Why Irish soldiers who fought Hitler hide their medalsBy John Waite - BBC News 28 Dec 2011

Five thousand Irish soldiers who swapped uniforms to fight for the British against Hitler went on to suffer years of persecution.

One of them, 92-year-old Phil Farrington, took part in the D-Day landings and helped liberate the German death camp at Bergen-Belsen - but he wears his medals in secret.

Even to this day, he has nightmares that he will be arrested by the authorities and imprisoned for his wartime service.

"They would come and get me, yes they would," he said in a frail voice at his home in the docks area of Dublin.

And his 25-year-old grandson, Patrick, confirmed: "I see the fear in him even today, even after 65 years."

Mr Farrington's fears are not groundless.

He was one of about 5,000 Irish soldiers who deserted their own neutral army to join the war against fascism and who were brutally punished on their return home as a result.

They were formally dismissed from the Irish army, stripped of all pay and pension rights, and prevented from finding work by being banned for seven years from any employment paid for by state or government funds.

A special "list" was drawn up containing their names and addresses, and circulated to every government department, town hall and railway station - anywhere the men might look for a job.
It was referred to in the Irish parliament - the Dail - at the time as a "starvation order", and for many of their families the phrase became painfully close to the truth.

Treated as outcasts

Paddy Reid - whose father and uncle both fought the Japanese at the battle of Kohima Ridge - recalls a post-war childhood in Dublin spent "moving from one slum to another".

Maybe one slice of bread a day and that would be it - no proper clothing, no proper heating.

"My father was blacklisted and away all the time, picking turnips or whatever work he could get. It's still painful to remember. We were treated as outcasts."

John Stout, now 80, served with the Irish Guards armoured division which raced to Arnhem to capture a key bridge.

He also fought in the Battle of the Bulge, ending the war as a commando.

On his return home to Cork, however, he was treated as a pariah. "What they did to us was wrong. I know that in my heart. They cold-shouldered you. They didn't speak to you.

"They didn't understand why we did what we did. A lot of Irish people wanted Germany to win the war - they were dead up against the British."

It was only 20 years since Ireland had won its independence after many centuries of rule from London, and the Irish list of grievances against Britain was long - as Gerald Morgan, long-time professor of history at Trinity College, Dublin, explains.

"The uprisings, the civil war, all sorts of reneged promises - I'd estimate that 60% of the population expected or indeed hoped the Germans would win.

"To prevent civil unrest, Eamon de Valera had to do something. Hence the starvation order and the list."

Ireland adopted a policy of strict neutrality which may have been necessary politically or even popular, but a significant minority strongly backed Britain, including tens of thousands of Irish civilians who signed up to fight alongside the 5,000 Irish servicemen who switched uniforms.

Confidential list

Until I showed him the list - the size of a slim phone directory and marked "confidential" - John Stout had not realised his name was included.

But after the war it quickly became apparent that he could not get work and was not welcome in Ireland - so he returned to Britain.

"I feel very betrayed about how we were treated, it was wrong and even today they should say sorry for the problems we had to endure. We never even got to put our case or argue why it was unjust," said Mr Stout.

And the list itself is far from accurate, according to Robert Widders, who has written a book about the deserters' treatment called Spitting on a Soldier's Grave.
"It contains the names of men who were to be punished but who'd already been killed in action, but not the names of men who deserted the Irish army to spend their war years as burglars or thieves," he said.

In recent months, a number of Irish parliamentarians have begun pressing their government to issue a pardon to the few deserters who remain alive.

"What happened to them was vindictive and not only a stain on their honour but on the honour of Ireland," TD Gerald Nash said.

But for those nonagenarians who helped win the war but lost so much by doing so, time is of the essence, and it is running out fast.

Nepal Biogas

Nepal pipes biogas expertise abroadBy Navin Singh Khadka
Environment reporter, BBC News, Nepal

Having emerged as one of the pioneers in producing biogas from cow dung, the Himalayan nation of Nepal is now successfully transferring its technical expertise to other countries.

