Lee Kuan Yew, a companion to the Tamils!

COMMENT Lee Kuan Yew. He is THE man who curbed ethnic chauvinism to bring about racial and religious equality in Singapore.

He was a friend of Tamils in Sri Lanka. When C N Annadurai, a former chief minister of Tamilnadu who is widely known as Arignar Anna, visited Singapore in 1965, Lee apparently enjoyed the speech by him.

Lee had no qualms about criticising the Sinhalese domination of Tamils and said, on more than one occasion, that whatever the military might of the dominant race, the thirst of the Tamils for freedom and dignity from oppression cannot be stalled.

He went on to call upon the Sri Lankan Sinhalese community and leaders to respect the rights and contributions of Tamils in Sri Lanka.

When there was a necessity, Lee did not mince his words. He openly criticised the leadership of Mahinda Rajapakse for masterminding the massacre of Tamils in north of Sri Lanka in May 2009.

Lee said, on many occasions, that the Sinhalese leadership must embrace the path of moderation to resolve the problems of the Tamils. He remarked that continued oppression by the majority would not extinguish the move towards secession!

Southern Indian Ocean theory on MH370 ‘fabricated’

KUALA LUMPUR: Military aviation technology expert, Andre Milne, has written to the Australian government to debunk its theory that missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 is lying in the southern Indian Ocean.

In a letter exclusively obtained by IBTimes UK addressed to Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop and Defence Minister David Johnston, Milne alleged the country’s claims that MH370 crashed into the Southern Indian Ocean were false and amounted to a “criminal act of fabrication of evidence”.

He outlined five highly technical facts, all based on a lack of corroborative evidence, that he alleged puts in doubt the current theory that the plane was in the Southern Indian Ocean.

In conclusion, his letter stated: “Failure to refute and disqualify my submission validates my allegation that your claim MH370 exited Malaysian airspace to crash in the Indian Ocean is not only an Artificial Incursion Theory but a criminal act of fabrication of evidence.”

Milne, on behalf of the victims’ families, is calling for additional answers by the Australian government to help fill in the gaps and prove its “seventh arc” theory that the Boeing 777, which had 239 passengers on board, is located in the Indian Ocean. He states the theory lacks “corroborative evidence”.

As Lee Kuan Yew era ends, S'pore braces for change

If Lee Kuan Yew represented the Singapore of yesteryear, his death this week raises the question of whether the generation of leaders in waiting will reshape the mould that transformed the city-state from a colonial backwater to a haven of prosperity.

While Lee had long retired from active leadership, his son, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, is still the standard-bearer of a free-market model that relied on efficiency, low taxes, zero
tolerance for corruption and a distaste for the welfare state.

Like his father, he has continued to curb free speech and use defamation laws to muzzle critics and political opponents.

But Lee (right) has said he will hand over power by 2020 and speculation over his successor has swelled since he was treated for prostate cancer last month. That, along with a decline in the popularity of the long-dominant People's Action Party (PAP), has brought an unfamiliar whiff of uncertainty to Singapore.

Years of galloping growth have led to income inequality, resentment over immigration, overcrowded trains and expensive housing, issues that knocked the PAP’s share of the vote down to 60 percent from 67 percent in elections four years ago.

Since then, the PAP has faced calls to abandon what one senior party member dubbed a policy of “growth at all costs”.

“Some of our young were starting to doubt about their future in Singapore as they saw housing and cars beyond their reach because of the rapid rise in prices,” said Inderjit Singh, a sitting member of parliament for nearly 20 years.

The party must address these and other challenges, he said. “Failing to do so will see an erosion of support.”

BAM legal team ready for Chong Wei’s hearing

NEW DELHI: The defence team of Lee Chong Wei will be relying on the argument that the Malaysian national shuttler unknowingly took the banned substance dexamethasone at the hearing of the doping case on April 11 in Amsterdam.

Malaysian counsel B. Jadadish Chandra said lead counsel Mike Morgan, a specialist on sports law based in London hired by the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM), and his legal team were also ready to put forward the argument that dexamethasone was not a performance-enhancing drug.

