Wanted, Pictures of Singapore New Towns, preferably Tampines New Town.

As an Australian its hard for me to imagine living in a very densly populated area.

Question: What is it like to live in a Singapore New Town like Tampines or Jurong?
Is it expensive?
Are HDB units big inside?
Is it easy to get around?
Are you close to nature and the environment?
How easy is it to own an apartment in a Singapore New Town and do you have a choice of apartments?

Hi Guys, I am currently doing some research looking at Master Planned Communities and I am comparing two major housing estates, one in Brisbane and the other in Singapore. Both are vastly different in terms of their physical attributes such as population density and housing styles but are very similar in terms of social goals, community development, technology, demography and ecological sustainability.

What I really need is to find out some information or web sites about Tampines, its successes and failures in terms of its livability as a community and how it compares with Australian “new town” style developments.

Any information, pictures, website links and/or other information you can provide would be greatly appreciated and I won’t forget you in my acknowledgements.

Regards, JASON TEMPEST (JayT)

huaiwei will help you, he is an expert at this and will spoil you with information;)

WOW!! This is one heck of a big arrow!!! ;)

hm...JayT, given that the subject topic can become extremely vast and tough to handle if it spills over too much, how about telling me, step by step, the exact information you would require, and I shall see if I can help u every step of the way. Meanwhile, I hope the other Sg formers can give their input as well, as I do not consider myself an "expert" as Raff claims I am!! ;)

Hm..just curious, why did you choose the town of Tampines?

And when is the deadline of your work? If you really need pictures, I do not mind making trips down to the town to help you get plenty of photos! :D

Meanwhile, if you have not found them yet, the following sites may be of great help for the time being:

http://www.ura.gov.sg/dgp_reports/tampines/content.html
These pages are from the Urban Redevelopment Authority's plans for the Tampines Region. the plan was last reviewed in 1995, and is actually being reviewed again as we speak.

http://www.tampines.org.sg/tpweb/index.html
This is the official site of Tampines New Town, giving you some insights from the grassroots' (community leaders') point of view of the town.

http://www.hdb.gov.sg
The site of the Housing and Development Board, which dosent give u tt much info about the individual towns, but do offer most of the information with regards to town development and philosophy, statistics, and especially ownership of flats. I can guide you later specifically to where the relavant info are.

Happy surfing! ;)

hihihi i live in tampines.. it's an executive flat. i think it's 1582 sq ft, and valuation last year august was SGD450,000. if you want pics or something pm me i'll send them to you.

there is greenery everywhere but i dont know if you call that nature. not that i want nature anyway. there's this forest right across teh street the bus stop there always has ants or when it rains millipedes sometimes. like eek.

and I tot u dissapeared heirloom....hmmm..........:D

Thank you so much guys, your help is great. I will be pouring over the information for a while but will let you know how I go.

I love the fact that in Singapore you are so close to jungles and parkands. I love the tropical climate but Brisbane is the only major city in Australia even close to the tropics - Darwin is too small.

jt

Some not so common ones

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Here are some of the most popular dishes in Singapore. There are many many more and the list is far too long.

http://web.singnet.com.sg/~djmok/images/chinese/chickenrice.jpg
Hainanese Chicken Rice - Hainanese chicken rice is originated from China. The chicken is usually boneless when served. The rice is so fragrant and cooked perfectly, not too hard or soft and each grain is on its own at the right texture. If you are a chicken rice lover, hesitate no more.

http://web.singnet.com.sg/~djmok/images/malay/nasi_lemak.jpg
Nasi Lemak - Nasi lemak has been around for more than 40 years, but Singaporeans are still hungry for it. It is one of the most common breakfast dish and it's definitely everyone's favourite! Nasi Lemak is actually just the coconut rice but it's been used to refer to not just the rice but the acompanying dishes as well.

http://web.singnet.com.sg/~djmok/images/malay/satay.jpg
Satay - Chicken, mutton and beef satays and made from mince before being barbecued, so tenderness is ensured. Furthermore, there is also barbecued tiger prawn. Marinated and skewered meat slow-charred on gently glowing embers has a universal ability to unleash appetite, and satay is the skewer of choice in all of Singapore. Peanut sauce and ketupat (Malay rice cake) goes well to accompany satay delicacy.


http://web.singnet.com.sg/~djmok/images/chinese/kwayteow.jpg
Char Kway Teow - What is unique about this fried kway teow is that a layer of specially prepared gravy is added to the fried kway teow instead of the normal sweet black soya sauce used by in most stalls. Singapore style, is sweet and they just have the right texture. To make things interesting, you have a choice of more cockles, more egg, more veggies or more of everything.

http://web.singnet.com.sg/~djmok/images/chinese/wanton.jpg
Wanton Mee - "Wanton" or dumpling is made of rice-flour. Minced pork and vegetable are common stuffings with some adding shrimps and waterchestnut. Usually good "Wanton" are those with tasty, meaty and generous fillings inside a thin and smooth dumpling skin. Again, when eaten with home-made chilli or pickled green chilli, one will start screaming for more.

http://web.singnet.com.sg/~djmok/images/chinese/rojak.gif
Rojak - Local salad with oomph! Usual ingredients are cucumber (huang kua), turnip (mang kuang), pineapple (huang li), dough fritters (you tiao), dried deep-fried bean curd (tau pok). Some add mango (mang guo) when it's in season. Others add barbequed squid for additional taste. The sauce is made from black shrimp paste, peanuts, belacan (dried shrimp paste), sugar and chilli.

http://web.singnet.com.sg/~djmok/images/chinese/laksalemak.jpg
Laksa - Rice-flour noodles in spicy thick coconut milk, served with deep-fried beancurd (tau pok), hard-boiled egg and seafood (usually fish cake, prawns and/or crabsticks). Some stalls top it with cockles (si harm).

http://web.singnet.com.sg/~djmok/images/chinese/chilicrab.jpg
Chilli Crab - A local favorite that sees the sweetest crabs cooked in our beloved chilli sauce. Eat with fried or steam buns. For dunkers, this is the ideal dish. Simply dip your buns into the chilli gravy… ohhhh yummy!

http://web.singnet.com.sg/~djmok/images/malay/meerebus.jpg
Mee Rebus - A true marriage between Chinese and Malay kitchen. Egg noodles with fried tofu, shallots, beansprouts, egg and green chilles topped with a rich shrimp sauce of Malay mixed spices and Chinese bean paste thickened with sweet potatoes! Perfect!!

http://web.singnet.com.sg/~djmok/images/malay/meesiam.jpg
Mee Siam - Rice noodles (bee hoon) in a hot, sour sauce made from blending chillies, garlic, ground peanuts with salted soya beans. Tamarind juice is added for that tangy flavour. The noodles are topped with beansprouts, deep-fried beancurd (tau foo pok), hardboiled egg and Chinese chives.

http://web.singnet.com.sg/~djmok/images/indian/roti_prata.jpg
Roti Prata - The roti prata ( also called Indian pancake) is another well liked Indian cuisine by most Singaporean. The roti prata seem easy to make but it required lots of skill from the chef to be able to make it crisp on the outside and tender in the inside. Beside the crispiness and the tenderness, the curry that is eaten together with the prata also contribute to its tastiness.

http://web.singnet.com.sg/~djmok/images/indian/fish-head.jpg
Fish Head Curry - Prepared by both Indians and Chinese, the origin of this dish is somewhat a mystery. It is believed to be a Singaporean creation! It's not a pretty sight but it is shiok!! For the gourmet, the eyes and cheeks are the best parts.

http://web.singnet.com.sg/~djmok/images/indian/nasibrani.jpg
Nasi Beryani - Nasi Beriyani are long grain rice cooked with saffron and some local spices.
Nasi Beriyani, the local Indian version, has the saffron rice cooked together with the meat (mutton, chicken, beef, fish, prawns, etc).

http://web.singnet.com.sg/~djmok/images/malay/kueh.jpg
Malay Kueh - Yummy! Tropical snacks are colorful and delicious. Most snacks are either steamed, pan fried or wrap in leaves and grilled over charcoal. Glutinous rice, rice flour, beans, tapioca, sweet potatoes and fruits are the basic ingredients while palm sugar, coconut, pandan and spices add flavours.

http://web.singnet.com.sg/~djmok/images/malay/gorengpisang.jpg
Goreng Pisang - Ripe bananas are peeled, dipped into a thick batter and lowered into the deep fryer. The finished product is a crispy on the outside, sweet and moist on the inside local dessert.

For recipes and more information, click here
http://asiarecipe.com/singapore.html

A city of contrasts

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Can't get enough of the skyline? :D

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The colonial past....and the civic district of today

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Some more tantalising skyline shots!!

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More Civic District shots

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Here are the pics.. :)

http://www.sbstransit.com.sg/img/wall_paper2.jpg

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http://www.tibs.com.sg/tibs/bus/mercedes.jpg

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http://www.smrtcorp.com/smrt/photo-gallery/structure/wallpaper/struct06_w.jpg

Goodness!! TropicalSQ744, how did you find those fantastic pictures?? ;)

Hey...any progress in your research? ;)

Our report isn't due for another 4 weeks though we did have to do a seminar where I spoke about Tampines, its similarities and differences to Australian Master Planned Communities.
My lecturer was very impressed that we chose such a physically different urban development to talk about and was also impressed that we could draw so many similarities on a social level.

I still have plenty of research to do on the final paper and once again your web links were very usefull. I will remember you in my acknowledgements;)

Regards:
JayT (Jason Tempest)

I am quite sure your lecturer will indeed be impressed! ;)

I am wondering, what have you guys managed to conclude on the social level? Would be interested to know what findings you managed to come up with, and if needed, you can even ask for an interview with us about live in planned communities! :D

Also, I am curious as to how you actually pronounced the word Tampines, as I have heard quite alot of mispronounciations from non-Singaporeans (one eg is my australian lecturer, who said "tam pines" :D).

Just to let you know, tampines is pronunced as tam (rhymes with "tempt")-per-nis. A slight variant of the pronounciation has the "pines" part sounded like the name of an important male body part. ;)

Thanks for the your offer to state us in your acknowledgements! Not that we wanted it, but its a sweet and totful gesture indeed! ;)

All the best in your work!

Warmest Regards,
huaiwei (Teo Huai Wei Edmund)

Source: The Straits Times (http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/singapore/story/0,4386,213250,00.html?)

Roughing it out

Every year, 142 Singaporeans are picked up from park benches and void decks which they call home. THERESA TAN and WONG SHER MAINE investigate

ACROSS the street from a row of swanky Club Street restaurants is a power house. Next to it, a vagrant sleeps in the shadows. All Mr Lee Ong, 52, has are the clothes on his back and a scruffy black bag, which he uses as a pillow. He has been living in the shadows of Chinatown prosperity, un- noticed, for the past 10 years.

http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/mnt/media/image/launched/2003-10-06/6sin.jpg
Preferring to stay unseen and unheard are vagrants such as Mr Lee Ong (above), 52, who has been sleeping on the streets of Chinatown for a decade. A scruffy black bag and the clothes on his back are his only possessions. -- TAN HOWE YANG

Homeless Singaporeans like Mr Lee prefer to stay unseen and unheard. Any bid at conversation will be met with quiet insistence that they are waiting for friends or enjoying the breeze. But there are telltale signs. Invariably, there is a scruffy bag with all their worldly possessions, a mosquito coil to keep the bugs away or cardboard and newspapers on the ground. More often than not, they also light up to while away the time. Not expensive cigarettes, but brands like made-in-India Engine cigarettes that cost $1.80 for 25 limp sticks wrapped in paper.

Singapore's average vagrant is also likely to be an old man. Latest statistics from the Ministry of Community Development and Sports show that 81 per cent of the vagrants are men and 58 per cent are aged above 60. The ministry has a destitute-persons team combing the streets 12 to 16 times a month. An average of 142 vagrants have been found each year in the last four years.

http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/mnt/media/image/launched/2003-10-06/h101.jpg
The Straits Times talked to vagrants at Chinatown and Serangoon Road areas, as well as some in estates like Gloucester Road (above). They tend to make their beds after midnight and leave before dawn to avoid being hassled. Their common refrain? 'We just live day by day.' -- TAN HOWE YANG

In Singapore, where 85 per cent of people live in Housing Board flats, these vagrants have, for various reasons, become used to having no roof over their heads. Mr Li, 48, an odd-job worker who was sleeping at the Duxton Plain park, said: 'I lived with my parents, but I quarrelled with them.' Others said they had no family members or had no money to buy or rent a flat.

But some, even if given a flat for free, may not want to move in. Said Mrs Lee Yean Wun, the director of the Kampong Kapor Family Service Centre: 'It's a psychological barrier for them, like losing their freedom.'

Divorcee Subari Saghi, 81, has slept on a bench in a park near Desker Road in Serangoon for several years. He does not want to stay in a home because 'here I can walk around and people treat me to meals'.

To avoid being picked up by officials, some vagrants carry identity cards which show addresses where they no longer stay. Some also change sleeping spots every few months. Indeed, while the circumstances in which they first found themselves roofless might have been unhappy, the vagrants generally appear happy with life on the streets.

In four nights of roaming the streets after midnight, The Straits Times discovered 20 vagrants. They were clustered mainly in the Chinatown and Serangoon Road areas, with a few in housing estates such as Gloucester Road. They make their beds past midnight and leave before the sun rises, to avoid being hassled. They spend the rest of the day surviving. Some, like Mr Lee, collect used drink cans to sell, making $1 to $2 a day, to buy food. He also visits temples for edible offerings, like canned food. Others beg.

As for baths, some bathe daily at public stadiums or swimming pools. Mr Li goes to the free-use toilets around the Kallang River. Every day, he wears the same clothes, which he picked off the street. He has one extra pair of briefs. Once in several months, he goes to a friend's house for a shower.

Though all the vagrants looked healthy, they seemed muddled up when asked about their histories, even mixing up details such as the number of siblings they have. They have an unobtrusive, quiet air and nobody seems to mind them. In fact, people are more likely to lend them a hand than shove them away. Like at 24-hour Indian food outlet Raja's Barbecue Restaurant in Syed Alwi Road.

Once or twice a week, when vagrants approach the restaurant with open hands, the staff give them each a full meal packet worth $3.50. Said one of the owners, Mr James Balu: 'They are jobless and lonely. Who else is going to feed them?'

On the kindness shown to him, Mr Subari said: 'Some people say, 'Uncle, come, come', and give me money. I have food to eat and water to drink; don't worry about me. I have no worries, I can sleep anywhere.' The constant refrain, whether in Hokkien, Cantonese or Malay, is: We just live day by day.

In fact, Mr Lee is even prepared for the day when he dies. He said, in Hokkien: 'I don't want to stay in a flat, even if the Government puts me there. Nobody will know when I die there. 'At least on the street, people will know. This is my life.'

A VAGRANT'S RITZ-CARLTON

CHANGI Airport must be the Ritz-Carlton of vagrant haunts here. There are toilets, air-conditioning and a water-cooler.

A pink-tiled toilet has been home to two women for the past seven to eight years, according to airport cleaning staff. They 'check in' after midnight and leave by 5.30am. One is a soft-spoken woman who looked to be in her 30s. She did not want to be interviewed. At the viewing gallery, two other women were sharing a sleeping bag. One of them said: 'We are going through divorce and can't go home.'

The airport authorities said they would not chase away overnight stayers who are 'not a nuisance to airport users'. But those staying for a long period will be reported to the Ministry of Community Development and Sports.

Source: The Straits Times (http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/singapore/story/0,4386,213251,00.html?)

Finding it rough

Once it started raining, even one night of 'homelessness' was too much for some of the young people taking part in an awareness-building exercise

By Jane Ng

IT WAS an overnight event intended to give young people some idea of homelessness and poverty, but more than 10 of the 140 participants called it quits in the middle of the night, when it started raining. They left the National Youth Park in Somerset Road where they were to have spent the night, one of the organisers said, as they 'had to attend to matters the next morning'.

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'You can't penalise us. Even a real homeless person would go and get food if he were hungry.' -- An unrepentant Putri Soediono, 17, a student from the Overseas Family School, on participants sneaking out for drinks and snacks during the event (above) -- TERENCE TAN

Others made it through the 17-hour experience, which started at 3pm on Saturday and ended at 8am yesterday, by sneaking out for drinks and snacks - despite having been given a dinner of rice, chicken and vegetables, and a supper of Delifrance baguettes and Andersen's ice cream. One of them, a student from the Overseas Family School, 17-year-old Putri Soediono, was unrepentant, saying: 'You can't penalise us. Even a real homeless person would go and get food if he were hungry.'

The event, Under No Roof, was organised by Habitat for Humanity, an international non-profit organisation that builds houses for the poor in more than 80 countries. Organising committee chairman Yong Teck Meng said of the event: 'It's to get youths to think about homelessness, so they might consider volunteering in future.'

The 15- to 35-year-olds who took part had to build 'homes' to sleep in from cardboard and masking tape. Most managed truly makeshift structures - some of which were barely knee-high - that leaked. The stay proved to be a real test of the participants' mettle as the weather was against them. A drizzle started before midnight on Saturday, by which time one shelter had already collapsed.

Asked to comment on those who left halfway or sneaked out for food, Mr Yong, an IT education company director, said: 'I didn't expect everyone to stay. I'm happy just to be able to reach them at all.' And did the night out serve its purpose? First-year engineering student Jonathan Zhang, 21, said: 'I didn't experience real homelessness, but the event has made me more socially aware.'

bump!

Hwaiwei,
OH, so that's your name! Ah!

This may be useful
http://www.northeast.org.sg/tampines_new/

Originally posted by Cliff

Hwaiwei,
OH, so that's your name! Ah!
Hwaiwei is not my name. Huaiwei is!!! :D

You mean you didnt even know it was my name??? :rant: ;)

Opps Huai Wei.:D

'You mean you didnt even know it was my name??? '
I thought Edmund Teo was your name, wait, what am I saying, Edmund Teo is you name!