Several Nepalese experts have been travelling to countries in South East Asia and Africa to introduce the "clean", homegrown technology that helps reduce carbon emissions from fossil fuels and saves forests.

Biogas from cow dung is mainly used for cooking in rural areas and also for lighting houses.

Renowned for displacing choking smoky ovens with clean cooking stoves, the Nepalese model of biogas has won the prestigious Ashden award.

The Biogas Partnership Project Nepal, a collaboration between the government, donors and non-governmental organisations, has already installed plants for nearly 300,000 households across the country.

The project says it helps reduce 7.4 tonnes of greenhouse gases per household per year and protects 250,000 trees during the same period of time.

And the expertise gained over the years has benefited many communities in different developing and least developed countries including Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, among others in Asia and around 10 countries in Africa.

"Nepal was the pioneer in the development of this technology and now it has also been successful in sharing its technical expertise to many countries," says Rem Neefjes, the country director of SNV, the Netherlands government's development agency, a major donor in biogas projects in many countries.

"The success in Vietnam in particular has been outstanding; more than 100,000 biogas plants have been installed there."

Installations are growing in Indonesia too and the technology there has even been named "the Nepal model".

"They call it so because they know that it has been tested and proven in Nepal all these years," says Sundar Bajgain, a Nepali biogas expert now based in Jakarta to help Indonesians with the technical expertise.

In several African countries, Nepalese experts are not only helping the communities install biogas plants but are also conducting training in schools.

Theoneste Kaneruka was a simple mason in the northern province of Rwanda until three years ago.

"Then I heard about the biogas business, and after sessions of trainings and certification with the National biogas program, the SNV Rwanda team and the expert from Nepal, Prakash Ghimire, I started my own company.

"We now build 20 to 25 biogas plants in a month."

But transferring their expertise to foreign countries has not always been easy for Nepalese experts.

"It becomes more challenging when you are working in a country that is quite familiar with Nepal and its socio-political situation," says Mr Bajgain.

"In Bangladesh, for instance, it was a bit difficult in the beginning because many in that country know about the unstable political situation in Nepal and the setbacks in development works.

"So naturally it was hard for them to readily trust our capability, but in due course of time we proved that we were worth it."

Wim J van Nes, renewable energy network leader of SNV, is well aware of the differing local circumstances.

"It is important to stress that every country has its own context and the success of the programme is dependent on different technical, financial, organisational, institutional, political and socio-cultural factors," he said.

"Despite this, the BSP [of Nepal] was regarded as an inspirational example and many stakeholders from other countries made a visit to Nepal not only to witness biogas households but also to learn from key stakeholders how the sector had been developed."

One of BSP Nepal's biogas experts, Indira Shakya, says: "On one occasion, we had just arrived in Ethiopia and locals there were already complaining that the biogas plant they had installed was not working.

"They were asking how come the technology worked in a 'cold' country like Nepal while it was not working in their country that was so warm.

"So we went to the site to investigate and found that they had been using dry cow dung that cannot produce the gas. When we successfully demonstrated the technology with fresh dung, their faces lit up."

The technology is quite simple and natural: bacteria that comes with the dung from a cow's stomach break down the waste in an underground air-tight digester.

In the absence of oxygen, the mixing of cow dung with water leads to a reaction that produces a gas comprising up to 70% methane with the remainder being carbon dioxide.

The digested slurry flows to an outlet tank and ends up in the compost pit, while the gas is tapped from the top of the dome with a pipe that ends in the burner of the kitchen stove.

Until the last decade, the technology was largely confined to the rural areas of Nepal. Now it has travelled with Nepalese experts far and wide.

