One of our ASS readers Aida shared a disturbing Facebook post by a man named Raden Tri Riffaee calling for the authorities to ban the radical “incense burning” religion as it was considered terrorism to humans, nature and animals.
In addition, the man suggested that HDB should change their housing policy and give Malays priority for the higher HDB floors and let the “paper burning ethnic(ity)” stay at level 2 or ground floor.
The man is understandably upset at the inconvenience caused during religious festivals where members of the taoist or buddhist community burn incense offerings to their Gods or ancestors.
What do you think about the way this resident voiced his unhappiness? Isn’t this the reality of living in a multi-racial multi-religious country like Singapore?
Apparently, charges on plastic bags used during supermarket shopping trips.
According to a report on Channel NewsAsia at around 10pm last night, “local supermarket chains could impose a plastic bag charge if there is an industry-wide effort to implement one”.
The statement comes as a response to environmental group Zero Waste’s call for the Government to introduce charges on the use of plastic bags among Singaporeans.
Executive director of Zero Waste, Mr Eugene Tay, said: “If there is a charge [for plastic bags] then people will start thinking about how can they reduce the plastic bags that they take.”
The group proposed that retailers charge their customers 10 cents and 5 cents for large and smaller plastic bags respectively, which already sparked discussions on Facebook on the feasibility of the solution.
For example, a netizen said, “Most dwellers use plastic bags to recycle as trash bag. Imagine them dumping trash directly into our rubbish chutes. It would be environmentally unhygienic when the waste foods start rotting inside.”
On the Government side, Member of Parliament Lee Bee Wah, chairman of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Environment and Water Resources firmly stated that it should be the big supermarkets’ duty to carry out this proposal, as “The Government should look at education; look at bigger issues on the environment, not just plastic bags, per se.”
Spokespeople from the Dairy Farm group (which owns Cold Storage and Giant), and NTUC FairPrice have come forward to tell CNA that at the moment, they already have incentives and efforts in place to reduce the dependence on plastic bags by their shoppers.
NTUC’s”Bring Your Own Bag, FairPrice Green Rewards Scheme” / Image Credit: TODAY
Singaporeans are said to use a whopping 2.5 billion plastic bags each year, and according to statistics from the National Environment Agency’s website, 824,600 tonnes of plastic waste were generated in 2015.
From the latest report, it does seem like these big supermarket chains have decided to respond, albeit without promising anything concrete, to the proposal.
Singaporean Netizens Debate
In response to the news, netizens seem to be somewhat divided.
One begged for others to look at the “bigger issue” as compared to potential inconveniences:
“The rubbish thrown down the chute doesn’t just disappear into thin air y’know.”
Some have mentioned how it is “long overdue”, and suggested ways that the implementation can be carried out:
“[…] Provide one or two reusable shopping bags to the low income group.”“For those who [don’t request for plastic bags], you pay them instead.”
One called for the Government to take the lead, in light of other nations already taking nationwide steps to reduce plastic waste:
“So come on Singapore Government […] make it compulsory across the industry”“Adding charges to [the] consumer is definitely not the way to go.”
However, some are adamantly against the potential changes, and have spoken out strongly against it:
“Don’t buy the hype”“[It’s utter] nonsense.”
Regardless, the sentiments can be accurately summarised in this particular thread, and the number of ‘likes’ for each polarising comment:
Screenshot from CNA’s Facebook page
Online Grocery Providers Can Be Pioneers In Environmentally-Friendly Practices
What’s interesting though, is the fact that a few have taken to the news as even more reason to grocery shop online.
Netizen cites saving time and money on taxi rides
The online grocery shopping scene is a highly competitive one, with honestbee and RedMart being among the few big players in the (pun intended) market.
honestbee team / Image Credit: Vulcan Post
An increasing number of Singaporeans, even without the plastic bag charge fiasco, have been turning to these online providers due to the convenience that comes with the services, especially in light of their busy schedules and the need for a means of transport after an intense grocery shopping session.
Perhaps then, these providers can be the pioneers in encouraging environmentally-friendly practices, and use recyclable bags for their clients’ purchases.
Regardless, the issue seems to be still in pending mode, and there’s no certainty on what the verdict will be.
The Workers’ Party notes with concern the applications from Singapore Pools and Singapore Turf Club (STC) to launch online betting services.
There are no lack of legal gambling venues in Singapore, including the two casinos and hundreds of outlets accepting bets for Singapore Pools and STC.
When the government decided to clamp down on remote gambling in 2014, it cited concerns about addictive behaviour and easy access to these games. Should the Government approve their applications, Singapore Pools and STC will have 24/7 virtual betting outlets available in almost every home and mobile device.
This convenience may encourage Singaporeans to take up the habit and possibly become a gateway to more serious gambling. The social costs of gambling on families are well documented, and the number of problem gambling cases in Singapore has been on the rise.
It makes little sense for the government to close one door on remote gambling in order to “protect young persons and other vulnerable persons”, while opening another door that exposes them to the ills of gambling in their homes.
During the second reading of the Remote Gambling Bill in 2014, the Government rejected the Workers’ Party call to send the Remote Gambling Bill – specifically the clauses that dealt with exemptions – to a Select Committee of Parliament for further scrutiny and oversight. Nonetheless, the Government committed itself to step up public education and awareness efforts with a specific focus on online gambling. However, as of today, it remains unclear what are the Government’s specific plans and strategies to address the negative effects of online gambling, especially on young and vulnerable persons.
