Abundantly talented Singaporeans are pushing the Government to spin out of control.

Yes, you’ve heard it right! There was never any dearth of talented Singaporeans to begin with. We know this PAP government, has for the longest time since our former and interim PM Goh, been trying hard, and sadly, with some degree of success, to stick the label of ‘untalented Singaporeans’ on its citizens. There are good PAP party-related reasons for doing this, and these reasons are beginning to surface if one is to read between the lines of comments being made by various ministers while they grapple with a better informed, more vocal, and highly talented Singaporeans – who are growingly less fearful when displaying their frustrations, frustrations that come about because of the lack of appreciation for their talents.

We recently hear, first from PM Pinky himself, that we have an oversupply of degree and diploma holding Singaporeans, so much so that it is becoming more difficult for these highly educated and talented Singaporeans to find jobs that match their talent. In short, for all the talk about being a global economy where this tiny nation had invested a huge amount of money and resources to attract diverse businesses to its shores, we are in fact not global enough when creating job opportunities for the diverse talents we have.

When such misalignment happens, it becomes inevitable that one quarter has to give, and it won’t be those who have the power to dictate and orchestrate the new tunes they release every now and then to suit their fancies. It therefore falls on the talented Singaporean to adjust and realign himself to what the state is able to bring to its shores. In other words, you adjust the position of your a**se-h**e to fit the rod.

And so it goes, that when a government has bad foresight, Singaporean talent will eventually end up suffering the lack of foresight from the governing clowns. Take for example the population control policy which peaked in the late seventies which is the cause of our population problems today. Couple this with the restricted intake of women who had sought to study medicine. Put the two side by side and one can clearly see a catastrophic outcome in the making.

Today, we have a reduced population not replacing itself fast enough, or at all; and we do not have enough medical staff to cater to a graying population. And because of this we have to consider retiring to some JB nursing homes.

What does this example teach us? First and foremost, you place yourself and your education at the mercy of government when you blindly follow what they tell you is the best direction for you. Look at all those citizens who listened to Old Harry. They chose manufacturing and engineering over medicine. I can still remember the Shit Times front page news at that time, of a woman wearing the white hard hat of an engineer.

Cohort upon cohort of new graduates were coming out from these fields as we thrived on nation building for the next three decades – until the government decided that we should be a financial hub instead. It happened so suddenly that we suddenly found mathematicians, accountants and economists hard to come by. The labelling of Singaporeans as untalented came about at this time. Singaporeans became the fault because we have an oversupply of obedient citizens who had listened to the PAP’s old tune, who are now too advanced into their careers and age, to reinvent themselves or to go back to accounting school.

The above illustration shows us that we are not as untalented as this useless government tells us we are. They are only calling us untalented because they do not know what to do with the talents we possess. As someone online pointed out, the Singaporean talent and his ‘obedient’ working attitude are attributes that place him in high demand on the global stage. Problem with us is that we are not as adventurous as the global opportunistic worker, who would take a lower salary than the local, and work longer as well, as long as the salary is higher than what he could earn back home.

And this is exactly what the PAP government seeks to exploit. The cheap foreign worker can be stretched to the full. Exploiting them would automatically translate to exploiting the Singaporean worker, for the Singaporean worker now has to match his commitment to that of the foreigner.

When you start hearing cabinet ministers echo the words of the PM, then it is confirmation that the PAP government has a problem out of hand and out of control. That problem should be a happy one for both the government and the people to work together on. Instead, as is the culture of the PAP, they become fearful of the intelligent citizen, and as always, they will try all ways and means to put him down lest the roles become reversed.

The Alternative View

Mr Kenny Ching Hwee Seong (“Wrong to equate public spending with debt”; last Thursday) has misunderstood my letter (“Going left-of-centre not right”; last Tuesday).

I did not say that government spending is harmful, nor did I equate it with government debt. Indeed, government spending on some things, such as infrastructure and education, is essential.

The trouble with Western democracies, and some Asian ones like Japan, is that they spend more than the tax revenues they collect. This is despite the high tax rates in these countries. As a result, they have to borrow to make up for the shortfall. Now, the bankers are refusing to lend and we have this financial crisis.