Teo Soh Lung on ISD (facebook)

Teo Soh Lung on Wednesday, October 26, 2011 at 11:23am
.
After more than 4 decades, we are informed by the Minister for Home Affairs, Mr Teo Chee Hean that more than 800 people were arrested in the 1970s. This number is not small and I dread to speculate the number arrested in the preceding decade. We are aware that more than 120 people were arrested on 2 February 1963 in Operation Cold Store. Almost the entire central committee of the Barisan Sosialis including Dr Lim Hock Siew and Dr Poh Soo Kai were detained. Inche Said Zahari and trade unionists, the Late Mr Ho Piao and Mr Jamit Singh were also not spared.

In October that year Operation Pecah followed and elected opposition members of parliament, Ms Loh Meow Gong and Messrs Lee Tee Tong and S T Bani were detained. In 1963 alone, the number imprisoned must have exceeded 200. It would not be wrong to say that the arrests of the leaders of the opposition and trade unions in 1963 ensured monopoly of power for the PAP till today. Almost every year after 1963, there were arrests. Arrests continues to this day. No evidence of weapons or bombs was ever been produced by the government. All we are told is that we have to trust the judgement of the government.

In arguing for the retention of the ISA, the minister reiterated the “nipped in the bud” theory expounded by his predecessors. He said: “…The ISA thus allows the government to act quickly to prevent a threat from developing into something very serious such as a bombing; or to stem an organised pattern of subversion which promotes civil disturbances and disorder…”

Every citizen who is arrested is deprived of his constitutional right to life or personal liberty, freedom of speech and expression, peaceful assembly and association which are guaranteed by Articles 9 and 14 of our Constitution. Families are often deprived of sole breadwinners. But perhaps the PAP have reasons for doing what they did. They know that periodic arrests instil fear amongst citizens. Fear ensures the survival of the PAP.

It is time we question the retention of the ISA, a law that permits the ministers or prime minister to imprison citizens for as long as they wish. We are told that ministers rely on the Internal Security Department which have made thorough investigation before ordering the detention of citizens or renewing their detention orders. Is this true? Dr Lim Hock Siew’s public statement issued through his legal adviser, the Late Mr T T Rajah and released by his wife, Dr Beatrice Chen on 18 March 1972 exposed this lie. I reproduce part of the statement [1] below:

“… A week after my transfer to the special branch headquarters, the same two high-ranking employees spelt out the conditions of my release. They demanded from me two things. They are as follows:

(1) That I make an oral statement of my past political activities, that is to say, `A security statement’. This was meant for the special branch records only and not meant for publication.

(2) That I must issue a public statement consisting of two points: (a) That I am prepared to give up politics and devote to medical practice thereafter. (b) That I must express support for the parliamentary democratic system.

I shall now recall and recapitulate the conversation that took place between me and the same two high-ranking special branch agents during my detention at the special branch headquarters.

Special Branch: You need not have to condemn the Barisan Sosialis or any person. We admit that it is unjust to detain you so long. Nine years is a long time in a person’s life; we are anxious to settle your case.

Dr Lim Hock Siew: My case will be settled immediately if I am released unconditionally. I was not asked at the time of my arrest whether I ought to be arrested. Release me unconditionally and my case is settled.

Special Branch: The key is in your hands. It is for you to open the door.

Dr Lim Hock Siew: To say that the key is in my hands is the inverted logic of gangsters in which white is black and black is white. The victim is painted as the culprit and the culprit is made to look innocent. Four Gurkha soldiers were brought to my house to arrest me. I did not ask or seek arrest or the prolonged detention for over nine years in prison without trial.


Special Branch: You must concede something so that Lee Kuan Yew would be in a position to explain to the public why you had been detained so long. Mr Lee Kuan Yew must also preserve his face. If you were to be released unconditionally, he will lose face.


