Blog Posts by Jeanette Tan

[UPDATE: 17 May, 8:50am: including Teo's response after WP's reaction]

Why won't Workers' Party chairman Sylvia Lim answer questions?

That was the reaction of Teo Ho Pin, coordinating chairman of the People's Action Party's Town Councils, Thursday evening after Lim issued a statement in the afternoon in response to questions raised by Teo.

"I asked serious questions about the financial probity of the Aljunied-Hougang Town Council, which Ms Sylvia Lim chairs," said Teo in a statement to media. "Ms Lim has not answered a single question I asked."

"Why is Ms Lim reluctant to answer questions? What is she afraid of?" he asked.

Worker's Party Chairman Sylvia Lim has challenged Dr Teo Ho Pin to make a report to the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) if he believes that the WP had mismanaged the Town Council.

In a press release in terse response to PAP Town Council chairman Dr Teo's reference on Thursday to "troubling facts" in the "questionably close relationship" that the WP has withRead More »from Teo Ho Pin presses WP's Sylvia Lim for answers

As millions of Malaysia’s citizens go to the polls on Sunday, one might see parallels between Malaysia’s politically-awakened electorate and the increasingly-disgruntled population of its immediate neighbour, Singapore.

Yet, analysts are divided on how inspired the people of the “little red dot” might be in the wake of what could be the formation of an opposition-led government in Malaysia.

“I think there is an impact (on Singaporeans), although we should be careful not to overplay the links,” said Joseph Liow, professor of comparative and international policies at Nanyang Technological University’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. “It’s more complicated than that — the issues are different to some extent, but of course there are similarities as well, the circumstances on the ground differ, as do opportunities for mobilisation.”

To him, it’s not just about how quickly Singaporeans will keep up with Malaysians in terms of acts of civil nationalism (as seen in Malaysia’s

Read More »from What effect will Malaysia’s vote on Sunday have on Singapore?

Meet six-year-old Maeve Low, who with the help of her parents fought and survived cancer.

When Maeve was three, she suffered from persistent stomach aches shortly after the birth of her younger sister Paige.

Her Singaporean parents, economics teacher Bernard Low and former drama teacher Joanne Poon, initially suspected they might be attention-seeking but realised something was wrong when she refused even chocolate, her favourite food.

After consulting with Maeve's pediatrician and a stomach specialist at the National University Hospital, Maeve's parents made a horrifying discovery: her intestines had telescoped (overlapped) into one another and she needed to undergo a painful air enema process to pull them apart.

Two harrowing and failed attempts later, Maeve went into surgery -- where the team eventually discovered a cancerous tumour and diagnosed her with Stage 2 Burkitt's Lymphoma, a particularly aggressive form of cancer that impacts the digestive system.

Maeve then went through four

Read More »from Six-year-old S'pore cancer survivor shares her story

The Ministry of Manpower on Saturday refuted recent claims made by former SMRT bus driver He Jun Ling, calling them “unfounded, irresponsible and contrary to public interest”.

In a recent wide-ranging interview with Yahoo! Singapore published earlier this month, He -- one of the leaders of last November's mass strike involving 170 SMRT bus drivers  -- made several claims about the events that unfolded in the years and months leading up to and including the day of the strike.
 
These included his view that even before he arrived in Singapore to work, his ex-colleagues from China had surfaced their grievances -- complaints about living conditions in their dormitory and lower wages compared to other foreign bus driver nationals -- to ministry representatives, but yet they were not adequately addressed.
 
Responding to this, the ministry said in a statement that it had told the drivers who approached them in 2010 that it would only be able to deal with statutory issues — those that clearly

Read More »from Ex-SMRT bus driver's claims ‘unfounded’, ‘untrue’: MOM

Under our "Inspiring People" column, we highlight the incredible journey of one person who has overcome tremendous odds to achieve personal success. This column celebrates the triumph of the human spirit and we hope it will inspire you to reach for your dreams, too. This month, we bring you a young mother who spun a world and a story to motivate her three-year-old daughter to conquer cancer.

It’s never easy watching a loved one suffer.

It’s even tougher when it’s a parent watching her young one in pain — yet, that is precisely what 38-year-old Singaporean Joanne Poon went through with her now-six-year-old daughter Maeve.

Despite this, the homemaker and former drama teacher found the strength to inspire her daughter in her own unique way, by writing a storybook and creating a fantasy world that would help alleviate her daughter’s agony and motivate her to fight back against cancer.

Little did she know that her story would later become a published book, translated into at least seven

Read More »from Brave Maeve: S’pore couple’s amazing story of love for daughter travels the world

In a recent hour-long phone interview with Yahoo! Singapore, former SMRT bus driver He Jun Ling opens up to JEANETTE TAN and PEACE CHIU to share why and how more than 170 bus drivers ended up going on a two-day strike against their employer on the morning of 26 November 2012. You can read Part One here. In this second part of the series, he shares his views on xenophobia and integration of foreign workers in Singapore.

When former SMRT bus driver He Jun Ling stepped off the bus at his home in Henan for the first time in almost two years, the first people he met and hugged were his wife and five-year-old daughter.

“The first thing my daughter said to me was, ‘What took you so long to come home?’,” He told Yahoo! Singapore in a recent phone interview from Henan.

“I asked her whether she was happy to see me and she said yes, very happy. I explained that the bus was slow, and to that, she said, ‘The bus must have moved at snail’s pace!’”

The 33-year-old had more emotional words for his wife,

Read More »from Ex-SMRT China bus driver on working in S'pore: It's like we were lesser people

The Commissioner of Charities (COC) on Tuesday announced its intention to remove eight City Harvest Church leaders from their positions in the organisation, two months ahead of the lapse of their suspension periods.

The eight include senior pastor and church founder Kong Hee and pastor Tan Ye Peng, who also serves as vice-chairman of the church board, as well as its chairman Lam Leng Hung.

Also named are executive members Kelvin Teo Meng How, Tan Shao Yuen Sharon, Chew Eng Han, Tan Su Pheng Jacqueline and Serina Wee Gek Yin.

Kong’s pop-star wife, Ho Yeow Sun, who is also co-founder of the church, was also suspended from her membership last year, but a statement from the COC said there is insufficient evidence to prove her co-responsibility for the scandal, and so it will not be commencing removal proceedings against her.

Suspensions for all except Wee commenced last year on 26 June, while Wee’s suspension will lapse on 23 July this year. The COC said it is considering the removal of the

Read More »from Commissioner of Charities acts to remove City Harvest leaders

[UPDATE: 15 April, 627pm: Law professor Tey Tsun Hang says his relationship with former student Darinne Ko had nothing to do with exploitation or grades, but everything to do with an "intense" courtship, reported local media.

"The entire relationship, how it started, became intense and how it ended had never anything to do with money or with any notion of exploitation, abuse or any wishful notion of taking advantage of anybody, let alone this idea of corrupt relationship," Tey said in the latest twist to the case.]

Hearings for National University of Singapore (NUS) law professor Tey Tsun Hang’s main sex-for-grades corruption case resumed Tuesday, after the judge ruled in the morning that six statements initially called into question be admitted as evidence.

Last week, Tey’s case for the voir dire — a trial within a trial — was that six of the statements he made and signed under the gaze of investigating officers from the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) between 5 April

Read More »from Relationship was not about grades or exploitation: NUS law professor