tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295439512024-03-19T16:48:49.621+08:00THINK HAPPINESSMusings, meanders & mantras on issues of the day.Dharmendra Yadavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17567869679628318815noreply@blogger.comBlogger330125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29543951.post-70156032224427441482017-09-12T05:59:00.001+08:002017-09-12T07:53:23.755+08:00Do Wayang, Do Together - For my liberal friends
I am not surprised that the Honourable Madam Halimah Yacob is on her way to be the next President of this country. Based on the structure of the role, she remains the best qualified and I am sure, as the first public-housing-living ethnic minority woman President of Singapore, she is going to work even harder to keep inspiring and preserve the faith in the many who didn't get a chance to show Dharmendra Yadavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17567869679628318815noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29543951.post-84185583431116821952016-06-26T09:40:00.001+08:002016-06-26T09:40:33.129+08:00Brexit on FridayThis is a note I sent to friends on Thursday morning, 23 June 2016. The next day, the British public voted by a simple majority to leave the European Union.****Today, UK goes to the ballot box. In 24 hours, we will wake up to a changed world. Whatever the outcome, there will be market and currency volatility. Asia will be most affected since, by the time the results start trickling in, AsianDharmendra Yadavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17567869679628318815noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29543951.post-73989746743232878082016-06-14T08:55:00.001+08:002016-06-14T08:57:22.959+08:00Orlando and our Singaporean ironyFrankly, without being too emotional about the inherent vulnerability and dispensability of an LGBT Singaporean in recent times, I find all the reactions by Singapore's political leadership ever so hypocritical.A journalist called it out for what it is: "Orlando was both a terrorist attack and a homophobic attack on LGBT people. It was both the worst mass shooting in US history, and the worst Dharmendra Yadavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17567869679628318815noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29543951.post-68715078844394037282015-08-26T08:00:00.000+08:002015-08-26T16:48:44.752+08:00Judicial Conduct in SingaporeWe often see the issue of professional conduct of lawyers being raised in the context of the Singapore legal system. For some years now, I have been meaning to generate a discussion about judicial conduct in Singapore. I had faced some resistance from the mainstream media when I sought to raise this issue in the past. Given this sensitivity, I also felt it was not appropriate to raise it in Dharmendra Yadavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17567869679628318815noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29543951.post-21617674101459580662015-03-23T09:31:00.002+08:002015-03-23T09:34:00.557+08:00Remembering Lee Kuan YewI never got to meet him but I am a beneficiary of all that he did for Singapore. I have been educated extensively about him through different media.
Today, in honour of all that he did for my loved ones and me, I mourned his loss by laying flowers for him at Speakers' Corner in Hong Lim Park, Singapore.
I have written at least twice about him and I believe the views I held then Dharmendra Yadavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17567869679628318815noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29543951.post-43138146859292551772015-03-06T11:37:00.002+08:002015-03-06T11:46:34.144+08:00Rationale For Axing Law Schools Not ConvincingLETTER PUBLISHED IN THE STRAITS TIMES FORUM ONLINE ON 3 MARCH 2015
National University of Singapore (NUS) law dean Simon Chesterman has suggested that the eight law schools dropped from the approved list are among the lower-ranked law schools in Britain and their graduates often find it harder to get jobs ("Shorter list of approved UK law schools welcomed"; last Thursday).
He then urged parentsDharmendra Yadavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17567869679628318815noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29543951.post-70229425706407435862015-01-21T03:28:00.001+08:002015-01-21T13:52:37.142+08:00Mr President Writes Back, Critics Silenced
When I last wrote about Singapore's sixth President Sellapan Ramanathan, a more senior member of our legal fraternity sent me an angry response chiding me for being grossly unfair to an aged member of our country, whose driving motivation had been to do nothing other than give the best he could for his country.
I dismissed his response and I said it was for the President to one day Dharmendra Yadavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17567869679628318815noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29543951.post-53020216325723537252015-01-18T12:59:00.001+08:002015-01-18T13:26:39.562+08:00What Singaporeans like me desire from our future MPsNOTE SENT TO THE HONOURABLE MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT FOR TANJONG PAGAR GRC, CHAN CHUN SING, ON 18 JANUARY 2015My Minister Chan, I write to you in my capacity as an ordinary voter of your constituency. About two years ago, I moved to take up residence in the area you have been tasked by your political party to care for, having lived for over a decade in an area where the Honourable Tharman Dharmendra Yadavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17567869679628318815noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29543951.post-78142990254966024512012-05-23T23:30:00.000+08:002012-05-24T00:35:38.445+08:00Venerable Venereal Straits Times
I haven't wrote in a while. But today's headlines on the by-elections in Hougang in the venerable The Straits Times (Singapore) was sufficiently venereal to motivate me to awake from my slumber.