Dr Lim Hock Siew: I am not interested in saving Lee Kuan Yew’s face. This is not a question of pride but one of principle. My detention is completely unjustifiable and I will not lift a single finger to help Lee Kuan Yew to justify the unjustifiable. In the light of what you say, is it not very clear that I have lost my freedom all these long and bitter years just to save Lee Kuan Yew’s face? Therefore the PAP regime’s allegation that I am a security risk is a sham cover and a façade to detain me unjustifiably for over nine years. “


Dr Lim was 31 years old when he was arrested on 2 February 1963. His son was then 5 months’ old. He and Dr Poh Soo Kai had two years earlier, set up a medical clinic, Rakyat Clinic along Balestier Road which provided and still provides medical care for the poor. Both were also founder members of Barisan Sosialis.

The PAP kept Dr Lim in jail for 20 years. They freed him unconditionally at the age of 51. He had missed the prime of his life and the growing up years of his son. The PAP had ensured for themselves that Dr Lim no longer posed a political threat to them. Only a person of courage and determination can survive such a long period of imprisonment. And only people who have lost their conscience can imprison Dr Lim for 2 decades without trial.



Mr Chng Min Oh @ Chuang Men-Hu

While many of the people detained in the 1960s were imprisoned for decades, I did not expect the PAP government to continue that practice in the 1970s. I was therefore shocked to meet Mr Chng Min Oh @ Chuang Men-Hu recently.


Mr Chng was a humble construction worker and painter when he was arrested under the ISA on 3 August 1970. He was involved in trade union activities. Leaving his wife who was then three months’ pregnant and two young children aged 4 and 6 that dawn must have been painful for him. He was offered freedom by banishment i.e. if he agreed to being banished to China. He refused the offer.

Mr Chng remained in prison while his wife took on several jobs to raise the young family. She became a construction worker and a hawker whenever she had time. While she worked, her parents helped in looking after the children. Life was terribly hard for the family. They did not even have money for medical treatment. But the ministers did not care and renewed his detention order 7 times. He was finally released after 13 years, on 7 August 1983. He had served a life sentence though he was never judged guilty of any crime in a court of law.


The hardship of separation in indefinite detention is captured vividly in the poem Tears by Said Zahari. Zahari was imprisoned for 17 years.


Tears[2]


I saw tears down your cheeks
sparkling like diamonds,
beautiful like shining stars
in a clear night sky.
I saw sorrow
dancing in tune with your sobs.
My heart beats faster, my lips tremble.

Then I saw courage,
confidence and determination,
peering from behind the sorrow.
How cruel, how inhumane!
So high, so huge
This partition between us.
For so long!

But in spirit we are one,
as always,
bound by unbreakable bonds
of love and longing for justice.
Neither this prison wall
nor a hundred years of incarceration
shall diminish my love.


Hari Raya card to Sal
20th November 1969


How can we believe Minister Teo Chee Hean when he said “The Government has used the ISA as a last resort when there is a significant threat, and other laws are not adequate to deal with the situation...” when so many citizens were imprisoned for decades without trial. How can the PAP ministers take away the fundamental liberties of its citizens in the name of national security so freely and so frequently when Singapore was and is not at war? Have they all lost their conscience?


[1] Poh Soo Kai, Tan Jing Quee and Koh Kay Yew Eds. The Fajar Generation The University Socialist Club and the Politics of Postwar Malaya and Singapore Strategic Information and Research Development Centre, Malaysia pp 150 – 151.


[2] Tan Jing Quee Teo Soh Lung Koh Kay Yew Eds Our Thoughts Are Free Poems and Prose on Imprisonment and Exile Ethos Books 2009 Singapore p 47

Race to Record Bukit Brown grave - ST27 Oct

Race to record Bukit Brown graves

Search for qualified people willing to help will be a challenge
Huang Lijie Straits Times 27 Oct 11;

THE task to document some 5,000 graves at Bukit Brown cemetery by next March is likely to be an uphill one.

While government funds will be made available, finding enough people qualified and willing to take on the project will be a challenge, said stakeholders such as culture and heritage associations.

