Photo taken by me at the 2016 New Year Countdown at Marina Bay Singapore 

Among the People’s Action Party (PAP) supporters are people who subscribe to the PAP’s ideology of “self-reliance”. Among some opposition supporters are people who believe in “equality” and who want to see the system improved to protect a larger swath of the population.

(If you do not know, the PAP – Singapore’s ruling party for more than 50 years – had in its constitution abolishing inequality as a value when it first began but removed this and replaced it with the concept of “self-reliance” in 1982.)

In wanting people to be “self-reliant”, the PAP government started to reduce government health expenditure in 1984. It introduced Medisave at the same time to get people to pay from their Central Provident Fund (CPF) pension fund into a form of health insurance – to get people to “self-rely” on themselves for their healthcare needs.

However, you would assume that if the PAP wants people to be “self-reliant”, it would also increase the CPF interest rates to allow people to save more, so that they can “self-rely” on their savings for retirement (instead of on the state). But this did not happen. Instead, from 1986, the CPF interest rates started dropping until 1999, when it became only 2.5% to 4% and had stayed at that low since.

Not only are many elderly Singaporeans unable to accumulate enough to “self-rely” on themselves to retire today, this also means that the CPF component which goes into Medisave grows slower as well, making it more difficult for people to save enough and to “self-rely” on themselves for Healthcare, having to pay tens and thousands of dollars out of their own pockets for hospital bills. 

Weirdly too, the PAP started inflating university fees by increasing fees by as much as 400% in a few years from 1986 and in 1987, it started including land costs into HDB public housing flat prices, thereby jacking up prices.

But all these could have been reasonably dealt with, if wages increase as well, so as to offset the increasing prices. However, wages started to be depressed since the 1990s, first for the low-income and from the 2000s, for the middle-income as well.

If the PAP so believes in “self-reliance”, all these policy manoeuvres would instead make it more difficult for Singaporeans to “self-rely” on themselves, wouldn’t it?

For “self-reliance” to take place, you would expect that people should be paid adequately, so that they could then “self-rely” on themselves to pay for their own healthcare, education, retirement and so on. Instead, wages were depressed and prices on these increased – which in turn makes it difficult for people to be “self-reliant”.

Today, Singaporeans pay the most out of their own pockets for healthcare in the world (purchasing power parity) and pay for one of the most expensive university fees and housing prices while having one of the least adequate retirement funds in the world. Low-income Singaporeans also earn the lowest wages among the rich countries (Portugal upwards) while the highest-income earn the most, and Singapore is still one of very few countries in the world without minimum wage and unemployment benefits and have the least adequate employment protection legislation among the developed countries, after America. 

And which is also why poverty has risen to as high an estimate as 35% today – the government still refuses to define an official poverty line. 

But for the supporters of the PAP who have bought into the PAP’s ideology, they have bought into the belief that ‘I should rely on myself. I should not rely on the government.’ Some of them look at the rest and wonder – why do you guys want the government to do more to help Singaporeans, why can’t you rely on yourself?

There is no right or wrong to the different mindsets. For those who subscribe to “self-reliance”, they believe they have to fight for themselves. So perhaps from young, they would fight to do ‘better’ than the other person, to score ‘better’, to get ahead, to go to a ‘better’ class, a ‘better’ stream, a ‘better’ school. Eventually, they might want to get a ‘better’ job, ‘better’ pay, a ‘better’ career and ‘better’ reputation, perhaps.

Again, no right or wrong to this. My main bugbear though is that in trying to do ‘better’ than the other person, this means that someone else has to be left behind or pushed back. In a country like Singapore (or how it has developed politically), there is only a small basket of things that can be shared by those who can become ‘better’ and be seen as to have ‘made it’.

There are not that many ‘better’ jobs which pay ‘better’ salaries. So you really have to fight to get to the ‘top’, in that sense.

Of course, things did not naturally become like this. The PAP government made a policy decision to restrict the percentage who can go to university. The PAP government also rigged the pay of graduates from the different levels – university, polytechnic, ITE and so on – at fixed levels, with the artificial pegs to the Employment Pass, S Pass and work permit respectively. (It is also widely believed that children of the elite class are also given preferential treatment in the education and work system).

These inequalities therefore means that if you do not get to the ‘top’, not only do you not ‘make it’, you simply cannot earn enough. And the consequence of that? – You cannot be “self-reliant”.

Therefore, this concept of “self-reliance” can be unhealthy. But according to a research I read just last week – for people who fight for themselves to get ahead, they are likely to become more successful. Why, the research did not say. But if you look at Singapore’s system, you get a contextual idea.

First, there is of course preferential treatment for those link to the ruling elites (those whom we call white horses, for example). But we also know anecdotally that those who ‘made it’ through their belief of their own “self-reliance” are more likely to think that they have done it through their own means, and therefore some (not all) would judge that if others cannot ‘make it’, it is because they did not try hard enough.

But to take the view that others did not try hard enough might be unfair in a system that is rigged for the elite class (though there are people who really do ‘make it’ through their own hard work). Such an entrenchment of a view based on the self-centre can also result in the designing of the system which favours rewarding those who have ‘made it’ – a self-perpetuating loop. It means ‘better’ schools created for those who study ‘better’ and ‘better’ pay for those who ‘make it’.

And this makes the system more and more unequal.

Indeed, a study that was done showed that the more unequal a country is, the more likely people are to take a more “self-enhanced” view of themselves. And this has indeed happened in Singapore – Singapore is today the most unequal country among the developed countries and Singaporeans are also more likely to believe that they are better than someone else.

The pitfalls of a system that advocates “self-reliance” is that it makes people fight over one another, it makes people believe that they are better than someone else and that another person is not as good or not good enough. It makes people judgemental and it makes people selfish. It also entrenches such an unequal system as people who ‘make it’ to the top and who also become government administrators develop the system further to reward those who have ‘made it’. This keeps the system in a cyclical loop which entrenches the inequality and self-centred mentality, and judgementality.

And as research has shown, with Singapore’s status as the most unequal among the developed countries, we also have very high levels of distrust. Unequal countries also have higher rates of mental health and crime, as people are forced to fend for themselves. The anger on the streets and the honking of the cars in Singapore is also symptomatic of the mental stress and frustrations that Singaporeans increasingly face. 

