Tag Archives: LITTLE INDIA RIOT

The Bill, to maintain security in Little India after Singapore's first riot in decades, seeks to give law enforcement officers the power to interview and search people in the area for alcohol and prohibited items. It also limits the sale and consumption of alcohol in the area, and is valid for a year. Ms Lim questioned the need for it

I witnessed first-hand how the police officers who turned up for crowd control had difficulties communicating with the disgruntled moviegoers. One police officer I observed, used the word 'Dei', possibly in an attempt to establish camaraderie with the crowd. But in Tamil, the term 'Dei' is only used on people who are younger and/or are familiar (e.g. younger brother, close friends, etc), and is never used on people who are older and strangers as it is considered disrespectful

The new law will be valid for one year. Under the law, enforcement officers in the 1.1 sq km boundary in Little India will have more specific powers. The police will have powers to exclude or ban people from entering the area, termed the special zone, if their presence or actions are likely to threaten public order.

It may be common in India to riot when there is a fatal accident and it may be a part of their culture. But if they import that culture to Singapore, we have every right to enforce our strictly no-nonsense laws and exact the maximum penalty that the law provides for. Singapore is obviously attractive to many foreigners which is why they are here. But we must ensure that they abide by our laws and when they don't, they must bear the full force of it. Singaporeans should support and uphold our laws and not seize this opportunity to criticize the government. The rioting has nothing to do with the government. Let's not allow our imagination to run wild and if we have a bone to pick with the government for whatever personal reasons we may have, let's not take the side of criminals to achieve our goal.

Patrick Liew Patrick Liew is the CEO of HSR Global Ltd, a publicly-listed company on Singapore Exchange. Patrick is also a founder of Success Resources, arguably the largest seminar organiser in Asia and a major shareholder of a company which is listed on the Australia Stock Exchange. He also established an e-learning company which was rated by Deloitte and Touche as the 11th fastest growing tech company.

WHY did the media - and the G - see the need to run the G response to an NYT article on the Little India riot when chances are that not many people here have read it? And why does the G insist on the publication of its response when it is not about a "right of reply'' to correct factual inaccuracies but its OWN analysis of facts (that the COI hasn't even ascertained!) Sorry but the media has a right to reject opinions you know..

Frustration among Singapore’s unappreciated and underpaid migrant workers has been building in recent years as their numbers have grown faster than the country can accommodate them. Tensions boiled over earlier this month, after a 33-year-old Indian migrant worker was killed by a bus in the Little India neighborhood. A crowd of fellow workers from South Asia gathered at the scene. Their anger quickly escalated, with some 400 people pelting stones, attacking emergency responders and setting fire to vehicles. It was the worst riot to hit Singapore, one of the world’s most orderly countries, since 1969.

The first thing I noticed when we met up with 3 of the 25 workers being charged for participating in the riot was the clear look of exhaustion that was evident on their faces. They were as apprehensive as I was (since it was the first time I had such close communication with foreign workers) as they introduced themselves to us. Arun Kalimurthy, 28, was in Singapore as a tourist when he was caught by the police in the early hours of December 9; while Rajendran Mohan, 25, was working as a spray painter in the Marine sector. Arun spoke extremely fluent English as he explained to us the system in which they were under.

In a strongly worded statement, the Government has taken issue with the New York Times for not publishing a letter by the Singapore Ambassador to the United States to “set out the facts”, in response to an editorial on the Little India riot.

Golden Mile Complex, for example, does not have such problems and Thai workers have been here for years to help build our roads and buildings. Foreign workers like to have a drink and have nowhere else to go, so why restrict or ban them, and others, from drinking in public? It is the job of the police to ensure safety here.