The Government confirmed on Monday that it will proceed with plans to build a new road through the cemetery, which is filled with graves of pioneers. The road is needed to ease traffic in Lor-nie Road and to serve future housing projects.

Construction of the dual four-lane road will begin in the first quarter of 2013 and end by 2016. About 5 per cent of the more than 100,000 graves at the cemetery, which dates back to the 1890s, will be exhumed for the roadworks.

The Government said it is committed to properly recording the area's rich history. Dr Hui Yew-Foong, 39, an anthropologist at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, will be leading a working committee to do the job.

He estimates it will take 600 man days to record the affected graves.

If 10 people work full-time five days a week, the task will be completed in three months.

Formal recruitment of documentarians has not begun because the working committee is being formed. But Dr Hui said he has tapped on his personal network and that of friends to sound out potential candidates.

He said: 'We have between 10 and 15 people who have said they are willing, but mostly on a part-time basis.' He added that it may be hard to find 10 full-time workers because of the demands of the job and its short-term contract.

They will get training but must be able to read the simplified Chinese script or, better yet, the traditional Chinese one to decipher tombstone inscriptions.

They need to have an eye for details such as inscriptions of the name, birth place and genealogy of the deceased as well as tomb sculpture and fengshui markers. Those doing field work also need to be able to take photos to capture details of the graves, and be physically fit.

Dr Hui added: 'We are also limited to the semi-employed or unemployed because what we offer is a few months' work and those employed full-time may not give up their jobs to do this.'

However, Mr Raymond Goh, 47, regional director of a health-care firm and a passionate tomb explorer, said: 'If you pay them well, there will always be people who will come forward.'

The Urban Redevelopment Authority and Land Transport Authority said the Government will fund the documentation but declined to state the sum as details are being worked out.

The Straits Times understands that preliminary talks have placed the amount in the range of $250,000 and it will be used to buy equipment and hire documentarians.

Dr Hui said he may turn to stakeholders such as the Singapore Heritage Society (SHS), Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan and Peranakan Association to help spread the word and rally volunteers. When contacted, the three associations said they would encourage their members to sign up.

A spokesman for the SHS noted that criteria such as the ability to read Chinese and being physically fit may not be met by many of its more than 200 members.

Regardless of the number of documentarians he can get, Dr Hui said he will begin work once contractors start clearing undergrowth and identifying the graves next month.

Next March was set as the deadline by the authorities to coincide with the release of a registry of affected graves to notify the next of kin. Families who want to carry out private exhumations could do so between then and the fourth quarter of next year, when public exhumation begins.

Ideally, the graves should be documented before any exhumation begins and the tombs are destroyed.

Documenting the graves is just one aspect of recording the cemetery's heritage. Its history, people's memories of it and the rituals carried out there will have to be captured via the oral accounts of people who visit the place.

The exhumation will also have to be documented and it includes the recording of rituals associated with exhumation and reburial.

Documentation of the graves will be done by hand and digital photos, while video recordings may be used to document other aspects such as people's memories and the exhumation process. The records will be kept with the authorities and the intention is to make them available for research and study.

Dr Hui said the aim is to complete documenting the cemetery by the end of next year, though meeting the March deadline for the graves is his chief priority. On a possibility that the deadline may not be met, he said there would be no choice but to 'keep going' and to give priority to graves that will be exhumed first.

The authorities did not comment on whether the deadline could be postponed but said they are fully committed to the project and details are being worked out.

The SHS spokesman said: 'If it looks like the work cannot be completed by March and if the extra time needed is not too long, we hope the authorities will be flexible and continue to be as supportive.'

Aside from the upcoming road, the area south of Bukit Brown around the Police Academy will be developed for public housing in about 10 to 15 years.

The rest of Bukit Brown is also slated for housing but it was reported this will not take place until 2030 or 2040

Muammar Gaddafi: How he died

Muammar Gaddafi: How he died - BBC

Attempt to escape Sirte

After the fall of Tripoli in August, Sirte remained one of the final pockets of loyalist resistance, in particular District 2 in the north-west of the city.

