SINGAPORE: Former parliamentarian Leon Perera has revealed that his Facebook page has been hacked after a large number of his past Facebook posts began disappearing recently.
In a post published on Monday (11 Sept), the administrators who run Mr Perera’s public page said: “Just a quick note from Leon, in case some are wondering about this, to say that this page has been hacked and while I have some access, the hackers seem to be deleting the old posts on this page one by one and thus far over two years of posts have been deleted.”
Large swathes of content dating back to 2021 have vanished from Mr Perera’s Facebook wall. The latest post that is available is a picture from June 2021. It remains unclear whether the content that has been deleted is recoverable.
Mr Perera added that he is working with Facebook’s parent company, Meta, to resolve the issue.
A former member of the opposition Workers’ Party (WP), Mr Perera was the Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Serangoon division of Aljunied GRC between 2020 and 2023. Directly prior to being elected to Parliament, the ex-civil servant served as a Non-Constituency Member of Parliament between 2015 and 2020.
SINGAPORE: Two-time presidential candidate Tan Kin Lian had a sober message for those who posted content that “deliberately and maliciously insult and defame” him. Remove the content immediately or face a lawsuit, he warned.
In a video on TikTok on Monday (Sept 11), Mr Tan said that he had been a target of content that caused “serious damage” to his reputation over the past few weeks, adding, “Several friends have taken screenshots of these malicious and harmful contents.”
Furthermore, he added that the content creator would also have to pay the legal fees of Mr Tan’s lawyers. “If the creator does not comply with the request, I will take the creator to court, and if I succeed, the damages will be in the tens or hundreds of thousands (of) dollars.”
“I advise the creators to remove these contents immediately,” he said. “If the contents still remain on the website, I will ask my lawyer to send a letter to the creator with a demand for an apology and an undertaking not to repeat the harmful actions, and for this message to be broadcast to all of their audience.”
The former presidential candidate also said that though some of the content creators were hiding their identities, he plans to locate them nevertheless, and “the damages will be increased according to the trouble that I have taken.“
He added that he does not plan to cause financial troubles to the content creators and advises them to remove the “harmful and malicious content” as soon as possible.
Mr Tan ended the video by saying again that he advises “these creators to act now to stop further damage to my reputation and to avoid the financial penalty they have to face”.
In the election held on Sept 1, Mr Tan, who served as the chief executive officer of insurer NTUC Income between 1977 and 2007, came in third among the three candidates, receiving 13.88 per cent of the votes.
Former Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam won with 70.4 per cent of votes.
Nevertheless, Mr Tan’s showing up this year was an improvement from his first presidential bid in 2011, when he received only 4.91 per cent of votes. /TISG
SINGAPORE: An employer took to social media, posing questions to other employers and helpers in a Facebook group. In an anonymous post, the netizen asked:
“Employers:
1) How many weeks/months will you tolerate mistakes before deeming your helper is not suitable for your household?
2) Will you hire a helper that was returned back by their previous employer to the agency because they find the helper not suitable for their household?”
The netizen then posed the following questions to helpers:
“Helpers:
1) When you first come to Singapore, were you prepared or shocked to see that this country and the Employers here are fast paced?
2) How can we, the employers, help you to quickly settle in your new environment?”
Here’s what others in the group responded:
Earlier this year, a foreign domestic helper who was abruptly sent back home without proper notice took to social media, saying she was not even paid.
In an anonymous post to a Facebook support group for domestic helpers and employers alike, the maid wrote that her employers released her the night before. She said they bought her a flight ticket back home and did not give her the proper month’s notice or pay her for that month.
Reading her post, others in the group asked her for the full story and if she did anything that pushed her employers to send her back so abruptly. Others also asked the maid to check her employment contract to confirm her notice period.
SINGAPORE: The late Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s son Mr Lee Hsien Yang, has suggested that the governing People’s Action Party (PAP) should lift the party whip next month when Parliament debates Non-Constituency Member of Parliament Hazel Poa’s motion to suspend Transport Minister S Iswaran, amid an ongoing corruption investigation.