He said the drug was used to relieve muscle pain and that during his 12-year professional career, Chong Wei had his blood screened 124 times.

“We are also going to put forward the argument that Chong Wei is at the tail-end of his professional career and no way would he want to mar his reputation by taking the banned substance,” Jadadish Chandra told Bernama in an interview here.

Jadadish Chandra, who is also a BAM council member, is the team manager for the Malaysian shuttlers taking part in the Indian Open starting today in the capital city here.

The lawyer said he would accompany Chong Wei, along with BAM general manager Kenny Goh and another BAM official, and would stop over in London for few days before the hearing to finalise their submissions and strategies with the law firm.

London-based lawyer Morgan had represented Manchester City footballer Yaya Toure and few other sport personalities from the United States in doping hearings.

Jadadish Chandra revealed that the legal team would use the views of experts and the other medical reports of Chong Wei to support their arguments in Amsterdam.

Asked for the team’s strategy, he said he was not at liberty to disclose the details.

“Let the panel hear us first rather than we disclose (details) to the press,” he said.

Chong Wei, who is currently serving a suspension for a doping violation at the World Championships in Copenhagen last August, faces a ban of up to two years if found guilty.

Effective January 1 this year, the Badminton World Federation (BWF) had amended its doping regulation to provide for the imposition of a four-year suspension on those confirmed to have taken banned drugs.

Jadadish Chandra pointed out that if the three-member panel found him guilty and imposed the maximum (two-year) penalty, it will effectively end Chong Wei’s career as he had already announced he would retire after the Rio Olympics in July next year.

He said the panel would deliver its decision on the same day or two to three days after the hearing.

He also said April 11 would not likely see the end of the proceedings as either party (the BAM or BWF) could appeal against the decision of the panel to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Zurich.

“We are seeking an order to lift the ban for his (Chong Wei’s) immediate return to international tournaments,” said Jadadish Chandra, who confirmed that Chong Wei had been training as usual under the supervision of his coach Tey Seu Bock.

Source – BERNAMA

My encounter with a legend - Lee Kuan Yew

COMMENT With sadness I write to express my deepest condolence to the family members of Lee Kuan Yew, the first prime minister of Singapore, who died in the wee hours of Monday morning, March 23, 2015.

At the time of his death, Lee was 91. His political life spanned a few decades, and he steered through, with purpose and vision in mind, a period of political and ideological turbulence.

He was admired by his friends, including world leaders, but at the same time his enemies condemned him for his ruthless ways.

Lee never wavered from his commitment and took on his enemies head-on. He built up Singapore into what it is today. He transformed Singapore from a mere Third World trading post into a glittering metropolis that attracted the attention of international business and commerce.

I had the opportunity to meet Lee when he visited Malaysia about two decades ago. I found him to be sharp, his questions often very probing in nature and quite argumentative. He was never  satisfied with  simple answers.

I met him the second time when I was a senior visiting fellow at the Institute of South-East Asian studies (Iseas) in Singapore. During a function he called me to discuss a few things about Malaysia.

Gallery Of Lee Kuan Yew

English as lingua franca gives Singapore a fighting chance

SINGAPORE, March 23 — Few might have realised the significance at that time, but in making English Singapore’s lingua franca, a decision he made within only a few weeks of separation from Malaysia in 1965, Lee Kuan Yew gave the Republic a fighting chance of overcoming the formidable crises post-Independence.

Adopting the international language of business, diplomacy, and science and technology was about the only way this resource-less tiny island could guarantee its survival after losing its economic hinterland in Malaysia. Unemployment was at 14 per cent and rising.


Lee captured the move’s criticality in his memoirs: “Without it, we would not have many of the world’s multinationals and over 200 of the world’s top banks in Singapore. Nor would our people have taken so readily to computers and the Internet.”

Just as importantly, picking this race-neutral language demonstrated his government’s anti-communalistic stance, helping to keep the peace in a newborn nation made up of a polyglot-settler populace who had struggled for years with racial and religious strife.

