David on Sat, 28th Nov 2009 9:43 pm 

“We are one” is pap-con strategy to get people to donate to the poor. However, when we sought PAP help during the downturn, the million dollar ministers will dissappear into thin air with their rhetoric and some even called us lesser mortal who want meal in hawker, food court or restaurant. PAP will jointly sing clutch mentality into our ears until this nation get divisive – we the people vs them the pap. “We are one” is simply a mockery of Singaporean fate.

janetnt on Sat, 28th Nov 2009 9:44 pm 

Whats the point of this article?

Ah Gong on Sat, 28th Nov 2009 11:49 pm 

Wow, I din know the big MediaCorp is owned partially by government.

But then, it surely is unbiased thanks to the journalists and editors who are responsible for what they do or write as they know full well what they are doing.

Moe Gan Thai on Sat, 28th Nov 2009 11:59 pm 

Why the govt can’t hand out help to the needy ? They always say, help the poor but how many really did they help ? where the money goes, there is no accountability,why we have to donate $2 ?? Ministers donate how much ? Can they donate 50% of their pay to help the needy ?

Lehman Brothers on Sun, 29th Nov 2009 12:02 am 

//janetnt

What’s the point of your post?

—-

If you had read the article more closely, you would easily deduce that it’s pointing out the discrepancies in the actions of the government. They want Singaporeans to donate to the poor and yet they themselves are unwilling to implement policies to combat the rising income inequality.

Sinkapoorean on Sun, 29th Nov 2009 12:07 am 

Point is:
PAP would rather spend $10 million to welcome foreign trash than spend a single cent to help poor Singaporeans.

TIME TO VOTE AGAINST PAP.

contrarian on Sun, 29th Nov 2009 12:17 am 

Is Our Correspondent against companies supporting charities? Is it a problem if a sponsor of a charitable event is in the broadcast media business, and decides to use its broadcast media to support its chosen charitable cause? Or in the real estate business, and decides to use its locations to help host the collection points?

Vote of Opposition on Sun, 29th Nov 2009 12:56 am 

The point of this article is to highlight the funny policy of the PAP government: asking people to donate the bricks to raise $1m dollars while the foreigners not need to do fund raising and $10m is available for them to learn English and “integrate” into our society.

$10m should be spent on Singaporeans, unless the government think these citizens are useless and does not deserve government’s help!

Does not make sense right?

fair and square on Sun, 29th Nov 2009 2:22 am 

the MSM should really conduct another truly ‘WE ARE ONE’ CAMPAIGN for all “displaced impoverished loyal sinagporean
workers” by pleading to the gahmen and company top honchos to
return “poor” singaporean workers their livelihood,their
jobs…what can the rest of the more or less “impoverished”
ordinary men-in-street themslves do “constructively” for those
“who lost their jobs and cannot make ends meet”?
WE ARE ONE is not just for the holidays’ season,it need to extend beyond;otheriwse,it just like ‘chrsitmas carolling’.
once christmas is over,so will be those beautiful carols…
an echo in the distance?

Exposer on Sun, 29th Nov 2009 3:31 am 

What is the breakdown of this $2 goes to ? Anyone forget that in NKF, for every $1 donated, only 10cent goes into helping the patient, and the rest share to profit-oriented company like Singtel etc ? The first time, they play punk telling that 50c goes into helping the poor, and finally expose, it is just 10c. I smell another con-man scheme in the play. Didn’t NKF and Renci donation generate a lot of public and media publicity using actors and actress too ? All this cost is not free lunch in pragmatic SinCity.

So how much of $2 goes into CapitaLand, LEGO Singapore and MediaCorp to raise S$1 million for Singaporeans and families affected by the economic downturn ? They are helping themselves or helping the poor ?

TR should ask for the breakdown.

Unhappy on Sun, 29th Nov 2009 5:16 am 

My only concern is will 100% of the donations amount collected went to the needy or…

indexer on Sun, 29th Nov 2009 8:57 am 

I agree with janetnt that this article is not very clear on what it is trying to get at. In any case, let’s look at the claims, which appear non-sequitur fashion at the end of the article.

“The government has been reluctant to do more to help Singaporeans who are retrenched or struggling to get by.” This is completely false. Why would the government neglect the poor and lose votes? It doesn’t make any sense. The fact is that the govt has poured $20.5 billion into the Resilience Package this year. The benefits are nicely summarised at http://app.mof.gov.sg/e_flyer.aspx

“However, it is more than willing to splurge $10 million dollars on a Community Integration Fund to make the new migrants feel welcomed in Singapore.” Time will tell whether this is money well spent. Prevention is better than cure. So, integrating them well would be better than incurring the additional social cost of the alternative. Considering the differences between Singapore and their origin countries, and the xenophobia exhibited by some Singaporeans, strong efforts would appear to be necessary. Not to forget that these are likely to be the most economically productive members of society, and are likely to be paying a substantial amount of tax.