I just did not know that Huai Wei is your name.:angel1:

Thanks for all your help with the Tampines and Northlakes master planned communities project guys. Its important to globally connect these days.

I did well on my project and am expecting a 7 (7 is highest).

If you guys need any help on anything Australian please just post a thread in the Australian section and we'll help you as much as we can.

Cheers and thanks again.

Jason (Jayt)

Wow that was much faster then expected! And congrats on scoring so well in it! If only we can get to see your report. ;)

Thanks for the help offer, that is so kind of you! :angel1:

one amazing thread ...
i like that national dish section a lot ...
btw i love hainan chicken rice ...

InitialD18, you came here to eat that dish?

Come to think of it, why is it called Hainan Chicken Rice? I came from Hainan? So basically that dish can be found in China too rite? Anyone noes this?

i never been to hainan ... my uncle works there though ...
for some reason singapore's hainan chicken rice is quite famous in hk ... i dunno why ...
I learned a lot reading your thread thank you

Found this article

http://www2.worldpub.net/images/18_125_40036350.jpg

During the July Food Festival, Singaporeans may vote Hainanese chicken rice as the nation's most distinctive dish, even over fish head curry and pepper crabs. This consensus supposes that time has seen a uniquely Singaporean metamorphosis of a dish brought to our shores by immigrant forefathers. A chance to put the proposition to the test came one August, when a delegation of chefs from the Hainan Overseas Chinese hotel, arrived to cook "genuine" Hainanese chicken rice at the Harbour View Dai-Ichi hotel. Tony Ho, sous chef of the Dai-Ichi and his counterpart from Hainan Island, Feng Qi Xu, compared notes.

In Hainan and Singapore, chicken rice comes with three dips. There is always chilli sauce and ground ginger, but while we offer thick dark soya sauce as a third choice, in Hainan it is an oyster sauce-garlic mix. Another difference, India and Malay influences have made us like our chilli dips hotter. And while the Hainanese sauce is watered down with white vinegar, we prefer the fruity sourness of local limes (sambal belacan style) in a thick sauce enriched with chicken dripping.

The differences may seem small, but since most of us will swear we cannot eat chicken rice without shiok chilli, it seems that sauce for the Singapore bird, even if chicken ¨¤ la Singapore, is, as I contend, chicken ¨¤ la Hainan, the two being chicken ¨¤ la Cantonese.

This oneness is a recent phenomena. As late as the mid-60s there was a clear distinction between Hainanese chicken rice and Cantonese pak cham kai (white cut chicken). The Hainanese would robustly boil big, fat hens to render lots of oil to make rice fragrant. The Cantonese insisted on tender-fleshed younger birds cooked red-at-the-bone, melt-in-the-mouth, even though these chickens never had enough fat in them to make tasty rice. So strictly speaking, chicken rice is Hainanese. The Cantonese dish was a delicacy enjoyed for its own sake.

However, the two cooking styles have now coalesced. Cantonese chefs offer chicken flavoured rice with pak cham kai, while Hainanese chefs now cook younger birds, Cantonese style; in water brought on and off to the boil, finally plunging the birds in an ice bath, to create the supple, jelly-like skin characteristic of Cantonese pak cham kai.

Notwithstanding this merger of cooking styles, one difference remains to distinguish the locally cooked chicken from that prepared in Hainan. Singapore chefs boil chickens in water flavoured with garlic and ginger, then later serve up some of this broth as soup, using the remainder to cook rice with. The Hainan chef cooks in a pork and chicken bone stock, which is not served as soup or used for cooking rice, but is topped up with water as necessary and reused. In time this will become a rich master stock (lu) that will add a distinct meatier flavour to the chickens cooked in it.

A penchant for such master stocks is very Chinese, and tales abound of more than hundred year-old lu's still in use. To nurture such venerable stocks, the Hainan chef will cook rice using either a chicken stock especially prepared for this purpose, or will uniquely add coconut milk to the pot to make an alternative rice tasting richer than our nasi lemak.

The Seabreeze coffeehouse at the Dai-Ichi has recreated Hainan style coconut-flavoured chicken rice but to Singaporean taste. The rice is perfumed with lemon grass and pandans, not used in Hainan, and the chilli sauce is thick and rich, soured with lime, the way we like it.

http://www.dawncities.com/virtualbistro/MENU/chickenrice.jpg

For me, the rice and chilli sauce are important.
:cheers:

i just love chicken rice hehehe

http://www.zdjeciacudaka.pulsnet.pl/Rozne/1022085555p1.JPG
Ok, it's a world's tallest article in a Polish Newspaper, 3 of my diagrams are in there, and I wasn't informed, but that is besides the point, so don't read this and jump to the next paragraph. :D

Look at the end on the 2nd paragrapth(2nd column) in the text, does it have the word 'Singapore'? Singapuru

And on the the third paragraph, 5 words away from the Singapuru, its Singapurem (Singaporeans?)

How about trotting this article forth in the Polish Forum, Cliff? :) I'm sure they'll give you a good idea about what it says. :cool:

As to your diagrams: bummer! :rant: Copyright violations are always painful. :bash:

Maybe they're trying to say that our 3 talls are all sipreless? :) (so they don't "cheat")

An explaination from bladyrunner of the Polish forums

"This article tell, how big is the concurention of asian countries.
Betwen Malesia & Singapoore, Taiwan & China etc.
In Seul in 2007 AD may be built skyscraper 540 m high.
China, Korea & Japan wich degress the Taipei 101 record of height to.
Article tell of some problems in skyscraper development.
This is nature with atmospheric efects, economical problems, fire etc."

Originally posted by Cliff

An explaination from bladyrunner of the Polish forums

"This article tell, how big is the concurention of asian countries.
Betwen Malesia & Singapoore, Taiwan & China etc.
Er? China-Taiwan maybe, but Sg-MY?? How do we go into scrapper contests when we already hit the height limit, esp when that limit was reached before any other building in all of Asia? :D

The first sentence is: "thanks to twin towers Malaysia has came from the shadow of it's powerful neighbour -Singapore."

The second:"But the competiotion between Malaysia and Singapore is weaker than between Taiwan and China".

Singapuru, Singapurem are just various declinations of Singapur in polish.

From Look of the Polish Forums

But how come Sears Tower looks higher than Petronas...:S

Originally posted by Magician

But how come Sears Tower looks higher than Petronas...:S OH...now then you realise the whole PTT-Sears debate has been ragging for so long is due to this antenna-sphire debacle! :D

It's 90 seconds of terror for $30

By Benjamin Ho

HURTLING into the sky in a steel capsule, brothers Jeffrey and Javin Lim got their first taste of reverse bungee jumping last night in the company of MTV host Denise Keller at Clarke Quay.

'I screamed all the way,' said Jeffrey, 24, a recent polytechnic graduate. 'My heart was pounding. The feeling is great, but it's also scary,' he said of the ride.

Javin, 22, a national serviceman, confessed: 'My heart was beating so fast it felt like it was going to come out of my mouth. The scariest part was when it was coming down.'

The brothers had won an MTV online contest for the chance to take the first ride. They took it, watched by more than 300 guests at the launch hosted by MTV Asia. They plan to come back and get their friends to try it.

Ms Keller, 21, said she was most scared just before she got on, and just as the capsule flipped over at the top.

'It was easier the second time around,' she said.

Clarke Quay centre manager Natalie Prince, 30, said the ride, her first, was simply exhilarating.

'I forgot about everything. The take-off felt like it went on forever. The view from the top is spectacular. You feel as if you are on top of the world.'

That is, if you can stop screaming as you bounce up and down seven times between the two 35m-tall towers, as high as 60m, and at a speed of 200kmh.

Samantha Chen, 18, a student passing by, said she would like to try, but at $30, the price for a ride was 'too much'. It lasts up to seven minutes, and one is airborne for about 90 seconds.

In the 1990s, the authorities rejected a bid to offer bungee jumping here, but in July, Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong said it would be welcome, and might encourage more risk taking.

Risk taking? Frontier Sports said it had handled over a million jumps with a '100-per-cent safety record'.

But riders must have no medical problems and be at least 1.1 m tall.

Guest-of-honour Chan Soo Sen, Minister of State (Education, Community Development & Sports) qualified. But he declined.

He said: 'I wouldn't try it in front of the media and so many people. I will try it one day. But not now.'

Not a chance!!! I chicken out!!! :D

No thank you.. I'd rather split the $30 into 5 parts and enjoy 5 separate 30 minute sessions (=total 150 mins) of having my favourite brownie and vanilla ice cream at haagen dazs.. at least 150 minutes of ecstacy! :D

$30??!! That's expensive... I'll consider if it was below $10. :D

Originally posted by TropicalSQ744

$30??!! That's expensive... I'll consider if it was below $10. :D Im not going up even if its free! :D

Originally posted by huaiwei

Im not going up even if its free! :D

Exactly!:D

wow id love too have a go:)

At first, I wonder why people torture themselves. Now I wonder why people pay good money to torture themselves............

Hi Kit! Wecome to the forums!

It looks like Singaporeans don't do such things.:D

Originally posted by Cliff

Exactly!:D Whatever the case, I think you can join me to go rear chickens and sell them for a tidy profit. Maybe $30 per bird. :D

Actually it sounds very exciting! I feel like trying, although I may change my mind if I actually see the thing..heh..but 90 seconds..$30 is also a bit steep..if I try it'll probably be a one-off:cheers:

I wouldn't try it if you payed me $30 bucks!

Originally posted by savethewtc

I wouldn't try it if you payed me $30 bucks! Wonderful. The three of us shall watch Raffi screaming for 90 seconds then. ;)

Some nice photos I found:

http://megaweb.clubsnap.org/d60_singaporeriver/crw_9482_std.jpg

http://megaweb.clubsnap.org/d60_singaporeriver/crw_9488_std.jpg

http://megaweb.clubsnap.org/d60_singaporeriver/crw_9520_std.jpg

http://megaweb.clubsnap.org/d60_singaporeriver/crw_9591_std.jpg

http://www.ntu.edu.sg/home2000/s7901573c/Merlion2-s.jpg

http://www.ntu.edu.sg/home2000/s7901573c/backlane%20colors.jpg

Nov 27, 2003

Bungee code would put everyone on safer ground

DOWN at Clarke Quay, people are paying $30 a pop to be catapulted into the sky in a steel cage suspended by bungee cords. Called G-Max, this reverse bungee jump sees workers pulling the bungee cords taut and then unclipping the cage, sending strapped-down riders spinning end-over-end about 60m into the air. Propelled upwards at 200kmh until they reach the top, riders then free fall and bounce about repeatedly in mid-air until the ride stops.

This is not risk-free by any means. 'But they know what they are getting into,' you say?

True, willing participants implicitly accept the risks inherent in such activities, but they also expect that operators recognise a duty of reasonable care. This is because intrinsic risks are different from risks introduced by operator negligence. While the former can't be legislated away, the latter can be minimised by appropriate oversight. In fact, most riders probably assume government regulations will ensure that the operator meets certain safety standards and that rules of operation are in place. After all, Mr Chan Soo Sen, Minister of State for Education and Community Development and Sports, officiated at its launch on Nov 19. However, there is no specific statute in Singapore for bungee jumping like the codes of practice in New Zealand and Hong Kong, which hold the operator to specific safety standards.

Not convinced that ride operators need to be regulated? Although G-Max's operator, Frontier Sports, claims a '100 per cent safety record' over a million jumps, harrowing examples involving reverse jumps organised by others are many. For instance, in August 1998, one of two towers set up for a reverse bungee jump in Atlantic City in the United States collapsed and crashed into four children in an adjacent bumper-car ride. The same month, in Ottawa, Canada, a 21-year-old man fell out of the steel cage in mid-air when his harness disengaged, plunging 30m to his death. In June last year, two riders in Portland, Oregon, were left dangling in the cage by a single bungee cord after the other cord snapped as workers were cranking the ride into position. The cage accelerated upwards and sideways, hitting one of the towers, so the riders sustained bruises and back injuries.

Investigations showed that, in each of these cases and in most other recorded incidents with the catapult, operator negligence, not outright equipment failure, was to blame. Unfortunately, in most places, specific regulations for operators are imposed only after a fatality or serious injury.

After a deadly accident in August last year in Swansea, Wales, it was revealed that no licences were required to operate any type of bungee jump and that all safety issues rested with the operator. Most operators abided by the British Elastic Rope Sports Association code of practice - but there was no law requiring them to do so. The same month, in the Republic of Ireland, a 16-year-old attendant was accidentally caught in the cage and sustained fatal head injuries when it lifted him high up into the air before crashing down to earth. Only last month did the Irish Parliament finally pass a new law to regulate such rides.

Why the delay? The problem is that the catapult appears beguilingly safe, so its popularity always runs ahead of legislators. Apparently, starting on the ground and being shot upwards is less scary than taking the straight bungee jump. You don't have to climb or be lifted to great heights to jump down but it still drums up the same rush that goes with the plunge. Yet, it is not without its risks as such incidents illustrate.

Bungee jumping first became popular in the 1980s in New Zealand, Australia and France. Reaching the US in the early 1990s, it saw innovations designed to increase the adrenalin rush for the brave or foolhardy, like bungee jumping from hot-air balloons. Then, there were innovations, like catapulting, which aimed to rope in those average folks who were not averse to climbing onto a roller-coaster ride, for example.

Either way, operators were mainly trying to develop the business. But it was an explosive mixture as profit-and-loss considerations intersected with safety concerns. Soon, there were enough fatalities for at least seven states in America to ban hot-air balloon bungee jumps, for example. Elsewhere, Hong Kong passed a law in 2000, The Code Of Practice For Bungee Jumping, that explicitly banned catapulting.

Bans aside, can the regulation of operators make a difference? You bet.

Although inherent risks will remain, regulations can keep operator negligence to a minimum - for instance, by mandating certain technical specifications for the equipment used, including communications equipment. They can also require background checks on all operators, mandate that they be adequately insured, and ensure that personnel are trained in safety procedures.

Regulation can also require detailed pre-opening, jump preparation, jump recovery and emergency procedures. Restrictions regarding the weather, age and medical conditions could also be spelt out. The US states of Colorado and Virginia, among others, already require on-site operating manuals laying out personnel qualifications and site plans. They also detail how staff training, equipment maintenance, pre-opening inspection, rider pre-interviews and acceptances, and accident reporting should be logged.

Adopting similar regulations here to hold operators to a higher standard can put all parties back on safer ground. Otherwise, think again before you take that ride.

Originally posted by Cliff

The first sentence is: "thanks to twin towers Malaysia has came from the shadow of it's powerful neighbour -Singapore."

The second:"But the competiotion between Malaysia and Singapore is weaker than between Taiwan and China".

Singapuru, Singapurem are just various declinations of Singapur in polish.

From Look of the Polish Forums

Mystery solved. :guns1:

Originally posted by Magician

But how come Sears Tower looks higher than Petronas...:S

Your lagging bro.. :nuts:

Expressway air may cause more harm than thought

New study finds polluted particle in air along AYE far smaller than that detected in the past; it can enter lungs more easily

By Sharmilpal Kaur

THE air along an expressway is likely to be more polluted than elsewhere - but it may be even worse for health than previously thought. A study has shown that air samples taken along the Ayer Rajah Expressway contain polluted particles far smaller than those detected earlier.

This makes it much easier for pollutants to penetrate deep into the lungs, where they can cause breathing difficulties and aggravate existing heart and respiratory conditions like asthma and bronchitis. They also bring about changes in the body's defence mechanism, which can, in extreme cases, result in premature death.

So far, the main concern of researchers here has been over particulate matter 10 (PM10), which are ultra-fine particles of dust, soot and smoke about one-seventh the diameter of a strand of human hair, and smaller. These concerns were heightened by a recent study that linked the PM10 problem here to nearly 600 deaths and said it cost the economy $6.43 billion a year.

But now, a separate study which analysed samples of the air taken along the AYE shows that almost all the tiny pollutants are 2.5 microns or less (PM2.5), or 128th the diameter of a strand of hair. Associate Professor David Cheong from the National University of Singapore (NUS), who led the study, said: 'These are the ones that can have an adverse impact and get into the lower respiratory tract.'

For residents who live beside expressways, such as Ms Mah Mei Ling, 25, the overall dusty conditions are enough to persuade her to keep her windows shut. She has been living beside the Central Expressway (CTE) with her elderly parents all her life. Said the flight stewardess: 'The dust not only gets on the floor but on shelves and books. I am not worried about PM2.5 though - there are so many other things to worry about.'

However, the National Environment Agency (NEA) is worried about it. It has been closely monitoring the levels of PM2.5 in Singapore's ambient air, but not just at expressways alone, since December 1997. Daily levels of PM2.5 here so far have met the guidelines of the United States Environmental Protection Agency. But the US agency also has another set of guidelines which averages out the annual levels. This is stricter than the daily readings and Singapore, along with other cities, has fallen short.

Said an NEA spokesman: 'Although this second standard was established in 1997, many urban cities in the US such as Atlanta, New York and Los Angeles have not been able to comply with this annual standard. Singapore too has not been able to comply with it.' The US guidelines are now under review and this is expected to be completed in 2005.

For now, Singapore is attempting to switch to cleaner fuels such as natural gas, which has little or no PM2.5 emissions. It is also encouraging research in the area of air quality, especially for buildings.

Yesterday, Senior Minister of State (Prime Minister's Office) Matthias Yao launched a five-day international conference called Healthy Buildings 2003 at NUS. About 400 research papers will be presented, including Prof Cheong's. The event is organised by the NUS' department of building and the International Society of Indoor Air Quality and Climate.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

INSIDE FLATS: How polluted?