Inequality has negative social consequences. And as such, so does “self-reliance”.

But does “self-reliance” and “equality” have to be mutually exclusive? It does not have to be.

One reason why “self-reliance” has become a problem in Singapore is because of how the system became engineered to be one that is unequal. As I mentioned above, where wages are depressed for the low- and middle-income, while prices across the board are increased, you have to fight to become among the top economic tier in Singapore to be able to adequately “self-reliant”. For the rest, it is difficult or impossible to be “self-reliant” at all.

This is where the politics played by the PAP rear its ugly head. On the one hand, the PAP says that it wants people to be “self-reliant”, but on the other it does not allow people to earn enough to be “self-reliant”. For some people, they believe that such a hypocrisy between ideology and practice is by design. First, some believe that the PAP in wanting to allow the elite class among them to get ahead, they have changed the system to benefit themselves, to let them to ‘get ahead’, to go to the ‘better’ schools, to get the ‘better’ jobs, to get ‘better’ pay. 

Second, some believe that because the PAP also owns the largest companies in Singapore, the latter would want to increase prices and depress wages to earn higher profits, so as to allow themselves – whom they have put themselves in leadership positions in these companies – to earn higher pay and allow (at least) themselves to be “self-reliant”. This does not mean that do not subscribe to the notion of “self-reliance” but as the practice has shown, people who thread along this logic also have a tendency to first and foremost think of their own self-interests and to reward their efforts first. But in doing so, this reduces the share that others get downstream. 

It also means that the political elites would therefore craft policies which would allow themselves to be “self-reliant” but inadvertently makes it difficult for others to do so. Yet, to assuage their conscience, they would develop the notion that people who are poor are poor because they do not work hard enough for it – this again backed up by research. 

As a result, the policy makers among them would then make the calculations on how much minimally people need to be “self-reliant” and therefore give that little back in social assistance to Singaporeans. This is why Singaporeans on ComCare (social welfare) are only given S$350 every month (and only if they absolutely have no job and live in low-income housing). This is also why only the poorest 20% to 30% of elderly Singaporeans are only given S$100 to S$250 every month in supplementary public pension, because this is how the policy makers from the political elite believes is what the low-income deserve – the very minimal amount for “self-reliance” and if this is still not enough, it must be, it is believed,  because these people do not work hard enough. (As a gauge, it has been estimated that Singaporeans would need to earn between S$1,500 and S$2,000 to minimally have a basic standard of living.)

But the fundamental reason as to why social assistance is not enough? People aren’t paid enough in the first place. And also, where the system pays unequally for the well-off to be paid too much while the low-income are paid too little, the lopsidedness drives up prices, fuels the poverty at the lower spectrum and which low taxes therefore mean low social assistance for the poor and middle-income which thereby exacerbates the income inequality further.

So all these are interconnected.

And of course, the “self-reliance” mentality has created self-perpetuating policies that further widen the rich-poor gap.

But is it “self-reliance” that is the pitfall for the unequal system? Yes and no. It has perhaps become the scapegoat to be blamed upon.

On the one hand, “self-reliance” causes people to fight for themselves against one another and makes them more selfish and judgemental. But this struggle also resulted because of an education system in Singapore that became more segregated by academic distinction, as well as an income disparity that became wider and wider by policy rigging. With prices that shot up, all these combined, forces people to learn to think selfishly for themselves so as to stay ahead of others, and so as to be “self-reliant”. If they do not fight for themselves, they cannot be “self-reliant” – so if you buy into the PAP’s logic, you will practice such behaviour.

What then is another way to look at the equation? – Equality.

Assuming that in the 1980s, if wages continued to increase at healthy levels and where healthcare costs, university fees and HDB flat prices were not sharply increased, Singaporeans would be earning adequate wages to sufficiently fund their healthcare, education, housing and retirement needs (if CPF interest rates were also not driven down) and “self-rely” on themselves. In this way, Singapore would have developed our own basic income model where everyone would be paid adequately to fund their own expenses without the need for high government social spending (assuming people who are unemployed also receive unemployment benefits).

On top of that, if the education system did not become as segregated into the different academic streams and if we work to reduce the segregation, as well as to bring wages to parity (where the consistent wage increases would have also increased wages for the poor and reduced the rich-poor gap and income inequality), Singapore would have become a much more equal place.

Some people said that Singapore was in our golden period in the 1980s and 1990s. I agree. We had a good economic and social balance at that time but due to what I deem as policy missteps (due in part to greed of the political elite), the balance is lost today and our system has become heavily unequal, undoing the reductions in inequality that Singapore achieved from independence in the 1960s to 1980s.

The resultant effect is that the entrepreneur spirit has also been driven out of Singapore because of high costs and rents, but also because of low wages which in total make risks too high for people to take. An unequal environmental and political fear and the indoctrination of political propaganda has also caused Singaporeans to become too docile and compliant a population to form an entrepreneur core.

Where the Nordic countries reformed their system in the 1990s after the economic crisis to encourage even more entrepreneurship, Singapore went the other way instead. There was reason for then-prime minister Goh Chok Tong to be optimistic that Singapore could have a Swiss standard of living. It did seem that Singapore was supposed to go in that direction.

But a greedy political class which started enabling the economy to benefit themselves and a regressive economic strategy which sank back into the approaches of the 1960s and 1970s, to promote Singapore as a low-cost investment hub (and therefore depressed wages) threw Singapore backwards and which reversed both the social and economic growth in Singapore.

I might have some slight sympathy for Goh Chok Tong when he cried out on his Facebook a few years ago that Singapore needs to reduce its inequality. Is it a sign that he acknowledges that the Singapore that he had oversaw in the 1990s is unravelling in front of his very own eyes? I would like to think that he would have the hindsight to recognise it, and is worried about the country’s long term progress, or regression, if we could call it so. 

When a NASA-funded study explained that unequal societies eventually fall apart because of worsening poverty and a political class which are immuned to the growing social and economic problems until it is too late when the problems hit them in the face, and there is very little else they can do to undo the situation, I am inclined to believe that this is what is going to happen to Singapore.