Why did these countries not raise tax rates instead of borrowing money? Because higher income tax rates may not necessarily lead to higher tax revenues. A higher tax rate is a disincentive for people to work and take entrepreneurial risks. Economic growth slows and lower revenues may result.

The fact that so many Western democracies are near bankruptcy is evidence that there is a systemic flaw in the one-man, one-vote system.

What is electorally popular often does not make economic sense. Promising voters freebies is popular but results in bankruptcy in the long run.

As a result, many Western democracies end up with unaffordable welfare states paid for by high taxes and government borrowings. The welfare states were started mostly by centre-left parties. In general, the main welfare benefits are cash for the unemployed and retirees as well as free health care, funded by high taxes and borrowed money.

Mr Ching mentioned Nordic countries that are extensive welfare states and appear to be doing well. But he failed to note that these states went through their equivalent of the “Greek crisis” in the 1990s. Since then, they have made reforms and cut back on welfare spending.

Singapore should not adopt centre-left policies. I do not want my country to become like the Western nations that are facing high unemployment, slow growth, devalued currencies and nearly bankrupt governments.

Singapore has, over the past three decades or so, outperformed most Western countries. All this was achieved with low taxes, and instead of government debt, we have huge reserves.

Tan Keng Soon

The case of a 40-year-old Malaysian man who is charged with raping a 13-year-old girl before marrying her under sharia law has provoked national outrage.

The alleged rape happened in the eastern state of Sabah, where more than half of such cases involve underage girls, according to human rights activists.

Riduan Masmud, a restaurant owner, was charged with raping the girl, whom he had known for six months, in a parked car in February. He took her as his second wife – by mutual consent, he said – soon after that.

"There are many cases of men marrying underage girls," Masmud told reporters outside court. "I do not see why my case should be any different."

Masmud said he planned for the girl to finish her studies and then "take up a cosmetics course with my first wife". The wife told reporters she had accepted the girl as Masmud's second wife.

The girl's father claims Masmud had paid the family 5,000 Malaysian ringgits (£1,100) in compensation, and told reporters he accepted the marriage. "It is best for her that they get married," he said. "What else can I do?"

Human rights groups urged the government to press on with charges when the prosecution tried to drop the case after the marriage.

"This case is part of a worrying trend in which older men proposed marriage after being charged with statutory rape to circumvent the mandatory provisions of the penal code," Mary Lee, of Sabah's Action Resource Group, told the Star. "The state cannot be seen by the public to condone such action by letting off the accused under the guise of marriage."

The state minister of community and consumer affairs, Datuk Jainab Ahmad, said her ministry was "questioning the validity of the marriage", and that she had told Sabah's welfare services department to put the victim under protection.

"As a mother, I am still puzzled: how could the father or the girl allow his daughter to be married to the man who had raped her?" Ahmad asked.

"The girl was only 12 years and six months. I believe the victim is in a trauma. She should be protected instead [of] marrying the man who had raped her."

The Malaysian anti-corruption commission is investigating the claims that Masmud paid the family.

Source: The Guardian

A new Facebook page has emerged with the objective of rallying Singaporeans to say 'No' to the tray return policy in food centers around Singapore. 

The page, started on Monday (May 20), has gathered almost 200 likes.

The 'About' section of the facebook page says that the Tray Return Policy is "Another stupid campaign that robs patrons of service and only benefits for operators."

A number of posts have been made by the page detailing why people should object to the new initiative. 

"For generations in Singapore it is always a service for patrons to food courts and hawkers that their trays were returned by the operator cleaners and our tables cleaned for us. It is a culture and service provided to us when we're dining out all along when we first started. But now GOV NEA kick in tray return initiatives to public and eventually to become a practice for patrons to return their own trays. It is definitely cost effective for operators but not service prone for patrons And the question also... Are we getting cheaper foods in the event of cutting cost and manpower for operators and vendors. Sadly is NO!"

The page also insists that the large metal racks for try return are ugly and unhygienic .

The Facebook page is located at: https://www.facebook.com/SayNoToTrayReturnSingapore

What do you think?

The $13 million pumped into Xtron Productions and used to promote singer Sun Ho's career was "completely honest" and an open matter.