In the early hours of Thursday it appears that Col Gaddafi, accompanied by key loyalists, decided to attempt a breakout from District 2 in a convoy of vehicles.

At about 08:30 local time French aircraft operating as part of the Nato mission attacked the convoy of 75 vehicles heading out of Sirte at high speed approximately 3-4 km (two miles) west of the city near the western roundabout.

Among those in the convoy were Col Gaddafi's son Mutassim and head of Gaddafi's army Abu Bakr Younis Jabr - both men were later reported dead at the scene and Mutassim's body shown on Libyan TV.

According to Nato, a first strike destroyed one vehicle and caused the convoy to disperse into several groups.

One of those groups, carrying Col Gaddafi, headed south and was hit again by a Nato fighter, destroying 11 vehicles.

Continue reading the main story
“
Start Quote
My master is here ... Muammar Gaddafi is here and he is wounded”
End Quote
Unnamed Gaddafi bodyguard

Col Gaddafi and a handful of his men managed to escape on foot and sought refuge in two large drainage pipes filled with rubbish. Rebel forces then closed in.

Fighter Salem Bakeer told Reuters: "At first we fired at them with anti-aircraft guns, but it was no use.

"Then we went in on foot. One of Gaddafi's men came out waving his rifle in the air... as soon as he saw my face he started shooting at me. I think Gaddafi must have told them to stop. 'My master is here, my master is here', he said, 'Muammar Gaddafi is here and he is wounded'".

Gaddafi caught

Col Gaddafi was initially captured at around noon.

The al-Jazeera news channel broadcast footage showing the dazed and wounded Col Gaddafi gesticulating while being man-handled by rebel fighters.

Salem Bakeer told Reuters: "We went in and brought Gaddafi out. He was saying 'What's wrong? What's wrong? What's going on?' Then we took him and put him in the car." One fighter showed reporters a golden pistol he said he had taken from Col Gaddafi.

What happened next and how Libya's former leader died remains unclear.

What is certain is that at 16:30 local time, Mahmoud Jibril, the NTC prime minister, confirmed the news that Col Gaddafi was dead, saying: "We have been waiting for this moment for a long time. Muammar Gaddafi has been killed."

According to Mr Jibril, the colonel died just minutes away from hospital.

He later told journalists that a "forensic report" had concluded that the colonel had died from bullet wounds when the car he was in was caught in crossfire. "The forensic doctor could not tell if it came from the revolutionaries or from Gaddafi's forces," he said.

An interview with the commander of the brigade that captured Gaddafi suggests that the former leader died in an ambulance and appears to support the official version that he was killed in crossfire.

But a man claiming to be an eyewitness told the BBC that he saw Col Gaddafi being shot with a 9mm gun in the abdomen at around 12:30 local time and initial video footage seemed to show Col Gaddafi's body being dragged through the streets of Misrata.

Col Muammar Gaddafi was shot in the abdomen, according to a man who says he was there
Further amateur video footage has also emerged of a convoy of NTC fighters following an ambulance. The video includes scenes of soldiers celebrating with a man who they claim shot Col Gaddafi.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, has said there should be a full investigation.

Her spokesman Rupert Colville told the BBC: "There are two videos out there, one showing him alive and one showing him dead and there are four or five different versions of what happened in between those two cellphone videos. That obviously raises very, very major concerns."

Housing: If the Minister is worried, should we be, too?

Housing: If the Minister is worried, should we be, too?
By www.MoneyMatters.sg | Property Blog

14 Jun 2011

In a post titled "My Worries" on his blog "Housing Matters", Minister Khaw Boon Wan expressed his concerns about the current euphoric state of the housing market, and cautioned that "sharp property price increases cannot go on forever." In this article we'll take a look at the reasons for his cautious outlook on the market and consider if it makes sense for us to be worried as well.