THERE is still little research done on PM2.5 but NUS Associate Professor David Cheong wants to change that by next measuring the levels of it in Housing Board blocks beside major roads. 'A lot of flats are very close, about 10m away. I want to go in and see what levels of PM2.5 they are living with,' he said.

YO everyone visit here for the pics of all JC PROM NIGHT pics

http://www.uberture.com/emag/emag_bescene.asp

Date:
20 December 2003

Venue:
Centro@Fullerton

Age:
18 years old and above

Open between:
9pm - 4am

Prices are:
$12 presale/reserved tickets
$18 at the door

Both include 1 standard drink

Get 10% off when you pay with your UOB Debit Card!

Entertainment:
Crowning the JC Prom King & Queen of Singapore


Tickets are available at:
HMV@Hereen/CityLink

Or sms Jermaice at 94797094 to reserve your tickets (include your name and number of tickets you wish to reserve, collect at the door)

CRAVE 03:
Überture brings you the first ever Inter-JC prom king and queen pageant! Satisfy your cravings for music, booze, and memories as we bring you the event to be at! Be dazzled by gorgeous people, exciting games, great prizes and free drinks.

This party is not to be missed as we present the craziest night out in Singapore. Cheap tickets, great drinks and lots of hunks and babes!...

…not forgetting Centro's resident DJs playing chunky, funky, floor fillin' music until 4am. A surprise guest DJ might make an appearence!

Free drinks and lounge sofas for early arrivals (8.30pm), plus centro memberships, shopping vouchers, UOB Gold debit cards and a sexy Motorola E380 up for grabs, unleash the party animal in you!

Make sure that you don't have other plans for this Saturday. Crave 2003. Be scene!

Eh....is that a promotion for the event??

Isn't that obvious? :D

BTW, what a thread. Interesting and informative. A perfect guide for anyone wanting to come to Singapore.

Originally posted by paw

Isn't that obvious? :DWell, I just need him to confirm it himself, so that we can persecute him? ;)

Originally posted by huaiwei

Well, I just need him to confirm it himself, so that we can persecute him? ;)

Yes. spamming SSC with adverts is a no-no, especially if you just signed up.

btw welcome to the new Singapore forum paw:cheers:

paw is welcome, of course! :wave: :)

But that announcement about the junior prom up there is entirely inappropriate imo & has no business here! :rant:

Are there any?
This is the only one I know. If you want to hear, download from Kazza.

On A Little Street In Singapore


Lyrics by: Billy Hill

Music by: Peter De Rose

With Harry James and his Orchestra

Arranged by: Andy Gibson
Label: Columbia Records

Recorded: October 13, 1939

-------------------------------------------



On a little street in Singapore,

We'd meet beside a lotus-covered door,

A veil of moonlight on her lonely face,

How pale the hands that held me in embrace.

My sails tonight are filled with perfume of Shalimar,

And temple bells will guide me to the shore.

And then I'll hold her in my arms, and love the way I loved before,

On a little street in Singapore.

a disgusting song:

Singapore

We sail tonight for singapore,
We’re all as mad as hatters here
I’ve fallen for a tawny moor,
Took off to the land of nod
Drank with all the chinamen,
Walked the sewers of paris
I danced along a colored wind,
Dangled from a rope of sand
You must say goodbye to me

We sail tonight for singapore,
Don’t fall asleep while you’re ashore
Cross your heart and hope to die
When you hear the children cry
Let marrow bone and cleaver choose
While making feet for children shoes
Through the alley, back from hell,
When you hear that steeple bell
You must say goodbye to me

Wipe him down with gasoline
’til his arms are hard and mean
From now on boys this iron boat’s your home
So heave away, boys

We sail tonight for singapore,
Take your blankets from the floor
Wash your mouth out by the door,
The whole town’s made of iron ore
Every witness turns to steam,
They all become italian dreams
Fill your pockets up with earth,
Get yourself a dollar’s worth
Away boys, away boys, heave away

The captain is a one-armed dwarf,
He’s throwing dice along the wharf
In the land of the blind
The one-eyed man is king, so take this ring

We sail tonight for singapore,
We’re all as mad as hatters here
I’ve fallen for a tawny moor,
Took off to the land of nod
Drank with all the chinamen,
Walked the sewers of paris
I drank along a colored wind,
I dangled from a rope of sand
You must say goodbye to me

Huh?? What are these songs supposed to be for? I tot you are asking for our national songs here! :D

They are just some songs.:D
It's hard to find songs with the name Singapore in them, but for New York, there's lots.:)

Great find! These songs are special as they were written by people inspired by Singapore. Written during colonial times, something my grandad might have identified with;)

The first one was played during the 1987 Miss Universe held in Singapore.

As for national songs, I do have my favs.

Wow..its that so? I didnt know the second song is from that era! :D

Where else can I find more songs like this? ;)

I just clicked Singapore in Kazza(make sure it searches only for audio!!!!) and got these 2.:)

Originally posted by huaiwei
Well, I just need him to confirm it himself, so that we can persecute him? ;)

He probably wouldn't be back to confirm it himself.:D ;)

Cheers and thanks for the welcome.:cheers:

Originally posted by paw

He probably wouldn't be back to confirm it himself.:D ;)

Cheers and thanks for the welcome.:cheers: As of now, you are right. ;)

BTW where do you happen to hail from? Your username seems mildly familiar, but I cant recall too much? :colgate:

Mildly familiar? I have been lurking since Mar 03, though I rarely post. Perhaps you recognise my nick then.

Originally posted by paw

Mildly familiar? I have been lurking since Mar 03, though I rarely post. Perhaps you recognise my nick then. Hmm...I have trouble trying to remember lurkers...haha :D Where you from?

Originally posted by paw

Mildly familiar? I have been lurking since Mar 03, though I rarely post. Perhaps you recognise my nick then.

I remember you. You posted pics of Myanmar;)

You also said that the 'Flatiron' shophouse is going to get demolished. However I am pleased to see that it is actually being restored!:cool:

http://skyscraperpage.com/gallery/data/500/300vieww.jpg
I took this picture from the 39th floor of the UOB Plaza 1 in March this year.You can see forever!

Can you spot the Police/MHA HQ and The Nouvo condo?;)
The Cathay Building is also there.

Its a big pity you dont have a digi cam then. The quality of the picture would have been much better.....sigh.

If I had a digital camera with very good zoom or a very good SRL camera with zoom on a tripod ,I'll take a full-shot of the Cathay.

Originally posted by RafflesCity
You also said that the 'Flatiron' shophouse is going to get demolished. However I am pleased to see that it is actually being restored!:cool:

Does anyone knows the name of that 'Flatiron' shophouse?

Originally posted by paw

Does anyone knows the name of that 'Flatiron' shophouse?

Its called "Da Zhong".

Check out the latest pics of the restored stuff here
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=59540

:cool:

$30m facelift planned - if lease is extended

By Kelvin Wong

BIG Splash, once so devoid of crowds that even its management said many had assumed it was closed, has become a hot spot for thrill-seekers and companies organising corporate getaways.

Indeed, the $1 million sprucing-up job it did a year ago has proven so successful in raising its visitor count that the park now has plans for a bigger, bolder redevelopment that could cost up to $30 million.

But that 'rebirth', as its owners call it, will take place only in 2006, and even that hinges on whether its 30-year lease gets renewed by the Singapore Land Authority (SLA).

'We hope we can stay on,' said the park's marketing and communications manager, Mr Kevin Tan, who speaks for Potential Investment, the club's new owners.

He added: 'In just one year, we managed to attract new tenants and draw so many visitors with minor touch-ups here and there.

'Imagine what we can do with a totally brand new park.'

Big Splash, which is now 27 years old, has been drawing in the crowds after hip names such as Mahalo Beach Bar, formerly at Sunset Bay in Sentosa, and a new dance club, Tunnel, were introduced as part of the mini-revamp last year.

Besides families, companies such as ABN Amro and M1 have organised corporate functions in the water amusement park.

This year, no less than 42 events were held at Big Splash by companies, churches and army units, bringing in about 28,000 visitors.

That helped to bump up overall visitor count to almost 100,000 this year.

'Prior to this, we weren't even keeping track. The place was so quiet many people thought it was closed,' said Mr Tan.

He would not reveal profit and revenue figures but said: 'Naturally, we have narrowed our losses.'

Encouraged by the strong reception to the recent sprucing up, the new owners, led by construction and property businessman C.K. Tan, have engaged the services of Australian-based architectural consultancy McKerrel Lynch to come up with drafts of the new compound.

It will consist of three complexes - a main one with retail space, a fitness tower which will house a gym and other facilities such as a spa and beauty salons, and a third complex for seminar halls and auditoriums.

The new facility will be an expanded version of the current one where recreational activities will reign in the day and entertainment hot spots will rule by night.

The park will reintroduce its trademark water slides and swimming pools, as well as offer kayaking at the nearby beach.

And to ride on the wave of companies that have been holding carnivals and family days at its premises, the new park will have about four seminar halls to cater to corporate events.

There will also be about 20 retail shops selling products such as sportswear, souvenirs and beauty products, and food and beverage outlets.

All this is good news to fun-seekers such as undergraduate Isaac Ng, who has visited the park three times since its last revamp.

The 22-year-old is hoping the new owners get the go-ahead to extend the lease.

'I hope it gets built. It sounds like an exciting place to have fun in the day and chill out at night,' he said.

Big Splash could not say, however, if entry will continue to be free when the place is done up.

When contacted, SLA said that the decision to renew the lease or put the site up for public tender would depend on the long-term plans that the National Parks Board has for East Coast Park.

The Singapore Tourism Board, which has been approached by the company to help, also said that it would need more details of the park's plans 'before considering any level of support for their project'.

I have neber been to the Big Splash. Has any of you ever been there?

Singaporean - and proud of it

A LOOK in the newspapers suggests that there are so many not-so-nice things about Singaporeans. Sales staff are said to be rude and unfriendly. One reader even suggested that we should learn from Hong Kong. It makes one feel that Singaporeans are a terrible bunch. To find out whether this was really so, I looked around me.

About a month ago, I went to Wisma Atria in Orchard Road to pick up some free gifts. While I was waiting for my husband I walked into Southaven Boutique on the ground floor, to be met with lovely smiles and the greeting, 'Welcome, good morning, please feel free to look around.'

All the staff were helpful, cheerful and warm. I thought they owned the shop, so I asked them, 'Why are you girls so happy?' They told me: 'It is because we love our job.' Wow! I bought two skirts even though I didn't need them. Every time I pick up one of the skirts, it reminds me that we have wonderful sales staff too.

A few weeks ago, I flew to Thailand on Singapore Airlines. I had heard about the airline's retrenchment and restructuring, so I asked one of the Singapore Girls, 'Do you still enjoy working?' She gave me the most beautiful smile and said, 'I love my job.' I was bowled over.

When I was in Thailand I met up with my old friends and asked them how they felt about Singaporeans. They told me many unfavourable things. Then I asked them what was good about Singaporeans. They told me that one thing they had to give us credit for is how we work. When Singaporeans do work, one can see the difference.

So all workers should remember this: We are still one of the best. When things get rough in the company or the country, just have faith and trust the management or the Government. And continue to do the best we can.

Also, do you know that our Ah Bengs can be so cool? I was at NTUC FairPrice and ahead of me at the cashier's was one Ah Beng. I must have looked very tired because Ah Beng looked at me and said, 'Aunty, you go first.'

So the next time one hears how bad Singaporeans are, one should find out whether this was the exception rather than the rule. And if someone asks who we are, let's give him our best smile and reply, 'We are Singaporeans.'

KULVADEE THONGSOMBOON (MRS)

Originally posted by huaiwei

I have neber been to the Big Splash. Has any of you ever been there?

I havent. I was told that it was dangerous or something at one point, but they improved it.

My parents and sister also think the reverse bungee jump is risky:D

About rude staff, so far I havent come across any recently. No reason to if you are polite in the first place.:cheers:

Risky? What can happen when you slide down?

If I'm not wrong there is a slight landing halfway down the slide, so you may fly up and hit the slide again. I remember someone broke his back before. Or maybe it was in Malaysia...

Originally posted by RafflesCity

If I'm not wrong there is a slight landing halfway down the slide, so you may fly up and hit the slide again. I remember someone broke his back before. Or maybe it was in Malaysia... Eh? Hm..I did recall an incident in Fantasy Island as well, but I cant remember the exact details!

December 24, 2003
Some names are rather beastly

By Khushwant Singh

THE use of animals in brand names is nothing new -think Tiger Beer, Tiger Balm and Lion Air. In Australia, there's a regional airline that's called Emu Airways. The irony is that the emu is a flightless bird. An airline named after an emu does not invoke much confidence, but what the heck, tigers can't fly either, but we have got Tiger Airways.

But what gets my hackles up is the degradation wrought upon these animals. The lion is the king of beasts yet its name is used for a football team that crashed out even before the SEA Games in Vietnam started earlier this month. If the animal kingdom had lawyers, there would be lawsuits and the owl, I guess, would preside.

And if you think I'm making a mountain out of a molehill, imagine the repercussions if somebody called a football team of transvestites Merlions. The Merlion is alleged to be a mythical figure, but we all know that it was conjured out of thin air. It has been adopted by Singaporeans and has now grown to become quite close to our hearts. And we would definitely not take kindly to the abuse of the Merlion name by some gender-bender soccer group. Worse still, if the Merlion transvestites can't play football to save their lives.

So let's not continue this humiliation of the proud lion any more. Our football team doesn't roar in victory; most of the time it whimpers in defeat. They can call themselves the Fiascos or Bunglers or Crashers for all I care, but leave the beasts alone. I would even object if they were called Kittens because this would be another form of animal discrimination.

So what if Singapore is called the Lion City? That doesn't give us the right to drag the name of the king of the forest through the mud. History has it that Sang Nila Utama saw a lion on this small island. That's total crap. The chances of someone seeing a lion here is as remote as Neil Armstrong being hit by that cow that jumped over the moon. So Sang Nila Utama must have been myopic and that is probably why Singaporeans lead the world in this field. In fact, let's consider Myopia City as an alternative.

Also probably, no one in his entourage had the guts to tell the great leader that he mistook a goat for a lion. Of course, his staff had a good laugh behind his back when they gathered at their favourite kopitiam after work. But I am grateful for his short-sightedness, or we could today have been known as Kambingpura, or goat city. Now, this would get my goat. This laughing-behind-the-back- of-the-boss thing is undoubtedly another trait that got passed down to modern Singaporeans.

Of course, this fixation with animal names affects only creatures that have a strong branding. Besides lions and those mentioned above, these include the deadly cobra,the awesome scorpion, the man-eating shark, the smart dolphins and even the desert-trotting camel. Notice that mice, cockroaches or houseflies are not included.

The Registrar of Companies has restrictions on the use of names like Singapore, Temasek, Lion City as well as words that have religious and sexual connotations. So just add animal names to the list and only allow their use if there is a very sound reason, such as if the tonic that wants to be known as Tiger Brand has 50 per cent or more of tiger's pee in it.

Then at least our children's children won't be confused and think that a tiger is a beer or an airline or that a lion is some inept footballer who has more shame than mane.

Originally posted by RafflesCity
Its called "Da Zhong".


Cool indeed. :cool: Didn't know you had a thread on it until now.

That was a funny article posted by huaiwei on animal names!
:rofl:

btw have you read any of Neil Humphrey's books on his take on Singaporeans? He called the merlion a cross-dressing lion!:moods:

I've got his second book. Its quite funny.

I think the first book is more funny. The second one is more serious and critisizes Singapore more.

Oooo.... okay. I'm gonna borrow the first book from TropicalSQ744 then....

Jeez.....I have not even heard of the books yet. Whats the title?

Notes from and even smaller island

and

Scribbles from the same island

i think. Might have mixed up the 'scribbles' and 'notes' part.

is there any pictures of (52 BUKIT BATOK EAST AVENUE 5) or picture of this area...

You got the order right. The first version , Notes from an even smaller island is very very good!

It will have you laughing on almost every page. I think his powers of observation and irony are very sharp;)

Originally posted by RafflesCity

You got the order right. The first version , Notes from an even smaller island is very very good!

It will have you laughing on almost every page. I think his powers of observation and irony are very sharp;)

Heard that, TropicalSQ744? Hurry up and lend it to me already!!! ;)

Can someone scan the book, digitise it and send it to me? :D

Er...wat is that building in that address?? :? ;)

Search Kazaa..... my friend got LOTR off it....

By Asha Popatlal, Channel NewsAsia

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/imagegallery/store/phpht5xLr.jpg

SINGAPORE : Get ready for another endurance contest.

This time instead of keeping your hand on a car, contestants will literally have to hang in there day ... after day .. after day.

Cable cars have been part of the Singapore skyline for some 30 years now.

But imagine living in one!

Imagine if this had to be your home for 24 hours, seven days at a stretch, with only one 10-minute break every day.

This is what contestants of a new reality challenge will have to go through in March, braving claustrophobia, fear of heights and heat as the cable car goes round and round.

But there are high stakes - the couple who stays put the longest - rides off with $50,000.

"Crazy, absolutely murder, you won't catch me in that, definitely not."

"Mad, crazy people."

"I think they'd have to be pretty brave - not a lot of room."

"Got plenty of time up their sleeves obviously."

There will be a man and woman on each team. And there will be two teams in each cable car.

Unfortunately, if you don't like the other couple.....it's just too bad, you cannot vote them out. You are stuck with them.

Teams will get three meals a day, and three litres of drinking water. But there's no air-conditioning.

Participants can bring one personal item - like a book - but they will have to leave their laptops and mobile phones at home.

And be prepared for motion sickness - the cable cars will be moving 15 hours a day - stopping only at night.

Colin Lin, Director of Corporate Events, Singapore Cable Car, said: "It's not as easy as you think, you get a fantastic view and you get it again and again and again.

"They will be given tasks, not necessarily to kill their boredom, more for awarding merit and demerit points, could be arts and crafts."

