I'm including video links to CNA which kept streamed videos of the Parliamentary debate on this amendment. You may need Adobe Flashplayer to view the videos, and the videos are long (about 10-20 minutes each) as they cover the entire speeches given by the various Members of Parliament :-
- Second Reading by Prof Jayakumar here.
- Speech by MP Teo Ho Pin here.
- Speech by MP Alvin Yeo here.
- Speech by MP Ellen Lee here.
- Speech by MP Irene Ng here.
- Speech by NMP Kalyani Mehta here.
- Speech by NMP Siew Kum Hong here.
- Closing speech by Prof Jayakumar here.
On a sidenote, HPL's Ong Beng Seng has met up with some Horizon Towers owners. You can read about that here.
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3 comments:
Stayed up to 2 am to hear all the views raised by the various MPs.
Alvin Yeo , as a practising lawyer raised some valid issues pertaining to SCs, their election and their duties which ought to be spelt out much clearer. Most of the cases as lawyers would anticipate would stem from the legal aspect of what are their fiduciary duties when appointed or nominated to represent so many. In fact I am always amazed that so many would volunteer for such an onerous task , knowing how 'kiasu' Singaporeans are unless there are tangible incentives to be had.
Of course, there will be the inevitable schism between two rival factions, the pro and the anti-bloccers and a whole lot of indecisive middle of the road fence-sitters to contend with.
It is in fact just a dramatic reflection of the socio-political scene that has existed for so long. OUr cardinal weakness or strength remains our complete commitment to pragmatism. Religiously we take out our calculators and do our sums , stretching every imaginable scenario to its breaking point to see if we are getting our returns in investment, be it time , money , effort.
NOne of the MPs even mentioned the need to preserve our architectural heritage , if not our cultural memory and identity.
We seem to all lack a dimension for preservation of architectural heritage and buildings that define an era which could last beyond our lifetime as beacons of our past which we could pass on to posterity.
Landmarks which could in time be historical sites that define our country and our people .Surely our habitat is the most intimate part of our memory.
HOards of tourists head for Stratford-upon-Avon to see Shakespeare's birthplace, if not for that it would be just another little town on the UK map. So why do tourists want to see Singapore? Just an instant city that is not different from so many others , plastic and forgettable.
Where are the architects, the officials, the developers, residents and citizens who are willing to champion the preservation cause?
Are there no developers who are willing to buy over an entire block and not destroy it but recycle, refurbish, revamp, expand it internally to accomodate more units and improve it with tender loving care without destroying the facade?
They have done it for Fullerton Building, recycling the grand beautiful colonial building into a hotel. Why not do the same with a beautiful block , for e.g. Futura, Beverly Mai..designed by our first generation of entrepreneurial architects. Why can't the government pass laws to incentivise the preservation of such blocks , to recycle their use or density without completely demolishing or destroying such beautiful buildings.
Yes, the cost is probably much more prohibitive but then there are enough affluent buyers around these days who would appreciate well preserved buildings and living in them. It is almost like buying potential antiques and art. There is great added value here in refurbishing old buildings. European cities like Paris and London , Milan,New York are all leaders at preserving fine historical buildings , at least the facade but changing their use internally.
Perhaps it is time Parliament and those who have a passion for preservation of our past, think seriously about it before we eradicate all our spatial and cultural memory, our identity and heritage.
Thank you for all the information and the efforts you've put it.
ps.
Did you do something to the set up for your blog pages recently (abt 10days ago)? I have difficulty navigating back to prev webpage/blogpage - can't use the IE back arrow. I have to go back to your homepage and start all over again.
>>Did you do something to the set up for your blog pages recently (abt 10days ago)? I have difficulty navigating back to prev webpage/blogpage - can't use the IE back arrow. I have to go back to your homepage and start all over again.<<
Hmm I don't use IE lol. Tried it using IE and it seems to be okay for prev page (left arrow on IE). I'm using IE7 though.
But no, haven't done anything to the webpage in the past 10 days. You might want to try clearing your IE history and cache, see if that helps? Sometimes the muck you accumulate from visits can mess things up?
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