OPINION; Singapore govt to create its own Great Firewall like China?

CNET Asia, 5 Feb 2013
At the "Singapore Perspectives 2013" conference held at Shangri-la Hotel on January 28, shortly after losing a by-election, Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said many things. Some of the things he said which interested me most, was not reported in the Straits Times, the biggest English newspaper here. Which was stupid, because everybody learns about the omissions from other online sources anyway, and it further erodes the credibility of a valuable propaganda tool for the government.
Replying to a question on why there is a need to moderate social space, he said, "We don't believe the community in the social space, especially online, moderates itself. It doesn't happen anywhere in the world." Full story

OPINION:Singapore’s midlife crisis — P.N. Balji

The Malsysian Insider, 23 Jan 2013
Nearly two years after the May 2011 watershed elections — when the ruling party’s popularity dipped to a historic low of 60.1 per cent and three office-holders were voted out — Singapore’s leaders have yet to come to grips with the angst sweeping the nation.
Two recent events show how the government is being blindsided. First, a blemish on the country’s proud 26-year record of having no strikes. Bus drivers from China refused to go to work; what made it worse was that their employer and the government never saw it coming.
Second, a seemingly innocuous statement by the Workers’ Party on why it did not perform well in an audit of town councils snowballed into issues of transparency, conflict of interest and the involvement of a company owned by the ruling People’s Action Party in business.
Then came the resignation of the speaker of Parliament because of an extramarital scandal. And the government’s crown-jewel achievement, stellar economic growth, is now under strain with the economy just escaping a technical recession. Full story

OPINION: Singapore should not use Delhi gang-rape case for a bout of nationwide fist pumping - Sudhir Thomas Vadaketh

Yahoo! News Singapore, 31 Dec 2012
Perhaps the most damning statistic is the fact that the rate of rape in Singapore is more than double than in India.
In 2009, Singapore had 202 reported cases; India had 21,397. For every 100,000 people, that translates into more than 4 rape cases in Singapore; but only 1.8 in India.
Perhaps there is less reporting of rape in India. But under-reporting is a problem in Singapore too. The CEDAW report highlighted “the persistence of domestic and sexual violence against women here—which it says remains under-reported”.
One big difference is that India seems to see more violent, random rapes in public areas, like Amanat’s. In Singapore, by contrast, familiar people, including friends and relatives, committed some 96.5% of the 202 rapes in 2009.[viii] Full story

OPINION: Singapore strike exposes labor tensions

The Washington Post
The influx of migrant workers from China and Bangladesh has caused friction as “heartlander” Singaporeans complain about crowded public transport and competition for housing.
Many Singaporeans have been sympathetic to the arrests, pointing out that the strike was illegal since it was held without sufficient advance notice, as required under Singapore law. They have also taken a dim view of the disruption it has caused to public services.
But mainland Chinese posting on social media jumped to the defense of their compatriots, highlighting the drivers’ key grievance that they were paid less than Malaysian drivers hired for the same jobs. “All Chinese nationals should come back [home], and let Singapore go bust!” wrote one netizen quoted in Singapore’s Straits Times. Full story

Related:
Strikes strike Singapore: The undertone of industrial relations — The Malaysian Insider