Some people might not believe it, especially for those who support the PAP and the political elites among the PAP. I do not know, for I am not a psychic. But do I think the growing poverty is a problem? Yes, I do. Do I think the lack of local companies to ground Singapore’s economy on, due to the high costs of entrepreneurship, is a problem? Yes, I do. Do I think the dwindling consumption ability of Singaporeans is a problem, as it reduces domestic consumption and economic growth? Yes, I do.

But on the other end of the equation, the PAP government and its supporters believe that Singapore’s GDP is high and that should be celebrated in spite of the comparative low wages and share of GDP that actually go back to Singaporeans. They also believe that they have amassed a high amount of reserves from the savings (and CPF) of Singaporeans and this would tide the political elite through ruling Singapore and that is fine, even if Singaporeans are the ones to shoulder the burden with the inability to save enough for consumption and retirement, and whom many have to work until their deaths to pay for the national debt. Of course, the political elite have paid themselves high enough salaries to be immuned to the worries of the common man and are therefore able to blame Singaporeans as being lazy. Make more money to sustain my self-reliance, you ungrateful peasants, they almost seem to say. Does this only confirm what the NASA-funded study have found? I would like to think so. Therefore my prognosis of Singapore is not a good one at its current development.

For the PAP, it would like to think that for those of us who advocate for equality,  or who speak up or protest on related issues, such as on the lack of transparency on the government’s management of the CPF, that we are troublemakers or that we are seeking to unravel the wealth that they have created for themselves.

Well, for me, I do want to fight to reduce their wealth, because of the arguments that I had laid out above. Singapore’s high inequality and a political elite which rewards themselves while punishing the majority of Singaporeans is simply not a sustainable model to govern Singapore, both economically and socially – and which will eventually turn around and bite the political elite in their own bums. Research has already shown that worsening inequality reduces economic growth.

As I was discussing with a friend yesterday (and which started the impetus for this article), there are fundamentally different approaches on how to fight and what to fight for, for people who believe in the PAP’s ideology of self-reliance versus that of those who believe in greater equality.

On the former, people who fight to be self-reliant are fighting for themselves, against others, so that they can get ahead and strive for themselves. In a system which is narrow at the top, few succeed while the rest languish.

For those who fight for equality, we fight for the masses (or so we would like to believe). We fight together and for everyone, for more redistributive policies and greater equality in wage distribution and resource access, so that everyone can get ahead – so that the level-playing field is made more equal and everyone gets a chance to get ahead and succeed together. This is at least what we hope to achieve.

Is this dangerous? Perhaps it is, to the political elite who see their political power and wealth threatened.

But it would benefit the greater population, and not only that, would be a more sustainable economic and social solution for society and the country.

Does such a model already exists? It does – the Nordic countries and to some extent, Western Europe, Japan and Taiwan exemplify such a model. 

In the end, in a country as Singapore which has a democratic structure (but hijacked by authoritarian rule), change in Singapore will be determined by those whom have been bought over by the PAP’s ideology of self-reliance vis-a-vis those who believe in equality for all.

But the main impediment is the fear by those aligned to the PAP that they would lose what they believe they have fought for, and for the rest that they would lose what they never had in the first place – protection for healthcare, education and retirement etc – and the fear that causes them to lose their ability to envisage a different form of society, or a more equal one. It is also the fear that the ruling elites have that they cannot manage a reformist change that they fear would bring them out of power (and their wealth) that makes them too fearful to change. 

To that end, as long as the PAP continues to make regular persecutions against Singaporeans who dare to envision a different form of future, this the PAP believes will act as the necessary impetus to continue to sustain the fear among Singaporeans. 

In Singapore, fear is the mother of all of our problems. And if there is a lesson for the world to learn, it is that an obsessive-compulsive Virgo-perfectionist(-Lee Kuan Yew) desire to control will only stifle your populace which in the short term consolidates your power but in the longer term prohibits change and will result in lower economic growth, and your own wealth and the eventual downfall of your power. Democracy is not just an ideal because it is a hip Western concept. The West dealt with different models of governance before they finally stumbled back onto democracy which was used by ancient Greece. Problem with the West is that they seem to believe that democracy is their idea to own that it has turned the rest of the world away from it, partly due to the rest having corrupt leaders and still undergoing their own evolution of governance. It does not help that the West also practices hypocrisy in the democracy and human rights that they preach which does not lend credibility to democracy as a governing fundamental.

But there will come a time in Singapore when the balance is tipped, either when a confluence of factors – the PAP’s growing ineffectual governance, growing poverty and economic woes, and the resultant reduced fears – come together to force Singaporeans to decide to vote for calibrated change, or when the inequality in the system bogs it down to the extent that the system collapses on itself.

Only time will tell how Singapore will shape or if an enlightened leader will also emerge to bring about the change so urgently required for Singapore right now. SG50 was the turning point opportunity that looks set to be squandered away. 

But “self-reliance” or not, this was never really the issue. A political elite which has become greedy and hijacked government for its own purposes has created the facade of “self-reliance”, and a compliant populace who have become complicit in their unwavering adherence to this ideological concept further entrenches the political elite’s hold onto power and the worsening inequality, and its economic and social effects further consolidating the elite’s power is what has taken root in Singapore.

Singapore’s future requires Singaporeans – the government and the people together – to take a good, hard and honest look at the situation and to decide for themselves that if they want a more economically and socially sustainable future, what steps they are willing to take to achieve it and to protect this place that they call home, if it is still what it is.

(This post was originally written as a Facebook post but it got too long, so I decided to publish it on my blog instead.)

Temasek Holdings revealed two days ago that its portfolio plunged 9%.

Temasek also posted the following chart on the source of funds that it manages.

Temasek stated that it does not manage Singapore CPF (pension) savings and Singapore Government reserves.

I drew the chart below to show how the CPF is connected to Temasek.

You can see the orange circles numbered 1 to 5 – please refer to the relevant numbered quotes below for further evidence.

The quotes are extracted from government websites and officials, and academics.

