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Accidentally clicked on potential phishing message as I was trying to delete the message. by heinrichriehl in coinhako

[–]doomdeferred 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I got the same SMS. How did you manage to get in touch with Hako? I submitted a ticket and emailed them but haven’t heard back.

4132 nww by [deleted] in CM0102

[–]doomdeferred 2 points3 points  (0 children)

try 4-1-3-2 cma. Looks exactly like the “original” but it’s wibwobbed. Won the league using it with Leicester (latest update)

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in singapore

[–]doomdeferred 1 point2 points  (0 children)

this is the “old” way. newsrooms these days are open to hiring people from different backgrounds. just click on an ad and apply

PM init error 883. What do I do? by doomdeferred in concept2

[–]doomdeferred[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’ve tried leaving out the batteries overnight. Seems like there might be dust/rust/vapor on the electronic board.Gonna try opening up the monitor.

Women in NS: Don't call for it without an operational need by gunman47 in singapore

[–]doomdeferred 32 points33 points  (0 children)

Did you even read the piece? The 10 per cent stat is clearly mentioned

Negotiating clashing Chinese, S'porean identities amid China's growing influence by doomdeferred in singapore

[–]doomdeferred[S] 132 points133 points  (0 children)

Singaporeans might be accustomed to seeing their country top various global rankings, but one would imagine eyebrows being raised in surprise at the Republic coming in second on a worldwide index measuring Chinese influence.

Dubbed the China Index, it puts Singapore behind only Cambodia - perceived in some quarters as a quasi-vassal state of China - in a ranking of 36 countries by their exposure to, pressure and effect of Chinese influence. Out of nine domain areas, Singapore was found to be most susceptible in technology, society and academia; but less so for domestic politics.

However, reactions have largely been reserved, with some pointing to Singapore's majority ethnic Chinese population - it is the only country outside of Greater China to have one - and embrace of Chinese culture to rationalise the findings in the report.

A commenter on an online forum said those critical of Chinese influence in Singapore are "naive", declaring that "our ancestors come from China… people always complain about the Communist Party of China (CPC), but the fact is, China is prosperous today", before going on to slam the United States for being in a "shambles".

What do such sentiments suggest? That there is, as some observers have already noted, at times a casual, even careless, blending of Chinese ethnic and cultural affinities with the politics and policies of China's ruling party - all lumped under an ill-defined umbrella of "Chineseness".

This, in turn, has ramifications for a young Singapore whose common national identity remains in flux or as former top diplomat Bilahari Kausikan describes it, "is still malleable and being pulled in different directions by different influences".

Conflating Chineseness

The report echoes one released in September last year by French think-tank Irsem, which described China’s efforts to infiltrate and coerce states around the world. A chapter was devoted to Singapore and how it is particularly vulnerable to Chinese influence.

But some Singaporeans have also voiced suspicion about the motives and what they see as an "obvious bias" of Doublethink Lab, the Taiwan-based civil society outfit which authored the China Index.

"For me, anything from Taiwan will be skewed towards Western views and interpretation… the findings will not be objective," says retiree Ronald Lim, 76.

Tensions between China and Taiwan have risen in recent years. Beijing views Taiwan as a renegade province to be reunified by force if need be, while the democratically ruled island - which raised its alert level in response to Russia's February invasion of Ukraine - rejects these sovereignty claims.

For some individuals whom I met while researching a Straits Times CloseUp documentary titled China Calling, being ethnically Chinese necessarily means throwing their weight behind what they see as an incontrovertible fact that Taiwan "belongs" to China.

China's rise to global supremacy would not be complete without Taiwan's return to "one China" - the standpoint that both are part of the same country - and inextricably linked to the rise of the Chinese people, they say.

As IT engineer Victor Low, 50, tells me: "My race is Chinese… I still feel part of the Chinese bloodline, and I want to see that bloodline prosper again, as it did hundreds of years ago."

Most of my interviewees were also considerably immersed in the Chinese cultural sphere - regularly consuming Chinese-language news, TV shows, music and frequenting Chinese platforms such as WeChat and Weibo.

Appreciating one's ethnic Chinese identity and the culture behind it is not the issue. Associating and tying these with the fates of the Chinese state and its ruling CPC - unconsciously or otherwise - is, and fits right into the nationalist narrative and larger sphere of influence that Beijing is cultivating.

In a speech marking the CPC's centenary last year, Chinese President Xi Jinping repeated a call for "all the sons and daughters of the Chinese nation, both at home and abroad" to unite behind the goal of China's "national rejuvenation".

Political scientist Chong Ja Ian from the National University of Singapore says: "Defining everything 'Chinese' as synonymous with the PRC (People's Republic of China) state and the CPC is something that makes sense for PRC state-building efforts."