Given how popular the cable cars are with tourists, the contest is also open to couples from regional destinations like Malaysia, Thailand and Hong Kong.

Applications close on February 24 and the contest swings off at noon on March 16. - CNA

Singapore reviews oral sex law

Singapore is considering decriminalising oral sex between consenting men and women, after a case involving a policeman highlighted a law which many in the city-state consider antiquated.
Junior Home Affairs Minister Ho Peng Kee said the law could be revised in two to three months.

He said that the government is considering decriminalising oral sex between men and women above the age of 16. A ban on homosexual fellatio looks set to stay.

The Singaporean public were outraged by a case involving a 27-year-old policeman who was jailed for two years last November for having oral sex.

Initially it was reported that the girl was 16 years old, and the public seized on the case as evidence that the government was old-fashioned and out of touch.

It later transpired that the girl was in fact 15, and that the man was prosecuted under a different law that prohibits sex with minors.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yeah! :soon: you guys can have oral sex,it will be legalised! :happy:

No but on a serieus note...it's kinda crazy too bann such a thing :? so this would be a good thing........

my..you sure keep up with the sex news! :devil:

oh well..they still have nudity laws:baaa:

Hehehe...I actually seriously considered joining the compeition until I realised it entails skipping a week of school...then again, that dosent sound too bad. ;)

that is pretty crazy that they would ban something like that, lol

What do they eat??!!:eat:

Originally posted by Cliff

What do they eat??!!:eat: No idea, but I am more worried about the "3 litre of water" limit and the lack of toilet breaks. That is more of a torture then sitting there!! :D

Originally posted by The Messiah

He said that the government is considering decriminalising oral sex between men and women above the age of 16. A ban on homosexual fellatio looks set to stay.

If oral sex is allowed between a man and a woman but not between a homosexual couple, wouldn't that qualify as sexual discrimination? If Singapore has strict anti-discrimination laws (eg in Australia you are not allowed to be refused a job solely on the basis of gender or race) then this could be a potential loophole in the law.

Another weird thing is that prostitution is legal but oral sex isn't allowed at the moment in Singapore.

Of course you have to remember Singapore's ban on chewing gum (which has been relaxed a bit now). Singapore still does have very strict laws - I believe political dissent is still outlawed.

Whats the penalty for doing it oral sex between men? Do they get the shaft of the cane?

Eh....before this thread degenerates into yet another free-for-all bashing of the oh-so-strict laws here, there are certain things that need to be put in proper perspective:

It has to be reminded the laws in force here are, in essense, inherited from England, considering we were once a British Colony. Naturally, amendments, additions and deletions are made to these laws over time. This big hoo-ha over the oral sex case was a prime example of a law that was actually in existance in the British laws THEN, and has not come under review till today.

However, notice how certain rules do get amended faster then others, such as the prostitution one which was mentioned earlier (there is a reason for this). The fact is that laws dont always make sense when seen as a package, and loppholes do abound. Do you know that under the existing laws, it is unlawful to perform oral sex by itself, but should it be followed up by "normal" sexual intercourse afterwards, then it becomes lawful!

Not every "strange law" is a product of the local government. :D

Anyway, I am going to find the whole strange of articles related to this oral sex issue. There will be quite a number of insights that can be garnered from there instead of from those short overseas articles which dont do lots of explainations but simply re-enforces old precudices.

Originally posted by Roch5220

Whats the penalty for doing it oral sex between men? Do they get the shaft of the cane? In the Penal Code (Chapter 224) of the Singapore Statutes, there are only two paragraphs related to these "crimes."

Unnatural offences.
377. Whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animals, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 10 years, and shall also be liable to fine.

Explanation.
Penetration is sufficient to constitute the carnal intercourse necessary to the offence described in this section.

Outrages on decency.
377A. Any male person who, in public or private, commits, or abets the commission of, or procures or attempts to procure the commission by any male person of, any act of gross indecency with another male person, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 2 years.

If you think the above definitions are vague, the fact is they are. Oral sex comes under this section of the penal code.

^ I was making a lewd joke.

Originally posted by Roch5220

^ I was making a lewd joke. But I took the chance to put things straight. :D

Anyway, certain things I wan to respond to with regards to invincible's post:

Originally posted by invincible

If oral sex is allowed between a man and a woman but not between a homosexual couple, wouldn't that qualify as sexual discrimination? If Singapore has strict anti-discrimination laws then this could be a potential loophole in the law.The Singapore Constitution states:

---------------------------

Equal protection
12. —(1) All persons are equal before the law and entitled to the equal protection of the law.

(2) Except as expressly authorised by this Constitution, there shall be no discrimination against citizens of Singapore on the ground only of religion, race, descent or place of birth in any law or in the appointment to any office or employment under a public authority or in the administration of any law relating to the acquisition, holding or disposition of property or the establishing or carrying on of any trade, business, profession, vocation or employment.

(3) This Article does not invalidate or prohibit —

(a) any provision regulating personal law; or

(b) any provision or practice restricting office or employment connected with the affairs of any religion, or of an institution managed by a group professing any religion, to persons professing that religion.

---------------------------

Note that gender and sexuality are not mentioned. As far as the present set of laws are concerned, it is perfectly legal to discriminate against the employment of a self-declared homosexual. The government agencies have, in fact, been well known in practicising this form of dicrimination against them thus far. Hence it made big local news here last year, when the PM revealed that homosexuals are now being hired into the civil service in occupations previously considered "sensitive."

Originally posted by invincible

Another weird thing is that prostitution is legal but oral sex isn't allowed at the moment in Singapore.

If the performance of carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal voluntarily can lead to a life jail term, or jailed for up to 10 years, and fined, while "In comparison, for causing serious injury to another person, the maximum penalty is seven years' jail, and a fine or caning," then what else is surprising?

Originally posted by invincible

Of course you have to remember Singapore's ban on chewing gum (which has been relaxed a bit now). Singapore still does have very strict laws - I believe political dissent is still outlawed. How does the banning of gum compare to the banning of toilet queues on planes? ;) Laws are there for a reason, although they might not always serve their purpose. The ban against the sale and mass import of chewing gum has resulted in absolutely zero delays in the MRT trains due to jammed train doors caused by gum since it was implimented (this was the main reason why it was banned). It remains to be seen for the later law thou. Oh, and did I mention the ban was ONLY against the sale and mass importation, and have nothing to do with you "smuggling" in a few and consuming them in our streets?

Singapore has a nice reputation of having "strict laws," but I do wonder where the "strictness" really comes in. Was it the existance of these laws? The enforcement of them? Or both?

Finally, I know absolutely nothing about how political dissent can be unlawful here. Those opposition parties must be illegal. Perhaps someone could enlighten me on this? ;)

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! Title and the storys are funny!

Originally posted by huaiwei
Finally, I know absolutely nothing about how political dissent can be unlawful here. Those opposition parties must be illegal. Perhaps someone could enlighten me on this? ;)

A lot of stuff, but it's all good (tbh I couldn't really be bothered trying to understand all that)- I'm just quoting what I've heard and read. The part re dissent I read about on the Internet (via GPRS so I'll have some trouble getting a link) and I believe the source was Reuters. I already mentioned that what I say may be incorrect.

IMO anti-gay laws have no place in this time and day, anywhere. There is no justification for it and laws and the consitution can be easily amended. I think that the Singapore constitution should be amended for that, especially gender because that is the biggest grounds for discrimination complaints in Australia - although a loophole in this law meant that a man was sucessfully able to compete in a womens sporting event.

And I still stand by my opinion that Singapore's laws are strict, Australia's laws are very liberal on a relative scale.

BTW I'm not trying to argue here, just some group discussion. I don't have anything against Singapore. I'm in no mood to debate, especially about politics.

For the record, this isnt an argument. This is merely a presentation of facts which may or may not substantiate societal myths. They are there for personal intepretation.

Singapore will never pretend to be more liberal then most western societies, and has never claimed to be so. In fact, the society we have here at the crossroads of the world, besiged by all sorts of internal and external forces, seems more content in finding a comfortable equilibrium between the current world's extremes. We don't legalise homosexual marriages, but we don't round them up for extermination either. The same thing for many other aspects of life here.

If life is so stiffling here, and yet there is complete freedom to leave this place anytime we want, then this island would be emptied overnight of all those who cannot tolerate life under such laws, and have the financial means to leave. You might be glad to know that they have left long ago. :D

We all know how the media works, or I hope we do, and in their strengths and weaknesses, no matter if they are "free" or "controlled." If Reuters tells the world that political dissent is unlawful here, then I have but zero trust in the integrity of the rest of their content. Same for any other media. It is up to us to detect discrimination and stereotype to the best of our abilities, but if that cannot be done, and if inspite of that, one feels the urge to make comments based on what we have read or head, then be prepared for a response.

Originally posted by huaiwei

No idea, but I am more worried about the "3 litre of water" limit and the lack of toilet breaks. That is more of a torture then sitting there!! :D

yea....I think that would be my main concern too! :D

Unless they let us pee out of the window?? :D Its over the sea and forests anyway...just dont do it over the main road!

Originally posted by huaiwei

Unless they let us pee out of the window?? :D Its over the sea and forests anyway...just dont do it over the main road!

.....with the other 3 fellas lookin at you doin it? :D

Originally posted by szehoong

.....with the other 3 fellas lookin at you doin it? :D They might just join me loh!! My team mate wont want me to sabo her too anyway rite? :D

Originally posted by EyeToEye

Search Kazaa..... my friend got LOTR off it....
How do I do that? The main Kazaa has all the spyware and Kazaa lite (supposed to be free of all that stuff) now moved on to some kind of subscription plan.
Anyone know where I can download a working version of Kazaa lite or similar?

Originally posted by huaiwei

They might just join me loh!! My team mate wont want me to sabo her too anyway rite? :D

well.....must the team mate be the member of the opposite sex? I was thinking how nice if there are two forumers there (like you and me)....taking pictures and talking bout skyscrapers and bored the other team till death....hehehe :D

If we talk for one week, I can...but I am quite sure 3 litres of water wont sustain me for more then a few hours!! :D

Naked passion

What's the big deal about Steve Chia taking nude pictures of himself? In fact, doesn't the outcry say more about Singaporeans than of him?

By Tommy Wee

THE last time I was caught nude on camera, I was three years old. I remember sprinting out of the bathroom, leaving a trail of soap suds, in absolute fear of missing a Sunday morning episode of The Smurfs, those blue cartoon people with big heads. Some relatives who were visiting must have found the desperation in my eyes amusing and snapped away. I don't recall smiling for those pictures. I don't know where the photographs are now, so don't ask.

Unlike some people, I'm not one for having photographs of myself taken. I think I've lived with myself long enough to know what I look like without having to constantly take pictures of myself, saving them on disks or developing them, and then admiring them over and over again. I don't take myself that seriously. But if the photographs promise to be ridiculously stupid ones with inebriated friends, then I'm in there like swimwear. I love any excuse to make a funny face.

In my (photo) book, what happened to Non-Constituency Member of Parliament Steve Chia recently is tragic. And I'm not even talking about how his wife sabo-ed him. Now, I'm not equipped to make moral pronouncements on what happened between the lens, Mr Chia and his maid. Since the maid has said that she was not forced to be in the pictures, I would like to believe that he did not abuse his power as an employer. Neither am I here to comment on how prominent people should - or shouldn't - lead exemplary lives, or how the 'Recycle Bin' icon on a computer desktop is the enemy of complacent fools.

Rather, I wish to comment on what I see as the bigger picture here: Would it have been such a big deal if both Mr Chia and his maid had been pictured fully-clothed? I think not. And if the NMP had displayed a fondness for, say, photographing his elbows or his maid's elbows, for that matter, would his wife have used the pictures as such potent leverage?

Over the years, nudity has become an over-rated and even hilarious concept to me. Maybe I've been indulging in too many trashy movies like Freeze Me that the nakedness of another human being and jokes relating to nudity are no longer shocking or even funny. These days, nudity works like an offbeat religion: Seek and ye shall find.

After all, the impossible-to-police Internet is just out there. Even while surfing the Internet, porn literally pops up on your computer screen. It's unfortunate, but the abundance of nudity these days has really lowered its shock and tantalising value.

So, I've begun to ask myself, what's the big deal about nude images? Do we not already know what lies beneath each other's threads? What's so tantalising anymore about a nude figure? Maybe I'm trivialising the whole episode, but I really don't understand the sustained public outcry and discussion on the NMP. I'm sure people do weirder things behind closed doors.

The way I see it, the uproar over Mr Chia's pictures is more an indication of how repressed, bored and even unsophisticated Singaporeans are. The manner in which the nation lapped up the drama and dirty laundry of a flawed marriage speaks volumes about what sort of people we are. Maybe we need more fund-raising variety shows, epic Hollywood trilogies, Big Walks or quasi-celebrity marriages to occupy our time and attention.

In fact, I find it hilarious and even rather comforting that in Singapore's highly serious political arena, there is a member who has no qualms documenting himself au naturel, in nature. It's somehow comforting to know that someone is pursuing his passion - albeit a strange one - in his own time.

If I happen to bump into Mr Chia on the street, I will not run away from him. Instead, I think I would like to have my picture taken with him.

Erm...anyone able to help this chap out?

Its a very specific request. Wonder why he wants that area. Anyway I cant be of much help..not in Singapore now and I havent been to Bukit Batok for a long time:cheers:

aik? It's Yunus(from his title), WSF Turkish forumer from TO..long time no see. You're going to Singapore, Yunus? ;)

http://gallery.design.com.sg/fareast/regent_h_bldg_main.gif
http://gallery.design.com.sg/fareast/regent_h_bldg_fac.gif
Haha ,here it is!:D


The Regent Heights Condominium!

"Regent Heights epitomises the height of luxury in Singapore's best preserved natural surroundings. Regent Heights is blessed with these beautiful surroundings with stunning views of Little Guilin and the scenic environs all year round and all day long as one ascends up to the 30 storeys of Regent Heights. Regent Heights features modernist architecture with extensive water features and landscaping elements. Contemporary expressions of style and elegance are reflected throughout the development. Located at the junction of Bukit Batok East Avenue 2 and Avenue 5, Regent Heights also provides easy access to nearby amenities. Without a doubt, this is a rare investment opportunity to own a penthouse unit at luxurious Regent Heights."

Quoted from http://gallery.design.com.sg/fareast/regent_h_fac.htm

Developed by Far East Organisation.

You are beginning to sound like a property agent, redstone? ;)

Looks like a pretty smart condo:cool:

Makes me wonder why SnowMan wants a photo of this place anyway.....gonna buy an apartment or something? ;)

Quite impressive for the country considering that Singapore once banned chewing gums :D

Originally posted by London_ON_Canada

Quite impressive for the country considering that Singapore once banned chewing gums :D

Didnt they also frown upon spitting?....


(Im sorry, I just had to say that)

Originally posted by sk8rboiiii

Didnt they also frown upon spitting?....


(Im sorry, I just had to say that) Yes we do, but so wat? ;)

It turned out to be a blessing in disguise thou, when the SARS epidemic hit us hard last year. No prices given in guessing which areas fared better in combating the disease. :D

Shit, we belonged to Britian too, but never had laws like that...
well maybe 100 years ago!


That's insane! Chewing gum wasn't allowed!?!?!?

Oral sex!?!? I'm shocked!

Originally posted by Oaronuviss

Shit, we belonged to Britian too, but never had laws like that...
well maybe 100 years ago!


That's insane! Chewing gum wasn't allowed!?!?!?

Oral sex!?!? I'm shocked! Eh...the British left behind their legacy less then 40 years ago...that was relatively recent wasent it? ;)

But Chewing Gum was a law imposed AFTER independence, so do get it straight in your head! :D

Oh, for those who earlier were making some comments about the fact that oral sex performed by homosexuals remains an offence might check out this latest development here.

People Like Us, a Singaporean gay-rights group, wrote a letter to parliament demanding a review of the above said legislation. Heres the full contents of their letter as quoted from their website at http://www.plu-singapore.com/.

25th January 2004
Open letter to Members of Parliament: All oral sex should be decriminalised

On 21 January 2004, People Like Us sent an open letter to all 94 Members of Parliament, on the question of oral sex. The text of the open letter is as follows:

QUOTE TEXT OF LETTER:

It is likely that a bill amending the Penal Code section pertaining to oral sex will be presented soon to Parliament for your approval. Based on what has been mentioned in the recent sitting of Parliament, it is likely that the bill will leave oral sex between two persons of the same sex as a criminal offence.

You will hear from other forums all the reasons why this would be bad law, chiefly because it would be discriminatory. This is not just an academic question, since by the law of probability, some Members of Parliament will have gay sons or lesbian daughters.

With 94 MPs, assuming 2 offspring per MP on average, there may be around 190 sons and daughters. Even using the lowest incidence of homosexuality, about 2% of the population -- a figure that the homophobic lobby prefers to use -- there are likely to be 4 gay or lesbian sons or daughters among them. Using an incidence estimate that most researchers accept as a rea-sonable ballpark figure, 6%, there are likely to be 11 or 12 gay/lesbian offspring among the 190.

We don't even need to use the 10% incidence rate that some researchers have found. We don't need to include nephews, nieces or grandchildren whom you may dearly love. Chances are that, as a parent, you don't know whether your child is gay or not. Often, we hear that the parents are the last to know - which tells you a lot about the degree of discrimination gay people face and the extent of cover-up they must construct.

At some point, you will have to tell your gay children that they are criminals in Singapore through no fault of their own. The only way they would not be criminals would be if they never ever became intimate with anyone they fell in love with, abandoning any prospect of a fulfilling personal life. Alternatively, they would have to emigrate from Singapore.

Or you could be a strict parent and insist that they keep up appearances at all cost. Your daughter must get married, even if her heart feels nothing for any man. Once married, she must allow herself to be repeatedly raped by someone she does not love -- her husband. All in the name of the norms that heterosexist laws enshrine.