“The relentless influx of foreigners in last few years has accentuated the income-gap between the rich and the poor in Singapore.” This claim is quite suspect. There are many other factors that have contributed more to the income gap, chief among which is the high global premium placed on talent, and the entry of many low-salary workers from China and India into the global marketplace. If salaries for unskilled and semi-skilled workers go up in Singapore, MNCs will react to the higher labour cost, and what we will see is more events like Seagate closing down an entire factory in Singapore and relocating to China.

“MM Lee Kuan Yew dismissed it as inconsequential as long jobs are created for Singaporeans.” This is simply out of context. It is a matter of prioritising having jobs for Singaporeans first, over the income gap. In fact, fighting poverty (and raising the incomes of the lowest earners) should be prioritised over the income gap. Couldn’t we accept having more rich people in Singapore (which would naturally occur if Singapore continues to remain a land of economic opportunity), so long as the poor also have their incomes raised?

Not to forget that the poor are also the beneficiaries of home ownership, direct payments (GST Offset etc), and Workfare.

In terms of govt expenditure on charitable causes, it should also be pointed out that MOF introduced 250% tax deduction for charitable donations this year, which is effectively a payment to the charities chosen by the public.

angryman on Sun, 29th Nov 2009 9:40 am 

i am proud to say that i have never donated, not a single cent, to any of the charity institutions.

let the poor eat their cake, or eat fish if meat is too expensive hahahaha

they voted for pap, and they shld be helped by pap

Anonymous on Sun, 29th Nov 2009 10:22 am 

@ janetnt on Sat, 28th Nov 2009 9:44 pm

Whats the point of this article?

You asked this question. Obviously that tells me you are CLUELESS of contention as often shown on TR by your postings.

The rationale offered…”there is “little” it can do about the crisis as Singapore is heavily dependent on external trade….”

Do you really, in your “intelligent” mind ( if I put it in good taste) believes in this crap of rationalisation?

Look HONESTLY among our Asian tiger economic peers – South Korea built a dynamite of industrial sector ranging from shipbuilding to consumer goods competing on global stage – WERE THEY THE FIRST TO GO UNDER in this financial meltdown and WERE THEY NOT AMONG THE FIRST TO EMERGE POWERFULLY from this downturn? Were they as dependent as us on external trade such that when the world sneezes, we get a nasty dose of HIN1 infection first?

Look a little further Down Under. They had no recession in this global meltdown. Their resource-based economy sustained them through the crisis and they are struggling now with inflation fears of this speed of economic upturn. Had TH and GIC invested their hundreds of billions in resources sector in Australia and globally, wouldn’t we be smiling now and rubbing our palm for the rest of this century when China be begging for your mineral supply we own globally??

Are you ignorant of economic reality or are you selectively ignorant of truth to be “clueless” in contention as always?

Zone Trooper on Sun, 29th Nov 2009 10:48 am 

$2.oo lego bricks to help our fellow citizens badly hit by the economic down turn, school pocket money fund to assist those poor families and children whose daily lives is a trade off.
10 million to make foreigners feel welcome and at home.Somebody has really got their priority wrong or is it a case of securing and ensuring political continuity and dominance?

Don't cry for me, Singapore on Sun, 29th Nov 2009 11:07 am 

When I was young, my good old man walked every day from what was now near Kovan centre ( 6th mile, Upper Serangoon Road) to Shenton way shipping offices and back under the hot sun looking for a seaman’s job and back for nearly a year on my reflection now. No bus ride for him because he saved money to feed my mom, me, my brother and sisters. I was too young, stupidly naive to think, reflect and understand the anguish of my late father and the worries in my late mother must have quietly endured those painful chapters. And when he finally got a on-shore job in a logging mill, he walked every day to and from work at Lavender street area for unknown years. I am sure many Singaporeans in that generation lived a very hard time.

Three weeks ago, perhaps, two young boys – the older one looked not older than 8 and then younger one is primary one as told to me came knocking at my door asking me to buy ice-cream to help them. He was pulling a ice-box and the younger brother assisting. I don’t take ice-cream for a dessert of even occasional indulgence. I asked, where is their parents and what are they doing when they should be studying at home at that ungodly late night hour.

The reply I got is that it is SCHOOL project and their family is poor and since they received help, they are OBLIGATED to make a contribution effort to earn something back for the school in their break.