Mr Lee, the estranged younger brother of PAP chief and current PM Lee Hsien Loong, said on Facebook: “Excellent motions by Hazel and the PSP. Perhaps the PAP should lift the whip to allow PAP members to vote according to their conscience for the motion!”
Mr Lee Hsien Yang is a member of the Progress Singapore Party (PSP). Hours before he made his post, PSP vice chairperson Hazel Poa revealed that she has filed a motion to suspend Mr Iswaran “for the remainder of the current session of the 14th Parliament” to ensure that he does not receive his annual MP allowance, which amounts to S$192,500 while he is interdicted from his duties, during an ongoing probe by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB).
Last month, PM Lee confirmed in Parliament that Mr Iswaran continues to draw his MP allowance since it differs from ministerial pay and does not fall under the Prime Minister’s discretion. To remove the MP’s allowance, it would require parliamentary action to interdict the member as an MP, a step not taken in previous cases involving ministers investigated for corruption.
Ms Poa’s motion is scheduled for debate during the next parliament sitting, set for September 18. In addition to this motion, Ms Poa plans to introduce a Private Member’s Bill to amend the Parliament (Privileges, Immunities and Powers) Act to ensure that Mr Iswaran is rightfully reimbursed should he be cleared of any wrongdoing by the CPIB.
The ongoing investigation into Mr Iswaran’s activities by the CPIB, which led to his arrest on July 11, has garnered significant attention. The Minister is currently out on bail and has been placed on a leave of absence pending the investigation’s outcome. Aside from his MP allowance, he now draws a reduced ministerial pay of $8,500 per month despite being suspended from his ministerial duties.
SINGAPORE: A man who allegedly killed his wife in a hotel room at the Holiday Inn Express in Katong was charged with murder on Monday (11 Sept). The incident reportedly took place on Saturday (9 Sept).
The defendant is 30-year-old Eshan Tharaka Koottage from Sri Lanka, and the deceased was his 32-year-old wife, Diyawinnage Sewwandi Maduka Kumari.
Eshan faced a charge of murder under Section 302 (1) of the Penal Code via video conference. The court heard that he killed his wife in a hotel room between 10:45 am and 4:42 pm on Saturday.
The defendant, wearing a white top, appeared calm during the proceedings. After he was charged, Eshan requested to contact the Supreme Consulate of Sri Lanka to hire a lawyer to defend him and expressed hope that the Sri Lankan government would send a lawyer to represent his case.
However, the prosecution pointed out that the case is still under investigation, and he is not allowed to make such contact.
The prosecution also requested that the defendant be remanded to the Central Police Station for a week, during which he will be allowed to be taken out of the police station and returned to the scene for investigation and collection of evidence.
Eshan will return to court for the next hearing on 18 Sept. If convicted of murder, he faces being sentenced to death.
“Lee Kuan Yew understood power. I often felt that in any relationship or interaction, his first consideration was relative power,” said George Yeo in his book Musings Series Three.
“Lee Kuan Yew was intimidating. While he understood power and how to use power, it was also important for him to win the intellectual and moral argument. One would not take Lee Kuan Yew lightly,” said Yeo in his book.
“I learnt much from Lee Kuan Yew. Sometimes I felt like a magician’s assistant watching his master perform,” wrote Yeo.
From 1991 to 2011, Yeo was Singapore’s foreign minister, minister of trade and industry, health minister and minister of information and the arts. During that period, Lee had already retired as the first prime minister of Singapore and assumed the titles of senior minister and, subsequently, minister mentor.
Lee Kuan Yew said intelligence was unevenly distributed, Yeo’s book recalled. “He also emphasised that, in wartime, it was critical that SAF officers like us were giving the orders rather than being given orders by less intelligent officers. Lee Kuan Yew never hid his views about human intelligence, its genetic transmission and rule by a meritocratic elite.”
