Minister Balakrishnan scolds Al Jazeera and bloggers

Calvin86 SG

http://singaporemind.blogspot.com/2010/04/minister-balakrishnan-scolds-al-jazeera.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjC_QLvgI6k

You will note that in the video, Al Jazeera explained that they were refused an interview with the esteemed minister. But do watch the video and listen to the Al Jazeera report line by line. Can someone tell me which part is 'misleading'? All Al Jazeera reported was that there are people in Singapore with difficulty getting housing due to various rules and have resorted to camping at the beach.

Perhaps Minister Vivian is saying that Al Jazeera is misleading because it left out a few facts ...facts that only the govt can know about and Al Jazeera has no access to because the esteemed minister refused to be interviewed by them. But really lets look at the pieces for facts mentioned by Minister Balakrisnan:

1. "The man in the video has made a tidy sum of over S$220,000 from the sale of three flats". Al Jazeera could never have known that since they have no access to govt records. But is the minister saying because the man had once made money, he should be denied a rental flat? Actually I don't know whether he used the money for drinks, women, business, debts, gambling, medical bills or had it cheated from him. That is not the issue. The real issue is the HDB has a rule that prevents people who have sold a flat from renting one regardless of whether they sold it because their business failed or they had to do it to pay off loan sharks. I like what Ravi Philemon said in the video about giving 2nd chances to people. You can alway examine a person's life to explain how he end up in the state he is in and put the blame on him for his plight (why didn't he do this and that to escape poverty and so on) just like what Minister Balakrisnan did to pull out records to show that the man once had money but giving help is about giving 2nd chances to people so they can better their lives...

2, "The woman still owns an HDB resale flat with her ex-husband". Isn't it obvious this woman has fallen through a crack in the rules? You cannot get a rental flat when you are a co-owner. The logic being that you can stay in the flat you co-own. However, this woman co-owns a flat with her ex-husband and it is obvious that it is impractical for her to stay in the flat although she co-owns it.

We see very few homeless people in Singapore not because everyone can afford a home or can rent one - the rental queue is several years long. Have you ever wonder how is it possible that Singapore has the most costly public housing in the world, the biggest income inequality in the developed world and insufficient rental flats yet you don't see many homeless people. So why are there so few homeless people in Singapore? Because it is illegal to be homeless. If you're found camping without permit, you can get jailed[Link] or forcibly taken to a shelter so that the problem can be hidden away....so the homeless cannot afford to be visible out of fear of being caught. There is nothing misleading about the Al Jazeera report. The only thing misleading about the whole situation is the false impression created for visitors that everyone in Singapore has a home and that poverty does not exist here.

Calvin86 SG

The following is Al Jazeera’s response to Dr Vivian Balakrishnan’s remarks in Parliament on 27 April 2010. The MCYS minister had accused Al Jazeera of “[failing] to ascertain the facts” in its report on the homeless issue in Singapore.

TOC understands Al Jazeera has also sent its response to the Straits Times.

TOC will respond to the minister’s remarks later today.

I write in response to criticism of Al Jazeera English’s recent story on homelessness in Singapore.

Al Jazeera stands by the report which we feel is factually correct.

The homeless couple featured in our report were locked out of the system of state support because of bureaucratic regulation.

The fact that they were previously successful and had owned and sold homes was mentioned in the report, but was not strictly relevant.

The real point of story was to illustrate how the safety net in Singapore sometimes fails to catch those who have fallen on hard times – whatever their background – because of the rules governing access to assistance.

The Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports was twice invited to respond to the claims made in the report, but declined Al Jazeera’s request for an interview.

Nevertheless, our reporter did include a previous statement from Dr Balakrishnan defending the Singaporean government’s approach to the problem of homelessness and we would like to renew our invitation to Dr Balakrishnan to appear on the channel to discuss this issue.

Regards,

MARCUS CHEEK | EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, NEWS| ASIA

angel7030 SG

why not send Vivan on a Batam trip?

charlize SG

So do you want them to provide a 1 room flat, a 5 room flat or a private condo with a swimming pool to help the homeless?

Vote PAP OUT to Save SG SG

Vivian Balakrishnan is also the king of bullshit for PAP.

Top liar this Vivian Balakrishnan.

A shameless liar for PAP.