Lee Kuan Yew dies at 91

Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore's first prime minister and architect of the tiny city-state's rapid rise from British military outpost to global trade and financial centre, died on Monday aged 91.

Although Lee had receded from public and political life over the past few years, he was still seen as an influential figure in the government of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, his oldest
son.

"The prime minister is deeply grieved to announce the passing of Mr Lee Kuan Yew, the founding prime minister of Singapore," the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement.

It said he had died at 3:18am at Singapore General Hospital, where he had been admitted on Feb 5 suffering from pneumonia.

Thousands of people had been leaving flowers and cards at the hospital over the past three days, praying for his recovery.

"Thank you for giving us, Singaporeans, a great nation to live in, a country that I can be proud of, a country where I can go out a midnight and not be afraid," one Singaporean, Nurhidayah Osman, wrote on the prime minister's Facebook page in reaction to Lee's death.

"Harry" Lee became Singapore's first prime minister in 1959 and held onto power for over three decades, overseeing the island's transformation from a port city battling crime and poverty into one of Asia's most prosperous nations.

Even after stepping down as leader in 1990 - signing off as the world's then longest-serving prime minister - the acerbic Lee stayed on in the cabinet until 2011. He was a member of parliament until his death.

Singapore’s first PM Lee Kuan Yew dies aged 91

SINGAPORE: Singapore’s first prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, one of the towering figures of post-colonial Asian politics, died Monday after a long illness, plunging the city-state he steered to prosperity into mourning.

Lee’s son, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, said in a statement that he was “deeply grieved” to announce the passing of his 91-year-old father at the Singapore General Hospital.

He declared a seven-day period of national mourning before the late leader is cremated on March 29.

Lee’s remains will first be taken to the Istana state complex for a two-day private family wake before lying in state at Parliament House for five days for the public to pay their respects.

US President Barack Obama led world leaders in hailing Lee, an autocratic politician who dominated Singapore politics for half a century.

“He was a true giant of history who will be remembered for generations to come as the father of modern Singapore and as one of the great strategists of Asian affairs,” Obama said in a statement.

“Lee Kuan Yew was a legendary figure in Asia, widely respected for his strong leadership and statesmanship,” a spokesman for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said.

Lee, whose health rapidly deteriorated after his wife died in 2010, was in hospital for nearly seven weeks with severe pneumonia.

Two years before he died, Lee revealed that he had signed a medical directive instructing doctors not to use any life-sustaining treatment if he could not be resuscitated.

He served as prime minister from 1959, when colonial ruler Britain granted Singapore self-rule, to 1990, leading Singapore to independence in 1965 after a brief and stormy union with Malaysia.

In 1959, Dwight Eisenhower was the US president, and when Lee stepped down, the first George Bush was in the White House.

Eugene Tan, associate professor of law at the Singapore Management University, said that Lee’s death “certainly marks the end of an era”, adding that “it raises the question of how Singapore is going to go from here”.

The widely revered Singapore patriarch’s passing is also likely to cast a pall over preparations for the city-state’s 50th anniversary of independence on August 9.

Disproportionate international profile

On Lee’s watch, Singapore became a sea trade, air transport and financial hub as well as a high-tech industrial centre, prospering despite its compact size and lack of basic natural resources.

“I have to say his success is in taking advantage of Singapore’s natural assets, by which I particularly mean using its geography at the end of the Malay peninsula and on the end of the Malacca Strait,” said Michael Barr, an associate professor of international relations at Flinders University in Australia who wrote a book on Lee’s career.

On the diplomatic front, Lee’s counsel was often sought by Western leaders, particularly on China — which Lee identified early as a driver of world economic growth — as well as more volatile neighbours in Southeast Asia.

Singapore-based political analyst Derek da Cunha told AFP that “Lee Kuan Yew gave Singapore an international profile completely disproportionate to the country’s size.”

But the British-trained lawyer was also criticised for jailing political opponents and driving his critics to self-imposed exile or financial ruin as a result of costly libel suits.