Compared to another friend, who almost got a stroke reading the same news, my reaction is perhaps muted.
At least three websites, whose writers have, to some extent, informed Dharmendra Yadavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17567869679628318815noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29543951.post-86300506532874487652012-02-05T17:09:00.003+08:002012-02-05T17:09:55.634+08:00Singapore Parliament replies on its accessibilityThis was a response I got from the Clerk of Parliament in relation to certain queries I made about parliamentary proceedings in Singapore.
Since then, I note MediaCorp now makes parliamentary recordings available to its viewers much quicker than before. I am not sure why should only MediaCorp be given the complete video footages. I wonder if any other media has applied to Parliament for Dharmendra Yadavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17567869679628318815noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29543951.post-44425460568781011002012-01-06T09:43:00.000+08:002012-01-06T09:43:04.005+08:00Ministerial Salary Review in Singapore
INTERVIEW WITH THE STRAITS TIMES (SINGAPORE) ON 5 JANUARY 2012
I was asked what I thought about the benchmark of pegging ministerial salaries to the top 1000 earners in Singapore. Some of these remarks were published in The Straits Times on 6 January 2012.
Remarks
It is really a “no-choice” benchmark.
The Prime Minister had to deliver on a promise made in the heat of the general election: Dharmendra Yadavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17567869679628318815noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29543951.post-61515861091533102602011-12-22T07:21:00.002+08:002011-12-22T13:36:59.175+08:00Racist remarks indefensible
NOTE SENT TO MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT FOR JURONG GRC
On his own Facebook page, your comrade and the honourable Member of Parliament, Seng Han Thong has reportedly said: “The staff are not trained for this emergency preparedness, they know how to prevent terrorist but even this one, they are not prepared so they follow a very strict kind of SOP, so they have to be flexible, and especially to deal Dharmendra Yadavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17567869679628318815noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29543951.post-32286243423757255652011-10-27T17:14:00.000+08:002011-10-27T17:14:35.595+08:00Make Parliament More Accessible
NOTE SENT TO SPEAKER OF PARLIAMENT ON 25 OCTOBER 2011
Parliament sat to debate the President's Address from 17 October 2011 to 21 October 2011. It has been [about] five days since the debates ended. It is clear that the mainstream media has failed to provide comprehensive coverage of the debates.
For example, Parliament provides a link on its website to a special page for Parliament on Dharmendra Yadavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17567869679628318815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29543951.post-81458412367075693682011-10-24T21:10:00.002+08:002011-10-24T21:11:18.733+08:00REACH needs new chief
ARTICLE FIRST PUBLISHED BY PUBLICHOUSE.SG ON 24 OCTOBER 2011
A few years ago, there was a rebranding of the government’s Feedback Unit. Led by a new chief then, the Honourable Member of Parliament Amy Khor, it became Reach.
Reach plays an important role as an arm of the Executive. In its own words, its role is “to feel the pulse of the ground and keep the government apprised of key Dharmendra Yadavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17567869679628318815noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29543951.post-78911584501458030982011-10-20T23:49:00.000+08:002011-10-20T23:50:53.475+08:00Empower Law Society if Government open
According to one news media, the Honourable Minister for Law Kasiviswanathan Shanmugam has recently remarked, "We don't, as the government, have a monopoly on ideas - nor expertise, nor resources in every field. And there's a clear recognition that to achieve the best possible policies for Singapore, we have to tap on the private sector and volunteers. This ensures a range of perspectives and Dharmendra Yadavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17567869679628318815noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29543951.post-28350167256294539492011-09-20T23:00:00.000+08:002011-09-20T23:02:30.898+08:00Maybe, PAP Ministers not so talented - Part 2
Dennis, a reader of this blog, shared these thoughts below in response to an earlier post. I thought it deserves a space of its own.
****
There is a lack of talent of the preferred mound that the PAP traditionally prefers, trained from a certain predictable pool, ex-scholars, first class honours perhaps, subscribed to the same right wing political philosophy, favours the rule of the elite, Dharmendra Yadavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17567869679628318815noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29543951.post-9859760536548236582011-09-18T11:41:00.000+08:002011-09-20T23:17:18.122+08:00Maybe, PAP ministers not so talented
My friend, Siva, who used to work at the political desk of The Straits Times, penned the thoughts below.