Prosecution's third witness, former Xtron director Koh Siow Ngea, said this in the City Harvest Church (CHC) trial on Wednesday.

Mr Koh, a property developer, was testifying in the trial against six CHC leaders, including founder Kong Hee, accused of committing criminal breach of trust.

Kong Hee, John Lam, Chew Eng Han, Tan Ye Peng and Serina Wee allegedly misused church building fund amounting to S$24 million by channelling the money into two companies, Xtron and PT the First National Glassware (Firna), in what were described as "sham bond investments".

This allegedly took place between January 2007 and October 2008.

A second set of charges involve Chew Eng Han, Tan Ye Peng, Serina Wee and Sharon Tan, who are said to have misappropriated some S$26 million to cover up the first sum.

The funds were allegedly used to boost the music career of Kong Hee's wife, Sun Ho.

Taking the stand for the second day, Mr Koh testified that the S$13m was transferred from the church's building fund to Xtron. This was because Xtron was managing the singing career of Sun Ho at that time and the funds were invested in Xtron bonds, which were in turn used for her music album and its promotion. Sun Ho's music career is part of the church's Crossover Project, which aims to use pop music for evangelism. Defence lawyer Edwin Tong, who is representing Kong Hee, pointed out that "not a single cent" of that $13 million was spent on any other purpose.

Mr Koh agreed.

The witness also acknowledged that there was nothing secretive nor sinister about the transactions.

Mr Koh agreed that in essence, the $13 million was used for church events.

A sum of $13 million was provided to Xtron under the first bond subscription agreement signed between AMAC Capital Partners and Xtron.

Referring to minutes of meetings, Mr Tong made the point that the church Board and investment committee had discussed Xtron bond investments as well as Xtron's ability to redeem the bonds.

So, the church's investment committee, accountants, as well as the Board, were aware of these investments, he said.

Mr Koh agreed and said he found those transactions proper.

Mr Tong also tried to make the point that Mr Koh and his fellow director, Choong Kar Weng, consulted each other on matters of the company.

This comes after prosecution alleged that Mr Koh was merely a figurehead while the church was the one controlling the firm.

Earlier Wednesday, Mr Koh testified that the decision to purchase a unit at The Riverwalk was made by Xtron and not the church.

Mr Koh said ultimately, the company was the one that approved the move to purchase The Riverwalk property.

This was different from Tuesday's evidence, where he said the church was the one making decisions for Xtron.

Defence lawyer Kenneth Tan pointed out that approval has to be obtained from Xtron, so the firm had the final say.

Mr Koh agreed.

Mr Tan, who is representing the accused John Lam, also cross-examined Mr Koh on the appointment of Xtron staff.

The court heard on Tuesday that Mr Koh, the brother-in-law of accused Chew Eng Han, was appointed as director of Xtron by the church.

But on Wednesday, Mr Tan pointed out that Mr Koh was nominated by the church as Xtron has its own directors and they decide whether or not to approve the church's nomination.

Mr Koh agreed.

At the start of the trial on Wednesday, Mr Koh said the church and Xtron decided collectively on whether to invest in bonds.

The prosecution pointed out that this was different from what he said on Tuesday, that the church made decisions for Xtron.

But Mr Koh said the prosecution did not ask him this specifically on Tuesday.

The court also heard that Mr Koh signed the minutes of an Xtron meeting dated 25 October 2008. The other director, Mr Choong, was not in Singapore at that time.

This meant Mr Choong could not have attended the meeting or approved the minutes, but his signature was there.

The prosecution then asked Mr Koh why he signed off on something with the incorrect date.

Mr Koh said he was not sure and could not recall.

Source: Channel News Asia

Editor's Note: Sun Ho's music career is part of the church's Crossover Project, which aims to use pop music for evangelism. Do you think her music video is promoting Christianity? Apparantly, Sun Ho was transformed from a pastor/singer to a Geisha girl in this music video titled "China Wine".

The Manpower Ministry (MOM) will hold four sessions of Our Singapore Conversation (OSC) on jobs next month and it is inviting the public to take part. The theme is “Enabling Singaporeans to achieve career aspirations”.

The MOM hopes to focus the discussions on lifelong learning so that it can develop Singapore’s Continuing Education and Training (CET) landscape to be more dynamic in catering to the skills needs of the future economy.