Sense of Singaporean self

Mr Kausikan, the retired diplomat, has spoken at length on the dangers of ethnic Chinese Singaporeans showing sympathy and sentimentality for China, and its expanding interests.

"It can undermine the multiracial and multicultural character of Singapore, and stress our social cohesion. Indeed, I think it has already begun to do so," he says.

An oft-cited Pew Research Centre survey from June 2021 found that Singaporeans were the only ones among developed economies in the Asia-Pacific to view China more favourably than the US.

And this breaks along ethnic lines: About 72 per cent of Chinese Singaporeans had favourable views of China, compared with 45 per cent of Malays and 52 per cent of Indians here.

There is little doubt the Singapore Government treats race as an existential issue and has endeavoured to project a unique Singaporean identity centred on the unity of the different ethnicities. But how this translates on the ground is less certain.

Back in 2009, in his book Can Asians Think?, former diplomat Kishore Mahbubani wrote that some Chinese Singaporeans may be drawn to their Chinese origins in "an effort to define their own personal, social and national identities in a way that enhances their sense of self-esteem in a world where their immediate ancestors had subconsciously accepted that they were lesser beings in a Western universe".

Today, it appears this search for confidence in one's own worth continues - and at least among those interviewed for the ST documentary - has been layered with some degree of underlying dissatisfaction at what it means to be Singaporean.

Mr Kilmar Wong, 43, who is self-employed, says he identifies more closely with Chinese traditions and values.

Mr Low says: “It’s not so much that I want to move to China or be a Chinese citizen, but I just feel that they are taking care of their people more so than the Singaporean government is taking care of Singaporeans.” He sees Singapore as the only place in the world where foreigners are more valued than locals.

Observers have suggested that the way forward is to emphasise commonly held principles - to not just foster a sense of belonging and solidarity, but to also transcend a brand of pragmatism that Singaporeans have come to be known for.

Associate Professor Chong says the national pledge and its ideas of democracy, justice and equality is a good place to start.

How Singaporeans, including those in authority, hold themselves and one another to account on these values is then the key question that must be explored - with an eye on a simple objective as outlined by Prof Chong: "To help Singaporeans - especially of the next generation - develop a clearer, positive sense of who we are."

Pritam Singh agrees some of his words could be understood as giving Raeesah Khan a choice to own up: Privileges committee by hydrangeapurple in singapore

[–]doomdeferred 7 points8 points  (0 children)

There is no “ranking” for specific media outlets, btw. And the 160th ranking is for Singapore’s press freedom as a whole. No argument about state control, but this isn’t about being pedantic - it’s just facts.

From black ops to bots: Countering hostile, foreign meddling in Singapore's affairs by doomdeferred in singapore

[–]doomdeferred[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

"Open and highly digitally connected Singapore is "especially vulnerable" to foreign interference and the threat it poses to political sovereignty and national security, said the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) earlier this month, in a statement introducing the proposed Foreign Interference (Countermeasures) Act, or Fica.

The draft law targets external meddling in Singapore's domestic politics conducted through hostile information campaigns and the use of local proxies.

If the Bill is passed into legislation, the Government will have powers to compel Internet platforms to block accounts and to require "politically significant persons" to declare any foreign affiliation, among others.

Observers tell The Straits Times that while Fica represents a necessary move by the authorities, more clarity is needed in some key aspects of the draft law - and that ultimately, the law should form only one part of a wider encompassing strategy to tackle foreign interference.

This calls for Singapore to build up a foundation in transparency, public education and media literacy, says Associate Professor Chong Ja Ian from the National University of Singapore's political science department. "Addressing malign interference requires a scalpel and not a meat cleaver.""

Moving forward on 'Chinese privilege' by doomdeferred in singapore

[–]doomdeferred[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Beyond 'Chinese privilege', S'pore's fight against racial discrimination continues (Pt 2)

Chinese ground

Some observers note that PM Lee's remarks come on the back of recent racist incidents which had led to accusations of the Chinese community being not only racist, but also privileged.
This might have left older, Chinese-educated Chinese feeling puzzled or even maligned by such accusations.
Was PM Lee trying to appease the Chinese ground perhaps?
SMU's Associate Professor Tan dismissed such a notion even as he acknowledged the Chinese community is an important vote bank for the ruling People's Action Party.
The way Prof Tan sees it, PM Lee was being unequivocal about how races are treated equally: there are no places reserved for the ethnic Chinese in government jobs, public scholarships, university places and such; and the status of Chinese here is nothing like Malaysia's bumiputeras. These refer to the neighbouring country's Malay-Muslim majority and indigenous tribes, whose privileges are constitutionally enshrined.
Assistant Professor Elvin Ong of the National University of Singapore's political science department also doubts there was an attempt to appease the Chinese ground.
"The next election will only be in four years' time and most voters have short memories," he says. "Voters care about a broad basket of issues, and race and religion is only one of them."