For a single drumstick, I gave $10 refusing the rest due me but felt utterly displeased with the situation that why this seeming very proud wealthy city-state called Singapore ( often disgustingly touted as the only one wonder of a city-state in this world????) has degenerated to this extent – LITTLE CHILDREN GOING THROUGH THE SAME ANGUISH MY LATE ADULT FATHER DID 5 DECADES AGO AND I WAS OF SIMILAR AGE AS THE TWO BOYS AND DID NOT EVEN UNDERSTAND THEN!!! And Singapore as a society was a LOT POORER THEN.

In this decade of wanton plenty for some, how could they seriously empathise the poor? I cannot imagine the plight of “lesser mortals” in our midst when someone said Gini Coefficient is of scant relevance to Singaporean’s pain for those disadvantaged and weakened by this downturn. IT IS GOOD MEDIA NEWS TO BRAG OF “UPTURN THE DOWNTURN” when the other side of the nation’s mouth says let those fallen in the downturn starve. Only we the super mortals need, want and deserve ever endless incalculable more.

Who toil and build this nation FOR MORE THAN 4 DECADES? The deceased generation, the men and women who clean our public toilets or the incompetent tyrannical powerful TOTALLY blind to soceity’s fallen and left behind? There is NO CLUTCH MENTALITY among the poor in this country since I was born but I see a lot of corrupting self-enrichment around of no shame. Even dogs have gratitude to their masters and they contribute to the owner’s home security. Have we forgotten who made this nation of ours??

How tragic of circumstances must we see before we collectively decides enough is enough and Singaporeans cried out, don’t cry for me, Singapore because the desperate have taken the terminal road of no return to their families.!

I am thoroughly pissed off – even right now writing this piece. How many of you out there is proud of this great city-state, the one and only? I am sure the two kids understand “we are one” project very clearly – you help yourself if you want help from society!!

Darth Vader on Sun, 29th Nov 2009 12:21 pm 

The whole point of this article is to point out to brainless morons who don’t understand what it’s all about the government’s hypocrisy over charity. Government funding for the poor will create a “crutch mentality” whereas charity from private sources won’t, the fact the recipients don’t care where the money comes from as long as they can get it not withstanding. And of course, they fail to explain why giving millions to foreign shitbags won’t create a crutch mentality among them.

It’s time we reclaim our country from those who want to sell us out to foreign fecal matter.

sorry man on Sun, 29th Nov 2009 12:22 pm 

I regretted that I only stopped donating after the NKF incident. Should not donate at all like angry man.

Local citizen on Sun, 29th Nov 2009 2:28 pm 

The “we are one” charity campaign has been druming into our ears in the local radio and tv. stations with increasing frequencies by the day.Its sorts of getting into ones nerve!
Btw, do we get to know how much of the $2 per brick goes into the eventual beneficiaries? Does Media Corp impose a fee for the air time for this particular campaign? Don’t forget, Sing Tel charges every single donation who donates thru’ the phone!
Just look at the time and energy spent to raise one $million for the poor and less fortunate Singaporeans!Whereas on the other extreme,one of our minister can just splash 10 $million
just by the snap of his fingers and without batting an eyelid
for the foreigners to integrate into the society!!!
Do you all see the glaring disparity Singaporeans???

MeeSiam on Sun, 29th Nov 2009 5:31 pm 

Don’t donate because you never know how the money is spent as in the case of NKF and RenCi !!! If these charity organization need money, they should ask from the government who has amassed lot of money through selling HDB flats. Government will definitely be proactive in the checking in this case.

Pollock's Paintdrip on Sun, 29th Nov 2009 5:42 pm 

Ahah! So I guess I am not the only one who is entirely pissed off with the “We Are One” campaign rationale.

I personally know of my uncle and aunt; a storeman holding on to his paycut salary at a medical supplies firm lest he be replaced by a foreign worker and a building cleaner/janitor taking home paltry sum because that’s what the market price is for her jobscope – also competing with foreign labour of sorts. The former has been grateful enough I contributed my share to the maintenance of my grandmother who is living in his family flat but has never sort financial help from me. He is epitome of the sandwich class with 2 boys still in school. My aunt on the other hand, is almost 60 and is still physically-abled but does not want to “sandwich” her daughter, herself with 2 children.