The MOM’s goal is to enhance the CET system to better help Singaporeans achieve their career aspirations or simply to improve themselves. The other focus would be on how to encourage firms to give fair consideration to Singaporeans in their hiring practices, while continuing to allow firms to hire the best team that they need to remain competitive.

The sessions are scheduled for four Saturdays next month, on June 8, 15, 22 and 29. The public can visit the MOM website to register for the sessions.

Source: CHANNEL NEWSASIA

I refer to the report, “Government not ruling out anti-discrimination laws at workplaces” (May 20).

It is encouraging that the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) is now open to the idea of introducing anti-discrimination laws given that many job-seekers, both young and old, are finding it so hard to secure jobs.

The current job application form needs to be re-designed so that fair employment practices are put in place that allow every citizen to have equal employment opportunities, as well as have fair chances of moving up the corporate ladder.

The Government has been making efforts to unite Singaporeans, so it is only proper that the current race declaration on job application forms be removed.

This is to avoid favouritism or discrimination of a particular race. Only nationality needs to be declared: Singaporean or non-Singaporean.

The Civil Service, which is the biggest employer, can lead by example. Once it does this, the private sector will follow suit. To save on cost, we could manually delete the race declaration on existing job application forms, for a start.

Also, there have been cases where supervisors or managers have shown favouritism to employees or are biased against those who fall out of their favour.

To ensure that every worker gets fair assessments, I propose that the MOM introduce a two-way appraisal system where the bosses are ranked just as they rank their staff. For example, if 10 employees give a poor ranking of any one particular supervisor, there could be cause for investigation.

RAYMOND ANTHONY FERNANDO

Dear The Real Singapore,

Please publish and expose this landlord for us.

Landlord Name: Mr. Frankie Yu Fei (于飞)

Nationality: Singaporean (Originally from PRC AKA new citizen)

Country of Incident: Singapore

Date of Incident: May 20, 2012

Address of Incident: Geylang Lorong 33, Singapore

Landlord refuses to return back security deposit after tenant moved out!

Landlord (Frankie Yu Fei) trespassed into tenant's room with an unknown female while the female tenant was taking a shower. Landlord entered tenant's room multiple times throughout the day, went through tenant's private belongings and took photos with his iPhone. Inside the room contained confidential documents that have been stolen by the landlord. Landlord also went inside the tenant's room naked.

Landlord never inform or give notice to tenant for entering. After the tenant moved out, the landlord refused to return the security deposit back. Until now, the tenant has not received the deposit.

Multiple police reports have been made and this video was shown to over 20 police officers at the police station. However, the Singapore Police Force said that Landlords have the right to enter tenant's room at any time without notice because it is their property.

Even with an Order of Tribunal from Small Claims Tribunal against the landlord, he still ignores calls and refuses to return the security deposit.

This video evidence serves as a warning to those renting rooms from this man in Singapore.

Landlord from Hell

The COE premium for small cars ended S$1,840 which is 2.9% higher at S$64,839.

The COE price for big cars rose S$5,604 which is 9.1% to end at S$67,304.

The COE price in the Open Category also increases from S$62,301 to S$66,701, up by 7.1% or S$4,400.

However, the COE price for commercial vehicles fell by S$162 to S$56,889.

For motorcycles, the premium decreases by S$37 to S$1,663. 

Certificate of Entitlement (COE) prices for vehicles ended higher in all but two categories in the latest bidding exercise on Wednesday.

The tender for COE is the first time where the new taxation changes by the government comes into effect. However, the government is thinking of changing more including levying surcharges on purchases of second cars and factoring engine power into COE categorisation.

However, many analyzers said that it is unlikely that the COE prices will drop significantly in the near future.

Yesterday, Straits Times Razor TV interviewed the Hollywood Stars from the movie Fast & Furious and they were shocked to hear about our car COE prices. Watch the interview below:

<Pic credit: Omy>

Four companies have been competing to hire the undergrad who got hit, one of which wants to pay him a monthly salary of $3,000, five times his previous pay.

Another company is an MNC dealing with packaging who contacted Wanbao to express their interest to hire the graduate.

The company is based in KL, Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore, and is located in Tuas. It wants to hire university graduates in networking services or web designers.

