Singapore News Alternative: events

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Khaw Boon Wan slams Singaporean youths for "anti-immigration" stance in an oversea forum

Hardwarezone Forum, 15 Jun 2013
Noting that the 21st century has seen much change, Mr Khaw said many feel “unsettled”, “anxious” and even “suspicious”. “Some of our youths are losing optimism, as they remain unemployed or under-employed for months or years. Some of our people have taken on an anti-immigration stance as they blame foreigners for their all their problems. If this leads to an anti-globalisation mood, the world will be poorer for it,” he said. Full story

Estimated Crowd of 4000 People Gather At Hong Lim Park To Protest Against Population White Paper - report

Yahoo! News Singapore, 16 Feb 2013

An estimated crowd of 4,000 people gathered at the Speakers' Corner at Hong Lim Park on Saturday afternoon to protest against Population White Paper which was endorsed by Parliament last week.
Organised by transitioning.org, the protest saw people of all age ranges and races turn up in the light drizzle, with umbrellas and some with placards.
A list of 12 speakers made up of activists and well as current and past opposition members were lined up to speak at the event. Full story

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Snapshots: Thousands of Singaporeans braved the rain to turn up at Hong Lim Park to protest against PAP Govt's Population White Paper

Hardwarezone Forum, 16 Feb 2013

OPINION: Protest, voter anger put political risk in Singapore's future - John O'Callaghan

Reuters UK, 15 Feb 2013

SINGAPORE, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Gilbert Goh is an unlikely radical.
But as anger swells over living costs and immigration in Singapore, one of Asia's richest and most expensive countries, the bespectacled 51-year-old unemployment counsellor is moving beyond the fringe of political activism to the centre of a rancorous debate over the nation's future.
In a country where nearly all media are state-linked and open dissent can easily fall foul of the long-ruling government, Goh's call for a public protest on Saturday is striking a nerve.
It is also raising the once-absurd prospect of political risk in one of the world's biggest financial and trading centres that has been built on a reputation of stability. Full story

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Singapore gathering honours rape victim

The Hindu, 28 Jan 2013
The approximately 350-strong group that gathered at Singapore’s Hong Lim Park on Sunday evening was a multiracial, diverse one with similar thoughts. Each one had come with the same intent — to perpetuate the memory of the gang rape victim who succumbed to her brutal injuries at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, Singapore almost a month earlier — and to set in place a chain of change. Full story

Candlelight vigil to be held in Singapore in memory of Nirbhaya

The Times Of India, 25 Jan 2013
A group of NRIs and Singaporeans is holding a candlelight vigil on Sunday, 27 January 2013, from 5pm to 7pm at Hong Lim Park in memory of Amanat (Nirbhaya to TOI and a majority of its readers), the Delhi gang-rape victim, who died in Singapore almost a month ago on 29 December.
The meeting is non-institutional and is being organised by an informal group that wanted to light a candle for a better tomorrow. "We believe that shared remembrance and group participation itself is a positive statement as opposed to just doing nothing at all," the group said in an email statement. Full story

Battery exploded emitting fume inside MRT, passengers evacuated - report

Hardwarezone Forum, 21 Jan 2013
"some dude was carrying a backpack when some smoke was seen emitted from it and he knew about it also... then the gentleman took the fire extinguisher out from the sides and sprayed on it and it did stop the flumes or sorta....
He apologised and mentioned " sorry...my battery....
however not long later, more smoke was seen coming out and later the backpack was into flames..in the train. Of course during the ride,emergency stop was pressed,ppl seen stomping,taking pics,looking afraid...."

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Polytechnic students do not see eye-to-eye with Lawrence Wong at Singapore Conversation session

The Malaysian Insider, 21 Dec 2012
SINGAPORE, Dec 21 – A more gracious and inclusive society with a slower pace of life, where Singaporeans are happier than they are today and not caught up in the rat race.
This is the Singapore that 185 students from four polytechnics here hope to see in 2030.
In particular, the students hoped for a “stress-free” society, less competition at the workplace and a four-day work week - wishes that are at odds with the increasingly competitive global environment that Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Lawrence Wong tried to paint to them.
The participants’ views prompted Wong to explain at length the increasingly competitive global environment that Singapore will find itself in.
Nevertheless, speaking to TODAY afterwards, Wong said he was not worried and he could understand why the youths felt that way.
“They grew up in a certainly more stressful environment, a more competitive environment, and so I think it’s natural that there is that desire for them to want a better work-life balance, to have a better quality of life,” Wong said. Full story

OPINION: Is this Singapore’s national costume? - Gail Chai

Yahoo! Entertainment Singapore, 16 Dec 2012

The Miss Universe National Costume Show kicked off in Las Vegas, Nevada on Friday night U.S. time. Almost all of the world's 89 most gorgeous women — Singapore's Lynn Tann included — showed off their costumes, with most representing their respective country's culture. Miss Sweden did not participate. Full story

Singapore government had declined invitation to speak at Yale forum

Huffington Post, 6 Dec 2012
Under the country's Lee's son Lee Hsien Loong, the country is still deep into an energetic, fine-spun suppression of democracy. And world history lately hasn't exactly been smoothing Zakaria's much-heralded neo-liberal paths to democratic reform.
Against this dark background, two brave framers of democracy in Singapore -- Chee Soon Yuan, secretary-general of the Singapore Democratic Party, and Kenneth Jeyaretnam, secretary-general of the Reform Party -- created a sensation last week, thrilling many who'd been smothering under Yale's institutional happy talk about Singapore and inciting denial and consternation among the regime's and the Yale administration's operatives.
The panel organizers had also invited three representatives of the Singapore government, including its recent ambassador to the U.S., Chan Heng Chee. But, perhaps wary of according opposition leaders any recognition beyond what the government has given them in smearing and prosecuting them, the officials declined.
These officials' absence only reinforced Weiss' description of their modus operandi and prompted the organizers to change its title from "Singapore: The Democratic Divide" to "Singapore Today: Opposition Perspectives." Full story