“On one issue, I did not have the courage to contradict him. It was about his views on genetics and the importance of pedigree. I was sorely tempted to argue that in a time of social breakdown, mongrels survived best, but never did,” Yeo recounted in his book.
Presumably, what Yeo implied was mongrels carried the genes of different breeds and grew up in a rougher environment, so they were tougher and knew how to adapt to changing and difficult situations.
“Lee Kuan Yew had a gift which all politicians wish they have, which is to have a sense of their own people. Even after being PM (Prime Minister) for many years, he had a keen nose for what’s important to ordinary Singaporeans. I noticed he treated Istana staff and his security officers with respect,” Yeo wrote.
In a discussion on enforcing the wearing of crash helmets, Lee commented that many motorcyclists in Singapore were Malays, he added. “A bad crash would rob an entire family of a breadwinner. It was unconscionable. There was an emotion to his argument which gave it force.”
Foreign relations
“I saw the way Lee Kuan Yew interacted with many foreign leaders. The conversations were never perfunctory. He always did his homework,” wrote Yeo, who was Singapore’s foreign minister from 2004 to 2011.
With leaders of big powers, Lee Kuan Yew held his own and was often able to provide helpful views, Yeo’s book recalled. “He was utterly realistic about Singapore’s utility to other countries and never went beyond what was possible or credible.”
With Chinese leaders in private settings, Lee Kuan Yew was quite open in expressing Singapore’s cultural affinity, the book said. “However pro-US Singapore might seem to be, Chinese leaders knew that Lee Kuan Yew was convinced that China’s re-emergence on the global stage was good for Singapore’s own future.”
Lee Kuan Yew enjoyed high access to US Presidents when he was Singapore’s Prime Minister from 1965 to 1990, Yeo wrote. “During my time, it was clear that George Bush Sr valued his advice. Once Lee Kuan Yew stepped down as Prime Minister, his access to the White House was limited.”
Lee Kuan Yew’s relationship with the late Indonesian President Suharto was so close that former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad wondered if Lee Kuan Yew spoke Javanese, given Suharto was Javanese, Yeo’s book said. “Lee Kuan Yew did not. But he did behave in a Javanese way on the one or two occasions I accompanied him when he called on Suharto. Neither made a point too strongly. Gentle indications of agreement or disagreement were sufficient between the two men. The smile never left their faces.”
“Lee Kuan Yew was able to adjust himself to the culture of his interlocutor. With Australians, he could be as forthright as them. Once when he called on the Sultan of Kedah in 1990, I saws him bowing lower than normal. He knew what pleased Malay royalty,” Yeo’s book recounted.
“I never saw Lee Kuan Yew subordinating himself to anyone except Tunku Abdul Rahman,” Yeo’s book recalled.
“At the end of 1989, I accompanied Lee Kuan Yew on his farewell call as PM to Malaysia. In Penang, he and Mrs Lee called on the Tunku and his wife, both of whom they had not met since Separation (of Singapore and Malaysia in 1965). Tunku was virtually blind and stood at the door to welcome Mr and Mrs Lee with dark glasses on. It was an emotional meeting. Tunku slumped back on a sofa while Lee Kuan Yew sat on the edge. Just about every sentence either began or end with Tunku. Yes, Tunku. No, Tunku. But Tunku, you remember….” The book related.
In his younger days, Lee cultivated Tunku Abdul Rahman, who was Malaysian prime minister from 1957 to 1970, over many years to get Singapore’s independence through a merger with Malaysia, the book explained.
What others thought of Lee Kuan Yew
After losing Singapore’s general elections in 2011, Yeo moved from Singapore to Hong Kong to work for Kerry Logistics, a Hong Kong-listed logistics company controlled by Malaysian tycoon Robert Kuok.
“While working with Robert Kuok in Hong Kong, he told me many stories about Lee Kuan Yew and was happy to hear mine,” Yeo recounted in his book.
