Category: Singapuraku

TRS Founder To Plead Guilty To Sedition Charges
In a surprising turn of events, Yang Kaiheng, founder of socio-political website The Real Singapore (TRS), indicated yesterday that he wished to plead guilty to the seven sedition charges he faces.

Yang, 27, had originally claimed trial, denying he had posted inflammatory articles on the TRS website and Facebook page between 2013 and 2015. (See report…)

During the trial, which went on for seven days in March and April, Yang claimed his involvement in TRS was for only a month in 2012 after helping to set it up.

The trial was supposed to have resumed yesterday until his lawyer told the judge in chambers about his client’s intention to plead guilty.

During the trial, Yang claimed that his wife, Ai Takagi, 23, an Australian national of Japanese descent, was responsible for the day-to-day business and editorial content of TRS.

Between December 2013 and April 2015, TRS raked in almost half a million dollars in advertising revenue, the court heard.

In April, Yang claimed that he and Takagi had been inspired to start TRS after their Facebook page, which petitioned for the removal of new Member of Parliament (MP) Tin Pei Ling after the 2011 General Election, garnered about 60,000 likes.

But during cross-examination, Deputy Public Prosecutor G. Kannan asked how this was possible when the couple had not yet met during the 2011 GE period.

DPP Kannan said he had a log of very personal and embarrassing WhatsApp messages that proved they had met only after the petition Facebook page was created.

Yang’s lawyer tried to interject, but Yang then conceded: “It’s okay, Your Honour, I admit I am lying.”

The next day, Yang again admitted to lying – this time for having falsely told the police he did not know that his friend, Mr Damien Koh, was involved in setting up TRS.

Yang had met Mr Koh, who later quit TRS, during their University of Queensland days.

Yang told the court: “I was being investigated for sedition during my interview. I didn’t want to implicate my friend. I was sure he had nothing to do with sedition in the TRS site.”

Yang turned up at the State Courts yesterday wearing a long-sleeved T-shirt and knee-length bermuda shorts.

He is expected to be back in court tomorrow.

If convicted of each charge under the Sedition Act, he faces up to three years’ jail and a fine of up to $5,000.

Takagi pleaded guilty to sedition in March after also initially claiming trial and was jailed 10 months.

Now about five months pregnant,, she began serving her sentence on April 22.
HIS CHARGES

Yang Kaiheng is accused of seven counts of sedition:

An article falsely asserting that a Filipino family caused an incident between the police and participants at last year’s Thaipusam procession.

A similar Facebook post.

An article alleging that a Filipino employee bribed a colleague to delete traces of his misdeeds to ensure that only his countrymen were hired by the company.

An article portraying women from China as home-wreckers whose main motive was “trying to hook” Singaporean men.

An article that had an editor’s note warning companies about hiring foreigners over Singaporeans.

An article claiming that Filipino managers working here would give preferential treatment to subordinates of the same nationality at the expense of Singaporeans.

Copied an article from Stomp about an elderly woman who told her grandson to urinate into a bottle on an MRT train, then doctored the article to say she was a Chinese national who allegedly had an accent and posted it on TRS.

An eighth charge of failing to produce documents to the police for investigations has been stood down.

TIMELINE OF CASE

2012

The Real Singapore (TRS) is set up.

February 2015

TRS publishes an article on Feb 4 alleging that a Filipino family’s complaint over noise from drummers led to a scuffle during the Thaipusam procession on Feb 3. The police receive reports about an “insensitive article” online the next day. The authorities arrest Yang Kaiheng and Ai Takagi in Singapore that month.

April 2015

Yang and Takagi are charged with sedition and failing to produce documents to the police.

May 2015

The Media Development Authority suspends TRS’ operating licence and orders that it be taken down.

August 2015

Yang and Takagi open two ramen stalls in two National University of Singapore foodcourts.

October 2015

They get married.

January 2016

They open a third ramen stall at a coffee shop in Ang Mo Kio Avenue 8.

March 2016

Yang claims trial while his wife pleads guilty. Takagi is sentenced to 10 months’ jail.

April 2016

During Yang’s trial, he admits to lying on two different occasions before the trial is adjourned to June. Takagi begins her sentence on April 22.