The WP’s 2015 Manifesto contained five proposals to fight problem gambling, including the complete prohibition of remote and online gambling with no exemptions allowed. Exempting Singapore Pools and STC will undermine the government’s motivations for banning remote gambling in the first place.
We oppose the granting of exemptions to any organisation to operate remote and online betting services and we call on the government to reject these applications.
She has fully recovered from Zika but personal trainer Daphne Maia Loo is still worried.
Although many perceive Zika as a mild illness, the 33-year-old, who has two auto-immune conditions, is concerned because very little is known about the full or long-term effects of the disease.
“We don’t know the long-term effects,” she said, noting that Zika has been linked to the Guillain-Barre syndrome and auto-immune complications. “We don’t know what triggers auto-immune conditions, but there’s definitely a worry that one will set off another … I personally get really irritated when people say it’s a mild disease, as we just don’t have enough information on the effects yet.”
Ms Loo added: “Some people say it’s only dangerous for pregnant women, or that the strain here is not as dangerous for pregnant women as that in South America. But how do we know that is the case in the long term? Viruses also mutate, and it could get worse. It is not something we should downplay.”
Ms Loo came down with fever on Sept 2, days after the Ministry of Health confirmed the first locally transmitted Zika cases. The following night, she went to the accident and emergency department at Tan Tock Seng Hospital and was taken to the holding area where suspected Zika patients stayed while waiting for their blood test results.
“I was brought in at about 10pm. It was past midnight by the time they took my blood. I waited till about 8am before they confirmed I had Zika,” she recounted. “It was very uncomfortable while (I was) waiting, as I was only given a chair. Beds were limited, and only those who were very sick got them.”
Ms Loo said she was transferred to a ward in the Communicable Diseases Centre (CDC) after she tested positive, and stayed there for two days. She has since made a full recovery.
She has agreed to participate in a research programme on the long-term effects of Zika, carried out by the CDC, where she has to return to the centre for blood tests six times over the next two years.
The good thing arising from the spread of Zika, Ms Loo said, was that it has helped raise awareness of the need to control mosquito breeding grounds, which would help to fight dengue as well.
Madam Ratnawati Mohd Yusoff, whose husband Mohammed Firdaus Lim was among the first 40 individuals in Sims Drive diagnosed with Zika last month, said they take extra precautions now, even though they moved to Upper Serangoon last Saturday.
“Every time after he showers, I will spray the repellent on him and paste one mosquito patch on his clothing, too,” said the 52-year-old. Mr Firdaus, 44, is bedridden after suffering a stroke.
“I make sure I do it on myself, too. I mean if he gets bitten, it would already be difficult. But if I’m bitten, then it will be more difficult. Who will take care of him then when I’m sick?”
She added: “With this new house … the Zika problem becomes less to think about (but) I cannot say that moving away will make me impervious to mosquito bites. I still have to take precautions.”
Suspects involved in the foiled plot to fire a rocket at Marina Bay had planned to launch the strike from a hill in Batam, said Indonesia’s counter-terrorism chief Suhardi Alius.
The launch site in Taman Habibie, famous for a stairway locals call “the 1,000 steps”, is located about 17km from Singapore’s shoreline and just over 18km from the iconic Marina Bay Sands integrated resort.
General Suhardi, who heads the National Counter-terrorism Agency (BNPT), said members of the Batam-based militant group had been measuring elevation points and the distance from the hill to their target in Singapore.
“It’s true that they only did surveys and measured the angle of elevation from Habibie hill to Marina Bay, but Bahrun Naim had plans to send expert technicians to make the explosives and to prepare for the strike,” he said on Monday (Sep 26).
The BNPT chief was referring to Bahrun Naim, an Indonesian militant believed to be in the Middle East fighting for the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). General Suhardi was speaking at a closed-door dialogue with local editors and senior journalists in Jakarta.
He added that Bahrun had coordinated the plot with the cell in Batam using social media, similar to how he is suspected to have communicated with other local militants in Indonesia.
Indonesian police have since arrested six members of the cell, including its leader Gigih Rahmat Dewa, who was allegedly Bahrun’s point man for the rocket attack on Marina Bay.
Bahrun is also believed to be linked to a 17-year-old who tried to blow himself up inside a Catholic church in Medan on Aug 28; and Nur Rohman, another suicide bomber who tried to attack a police station in the city of Solo in Central Java in July.
National police chief Tito Karnavian had said that the teenager had “directly contacted” Bahrun, while Nur Rohman was said to have learnt to build bombs from Bahrun over Telegram, a smart-phone messaging application.
General Suhardi said those were examples of how prevalent terrorist groups are making use of social media including Facebook, Youtube and Telegram.
“An example is Batam, where Katibah Gonggong Rebus received orders from Bahrun through social media,” he added, referring to the KGR, which literally translates to Boiled Snails Cell, led by Gigih.
The threat of terror continues to grow in South-east Asia and the rising danger of extremism was underlined as recently as last week when Malaysia said it had detained one of its citizens and deported three foreigners with links to militant groups.
The latest arrest in Malaysia follows another one last month of three ISIS operatives who plotted attacks on the eve of the country’s Independence Day.
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