I know both are scrapping it dollar-wise, but would never ask me, let alone beg the public, for financial assistance. If we have come to a point where our society’s low-skilled wage earners have become beggars of sorts, borne out of supercapitalist, anti-union (what union?) government policies, something is VERY wrong with this picture. My aunt would benefit so much from a minimum/fair-wage policy and my uncle would benefit from fairer workplace competition. An even level playing field in a high-cost city-state, is that too much to ask for? I’m fortunate I’m working with a company where a foreign worker is someone who is doing what I cannot do for more money, as opposed to doing what I can do, for a lot less.

Essentially the We Are One campaign communicates that the onus is on the public to help the poor. But not the disabled poor, or the penniless due to circumstances beyond their control. This is policy-driven poverty. Whichever corporate stooges who devised this marketing and PR-driven bull wasn’t thinking hard enough. Is this supposed to make LEGO and Capitaland altruistic? In my mind, what I took from this is that the government is “passing the buck” to the people for what is essentially something they messed up on. Why count on me for altruism when govt policies borders on selfish? And that pisses me off.

Last week in Shanghai, I gave notes of reminbis to a ragged old lady selling flowers, or that woman who couldn’t use her hands. China’s urban/rural policies aside, I know I’m human enough to give where and when it counts, but I’m not giving a cent to We Are One. At the back of my mind, the likes of my aunt and my uncle, they are workers, not beggars. Don’t make them one.

anon on Sun, 29th Nov 2009 6:32 pm 

Exactly why does Community Chest need donations when they forcibly deduct a small amount from everyone’s paycheck? I would like to know exactly where this money goes to.

Political SalesMan on Sun, 29th Nov 2009 7:24 pm 

Yes! “We are One” Unity is Strenght unseated the PAP.Corrupted Goverment.

Exposer on Sun, 29th Nov 2009 8:11 pm 

Progress rebate ? WTF. The last time I know is that whenever they pretend to wayang to help, they increase the minimum CPF sum to another $10,000 ! How many years can $10,000 use to finance the rebate ? Your guess as good as mine. But no, they increase the minimum sum every 2 years now, if not every year. Now, you know where your rebate comes from ?

Yes, “WE ARE ONE”. To be clear, WE ARE THE ONE TO VOTE OUT THOSE MORONIC AND CORRUPTED CLOWNS. LET US BE THE ONE !

rc on Sun, 29th Nov 2009 8:12 pm 

@anon:
if you are unhappy with the donations that they forcibly deduct from everyone’s paycheck, then you must really be against government social assistance of any form. because any social assistance by the government will have to be funded by taxpayers money, i.e. that sum which is deducted from your income.

i think that if anyone had really wanted to help those families hard hit by the economic crisis, they should give them their own money directly. or, if possible, help them find a job. help them upgrade so that they can get better pay. give them money directly to pay for their children’s education. if Singaporeans (and readers and commentators of TR) are really that compassionate to take action directly, then we won’t have need of a charity campaign, and will have much stronger moral authority to say that the government is not doing enough.

Disgusted on Sun, 29th Nov 2009 8:53 pm 

The ‘We Are One’ campaign has clearly become extremely irritating. I now try to shut it off or switch channels whenever the ads appear.

With the frequency that they advertise, the money could have better spent. Now the media and telcos are laughing all the way to the bank.

Is the government slowly going to abdicate its responsibility of helping the poor and needy, and passing the buck to the man in the street who are still struggling to keep his job and fending off the FW/FTs? Divert the $10m Community Integration Fund to the We Are One fund.

Hate Those Medieval Animals on Sun, 29th Nov 2009 9:38 pm 

@ rc on Sun, 29th Nov 2009 8:12 pm

Are you blind or stupid or both?

Didn’t you read above that Pollock’s Paintdrip is helping his relative and Don’t Cry for me, Singapore doing his or her little bit? What have you done to help the needy to claim moral authority to decry bloggers here including these two identified good souls?

You are just a piece of thick sh$t of some medieval animal here demanding that others help the “down and out” find a job, give them money directly and even helping them to upgrade (what..unspecified). You think bloggers here are God performing miracles of upgrade or finding jobs taken over by cheaper foreigners as a consequence of Government’s policy or earn millions of dollar salaries to give away and pay tax as well?

Why don’t you tell our multi-million dollars (tax-free as well) salaried Ministers to do the same and then come back to tell us all at TR if you are successful to what extent?

Until then, we don’t need your cheap shot shitty moral preaching mournings here.