Singapore strictly controls freedom of speech and assembly and, while it has become more liberal in recent years, still uses corporal punishment for crimes considered relatively minor elsewhere, such as spraying graffiti.

Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director of Human Rights Watch, acknowledged Lee’s economic legacy but said “it also came at a significant cost for human rights”, adding that younger Singaporeans are asking when greater political liberalisation can take place.

“Now that Lee Kuan Yew has passed from the scene, perhaps that long overdue conversation can finally proceed.”

‘I am satisfied’

Lee stepped down in 1990 in favour of his deputy Goh Chok Tong, who in turn handed the reins to the former leader’s eldest child Lee Hsien Loong in 2004.

The People’s Action Party (PAP), which was co-founded by the elder Lee, has won every election since 1959 and currently holds 80 of the 87 seats in parliament.

Lee retired from advisory roles in government in 2011 after the PAP suffered its worst poll result since it came to power, getting only 60 percent of votes cast amid public anger over a large influx of immigrants, the rising cost of living, urban congestion and insufficient supply of public housing.

He rapidly began to look feeble after his wife of 63 years, Kwa Geok Choo, died in 2010, and has rarely appeared in public in the last two years.

In his last book “One Man’s View of the World”, published in 2013, Lee looked back at his remarkable career and concluded: “I am not given to making sense out of life – or coming up with some grand narrative on it — other than to measure it by what you think you want to do in life.”

“As for me, I have done what I had wanted to, to the best of my ability. I am satisfied.”

Source- AFP

The sad plight of the Indian community

It is safe to say that the Indian community in the country is at its worst position ever. 

From having to deal with the never ending turmoil in the political party which is supposed to represent it, to having fellow men chopping up each other, Indians have definitely seen better times.

Here's more bad news.

Recent statistics show that legal foreign workers outnumber the local ethnic Indian community.

That's right. There are 2.07 million documented foreign workers in the country, as opposed to only 1.98 million ethnic Indian population in the country, as of end of last year.

Some of these foreigners may even have permanent resident status or MyKads, while we still have a sizeable number of Indians still living with red identification cards (non-citizens).

There have been reports of elderly Indians living their whole lives, and dying with red ICs, despite having born and bred here.

Back to the numbers, bear in mind that this 2 plus million are only foreigners with papers, meaning those whose existence are known and documented by the government.

It is a given that there are a million, if not more, undocumented/illegals in the country, whose population can probably outnumber the Indian and Chinese population in the country. 

As a fellow Indian, I don't really know how to react to this news. Sad, yes, but for what? 

A group in the existing Indian population makes it a point to "cleanse" the community further, by chopping up each other on a frequent basis.

I remember when Hindraf cried that the Malaysian government was carrying out ethnic cleansing by gunning down and beating up Indian detainees in police lock-ups. 

Guess what? We don't need the police to do it. Our "machas" are very particular about weeding out their rivals when it comes to conducting their criminal activities.

Give them two bottles of alcohol and show a little bit money, they will even chop up their own kin.

Decades have gone since our independence, and the fate of the Indians have not changed much. 

Sure, there are those who have made it, but there's a sizeable number out there who resort to crime, and a corresponding number behind bars, for having done crime.

Who is to blame?

Is it, as MIC boss Datuk Seri G. Palanivel "allegedly" said "bloody Indians" --- who don't take it upon themselves to advance in life, and depend on the government to spoon feed them? 

Is it politicians and their parties who fail in championing the cause of the community they are supposed to represent?

The Indians after all are the minority, with the most number of political parties. 

Not surprisingly, none of the parties are doing their job right.

Or is it the government for "marginalising" a certain ethnicity?

Whatever the case is, perhaps it is time for the government to change facts in Geography books and official records to state that "warga asing" (foreigners) are the third largest population in the country, after the Bumiputera and the Chinese.

Indians can be lumped together with the "Lain-lain" (Others). 

And my Chinese friends, beware of your impending fate before you laugh at the Indians' predicament.