This doesn't apply to me or my family -- we are all apt to say. We know our children are not gay -- parents are apt to say. But the law of probability tells us some of you are going to be proven wrong. Supporting the continued criminalisation of homosexual sex between consenting adults is a violation of your love for your own children.

END OF QUOTE

BACKGROUND:

In November 2003, a police officer, Anis bin Abdullah, was convicted under Section 377 of Singapore's Penal Code, for "carnal intercourse against the order of nature". Specifically, Anis was found guilty of having received fellatio from a 16-year-old girl whom he had dated.

Following his conviction, there was an outcry from the general public who were surprised that oral sex was still a criminal offence in Singapore. On 6 January 2004, Minister of State for Law and Home Affairs, Associate Professor Ho Peng Kee, made a statement in Parliament to the effect that the law on oral sex was under review, with the likely prospect that consensual oral sex between and adult male and an adult female would be decriminalized.

People Like Us considers this partial repeal to be discriminatory to gay and lesbian persons.

The official stand the group took:

15th January 2004
Our stand on "Decriminalisation of oral sex for heterosexuals only"

On 6 January 2004, at a sitting of Parliament, Senior Minister of State for Law and Home Affairs, Prof Ho Peng Kee, announced that the government was reviewing the Penal Code with the intention of decriminalising oral sex between males and females above the age of consent.

Presumably, the government does not intend to decriminalise same-sex oral sex. Such a move is a conscious act of discrimination against gay persons in contravention of Article 12(1) of the Constitution of Singapore, which says, "All persons are equal before the law and entitled to the equal protection of the law."

While we may previously have had the excuse that Sections 377 and 377A were inherited from our British Victorian colonial masters, this deliberately narrow amendment shows that even when an opportunity arises to right an old wrong, the government chooses not to do so.

This undermines the credibility of the government who have of late been boasting about liberalisation and moving towards an open, cosmopolitan society. More particularly, they have been trying to give the impression that they hold modern attitudes towards gay citizens through telling Time magazine that there are gay employees in the civil service, even in sensitive positions.

Words are meaningless unless supported by deeds, and deeds speak immeasurably louder than words. We believe Singaporeans and interested parties outside Singapore will draw the obvious conclusion from the proposed one-sided amendment to the Penal Code.

I forgot to save the Ministeral reply to the above pentitions, but this was one letter writtern to the press in response to that report:

Isn't legalising only heterosexual oral sex ruling by consensus?

I REFER to the article, 'Gays' letter on oral sex fails to convince MPs' (ST, Jan 27).

The statement by Mr Chan Soo Sen, Minister of State (Community Development and Sports), that the Government cannot rule by consensus is to be lauded. The Government has consistently represented itself as ruling on the basis of just and reasoned principles.

However, isn't it ruling by consensus to amend the law against oral sex to legalise only heterosexual acts? Con-trary to Mr Chan's statement, such an amendment implies that until consensus is gained for greater social acceptance of gays, the law will favour one segment of society over another.

Members of Parliament should bear in mind that they do not serve just the majority but the entire nation. This includes significant numbers of gay Singaporeans. To compare gay people, whom we now say are people just like the rest of us, with pickpockets to justify the lopsided amendment is not only illogical but also unkind and fuels prejudice.

It is critical that MPs consider carefully the implications of the suggested amendment. Firstly, Article 12(1) of the Constitution provides that all persons are to be treated equally in the eyes of the law. However, the amendment, as suggested, singles out gay people, rendering them unequal under the law.

Secondly, given that the penal codes of China, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Thailand and Indonesia do not criminalise consensual adult homosexuality, it is untenable to use the conservative Asian society argument to justify the one-sided amendment.

Thirdly, the amendment is in danger of excusing dubious moral outcomes. It is disturbing that we are willing to decriminalise oral sex between a married man who is a father and a 16-year-old girl while treating as criminals two homosexual adults having consensual sex in private.

While the laws of the land may reflect the moral mores of a society, what kind of morality are we trying to enshrine by this amendment?

CLARENCE SINGAM

That peice of legislation is ridiculous. You cannot prevent the public from having sex in ways they want - i.e it be oral or even anal!. This is a stupid law and makes the Singaporean goverment sound old fashioned and too good for nothing.

Originally posted by ThePride

That peice of legislation is ridiculous. You cannot prevent the public from having sex in ways they want - i.e it be oral or even anal!. This is a stupid law and makes the Singaporean goverment sound old fashioned and too good for nothing. Well, at least you migtht be glad to know that your point is going to get rather old-fashioned too as well? ;)

Singapore just too comfortable

8 Feb 2004

I RETURNED to Singapore recently after spending 2 1/2 years overseas. During my time abroad, I visited 63 places in Europe. None of the places was like Singapore. Not London, not Paris, not Amsterdam!

We have lifts that serve every floor of some HDB blocks. Walkways shelter us from our flats to the MRT stations. There are television sets on buses. Bangladeshis clear the plates at hawker centres and many of us have parents to do the cooking and washing up.

Are these really necessary?

Four years ago, I visited a hospital in a northern province of South Africa. The hospital was powered by a portable generator, the type normally found at construction sites or wakes at HDB void decks. Health care was extremely poor and proper hygiene did not exist. Houseflies were everywhere. The children were so skinny that I could almost see through them. Some kids as young as two years old were just waiting to die after being diagnosed with Aids.

All of us here in Singapore are indeed very lucky. Things come to us too easily, without our having to work for them. People complain when they need to climb a flight of stairs. People spend so much time queueing at ATM machines to buy shares when they could have done something useful for society.

Life in Singapore is too comfortable. Do we, the younger generations, have the mental strength of the older Singaporeans who helped the country to where it is today? Are we daring enough to brave the storms overseas? Do we have the guts to start a business, knowing that there will not be safety nets?

Singapore needs Singa-poreans to go out into the world to strike it rich, to make a name for themselves - not stay here forever and be happy with an eight-to-six job and a stable income, pursuing the 5Cs. There are many more things in life than just fulfilling material needs.

Even though Singapore today is a developed country and one of the richest in the world, we did not and still do not have natural resources. We are still vulnerable. Our survival depends on us rising to tomorrow's challenges.

I urge the Government to stop spoon-feeding Singaporeans. Give us the space to grow up to make our own decisions.


Tan Chi Wei

Oh man, these articles make me feel so jelous and anxious to move there!! :dizzy:

I was so tempted to post that article too as well. ;)

I wont see it as a consolidation of our material gains and so forth....what is disturbing is the underlying complacent attitude amongst so many of us, including myself.

G7 Meeting to be Held in Singapore in 2006

For the first time, finance ministers from the powerful Group of Seven (G7) major industrialised countries will hold their annual meeting in Singapore in September 2006.
The G7 consists of the United States, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan.


The widely-watched meeting is to be held in Singapore because the G7 ministers will already be gathered here in 2006 for one of the biggest events on the international calendar.

That is the prestigious two-day International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Group annual meetings. Singapore's hosting of those events was announced in 2002.

News that the G7 meeting would be held here was disclosed by co-chairman of the Singapore 2006 Planning Committee Goh Chye Boon to reporters at a cocktail function last night (February 6, 2004) organised by the Monetary Authority of Singapore for the finance industry.

The official logo of the 2006 IMF/World Bank summit was also unveiled.

In all, some 18,000 delegates, including central bankers, top government officials and other financial dignitaries will descend on Singapore to discuss the course of global economic development and policy strategies.

This is four times bigger than World Trade Organisation meetings and will generate millions in tourism revenue. About 25 to 30 hotels will be used, and retailers, restaurants and taxi drivers can expect a bonanza.

Apart from the main event - which will be held at the Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Centre - there will be about 200 different meetings held alongside it. They include the G7, G10, G30 and Asean finance ministers' meetings, said Mr Goh, who is also director of fiscal policy at the Ministry of Finance.

The G7 finance ministers usually hold their annual meetings in Washington. But they meet outside of the US once every three years, when the IMF/World Bank summit is held in a member country.

Last year, they met in Dubai; in 2000, in Prague.

The summit is expected to cost Singapore US$60 million (S$102 million) to US$80 million and will involve 6,000 staff and volunteers. Preliminary work has begun, said Mr Goh.

Source: The Straits Times, February 7, 2004

Originally posted by RafflesCity

The summit is expected to cost Singapore US$60 million (S$102 million) to US$80 million and will involve 6,000 staff and volunteers. Preliminary work has begun, said Mr Goh.I am seriously considering being a volunteer. I missed out for the WTO meeting, since I was too young anyway, but this time, I want to be a part of history!!! :D

Cool! I think it would be a great opportunity!
I remember some of my frens in JC volunteered for the WTO in 1996.

The funny thing that by 2006 G-7 will be different because this year Russia will replace France and will become 6th largest economy :D
Singapore was on 11th place in 2003, but with it's current growth Singapore ITSELF will be part of the G-7!!!

So G7 will never again be the way we know it today :yes:

Singapore in 11th place?? In terms of what?

I tot the G7 is a "fixed" grouping of 7 nations?

Originally posted by huaiwei

Singapore in 11th place?? In terms of what?

I tot the G7 is a "fixed" grouping of 7 nations?

G7 is the seven World's largest economies based on GDP. In 2004 Singapore's GDP was 11th in the world :yes:
By the end of 2004 UK will be out from G7 because Russia will drop France from it's 6th place to 7th place. Singapore's GDP growth is similar of Russia's therefore it is possible that by 2006 Singapore will itself have large enough GDP to become G7 country.

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=87754&perpage=20&pagenumber=1

WORLD GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT RANKINGS (GDP)
Download Excel File with all GDP Rankings for $9.95.

Rank Country GDP
0 World $ 47,000,000,000,000
1 United States $ 10,082,000,000,000
2 China $ 6,000,000,000,000
3 Japan $ 3,550,000,000,000
4 India $ 2,660,000,000,000
5 Germany $ 2,184,000,000,000
6 France $ 1,540,000,000,000
7 United Kingdom $ 1,520,000,000,000
8 Italy $ 1,438,000,000,000
9 Brazil $ 1,340,000,000,000
10 Russia $ 1,270,000,000,000
11 Singapore $ 1,063,000,000,000
12 Korea, South $ 931,000,000,000
13 Canada $ 923,000,000,000
14 Mexico $ 920,000,000,000
15 Spain $ 828,000,000,000
16 Indonesia $ 687,000,000,000
17 Australia $ 528,000,000,000
18 Turkey $ 468,000,000,000
19 Iran $ 456,000,000,000
20 Netherlands $ 434,000,000,000

Copyright 2003 WallStreetView.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved

:eek: Singapore's figure is that high?! :sly:

oh well I still dont think Singapore can be in the G7. Its too tiny and has no natural resources!

Well, now that I've read the post again I think some forumers agree this must be a mistake, nevertheless Singapore is very wealthy.

Yes I read the thread too, and it dosent seem very feasible?? ;)

Could be a mistake :)
Good news for Singapore either way :yes:

Originally posted by sOmeOne

Could be a mistake :)
Good news for Singapore either way :yes: I just checked, and yes, its an error. But fret not, for we have never imagine ourselves to be that productive, and not in our right mind do we want to be up there! :D

Originally posted by RafflesCity

Singapore just too comfortable

8 Feb 2004

I RETURNED to Singapore recently after spending 2 1/2 years overseas. During my time abroad, I visited 63 places in Europe. None of the places was like Singapore. Not London, not Paris, not Amsterdam!

We have lifts that serve every floor of some HDB blocks. Walkways shelter us from our flats to the MRT stations. There are television sets on buses. Bangladeshis clear the plates at hawker centres and many of us have parents to do the cooking and washing up.

Are these really necessary?

Four years ago, I visited a hospital in a northern province of South Africa. The hospital was powered by a portable generator, the type normally found at construction sites or wakes at HDB void decks. Health care was extremely poor and proper hygiene did not exist. Houseflies were everywhere. The children were so skinny that I could almost see through them. Some kids as young as two years old were just waiting to die after being diagnosed with Aids.

All of us here in Singapore are indeed very lucky. Things come to us too easily, without our having to work for them. People complain when they need to climb a flight of stairs. People spend so much time queueing at ATM machines to buy shares when they could have done something useful for society.

Life in Singapore is too comfortable. Do we, the younger generations, have the mental strength of the older Singaporeans who helped the country to where it is today? Are we daring enough to brave the storms overseas? Do we have the guts to start a business, knowing that there will not be safety nets?

Singapore needs Singa-poreans to go out into the world to strike it rich, to make a name for themselves - not stay here forever and be happy with an eight-to-six job and a stable income, pursuing the 5Cs. There are many more things in life than just fulfilling material needs.

Even though Singapore today is a developed country and one of the richest in the world, we did not and still do not have natural resources. We are still vulnerable. Our survival depends on us rising to tomorrow's challenges.

I urge the Government to stop spoon-feeding Singaporeans. Give us the space to grow up to make our own decisions.


Tan Chi Wei

that's ridiculous. what's wrong with spoiling ourselves? economic growth is defined as the increasing ability of an economy to satisfy the wants and needs of its people over time. as people get richer why shouldn't they spend more money on enjoying themselves? he seems to be suggesting that we will go on a downward slide by spoiling ourselves. it seems almost preach-ish. the feeling i get from the article is that he thinks its sinful to indulge yourself.

If everyone just want to indulge, and no one wants to work for the next generation to indulge, then where are we headed to?

NO NAMES. NO FAMILIES. NO BIRTHDAYS
Forgotten souls of Woodbridge

Unable to remember who they are or where they are from, 150 'patients without documents' live out their lives in the care of IMH nurses. WONG SHER MAINE reports

THERE is a group of 150 people living in a corner of Hougang who have no names, no families and no nationalities. Each person is listed as having his birthday on Jan 1, because all of them cannot recall most things, including when they were born. These blank-eyed people live off the state at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) in Woodbridge Hospital and most end up dying there decades later. They are the forgotten ones the institute classifies as 'patients without documents'. All are mentally unsound people who have been brought in by the police. When they were found and taken off the streets, they had nothing to indicate who they were in their dirt-stained pockets.

Before they end up as what IMH head of medical social work Seng Boon Kheng calls 'permanent residents' of the institute, medical social workers go through an elaborate process, termed the 'unknown protocol', to determine who the people are. First, they try to glean as much information as they can from these patients, like which area they lived in. Block numbers are a bonus. They might bring a patient to the area, so he can try to pinpoint his home. If they think he might run away if taken out, they take his photograph down to the area and ask people there if they recognise him.

They also call homes for the elderly to check if they have runaway residents resembling the patients and the police determine if any of the missing persons reported could be these people. 'It's just like a police investigation. We have to follow up on any clues they give us,' said Ms Seng. 'It's not easy trying to identify a person. The difficulty is when they tell us the wrong thing and when they give different information on different days.'

It can take up to a month to determine who they are. In most cases, the medical social workers hit the jackpot. In 2001, eight of 11 such patients were identified. In 2002, the identities of 15 out of 16 were determined. Last year, all 11 picked up were identified. Virtually nothing is known about the rest.

IMH chief executive officer Leong Yew Meng concedes they could even be foreigners. 'It's a sensitive point. Still, we can't just deport them,' he said, adding that he thinks most of them are Singaporeans who have lost their documents. As the hospital does not know the names of these patients, the task of naming each one falls on the IMH nurses.

They ask them what they like to be called, but more often than not the generic Chinese name of 'Ah Eng' or various permutations of 'unknown', like 'Anon', are used. One man got so used to being labelled 'unknown' he used to call himself 'Unknown Patient'. Some, like Nenek, end up staying at IMH for 30 to 40 years. She is a schizophrenic whom the nurses estimate to be around 82. She has been at the hospital since 1964.

With illnesses ranging from dementia to psychosis, these patients' medical bills, which can reach $5,000 a year, are paid for by Medifund, a government fund for such needs. IMH nurses occasionally take them on outings to places like Orchard Road and nearby shopping malls, give them hongbao on Chinese New Year and celebrate their birthdays with them. They use their own money for this. 'These unknown patients have no relatives to visit them. They turn to us for everything,' said Madam Chua Siew Hong, IMH assistant director of nursing.

http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/mnt/media/image/launched/2004-02-03/3sin.jpg
A patient at woodbridge since 1964, 'Nenek' is thought to be 82 years old and is a schizophrenic. Picked up at Victoria Concert Hall after she shed her clothes, she claims to have come from Indonesia by boat. -- JOYCE FANG

..then we are headed towards a next generation that is unable to indulge and who therefore have to work harder to create better living conditions for the generation after that - so they can indulge. Hmmm.. ;)

Actually, I hope it's possible to both have the cake and eat it. Economic growth in a developed country is mostly driven by good ideas, having the right business relations, developed infrastructure/tech and that risk taking spirit etc.. not by having to face several minor problems when trying to live a normal life.. that's just inefficient.

Okay I don't know really, just thinking.. but you both have valid concerns. :)

Originally posted by Jo

..then we are headed towards a next generation that is unable to indulge and who therefore have to work harder to create better living conditions for the generation after that - so they can indulge. Hmmm.. ;)Yes!! :D

The thing is, this government has driven into us the notion that Singapore cannot afford to even be put into a position whereby it is enough to wake people up!

I clearly remember how Uncle Lee talks about how he wont mind letting the opposition win the elections and form a government one day, because "an entire generation will be taught a heavy lesson!"

Originally posted by huaiwei

If everyone just want to indulge, and no one wants to work for the next generation to indulge, then where are we headed to?


we work and indulge? we research / manage / market blarblar do high level jobs and then use our very high incomes to indulge? imean... having lift access on every floor is a GIVEN...?! and ummm getting bangladeshi workers to clear our plates at hawker centres doesnt mean we're gonna fail? really that person has too low a standard of living. by indulging (spending) more, we're also umm bolstering the economy.

