‘Leaders must be able to take criticism, acknowledge mistakes’: PM Lee

[LiverpoolClown]

Singapore is a mixture of North Korea and Russia!!!

[Enzstar]

Originally Posted by naugh

hahaha PAP sucks, went to my MP a few times but useless like dunno what

So did you vote for him /her ?

[Enzstar]

Originally Posted by LiverpoolClown

Singapore is a mixture of North Korea and Russia!!!

Worse than that everything they also want to control .

[Pencilmania]

Originally Posted by naugh

hahaha PAP sucks, went to my MP a few times but useless like dunno what

Did you vote for them ?

[Pencilmania]

Originally Posted by LiverpoolClown

Singapore is a mixture of North Korea and Russia!!!

Is it ? But I don't see Singapore girls resembling Koreans or Russians .

[skyleon]

Ministers silenced, no longer asking Sylvia Lim for apologies

March 16, 2018



After States Times Review released two articles proving that the Singapore government has indeed issued “test balloons” prior to the GST increase announcement, 5 PAP Ministers – Law Minister K Shanmugam, Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat, Culture Minister Grace Fu, Minister Indranee Rajah and Minister Chee Hong Tat – have since kept silent and are no longer asking WP MP Sylvia to apologise.

In the first article by States Times Review, over 13 state media articles and reports proposed to increase GST prior to the actual announcement. Interestingly the Singapore government which often praised itself for fighting “fake news”, did not rebut any of the reports if they did not have the intention to raise GST as they claimed.

In the second article, a director with the government’s labour arm NTUC admitted he supervised a survey questioning respondents what they think of a GST increase and when would they prefer to have the GST increase.

All 5 PAP Ministers have since developed selective amnesia and stopped pursuing Workers’ Party MP Sylvia Lim for apologies. Minister Grace Fu had earlier threatened to take parliamentary actions against the opposition MP, which could see Sylvia Lim jailed up to 2 years until the end of the government’s term and fined up to S$50,000.

None of the PAP Ministers has retracted their statements or even apologise to MP Sylvia Lim, especially Law Minister K Shanmugam and Culture Minister Grace Fu who launched personal attacks calling her “dishonourable”, “dishonest” and “lacking in integrity”.



continue reading here : http://statestimesreview.com/2018/03...for-apologies/


Strongly suggest to WP & Slyvia Lim to consider legal action against those ministers who attack you and your character . Sure to win case since got video evidence .

[YellowSky]

It is time for WP to be more proactive . Provide us with an alternative plan how you can govern Singapore . Don't just oppose for the sake of opposing .

[vvunga]

Originally Posted by YellowSky

It is time for WP to be more proactive . Provide us with an alternative plan how you can govern Singapore . Don't just oppose for the sake of opposing .

I think it is the pappies who are opposing the opposition for the sake of opposing . It is time for the pappies to repent . WP need not provide us alternative plan , becos the pappies are junk.

[skyleon]

Fake news and what you can do about it

Published on 2018-03-19 by The Online Citizen


by Robin Low

The term "Fake News" is of great concern for many governments around the world. And why is there such a fake news problem, and do we fall for fake news?

Cognitive dissonance is one of the main reasons why people fall for fake news. The term cognitive dissonance is used to describe the feelings of discomfort that result from holding two conflicting beliefs.

In the case of Singapore, when a report of a roof collapse at the Housing and Development Board project Punggol Waterway Terraces, with a photo of the upper storeys in a crumbled state, many people are unhappy about high HDB prices, and the use of cheap foreign labor and lowest tender to get the job done, but they also feel bad that such a tragedy would happen. Even I choose to believe this incident, and I felt like this would get into HDB and the government into trouble for using cheap foreign labor and the lowest bid tender. When I believed in this and complain about it, my conflict is resolved – it fits my narrative that such a tragedy would happen, like the MRT breakdowns, and deaths of the MRT service crew due to negligence.

In a society with many inequalities, and not a high amount of trust, fake news divides us further. Today, it is very difficult for me to tell if the information I receive is 100% accurate and reliable. I can easily read fake news on both sides. On one hand, the Government Controlled Media keeps talking about criminal offences and governance lapses in AHPETC in an article “WP town council flagged for potential criminal offences”, which turns out to have the audit issues resolved in 2018. Much of the news I read on these platforms are simply one-sided story, praising the greatness, but not addressing the issues.

