Let me begin my post by ranting a little: I am demoralized by the repeated mistakes that I make during driving that eventually caused me to fail the first attempt of the test. I know it’s my fault but it’s not that I do not want to improve. Sigh. Since this is not the point of this post, let’s end the ranting right here.
This week has been rather interesting with what has been going on in the blogosphere of Singapore. Singapore Daily is an interesting “blog” that aggregates all the various interesting blog posts that has been made by Singaporeans regarding various issues. I’m going to look at some of them and perhaps air some of my own views.
First up, we have another one on the association of the press in Singapore and the government. Many have said that the press in Singapore is hardly one which you would call free. Let’s see what our closest neighbour, Malaysia, thinks about that.
Next up, we have a very well written article about the freedom of Singaporeans. It’s a bit long but nonetheless a good read.
Then what about the disturbing lack of a minimum wage law? True, the minimum wage law distorts the job market, … , then we shouldn’t really have a problem dealing with the effects of a minimum wage law, right?
I have to disagree with the call for the implementation of a minimum wage law. True, an absence of such a law will cause the wages of many to be low but to implement the law will cause some to lose their jobs. I would that it is better off to keep more employed, albeit with meagre wage, than to have some lost their jobs because the employers find it a liability to employ the same number of people while paying more for each.
This issue is a rather touchy one. It is a dilemma for the government because both implementing and not implementing a minimum wage law has their own share of problems. I think that they are doing the right thing by not implementing such a law and providing various subsidies to counter the rising inflation. But I think they are not doing enough on this part and they need to do more. Oh yes, they also need to take a second look at themselves to see if they really need another wage rise.
Other readers then responded to this reader, by claiming that Jehovah’s Witnesses were punished for refusing to abide by the law, not for their religious faith. This is a thin line that has been drawn here. True, they were punished for their violation of the law, and they paid the price by being punished under the Penal Code. However, their violation of the law took place on the grounds of religious obligations, and I don’t suppose it’s our position to debate the validity of the beliefs system of the Jehovah’s Witnesses.
While I think that religious freedom is important, the freedom has to be restricted such that it does not violate any law in Singapore. I am sure that many will disagree with the previous sentence but let’s take a look at the specific problem of Jehovah’s Witness: if everyone who claims to be a Jehovah’s Witness can escape National Service, I can vouch that many will gladly become one to escape NS. I look at the people serving NS and I see that many are not exactly glad to be serving their time. I am not here to debate about NS though.
PAP and opposition is another great article in relation to MM Lee’s comments that Singapore will “fall” should the goverment PAP lose to the opposition in five years. And another one. I have always steered clear of this kind of political talk and I shall remain so and read in silence.
Tags: national service, singapore
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