The boss, Ms Xu, 44, said this morning that their monthly salary ranges from $2,000 to $3,000. 

They invited him to send an email with his resume and visit the company to see their working conditions before deciding.

The 23-year-old intern who exposed the supervisor, who is also the boss of the company, has been hailed as the 'handsome hero'.

In the wake of the incident, the family of the victim is demanding $100,000 in compensation for lost wages over the years.

They had previously visited the office to confront the supervisor, but had refused to accept his apology to settle the matter.

Lianhe Wanbao also stated that the intern had joined Encore eServices's Jurong East office three years ago as an undergraduate. His salary was just $500 a month despite putting in around 12 hours a day, and he was not given any benefits or leave days.

Source: Channel News Asia

Editor's Note: A bit of background history on Mr Lee Kuan Yew for those of you who are interested in World War 2 History.

During the Japanese occupation, Lee Kuan Yew learnt Japanese and first worked as a clerk in his grandfather's friend's company—a textile importer called Shimoda. Lee then found work transcribing Allied wire reports for the Japanese where he listened to Allied radio stations and wrote down what they were reporting in the Hodobu office (報道部 – a Japanese propaganda department). Towards the end of the war, by listening to Allied radio stations, he realised the Japanese were going to lose, and fearing that a brutal war would break out in Singapore as the Japanese made their last stand, he made plans to purchase and move to a farm on the Cameron Highlands with his family. However, a liftboy in his office told him his file had been taken out by the security department, and he realised he was being followed by Japanese security personnel (which continued for three months), so he abandoned those plans as he knew that if he went ahead, he would be in trouble. Lee also ran his own businesses during the war to survive, among which, he manufactured stationery glue under his own brand called 'Stikfas'.

During the occupation, Lee was asked by a Japanese guard to join a group of segregated Chinese men. Sensing that something was amiss, he asked for permission to go back home to collect his clothes first, and the Japanese guard agreed. It turned out that those who were segregated were taken to the beach to be shot as part of the Sook Ching massacre in Singapore.

Source: Lee Kuan Yew The Man And His Ideas (1998). Singapore: Times Edition.

<Photo: Reuters>

In the first major speech on counter-terrorism of his second term, President Barack Obama plans to open a new phase in the United States’ long struggle with the scourge, and even foresees an unspecified day when the so-called war on terror might all but end.

According to people briefed on White House plans, Mr Obama, in a speech that was scheduled to be delivered after press time, would restrict the use of unmanned drone strikes that have been at the heart of his national security strategy.

Mr Obama was also expected to announce that he would renew his long-stalled effort to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. Officials said they would make a fresh push to transfer detainees to home countries and lift the ban on sending some back to Yemen. The President plans to reappoint a high-level State Department official to oversee the effort to reduce the prison population.

The combined actions constitute a pivot point for a President who came to office highly critical of his predecessor, Mr George W Bush, but yet preserved and, in some cases, expanded on some of the counter-terrorism policies he inherited.

Significantly, Mr Obama was also expected to reject the notion of a perpetual war with terrorists, envisioning a day when Al Qaeda has been so incapacitated that wartime authority will end. However, because he is also institutionalising procedures for drone strikes, it does not appear that he thinks that day has come.

A new classified policy guidance signed by Mr Obama will sharply curtail the instances when unmanned aircraft can be used to attack in places that are not overt war zones — countries like Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia. The rules will impose the same standard for strikes on foreign enemies now used only for US citizens deemed to be terrorists.

Lethal force will be used only against targets who pose “a continuing, imminent threat to Americans” and cannot feasibly be captured, Attorney-General Eric Holder Jr said in a letter to Congress, suggesting that threats to a partner like Afghanistan or Yemen alone would not be enough to justify being targeted.

The standard could signal an end to “signature strikes”, or attacks on groups of unknown men based only on their presumed status as members of Al Qaeda or some other enemy group — an approach that administration critics said has resulted in many civilian casualties.

As part of the new shift in counter-terrorism efforts, the administration on Wednesday formally acknowledged for the first time that it had killed four US citizens in drone strikes outside the battlefields of Afghanistan and Iraq, arguing that its actions were justified by the danger to the US.

