower how does the Government plan to raise the wages of local low-wage workers in industries other than cleaning, security and landscaping given that that there are around 110,000 employed residents in Singapore earning less than $1,000 per month (excluding part-time workers) and the enforcement of the Progressive Wage Model in these three industries is expected to impact only about 80,000 low-wage workers.
 
Industrious volunteers from 3 divisions of Aljunied GRC, namely Kaki Bukit, Eunos and Bedok Reservoir-Punggol, braved a dawn thunderstorm on a Saturday morning to serve the community in a special food rations distribution to the needy.

Waking up at the crack of dawn, they began work at 7 o'clock with sleeves rolled up, wading through boxes upon boxes of generous rations, very kindly sponsored by two individual donors and a taoist temple.

This exercise was a challenging one -- although these earnest samaritans were well practiced through volunteering at monthly food distribution programmes in Kaki Bukit, Paya Lebar and Hougang, the usual routine did not entail the repacking of
bulk commodities into individual packs.

Armed with nothing more than borrowed tools and a passion to help the poor, they conquered malfunctioning extension cords, mismatched electric sockets, and uncooperative plastic bag sealers, to repack 250 kg of bulky raw rice into individual portions. Add to each individual rice portion a colourful assortment of cereals, biscuits, milk and beverage mixes, and a deluxe food bag fit for many good meals emerged.

Wiping the perspiration off his brow, MP for Aljunied GRC Kaki Bukit Division Mr Muhamad Faisal kicked off the distribution at 10 o'clock, dishing out the goodies to residents who turned up in person. Volunteers concurrently assisted mobility impaired welfare recipients with doorstep deliveries.

Keen to volunteer in Kaki Bukit?

Send your details to 83980029
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[h=5]theonlinecitizen[/h]Show Mao spotted buying yew char kway.


MP Chen Show Mao buying Yew Char Kuay at Kovan hawker centre. Show Show Mao the You Tiao!

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[h=1]Trial for case between AHPETC and NEA tentatively set for June[/h]
Four days in June have been fixed as tentative dates for dispute over unlicensed fairs

SINGAPORE — The tentative trial dates of the case between Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council and the National Environment Agency (NEA) have been fixed for four days in June this year.


The tentative dates are from June 2 to June 5, with June 6 scheduled as a reserve date.



Another pre-trial conference has been fixed on May 14 to sort out other matters.


The town council is contesting an allegation that it held an unlicensed Chinese New Year fair at the Hougang Central Hub between January 9 and 14.


The NEA had applied for a court summons to be issued in January, and the charge states that the Workers’ Party-managed town council had failed to obtain a permit from the Director-General of Public Health before organising the fair.


NEA has said that four stall holders have also been served with notices to attend court for hawking without a licence.
It said that town councils are not allowed to engage in commercial activities, including the organisation and operation of fairs, as these are not related to their statutory function of management and maintenance of common property.


The maximum penalty for contravening Section 35 of the Environmental Health Act is a fine of S$1,000. CHANNEL NEWSASIA

http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/trial-case-between-ahpetc-and-nea-tentatively-set-june
 
[h=1]14.04.13 Paya Lebar Division Kopi with Show Mao @ Blk 132[/h]Updated


Photo Credit: Adrian Sim


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Daniel PS Goh

Happy Easter!

Back image of the crucifix at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, HK: 12 apostles + 2 Chinese martyrs.




 
Pritam Singh

My thoughts on this matter…….

"At a time of escalating sports content costs, we made a sincere offer to our competitor for a similar arrangement as the last World Cup. A joint bid would have spread the cost of the content and allowed both operators to offer the tournament at a more affordable price, benefitting all viewers in Singapore. Unfortunately, our competitor chose to acquire the rights exclusively. The higher price our competitor paid for the exclusive rights for this year’s World Cup (compared to 2010 World Cup) exacerbates this trend.”


High World Cup Prices: Where do we go from here?

singapore2025.wordpress.com



In a piece titled “Football, security and striking a delicate balance” on 15 April 2014, the Straits Times’ From the Gallery section observed: Despite a cross-carriage rule that will mean Starhub s...
 
Pritam Singh

A worrying development. We should watch this very closely, if not, other areas will be inevitably affected - time for family/children, attitudes towards filial piety, TFR (!!) and maintaining a positive outlook in life (so important in today's day and age). Alas, such are the times we live in. Focus less on material success, more on real value creation, professionalism, respect for all and helping others grow. Success will follow. You must believe (like all Liverpool fans now!!).

Here is a helpful link. http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/adult-health/in-depth/burnout/art-20046642

Feel free to share others articles that you may have come across. Personally, an intense 30-45 minute exercise routine (doesn't matter what sort) can do wonders for one's mental health and get you feeling positive again.



More young professionals suffering from burn-out
www.straitstimes.com

For the past three years, investment banker Andy was plagued by nightmares because of stress from his 14-hour work days. He was moody all the time. Food became a source of comfort, and his weight went from...
 
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