Sunday 20 October 2013

The Unseen Singapore #10 SG Movers & Shakers Series: Foreign Talents

The videos of an ANG MOH expat riding his bicycle recklessness on Singapore's already cramped roads caused a firestorm on the internet of late. This motivated us to dig up some of Singapore's past and present FTs who made a lasting and POSITIVE contribution to our society. It is a reminder to all netizens that all is not lost and not all foreigners are as trashy as the one in the tight fitting cycling gear. Some have come here in good faith, contributing to Singapore immensely.

Since Singapore is infatuated with its economic success and its military defence, let us commemorate the two man who made it all happen.

First, there is Albert Winsemius who wrote the economic blueprint for Singapore and once they got started, there was simply no looking back. Now, we are the economic miracle of Asia with ridiculous year on year GDP numbers, all thanks to this man and the men who approved his blueprint.

The other is General Rehavam Ze'evi otherwise known as the MEXICAN who arrived in Singapore shortly after Singapore's call for help to set up a military force was ignored by Egypt and Pakistan. He and his team wrote the Singapore Armed Forces military doctrine and gave us the capability to defend ourselves on our own terms.

The last example is someone whom Singaporeans are probably unfamiliar with. In the recent constitutional challenge against the Death Penalty in Singapore, only with the help of Queens Counsel Edward Fitzgerald was human rights lawyer M Ravi able to successfully get the Singapore courts to give inmates on death row
a second chance. Prior to this, lawyer M Ravi had a dismay record of losses against the Singapore Government. However, with a Queens Counsel on his side, the tables were turned and Singapore is one step closer to becoming a true democracy.


Tuesday 1 October 2013

The Unseen Singapore #9 What Actually Happened Series: CapitaLand CEO Liew Mun Leong

This entry is probably not the biggest news by any measure but still this Singaporean Son may have paid the price for going up against his pay masters. Bear in mind that Liew Mun Leong was responsible for delivering consistent profits for CapitaLand and for him to voluntarily "retire" just a month after he denounced the development of shoebox units as "almost inhuman" and promised that CapitaLand would not build residential units for sale that are less than 500 sq ft, it appears to be too much of a coincidence.

To further fuel the hypothesis that Liew may have been forced out of CapitaLand due to his refusal to make
mindless profits at the expense of Singaporeans, CapitaLand made an abrupt U-turn in September 2013 and started selling shoebox units in their latest property development SkyVue.

Did Mr Liew Mun Leong retire on his own accord or was there another reason behind his untimely departure? If you have any information on this, please feel free to contact us and share. You can reach us on Facebook or email us at theunseensingapore at gmail dot com.