Originally posted by heirloom

we work and indulge? we research / manage / market blarblar do high level jobs and then use our very high incomes to indulge? imean... having lift access on every floor is a GIVEN...?! and ummm getting bangladeshi workers to clear our plates at hawker centres doesnt mean we're gonna fail? really that person has too low a standard of living. by indulging (spending) more, we're also umm bolstering the economy. Lifts that stop on every floor amounts to wastage of resources, as well as unnecesary increases in maintanence costs. This drives up the cost of enegy here, and harms the earth. No good for our kids.

Having Bangladeshis to clear our plates amounts to a need to pay them wages, when all it takes is for everyone to clear their own. This increases the costs of running food places, and ups the costs of food, thus increasing the costs of living. Such an increase would render this place less competitive on the global market, and result in us loosing out to competition and running out of money to pay for the Bangladeshis.

:D

Especially for those who think Singapore has to be an Air-con nation:

'Air-con' bacteria: One in two buildings breeding the bug

Despite stiffer penalties, 50% of 243 buildings fail checks; but bug found isn't that which causes legionnaire's disease

By Sharmilpal Kaur

SINGAPORE got off very lightly last year when it came to legionnaire's disease. While hundreds of people in France, Australia and the United States succumbed and a number died, just 45 people in Singapore fell victim to the airborne ailment - and all of them recovered. But in previous years, Singapore was not as lucky. The disease killed about one in 10 of the 557 people here who were infected between 1989 and 2002.

Legionnaire's disease is caused by bacteria and spread via water droplets through the air. One possible reason for the deaths was the other existing medical problems these people had, said the Health Ministry.

According to the 2002 Communicable Disease Surveillance In Singapore report, more than half of the 557 patients had hypertension, heart problems or diabetes. Most of those who died had one or more such conditions. For instance, about 17 per cent of smokers with the disease died. In comparison, 6 per cent of non-smokers who caught the ailment died. Older people aged above 65 years are also more susceptible.

Given the disease's track record and the severity of outbreaks elsewhere, Singapore tightened rules to prevent outbreaks of legionnaire's disease three years ago. Ventilation systems in buildings were the main target as these are potential breeding grounds for the bacteria. Under the latest rules, building owners or occupiers must clean and disinfect all cooling towers - which chill water to run the air-conditioning - and water fountains at least every six months. They must also test for Legionella bacteria at least once every three months.

Offenders can be fined up to $5,000 for breaking the rules the first time, and up to $10,000 for second and subsequent offences. The stiffer rules, however, do not seem to be working. A recent survey showed one in two buildings here were breeding the bug. Half of the cooling towers in 243 offices, hotels and shopping centres surveyed by the Health Ministry (MOH) had the Legionella bacteria. The survey also found the bacteria in nearly a third of the 40 water fountains tested here.

But both MOH and the National Environment Agency (NEA) say that the bacteria that was found was not the same as the one which causes the deadly disease. Said the NEA spokesman: 'There are many groups of the Legionella bacteria and most cases of legionnaire's disease are caused by only one of these.'

But many air quality experts are concerned over the number of places with Legionella bacteria despite the tighter rules. The managing director of IS Technology, which maintains cooling tower systems, Mr Robert Lee, speculated that it could be because cleaning firms are not using enough biological pesticides when they clean the towers.

The way the towers are tested for the bacteria is another concern. Said the director for Air-Caire Engineering, an indoor air quality consultancy, Mr Darion Lim, 34: 'A lot of building owners get their maintenance contractors to test the water in the cooling towers for convenience. Now, that's a possible conflict of interest. If any of these people decide to send tap water to the labs for testing instead of water from the cooling tower, nobody would know.'

Interesting thread. Very insightful to a side of SG that we never hear of.

yep... very interesting and humbling. Thanks for the info.

Im glad to share these stories. ;)

I wished every indulgent Singaporean would read them too and do some serious reflection......

very nice article huaiwei!
shows another side of Singapore

I read that article about the youth camp and it sounded pathetic!
Delifrance meals?! How realistic...:rant:

Yeah....and talk about having things to attend to the next morning as an excuse to leave when it starts to rain...

Maybe we should make it compulsory for every kid to join a uniformed group in school?? :D

hehe..might be a good idea.

The problem is they volunteered to join the camp and then they still wanna make excuses...should have put them on some deserted island:D

Maybe its not such a bad idea to introduce compulsory national service to gals as well.....

I remember visiting a school for the deaf, a old folks home, and visited two half way houses, amongst others. All of them are located in places you wont have given a second take, but inside them houses so many sad stories...

THEY have grown up with maids all their lives and given a chance, they would have maids for their own children too.

When 104 teenagers were asked how dependent they are on their maids, most gave a rating of between 6 and 8 out of 10.

But they claim they are not totally hopeless about the house. They are either just too lazy to lift a finger, or simply expect the maid to earn her keep.

The teenagers surveyed say that while the maids do most of the cooking and cleaning at home, when push comes to shove, they will survive by, well, cooking instant noodles.

Said Pan Xuequn, 18, who has had a maid since birth: 'If I had to go overseas to study, I would just live on Maggi mee and pasta, and live in filthy clothing.'

Teenagers say they can operate basic household appliances although quite a few have problems operating the washing machine.

Lim Zijie, 18, who has not had to lift a finger to do household chores since he was four, said: 'I don't know what to do with it.'

The survey covered polytechnic and junior-college students aged 16 to 19, who have had maids living with them for at least five years.

Questions have been raised by a university don about whether the growing maid phenomenon would breed Singaporeans so used to the good life that it would be one factor killing Singaporeans' drive and ambition.

But how dependent are Singapore teenagers on the helper in the house? Very, according to the survey. And yes, it does breed laziness, teenagers themselves say, unless parents intervene to set ground rules.

THE chore of cooking, doing the laundry and the ironing is the maid's task. And almost all the teenagers said they need not do the dishes nor make their own beds either.

Which is just as well, since household chores that youngsters hate include mopping and doing the laundry and dishes.

It is when the maid is absent that the teenager chips in, although most teenagers admit that the chores are simply taken over by their mothers.

Said Clement Chua, 18: 'The few weeks when my maid went away, my mother did the washing up, mopping and cleaning. Life just went on as usual for me.'

Neil Fong, 18, said his family gets around the problem by simply going on holidays when the maid is away.

There are some who say that their parents insist that they should do certain chores themselves, especially tidying up their own mess, or taking care of their own pets.

Said Chen Tingni, 16: 'Our father has a house rule that says all of us have to bring back our cups and plates to the basin after we use them. Things like cleaning our own rooms and tidying up our own shameful mess are also a must.'

For Chan Junhao, 17, cleaning the toilet at home is something that he does weekly - not just because his father wants him to, but because ''I use it, so I should clean it'.

Yong Rui Fen, 16, said that her parents would like her to make her own bed and bring in the clothes line. 'But I reach home too late or leave too early to do these chores,' she said sheepishly.

But Zijie makes no apologies for not doing anything about the house despite his parents' urging. 'My parents think I should be more independent, but the fact of the matter is that they depend on the maid to wash their clothes for them too. So being critical of me is just damning themselves,' he added.

Even though most teenagers have their beds made by the maid, this is one task they think they should do themselves.

Said Gracia Goh, 19: 'Making the bed is such a personal thing. How can you ask the maid to do it for you?'

But the problem is, they say, they do not have the time to do their beds before leaving for school.

ALTHOUGH not many of the youths expected to be waited on hand and foot by their maids, a few did admit to making them do some 'ridiculous' things for them.

Grace Lu, 16, once told her maid to help her change the channel on the television, while Khoo Aik Kai, 18, made his maid fetch something from the next room for him.

And while the vast majority of respondents say they were capable of doing some chores, some felt that it was not their responsibility to do so, since there was a maid around.

'To me now, studying and having fun is more important than having to pick up skills like washing and cooking,' said Grace.

Said Michelle Lu, 18, who only knows how to cook instant noodles: 'My parents do tell me to learn to cook, but I don't have the time for it. Besides, that's my maid's job: we're paying her for it.'

Bryan Leong, 17, spoke for many when he said that he had other commitments to be concerned about. 'I am busy with my schoolwork and other activities.'

While others do not hold the view of 'there is a maid around', they admit to being simply too lazy to lift a finger. Sometimes, they experience pangs of guilt.

Koh Teng Shin, 17, said:'I have many friends who have to take care of chores, but for me, I just laze around at home. Only sometimes when I feel guilty, I'll wash the car.'

Foo Yun Ying, 17, who has had a maid since birth, said: 'I feel kind of lazy, I suppose, and don't do most of the stuff I ought to. Only when I feel guilty do I try to do some of them.'

Guilty?

Naah, said Natalie Boon, 17.

'I don't feel guilty, I mean, I am used to it already! I think it does make me kind of lazy, so I suppose as I get older, I may face some problems. Maybe the solution is to help out a bit. But I think now isn't really the time...I can pick up such skills later.'

TWO in five of the youths surveyed said that they absolutely could not do without their maids.

This was more so for those living on landed property than those in HDB flats or condominiums.

Zijie, who lives in a semi-detached house, has never tried to iron a shirt, fold clothes, or change the curtains, and can't wake up in the mornings without his maid's help.

He said: 'If I don't have a maid, I'll die. It's so tough. I don't know how I'm going to survive national service or when I go overseas to study. I suppose I'll have to learn to wash my clothes and cook before I go, but right now, it's just so convenient having a maid.'

Yet others were planning to circumvent their lack of housework know-how altogether even if the situation calls for it.

'I will just find some friends and go stay with them, if possible!' said Ng Sangyu, 17.

Yvonne Chan, 18, has another solution: 'If overseas, I'll just hire a maid over there.'

In the longer term, 92 per cent of those living on landed property said that they would simply fix the problem by hiring their own maid when they start a family.

By contrast, less than half of those staying in HDB flats or condominiums say they would do the same. Their concern? The cost.

Tanny Ng, 19, gave another reason: 'I won't hire a maid to look after my children because they might become too dependent on them. As it is, my siblings and I are already rather spoilt.'

___________________

CAN'T COOK...

'I can cook nothing. If I don't have a maid, I can just go out and buy food.'
- Michelle Ho, 17


CAN'T IRON...

'I can't iron a shirt. But I'm not worried about it, because I'm sure a lot of guys can't cook or iron.'
- Neil

'I have never tried ironing or folding clothes. With a maid, I don't have to do all those. I leave my underwear for her to wash too.'
- Zijie

'I've had a maid since I was two, and I don't do any chores at home. I can't operate a vacuum cleaner, washing machine or iron. As for cooking, all I can do are Maggie noodles and microwave food! I cannot iron, sew, fold clothes or clean toilets.'
- Michelle Tang, 18

CAN'T EVEN LIFT A FINGER

'Other than taking care of my pets, I do nothing else. And even when my maid was away for one month, I did not lift a finger to do anything.'
- Adeline Yam, 16

'I seriously have no idea how I'd cope overseas. Maybe I'd eat outside every day and send my clothes to the laundromat. And if my maid left, my mum would take leave to take care of things. And if my mum wasn't around either...I never thought about it!'
- Michelle Lu

Wow, back up a second!! Only the rich people have maids, right? Tell me I'm right! There aren't many rich people with maids are there? Oh dude, this is pretty scary :eek:

Hmm..You dont have to be rich to employ a maid as its quite common in Singapore, especially when both parents are working and need a maid to tend to the house and take care of kids/aged parents. I also believe that maids are cheaper to hire here than in the West. I've had a maid since I was young and its true that some Singaporean kids are that spoiled!:colgate:

They just snap out of it (I hope):cool:

Correct me if I am wrong, but I faintly remember reading somewhere that 1 in every 5-7 households here have a maid??

it's quite affordable to have a maid in singapore.. salary + levy + food + utilities etc would cost maybe 1000 a month? that's about ummm USD600... and once you have a maid, she becomes absolutely essential... i miss mine :'( studying overseas sucks:rant:

i didnt snap out of it i was forced out of it :/ no maid in perth... but i still can't cook or crack an egg but at least i can wash dishes and operate a washing machine (if you teach me). in my opinion people should never have to snap out of it..

Originally posted by heirloom

in my opinion people should never have to snap out of it.. Unfortunately there is such a thing called mandatory National Service...for half the population that is....

yeah well.. two days of the week they practise having a maid again...

Originally posted by heirloom

yeah well.. two days of the week they practise having a maid again... You will be damn fortunate if you get two days....

Maybe the kids ought to follow their parents as well...........

=====================

Ma'am and Sir too must go for maid courses

First-time employers to learn about maid welfare and penalties for abuse; new domestic helpers to take safety lessons

FROM April 1, first-time employers of foreign maids will have to attend compulsory half-day orientation courses conducted by human resource professionals. These employers will have to fork out $20 for the courses, which will cover everything from maid welfare to penalties for abuse.

In another related move to improve the welfare of maids here, domestic helpers who are new to Singapore will have to attend a safety awareness course. The $20 fee for this course, which will cover subjects like precautions one should take when cleaning windows in high-rise flats, will be borne by the maids' employers.

The penalty for not attending: New maids will not get their work permit card, and first-time employers will not have their work permit application approved.

The courses come in the wake of cases of maid abuse, maids getting injured or killed in the course of their work, and repeated calls by civil society groups like The Working Committee 2 to look into maid welfare. Recently, a survey by Singapore Press Holdings' research arm found that while 82 per cent of 284 maids polled here were happy, one in six said they can be treated better. There are 140,000 maids here.

For first-time employers, the courses - to be conducted in English and Mandarin - will teach them the rules and regulations governing employment of a maid. It will also dispense welfare tips, such as giving a maid a separate bedroom whenever possible. For newly-arrived maids, training will emphasise safety while working.

Concern over this issue peaked last year, after 20 incidents in which Indonesian maids fell to their deaths or hurt themselves badly while doing such things as cleaning windows.

The training curriculum was developed by the Ministry of Manpower and the National Safety Council. Pilot training sessions for both first-time employers and new maids began last October. Five sessions were held, for 118 employers and 167 maids, and the response from participants was positive.

Said Ms Lilik Handayani, 27, a maid from Indonesia who did not get any training when she first started working here in 1996: 'Training will be very good for new maids because some, like those who come from villages in Indonesia, have never been in a flat and will not know how dangerous high places can be.'

Employers also thought their courses were a good idea, but some had reservations. Ms Sabrina Chiu, 29, managing director of a restaurant, thought that having to attend the course may prolong the time taken to apply for a work permit. 'Why not make it compulsory for employers to attend the course after they've got the work permit? Some people with young children need maids urgently,' she said.

Mrs Caitlin Lee, 28, a business development executive who got her first maid from Indonesia seven months ago, was unsure about the impact of such courses. 'You can make people attend the course, but in the end, how the maid is treated boils down to the employer's character,' she said.

For Nominated Member of Parliament Braema Mathi, who heads The Working Committee 2, the announcement of the courses is a victory of sorts. She said: 'It's great that these courses are becoming a reality. My hope is that it will go beyond just explaining the rules and regulations to address attitudes of how we should treat the maids as workers and human beings.'

wow they make up 3.5% of the population.. when i was young i was taught singapore is made of 4 groups of people... chinese malay indian and eurasians... maybe now they should strike off eurasians and replace with maids :colgate: hehe eurasians make up less than 3.5% of the pop..

Wow, you guys are slackers! But there's nothing wrong with that as long as these teens have high academic achievements. Working with your brains is sometimes harder than with your hands :yes:
How is the education in Singapore? Do you choose your classes like in US or do you take "everything" like in Russia with no choice?
I prefer the Russian system where you have to take just about everything there is to take (biology, astronomy, genetics, physics, chemistry, cybernetics, etc. etc.) and it is mandatory.
When I moved to US my GPA never fell less than 3.8 (4.0 being the maximum) and this quarter at college I didn't even buy a math book because I still have enough knowledge from my Russian school to pass the class without ever opening a book.
I think too many freedoms like that in US ruin your society that's why Capitalism sucks :P
I define myself as a social democrat :yes:

Originally posted by heirloom
i didnt snap out of it i was forced out of it :/ no maid in perth... but i still can't cook or crack an egg but at least i can wash dishes and operate a washing machine (if you teach me). in my opinion people should never have to snap out of it..

Human being are adaptable creatures and will adapt in order to survive. When push comes to shove you WILL;)

btw since coming to England I learnt how to cook and its fun! Beats my maids cooking sometimes:D

Originally posted by heirloom

wow they make up 3.5% of the population.. when i was young i was taught singapore is made of 4 groups of people... chinese malay indian and eurasians... maybe now they should strike off eurasians and replace with maids :colgate: hehe eurasians make up less than 3.5% of the pop..

I think that is still true if you talk about the ethnic makeup of Singapore citizens, but in order to reflect the truly international makeup of Singapore society (including foreigners), yah they should start producing new stats. I mean 1 in 4 persons here is a foreigner:cool:

Originally posted by sOmeOne
How is the education in Singapore? Do you choose your classes like in US or do you take "everything" like in Russia with no choice?


We have a British-style education that gives little choice until the age of 16/17. Of course you can choose a more science or arts based course. You do get more choice after that if you want to do A-level, or a polytechnic course or a technical education.

But changes are underway to offer more choices for youngsters to encourage diversity and creativity. Not sure if it affects our youngest forumers here...:cheers:

Originally posted by RafflesCity

Human being are adaptable creatures and will adapt in order to survive. When push comes to shove you WILL;)

btw since coming to England I learnt how to cook and its fun! Beats my maids cooking sometimes:D Precisely....only those who fail to adabt will perish, and no one is going to answer for it, and no one owes anyone else a living! ;)

Originally posted by RafflesCity

I think that is still true if you talk about the ethnic makeup of Singapore citizens, but in order to reflect the truly international makeup of Singapore society (including foreigners), yah they should start producing new stats. I mean 1 in 4 persons here is a foreigner:cool: If you guys did not realise, the official population figure of Singapore may be 4.1 Million, but actually only 3.3 Million are Singaporeans and PRs? The ethnic division obviously only takes into account the 3.3 million! ;)

MY HUSBAND and I live in Switzerland and we return to Singapore a few times each year. At every visit, we are pleasantly surprised that Singaporeans - especially those in the service sectors, private and government - are becoming more polite and very helpful.