And on the other hand, in 2015, The Real Singapore posted an article on a Pinoy family complaining about Thaipusam, resulting in police commotion with the participants. The source cannot be verified, but many people including me shared the article, and were outraged. There were many other articles out there that could not be verified, but it fell into my narrative and biases, and I am inclined to believe them and share them with my friends to validate my views. For example, there was a recent case about lone woman parking in a family parking lot, getting on video saying she is rich and has 3 cars so she can do what she wants. I’ve personally experienced such behaviors and shared the video, but it turned out that she moved her vehicle later, and did it due to a heated argument with the poster of video, which was omitted in the video.


continue reading here : https://www.theonlinecitizen.com/201...n-do-about-it/


Fake news are everywhere . Just don't totally believe what you read online until you check out the facts.

[skyleon]

Lianhe Zaobao reports Ng Chee Meng is likely to become new labour chief; where will Chan Chun Sing go?

March 21, 20184054


Lianhe Zaobao reported today that Minister of Education (Schools) and Second Minister for Transport Ng Chee Meng will likely be taking on the role of Deputy Secretary-General of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC).

The Chinese daily reported that reliable sources revealed that members of NTUC’s Central Committee were informed of the move and were asked to support Ng, so he could be elected as Deputy Secretary-General. The daily speculates that this will pave the way for Ng to eventually assume the position of NTUC’s Secretary-General — a post that is currently occupied by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Chan Chun Sing.

The daily further postulated that this would mean that Chan may be moved to another post in the upcoming Cabinet reshuffle, which Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong confirmed would occur after Parliament takes a mid term break this year, late last month.

This next Cabinet reshuffle would be a significant one as it is expected to precede the selection of the Prime Minister’s successor. The reshuffle is also designated to give younger ministers more exposure and responsibilities so that they can better support the next Prime Minister, according to PM Lee.

If the report by the Chinese daily is correct, Ng replacing Chan as labour chief may free Chan up to take on a different portfolio. This is notable, given rife speculation that Chan is one of the three front-runners who could succeed PM Lee and become Singapore’s next Prime Minister.

The other two candidates who are tipped to give Chan competition are Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat and Minister for Education (Higher Skills) and Second Minister for Defence Ong Ye Kung.


continue reading here : http://www.theindependent.sg/lianhe-...-chun-sing-go/

[skyleon]

Mediacorp, SPH editors voice support for regulation of social media, mobile platforms

Published 22 March, 2018

Updated 23 March, 2018



SINGAPORE — Top editors of the Republic's main media outlets voiced support on Friday (March 23) for regulation of major mobile and social media platforms like Facebook, calling for a "level playing field" in terms of taking responsibility for the distribution of online content.

Speaking at a public hearing before the Select Committee studying online falsehoods, the editors, however, cautioned against overly broad new legislation against acts such as hate speech and defamation, which should be dealt with under existing laws.

"There should be thresholds with a combination of metrics to determine reach and frequency to decide what a deliberate online falsehood is, and whether and how to address it," Mr Walter Fernandez, Mediacorp's editor-in-chief, said in the broadcaster's written submission to the committee.

He added: "Where necessary, other areas of so-called 'fake news' which may not meet such thresholds in specific instances, for example, hate-speech and defamation, can and should be dealt with under existing legislation and policy. Where gaps exist that such legislation cannot sufficiently deal with specific instances of deliberate online falsehoods, the select committee should identify these gaps, and explain why existing tools are inadequate."

Echoing similar comments in its separate written submission, editors of Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) argued that any new or amended legislation should focus on distribution platforms which are relatively unregulated, such as social media and messaging applications like WhatsApp and Telegram.

"Legislation that restricts the investigative and reporting power of the media would hit the wrong target, as newsrooms already have rigorous and effective mechanisms to check and counter falsehoods. It might also inadvertently curb the media’s ability to fulfil its critical role in informing society, or to remain credible in the eyes of its readers," added SPH.


continue reading here : https://www.todayonline.com/singapor...bile-platforms


Sure state sponsored government media sure to support what the government wants .