“Although I learned new things about Lee Kuan Yew, both good and not so good, I was not really surprised. Great men have their foibles,” Yeo said in his book.
Robert Kuok is both fond and critical of Lee Kuan Yew, Yeo added. “One day he asked me to compare Lee Hsien Loong to his father. I replied that Lee Kuan Yew played a wide keyboard. While Lee Hsien Loong did not play as wide a keyboard, on parts of it, he played better than his father. Robert Kuok did not press further.”
“Despite their previous political clashes, there was dignity in the way Lee Kuan Yew and David Marshall interacted with each other,” the book said.
The late Marshall was Singapore’s chief minister during the 1950s.
“Marshall told me that each had qualities the other wished he had. He thought Lee Kuan Yew did not prepare legal cases as well as he did but was quick enough to absorb new information in court and incorporate them into his argument. He wondered whether Lee Kuan Yew was ever unserious and mused whether he was one to ever potter around in his room doing little things. But I could see that Marshall had tremendous respect for Lee Kuan Yew and was proud of what he did for Singapore,” Yeo said in his book.
Toh Han Shih is chief analyst of Headland Intelligence, a Hong Kong risk consulting firm
Domestic helpers enjoy a picnic in the shade at "Gulung-gulung" park in Singapore, 27 July 2003. Singapore's tough campaign to curb employer abuses against foreign maids has improved their working conditions, but civic activists are calling for more reforms saying various forms of indignities persist. AFP PHOTO/Roslan RAHMAN (Photo by ROSLAN RAHMAN / AFP)
SINGAPORE: An employer frustrated with her maid’s habits took to social media asking others for advice.
She wrote that her maid had not even been working for a month but said that work had been “quite ok”. She added that the maid had two Sundays off every month, where she would leave the house at 8 am and return late into the evening as she did not impose a curfew on her helper. She also did not require her helper to do housework on her days off.
In the employer’s anonymous post to a support group for domestic helpers and employers alike, the woman wrote: “however this helper is telling me she will cook and carry food in large quantity for her friends around 8-10 pax on her off days”.
She said her maid’s request took her aback as she had never had any other helper do this before. “Im ok for her to carry food for herself but not for group of people. How do i convey this in polite way as dont want to upset her . She usually go silent if i correct her in any of her work which is bit concern for me coz her duty involves infant care”, the employer wrote.
The woman added that she did not micromanage her maid or restrict her food otherwise. She asked netizens for advice on how to speak to her maid about the matter and added that no agent was involved as her helper was a direct hire.
Here’s what netizens who commented on the post said:
Read related:
A domestic helper who still had to work after 5 pm on her day off took to social media asking others for advice.
In an anonymous post to a support group for domestic helpers and employers alike, the maid wrote that she had been working with her employer for four years and nine months. She added that while she got two Sundays off a month, she was only free between 9 am and 4 pm and had to work after 5 pm.
The maid added that on July 29 this year, she was hospitalised for four months of severe anaemia and continuous bleeding. She was hospitalised on a Saturday and returned to her employers’ home by Monday on light duty. However, she wrote that she constantly had fever and headaches and thus asked her employer to send her back home.
SINGAPORE: A woman said that when she and her office mates ordered lunch from McDonald’s, the burgers they ordered were missing from the bag.
Wanting to know what went wrong, she called the Grab rider, who claimed that the fast food giant’s Woodgrove branch only handed over one bag. However, when they called the branch, they were told by the manager that the rider had got the entire order and left for delivery.
In her Monday (Sept 11) post on the COMPLAINT SINGAPORE Facebook page, Ms Lensi Lin wrote that the manager “kept arguing” that if there are missing items in the order, it’s not McDonald’s fault.
“So i asked ‘him’ if got missing products from the order is it our fault then?
I told him now is not the time to argue who is right or who is wrong, we want to solve the issue and I told him our lunch time is only 40 mins, from 12 to 12.40pm only, please try to be fast to send us the burgers.”
The manager then asked for 10 more minutes and said he would arrange for a delivery rider to bring the missing burgers.