Goh Chok Tong attacks Chiam See Tong on union with Malaysia idea

By Daniel Buenas

May 01, 2006

PEOPLE'S Action Party leaders - including Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong - last night launched a scathing attack on veteran opposition leader Chiam See Tong's idea for economic union between Singapore and Malaysia.

Speaking at a PAP rally in Potong Pasir, Mr Goh - who has been tasked by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to help the party's candidate Sitoh Yih Pin unseat incumbent Mr Chiam in the coming elections - said the opposition leader was not being a 'realist'.

He was referring to Mr Chiam's suggestion at a rally in Chua Chu Kang Park on Saturday that one way to grow the economy would be for Singapore and Malaysia to strike an economic union.

'Economic union is possible only between two countries of equals, otherwise it is not possible,' Mr Goh said. 'My point for bringing this out is, to show that (while Mr Chiam) has some ideals, some vision, he is not a realist.'

Mr Chiam had also said on Saturday that such a union would allow Singaporeans to travel freely to Malaysia, and that because the Opposition has no history with the Malaysian government, it could 'bargain on a clean slate' on bilateral issues.

In response, Mr Goh said: 'When it comes to negotiations with the Malaysians, would you rather Lee Kuan Yew negotiate or Chiam See Tong? Just ask yourself . . . would you rather I (or PM Lee) negotiate, or Chiam See Tong?'

Mr Chiam's comments also came under fire from two other PAP leaders who turned up at the rally - Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang and Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports Vivian Balakrishnan - as well as Mr Sitoh himself.

Mr Balakrishnan noted that, while Mr Chiam's plan would allow Singaporeans to 'pack their bags and travel to Malaysia anytime', it would also allow equal access to Singapore.

'His teammates in the Singapore Democratic Alliance have been saying that foreigners have been taking away jobs from Singaporeans,' Mr Balakrishnan said.

'You want union? You want free entry of people, of foreigners . . . are you really talking about making this place so everyone can come here? No work permits, no employment pass no control? Think again. Think very carefully,' he said.

In his speech, Mr Lim also questioned Mr Chiam's suggestion, and asked Singaporeans to compare the economic strategy of the PAP to that of the Opposition in order to judge who would better serve their interests.

'Mr Chiam says, we join Malaysia, we have a market of 27 million straightaway. Therefore, we can have double-digit growth every year,' Mr Lim said. 'Wah lau, so easy ah . . . so why just join Malaysia? Why not join Indonesia? They have 240 million people. Maybe triple-digit growth.'

http://www.asiaone.com/specials/ge2006/news/20060501_story7_1.html

'His teammates in the Singapore Democratic Alliance have been saying that foreigners have been taking away jobs from Singaporeans,' Mr Balakrishnan said.

lie to people until like that.

This Vivian Balakrishnan doesn't have any sense of shame whatsoever.

This guy is a total disgrace to politicians in Singapore.

Vivian Balakrishnan 2006 elections to Singaporeans:

You want union? You want free entry of people, of foreigners . . . are you really talking about making this place so everyone can come here? No work permits, no employment pass no control? Think again. Think very carefully,' he said.

CheckmateA1 SG

Election coming

pls vote wisely!

they had plently of supporters in another forum

Vote PAP OUT to Save SG SG

I am impressed by how Vivian Balakrishnan can lie to people so smoothly.

No sense of shame at all.

Not bad.

He is good at talking rubbish to people and tell lies.

CheckmateA1 SG

diamond salary

last time give cash money now happy happy get you rebate

wtf

storyteller

Man!x SG

That idiot only open his mouth just to prove that he is working when in fact he only react rather than doing things pre-amptively. That shit statement regarding a meal in a food court/hawker centre or restaurant proves that he is disconnected with the facts on the ground.

Having enough salary to afford meals in restaurants and only show face in hawker centers during election periods seems to affect his ability to think and respond. Vote him out. He have a female name for god-sake, only idiotic parents think of a stupid name for a imbecile for a son.

ahtansh SG

The story may not be real but at least it made our Garment work Hard and find out.

The government then made some checks and found a different story. Now we know they care !

Wmyongj SG

I find it interesting that in the shanghai expo, Singapore has prided itselt for being the the most successful city state. I though I can feel proud when the IHT even reported this in the cover page on Tuesday.

The sg pavilion was rather popular with the local Chineses that win praises all round,

Unfortunately, behind the success there are always the unkown fact of sg. We can only hope that there is a change in the mindset of this govern to realise that not every one are born equal and dont make mistake in life. If these ppl need a second chance for a decent home and food, why cant the govern make the rule change and it? afterall, how can any human stand up with dignity if they are deprived of the basic need of shelter and food?