Mr Holder said only Anwar Al Awlaki, a radical Muslim cleric killed in September 2011, was specifically targeted. The others were Awlaki’s son, Abdulrahman, and Samir Khan, an Al Qaeda propagandist, both killed in Yemen; and Jude Kenan Mohammad, killed in Pakistan, who was on the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s most-wanted list for supporting terrorism.

Mohammad was the only one of the four who was not previously identified as having been killed in a drone strike.

Source: AGENCIES

Why would employers want to pay a fresh graduate who knows nothing, needs a lot of training and hand holding before they are productive? And if a Singaporean, heh heh, there are a lot more of other commitments and irritations and disruptions. And now father and mother also want paternity and maternity leaves.

Why, when it is so easy to get a trained employee with 20 years of experience from overseas and probably cost the same or marginally more? When this overseas tap is turned on at full, there is no incentive or advantage to hire a fresh local graduate.

It makes a lot of sense for Singaporeans not to get the degree and seek other alternatives to get a job, not even getting a diploma will make much difference. Why spend so much money if one wants to be a hawker or taxi driver? Why when most of the jobs can be filled by better qualified and experience foreigners? This is a seriously good and practical advice.

But for a lot of Singaporeans, this is not necessary the case as they are gainfully employed in good jobs, can afford expensive cars and flats and would not be replaced by foreigners. It shows that many Singaporeans are able to compete with the talents of the world on their world and would never be replaced. Isn’t this good news?

For those who are unable to compete, our universities are redundant. And now we have 4 and many more universities that are not fully govt funded, or private universities. It is good advice for parents not to waste their money and their children’s time going for a degree or diploma. Take the easier route, be a hawker, a sales person, insurance or housing agent, or whatever agent. If can’t get a job here, go overseas where the demand for Singaporeans are better.

The whole employment scene is designed for trained and experienced foreigners. And there is no need even to discriminate openly. The foreigners are just too attractive for employment. Now what is there left for Singaporeans? Join the army or the police. At least they provide decent jobs. But be quick before they start to recruit foreigners or PRs as well.

Still thinking of university education?

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean

* The writer blogs at http://mysingaporenews.blogspot.com

Dear The Real Singapore,

"During my childhood I would always get beaten up and yelled at by my parents, and it did not stop until I was primary 6. 

"The only reason they stopped was because they wanted better PSLE results. 

"My parents were smart, they only beat me in places my uniform would hide so my bruises couldn't be seen. Despite that, I still went to school with a smile as I had 3 friends who I really really relied on. 

"Even though they did not know what was happening at home, they knew something was not right and would always do things to make me smile.

"Reaching secondary school, the beatings from my parents stopped. However, it was now my elder brother's turn. 

"He would occasionally beat me with furniture or rip some of the books I had. 

"My parents did not do a thing, instead they scolded me for allowing my brother to do those things and when I did retaliate, I was beaten by them. 

"I also lost all contact with my three friends and that only added to my misery. 

"Furthermore I was dumped by a girl I was in love with for five years, which didn't really help my case. I slumped into depression but I never had any medication as my parents did not want to spend the extra money.

"Time flew by and a lot of things happened, now that I'm in TP I hope I would not have to suffer as much as before. 

"My depression comes and goes but I'm always smiling. 

"Even when I'm really hurt, I only cry at home, when my parents aren't around or sleeping because if they catch me crying, I'll be beaten again."

In the centre of the trial of 6 City Harvest Church (CHC) leaders is actually Kong Hee’s wife, Sun Ho. So far, the court has heard that all the financial transactions and “cover-ups”, as alleged by prosecution, are to help fund Ms Ho’s pop career for the Crossover Project of the church – using Ms Ho’s secular pop music to help reach out to people and win converts

During the trial on 22 May, defence lawyer Senior Counsel Michael Khoo told the court that to help convert people to Christianity, Ms Ho, who previously sang gospel music at church services, had to “cross over to secular music”.

If the church had directly funded the project and people outside of the church came to know of its involvement, that might have “defeated the purpose”, said Mr Khoo. Thus, the church needed external companies such as Xtron Productions to fund and manage Ms Ho’s career.

Ms Ho was not implicated in the trial.