[skyleon]

Facebook admits it should have informed public earlier about data breach


By Siau Ming En

Published 22 March, 2018

Updated 22 March, 2018


SINGAPORE — For more than half of Thursday’s (March 22) marathon public hearing before the Select Committee studying online falsehoods, Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam and Facebook’s Asia-Pacific vice-president of public policy Simon Milner went toe to toe over the company’s failure to tell users when it found out about political data firm Cambridge Analytica’s misuse of data in 2015, among other issues.

Mr Shanmugam’s questioning of Mr Milner during the hearing, which became testy at times – though interspersed with moments of levity – saw the latter admitting before the committee that Facebook should have informed users earlier of this breach of policies.

Hours before the hearing, Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg had apologised for the mistakes his company made in how it handled data belonging to 50 million of its users, and promised tougher steps to restrict developers’ access to such information.

There were allegations by a whistleblower that Cambridge Analytica improperly accessed users’ information to build profiles on American voters that were later used to help elect United States President Donald Trump in 2016. Its researcher Aleksandr Kogan was said to have ran a survey app on Facebook, which saw responses from 300,000 Facebook users. That also gave the researcher access to those people’s Facebook friends as well, who had not agreed to share information, producing details on 50 million users.


continue reading here : https://www.todayonline.com/singapor...ut-data-breach


Should we start deleting our facebook account ? Can we trust facebook with our personal data ?

[skyleon]

[skyleon]

Singaporeans rally behind Facebook against K Shanmugam


March 22, 2018


Yesterday, social media platforms Facebook, Google and Twitter were invited to give their opinions in person on new censorship laws, only to get a lashing from the Law Minister. What I find puzzling initially was why these platforms given a stage to air their opinion, because these “platforms” are merely a vehicle to deliver content, regardless fake or real. Facebook should not be responsible for propagating fake news as much as the inventor of AR-15 be responsible for wars and mass murder attacks, or Singtel being responsible for fraudulent calls, or Microsoft being responsible for hackers using windows, or your postman being responsible for junk mail…you catch my drift.

Asking Facebook for an opinion on fake news is only as good as asking SIRI whether is fast food good for your health. What do you expect Shanmugam?

Facebook executive Simon Milner’s responses were easy to understand, but the snake of a minister felt disrespected. When the dictator wants a “yes”, you don’t give an open-ended response. Stopping short of sending Simon Milner to the firing squad, K Shanmugam was clearly dissatisfied to be talked back.

Simon Milner was right to not take his brow beating and stuck to explaining Facebook’s policies. The Law Minister was clearly asking leading questions, making irrelevant paraphrases to suit his political agenda. It became interesting that the public hearing became a lecturing session from K Shanmugam, with him alone talking throughout the session while the other 9 Select Committee members sat quietly. It was then clear: there is no Select Committee, it is only Shanmugam’s Committee.

As usual, after losing a debate, K Shanmugam attacked the credibility of Simon Milner. K Shanmugam tried to make Facebook out as an irresponsible corporation by referring to the recent data leak scandal. Why would the data leak scandal be even relevant at the hearing I don’t know. Instead, the minister’s eloquence yesterday had people questioning if that is indeed the calibre of a senior counsel, or whether his bullying behaviour is befitting of a Law Minister.

A green paper was conveyed for the first time in 30 years, a 10-member Select Committee and now an invite-only hearing consulting fake “experts”. All the troubles went through in the name to ban “deliberate fake news”.

The aim could not be clearer: Law Minister K Shanmugam is desperate to ban States Times Review. Temasek Review, The Real Singapore and now the States Times Review. I am honoured to have partaken of the earlier two banned editorial, and am equally delighted that my articles today warranted similar censorship actions. States Times Review is only alive because it is an Australian website, out of reach from local jurisdiction banning corrosive criticisms (in all fairness, the Singapore government stomach mild criticisms i.e. TheOnlineCitizen, they could however never accept anyone calling out nepotism or legalised corruptions.)


continue reading here : http://statestimesreview.com/2018/03...t-k-shanmugam/

[sharklaserscom]