You can follow the law but the heart that matter most.

angel7030 SG

Election coming

pls vote wisely!

they had plently of supporters in another forum

ya, that is why they put me here to do the difficult job

angel7030 SG

The sg pavilion was rather popular with the local Chineses that win praises all round,

You can follow the law but the heart that matter most.

This unknown fact consitute only about 5% of the population, and such unknown fact occurs in most countries, at a much higher percentage. That is the differences between Singapore and other cities.

At Shanghai Singapore expo, a poor chinese scholar asked a simple question that bewildered the speaker or so call the promoter of Singapore, someone top in the civil service of Singapore,

Are there beggar in Singapore?

Calvin86 SG

http://theonlinecitizen.com/2010/04/tocs-response-part-two-a-tidy-sum/

taken from the article

Eddie’s “tidy sum”

Eddie was first married in the 1980s, and bought a three-room flat direct from the HDB for approximately S$12,000. However, he was divorced ten years later. The 3-room flat was sold for about S$30,000; after CPF deductions, he walked away with a profit of approximately S$6,000. He then bought a five-room flat from the HDB upon his second marriage for S$129,000, using both his CPF and the money he had gained from the sale of the three-room flat.

In 1999/2000, financial problems forced him to sell his five-room flat and downgrade to a four-room. The five-room flat was sold for approximately S$290,000; after CPF deductions, the profit gained was S$112,000. However, there were debts to pay: his brother had applied for a personal loan with him as a guarantor. When his brother defaulted on the loan, Eddie was left to pay it off (with interest). Other costs included the renovation and furnishing of his new four-room flat, his children’s education and the wedding of a daughter.

Eddie was again divorced in 2007, and the four-room flat, bought at S$140,000, was sold for S$170,000. As he was already over 55 years old by then, after retaining about $70,000 in his CPF Retirement Account, from the flat sale proceeds to meet his CPF Minimum Sum requirement, he and his ex-wife were left with S$100,000 from his CPF withdrawal after 55, which was divided between them. He used the money to open a food stall in Jurong West. Unfortunately, the business eventually folded, exhausting his $50,000 from his after-55 CPF withdrawal and saddling him with new debts.

So how did MCYS arrive at the “tidy sum of over S$220,000”? We could only surmise this was done by totalling up the profits from the sale of the three flats: S$18,000 from the three-room, S$161,000 from the five-room and S$30,000 from the four-room, which adds up to S$209,000. As Eddie gave TOC approximate figures, it is possible this is how the S$220,000 sum was arrived at.

However the sum may have been derived, the point is the way it was presented by the minister in Parliament, which may have given the impression that Eddie was sitting on a large sum of money. The fact is that this is a simplistic view and rather misleading.

angel7030 SG

Before answering you, is he going to divorce and marry again??

Wmyongj SG

This unknown fact consitute only about 5% of the population, and such unknown fact occurs in most countries, at a much higher percentage. That is the differences between Singapore and other cities.

At Shanghai Singapore expo, a poor chinese scholar asked a simple question that bewildered the speaker or so call the promoter of Singapore, someone top in the civil service of Singapore,

Are there beggar in Singapore?

Yes, beggars are there in every counties except whether they are allowed to be visible in public.

I travelled around the world and many countries provide half way home or charity domitaries that these poor ppl can seek shelter. In Japan, the beggars camp in the gardens outside the palace and my Japanese colleagues told me this is an honest act to admit the baggar problem.

I dont know how they answer the question in Shanghai but last night the sg pavilion mgr was interviewed by 凤凰卫视 and my PRC colleagues asked me an embarass question..why I work in China when Sg is so good?

reyes SG

simple. just reply, even you are conisder not good enuff for singapore. this is to discourage them from ever thinking of coming to singapore. haha

charlize SG

I guess they are still using the same old modus operandi of whacking everything in sight through the state controlled media if they are shown in a bad light.

But this method doesn't really work so well now with the internet available to everybody.

Arapahoe SG

Yes, beggars are there in every counties except whether they are allowed to be visible in public.

than when you return to SG....your SG friends ask you why you come back Singapore good meh????

Arapahoe SG

Before answering you, is he going to divorce and marry again??

I can only said a stupid question from a brainless person........