Gone are the days of 'don't know', 'over there', 'this is not my department', et cetera. Even shops in the heartlands have improved tremendously. Bravo, Singaporeans. Congratulations for recognising the need to change attitudes and doing it.

Now for the brickbats. Why are toilets still in such a miserable state? Yes, there have been some improvements but not enough. Try using a toilet at any seafood restaurant in the East Coast and it puts one off the chilli crabs and sambal prawns. Lastly, please let people get off the MRT trains before rushing in.

Susannah Gaehwiler-Siow (Mrs)
Switzerland

Nah, you call that a problem?! :laugh:
I often had to walk two-three bus stops to my school becaue I couldn't exit on the right stop since people wouldn't let me out :cry: They just kept getting in until the doors won's shut! I hate rush hours in Russia!!
Singapore sounds like a paradise to me :moods:

Originally posted by sOmeOne

I often had to walk two-three bus stops to my school becaue I couldn't exit on the right stop since people wouldn't let me out :cry: They just kept getting in until the doors won's shut! I hate rush hours in Russia!!


oh dear!

Well we have that problem in Singapore too, that is why 'kiasu-minded' Singaporeans are always pushing and shoving and take the aisle seats in a bus, even if the window seat is empty! :D

Originally posted by RafflesCity

oh dear!

Well we have that problem in Singapore too, that is why 'kiasu-minded' Singaporeans are always pushing and shoving and take the aisle seats in a bus, even if the window seat is empty! :D

LOL! Why haven't I ever thought of that? :D
Although there are rarely any empty seats in buses in Russia :laugh:

I am not so sure about the pushing and shoving on the MRT, but we are actually quite gentle compared to many major cities around the world! :D

Check out this article from the philiipine star..:D Quite a interesting read when compared to how we see the same issues!

Fiestas are great but discipline still needed

By ANA MARIE PAMINTUAN
THE PHILIPPINE STAR

SINGAPORE - Here is one problem we won't have for many years. This Valentine week in the land that's lacking in romance, the Government is promoting dinners between eligible strangers, with supposed aphrodisiacs such as oysters and chocolate torte on the menu. It is also encouraging people to send romantic cards the old-fashioned way, by snail mail.

This country even has a special office to encourage singles to marry and have children. So far official schemes, such as financial incentives, have failed to boost the city-state's birth rate, which in 2002 fell to a 14-year low of 40,800, or about 1.37 per woman in a population of just over three million. Last year, the birth rate hit an all-time low, with only 37,600 babies born.

The Government is aiming for an annual minimum of 50,000 births. Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong, in a speech marking the start of the Year of the Monkey last month, once again prodded his compatriots to help address this national concern. For once, however, I think Singaporeans aren't cooperating with their Government.

The amorous Pinoy will tell any Singaporean control freak that if you have to order people to indulge in romance, you're missing the point. But give the Singapore Government an 'A' for effort. 'Romancing Singapore' is a year-long programme reminding citizens here, as it did last year, that 'love is the little things'.

Filipinos have known that for a long time, and we never had problems following the biblical admonition to go forth and multiply. Who foots the bill for raising the children? God will provide.

Singaporeans, on the other hand, see not the little things in love but the major headaches that can follow. The typical highly educated Singaporean woman is reluctant to become a stay-at-home mum. When both parents are working, who will wake up in the middle of the night to feed the baby? How much will it cost to send the kid to a good school? How will a child fit in an already cramped flat?

Each time I visit this city-state, the chaos of Manila looks even worse in comparison. And I wonder if we will ever have the discipline to turn our country into a place as clean and orderly as Singapore, where everything works and the rule of law prevails. Here public officials worry not about politics but about the falling birth rate.

When Singapore became an independent state in 1965, it was way behind the Philippines in terms of progress. Now Singapore is projecting itself as the Switzerland of the East and is even attaining enough confidence to loosen up socially. Medical chewing gum is now allowed.

Visiting Boat Quay over the weekend, I was surprised to find a scantily clad woman dancing on stage to pounding music in a bar. A Singaporean events coordinator told me the dancing started only six months ago. It was not a girlie bar, he emphasised - the dancer was there merely to lure customers.

Singapore is also trying to position itself as an Asian cultural mecca, sponsoring art exhibits, stage plays and concerts. On Valentine's Day, it will be the venue for the MTV Asia Awards 2004 hosted by Michelle Branch and F4's Vanness Wu. Among those in the running for Favourite Artist is our very own Rivermaya. The nightlife here is still slow compared with Bangkok or even Manila, and if you need a cab you need to look for a taxi stand and wait your turn in what is often a long queue.

But you can walk the streets late at night without worrying about getting mugged. And after that long line at the taxi stand, you are at least sure of reaching your hotel quickly and without fear of being robbed by the driver. If there's no cab, the subway is very efficient, clean and safe. That kind of efficiency and cleanliness can come only when discipline becomes part of the national psyche. Sadly, the guy who tried to drum that into the Pinoy head went about it the wrong way. So to this day we still say 'discipline' with a sneer, recalling dictator Ferdinand Marcos' martial law slogan: Sa ikauunlad ngbayan, disiplina ang kailangan (For the nation's progress, discipline is needed).

We remember his idea of discipline: banning long hair for men and mini-skirts for girls, and arresting all his political enemies. And we remember that the first thing Marcos forgot was to discipline himself and his wife, the shoe lady. After that tragic attempt at national discipline, we were only too happy to revert to anarchy. Singapore, on the other hand, embraced the benevolent authoritarianism of its founding father Lee Kuan Yew, whose wife was no obsessed collector of shoes or flashy jewellery. Confucian values helped the new nation along, just as long-held codes of honour and discipline fuelled Japan's unprecedented post-war economic surge.

There are no similar values or codes of honour in the Philippines. Our people lack the discipline to queue up for anything or even hang on long enough to their cigarette butts until they can find a proper receptacle to discard it. We're happy with our fiestas and processions, in seeking forgiveness for our sins every week, and especially in going out and multiplying. Discipline, however, also has its pitfalls. State control can stifle creativity. There's a thin line between cleanliness and prissiness. All that discipline can be boring. At a certain point, even success can be boring. The Singapore Government got it right: there's more to life than money and a successful career. But Singaporeans may not be sure exactly what's missing in their life. The Singaporean events coordinator told me he and his wife always enjoyed visiting the Philippines because people always seemed so relaxed and happy and sang a lot wherever they went.

Our government need not worry about having to offer free trips abroad for those who decide to marry. It need not bother putting together romantic packages on Valentine's Day, as Singapore is doing with the 'Love Express' at the Night Safari (about 10,560 pesos, or S$320 net per couple) and the love bird watching at the Jurong BirdPark (open despite bird flu; just look, don't touch the birds). And yet, seeing how much Singapore has achieved in just four decades, you can't help wishing that we had even a bit of the discipline that has propelled this city-state.

The writer is executive editor of The Philippine Star.

I love the idea of discipline in Singapore - the perfect kind of society for me!
I don't think we had this kind of efficiency even in our authoritarian CCCP. This is really cool to have this kind of order in a real free democratic country :okay:
I doubt you guys even appreciate what you've got.. Singapore is as *perfect* as it gets guys..

Another question - can RIAA get you for downloading music in Singapore?
I'm getting a bit worried over the recent lawsuits here in US for downloading MP3s. I download A LOT, even though not through p2p networks (I don't share) and I download Russian music which is not protected by US copyright laws, but it is still pretty scary - what if I want to download something that's copyrighted?

Funny you should ask that. I just found this article in today's Straits Times.

NUS and NTU fine students for illegal music downloads

18 Feb 2004

By Crystal Chan

AT LEAST 25 students here have been fined by their university in the past six months for illegally sharing copyrighted music files on campus networks.

They downloaded the music via the Internet from other users who offer the music for free in the form of digital files through certain websites.

Such sharing of copyrighted material is illegal under Singapore law.

However, it was the universities, not the copyright owners, which acted against the students.

The National University of Singapore (NUS) fined 20 students $200 each. Nanyang Technological University (NTU) fined at least five students, but wouldn't say how much the fines were. No other action was taken against the students.

In the United States, many university students face legal action by copyright owners who began to file lawsuits last year.

Copyright owners complained to NTU and NUS after they tracked down the computers involved in the illegal swops.

An NUS spokesman said: 'From our logs, we are able to trace the student who logged on to the PC. The student will be interviewed. If found guilty, he or she will be fined.'

The number caught so far is a tiny fraction of NTU and NUS students, who number more than 64,000 in all.

Copyright owners have not complained about Singapore Management University, which has about 2,200 students.

All three universities have rules that bar anyone using campus resources to break the law here, which covers downloading, copying and sharing copyrighted materials without copyright owners' permission.

Lawyer Wong Siew Hong, who specialises in copyright issues, said: 'Under Singapore copyright law, the students can be sued for copyright infringement as they have made unauthorised copies of copyrighted materials.'

The law provides for offenders who sell, make or possess illegal copies to be fined up to $100,000 and jailed for up to five years.

The Recording Industry Association of Singapore (Rias), which protects the copyright of performers here, works with Internet service providers, the police, polytechnics and universities to nail culprits.

Rias chief executive Edward Neubronner warned last August: 'Those who think the Internet offers anonymity so they can get away with copyright infringement should think again.'

And now, the students know they can't be anonymous in cyberspace.

A 22-year-old engineering student at NTU, who spoke on condition he wasn't named, said: 'Now I know my identity can be tracked, I'll remove the Kazaa program from my computer and stop sharing files over the network.'

The universities do not, on their own, investigate possible illegal file-swopping unless there has been a complaint.

However, the action in this case has stopped others swopping files.

NTU engineering student Valerie Wu, 19, said: 'I won't take the risk of being fined or faced with lawsuits.'

So just to make it clear - it's those who share that they are after?
It's okay to download, but not share?
The article was just in time :cool:

And its strange too, that I happpen to read the same article moments after someone's question! :D

My cousin was once sent a letter of warning after he downloaded and uploaded too much through bttorrents, but it seems like he is not stopping his activities, albeit at a slower pace pf downloading! :bash: :colgate:

Reboot S'pore instead of romancing it

By Sharon Loh

IT'S Valentine's Day - time to 'let love into your life', as the Romancing Singapore campaign says on its website. Oops, sorry, I take that back. I mean the Romancing Singapore festival. Nowhere on the website do you see that ugly other word.

Silly me. And here I thought it was an officially funded and coordinated effort to get people married in order to achieve the social objective of boosting the birth rate.

The campaign, I mean festival, has created quite a stir in some places. Papers in the United States, Britain and the region have taken sly digs at Singaporeans, who need to be told to be amorous. Not for nothing do they think we're clean and sterile. Festival organisers would say they are merely creating the chances for romance to occur.

Fair enough. But the whiff of officialdom behind the festival, even with private sector partners, is enough to make people smell manipulation and fight shy of it. I'm sure the festival organisers don't expect to do in a year what the Social Development Unit has been trying to do for years, and not very successfully at that.

As they say on their website, Romancing Singapore 2004 is meant to be 'a year-long festival to celebrate love and the message that 'love is - the little things'. 'A gentle reminder to everyone that sometimes in a relationship, the little things that people do together or for each other count for a lot.' It's the 'reminding' that some people take umbrage at, and foreign newspapers find so amusing. Subtlety was never our strong point.

Why not sponsor commercial events to encourage couplehood instead, such as the Singapore Cable Car's Survivor-style challenge on March 16, which will pit dozens of couples against each other to see who can last a week in a cable car? That would have the added benefit of encouraging private enterprise.

Of course, we don't know for a fact that people aren't already romantically involved. It's true that they are marrying late. But that doesn't mean they aren't in relationships, and while sex surveys suggest that Singaporeans have very low libidos, you can't trust interview subjects not to lie.

No matter. What concerns the Ministry of Community Development and Sports' Family Matters task force, the group behind Romancing Singapore, is how to get more people into committed relationships that lead ultimately to marriage and children.

Why aren't Singaporeans interested in romance, I asked several friends. No one protested that it wasn't true. Instead, their answers boiled down to a not-so-pretty picture of someone who works too hard; counts the cost of everything, including love; and doesn't know the meaning of spontaneity.

Outsiders have the same impression of the pragmatic, calculating Singaporean. A columnist in the Philippine Star said of her countrymen: 'We never had problems following the biblical admonition to go forth and multiply. Who foots the bill for raising the children? God will provide. Singaporeans, on the other hand, see not the little things in love but the major headaches that can follow.'

The Philippines could do with a dose of the discipline which has made Singapore an economic success, she surmised. What could we do with? A little more joie de vivre, and less love of things, perhaps. In that case, forget this generation. It's too late for them. If you want to see positive and healthy attitudes towards relationships, start nurturing them in our children.

Most important is for them to see a loving and respectful relationship between their parents. Not for nothing do children from broken homes find relationships difficult to manage in adult life themselves.

Children need to see home and family as positive things to aspire to, and not be overly focused on getting good grades in school so that they can get good jobs in the future and make lots of money. How many of us grew up actively discouraged to think about the opposite sex lest it distracted us from school? It's time we found a more constructive way to balance school work with social interaction.

Schools, too, should prepare children, not just academically, but with skills for life. A girlfriend had a radical suggestion - for Singapore, that is. 'Bring back the study of literature,' she muttered. 'We're high on IQ but low on EQ.'

Hmm... out with bureaucratese, in with poetry? She may have a point. Untie literature from exams, if you must, but there probably isn't a single subject that is more relevant to life. At worst it would expose students to more than facts and figures, and perhaps inspire them to think beyond material things.

So, instead of Romancing Singapore, how about rebooting it? Nothing less than a change of heart would help us see the value of little things.

21 Feb 2004

Plaque is erected on Pulau Nipah to reinforce Indonesia's claim of sovereignty, a minister says

By Derwin Pereira

JAKARTA - Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri has reportedly placed a marker on a small island bordering Singapore to reinforce Jakarta's claims over it.

According to the state Antara news agency, Ms Megawati erected a plaque on Pulau Nipah yesterday.

Indonesian Maritime and Fisheries Minister Rokhmin Dahuri was reported to have said that the move was meant to reinforce Jakarta's claim of sovereignty over the island.

The minister, who is known to take a tough stance on bilateral issues, was quoted in media reports as saying that it was most urgent in the case of Pulau Nipah because of Singapore's land reclamation policy.

'Later, if Singapore were to redraw its borders based on its outermost points formed as a result of reclamation, we would definitely lose out,' he said.

In response to media queries on Mr Rokhmin's comments, a Singapore Foreign Ministry spokesman said yesterday: 'There is no issue here as Singapore's reclamation works are carried out entirely within its territorial waters.

'Singapore's reclamation works do not, in any way, alter its maritime boundaries with Indonesia.

'Singapore has also repeatedly conveyed this point to Indonesian ministers and officials.'

Mr Rokhmin and like- minded officials had complained in the past about illegal sand-mining in and around several Indonesian islands which they said was damaging the environment.

They have also expressed concern that as many of these islands are uninhabited and unmanaged, neighbouring countries could stake a claim, contesting Jakarta's right to them.

Over the past few months, the Indonesian navy has been establishing border base points on several of these islands to define the country's outer limits.

An unnamed presidential confidante, when asked to comment on Mr Rokhmin's claims, said: 'This is not a serious problem and is not as hostile as the minister makes it out to be.

'It is part of our ongoing attempts at border demarcation.'

Some political observers see the minister's comments as part of pre-election nationalist flag-waving ahead of Indonesian parliamentary polls in April.

Jakarta started paying attention to islands along its borders after losing two of them to Malaysia in a World Court decision.

The court in December 2002 ended years of dispute by awarding the Sipadan and Ligitan islands off Borneo to Malaysia because Kuala Lumpur had asserted authority over them since the 1930s.

Jakarta has since announced it will set up a special team to develop 92 islands, some of which sit on its maritime border with neighbouring countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, India, Australia, Papua New Guinea, Vietnam and Timor Leste.

Hahhaha!!! They are really determined now to keep their thousands of islands, eh? Should have done it long ago...;)

A day to mark WWII surrender

MORE than 5,000 people thronged Safra Yishun Country Club over the weekend for a carnival to commemorate Total Defence Day.

Yesterday, President S R Nathan, with Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean and Minister of State for Defence Cedric Foo, joined about 2,000 Singaporeans to sketch their thoughts on Total Defence on ceramic tiles. They will be put together into a mural and displayed at a Safra club.

Mr Nathan also toured the club facilities, such as its air weapons shooting range, and attended a concert where singers such as Tanya Chua and Sheikh Haikel performed.

The President said the annual event is a 'good reminder' to Singaporeans as Feb 15 marks the day in 1942 when British-controlled Singapore surrendered to Japan. 'This date is a very important date for us to remember what led to 3 1/2 years of suffering,' he added, referring to the Japanese Occupation.

http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/mnt/media/image/launched/2004-02-16/H3_0216.jpg
Thoughts on Total Defence as sketched on tiles by (from left) Rear-Adm Teo, Mr Nathan and Mr Foo. They joined 2,000 Singaporeans in painting the tiles, which will be pieced into a mural and displayed at a Safra club. -- LAU FOOK KONG

Strong quake in Sumatra felt in Singapore

Tremors felt islandwide just after quake hits Indonesian island where there are no reports of casualties

23 Feb 2004

By K.C. Vijayan

BISHAN resident Helen Soh, 40, was reading the newspapers when her fish tank started shaking, splashing water all over the sitting room floor.

