Singapore island state controlled newspaper Straits Times publishes absolute rubbish.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

In Singapore island state controlled newspaper the Straits Times of May 31, 2013, there is an article "Retired Couple found an ideal home in Iskandar"  See http://www.straitstimes.com/breaking-news/money/story/retired-couple-found-ideal-home-iskandar-20130531

It also carries a photo of an elderly couple, whose names are Max Hoenegger and Noarma Hoenegger, names which I have never heard of, who it seems were formerly from Switzerland and Singapore, but later got married in Australia, then bought a house in South Africa but left because of the crime and then settled in Malaysia.

And all this with a large picture of themselves seated in a sofa has not only been published in Singapore’s so called premium newspaper which happens to be state controlled (they all are), it has been prominently displayed as headlines!

Now will anyone tell me why this story of this Honeggers, whom no one has heard about, least of all me, should be considered newsworthy, let alone headline news? Surely it would not have mattered in the least to anyone had the Honeggers had lived in Jakarta, then Kobe Japan and then bought a house in France or Timbuktoo or anywhere else for that matter! Surely it is of no concern to me and no concern to anyone else, and good luck to the Hoeneggers.

Of course it would have made an difference if Mr. Hoenegger has successfully managed a world record by standing on one leg for 48 hours non stop or he ran the mile in a minute, or had managed to reach the summit of Everest by walking backwards, but he hasn't done any of that either!

I tell you why Singapore’s Straits Times has wasted both yours and my time with news like this. Their quality has declined so badly, while international surveys have placed it no better than 149 down the list of countries for freedom of speech, with even Somalia doing better than Singapore, that all journalists with any brains or self respect have all left Singapore and you are left with dummies such as this who can't tell the difference between news and rubbish.

Gopalan Nair
Attorney at Law
A Singaporean in Exile
Fremont, California, USA
Tel: 510 491 4375
Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com