The Singapore Daily

“We are not paying [service and conservancy charges] so that town councils can accumulate enormous sinking funds and act like little “Temaseks” and “GICs”… I can’t help but compare this to the old NKF collecting millions in donations but spending only 10 cents out of every dollar on the patients. The rest was wastefully spent or accumulated into huge reserves as we eventually discovered to our horror and disgust.”
Dhevarajan Devadas

“Mah Bow Tan explicitly said that each Town Council “has the duty to explain to its residents how it invests its funds, what is its philosophy, what are the risks it takes”. Yet, after meeting with [an un-named Minister], the Town Councils are going to shirk their duty with official sanction at the ministerial level.”
Benjamin Cheah

“It may make more business sense to let go of foreign rank—and—file workers rather than Singaporean workers if retrenchment is unavoidable.”
Lim Swee Say

Life in Singapore is wonderfully comfortable, so much so that Singaporeans have become contemptuous of people who fight for their beliefs. Just ask a random Singaporean what they think of Tibet or Palestine and chances are they’ll tell you that [they] should stop killing themselves for a lost cause..”
Tang Li

“Singapore will remain forever mediocre as long as the mediocrities in charge, oppose the rise of those who have something to offer, in ways which are new, or different.”
Valentine Cawley

This week’s roundup and recommended reads after the break.

Fire Foreigners First
- Dee Kay Dot As Gee: The most Swee Say-ing that I’ve heard lately
- BothSidesOfTheJohorStraits: SweeSay urges employers to retrench foreigners first
- The Lycan Times: Priority to the Local Worker
- groundnotes: Protecting the Singaporean Middle Class? [Recommended]
- TOC: S’poreans and foreigners both paying the price [Recommended]
- To Fix a Mocking Peasant: The 3 Tenets of Great Governance
- TOC: Tripartism not the cure-all for employees
- TOC: Who to retrench first - PM vs Labour Chief

Town Councils Lose $12M Public Funds
- TOC: MP instructs TC Manager after meeting Minister: “We will NOT disclose any further details” on TC Investments
- For Want of a Better Title: Fair and balanced?
- The Lionheart: Conspiracy of Silence
- TOC: Dr Teo Ho Pin, where is our money? [Recommended]
- TOC: Town councils’ funds: Exchange betwen Olsen and Fu
- Feed Me To The Fish: When dazzle starts to baffle…
- Hear Ye! Hear Ye!: Honesty is the best policy

Pink Issues: DBS-FOTF
- Yawning bread: Educating DBS
- Musings: BT article on DBS-FOTF tie-up
- Yawning Bread: Community effort no substitute for government inaction on MSM HIV
- Where Bears Roam Free: Message to Gays: If you want respect, stop bawling like a kid!
- To Fix a Mocking Peasant: Can activists avoid being active? [Recommended]
- Musings: Far East Org and Focus on the Family
- The Lycan Times 狼人時報: Daily Discourse - DBS & FOTF
- To Fix a Mocking Peasant: Focus on the Ideology
- Endoh’s Dungeon: Boycott DBS for being anti-family?

High Notes and Minibombs
- Sgpolitics: Tan Kin Lian talks about social justice and gives an update on possible class action lawsuits by investors at TOC event on 6 Dec
- Wayang Party: “Caveat emptor”: an easy way out for MAS and the FIs? [Recommended]
- Mathia Lee: The extent of Apathy in Singapore [Recommended]
- Tan Kin Lian’s Blog: Election into public office
- Diary of A Singaporean Mind: First of many lawsuits get on the way..

Strangers in a Strange Land
- Yawning Bread: Muddy Singapore swallows China workers [1] [2] [Thanks udders]
- i have succumbed to peer pressure: Muddy Singapore swallows China workers
- TOC: Fed up with statistics? (Part 2)

Recession
- My Singapore News: Myth 199 - Fallen myths [Thanks Russell]
- My sketchbook: The best time to join the public sector

One-Party to Rule Us All
- Everyday’s Life in a Snapshot: Opposition parties: No time to cross swords
- Wayang Party: Is fear of politics keeping worthy Singaporeans from public office?