*****
Lee Kuan Yew says there isn't enough talent for an alternative Cabinet.
Our new President (a former Deputy Prime Minister and LKY's first choice for Prime Minister) ran Government Investment Corporation of Singapore when it racked up huge losses.
The ex-Foreign Minister, whose Dharmendra Yadavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17567869679628318815noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29543951.post-21179685598980460822011-09-18T00:01:00.000+08:002011-09-18T00:17:19.603+08:00Are lawyers excluded from Yellow Ribbon Project?
The Yellow Ribbon Project was started in 2004 to help ex-offenders re-integrate into society.
Its annual flagship event, the Yellow Ribbon Prison Run, around the populated Changi Prison complex will begin in a few hours.
I participated in the run some years back. I also tried to volunteer for the initiative some years ago. I was very excited that such an initiative existed. My enthusiasm hasDharmendra Yadavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17567869679628318815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29543951.post-83938452652820183032011-09-17T18:53:00.005+08:002011-09-17T23:25:21.978+08:00No need to abolish ISAMy own view has always been that the abolition of the Internal Security Act is not necessary.
I would like in place, within the framework of the ISA, certain safeguards to ensure that it is not abused for political purposes.
Some have argued that this was the case with the so-called Marxist Conspiracy, when one Minister is reported to have resigned over the incident. A current Deputy Prime Dharmendra Yadavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17567869679628318815noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29543951.post-62727257330733280192011-09-14T00:19:00.006+08:002011-09-14T00:48:29.322+08:00Insensitive advertising by law firmNOTE SENT TO PRESIDENT OF THE LAW SOCIETY OF SINGAPORE ON 13 SEPTEMBER 2011"I wish to draw your attention to an advertisement on the Law Society website.The advertisement states, "Roy & Partners are expanding and have vacancies for Chinese Junior and Senior Litigation Secretaries to handle motor claims and personal injury claims."The Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices providesDharmendra Yadavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17567869679628318815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29543951.post-51412817393289064182011-08-25T01:49:00.004+08:002011-08-25T01:54:25.889+08:00My President, His DaughterAnd you wonder how they missed her for Tin Pei Ling?
I hope she runs for Parliament in 2016 and give voters like me a chance to let her be our voice.
After all that she has said, I don't have to give you any more additional reasons about why I am voting for her father.
As a Singaporean, I wholly agree with her. When you vote this Saturday, make your voice count.
Happiness,
Dharmendra Yadav
Dharmendra Yadavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17567869679628318815noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29543951.post-84932833522773909732011-08-23T01:14:00.006+08:002011-08-23T01:28:14.644+08:00My President, My VoiceThe Workers’ Party yesterday released a statement about how their constituents are being disadvantaged by shameful politicking.
What is the President of Singapore – who is above politics; who was deemed elected by the whole electorate; who is supposed to be the balance of power – doing about it?
He has been absolutely silent. No surprise there because apparently he cannot act, except with the Dharmendra Yadavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17567869679628318815noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29543951.post-27008578480197209362011-08-17T09:12:00.007+08:002011-08-17T09:51:55.549+08:00Law Ministry Should Share BlameI did not wish to make any comments on this issue initially.
Many friends have made their views known to me. A foreign service government scholar even invited me to participate in a “Cook and Share a Pot of Curry” event this Sunday, which I accepted after some hesitation.
It heartened me that many of my non-Indian friends were the ones taking the lead in reacting to this issue, and that it Dharmendra Yadavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17567869679628318815noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29543951.post-77763119705915236182011-08-15T22:20:00.003+08:002011-08-15T23:01:38.473+08:00Has the Prime Minister run out of ideas?Having sat through about three hours of the Prime Minister’s National Day Rally 2011, I was reminded of some words that an opposition politician had shared at an event a day earlier.
The opposition politician had suggested the ruling party has run out of solutions to offer Singaporeans and, like its dying founding fathers, it is ailing. The Minister present at the event naturally disagreed Dharmendra Yadavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17567869679628318815noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29543951.post-70181840426040020972011-08-15T11:52:00.005+08:002011-08-15T15:10:56.437+08:00Singapore Theatre Festival 2011I am a donor to the theatre company, W!ld Rice. I think there are many things that can be said or expressed through theatre about issues of the day, without offending prevailing sensitivities.
W!ld Rice has, in recent years, earned a name for itself in this regard. One of the ways it does so is through its biennial Singapore Theatre Festival, which started in 2006. The Straits Times interviewed Dharmendra Yadavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17567869679628318815noreply@blogger.com0