This is because last month, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong, raised the alarm that the number of foreign workers in Malaysia could overtake the ethnic Chinese population (which stands at 6.6 million as of September 2013), if left uncontrolled.

It is no secret that the foreigners' situation in the country is anything but under control. 

Having said that, don't be surprised if come 2020, Malaysians will be subjected to a situation where we have to report to foreigners who would end up controlling businesses and industries here.

Source : http://www.theantdaily.com/Main/The-sad-plight-of-the-Indian-community

Air traffic supervisor was ‘sleeping’ on the job

SYDNEY: With many still mourning the tragic disappearance of 239 passengers and crew on board Malaysia Airlines (MAS) MH370 that went missing slightly over a year ago, it is doubly disheartening to hear now that the Malaysian traffic control supervisor on duty that day was asleep four hours after the flight disappeared.

Transcripts made available detailing conversations at 5.20am between civilian, military and airline personnel also showed the air controller on duty at Kuala Lumpur International Airport insisting he had only taken over tower operations at 3am and wasn’t sure if Malaysian air traffic control had successfully handed over responsibility for the Boeing 777 to Vietnamese air traffic control.

However when pressed for information, he said he would have to wake his supervisor up.

“Aaaa … never mind, laa. I wake up my supervisor and ask him to check again, to go to the room and check what the last contact … all this thing, laa,” the controller was heard saying in the recording, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

Commenting on the 580-page report released Sunday, Desmond Ross, an Australian commercial pilot and airline security expert, said the report raised more questions than answers, including why there was confusion between Kuala Lumpur air traffic control and its counterparts in Vietnam.

He said air traffic controllers in Ho Chi Minh took 20 minutes before asking why the plane had not entered its airspace when international protocols demand this should have been done within two minutes.

He also touched on the amount of time wasted by officials, pointing out that a distress phase was only triggered by Malaysian emergency services five hours and 13 minutes after the last communication from the plane, with the first search aircraft taking off only at 11.30am – a whole 10 hours after the plane disappeared.

There was also the issue of language, with transcripts clearly indicating that Vietnamese air traffic controllers struggled to understand what was being asked of them by Malaysian officials resulting in at least one emergency request left unanswered. International rules introduced in 2010 require that all pilots and air traffic controllers pass a test in English.

Ross also said the most glaring issue was that there was zero co-ordination between Malaysia’s military and KLIA’s air traffic controllers despite an unidentified aircraft having entered into their airspace.

“How did they not know it was not a threat to Malaysian security?” Ross asked, adding if the two parties had communicated as they should have, an interceptor aircraft could have been dispatched to trail MH370 to establish what was going on.

The report also highlighted that one of the batteries on the plane’s flight-data recorders had expired in December 2012, with no record available to show it had been replaced.

“From the top down, there should be an immediate review of the safety culture of Malaysia Airlines,” said Ross, who has worked as a security consultant at Kuala Lumpur airport.

The report on MH370 was the result of extensive research into the disappearance of MH370, conducted by a seven-country investigation team.

Source : http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2015/03/10/air-traffic-supervisor-was-sleeping-on-the-job/

One year on, MH370 theories abound

SYDNEY: Speculation about what happened to Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 ranges from sober, science-based arguments to outlandish conspiracy theories. Here are some of the most prominent:

Crashed in Southern Indian Ocean

Official investigators used analysis from British firm Inmarsat of “pings” to its satellite from MH370, combined with data direct from the plane before it stopped transmissions, to conclude the plane had flown south after it dropped off Malaysian military radar and crashed in the southern Indian Ocean.

The well-respected Independent Group (IG) has done its own analysis and believes the plane is probably near the current search zone, but not necessarily within it.

Just why MH370 ended up there is contested both within IG and others who support the official findings. Some plump for a hijack scenario, others point to technical or pilot error. A British captain, Simon Hardy, says the plane did a fly-by of the pilot’s home island of Penang before flying repeatedly in and out of Malaysia and Thailand to confuse air traffic controllers.