(1) Minister for Labour and Communications Ong Teng Cheong (1982):

(2) Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam (2014):

(3) Singapore Ministry of Finance websites:

(4) Singapore government’s ‘Factually’ website (2016):

(5) Linda Low’s ‘Developmental States: Relevancy, Redundancy Or Reconfiguration?’ book (2004):

(5 also) Albert H. Y. Chen and Hongyi Chen’s ‘Constitutionalism in Asia in the Early Twenty-First Century’ book (2014):

(A) Note that Temasek said (in the chart above) that it does not “manage government reserves”.

(B) But this was what the government said on the Ministry of Finance’s website: “Our reserves are managed by … Temasek Holdings”.

(C) The Singapore Ministry of Finance also said that “the Government is the sole equity shareholder of Temasek Holdings”.

So anyway, I am just presenting the information here. You decide for yourself if Temasek Holdings uses Singaporeans’ CPF monies.

All I am asking for is for the government to be transparent with how it uses the funds of Singaporeans, so that we can jointly decide how to manage our nation’s and Singaporeans’ monies.

Moreover, it was Temasek CEO Ho Ching who said: “we recognise that the ultimate shareholders of Temasek are the past, present and future generations of Singapore.”

Ho Ching is the Singapore prime minister Lee Hsien Loong’s wife, who is also the chairman of Singapore’s only other investment firm, GIC.

Singaporeans’ CPF is also channelled into the GIC (look at the brown line below).

Together, the GIC and Temasek Holdings are ranked the 8th and 12th largest sovereign wealth funds in the world.

Singapore’s CPF pension funds have instead become one of the least adequate in the world.

Read more:

• How the PAP Tried to Hide What They are Doing With Your CPF

Today, on this date 2 years ago, I received the demand letter from the prime minister to sue me – 10 days after my birthday.

The prime minister sued me for an article that I had written on the Central Provident Fund (CPF) pension funds of Singaporeans. I have to pay the prime minister S$180,000.

This is the latest update on the funds raised for the defamation suit with the Singapore prime minister.

As of the last update, S$10 was raised via my POSB bank account (130-23068-7 Ngerng Yi Ling).

Another S$125.60 was raised via my PayPal (royngerng@gmail.com).

A man gave S$100 on my birthday on May 9 and sent this note – thank you, sir!

Two days ago, a man also visited my dad’s stall and gave S$300. The man ate two plates of black and white carrot cake. Thank you for this, my friend.

My dad sells carrot cake in Ang Mo Kio at Block 107 in Ang Mo Kio. He is opened on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from about 4pm to about 11pm/midnight.

Thank You for Your Support for the Fund Raising

As of today, $$31,146.31 has been raised. I still have to pay another S$149,800 to the prime minister.

If you would also like to help to defray the costs and damages, you can also fund raise to the bank account at POSB Savings Bank Account 130-23068-7 (Ngerng Yi Ling) or PayPal at royngerng@gmail.com. Thank you.

The funds coming in have slowed down. For transparency, I will continue to update on the funds raised and used, on this blog.

I have also attached my LinkedIn profile here. I was fired after I was sued – the hospital that I worked at and the Singapore Ministry of Health sent out press releases to support the firing, with the hospital alluding to the defamation suit.

I am looking for a job, scholarship or fellowship. Please contact me on my LinkedIn or at royngerng@gmail.com if there are any opportunity.

 View Roy Ngerng’s profile

*****

Background: In 2014, I was sued by the Singapore prime minister for defamation. The judge ruled in a summary judgment that I have defamed the prime minister. I have apologised to the prime minister. I was ordered to pay damages of S$150,000 to him. In an agreement reached with the prime minister, I am to pay an additional S$30,000 in costs. In total, including the previous payment that I have made to the costs of the summary judgment (S$29,000) and application for the Queen’s Counsel (S$6,000), I would have paid/will pay S$215,000. 

I have paid the first tranche of S$30,000 (of the S$180,000) to the prime minister in March 2016. From April 1, 2016, for the next 5 years, I have to pay $100 every month. Thereafter, from 2021, I have to pay $1,000 every month until I finish paying.

You can read the previous updates here: [One] [Two] [Three] [Four] [Five] [Six] [Seven] [Eight] [Nine] [Ten] [Eleven] [Twelve] [Thirteen] [Fourteen] [Fifteen] [Sixteen] [Seventeen] [Eighteen].I would also like to thank the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and Safenet for releasing statements in support of me, as well as iMediaEthics, Hong Kong Free Press and Norway’s NRK (here and here) for interviewing me.

You can also read a previous update on the funds raised in 2014 and its usage. Thank you to The Straits Times and Mothership.sg for reporting on the fund raising. There were inaccurate online rumours spread that the funds were used to pay overseas trips. This is untrue. You can read more about these in the update here.

These are the photos and messages from Singaporeans who believe in Dr Chee and hope that he will be their voice in parliament.

Thank you everyone for sending these in and thank you to Dr Chee.

Dr Chee has fought the hard fight. Together we can be the change we believe.

(I am still compiling the photos. Please keep your photos and messages coming in. I will be uploading them until tomorrow. If I have missed out on your photo, please let me know!)

“The following are my well-wishes:

I’m sending in my support via email in this way, as pap has also taken action against me too. My facebook account is first blocked, followed by termination, little thanks to pap smears and their internet brigades.

I believe in God, and that we need to speak up for those who can’t speak up for themselves. The strong may yield, but the weak need to fight for their rights at times.”

“I believe in Dr. Chee. He us one man that refused to be cowed by the PAP bullying tactic. Although he is financially destroyed by the PAP and demonised, he continues to fight on. That is the strength of his character and no amount of character assassination by the PAP can stop him. Whatever mistake he committed, he has been penalised in full..

No Minister or MP from the PAP can stand up to him and debate him openly in Parliament. So, by hook or by crook, the PAP will keep him out for as long as they can. He has the courage to ask tough questions and demand answers. No PAP Ministers or MP will dare to do that.

Here are some of the questions I want Dr. Chee to ask if he got elected into Parliament:

1) Why is the Government giving out so many scholarship to foreigners when Singaporeans need to pay?

2) Why foreign scholarship holders are guaranteed a job and not Singaporeans?

3) Why are we giving away PRs/Citizenship like a piece if cake to foreigners?

4) Why Singaporeans do not have priority for jobs?