By 12:10 pm, there was still no delivery.
Ms Lin called the branch again, and the manager said he was waiting for the rider to arrive.
“What the fish.. We only left 30 mins and our lunch time is over, till now there’s still no confirm delivery,” she wrote.
The manager reportedly said again that it was not the fault of McDonald’s, but Ms Lin told him that at that point, they had no interest in assigning blame; they just wanted to eat lunch before they needed to go back to work.
The food finally arrived at 12:53 pm, with one burger still missing.
“Really Speechless！Nice delivery we ever had! Food reached us and lunch time is already over. And the last missing burger reached our office at 1.15pm. Four of us finally received our food but, but no one can munch it down our throat as lunch time already over.”
Ms Lin then wrote that they were called by another store manager, who told them that the missing burgers were actually in the store, but the rider did not collect them.
She ended her post by writing, “What the fish! Then how come that earlier manager keep arguing with us and say riders already collected the whole order for delivery! McDonald’s – Stop arguing with customers before you get to the bottom on missing orders.”
The Independent Singapore has reached out to Ms Lin and McDonald’s for updates and further comments. /TISG
SINGAPORE: A rare sighting of an endangered Malayan tapir was caught in a video posted on Facebook by a cyclist in Punggol. The cyclist, whose name goes by Pong Posadas, shared his encounter with the tapir in the SG PCN Cyclist Facebook Group. He said the animal overtook him while he was riding his cycle.
“I was doing my normal morning cycling around Punggol PCN towards Lor. Halus bridge. Then i heard something running behind me, i thought i was hearing a horse coming from behind me. Then i just slowed down and let it pass and it overtook me: It was a Tapir!! Was shocked and amazed to see this amazing creature! And yes I kept my distance and quickly turned around when he stopped,” he declared in the post.
Netizens commented on the post.
One FB user said: “Oh this is scary to me if I went cycling there alone, I probably collapsed from jelly legs but sorry that it must be scared too, to be alone and running away cos it is seems lost without its natural habitat.”
Another user remarked: “When u see a Tapir, don’t ever chase or stand right behind them… If they feel threaten, they will spit out their bloody smelly pee on u and it will leave a white stain on ur clothes…”
More users stated: “This shows how our development has infringed and reduced their natural habitat, and are “forced” to come out to the urban areas,” and “It’s a harmless animal..poor thing.”
People are advised not to approach or feed these creatures. It is best to keep a safe distance from the wild animals and not do anything that could provoke them such as taking photos with a flash.
The Malayan tapir is the only species of tapir in Asia, and it is the largest of all four species of tapir. It is considered an endangered species under the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.
SINGAPORE: Motorists and cyclists don’t always get along well when they need to share space on Singapore roads. In the latest example, one car driver was surprised after an angry bike rider pounded on his car bonnet two times after the driver had honked at him.
A video of the incident, which occurred at Sungei Tengah Road at 8:45 am Sunday (Sept 10), has been posted on the Facebook and YouTube accounts of SG Road Vigilante – SGRV, where it has gotten thousands of views.
According to the post, the car’s bonnet sustained damage from the pounding the cyclist gave it. The car’s owner called the police, but the cyclist was not arrested.
After statements were taken at the scene of the incident, the different parties left.
The video, taken from a dash cam, shows a car driving up to a cyclist dressed in orange bike gear, who had stopped, like everyone else, due to a red light.
When the light turned green, everyone went on again, but the cyclist was in the way of the car driver, who then honked at the cyclist.
The cyclist proceeded to pound the car’s bonnet twice. He used some force, as the thuds were heard on the video.
Photos show that the bonnet of the car sustained damage.
Screengrab/SG Road Vigilante
The two men can then be heard getting into an argument because of the incident.
The video then cuts to the men continuing their argument, with another cyclist also present.
The audio of the recording is a bit hard to understand, but it appears that the bike rider argued that the driver had hit him, which the driver denied. /TISG