Lee vs Chee
- Jacob’s Weblog: What the Constitution gives, the State takes away
- Singabloodypore: Singapore Maneuvers In Response to Chee
- Diary of A Singaporean Mind: CSJ : Fool or hero?
- Singapore Enquirer: Singapore Maneuvers In Response to Chee
- mrbrown: That’s why in Singapore, you must not rock the boat
- Singapore Indian Voice: Shafiie, Isrizal, John Tan - 3 brave Singaporeans

Christian Couple Charged With Sedition
- Chemical Generation Singapore: Sedition! Sedition! Halleluyiah!
- The Secret Political Blog: Christian Extremism: Comic books of hate - “The Little Bride” and “Who is Allah”
- SilentAssassin’s Archive: Religious Evanga-extremism

Universal Declaration of Human Rights 60th Anniversary
- Singapore Social Activist: The Right to a Dignified Life!
- Random Thoughts Of A Free Thinker: 10th December 2008 — 60th Anniversary of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights
- TOC: Burmese in S’pore commemorate UN’s Universal Declaration
- Journalism.sg: Free speech: the emerging consensus

Have you ever wondered why we must serve
- The boy who knew too much: Why National Service is a National Disservice
- Military Life: Live and Die Singapore Style (With NS)

Power to Cost the People
- TOC: Fuel oil prices are falling, so why are tariffs still high?
- Choosing my own adventure: Electricity tarr… oh what the fark

Paperchase
- Blowin’ In The Wind: Why Singapore universities among world’s best
- Random Thoughts Of A Free Thinker: 09/12/2008 — Interesting newspaper article II
- Singapore Educational Consultants: Education in Singapore, TIMSS and the “New Stupid” [Recommended]

CPF
- Feed Me To The Fish: ‘Tis The Season To Top Up?

Housing
- Diary of A Singaporean Mind: HDB : More subprime than subprime USA.. [Recommended]

Odex Saga
- Anonymous_X: The Odex-ed saga: Resistance may not necessarily be futile

Daily Discourse
- Desparatebeep: In Praise of Discomfort [Recommended]
- The boy who knew too much: Does Singapore take a long-term view?
- Balderdash: Clinton’s civil response to Lee Kuan Yew
- The Secret Political Blog: A Nuclear Plant in Singapore?
- byon’s blog: Why are Singaporeans emigrating?
- Tan Kin Lian’s Blog: Why we need a minimum wage policy in Singapore
- Wayang Party: A minimum wage may bring more pain than relief to low income workers
- Wayang Party: How the Tripartite alliance undermine the collective bargaining right of Singapore workers (Part 1) (Part 2)
- To Fix a Mocking Peasant: Blog Topics
- Sgpolitics.net: Singaporeans need a minimum wage
- Where Bears Roam Free: Freedom of Expression – The Double-Edged Sword
- Anonymous_X: Family with 8 kids moved 12 times within 2 years; yet parents use the money on cigarettes?!
- Sgpolitics: Dr Chee Soon Juan on Singapore’s future as a financial centre
- AngryAngMo: Bryan Caplans Fresh View On Singapores Politics And Censorship [Thanks Florian]
- The Secret Political Blog: Google Trends - What do Singaporeans think about? Definitely not politics
- Singapore Social Activist: Things that I did not say..

Life, the universe and everything
- a writer’s blog: Meeting the President of Singapore
- Vic.SG says: Things So Singaporean! [Corrected, thanks Ed and Victor]
- Angry Angmo: The 5 Best Places To Have A Cold Christmas In Singapore [Thanks Florian]
- tpjcian magazine: EXCLUSIVE: Local Gay Striptease Dancer Comes Out
- Anonymous_X: Courtesy of public holidays: Eight long weekends in year 2009
- NO BUNS NO LIFE: British Editors BLOCKED from Wikipedia over Child Porn Image
- A long and arduous road of an entrepreneur: Money Saving Tip #1 [1] [2]
- harmless? bananas!: Does The Net Encourage Good Reading?
- the(new)mediaslut: VIP Magazine’s rumoured Playboy connections stalls MDA approval
- AngryAngMo: The Best Insider Tips For Zoukout 2008 - Singapores Biggest Beach Party [Thanks Florian]
- HWZ: Checking out new JB checkpoint

Now Showing
- thegreatsze: Twilight - Leaving Them Thirsty For More

It’s Football, not Soccer
- Endoh’s Dungeon: Myanmar- The Asean Football Terror
- My Game of Life: 5 stars performance*****

Infoblogaramous
- Princess Sabrina: vPOST & Nuffnang wishes all a “Blogger Christmas Day!”
- TOC: YOU(th)SPEAK: Debate and Dialogue
- Sgcafe: Retro EOY ‘08 is here!