5) Why are Malaysian bus drivers granted PRs?

Good luck, Dr. Chee!

Roland Soh”

I just made the second installment for the defamation suit. Drew and Napier – the prime minister’s lawyers – sent me the receipt of acknowledgement yesterday.

I still have to pay the prime minister S$149,800.

As a background, I was sued by the Singapore prime minister in May 2014 in relation to an article that I had written on Singaporeans’ Central Provident Fund (CPF) pension funds. I then lost my job for political reasons and was charged in relation to a protest.

I was asked to pay a total of S$180,000 to the prime minister. S$30,000 (for the costs) has been paid in March 2016. And I have made two installment payments.

I have to pay monthly installments to the prime minister for the next 17 years, until 2033.

Funds Raised to Date

To update on the funds raised, I have received S$120 via my POSB bank account (130-23068-7 Ngerng Yi Ling) since the last update.

I have also received another S$50 via PayPal (royngerng@gmail.com).

A few days ago, some customers at my dad’s stall also passed him some funds – a total of S$400. My dad said that an uncle and his wife passed S$150. Three friends gave S$100, S$50 and S$50. Also, a young couple gave S$50.

Three supporters also passed me S$50, S$30 and S$10 at the third Bukit Batok by-election rally that SDP held – a total of S$90.

In total, S$30,710.71 has been raised. Thank you for your support. I am grateful.

Thank You for Your Support for the Fund Raising

Thus far, a total of $$30,710.71 has been raised. I still have to pay another S$149,800 to the prime minister.

If you would also like to help to defray the costs and damages, you can also fund raise to the bank account at POSB Savings Bank Account 130-23068-7 (Ngerng Yi Ling) or PayPal at royngerng@gmail.com. Thank you.

My dad sells carrot cake at Block 107 in Ang Mo Kio. Some people had visited my dad’s stall to pass him some contributions. Dad’s stall is open on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from about 4pm to about 11pm/midnight.

The funds coming in have slowed down. But for transparency, I will continue to update on the funds raised and used, on this blog.

Meanwhile, I have also attached my LinkedIn profile here, if it might be of interest. I was fired after I was sued – the hospital that I worked at and the Ministry of Health, Singapore sent out press releases to support the firing, with the hospital alluding to the defamation suit.

If you have a job opening, scholarship or fellowship, please feel free to contact me on the opportunities. I would be grateful if you do so. I am open to working overseas as well.

 View Roy Ngerng’s profile

*****

Background: In 2014, I was sued by the Singapore prime minister for defamation. The judge ruled in a summary judgment that I have defamed him. I have apologised to the prime minister. I was ordered to pay damages of S$150,000 to him. In a settlement reached with the help of my lawyer Eugene Thuraisingam, I am to pay an additional S$30,000 in costs. In total, including the previous payment that I have made to the costs of the summary judgment (S$29,000) and application for the Queen’s Counsel (S$6,000), I would have paid/will pay S$215,000. 

I have paid the first tranche of S$30,000 (of the S$180,000) to the prime minister. From April 1, 2016, for the next 5 years, I have to pay $100 every month. Thereafter, from 2021, I have to pay $1,000 every month until I finish paying.

You can read the previous updates here: [One] [Two] [Three] [Four] [Five] [Six] [Seven] [Eight] [Nine] [Ten] [Eleven] [Twelve] [Thirteen] [Fourteen] [Fifteen] [Sixteen] [Seventeen]. I would like to thank Mothership.sg for reporting about the fund raising. 

I would also like to thank the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and Safenet for releasing statements in support of me, as well as iMediaEthics, Hong Kong Free Press and Norway’s NRK (here and here) for interviewing me.

You can also read the previous update on the funds raised in 2014 and its usage. I would like to thank The Straits Times for reporting about it. There were also inaccurate online reports that the funds were used to pay overseas trips. This is untrue. You can read more about these in the update here.

I believe in Chee Soon Juan.

Today is Cooling Off Day. Dr Chee has stood up for Singaporeans. Let us back him up too.

If you would like, upload a photo of yourself on Facebook in support of Dr Chee and tag me, or you can send it to me via Facebook or at my email at royngerng@gmail.com.

Like most Singaporeans, I was concerned about bread and butter issues. I was concerned about the cost of living, about whether I can pay for my hospital bills, afford to further my studies or to be able to save enough to retire.

It was only when I was persecuted and charged later that I understood what it meant.

When you are the one to face such attacks, you live each day listening to the lies they say about you.

All of a sudden, I was “deranged” and a “troublemaker”. I was labelled terms which are not who I am.

When I wrote the articles on my blog, it was because I wanted a better Singapore, and a more equal society where our people would be taken care of.

So I was shocked when month after month, the government and state media turned against me and falsified my character.

It was not easy. How to you live with the untruths that people say about you?

Some of you would understand when rumours or gossips were spread about you. Already, it was hard for you to deal with.

Imagine that multiplied several times on a national level.

At times, I became depressed.

But you keep telling yourself to remember who you are and what you really set up to do. You keep picking yourself up and focusing on the goodness of why you do what you do.

And this is why I admire Dr Chee. I spent 2 years and it has already been a tedious journey.

He spent more than 20 years and all this time, having to be strong for his family, wife and children. And all this time, teaching his children the right values.

None of us can understand the pain and hardship that he has to go through except maybe great men and women like Nelson Mandela and Aung San Suu Kyi.

It was only when the government kept attacking me that I realised that the government does not want me to talk about social issues in Singapore and the Central Provident Fund (CPF) – because if I kept exposing the problems in Singapore, the government would have to deal with them.

For a government where profits and high salaries matter to themselves, to increase wages for the people and increase expenditure on health and education, and retirement for Singaporeans, mean lesser for themselves. Why would they do that?

This is why they wanted to persecute me.

Someone told me – you exposed them and threatened their wealth. Of course they would come after you.

But I told her, they took our money and our CPF to use without telling Singaporeans. It is they who are wrong. Shouldn’t I write about it?

In Singapore, it is a constant struggle to want to be true to yourself and to be honest, or to suppress your feelings out of fear.

I chose to be true.

So has Dr Chee.

He gave up the career he could have in America to fight for a Singapore he believes in – one which Singaporeans can live in justice and equality.

