Deep sympathy and solidarity with the people of Haiti

After this article of mine (Deep Sympathy and Solidarity with the People of Haiti), was published in The Online Citizen, the government of Singapore expressed their sympathy to the people of Haiti and donated US$50,000.  I am sure the people of Haiti will be eternally grateful to Singapore for the 50 cents per dead soul donation.

To donate towards Haiti relief efforts, click here: Doctors Without Borders

Recreational campers with permanent housing address

"I have a permanent housing address in Singapore. This application is for the purpose of recreational camping."

How much more ridiculous can NParks get?  

Yeah! So, almost everyone in Singapore has a 'permanent housing address', but just because you have a permanent housing address, it doesn't meant that you have a home.  

In March 2009, National Parks Board (NParks) director Kong Yit San said issuing permits manually by the rangers, has “become increasingly challenging with the growing popularity of camping”, in re-introducing the registration system where permits issued to campers will be valid for a day and each camper can apply for a maximum of eight days per month.  

Which means that if I have 4 people with identification cards in my family (group) and have a 'permanent housing address' in Singapore, I can 'recreationally camp' in the beaches and parks in Singapore for 32 days - and the cycle can continue.  

Why don't the NParks just come-out and admit that the real reason they re-introduced the registration system, is because they could not cope with the menace of the recreational campers, who are homeless despite have a permanent housing address?

A lunch meet with James Gomez

I was at the JBJ memorial event on the evening of 5th January 2010, where James Gomez publicly announced about Singaporeans for Democracy - a non-governmental organisation that he was trying to get registered with the Registry of Societies.

I met up with James the next day over lunch to get the inside story of SFD for The Online Citizen.  The subsequent write-up created some controversy, especially for the 'footnote' at the end of the article.

Read the article here:  The Online Citizen

From political party member to homelessness

I was part of a team which went to Sembawang Park to give out goodie-bags and essential phone numbers to the homeless there.  You can read the write up here: The Online Citizen