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He has a legitimate point of view that is shared among the staunchest supporters of the SDP, the late JB Jeyaretnam and currently K. Jeyaretnam and his Reform Party. It is a view shared by the hard left and the liberal blogosphere. All these people do NOT want moderate opposition to the PAP...

NSP member Ravi Philemon has provided an insight into the issue. Many cannot but be moved by what he has written. It will prick the conscience of many people. Understanding special children September 30, 2014 By Ravi Philemon Some years ago when I was teaching in a special needs...

Madam Regina Aun, 55, manager of Y Stars, said: "While they have the right of expression, it was an event for people with special needs. They could have shown a little more compassion." Scholar and author, Dr Derek da Cunha, wrote on facebook: "Some special needs kids took to the stage to...

The People’s Action Party and the Workers’ Party have been girding themselves for the next general election, likely to be held in 2015. The other political parties however do not seem to have done anything to make themselves electable. The PAP has introduced a number of initiatives to...

This is exactly the issue. I've always wondered how is it possible that some banks keep regularly posting record profits when economic conditions are anemic and interest rates are low which does not allow for much margins. It makes me wonder whether money in accounts left dormant for the past...

This case throws up many questions. How much offshore funds from people around S E Asia and beyond lies within S'pore's banking system and has remained unclaimed over several decades, perhaps even half-a-century? I suggest it would probably be substantial because S'pore has always played the...

S E Asia is important for carriers in short-haul routes (hence the proliferation of budget airlines) but has become increasingly marginalised in the long-haul business. Multiple factors are generating that latter dynamic. SIA can only thrive if it buys into airlines in either Northeast Asia or...

This seems more like political expediency and hypocrisy than any real change by SDP under CSJ. A case in point is the SDP's links to liberal parties internationally including the UK's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). After the May 2010 UK general election the LDP had a choice of going into...

My basic point is that there is/was not much difference between CSJ and JBJ. Both of them made major mistakes. The 1991 GE showed that a then moderate SDP under CST could win 3 seats. However, both CSJ and JBJ chose to interpret those results differently -- i.e., that it is simply one-way...

Under JBJ, WP never held 2 fully-elected seats at any one time. Only for a short spell JBJ and LTK were in Parliament at the same time. At that time, JBJ was an NCMP and LTK was an MP. But an NCMP is not fully elected. That was JBJ's record for 30 years as sec-gen of WP. But no-one...

Maybe you are right, although I'd be a somewhat surprised if Glenda Han was not interested in contesting the next GE, as I think she would be given consideration to re-contest East Coast, which is the GRC at the top of the WP target list. Having contested GEs twice before she would likely be...

Yes, people remember SDP but, regrettably, for the wrong reasons. They are the "wrong reasons" in the view of the middle ground voters who still decide elections.

Although there is much truth to this, ultimately I do not think it matters much as the other parties stand virtually NIL chance of getting into Parliament. The only exception is the NSP: this is because of the obvious geographical overlap in seats both WP and NSP might wish to contest. In this...

You highlight a particular issue. Some of these small parties are only "political parties" in terms of having met the minimum statutory requirement of registering as such with the ROS. As such I would use the terms "political parties" quite loosely when referring to a few of this very small...

I think we have to credit S'poreans with some measure of intelligence. Many people have been bemused by the way TJS has made many statements, some of which are in direct contradiction to earlier statements he made. Thus, as an SDP candidate in GE2011 he said that he did not join WP because he...

My guess of this remains as what I've said before: 1. This is simply a vehicle to allow TJS to get into Parliament. 2. But he stands no chance in a GRC. 3. Even in an SMC it will be difficult for him though his chances improve somewhat. 4. The new party will allow it to sit in the...

Mustafa's business model works very well for the area it is in. As long as that area - Little India/Serangoon Rd - remains as is, then Mustafa will continue to thrive, particularly since it pays no rental but might collect rental from others. Mustafa is in effect a one-trick pony where its...

All the online references suggest otherwise, including this one: "Halfway through the 1980’s, Mustafa’s moved to a larger rented space in Serangoon Plaza after the government said that the current building was to be conserved. After the rent at this location shot up by 70 percent, Mustaq made...

One of the keys to his success is actually owning, instead of renting, the mall he operates from. So many other retailers, which might have a great concept, go to the wall because of the crushing weight of high rents. His store will be able to ride down any severe economic downturn and come...

It is not my expectation that there will be another contested presidential election. Past experience does not automatically mean any relevance to the future. The next PE does not take place till Aug 2017; as such, there is ample time to make a constitutional amendment and raise the bar for...