The Education Minister states in Parliament that of 23,000 foreign students who applied to local universities, “only 987 or 4.3% were given places.”

The Ministry of Education later clarified that out of 23,000 foreign students who applied, the actual number admitted was 4,218, or closer to 20%.

Why did the Education Minister get it wrong in the first place?

Read the report on ChannelNewsAsia here:

 http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/289193/1/.html

As well as blogosphere commentaries here:

 http://nedstark.wordpress.com/2007/07/18/re-clarifications-on-university-admission/

 http://theonlinecitizen.com/2007/07/20/ministers-blunder-a-cause-for-concern/

Extracted from “A Xeno Boy in Sg”:

There is a proposed constitutional amendment to give the Prime Minister power to nominate up to two members for appointment to the Legal Service Commission. NCMP Sylvia Lim raised a question to this amendment.

The Law Minister issues a predictably scathing reply, accusing NCMP Sylvia Lim of resurrecting a conspiracy theory over the political integrity of the judiciary.

It is apparently not enough adhering to this lexical monopoly of the ruling regime. And the cruel irony is that you are silenced by colorful, inflammatory, even dangerous words like “conspiracy theory”. You are rebutted in a way you have been told is not allowed. You are rebutted in an inflammatory and highly politicised language.

Read the full post:

http://xenoboysg.blogspot.com/2007/07/on-banging-walls.html

Another blogosphere commentary here:

http://singaporepatriot.blogspot.com/2007/07/about-legal-service-commission-changes.html