Reason #1 — The large supply of units under construction and in the pipeline

"35,000 private units (condos and landed properties) have already been sold, though still in construction, with payments in various stages of completion. But there are 45,000 units in the pipeline, waiting to be built and sold."

Minister Khaw and many property analysts are concerned about the large upcoming supply. DTZ estimates a completion of 32,359 units in 2013-2014 versus the 17,501 units in 2011-2012. If we combine that with weak demand from, say, poor economic growth or higher interest rates, that could be a recipe for disaster.

We know that the upcoming supply is large, but whether prices will fall depends on a key variable that is hard to predict: demand. Credit Suisse thinks that if immigration growth remains at above 70,000 per annum the oversupply can be absorbed by the market without a significant fall in prices. However, immigration policy has become politicised post the recent May election, so it remains to be seen if the government will continue to pursue its pro-immigration policy at the same rate as before.

Reason #2 — The government plans to boost supply even further

On 9 June 2011 the Ministry of National Development announced the 2nd Half 2011 Government Land Sales (GLS) program — an estimated total of 8,115 housing units are on the Confirmed List and 6,080 on the Reserve List, for a potential additional supply of more than 14,000 units. Even if the sites on the Reserve List are not triggered by developer bids, as Minister Khaw says: "Together with committed investments, some 53,000 units will be looking for buyers over the next couple of years or so. That is not a trivial number."

Not to mention that due to widespread anxiety in the public from sharp property price increases, the government is also planning to increase the number of units and speed of construction of HDB flats, which will become a headwind to the mass market private property segment.

Reason #3 — The volatile global situation could impact Singapore

Minister Khaw mentioned the following external situations that worry him:

- The European sovereign debt overhang which will take time to resolve

- The Middle East crisis which could lead to an oil price hike and slowing economic growth

Off the top of my head, I can think of at least two more "black swans" that could cause markets to plunge:

- The end of QE2 (Quantitative Easing Program) in the US in end June and current impasse on the debt ceiling

- Nuclear and tsunami fallout situation in Japan which could cause hiccups in the global supply chain

In the most recent quarter, foreign buyers made up 16 percent of all buyers of private property. Many property investors in Singapore are also looking to rent out their property to foreigners, as the locals usually prefer to buy if they can afford it. In the event of one or more of the above situations deteriorating into a full blow crisis, foreign demand for purchase and rental can disappear suddenly.

But for now the fundamental causes of the rise in the property markets all around Asia — low interest rates and ample liquidity — are still present. Rising inflation makes matters worse as people worry about the falling value of their bank deposits due to negative interest rates, and are desperate to deploy their cash in any asset that they believe will be a hedge against inflation.

Some analysts expect interest rates to start rising towards the end of 2011. Together with falling rental yields as rising prices are not matched by rising rents, this could result in a tenuous situation for overleveraged investors.

So should we be worried?

So if the Minister is worried about the Singapore property market, should we be too? I think we should be more cautious in our property investment decisions for all the reasons mentioned above, and I'll add one more to the list: policy risk.

If Minister Khaw is worried about sharply rising prices, it increases the risk of additional anti-speculation measures coming out, or of the Government boosting supply beyond what the market can absorb. Already last week we've seen the Hong Kong Government raising the minimum down payment requirements for housing.

Property is not only a cyclical sector, but due to its nature there are significant time lags from when a policy is implemented to when we see the effects. These time lags amplify the ups and downs of the cycle as the increased supply that is being built today could get completed at a time when demand has fallen off. It is not easy for anyone to forecast three or four years into the future.

This is not to say that prices WILL go down — demand for Singapore property could unexpectedly increase as well, but my advice to all budding property investors would be to do your sums carefully and not overstretch yourself. The time for greed is fading, and the time for fear is ascending.

Mr. Propwise is the founder of www.Propwise.sg, a Singapore property blog dedicated to helping you understand the real estate market and make better decisions.