And in a separate investigation carried out by the Commissioner of Charities (COC), her two suspension orders against her were lifted on 13 May by COC. As such, Ms Ho could resume her role as Executive Director of the church. She co-founded CHC with her husband, Kong Hee, in 1989.

She then told the media, “I am very thankful to Jesus that I can resume my executive duties at such a crucial time for City Harvest Church.”

“I am truly glad that I have been fully vindicated.”

Eight other CHC leaders, including Kong, continued to be suspended by COC for alleged misconduct and mismanagement in the administration of the church. In fact, COC moved to remove the 8 from office last month. Ms Ho was left alone because COC said there was insufficient evidence that she contributed to the mismanagement of the church.

Who is Sun Ho?

Sun Ho’s full name is Ho Yeow Sun. She was born in 1972 and studied at Anglican High School and Victoria Junior College.

According to The New Paper (TNP) interview with her in 2004 (‘Will Sun shine as love guru?’, 24 Jan 2004), she told TNP that she had her first crush at the tender age of 9. By the time she was 16, she said that she had had 42 boyfriends.

This means from 9 to 16 years old, she had an average of 6 boyfriends a year or about one new boyfriend every 2 months. She said that at one time, she even dated 3 guys at the same time.

She moved from boy to boy because she was “searching for true love”. She said, “Like most schoolgirls, I had my share of crushes.”

Recalling her first crush, she said that she liked the boy so much that she took the same bus as he did and even asked her sister to pen a love note for the boy. She said, “It was the first time I had taken notice of someone of the opposite sex.”

She told the media that she suffered from depression during her younger years. She said that it was a terrible period for her. Besides relationship problems, she was also struggling with other personal issues.

She admitted that she suffered depression then as she was “very insecure”, “very selfish”, and “holding on too tightly to too many things”. She said that in her quest for love, she had hurt her friends.

She said that at one stage, she locked herself at home for 5 straight months without stepping out. She would also use a razor to cut her own hands.

She revealed that a “good friend” later helped her get out of her depression.

In 1989, she met Kong Hee. He was a church youth leader then and she a volunteer. They got married 3 years later in 1992. She was 20 years old while Kong was 28.

In the same year she met Kong, CHC was founded as a department of Bethany Christian Centre (Assemblies of God church).

When TNP asked Kong how he felt being the 43rd man in Sun Ho’s life, he said, “For me, it’s a non issue. What’s past is in the past. We live for the now and the future.”

In a later interview with TNP in 2007 [Link], Sun Ho revealed that she was sexually abused by a man whom she knew when she was 6.

The incident happened at the man’s house when she was there playing with her siblings. The man asked her to sit on his lap. Afterwards, she felt a ‘pain’.

As she grew older, and began to understand what had happened, she grew angry. She started blaming herself and that was the time she went into depression.

She said that she had already forgiven the man.
 

TR Emeritus

*Article first appeared on www.TREmeritus.com

**TRS Editorial Piece**

The work-place bullying incident brought to light a number of issues. One of the things that came to light was the fact that the intern was only paid $500 - $600 a month.

TRS Reader Gary felt that this is definitely far too little and recalled how 10 years ago, he was also receiving about $500 a month as an intern in an MNC.

“Why are they still receiving this amount as allowances when the cost of living in Singapore had risen so much as compared to 10 years ago.” He said.

“I feel the Tertiary Institutions should review this allowance structure and fight for better allowance for the interns. These interns are not a source of cheap labour.”

He also commented that many interns actually do the same amount of work as other full-time employees but are exploited and paid only a fraction of their full-time counterparts.

Although interns are not usually thought to be properly qualified and still learning, does this justify not giving them benefits like paid medical leave?

TRS Gary thought that this is truly unfair. “I would like to urge all Tertiary Institutions to review their Internship Contacts to root out these irresponsible companies and protect the right of the Interns by giving them fair employment. MOM & MOE should also look into any grievances of these interns.”

Some students that TRS spoke to reported that they work the same hours as full-time workers in their companies.

Singapore has long been known to opperate on meritocracy, so it might be normal to expect that while you still have not completed your degree, you should be paid less for work. Is this the correct mindset or is it simply exploitation of a 'cheap' form of labour?