Activists in Hong Kong slam Singapore crackdown on China strikers

Yahoo! News Singapore, 5 Dec 2012

Activists expressed outrage Wednesday over Singapore's crackdown on Chinese bus drivers who staged the city-state's first industrial strike in 26 years to demand better pay and conditions.
The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development, which represents 47 non-governmental organisations from 16 Asian countries, urged the release of the jailed and remanded drivers and demanded that charges against them be dropped.
"We condemn the Singapore government's criminalisation of the exercise of fundamental rights by the bus drivers who went on strike," said the Bangkok-based group's executive director Yap Swee Seng.
"The swift and harsh actions overlook the bases of their complaints about wage discrepancies and poor housing." Full story

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Singapore’s AWARE launches campaign against sexual harassment

Bikyamasr.com, 25 Nov 2012
SINGAPORE: Singapore’s AWARE women’s group launched a new campaign against sexual harassment in the city-state as there has been an increase in reports of sexual violence towards women in recent months.
The campaign, titled “Don’t just suffer in silence or shrug your shoulders,” aims to develop an understanding for women that they do not have to sit back and allow harassers to get away. Full story

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Singapore organization calls for gender studies, sexual harassment law - Bikyamasr.com

Halloween Fans Join Zombie Walk in Singapore

Sky News, 29 Oct 2012
Over 100 people have dressed up in their best zombie costumes for Singapore's first ever zombie walk ahead of Halloween.
Residents started putting on elaborate make-up eight and a half hours before the event, each session lasting for about 30 minutes per participant.
Gillian Ang, 27, an analyst, had the idea of organising the singaporezombie.com zombie walk, where people imitate the undead, after seeing a similar event in America. Full story

Related:
First zombie walk in Singapore - Telegraph.co.uk

SDP's National Conversation Roundtable to feature civil society instead of opposition parties

Singapore Democrats, 25 Sep 2012
Bloggers and NGO representatives will replace opposition party representatives at the National Conversation Roundtable organised by the SDP.
The National Solidarity Party, Singapore People's Party and Singapore Democratic Alliance replied to say that they would not be sending representatives to speak on the panel.
The Reform Party said that it should be able to make the event but as of this report had not confirmed its participation. Workers' Party did not reply to the invitation. Full story

Singapore Cuts Formula 1 Costs in Extension Deal

BusinessWeek, 23 Sep 2012

Singapore said the Formula One event will cost less to host in the coming five years and draw more visitors after concluding negotiations just as the city- state’s fifth night race weekend began.

The country, the first to stage a night race for the Grand Prix, expects expenses to drop about 15 percent to 20 percent, according to the Ministry of Trade and Industry. The cost of the race is about S$150 million ($122 million), with the government co-funding 60 percent of the amount, said S. Iswaran, Singapore’s second trade minister, who’s responsible for developing the tourism industry. Full story

World champion Sebastian Vettel won Singapore Grand Prix

The Malaysian Insider, 23 Sep 2012
SINGAPORE, Sept 23 — World champion Sebastian Vettel won an incident-packed Singapore Grand Prix tonight to strengthen his chances of claiming a third successive Formula One title.
Vettel inherited the lead from McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton, who retired on the 23rd lap with gearbox failure, and withstood the challenge of Jenson Button through two safety car periods on the way to repeating his victory at the same circuit a year ago.
Championship leader Fernando Alonso took third spot at the floodlit Marina Bay street circuit in his Ferrari but his advantage over Vettel was reduced to 29 points with six rounds remaining. Full story

Singapore staged another wayang show - this time for Chinese communist party officials

Global Times, 23 Sep 2012
Zhou Yongkang (R, front), a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, inspects a populace club in a HDB (Housing Development Board) flat community in Toa Payoh as he visits Singaporean Housing Development Board in Singapore, September 22, 2012. Photo: Xinhua
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After months of denial, Singapore government finally felt it is timely to announce F1 extension for another five years

BBC Sports, 22 Sep 2012
Singapore will continue to host a grand prix until at least 2017 after striking a deal over a new contract.
Singapore senior minister for trade, industry and education S Iswaran said the race's costs would be reduced, partly through a "revised" fee
F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone said: "We're very happy with what we've got in Singapore.
"All of us without exception like being here and that made it difficult to negotiate. We eventually got there." Full story

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Next year's Singapore GP uncertain

Gulf Daily News, 22 Sep 2012
SINGAPORE: Next year's Singapore Grand Prix remains "subject to confirmation" reports said yesterday, as organisers head into high-stakes contract talks with Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone this weekend.
The glittering night race is set for its fifth edition tomorrow but the hosts are stalling on a five-year extension, after complaining the present deal is financially unappealing.
On a provisional Formula One calendar for 2013, Singapore is one of four races marked "subject to confirmation", along with New Jersey, Germany and South Korea, according to Autosport.com. Full story

VIDEO: Primary school children made to rehearse along busy Chinatown road for Mid-Autumn Festival. Is their safety less important than the performance for President?

TR Emeritus, 21 Sep 2012

The human barricade (comprising of concerned teachers and parents) can clearly be seen and there were no police on the scene directing traffic. The metal dividers were, according to other witnesses, make-shifts put up by the parents and teachers, which was taken from other locations in the vicinity. Full story

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