In my idle time, I've decided to let my curiousity about the workings of the Singapore government carry me to discover all those online documents that support the transparency that working democracies need. I was not disappointed. In fact, I'm even glad. I had expected the statutes and government gazettes to only be available in printed form, hence justifying "transparent" government but leaving citizens with very limited (or expensive) access.
Anyway, I'm taking the first leg of my rediscovery of Singapore democracy by taking a look at the Singapore Constitution (http://statutes.agc.gov.sg/). The first thing that struck me (just first impressions), is how much the Constitution works its way around laws as opposed to my impression of the US Constitution where the reverse is true (any laws are tested against the constitution). If you don't get what I mean, read the section of the Constitution pertaining to Civil Liberties. There are many provisions in the Constitution that basically say that the law of the day trumps it. I suppose it allows for a flexible Constitution, but it also seems awfully vulnerable to abuse. Perhaps this is a reflection of our insecurities as a new nation?
The USA on the other hand lays down its founding principles in its document, giving future generations the mechanism to change these principles to accomodate the modern needs of the nation. I think I like that approach better ... we state what our ideals (of the day) are for our nation and allow for it to be adjusted based on future needs/contexts. The Singapore Constitution just seems to be very focused on the mechanics of government, imho kinda like "we'd like to express these ideals, but we're building into our text the mechanics for how the government could have a free hand to institute new rules without having to rewrite this document.".
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Thursday, December 21, 2006
It is amazing how Phdcomics reflects my life in Grad school. I used to tell my advisor exactly the same thing, only to find that I had "no time" nor inclination to get anything research-related done while back in Singapore. I've stopped "lying" whenever I take my trip home nowadays (and my advisor knows better than to expect any work from people going home anyways). The way I cut down on the lack of productivity is to avoid going home for more than 2-3 weeks if I can avoid it.
Ok, this will be my last piece of procastination for the day :P.
I figured I'm bored, so I'll try putting up a picture of myself "on display" in the CS department.Whoever was in charge of the displays (which normally houses books written by faculty or parts of the historic machines developed at UIUC) left these display cases open (from the bottom) for about 2-3 days, so I figured the temptation was too much for me :P.
Anyway, it so happened that a visitor from Oak Ridge National Labs was carrying his camera and agreed to help snap a picture of goofy lil me in a display case. Thanks Jeff!
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Pre-Christmas post! Here I am working at the lab, most ppl will be gone and the town's mostly empty. Still, things should be pretty fun, I'll be looking after 2 cute kittens and 2 cats for a couple of friends.
Not much in the way of a post today (in terms of "seriousness"), but hey, it's just an update and it's mah Blog!
Hope everyone back in Singapore is coping well with the recent floods!
Not much in the way of a post today (in terms of "seriousness"), but hey, it's just an update and it's mah Blog!
Hope everyone back in Singapore is coping well with the recent floods!
Thursday, December 07, 2006
Here's something cool: A Credit/Debit card that also allows you to pay for your public transportation.
Nowadays it is just a hassle having so many cards for so many purposes. One could argue that you won't get screwed if you get your card stolen if you had an EZ-link card for public transport in Singapore, but usually you just lose your whole wallet, so you're screwed anyways.
I wonder if the day would come when your biometric features would be used to handle your "credits".
Nowadays it is just a hassle having so many cards for so many purposes. One could argue that you won't get screwed if you get your card stolen if you had an EZ-link card for public transport in Singapore, but usually you just lose your whole wallet, so you're screwed anyways.
I wonder if the day would come when your biometric features would be used to handle your "credits".
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
Strange, how modern life has changed the way we react to things ...
If a person walks out of an elevator ("lift" for those back home) talking to someone but you don't see anyone else inside, you'd use to think he/she's insane. Now, it's perfectly natural to just have little to no reaction, even if you do not see the physical phone or devices used for remote communication.
Recently, my phone line got accidentally cut because of some construction works around my apartment ("flat" for those back home :P) block. I actually felt the weight of isolation squeezing my subconscious (OK, maybe a little overdramatize, but I felt it). It really did not help that I was using DSL for my internet communication so it was a double whammy. Thankfully, my lab was just a few blocks away and I spent my time there instead. In the past, if the phone went dead, I'd be perfectly content to sit down and read a book.
And of course, it's amazing how much more contact I'm having with Teck Beng now that we both post comments on each other's blogs! hehehe. More so than when we were both in Singapore (post-school days of course).
If a person walks out of an elevator ("lift" for those back home) talking to someone but you don't see anyone else inside, you'd use to think he/she's insane. Now, it's perfectly natural to just have little to no reaction, even if you do not see the physical phone or devices used for remote communication.
Recently, my phone line got accidentally cut because of some construction works around my apartment ("flat" for those back home :P) block. I actually felt the weight of isolation squeezing my subconscious (OK, maybe a little overdramatize, but I felt it). It really did not help that I was using DSL for my internet communication so it was a double whammy. Thankfully, my lab was just a few blocks away and I spent my time there instead. In the past, if the phone went dead, I'd be perfectly content to sit down and read a book.
And of course, it's amazing how much more contact I'm having with Teck Beng now that we both post comments on each other's blogs! hehehe. More so than when we were both in Singapore (post-school days of course).
Sunday, December 03, 2006
Well, it looks like the Singapore government has finally decided to provide some reasons for the GST hike (see Channel News Asia article).
I think it is a good idea and certainly worth trying (as usual, they've hidden away much of the implementation details). Social welfare has always suffered from the stigma of depriving citizens under social security from any need or incentive to work their way back into employment.
"Workfare" (I wonder if this is a new concept) appears to be headed in the right direction as a reasonable compromise, essentially saying "If you want help, you've gotta to be seen as seriously trying".
Of course, this is not a black-and-white case. In the US, as I understand it, in order to qualify for payouts, people need to be seen trying to seek employment with certified employment agencies. At the same time, consider this: If one has employment in Singapore but at the same time is unable to support one's family, is this a sign that Singapore's minimum wage is woefully low?
Well, I'm sure there's a lot of ground I've not covered (eg. just what is Singapore's minimum wage?) but then again, I'm a simple (and lazy) engineer. Just more random thoughts in this post ...
I think it is a good idea and certainly worth trying (as usual, they've hidden away much of the implementation details). Social welfare has always suffered from the stigma of depriving citizens under social security from any need or incentive to work their way back into employment.
"Workfare" (I wonder if this is a new concept) appears to be headed in the right direction as a reasonable compromise, essentially saying "If you want help, you've gotta to be seen as seriously trying".
Of course, this is not a black-and-white case. In the US, as I understand it, in order to qualify for payouts, people need to be seen trying to seek employment with certified employment agencies. At the same time, consider this: If one has employment in Singapore but at the same time is unable to support one's family, is this a sign that Singapore's minimum wage is woefully low?
Well, I'm sure there's a lot of ground I've not covered (eg. just what is Singapore's minimum wage?) but then again, I'm a simple (and lazy) engineer. Just more random thoughts in this post ...
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