It was accidentally shot down

This theory was the thrust of the first book published on the incident, ‘Flight MH370 The Mystery’. London-based author Nigel Cawthorne said the plane may have been accidentally shot down during joint US-Thai military exercises in the South China Sea. Such accidents have happened before: Korean Air flight 007 was shot down by the Soviet Union in 1983, and the US Navy downed an Iranian airliner in 1988. Aviation experts are skeptical about a US and Thai cover-up, proponents argue the very nature of a “cover-up” is that it is hard to disprove.

BBC interview with rapist sparks controversy

NEW DELHI: A British journalist has come under fire in India for interviewing a convict who was involved in the horrific gang rape of a 23-year-old female student in 2012, sparking fresh debate over journalism ethics and the question of subjudice.

The BBC documentary featured convicted rapist Mukesh Singh, who has been sentenced to death, allegedly telling the news channel that women who go out at night have only themselves to blame if they attract the attention of gangs of male molesters.

Many Indians were angered when Mukesh Singh did not show any sign of remorse for his heinous crime and had said that women should not roam around freely.

Producer Leslee Udwin defended her documentary, saying that she followed all the conditions imposed by authorities and had obtained the necessary approvals from the Ministry of Home Affairs and prison authorities to interview Mukesh Singh.

Udwin said the documentary featured not only Mukesh Singh but also family members of the victim, including her mother who was devastated by the incident.

She was quoted by CNN-IBN news channel as saying that she herself was a rape victim and had wanted people to know what was actually going in the mind of Mukesh Singh when he committed the act.

Professional players should be allowed more freedom, says China’s Lin Dan

BIRMINGHAM, March 4 ― Lin Dan, widely regarded as the greatest men’s singles player in badminton history, marked his return to the All-England Open with an appeal for his fellow professionals to be given more freedom.

The Olympic champion from China said yesterday he wants professional players to be allowed more choice in where and when they play, something which might have been regarded as an anathema in his country only a short time ago.

“Athletes are a crucial part of the sport,” said Lin, who has reappeared at the world’s oldest event here in preparation for a bid to qualify for the Rio Olympics.

“We should lower the barriers to entry for professional players so they can sign up (for tournaments) themselves.

“That might help younger players come through as well as prolong older players’ careers,” added Lin.

The Chinese superstar believes the longevity of great players, such as Lee Chong Wei, the reigning All-England champion from Malaysia, and two other former world number ones, Peter Gade of Denmark, and Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia, may have delayed the onset of a new wave.

'Aussies may call off MH370 search soon'

MH370 The search for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 cannot go on forever, Australia's deputy prime minister said, and discussions are already under way between Australia, China and Malaysia as to whether to call off the hunt within weeks. 
 
No trace has been found of the Boeing 777 aircraft, which disappeared a year ago this week carrying 239 passengers and crew, in what has become one of the greatest mysteries in aviation history. 
 
MH370 vanished from radar screens shortly after taking off from Kuala Lumpur, bound for Beijing, early on March 8. Investigators believe it was flown thousands of kilometres off course before eventually crashing into the Indian Ocean. 
 
The search of a rugged 60,000 sq km patch of sea floor some 1,600km west of the Australian city of Perth, which experts believe is the plane's most likely resting place, will likely be finished by May. 
 
Australian Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss told Reuters that a decision would have to be taken well before then as to whether to continue into the vast 1.1 million sq km area around the primary search zone if nothing has been found. 
 
Discussions had already begun about what to do in that event, including the possibility that the search might be called off, said Truss, who is also transport minister. 
 
"For many of the families onboard, they won't have closure unless they have certain knowledge that the aircraft has been located and perhaps their loved ones' remains have been recovered," Truss said in an interview. 
 
"We clearly cannot keep searching forever, but we want to do everything that's reasonably possible to locate the aircraft." 
 
Truss compared the search, already the most expensive of its kind, with another great mystery from an earlier era, the hunt for missing aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart, who disappeared in 1937 during an early attempt to circumnavigate the globe.