Chee Soon Juan tries to use Zika Virus to boost his hero image

So one of the big things that happened over the weekend, was MOH & NEA's announcement that the Zika virus has "landed" in Singapore, and there has been at least 1 confirmed case.

Chee Soon Juan immediately grabbed the opportunity to portray himself as a Hero by accusing the Govt of "withholding information" from the public.

This is just si bey talk cock to the nth level lor.

Is Chee Soon Juan suggesting that the Govt should be taking action based on speculation?

The first case of Zika virus infection was only confirmed on 27 August.

And immediately once the Govt had the facts in hand, they held a press-conference on the very next day on 28 Aug.

Please explain how is the Govt "withholding information" from the public?

Pic: FLOP FB Page

Pic: Lovely Singapore FB Page

The timeline of Events as reported By Channel News Asia.

Source: CNA

Pic: Shut Down TRS FB Page

By Shut Down TRS FB Page

Some political parties like SDP and WP are trying to politicise the Zika outbreak claiming there was a cover up by the Govt because there were more cases before the one that was reported. But is it a cover up? Here is the response by Minister Gan Kim Yong:

"Part of the reason that we have discovered more cases is because we have now gone back to the cases that were seen before by doctors. 

THERE WERE NOT SUSPECTED OF ZIKA, because they have no travel history and so on.

 Now that we know there is a case ...we’ve therefore gone back to all these cases that were surfaced before, and checked their blood tests, and that’s why we have discovered more cases, as a result of the first case." 

There is no way to announce the zika outbreak when the 41 cases that were discovered were not suspected to have zika in the first place. 

So how do these people expect the Govt to announce if there is an outbreak before the first reported zika case?

Read more about the Zika virus in Singapore

Gov.SG Factually - How did one case of Zika infection increase to 41 within a day?
What you need to know about Zika
Channel News Asia - Locally transmitted Zika cases: A timeline
Straits Times - Zika outbreak: How events unfolded
Straits Times Zika Virus news coverage

(One of the) Secret of Singapore's success

Staff of NTUC gathering outside the NTUC building to pay their last respects to the late former president S R Nathan, on Aug 26, 2016. ST PHOTO: LAU FOOK KONG

THIS IS WHY SINGAPORE IS SO SUCCESSFUL
By TAY LEONG TAN, Five Stars and a Moon, 26 Aug 2016


Photographs and videos of Mr. Nathan’s ceremonial gun carriage is available for all to witness.

But what many didn’t see…and also the thing that left the strongest impression on me, was the backup procession which was trailing a good 5 five minutes behind Mr. Nathan’s main train.

A standby gun carriage, ceremonial vehicles and emergency vehicles tailed the official train en-route to the NUS.

That, to me is an example of how deeply thought through the Civil Service operates. That to me, is the hallmark of government thinking: to think ahead, think across and to think again.

There are those who criticise and accuse the government of “not thinking”, but seriously – look at how they work. They have a reason to address every tiny detail of decision making; even into why the acronyms of our expressways are named as such.

At a dialogue I attended last evening, Chan Chun Sing shared that even if PM Lee was to have collapsed at the National Day Rally and never recovered, there was already a procedure in place.

Any one of the Cabinet Ministers could continue the speech (and would have continued the speech), delivering it with as much precision. There is strong emphasis on team effort – not just one man, but a team.

Deputy Prime Ministers would be ready to take on the role of Acting Prime Minister. The next line of leaders are already in place. If you are an ardent observer, even you would be able to figure out who the candidates of the PM’s seat are.

National development was never left to chance.

The new port in Tuas was not built a few years ago, but rather more than a decade ago. The reason to move it was planned as far back as the 1970s – not only does it free up a central area in Singapore, it would move the visually and environmentally polluting ships to a far corner of the island. Oh and if you say Tuas is too far to deliver goods, well – there are technologies and expressways you don’t even know about yet. The undersea connector to join the North into the MCE for example – that info is available, you just need to search for it.

Consider Changi Airport; its architects were not tasked not just to develop a fancy building. Rather they were asked to incorporate aesthetics, usability and experience deserving of a world class airport all the way up to the heart of Singapore. That’s why you have beautiful flowers even as you drive out of the airport vicinity and that’s why the East Coast Parkway was built. This is documented in MM Lee’s memoirs. Observe most other airports around the world – the beauty and convenience ends when you exit the complex doors.