At least, I am confident I have done a lot more for society than most people I know you.

rc on Sun, 29th Nov 2009 10:27 pm 

@hate those medieval animals:

your resort to insults just shows how everything you say about me applies to you more.

if you have read my comment carefully, you would have realised that i have in no way insinuated that the people who comment on TR do not do anything. i was merely stating an opinion that people should, in addition to commenting, do more to help others they think are in need directly. indeed, when i posted that comment, i did it being heartened by Pollock’s Paintdrip post. it is good that there are some people here doing their bit and certainly hope that there are more.

i am not sure what good you have done for society. if you have indeed been an active citizen, then kudos to you. we need more people like you then (minus the insults, though).

i also know that i have done more than most people i know. not to the extent of changing the behaviour of Ministers and what not, but i do my part, in whatever capacity i can.

so. before you start insulting anyone, please realise that you have not insulted anyone but yourself by your behaviour, which is all the more a pity if you have indeed been an active citizen.

rc on Sun, 29th Nov 2009 10:32 pm 

oh. but i still stand by my opinion that as far as possible, we should keep tax funded social assistance to a mininum. if we can, i would also like to have ministers who draw less salary. in short, i welcome anything that can reduce the amount of taxes that i pay.

ceo on Sun, 29th Nov 2009 11:19 pm 

“Janetnt on Sat, 28th Nov 2009 9:44 pm
Whats the point of this article”

If you can pay S$20m to one-man CEO and S$10m for some integration project, surely you can do away with the beating of drum & gongs just so loudly in order to raise S$1m to help the needy.

tax on Sun, 29th Nov 2009 11:34 pm 

“if you are unhappy with the donations that they forcibly deduct from everyone’s paycheck, then you must really be against government social assistance of any form. because any social assistance by the government will have to be funded by taxpayers money, i.e. that sum which is deducted from your income.”

But they are already having taxpayers money in the form of gst, property tax, stamp duty, license fees, road tax, erp, personal tax and corporate tax, import duty for certain goods and mind you profit making machineries in the form of GLCs or related companies like transportation (mrt, lrt, taxis, buses, planes), utilities, telcos, commercial buildings & public housing, insurance, banking, shipping, port, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc ………. you name it boy.

Against social assistance, never !! Against overtaxing, definitely !!

anon on Mon, 30th Nov 2009 9:29 am 

rc, ‘tax’ has got it right.

Donations that forcibly deduct from everyone’s paycheck.. well firstly I would not call those ‘donations’. I call those ‘taxes’. Donation means the person voluntarily contributes. So, no, I am not against social assistance. I simply do not like being obligated to donate, when there are already a multitude of taxes. I have nothing against donating, just don’t make it compulsory.

Secondly, since Community Chest has a stable source of not-insignifcant income, I also do not see why it has to be a beneficiary in this case. Surely, there are other charities that need the money more.

Of course you can say that all charities perform a common good (which is debatable), but given the lack of transparency about our charities, especially government ones, I remain both skeptical and cynical.

By the way, just out of curiosity, if you advocate helping the people directly, why do we need a middleman called ‘We Are One’?

anon on Mon, 30th Nov 2009 9:35 am 

While we are on the subject of charities, is there any way of checking whether the PM has indeed donated, and continues to donate, his increase in salary to a charity, and which one?

rc on Mon, 30th Nov 2009 1:59 pm 

i suppose the case for charities is that they provide some amount of economies of scale over direct acts of charity by individuals. but that is only if these charities are indeed doing what they are supposed to.

jiangbao on Mon, 30th Nov 2009 3:31 pm 

I haven really donated since the NKF saga. I only donate foodstuffs to the BB charity gift boxes by buying the gifts directly rather than giving cash. I ask them what they need too rather than buying stuff that they do not need.

I do agree that we should give directly to the poor but it is hard when you have no idea where to find them or the extent of help they need.

Janet on Mon, 30th Nov 2009 5:49 pm 

Has it ever occurred to anyone’s mind that the WE ARE ONE Project could be aimed at raising funds for the FT’s. All the money raised for this project could go into the $10 million dollars on a Community Integration Fund to make the new migrants feel welcome instead of helping the struggling Singaporeans.

No one will ever know where these monies are going to….. Something for everyone to think about??

angry_one on Tue, 1st Dec 2009 11:44 am 

I urge everyone reading here not to donate to such mainstream charities, which are simply PR campaigns to gorify the PAP and most of your money will be funnelled to pay bonuses for ‘charity execs’.

Donate directly to the people you meet or to small charities you’re familiar with.

I have never heard of any other govt urging citizens to donate to the poor. A real govt will help its downtrodden using state funds and established welfare schemes, without resorting to sob stories and media whoring.

adventurebusa on Wed, 2nd Dec 2009 2:50 am 

even before the monk goes to jail, they exhort you to donate your hard earned money to help the poor. well, they can use the taxes that i pay to help the poor.

they can also use the 50 billion GSIC lost and the other 50 billion temasek lost to help the poor.