June 2016

Yang indicates he wishes to plead guilty.
June 23, 2016
Orang Sibuk Berterawih, Pasangan InI Ditangkap Basah

INDONESIA: Sedang umat Islam sibuk menunaikan ibadah terawih di masjid setelah seharian berpuasa, sepasang kekasih juga sibuk memadu asmara di sebuah rumah sewa di Jawa Barat.

Pasangan itu, Ahan 35 tahun dan Lis Hermawati 29 tahun, bagaimanapun ditangkap penduduk kampung semalam (19 Jun) semasa orang lain sedang bersolat terawih di masjid.

Serbuan ke atas mereka itu dibuat hasil daripada rasa curiga pemilik rumah sewa tersebut yang sering melihat Ahan masuk ke rumah itu semasa suami Lis tidak ada.

Semasa serbuan dijalankan, pasangan yang pada ketika itu hampir tidak memakai seurat benang pun, cuba untuk mengelak ditangkap basah dengan bersembunyi di dalam sebuah almari.

“Semasa serbuan dibuat rumah itu seperti tidak ada sesiapa, tetapi apabila saya memeriksa di dalam, mereka sedang bersembunyi di dalam almari,” menurut Soleh pemilik rumah tersebut.

Pasangan itu kemudian dipaksa keluar dan hanya dengan berpakaian dalam, mereka diarak keliling kampung sebelum dihantar ke balai polis.

Pasangan itu masing-masing sudah berkahwin bahkan semasa di balai polis, isteri Ahan dan suami Lis turut hadir.

Source: http://berita.mediacorp.sg

June 23, 2016
Walid J. Abdullah: Racism Is No Laughing Matter

A lot of us like to share feel-good stories about seeming cooperation and tolerance, or acts of goodwill, involving people from various races. Of course, there is nothing wrong with that. In fact, it can be an extremely positive thing: if we are too mired in negativity , we may forget that there are genuinely nice and kind human beings all around us, and that we experience these acts on a regular basis.

At the same time, some of those who wish to believe that their societies are harmonious and tolerant find it difficult to accept that racism does indeed exist, or even, that they themselves are racists. Too many times I have seen people justifying their palpably chauvinistic stances via what they think is “reasoned” argumentation.

“Calling an Indian apuneneh is not racist, it is just a term of endearment.”

“Saying ‘keling’ is not wrong, it has historical roots.”

“It was just a joke, don’t be so sensitive.”

“How is saying that Malays make good barbers and security guards racist; I joke like that with my Malay friends all the time.”

“Believing that Malays are lazy is not necessarily racist; that is just stating a fact.”

Next time, I hear some smart alec making a racist comment, I may just be tempted to slap the person and then say:

‘Don’t be so sensitive, i am just playing.’
‘This is my way of showing endearment to you.’
‘I do this to my friends all the time!’

Racism will continue to exist, as long as we allow it to, and as long as it remains unchallenged. Whether mainfested in ‘jokes’, words or actions.

Source: Walid J. Abdullah

June 23, 2016
Nanti Dulu! Basuh Pakaian Baru Sebelum Memakainya

Ini musim membeli pakaian seperti baju Melayu dan baju kurung untuk Hari Raya. Malah anda juga mungkin sibuk mencari pakaian lain seperti seluar dan baju kemeja untuk anak-anak anda.

Bagaimanapun, jangan terlalu ghairah memakai pakaian yang baru dibeli dari kedai. Pakaian apa sekalipun.

Sebaliknya, anda perlu membasuh pakaian baru itu sebelum pertama kali memakainya.

Rupa-rupanya, perbuatan terus memakai pakaian baru tanpa membasuhnya terlebih dahulu mungkin boleh menjejas kesihatan anda, lapor laman Metro.

KUMAN PADA PAKAIAN BARU

Pakar Pengilangan Pakaian Lana Hogue menjelaskan kepada laman Elle, terdapat dua sebab utama mengapa anda perlu membasuh pakaian baru sebelum memakainya.

Pertama, besar kemungkinan terdapat pelbagai jenis kuman yang melekat pada pakaian yang baru dibeli disebabkan proses mencuba pakai, sebelum ia dibeli.