Look at this layout of the MRT circulating the internet:

The source of this map is unknown and begun circulating the internet a good 10 years ago. No one knows if it is accurate or not. The authorities neither confirm nor deny its accuracy, however it seems as if over the years the stations that pop up are really beginning to resemble this map.

Discussions, studies, debates and plans for Singapore for the next 50 years are already available, if you care to seek it out.

That’s pretty amazing if you ask me. I’m not even sure what I’m going to eat for dinner tonight.

One of the remarkable things about Singapore governance is the team effort to drive the mechanism forward.

To say it is merely a PAP team effort would be doing the nation a great disservice. This team is not just the PAP. 

It is the law makers, the Judges, the President, all the civil service, the Unions, the corporations, the people – all working seamlessly as one mechanism.

It is the ability to orchestrate and manoeuvre all these moving parts for the collective welfare of the majority of Singapore.

It is for this reason that although we’re a small country, we’re able to stand up against giants.

First published by Five Stars and a Moon.

===============

DTCL: Our borderline kiasuism obsession with details is not only evident in the organization of the State Funerals for both Mr Nathan and Mr Lee Kuan Yew, but it is also evident in how Singapore's national events like the annual National Day Celebrations are planned and executed.

Not many people would know that for state level events like the NDP, the Organizing Committee actually starts their work more than a year before the actual event. The OrgComm would kena arrowed be appointed, and among the first things the OrgComm would do, is to shadow and learn the current OrgComm.

This "apprenticeship" model of planning carries on in almost all facets of Singapore life - from NS (ie reservist) battalions to almost all govt-linked organizations and Stat Boards. 

Alex Tan Zhixiang is just a plain delusional liar

At 9.22 am, #HATE site STR, founded by ex TRS admin Alex Tan, took a photo of people queuing before the Lying in State started to spin a lie to spread its hate in order to get eyeballs to earn advertising dollars.

Meanwhile Lying in State started at 10am with scores of people queuing to pay their last respect to former President Mr S R Nathan.

Pic: Fabrications About The PAP FB Page

Pic: Shut Down TRS FB Page

See a video of the crowds at the Padang here, and here too.

Alex Tan has the ability to time travel! 

Look at the post on STR. Posted at 9am but he already predicted that only 100 people are in the queue at 11am! LOL

Pic: Shut Down TRS FB Page

Click here to read some of Alex Tan Zhixiang's massive mountain of bullshit

The many facets of Mr S R Nathan

Pic: Mothership.SG Facebook page

The early years

Born in Singapore on July 3, 1924, Mr S R Nathan had a difficult life growing up. He lost his father when he was 8. He was expelled twice from school, first by Anglo Chinese Middle School and then by Victoria School.

PIc: Remembering S R Nathan Facebook page - A portrait of Mr Nathan at around age 18.

At 16, he left home for Muar to look up an old barber and stayed with him while working as a clerk, reuniting with his family four years later during the Japanese Occupation. 

When the war ended, Mr Nathan worked as a clerk in the Public Works Department. When he started university at the age of 28, he took no pay leave from work but would still go back during vacations to earn extra pocket money. 

Source: Remembering S R Nathan Facebook page

As a Social Worker

After completing his diploma in social studies with distinction at the University of Malaya, he entered the Singapore public service as a medical worker in 1955, and took up a posting with the seafarers union a year later. 

As a seamen’s welfare officer, he helped seafarers to resolve their grievances, such as wrongful discharge, unpaid wages or bad treatment. During his stint, the young Mr Nathan built a reputation for being willing to go above and beyond to help the seafarers, and even earned the confidence of employers in the shipping companies that he had to negotiate with.

Read more here: TODAY - S R Nathan, 'who always put country before self', dies

As a Unionist in NTUC

Mr. Nathan was pivotal in reshaping the Labour Movement from that of antagonistic, adversarial unionism to that of rational discussion of mutual interests. The Labour Movement was to have a large role to play in nation building. 

Mr. Nathan helped workers in every way possible. From individual assistance, collective bargaining, solving disputes and laying the bricks for tripartite partnership, he was involved every step of the way. 