Ministers turn to web to connect with citizens

Ministers turn to web to connect with citizens
By Faris Mokhtar | SingaporeScene – Mon, Jun 13, 2011.. .

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/blogs/singaporescene/connecting-netizens-online-way-094244453.html


Ministers are taking to social media to enagge citizens and gather ground sentiments on policy issues.


Ministers from the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) are increasingly taking to social media to engage the public and address issues in relation to their respective ministries.

Political observers who spoke to Yahoo! Singapore said the initiative to engage the online community comes in the wake of the General Election on May 7, during which one of the key grouses was that the government failed to sufficiently engage and elicit feedback from citizens.

But all that seems to have changed.

In recent weeks, no less than three ministers have taken to blogs and Facebook to connect with netizens and explain their polices directly to the web community.

Among them is new Housing Minister Khaw Boon Wan who has been actively posting articles on his blog called "Housing Matters".

In one of his recent posts, Mr Khaw — who has been an active blogger since his days as Health Minister — sparked debate on the culling of cats, urging the AVA to seek out new approach to handle the stray cat population.

In an article posted on June 6, Mr Khaw also called on netizens to propose alternative solutions to tackle the problem of strong wind wetting the floors of HDB apartments.



Through his blog, Housing Minister Khaw Boon Wan shares his thoughts on housing issues and solicits feedback from …


Unknown to most, new Environment Minister Dr Vivian Balakrishnan has also been updating his blog regularly — even prior to the General Election this year.

Two Sundays ago, the Minister addressed the issue of flooding which affected several parts of Singapore, including the badly-hit Tanglin Mall.

Among the five key issues addressed in his blog, Dr Balakrishnan called on the country's national water agency Public Utilities Board (PUB) to "systematically review every single flood prone area and take all necessary action to ensure public safety". This he said must be done urgently and comprehensively.

Meanwhile, Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew has increased engagement efforts to his Facebook page. He can be seen personally responding to queries and suggestions posted on his Facebook 'wall'.

Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong has also been using his Facebook page 'MParader' to gather feedback on pertinent issues. Previously, he had asked the public to select the top two hot-button issues.

After tallying the total number of comments received, foreign immigration — which garnered 81 responses — was ranked as the number one issue followed by housing and education.

Based on these findings, the senior minister has already set up plans for a "chit chat session" in which 40 respondents will be invited to attend a face-to-face meeting.



Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong has set up a dialogue to discuss hot-button issues with Facebook users. …


Political watcher Eugene Tan, said the trend of leveraging on social media is a sign of the changing times, where Singaporeans expect the politicians to communicate online.

This he added, provide a more direct and personal access to Singaporeans.

In contrast, the conventional methods of disseminating government-related information through press releases and statements by civil servants are regarded as "faceless modes, lacking in accessibility".

"A Minister's use of online media enables the Minister to not only communicate directly but also to seek feedback and get a sense of public sentiment," said Tan who is also assistant professor at the Singapore Management University.

Efforts to engage those online could also be attributed to the recent general election, said former editor of Today newspaper PN Balji.

This he added, has shaken politicians — especially those from the ruling party — into action.

However, he noted that the government is still "very hesitant" to fully latch itself onto social media, referring its policy of not responding to views on online websites — other than those of the mainstream media — as an "archaic policy and unsustainable".

"The more it stays away, the bigger the loser it will be," he said.

Now that the communications paradigm has changed and with social media now part of politics, Balji said the government has no choice but to adapt.

And to communicate with those online — especially the youths — requires a new set of skills, which he added, the government has yet to understand.

"The government is not used to engaging the public in such a high-profile way. The language has to be different, the attitude has to be different," said Balji, who is currently director of the Asia Journalism Fellowship at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU).

"You can't be defensive, you need to be empathetic. You will step on wrong toes, learn from mistakes, make up and continue to dance. I don't think the government understands this part of the game yet."

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