How many of us dare to do that? Or are willing to do that?

It has not been an easy road for Dr Chee. But he persevered.

But he believes. In a new vision. In Singaporeans.

We might not have the gumption or strength that Dr Chee has. But the least we can do is to admire the grit and courage that he has.

It is because of Dr Chee that right now, we still can hope for a different future.

It is because of Dr Chee that today we can hope that this by-election will bring us a new hope and a new future.

Dr Chee believes that one day things will get better for Singapore and Singaporeans.

Dr Chee trusts in Singaporeans.

And for this, he has my confidence.

I believe in Dr Chee.

I believe in the vision he has for Singapore. I believe in the hopes and dreams he has for Singaporeans.

I believe that he will fight for Singaporeans, as he has.

In him, I trust.

In him, I have hope.

In him, I dare to dream again.

I believe in Chee Soon Juan.

Singapore will be holding a by-election at the Bukit Batok constituency this Saturday. The opposition candidate contesting from the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) is Dr Chee Soon Juan.

Dr Chee Soon Juan has been fighting for Singaporeans for the past more than 20 years. The ruling party, the People’s Action Party (PAP), for the past 50 years made him lose his job and in spite of offers from American universities to teach there, Dr Chee chose to remain in Singapore to fight for Singaporeans.

The PAP had once invited Dr Chee to join them but Dr Chee declined because he believed in a more progressive and equal Singapore.

The PAP today has been running a smear campaign against Dr Chee Soon Juan. A petition started by actress Neo Swee Lin and a group of activists, lawyers and other artists, and signed by thousands of Singaporeans, say that they “do not condone the personal attacks and character assassination made by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Speaker of Parliament Halimah Yacob, and Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Grace Fu, against Dr Chee Soon Juan of the SDP”. Ex-prime minister Goh Chok Tong and Minister for Social and Family Development Tan Chuan-Jin have also waded in with their remarks against Dr Chee.

“We are deeply saddened at the manner in which the campaign is run, having deteriorated to a level that undermines our Singaporean values. It is indeed a sad state of affairs when people who have been entrusted with positions of power and leadership perpetuate such unbecoming behaviour,” the petition also says.

I have signed the petition. You can sign the petition here too.

Neo Swee Lin also spoke at SDP’s rally on Tuesday. She said: “In a perfect future, we will have a true democracy in Singapore, with more balanced views represented in parliament.”

She also said: “Residents of Bukit Batok, I envy you. You are so lucky. You have a chance to vote for Dr Chee Soon Juan this time. I urge you, Bukit Batok residents, please vote for Dr Chee so that he can be our voice in parliament. So he can be an alternative voice, someone who will ask all the questions that we want to hear. He will be your full time MP. What more can you ask for, right?”

I was at the rally to take photos. You can see some of the photos here.

These are the volunteers who work tirelessly with the Singapore Democratic Party.

Here’s Dr Wong Souk Yee, who wrote the book, ‘Death of a Perm Sec’. She also ran in the 2015 general election with the SDP in the Marsiling-Yew Tee Group Representation Constituency  (GRC).

This is one of the audience members who came very early for the rally and who quickly smiled for me.

An elderly man also came with his wife (below). 

You can see the look of confidence in this man’s eyes. 

Speaking was Neo Swee Lin (or more affectionately known as “Ah Ma” in Phua Chua Kang).

A sign language interpreter was at the rally to interpret the speeches for a group of people.

The people who hold a torch for Dr Chee.

The people who listen intently to him.

And the Singaporeans who clap for Dr Chee.

And our very own Dr Chee Soon Juan.

#NowIsTheTime

You can see more of the photos at my album on Facebook here.

SDP has also come out with several policy papers on healthcare, education, housing, ministerial salaries, their town council plan and for the Malay community, among others. You can read more about the policy papers here. Dr Chee has said that he will debate on these policies when he is voted into parliament.

SDP’s next rally will be held today at 7pm at the open field along the Bukit Batok Industrial Park A (behind the Bukit Batok Swimming Complex).

Once upon a time, two hundred years ago, some lions decided to set up a farm. They sent out a notice to invite all the animals of the land to come and settle at the farm.

When the lions came, there were already some chickens on the land. The lions were tempted to eat them but it decided that it needed workers on its farm, and it needed to attract other animals to the farm, so it decided to keep the chickens.

The lion signed a treaty with the chickens that it would not eat the chickens as long as the chickens would give a portion of the eggs they lay to the lions for food.

Soon, foxes from the neighbouring towns of Macca and Penan also came to the farm to work.

The foxes were sly and quick-witted. The foxes were bright red in colour and they travelled in red junk boats to the farm. They brought with them red poppy and wanted to grow poppy farms.

They started growing poppy in a small corner of the farm but soon, more foxes were coming to the farm and the poppy business became lucrative. The lions who ruled the farm saw how money could be made and started collecting rent from the foxes on where the red poppies grow.

The foxes were unhappy but they grudging paid. But the foxes knew that if they did not want to pay, then they had to do something.

One day, the most influential fox went up the the head lion and told the lion that the foxes could help the lion control the chickens. Both the lions and foxes ate only meat and the chickens were afraid of them. The lions thought that it was a brilliant plan and made the foxes commissioners to set rules on the farm.

Very soon, the foxes grew very rich. They had many chickens working on their poppy fields. Horses, pigs and sheep from far and wide also came to work at the farm. The wolves and dogs also came.

The foxes also found some precious metals in the ground and realised they could make rubber from trees. With the new discovery, they wanted to expand their business to also ship the red poppy, metal and rubber to the other farms.

But the foxes needed more money and went to the lions for help. The lions were operating banks but they did not trust the foxes and would not lend money to the foxes to help them.

Spurred, the foxes decided that they had to set up their own banks. The foxes set up one bank, then another, and another. The banks were bringing in money. Seeing how successful the foxes were, the wolves and dogs also set up their own banks but theirs never grew as big as the foxes’.

But one day, drought hit the farm. The lions and foxes lost money as the farm could not produce enough things to sell. The foxes decided to merge their banks into one and they survived.

All was well for a while. The foxes continued to vy for power and expand their businesses.