“He understood human beings”, quotes Mr. R.O. Daniel, 77, a retired civil servant who worked with him in the Labour Research Unit. “He had diplomacy inherent in him even from the early days”

Read more here: Five Stars and a Moon -  The world of SR Nathan in 1961

As a Diplomat

On 31 January 1974, four men armed with submachine guns and explosives attacked the Shell Oil Refinery on Pulau Bukom Besar, an island south of mainland Singapore. After they failed to blow up the oil tanks, the group – dubbed the “Bukom bombers” by the newspapers – hijacked the ferryboat Laju at the Bukom jetty and held five crew members hostage.

Pic: The New Paper - The marine police negotiated with a Laju hijacker

After several days of negotiation that involved the governments of Singapore and Japan, the hijackers agreed to release the hostages in exchange for a party of guarantors to ensure their safe passage out of Singapore.  

The Singapore guarantors – comprising eight government officials and four Singapore Armed Forces commandos – were led by S. R. Nathan, who was then director of security and intelligence at the Ministry of Defence. 

The incident ended on 8 February 1974, when the hijackers left for Kuwait with the Singapore guarantors. 

Upon arrival in Kuwait, the Singapore party handed the matter over to the Kuwaiti and Japanese governments and returned to Singapore, arriving the following day on 9 February. 

This incident was our young nation’s first encounter with international terrorism. Singapore was then the world’s third-largest oil refining centre, and supplied a substantial amount of oil to countries in the region. There would have been severe and far-reaching economical impact on Singapore had the terrorists succeeded in their objective to destroy the oil refinery at Pulau Bukom. 

The Singapore government’s experience in the long, drawn-out negotiations with the terrorists as well as with the Japanese and North Korean governments during the Laju Incident reminded Singapore’s political leadership of the need to have an effective, dedicated force in the event of any terrorist attacks on Singapore. This led to the development of the Special Operations Force (SOF) from the SAF Commandos in 1985. The SOF was deployed in the hijacking of Singapore Airlines Flight SQ117 in 1991 to great effect and the incident was resolved within a few hours, compared to the 9 days it took for the Singapore government to resolve the Laju Incident.

Read more here: NLB's Singapore Infopedia - The Laju Hijacking

Watch the Channel News Asia - Days of Rage: Laju Hijack YouTube video 

As Singapore's 6th President

At 75, he became the sixth President of Singapore, and the longest-serving President to date. 

With his people-oriented disposition, Mr Nathan actively engaged and interacted with Singaporeans and various groups and communities even when he was well-advanced in years.  

Pic: SGAG Facebook page

Most importantly, Mr Nathan had a heart for ordinary people. He was warm, gracious and well-loved by Singaporeans.  

Spurred by his deep personal desire to help those who were less fortunate, Mr Nathan founded the President’s Challenge in the year 2000. Aimed at fostering a cohesive and caring Singapore, the Challenge brought Singaporeans from all walks of life together to raise funds and volunteer their time to help the less fortunate.  

This legacy of his compassionate vision still burns strong within the Public Service. Every year, I am heartened to see our public officers and agencies actively contributing their time and energy towards helping our society’s less privileged members through the President’s Challenge. Mr Nathan’s admirable qualities have earned him a place in our hearts and minds. 

Excerpts from tribute by Peter Ong, Head of Civil Service. Read the entire tribute here

Learn more about the life of Mr S R Nathan here: http://bit.ly/2bOFErR

You may pen your thoughts about Mr Nathan at:

• www.remembering.sg/srnathan

• www.facebook.com/RememberingSRNathan

[Defending the Lion City] Former President S. R Nathan stands with our Soldiers

15 Jan 2011 - Former President S. R. Nathan reviewing the OCS Commissioning Parade despite of the heavy rain. Quote is attributed to Mr S.R. Nathan by an unverified source.

The following is an unverified account of what Mr Nathan had done when he was the President reviewing the OSC Commissioning Parade in 2011.

Post Source: Neralo, Reddit Singapore. (as of 23 Aug 2016)

Gonna share a story about the former President.

When I was a lowly officer cadet in 2011, and the senior batch were about to commission, he was the reviewing officer, for his last commissioning parade as President.