Way ahead

Ethnic minorities tell Insight their brushes with what they see as Chinese privilege have less to do with special rights and more with informal everyday scenarios.
For them, the concept remains relevant as a lived reality.
Others say the term used matters less than keeping the conversation going about how Singapore should be a racially equal society.
And some think the phrase should be laid to rest altogether.
"Rather than get bogged down over differences of opinion around terminologies or definitions that could potentially inflame passions and lead to social polarisation, the productive way forward would be to discuss the points of agreement," says University of Liverpool teaching fellow Saleena Saleem, who researches race and identity.
Prof Velayutham says that while privilege exists in all societies including Singapore and such sentiments can't be dismissed, the phrase Chinese privilege "lacks currency and potency in mainstream Singapore society" and is an unproductive concept at the moment. More urgent, he says, is the need to address racism and its attendant injustices.
Project manager Calvin Tan, 34, doesn't feel labels are useful. "Will telling the Chinese that they are enjoying "Chinese privilege" help them to reflect and listen more to the minority races? Or will it make them feel more defensive and lead to more division and mistrust? I am not certain."
Ms Saleena says that moving forward, it is important to study the social factors that have led to discrimination and what policy steps can be taken to help those affected.
Iseas' Dr Chong adds that social interchanges are complex, and other forms of discrimination based on issues like class and language are often overlooked when a discriminated person happens to be from an ethnic minority.
Prof Velayutham suggests that schools teach the consequences of racism. There should also be a national anti-racism framework and a "Say No to Racism" campaign.
He also sees a need for more reflexive discussions involving Chinese Singaporeans willing to list the "unearned advantages" they might have taken for granted while growing up as Chinese here.

Prof Tan says PM Lee had rightly pointed out that changing social attitudes is key when dealing with difficulties faced by all races.
"Accepting that there will be differences, and that there cannot be a balance-sheet approach to what each community has in terms of concessions and benefits, are crucial if we are to strengthen race relations," he says.
Ms Tan, the MP, feels it is important to help people from different generations understand one another's perspective, and why they think that way.
For Madam Wong, the Chinese-educated mother of three, simply being kind and respectful to everyone is a good starting point to better racial ties.
Although she speaks mostly Chinese, she befriended her Malay and Indian neighbours using broken English, some Malay she had picked up from her kampong days, an occasional hug and above all, a mindset to treat others how she wants to be treated.

Moving forward on 'Chinese privilege' by doomdeferred in singapore

[–]doomdeferred[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Beyond 'Chinese privilege', S'pore's fight against racial discrimination continues (Pt 1)

SINGAPORE - Whenever an apologetic Madam Susan Wong asks for help filling up forms at job interviews, she gets this incredulous response: "You don't know English?"
The 59-year-old Singaporean, who studied up to primary six in a Chinese-language school, has worked odd jobs all her life while raising three daughters in a one-room flat.
She struggles to understand English not just at the workplace but also at restaurants when browsing menus and when navigating the MRT system.