Word soon came that the foxes in a nearby farm were fighting the elephants. The elephants had invaded that farm. The foxes in the lion’s farm started raising funds to support the foxes in the other farm in their fight. This made the elephants unhappy and they held a grudge.

So one day, the elephants also came to the lion’s farm. They started trampling all over the farm. The elephants were too big. They ran into the lion’s den and used their tusks to haul the lions up and throw them into the mud ditch. The lions were stuck and were held prisoners.

The elephants then turned against the foxes and started crushing the foxes beneath their feet. They also pushed some of the foxes to the mud ditch. Some of the foxes died. This scared the other foxes very much.

A group of foxes went to the elephants and told them that the foxes would do anything the elephants wanted, in exchange for their lives. The elephants also needed money so they agreed and let these foxes continue to operate their banks.

A few years later, the tide turned and the river washed away the mud. The lions were freed and chased the elephants away.

Meanwhile, the foxes decided that they were doing alright by themselves and decided that they did not need the lions to support them. The foxes in the other farms had also started taking over their farms.

The lions knew what was coming and decided that the wise thing to do was to slowly let the foxes take over and leave.

In the neighbouring farm, there were some tigers which continued to live with the foxes. The lion’s farm – now the foxes’ farm – wanted to merge with the foxes in the neighbouring farm so that they can expand their banks and business.

But the tiger was too smart for them. It kicked the foxes out.

That was 50 years ago.

The head fox felt that since he could not rule the tiger’s farm anyway, he was more than happy to be ruler of his own farm. He pretended that he was sad to leave and shed crocodile tears. But truth was, the head fox was overjoyed – the sly and willy one.

But he had a smart fox wife – whose extended family was controlling the banks. Without the fox wife, the head fox would be nothing.

He knew he had to do something.

When the head fox first ruled the farm, he had gotten the dogs on his side, so that he could convince the other animals to support him.

He said that all animals would be equal.

But the dogs knew the foxes were sly and would never keep to their word, so they decided to split from the foxes. The dogs wanted the animals to choose between the foxes and the dogs to rule the farm.

But the head fox was having none of it. He threw the dogs into the mud ditch. He also took some wolves, chickens, horses and pigs and threw them inside, to set an example.

But what did we do?, the animals shouted in unison.

The head fox barked at them – you are conspirators!

The animals were stunned. They did not know what they did to invite such anger. Didn’t the fox said that all animals would be equal under his rule?

But unbeknownst to the animals, it was power and control that the head fox wanted. He was not going to let go of it so easily. So he kept them in the mud ditch until they decided to do his bidding.

But it wouldn’t be the first time he sent the animals to the mud ditch. Everytime he became insecure with his power, he would fabricate stories t find a reason to throw the animals into the mud ditch.

Later, the head fox set up his own bank and made his friends the owners of the bank. He was afraid that the bank of his fox wife’s family would not support him. And wanted to set up his own to have control.

He then set up two holding banks and made all the animals on the farm give their produce to his banks to own. The animals had no choice. They would otherwise be eaten up.

But the head fox was still wary of the wolves and dogs who had their own banks. So the head fox went up to the wolves. Without a word, the wolves bowed to the head fox and said they would do anything he wanted.

And the head fox went to the dogs. But the dogs barked and chased him away. Angered, the head fox decided to use his own bank to buy over the dogs’ bank.

But the dogs would not go down without a fight. They ran to the wolves and begged the wolves to take them in. Taking pity on them, the wolves took over the dogs’ bank instead.

The head fox let it go on the account of the wolves’ loyalty to it. But he stripped some dogs of their residency. Without a place to stay, some dogs had to leave.

With everything in his control, the head fox started asking all the animals to give him 50 percent of their produce into his Central Produce Farm.

Again, the animals had no choice. They were too scared to do anything. They did not want to be thrown into the mud ditch.

But the head fox was not satisfied. To secure his foothold on the farm, he decided that he had to bring his son into the fold. The head fox put his own relatives into key positions of power and made his son the deputy head fox.

The head fox then made the animals give more of their produce to him so that he could pay higher salaries to the fox ministers.

There was to be no end in sight for the animals.

Disgusted, one animal asked, “where is our money?” And in one blow, the head fox put the sledgehammer down and took the animal’s money all away. And then another animal. And another.

That will teach him to speak up, the head fox thought to himself.

But the foxes’ desire to make more money got into their heads. They controlled the banks. They ruled the land.

They also controlled the rents. They decided to make the animals pay more for the land. And the barn the land sat on.

But the foxes were still not contended. They wanted to earn more profits. They decided that they could bring in rats to work on the farm. The rats were known to be cheap and fast. So the foxes brought them in.

But the rats started stealing the animals’ produce. They took the chicken’s eggs. And they razed the grass the horses ate.

Sensing their livelihoods at stake, the animals protested to the foxes.

But the foxes turned a blind eye and continued to drink their red wine and played golf on the side.

The son of the head fox which has since taken over – the new head fox – told the animals that they needed to learn to be as hungry as the rats, or else their food will be stolen away.

To show he means business, the new head fox sent more money to the rats to bring them into the farm.

All this while, the new head fox (and his father) told the animals to learn to be self-reliant.

But even as the foxes told the animals to rely on themselves, they continue to take the produce from the animals for themselves and lived lavishly.

The chickens were angered. Their eggs were stolen. And so were their land. They kept quiet in frustration. They were the smallest animals on the land, after the rats, and they felt they could not do anything to change the situation.

The horses decided that they would continue working hard because the foxes told them that if the horses worked hard, one day they would become the foxes and live a life of luxury. The horses believed the foxes, not realising that horses can never become foxes.

The pigs continued to roll in their mud. They were becoming complacent and apathetic. The pigs thought to themselves, that if they did not disturb the foxes, the foxes would not disturb them and they could roll quietly all day long.

Meanwhile, the wolves kept to themselves, not willing to rock the boat since they were doing quite well on their own. The dogs were scared stiff by the foxes and they did not dare to speak up. But they felt more and more suppressed and started barking at one another.

Soon, all the animals were started to feel the pressure and started barking at one another, even the rats.

The sheep, well, they remained sheep.