As luck would have it, it rained cats and dogs that day, but the cadets continued to March in the rain. Normally there's a parade review, but if it rains, that part is taken out so that the reviewing officer doesn't need to get drenched. Except he did get absolutely soaked. Because he chose to do the review.

Later during my own commissioning parade training I had a chance to talk to Warrant Albert my encik while facing disciplinary action for an unrelated incident. 

The conversation came around to the previous batches commissioning parade, the one where President Nathan braved the rain to review the cadets. He told me they tried to stop the review but Nathan himself refused. 

He even refused an umbrella, saying, 

"if the cadets who give their lives in service of our nation can stand in the rain, the least I can do is stand with them"

That incident cemented my utmost respect for the man. So much so that I went out of my way to take an unrelated module in uni just so that I could have the pleasure of being taught by him.

President Nathan, you've earned your rest.

edit: 

Obligatory thanks for the gold. I mis-remembered which encik told us about this incident, and only realised my mistake when I was talking to a coursemate about it this morning. I won't say the actual encik's name though. 

Also, I received a couple of pms questioning the veracity of the quote, and I admit, it may have been bullshit fed to us by the encik to invoke more nationalistic pride in us cadets (it is a 2nd hand account after all), but I choose to believe it's true because I trust that encik, and because President Nathan, the few times I met him, struck me as a gentlemen who would do exactly what he did in the story.

 Youtube video of that OSC Parade

Video credit: Chesed Mercado

Some comments following that Reddit post.

Source: Reddit Singapore

Learn more about the life of Mr S R Nathan here: http://bit.ly/2bOFErR

You may pen your thoughts about Mr Nathan at:

• www.remembering.sg/srnathan

• Remembering S R Nathan Facebook page

Former President S R Nathan has passed away

Former President S R Nathan passed away this evening, 22 August 2016. Mr Nathan was 92.

Source: PM Lee Facebook page

Thank you Mr Nathan for your long and faithful service to Singapore.

We will miss you.

Rest in peace.

===================

Learn more about the life of Mr S R Nathan here: http://bit.ly/2bOFErR

You may pen your thoughts about Mr Nathan at:

• www.remembering.sg/srnathan

• Remembering S R Nathan Facebook page

===================

From PM Lee Hsien Loong's Facebook post:

Deeply saddened by the passing of Mr SR Nathan today. He passed away peacefully at the Singapore General Hospital, surrounded by family and loved ones, three weeks after suffering a stroke. 

Mr Nathan’s life is an inspiration to us all. His was a story of how a young boy strove to triumph over his circumstances and make a contribution to society. He held many public service posts, and occupied the highest office in the land. 

Mr Nathan was our longest serving President. He was a warm and approachable President who endeared himself to Singaporeans. He impressed visitors with his knowledge of world affairs, and served with dignity and distinction.

I have known Mr Nathan for 40 years, since I was a young officer in SAF. I remember him as a man guided by a deep sense of duty to the nation. He stepped up each time duty called. He was a true son of Singapore. 

My condolences to Mrs Nathan and the family. Our thoughts and prayers are with you in this time of grief. – LHL

===================

Mr S R Nathan was a true hero.

"... During his time in Ministry of Defence (Singapore), he risked his life in the Laju hijacking incident, in exchange for the safe release of Singaporean hostages. As Ambassador to the USA under MFA, he dealt with the Michael Fay incident, firmly and diplomatically defending our point of view. His charm and toughness showed the world that we were no pushovers. ..." 

Minster K Shanmugam S C's Facebook post

===================

Mr S R Nathan
Sixth President of  the Republic of Singapore
(1 Sep 1999 to 1 Sep 2011)


Mr S R Nathan was born in Singapore on 3 July 1924.

Mr Nathan received his early education in several schools – Anglo-Chinese Primary and Middle School, Rangoon Road Afternoon School and Victoria School. He started working before completing his studies. After the war, whilst working, he completed his secondary education through self-study and entered the University of Malaya (then in Singapore) where he graduated in 1954 with a Diploma in Social Studies (Distinction).