Anda mungkin salah seorang yang mencubanya dan bayangkan berapa ramai orang yang mungkin sudah melakukan perkara yang sama sebelum anda.

ADA KIMIA PADA PAKAIAN BARU

Kedua dan yang paling penting, menurut Lana seperti yang dilaporkan laman Metro, setiap pakaian diselaputi dengan bahan-bahan kimia yang boleh memberikan kesan sampingan yang serius apabila terkena pada kulit.

Oleh itu, “anda seharusnya basuh pakaian sebelum memakainya,” kata Lana.

“Lebih-lebih lagi apa sahaja yang akan disarungkan pada kulit atau yang akan terkena peluh,” tambah beliau.

“Kebanyakan bahan kimia yang digunakan untuk mewarna kain dan benang bagi memudahkannya diproses menerusi peralatan menenun kain, diketahui boleh (membuat kulit) merengsa.”

Bahan-bahan itulah yang boleh menyebabkan masalah seperti radang kulit, menurut laman Metro.

Lana menjelaskan bahan-bahan kimia seperti resin formaldehyde dan pewarna azo-aniline perlu digunakan sepanjang proses pengilangan, “malah pakaian yang dibuat daripada kapas juga mengandungi bahan kimia”.

Maka, langkah terbaik melindungi diri adalah dengan membasuh pakaian baru sebelum ia dipakai.

Semoga kulit anda tidak terasa gatal pada Syawal nanti.

Source: Berita MediaCorp

June 22, 2016
Pushy Parents Could Lead To Children With Depression Or Anxiety: NUS Study

Push your child too hard and he or she could suffer from depression or anxiety, and may even lead to suicide.

This was the finding of a five-year study on primary school children in Singapore by researches from the National University of Singapore (NUS). It involved 7-year-olds from 10 schools and the parent that was more familiar with the child. The study found that children with intrusive parents had a higher tendency to be overly critical of themselves, which got worse over the years.

The children who demonstrated high or increased levels of self-criticalness also reported having elevated depression or anxiety symptoms.

Assistant Professor Ryan Hong, who led the study which was conducted by a team of researchers from the Department of Psychology at the NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, said: “When parents become intrusive in their children’s lives, it may signal to the children that what they do is never good enough. As a result, the child may become afraid of making the slightest mistake and will blame himself or herself for not being ‘perfect’.”

Asst Prof Hong added that over time, such behaviour, known as maladaptive perfectionism – commonly known as the ‘bad’ form of perfectionism – develops and may be detrimental to the child’s well-being as it increases the risk of the child developing symptoms of depression, anxiety and even suicide in very serious cases.

In the first year of the study, Asst Prof Hong and his team assessed parental intrusiveness using a puzzle played by the child, then 7, with the parent accompanying the child. The puzzle had a time limit, and the parent was told that he or she could help the child whenever necessary.

An example of a highly intrusive parental behaviour would be when the parent took over the game to retract a move made by the child. The purpose of this task was to observe whether the parent interfered with the child’s problem-solving attempts, regardless of the child’s actual needs.

Subsequent assessments on the children were carried out at ages eight, nine and 11.

Of the 263 parent-child pairs studied from 2010 to 2014, 60 per cent of the children were classified as high and/or increasing in self-criticalness, while 78 per cent of them demonstrated socially prescribed perfectionism – characterised by the perception of others having unrealistic high expectations of oneself.

59 per cent of the children demonstrated both self-criticalness and socially prescribed perfectionism.

“Our findings indicate that in a society that emphasises academic excellence, which is the situation in Singapore, parents may set unrealistically high expectations on their children. As a result, a sizable segment of children may become fearful of making mistakes,” Asst Prof Hong said.

“Also, because they are supposed to be ‘perfect’, they can become disinclined to admit failures and inadequacies and seek help when needed, further exacerbating their risk for emotional problems,” he added.

The findings of study were published online in the Journal of Personality in March 2016. This study is funded by the Singapore Children’s Society, as well as the Social and Family Research Fund awarded by the Ministry of Social and Family Development.

Source: TODAY Online

June 22, 2016