After a while, many of the horses grew weak and tired. They had worked hard all their lives and decided that it was time to rest. The horses went to the foxes and asked to retire.

But the foxes told them that there was no money. What about their Central Produce Farm, which they could feed on to retire? But lo and behold, there wasn’t enough.

So the horses had to continue to work. One by one, they worked until they all died.

Next, it was the pigs’ turn. The pigs went to the foxes. They have been rolling in the mud too long and they were getting rashes on their bums. They needed to see the doctor to get healed.

But the foxes told them that there was no money. What about their Central Produce Farm, to see the doctor with? But lo and behold, there wasn’t enough.

So the pigs could not see the doctor. One by one, they fell sick until they all died.

The wolves were the first to see the sign of trouble. They had made enough money to leave the farm, so one by one, they packed their bags and left.

The dogs were too scared to do anything still. And they got scared to death.

The chickens were still on the farm. They revolted and threw their eggs at the foxes. So the foxes killed the chickens and ate them for breakfast. Some of the chickens escaped to the neighouring farm.

But the foxes were still hungry. So they ate the sheep for lunch. But the sheep remained oblivious even as they were being eaten alive.

There were still some rats left on the farm. The smart ones had already ran away. Without the chickens to lay the eggs, the foxes ate the rats for dinner.

With no more animals, the foxes had no more Central Produce Farm to feed on. Their banks closed down. So did their holding banks.

With no food, the foxes preyed on one another and engulfed each other until almost no one was alive.

Then, the tigers strolled in from the neighbouring farm and ate the rest for supper.

The end.

Two days ago, I put up some charts on the families that rule Singapore.

Here are the simplified versions.

In the chart below, you can see how Singapore’s leaders are related to one another, and how their relationships extend back to the 1800s.

Teo Lee, on the top left, lived from 1833 to 1899. Ang Choon Seng, on the top right, lived from 1805 to 1852. Singapore’s current deputy prime minister, Teo Chee Hean (bottom left) is Teo Lee’s descendant. Tony Tan (bottom right), the previous deputy prime minister and the current president, is the descendant of Ang Choon Seng.

In this next chart, you can see the political connections (highlighted in orange). These families take up 2 positions as prime ministers, 2 as deputy prime ministers, 2 as presidents and 2 as ministers. (Note that these are only the known connections.)

But not only that, their ancestors also held political leadership positions. Lee Choon Guan, Tan Jiak Kim and Kwa Siew Tee were also Municipal Commissioners. Wee Theam Seng’s brother, Wee Theam Tew (not mentioned here), was also a Municipal Commissioner. Tan Keong Saik was also elected to the Municipal Commission. Lee Choon Guan and Tan Jiak Kim also sat on the Legislative Council.

Together, they held the majority of the positions for Municipal Commissioners that Straits Chinese held. Municipal Commissioners oversaw local urban affairs in Singapore. The Legislative Council was responsible for enacting laws in Singapore.

Today, their descendants hold leadership positions in the Singapore government.

The chart below shows you the banking connections (highlighted in green). Note that the highlighted people are all connected to the OCBC Bank and its predecessors, and they all lived during the same era and after.

OCBC was formed from the merger of three banks – Chinese Commercial Bank (1912), Ho Hong Bank (1917) and Oversea-Chinese Bank (1919).

Lim Nee Soon was the Oversea-Chinese Bank’s chairman and the Chinese Commercial Bank’s vice-chairman. Lee Kong Chian was also a vice-chairman and Tan Jiak Kim, a director, at the Chinese Commercial Bank. Lee Choon Guan was the Chinese Commercial Bank’s chairman. He was also a shareholder of the Ho Hong Bank. Wee Theam Seng was the Chinese Commercial Bank’s manager.

Wee Theam Seng and Teo Beng Wan were both OCBC’s senior bankers. Kwa Siew Tee and Tan Cheng Siong were OCBC general managers. Tan Kah Kee played an influential role at OCBC.

Tan Chin Tuan, Lee Kong Chian, Teo Cheng Guan and Tony Tan were OCBC chairmen. Tan Chin Tuan was also its managing director and Tony Tan was its CEO. Lee Kong Chian’s son, Lee Seng Wee (not mentioned here), was also a chairman, and his grandson, Warren Lee Tih Shih (also not mentioned here) is also a director.

In the chart below, you can see the GIC and Temasek Holdings connections (highlighted in blue). The positions are also listed. (GIC and Temasek Holdings are the two government investment firms.)

Again, they all hold top positions.

Lee Kuan Yew and Lee Hsien Loong (was) and is the GIC’s chairmen. Goh Keng Swee and Tony Tan were both GIC’s deputy chairmen. Tony Tan was also the executive director.

Lim Kim San and Teo Chee Hean (was) and is the GIC’s directors.

Ho Ching is Temasek Holding’s current CEO and Lim Boon Heng is its current chairman.

Singaporeans’ Central Provident Fund (CPF) pension funds are invested by the GIC and Temasek Holdings.

Today, Singaporeans earn the lowest long term returns on their pension funds and have one of the least adequate retirement funds in the world.

GIC and Temasek Holdings have become one of the richest sovereign wealth funds in the world, at 8th and 11th respectively (at the time of writing), on the back of Singaporeans’ CPF pension funds.

If you want to see the full charts, you can go to my previous article.

Note that these are only the known connections as much of the information is not available online.

These charts give you a sense of the closeness of the family networks in Singapore’s political leadership and its close links with the OCBC Bank. Most of them also hold top political and banking positions.

Not only that, these few families have been holding key positions in government and the financial sector in Singapore since the late 1800s, which means that there hasn’t been a break in their dominance for more than 100 years (or 130 years). Singapore’s independence from the British in 1965 did not usher in a new era in politics, but rather a continuity in these families holding on to key leadership positions. What independence did bring was that these families no longer had to work under the British.

Most of these families are Straits Chinese (or Peranakan), which formed the Straits Chinese British Association in 1900 (now known as the Peranakan Association) where Tan Jiak Kim was the president and Wee Theam Yew, a founding member. Lee Choon Guan was also a president. They were also active in the General Chinese Trade Affairs Association known today as the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry.

For the references, you can read Jess C Scott’s blog and my blog.