Mr Nathan began his career in the Singapore Civil Service as a medical social worker in 1955. He was appointed Seamen’s Welfare Officer the following year. In 1962, he was seconded to the Labour Research Unit of the Labour Movement, first as Assistant Director and later as Director, until January 1966. He continued as a Member of its Board of Trustees until April 1988.

In February 1966, Mr Nathan was transferred to the Foreign Ministry. He served as Assistant Secretary and rose to be Deputy Secretary before being appointed Acting Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs in January 1971. In August of the same year, Mr Nathan moved to the Ministry of Defence where he was a Director with the rank of Permanent Secretary.

In February 1979, Mr Nathan returned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and became its First Permanent Secretary until February 1982, when he left to become the Executive Chairman of the Straits Times Press (1975) Ltd. At various times from 1982 to 1988, Mr Nathan also held directorship of several other companies including the Singapore Mint Pte Ltd, The Straits Times Press (London) Ltd, Singapore Press Holdings Ltd and Marshall Cavendish Ltd. He was Chairman of Mitsubishi Singapore Heavy Industries – a ship-repairing and engineering joint-venture with the Mitsubishi Group of Japan – from 1973 to 1986.

From 1983 to April 1988, Mr Nathan was Chairman of the Hindu Endowments Board. He was a founding member of the Singapore Indian Development Association (SINDA), and was its Term Trustee until August 1999.

In April 1988, Mr Nathan was appointed Singapore’s High Commissioner to Malaysia and in July 1990, he became Ambassador to the United States of America where he served until June 1996.

On his return from the US, Mr Nathan was made Ambassador-at-Large and was concurrently Director of the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies (IDSS) at the Nanyang Technological University. He held a directorship in the Singapore International Media Pte Ltd between September 1996 and August 1999.

Mr Nathan resigned as Ambassador-at-Large and Director of IDSS on 17 August 1999 and was elected President of the Republic of Singapore on 18 August 1999. He began his six-year term from 1 September 1999. On 17 August 2005, Mr Nathan was re-elected and he was sworn-in for his second term of office on 1 September 2005.

Mr Nathan was conferred the Public Service Star in 1964, the Public Administration Medal (Silver) in 1967, and the Meritorious Service Medal in 1974.

Mr Nathan, a Hindu, is married to Urmila (Umi) Nandey and has a daughter, a son and three grandchildren.
Source: The Istana

Uniquely Singapore (National Day Rally 2016)

Putting aside all the fuss about PM Lee's fainting spell on stage during his National Day Rally speech, here is some food for thought.

Watch this clip from NDR 2016.

Which other country's Head of Government or political party/leader speaks plainly about stepping down and about the importance and need to get his/her successor(s) ready to take over the reins of government?

Source: PM Lee's FB page

Singapore is NOT a dictatorship as much as some critics would like you to believe. Singapore has regular, free and open elections to choose her government.

Whoever PM Lee's successor will be, STILL HAS TO convince the electorate AND win at the Polls to be the PM.

Singapore's success is often attributed to its unique geographic location and free port in the early days of its development, and Lee Kuan Yew's tough but wise governance style.

But I think one point that has long been understated is the ultra-long term view and planning (including succession planning) that LKY has consistently espoused. This has been the policy of the PAP since LKY, and even for Goh Chok Tong.

Long term planning and a stable succession plan enables Singapore to put in place policies and plans that are for the greater good of the country.

One very significant example of long-term planning: Water.

If not for the PAP govt's long term planning, does any one seriously think that Singapore would be able to achieve success in reducing its reliance on water imports from Malaysia?

How is it possible that an small island with no natural sources of fresh water, be help our neighbours with portable water during drought season?

Does any one realistically think that cleaning up our once-polluted Singapore River, Kallang Rivers and numerous water reservoirs and new-water plants simply appeared overnight?

Singapore's water success is only possible because of long-term planning.

Read more here:

• Full NDR speech on the PMO YouTube channel or at PMO website

• The TL;DR Guide to National Day Rally 2016

• This is why Lee Hsien Loong is so respected!

• S'pore Helping to Supply More Water to Malaysia (2016)

• Singapore to supply more water to Johor as drought bites (2015)

• Lee Kuan Yew: The architect of Singapore's water story 

• Singapore's water supply: Where does it come from?

• Singapore's Water Story