The tremors went on for about 15 seconds - enough time for Mrs Soh to grab her three children and maid and rush down 21 floors to the ground.

She was not the only one who felt the earth move. As many as 100 frantic calls were made to the Police and the Singapore Civil Defence Force yesterday afternoon after tremors were felt across the island, including Punggol, Tanjong Rhu, Rochor, Bishan, Woodlands, Toa Payoh and Marine Parade..

A statement by the Meteorological Services Division said the shakes, which residents said lasted between five and 45 seconds, were the result of a strong earthquake that had occured four minutes earlier in southern Sumatra - about 400km away.

The earthquake struck at 2.46pm in Sumatra and the tremors were felt at 2.50pm in Singapore.

The earthquake, which measured six on the Richter scale, was the second to hit the Indonesian island this month and left houses damaged and sparked panic.

A check with the US National Earthquake Information Centre showed that it hit about 43.5km beneath ground level.

An officer at the provincial police in Padang, West Sumatra, was quoted by AFP as saying that he had not received any reports of damage or casualties from the tremor.

A local journalist said guests at a Padang hotel scrambled to get out when the tremor hit.

The epicentre was at the coast of the Mentawai Strait, 83km south-east of Padang, Indonesia's National Seismology Centre said in a press statement yesterday.

Earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are common in Indonesia, a huge archipelago of more than 18,000 islands and islets strung along the so-called 'Pacific ring of fire'.

An earthquake that hit West Sumatra on Feb 16 killed five people and damaged dozens of houses.

On Feb 6, 37 people were killed by a quake measuring 6.9 on the Richter scale at Nabire, in Indonesia's far eastern Papua province.

Here in Singapore, police said a check of 70 buildings, including 48 HDB blocks, found them to be structurally sound.

It said: 'Buildings in Singapore are designed according to stringent design building codes and they are sufficiently robust to withstand such tremors caused by distant earthquakes.

'From past experiences with tremors, hazards such as the disruption of electrical and water supplies are unlikely to happen.

'However, if cracks develop as a result of today's tremor, occupants should inform building authorities such as HDB and the Building and Construction Authority.'

http://wwwneic.cr.usgs.gov/neis/bulletin/neic_feae.jpg

Magnitude 6.0 SOUTHERN SUMATRA, INDONESIA
2004 February 22 06:46:26 UTC

So huaiwei..did you feel the quake or where you sleeping ?:);) :happy:

I was at United Square at 3pm.I did not feel anything there.

I was in school at 3pm. Didn't feel anything either.

Interesting. Maybe it affects those living on the upper floors of highrises. I myself have never felt any such tremors except when the site next to my house was undergoing heavy piling works (and I live on the 4th floor);)

22nd Feb 2004

SINGAPORE: Tremors were reported in certain parts of Singapore at around 2.50pm on Sunday.

Singapore's Meteorological Services Department confirmed the tremors originated from an earthquake that occurred in southwestern Sumatra, approximately 400 kilometres from Singapore.

The magnitude of the earthquake is 5.8 on the Richter scale.

Police said engineers were activated to inspect the buildings where tremors were reported, but stressed that there was no cause for alarm.

All affected buildings were found to be structurally safe.

The tremors were felt mainly in the Katong, Marine Parade and Whampoa areas.

Singapore's Police and the Civil Defence said they received more than 100 calls from concerned Singaporeans over the tremors.

Although Singapore is not in the earthquake zone, certain parts do experience tremors whenever a big quake occurs in the region.

Four years ago, residents at Neptune Court felt the tremors from a Sumatran earthquake measuring about seven on the Richter scale.

This time round, only residents living on the higher floors felt the tremors.

"I was reading the papers, and then I started to feel dizzy. I thought that it was only me, until my daughter told me she was also feeling dizzy. So, I knew that the building was shaking. When I looked into the mirror, I was actually swaying," said Catherine Sim who lives on the 18th floor of Neptune Court.

"I felt some kind of swaying. I thought it was some kind of spiritual thing, but I didn't really know what it was. I just felt my body swaying," said Louisa Gan who lives on the 22nd floor of Neptune Court.

But some residents on the lower floors of the 22-storey building were oblivious to it all.

"Nothing happened....I was on the 6th floor visiting my friends. I came down because my friend's kids had to go for tuition. That's where I saw some of the people around and they told us that they felt some shaking, and we checked and they said they are staying on the top floors," said a visitor to the Neptune Court.

"I didn't experience anything," said another resident.

The Met Service said tremors were also felt in Singapore when an earthquake occurred in Sumatra on the night of 16 February, but it was hardly felt by anyone. - CNA

from what i heard earthquakes in safe places and strong buildings can be really fun... like a rollercoaster ride.. especially if you're staying in a hotel because it means you dont have to clean up:colgate:

I was on the shaking bus.:D

fun?

Shaking bus? LOL! Guess no one felt it then.

ooops i actually thought he felt the tremors in the bus stupid me :bash: :bash: :bash: :bash: :bash:

:rofl:

btw, why should the bus be shaking? I thought we have a world-class land transport system? Zero-tolerance for road turbulence!:bleep:

that's right! (some old non-airconditioned buses shake though). some old buses in perth shake so much i feel shaken. not exaggerating. the new ones are much better, but some drivers are so rough!

They still have non-aircon buses in sg? I got to admit, I miss those..some are really old and grumpy!

the only shaky transport I experience here are the old London underground. Very noisy and shaky.

and slow and gives black snot >(

Originally posted by drwho

So huaiwei..did you feel the quake or where you sleeping ?:);) :happy: Er....I tink I woke up at 3pm exactly?? Maybe the shocks of waking up is enough for me not to feel a thing either! :D

Originally posted by RafflesCity

Shaking bus? LOL! Guess no one felt it then. WAHAHAHA!! Why suddenly this shaking bus theory get entwinced with one on the quake?? ;)

These Sumatran quakes are sometimes felt in Bangkok also, by office workers in the skyscrapers at least. I never noticed them.

Er....I tink I woke up at 3pm exactly??
Gee are all Singaporean skyscraper fans like this? :D
Actually, it's the same with the Swedish ones.. going to bed as the sun rise :bash: ;)

Same with me, but it is quite a torture cos I have to peel myself off the bed to go to school. And when you havent had adequate sleep, the cold winds in the morning and lousy London weather are a total put off -_-

on the topics of earthquakes, Chad told me that after a recent shaking near bangkok, cracks appeared in the China resources Tower!:eek:

Oh well....its coz i have to miss sleep on some nights, and hence the strange sleeping hours? I doubt I can do the same stunt frequently on weekdays. :D

And...isnt Bangkok so far from Sumatra? If buildings get crask there, then how about every other building nearer to the epicentre? :eek:

CJ halves oral-sex sentence

By Elena Chong

THE Chief Justice yesterday halved a former police sergeant's two-year jail sentence for having oral sex with a 15-year-old girl. But those waiting to see how CJ Yong Pung How would deal with the controversial issue of oral sex must wait a few days for his reasons.

He did not go beyond saying that 'this is Asia' where certain actions are frowned upon. This is why, he added, Singapore's Penal Code has section 377, which criminalises 'carnal intercourse against the order of nature'. Until Parliament decides otherwise, 'I am guided by the Penal Code,' he said.

The sentencing of at least three men convicted of oral sex had been postponed in recent months as the judges wanted to see how the CJ would decide on the appeal of Annis Abdullah. It was the 27-year-old's case which threw the spotlight on oral sex, an offence which attracts a maximum punishment of life imprisonment. Given that the girl, whose age was then given as 16, had consented to oral sex, some people felt the two-year jail term for Annis was too harsh.

Also, there had been calls to decriminalise consensual oral sex between men and women. Parliament was told last month that this might well happen, as part of a review of the Penal Code to be completed in two to three months. But a new twist emerged nine days after Annis' sentencing on Nov 28: It transpired that the girl was 15 when the offence was committed. District Judge Wong Keen Onn said that had he known that the girl was a minor, 'that fact would be regarded as an added aggravating factor for the purpose of sentencing'.

Yesterday, the charge still stood under the Penal Code, although the mistake over the girl's age was rectified. Other laws governing minors, such the Women's Charter, do not deal with oral sex. Arguing against the sentence, Annis' new lawyer, Mr S.S. Dhillon, suggested that consent on the part of the girl should be a 'highly mitigatory factor'.

He also said that contrary to earlier statements tendered at the lower court, his client did not meet the girl through the Internet Relay Chat (IRC). Annis' computer seized by the police did not show this and it was the victim, he said, who had contacted his client first after they met at a Pasir Ris chalet in March last year. He asked, and the girl agreed, to perform oral sex on him when they met at Chinese Garden Road a month later. 'This is not a case where the appellant had preyed on the victim or he had forced her into doing something or coerced her into doing something,' he said.

He also tendered several cases in the Subordinate Courts which imposed between four months and one year on oral-sex offenders. Given that Annis was a first-time offender, he suggested that 'a slap on the cheek' or 'a knock on his knuckle' would suffice as punishment rather than 'the thrashing' he received.

The CJ said there was no way the court could be guided by past cases as it all depended on the facts of each case. While he accepted that other countries would not view oral sex as a crime, 'there are certain offences against Asian culture'. But on Mr Dhillon's argument that the two-year sentence was 'unprecedented', the CJ replied: 'That is really your strongest point'. He halved the sentence and said that he would write his grounds soon in view of the various cases pending.

Outside the courtroom, Mr Dhillon told reporters that his client, who got married last week, was 'extremely pleased' with the decision. 'Now that the sentence has been reduced, the pressure is off him. He wants to get on to serve it, pay for his crime, go back to start life afresh,' he said.

http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/mnt/media/image/launched/2004-02-18/P1A_0218.jpg
The offence by Annis went against Asian culture, the CJ said.

http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/mnt/media/image/launched/2004-02-18/P1B_0218.jpg
An appeal against two years' jail was made by Annis (centre) and lawyers Dhillon (left) and Terence Hua. -- LIANHE ZAOBAO

Originally posted by huaiwei

And...isnt Bangkok so far from Sumatra? If buildings get crask there, then how about every other building nearer to the epicentre? :eek:

Oh that earthquake was in northern Thailand I think;)

Originally posted by RafflesCity

Oh that earthquake was in northern Thailand I think;) Jo said it was a "sumatran earthquake"?

Originally posted by huaiwei

Jo said it was a "sumatran earthquake"?

oh I was referring to another earthquake when I said it caused cracks in the bkk building. However I remember we had a thread about an earthquake in northern sumatra and the penang people said they felt it:angel1: Depends on where the earthquake strikes I guess:cheers:

Same with me, but it is quite a torture cos I have to peel myself off the bed to go to school. And when you havent had adequate sleep, the cold winds in the morning and lousy London weather are a total put off -_-
Poor Raffi, I feel your pain :D

And...isnt Bangkok so far from Sumatra? If buildings get crask there, then how about every other building nearer to the epicentre?
I dunno :) But u know, Bkk is built on a river delta and bedrock is far below the surface (is that good or bad in an earthquake :?) and I suppose skyscrapers are not built with quakes in mind in the same way as they are in many other places closer to the growling seabed :)

Originally posted by Jo

Poor Raffi, I feel your pain :D


I dunno :) But u know, Bkk is built on a river delta and bedrock is far below the surface (is that good or bad in an earthquake :?) and I suppose skyscrapers are not built with quakes in mind in the same way as they are in many other places closer to the growling seabed :)

Which is why I'm trying 2 sleep early tonight!

huaiwei is a geography expert..should be able to elaborate on this..he also said that the KL Valley is a sitting duck should a powerful earthquake strike! :eek:

Originally posted by RafflesCity

Which is why I'm trying 2 sleep early tonight!
Me too, gotta go up early tomorrow but I gor a feeling that going to bed 5hrs earlier than usual isn't going to be easy :tongue3:

I look forward to learning something about geology and geography next time :okay:

Originally posted by Jo

I look forward to learning something about geology and geography next time :okay: Haha...er....I worry this might be misinterpreted as a unneighbourly act! :D

Democracy has won - let communists return to see that

THE Government's current position on when to permit former commu-nists to return to Singapore would have been understandable 30 years ago.

Memories of the commu-nist insurgency were still fresh, democracy had not yet taken root and the population was not well educated.

To still insist today, however, that former commu-nists fulfil three conditions - that they make a written declaration renouncing communism, sever links with the Communist Party of Malaya and agree to be interviewed by the Internal Security Department - before being allowed to come home seems unnecessary ('Plen's men can return, on 3 conditions'; ST, Feb 12).

Democracy has come a long way in Singapore. Since independence, we have had nearly 40 years of free and fair elections resulting in clean, accountable and efficient governments. The democratic system is well-entrenched and trusted by all Singaporeans.

As a people, Singaporeans have also become highly educated and well-informed. Singaporeans know that democracy is the best form of government and that, politically, it is the only way forward for us.

Communism, on the other hand, has generally died a natural death in most parts of the world. With the fall of the Soviet regime and the Berlin Wall and the adoption of capitalist policies in China, people everywhere have recognised that the ideals of Marx and Lenin are not practicable in the real world.

Moreover, democracies in many parts of Europe, from Britain to Austria, have allowed communists to contest in elections as political parties and they have, by and large, been unpopular.

It is time the Government showed more confidence in Singaporeans by allowing the communists to come home unconditionally. Let them return to experience, first-hand, how successful democracy has made Singapore and how much we believe in it.

And even if we fail to convince them, they will nevertheless discover how much Singaporeans reject their totalitarian beliefs. Let them find out for themselves that freedom and choice will always triumph over oppression and dictatorship.

ELGIN TOH MINGYANG

Why are they writing communists with a " - " ?

commu-nists

lol!

Originally posted by sOmeOne

Why are they writing communists with a " - " ?

commu-nists

lol! Er....they didnt edit it correctly...coz the - appeared in the print version when it was at the edge of a column! :D

I wanted to read the article in that city's corresponding English-language paper but they wanted me to sign-in and pay:moods:

Originally posted by RafflesCity

I wanted to read the article in that city's corresponding English-language paper but they wanted me to sign-in and pay:moods: I cant believe this...how come we end up trying to do the same thing? I went there moments ago, and I ended up closing the window and thinking "these chaps only noe how to make money!!" :D

Its called covering the news from all possible angles. Thats why I didnt post the Straits Times article in the world section as I didnt want to be called biased. Cant be helped with ultra-sensitive folks around. At least I tried :D ;)

We shall see how far your efforts will go depending on the responses...or lack of it! :D

Meanwhile, I discovered the joys of using the "ignore" function!! :devil:

"Haha...er....I worry this might be misinterpreted as a unneighbourly act!"

"Wahaha!! When a particular city was not in the top 50.....I almost expected him to think his city was not in the study...coz he cant believe his city isnt that high up?"

Hello Sir, I've been absent for a few days and and therefore outoah clue.. what place are you talking about :)

i protest! i think perth should be somewhere islamabad and new delhi..

Originally posted by Jo

"Haha...er....I worry this might be misinterpreted as a unneighbourly act!"

"Wahaha!! When a particular city was not in the top 50.....I almost expected him to think his city was not in the study...coz he cant believe his city isnt that high up?"

Hello Sir, I've been absent for a few days and and therefore outoah clue.. what place are you talking about :) Er.....I was referring to different places for both....and you know I cant reveal it unless through PM! :D

Smokers who litter have no excuse now

By Sharmilpal Kaur

SMOKERS caught dumping their cigarette butts have been receiving gifts along with their $200 fines - small tin boxes to snuff out their cigarettes if they cannot find bins. Now they have no excuse for littering, said the National Environment Agency (NEA) yesterday, when it launched a fresh drive to rope in primary school pupils.

Director-general for public health Wang Nan Chee told reporters they started handing the boxes out six months ago. Smokers who persist in littering might think twice if they have something to put the butts in.

Under the NEA's kinder, gentler approach, it has been working with event organisers to set up extra litter bins and tidy-up reminders since November, and trying to convince cinema operators to offer incentives to cinemagoers for removing their litter. Mr Wang said: 'This is not about picking up litter. This is about not leaving things behind - like an empty drink can left on the bus. Many still don't understand this is littering.'

In schools, it includes posting reminders such as stickers, banners and posters in classrooms, canteens and corridors. The approach has been tried out in eight primary schools since June. Elsewhere, pupils have set up roving 'anti-littering squads'. The drive will be rolled out to 50 primary schools by the end of the year, and aims to include all of them eventually.

St Margaret's Primary pupil Marissa Chang, eight, said: 'I like it because it makes me unhappy to see people littering. Singapore is beautiful, they shouldn't turn it into a rubbish dump.'

PUNISHMENT

ON AVERAGE, 245 litterbugs are caught a month.

• If litter is small: $200 fine, 15 minutes of counselling

• Others: Up to $1,000 fine and/or Corrective Work Order (CWO) for up to 12 hours of public clean-up work

• Repeat offenders: CWO and/or up to $5,000 fine.

Holy crap! Only 245?!?!?! That's about how much you get on a piece of land 10x10 square cm at every Russian bus stop per week! The Singapore government must be really crazy about keeping the place clean!! Holy crap!! This is cool!!!

Originally posted by huaiwei

Smokers who litter have no excuse now





St Margaret's Primary pupil Marissa Chang, eight, said: 'I like it because it makes me unhappy to see people littering. Singapore is beautiful, they shouldn't turn it into a rubbish dump.'

PUNISHMENT

ON AVERAGE, 245 litterbugs are caught a month.

• If litter is small: $200 fine, 15 minutes of counselling

• Others: Up to $1,000 fine and/or Corrective Work Order (CWO) for up to 12 hours of public clean-up work

• Repeat offenders: CWO and/or up to $5,000 fine.

well i agree, It is a model that should be applied in every city around the world:yes:

oh nono... 245 is the number of people who are caught, not the number who litter... ;) i litter most often in supermarkets after trying a sample i discreetly drop the toothpick somewhere if inconvenient