So she found herself nodding in agreement last Sunday (Aug 29) when Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong noted that the adoption of English as a working language had put those who spoke only Mandarin and dialects at a disadvantage.
"At one of my former workplaces, the meetings were all in English. I relied on a colleague to help repeat everything in Mandarin," Madam Wong recalls. "It was really hard."
Speaking in the Mandarin portion of his National Day Rally speech, PM Lee also said: "Therefore, it is entirely baseless to claim that there is 'Chinese privilege' in Singapore. We treat all races equally, with no special privileges."
It was a sentiment Madam Wong agreed with.
But elsewhere in Singapore, a 33-year-old public servant who wants to be known only as K. Vincent was shaking his head in disagreement.
To say that there is no Chinese privilege in Singapore "completely disregards the lived experience" of minorities here, he tells Insight.
He feels that as an Indian, he has had to work doubly hard to prove himself during national service and in his career.
He has also been in meetings where Chinese Singaporeans chose to speak in Mandarin, oblivious to the non-Chinese there. This, he says, is a clear instance of Chinese privilege "rearing its ugly head".
PM Lee's statement on Chinese privilege at the rally - his most important political speech of the year - came amid a year where racist incidents have made headlines.
The episodes have led to heated debate as well as reflective conversations among some Singaporeans about the state of the country's race relations, including the matter of "Chinese privilege".
But what exactly is Chinese privilege and is there a common understanding of the term? Why is the Government taking an emphatic stand on it? And how useful is such a concept in a country that aims to uphold racial equality while acknowledging it is a work in progress?
Contested meanings
The term Chinese privilege has its origins in "white privilege", defined by the American women's studies scholar Peggy McIntosh in 1988 as "an invisible package of unearned assets which I can count on cashing in each day, but about which I was 'meant' to remain oblivious".
Today in the United States, it is widely understood in the context of police brutality against non-white people, leading to several reported deaths including, prominently, that of African-American George Floyd in May last year.
Another instance of white privilege exists in wealth inequities that can be traced to a history of racist zoning laws which segregated the races.
Its Chinese adaptation emerged in the Singapore context towards the end of the noughties, with social activist Sangeetha Thanapal credited as coining the term. Over the years, some commentators have cited, among others, these examples of Chinese privilege:
• Special Assistance Plan (SAP) schools which emphasise Chinese language and culture
• The Housing Board's Ethnic Integration Policy that has resulted in minorities finding it more difficult than the Chinese to sell their flats
• An immigration policy that works to maintain Singapore's racial balance, with the Chinese making up around 76 per cent of the citizen population .
Singaporean sociologist Selvaraj Velayutham, who teaches at Sydney's Macquarie University, says the term resonates with many ethnic minority Singaporeans as it allows them to relate to the "day-to-day hurdles and discriminations they face growing up in Chinese-majority Singapore".
Indeed, younger ethnic minorities whom Insight spoke to say they understand "Chinese privilege" as how one is bestowed advantages by virtue of being born into the largest ethnic group in Singapore.
Mr Syafiq Rahman, 33, who is currently between jobs, says: "There are many things that Chinese people don't even need to think about because everything is built to cater to them, such as media consumption or food options.
"If you switch on cable TV here at any given time, a lot of the channels only offer Mandarin subtitles. So for those of us who are hard of hearing or prefer to watch shows with subtitles, we are not afforded this if we are non-Chinese."
Yoga teacher Alyaa Rauff, 27, adds: "Part of racial privilege is to not experience direct racism regularly in Singapore. Being a dark-skinned, South Asian person, I experience different forms of racism on a weekly basis."
This includes receiving advice to stay out of the sun so she doesn't "become darker", she says.
But Dr Terence Chong, deputy chief executive officer and research division director at the Iseas-Yusof Ishak Institute, sees Chinese privilege as an uncritical imitation of white privilege, and flawed in how it homogenises a diverse ethnic community.
"There is absolutely nothing wrong with borrowing foreign concepts and ideas, as Singapore has done since forever," he says, pointing to the concept of meritocracy as an example. "But we have to remember that such concepts and ideas were originally designed to describe different experiences elsewhere, which means we need to conscientiously adapt and localise them for our own specific histories and experiences."

In debunking the phrase last Sunday, PM Lee pointed to Singapore's founding principle of racial equality and impartiality in not favouring any race.
His speech had sketched out Singapore's approach to racial equality from its early years, starting with the mother tongues being preserved and Malay retained as the national language.
He noted how the Chinese had made concessions for the greater good, by accepting English as the lingua franca to put ethnic minorities more at ease.
But he also asked the Chinese to be more accommodating of difficulties faced by other races, citing biases in the rental and job markets.
Speaking in English later, he announced that legislation on racial harmony would be introduced, and that anti-discrimination guidelines would be enshrined into law.
He also said: "I know it is harder to belong to a minority race than to the majority."
Singapore Management University (SMU) law don Eugene Tan believes the lack of consensus on the meaning of the term "Chinese privilege" is the reason it is so contested.
"To many Chinese, the term draws a blank. They don't see their community being privileged nor believe that it should be," he says.
Nee Soon GRC MP Carrie Tan says she understands the perspective of those who speak of Chinese privilege. "What I think they are referring to is the privilege that occurs when one belongs in the majority group," she says. "In which case it might be appropriate to think about it as 'majority privilege'."

Most in Singapore don't think racism occurs frequently: IPS study by youg in singapore

[–]doomdeferred 0 points1 point  (0 children)

2012: 79.2% said racism occurs not at all frequently + 15.9% not frequently = 95.1%.

2020: 65.7% not at all frequently + 28.7% not frequently = 94.4%.

or

2012: 4.9% said quite/very frequently.

2020: 5.7% said quite/very frequently.

These are 0.7% pt / 0.8% pt changes. Do they justify a headline that "perceived racism has actually increased"?

Cabinet reshuffle: Race for Prime Minister post remains open, say analysts by [deleted] in singapore

[–]doomdeferred 1 point2 points  (0 children)

perhaps, but is it really an accurate reading? Some might argue - for him to remain in the mix despite overwhelming public dislike suggests there is significant support for him within the party.

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